GRADES!!!

I just looked up my grades for last semester and I did better than I thought. I got all Bs with As in Religion and English 291(early British Literature). From all the trouble and stress I had this semester, I really thought I would end up with at least one C, so YAY. Bs are above average.

But really, grades need to be done away with all together. They have become so inflated and mean different things to different teachers. I mean I have gotten As in classes that I got Bs in doing the same amount of work in a different class. My B in Shakespeare means so much more to me than the A in Eng 291. There is no good way to judge how much people have worked or learned to earn a grade.

Chronicles of Narnia: the Movie

Last Saturday, I went with my friend, Jessi, to see the new Chronicles movie. It was super good!!! I love those movies and the books that I've read. I started to read them a while ago, but got distracted by school and never finished the series. I'm going to get back into them soon though.

This last movie has a TON of religious symbolism and while I liked it, I don't think that the general population will appreciate it (hence it's horrible reviews). I was surprised to find out that Disney didn't make this movie because it was of the same caliber of the previous films. I wonder why they chose to not go on with the series. At least my boyfriend, Ben, was in it...

Frankly My Dear...

I decided to watch "Gone with the Wind" today. We got back from a yummy Linner (come over at 3:30? really? what is that?) at our neighbor's apt (white bean soup, cornbread, and salad) and I was looking for something to do/watch and as I was flipping through my DVDs, I saw this one and didn't even think about it, it just fit perfectly. I love this movie and every time I love Rhett even more. Scarlett is so awful, but I guess you have to think about how young she is and how that impacts her responses. It's been a while since I read the book, but isn't she 16 when the war starts, maybe 18? Which makes her 20-22 when it's over and at that point she has been married, lost a husband, experienced a war, had a baby, lost her mother, father gone crazy, gone from pampered to worker and had to deal with working in the hospital. I'm turning 20 on Tuesday and I haven't experienced that much. Still, I always wonder why Rhett loves her so much. He seems like the kind of guy who would be attracted to her beauty, but also I can't imagine him putting up with all her crap for long no matter how beautiful she is.

So I've been on a few dates recently that I need to update you all on. A guy from my ward took me to the Carl Bloch exhibit at the Museum of Art on campus and then we got Frozen Yogurt afterwards. It was fun, he is a really nice guy and we had fun chatting. Then he got tickets to go to the Christmas Devotional at the Conference Center. So we went with his roommate and another girl from our ward. On the way home we stopped at his house (he is from Sandy) and had a little dessert. Again, it was fun and he is really nice and we had fun chatting, but I don't really "like" him. So I'm letting that fizzle.

Second date was with a guy who asked me out at Winco(best supermarket ever!). I was getting cream cheese and he comes up to me and starts chatting and asks if I want to go get ice cream that night. I was busy but he wasn't a creeper so I gave him my phone number and told him to call me after I turned in my papers. So on Thursday we went to the Missionary Training Center and played the part of investigators to the Church for the sister missionaries to practice with. It was fun, but also a little weird because we ended up playing the part of a couple. He is also really nice, and I enjoyed talking with him. But he invited me out on a second date that night, which is OK, but two dates in three days seemed a little much too me and I wanted to hang with some of my other friends anyway so I told him next week or after break. He will get a second date for sure, but I don't know about a third. I don't think that there is a reason for a third date unless you think you might really mean it.

Neither of these guys are Rhetts. They are super nice and pleasant to be around, but they aren't rich blockade runners who love so deeply. I am realistic, I understand that I can't just sit around waiting for my Rhett or Darcy or Edward because they aren't exactly real (and I don't know that they are what someone would want in real life anyway). I just don't really like dating. I hate sitting there answering the same questions over and over again "Where are you from?" "Family?" "Major?" "hobbies?" "Where do you want to travel?", it's all so inane!

How do you feel about dating? Any fun stories?

PS I am coming home on FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

Looking REALLY Far Ahead

So as I was walking through the Wilk (the student center) today my eye was caught by a Princess Cruise booth...ohhh cruise! Shiny! So I looked over because I had a bit of time. Turns out it was for summer jobs working at the lodges in Alaska for the cruise line. Can you imagine working in the middle of a beautiful forest all summer long? Hikes in spare time, discounts for family, all the goodies. (check it out here)



Now, I'm not saying that I have an entire desire to do this, but just that it got me thinking about the summer. My family has mentioned a trip to Israel to visit some friends. The problem came when I began to think about school. See, I have this apartment until August and so originally I was planning on staying on for spring and summer terms. But then I did something stupid and didn't apply for the teaching program in September which severely limits the classes I can take. I mean that, besides religion credits, I have two more classes to take after winter semester before everything is blocked/not offered. That will get me through one term. So what to do with summer? Do I stay in Provo and find a full time job? Do I head home(and deal with moving, yet again)? Do I go to Alaska for the summer (do my friends want to come? It would be like the college years of Saved by the Bell hahahaha!). What about another study abroad? Two semesters of culinary school?

I know it's early, but I like to plan. What are you doing this summer?

Serving Church Officials...Literally

So my job isn't really cool, except when they have events where we host the First Presidency and the quorums of the twelve and seventy and their spouses. For those of you who don't know, those are basically all the highest officials in the LDS church.

A few weeks ago, I was scheduled which was odd because we usually aren't scheduled more than a week in advance. We got an email saying that they needed to know now if we could work because our names were going to have to be cleared for security. Then last night we had an extra training meeting where they informed us who we would be serving and gave us a mini lecture on not being star-struck.

I wasn't serving, I was working in the back, but honestly, I preferred it. I hate carrying trays back and forth. But they did let us out to "help clear" so we got to see them all up close.

I am not someone who tends to get all excited over meeting people and this time was no different. These are just men, though they are extremely important people to me, and I think that is really important to recognize. It's part of what makes them so special is that they aren't special. Every one of these men have influenced so many lives for the better and they did it with humility.

I love that I go to a school where my religion is so prominent. I love that gospel principles get brought up in my Shakespeare class. Religion shouldn't be reserved for Sundays or for religious discussions, religion is for everyday life.

I Accept That Challenge

My dear friend has issued a sort of challenge to express our gratitude more during this holiday season and I had a thought today that I want to share.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR WARM CLOTHES!!!I walk to and from school and its about 15-20 minutes each way and it is getting cold here. In fact, it snowed a bit today and it is supposed to snow some more over the next few days. I love my snow jacket. It is amazing and I am so grateful that I have it.

On Turning in a Paper

I am just about to do the last revision/read through of my Shakespeare midterm and I can't wait to get it out of my hands. I love that feeling of complete done-ness that goes along with turning in a particularly grueling assignment. The minute it hits the teacher's hands, there is nothing you can do but wait. No more stressing about if the wording is right or if the formatting is correct. It is completely out of your hands. I got so excited to turn in my 4,300 word essay on George Herbert that I walked into class and pulled it out of my backpack like it was a moldy banana that had been getting too ripe in there and threw it down on the teacher's desk (he wasn't there yet, but it was so satisfying). Everyone in the class at the time agreed with the sentiment expressed.

This particular midterm was painful on several levels. She handed it out about two weeks ago with the instructions to not open it until we are done studying. Once we open it, we can no longer consult other peers or the internet. We have our texts (the plays and the Bedford Companion to Shakespeare) our personal notes, and the King James version of the Bible. So we reviewed and had study sessions and then eventually we had to open it. There were 7 prompts and we had to pick 4 to write on. Just to give an example, here is one of the questions

"What is the epistemological crisis and why is it important to take into account when studying works such as Shakespeare's? In this regard, how does familiarity with Renaissance philosophy affect our understanding of Shakespeare's sonnets? [choose two sonnets to focus on] The sonnets stress beauty in relation to insight - how would you characterize the relationship between Truth and Beauty set forth in the sonnets you have chosen?" (that was one of the easier ones)

Each of my responses are about a page and a half single spaced. We shall see how it all turns out, but at least I can look forward to that sweet sense of relief as she removes this burden from my shoulders. I have had no life the past two weeks thanks to this and other midterms/tests.

Next Semester

Last night, I woke myself up at midnight to register for classes. Why they make us do it at midnight and punish the good students who actually get to bed on time, I have no idea, but it is what it is. I have a rather limited schedule due to the fact that I'm stupid and didn't pay attention and didn't apply to the teaching program this past September. Which means that I can't apply till January, which means that I can't start the program till next fall! I have one more general ed requirement. I went to my advisor and she gave me a list of classes to take, two of which are filled. I am not the kind of person who can deal mentally with showing up on the first day and hoping that someone drops, I need a plan!

So, I will be taking creative writing and american lit history for my major. History 202 - 1500 to present day for my last general ed. Old Testament, because I have to take a religion class (and I like it anyway). That is 11 credits and I need 12 to be a full time student. There are no other english classes available. NOT OK BYU!!! So I thought about it, I considered taking German again, but then I thought...dance. Tomorrow I will be taking a placement class and hopefully I will be able to enroll in a fun dance class or two. I have also enrolled in another religion class, Mission prep, because even though I won't be going on a mission until I turn 21, it can't hurt to take that class now.

The Last Switch

I have officially gotten out all my winter clothes except my big ski jacket (I refuse to get that out until I actually see snow - I'm hopeful that it might not come this year). I love the snow and gloomy weather, but not since I have become such a cold person and not since I walk 15 minutes to school in the increasingly dark mornings. I also love winter clothes :)

Twilight nostalgia

So I was finally able to be social tonight and Kaylee came over and we watched a lot of "The Office" and I made cookies for my class tomorrow. It was lots of fun. About halfway through, Kaylee showed me this trailer for Harry Potter which led us to this. It made me think of all our good Twilight Tuesdays and BSE Forks and TwiCon. Oh, good times good times.

Loving New Foods

As many of you know, I have changed a lot of my eating habits over the last few months, the biggest of which is that I mostly eat fruits and veggies. The thing is that after a while, all your old methods of cooking them up get really old and your favorites get just as old too, so you have to try new things. I have found so many new loves!!!

My newest love is yams. I'm not talking some yam with my marshmallows, I mean straight up yams. Last night I peeled and cut up a yam and threw it in a pan with some water and let it just simmer till the water was gone and they were tender. Then I put just a pinch of salt and cloves and nutmeg on them and it was so delicious. I can't wait for leftovers tonight!

I have also somehow gotten over my aversion to green beans. For the longest time I would keep trying green beans, hoping to one day find that I actually liked them. I wanted to so much, but it never happened. Then one day, I thought "wow, this would go great with some green beans". I was SHOCKED!!! Was that really my thought?

My mother and I tried out Himalayan food while she was here and we discovered that we love it. I tried real sushi last time I was home and that is fabulous too. Oh and I tried some Polish cuisine when I visited the Jagards, loved it!

Any other suggestions? Keep in mind that I do live in Provo where 95% of all restaurants are either Italian or chains (Applebees, Chili's, Sizzler, cpk, pf changs, etc). But I'm willing to cook if you have a recipe. What do you like to eat?

Halloween Challenge

Alrighty all, I have a challenge for you, take it or leave it.

A few times in the last few weeks some random strangers have said something to me in passing that just made my day wonderful. I didn't realize how much I needed those uplifting comments until now and I want to pay it forward. For family home evening tonight, I had everyone make tootsie roll pop ghosts and pumpkins and told them to go out and say/do something nice for a stranger on campus and give them a ghost to brighten their day.



Instructions:
1. You will need: tootsie roll pops (or any lollipop that doesn't have the extra froof on top like blow pops), tissues (also colored napkins or tissue paper works), ribbon/string, markers.
2. Cover the pop in the tissue and tie with a ribbon around the base.
3. DECORATE!!! Get creative...see I even made little pumpkin ones and a creepy harry potter one.

But really anything will do or you can just skip the ghost part. Just keep in mind that there are people around you and it's the simple things that count. It's so easy to get wrapped up in our own little worlds, but easier still to think of someone else.

Wow, I promise my next post won't be all "save the world with small actions".

Nanoose would not approve

First of all, Nanoose(one O or two?) was what we called my grandmother on my mom's side. She saved EVERYTHING!!! It was quite annoying. But I was always amazed that she could find some way to make it all useful and she never left anything on her plate other than cleaned rib bones. She would be absolutely appalled at this.

I work at Campus Catering and we do a lot of events, but the biggest is football games. We cater a few different events that night and one is the Legacy Tent, where I work. We get a few hundred people in every game day and feed them an awesome buffet, and put coolers filled with goodies at their seats in the stadium. We have hot dogs/brats and popcorn and even more dessert at halftime. And we give them even more dessert during the second half and after the game. It's a fun event and there is a lot of food.

I am amazed at the waste that comes out of this event. Even though we get to eat the leftovers, even we can't finish it all and they still throw away so much. Because we aren't allowed to take the leftovers home, what we don't eat gets tossed. The other day I was cleaning up from an event and we had to get rid of enough breakfast quiche to feed at least over a hundred people, probably way more - just tossed in the trash. And every time I have to do something like that, I think of the people who are always standing at Walmart asking for some help in that department and I think of Nanoose.

We use real plates except at the dessert station, so we aren't throwing away plastic plates. Most of the waste doesn't come from us though, it comes from people who load up their plates and don't finish. I have had to dispose of (we do recycle thank goodness! now I just need to get my apartment complex on board) water bottles or cans of soda that have a few sips taken out of them, cookies with only one bite gone, hunks of meat and just plane trash. It disgusts me.

Come on, America, get it together. Where does all this trash go? I was watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" the other day and they just launch all the excess food into a big pile that ends up almost killing everyone in the end. WE ARE GOING TO SUFFOCATE IN OUR OWN REFUSE!!! Now I'm not saying that we need to give up on modern conveniences like disposable diapers, but just that we need to be a little more aware. There is a reason movies like "Wall-e" are coming out.

So next time you are at a buffet, make sure to get what you want and no more, seconds are always available. And when you reach for that plastic sandwich baggie, consider Tupperware instead. If you have a bunch of food leftover, maybe you should go find one of those people that needs it before letting it rot in your fridge for a week. But most of all...remember your grandmother!

Most Satisfying

The most satisfying thing in the world is printing out that huge paper that has taken over your life for the last two weeks. I have written just about 4,350 words on George Herbert and I will be so glad to be rid of him. 19 pages including annotated bibliography and abstract making for a final word count of...6,043! I have never written that much. If I had all the time in the world, there are a few things I would change and smooth out, but there is a certain point when you just have to say "this is good enough" and hopefully that point is before you go completely insane.

The good news is that I only have one other long paper to write this semester and its only 10 pages and it's Shakespeare who is much more interesting.

This semester is really crazy and I will never overwork myself like this again. I have no life and spend so much time reading that I am losing connection with humanity.

Registration for winter semester is coming up and I am going to be much more careful in my choices. Actually, I went to my guidance counselor and she planned out my life for me so it's all good. She upbraided me for taking four lit classes. *sheepish smile*

ps I love that the date post got so many comments hahahaha I can tell what you all are interested in.

My Random Date

So on Friday, I had a bit of time between work and school because we had a reading day for my Shakespeare class. I decided to do my reading outside because it was a lovely day. As I was sitting there this guy comes up to me and says pretty much "Hi, so I never do this, but I was just sitting over there and felt like I should. I just wanted to say that you are really pretty and ask if you wanted to go out sometime." I laughed a bit at the situation - so typical BYU - and then took a brief account of my situation. I had no good reason to say no. He didn't look like a creeper and hadn't this been what I needed? Someone to make me not sit alone all weekend doing homework like has been happening. So I said "You know, I normally would say no on principle, but why not?" I gave him my phone number and we chatted for a few minutes, but then he left. He texted me a few minutes later to make sure he had the right number and then that started a bit of a texting conversation (which I am so against, but sometimes it just happens) and then I went to work.

We ended up going out on Saturday night. He doesn't have a car, so I had to drive. But He opened my door for me every time (yay for helpful boys!). Anyway, I picked him up and we went to the Malt Shoppe and got shakes and fries. This was the first time I had eaten ice cream in many weeks and even longer on the fries, but I only ate like 4 and the shake was huge, neither of us finished them. Seriously though, best shake ever. I got a pumpkin oreo shake and it was so amazing. Then we went to Comedy Sportz and that was that.

He is a really nice guy. Just got back from his mission to...drumroll please...Boise, Idaho. Which, in my humble opinion, actually earned him a lot of points. I think the highly mormon populated missions are the hardest. He has three older sisters (all married) and one younger sister and one younger brother. He grew up in San Antonio, but his family lives in Ohio now. I got a high five when I admitted that the only time I've been to Texas was for TwiCon. It was really just a fun time. I hope we get to go out again.

BEST APPLES EVER!!!

So I finally got around to eating the apples I bought at the farmers market last Thursday (I had other produce to be eaten first and sometimes I get some from work, so it was slow going). I LOVE THESE APPLES!!! They are called Jonathan apples and they are amazing.

Currently one of my roommates is being serenaded by a cute boy.

I finished the conference paper, and now I just have to make it 15 pages instead of 5.5 by next Thursday...think I can do it? Oh yes! Let's be positive, alrighty :)

Begin and end each day with cereal.

I have been working a whole bunch (and by that I mean like 10 hours a week, maybe) so my paycheck should be nice next Friday. One of my bosses commented on my superior work ethic on Saturday and it made me smile. But really, it's not hard when everyone else thinks they can sit around and eat leftovers and take these long breaks when we have an entire tent to clean up.

I finally realized that if I close the vent in my bedroom during the day, I won't freeze! I don't mind freezing somewhat at night though - it's cozy.

The secret to success is the right chair.

Lemon Cucumbers and Religious Poets of the 17th Century

I am loving all my lit classes, but really, taking four was a bad idea. I spend all my time reading! One of my professors wanted to meet with everyone for a few minutes and get to know us a bit and I had my meeting today. When he found that out, he asked if I had any life outside school...I laughed and said no. But that meeting made me want to be more productive and I sent and figured out what I need to know for the next year of school.

First things first, I should have applied for the English Teaching program this semester, but I didn't. So when I went to my advisor, she had a bit of a challenge figuring out classes to take until I can start the program (when I get accepted in February) next fall. She left me with a much lighter load than I'm used to, so I think I'll finally take some of those crazy fun classes that BYU has to offer, like bowling or maybe a dance class.

Back to my crazy four lit classes. The fun thing is really to make connections between all four. I have to write a 15 page paper and do a 12-15 minute conference presentation on said paper for my advanced writing class. I have to do it on George Herbert who is a rather boring religious poet. I, however, was inspired by the Romantic idea of the poet-prophet that we talked about in my eng 292 class and I am kind of enjoying writing this paper...or I would be if I weren't stressed about length.

The best part of my day though, was going the the temple and the farmers market. On Thursday for the next few weeks, they are having a farmers market in the stadium parking lot. It was so much fun! I bought some apples and a little pumpkin for cooking (why have canned when I just have to throw it in the oven for an hour and thats it?). One lady sold me on a lemon cucumber. They are these little round, yellow things with a few prickelys on them. I tasted it and was amazed! It was really good!! I also bought some apples cuz I love them.

Now to just get a social life...

Cinnamon Love

My new favorite dessert is fruit with cinnamon sprinkled all over it. If you feel so inclined, you can add sugar, but I like the way it feels in my mouth to have the juicy fruit and spit-sucking cinnamon, it's a beautiful thing. I suggest pears, nectarines, and apples, but really, I think any fruit would work.

Responses Requested

I need something to occupy my time. Usually, it's homework, but there is the rare occasion that I actually get ahead and then, I want something to do to break the monotony. I used to just go over to my friend's house, but that is no longer an option and now I find myself with lots of free time. Tonight, I took myself out to dinner at the Pita Pit and sat outside and read (I'll admit, some of it was more getting ahead on homework and some of it was fun). But I can't do that all the time, I hate spending money like that. So next time this happens, what do I do???

Yoga

So I have been feeling a little off mentally and physically. Mentally because there is only so much classical literature you can take at one time and because of some other things that are happening that make life a little harder. Physically because that's what sitting in awful chairs all day long and carrying heavy trays around for hours on end will do to you. I decided to find a yoga class.

My roommate, Emily, and I went to this place for a beginners class and it was amazing. I feel so great right now! The instructor had the most soothing voice which was a nice change from some of my professors. My muscles are all stretched out and my back isn't hurting for once. It was in the back of this cute little store and perhaps when I have more money saved up, I will shop there. They are having a special for students, its $30 for unlimited classes per month for 6 months. Pretty cheap.

This weekend is stake conference. For those of you unfamiliar with that, it's a big meeting of Mormons in the area. Tomorrow some really amazing people are coming to speak to us. Elders Holland and Snow and Sister Beck. I have been in need of some good spiritual guidance and I hope that this provides that like yoga fixed everything else.

My New Life

All I do is read. Go to class, read, sleep, rinse and repeat. It would be one thing if it were brainless reading, but it's homework and the only break I get from the classics is my Bio text. I am loving reading all these amazing works of literature -Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Beowulf, George Herbert - but it might be nice to get a break. By back and bum hurt from all the sitting I have been doing.

However, one good thing has come out of it. I like to change up my scenery when I have to read a lot and pay attention. It's a great way to stay focused as being in one room for hours on end drives me completely nutty. On Saturday, I went to Kiwanas park and laid in the sun and read Romantic poetry. I go out to the courtyard in my apartment complex and read on the picnic tables. I read at various places on campus. I love it.

Today, someone int interrupted my reading...grrrr. I was just sitting there and he walks by and finishes his phone conversation then feels the need to befriend me and tell me all about his life and how he just got back from his sister's in FL and the flight was so turbulent he thought he was going to die and how he is so tired so he probably won't go to class tonight. All I could think was "YOU MAY BE A TERRIBLE STUDENT, MISSING ALL KINDS OF CLASS, BUT I AM NOT SO STOP INTERRUPTING MY HOMEWORK!!!!" He just kept talking and talking and asking me questions. I had just got back from a run too, so it's not like I looked particularly pretty.

Classes With Class

I LOVE my classes! I mean, we haven't done much as we have only met once in each class, but I can tell that this is going to be an awesome semester.

On M/W/F:
-Bio 100: So this is for my general ed requirement (why BYU makes us take three science classes, I don't know) and I am probably looking forward to this one the least. The teacher is really nice though and I think that it will be relatively easy. She understands that this is a gen ed class and most of the students don't know/care about biology.
-Brit Lit History 2: So let's just look at the reading list for a moment. Persuastion, Hard Times, Mrs. Dalloway and selected other readings from our Norton. The class covers Brit lit from 1789-now. The professor is amazing.
-Shakespeare: My professor is exactly what I imagined her to be. She is strict (one of those "most people come out of my class with a C" teachers) but I have a feeling that I am going to come out of that class so well prepared for the world. We are reading Much Ado, Hamlet, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest. I've read all but the last two, but I don't mind at all doing those first three. Much Ado is my favorite.

T/Th:
-New Testament: I have yet to have a religion class at BYU that didn't blow my mind and this one will be no exception. Just his intro lecture was amazing.
-Writing Literary Criticism: This one is going to be a pain because it is so much writing, but again, I am going to learn so much. The professor came in wearing a bright yellow suit jacket and a sunflower tie. He is hilarious.
-Brit Lit History 1: This one is everything before 1789. Again, awesome professor. He is really into getting the students to go off on self-learning experiences and explore outside the box.

In conclusion, amazing teachers, amazing subjects, amazing semester.

New Dorm

I was informed that my mom wanted pictures of my dorm, and I thought I'd share with everyone :)

My bedroom. It's small, but I think I actually have the same amount of room to myself as I did last year. Also, it's all MINE! Love that!



The bathroom. The equivalent to two full bathrooms for four girls...heaven.



Kitchen/living room. Notice the lovely shelves that Ashley and I bought for extra storage. You also may see a box on the floor containing a Kitchen-aid mixer. SCORE!!! Flat screen TV with cable included, roommates provided a DVD player and wii. We are covered.


Allison works at a cupcake/sweet shop and sometimes she leaves us treats.


Speaking of my roommates, so far so good. Allison and Emily are so much fun. I haven't gotten to talk to Whitney much yet, but she is really sweet. Looks like I got lucky again :)

A Year in Review

august 23, 82 posts

Hello again everyone. It has been over a year since my first post on August 23, 2009. I have written 82 posts and I am so amazed when I look over some of the things I have done.

I started blogging as a way to keep the people I left back home updated on my goings on without having to tell everyone individually and as a way to document my life without having to keep a journal. I think it was a success.

Highlights:
-My amazing time at BYU and all the sad times too. I had a lot of trouble last year, but somehow I have gotten over it and now I am super excited to be back. I was saying to Ashley as we drove into town how much of a change it is to be driving into Provo and not be crying after leaving my home. Then there are the fun things I learned in my classes and all the blogs spent as a procrastination means to doing homework.
-My first "real" date. That first date has lead me to meet some amazing people because he has all kinds of family and friends here. Aside from that I learned a lot about just being in a relationship. We took a break over the summer because long distance was not appealing in any way. But then we talked all summer long and came out of it great friends and not just two people who are dating.
-Germany. The most amazing experience I have ever had. Talk about growth and learning, I can't imagine a better way to have spent my summer (no offense to those I left at home). I got to go to the Temple in another country! I got to go to Poland and spend an amazing time with my mother on the study tour.
-I was a big girl and found my apartment all on my own. I wasn't sure I made the right choice to be quite honest, but now that I'm here, I love it!
-I tried something new and did folk dance!

This past year has been amazing and I am so looking forward to more adventures and blogging all about them

Getting Ancy

I am so very much ready to go back to school. I am ready to be back on my own. This is the longest amount of time I have spent at home since last June and it is really starting to kill my soul. No offense to anyone here, I love you all, you are fabulous people, but it is such a change and I am not handling it very well. I'm not exactly the kind of person who needs to be around people all the time.

While I am on the subject, I apologize to those around me for my attitude of recent. I can tell that I have been moody and quiet and no fun. The problem is that the only way I can really see to fix it is by going away again. Hopefully then I will be able to find my center and get back to my happy old self.

Experimentation

So I have had quite a bit of time on my hands lately. This whole no-school/job thing is really getting to me. But not to worry, whilst in Germany, I made a list of things I wanted to do. On this list was figuring out the best whole-wheat bread making techniques and the best dried apple making ways, working on ground school for pilot training, and various and sundry other things (but these three are the focus for today).

Bread making: I really learned how to make bread from scratch from a lady in our church, Sis. Arnell. She had over the teenage girls and taught us how to make bread. Her recipe is really simple: yeast, water, flour, pinch of salt. Then I took to baguette making when I was away at school (which was interesting with no standing mixer or bread machine to help with the kneading). This first batch of whole-wheat bread was not bad at all, but it needs some improvements. For example, some honey added in would had a little bit of sweetness and maybe some sliced nuts for some crunchy. I love fresh bread and plan to only make my own once I get settled back in Provo.

Dried Apples: Well this is happening AS I TYPE! I looked through a bunch of recipes and do you know what I found out? Nobody does this the same way. Some people soke the slices in a lemon juice/water mix, some people slice them 1/4 of an inch and some 1/8. Some people say in the oven at 150 for 10 hours and some say 200 for 2 hours. There was even one chick who makes them in her car on a hot day. You get the picture, lots of different opinions. I took a few and went for it. I will report back later on this endeavor.

Ground School: Well, this is more just because I love having random knowledge and learning about flying seems interesting and my dad can teach me and has all the books so...FREE!!

BALA

So maybe not blog EVERY day August, maybe Blog A Lot August.

Last night, Ashley and I went to O'Brien's Pub in Santa Monica to see my cousin's band perform. They were amazing and boy is he talented on that there guitar. It was quite an experience and luckily we got there before the bouncer showed up cuz then I wouldn't have been able to go (we weren't exactly sure if one had to be 21 to go in, so we just took the chance and went for it).

I went jean shopping today! Finally. I found out that the jeans that I had been wearing were two sizes too big. I also bought my first pair of skinny jeans (I know, it's so time). In my search for skinny jeans, I came across the Jegging. Basically they are exactly the same only the Jegging feels like you are wearing exercise pants, but they look the same.

I also got a haircut, just a trim, but I hate first day/week bangs, they have to grow out and mold to your face before they are comfortable.

PS In case you needed to know, American Eagle is having a sale, buy a pair of jeans, get the second half off. I think Holister is also having a sale, though I didn't buy my pants there, I just walked past the signs.

An Unexpected Letter

We walk in today and start doing the usual, post-trip things. As my mom is going through the mail, she hands me something and says "From Elder O'Connor!?"

Backstory: back in the day, when I was in Kindergarten, my mom and another mom in our ward set up a carpool/playdate situation with another little boy, Ryan. So after school we were usually playing together and we were slightly insane and we were pretty much best friends. But then that summer, they moved to like Santa Clarita or something like that. So we stopped talking. If we had been just a few years older, we might have stayed in touch through the internet, but we were too young.

So I pick it up and think "holy cow! Ryan!!!" I knew he was on his mission and had actually been meaning to write him but I didn't want to deal with buying more postage in Germany, so I didn't and then I kept forgetting when I got home. It was such a pleasant surprise, I didn't expect him to be the first to write, but I'm glad that he did.

BEDA

Like my dear friend Emily, I too will be joining in Blog Every Day August because well why not. It is a good way to get back into the blogging thing. Unfortunatly, I was out of town yesterday and couldn't start on time, so I will simply have to blog TWICE today! Thats right, folks; two for the price of one.

This weekend we went to visit our second family in AZ and it was a lovely visit. It was cloudy most of the time and so it never reached 100 while we were there and that was wonderful. In fact, I spent most of my time freezing cold because they don't have the AC regulation thing down yet. Dear management, just because its 104 outside does not mean you need to overcompensate and make it 64 inside. Love, Laura.

There were two little ones. Carter is the Daniel's baby and he is adorable! I hadn't seen him ever (unless you count when he was in the womb, but I don't count that). He is such a man, not a baby. And then Kaylee is the Clark's 4 year old girl. She is a character and attaches to people so easily. If you ever need some good little kid love, she is your girl.

We got to visit a lot and complain about life's trials and just be together again. I love those people!

My Lovely Hausfrau

So a little bit about the woman who we lived with. I think that at first she liked Kelsey more, but that didn't last for long. Honorata is just very particular about her things and I am naturally careful about things like that when I first meet someone. The first time I stay at someone's house, I clean up a lot after myself and usually do more work that in necessary, and as I get to know the person, I stop being so intense. I couldn't ever do that here. I had to be clean to the very end and for that, Honorata liked me better by the end.

She just cooked me dinner and we ate outside (her daughter was there as well and she speaks english thank goodness. So any words I didn't know she helped me figure out). I have been wanting to eat some of her cooking for some time now because it always smells amazing. She is one of those cooks who can just throw things in a pot for a few hours and come out with a lovely soup or just whip up an intricate salad or whatnot. We had some amazing chicken and potatoes and these two food-processor salads (shredded, not pulverized). One was a green salad with i think cabbage and carrots and cucumber and some kind of cheese/mayo-thing. It was basically homemade coleslaw. Then the other was so amazing! It was carrots and apples and cinnamon and a bit of sugar and almonds. Soooo good!!!!

We sat outside for a few hours and chatted and it was so amazing. I got to use my German in a real world situation, even if her daughter did have to translate and help me along. I wish that I had gotten to really be friends with Honorata, but I think Kelsey made that difficult. She tended to shut herself up in her room and Honorata couldn't very well invite me to dinner and not Kelsey, but I don't think she liked Kelsey much by the end.

Anywho, amazing person!

Wandering

As a way to take up some time on Sundays and just because I wanted to, I went for long walks. It was rather fun and I found some really cool things that were just around the corner from my house, things that I wouldn’t have found if I had just gone to the U-Bahn and the grocery store and back like my roommate did. I enjoyed the lovely architecture.
I found a beautiful park that was just a 20 minute walk away and on the way there is a huge Mosque that is really pretty. I found a pilot shop across the street from the old airport where the air lifts landed.
I wandered right into two really cool second-hand shops and I have seen some really cool cafes and restaurants that I would have eaten at if I wanted to spend the money and eat the extra fat. I even found a faster route to one of the main hubs of Berlin.

I found the library!


The main point is that I feel like I really lived here now, rather than just staying here (if that makes any sense). On Friday I plan to go wandering in some new place.

Today was my last day of classes at the Goethe Institut. We had a few different teachers and they were all good, but our last one really was amazing. It was her first time teaching at the Goethe institute, she was probably in her late 20s. She reminded me a bit of Ashley, but not too much. She was really invested in helping us to learn and was willing to just sit there and suffer through the difficult stuff with us and our poor grammar and she played with us too. We had a picnic last weekend and everyone brought some amazing food. We sat there and chatted and ended up going to someones house and chatting some more. It was really fun.

We took a final test and I did really well (even though we aren’t technically graded). She told me that I really should go ahead and learn more German. She said that there are two groups of people; those who will never make it past a certain level and those who have the ability to learn more and I was in the latter group.

visits to/from friends

So at the beginning of the week, I tried one last time at getting people to go to Poland with me. All my previous attempts had failed, but I had a new tactic and this time it would not fail. I had free housing and a persuasive attitude. I decided to just inform some people that they were coming. They agreed.

But before we get into the fabulous weekend, let’s talk about the week. More museums. Jen and I visited these two cemeteries/monuments for the Holocaust. They were so beautiful and peaceful. On Tuesday night, Prof Kelling took us out to a real German dinner. So much meat! But sooo good. I wish I had taken a picture of my dinner, but I didn’t think until the end and then it was too late.


So I have to tell you about these two girls in my institute class. They are both Germans, but speak perfect English. They are just about the cutest girls ever! They have such strong testimonies and I love chatting with them. I hope that we will keep in touch when we are no longer in the same country/continent.

Thursday I had lunch with Florian (a foreign exchange student of my cousins). We went to Vapianos, which is this amazing Italian restaurant. Then we went up to the observation area of the tallest building. It was only 24 stories, but that is as tall as they are allowed to be built. We got amazing ice cream and chatted. Then we went to the Brandenburger Tor and the American Embassy. He has a Smart car BTW, and I got to drive in it. Oh yeah. It was really nice to see him again. I think we are going to try to get together more before I leave.


Friday went a little something like this. I went to class, Emily and I went to the bookstore and I bought the first in the Series of Unfortunate Events in German to read on the Train. I also came across The Hunger Games in German!!!! Then we went to a lecture of this guy who works for the Church. It was really interesting. He talked about the way the church is viewed in Germany and it was interesting. Then Richard, Emily, and I bolted for Poland!!

We had a lovely train ride and chatted most of the time. We met up with Jon and got some Polish Money, Zlots (I have no idea how to spell it) and bus tickets and went to their apartment.

Saturday was amazing! We got up and took our time getting ready, eating breakfast, playing with the Jagards adorable baby, Ania. Then we went to Old Town and pretty much just wandered around. It was so cool! We saw the church were the heart of Chopin is buried and a sign that says “evil” (of course we had to take pictures). It was just so much fun to see it all. I love old towns. We came across a festival that was going on and there were some folk dancers and people selling traditional Polish art and scarves and whatnot. They love color and it was so much fun too look at everything. Then we went to a park and wandered some more and avoided the mosquitoes. There was this old mansion with a lake and peacocks. Then we went home and played Ticket to Ride and Jon made some amazing pancakes! We watched the World Cup game, England vs. USA (Yeah, I had to look up what it was in English. I have been seeing Weltmeisterschaft for so long).



On Sunday Richard left early to get home to skype with his wife, but Emily and I got to go to a little bit of Polish church. We stopped by a cemetery on the way and Liz showed us how the Poles really respect and take care of their dead. There were flowers everywhere and places to buy them and candles. I thought it was really sweet. The Warsaw chapel is small, but they filled it up with strong spirits. I love the way that church feels the same no matter where you are. It felt so nice to hear Liz’s beautiful singing voice again. She had to translate the talk, so I got to play with Ania! Lucky me!! I love that baby girl <3




Then came the sad part where we had to leave. We made it back safely and I went for a walk. My Hausfrau was so excited for me because she comes from Poland so I told her all about it (in my limited German).

I loved seeing the Jagards again! Because we weren’t doing anything too intense, I got to talk with them a lot and catch up and get some good advice. They gave us an incredible weekend! Thanks guys!!!!

pictures to come...

Yet another amazing week here in Germany!!! (with the exception of not having internet, but we will get back to that)

Monday night I totally owned at FHE where we played a guessing game. It was Disney characters, so of course I won. Tuesday, Kelsey and I went to this cool cafe that had free wi-fi. I got some seriously amazing herbal tea and got to use the internet.

Wednesday was really cool. We got to go on a tour of the parliament building. The building has been around for a long time and has had many uses, but has been changed throughout the years. They kept a bunch of soviet graffiti on the walls. The actual room where they meet has a viewing balcony where any citizen can listen in on the preceedings for a short time. The chairs are all movable because that way they can move things around with each new group of people. Then we also go to go up in the dome, but it was a cloudy day so not so cool. Then I went and got more tea from my favorite cafe.

On Thursday I found a fun little flea market that I wandered through and found some really cool stuff, including lavender! I ate my lunch in a park and went to the New Jewish Synagogue. THat was pretty cool. It was so destroyed and they restored it so that you can see what was original and what is new. Then I went to the church and we had our culture class, and institute class, and then they had burgers for dinner!!! and they even grilled the onions!!!! I was totally in the mood for that burger, it was perfect.

Friday, two other girls and I went to Schloss Charlotenburg and chilled in the gardens for a while, enjoying the plesent day. Then I went home and pretty much went to sleep due to my lack of internet. You really don't realize how much you use it until it's gone.

Saturday was by far the best day! We went to Schwerin, which is Prof. Kelling's hometown. He showed us around and we went to the Castle and he took us on a boat tour. They were also having a festival that day to celebrate the town's birthday. It was so much fun!

And today, I got attacked by some little kids with water guns/bottles which I would have found funny if I wasn't already in a bad mood. But I did fix the internet! Honorata thinks I'm the coolest thing since the cigarette (she is a smoker - so it makes sense, though she doesn't smoke much and always outside)

Pictures to come...

half way...already?

So here I am, halfway done in Berlin. Next week will be the halfway mark for the whole trip! That's crazy, it so doesn't feel that long.

This week was another busy week. On Monday we went to Potsdam and saw Schloss San Soussi which was amazing. We only got rained on a little bit and it was sunny for the most part. We wandered through the grounds and it was just a beautiful day.



Thursday after school, I pretty much spent all afternoon with Professor Kelling. He wanted to go visit the place where these three Mormons were hanged and Jen and I went with him cuz we had nothing better planned. Then he came with me to the Gemaldegalerie even though he had already been there. It was so cool, I had my own personal tour guide. Then he took me out for dinner and I had some amazing goulash. It was really fun. He is one of those really amazing old guys.


The best part of my week though was by far Saturday. On Saturday I woke up at 3am so I could make it to the train station by 5 and go to the Freiberg Temple. It was me and Jen and Richard who went and it was such an amazing experience, totally worth the 10+ hours of transit it took to get there and back.

We got there by magic!

So there is this girl in our ward who is from Orange County, she is about 25. She only started learning German a little while ago when she moved to Germany because that is where her boyfriend lives. They met at Oxford where they were completing their masters in African Studies. She then lived in NYC before deciding that the long distance thing wasn't working out (I tell you all of this cuz I think it makes for a pretty cool life). Anyway, I decided to make friends with her because she speaks no German and that can't be fun. So she invited my roommate and I over for dinner one night, we exchanged phone numbers and she gave me her address and it was all set up for Tuesday night at 7.

So Kelsey and I go and get off the train at a rather ghetto area of town and I realize that I don't have my German phone with me. I grabbed my useless (in this case) iPhone but not the one that has her phone number on it. We were supposed to call her when we got there to be buzzed up. Kelsey and I decide to just go to the apartment building and see if we could find her. Now, we were going to her boyfriend's apartment because she said that it had a beautiful balcony that we could eat on and the kitchen was better than hers.

There were a row of apartments that had balconies in front and none of the others did. So that narrowed it down a bit. On the list of call buttons, we could scratch out the inner building apartments. Then we start buzzing apartments, asking for this girl who doesn't actually live there. At some point this guy shows up on his bike and rightly asks what we were up to and if he could help. Luckily he spoke English because I could not have described this in German and Kelsey had pretty much been silent the whole time. So this guy says that there were two apartments that it could be, one was some young guys who lived there. So he took us in and showed us the way. We knocked on this random door and it was the right one!!! CRAZY!!!!

sorry I'm so bad at telling stories. But this was amazing. By all means, it shouldn't have worked.

Picture Fail

So sorry I'm so bad at taking pictures, it's just that unless I'm taking pictures of people, it seems pointless. Since there isn't anyone to take pictures of, I'm not taking a lot of pictures. I prefer experiences and memories to pictures anyway.

This week was yet another beautiful week in Berlin, made better by the fact that it was much warmer (finally!). On Monday we did another trip to the Historical Museum and that was pretty cool. We have to see the whole thing because it's pretty much our text for our culture class (um, awesome text much?). Anyway it's huge, so we go in sections and that was my second trip. Then on Tuesday we went to the Ritter Sport store. It is full of lots and lots of chocolate and was lots of fun. Wednesday was dinner with Dr. Kelling. He is having everyone over in groups of 7 to his apartment for soup. It was very good, very German soup with a crazy amazing hazelnut cake-like thing for dessert. I love talking to that guy! He has such amazing stories. Thursday was the New Museum, which has the bust of Nefertti. It was amazing to see, we are going to go back sometime. Then we went to our culture class and to Institute. Friday was the DDR museum. Holy cow, so much fun! It was like an interactive history museum and they had all kinds of crazy things from East Germany. Both Kelsey and I got a little shock at the last part though. You see, as a form of protest, a lot of nudest colonies popped up. Yeah, we weren't expecting that to be part of a museum.

Saturday was the best though. Dr. Kelling took us to Lubec, which is about a 3-3.5 hour train ride. It is a beautiful town with a lot of fun architecture. So much of Berlin was destroyed in the war so a lot of what we see here is replicas of originals so it loses something. But Lubec didn't get so many bombs hurled at it and still has a lot of old buildings. They also have a crazy fun Marzipan store. I love long train rides (as long as it isn't a train-day).

This weekend there is a huge festival going on right around where we live, so when we came back from church there were a bunch of street vendors everywhere and they were cooking good food and I wish it weren't Sunday so I could have eaten it all! It also happens to be a holiday today and tomorrow - Pfinksten (aka Pentecost). Holidays kind of stress me out here because very little is open. In America, there is always that 24 hour sav-on, but not here. I get nervous when things close down.

Um, I think that's all for this post. It wasn't a boring week, but a rather boring post. I only have 5 weeks left in Berlin and 7 left till home!! AHhhh!!!

old, cold and NOT ENGLISH!

Well, I should have more to report on, but it's been mostly museums and I am getting all museum-ed out! Though we did get to see the Old Gallery and that had a bunch of paintings in it and I love me some paintings. I am one of those people that can sit in front of a painting and just stare at it and be happy (most paintings, but not all, some are gruesome or just plain dull). Before that, all our museums had been full of old crap! I really don't care about the pots and pot fragments they found or the bazillions of old coins. I am just not interested in that kind of stuff, I prefer paintings and parks/landscaping.

We also took a short day trip to Stettin in Poland (I can't remember the name in Polish right now). It's just on the border and Nathan found us a great deal so it was super cheap and 30 of us took the 2 hour train trip. However, when we got there it was super cold and rainy and so we stayed for 3 hours and left (we weren't planning on staying much longer than that anyway, it was meant to be a short trip). We did see some pretty churches though.

Speaking of rain, this afternoon was the first day in about a week and a half that the sun came out. I went for a lovely walk before my skype date with my mom. If it keeps being cold like it has, I am going to go mad! I love the rain, but I was just not prepared for this and do not have warm enough clothes to enjoy it and you can't have a picnic on wet grass.

Also, I am getting a little sick of all this German. I came here to learn the language, and I am trying even if I could be trying a little harder, but it's just so hard! The Germans speak so fast so most of the time I can't pick up a word of what they are saying. I want to understand it all already, it makes me uncomfortable to not understand.

update

Hello dear friends! So I have officially been here for over a week, how crazy is that! I already feel pretty comfortable here (with the exception of not being able to understand a good 80% of anything people say - Germans talk very fast) and our group has fallen into a good pattern. We do stuff in big groups or we don't, and we all talk with each other, nobody is being drama queens (yet. Let's keep it that way folks!)

Speaking of doing things together, on Saturday 14 of us went to this place that one of the RMs used to go to that had Meter Pizzas. We ordered two, and while I ate a salad because I was feeling like I needed veggies (thank you Kelli, you have put it into my mind that I'm going to get scurvy from not eating fresh things!) those pizzas looked/smelled soo good. They were huge, I mean a meter in diameter, thats roughly 2,512 square inches of pizza (if my math is correct, which I believe it is but then again I haven't taken a math class since calculus junior year - ps how many times do you think I can use parentheses in this one post?). As for my salad, best salad I've ever had and it was only 3 euro, my dinner was cheaper than the pizza dinner.



I think that my favorite thing to eat here is the pretzels. They are super good, but then again pretty much all the bread is super good and there are Backereis everywhere.

Oh, and here is my weird German culture thing of the day: they wear all their clothes many times before washing them. Like I am totally OK with pants being worn many times, but for the most part, I think it's weird to wear shirts or socks more than once. However, I do come from a place where it gets rather warmish so sweating is an issue whereas here you have to try to sweat. Anyway, the point of this is that my Hausmutter does our laundry (most of the Hausmutters do - I think its a big deal to have a laundry machine here, she doesn't even have a dryer) and it makes me feel like an American pig if I have a lot of laundry to be done. Kelsey lived in Germany for like 3 years and so she lives like a German anyway and she isn't an American Pig.

Oh, and I made a friend, for those of you that didn't see on facebook. One of the members of the Bishopric invited us over for some snacks on Sunday night and about 12 of us went. They are from England but have lived in Germany for 12 years and he talked to us about everything and really tried to make us feel comfortable here. Their youngest is 12 and she and I became friends. It all started when I commented on her fun nail polish and told her about the fun things my friends and I did with our nails. Then she found out I was from LA and asked if I saw any movie stars and I told her that we see a few (which is entirely true and this made me so cool in her book) then when we left she commented on my bow and brought me my jacket. We're besties now. (sorry that was a long story, but she is just so cute!)

Since my last post we have seen the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, part of the German Historical Museum, the Bode Museum, watched Iron Man 2 (in German even though we could have seen it in English. btw, they sell beer at movie theaters and the seats are reserved). And if you want to learn more about any of those things, look it up yourself because I already had to write reports on it all for my class and I don't want to write it again.

Everything New

I know that I just blogged on Sunday, but if I waited any longer, this post would be way too long, there is just so much to say!

Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start). Class: On Monday, we had to take a three part test. The first part was multiple choice, then there was a short writing section, and an interview/oral test. Then they graded everything and put us in a class. I am not in the most beginner class, but not far from it which is good. The weird thing is that the class has to be entirely in German because not everyone speaks English. We have three Muslim girls and a Chinese girl in our class. Our teacher is amazing, she puts up with all of our terrible speaking skills so well.

PS - a special "thanks" to my lovely sister, Ashely, who taught me how to figure out a subway while we were in England, and to my parents who bought me a bus pass for Provo which taught me about buses. Between these two things and common sense, we have been making it around pretty easily with only a few minor bumps. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but if I hadn't been there, Kelsey would have gotten lost so fast and she agrees with me. She kept trying to get on the first train that would show up, whether it was the right train or going the right direction or not. And now back to our regular programming...

So on Monday night we went to FHe at the stake center, which is also where we go to church. It was really fun, we played this awesome game where you stand in lines of teams and everyone puts Vaseline on their noses and you have to get the cotton balls from the beginning of the line to the end. Awkward, but those are the best kinds of games (but I must say, it was probably a good idea that the FHE parents didn’t participate, that would have been a little too much – a 45 year old married man with 19 year old girls…yeah, no)

Here is the thing though, Berlin is a safe city, but that doesn’t mean that I want to be out late. Kelsey and I were walking/u-bahning home from FHE around 9 and it was dark. I was so glad that I have a roommate, some of the girls don’t. I would even go so far as to say that I wished we had a boy with us (which is not something I usually admit). Some creepy guys at the u-bahn station were trying to get our attention and it was weird and wouldn’t have happened if we had had a guy with us.

Oh, on Monday we also went grocery shopping which was an experience. They don’t exactly have supermarkets, but they do have markets and a bunch of fruit/veggie places and bakeries. Luckily there are a bunch of shops one street over, so Kelsey and I could go and wander around for a while. Now, I try to pay attention to what I eat, but it was hard to look at a label in a different language. However, after being here for a few days, I have realized that it doesn’t really matter. They are a generally healthier people than us Americans. They eat very organic and natural which just feels better than all the processed crap in the good old USA. I have only seen two gyms (a far cry from Provo where there were three gyms within a short distance from my dorm) and very few runners and yet there are very few fat people. That being said, there are very few deathly skinny people or super toned people. They are just normal and I love it!

Then the next day, we were on the U-bahn, and some kids got on and they were like in the middle of a fight. It was just verbal with a mom and another guy trying to break it up as it turned into a full out fist fight. It was two against one, and the one kid was super creepy. He reminded me of Jackson Rathbone as Jasper. He just had this look on his face, it was so weird.

Then today. Today was so beautiful! It was sun-shiny and warmish so we decided to go to the zoo. It was much fun, but not because of the animals, they were just a side attraction to the playground. We probably weren’t supposed to be playing on it, but we just couldn’t say no. And let me tell you, that if you thought little kids speaking British was cute, you need to see/hear some little kids speaking German. It is just about the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

PICTURES!!!!
A wooden cow, complete with udder, of course we had to climb on it and take pictures.


Hiding from the storm.

Facing the storm head on!

Kelsey got attacked by a goat when feeding the animals.

Guess which Disneyland ride this made me think of...

Overcoming Jet Lag by Writing a Post

First of all, whenever traveling for long distances, I suggest British Airways. They give you socks, and eye masks, and a little toothbrush with little toothpaste and they have a huge selection of movies. I also suggest that you make that flight as few times as possible because it is very long. I was reminded multiple times of my last trip to Europe. Kelli and I were sitting there and they had given us drinks and fed us and we had napped and had second drinks and read our books. We decided to check the map to see where we were…WE WERE OVER MONTANA! We totally thought that we would have been somewhere over the Atlantic, more than halfway done, and boy were we thinking wrong. I was reminded again of that trip when I was killing time in Heathrow and came across some of our favorite candies (don’t worry Kelli or Syd, I will bring you back some).

Anyway, so I finally made it to Berlin and took a taxi to my house. It was so weird interacting with Germans because I knew I should be doing it in German, and yet my first reaction was to respond in English. That is going to take some getting over. I arrived at a beautiful apartment building with a park across the way and buzzed the door because Kelsey said that she would be here. Nobody answered; I waited and tried again, to no avail. So I went down the street a bit and sat. Honestly, I am very proud of myself for not breaking down right there. It was a little scary, being in another country, where I don’t speak the language very well, and hitting a bump in the road like that.

Then out of nowhere, over the peaceful noise of the kids in the playground there comes this loud man’s voice. He was seriously angry at this poor woman. I really think he was drunk, because he was all over the place, and she was just standing there taking it. I felt so bad for her. Being only short distance away from the quarrel, I decided it was time to try the door again, so I did and Kelsey answered, thank goodness.

This set up is really nice. We each have our own rooms on the first floor and we share a bathroom. We each have a shelf in the kitchen and a big drawer in the kitchen for our food (which I think is more room than I had at BYU). Nora, our house-mother, has offered to do our laundry because it wastes less that way and is just a little easier for everyone. She is so nice, doesn’t speak much English, but is so kind about my inability to speak German.

Here is a picture of my room (yes, the bed is a couch, but I'm assured it is very comfortable)


Kelsey and I went for a little walk today, too. We ended up at this old cemetery. It was so pretty. All the graves were overgrown, but in a good way.
I think this was my favorite statue there. I don't know why, perhaps its the Marinist Catholic in me coming out (oh, Chaminade). Also, they had a lot of statues of Christ that look a lot like the ones in the visitors' center at the Temples.


ps Jet lag is the worst!

I make a terrible college student

This is a random blog post resulting from me having a bit of time on my hands.

So I wake up at 7:30am of my own accord. Perhaps it has something to do with how the rest of the household gets up so early, but I don't think so. Even when I was at school, I would get up usually between 8-9. My roommates didn't get up until like 11. I would stay up relatively late on weekends, but not as late as most students and that is still when I woke up.

Then there is that whole "anti-social" thing. I don't party. I mean, it is BYU, so nobody parties per se, but there are always things going on. I just don't. I sit in and enjoy it. I love to read. I love chilling with my friends and roommates watching the office or playing cards or being completly insane. I don't need to be insane at at a church dance where I also would have to deal with stupid people.

And lastly, I don't eat enormous amounts of junk food. I kept fruits and veggies in stock at all times in my appartment. I made really good dinners and didn't ever just eat out or make a frozen pizza. I think I had mac n cheese once in year away.

Yup, not your average college student.

On the Campaign Trail

So, as many of you know, my dad is running for US Congress. It is super exciting but also very stressful. There is so much to be done and so many places to be. My first night back from Provo, I hadn't even opened a suitcase, I get told the calandar. There is something going on every day!

This morning I went over to Fort Benning, the headquarters, with my dad. He was fiddling with wires and trying to fix ATT. I got to hand address 100 invitations to an event, stuff the envelopes and stamp them twice (once for postage, and once with the return address label). Why we couldn't just print out the envelopes, I have no idea. I guess it is just more personal that way. So that took me about an hour, but dad was still fiddling and I ended up sitting there for quite some time. Lesson: ALWAYS bring a book. I used to be so good at that, but I've gotten used to not while I've been away.

We saw the first of the billboards that we bought today. It was one of the smaller "poster" sized ones. So weird to see my dad's face on a billboard!

Less to do with the campaign:
So each of the three Benning girls have left home at some point, accumulated a lot of stuff, then brought it all home. When Ashley left the last time, she ended up with a full appartments worth of stuff (not just a dorm) and so she took over one of the bedrooms. That was all fine because Kimberly was moved out and had vowed never to live here again. Well, she came back, and when I moved away to college, she took over my room, leaving me absolutly roomless. I don't mind that as much as I mind not having a place to put my stuff. Ashley has been so kind to move around some stuff and let me use the couch bed in her office. She even brought in a card table for me to put a suitcase on. I still have to put my bed away every morning or else there is no room in here. It doesn't really matter anyway because in less than two weeks I am leaving again...for Germany!!!!