Greetings from Myrtle Beach!
I'm on my last vacation of the summer...and I cannot believe how quickly it flew by. I feel like I had all of these plans and ideas of things I would do, but haven't done any of them. It makes me sad. I feel like I'm growing up and am not going to have time for fun stuff anymore. = ( But I'm so so SO excited to move into Wesley and get to see you all just about everyday!
Hmm...so I guess I need to update you on what I've been up to since going to Florida. I'd say for the most part, I've hung out around the house, played games, went out on the lake, spent time with family, and so on. As Brittaney talked about, I went out to ice cream/Target/Moes with her, which was really fun. We also went to Adventure Landing with Landon and Caroline, which was really cool because I never get to see Brittaney & Landon at the same time! I also got go to Charlottesville with my Mom to visit my Uncle and one of my cousins that we don't see very often. My Uncle is a pharmacist at UVA, so I went to work with him for two days (7am - 4pm were two LONG days) and he had me follow around one of the pharmacy technicians that worked there. It was really cool, because I've never actually been exposed to pharmacy, especially in a hospital setting. I helped deliver meds to the bins in each ward, and helped fill some of the pods with medicines for pediatrics, and I went in the IV room (where they make all the IVs--I had to wear a funny hat and shirt and boots and mask). I did other things too, but those were probably the most exciting. A couple days after getting home, I shadowed my other Uncle who works for Glaxosmithkline. That was a complete opposite experience of what I had done just a few days before. I basically just sat in his office and listened to him talk on the phone about lots of things I don't understand. But regardless, it was experience and it was seeing a totally different leg of the pharmaceutical world. Altogether though, shadowing my uncles just made me more confused as to what do I really want to do for the rest of my life. Because really, I just want to sit around and have fun, and not have to work. Don't we all. = )
The first week of August, I went to Hilton Head Island with Landon and his Mom and brother, and brother's friend. It was a lot of fun--we played putt-putt golf, went to see Despicable Me (which was really cute and funny), got Mango Sherbet ice cream, and rode our bikes all around the island. Our last day there, we were riding the bikes on a bike path on one of the roads, and I was looking straight ahead of me, and heard my name. I stopped riding, and who do I see? Matt Corbitt! It was the weirdest thing, because you don't expect to see people you know like that while bike-riding on an island during summer vacation. But it was awesome. So the next day, I get home and after eating dinner with my family, they had some news to break to me. Apparently, while some guys were at our house the previous afternoon fixing the roof, my cat Smokey got scared and ran off the back porch. She is about 13 years old and mainly an indoor cat, but she goes out in the yard all the time, and has never left the yard. For some reason, when she got scared, she ran off, and nobody knows what happened to her. My family looked everywhere for her, and posted signs around the neighborhood. Three days later, we left for the beach, no sign of her anywhere. We're still hoping that maybe she'll come back home, but it's probably not likely. It's been really hard on my family, because she's really been a part of our family for so long. She's the only pet I've ever really hard, so its extremely hard to know that she is out there somewhere, and we don't have any idea as to what happened to her. = ( Just keep her in your prayers.
So that brings me to now. I'm at the beach, and I've been soaking up the sun for the past few days. I've also been working hard on Week of Welcome plans and sending out emails and all that...if you haven't read them or signed up yet, do it!! It's been getting me really excited to go back to school. We also went to Dixie Stampede last night, which was awesome, and I think we're going to a comedy show tonight! It's been nice to have the whole family together before my sister and I go back to school, even though we'll both be in Chapel Hill this time!
I think that's about it. I'll be coming back from the beach on Saturday, packing stuff up on Sunday, and moving in Monday! So to whoever will be there...see you then! After I move in though, I'll probably go back home until Thursday or Friday to say goodbyes and all. But I'll definitely be back by Friday. I can't wait. Happy end of summer, and see you all so so soon!
BWilovethebeachL,
Rachel
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
bitter-sweet summer goodbyes
Hey Weshos!!
This past month at home has gone by pretty fast. The first couple of days home I visited my grandma(my dad's mom) a lot because she was recovering from a knee replacement. She was in a place for the elderly for a week while she was in rehab. The place was actually pretty cool. I kept trying to convince her to play bingo or got to one of the old lady functions but she wouldn't. On July 8th I left for the beach with my mom and niece to stay with my other grandparents at their beach house for a couple of days. We had a lot of fun there. It was my first time in the ocean all Summer and I loved it. I spent the next week reading, relaxing, starting to plan work team trips, and some other things that I can't really remember at the moment. oh wait, I did go to coldstone and target and moe's with Rachel. That was a lot of fun because it was the first time I had seen her since May when I left to go on my trip. I also drove to duke(boo, i know) to pick my cousin up from volleyball camp. I also drove to chapel hill to pick up job applications which speaking of, i seem to have lost all motivation to get a job since I did that. Hopefully I will feel inspired to apply for on soon. Bible school started on July 18th and I helped lead the 8 and 9 years olds. At my church we have different stations(arts, recreation, music, story telling, and discovery center) so basically my job was just to lead them to the stations and make sure they didn't cause too much trouble. It was a lot of fun but exhausting. We had a very talkative group and they had something to say about everything. It was really hot that week so I started bringing them all water after recreation and they all loved me after that. On that Wednesday night I met Kara because she had been in town visiting one of her friends. It was so nice getting to talk to her again. It is really weird to go from seeing a person 24/7 to not at all. So of course saying goodbye to her again was pretty sad. On that Thursday I had a cousin day with my cousin Alexis who is 14 years old(the same cousin i picked up from camp). We started these cousin days a couple of years ago as a way to hang out without the rest of the family. It basically consisted of going to the movies(we watched Knight and Day and Grown Ups) and then going to pizza inn. On Friday, the 23rd, I went to adventure landing with Caroline, Rachel, and Landon. It was really nice getting to see Caroline before she headed back to Arkansas for the rest of the summer. It was also nice to hang out with Landon and Rachel since usually Rachel only gets to hang out with one of us at any given time. (Rachel can say more in her blog if she wants). We played laser tag and mini gold and rode the go karts. It was really hot but we had a good time. I also did some babysitting that week. The couple I babysit for usually have 5 kids but I haven't had to watch them all at the same time so far. Two of the kids are twins and they are one. One kid is 4, one is 5, and the oldest is 8. Starting on the 25th through the 29th, I went to Wilmington to house sit for my dad. It was pretty boring because I didn't have anyone to go to the beach with me. I mostly just watched tv. My friend Amy lives near there but she had to work most of the time. She did get to stay over on that Wednesday night though and it was nice getting to talk to her. On Friday, I met Jan at Elmo's for lunch. It was our first get together now that she is no longer campus minister. That night I hung out at church for a while. My mom was leading a lock in for the little women (it's a younger version of the united methodist women) and I am kind of still in the group even though I am over the age limit. I taught them all how to play the game where you write something down and then people have to pretend it is their story and then we guess whose it actually is. They all seemed to enjoy it. I learned that some people thought my mom was a prostitute at some youth function when she was a teenager so that's always nice. I didn't stay the night though because I have been house sitting all this week for the people with the five kids because they are all out of town. They have 3 dogs that like to eat things when i'm not paying attention. They also have a rabbit, a cat, and four frogs. I have to feed the frogs crickets. I hated it at first but now it's not so bad. I saw toy story 3 for the second time this week and cried again. The 11 year that went with me laughed at me. So that is basically all that has happened but I am pretty sure I probably left something out. I am now starting to read our wesho book. I haven't gotten very far yet but i'll let you know my thoughts when we reunite. I think I am going to chapel hill tomorrow to buy my books since it is tax free weekend. This next week is going to be spent packing and saying goodbye to some friends. I am super excited to go back to chapel hill but at the same time I am actually not hating living at home for once. I don't know exactly when I am moving in yet but i'll let you all know when I do. I can't wait to see you all soon!!
BWalmosttimeL,
Brittaney
This past month at home has gone by pretty fast. The first couple of days home I visited my grandma(my dad's mom) a lot because she was recovering from a knee replacement. She was in a place for the elderly for a week while she was in rehab. The place was actually pretty cool. I kept trying to convince her to play bingo or got to one of the old lady functions but she wouldn't. On July 8th I left for the beach with my mom and niece to stay with my other grandparents at their beach house for a couple of days. We had a lot of fun there. It was my first time in the ocean all Summer and I loved it. I spent the next week reading, relaxing, starting to plan work team trips, and some other things that I can't really remember at the moment. oh wait, I did go to coldstone and target and moe's with Rachel. That was a lot of fun because it was the first time I had seen her since May when I left to go on my trip. I also drove to duke(boo, i know) to pick my cousin up from volleyball camp. I also drove to chapel hill to pick up job applications which speaking of, i seem to have lost all motivation to get a job since I did that. Hopefully I will feel inspired to apply for on soon. Bible school started on July 18th and I helped lead the 8 and 9 years olds. At my church we have different stations(arts, recreation, music, story telling, and discovery center) so basically my job was just to lead them to the stations and make sure they didn't cause too much trouble. It was a lot of fun but exhausting. We had a very talkative group and they had something to say about everything. It was really hot that week so I started bringing them all water after recreation and they all loved me after that. On that Wednesday night I met Kara because she had been in town visiting one of her friends. It was so nice getting to talk to her again. It is really weird to go from seeing a person 24/7 to not at all. So of course saying goodbye to her again was pretty sad. On that Thursday I had a cousin day with my cousin Alexis who is 14 years old(the same cousin i picked up from camp). We started these cousin days a couple of years ago as a way to hang out without the rest of the family. It basically consisted of going to the movies(we watched Knight and Day and Grown Ups) and then going to pizza inn. On Friday, the 23rd, I went to adventure landing with Caroline, Rachel, and Landon. It was really nice getting to see Caroline before she headed back to Arkansas for the rest of the summer. It was also nice to hang out with Landon and Rachel since usually Rachel only gets to hang out with one of us at any given time. (Rachel can say more in her blog if she wants). We played laser tag and mini gold and rode the go karts. It was really hot but we had a good time. I also did some babysitting that week. The couple I babysit for usually have 5 kids but I haven't had to watch them all at the same time so far. Two of the kids are twins and they are one. One kid is 4, one is 5, and the oldest is 8. Starting on the 25th through the 29th, I went to Wilmington to house sit for my dad. It was pretty boring because I didn't have anyone to go to the beach with me. I mostly just watched tv. My friend Amy lives near there but she had to work most of the time. She did get to stay over on that Wednesday night though and it was nice getting to talk to her. On Friday, I met Jan at Elmo's for lunch. It was our first get together now that she is no longer campus minister. That night I hung out at church for a while. My mom was leading a lock in for the little women (it's a younger version of the united methodist women) and I am kind of still in the group even though I am over the age limit. I taught them all how to play the game where you write something down and then people have to pretend it is their story and then we guess whose it actually is. They all seemed to enjoy it. I learned that some people thought my mom was a prostitute at some youth function when she was a teenager so that's always nice. I didn't stay the night though because I have been house sitting all this week for the people with the five kids because they are all out of town. They have 3 dogs that like to eat things when i'm not paying attention. They also have a rabbit, a cat, and four frogs. I have to feed the frogs crickets. I hated it at first but now it's not so bad. I saw toy story 3 for the second time this week and cried again. The 11 year that went with me laughed at me. So that is basically all that has happened but I am pretty sure I probably left something out. I am now starting to read our wesho book. I haven't gotten very far yet but i'll let you know my thoughts when we reunite. I think I am going to chapel hill tomorrow to buy my books since it is tax free weekend. This next week is going to be spent packing and saying goodbye to some friends. I am super excited to go back to chapel hill but at the same time I am actually not hating living at home for once. I don't know exactly when I am moving in yet but i'll let you all know when I do. I can't wait to see you all soon!!
BWalmosttimeL,
Brittaney
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Move-in
Hey guys! I was just wondering when everyone would be moving in to Wesley. I'll be moving in August 16.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Back in America :)
Hey WesHos! I hope your summers continue to be fun and interesting. I miss you all, but I'm finally back home! I flew back from Spain last week after visiting with my family in Castellón for about ten days. The entire time I was in Sevilla, I wasn't homesick or anything, but by the end of my time abroad, I was looking forward to July 7th. My last few weeks in Sevilla were lots of fun, and it's amazing how fast they flew by. The weekend after I went to Rome, the program took us to Granada for the weekend (Saturday/Sunday). It is such a pretty little town. Granada is right in the Sierra Nevada mountains (Spain has some too), and when we were walking around the town, we could see the mountains with their snow-capped peaks. So pretty. Our first day there, we went to see the Cathedral, which was neat, and then the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel, which are next to the tombs of their daughter, Juana la loca, and son-in-law. That was really neat. Then, we were on our own until dinner. I went to a tetería, a tea shop, with some of my friends because apparently when you're in Granada that's just something you should do. I'm not really a big tea drinker, but whatever it was that I got was pretty good. Dinner was also pretty fantastic that night. Three plates (yay Spain); mine were tortilla de patata (made with potatoes, but not like a Latin American tortilla at all), salmon with vegetables, and ice cream with freezer burn for dessert. Yum! After dinner, we had the option of going with our professors to a place with a really pretty view of the city and the Alhambra, which is this fortress/mini-city that was built by the Moors when they were in control of the area. Granada was the last city conquered from the Moors by the Spanish. Anyway, my friends and I decided to go, although we had to go up hill and climb so many steps, I could barely breathe. But the view was so worth it! Then some of us went out in Granada, which was fun, but we didn't stay out too late. Breakfast was included, and it was pretty fantastic. They had scrambled eggs, which I hadn't had in soo long! As well as other stuff. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, but stored our things there until our bus came to take us to la Alhambra later. In the meantime, my friends and I went to find lunch; we found a kebab place, where we got pitas. They are so good, and they're one of the things I'm going to miss from Spain. The tour of the Alhambra was really neat; I took plenty of pictures and wrote about it in my blog if you want to read about it. Classes ended for us on a Tuesday and exams were Thursday and Friday. Wednesday night there was an end-of-the-program cocktail at a hotel near the cathedral. We all got to dress up, so my flats from senior prom actually got used, haha. The cocktail was pretty fun, and the view from the terrace we were on was gorgeous! We saw the sunset and the cathedral's tower was right in front of us! I had an early flight on Saturday (meaning I had to take a cab to the airport at 6:30am), and I wasn't expecting people to go out on Friday, but it was our absolute last night in Sevilla with everyone, so naturally a lot of people did go out (myself included). Despite the fact that I stayed out soo late (I know, big shock) that there was no point in going to sleep, it was completely worth it to spend my last night with the friends I made (good friends too!). I'll tell you more stories later, haha. So, Saturday, I had a flight to Valencia at 9:30, but it was delayed for two hours! And I wasn't feeling super-well, probably because sleep deprivation was catching up to me. When I finally got to Valencia, I couldn't find my aunt and uncle at first, but I went out one exit and back in another door, and I ended up behind this small woman with gray hair who turned out to be my aunt like I hoped. That afternoon, I was never so happy for a big Spanish lunch and siesta after; I needed it so bad. Visiting the family was really nice too. I've met my tía Gea and tío Armando before, but I'd never met my dad's three cousins and their spouses or my cousin Alex (who's 8, so cute!). I'm really glad I had the chance to meet them, and they were all so excited to have me there. My aunt Ana took me to Valencia one day, which was neat; I got to see its cathedral and climb the tower (though I still like the one in Sevilla better, hehe). Another day, I went with my uncle Armando (dad's cousin), his wife Carmen and Alex out on their boat to the delta of the Ebro River, which was really neat. We collected a bunch of shells and I swam in the water a little. Another day, Armando took me to Barcelona! I was completely in awe most of the time. I of course saw the cathedral, but I think my favorite part was seeing (and going inside!) the Sagrada Familia. It was really fun, but I am definitely glad to be home. I missed America! I got home last Wednesday. Friday, I went to see Despicable Me with my friend Kayelin (one of the only people I keep in touch with from high school). I thought it was a cute movie; funny too. The next day, she and I hung around Border's in Beaver Creek. I love Border's. My brother recorded all six Star Wars movies over fourth of July, so I've been watching those over the last few days. I love Star Wars so much. Sunday I got to go to St. Francis again after six weeks away, which was really nice, and yesterday I got to hang out with my friend Jacob which made me really happy because I missed him a lot when I was gone. I really don't have much more planned for the summer, but hopefully I'm able to go up to DC to see Kara; if not, I think she's coming to NC. My friend Chris, who's like another little brother to me, goes to the beach with his family every summer, and he said I can go visit them, so hopefully I'm able to do that, and at the beginning of August I'm going down to Miami to visit my family because my tío Sergio and family are coming up from El Salvador at that time, and I haven't seen them in about two years, so I'm excited about that. Can't wait to see all of you!
BWL,
daniela
BWL,
daniela
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
i can't think of a title
Hellooooo!
A lot has happened since my last blog post. We went hiking in Idaho and I saw a bear. I was a bit scared but it was really cool. A fox got to the baby chicks I told you all about. Kara and I went to feed them one morning and all but one of them had been killed. It was a really sad day. During our last week at the farm with Rick we helped him finish building a greenhouse. It was a lot of fun and we got to use a lot of really cool power tools. One day when he was gone the ram and the goat got out of their fence and kara and I had to chase them back in. I think it would be the most popular video on youtube right now if we had been able to tape it. It was hilarious. I am afraid to give too many details about it because it would probably end up in my senior skit but let’s just say there was a lot of barking involved and it didn’t come from the dogs. Rick also helped us make our own cutting boards. They are really hard to make and I had to keep asking for help but I am really proud of it now. We left his farm on June 11th and drove to Portland, Oregon. We both really enjoyed Portland. They are called the city of roses and were having a big rose festival and parade while we were there. We then drove to the second farm in Alsea, Oregon. Jesse and Eva owned the farm. They were a couple that had just met the summer before in Mexico doing the same thing that Kara and I were doing . We agreed before we got there to stay at least 48 hours. I think we would both agree it was probably the most miserable 48 hours of our lives. I will have to show you all pictures so that you can really understand how awful it was. They did not have any running water so we had to bathe in a freezing cold creek. They also used the creek as a fridge since they didn’t have any electricity and they used the water to cook with. They did have some well water that they claimed was for drinking but it was yellowish and smelled like sulfur so Kara and I were afraid to drink it. There was a plant there called stinging needle that hurts a lot if you touch it. I kept accidently grabbing it and Kara even fell into some. They had a composting toilet that was half built so we were somewhat exposed while we were peeing and we were worried that we might fall in. They had us help them build some of it and we just tried to ignore all of the hazard labels on the lime they were making us touch and breathe in. They also had us putting rabbit poop on top of everything there were trying to grow. It smelt so bad. Thankfully, nothing was actually growing so we didn’t have to eat any of their food which probably would have tasted like poop because they don’t wash anything. Their dog killed the neighbor’s chicken on the first day there and they decided to butcher it and serve it for dinner. Fortunately, when they asked Kara if she wanted to watch them, she told them that she was vegetarian and I was a vegetarian too. It was too soon after the chick incident for me to eat chicken that their dog had killed. There were also snakes everywhere and I was scared the whole time we were there. The first night we slept in a van thing they own that had a couple of beds in it. The second night we saw rats crawling round everywhere and even own the sleeping bags so we left the van, walked through the snake-infested grasses, and slept in Kara’s car. The next day they had to go to their jobs in town so we did our work, cooked them dinner, wrote them a note, and left the farm to go to a hotel. We passed them on the way to town but we don’t think they saw us. We were both so happy to be rid of them and their farm that we didn’t feel bad at all about leaving the way we did. Just turning on the faucet in the hotel was enough to make us really excited. We then left the next morning to head to Colorado where Kara’s family lives. We camped overnight at a campground in Nevada. It was really nice and much warmer than our camping experience in Montana. We stayed with Kara’s grandma for a couple of days in Colorado. It was so nice to be with family after such an awful experience even if they weren’t my family. We went to see Toy Story 3 and we both cried. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should. It is so good. We then found a farm in Boulder, Utah to go to. The farm helped produce food for a local restaurant so we got to eat at the restaurant. They mostly served us leftovers but it was still good. The farmer’s name was Nathaniel. There were also some people working on the farm around our age which was really nice. We did a lot of planting and harvesting and a whole lot of weeding. We had to live in our tent for the first couple of days and then we moved into an airstream which is sort of like an rv type thing. We had two days off, which were when we were allowed to go to the house where a lot of the other staff live and do laundry and shower. On other days we just washed off in the pond on the farm. We went to a summer solstice party which was probably one of the strangest things I have ever been to in my life. We left pretty early because it was nearing our 9:00 bedtime(haha, but seriously) but they seemed to have a lot of fun after we left. Overall, I really enjoyed the farm in Utah and the people. We went to a Mormon church on the Sunday before I left. It was a very interesting experience. I won’t say I loved it but I definitely learned a lot about Mormons and it seems they are at least slightly more like us than I thought. On the 29th I flew out of salt lake city at 7 in the morning. I definitely cried when Kara left me there. When I got home I decided I wanted to go see Eclipse with Jessica(my roommate from last year and good friend) so I bought our tickets and met her there at 9 to wait in line. I was so tired but it was worth it. It was nice getting to talk to her and I thought the movie was the best one yet. Since then I have been mostly relaxing at home. My grandma has knee replacement surgery while I was gone so I have been visiting her and going to doctor’s appointments of my own. The back doctor told me that I don’t have to go back to him until 2012. That was exciting. I hope to go to the beach soon and bible school is coming up soon at my church. I also have to start looking for a job for when I get back to Chapel Hill. I miss you all a lot and I can’t wait to see you.
BWL,
Brittaney
A lot has happened since my last blog post. We went hiking in Idaho and I saw a bear. I was a bit scared but it was really cool. A fox got to the baby chicks I told you all about. Kara and I went to feed them one morning and all but one of them had been killed. It was a really sad day. During our last week at the farm with Rick we helped him finish building a greenhouse. It was a lot of fun and we got to use a lot of really cool power tools. One day when he was gone the ram and the goat got out of their fence and kara and I had to chase them back in. I think it would be the most popular video on youtube right now if we had been able to tape it. It was hilarious. I am afraid to give too many details about it because it would probably end up in my senior skit but let’s just say there was a lot of barking involved and it didn’t come from the dogs. Rick also helped us make our own cutting boards. They are really hard to make and I had to keep asking for help but I am really proud of it now. We left his farm on June 11th and drove to Portland, Oregon. We both really enjoyed Portland. They are called the city of roses and were having a big rose festival and parade while we were there. We then drove to the second farm in Alsea, Oregon. Jesse and Eva owned the farm. They were a couple that had just met the summer before in Mexico doing the same thing that Kara and I were doing . We agreed before we got there to stay at least 48 hours. I think we would both agree it was probably the most miserable 48 hours of our lives. I will have to show you all pictures so that you can really understand how awful it was. They did not have any running water so we had to bathe in a freezing cold creek. They also used the creek as a fridge since they didn’t have any electricity and they used the water to cook with. They did have some well water that they claimed was for drinking but it was yellowish and smelled like sulfur so Kara and I were afraid to drink it. There was a plant there called stinging needle that hurts a lot if you touch it. I kept accidently grabbing it and Kara even fell into some. They had a composting toilet that was half built so we were somewhat exposed while we were peeing and we were worried that we might fall in. They had us help them build some of it and we just tried to ignore all of the hazard labels on the lime they were making us touch and breathe in. They also had us putting rabbit poop on top of everything there were trying to grow. It smelt so bad. Thankfully, nothing was actually growing so we didn’t have to eat any of their food which probably would have tasted like poop because they don’t wash anything. Their dog killed the neighbor’s chicken on the first day there and they decided to butcher it and serve it for dinner. Fortunately, when they asked Kara if she wanted to watch them, she told them that she was vegetarian and I was a vegetarian too. It was too soon after the chick incident for me to eat chicken that their dog had killed. There were also snakes everywhere and I was scared the whole time we were there. The first night we slept in a van thing they own that had a couple of beds in it. The second night we saw rats crawling round everywhere and even own the sleeping bags so we left the van, walked through the snake-infested grasses, and slept in Kara’s car. The next day they had to go to their jobs in town so we did our work, cooked them dinner, wrote them a note, and left the farm to go to a hotel. We passed them on the way to town but we don’t think they saw us. We were both so happy to be rid of them and their farm that we didn’t feel bad at all about leaving the way we did. Just turning on the faucet in the hotel was enough to make us really excited. We then left the next morning to head to Colorado where Kara’s family lives. We camped overnight at a campground in Nevada. It was really nice and much warmer than our camping experience in Montana. We stayed with Kara’s grandma for a couple of days in Colorado. It was so nice to be with family after such an awful experience even if they weren’t my family. We went to see Toy Story 3 and we both cried. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should. It is so good. We then found a farm in Boulder, Utah to go to. The farm helped produce food for a local restaurant so we got to eat at the restaurant. They mostly served us leftovers but it was still good. The farmer’s name was Nathaniel. There were also some people working on the farm around our age which was really nice. We did a lot of planting and harvesting and a whole lot of weeding. We had to live in our tent for the first couple of days and then we moved into an airstream which is sort of like an rv type thing. We had two days off, which were when we were allowed to go to the house where a lot of the other staff live and do laundry and shower. On other days we just washed off in the pond on the farm. We went to a summer solstice party which was probably one of the strangest things I have ever been to in my life. We left pretty early because it was nearing our 9:00 bedtime(haha, but seriously) but they seemed to have a lot of fun after we left. Overall, I really enjoyed the farm in Utah and the people. We went to a Mormon church on the Sunday before I left. It was a very interesting experience. I won’t say I loved it but I definitely learned a lot about Mormons and it seems they are at least slightly more like us than I thought. On the 29th I flew out of salt lake city at 7 in the morning. I definitely cried when Kara left me there. When I got home I decided I wanted to go see Eclipse with Jessica(my roommate from last year and good friend) so I bought our tickets and met her there at 9 to wait in line. I was so tired but it was worth it. It was nice getting to talk to her and I thought the movie was the best one yet. Since then I have been mostly relaxing at home. My grandma has knee replacement surgery while I was gone so I have been visiting her and going to doctor’s appointments of my own. The back doctor told me that I don’t have to go back to him until 2012. That was exciting. I hope to go to the beach soon and bible school is coming up soon at my church. I also have to start looking for a job for when I get back to Chapel Hill. I miss you all a lot and I can’t wait to see you.
BWL,
Brittaney
Monday, July 5, 2010
I miss you!
Hey everybody!!
I feel like I haven't heard from you all in forEVER...and that is NOT good. We're going to have to fix that.
So, since last time I posted on here, my summer has finally kicked off! But before that happened, I struggled through the end of my physics class. I seriously don't want to deal with a situation like that ever again, hahaha. I had such a hard time studying for the final. My whole family went out on the lake the weekend before the exam, and I stayed home to try to study. Needless to say, two hours later I was out on the boat with them. I brought my stuff out there to study, and ended up dropping all of my test papers in the water. I managed to recover them all...but it was rather funny. At that point I really just didn't care. = ) But anyway, so I walked into my final feeling good, and ready to get it over with. The final was eight questions. I got my exam, looked through it, and realized that I maybe knew how to solve one problem on there. I've never felt so dumb in my entire life. I honestly think my score on that final was around a 20. And yet a few days later, my final grade was posted. I was beyond ecstatic to see that I got an A- for the class. God was most certainly with me when those grades were being decided.
After I finished with physics, I spent pretty much the next week going to various doctors appointments I had scheduled. One of those is my jaw doctor (for those of you who may not know, I've had arthritis in my jaw since I was 16. crazy), and he actually sent me back to physical therapy for a few weeks because my jaw has been in a lot more pain that usual for the past couple months. Hopefully it will help, but we'll see!
Finally, I kicked my summer off with an amazing trip to Florida! I went with my mom, my boyfriend Landon, his mom, and his younger brother. We left on a Thursday afternoon around 6pm and drove all night straight to Universal Islands of Adventure. We got there at about 5:30am, and went and parked until we could get into the park. We headed straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, because we heard the lines to get in were ridiculous. As exciting as it was to be there and see the castle and everything come to life, I think we were all a little bit disappointed by what was there. It was just so crowded it was so difficult to get around or get into any of the stores. But we still enjoyed it, especially the Forbidden Journey ride inside the castle. That ride was really cool...but we headed out of that part of the park, and went on to the rest of the Islands.
That night, we all finally got to the condo we stayed at, Bahama Bay Resort, and completely crashed. For the next week, we woke up early every morning, headed to a park, played all day, and got back late. It was the most exhausting vacation I've ever been on, but it was also so much fun. I really loved just being able to be a kid, and run around Disney World, and get excited by the simplest things. The second day we did the water park Typhoon Lagoon in the afternoon and Epcot that night. The third we did Animal Kingdom, which I had never been to, so I really really enjoyed that. It was just so different and more relaxing than a lot of the other parks. The fourth day we went to Universal Studios, which had a lot of new rides as well. The last time I was there I was ten years old, so I really don't remember much of what it was like! Day 5, we slept in and went back to Islands of Adventure for the second half of the day to finish up some stuff we had wanted to ride.
On day 6, we did Hollywood Studios (previously MGM), which we didn't expect to spend much time at. But they have this thing there called the American Idol Experience, and Landon decided to audition for it just for fun. Of course, he ended up making it into the show, which is basically a mock version of the real American Idol! It was so awesome seeing him up on the huge stage, and he was so excited. He sang "Circle of Life," perfect since we were at Disney, and competed against two girls. The audience voted, and he didn't win his round, but was still so amazed at being able to sing up there that he didn't even care. He actually had people from the audience coming up to him afterwards telling him that they voted for him, and that he would be crazy not to audition for the actual show. So, it was an extremely exciting afternoon! On our last day, we went to Magic Kingdom, and ended up riding Space Mountain 4 times..woohoo! It was awesome. The next morning we came home, and I still feel like I haven't had a chance to relax. But it was such an amazing trip, and I had SO much fun. I'll be posting pictures in the next couple days if you want to check them out!
Hopefully I haven't bored you too much with my Disney adventures, but that's pretty much my exciting adventure for the summer! I did fireworks with my family last night, as always, and also went to the Fuquay fireworks July 3rd, so that was fun. I've also got a John Mayer concert coming up in a couple weeks, and at the end of the month I'll be heading to Virginia for a couple days to shadow my uncle who works as a pharmacist in a hospital. Ahh, summer is going by WAY too fast! I'll be looking forward to hearing about all of your adventures from the past few weeks. Hopefully they've been very exciting. I miss you all so much, and I can't wait to start the first of many fun times we're all going to have in the next year. = )
BWhappy4thofjulyL,
Rachel
I feel like I haven't heard from you all in forEVER...and that is NOT good. We're going to have to fix that.
So, since last time I posted on here, my summer has finally kicked off! But before that happened, I struggled through the end of my physics class. I seriously don't want to deal with a situation like that ever again, hahaha. I had such a hard time studying for the final. My whole family went out on the lake the weekend before the exam, and I stayed home to try to study. Needless to say, two hours later I was out on the boat with them. I brought my stuff out there to study, and ended up dropping all of my test papers in the water. I managed to recover them all...but it was rather funny. At that point I really just didn't care. = ) But anyway, so I walked into my final feeling good, and ready to get it over with. The final was eight questions. I got my exam, looked through it, and realized that I maybe knew how to solve one problem on there. I've never felt so dumb in my entire life. I honestly think my score on that final was around a 20. And yet a few days later, my final grade was posted. I was beyond ecstatic to see that I got an A- for the class. God was most certainly with me when those grades were being decided.
After I finished with physics, I spent pretty much the next week going to various doctors appointments I had scheduled. One of those is my jaw doctor (for those of you who may not know, I've had arthritis in my jaw since I was 16. crazy), and he actually sent me back to physical therapy for a few weeks because my jaw has been in a lot more pain that usual for the past couple months. Hopefully it will help, but we'll see!
Finally, I kicked my summer off with an amazing trip to Florida! I went with my mom, my boyfriend Landon, his mom, and his younger brother. We left on a Thursday afternoon around 6pm and drove all night straight to Universal Islands of Adventure. We got there at about 5:30am, and went and parked until we could get into the park. We headed straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, because we heard the lines to get in were ridiculous. As exciting as it was to be there and see the castle and everything come to life, I think we were all a little bit disappointed by what was there. It was just so crowded it was so difficult to get around or get into any of the stores. But we still enjoyed it, especially the Forbidden Journey ride inside the castle. That ride was really cool...but we headed out of that part of the park, and went on to the rest of the Islands.
That night, we all finally got to the condo we stayed at, Bahama Bay Resort, and completely crashed. For the next week, we woke up early every morning, headed to a park, played all day, and got back late. It was the most exhausting vacation I've ever been on, but it was also so much fun. I really loved just being able to be a kid, and run around Disney World, and get excited by the simplest things. The second day we did the water park Typhoon Lagoon in the afternoon and Epcot that night. The third we did Animal Kingdom, which I had never been to, so I really really enjoyed that. It was just so different and more relaxing than a lot of the other parks. The fourth day we went to Universal Studios, which had a lot of new rides as well. The last time I was there I was ten years old, so I really don't remember much of what it was like! Day 5, we slept in and went back to Islands of Adventure for the second half of the day to finish up some stuff we had wanted to ride.
On day 6, we did Hollywood Studios (previously MGM), which we didn't expect to spend much time at. But they have this thing there called the American Idol Experience, and Landon decided to audition for it just for fun. Of course, he ended up making it into the show, which is basically a mock version of the real American Idol! It was so awesome seeing him up on the huge stage, and he was so excited. He sang "Circle of Life," perfect since we were at Disney, and competed against two girls. The audience voted, and he didn't win his round, but was still so amazed at being able to sing up there that he didn't even care. He actually had people from the audience coming up to him afterwards telling him that they voted for him, and that he would be crazy not to audition for the actual show. So, it was an extremely exciting afternoon! On our last day, we went to Magic Kingdom, and ended up riding Space Mountain 4 times..woohoo! It was awesome. The next morning we came home, and I still feel like I haven't had a chance to relax. But it was such an amazing trip, and I had SO much fun. I'll be posting pictures in the next couple days if you want to check them out!
Hopefully I haven't bored you too much with my Disney adventures, but that's pretty much my exciting adventure for the summer! I did fireworks with my family last night, as always, and also went to the Fuquay fireworks July 3rd, so that was fun. I've also got a John Mayer concert coming up in a couple weeks, and at the end of the month I'll be heading to Virginia for a couple days to shadow my uncle who works as a pharmacist in a hospital. Ahh, summer is going by WAY too fast! I'll be looking forward to hearing about all of your adventures from the past few weeks. Hopefully they've been very exciting. I miss you all so much, and I can't wait to start the first of many fun times we're all going to have in the next year. = )
BWhappy4thofjulyL,
Rachel
Sunday, June 6, 2010
¡Hola amigos!
Hey friends! I hope everything's been going well for you! I can't believe how long it's been since I've seen your lovely faces. I am having so much fun in Spain! My señora is really nice, and I don't live too far from the school. All the students take two classes. I'm taking History of Spanish Art and Spanish Literature since 1700. I really like the art class; the literature class is bearable. Good thing I already have credit for it at UNC. I like the people in the program with me. I've even got a group of friends here that I hang out with, which for me is pretty exciting. We had a four day weekend this past weekend for Corpus Christi (yay Catholic countries!) so I went to Rome with my friends Jonathan and Elizabeth. It was so much fun! It's still hard to believe that I was just in Rome! I took so many pictures. We flew in on Wednesday after class. After checking into the hotel, we wandered around trying to find an open restaurant. I'm not sure which street we went down, but we weren't seeing many restaurants. Plus, it was apparently a national holiday, so lots of places were closed. We finally found a restaurant that was open and while our waiter didn't know English, he did speak Spanish so that was lucky. Naturally, we had pizza for dinner and it was pretty good. Yes, I took pictures. The next day, Thursday, we went to the Colosseum. It was so cool! Our ticket to the Colosseum also let us in to see the Forum and Palatine Hill, which is where the twins Romulus and Remus were supposedly found by the She-Wolf (that's actually what the lupa is translated as, haha). Then Romulus murdered Remus and founded Rome. After hanging around there, we went to the Trevi Fountain. It was absolutely stunning! The three of each made a wish.The next day, we went to the Vatican. So, this weekend, I was in two European countries. It was so neat to stand in St. Peter's Square. I didn't actually cry because I never show emotion or anything like that, but I totally could have. We spent most of the time in the Vatican Museums which are so neat! I got to see the Sistine Chapel! I could hardly breathe. I think this whole weekend was my Gettysburg. Saturday we explored a little more, going to places in a small guidebook we got for free.All I ate was pizza, pasta and gelatto. In all, a fantastic weekend, though it's great to be back in Sevilla. My program is already half-way over, and I can hardly believe it! After it's done, I'm going to visit my tía Gea and tío Armando near Valencia for about a week; then, I'll be heading back to the USA where I better get to see you all again!
BWmiss you lotsL,
Daniela
p.s. I want to send you all postcards, so email me/Facebook message me your addresses!
BWmiss you lotsL,
Daniela
p.s. I want to send you all postcards, so email me/Facebook message me your addresses!
Friday, June 4, 2010
i can't believe it's already june
Hey weshos!!
Sorry i'm a bit behind with the blogging. I haven't had internet access for the past two weeks. So my summer so far has been pretty awesome. The first week of summer I went to stay at my dad's house in wilmington. It was a lot of fun getting to catch up with him and some of my friends that live around there. I even got to go to the beach one day which was really nice. I also went bowling and to the movies which are two of my favorite things to do. The next week I was really lazy. I spent the whole week laying around, watching movies on netflix, and packing. On May 22nd, the real fun began. I rode the train to dc to meet up with kara. We left that sunday to begin our organic farming adventure. We stopped overnight in ohio, iowa, south dakota, and montana. We even got to see mount rushmore and visit a corn palace(which, btw, is definitely not much to see). On the drive I was able to read a book called the hunger games. It was really good. We stayed with kara's family and friends every night except for the night in montana. That night we decided to camp out. It was cold and rainy and not very fun at all. Other than that the whole road trip was a blast. We got to see a lot of pretty scenery. On may 28th, we arrived at the farm in idaho. The farmer's name is rick and he has a twelve year old daughter named Salange who we get to see when she is staying with him. Every morning we wake up around seven, eat breakfast, and do the morning chores which consist of collecting eggs and feeding the chickens, sheep, and goat. He has several lamb. They are so cute, but I am trying not to get too attached because he is raising them for meat. He also has about 30 really adorable chicks that he is also raising for meat. The rest of the day we usually do whatever else he wants us to do which so far has included drilling, sawing, and screwing as we are helping him build another greenhouse, planting vegetables in his garden, scooping manure and straw out of a barn to make a new home for the chicks, and stacking wood. The work can be a bit exhausting but it is also quite rewarding. It is nice to not have to worry about tests and papers for awhile. Last Sunday we went to a Quaker meeting. It is an hour of complete silence which was so nice because I was able to just think and pray and relax. Rick can be a bit of a talker so it was nice to have some time to myself. The food so far has been both good and bad. The first day we had some form of egg for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't like eggs so I was a bit concerned that I was going to starve. It has gotten much better since then though. I tried tofu for the first time the other night. ugh. it was gross. Currently we are house sitting for Rick's ex-wife until sunday. It is nice to have a bit of a break and to be able to get on the internet. We return to the farm on Sunday and stay until friday. Then we will head on to another farm in Oregon. I am hoping it will be a bit warmer and less rainy there. We are going hiking tomorrow and it is supposed to be sunny. I am really excited about that. I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far!
BWL,
Brittaney
Sorry i'm a bit behind with the blogging. I haven't had internet access for the past two weeks. So my summer so far has been pretty awesome. The first week of summer I went to stay at my dad's house in wilmington. It was a lot of fun getting to catch up with him and some of my friends that live around there. I even got to go to the beach one day which was really nice. I also went bowling and to the movies which are two of my favorite things to do. The next week I was really lazy. I spent the whole week laying around, watching movies on netflix, and packing. On May 22nd, the real fun began. I rode the train to dc to meet up with kara. We left that sunday to begin our organic farming adventure. We stopped overnight in ohio, iowa, south dakota, and montana. We even got to see mount rushmore and visit a corn palace(which, btw, is definitely not much to see). On the drive I was able to read a book called the hunger games. It was really good. We stayed with kara's family and friends every night except for the night in montana. That night we decided to camp out. It was cold and rainy and not very fun at all. Other than that the whole road trip was a blast. We got to see a lot of pretty scenery. On may 28th, we arrived at the farm in idaho. The farmer's name is rick and he has a twelve year old daughter named Salange who we get to see when she is staying with him. Every morning we wake up around seven, eat breakfast, and do the morning chores which consist of collecting eggs and feeding the chickens, sheep, and goat. He has several lamb. They are so cute, but I am trying not to get too attached because he is raising them for meat. He also has about 30 really adorable chicks that he is also raising for meat. The rest of the day we usually do whatever else he wants us to do which so far has included drilling, sawing, and screwing as we are helping him build another greenhouse, planting vegetables in his garden, scooping manure and straw out of a barn to make a new home for the chicks, and stacking wood. The work can be a bit exhausting but it is also quite rewarding. It is nice to not have to worry about tests and papers for awhile. Last Sunday we went to a Quaker meeting. It is an hour of complete silence which was so nice because I was able to just think and pray and relax. Rick can be a bit of a talker so it was nice to have some time to myself. The food so far has been both good and bad. The first day we had some form of egg for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't like eggs so I was a bit concerned that I was going to starve. It has gotten much better since then though. I tried tofu for the first time the other night. ugh. it was gross. Currently we are house sitting for Rick's ex-wife until sunday. It is nice to have a bit of a break and to be able to get on the internet. We return to the farm on Sunday and stay until friday. Then we will head on to another farm in Oregon. I am hoping it will be a bit warmer and less rainy there. We are going hiking tomorrow and it is supposed to be sunny. I am really excited about that. I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far!
BWL,
Brittaney
Monday, May 31, 2010
Summer, I need you to start for REAL.
Well hello everyone!
I hope you're all enjoying your break so far! Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a break yet. = (
Even though we've been out for only three weeks, it seems like forever to me! I've been taking physics at UNC since then, and boy oh boy is that a blast! Honestly though, I'm definitely struggling through it. Physics in five weeks is tough. I made a 64 on the first test, woo hoo!! Haha. I've got another one this Friday, so hopefully that one will go better...and then the final in just two weeks. I sure hope those weeks go by fast. Everyday, I go park at Wesley and walk through there on my way to class...and its weird not having anybody there! I don't like it at all. But it definitely makes me excited for next year, knowing that will be my (and OUR) home!
Hmm...so besides my wonderful physics adventures, I really don't think I've done much that is exactly blog-worthy. But I've really enjoyed finally being back home after the past year. I love being able to spend time with my parents, have dinners with them, and just relax and watch tv with them! Of course it's also been great to spend time with Landon (the boyfriend). He's definitely happy to have me back home, and excited to be finally graduating from high school. I also had a really relaxing memorial day weekend, just hanging out with family friends and all. Today my family went out on Harris Lake, something we always look forward to over summer. We have a boat, so we always go out on the lake on nice weekends and tube and ski. I love it, so I had a lot of fun and am really starting to look forward to the rest of summer!
Other than that, I'm working on planning a trip to Disney/Universal at the end of June. The Harry Potter theme park opens up...so I've gotta go! It looks like it's going to be my mom and I, and my boyfriend and his family going (my mom is Harry Potter obsessed too, so she has to jump at the opportunity). But more on that for my next post! It sounds like David had a great time there, so I'm pretty pumped...although I'm sure I won't be going behind-the-scenes and all that jazz. But still. The last time I went to Disney, I was like 10, so I don't remember any of it. I love being able to be a kid. = )
That's about it, so I think I'll wrap it up. I'm just ready for my real summer to start. Two weeks and counting!! I hope everyone enjoys their next few weeks. It sounds like some of you are really on some exciting adventures! Until next time...
BWiwanttobeoutofschoolL,
Rachel
I hope you're all enjoying your break so far! Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a break yet. = (
Even though we've been out for only three weeks, it seems like forever to me! I've been taking physics at UNC since then, and boy oh boy is that a blast! Honestly though, I'm definitely struggling through it. Physics in five weeks is tough. I made a 64 on the first test, woo hoo!! Haha. I've got another one this Friday, so hopefully that one will go better...and then the final in just two weeks. I sure hope those weeks go by fast. Everyday, I go park at Wesley and walk through there on my way to class...and its weird not having anybody there! I don't like it at all. But it definitely makes me excited for next year, knowing that will be my (and OUR) home!
Hmm...so besides my wonderful physics adventures, I really don't think I've done much that is exactly blog-worthy. But I've really enjoyed finally being back home after the past year. I love being able to spend time with my parents, have dinners with them, and just relax and watch tv with them! Of course it's also been great to spend time with Landon (the boyfriend). He's definitely happy to have me back home, and excited to be finally graduating from high school. I also had a really relaxing memorial day weekend, just hanging out with family friends and all. Today my family went out on Harris Lake, something we always look forward to over summer. We have a boat, so we always go out on the lake on nice weekends and tube and ski. I love it, so I had a lot of fun and am really starting to look forward to the rest of summer!
Other than that, I'm working on planning a trip to Disney/Universal at the end of June. The Harry Potter theme park opens up...so I've gotta go! It looks like it's going to be my mom and I, and my boyfriend and his family going (my mom is Harry Potter obsessed too, so she has to jump at the opportunity). But more on that for my next post! It sounds like David had a great time there, so I'm pretty pumped...although I'm sure I won't be going behind-the-scenes and all that jazz. But still. The last time I went to Disney, I was like 10, so I don't remember any of it. I love being able to be a kid. = )
That's about it, so I think I'll wrap it up. I'm just ready for my real summer to start. Two weeks and counting!! I hope everyone enjoys their next few weeks. It sounds like some of you are really on some exciting adventures! Until next time...
BWiwanttobeoutofschoolL,
Rachel
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Dear Summer 2010: I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Howdy friends!
I hope my future housemates are doing wonderfully! I can't believe we've been out of school for a week and half. It seems so short, but so much has happened. Allow me to fill you in on my adventures...
Mom picked me up after Design Team retreat and we went straight home. And then I went straight to packing. At 6:00 the next morning we started the ten-hour trek to Disney World. Disney was, of course, magical, but I actually managed to get a ton of rest. Reading by the pool, sleeping in late, afternoon naps. Sure I rode every ride possible and ate the best ice cream I could get my hands on, but I really just needed a nice break with my family. The other highlight was an extremely interesting behind the scenes tour of Magic Kingdom. My mom and dad are obsessed with Disney (well, mom more so than dad), so they decided to sign the three of up for an epic tour of the backlots behind Magic Kingdom and the system of tunnels underground. It was super cool. It was so neat to learn how this huge theme park operates, seeing how thousands of people work constantly to create the magic. I think it was that afternoon that my parents discovered my tattoo. Surprise, mom and dad!
We returned home this past Saturday. Just like before, I went straight to packing, this time for a summer-long stay in Chapel Hill. Mom helped me move in to this wonderful house on Hillsborough Street so close to everything. My roommate (another David) is an awesome friend of mine from the Campus Y. My other housemates are involved with the Y as well. The house is so fun! The past 48 hours have been truly miraculous. We've already had communal dinners, movie nights and hours of laughter. My summer job is already going well, too. I'm interning at the Genesis Home, a not-for-profit in Durham that helps families transition from homelessness. I'm working on development projects (which is a fancy way of saying 'fundraising'). The work is really cool. I'm streamlining their listserv database, creating a monthly giving campaign, and writing grants. A lot of grants worth a lot of money. The job is 9-5; it's so nice to drive home and not think about anything but having a wonderful summertime. It gives me plenty of time to catch up with friends and learn how to play the guitar (I WILL figure this instrument out!).
That's all for now! Friends, enjoy this summer to the fullest. "I thank God every time I remember you" (Phil. 1:3). Peace be with you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
