El fin del verano

Okay, I sit hear wondering how in the world I'm going to catch up on a month's worth of blogs.  Oops, I didn't exactly mean to get so far behind, but that's okay.  So here's what I've been doing for the last month:

-Watching the Olympics and cross-stitching up a storm.  I finished my summer cross-stitch project!

-Visiting my grandma and grandpa.  Also, I got to see my sister, aunt, and baby cousin.  Had such an amazing time and I got to eat a home-cooked meal!  Thanks, Grandma!

-Witnessing the "passing down of the red blazer."  What does that mean, you ask?  For 25 years, President Campbell (President of Carthage College) sported a Carthage Red blazer at different sporting events.  He made that red blazer famous on campus and now President Campbell has retired, but his red blazer lives on as there was a ceremony to pass down the blazer to our new president, Gregory Woodward.  If your interested in learning more about our new President click here.

-Going to the Kenosha Drive-in to see Total Recall with Tim. :)

-Going to the Kenosha Public Museum with Tim.

At the museum

Holding the sloth! (Like I did in Peru) :)

-Getting my school books in the mail..that may not seem exciting, but this is my last semester of college courses, because next semester I will be student teaching..gah!

-Attending/working an event at the Milwaukee Art Museum to welcome and introduce our new president to alumni.  The venue was gorgeous, but I will never have my wedding reception there because it's $10,000 just for the space. :/

-Eating a good share of sushi.  I just started liking it within the past 8 months and am now addicted.

-Going back to my childhood and watched The Iron Giant--such a cute movie!

-Writing and re-writing essays for the Fulbright Scholarship.  For those of you who are unaware, the Fulbright program is "the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."  Pretty much, I am applying (among many other U.S. students) for a prestigious award that will allow me to go to Colombia after I graduate to teach English.  It's a lengthy process to apply, but I'm REALLY hoping I get it!! (Learn more at http://fulbright.state.gov/index.html)

-Starting another application for a English teaching position in Spain (as a back-up if I don't get the Fulbright)

-Finishing my student teaching application

-Moving into my room for the school year (the same room I have had for all four years now) and my roommate, Taylor, is here, too!!!

-Attending/working other events to welcome and introduce Carthage's new president to alumni at Trump tower, Harry Caray's, and in Carthage, Illinois.

View from the 17th floor in Trump tower

Hannah and I at Trump

-Bringing Tim home with me to see my hometown, meet my friends, and meet some of my family--which reminds me, Tim has the pictures from that trip on his camera, so I can't put any up :(

-Going mini-golfing (aka putt putt golfing) with Tim

-Spending a much needed week at home--watching movies, spending time with my family, cross-stitching, working on applications, shopping with my mom, etc.

-Putting up lights in the room (Thanks for the help, Mom!!)

-Seeing a double rainbow over the lake!

-Watching So You Think You Can Dance, Big Brother, Secret Life, and Bun heads, religiously

-Not blogging

-Saying goodbye to summer and hello to the school year

Students are one-by-one returning to campus and by this time next week, the school year will be in full swing!  I hope you all had amazing summers, because I know I did!

What is your favorite memory from this summer?

Reuniones

On this day, one year ago, I was going shopping on the streets of Lima and spending time with new friends.  I still can't believe that that's what I was doing a year ago and although I miss Peru a lot, what I miss more are the people I met!  Fortunately, two weeks ago I got the chance to go to the Wisconsin Dells for the first time to meet up with two friends I met in Peru, Mark and Tonisha!!  If you read this blog while I was in Peru then you know that Mark, Tonisha, and I became very good friends and you know that we traveled all around Peru together!  And now we're fortunate enough to be able to travel together in the states because we all live fairly close.  I absolutely loved spending the weekend with them.  Mark and I went to Mt. Olympus, a water park, together all day and had a blast!!  Tonisha, unfortunately, couldn't join us until later in the night, but when she arrived, it was just like old times!  We spent the night camping, drinking Peruvian pisco, and remembering all the good times we had in Peru...like the crashport we flew out of to see the Nazca lines or that horrible hostel we stayed at in Puno!  It was AMAZING to see them and I loved laughing and talking with two people who experienced the same thing I did. :)  After a night of camping, we spent the next morning playing mini golf and we ate lunch before we all headed in our separate directions. :)  For about fifteen minutes though, we thought it was fate that we not leave each other because when we all got in our cars to leave, Tonisha's car wouldn't start!  None of us had jumper cables and so we went on an adventure to get some of those, then we were off!  Moral of the story, always carry jumper cables with you or just never try to leave your friends. :)

Tonisha, Mark, and I in the Dells :)

*Side note: A girl who attends Carthage College is now in Peru doing the same program that I did!!  If you are interested in reading about her adventures she has created a Tumblr: http://beckybuenviaje.tumblr.com/

Jess, Me, and Amanda outside the House of Blues!

Anyway, the next weekend was filled with even more reunions!!  Come to think of it..I've had an awesome last couple of weeks with my friends and family!  A little over a week ago, I got the chance to see my friend, Ian, dance in a Lady Gaga cover show (for the second time) at the House of Blues in Chicago!  I haven't seen Ian all summer because he is dancing in a show at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania this summer, so it was awesome to finally see him again!  I went to the show with my two friends, Amanda and Jessica, and Tim joined us later in the night!  It was an amazing show once again and as I said, it was great seeing my friends!!

Me, Ian, and Tim after the show!

Then, there was another reunion!!  Can you believe it?!  My roommate, Taylor, came to Kenosha and we spent the weekend together!  We spent the day at the beach!!  With the help from Tim and Taylor, I learned how to kind of throw a frisbee and with the help from Tim I got buried in the sand (against my will)! ;)  Then, we spent the night with some more friends!  Had a cookout and watched the Olympics! It was the greatest!

Taylor and I on the beach!

Tim buried me in the sand :(

The next day, we all ate lunch together, but then Taylor had to head home.  I wish Taylor could have stayed for the rest of the day's festivities, but even though she didn't, Tim and I had an amazing day!  We went to the local Renaissance Faire and had a blast!  I really didn't know what to expect when we went, but it was a blast!  We walked around for awhile and just watched all the different shows going on at the faire.  We saw a guy juggle fire batons while standing on a tight rope, we saw a guy hit a block off the top of his head with his own whip, and we watched a group of guys jousting!  Oh and we saw a guy who was getting tomatoes thrown at him (although a lot of them weren't hitting him)!  It was a really fun time and I'm glad we went!  It was the perfect day to go.  Following the faire, we went to the fair--the Racine County Fair that is.  Tim has never seen a demo derby so I was determined to take him to his first derby!  And I did!  We had a blast!  Although I did give Tim a hard time about picking bad derby cars to win the heats...in other words, my choices won 5-1 over his. :P

At the Racine County Fair :)

One last reunion occurred last week, which was the reunion of me with my family.  I got the chance to see my grandma, grandpa, sister, and my aunt and cousins from Texas!  I ate a delicious dinner with them and we gab!  It was nice to catch up with them and see my adorable baby cousin. :)  And it was nice to eat a home-cooked meal. :)  I love my family!  And I can't wait to see them again soon. :)

I hope you're all having amazing summers because I sure know I am!  Until next time...