Just a normal day...

*I started writing this on Tuesday and ran out of time to finish it, just so you know that this is not actually describing today.


The last few days I have had a great desire to blog. However,  I have not had much time or inspiration. So, I hope you will bear with me as I simply relate what my day was like today. I actually think it was a pretty good example of what life is like here at Wellesley...

This morning I had to get up earlier than normal, which I generally don't enjoy. But the reason I had to get up early was because today was my first day of work! I got a job at the campus library. Although it was somewhat stressful because I didn't know what I was doing, I can tell that I will enjoy this job. However, after my shift I  only had 5 minutes to get to my first class of the day, Spanish. Yeah, I didn't quite make it on time... I hate getting to class really out of breath because I just had to hurry up 4 flights of stairs! It's quite a common occurrence here. Evidently whoever designed this campus really likes stairs and building things on top of hills. (Often during my 10 minute passing periods when I still barely get to class on time, I miss our little hallway at Hope Academy...)

After Spanish I had another class, Multivariable Calculus. (Just bear with me for a moment, I know this was the boring part of my day.) I really enjoy that class, as crazy as most people think I am. We always have to take a ridiculous amount of notes (almost 7 pages today) , but my professor is really good at explaining difficult things. And of course he takes the occasional break from math to explain the Latin conjugation of a certain word, or to play hangman when we can't come up with the word he's trying to describe. I find that class very amusing.

After class was over I hurriedly ate lunch, and then I had to work another shift at a different library (we actually have 4 libraries altogether, although I only work at 2 of them). Once again I had no idea what I was doing, but I learned how to find the page counts for various printers, tricks for extending the use of a toner cartridge, and where (and what) the minifocus is. While I was on shift I also happened to see that I had gotten an email saying I had a package in at the mail center. Hurray! (Seriously you guys, mail is one of the highlights of my day.)

Of course, when I was done with my shift I immediately went to check my mail and get my package. And you know what else was in my mail box? A letter from Alyssa! (For those of you who don't know, she is one of my best friends in the whole world who is currently in boot camp for the Air Force). I was about to walk back  across campus to my dorm, but then I thought better of it and decided to find somewhere comfortable to sit in the campus center and read my letter first. Our campus center has a beautiful view of the lake, so I found a window seat overlooking Lake Waban and sat to read my letter.

Unfortunately, pretty soon after I sat down it started to thunderstorm, so the few minutes I was going to spend there turned into 2 hours instead. I decided to write back to Alyssa, so at least the time wasn't completely wasted. It ended up being a very pleasant place to sit and watch the wind and rain without actually being outside in it. Finally, after it stopped raining, I went back to my dorm for a while. It's always nice to be in my own space for a while (even if it is a rather small room I share with two other people).

Soon after I got back to my room I went to eat supper. Food is one of the highlights of my day too, they always have something good. While I have eaten plenty of things at our dining halls that I did not enjoy, usually I am pretty impressed. And the ice cream... I eat way too much ice cream here. (Have I told you guys about our ice cream endowment? Basically an alumnus donated a bunch of money and made it a requirement that every dining hall always has at least 3 types of ice cream. We also have a smores endowment, but that's another story...)

At 6:45, I headed out for class again. What class do I have at 7 in the evening, you ask? Rock climbing! That class is so much fun. (I use the term 'class' loosely. We are required to take two PE classes, but we don't get grades, they don't show up on our transcripts, and we never have any kind of homework.) That class is just so unlike anything I have ever taken before, I really enjoy it. In our first couple classes we talked about safety, learned how to put on the harnesses, and learned how to tie the knots that attach us to the rope so we don't die. Pretty important stuff... Today, however, we actually learned how to belay and climbed the wall for the first time. I successfully made it all the way to the top, and the person I belayed didn't fall and get injured, so I would call that a successful class! We also spend half of class exercising, which is fun because all of our ellipticals and treadmills have cable tv. That is pretty much the only time I get to watch tv anymore, so I always enjoy it.

Finally, my day complete, I walked back to my dorm. (Well, I may have taken a small detour to our dining hall for some more ice cream...) Overall, today was a pretty great day. And I hope you weren't too bored reading about it :)

Wellesley - College or Summer Camp?

Two weeks ago was orientation, which was pretty great for the most part. You meet tons of new people and  can reasonably go up to a complete stranger and start a conversation with them (because its not likely that they know anybody either). You spend lots of time outside walking around to different buildings (we have a very spread out and picturesque campus), doing activities, and exploring your unfamiliar environment. The school organizes tons of events, like a scavenger hunt, a circus themed party in the sports center, an arts and crafts night, and a James Bond/casino themed dance party.

Sound like summer camp to anybody? Yeah, me too.

Orientation week was fun, but I felt like I was always being herded to various mandatory meetings, academic advising sessions, and random (mostly fun) activities. This week, however, I felt like I was really in college. I actually like it much better. While it means that now I have responsibility, and homework, and classes I have to go to, it also means that I have more control over what I do with my time, and that I can start making friends that I will actually see on a regular basis (instead of people that I just sit next to once and then never see again).

Another thing that makes me like my second week of college better than  my first? I got a real job! This was a huge answer to prayer, because I have heard that it can be very hard for first years to get on-campus jobs. I am very excited :) I get to work for the library and technology services, so I think I will actually get some practical and helpful knowledge. I am very excited to start training and find out when I will be working, because it will be very nice to finalize my schedule pretty soon.

One more thing that I am very excited about, and then I should probably go start on my homework. (Yay, homework... :P ) Tomorrow, I get to start my PE class. And why is that so exciting, you ask? Because I get to take rock climbing! I cannot wait to start, it sounds like so much fun! I suppose, even though classes have started, there is still some small feeling of being at summer camp here. But I'm okay with that :)

Whale Watching, Class Registration, and Pictures

Yesterday we went on orientation trips. There were four choices: kayaking on the Charles River, Whale Watching, a walking tour of Boston, or going to the beach. You can probably guess which I did... (and if you can't look at the title of the blog)

This is me and one of my roommates, Katie (my other roommate
Jacqueline went kayaking instead).

It was an incredible experience. I had a great time, but not everybody enjoyed it as much as I did. It was windy yesterday and the sea was very rough, so a lot of people got seasick. Thankfully I was not one of them. It was also quite cold out at sea, and some people were not adequately prepared so they froze. Thankfully I was not one of those people either. (I am a Minnesota girl after all.)

After about an hour (and the boat going up and down and up and down a lot) we reached the area where there were a lot of whales. To me it looked exactly like the rest of the ocean, but we were informed that we were in fact in a wildlife sanctuary that had a particularly large amount of nutrients in the water for some reason, so whales came there to feed a lot. It wasn't long before we saw our first spout in the distance, and then another. We all stood at the railing of the boat scanning the horizon, holding our breaths for any sign of a whale under the water. We heard a gasp from another part of the boat and we all looked, but it was just because the boat went up and down a particularly large wave. Finally, a splash! A mammoth tail came out of the water and the slapped the surface. Again the tail came into view, and slipped back under the water. For two or three minutes this continued, a gasp of admiration as the tail came out of the water, and then a great splash as it disappeared again. Over the loud-speaker somebody explained that they don't know why whales do this, it might be part of their feeding ritual, it might be for communication, or it might just be that they enjoy it.

We also saw some other signs of whales, but every time I saw more than the tail I was so in awe that I forgot to take a picture, so this is the best picture I have. All too soon it was time to head back to harbor. The trip back was much smoother, because we were going with the waves instead of against them. I would go again in a heartbeat! There was something exhilarating about seeing the sky meet the sea and feeling the motion of the boat and scanning the horizon for gigantic creatures under the water.

Whale watching was amazing, but not everything we do is all fun and games. On Friday morning we had class registration. It was my first taste of how stressful some parts of this semester will probably be. It was all done online, so every student on the campus was sitting on their computer, refreshing the page every few seconds so they could do it as fast as possible and get the classes they wanted. Registration opened at 9:00, and within about 30 seconds most of the classes were full. Normally I don't get stressed out about things like this, but everybody else was very worried so it made me worry too... However, after about 10 seconds it was all over, and I got all of my first choice classes. Of course, I also wasn't trying to get into many classes that were very popular. Here is my schedule for the semester - Spanish 201, Multivariable Calculus, Hamlet (which is a first-year writing class), and History of West Africa. Random, I know, but it sounded really interesting! Plus my mom grew up in West Africa, and I have always wanted to learn more about it. Apparently it wasn't a very popular class, because as far as I can tell there are only 9 of us in the class, and there are still 16 open spots.

Finally, I wanted to share with you all a little bit more about this beautiful place I get to call home now, so I made an entire page on my blog devoted to pictures I've taken around campus and on my forays into Boston. You can find the link to it at the top of the page, its pretty obvious. I will try to update it as I take more pictures too! Also, feel free to ask me any questions you might have, whether on this blog or personally! I would love to answer them :)

My First Day of College

Sorry about the exceedingly lame blog post titles. I can't ever think of anything creative...

Anyway. I have so much I want to tell you guys, theses last few days have been crazy. But, since I have been so busy, I haven't had much time to write about all the stuff I've been busy doing! Weird how that works, huh? So I've decided to restrain myself to one of my most unique experiences thus far, my first day here at Wellesley.

The morning started with moving into my dorm. It wasn't nearly as hectic as I anticipated, we waited for about an hour after the dorms opened so we wouldn't have to deal with the rush. Plus I'm on the ground floor (I mean, really ground floor, the first floor is above me) so I didn't have to wait for any elevators. Our room was bigger than expected, but of course that was before there were three people and all of their stuff in it (I'm in a triple). It doesn't seem that big anymore... One entire wall is windows, which we all love.

Most of the rest of my day was spent wandering the campus with my mom. I went and got my ID card, I went to the greenhouse and got a free plant, and I attended random seminars, none of which really provided any important information that I didn't know already. It reminded me of the first day of middle or high school when in every class you go over mostly pointless information about the class and learn the same rules 10 different times (sorry teachers, but its true).

Finally, the time came for my mom and I to say our final goodbyes. In the back of my mind I had been dreading this moment all day. However, in the end it was surprisingly (and blessedly) not dramatic. I had another event I needed to go to in a few minutes, so it was pretty hurried. In a way this informal goodbye was reassuring to me. It made me realize that she is still my mom, she will still be there for me, and there is really no reason for a big goodbye when I can talk to her on the phone any time.

We still had a lot we had to do later that night. (Our theory is that the school is trying to keep us so busy our first week that we forget to be homesick.) Once we were walking back to our dorms after a presentation somewhere and it was dark outside. Our campus is beautiful, so walking through it, even in the dark, is a wonderful experience. As we were walking, suddenly I heard an exclamation and I looked up. Across the street from us, slowly meandering down the road, was a deer. The moonlight was shining brightly through the trees, and behind the deer was the beautiful chapel we have here on campus. It was an incredible moment, and it made me very happy that I get to live in this place for the next four years!

Once we were back at our dorms, we had a meeting for our residence hall staff to explain to us what to do if we're on fire and that sort of thing. (We also had a small dance party, learned our dorm cheers, and all of our RA's sang a spoof on Call Me Maybe. This is college after all, boring meetings just aren't their style.) They made sure we knew what to do in the case of a fire alarm, and told us that whenever we evacuated the building for a fire alarm, we had to grab our towels. The towel would allow us to keep the smoke out of our faces, open hot door knobs, that sort of thing. (When I think about it now it sounds really stupid, I should have figured out what was going on...)

After that we were finally able to go back to our rooms. It felt very nice after a long day to relax a little bit. My roommates and I were standing in our room talking when it happened. What happened, you ask? The fire alarm went off. Our RA came down the hallway making sure we all got out of our rooms and making sure we had our towels. Everyone in the building filed outside to the place where we had been told to wait during a fire alarm,  but we were urged to keep going. It wasn't until we were halfway across campus that I realized this was no normal fire drill. We marched across campus shouting our residence hall cheers at the top of our lungs and, sure enough, soon we arrived at the lake. The moon provided just enough light for me to see that there were already several girls in the water. My roommates and I looked at each other, found a place to put our towels and cell phones, and joined in the fun (fully clothed, just in case you were worried.) While totally not something I would normally do, it was the perfect way to end my first day of college. You have not experienced crazy until you have been in the middle of 600 screaming girls all wading into a dark, sea-weed filled lake. The water was warm, and the moon peeking through the clouds provided the perfect lighting for the occasion. I don't think I will ever forget what it felt like there in that water, with my new roommates by my side, surrounded by darkness and unfamiliar faces. It was surreal and, surprisingly, wonderful.

A lot has happened since that night which has been equally as strange and wonderful. That will have to be a story for another time I am afraid, because I have to register for classes in the morning and it is getting very late! But things are going well so far :)

The Last Time

As I prepare to leave for Wellesley in 2 days (2 days? What?!) there are more and more things each day that I am doing for the last time, at least for a few months. Today was the last time I got to babysit my little cousins, and probably the last time I get to see one of my best friends in the whole world, Kelly Klos. Tonight was the last time I will eat dinner with my parents. Tonight is the last time I will sleep with my cat, and tomorrow morning will be the last time I wake up to the sound of my cockatiel singing. Tomorrow night will be the last time I get to sleep in my bed. Tomorrow will be the last time I get to eat home cooked food, or not have to use a communal bathroom, or have a bedroom to myself. Tomorrow will be the last full day I spend in Minnesota!

There is only one thing that makes me feel better. Soon, rather than doing everything for the last time, everything I do will be for the first time! And I just have to remind myself, that is precisely why I am  moving somewhere new for college.

But why does leaving have to be so bittersweet?

God's Sense of Humor (Plus Some Blog Updates)

If anybody ever tells you that God doesn't have a sense of humor, don't believe them...

Let me start from the beginning. Last Saturday I lost something very important. I looked EVERYWHERE in the house for it. I actually had trouble sleeping because I was so annoyed with myself for losing it, and I was trying to think of anywhere else it could have gone. I distinctly remembered placing it in a specific place on my dresser, and it was no longer there. (I'm sure you all know how that goes.)

The next day at church I kept praying about it. The sermon was about how God backed the Israelites into a corner at the Red Sea, and they thought they were going to die because they had nowhere to run to. And we all know what God did in that situation, he kindly moved the Sea out of the way for them so they could escape their seemingly hopeless situation. I thought, perhaps He is talking to me and He will provide a solution to my problem too! (The item I lost was not a big deal, but at the time it seemed very dramatic to me.)

Well, God did answer my prayers. About an hour after I got home I found what I was looking for. Well, you're asking, what does this have to do with God's sense of humor? I found the item in my Bible case (where I would have found it if I had thought to open my Bible the night before instead of just frantically searching the house). I think He was trying to tell me something...

Also I just wanted to point out a couple of things to you guys that you may not have noticed about my blog. If you don't want to worry about having to check for new blog posts, there is a place on the right side of the page where you can subscribe to receive all new posts in your email. Just follow the instructions, you will have to click on a link in an email they send you to confirm the subscription. I tried it myself so it should work fine, just let me know if you have any problems with it. I also added a tab at the top of the page with my contact information in case you want my email address or my new address at school. (I did not want to publicize my phone number, if you want it you can ask me personally and I will give it to you.)

Only 5 more days until I go to Boston! (I don't know why I am still working on this blog post, I should be packing...)

The Beginning

As most of you probably know, I am moving very soon to Massachusetts to attend Wellesley College. In fact, I leave one week from today. I am so excited to start this new adventure, but there are also many things that make leaving hard. Probably the most difficult thing for me is leaving behind all of the people here that I love so much.

I am bad at keeping in contact with people that I don't see every day. I know that I won't often remember to email or call or send a letter to most of you. So, I came up with an idea - if I started a blog to talk about the experiences I am having, that would allow all of you to find out what is going on in my life (even if I do forget to personally tell you about it).

That being said, I named this blog 'correspondence' for a reason. It means an exchange of letters, not just one-way communication. So my hope is that this would inspire you all to keep in contact with me, too. I want to know what is going on in your lives. I want to hear how you are doing. I would love it if you would take the time to write me a letter, give me a call, send me an email or a text, or even just comment on this post. 

The hardest part is not leaving behind a place. It's leaving behind the people that are there. So if all of you would make an effort to keep in touch with me, I'll have a piece of home with me, no matter where I go.