"Hatame maste"

Current location: the President's house at Union College, Schenectady, NY (20 minutes from Albany, the second capital of NY state).

Question: What is round on both ends and hi in the middle?

Answer: How you say good morning in Japanese. “Ohio gozimas!”

OR, if you want the less corny (and, let’s be honest, less impressive) answer, you get the state Ohio. Here are a few facts about Ohio. The state motto is “Are we the east coast? Are we the Midwest? We don’t know!” and there are plenty of rolling, green hills in the south and flat farm land in the north. There are some sports teams sprinkled throughout the state with some cities attached to those teams.

(Geography lesson: this is NOT Ohio, but it's somewhere close!)

Overall, Ohio was pretty awesome, and I bring this up because I basically toured the whole state in 4 days last week.

I had three volunteer fairs back to back to back. A volunteer fair, for those of you not familiar, is usually a two hour event in a huge room packed with tables upon tables. On these tables are fancy table cloths with fancier display boards. Then you have the great people, interesting people, standing by each table representing the organization. If you like doing good or volunteering or traveling the world or living in community while living simply and all of that jazz, then you’ll get a kick out of these fairs. The batch of students are, for the most part, pretty awesome, since, you know, they are like the A.J. back in college (hot). And the reps manning (or womanning?) the tables are all former volunteers themselves who like to volunteer and do good. Do gooders, we call them (no one really calls them that).

Back to ohio gozimas, ken kideska. Watashi wa AJ-tess.

Sorry, I revert to the only three phrases I know in Japanese. It’s my way of saying I actually DID learn something in the Nesia.

Back to Ohio, land of the free. Monday October 1st was the University of Dayton. Huge campus with pretty buildings. Tuesday was Xavier University in Cincinnati, smaller campus but even prettier buildings. Cincinnati was great, the couple I stayed with were great, even though I didn’t even meet the wife who happened to be an FJV.

SIDE NOTE: It’s great when I meet awesome people on this trip, yet it stinks when I simply just crash and am in and out before I really get to meet these nice strangers.

Anyway, Cincinnati, apparently, is known for it’s ice cream (and that’s it … just kidding?). When people found out I was going to Cincinnati, they immediately told me to go to Graeters, an ice cream chain that even Oprah recommended (well then it MUST be good).

SIDE NOTE QUESTION: Oprah indirectly decides the direction American society is heading towards, your thoughts?

But, yes, Oprah is right once again; this ice cream was amazing. Taste tested some walnut coconut fudge, which was godlike, so I immediately bought the hazelnut chip ice cream. (In English Skills, that is what we call lack of coherence). Seriously though, I was between so many flavors (my breakfast on Wednesday was back to Graeters for the cookie dough … no joke).

Here is a link to their website. http://www.graeters.com/index.cfm I should get paid by them for this.

That brings up another deep insight on my wonderful travels across the country which enables me to meet wonderful people and see the purple majesty of the spacious skies that is America: I’m definitely getting fat! My irregular eating schedule (one day I’m eating in Little Italy in Cleveland, the next I eat a Subway sandwich and an energy drink as my only meal of the day) and the constant sitting on my tuckus on the road isn’t really helping my already Mr. Universe-esque physique. So that is, technically, a downside.

I say technically because, well, I don’t really care that much. My wit and charm will carry me through life(if you didn’t roll your eyes just there, you are special).

Back to that state somewhere near Pennsylvania. Wednesday was a 4 hour drive up to Cleveland where Alex (the JVC Northwest recruiter) and I peaced out from the city where the Patriots crushed the Begals (yeah!) to visit John Carroll University. Another great school, big into JVC and JVI (they are affiliated with the J), and I definitely received a boost of energy from the enthusiasm of the students.

Thursday was Erie, PA to Mercyhurst, a very small yet very beautiful campus, yet JVC, unfortunately, was not that big there. That just happens at some of the places I visit. But everyone there was incredibly nice, especially the Americorps volunteer and his wife with whom I stayed with. At least I spoke with a few students who were into post grad service. If you want to get a feeling for how familiar these students are with JVC, let me quote one girl who came up to my table:

“The only place I heard of the Jesuits was from the movie The Exorcist.”

Cool comment, but not that great at the time. I AM surprised that her own Jesuit reference didn’t sell her on the idea of an Ignatian-guided volunteer service. There are just some things in life that surprise you.

So my Ohio adventure was a good one, so I have nothing but positive feelings towards the forgotten state (who am I kidding, if it’s not in the Northeast, it’s usually forgotten … I’m a New England snob).

Well, after my nice weekend back in Greenwich (following an 8 hour drive from northeastern PA), I am now in Schenectady, NY, 20 minutes from Albany, at Union College. It is home to the only 16-sided building on any college campus...according to the President of the college (and good friend former Dean of Students at HC Mr. Ainlay), the ONLY 16-sided building in the Western Hemisphere. Fascinating, yet can someone verify that for me? Thanks.

Seriously, though, everyone has been extremely nice, stayed with an FJV and campus minister and religion professor Tom Boland, who is an HC grad. Good people.

I leave for Villanova tomorrow morning (leave by 5 in the morning for a 4 ½ hour drive). I’m a road warrior (I was not the one to give myself that title, but I’m sticking with it).

I’m kind of a big deal.

I know people.

So, thank you faithful readers for your support, your contributions, your allegiance, and your answer to this question:

If you were to make up a motto for any U.S. state, what would it be?

Oyasumi nasi!