BLIZZARD! ...and more surprises!

ashley (my roommate) and her sled before i went out and broke itdavid tackled me into the snow...ashley too. isn't he the nicest guy?
david thinking that he was superman
david doing flips into the snow for no reason...this is in the courtyard of our dorm

So this week was a bit of a crazy week in Boone. This is apparently the worst winter in Boone in ten years. What a nice welcome for our first year! I really have enjoyed the abundance of snow but it would be nice to see the ground sometime soon and to be able to stop sliding on ice to get to class. Luckily, I haven't fallen all the way yet, but I have come very close. This week we got a little bit of rain in the beginning of the week which was very odd. Then Wednesday rolled around and we thought for sure that classes would be cancelled because the sidewalks were covered in ice and snow...but no. Now, the week before when we got a ton of snow and ice, we still had classes while the rest of the state enjoyed pretty much an entire week off, but we were still hiking to class (although I'm pretty sure Friday ended up being cancelled which worked out nicely because I had stayed up trying to figure out some homework that was due that day that I never could figure out Thurs night)! So Wednesday morning I had a math test and walked out on the ice covered sidewalks, sliding every few steps but managing to stay on my feet. Then I was walking beside two other people: me walking on the snow covered part of the sidewalk, and a guy walking on the ice covered part and ka-boom, down he went and smacked the ice covered concrete. As soon as that happened I moved more towards the snow to avoid walking on any ice and wham, I fall into a hole in the sidewalk that was covered by snow. Lucky for me a guy was just about to pass me and was able to grab my arm and keep me from falling all the way. Nine twenty-four someone comes in our class telling us the university had just sent an email canceling classes starting at ten or later. Then came the BLIZZARD that lasted all of Wednesday and Thursday. It brought tons of snow and no classes, which was very cool. Today (Friday) we decided last minute that we (David and I) would surprise our families by coming home for a visit (and crossing our fingers that the weather would allow us to make it back by Monday). Jony (David's brother) came and picked us up after our English class. Madre and Padre were gone when I got home but the kids were very excited that I showed up. Madre and Padre felt the same way when they got back from the store. We played HEART (BINGO) tonight and we brought the snow home with us so the kids went out and played in the snow for a bit. It's been a great week! On a random note...I went sledding for the first time ever and had a blast! Last weekend we took tote lids outside and slid down the abundance of hills around the dorms until I broke my roommate's lid going down one of the best hills...maybe we'll get some real sleds so we don't break anymore lids...

First Week Back

First week back and I'm already a little overwhelmed at the moment! I have seven classes this semester totaling 18 hours--it should be interesting! After a somewhat interesting start to the semester I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday weekend, having only a short week ahead of me (most of my classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays). It was not without some stress though. I am currently in the process of trying to find an apartment for next year, as well a roommate or roommates. I am also going through the process of filling out tons of state required documents so I can start working at the campus child care center this semester as a sub. To start work I have to get fingerprinted and get a background check and get a health form signed so I have a lot to do tomorrow, even though I only have one Tuesday class for the time being.

It is great to be back in Boone even though it was a little tough getting here. The snow was beautiful when we came back Thursday before classes started and it snowed almost the whole weekend which was awesome. This past week we saw little snow but even though it's been in the 50's and rained a good bit this weekend, there is STILL snow on the ground! I am loving the cold weather so far (which is quite a change for me).

I have a job pending for me in Massachusetts right now. I am waiting to hear back for their final decision. I was hoping to spend the summer working at a camp in Minnesota but it didn't work out. But, I think that the job in Massachusetts may turn out to be better than it would have been for me in Minnesota. David has a job in Massachusetts for the summer working at an all boys camp as a counselor and soccer instructor. It is about half an hour away from the camp where I might find myself, but depending on whether or not I will have a car by then I may not see him the whole time. I was having a hard time deciding whether or not I wanted to work at a camp at all this summer or spend the majority of my summer in Peru doing either volunteer work or a study abroad type thing. The funny thing though is that the camp I might be working at this summer is right next to a town called Peru. So, I may be headed to Peru this summer after all! (little did I know I might still be in America)

First Semester...busy, busy, busy

So I had no idea just how busy I would get this semester. I barely found time to sleep, much less hang out on the computer. The semester was wonderful overall.

I got the opportunity to lead a campus-wide service project to collect warm clothes for local shelters in our county. It was an awesome experience but definitely more work than I bargained for. It was a relief when it was over but it was well worth it! We collected a ton of clothing and were able to deliver it all before we left for Christmas break!

My classes all went well and I ended up with straight A's after many all-nighters and non-stop work for the second half of the semester. I had some really awesome professors and a few not so great ones, but I was pretty lucky overall. It was all very stressful but I learned more this past semester than I did in all of high school.

When I wasn't studying, I had some fun climbing up a waterfall with my friend from Kumon who came to visit, taking a trip to nearby Blowing Rock with Kelly and Hayley, and having many many movie nights with David and my roommate, Ashley. We decided to be kids again one night and build a fort in our room and watch Polar Express in 3-D. It was a lot of fun--we made a mess beforehand and made cookies and cakes and just had a good time to celebrate the end of classes. I have a new suite mate as of a few weeks before the end of the semester and she is really awesome! We get along really well and it's been a lot of fun getting to know her.

David took great care of me during the second half of the semester when I was stressed and lacking enough time in the day. We have been together now for 14 months. It has been great having him there with me even though it seems like the only things we do when we're together are eating and homework!

Christmas break is almost over. It was great to see everyone at home and spend lots of time with the family but I am excited to go back too. Boone is becoming home so it's kind of weird now being here in Weddington. My mom and I have gotten to spend a lot of time together which has been awesome. I'll be going back in time for another snow it seems! I am liking the cold weather there a lot more than I thought I would but I'll being going back to much colder temperatures than when I left. I guess I'll try to write once a week for as long as I can this next semester...we'll see how it goes!