Seems like a normal day

Yesterday seemed like a non-stop kind of day. It started off with classes, then a test in a class. Fortunately, it was our week to not have lab for chem, which is great, since it is a four hour lab. Instead, I walked across campus three times, one of those times I mailed out my new Fulbright application, it is in, and hopefully, I did everything correctly.

A huge highlight for me was going to a 4th and 5th grade classroom and assisted Laurie in teaching theses students German. Her partner couldn't come yesterday, and since I didn't have to be in lab, I was happy to tag along. The class was quite energetic and a bit loud, but what do you expect from 10 and 11 year-olds after a full day of classes. They were doing presentations, but didn't really take much time on them, which was a shame. I tried to learn as many names as I could. The two years of camp counseling made me feel very comfortable in helping take lead of the classroom. Laurie said I did great (better than her old partner, yes!) and wished we could have been paired up the whole year.

After being dropped off, I called my lab partner, and we headed out to Northsides, where another student was bar tending that night. We had a few drinks and had some really great wings. He ended up picking up the tab for us, which was really unexpected. He was grateful that we came to visit, and it was also the first time I really had a conversation with him. It was also really fun to watch the adults come and share time with each other after they got off work, the camaraderie was great to take in.

A few things that are good

Here are a few random awesome things that have happened to me over the past three days:

• My parents visited, took me out for dinner, and also took me grocery shopping. I now have a jug to make juice with
• We went to Franklin house for Karaoke. Real World by Matchbox Twenty, ok for me to sing, Hootie and the Blowfish singing, I Only wanna be with you, not a good song. Plus, apparently everyone goes to Franklin House on Saturdays.
• Whenever Andy comes into town, I am reminded why he is so great.
  
• Sunday, I had a conversation that went like this:
  

Jeremiah: Really, I can't stand that priests can't get married in the Catholic Church.
Me: I know, I would love to marry a priest.
Jeremiah: Well, convert, change the priest to pastor, and you can.
Me: Ok, but only if I get to marry you.
Jeremiah: Done

• My lab partner finished our lab today at 4pm (still taking longer than it should), but then I got to go to Frisbee! After the formal part of practice was over, we just threw around, and Lenny's goal was for me to not catch it, which is just good practice for me. I love laughing, especially when at Frisbee.
  

Lovely

Tonight, after a two hour meeting with the other frisbee president, and after sending out about 6 emails in twenty minutes, a friend invited me out to the snow party that was being held in the middle of campus. At first I was wary, because the people I thought would be there would be people I don't know very well, and the ones I do know would be mingling more with the others. But since I haven't really pranced around in the snow this year, I made the trek out there. Upon arrival, there were probably about 10 people there. Most I knew, but not very well. I stood awkwardly next to the event creator, just chatting about how amazing the weather was. More people arrived, but I still didn't feel very comfortable.

All I had to do was wait a few more minutes, and three people from the Frisbee team came rushing out with a green light-up disc. My mouth turned into a smile and I rushed over to them. After a few tosses with the disc and being taken down by all three of them, I was finally enjoying the beautiful weather that we were granted. This evening I played some snow Frisbee, a game of Red Rover, had a snow race, and either tackled or got tackled more times than I can count. Maybe I will be exhausted tomorrow, but how many opportunities do I get to play with my friends in the snow?

There are just a few pictures to show the fun that we had when we went to Chambana.

The first pictures depicts the four of us at the Morrow Plots, a corn field in the middle of campus, yes, that is how awesome Chambana is. It is one of the oldest research fields in the country, I think. The library had to be built a few stories underground so the shade wouldn't be on the corn, or something like that. There is a song, if you have it, send it to me, I want to listen!




And this picture is just to show either how short I am or how tall Matt is, maybe it is a little of both. Neither of us really notice it, which is pretty cool, I guess.

It is almost the weekend, weird, but I still have so much to do. Yesterday, we had church, which was great. The great thing about church on Wednesday is the intimacy of the service, all together, I think there were only about 10 people, which is wonderful. Instead of having a normal homily, we have a discussion, so we are all involved instead of just listening to Father Kevin. But I do still love his homilies on Sundays.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Hi Lori,

You have been "recommended" for a Fulbright which means your
applications are now being forwarded to your respective countries. Many
other criteria are to be factored in, but you have made it through the
MAJOR culling. Congradulations. "


Yes!

F is for Fellowship

God gave me a present tonight. Earlier in the day I hadn't even thought about going to the nightly service, because I had homework to do and because I went to a service this morning, my God quota was filled. But then around 8.30pm I decided that going to St. T's student mass would be good for me. When mass started, Father Kevin announced that it was St. John Boscoe's day. St. John Bosce is the patron saint for the summer camp I worked for two summers ago. The gospel was about having faith like a child, a great tie in for St. John Boscoe. The homily was not the normal homily but more of a conversation for the students who were there. Then we all shared in Eucharist together.

Whenever I spend time at the center, I am creating fellowship with my fellow Christians, which can sometimes be bad, because then more time will be spent there. We were talking about that, and I don't get that guilty feeling like when I spend time not at the center. Our campus minister then said that we could say that the F on our papers and tests would just be for fellowship.

But tonight was my present from God.