And it starts

Well, I'm back from the future.

I know i know, lame, I just couldn't help it after the last post :)

Today I started with phase 2 of the intensive language program. And I felt the 'intensive' part of it. It's such a world of difference to have 3 hours with a tutor, just one on one, compared to being in a class of 13 other students at a university.

I left class today feeling like I was going to make it. That somehow I would really be able to learn this language. And that my friends is a hard feeling to come by, i think.

Today I learned how to say the bird flew thru the window, the bird flew out the window, the bird flies toward the tree, fish bowl, seeweed, worm, the bird is far from that tree, but close to this one, the curtains have spots on them, and it has stopped snowing.

I learned a few other things, but those were the big ones. go me.

What I wasn't counting on to bring me grief during my tutoring sessions was the gross, phlegmy (yes i said that) cough that refuses to leave my body. Granted I haven't had it that long, but a gross phlegmy cough quickly wears out is welcome.

I had every intention of running tomorrow, but the air is so cold and is aggravating my cough, i don't want to lose my lung on the side of the road. So for safety reasons to myself and those around me, I'm gonna wait on that run.

I would love to share something earth shattering from the day, but it mostly consisted of tidying up the house, class, and studying.

I'm turning 30 on Thursday. I know if you're 22 you're thinking man that is old! And if you're 38 you're thinking, wow get over it you have no idea. ha! But honestly I just don't know how I feel about it. When I was younger my plan was to get married at 24, right after getting my masters, and then have 4 kids by the time I was 30. I always wanted to be done having kids by 30. It's ironic that I haven't even started. But that's what we get I guess for trying to plan our entire lives at the age of 18.

Anyone have fun things they did to celebrate the big one??

love

laura

It's over

Today was the last day of the semester at school. I had a final yesterday and today. I aced the one today. I don't want to even think about my final from yesterday.

When we first moved here, we started tutoring almost immediately. We went from that straight into classes at the university. It's almost surreal that it's over. Obviously (based on my other final) we're not finished learning yet! I have one tutoring session next week, but pretty much taking the week off from language. Then we'll both tutor during the winter break (which is 2 months), until school starts again the first part of March.

Last night, we were gifted a really nice dinner at a fancy hotel. Here's my dessert plate. It was SO good!!!! (and yes that is foil on the strawberry, i think it was supposed to be decoration).

The hotel was decorated SO nice for Christmas. It was a real treat! There were so many pretty decorations, but I was way too busy eating to get pictures of all of it.

Here we are!

These next few days are pretty busy. Today I'm starting the chocolate covered peanut butter balls. Then tomorrow I'm making stuff for an english corner party we're having, making fudge, dipping the pb balls from today, and saturday i'm making green bean casserole, prepping mashed potatoes, making breakfast casserole, and cinnamon rolls. Basically I'm just going to live in the kitchen.

Also, two weeks today I'll be celebrating the big 3-0! I'm still not sure yet how i feel about it....

love

laura

Solo

Our school has an annual singing competition and Christmas party each December. Since we are new to the university, this was our first year to attend.

Basically students from the international department could choose to sing a song in the language they were learning. After the competition there was going to be a fancy dinner with lucrative gifts. (yes, i also wondered what a lucrative gift might be).

Well, last week our teacher who is also the head of the department had the brilliant idea to have our class sing as "filler" for the singing competition. We chose a local song that is quite popular and apparently easy to sing.
Then she had the idea that we could split up the verses so everyone could have a small solo.
If you don't know.....i don't sing. Yes i know the whole 'make a joyful noise,' and believe me I do.....in groups. I do not like to sing by myself. I just don't see the point of it.

My line was something like "there are tears, and bad things, but remember..something," that's a loose translation anyways. I'm still not sure.

Anyways, as you can guess students started dropping like flies. Why my annual sinus infection couldn't flare up this week, i'll never know.

So the last few classes we've been practicing, and bless our hearts. I figured I could just sing really low and no one would be able to hear me. Then the day of the competition my teacher reveals that we will be singing into mics.

After i popped a zanex, i felt much better about the whole thing.

Then right before the competition, our teacher decides that we all need to introduce ourselves and say something interesting. Right.....i'm full of interesting tidbits to share. I ended up saying "Merry Christmas" in english. You do what you can with what you have.

Here I am before going on stage.....do you see the confidence?

Here are some pics Daniel took of me on stage. The lighting was pretty bad. And luckily so was the sound system.

I don't have any pics of me actually singing, because Daniel was videoing it. Here's the funniest part......and i'm so glad it was captured on video.

So, we had been practicing this song in class. We all knew it. The music we were singing to had a lot of background voices singing before and after the first chorus. So i was holding the mic because my part was coming up. We had just finished singing the chorus and waiting for the background singers part to end. Homegirl next to me grabs the mic and starts singing the back up parts. She wanted me to sing with her, so on the video you see her grabbing the mic, me not letting it go, and shaking my head at her. It actually looks like we were fighting over holding the mic. When really I just had no clue about what she was doing, and knew my part was coming up. I wish I could share the video. It's hilarious.

Anyways, after I survived my solo.......we ate dinner and received our lucrative gifts.

Cookies. I'm actually pretty excited, because they are the danish butter cookies.

This is my life.....

love

laura

Calzones and Class

I tried a new recipe tonight. You can find it at my friend's blog here. This was my first time to make calzones. I was pretty excited because i'd heard it was pretty easy. It was.

(the dark spots are the flax seed that didn't quite blend)

You seriously just make the dough, roll it out and put in the toppings. The part that took the longest was just shredding the cheese and prepping the veggies.

Our toppings were:

Pepperoni

Mozzarella

Red Pepper

Green Pepper

Tomatoes

Black Olives (for me)

These were SOO good! I actually couldn't eat all of mine, but i wanted to. Because you don't have to wait for the dough to rise, it's so much faster than making pizza, and it adds a nice twist to our dinner menu. We also just used canned spaghetti sauce to dip them in, because that's what we had. :)

So. Class.

We're still in the deciding stage right now. Daniel is pretty sure what class he will go to, and I'm still deciding. I tried a new class today, that left me more confused on what to do than before. We still have 2 more classes to make our decision. But I am thankful that we get the ability to choose. So that's something.

In other news....2010 was the year of the runner. 2011 is the year of the move. We moved.

BFF Amy moved (to a new apartment but still), BFF Caroline moved to Arkansas, Sarah, Mike and the boys are moving this week, and now my parents are moving! (if i've left you out i'm sorry!)

My dad is a pastor and accepted a new job in Illinois. They currently live in Ft. Worth. I know very little about Illinois, other than Chicago is there and I've always wanted to visit. Any readers from Illinois?!

It will be weird when Daniel and I do go back to the States to visit, to go see my parents in a completely different state, new house, new church, everything. But i'm excited for them  and i'm sure they'll love it!

It's been such a long week already. Seriously, is it friday yet???

love

Laura

Many Firsts

Today was the first day of school. I realized on the way, that this was the first time ever for me to ride my bike to school. I've never lived close enough to school to ride a bike, so I was pretty excited about it. ( I also ran into a motorbike on the way, yes, it was my fault)

Here we are using the self-timer:

So we rode almost 2 miles to school in the insane heat and humidity. I was drenched by the time we got there, and of course, no a/c.So instead of running i'm just going to sweat off these last few pounds, hhahaah kidding.

I'm going to be honest....class was hard. The first week you try out the different levels of class and next week 'commit' to the class you want to go to. I went to a class that I thought would be a challenge for me, but it was actually just hard. I didn't understand a lot of what was being said, and I can't read the language yet, so that made it much more difficult. I'm going to try the class below to see if it's a better fit. It's hard because I want a challenge, but also don't want to be confused the whole semester. I'm thinking a lot about this.

Also, today was the FIRST day of half-marathon training!!! Woo hoo!!! I ran this afternoon and i ran fast! Knowing I was only doing 3 miles I brought my A game, and felt really good! Again, sweating off the weight is my strategy, hhaah!

The first bit of training is always easier and more enjoyable because you start off so slow. I know when i'm hitting the 10 mile+ mark I'm going to be wanting the 3 miles again.

Are you training for anything?? A tri, marathon, 5K? Let me know, I'd love to hear!

love

Laura