the constant gardener

one of the most riveting, powerful, moving, heart-wrenching movies i have seen in a long time!! a must see... it has a little of everything in it... i promise you that it will leaving you deeply impacted... plus the cinematography is phenomenol!!! www.theconstantgardener.com

OB1

so, i'm currently in a two week intensive class called 'organizational behavior' (aka OB1).... it's all about group work, multicultural work teams, conflict, goals, etc.... actually very fascinating stuff.... our class (one of 6 sections) has been subdivided and i'm in a group of 5 fun people.... PeiHui from China, Yaser from Palestine, Krissy from Tennessee, Lorien from Connecticut, and me.

today's class activity & homework?? "socialize"

each group was assigned to "socialize".... i mean how often does that happen?? we were given the whole afternoon class session - 1:30-5:00pm to hang out for however long we wished....

so, we went apple picking .... :) can't beat that class!!

bowling balls & moose calls...

tonight, life in vermont has consisted of bowling balls & moose calls.....

not sure of what a moose sounds like?? check out: http://www.smouse.force9.co.uk/sound.htm

it was with great anticipation that 5 of us headed into the bowling alley tonight to check out the local talent. 70 points later (yes, that's 10 points above my average!!), 1 thumb stuck in a bowling ball, and 1 ball dropped backwards (i swear the thing was greasy!!), we decided to go moose calling.

as we skirted through the woods on dirtroads, we intently looked for the big, bulking creatures.... to our disappointed the evening consisted of seeing only one red fox. however, the highlight of the evening was when khaki, my dear suitemate, insisted that we give a sample of our moose calls before getting out of the car. the ensemble was quite amazing... not to mention accompanied by much laughter!

tonight, perhaps, the local moose will talk about those strange noises coming down the road....

i really am still out here....

hey folks,

i haven't forgotten.... i'm just trying to shift over to class mode.... will be back asap.... don't forget about me!!

tie-dye, hemp necklaces, dreds, birks, ...

suppose i come back to michigan with dreds, a tie-dye shirt, hairy legs, .... people seem a lot more "earthy" out here than back in michigan... hahahahahaha.... i actually find it quite fascinating. i might actually have to dig out my birkenstocks... and buy some trailmix.

well, i've arrived safely and in one piece in vermont. my school, i kid you not, overlooks mountains and forests... is tucked away on dirt roads.... the amazing thing is that these woods draw people from all over in the world.... today alone, i've met folks from ethiopia, krygystan, japan, china, bolivia, kenya, indonesia, serbia, .... and we all want to make this world a better place... ;)

anyway.... it's back to nametag days.... i've made it through my first day of orientation (incl. a spanish language placement test!) in one piece.... though my mind is fried and i'm on information-overload of sorts. i'm living right in the international center... in a suite of 4 rooms.... it's actually really nice, although it's back to dorm style living....

well, i'm rambling with nothing concrete to say... think i'll take my camera for a walk!!! this place is SOOOOOO similar to sweden!! i can't believe it.... (and for those of us holsby-survivors... i have found the bell.... they use a similar thing here to call to attention 230+ students)

hope you guys are all well!!!

questionable....

dreams... aren't they supposed to be an outworking of our deeper thoughts and fears? processing life?

i guess i'm dreading going back to school more than i want to admit.

dream: i'm back in an undergraduate program, it's exam week, and i'm trying to frantically pack and get ready to move back home.... in the meantime, i'm ignoring 5 exams (math, english, spanish, economics, and some other class). it's a thursday night and exams are all due on friday... to my dismay, i realize that i'm starting a little late (DUH!!) on massive writing assignments, tests, readings, etc. i prepare myself for an all-nighter... sitting down at the computer and staring at a blank screen is kind of scary, so i start soliciting help.... i ask my mom to pre-read something, rodrigo to give me the imperfect tense of a spanish report, economics is left on the side, i start tackling a nine page paper, reasoning all the while that my professors are reasonable people and that i can turn my work in after the weekend.... the worst part of the dream wasn't that they weren't available to help me, but that i kept thinking that people would know that i couldn't have possibly finished the work on my own by friday.... a dream about procrastination, doing the right thing, being accountable for my own work....

in the meantime, now that i have woken up, i do realize that i'm trying to pack, i've neglected my grad school readings.... and several other things.... sigh.... if that isn't a sign to get going....

alright.... so, sunday morning i start my two day drive to vermont... please keep me in your prayers. i'll try to be not so blog-silent .....