Los Pinzones

Sorry for the late post, even though I really don't have a schedule for when I write yet.  Once second semester starts, I will have a regular routine and I can figure out when the best time for me is to blog (maybe, I hope).

Anyway, one of the most exciting things that happened within the past couple weeks was that Tonisha came to visit me!!!  She came two weeks ago and we had a blast!!  Except for some reason, we forgot to take pictures!  So I have no pictures of Tonisha's first trip to Carthage. :(  But, that's okay because it was so fun!  We went shopping and out to eat at Marina Garden, which is an awesome restaurant here.  Also, Carthage always shows movies on Wednesdays so we went and saw the movie Tower Heist with Ben Stiller, which was really funny!  I was so happy to have Tonisha meet Carthage and all of my friends here!!  I talked about it so much while I was in Peru that I'm sure Tonisha was happy to see and meet people as well!

My class is going really well still!  We had a creative assignment last week where we had to do something creative (write a poem, draw a picture, etc.) and relate it to the book, The Beak of the Finch, that we read.  Well, I like to cross-stitch so I found a cute and small golden finch pattern and I did that for my project which was fun.  I really like to cross-stitch.  It's relaxing for me and I haven't done it for awhile so it was the perfect stress reliever.  Thank you to my mom, grandma, and aunt for passing down such a creative skill that I will someday pass on to my children, too.  For your entertainment, here's the finished product...

So, more about my class, I guess... Last week, we were supposed to go to the Field Museum in Chicago because there is a big evolution exhibit there, but there was a snowstorm and a train derailment so let's just say that we didn't go.  I was actually a little bummed that we didn't go because I don't remember the last time I was there, but I did take the opportunity to stay in bed for the majority of the day and catch up on sleep and relax.  It was awesome!  This week for class we have our final group project due, which I actually am excited for as well.  We get to teach a lesson to the class and my group is teaching a middle school social studies class.  We have some really fun activities planned for the lesson and it's funny because you can really tell that I want to be a teacher when I get giddy about writing a lesson plan. :)

Okay, I think that's it for talking about my class.  Now, let's talk about how I gave a 20-minute presentation on Peru last week in Spanish to another J-term class.  Oh boy was that complicated.  Reason one why it was complicated:  How do you put 4 1/2 months into a 20-minute presentation!  I had so many problems trying to figure out what to talk about.  Reason two:  After one month of not speaking Spanish, I was nervous, but I did well, so all is well. :)  But, really though, I had so many pictures and I actually talked really fast cuz I was afraid I wouldn't get everything in 20-minutes.  It was good practice for my thesis presentation that will be coming up this semester, too.

Other than class and work, I've been spending a lot of time dancing and with friends!  Two of my favorite things!  One of my girlfriends 21st birthday was this past weekend which was really fun and tomorrow is my first Iluzion performance!  Iluzion is the hip-hop dance team here at Carthage!  I'll try to get it taped and put it on so that you can watch it!  Other than that, I get to go home this weekend for J-term break and then I will be starting my crazy second semester next week!  How exciting!  I really am hoping to get some kind of schedule set up for this blog so that you know when to check, but in the mean time, just keep checking randomly. :)  Have a great day!!!!