Packing up

Today I'm packing my stuff up, then I'll paint my room back from "Chinese Lantern" orange to white. I feel nostalgic going through all my old stuff—all the way back to Yellowstone days—and thinking of how much I’ve changed in the last year. I feel like I’ve grown exponentially with each year of college, so this year maybe the most. There was South Africa—that grew me more than anything else could, though. I didn’t think I’d miss college till I saw a lot of college students in Chicago last week—I think I’ll miss the college culture. It’s such a fun time, and big learning time—of course. Today's graduation--I'm not graduating till August, technically (so, I'm not walking, because I'll be out of the country), but I'm ALL DONE!

Chicago at dusk


Update on Chicago: the Greyhound bus was an eye-opening experience. Kind of depressing, actually. I wanted to adopt the dysfunctional families I saw—a mom leaving her boyfriend of seven years, with whom she’s had four children, two of whom are with their grandpa—leaving him because he hit her, arguing with him on the phone but assuring him she still loves him. I felt so sorry for her sweet little girl Chastity, whose first birthday is May 19th, and whose dad will miss the celebration. I’m so afraid she’ll turn out sad, like her mom. Anyway, I wanted to adopt the mom as a friend and teach her to read with her kids, take them to the zoo, learn how to swim, go to summer camp—all the things I took for granted as a kid. Teach her to get a good job. Anyway—depressing. Sorry! But, I’d recommend the Greyhound experience. It was fine. I felt safe—especially once I stopped being self-conscious. I slept and read most of my trip, and talked to some pretty interesting people.

The Ba'hai temple in Chicago--beautiful

Chicago was amazing—such a clean, friendly, smart city. Seriously, people seemed smarter than average ☺. There are a lot of good colleges around, so maybe that’s why. And Oprah lives there—I’m sure that has something to do with it. Kind of kidding—but I do love Oprah. Highlights: hearing the Dalai Lama speak (such a down-to-earth PERSON! And such a great laugh!), an acoustic concert with Ben Gibbard and David Bazan, eating Ethiopian food (which you must try before you die! Add that to your list immediately), going to the Art Institute (awesome), visiting the Ba'hai temple, deep-dish pizza, Chinatown (where I lost my favorite green sweater that I wear every day… so sad!), wind (I love wind!), Lake Michigan, eating well, shopping. Johnna was an exceptional hostess. Did you know that to become an Illinois state resident, all you have to do is have an address in the state? Then you can get in-state college/grad school tuition. Sounds like a plan to me ☺.

Dinner with Ashley, Biz and Hannah

Hannah, Biz, Erik and I tried to go strawberry picking in Anderson yesterday, but the strawberry farm closed early because there are no berries left due to a frost in April! We were so disappointed. So we went to downtown Anderson and had strawberry smoothies instead. Biz’s parents took us to dinner in Greenville last night. It’s official, by the way, that Biz and I are moving to Madrid in the fall! We’ll both be teaching there till June of 2008. I’m so excited. Biz is so fun, and we’ve both studied abroad in South Africa and have friends scattered across Europe whom we plan to visit. I’m excited about a new chapter in life. And the tomato festival in Madrid. Yay! Come visit me! And teach me Spanish if you know it!!

PS--today's my dad's birthday! He recently won FIRST PLACE (out of 900 entries) in the Emrys Journal for a poem he wrote called "Apple Picking." We're so proud.