Sunday, July 10, 2011

7 Quick Takes Summer

I'm horrible about actually getting these on a set day every week, and summer is just summer so I don't have a term week to go by, so here are my quick takes from the past little bit

1) I am so thankful for the little things, laughter, being with my family, not really doing anything but it means a lot to me just to be here. Soaking it all in and storing it up.

2) Yoshi Story- Yes, it is played on the Nintendo 64, but I love it so much. I'm in the process of beating it again, and it is just great. Who doesn't love little dragons searching for eternal happiness by eating fruit and turning bad guys into eggs. Yup, this was a hippie game, no doubt about it.

3) Rosaires- I recently recieved a new shipment of twine to make rosaries with. I didn't think I could love our twine rosaries more than I did, but I do. This new twine is so soft and the rosaries turn out so so well.

4) Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis- This is the second book out of my summer reading shelf and I am thoroughly enjoying it. C.S. Lewis is so clear and his work is so thought provoking. I highly highly recommend it. My favorite quote so far "Christiany is itself an education"

5) Congratulations to my friends MJ & Ryan who got married today!

6) Outside-the weather here is amazing, it's super hot and sunny and I love it. I've been outside sometime every day, just soaking it in. Love love love.

7) HARRY POTTER!!!!! The final midnight release is Friday morning at 12:00 am. My brother and I have tickets for the show and I plan on dressing up. I still have my robes from when I was super into it when I was younger, and I'm making a Hufflepuff scarf. I'm super super excited, especially because I went to the very first midnight release and now I get to go see the final showdown at the very first showing!

Have a great week everybody!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Whoops. I guess it's summer now.

My dear loyal audience, yes, all seven of you. I guess time got way way away from me. If you really knew me you'd know that my entire first year of college went so incredibly fast. Several times during spring term I stopped and thought about how much had changed in a year and all I could do was shake my head and marvel. My first year was an incredile adventure and an incredible success. I learned so much about myself. I realized I can hold my own, in life, in classes, at a job. I made some amazing friends and learned that I don't always have to be best friends with everyone. I feel more like an adult now, although not entirely.

I'm looking forward to the next year so much. I have an apartment right off of campus, a new job as a tour guide and Multicultural recruiter for the University, a position on SALT (Student Activities Leadership Team) at the Newman Center, great classes, out-of-this-world friends, and an amazing community to come back to. Eugene feels like home.

I promise you all I will try to be more consistent with my blog posts, over the summer and then back at school this fall. It is more fun for all of us if I'm not quite so sporadic. Thanks for being patient with me though. And most of all.. GO DUCKS!

Monday, April 18, 2011

7 Quick Takes: Life Update Edition

1) Life is crazy. It's busy, and I cannot belive that the time has passed so fast, and so much has happened that I'm not at the beginning of Week 4 of my third term of my Freshman year of college. It's nuts.

2) Work is work. I'm working just enough hours, on a pretty great schedule, and I like it a lot. It's a neat gig at a frozen yogurt joint not too far off of campus. The place is fun, and the pay is worth it.

3) Classes are really pretty awesome this term. I love everything I'm taking, and I'm learning a lot across the board. Actually staying on top of reading is really making everything a lot more fun and engaging. Biggest lesson so far was in my Lit class, 'we don't have to believe what they [the narrators] are telling us'.

4) the weekend I cleaned, and it felt like I was getting my life back in order. Having a made bed, and a clean desk and a closet where things are where they should be makes life so much more bearable and leaves room for focus.

5) friends-I don't know where I would be without them. I now understand why people name their children after the friends they met in college. With family not immediately here, friends make up your family, and we hold each other together. I am SO BLESSED!!! (and yes, it really is worth the capitals)

6) I spend quite a bit of time at the Newman Center, the Catholic Student Center right off of campus. It is wonderful, and offers so much for all areas of my life. They feed me, pray with and for me, talk with me, and occasionally do super random stuff like host a talent-less talent show called coffee house where we might, per say, dress up like we're from different decades, go dinosaur hunting, help Mario & Luigi unplug Ash's toilet, and cook with Julia Child and her sister Gulia Julia. Newman is amazing.

7) Food: not much happening here. Dorm food is dorm food, however, when I'm working and don't have time to come back to the dorms I sometimes venture in the student food bubble right off campus. Today I had two amazing pieces of pizza from a local spot on Alder, and they were just incredible. Let me tell you, Sy's Matters. Ü

The Tombs of Lazarus

you know this feeling
that goes beyond words
you've stood
in the middle of this pain
tears streaming
chaisng each other
out of your heart and
down Your face

he was your friend.
someone you loved
someone you couldn't picture life without
and even though You know
he will rise
before the story's end
still, You wept

so now I feel
with the ache of loss
hinting, creeping around my heart
that you are here
-quietly-

Your presense that comfort
my heart is longing for
not pushy
or self-seeking
the spiritual equal
of a most trusted friend
wrapping their arm on my shoulder
You are there
the hurt is still there
but so are You

Monday, April 11, 2011

7 Quick Takes: Another Beginning

Weeks 1 and 2 flew by so fast that I decided in the interest of my sanity to combine the two of them to one 'Quick Takes' which highlights the best and brightest spots of the past two weeks.

1) SURPRISE!!!

Tuesday of week one, after a day in which I spent a lot of energy working with my computer and the UO tech desk and the HP people I was walking back to my room tired and super frustrated when. And it was raining. And then, as I turned the corner around the LLC....I saw, standing by the basketball court, in her red coat, holding an umbrella...my mom!!! I was shocked, and ecstatic, and I could barely believe she was there. It was a total surprise and I needed it so bad. Admittedly, I started crying. We got to spend the evening together, and we went out to eat and got to just talk and hang out, something we haven't gotten to do as just the two of us in a long time. It was amazing.


2) DINING ROOM!!!!

(I like capitals, and these things are really exciting to me, don't judge)

Following the day that my momma visited I finally got to work a shift at The Dining Room (read more here) with the lovely Kala Haley, the amazing woman who got me involved there in the first place. We had been looking forward to it for over a month, and were both super psyched to be on bar together, serving up coffee, juice and milk while singing away. aaaa. love!


3) JOANNA!!

(bright spots really should be capitalized anyway)

I have a new Thursday tradition, coffee with the lovely Joanna, a friend of mine. It is particularly wonderful, as we meet at Cafe Roma, another place that I love and just sit and talk about life. Week 1 she explained the elections to me, as her passion is ASUO and then last week we just kinda chilled. She is super legit.


4) SUPER LEGIT SATURDAY!!!!

(you've got to understand, this was so ideal)

The first Saturday of term started out with brunch at Barhart (always a good start to a Saturday) with an upper-classman friend, then the very first Saturday Market which was awesome {squirrel alert: Saturday Market is just so Eugene. It features local artists, farmers, and musicians and people from all walks of life swarm downtown for the amazingness}, walking and talking with a friend, randomly surprising someone else, back to the dorm, then Mass just because I felt like it, then dinner and some homework with a random God-moment included. It was epic.


5) FRIENDLY!!

(she is too far away for any interaction not to be exciting)

After what felt like a lot longer than it actually was I happened to be on the book of faces at the same time as my best friend who is currently in Greece on her study abroad. It wasn't really anything super big, but it was exciting to get to chat with her when I miss her so much. For the world, she is having an amazing time, and thankfully taking lots of pictures.


6) FIRST FRIDAY!!

(this reminded me of the best part of home)

I knew I was going to the city with some of my friends, but I didn't want to miss a First Friday Mass, because I have a streak going of four or five months now. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn my alarm clock on. So, I woke up at a quarter till seven, and decided to take the insane stance of "let's go anyway!". I high-tailed it down to St. Mary's on my bike, arriving during the psalm (not bad for bed->church in under 20 minutes). It was just wonderful, and then, biking back to campus later...it felt like summer. It felt like those incredible summer days that live now in my memory, coming back home after morning Mass on my bike. It was truly exceptional.


7)ADORATION!!

(hello, it's Jesus, capital letters are a given)

Tuesdays 9:30-10:30, Newman. Date with God. 'Nuff said. Peace.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

7 Quick Takes: NOLA Style

Ok Aimee, again with the lateness. But, better late than never. This spring break I went to New Orleans on a Mission Trip with the St. Thomas More Newman Center. It was an amazing experience, and here are a brief 7 Quick Takes from places that meant something to me on the trip.

1) Camp Restore
We stayed here, in East New Orleans (I think), at a facility created by a Lutheran church for the specific purpose to house volunteers that have come to rebuild the city. We slept in what I believe were grain cars. They are slightly larger than boxcars, both length-wide and width-wide. The one that the girls stayed in housed us all in eleven bunkbeds, lining 3 1/2 of the four walls, with a couple of walking feet in between. It was definitely cozy. And the food was ok, especially considering they were feeding 100 plus people every meal. My favorite memories from here though were from our casual group bonding times. There were a couple of excellent games of Mafia, and one night where we had an ultimate showdown in Bump. Camp Restore was our home base throughout the week, where we went "home" every night.

2) St. Peter Claver
This is the Catholic Church in the 7th Ward (again, I think) that we went to for Mass on Sunday. It was cool to see how Mass is still Mass and yet is still different by region. There was much more of what I would call "Southern Baptist"-style preaching during the homily, and their choir was robed and super super legit. Plus, the church was gorgeous and all the people were incredibly friendly. It was an amazing way to start off our trip.

3) The Cathedral
Sunday afternoon we went down to the French Quarter and got let loose for a couple of hours. I ended up wandering around with Therese, one of our permanent community members who came to celebrate her 50th birthday by giving of herself to New Orleans, and Mary, an undergrad also in my department. We walked around the French Market, and then meandered the streets, winding up towards the end in the Cathedral Square. One of my favorite memories was just praying inside the cathedral, which is a tourist site as well as a legitimate church. It was really cool, just spending a little time with Jesus while I could tell there were people walking around in the church, and I could hear the crowd and jazz music from outside, and still it was like there was just the two of us in the midst of all the noise and excitement of life.

4) The House for Novices
Technically this is named after a saint, but I don't remember which one. What I do know is that it was a large, old house that was originally a home for girls, and turned into a day care and is not really rather run down. However, what I remember most about it is what it is going to be, a home for novices for the Sisters of the Holy Family. We worked here for a day and a half, doing various work, but mainly working on the floors, ripping out small-ish areas of linoleum, carpet, tile and almost everywhere the tar that stuck the tile to the floor. It was hard work, slow and tedious, but it was good to be able to give, to make an investment in the future. Plus, there was a lot of working together, talking and bonding.

5) Dillard University
Monday night, after our first day at the House for Novices, we went to the alma mater of one of the Keila Whittington, one of the associate women's basketball coaches at UO and the main coordinator of the New Orleans aspect of our trip. At Dillard, some of the students told us what it was like for them during Hurricane Katrina. In all honesty, I wasn't particularly looking forward to this when we went; I was tired and just not really feeling like sitting through what felt like yet another presentation about what happened during the hurricane. However, this was one of the talks that definitely changed my perspective about the entire event. When the students talked about what happened to them and their campus-their home, I could imagine it as my home. Some of the things they said reminded me of UO, and I could put myself in their shoes, could see it happening to me-even though, as other people on the trip pointed out, the likelihood of a disaster like that in Eugene is almost nil-I just understood the sense of home that they were talking about.

6) The Overgrown Lot with the Gate
Thursday and Friday we spend working in the Lower 9th Ninth Ward, the area that was worst hit by the flooding when the levees broke. Some parts of this neighborhood were 20 feet under water, it was a complete disaster. When you see videos of people being helicoptered out of the flood area, it was in this neighborhood. Even now, it's hard to reconcile the fact that it's been five whole years since Katrina. What used to be a vibrant community is a ghost town, with one or two occupied houses per block, and many many lots that have nothing on them, save maybe foundations and steps. The one lot that really got to me though was the lot that we pulled up to when we first arrived, right next to the Lower 9th Ward Community Center. It was completely overgrown, except for a rusted gate and a foundation and steps. When I looked at it, I could feel that this was not just a house, it was someone's home. Someone came back to no home. Their life had literally floated away. This just struck me to my core, the idea of someone coming back, and holding onto that gate as they stare at what used to be their home, sobbing. It is a feeling that will stick with me from now on, I know.
On a redeeming note, the last thing we did on Friday was to clear this lot, mowing it down and trimming it up. I swept off the top step, even though I know it didn't do much practical good, and by the time someone sees it it will be dusty and dirty again. Still, I think in a spiritual sense it mattered. It was my way of saying "welcome home, here is a place to come home to, here is a place to start again".

7) Frenchmen St.
The last place I have to include on this list is Frenchmen Street. It is located downtown in/near the French Quarter and it was the most legit New Orleans place we went. The bars there are open to 18 and over, and card at the bar for drinks, so only people who are 21 can get alcohol. But, we got to hear some incredible live music, and hanging out, getting food, talking and listening to the bands felt so chill, so adult. It was a blast, and definitely one of my other favorite favorite memories of the week.

Friday, March 4, 2011

7 Quick Takes

Year 1, Term 2, End of Week 9

1) Oh my gosh. It's the end of week nine. This term has gone by so so fast. wow. And this week, one of the reasons things have gone so fast has been...

2) Work- I absolutely love my job. I recently started working at Yogurt Extreme, a frozen yogurt shop not too far off the UO campus. It's a great job. I have a great relationship with my boss and my coworkers, and I like working. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to have a job well done, and I like working the cash register and helping people. It definitely adds a lot to my life. And the nice part is that right next to my work there is...

3) Coffee- If I haven't mentioned it before, I'd like to point out that there is a totally awesome coffee shop right off campus called Cafe Roma. Their coffee is super strong, different from what I'm used to, but my new favorite. Cafe Roma has also become one of my favorite off-campus spots. The atmosphere is busy and cozy. It's a great place to meet friends, and it's also my favorite spot to go to work on things that are close to my heart. I wrote palancas there this year, and also worked on my talk for....

4) Sing. Pray. Love- which was an event that the music/spirituality people at Newman put on this week. We've been working on it for about a month, working hard, to sound good and to make it an opportunity to turn our songs into prayers as well. I felt honored to be a part of it. On top of that, I was asked to speak at the event, which ended up being a reflection on why I sing....

5) "because I love it"- I learned this in the past weeks, after a particularly bad rehearsal where I tried a solo that wasn't in my range, looked like an idiot, and fell apart on my friend afterward because I was so embarrassed. He looked at me, and asked me why I still sing. Immediately I responded "because I love it". I have realized more and more this week how true it is. The other truth that hit me this week is that...

6) They're. Still. Here.- I know I write about friends a lot, but yesterday night something finally hit me. My head and my heart connected and I realized that two of my very best friends are still here. They've seen me crazy happy and stressed and sad and afraid and they're still here. I'm finally understanding that they aren't going to decide at some point that I am too wierd or different to be friends with. It doesn't matter that one of them is going to Greece, I can just tell this is the kind of friendship that goes beyond distance or time, which brings me back to...

7) Time-it is going so quickly, but at the same time I'm remembering that there is so much ahead of me. I've been planning apartments next year, and trips to our various homes, Ashland Spokane and Ontario. I have opportunities for the summer and so much future ahead of me. "It's just wonderful"

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Today, I was walking out of a second-round interview for a summer job and I thought "I did really well, I wish I could be proud of myself".
And then I stopped and thought. So often lately, I am not proud of myself. I don't want to brag, and often, no one wants to listen, because I have stories that matter mainly just to me, and others have their worries too. So I move on. But today, this was my next thought:
"So choose to be proud of yourself. Even if it's for no one else but for you, be proud of you. You did a great job in there, and an awesome job this weekend as rector. Don't doubt, or worry, just celebrate."
So I am. I am proud of the fact that I had a job interview today, and I felt like I was incredible. I had great answers, great feedback, great anecdotes. I'm qualified for the job. For Pete's sake, I made it to the second round, past the application and the group interview. And I did a great job.
This weekend, I co-led a retreat. It was one of the more stressful things I have ever done. I had some idea going into it, but it really turned out to be a weekend of service, of repeating the words of Christ "this is my body, I give it up for you" This is my life, and I'm laying it down for all of you this weekend. It was a great experience, and the retreat ended up going really well. And for that, I am proud. It was mainly God, but I am proud of the role I played, faithfully and well.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

7 Quick Takes

End of Week 5, Term 2, Year 1

1)Coundown
I cannot believe that DDA, my favorite retreat in the whole wide world is so close. For the first time ever I didn't have a countdown, and then I was discussing it in class on Friday and I realized that there is a mere two weeks until it starts. Super exciting!!!

2) Salt-ees and Cookies
My friend Cameron and I got named Salt-ees at the Newman Center. Salt is the Student Activities Leadership Team, and we are freshmen who are always around, so we were asked to help with snacks for the movie nights this week and next. We had planned on making popcorn to go with the pop we bought, but then the microwave decided to throw a temper tantrum. So, we ended up making chocolate chip cookies and hanging out in the kitchen while they baked, just talking with a couple of friends. It was a blast.

3) Sunshine!!
We have had some really interesting weather this week. It feels like it is May, most of the time, even though it's really only the beginning of February. It's been much warmer than it should be, and the sun has been out. I'm not sure what's up, and I absolutely love it, although I'm kind of missing the rain at this point too.

4) The Importance of Friends
This week brought a reminder to me about how much it can mean just to be there for a friend. It doesn't have to be anything special, necessarily, it can be as simple as just coming over and watching "How I Met Your Mother" together, but that sense that someone cares, that you have your tribe around you is powerful, especially when you're hurting.

5) I'm still me
I used to think that the reason I knew everyone and was involved in a million different things was because I'm from a small town and that was just the way it worked. However, as my friends are pointing out, and I'm realizing, that isn't the case. I am just me. I talk to people, I learn names, I become part of a community simply because that is who I am. That hasn't changed since I've come to Eugene, which has surprised and satisfied me.

6) New Tunes
So, my musical friend Maggie is rubbing off on me. Not only do I have a new favorite band, a French-Canadian group called Coeur De Pirate, I've also created an opera chanel on my pandora that I really enjoy studying to.

7) Puzzle Mania
I'm not sure what has taken over Newman, but somehow we have gotten into a puzzle craze. It was Midterm Munchies this week, and someone had put a puzzle out on the table in St. TMo's corner. We obsessed over it for several days until it was finally completed. Then, we started another, which got done even faster. It's interesting how when there is a puzzle started and out, I find it hard to just let it sit there, I've got to try and put it back together again.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Soul Service

I'm not sure what it is, but there is something inside of my soul that longs to do something hard, dirty and insignificant. Let me illustrate and explain. Today, I had my first serving shift downtown at the Dining Room, a free restaurant for those who meet income requirements. Several times previously I have done prep work, once plating deserts and another time rolling silverware in napkins. However, this time I got to be there while the patrons were eating.

This background brings me to my actual point. My job today was scraper. I stood between the serving line and the dish washing station and scraped food off of plates, combined any remaining drinks into one container, and sorted the dishes before taking them to Eddy who ran them through the washer.

It is not particularly glamorous work. I had an apron, but I still got food all over. It is repetitious, and the most major interaction is with the person working as busser, as they switch their full dirty tub with the one you just emptied. Still, the two hours I spent working went by so fast. Partially because I talked and joked with the Veterans for Peace working on the serving line, but mainly because this kind of service fulfills a deep need inside me.

Deep inside me, I crave to give service that is messy, relatively unimportant, and in the background. I feel like I'm truly serving, when no one knows who I am, where I'm just making a difference by doing something that must be done out of love. I find myself singing without paying attention, a sure sign that I am deeply happy. This kind of service satisfies my soul, and while some may call it grunt work I call it an opportunity and am thankful for it. My soul rejoices in half-eaten applesauce and I respond with joy and one of my special giant smiles.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

7 Quick Takes

Year 1, Term 2, Weeks 2 & 3

To my small but loyal following: life has been crazy the past couple of weeks, therefore I did not actually get a post in last week, but, here it goes.

1) Friends
This has got to be the first thing, because it has been the biggest update of the past two weeks. Last weekend, Quintin decided on Saturday night at the last minute that he wanted to go see Red, and wanted to know if I wanted to go too. I did, and I invited Cameron, Heather and Maggie to join us. It was an incredibly sucess. We took the bus to Springfield, hung out in the mall, watched the movie, then took another bus back and hung out at Maggie's apartment playing cards until 2 in the morning. This week was a similar experience, except we watched Due Date, Shannon and Nills came too and we played cards in my dorm until 1. This group has become like my little family at UO, and it is amazing.

2) Music
Neil, one of the music directors at the Newman Center, taught me a new grip for the tambourine, which makes it a lot easier to play. It was LIFE-CHANGING!!!! Last Wednesday I played along with "Let the River Flow" and it was so cool!!!

3) Espana
I have the opportunity to go to Spain this summer for 2 weeks for World Youth Day (the largest international gathering of Catholic teens in the world). I really want to go, and the biggest challenge will be figuring out how to raise the money (roughly $3,000). But, it would mean that I would be in Europe, probably Spain for my 19th birthday, which would be amazing!!!!

4) Spanish
I am absolutely loving my Spanish class. I can see myself improving, and I'm having fun with it. Also, I'm going to a discussion group once or twice a week, and that is fun and informative and it broadens my vocabulary so much with words that I will actually use. It rocks.

5) Work
For the past week or two I have been working as a transcriber for a website, which is dull work, but I get to work on my own time and listen to my music or audiobooks, which makes it go by quickly. However, last week I had an interview at a frozen yogurt shop. I felt like it went well, and I will find out this week if I was right!! eee! It would be a great job, right off campus and a lot of fun, so we'll see!

6) Cat Person
My friend Kala is amazing. She is a grad student in my major, I met her at Newman, when I walked in the door for the Thanksgiving food drive and she asked me "You Wanna Be My Buddy?!?" I guess technically I met her before that, but that was when we started being friends. So, she has been amazing for feeding me, and helping me out when I was having an awful day. In the process, her cats have been converting me to a cat person, especially Coco. I can see myself falling for cats, but don't have the will to stop myself. Well, a person can be both a cat and a dog person, right?

7) look up
I saw a shooting star the other night. I love stars.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

7 Quick Takes

Year 1, Term 2, End of Week 1
1) New, new, new
This was a week that brought a new beginning and many new experiences. I'm back at school, but I have new classes with new professors, a new start. At the same time, I also did some things I haven't done before, which I'll be talking about here.
2) Restaurant
I found my new favorite place to eat off campus. It's called Miso, and it is three blocks East of campus on 13th, right by the parking garage where I sometimes leave my car. It is a Japanese restaurant, and I me my friend Christina there for lunch earlier this week. It is phenomenal. I got a rice bowl with teriyaki chicken on top, and a huge bowl of edamame for under 6 and a half dollars.
3) Way to spend a Friday
This was an interesting Friday. I got up early (read 6 am) went to Mass at St. Mary's, bought a voodoo doughnut for breakfast, went to Newman for Rosary, had Spanish class, took a friend to lunch, baked cookies at the CHC, went to a radical art night, then went to a drag show at the LLC, and finally talked with a friend for several hours. Many new experiences in one day, some comfortable, some putting me way outside of my box.
4) Confidence
I am taking Spanish 111 this term, and in this class my instructor, Profesora Quarles, speaks almost all Spanish. Going into the class I was incredibly nervous, because my last experience with an all-Spanish class was a nightmare. However, I've been doing well in class, and when I went to a Spanish conversation club on Thursday, I was able to hold my own in conversations for an hour with only some breaks into English to explain things or words I didn't know. I find myself gaining confidence in my Spanish-speaking abilities, and even thinking in Spanish sometimes outside of class.
5) Muscles
Twice a week I have a class called Aerobic Funk. We work on choreographed pop-like dances to music. In doing this, I have discovered that I indeed do have abs, and leg and butt muscles-mainly because they all hurt. Ü Well, at least I know that by the end of the class I will be a better dancer, and a stronger, healthier human being.
6) Skype!
Yesterday, I got to Skype with my family for the first time. They finally got wifi, and my mom had brought home her laptop. So, as my little brother was moving into my room, I got to see and talk to the whole family, Mom, Dad, little brothers, the dog, and my brother's best friend who I just consider one of the family. It was great. I had been missing them. I got to see my Daddy, Victoria, brother Kieran and other dog right before I came back, but it had been about two weeks for my Ontario family, and I was homesick.
7) Road Trip Destination
My friend Heather and I have a phrase we call "getting off campus". When she is having a really bad day, we "go off campus". Last time, we went to Voodoo doughnuts at 11, then drove halfway to the beach, turned around because I was tired and the weather was bad, stopped at WalMart and the adoration chapel at St. Mary's. This week however, we made it all the way to the beach outside of Florence, watched the stars come out and got soaking wet, got some hot chocolate and had some locals recommend a fabulous restaurant where we split a pizza and played 10,000 before driving back. It was a great trip.

Monday, January 3, 2011

First Day

Meh. alsdkfj. In all fairness, it was a good day. However, it is 4:25 and I am ready for a nap. To be totally honest, there is a little bit of homesickness and unsureness setting in, which I should be surprised at. I know I'll be ok. It's just right now, I want to be someone special in the crowd, with everything around me feeling new again.
It doesn't help that today also brought book trouble. In an effort to spend the least on books, I ended up ordering several online, thankfully express shipping this time, and I do not currently have a Spanish book. That is, as I call it no bueno.
One other side note, I am absolutely getting out of my box this term. First off, Spanish still has me quite nervous, as it will be conducted almost entirely in Spanish. My last Spanish experience left me feeling incompetent and then I have been intimidated by the language as well as a bit lazy and not making myself speak the language. It should be a learning, growing experience. The other class that will put me outside of my comfort zone will be my Aerobic Funk dance class. I am completely out of shape, that is to say, my shape is round. I am nervous, but as is the case with my Spanish class, my Aerobic Funk teacher looks to be supportive and encouraging of all levels.
So, here it goes. Term 2, Day 1. It's over for tonight, and we'll see what tomorrow will bring.