Reading List...10 summers ago...

Tonight I was cleaning up some stuff in the attic from when I was a kid -- I am constantly going through my old toys, books, and schoolwork and getting rid of stuff, though it's a never ending task -- and I found this. I made a sort of scrapbook page consisting of library receipts, and also had a list of books from my 6th grade reading teacher.

Here are some of the books I read during the summer of 1999, or had read by that point:

Ella Enchanted
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
Walk Two Moons (Sharon Creech)
Julie of the Wolves
The Talking Earth
The Westing Game
Figgs and Phantoms
Soup's Goat
Lyddie
A Wrinkle in Time
Achingly Alice
Wringer
2095
Knights of the Kitchen Table
Holes
Park's Quest
Half Magic
Bunnicula
Abel's Island
The Master Puppeteer
My Side of the Mountain
The Village by the Sea
Nothing But the Truth
Thames Doesn't Rhyme with James
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Charlotte's Web
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Seventeen Against the Dealer
Homecoming (Voigt)
The Phantom Tollbooth
Watsons Go to Birmingham
Little Women
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Hatchet (Gary Paulsen)
Ice (Phyllis Naylor)
Caddie Woodlawn
Harriet the Spy

Also, in 1996 at age 8 1/2, I wrote the following book report, probably for my Caravan group. In my current opinion, it is the lamest book report ever.

"Esther of the Andes was about Esther Carson Winans who lived in Florida and was born there September 14, 1891. Her mother's name was Anna and her father's was Frank.
"Esther was afraid of nothing. She was a missionary in Peru and married Roger Winans. She liked the mountains very, very much. She died on November 6, 1928."

What were some of your favorite books as a kid? Did you ever do summer reading -- but for fun -- perhaps at the public library?

Bible study, anyone?

Soooo, I've been thinkin'....

This summer, on just about every Sunday morning and evening, I'll be speaking at a different church around the area in order to raise support for this coming year of teaching in Ukraine. Hence, I won't ever really be able to go to my home church's Sunday School group, even if I wasn't living at my dad's once the school year finished (that is of course pending employment near there). Plus, I won't be hearing sermons, as I will be sharing about Ukraine -- I am hesitant to use the term "preaching", but I suppose that IS what I'm doing. While I'm at my dad's, I want to get involved in GracePointe Community's (aka Marley Park's) young adult group that meets on Tuesday nights. If I'm lucky, I may have a Sunday or two off that I could go to their Spanish service or contemporary worship service.

I want to make sure I'm spiritually fed through the summer, and not just from listening to the remaining chapel messages from ENC and other schools that are on my iPod. So much of my time is or will be spent on the computer or reading "fun books" (not textbooks anymore, hallelujah!) that I need to have God's voice not drowned out by other media.

Here's my idea--let me know if you're up for it.

I want to read through the gospel of John through the month of June. My overly-ambitious idea was to read the entire thing each day, but my more realistic goal is to read it each week. That's right, to read the entire book (21 chapters) each week, averaging about 3 chapters a day. This way I can get the Word into my head and life even more (at least, the book of John, anyway).

Actually, I'm really not sure how that first idea lends itself easily to any sort of accountability group or discussion, so maybe we need a plan B. Perhaps a modified version of reading through John -- a chapter a day for within the small group? Where we just read it and then leave comments on a blog or a Facebook note? We could also pick some Christian book to read and discuss--I've got a few listed on here that I'm interested in reading.

Let me know if you're interested, by next Sunday, because I want to start this on June 1, and hopefully continue for the rest of the summer before I leave for Ukraine.

Lovely Paintings....

Tonight I was surfing around on the net and decided that I would post some of my favorite paintings... :)

Dance at Bougival, by Renoir

Anybody know this one? It was hanging at the house where I babysat.

Rainy Day in Venice, by John Rabbetts (Even though there aren't many different colors in this, my eyes are just drawn to the umbrella!)

Guernica, by Picasso. (This is not a lovely painting, I know.)
We learned in Spanish class that this depicts the bombing of a city in Spain, and the painting (helped by Picasso's cubist(?) style) gives you that sense of chaos, disorientation, and disorder that the people experienced.

Las Meninas, by Diego Velazquez. The artist is painting a portrait of the king and queen, who you can see in the mirror in the background. Pretty cool, huh?


The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt

Cafe Terrace, by Van Gogh

Hmm, looks like there's a trend in that I seem to like cheerful-looking paintings with bright colors, and mostly those within the Impressionist style. (I need to take another art course--NOT Arts and Music, but a course that will help me match painting styles with the right names!)

Graduation is upon me...

So here I sit, less than 2 days before graduation from college. Holy cow.

I told one of my friends that I didn't like being in this limbo state of being done but not moved out. Plus I am doing a lot of moving this summer, living for a month at my mom's house then 2 months at my dad's before moving to Ukraine on Aug 15. That means a lot of packing and unpacking and packing and living out of a suitcase. I've got a lot of cleaning to do once I get home, by getting rid of things I really don't need or use any more.

I can't believe that in a few short days I won't be with my friends on a regular basis.

Issue #1: I'll miss going to dinner right at 5pm and sitting with my friends, and seeing others, including people within the ENC community that aren't necessarily students (like my quizzers and friends from Wolly). I already miss chapel and the opportunity to see everyone, like faculty and staff. It'll definitely be an adjustment to fit back into my "home" culture.

Issue #2: ENC has become home, and has been home these past couple years. At least, one of my homes (El Paso, Maryland, etc.). So this summer, I'm going home, wherever that is.

This past week has been a great time of concentrated social life...for instance, hiking on Tuesday with the senior class, the mascot-announcement ice cream social, a picnic on Wednesday with friends, movie on Wed. night with Education seniors, etc.

I'm going to miss having the beach nearby. Angel and I walked up there this evening, and just stood on the pier thing, looking out at the water and Boston. I'll miss the semi-quiet atmosphere, and the view of the city, and just riding in the car on Quincy Shore Drive and enjoying the view.

I'll miss the library and having access to a ton of books, even though I wasn't able to read all of the ones I wanted to. Plus, having access to Boston and all kinds of places close by is great.

Here are my grades for this semester:
Student Teaching: A
Student Teaching Seminar: A
Independent Study in Theology: A
:)

Umm, it's time for bed, because tomorrow my family's coming in! (and I have a lot of people to see and things to do...)

Ukraine blog!

Hi all,

I wanted to let you know that I have begun a blog for this next year in Ukraine.

It can be found at ukrainejh.blogspot.com, and I'll update it periodically. Feel free to leave encouraging comments!

Also, you'll probably be able to find photos on my Facebook account! :)

If you would like to support me financially, you can do so at You + Me + KCA = Teaching Math in Ukraine.

Have a wonderful day!

It's about time for an update...

Hi to all who actually read this thing,

I figured it was about time for me to reflect on what has been going on in my life lately.

Student Teaching
On Friday, I finished teaching at Atlantic. In the morning, I thought I wouldn't really miss it, but in retrospect, I miss the students and some of the teachers.
My classes included 2 sections of 8th grade pre-algebra, 1 section of algebra 1 (8th grade), and I was supposed to teach a 7th grade math class on the last day, but that never happened, unfortunately.
Yes, it was crazy at times; yes, I need to improve on my classroom management skills; yes, I know that I cannot teach math as abstractly as I can understand. Now that I have this semester (or rather, these 12 weeks) with new ideas and new understandings of old ideas under my belt, I'm ready to implement what I've learned.

Ukraine
This next school year, I will be returning to Ukraine to teach math at Kiev Christian Academy!!! I'll be with the middle/high school students, but I'm not sure which classes I'll have just yet. During the summer, I'll be traveling to churches in MD/DE/PA/WV to raise the $10,000-$12,000 that will be used to pay for my expenses while I am there (KCA does not pay a salary). For more info you can check out http://web.nazarene.org/goto/ukrainejh, and I am working on a Ukraine blog.

Finishing Up ENC Life
During the past few days being back on campus for most of the day, I've not really known what to do with myself. I can stay up late and sleep in because I don't really have to be anywhere until lunchtime. However, I know that I have plenty of schoolwork to do -- my Education portfolio is due next Friday, I have an adolescent psychology test to take, and I have to work on things for my independent study.
It's been strange being back in the middle of the day, and it's almost like reverse culture shock. I've been out of the loop for so long about things, or I've heard about events through the grapevine. ENC is a different world from Atlantic--in fact, ENC is a bit of a bubble when it comes to knowing what's going on in the world!
People have asked if I would spend my free weeks at home, but these are my last few weeks with my ENC friends/family--I want to make every moment count!

Wolly Quizzing Quotes

Here they are, for your enjoyment, from the past 3-4 years of quizzing.

October 2006
"He's making a Sri Lanka or something" (Katrina about Mike making this paper thing)
"Oh snap I need a banjo" (Katrina)
"We're in Vermont...Merilyn C...in her minivan...cows...river..."

January 2007
Memorable moments from the past 24 hours:
~Joline stealing Preston away from Kerri (in a SKIT!)
Lori: "I'm going to have to speak to my daughter after this"
Andrew: "No, I'M going to have to speak to your daughter"

~Tenny: "Oh, Preston, Preston"

~Jocey, in Prof's office: "Oh look, a guy in a golden chair!" (pulls bookend out, and the books fall) "oops"

~"This bus felt like a capsizing ship as we went over that bump" (Lucas)

~said enthusiastically, "I'm running on pure adrenaline right now. WOOHOO!!" (Becky)

~Jocey about the earlier chapters, "I still got it" and "Hallelujah!"

~to Becky about 6 yr old Anne pretending she couldn't get up: "She hangs out with you"

~coming back to the dorm and freaking out Magon and Rebekah
Rebekah: "Whose purse is this?"
Magon: "Not mine"
Me, showing up: "Mine"
Rebekah/Magon: "AAAHHH!!"

~Sondra: "Look at your HAIR!"
Joel: "I can't! It's on top of my head!"

~"Why is there a man with an elephant on his head?" (Jocey in Prof's office)

~Joel: "Our worlds are colliding! How'd I get another fork?"

~being amused by a water bottle. Joline was tossing it around on the floor, and managed to get it to stand up. "I bet I couldn't do that again in my LIFE if I tried!" then Matt, Katrina, Joel and I clapped for her and the waterbottle till she DID IT AGAIN!!! hahaha it was amazing.

~Preston: "Let's go! I'm hungry" (right after being really amused by the paddleball toy)
me: "He's probably going to get there, see the food, and change his mind."
Ten minutes later I get to the caf....
Joel: "Where's Preston?"
Kerri: "He left. He wasn't hungry"

~Joel: "I have no problem going back to prison"

February 2007
*Jen on the phone: “Z as in xylophone”
*Jen S: “Do we have to go through New Hampshire?”
*Jess: “Oh look, this snow is powdery” (right foot plunges into snow)
*Jocey: “No! I don’t wanna be a druggie, gosh!”
*Jess: “Who needs vegetables at dinner when you can eat popcorn?”
*Jen: “We do not practice personification here”
*Joel: “I’m a perfectly normal and sane person…compared to the play”
*Sondra’s dream that Prof was on drugs

*Hannah: “It’s called a quiz meet, not a hangout meet”
*Prof: “Smack me if you want—it’ll still hurt”

*Joel: “Someday I want to be laughed with, not at”
Jen: “Say something funny and I’ll laugh with you”

*Prof (about Bible study): “And what does that mean?”
Hannah: “Studying the Bible”

*Lucas: “Who would you like to violently evaporate?” (playing Mafia)
*Jen: “Welcome to New Hampshire! ...I mean Massachusetts!”
*Sondra: “What is it about us with men?” (to Deborah during a game of Guess Who?)
*Deborah: “You’re just gonna lay in a cold box for the rest of your...oh. You’re already dead.”
*Jen: “Belch it out, guys” (for singing)
*Sondra to Billy: “Just think, you could be related to Joel.”
*Joel to Becky: “Much as I love you, I just can’t marry you.”

*Joel: “Are you quizzed out?”
Ryan: “Yes”
Joel: “Why do I get the feeling you’re lying?”

*(Hannah knocks chair over)
Joel/Jess, at the same time: “Shhhh!!!” (laughter) … “She just made a joke and she doesn’t know it.”
Hannah: “What joke?”

Other
*"Luke, look, it's your parents!" (while driving down the road)
"Aww, that's cute."

*Robert to Sondra: "You're not exactly classified a friend yet"

*Deborah: "That's because she's OLD!--er...."

A Good Finish

This weekend was my last New England quiz meet (not counting Regionals) for a long time, if ever again. Sad. I know I'll see a handful of them at Regionals in a month, or in other contexts, and I'll still "see" them on Facebook. But still, this weekend began my goodbyes that I am saying in the next couple months.

HIGHLIGHTS!

Friday night:
*Hitting the PANIC button on my remote key, thus setting off my car alarm as I opened my trunk. Then when I went to close it, I hit Matt's arm with the trunk hatch. Sorry, Matt.
*We got lost on our way there. Really lost. Like going into downtown Lowell when we didn't have to. I asked a police officer for directions (stereotypically enough, he was at Dunkin's), and then we were looking for VFW parkway, a McDonald's, and... a legit bridge (i.e., one that actually went over water, not a road). We finally found the "legit bridge", and then...made not just one wrong turn, but 2.
*"SLOW--Senior Citizen Zone" and "SENIOR SAFETY ZONE" signs were by the Council on Aging. After taking pictures of these, and following directions from a random person in an apartment complex parking lot, we went back to the original McDonalds.
*There we discovered the road we needed ALL ALONG, and it was next to a LEGIT BRIDGE!!! So frustrating!
*A cold night on the floor--I even had my head inside my sleeping bag! The temperatures were completely opposite from the way they are in my top bunk in Munro.

Saturday
*Quizmastering while ridiculously drowsy--until my hot tea (aka caffeine) kicked in!
*Matt had Jen and I come up after the high school seniors shared what their plans were for after graduation and what quizzing has meant to them, and thanked us for working with quizzing, and all that good stuff. Thanks, Matt for your antics but also your willingness to help!
*Also, a BIG thank you to all the NED quizzing folks that contributed toward my Ukraine trip fund -- the total was $109!!!

Saturday afternoon/evening
*Congratulations to Wolly's JV team (Nick, Emily, Cindi) for making it to Regionals as a JV local team!!! (2nd place)
*Congrats to Robert (varsity) and Nick (JV) for making the all-star teams!!
*Taking pictures of Matt while he was sleeping, and Jen taking pictures of us--I have a look of "I'm going to smile for the camera but I want to make sure I don't drive my car into another car or curb"
*Exhaustion.

a prayer

When we avoid slowing down
Hedge us in and still our souls
When we ignore your voice
inviting us to be foolish
Release our grip on the need to fit in
give us guts to follow you

College students do not live by ramen alone...

...as simple as that may be.

Tonight begins ENC's spring break, and I (along with many other student teachers and other students) remain on campus. The cafeteria is closed, so we are left to fend for ourselves for food. This is the longest vacation time that I've stayed on campus -- in past years, I've stayed for Easter break (4-day weekend) and J-term break.

I have limited cooking skills/experience....though they increased during my times on YIM. Rachel, Brandi, Angela, and I would go grocery shopping in El Paso, but primarily went out to eat (yeah Sonic!!!). One night we fixed ourselves spaghetti and salad, and even set the table in the fellowship hall--it was quite homey. I think it took us a while to decide what kind of pasta sauce to get, just like when we decided where to eat each day/week. In Ukraine, we fixed a number of our own meals...like "last-resort sandwiches" when we didn't want to take the food on the train and didn't want to do more grocery shopping!

Needless to say, this week is going to be a test of my ability to live on more than ramen, cereal, cookies, EasyMac, etc., and avoid eating out all the time. My goal was to cook for myself, with some degree of nutrition and avoiding prepared/frozen/canned meals, and prove whatever independence I have.

Shopping List ($44.41 in total)
1/2 gallon of milk
Sour cream aka сметана
Shredded cheese
Butter
Black beans
White rice
Spaghetti noodles
Mac and cheese dinner
Loaf of bread
Egg noodles (cheaper than Hamburger Helper, because I wasn't buying the meat)
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Tomato soup
Spaghetti sauce (tomato and basil flavor)
Frozen mixed veggies
Frozen corn/peas
Apples
Goober PB/Jelly combo

Other Foods:
Pi Day celebration pizza on Friday--$2 for 2 slices
plemeni (Ukrainian boiled dumplings, with or without meat), and Ukrainian cheese--$11.30

You may notice the general lack of meat on the list. I have not become a vegetarian, but rather decided that I could manage without meat for the week and a half. It's less expensive that way, and is less that I have to cook.

This food, along with my granola bars and cereal that are already in my room, is to last me for
23-25 meals (if you are wondering about the breakdown, it's 7 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 7 or 8 dinners). I might end up with some "last resort" meals composed of various leftovers. You can't beat open-faced fried onion-tomato-turkey jerky-sandwiches with a slice of Ukranian cheese on top, though. :)

Some of the meals I'm trying:
Black bean quesadillas and salsa
Tomato-vegetable stroganoff (meatless)
PBJ every day for lunch at school
only ONE meal of Mac and Cheese!

So far, I've made myself spaghetti with sauce, which was pretty easy -- boil the spaghetti, warm the sauce. I'm not terribly sure of myself when it comes to timing of all parts of the meal, and the stove in our dorm kitchen, but it worked out (even without a colander!). In my friend's words, "You're so domestic!" Maybe, maybe not.

Here goes...