No Longer a Nomad

A few weeks ago I was pondering about my life; thinking about all the things that I've been able to do and wondering what is still in store for me, and I came to a realization.  Since last August, I have not lived in the same place for more than three months.  I left Washington a year ago today bound for Quito, Ecuador by way of Utah.  I spent a few days in Orem visiting my brother and sister-in-law, and nephews before getting on a plane that would take me to my new temporary home in Ecuador.

I spent three challenging, yet wonderful months in Quito working with children.  It was there that I truly learned what life really means.  Those kind, sweet- spirited children taught me how to truly love and to give of myself more than I ever thought I could.  Those kids will always have a special place in my heart.

I arrived "home" from Ecuador on my birthday: November 25th.  I spent a few days again with my brother and his family before heading to my next temporary home; this time to live with my parents in Munich, Germany.  I had this opportunity because my semester didn't start until January so I had a month between when I got home from Ecuador and when I started school.  I was able to catch a glimpse of what missionary life was like for them but I was able to gain a greater testimony that they are serving the Lord.

After returning from Germany, it was off to a less exotic, yet just as important new dwelling place.  I was off to experience another cold Rexburg, Idaho winter as I started my last semester at BYU-Idaho.  Although that semester was very trying, I am glad that I experienced it.  I got to know and became friends with people that I never expected I would ever become really close with and became even closer to some friends I already had.

I then spent two months in Provo before heading out to Chicago for my internship.  The two and a half months I spent in Chicago were great.  I learned that I really am a city girl at heart.  I love being close to a big city.  It's so exciting and there's always something going on.  I will miss Chicago and hope that one day, I might be able to live there again.

Now I'm beginning to start a new chapter in my life.  Although the first few days were a rocky beginning, things are starting to look up.  I don't know what is in store for this time in my life but I am excited for it to unfold.

During the last year, I felt kind of like a nomad; never settling in one place for long, wandering around in search of some new thing to occupy my life.  I really am thankful for everything I have experienced this last year.  I have grown up.  Everything I have experienced has shaped me into the person I am today which is a completely different person than I was last summer.  But I am looking forward to being able to stay in one place for a while and making real friends instead of just acquaintances.  I am no longer a nomad.

Chicago

It seems like recently my posts have been few and far in between.  It's been a little hectic recently.  I've moved three times in the last two months.  First I moved out of my apartment in Rexburg after graduation.  Instead of moving right to Chicago like I originally had planned, I got an apartment in Provo for a month and waited until my sister's house closed and they could move in.  If I hadn't done that, it would have meant that I would have to get an apartment in Chicago which, let's face it, is not an option that I wanted to take considering rent would be fairly steep for a newly graduated college student.

I arrived in Chicago two weeks ago last Thursday.  I fell in love with the city right away.  I live in Evanston which is north of the city.  Evanston is a fun town with lots to see and do.  And I love being so close to a big city again.  I was deprived of that in Rexburg.  I didn't realize how pretty it would be here.  As soon as I take some pictures, I'll post them so you can see.

I started my training on Thursday and I absolutely love it.  The lab I'm working at is part of this awesome museum that has so many interesting things.  I love to go and see the different exhibits when I'm done with training every day.  It is also very close to Lake Michigan.  On Friday, I ate my lunch outside on a picnic bench overlooking the lake before catching my train to come home.

My only complaint right now is that it has been so cold.  I have been freezing since I got here.  Friday was one of the only sunny days since I've gotten here.  Hopefully it'll warm up soon.

My cute nephews

Every week, on Monday and Tuesday nights, I go over to my brother Scott's house to watch Dancing with the Stars with my sister-in-law Ally and my nephew Calvin.  Yesterday, I went over a few hours early to watch the boys so that Ally and Scott could go running.  I love watching the boys because they are so fun and cute and hopefully they like to have me around.  Every time I am with them, they make me laugh so much.  There were a couple funny things that were said that I thought were too cute not to share.

Calvin (talking to me): Are you excited for Dancing with the Stars?

Me: I am excited.

Calvin: I'm excited too.

Me: Who do you think is going to get kicked off this week?

Calvin: I don't know.  I like them all.  I don't want any of them to get kicked off!

This conversation took place while I was blowing bubbles for Ian.  The bubbles started blowing away and Ian was chasing after them.

Ian: Come back bubbles!

Me: Where are the bubbles going?

Ian: They're going to Provo!

Love Story by Jon Schmidt

Jon Schmidt recently did an arrangement of the Taylor Swift song Love Story.  It is absolutely amazing.  Check it out!

Love Story meets Viva la Vida by Jon Schmidt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys&feature=related

Graduation and Reflection

Since I have some time right now, I've decided that I would use it to post a well needed update about what has been going on in my life.  My semester is pretty much over.  I finished my last few assignments today and although I still have to go to class tomorrow, I just have to turn in my paper.  I kind of have mixed feelings about being done.  I graduate on Friday which I'm excited for but I'm also really nervous about leaving the place that I've called home for so long.  These past four and a half years have been at times really long but at the same time have gone by really fast.  I have learned so much about myself, not only educationally, but I have been put through different situations that I didn't think that I was strong enough to handle.  When I was going through these struggles, I didn't think that I would ever live through them, but looking back, I realize that I have grown so much through these trials and I thank Heavenly Father for allowing me to experience them.

This past semester has been an up and down one.  It started off really rocky.  Having just gotten back from Ecuador, I wanted nothing more than to be back down there with the kids that I love so much.  I felt this void in my life not being around them.  I thought about them constantly which made it even harder to be away from them.  I didn't want to be in Rexburg at all.  I admit that it created this rut.  I didn't really feel any desire to make new friends when I would be leaving them after three months.  If it weren't for my roommate Kelsey, I never would have gotten out of that rut.  We tell each other constantly that we saved each other this semester.  She had some trying times herself this semester so every day pretty much we helped each other keep a positive attitude and reminded each other to be happy.  Although I still miss my kids terribly and want to be with them again, it has gotten easier to be home.

Around midterms, I finally realized that I still liked being in Rexburg.  I decided to enjoy the rest of the semester.  I still didn't really feel the need to make new friends.  Instead, I wanted to spend as much time with the friends that I already had, the people that I love, for my last few weeks.  I have done that and it's been great.

Now it's about time to say goodbye.  I have come to realize that once I leave Rexburg on Friday, I won't ever be back... at least not to live.  I want to come back and visit as long as I still know people who are here.  It is really sad to me that I have to say goodbye to the one place besides my home in Washington that I know the best.  I know almost every thing about Rexburg.  It is the one place where I can't get lost.  I have so many memories of this place that have been running through my mind the last week or so.  I have decided to write them down for my memory's sake. 

• Meeting my roommate Claire on the day I moved into my dorm.  She popped out of her bedroom and almost scared me to death.  It was a start of a very close friendship.  She was the best roommate I had that fall semester.
• Winter semester: Breanne moved in.  That was the start of an even better friendship.  To this day, she remains one of my best friends.  I love her like a sister and I can still talk to her for hours about anything.
• Breanne and I running through knee deep snow in the gardens.  Breanne would randomly stop and fall backwards into the snow.  We got so frozen but it was so fun
• Me, Breanne, our roommate Tiffany, and our guy friends Matt, Aaron, and Gabe playing football, frisbee, and chicken on the intramural field outside the MC.  We would also go stargazing on that same field.  The next year that field was torn up in preparation for the new assembly hall.  It is now a construction site
• Shelley, Millie, Allira, and me walked to Wal-Mart and took crazy pictures all around Rexburg on the way home.  
• The Warren Smith ordeal.  Although at the time I didn't think I would ever get over him, I am grateful for the chance to go through that.  Before then, I had never experienced real heartbreak and now that I have gone through that, I believe that I am a stronger person than I once thought.  I now know that I can go through anything as long as I trust in the Lord.  Also through this experience, I realized how much I need the Lord.
• Fall 2007: best apartment ever!  My roommates and I bonded right from the start.  Kelly, Marianne, Shandee, Heather, and Jenni are definitely some of my best friends.  I love them so much.
• Apple shmear with Kelly, David, and Derek.  Kelly and I found a whole sack of rotten apples in our apartment so what better way of getting rid of them then busting their guts out with a tennis racket.  The funniest part about it was when Derek got in the way and Kelly and I smothered him with rotten apple bits.
• Twenty questions with apartment 31
• My 22 birthday party.  By far the best birthday party I had in college.  My roommates took me out to dinner and when we came back, I found that all of my friends had decorated my apartment and were all there to celebrate.  I was very surprised.
• My trip to Ecuador has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  While there, I learned a lot about the love of Christ that I didn't know before.  I expected to go down there and be an influence and an example to the kids that I was around but I probably learned more from them than they ever learned from me.
• Rooming with Kelsey this past semester has been awesome.  We were both going through challenging semesters and we leaned on each other for support and advice.  We have been friends for almost three years but I can honestly say that we have grown so much closer this semester.  We have confided in each other a lot this semester and I have greatly appreciated her advice.
• My international health class.  I don't think that any class I have taken has inspired me so much.  My teacher is so passionate about the subject and by taking this class, I have received a greater passion for helping other countries.  It reaffirmed to me that there are people who are suffering more than I could ever know and I really believe that Heavenly Father instilled this passion into me so that I can help others feel of his love.  My teacher said that international health is a way to bring others to Christ.  It is important to spread the gospel to the world but it is also important to fulfill the temporal needs of the people. 

Although I will miss BYU-Idaho very much, and although I am terrified of what is to come, I look forward to the future.  There are a lot of unknowns but I know that I will be able to face them with my head held high.

Experiment

My International Health class is doing a little experiment correlating with our nutrition and health unit.  My teacher wanted to recreate a little of what it would be like to live in a refugee camp or developing country.  So this week, we are on a strict diet of flour, sugar, butter, eggs, rice, and beans,  Brother Watson, my teacher, gave us each our rations yesterday for yesterday through next Monday.  This experiment is strictly optional.  We didn't have to do it if we didn't want to but most of us wanted to get the experience.

So far, it hasn't been too bad.  I had pancakes for breakfast this morning, and they weren't the same as normal pancakes but they were alright.  I was a little worried about eating all the rice because I'm not a fan of rice.  After last year eating rice every time it was my roommates' day to cook and having it every day in Ecuador, and not being crazy about rice to begin with, I wasn't too jazzed about eating it all week.  But I had my first dinner of rice last night and it wasn't too bad.  I guess if you put butter and a pinch of salt on anything, it'll make it taste good.

My new club

Living in Rexburg in the winter has it's downfalls.  I woke up this morning to more snow.  I've pretty much convinced myself I'm going to live in Florida after I graduate where it's warm all the time.  Icy streets is another.  And the fact that you have to walk in the street with the cars because when the streets are plowed, all the snow gets pushed to the sidewalk so there are huge piles of snow that are impossible to walk on.

However, there are many good things about living in Rexburg.  The people are awesome.  I love being able to walk on campus and smiling and saying hi to people I don't even know.  My roommates especially have become some of my best friends even though I've only known two of them for more than a month.

But perhaps my favorite thing right now about living in Rexburg is the fact that OSSO (the organization that sent me to Ecuador in the fall) is based in Rexburg.  Because of this, there are many girls that go to school at BYU-Idaho who were also volunteers.  I love it because we have an instant connection with each other even though most of us don't know each other because we volunteered at different times.

These past few weeks, because of the economic crisis, OSSO has been hurting for donations.  OSSO is not only responsible for providing volunteers for the orphanages in Quito and Cuenca, but they provide so many of the resources for at least one of the orphanages.  Because of the depletion of funds, and the decrease of the amount of volunteers, OSSO has been threatening to shut down a city and decreasing the amount of resources that are given to the orphanages.

So, because of this, all the girls that volunteered who are attending BYU-Idaho have gotten together and formed a group to help raise money for the organization and "our" kids.  We had our first meeting yesterday and it was so fun brainstorming ideas for fundraising activities.  It was awesome because none of us knew each other but we bonded right away because of our common interest.  Not only did we brainstorm, it was also fun exchanging stories and talking about things that only a fellow volunteer would understand.

I'm so grateful that I was able to meet these wonderful girls and I hope that not only we will be able to help OSSO but that we will also be able to become better friends.