Birthdays, Cinco de Mayo, and Wal-Mart Galore!

This weekend was extremely eventful and definitely exhausting! I had 4 birthdays to celebrate, errands to run, and  (very little) sleeping to do.

Friday was my day off, making for a great kickstart to the weekend. I ate Jimmy's Egg for breakfast (which, if you haven't eaten there, you MUST go right now and try their pancakes-- I also recommend the Angry Burrito) followed by seeing Iron Man 3. I was originally supposed to see it at midnight Thursday night, but the old lady inside of me turned my 15 minute nap into a 9 hour slumber. The rest of the day involved chores/errands/bathing and reading outside for an hour. Then I was off to dinner to begin the birthday weekend festivities. My friend Kathryne was celebrating the beginning of her birthday week with dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Mi Cocina. I was able to get a free margarita out of the deal, which was a great surprise! After dinner I went and picked up my friend Kara to head to our friend Nick's birthday party. We both thought we had to be home early though, so the party was short lived for us. 

I was supposed to wake up bright and early the next day, but with it nearly sleeting outside (IN MAY) the volunteering was cancelled. Since I was already up, dressed, and sporting my snow boots, I decided I still needed to go out and about. Mallori and I went to Wal-mart so that I could by some paint to fix a dent in my car. While at Wal-mart, we realized we needed toiletries, then that Mallori needed things for work, and then I needed groceries. During our adventure we decided to throw an impromptu Quatro de Mayo dinner and have Tacos and Margaritas. After a long brunch with my brothers at Leon's, we hurried to the apartment to clean and start making margaritas cooking. We had quite a few friends head over, and it was a very fun night! Around 10 we moved the gathering to Caravan to celebrate Mallori's boyfriend's birthday (3rd one to celebrate this weekend). The Caravan wasn't as busy as usual, but that didn't stop us from line dancing, two-stepping, and dancing ridiculously.

Some Boot Scootin' Boogie:

Sunday I was up early for church, even though I forgot to set my alarm. Gotta love that internal clock sometimes! After church it was time to celebrate my brother Evan's 30th birthday with a crawfish boil. If you haven't been to a crawfish boil before-- you are missing out!! This crawfish was flown in fresh from Louisiana  and it made my stomach very happy (maybe since it was my first non-Mexican meal since Thursday). We got to eat, watch the Thunder game, and enjoy 60 degree weather that did NOT include rain! I didn't get home until night-fall, and all I wanted to do was watch Grey's Anatomy and sleep. 

  

This weekend was one for the books, but I am ready for another weekend just to recover!

Weird Wednesday

Nope, I haven't already forgotten my blog again. My computer has been sent in to the lovely folks at Dell to fix it up for the last time (my 4 year warranty has taken its final bow). Since my pictures are all with it, I am putting a pause on the summer-picture-catching-up. 

So, I really like memes. Memes of all types. Because of this, each Wednesday will now be Weird Wednesday. This is part because I am weird, and part because maybe I will finally get used to spelling weird correctly (my brain is positive it is spelled "ie" not "ei"-- it is wrong). This might already be a meme in Blog Land, but I am too tired to search and find out.

Each Wednesday I will post something that I think is really weird. 

Weird Wednesday:

When people eat string cheese without stringing it. Why don't you just call it "mozerella" instead?? String cheese is called STRING cheese for a reason!

RIGHT WAY TO EAT STRING CHEESE:

  
Peel the cheese! Look how happy this girl looks, because she is having so much fun eating her cheese.


WRONG WAY TO EAT STRING CHEESE:

  

DO NOT stuff the cheese in your mouth!! This baby already looks miserable, and why would you want to be an angry wolf?? I sure don't want to be an angry wolf.

Why you should eat String Cheese the correct way:

  

Look at all the fun you can have when eating it the string way!

If any of you eat string cheese the wrong way, I invite you to try the new way. You most likely already know how unless you have a sad allergy to bananas:

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

AWESOME:

-The weather being in the upper 60s all week

-Groundhogs day says more winter! This is awesome because winter hasn't started yet.

-Ordering girl scout cookies! Samoas and Trefoils, here I come!!!

-Laughing to tears 3 times in the past week with my friends

-Discovering the animal "finger monkey" on Google Images thanks to my friend michelle

-Going to and 80s themed date party

-Pilates, Guitar, and Creative therapies being my most of my class schedule

-Frozen Sangria. Strawberry Margarita. Need I say more?

-Reading for fun!

-Organizing my jewelry and hanging up the rest of my decorations... 

including this new poster:

Awkward:
-Wearing summer clothes in January. I packed up all my summer clothes and took them home. : |
-OU put in the paper that we will now only have 1 day off school for snow because they upgraded the maintenance equipment. Womp womp.
-My friends thinking I am crazy for loving tiny animals (finger monkeys, dwarf goats, lap giraffes, and teacup pigs) and obsessing over them on Google image search.
-Having a class on Thursday nights from 6:30-9:20 that always gets out late.
-Going to a date party with a freshman/18 year old. I had fun though!
-Volunteering for "family mapping" in my Creative therapies class. You pick people in the class to be your family, then place them near/far from each other depending on how close they are. You also pick the emotion on their faces. I even had to pick someone to be me.
-Going to Ted's and being the only one dressed up in 80s attire
-Facebook. Timeline.

Weekend Numero Dos in DC

This weekend was a lot of fun, but kept me very busy! Friday I met up with some of the girls at Metro Center to do some shopping at Forever 21. Now, I know that I am from Oklahoma, but this was the biggest Forever 21 I have ever seen in my life. Too big. We walked in and I thought, "wow-- this is too much to handle." Then I found out that there were two other floors. I didn't know what to do. By default and because it didn't look overwhelming, I started at the jewelery. Unfortunately, that section is just the same size as at any store. After that section, I was forced to face the horror. Forever 21, if you don't shop there, doesn't know how to organize their clothes. They attempt having "themes" in certain areas, but really-- it is all over the place. In a normal sized store, you have to be in the right mindset to shop there. If you aren't ready for it, you won't find anything because you won't know where to start. You can have to frames of mind: 1- "I know exactly what I am looking for." Or 2- "I don't care how much I have to try on, I just want really cute clothes to make me feel like I am cute and trendy and make myself seem like an awesome person."

Well, I didn't have either of these mindsets. I wandered around aimlessly. Up the Escalator. Down the Escalator. Around the corner. Under the iron beam (really). Did you know that Forever 21 makes children's clothing? Did you know they make maternity clothing? Yeah, I didn't either. And of course, in F-21 style, there are no signs to tell you this. You just walk into a doorway and BAM. Clothing for toddlers that belongs on the front of InStyle Magazine. It was crazy. I tried on the least amount I have ever tried on at a F-21. That is just how overwhelmed I was.
When we got back, I was in a really wierd mood. My mind was in shock. Denise (one of my roommates) and I went to get dinner, and I wanted to choose the place with the least options possible. I felt bad because she had recommended Whole Foods. I just couldn't handle that many options. Forever 21 had ruined options in my brain. We went to this italian restaurant down the road, and I had Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was really tasty and comforting. Later that night, over half of us (there are 55 total) went out. It was a lot of fun to dance around and have fun with my new friends. I followed the night by a beautiful round of sleeping in on Saturday morning.

After I woke up Saturday, 3 of the guys and I went to the National Museum of Natural History. We weren't really into the museum thing, and were pretty silent the whole time. It was neat stuff, but we were all worn out from the whole week. After that we hung out in Adam's Morgan a bit, and then headed home. We ended up losing one of the guys when we all stopped for a bathroom break at McDonalds. We thought he died; he thought we left him. It all ended up fine though! While walking back to the dorms, I was plotting getting food, when we ran into two girls who were doing just that. I joined them and we went to "Steak n' Egg." It was a really small breakfast diner. The kind that only have room to sit at the bar, where you can watch them cook. It was so delicious, and I really would not mind eating there every single day. No lie. But, then again, I love breakfast. Apparently they also have really good philly cheese steaks, which I will definitely be trying! When we returned to the dorms, I joined yet another group to go see the movie "Super 8." It was pretty good, but not life-changing like I expected. Then it was bed time fo' real.

Sunday I woke up late once again, and was loving it. I found out really sad news about a family friend's murder in Tulsa last week. We used to spend a lot of time with their family, because their son's were the same age as Blake and I. I remember baseball games and randomly visiting their house, and all around really good memories of them growing up. It is a sad loss, and another reminder that we are not guaranteed every day. To lift up my spirits, I joined 3 of the guys (I guess I was all about hanging out with the guys this weekend) on a journey to a Taco Bell. It was truly a journey- about 20 minutes on the metro. It was worth it though. It was in Union Station, which had more places to eat than any mall ever (reminiscent of my F-21 visit two days prior). I knew what I wanted though, and the Taco Bell was just what my tastebuds missed. :)
The rest of the day was spent relaxing and at an emotionally draining group meeting about self-awareness. Lots of self-reflection. We were drained. I went to get pad thai to-go, ate it in our room, and pretty much laid in bed the rest of the night. It felt lovely.

:)

The Daily Grind

The rest of the week of work went much smoother. On Tuesday I received everything I needed and was able to get to work. I was completely unsure of what to do. My job for now is to work Help Desk and answer technical support calls. At first, I really didn't know what I was doing. As the week went on, though, I was able to get into the swing of things. On Friday, I answered multiple calls without getting help from anybody. I was so proud of myself! There are still lots of things I don't know, but since I have only been here a week and have never seen a lot of the systems being used, it is okay. If I knew everything at this point I would probably be smart enough to conquer the world. Luckily, I don't know everything and have no desire to be responsible for the welfare of our planet.

Class last week made life a little bit intense. Tuesday and Thursday nights, I have my Formation of Federal Indian Policy class. The teacher seems pretty cool, but he also loves the idea of 20 minute breaks in class. That I am not a big fan of, especially since on Thursday we didn't get out of class until 9:45 pm. Eek. Hopefully it will get better though. Wednesday I have my Internship/Leadership class, and I am not quite sure what we are doing in there. We talked a lot about what a good student is- between bookworm or someone who isn't as grade smart but is really involved in school. I am not quite sure the direction this class is going to go in. However, this class let out early, which made me happy. Our time is so limited that each minute is precious.

On Tuesday and Thursday night, I tried out our cafeteria. Frankly, it was wierd. The food wasn't good and the cafeteria reminded me of high school. There are other places to eat farther on campus, so I might have to start trying those out. Though, with limited time I will have to be careful planning that out. I will keep eating it, though, because we get 50 meals for the summer that you can only use at the cafeteria. Womp womp. OU's cafeteria and other food places really spoiled me. ...I feel like my posts keep talking about how OU has spoiled me. That just means life there is oh-so-great. :)

Wednesday night I got to meet my "cousin" Alice in Dupont Circle. She was here for a few days, so we went to get dinner after I got off work and before class. We went to a burger joint for the sole reason that it had milkshakes. It was SO HOT that day. I was dying. I also wasn't very hungry, so I probably shouldn't have chosen this burger place. But the milkshake was so worth it.

On Friday, work was very enjoyable. Since I was answering calls on my own and wasn't asking for help as much, it felt great. Also, the woman I met on Monday who had the cute puppy brought us pizza for lunch. It was from Whole Foods, and was actually pretty good. The slices were HUGE, so I only had one. I have been having pretty small meals all week, too. I think my stomach is shrinking. It is going to be really interesting to see what all this small meal-eating and lots of walking does to me over the summer. Now, if I can just find an outdoor swimming pool....

:)

If I Were One of the Seven Dwarves..

...then on my first day of work I would have been Sleepy.

I had a rough time getting to sleep on Sunday night, which was no surprise since anticipation was starting to creep in. I left a little after 6:30 am to get to work to ensure my timely arrival. Timely was supposed to mean a couple minutes early. Timely ended up meaning 45 minutes early. I had brought pop tarts and juice for breakfast, since I figured I would be a little early. However, since I had so much time I stopped at a store and got a muffin and a banana. I ate as slowly as possible and attempted to look to my phone to keep me busy. However, the rest of my world just isn't awake and willing to entertain at 7:30 am Eastern Time. I went to find my building, and did very quickly. That was not what I intended, once again. I sat outside the building staring at my phone for a while. The guard saw me (and recognized me later- just my luck), as well as a lot of other people going to work in my building, so I felt a little awkward. When it was close enough to the time I was to show up, I went inside and checked in. I sat for quite a while, and eventually the lady got a phone call and asked where I was interning. I never really got that information, so I wasn't much help. Someone who was overseeing another intern took me under his wing, and also was able to track down who my supervisor is. I was taught about the agency and what they do. I was right that they are just like the FDIC, but for Credit Unions. They are much smaller than the FDIC as well, but that makes sense.

The morning was spent with my supervisor showing me around and me getting acquainted with my desk. HR wasn't able to process my paperwork yet, so I wasn't able to get started on work. The worker in the next cubicle decided to teach me about what I would be doing. He was really nice and helpful. For lunch I went nearby to a mediterranean place and had a gyro. It was no comparison to Greek House in Norman, but then again it is hard to beat Greek House. After lunch I got to sit with another woman in my department to watch her do some of the things I will be doing. We talked a lot about our lives and she showed me pictures of her family and really cute puppy. I like her a lot, but unfortunately for me she works from home a couple days a week. That's okay though because everyone here seems really nice and fun. After I sat with her, I was finally able to get my ID and we could get started on getting my computer ready. I sat with another woman in my office, and she was getting all the intern computers ready at one time. After that, there wasn't much for me to do. I had a lot of downtime today, simply because it took time to get everything ready. Luckily, I had a book to read, and so it wasn't bad at all. Not bad aside from the fact I was trying to stay awake the whole day. I definitely don't know if I can take the advice of "not worrying about sleep," because it was very difficult.

I got off about 4:30, and ended up seeing Blake (OSU friend in the program) on the subway. We shared about our days and made it back to campus. We were going to eat, but my phone needed to be charged badly, so I decided to eat dinner with some of the girls who were to get in later. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. I didn't know what was going on, and I was so tired so I just laid down and slept. I set an alarm for our floor meeting at 8:30. When I woke up, the room was dark. I found my phone, and it was off. I couldn't turn it on. Plugging it in didn't help either. I turned on my computer, and it was 8:50. Now, if you know what I am like when I wake up, you can just imagine how I must have seemed trying to understand why my phone wasn't working and why I was alone in a dark room. It was surely entertaining. I crawled down and sat on top (yes, on top) of my desk and got to work on my phone. I ended up getting it to work after taking out the battery. I thought it had died, but was wrong because it had plenty of battery when it turned back on. I think I must have done something crazy to it in my sleep (when I woke up it was underneath my back). Me and sleepiness just do some crazy things. I eventually woke up enough to realize I was still hungry. I went down to Whole Foods and picked up some things that I could eat for breakfast and for snacks. I was disappointed with their selection of things that don't need to be refrigerated, so I went to CVS. I ended up buying a lean cuisine meal for dinner.

Sleepy day was just all around a strange day. I was hoping I would be able to get some blogging in that night, but obviously there just wasn't time. I had a realization that real jobs truly take most of your time. You go to work in the morning. Get home in the evening. Eat. Shower. Then you need sleep. There really isn't time for much else-- just on the weekend really. It is crazy. And tuesday/wednesday/thursday I have class at night. I know I won't be doing those classes when I get a real "big kid" job, but it is still a sad though. In high school, I was used to that kind of schedule. But now? College has spoiled me, big time. I am really happy that I still have one more year of my beautiful, flexible, schedule.

:)

It's my Birthday and I'll cry if I want to!

So, on my first day here I had a moment of sadness where I just had to cry. Coming to DC was hard because I wanted so badly to be home this summer, since I have no clue where next year will take me. I was alone in my room, but as soon as I was with people- happiness arrived!

When I got home from hanging out with boyfriend on Saturday night, I was having trouble finding people that I could go out with at Midnight, when I turned 21. People wanted to the night before, but after everyone's long day around DC, everyone was too tired. Also, everyone was out getting ice cream/watching movies/who knows what, so I was alone when the clock struck 12. Call me lame, but I kind of might have sung happy birthday to myself. I also wasn't getting any messages or calls, which confused me because there are always those few that roll in right at midnight. I was really sad, and had only bf tell me happy birthday. When I told him that nobody wanted to go out, he decided he would take me. So he came back and took me to a club that his cousin was at. They played a lot of African music, and I was able to get my birthday drink (I wasn't sure I would be able to later since we had work the next day). Also, I had forgotten that I am in a different timezone from everyone else. After we got off the subway, I had many text messages and a voicemail from my big, who had been trying to call me but I didn't have service. My night had turned around. :)

In the morning, I was able to wake up without an alarm for the first time since arriving in DC. It felt wonderful. I laid in bed for a while until I decided I should get some food and get ready for the day. Last week I volunteered to be a part of a group that is getting extra professional development training, and we met for the first time that afternoon. After that meeting, our groups presented about our Saturday adventures and how it related to Community. The word our group had chosen was "Acceptance." We were given a 3 minute limit, but most people took much longer. Our group was determined to make it, so we did. It was fast and entertaining. We made it into the top 3, but didn't get the popular vote to be the winner. That's okay though, because we accomplished what we wanted! After the presentations we all ate pizza, and some alumns of the program gave advice for this summer. Most said to not worry about sleeping. I am normally pretty good at not getting much sleep, but that is a skill that is fading. We shall see!

That day, some of the girls decided that we had to do something for my birthday. It made me happy that people cared enough even though I just met them! A group of 9 of us headed to a Cheesecake Factory nearby. Since we had already eaten, we focused on the desert menu (and me the drinks menu, of course). I ordered the Dutch Apple Streusal cheescake, which was perfect in every way. The waiters sang happy birthday to me while deliverying my plate, which had "Happy Birthday To You" written on it. I even got a candle! Based off of our waitresses suggestions, I ordered a Mai Tai and (I think) Georgia Peach. They were both delicious.

That was it for the night, as well all had big days the next day. All in all, it was a great birthday. I very much appreciate all the messages I got, and I especially appreciate everyone who helped me to spend a great birthday in DC.

KT in DC

Hola from Washington D.C.!

I have almost finished my second full day here, and I must say that I am having a great time! When I got here, we went to our dorms, got our room, and then got our AU id cards. I have gotten to know the area a bit after wandering around yesterday. Some of us gathered for snacks downstairs, so I got to meet some other people in the program. There are 4/5 of us from OU!! And a lot from Oklahoma. A lot of the people in the group grew up on reservations, which I think is super legit. I am Cherokee and have only been to pow-wows and been involved in student clubs. So many of these men and women are truly passionate about their tribes and even speak the languages. I am impressed, and inspired to learn more/get more involved with my tribe. It is something I have always wanted to be more involved in, but my family isn't and so it doesn't come second nature! Hopefully through this I will get to learn more and feel more connected.

Some of us went to Whole Foods last night with Lisa, our CA(basically our RA but for our program) and I had a blast. We talked, laughed, and were just plain silly. I loved it! I can really get along with these people, and am sure I will make some great friends!

My roommates are also really great. One is from Alaska/Massachusetts, and the other is from Arizona- shout out to Erika! Our room is really awkward- three people in a size meant for two. We tried many ways of rearranging it, and ended up with one of the beds diagonal underneath my lofted bed. I am up high, which is fine, but they didn't give a latter! So, I use my desk to climb up. When moving one of the other desks, we found that the top wasn't attached to the bottom. Luckily, I think the one I have been climbing on is attached fully. We shall see! Hopefully I don't hurt myself! I tend to be pretty good at avoiding injuries though. Unless it involves coughing or sneezing (see: Bruised Rib).

Today began with bagels and the beginning of our Orientation. We learned a lot more about campus then I think I learned at OU's freshman orientation. We learned about police, the gym, counselling, and more. Some of us went to Subway for lunch, and I was really excited to try one of the new AVOCADO sandwiches, but the avocado "wasn't ready." I don't get what they mean by that! Silly Subway. It just wasn't meant to be today. We did some activities to get to know each other and went over some professional development things.

After orientation, I got to see boyfriend! He is here for a couple days, and they let us out early. I was very happy. :) He met me at my Metro stop and we went into the city to eat some Ethiopian food at Meskerem. Apparently it is Zagat Rated, so if you live in DC you should check it out in the Adams Morgan area! I got Zilzil Tibbs, which I already knew I liked from the restaurant Queen of Sheeba in OKC. I have a horrible habit of always ordering the same thing... what can I say? I like what I like! I feel no shame! :) This restaurant was really cool because it was set up with a low "table" which I discovered was actually a basket! They bring a really big plate out that goes in the basket, and they put all the food on it. It was delicious, and not very busy for dinner time which made me happy! Afterward, boyfriend had time to kill and came to see where I am living and met my roommates. Unfortunately, it was then time to go to our first class meeting. Little did I know, I actually missed the first one because I didn't realize I had two meetings today. I wasn't the only one that did so though, so that makes me feel better!

All in all, it was a great day! I think I will like it here, very much!

:)

Spring has Sprung!

But unfortunately, Spring Break is over.

That is okay though- because while we were in Florida the weather turned amazing!!! Today is the perfect first day of spring. Even though my mother does what she always does and woke me up too early sort-of-on-accident, and I am still laying in bed with my curtains closed, I can feel that it is an amazing day outside! And you know it has to be a super amazing day if I am feeling it from my bed in a slightly dark room.

We got back to Norman really early in the morning yesterday(because we had to drive all through the night) and ate Whataburger breakfast. I LOVE WHATABURGER BREAKFAST. Roommate does too. She even had one of her most blog posts talking about her love for their Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits. I have actually never had them, but that is because I am super addicted to their normal sausage/egg biscuits and taquitos. Some day I will try it, because I know it must be blasphemy that I haven't. Basically though- if you have not had Whataburger breakfast, you really should go to Whatburger between 11pm and 11 am and get some PRONTO. And pay the extra 60 cents for the Simply Orange orange juice. It is delicious!

So, we are technically not allowed back into our house until 2- but we had nowhere to go and needed sleep. After sitting at Whataburger for way too long, we decided we would be okay to go crash in our beds because we would practically be invisible. We did, and then at 1 Mallori and I woke up and went to Jack in the Box (which was our other option for breakfast earlier). I really wanted some of their tacos, so I got that and then a breakfast bowl. I am telling you- I freaking love breakfast. I could eat it all day every day. Sometimes I do just that!

Then I napped a little before having to drive a little more to get back home. I have a doctor's appt. later today. I hated that I would have to drive more, but as soon as I got home I was very happy. There is just something about my home lately that I love. My mom had opened up all the doors and windows, and my house felt like spring. We get great spring weather in Norman, but it never flows through the house like that. After two hours of country music and feeling that "Home Sweet Home" feeling, I was super relaxed and happy. Later I got to go play with my brother's new puppy- and who doesn't love puppies??

Well anywho, there is just a little blurb for today!! I have come up with a few more stories to tell you guys, so keep a look out!

:)

p.s.- My grandbig is b.a.-- she ran in a Triathalon yesterday. I thought the 10k I ran was absolutely ridiculous, and I am super impressed and keep thinking about it! I love swimming and biking, so maybe someday (in the really long future) I might consider competing in one. But you should go read her blog because she is awesome!

Test Day... Dun dun dun

Today was test day. Last night we were told that it was 30 minutes earlier. We get a wake up "call" from a friend yelling downstairs that she was wrong and it is actually the time we were originally told. But, of course, half of the students had already left because they wanted to go study at the school. We thought they were going too early, so we stayed at the hotel until closer to class-time so that everyone else wouldn't get us freaked out about the test. The test ended up not being the worst thing ever, but I know there were some things that I got wrong.

For lunch, we all piled onto the bus to go to a pizza place that was LITERALLY around the corner. Then, the bus couldn't park on the street and ended up waiting for us at the school's parking lot. Silly silly. But the pizza place was great. Pizza pizza pizza... and then.. an unexpected dessert of CREPES with NUTELLA. It had ice cream too, chocolate, but that did not matter to me. It was amazing, and tasted exactly how they do in Paris. It brought back that horrible addiction that I had in Europe, only I could only have one crepes. The girls around me only ate a few bites- but I went for it. You don't hand an ex-addict a nutella crepe and expect them to care about how many calories it has. It was fabulous.

Afterward, we went to Nature Air, which is a really cool airline that is the first carbon-neutral airline in the world. Basically, they fly small, twin-engine planes that have a max of 18-19 passengers. Each passenger has a specific weight limit of baggage, and if you go over they WILL NOT allow you to get on the plane with it. This is because they really can't put any more weight on the plane. We even saw a group of male fishers that encountered this problem and were trying to figure out what to do. Also, if you are over a certain weight you have to buy two tickets. All-in-all, this was a really cool company that was taking care of the environment serious. To be carbon neutral (since even thought these planes are better--they aren't perfect) they help fund a certain amount of eco-protection projects (like rainforest preservation) to make themselves neutral. I really learned a lot from this company. I keep thinking- but it isn't a perfect airline- but that is based off of the luxury that we are provided from our non-eco friendly airlines. It really made me think about what we take for granted and think is necessary that harms our environment. While I am not about to give up a lot of the things I love (like driving), it really makes me think that we need to reconsider how we view our lives.. I think I just repeated trains of thought but that was the best way I could express myself. :)

After Nature Air, we were supposed to visit HP. We got all pumped up and ended up at the wrong HP office, apparently. This time of day the traffic is worse than what I expect NYC's traffic. We attempted to go to the other office, and made it about a mile in an hour. Sean entertained us during this time, but needless to say we ended up turning back. We cancelled our group dinner to try to go to this, and ended up doing neither. When we got back, everyone was planning to go out for dinner, which meant waiting 2-3 hours before getting food. By this point, my carb/sugar crash from pizza and nutella crepes had hit my body full-force, and I needed food pronto. So, Patrick, Mary, and I went to a nearby soda (a Costa Rican walk up cafe type thing). We ordered meat and rice dishes called casada, which means marriage in Spanish. It is called Casada because it is like the food is having a marriage. They are cute. It was really filling (and cheap), so we came back from eating (before everyone else even left for dinner), did classwork, and then went to sleep.

Sometimes you just have to laugh

So, today was our "Epic" trip to the Rain forest. On the schedule was a 3 mile nature hike through the rain forest, a barbecue lunch, and going on the zip-line.

First off: We were told that the weather would be nice, sunny, only a little colder than the amazingly warm weather we have here in Santa Ana. Instead, it was cold and later rainy, and for the first trip this whole time I left my jacket at the hotel, go figure. I was sucking it up though. We opted out of the hike because we were all underdressed and they could take us in cars instead. Come to find out, most of the "nature hike" was up a gravel road up to the forest. The rest of the hike was going through ten feet of mud in the forest to a water hole. By water hole, I thought we would see a small pond or something. Actually, it is an area that is even muddier, with a sewer-type opening. They lifted up the cover, and it was clean water running over rocks underground. I mean, it was pretty cool how it all worked, and the water is supposedly clean to drink, but it was extremely anticlimactic. Also, we didn't really see any wildlife, which was also a little disappointing. During the hike our teacher got really upset and started talking to the guide in spanish, saying something like, "If anything happens to these kids I am screwed." I thought this was entertaining, but needless to say she is picking a more tourist-y place next time. It was fun to hike around though, and we were pretty muddy afterward. People were losing shoes all over the place! Haha. One thing we learned was that there are primary and secondary rainforests. Primary are original, and secondary are ones that have been cut down but are being grown back. The vegetation is more heavy because there is more sun. Oh, and I forgot to mention- the cars we drove in were real jeeps. I have pictures.

Then it was time for lunch. We had to wait over an hour because we were really ahead of schedule. We were at a really cool place- a pool, pool house that was two stories, indoor/outdoor kind of thing. It had a foozeball table, comfy seats, and a high "jump" for the pool. The boys thought it would be a great idea to jump in off of it, multiple times. They never dried off sense it was so cold/wet outside. I was entertained though. The food for lunch was: 1 piece of chicken, 1 piece of sausage, 1 piece of beef, corn tortillas, and tomatoes. It was really strange.

After eating it was time to get in our harnesses for the zip-line. The first zip line was really cool- I went through fog and was in love. I couldn't see anything for a while, which was amazing. Then I was able to see some, and realized I was a million feet of the ground and there was a river. The second zip line would have been great, but right at my turn we got cut by a smaller group. By the time it was my turn again, it was raining and very foggy. So I was a little upset. I just wanted a clearish sky for at least on of them. Then I had to check myself and stop feeling that way. After that we had two more that would go faster. It started raining even more and we were all freezing, and I just had to laugh at the situation. It was a lot of fun, though I still couldn't really see. Two of the girls ran into a tree because they couldn't brake enough. Apparently this place has only been open for 6 months(originally a lawyer's fun place for his family that they decided to turn into a business). This explains that it was really disorganized and probably too fast for a zipline. Oh, and the fact it was raining. Haha.

Right before the ride back down the hill it grew even more rainy. The car I got in was one without a roof, and we just had to laugh at the situation. Well, Ashton and I did- everyone else was a little upset. But it was cold, rainy, and we were scared to fall out of the vehicle. No biggie. We arrived back at the bus, put dry clothes on(we were told to bring some for the mud) and then went across the street for hot chocolate. It was amazing hot chocolate. I could taste the lactose in it- but I didn't care. I love hot choclate, in case you didn't know.

I napped and studied on the bus. For dinner we ordered pizza and studied all night. Bed at 10:30 to wake up for our test in the morning.

Oh- and apparently there is a stomach virus going around Costa Rica, so that is probably what we all had.

Cabin Fever

Today was our second free day. Unfortunately, I woke up at 1 am sick. I slept horribly all night, but napped a lot throughout the day. There is something going around our group, but I seem to be doing the best out of everyone who is sick. I watched some English movies on tv and talked to my parents a little bit. Cindy got us some adult pedialyte stuff and crackers. My diet for the day has been Crackers, Bread, and Cheeze-its. Plus powerade, water, and the adult pedialyte. I have been slowly getting better throughout the day, but am not perfect yet. I was lucky though, because nobody was really doing much of anything today.

My friend Mary brought me Haggen-Das Dulce Leche ice cream. :) She remembered me saying that my mom would get it for me to cheer me up. It made my day. I haven't eaten it yet, but it will be great when I do!

Pereza!

Today we had class for a little while, and then left to go to INBioparque. It is a nature reserve type area that specializes in researching and protecting the environment and all the species in it. We ate lunch there, which was actually better than yesterdays. They had the best chicken I have ever had. EVER. It was perfect. I think most of the food here is just made so much better than in America. Surely not everything, but at least chicken and vegetables. Costa Ricans really love chicken though, especially fried. After lunch we got an introduction to INBioparque, and then started our tour. We saw two sloths!! They were adorable and really high in the trees. They were two different species, one was short-haired and one long-haired. Sloth in Spanish is "pereza," which literally means lazy. Apparently sometimes the sloths get out and the neighbors call- much like America and dogs. It made me laugh. Silly sloths. We also saw baby deer, which were incredibly cute. After the tour we listened to a speech about environment and corporate responsibility. We were all having trouble staying awake and were thankful that it was over in 30 minutes. Getting back there was a TON of traffic. Since it was taking so long, we began to entertain ourselves. My roommate, Madelyn, started a game with herself to high five people on the street. She automatically one the game if she high-fived someone in a car. She finally got a car high-five, and it was a victorious moment for the whole bus. She was going for people in a bus, but a guy that was obviously on drugs saw her and looked like he fell in love instantly. We were very grateful to get away from that bus quickly, because they guy was very creepy.

For the rest of the night, we went to dinner and went out dancing. Dinner was half McDonalds/half restaurant because it was farther away than we thought. We took the bus, and were told a couple blocks, but in reality it was much farther. We stopped at McDonalds because some of us were starving. Then we switched destinations to a better place, so we took taxis there. The clubs were right by the restaurant we went to. It was a fun night, aside from the fact my friend Mary's camera got stolen (we are pretty sure by the waiter). On the way home, our taxis raced each other, so we yelled things like "andale" and "bamanos" to them. They weren't speeding, just having fun. Our taxi one, most likely because I was the one with the directions. :)

#11, Check!

This morning was our trip to the Poas Volcano! First off, seeing a volcano is on my bucket list of things to do before I die. Check!! We had to leave an hour earlier than usual, but it was very worth it. Our tour guide was Louis, and he was great. He told us lots of fun stories about Costa Rica. Some of the fun things he said:

-His son will be president of Costa Rica someday

-The cows in the mountains produce a very sweet milk and it is very famous.

-He has us hold our hands in the air, crossing our fingers that we could see the volcano- and we did! Afterward he thanked god because he was Christian that we could see it. It was cool to me, because he was really cool about it- not afraid of being politically correct like in America.

-There were these giant leaves that were the first plant of Costa Rica. Long ago, Costa Rica was the last country to emerge and the volcanoes rose with these leaves on them. They only exist in the "cloud forest"- the forest that is high enough to be in the clouds.

-He really wanted us to experience things, so he had us stop many places along the way.

-He also told us we were learning Spanish today, and taught us Spanish words all day.

We drove across San Jose and into the province of Alajuela. The mountains began and we started out trip up with beautiful sights to see. Louis had us stop to take pictures with the Central Valley in the background. It was amazing to see. We continued on and stopped to get some Doka Estate cappuccinos (the coffee company we traveled to later). I don't like coffee, so I got a mocha. After adding sugar it was actually pretty good! It seems I keep travelling to areas of the world that specialize with my least favorite drinks(ironic?)- and I end up starting to like them!

Then we went to the Volcano. He told us that if it smelled like sulfur than we could only stay for a maximum of 10 minutes. Luckily, we couldn't really smell it and could stay a little longer. At first it was all foggy and we couldn't see anything. But then all of a sudden the clouds were gone and you could see the crater. It was one of the coolest things I have seen in my life! After that trail we walked up another to the Botos Lagoon. It was beautiful blue water surrounded by forest- very idyllic.

After the lagoon it was time to hit the road again to head for lunch. On the way, we stopped to buy strawberries. This area isn't just none for coffee and sweet cow milk, but for strawberries. I got a bag for 1-2 dollars and was in heaven. Then we stopped down the road for strawberry milkshakes. They were different than what I expected from a milkshake- but they were really good! Forget being lactose-intolerant. :)

Then we were finally on the way to lunch. We headed to the coffee farm, Doka Estate, and had a buffet lunch. The desert items were plantains and a coconut bar thing- which was actually pretty good despite my dislike for coconut. They gave us mango juice to drink, which had a strange taste but was better than nothing. After lunch we had a tour of the coffee farm. It was really cool- and like I said before, I don't like coffee. They took us through all the steps and it amazes me just how much goes into the process and how long it takes. The coffee is still hand picked, also, and people get paid I think a dollar per bucket of berries- which is a lot of picking! They said it is not a job people like, and I can see why. At the end of the tour, they set us free in the gift shop where they let us try chocolate covered coffee beans. I absolutely loved them, and bought two bags. I think I ate too many though, I could feel it.

When we got back to the hotel it was time to get some homework out of the way. After that, we went to dinner as a group with Cyndi(the director of JCPenney Leadership Program and our teacher for the trip). We went to a restaurant that looked like a house, and ate on the "patio," which meant that our chairs were in gravel. It was strange, but it was a nice place and the weather was great. I love getting to eat outside so much. Dinner lasted for a very long time, given that it is a nice restaurant and there are over 20 of us. I ate bruschetta and a tilapia dish. Dinner was also accompanied with a "panel" of boys and girls giving relationship/dating advice. It was very entertaining. After we finished, the bus had a flat tire. They boys tried to help. The first problem was it had rained all day and they had trouble with the jack. Then the nuts couldn't be taken off no matter how hard they tried (they even broke one). Someone said they were cross-something, if that means anything to you all. Cyndi ended up calling taxis for us, and that was the end of our night. Because dinner took so long, class got pushed back 30 minutes for tomorrow!

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Today was our first day of class. I woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning! It was dark in the room, and I opened the bathroom door to blinding light. Once I recovered, we opened the curtains and doors and enjoyed a lovely morning. We eat breakfast at the hotel, under a straw covered patio near the pool. I was definitely loving that setup. After eating, we met up with Jay, the international student coordinator(or something like that) for the school we are staying at. We are at the United World Colleges campus in Costa Rica. Jay took us the long way to school so that we could see the different ways we could get there and a little bit of what is around us. On the way, I saw a cat sitting on a roof. A tin roof. And I instantly thought of the play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." :)

Once we got to the campus we had to be let in by a guard and then we also had to sign in. The campus is fairly small (nothing like OU). It has a soccer field, and the buildings are connected by a covered walkway that stair-steps downward. At the end is the Library, where we have class. Beyond the library is a field and a stage.

The first part of class was an orientation from Jay about Santa Ana and United World Colleges (UWC). UWC was created in a response to World War II, to prevent it from happening again by inspiring young adults to have better awareness of other cultures. UWC is actually a high school that is intended to prepare students for University. The campus was also originally an orphanage, which I think is cool. Something I found interesting is their mindset on the environment. Jay told us that Costa Ricans share the idea that nature was here first and will be here long after us, and so to let the insects be- even giant spiders that are inside. He said if we were till go around on a killing insects than the Costa Ricans wouldn't be very fond of us. Americans tend to just kill anything because they are simply annoying. They are better at co-existing than we are. During orientation some students from the college were with us. There were 3 from Haiti, one from Thailand, one from Hong Kong, one from South America, and one from Kenya. We split up with them and talked about cultural differences based off of some questions that Jay gave us. It was really neat to get to interact with them. I am truly amazed by them also. One of the boys from Haiti came here knowing no Spanish or English, and now he knows both very well (after 1.5 years). It is always good to see people who accomplish so much. I feel sometimes we take for granted what we are capable of, and it is really inspiring to see.

After orientation we had snacks that the college provided for us. They had Cinnamon rolls, sandwiches, and two pastry things (one sweet and one with cheese and ham). They were really good and now we wish we could have snacks every day. Following snacks we had class for a little bit, reviewing what we had learned in America before Finals week. Then we headed to the cafeteria for lunch, right across the way. It is interesting how it works- you can have one entree and one starch. They had Chicken, Pork, Mashed Potatoes, and Rice. You cannot get both rice and potatoes. Also another idea I never considered. In American cafeterias growing up, I could get whatever I wanted. Here they only want you to take enough that you can eat. While we were eating the gave us a cooler of popsicles to pass around. The flavor was something unfamiliar to us, but fruity. You also put your trash separate from the food you didn't eat. The food leftover goes to feed a pig. They remind me of Native Americans in the way they make use out of everything they can.

After lunch we convinced Cindy to have class out on the stage. It was nice, but got interesting when we saw all the spiders living above us and things started falling from the trees. We moved class back inside when some women came to have their dance class on the stage. After class three of us went with Jay as he showed us around the "city center" of Santa Ana. Apparently in Costa Rica, the city centers are all around the main Catholic church. The Santa Ana church is called the 100 year old church- though they aren't quite sure how old it actually is. We found some new supermarkets and some places to get food, which came in handy later. Oh, and as we were leaving the school, some kids outside the "cat on a hot tin roof" house were roasting marshmallows over a makeshift fire on their driveway. I loved it. Also during our tour we tried Chicarrones (chaccaron? anyone?), which are some pork things that are really tasty. The shopkeeper was very nice and simply asked if we wanted to try them, even though we weren't buying any. They have fried ones that are kind of like chunks that remind me of really crunchy bacon, and non fried ones which you cut up that remind me of the texture of turkey legs. We decided we really liked these.

After the tour we had to get back to work. We had a ton of things to do. We did some group case studies, which took a little longer than I expected. We breaked for dinner, where I led a lot of us to a nearby Mexican restaurant that Jay pointed out during the tour. The dinner was very interesting, and the food was amazing. It is an actual Mexican family that owns the restaurant, and they were really nice. Then we went by an ice cream place we saw on the tour, but it was closed. So then the search was on. We ended up going to a bakery that had some interesting flavors. I passed since I am lactose-intolerant and none of the flavors were all that appealing.

And then it was 9 o'clock when we got back. My group finished our assignment, and then it was reading time. We had many articles to read, and I finally crawled into bed at 12:30. A very busy day, but I still love it here!

Lazy Day

Tuesday June 29, 2010

I could not focus in class today. It was very difficult. It got better as the day went on, but I was very happy when the bell rang to end class. For lunch I just had some ramen noodles, because I wasn’t very hungry. I started doing some laundry. I was going to attend Tea Ceremony class today, but it was cancelled. We watched Sherlock Holmes, but I stopped because I couldn’t hear very well, so I worked on my journal and talked to Mallori instead.

Afterward, Kayla, Rachel, and I had girl time and went to the Box for dinner. We got pizzas and did some things using their good internet that we can’t get done at the hotel. I also got some chocolate ice cream, which made my night. :) The boys called us and gave us a hard time about not inviting them. We came back, hung out in our room a bit, then I read and slept while Rachel watched Jeremy play Spider Solitare.

Back to school

Monday June 28, 2010

We got off the train at about 7:20 and battled our way through a sea of Chinese people. Yang Laoshi was waiting for us, and after a few minutes we all made it out alive. We were tired the whole way back, and wanted to nap before going to class two hours later. Rachel and I had to do our hw for calligraphy, however. We ended up not really having time, and went to class tired. I did get in a ten minute nap, though. Our normal teacher was getting a physical for a job, so Yang Yang Laoshi was our teacher. He made us use our brains a lot more than we had been intending (having our teacher play hangman with us and getting him to let us out early) and we hardly had any of our break time. There were only three of us there, which meant we had to talk even more. It was really helpful and I learned a lot, but I was hardly able to speak clearly by the end of class.

After class I napped before calligraphy. Calligraphy went by slowly, so I worked on my character workbook to prevent myself from falling asleep. We hung out a bit after class, and then Rachel and I went to dinner. We chose the restaurant that we went to on our first day, Heavenly Manna. The boys wanted to go to Mei er Mei, which we have been going to a lot lately, so we went off on our own. It was delicious. We had been missing food like that, meaning not just noodles. We had spicy potatoes, spicy pork, a beef and pepper dish, rice, and broccoli with mushrooms. We were really full, and very happy. We spent about as much as we would have at Taco Bell in America. We got some sorbet/gelato after we ate, which was also delicious. Very full we were, but in very good moods.

We went to Tai Chi a little bit later, and learned some new, fun kung fu moves. I plan to master them and have a random new talent. Haha. When we got back I took a warm shower and drank hot chocolate and read. It was very relaxing. I have decided to start taking showers at night, as it guarantees me hot water. Also, I decided after my stressful week of hating people that I need a night to relax each week, if not more. I think it is a good decision. I got to sleep about 10:15, but woke up about 11 because my stomach hurt. I couldn’t go back to sleep for a while, but didn’t want to continue reading, because I knew I was to a part where I would be sucked in. I eventually fell asleep though, thank goodness.

Bad luck, Shopping, and Train again

Sunday June 27, 2010

Today we woke up, realized that our shower had no hot water(ironic since our room in Kunming is titled “Jank Room”, and so we showered in the boys room. Rachel and I are cursed with bad rooms. Kayla, Rachel, and I were all staying in a triple room. We ate some snacks, and then went to lunch with the tour guide to make up for the bad lunch the day before. We shopped for a very long time. This is because our checkout time was noon, and we weren’t meeting until 8:30 that night. All around our hotel was “Old Town.” This area was mostly all walking, and was basically one huge market. We did lots of bargaining, and I made a few friends with shopkeepers. Some, however, ended up getting mad at us because we knew they were trying to rip us off. We walked down to the Black Dragon Pool, which was pretty fun. I got some Chinese painting there, which was the main thing I wanted from this trip. I love them. We ate dinner at a random restaurant we found, which was open air and overlooked the alleys. People kept taking pictures of us while we were eating, which was interesting. At one point, workers lined the road on both sides and started singing. It was fun. We were all exhausted, but couldn’t go back yet. We kept shopping, and finally it was time to go. We went to the train station, which was a lot smaller and not as nice compared to Kunming. Our train ride was more interesting, because we were surrounded by drunk people. One guy kept following Justin, which was very interesting. We forced Jeremy to make a door our of his blanket again because of it.

Hitler?

Saturday June 26, 2010

We woke up very early on the train- 6 o’clock. I looked out the window for a long time, admiring the beautiful mountains and sunrise. We got to the train station, and it was a mob scene. We eventually all found each other and realized we had to fish out our train tickets so they would let us leave. We met our Tour Guide, who seems to be pretty nice. He has the best English I have ever heard. Lijiang is very pretty. We went to our hotel, which was looked like a traditional Chinese building, and was set up in a walking street that had the same style buildings. We could only put our things away though, because we couldn’t check in until after 12. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then freshened up from the train ride. We then went to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We met Chinese people in line for the mountain “tour bus”, and had a miniature photo shoot. We also discovered walnut cakes while we were waiting. They were delicious. They were small, shaped like walnuts, and had a very tiny nut and tiny bit of red bean sauce. I titled them “om nom noms,” because they tasted so good.

We rode a gondola up the mountain. Jeremy, Rachel, Kayla, Justin, and I rode with our tour guide. We had an interesting conversation that left us all speechless. This is roughly it:

Me: “It is so pretty up here.”
Tour Guide: “Yes, nature is so good. It is unfortunate though, people are killing it. We really need less people in the world. What Hitler did was a good thing. Maybe his reasons weren’t so good, but it was a good thing. We need something like that again.”
Us: …..

That is about all I have to say about that. Haha. We were silent the rest of the ride, which there luckily wasn’t much of. We all got off and asked each other if that really just happened. We walked down a path for a while to the Grazing Land. It was a huge field with a path going around it. There were trees with blessings people had tied all over. We then went to the White Water River that came off of the mountain. It was gorgeous blue/turquoise water. We only got ten minutes there, but we went over time. I would have loved to spend more time there. We then drove to Dongba Valley. Dongba is the religion in the Lijiang area. It seems more to be a way of life than a religion, however. We had a weird lunch and did some shopping. We crossed a rope bridge and walked along a path. The path had lots of funny signs and gates/games. There was one gate and tree for money and wealth. Another was a series of metal bars to lift up. The more you lifted, the more wealthy you would be. We then went to the Jade Water Village. It began raining a little, so we went through kind of quickly. We saw some crazy statues of people with gold animal heads. The village held the Dongba Temple, which was a little different than the Buddhist temples. It had a statue in the middle with different colored cloths wrapped around for each element. There were murals that described the history of the world according to Dongba. It seemed to have a strong regard for Good and Evil, but focused on Gods in general, not a God or a certain few Gods. It was nice to see something different, it being a minority religion.

We went back to our hotel, rested, and then went to get pizza for dinner. We found that the food around our hotel is really expensive, because it is a tourist area. I got water, and receive a cup that had boiling water in it. I was never able to drink it, but I knew the water wasn’t from a bottle or filter, so I wouldn’t have trusted it much anyway. Lijiang is apparently the city of clubs, and so our tour guide took us out to “the best one.” It was very interesting. There were too many Chinese men. Some were really old, and one was about 12. By the time we left, most of them were without shirts. Our tour guide ended up acting kind of creepy, so we avoided him. We came back to the hotel to watch the USA world cup game, but we fell asleep right before it started.

Not too eventful

Thursday June 24, 2010

Today Jeremy, Kayla, Rachel, and I skipped Hulusi class. We went to mcdonalds for lunch, and then went shopping. We got umbrellas for gifts to people and looked for North Face jackets. We found some, but they were very expensive. After that, we took a cab home. We started watching Slumdog Millionaire, but stopped halfway through to go to sleep.