Accepted, Part 2

My birthday was yesterday. While out at my lakehouse (far removed from any semblance of internet access) at noon on my sixteenth , I decided to do something I rarely if ever do. I called our house phone to check the messages on our answering machine. I'm not sure why I chose to do it at that moment, but fate must've intervened because I got the best birthday present I have ever recieved. The seventh and last messge I listened to started out sounding like a routine AFS phonecall from my advisor, Katie. Then it became something incredible. In the span of only two short weeks, my application had been accepted in Chile. This, according to Katie, must be some record. It usually takes months. I cried, I was so excited. I ran outside and handed the phone to Mom so she could hear the message, too. What a gift.