I made it home safely after 27 hours of travel and only 2 hours of sleep, plus lots of running, stress, and sweating, and uncomfortable airplane seats, and nervous gum chewing, and packing, and good lord I hate travel.
But I really felt the Christmas spirit. The generosity of strangers blew me away.
Soooo I suppose the necessity for this blog is about up. Thanks for playing, kids, it's been real.
I liked writing in here, so I think I might make a new blog just for my thoughts and musings. I'll send out that URL once it's made and started.
DC was an amazing semester. I could not have predicted what fun I had, how much I learned, and how much it would change me. I miss everyone already.
<3
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Grüße aus Deutschland
Greetings from Germany!
I've been here for a bit over a week now. I arrived an exhausted mess on Thursday morning, the 10th. I was fairly ill the first few days I was here with a prolonged cold, so I barely left the house. I spent most of my days curled up on a chair with my book, eating well, and sleeping (or trying to). During my slow recovery, I've been for walks in the woods, shopping downtown, and I saw a Christmas concert at a local church.
It snowed yesterday! A lot! I've been inexplicably referring to snow as "snizz" and I can't stop. Please help.
It was lovely walking in the woods with the snow. So peaceful and quiet...until it got windy near the end. But the cool winter air feels lovely as I'm regaining health. I took a lot of pictures, but those aren't yet on my computer.
It's still slowly hitting me that the semester is done. I'm finished with DC. Who knows when I'll be back and who knows when I'll see some of my closest friends again. That's a weird thought. DC and those people were my LIFE for four months.
Side note: time is a weird thing, very relative. I told Oma that the decade is coming to a close, and that a decade ago, I was 10 and she was 70. She said "oh, that's it? Just ten years? That's nothing." I said "Oma, that's half my life." I'm reminded of this when she tells stories from "just the other day, not long ago" and then I find out it's from when I was 6.
So yeah, four months is kind of a long time for me, as a young'n.
I'm super excited to get back to Claremont. I miss my friends there so much. Caety and I skyped for two HOURS yesterday, which was awesome because we're in the same time zone so there was no trying to figure out when someone had to go to sleep or whatever. I've had two dreams in the last week about Claremont. Nothing special, just being back at Scripps in familiar territory and walking around campus, etc.
I fly home on Monday. I have two days left in Germany. It's currently -15º celcius (5ºF). The lowest it got in DC was close to 32ºF/0ºC. Claremont is currently 75ºF/23ºC, so it's easy to understand why I miss it.
I've got to start packing up all my stuff and making sure I can fit it all. Thank goodness I'm gonna take a duffel from Oma - no worries about trying to jam everything into the one black suitcase I have. (Which, by the way, ended up weighing 68 pounds from DC-Germany.)
Off I go.
I've been here for a bit over a week now. I arrived an exhausted mess on Thursday morning, the 10th. I was fairly ill the first few days I was here with a prolonged cold, so I barely left the house. I spent most of my days curled up on a chair with my book, eating well, and sleeping (or trying to). During my slow recovery, I've been for walks in the woods, shopping downtown, and I saw a Christmas concert at a local church.
It snowed yesterday! A lot! I've been inexplicably referring to snow as "snizz" and I can't stop. Please help.
It was lovely walking in the woods with the snow. So peaceful and quiet...until it got windy near the end. But the cool winter air feels lovely as I'm regaining health. I took a lot of pictures, but those aren't yet on my computer.
It's still slowly hitting me that the semester is done. I'm finished with DC. Who knows when I'll be back and who knows when I'll see some of my closest friends again. That's a weird thought. DC and those people were my LIFE for four months.
Side note: time is a weird thing, very relative. I told Oma that the decade is coming to a close, and that a decade ago, I was 10 and she was 70. She said "oh, that's it? Just ten years? That's nothing." I said "Oma, that's half my life." I'm reminded of this when she tells stories from "just the other day, not long ago" and then I find out it's from when I was 6.
So yeah, four months is kind of a long time for me, as a young'n.
I'm super excited to get back to Claremont. I miss my friends there so much. Caety and I skyped for two HOURS yesterday, which was awesome because we're in the same time zone so there was no trying to figure out when someone had to go to sleep or whatever. I've had two dreams in the last week about Claremont. Nothing special, just being back at Scripps in familiar territory and walking around campus, etc.
I fly home on Monday. I have two days left in Germany. It's currently -15º celcius (5ºF). The lowest it got in DC was close to 32ºF/0ºC. Claremont is currently 75ºF/23ºC, so it's easy to understand why I miss it.
I've got to start packing up all my stuff and making sure I can fit it all. Thank goodness I'm gonna take a duffel from Oma - no worries about trying to jam everything into the one black suitcase I have. (Which, by the way, ended up weighing 68 pounds from DC-Germany.)
Off I go.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thanks for the memories
Done? What do you mean I'm done?
It still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving. My super shuttle will be here in about 5 hours to take me to the airport. Maybe it will hit me when the shuttle comes. Or when I take my boxes to the UPS store. Or when I get on that plane to Germany...
Anyway, my last weekend or so was spent wonderfully with the girls I'm gonna miss the most. We went out to a club on Saturday night (my first night OUT in DC - kind of sad, but oh well)
Congressional 3 ladies: Pin, Amanda, Katie, Emily, Alana, Sam, and me.
Alana, Sam, and me. LOVE these girls.
Then on Monday after all of us had finished finals, we visited the White House christmas tree.
Now I'm just finishing up my packing and shipping. I'm terrified I'm gonna run out of room. I don't have much left to put in my suitcase - really just my washbag and Teddy and Tree Stump - but it's already bursting. I'm crossing my fingers it's not over 50 pounds!
As for my boxes...let's not even talk about that. I'm only shipping three, but it might be a stretch. Some things might not make the cut. Like my pillows - those might have to go. But, as Mom said, they're just pillows.
I also have to get my laptop and external harddrive away. Ughh this is too difficult. I can't think anymore. Perhaps I'll write from Germany.
Peace out DC - it's been real.
It still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving. My super shuttle will be here in about 5 hours to take me to the airport. Maybe it will hit me when the shuttle comes. Or when I take my boxes to the UPS store. Or when I get on that plane to Germany...
Anyway, my last weekend or so was spent wonderfully with the girls I'm gonna miss the most. We went out to a club on Saturday night (my first night OUT in DC - kind of sad, but oh well)
Congressional 3 ladies: Pin, Amanda, Katie, Emily, Alana, Sam, and me.
Alana, Sam, and me. LOVE these girls.Then on Monday after all of us had finished finals, we visited the White House christmas tree.
Now I'm just finishing up my packing and shipping. I'm terrified I'm gonna run out of room. I don't have much left to put in my suitcase - really just my washbag and Teddy and Tree Stump - but it's already bursting. I'm crossing my fingers it's not over 50 pounds!
As for my boxes...let's not even talk about that. I'm only shipping three, but it might be a stretch. Some things might not make the cut. Like my pillows - those might have to go. But, as Mom said, they're just pillows.
I also have to get my laptop and external harddrive away. Ughh this is too difficult. I can't think anymore. Perhaps I'll write from Germany.
Peace out DC - it's been real.
Friday, December 4, 2009
These are my confessions
I'm going to Germany in less than a week.
Less. Than. A. Week.
Between now and then, I have a bit to get done. My final exam is on Monday at 1 (EST) and it's the same format as the miderm. Our professor sent out the questions earlier this week and we prepare for them. On the day of the final, he will roll a die and whatever number comes up is our final (each essay question has a number). I have my favourites, of course, but I plan to be well-prepared for all of them. I've outlined all but the last question.
My final research paper is also due next week. Originally it was due Monday at 9am, but my professor pushed it to Wednesday at 4, which is exactly when I'm checking out of my dorm. I pushed that out of my mind and am telling myself now that it's due Monday night. This is good because I was stressing about managing my time between studying and finishing the paper, but now I can concentrate all my efforts on this final until it's done, then work on the paper. It's only 20 pages now and needs to be 30, so we'll see how that goes.
I went to my last day of internship on Tuesday, which is insane - where did my semester go? The whole team took me out for lunch and gave me a gorgeous green notebook with silver studs. It's so me I can't even stand it. I'll miss them!
Having the family here for Thanksgiving was soo awesome. We ate ridiculously well and it was great having them able to see where I live, work, etc. We got some cute pics of the four of us too:
Neither of those is our Xmas card pic; I'm not gonna post it because many of you will be getting it in the mail anyhow. Plus, it's already on facebook.
I'm making lists of everything I have with me and whether I'm shipping it home, to Rachel at Scripps (thank you thank you!!!), or taking it with me to Germany. I'm hoping to fit everything I'm shipping in just two boxes, but it took me 4 to get here, so I'm...hesitant.
I can't believe I won't see some of these people again. Honestly, I'm a little sick of my classmates (some of them) because some of them are so thick and ask such dumb questions. Half of our class period is wasted on things like this:
Professor: So you have to write 4-5 pages by Monday and e-mail it to me.
-When's it due?
-Monday
-And it's how many pages? 3?
-4 to 5.
-So it's four to five pages on this?
-No, on that.
-And it's due when?
-Monday.
-Do we need a hard copy?
-No, just e-mail it to me.
-Okay, so should we print it?
-No.
-And how many pages is it?
I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!! I swear, if half the people in our class just shut up for five seconds and listened to him while he was explaining stuff instead of whispering (that drives me nuts and I actually yelled at two people who were whispering right in front of me) or actually READ the handouts he gives us on projects they wouldn't be so dumb.
Last night was fun because we had our end of the year class party. We were supposed to go ice skating, but apparently the rink's ice making machine was borked, so we went to ESPN zone instead and ate incredibly delicious greasy appetizers (spicy buffalo wings, tortilla chips and dip, quesadillas, etc.) then went downstairs and played arcade games for a few hours. I was playing mini-bowling with 7 guys then looked over and realized most of the girls in my class had either left or were wandering around talking to each other and getting all complainy. I wish some people could just let loose and have fun sometimes. One of the guys then told me that I was the only fun girl in the class, which was awesome. I've always thought of myself as pretty fun, especially with the guys. They're just so much more simple than girls sometimes.
So yeah, I'll miss those guys a lot, and some of my other classmates. I'm gonna miss the boys upstairs in 401 like crazy, especially considering the fact that I half live in their room. I fell asleep on their couch last night until they were like "go home and go to bed" around midnight. They adopted me as fourth roommate a while back because I am ALWAYS in there. I know I'll see them again, but probably not all three of them together, which makes me really sad. I'll also miss Alana to death - that girl has been such a good friend this semester, and I'm definitely visiting her in New York SOMETIME soon.
This is love. My class at the Newseum last month. Don't miss me - near the left side, doubled over laughing. I adore this picture.
Aaaah I'm excited to go to Germany and go home, but I'll miss these people! I don't want to think about it. Back to studying.
Less. Than. A. Week.
Between now and then, I have a bit to get done. My final exam is on Monday at 1 (EST) and it's the same format as the miderm. Our professor sent out the questions earlier this week and we prepare for them. On the day of the final, he will roll a die and whatever number comes up is our final (each essay question has a number). I have my favourites, of course, but I plan to be well-prepared for all of them. I've outlined all but the last question.
My final research paper is also due next week. Originally it was due Monday at 9am, but my professor pushed it to Wednesday at 4, which is exactly when I'm checking out of my dorm. I pushed that out of my mind and am telling myself now that it's due Monday night. This is good because I was stressing about managing my time between studying and finishing the paper, but now I can concentrate all my efforts on this final until it's done, then work on the paper. It's only 20 pages now and needs to be 30, so we'll see how that goes.
I went to my last day of internship on Tuesday, which is insane - where did my semester go? The whole team took me out for lunch and gave me a gorgeous green notebook with silver studs. It's so me I can't even stand it. I'll miss them!
Having the family here for Thanksgiving was soo awesome. We ate ridiculously well and it was great having them able to see where I live, work, etc. We got some cute pics of the four of us too:
Neither of those is our Xmas card pic; I'm not gonna post it because many of you will be getting it in the mail anyhow. Plus, it's already on facebook.
I'm making lists of everything I have with me and whether I'm shipping it home, to Rachel at Scripps (thank you thank you!!!), or taking it with me to Germany. I'm hoping to fit everything I'm shipping in just two boxes, but it took me 4 to get here, so I'm...hesitant.
I can't believe I won't see some of these people again. Honestly, I'm a little sick of my classmates (some of them) because some of them are so thick and ask such dumb questions. Half of our class period is wasted on things like this:
Professor: So you have to write 4-5 pages by Monday and e-mail it to me.
-When's it due?
-Monday
-And it's how many pages? 3?
-4 to 5.
-So it's four to five pages on this?
-No, on that.
-And it's due when?
-Monday.
-Do we need a hard copy?
-No, just e-mail it to me.
-Okay, so should we print it?
-No.
-And how many pages is it?
I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!! I swear, if half the people in our class just shut up for five seconds and listened to him while he was explaining stuff instead of whispering (that drives me nuts and I actually yelled at two people who were whispering right in front of me) or actually READ the handouts he gives us on projects they wouldn't be so dumb.
Last night was fun because we had our end of the year class party. We were supposed to go ice skating, but apparently the rink's ice making machine was borked, so we went to ESPN zone instead and ate incredibly delicious greasy appetizers (spicy buffalo wings, tortilla chips and dip, quesadillas, etc.) then went downstairs and played arcade games for a few hours. I was playing mini-bowling with 7 guys then looked over and realized most of the girls in my class had either left or were wandering around talking to each other and getting all complainy. I wish some people could just let loose and have fun sometimes. One of the guys then told me that I was the only fun girl in the class, which was awesome. I've always thought of myself as pretty fun, especially with the guys. They're just so much more simple than girls sometimes.
So yeah, I'll miss those guys a lot, and some of my other classmates. I'm gonna miss the boys upstairs in 401 like crazy, especially considering the fact that I half live in their room. I fell asleep on their couch last night until they were like "go home and go to bed" around midnight. They adopted me as fourth roommate a while back because I am ALWAYS in there. I know I'll see them again, but probably not all three of them together, which makes me really sad. I'll also miss Alana to death - that girl has been such a good friend this semester, and I'm definitely visiting her in New York SOMETIME soon.
This is love. My class at the Newseum last month. Don't miss me - near the left side, doubled over laughing. I adore this picture.Aaaah I'm excited to go to Germany and go home, but I'll miss these people! I don't want to think about it. Back to studying.
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