"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up"

I had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday I was able to get work off and go visit Heath's grandparents with his family for his grandpa's 75th birthday. We got there and Heath, his mom-Rhonda, and I all chatted with his Grandma while his dad-Darren and Grandpa were working on some stuff out in the shop. We then went to lunch at Mcgraths Fish House and had yummy seafood. Then afterward Heath, Grandma and I all played Scrabble and went for a refreshing walk. While driving home Heath and his parents and I all stopped to eat dinner at this wonderful Mexican restaurant, I was so full after!

Sunday my mom came down and went to church with us. The sermon was awesome. We went through a section of Psalm 119 and it was really powerful and full of impact. We then made a huge lunch of Coconut Chicken, Bread, and Cesar Salad. It was so scrumptious. Then my mom headed home and I went off to work.

Monday meant going back to school, I had to lead discussion for English 436; we're reading the book Middlemarch by George Eliot (female pen name). The book is great. We're wrapping up the book this Wednesday, and the ending was perfect (I read ahead). Then I had Writing 201 in which all the students came in and sat down and we're all sitting there until about 5 minutes after class should start when we realize there is a sign outside the door that says the class is cancelled today haha. If only I had noticed that beforehand I would have saved some time. Then I was able to have leftover coconut chicken with Heath for lunch before walking to my Anthropology 380 class - where we watched the first part of a war movie called "No Man's Land."

Today, Tuesday, I walked in early to meet Heath at the Library where we went over the reading for our English 206 and 203 class. Then we walked to English 206 where we were studying for the midterm we have on Thursday and took a quiz!! Now we're sitting in English 203, Shakespeare, where we also had a quiz and are now discussing Timon of Athens - a play I have never read or studied before.

Tonight Heath and I get to do laundry and then we're going to make dinner for our friend Christy. My mom gave me this awesome Stir Fry recipe and I'm going to attempt to make it for the first time - hope it tastes good!!

Heath and I started watching "The Day the Earth Stood Still" last night, and I must say the movie isn't very good. It's all about preaching how we are ruining the earth and the only way to save Earth is that if we change--but that humans never change. A bit far fetched and the directing/script/acting/cinematography isn't even good to begin with.

I Have Almost Forgot the Taste of Fears.

I am sitting here in my Shakespeare class - while we discuss the play Macbeth. Makes me appreciate the theatre I did in High School, so much easier to understand Shakespeare when you have actually acted in a play. Then I start missing theatre. The last play I acted in was Romeo and Juliet. Why didn't I continue to do theatre in college? Time, mainly. Didn't think I would have the time and I wanted to not be attached to the theatre world for once (considering it ate my entire high school career). I have acted in 19 plays and Assisted Directed 1. How do you just drop something that is so consuming of your life for so long?
Every time I see someone from my past, the question always asked is "are you involved in theatre?" And my answer..."no" I don't regret not continuing to be involved in theatre, the only times i miss it are when I watch a play. Like Broadway shows, I absolutely love to see professional (or nonprofessional) shows, but then I always get this little feeling inside of me of how I miss it.
But then I think of all the things I wouldn't be able to do if I was involved in theatre!
I wouldn't have been able to go to Spain, I wouldn't be able to have a job, I wouldn't have all the free time to spend hanging out with friends. I'm sure my homework would suffer and I would be wrapped up in a completely different group of friends. Probably would have never met all my friends through Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship. I don't regret not going into theatre and I will continue to enjoy watching what other people will produce for the stage. :D

Life Happens

Wow, has it really been since June 13th that I have posted a blog! Crazy. Well I got back from Europe (forever ago) and I guess I kind of forgot about this thing! So here I am again, wasting time and updating it, even though I have no idea if people read this thing.

Summer:
I worked at a grass seed research farm (same place I worked the summer before). It was pretty uneventful. I worked 50+ hour weeks and worked right up until before school.
Had one fun trip before school started, went to Fort Stevens for a 2 nights with Michele and Zach and then for one night Matt Lee, Micah Houck, and Tiffany Hartmann all came up. It was perfect weather and we had fun climbing around the ruins and walking through the dark passageways of the fort!
Also went to the wedding of Amy and Jesse Dill, it was beautiful and their reception was a blast! Everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves, it was great. Next was the wedding of Amaris and Mike Moss, which was also really fun, Amaris looked beautiful and Mike couldn't stop smiling at his new bride!

Fall:
Moved into an apartment this year, again with 2 other girls. I am now located in the Parkwest Apartments, which are very close to campus, and close to some of my good friends! I am living with my best friend Michele Sweeney, and another girl that Michele and I just met, Joanna. So far the living arrangement has been working pretty well, Michele and I share a room, and Joanna has her own and so far its been good!
Classes started the last week in September and I am taking 3 english classes, 1 spanish class, 1 french class and a teaching class. Which is a full load, but i really enjoy all my classes! Im finally in a major in enjoy, which if anyone doesnt know, I officially changed to a double major in English and Education, and a double minor in Spanish and French. Which means I will be in school for awhile =D
I got a job down in Corvallis, I am the front desk receptionist at the Motel 6! Which is actually a great job, I work 16 hours a week, and I get to help people, which i enjoy.
Other than that, I'm just doing homework and hanging out with friends! And trying to find out how I can get back to Europe =D

Next...

Well I made it out of Spain! My parents arrived and I showed them around Santander, then we headed to a town called San Sebastian where we walked around some and got a general feel for the town...after driving there and almost hitting two bikers and other cars etc.
Then we took a train to Hendaye which is on the border of France and Spain, where we stayed in a small hotel that supposedly had a pool...this consisted of a small goldfish pond haha. We bought some yummy pasteries and walked to a Castle that was really neat to see.
The next day we headed to Tours, France where we ate dinner at this really cute little Grill, and so far have managed to survive knowing no French.
Then we drove to Caen, France, and on the way saw Mont St. Michael, which is an Abbey out on an island that was later a prison, and is now a tourist attraction haha, but it was really pretty.
Now we are in Caen, and today we saw the beaches of Normandy, also really cool.
If you want to read more and see some photos my dad has been keeping a blog with more details, and i figure it wasnt worth it to write the same thing. The address is catts3.blogspot.com

Cant Wait To Come Home!!

Has It Really Been That Long??

Can´t believe it, but my time in Spain is actually coming to an end! Today I had my last final, my last class, and got handed my diploma. Wont actually get my grades until August, but I´m not worried. So now to start packing up and getting ready to travel some more. My parents are coming Saturday, cannot WAIT to see them, then we are heading out into great ol´ Europe and seeing some more sights, including France, Switzerland, and Italy.
I get home June 26th, have a whole weekend to relax, eat the food I miss, catch up on movies I´ve missed, and hang out with my friends. Then I start work on July 1st. Back to the real world and working 50 hours a week on a farm...not the most exciting thing to come back to, but I got to pay for Spain somehow!
Can´t wait to see you all soon!

Me gusta leer

( I like to read) which is true. I´m also a bit bored today so I´m not really writing about anything in particular. Just randomness. About reading...I have read a total of 8 books and counting while here in Spain, and I love it! I never have this much time to read at home!! Here is a list of the books I have read (and some side comments for fun!)

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern -- An easy read but really cute (and sad). There is a movie based off of the book, but they are infact complete oposites (basically). For example, in the movie, the husband is Irish and they live in New York. In the book, they are both Irish and live in Ireland.

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt -- Also an easy read because it is a young adult book. But really well written! About these 4 kids who are "abandoned" and they have to walk a long ways to find some place to live...hard to describe without giving it away or writing down too much, but its good!
Dicey´s Song by Cynthia Voigt -- The second book in the "Tillerman Series"
A Solitery Blue by Cynthia Voigt -- The third book in the "Tillerman Series" There are quite a few more books in the series that i will have to read once I get home cause I dont have them here. Mom I recommend these books to you because they deal with phonics in them!! One of the kids is a bit slower at reading and they find the best way to teach her is by using phonics haha and it was written in like the 80´s I think, also they might be good ones to reccomend to kids to read since they are about kids...just a suggestion!

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry -- bought this one here at an English Book Shop, its about a possible link to the lost Library of Alexandria, a fast paced book full of twists and turns, pretty good though there were some themes about the validity of the Bible in the book (saying that the lost library had evidence of it being false or something silly like that) but it ended up not being a big deal.

Leaning Towards Pisa by Sue Howard -- A story about a woman who ends up living and teaching in Italy, not the most exciting book, had a very non-climactic ending, basically just a plain old story.

Come Back: A Mother and Daughters Journey Through Hell and Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine -- "stole" this book from a hostel in London, and I actually really liked it, its a memoir and actually really sad (happy ending of course!) but hard to get through because you feel so bad for this family. Its about a daughter who is sexually abused as a child, then grows up and gets into drugs and such, and finally her mom forces her to go to a school that will make her break her habits and be able to function again in the real world. Its really powerful and impactful, I learned a lot about it and recommend it to everyone!!

Currently I am reading Atonement by Ian Mcewan -- also has a movie made about the book, which I havent seen yet, but want too! Im trying to make this book last since most of the books I have read quickley...but I still have a month overseas and will need to find another book soon. Going to Ireland this weekend maybe the hostel there has some books I can "borrow" haha.

New Roommate!

So the empty bed in my room is now filled by a 20 year old girl from Texas! Her name is CC Copeland and she´s really nice! I couldnt have asked for a better person to share my room with for the next few weeks! She´s already feeling overwhelmed by how fast our host mom talks, and I just keep trying to assure her that it is normal and she will get used to it. She came out with us last night and got a feel for the late night-ness of Spain.

Here is a photo of Me, Our Host mom Alicia, and CC!