Norse Notes: Sharon

Adios Amigos

2009-07-27T03:16:00.001-07:00

It´s hard to believe that my 10th and final week in Spain has arrived. The time has gone by really fast with all of the excursions, classes, and fun activities that I´ve had. It´s definitely been a memorable experience that I´m really grateful for. For me the 10-week duration was just about perfect in order to feel like I´ve become fully integrated in the culture and become fluent in the Spanish language. At this point I can understand most conversations that I overhear between natives (as well as the priests during Mass!), I understand tv shows and newspaper articles, and listening to my professors during class is no longer taxing on my brain. I have improved by leaps and bounds and am excited to put my Spanish into action this fall when I volunteer in Decorah´s Free Clinic.

As much as I am looking forward to going home, I know that when I get there I will miss aspects of my life here in Spain. This is what I´ll miss most:
1. The great weather! It´s not humid, doesn´t rain, and is sunny 95% of the time!
2. The laid-back schedule. It´s still remarkable to me that my host mom doesn´t get up until after 8 AM each day after staying up until 2 AM watching telenovelas! The work day here starts later and then takes a 3 hour break for lunch and siesta- much different from our "Go, go, go" schedule in the U.S.
3. The ability to walk everywhere and always encounter friends in the parks or on the streets. I will definitely miss my daily strolls through the shaded parks and the plaza where I always manage to run into a friend from my classes or apartment.
4. Speaking Spanish!

It´s been a great time and I would definitely recommend this type of study-abroad to anyone who´s thinking of studying in Spain. Now it´s time to say, "Adios", and take the many lessons from this trip with me as I head into my junior year at Luther!

Hiking La Peña de Francia

2009-07-20T03:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday promised to be a great day. The weather was warm and not a cloud was in the sky. I was headed to a little pueblo called La Alberca south of Salamanca to hit up some trails and hike around. I had maps and information about the trails that passed right through Alberca headed in various directions to other Spanish cities and pueblos. This was a solo trip so I was very excited to explore the trails that I wanted to and at my own pace.

My bus got to La Alberca (1050 meters high) about 10:45 but I had to wait until 11 for the information office to open and get some parting advice for my hike. My main goal for the day was to hike up to a monastery that is at the top of a 1723m mountain called "La Peña de Francia" (The rock of France, which you can barely see at the top of the first picture) that´s 8 km (4.96 mi) away from La Alberca. It´s one of the tallest peaks in the Sierra de Francia mountain range. My friend had hiked up it on Saturday and said that it took her 3.5 hours to get up and 2.5 hours to come down. I knew that I had a little over 8 hours to hike before the bus would be back, so I was anxious to get started.

By 11:15 I was on my way up a rocky dry trail, thinking I was heading to "La Peña de Francia". I noticed that some of the trees were marked with painted lines, marking the path for hikers. Soon, though, I came to a fork. I looked around for markings and saw an "X" marked on a tree to the left. "That must be it!" I thought. WRONG! Soon the path turned into a bunch of weeds and rocks that made it clear I was not on the more groomed path that I should´ve been on. I took out my map, and after a more thorough look, I saw the key for the tree markings: X means "Wrong Way", while 2 parallel lines means "Path Continues Here". Well, that explained a lot. Way to go, Sharon, getting lost in the first half hour!

So I returned to where I had taken the wrong turn, and continued on my way. I was really enjoying just being out in nature, listening to the breeze and the critters. I really did not see many other hikers until I had been hiking for about 40 minutes and made it to a look-out called "El Portillo" at 1250m about 3 km away (1.8 mi) from La Alberca. The view was "maravillosa" but after looking at the "You are Here" sign, I realized that I was not on the path leading to La Peña de Francia. I was definitely going in the opposite direction...oh man!

I booked it back to La Alberca where I would need to pick up the right path to get to La Peña. I found the right path after asking for verification at the information office. For a second time that day I left La Alberca. It was 1:15 so my time was now cut down to 6 hours to summit and return to catch the bus. I was off!

This path was a lot better marked than the previous path had been. It was a nice wide gravel/dirt path, going in and out of forest and the country side. After about 45 minutes the nice gentle path took a major up-turn. It was very tough from this point on because most of it was in the direct sunlight, I could see the monastery way, way up that looked unattainable, and I didn´t feel like I was making any progress. The terrain got very rocky, and multiple times I caught my toes on some rocks and stumbled forward- never falling- but had too many close calls for my liking.

After 2 hours and 5 minutes, I made it to the top of La Peña! I was so happy and relieved to have made it and to find a bit of shade where I could rest for a couple of minutes. The view was absolutely amazing! Mountains and countryside were all that I could see. I couldn´t even see the tops of the houses in La Alberca!

The way down was a lot easier mentally but by that time (4:15) my legs were pretty dead. I just kept telling myself that I could do it, and as soon as I got back to La Alberca I was going to find some nice shade to sit in until my bus came at 7:20. I got back to town at 6:10 and was moving on adrenaline. I did it!

Life With My Host Family

2009-07-14T03:19:00.001-07:00

As far as host families go, I have come to the conclusion that they are much like school lunches. Sometimes you get what you really like (chicken noodle soup!!); sometimes you get what you really don´t like; and most of the time you get a combination of things you like and things that you could do without.

I have now had the experience of living with 3 different host families- one in Ecuador and two different families here in Spain. All of my host families have been great fits for me and I´m very glad that I opted to stay with a host family here in Spain instead of in a ´residencia´ (dorm). Host families provide the opportunity to experience home life by being a part of it, to speak Spanish constantly, and to eat some authentic home-cooked meals.

So about my current host family and home...

My host family includes my Spanish mom, Regina, my dad, Julio, and their dog, Lisa. Besides that, we have anywhere from 1-5 other international students staying with us at any given time. Host families here continually have students, some who stay for as little as a week and some who stay for as long as 6 months or a year. This experience in Spain has been a lot different than in Ecuador where I was the only student living with my host family. I like having other people my age to converse with and hang out with, but I also realize how having other students in the house can cause the host family to see the students less as "family members" and more as "clients". Thankfully in my house I feel very much like part of the family.

I live in a small apartment that has 4 bedrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom, and 1 living/dining room. I have the good fortune of having the only single room in the house, a place that I can call my own even if it is smaller than some walk-in closets in the U.S.! The other rooms have 2 if not 3 beds for other international students and my host parents. My room:

The kitchen:

My host mom used to be a chef at a restaurant but now just stays home taking care of students. She loves her "telenovelas" (soap operas) and often stays up until 1:30 AM watching them! She is shorter than me and very outgoing, keeping me updated on the latest goings-on and lets me tag along when she goes shopping or out for a nightly stroll.

My host dad works for the city as a street cleaner/maintenance man. He used to be a professor and is very smart (proven by his large library in the living room). He reminds me a lot of my own dad because he´s quiet in comparison to my host mom, informed of the latest news, and hard-working.

As for other students in the house, currently there are 2 Californian college guys (picture above), 1 girl from Belgium, and 1 girl from France. We are all here until the end of August and are getting along very well. We have a good time joking around with my host mom and talking about life in our different home countries.

And that´s my family! All of us students with my host mom

Ciao Bella, Ciao Italia

2009-07-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

"What have I gotten myself into?" I thought as I sat on a 3.5 hour train ride to Florence, Italy where my train car was unfortunate enough to have a broken window that let all of the hot air from outside in, negating any good the supposed air conditioner was doing. This was the last leg of 8 hours of travelling in one day, and I was just hoping that the rest of the trip would turn out to be more enjoyable than sweating profusely while wishing that I was anywhere but here. Thankfully things took a turn for the better immediately after stepping off that last train.

Two other girls from my International Studies Abroad group here in Salamanca (including one girl who is also a Luther student) and I spent 4 nights and 3 full days in Florence, Italy. We stayed in a nice, air-conditioned hotel in which an elderly Italian man would greet us each night at the desk where we´d pick up our room key, leaving us giggling back to our room at just how cute he was. Our hotel was in a great location. In only 5-15 minutes we could get to most of the touristy cathedrals and museums. Plus some great restaurants and the outdoor street market were just a few blocks away.

During our 3 days we visited multiple cathedrals that had beautiful frescos, climbed the 414 steps to the top of the belltower of the main cathedral, visited two art museums where we got to see Michelangelo´s famous "David" statue, and hiked up to "Piazzale Michelangelo" (my personal favorite, seen in 2nd picture above) where the view of the city and the mountains was spectacular. I´ll be honest, there were a couple of times that I wished we had a dad around to fill us in on the hours, costs, and locations of some of these sites (because dads are really good with that kind of stuff!), but we three girls did very well getting around and having a great time. I think I got my art fix for a good while, but more Italian food would not be turned down.

The weather was very warm and humid, a lot different from the weather in Salamanca, but we didn´t complain since the forecast had been calling for 70-80% rainshowers each day. We were all pretty relieved, though, when we reached our last day of travelling and knew that when we got home we could put on some fresh clothes that hadn´t picked up any sweat! Oh the prices you pay to travel lightly.

Now with that awesome trip behind me I´m preparing to start classes again tomorrow and get back to my Spanish routine. In less than 4 short weeks I won´t be saying Ciao Italia or Ciao España (hello/goodbye), but "Ciao Mom and Dad!"

5 Weeks, Many Lessons

2009-06-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone and that I've actually been in Spain for over a month! 5 weeks done and 5 more to go, but at this point I am not at all ready to come home (sorry Mom and Dad!) I have really grown accustomed to the relaxed summer schedule of going to school in the morning, coming home for lunch and a brief siesta, and then having all evening to spend outdoors walking the town with my friends. It's a wonderful break from the hectic college schedule.

In 5 weeks I've learned a lot about Spain and about Spanish culture so here are a few lessons that I've learned to help me fit in.

1. Spend Time Outdoors
Spaniards are outdoors a lot! Walking is the main mode of transportation in Salamanca, so for almost 24 hours of the day (seriously) people will be out walking the sidewalks to go to work, school, or play. It is so cute how after about 6 pm all of the older couples can be found making their rounds in the parks or streets. On weekends there are even dance nights for older couples at a park! Families and friends are often at the parks playing soccer, basketball, or tennis, while everyone else gets out to shop or just people-watch. Concerts and shows are also held outdoors, often times in the main Plaza Mayor. I absolutely love being outside and am taking advantage of this part of Spanish culture.

2. Be Catholic
Let me assure you that if you're Catholic, you'll have no trouble finding a cathedral to attend mass at. There are some beautiful, old cathedrals in Spain. It seems like whenever we've had weekend excursions we've always gone to one or more cathedrals to look at the historic architecture and paintings. Catholicism is most definitely the dominant religion, so good luck to anyone searching for a protestant church.

3. Love Sports
As you probably know, Spaniards love futbol. Their national team is ranked #1 in the FIFA standings and has some very talented players. When you go to a park there are people of all ages kicking a ball around, imitating what they've seen from their favorite stars. Just this past week the United States played Spain in a futbol match and in every bar, cafe, and house that had a tv you can be assured that the game was being watched (The U.S. surprised everyone and beat Spain 2-0!) What I was surprised by, though, is how much Spaniards also love basketball, tennis, and basically any sport. It was big news here when Spaniard Pau Gasol and the L.A. Lakers won the NBA championship, as well as when Rafael Nadal lost in the French Open and then pulled out of Wimbledon. Yes, Spaniards love their sports, making me feel right at home.

It's been a great 5 weeks of learning and experiencing, getting more confident and fluent in my speaking abilities. Surely many more lessons will be learned before it's time to return home. Next week I will venture from Spain and spend 5 days in Florence, Italy enjoying the renowned pasta, gelato, and art. All I can say is, What a way to spend the summer!

Flamenco Festival

2009-06-22T02:32:00.000-07:00

Last Friday marked the beginning of a week-long Flamenco Festival in Salamanca and two other surrounding cities. Since it was happening right here in town, I figured I might as well go to a performance and see for myself how real Flamenco music and dance are performed. So Friday night I attended a show (with about 15 other people in my group) in which two singers and their accompanying guitarists, as well as one dancer and his musicians performed. And let me tell you, this was nothing like anything I´ve seen on Dancing with the Stars! This was much much better! (sorry ABC!)

Going into it, I really had no idea what to expect. The only thing that I knew about Flamenco music and dancing was that the performers sometimes click castanets in their hands. Other than that I was clueless. The show began at 10:30 at night and took place outdoors under the bright stars. The first singer was a female with a very, very strong voice that made me think she could be an opera singer. In fact, a lot of the singing sounded to me like it could be opera music. The words were sung very emotionally, strung out for a long time while the singer´s voice undulated between notes. This singer was very good, but what I really wanted to see was the dancer.

The second performer was a male dancer who was very talented vocally, but difficult to watch. He was so wrapped up in what he was singing that his face would become contorted into all sorts of painful-looking facial expressions! If I had only seen this guy on tv and didn´t know that he was performing, I´m sure I would´ve thought that he was suffering from a stab wound or something, goodness! It was clear that Flamenco singers really try to connect with their music and truly express the feelings of the music.

Almost better than the singers were their accompanying guitarists. They could´ve put on a show all by themselves with their fast-flying fingers! The guitarists didn´t play with any music in front of them, so they either have all of their songs memorized by now or they sort of improvise. In any case, the singing would definitely not have been as good without the guitarists.

And finally, around midnight the long-awaited Flamenco dancer came on stage. He was only 16 years old but performed as if he´s been dancing his whole life. I couldn´t believe my eyes when he started dancing! He was dancing, stomping, twirling, and moving with strict yet gracefully motions to the music of his 3 musicians. He had special shoes on that would click when he stepped a certain way, keeping beat with the musicians. It was amazing and I would definitely pay to see him again. As I left the show I could only think about how this 16-year old Flamenco dancer would totally beat out anyone on Dancing with the Stars...although I definitely wouln´t mind being his partner.

Playin´ in ´La Playa´

2009-06-15T02:16:00.001-07:00

What a weekend! Last Friday was a holiday in Salamanca so we didn´t have classes and instead went to the northern coast of Spain to spend time at "la playa" (the beach). The weather last week had been quite chilly and overcast, leaving us wondering if it would even be warm enough to go to the beach. We turned out to have great timing as the weather cleared off on Thursday and stayed sunny through the day on Saturday.

We drove about 3.5 hours Friday morning to Santander, Spain, where we had a hotel literally right next to the beach. Friday afternoon was then spent soaking up the sun, building amazing sandcastles, and taking quick dips in the water to cool off. The water felt cold if you weren´t moving around in it, but when you actually got in to swim around it was perfect. Friday evening we had a low-key tour of the area around our hotel where there was a palace and a small zoo with penguins, sea lions, and seals. To me it finally felt like summer- sun burn and all!

Saturday was the day I had been looking forward to since the beginning of the trip because this was the day for surfing lessons! It turns out we didn´t have lessons until 5 pm, so I spent the morning running on the beach (my first time ever, reminding me somewhat of running in the snow in Decorah!), playing paddle ball in the sand, and swimming out to some big rocks not far from the beach. It was a ton of fun and it would´ve been a perfect day even without the surfing lessons.

At 4 pm we drove to a different place along the coast where our surfing instructors were waiting. It was hilarious watching everyone try to get their wetsuits on; some legs were going in arm holes and one persone even put their suit on inside out! Then we were each given a surf board and we excitedly marched out to the beach. After about 30 minutes of instruction and practicing on the sand, we were going in. The waves were not super big but the current was strong, making it difficult to even get out to the waves. The first couple of times I just rode out the waves with my stomach on the board, laughing as I ´whooshed´toward the beach. I´m proud to say that I did get up and surf 2 or 3 times, one time even riding out the whole wave. It was a really fun experience, but I definitely need more practice. Since I don´t think I´ll be moving to the coast anytime soon, that practice may be a long time in coming. After an hour and a half of surfing (read: being in the ocean holding onto my surfboard) I was exhausted. It´s amazing how strong those ´little´ waves are! No doubt I will sleep well for the next few nights.

Beauty in a Bullfight?

2009-06-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

Bullfighting has been part of Spanish culture for a long time. It involves skill, risk, and courage on the part of the toreros (bullfighters) and bravery on the part of the bulls. Spaniards do not see it as a sport, though, because the outcome is never in doubt. The 6 bulls that are part of a bullfight will die, either in the ring by the 3 matadors or by a bullring assistant if all of the matadors are disabled. The matadors aim to kill the bulls quickly by hitting a major artery with their swords after the bull has been worn down. The matadors are judged based on how artfully they can get the bull to run toward their cape, how much danger they appear to put themselves in, and how swiftly they kill the bulls.

Before going to the bullfight on Saturday I had been reading the book Death and the Sun by Edward Lewine. This book tells the history of one specific matador, Francisco "Fran" Rivera Ordóñez, and explains a lot about bullfighting in general. I was very glad that I had read the book because I knew what was going on in the ring, knew what to look for in the actions of the matador, and also because I got to see the exact same matador that I had read about!

Watching the bulls go after the cape was the best part of the bullfight in my opinion. Sometimes the matadors would be on their knees as the bull charged them, or they would guide the bulls behind their backs. After a few "passes" by the bull, blood for the bull´s earlier wounds was visible on the matadors clothing! That really proved to me how close the bulls were getting to the matadors and how much danger the matadors could be in if something didn´t go according to plan. I began to understand the "beauty" in bullfighting. The matadors had to get themselves in just the right positions to keep themselves out of reach of the bulls horns and make artistic moves to keep the bull coming back for more. It was an awesome experience.

I don´t think that I will need to see another bullfight for quite a while, but I´m sure glad that I went to this one. It´s not a very pretty sight if you don´t know what to look for, but when you really focus on the matadors´ body positions and actions, the art of bullfighting is clear.

Lost and Found

2009-06-01T08:15:00.001-07:00

´Oh man, not again´, I thought to myself as I was walking around Salamanca and realized that I had no idea where in the world I was. I don´t understand how that happens! I start off on the right path that I know takes me to where I want to go, but then somehow I take a wrong turn or don´t take a little zig that I need to. I am left lost, frustrated, sweaty, and staring at my map! That´s what I get for being overconfident and not using my map in the first place.

We arrived to Salamanca last Wednesday, so I´ve been here for 5 days and have managed to get lost almost every day, sometimes twice per day! This is not normal for me. Usually I have a very good sense of direction, and that combined with scoping the area out on my runs usually leaves me in good shape. The difference here, though, is that the streets are very confusing for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that the streets are not set up in a nice parallel and perpendicular orientation. Nope. These streets are set up with no rhyme or reason making it very difficult to know if that street currently parallel to me is going to stay that way, or make a sharp turn, or even simply end. That´s where I´ve tended to get into trouble by assuming that a parallel street will take me to the same place.

The second reason that the streets are confusing is because sometimes their names are not the same as the names on the map, and believe me, I´m not just looking at the wrong part of the map! Often the street names are not clearly marked, and if they are marked, it is intermittent instead of at every intersection. The street names here are not found on little green intersection signs like at home. Instead they are on plaques that are attached to the sides of buildings about 1 floor up from the street itself. Therefore, if there are windows or something blocking where the street sign might go, then they just don´t put one there!

But thank goodness for my map that is now ripping apart from so much use. I don´t feel dumb at all having to use a map sometimes thanks to the numerous other tourists that are blindly walking around the city. I have been very surprised by how many tourist groups I´ve seen so far. People are here from China, France, the U.S. and more. I guess since Salamanca has the oldest University in Spain the architecture is quite a draw. The streets get pretty crowded, but it makes it a bit easier for me and my blond hair to blend in.

Since I´ve already met my ´lost´ quota for the day (yup, got momentarily lost on the way back from the gym to my house, and then again took the round-about way to get to a computer lab!) I´m going to stick to the tried and true route back home. Hopefully soon I won´t be writing about getting so lost, but rather about all of my good ´finds´!

Jet Lag Drag

2009-05-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hola! I am finally here in my Spanish host city of Salamanca, where I will be staying for the next 9 weeks or so. The past five days have passed in a blur of airports, hotels, tours, and siestas! I left the United States on Friday at 5:30 pm out of Chicago. From there I flew to London, and then on to Madrid, Spain. I was definitely not prepared for the 7 hours time difference between Spain and Iowa! I was on my flight to London getting sleepy around midnight central time, but when I looked out my window as we were preparing to land I was shocked to see the sun coming up! It was around 6:30 am when I landed in London (12:30 am central time), and I was having a hard time comprehending how I just lost so many hours of my life while sitting on that plane!

Needless to say, by the time I arrived in Madrid at 2:00 pm, my body didn't know what it was supposed to do. That first night in the hotel, I'm fairly certain all of the students in my group who had traveled from the U.S. were all asleep by 9 pm (2pm Iowa time). It has taken me a good 3 or 4 days to adjust to the time change and not need a 'siesta', but I'm happy to say that I no longer feel so confused about whether I should be awake or asleep.

So far Spain has seemed similar to the U.S. in many ways. There are Starbucks and McDonalds in the cities, the roads are paved, and cars yield to pedestrians. There are also quite a few differences that will take some time getting used to. Two major ones that I can think of right now are meal times and the prevalence of smoking.

Meal times are a lot later than is common in the U.S., but quite similar to what I experienced in Ecuador. Breakfast will be before my 9 am class; lunch is at 2:30 and is the biggest meal of the day, and dinner is a light meal at 9 pm. So far it really hasn't been difficult to eat around these times. With the sun out for so long it is easy to lose track of time and not realize how late it is until my tummy starts rumblin'!

Worse than dealing with later meal times and tummy rumbles is adjusting to all of the smokers! Smoking is very popular and accepted in Spain. Many people smoke while they are walking down the streets, conversing, or after eating a meal. It seems as though dead cigarettes are all over the ground and just walking by the entrance of a bar or restaurant can overwhelm you with smoke. I realize now how much I take for granted the fact that smoking is outlawed in public places in Iowa. I will have to breathe in deeply when I return!

Half Way There...Livin' On A Prayer

2009-05-17T13:39:00.001-07:00

Wow! After one more days of finals I will officially be half way done with my college career. SCARY! In some respects it seems like just the other day that I was moving onto campus for the first time and anxious about being on my own. Yet on the other hand, I feel like I've been at Luther for so long that it feels like home, the place where I belong.

Contrary to what all freshmen want to hear, sophomore year proved to be tougher and busier than freshman year. As my classes got more specialized I definitely had to put in more time studying and completing assignments. I can recall nights of reading and re-reading my physiology textbook wishing that instead I could be spending time with friends. Not only were classes tough enough in themselves, but I was also working multiple days a week and running more miles in practice, all of which left me "Living' on a Prayer" often enough.

But now that I've managed to sound like sophomore year was a bust, let me note a few of the good things that came with it:

1. Maturity. Being involved in activities and having multiple responsibilities to fulfill helped me mature. I became fully aware that I was the one who decided how busy to be and also how stressed I would let myself get. I became mature enough to realize when enough was enough, and how I needn't let trivial things stress me out so much. Despite what often gets portrayed, there is much more to life than grades and athletics.

2. World Traveling! As a sophomore, junior, or senior, Luther students are allowed to travel abroad for a J-term or semester. I took the opportunity to go to Ecuador over J-term and had a wonderful time. It was great to try out my Spanish-speaking skills and to experience a different culture. That was definitely one of the highlights of the year and I would highly recommend traveling abroad to anyone who hasn't yet.

3. Stronger relationships. Freshman year is a beginning for many great relationships, but unfortunately it takes the majority of the year to identify who you might want to be friends with and start getting to know them. When you come back as sophomores, though, you get to build on those relationships you had started. You get to live with who you want to, have more meaningful conversations, and actually make friends instead of just acquaintances.

Sophomore year can be a tough, but very valuable, part of the college experience. I am happy to say that I survived (well, I guess we'll see after tomorrow's exams) and that I have many lessons to take with me. Starting this coming Friday I will be in Spain for 10 weeks, taking classes and finishing my time abroad that's required for a Spanish major. Keep tuning in to my blog because I plan on keeping you all updated on my adventures in that part of the world!

Conference Camp Out

2009-05-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

Oh man, what have I gotten myself into? That was the thought that kept replaying in my mind Friday afternoon as we were driving 3.5 hours away to Pella, IA for the Conference Track and Field Meet. This year I wasn't actually racing, so I was able to relax a bit and cheer my heart out. Most of us who weren't competing drove down on Friday afternoon to catch the evening events. The plan was to camp out on the Central College cross country course since Pella was having their annual Tulip Festival and no hotel rooms were available within a reasonable distance. Plus we're adventurous people without much money, so who needs a hotel, right?

Well, our plan was in jeopardy as the rain started pouring about 5:00. The sky was dark and ominous and lightning kept flashing off in the distance. Great. It would be a soggy cold night sleeping on the XC course at the rate we were going. Ideas kept popping into my head about people I knew who lived in Pella and wouldn't mind me showing up at their doorstep without any notice. But that was me; what would the other 12 non-competitors do?

The track meet was delayed for an hour due to the storms passing through, but conditions did improve. The rain left the area and but the strong winds stayed. At about 11:00 Friday night a group of us pitched 2 tents on the XC course, making sure we were in the most protected and driest spot we could find. The boys in the group didn't even bother sleeping in the tents. They wanted the luxury of sleeping under the stars and the almost-full moon. Go for it, I encouraged! I'd take all the room I could get!

Around 3 AM the clouds rolled in again and the rain came. But we survived. I slept through it and I guess the guys just pulled a tarp over themselves while the rain shower lasted. The next morning most of us were awake shortly after 7:00. We were packed up by 9 AM and got an early start at the Tulip Festival. The rest of the day we spent outdoors cheering our women on to a 3rd place team finish and our men 5th. It was an awesome weekend even though I didn't get to race. Being with my teammates and making new memories was special in itself.

Cleaning for a Cause

2009-05-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Rubber gloves + Buckets + Rags + Vacuums= Thank you. This past Tuesday the Luther student-athletes had the opportunity to thank our custodians that maintain our locker rooms and workout facilities by giving them the day off. That meant that we got to don the rubber gloves and get down to business.

I must not clean very often because I had a great time vacuuming, scrubbing down handrails, and wiping the fingerprints off of the glass doors in Regents! I worked for an hour and a half, but the time flew by much faster than I ever expected it would. Plus I felt like I had accomplished a lot more than I often do when I do homework for that long! I won't lie,though, I was really glad that I didn't get toilet duty.

Most of the custodians actually didn't take the day off, but came to work to do other tasks that don't get done frequently. Even though they were still working, they were very appreciative of our efforts to give them a hand. I have come to realize how great of a job the custodians do at keeping our facilities in tip-top shape. It's amazing the transformation that takes place in our locker room after a weekend of track meets, softball games, and golf practice. On Sunday night there might be a trail of mud leading into the showers and paper towels overflowing from the trash can. But come Monday morning everything is clean and refilled. Our custodians not only do great work, but they do it in a very friendly and caring way. They'll vacuum around you and stop their work of cleaning the showers if you need to get in. I really appreciate their flexible and friendliness whenever I run into them in Regents.

With only 9 days of classes left and stress levels rising before finals, maybe we should all take some time to clean. Maybe the feeling of accomplishment will run over into finishing the lingering projects...or maybe not. At least the lemony-fresh smell might keep us awake enough to actually turn in the project that finally got done!

Spanish in Action

2009-04-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

After traveling to Ecuador over J-term and learning some Spanish medical terminology, I have been looking for opportunities to use what I learned. Since I'm not taking a Spanish class this term I really haven't had opportunities to speak much Spanish, much less use words and phrases that are common in doctor/patient conversations. A while back I had received an email about the Decorah free clinic looking for Luther students to interpret when Spanish-speaking patients came in. So, after telling myself for weeks that I should go to the free clinic and see what interpreting was like, it finally worked out for me to go this past Thursday.

The free clinic is held at a church very close to campus. From 5:30-8pm on Thursday nights there are a few doctors and nurses who volunteer their time to see patients. When I first arrived at the free clinic I saw quite a few people sitting around the waiting room. There were also 3 other interpreters (all current or former Luther students) volunteering their services.

At first I was a little nervous about remembering the right vocab and just getting my mind thinking in Spanish again, but it sure didn't take long and things were coming back to me. I was just there to observe what the interpreters do to see if it's something I want to do in the future, so I didn't actually have to speak much. But it sure was encouraging to be able to understand what the patients were saying and feel comfortable to know that I could interpret if I was asked to.

I thought it was also really cool that some of the phrases I had learned in Ecuador, word for word, were being used by the doctors! Phrases such as, "How can I help you today?" and "Does your pain come and go?" were exactly what we had learned, practiced, and been tested on in Ecuador! It was very rewarding to see that some things in school do have direct application to everyday life.

After being in the free clinic I really think that I would like to continue in a career where I could use Spanish, whether that be a job teaching Spanish or some other job where I can use Spanish if necessary. I'm sure that after I go to Spain this summer for 9 weeks I will have a better grasp on the language and a better feel for how much I want to incorporate the Spanish language into my life. I can't wait to really put my Spanish into action.

Rough Rugged Rugby

2009-04-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of a free Saturday here at Luther. The women had our track meet on Friday night at Augustana College and the men followed up with their meet on Saturday. It felt very nice to be able to relax on campus and spend time with friends who aren't in track. It was a good day to not be at a track meet because there were plenty of outdoor activities going on right here.

After practice and lunch, I headed down to the rugby pitch where games were going on. Rugby is pretty popular here at Luther as an awesome alternative for anyone to get physical and have fun. I particularly was going to watch some girls that I knew, but when I got down to the pitch I was amazed at how many men of all ages, shapes, and sizes were down there running around. Apparently there were Luther Alumni Rugby teams playing along with multiple college teams. It was neat to see how many families were around with tents and coolers, just enjoying a fun day outdoors. It reminded me of soccer tournaments I used to play in where teams and families would just plan to spend the day at the soccer complex, bringing tents, chairs, food, and games.

Now this was my first time at a rugby game so I was really lost as to what was going on. Each team had about 15 players out on the pitch and they tried to advance the ball to the other team's goal line and place the ball on the ground. To me it looked like a lot of running around, pushing people down, and craziness. I couldn't pick up on any 'plays' being run, but I'm sure some strategy was involved. At certain times throughout the game, the players from both teams had to huddle around the ball in a circular 'scrum' and somehow the ball would come out of the scrum back into play. That was interesting. Another cool thing to watch was when certain players would be lifted up by 2 teammates to try and block a pass from the other team (Well, I think that was the objective).

I'm sure all of the players returned home with lots of bruises. I saw one girl just get plowed over trying to stop the opposing team. I would not want to get in the way of those big guys. They were huge! Even though it's rough, I would love to give rugby a try sometime. Just not against the boys. And not during XC or track seasons. I need to keep my body in one piece if I can help it!

Room Draw Dilemma

2009-04-13T13:37:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year where you get to figure out who you want to live with next year and where you want to live. As a sophomore my options for next year's housing are a lot more plentiful than last year as a freshman. As an upperclassman next year I can live in either Towers (where I am now), Larsen, Olson, or Farwell halls. Both Farwell and Olson have the option of "clusters", where there is a shared common room with double rooms coming off of it.

I really love the idea of the clusters because the common room allows you and all of your friends to hang out, watch tv, and just have a good time. And whenever you want to have some privacy or just watch a different show on tv, you can always go to your room which is only 1 step away! Sounds great to me. The only problem I have with the clusters is the number of people you have to round up in order to apply for a cluster. For Farwell you need 13 people of one gender or 10 people for a co-ed cluster (6 of one gender, 4 of the other). For Olson, though, only 4 people of the same gender share the common room. C'mon, Luther, work with me here. Why can't there be a cluster that calls for all of one gender with something like 6-8 people? That would be great. Unfortunately I have more friends than could fit in an Olson 4 person, but less than the 13 necessary for the Farwell cluster. My friends and I could try for a co-ed cluster, but none of us are too crazy about having boys see us at the crack of dawn when we look oh-so-lovely. And who knows what kind of characters they might attract to the cluster.

That leaves me and my roommate,well, back in Towers. It's not that I mind living here. In fact, I've really enjoyed it. I like its proximity to Regents where I go every day for practice as well as to work and to Sampson Hoffland Labs where my bio classes are. I would just like to try something new! I would like to explore other things that Luther has to offer! But if we come back to Towers the good news is that we can stretch our legs a bit (in case I have a miraculous growth spurt) and get the few extra feet that a corner room has to offer! At least I know that wherever we end up I will have an awesome roommate to live with, which is probably more important than what room we end up in.

Spring Fever

2009-04-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. The weather is starting to get a little warmer (well it's supposed to be; today we had snow flurries!), classes are beginning to wind down a bit, and my brain is starting to revolt against anything academic-related. The past few days have been a struggle for me to sit down and do homework. Despite having spring break a week ago which should have recharged my tired brain cells, I find myself with little motivation to do school work. It's that time of year when the bigger projects get assigned and tests are popping up all over the place. If I just had a couple little assignments to do I wouldn't have a problem getting them done. But since it's tests and group projects that I'm dealing with, I really dread the idea of sitting down for a few hours and studying. I long to be free to run around, hang out with friends, and have fun without knowing in the back of my head that I should be studying!

Speaking of running around, yesterday we had our first outdoor track meet of the season. We ventured 3.5 hours away to Central College where 18 men's teams and 15 women's teams participated in the meet. It was my first time actually racing the steeplechase at a meet and it was awesome! Thankfully we raced before noon when the sun was shining, it was a perfect 53 degrees, and the wind wasn't too strong. Splashing around in the water pit each lap didn't even feel cold; in fact I would say that I actually looked forward to the water pit! After the Luther women finished 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th in that race, we had the rest of the day to cheer on our teammates and enjoy the sunshine. Many of us returned with very rosy, slightly sun burnt faces. What a great day to be outside and enjoy spring.

Check out this link to see a picture of me going over a barrier and other pictures from the track meet.
http://joshgerber.com/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=96

Now just how many more weeks until finals?

60 Minutes of Heaven

2009-03-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Spring Break: a time to ignore whatever assignments might be lingering and take a break from school, destress, and recharge your batteries. I would say that I was pretty successful in doing those things over the last week, although I did let a little bit of homework sneak into my week of relaxation. Part of my pampering included getting a full body massage that ended up being just what my muscles and mind called for. You'd be surprised how much tension can build up in your body from the hours of sitting at a computer or furiously scribbling down notes in class. Danger signs should be posted: Caution! Finger and back cramps closer than they appear!

So on Friday afternoon I went to get my massage. After checking in at the front counter I was guided into the spa area where I was given a nice robe to wear, just like what's shown in all of the tv shows and movies. (I've had massages before but this was the first time to ever get a robe, so I was quite excited.) From there I was led into a room where the lights were dimmed and relaxing music was playing in the background. I knew this was going to be great. Already my mind was letting go of stress as I just stood there wearing my nice robe listening to the calming music. As I positioned myself on the massage table the massage therapist asked if I preferred a certain scented oil that would either energize me or relax me. Hmmm...hard choice, I know, but I went with the tangerine scented oil to energize me.

The massage therapist worked her magic on my legs, my arms, my back, my neck, and even my scalp. As she moved from muscle to muscle I felt myself becoming more and more relaxed. When she reached my head though, I knew I was getting close to the end of this wonderland. I was hoping she would forget to look at the clock and just keep going, because I didn't ever want it to end! And sure enough, almost as soon as I thought we were getting close to the end she stopped rubbing my scalp and started cleaning up. Darn! I was informed that I could take my time to get up and that she would meet me outside with a nice refreshing glass of water. I wondered to myself how much time I could really spend getting out of this nice cozy room before someone would come and make me leave. So I dawdled a bit to take in my full 60 minutes of this bit of heaven. It sure doesn't take long to get used to this kind of pampering!

First Annual Spelling Bee

2009-03-15T13:43:00.001-07:00

This has been my second free weekend of the semester. No track meets to go to since we didn't qualify anyone for the national indoor meet. So that left me with more time on my hands than I'm used to, looking for something to do. So what did I do? I participated in the first annual Luther College Spelling Bee!

There have been notices around campus for the past two weeks that this spelling bee would be taking place and that the top three competitors would win money: $50, $100, and $150. From the very first time I saw that there was going to be a spelling bee I wanted to do it. The number of participants was limited to the first 50 people to sign up. So I knew I better get on top of it before 50 people signed up before I did. I mentioned it to some of my friends and all of them made the same claim that they were the worst spellers ever, leaving me to go it alone if I really wanted to do it.

It turned out that only 36 people showed up to participate, and most of them had been peer-pressured by their friends. It was a lot of fun. I had been in a couple of spelling bees in elementary school, and that along with the fact that I read a lot and do cross word puzzles left me pretty confident with my ability to spell. But in the back of my mind I had pictures of the Scripps National Spelling Bee that is on ESPN every year, with those ridiculously smart kids who study the dictionary and proceed to make everyone watching feel dumb. I was hoping that the words we were given would start off easy enough to leave a little bit of my confidence in tact.

I was number 23 (yes we had official numbers pinned to our shirts) and witnessed quite a few people get out in the first round before it was my turn. "Your word is 'acupuncture'" I was told as I went up to the microphone, which of course is always too tall for me to reach. Whew, only 'acupuncture'! I was thrilled that I didn't get something like "helioseismography" which came up a few rounds later. But as I was spelling, somehow my brain forgot to tell my mouth to say that second 'c' in there, so after all that confidence I was buzzed out. In the first round. Ouch.

Being the competitive person that I am, I was not happy, especially since I know how to spell that word! Oh well, there's no way I would've won as the words got much more difficult as the number of contestants dwindled. There's always next year. And next time, I'll be R-E-A-D-Y!

Don't Catch the Bug

2009-03-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sniffles...coughs...germs. The past few weeks many students have presented with symptoms of colds, flu, and even the dreaded mono. Thankfully I have yet to become a victim of these nasty bugs, but plenty of my friends have not been so lucky. Attendance in classes has been spotty and those sick students who do come to class spend a good deal of time coughing, distracting the prof and the rest of the students. No good.

Just this past weekend we've had some pretty scary incidents due to illness:

Saturday morning we had track practice at 10 AM. So we met and then headed out in packs for our run. When I returned to the lockerroom about an hour later, I saw some juniors hustling to get their clothes on and head off to the parking lot. After some quick questioning I found out that one of the freshman runners who had been sick for the past week had passed out on the sidewalk 10 minutes into the run! Thankfully the other teammates in that group were able to borrow a cell phone and call an ambulance. Everything turned out just fine, but that was really scary! I'm not sure how I would've reacted if I had been with that group and it happened. It just goes to show that sick bodies need time to recover before they can handle more stress.

Then today I found out that a student I know who has already been diagnosed with mono had to go to the hospital yesterday because her glands were so swollen that she couldn't talk. I had been hearing from friends that she was really not feeling well earlier in the week due to the mono, but apparently it got even worse. Not good at all.

So I'm doing my best to wash my hands regularly, get enough sleep, and stay away from sick people - hard to do when my roommate has the sniffles, but I'm determined not to catch the bug.

Sleet, Slush-- Slip Slidin'

2009-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday my only class of the day was Botany for three hours in the afternoon. We had been warned to dress for the weather because we were going to be outside looking at trees. The forecast had not been promising: 100% chance for rain/snow. So Thursday morning when I woke up and saw the sun shining I was very optimistic. Hey, maybe it would turn out to be a great day for being outside, I thought. Wrong!

Around 12:15 it started to rain. It would come down hard, let up, and then come down hard again. So we started botany class at 1 and spent a little time in the classroom. About 2:00 we headed outside, all of us in hats, gloves, raincoats, boots- basically wearing whatever we could to keep warm and dry. We were prepared for an adventure.

Not five minutes after we left the classroom the rain conveniently turned to sleet/hail. Little pellets were hitting us as we walked around campus attempting to look at the trees. We had impeccable timing. Our professor would tell us to look up at the branches high on the tree and we would, but seconds later we would be saying "Oww, sleet in the eyes!" We all just had to laugh. What a perfect day to schedule our outdoor adventure. I had a good time for the 20 minutes we were outside. Sure beats being in the classroom all afternoon!

By the time practice rolled around, all of that sleety rain precip had left a nice think coating of slush on all of the sidewalks and roads around town. Running turned into slogging through the wet stuff. At first we tried to navigate around the slush, but it was inevitable that our shoes and socks would be completely saturated. It turned out to be kind of fun after we got used to our shoes feeling like 5 lb. weights.

Then came the cooler temps at night. After dinner I went with some friends to the dress-rehearsal of "Vagina Monologues" (excellent and highly recommended!) and the slush on the sidewalks were just starting to freeze. But oh man, after the show was over around 9:15, ice was just covering campus! As we journeyed from the Center for the Arts across campus to Towers, we were sliding all over the place! It was so much fun letting gravity pull you down the little slopes and then trying to keep your balance. All over campus giggles and eeks were heard as people successfully got down a slope and became overconfident right before wiping out. Who knew the weather could lead to so much slip slidin' and smiles?!

Harlem Gospel Choir

2009-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Luther was treated to a concert and church service performed by the Harlem Gospel Choir. This choir is made up of some very talented singers and musicians from multiple Black Churches in Harlem. I wasn't able to attend the concert on Saturday night due to our out-of-town track meet, but I luckily was able to hear them perform in church this morning.

I really wasn't planning on going to church this morning and I had no idea that the Harlem Choir was performing, but then a friend stopped by on her way and so I tagged along. When we entered the CFL I couldn't believe how many people were there! On a normal Sunday there would easily be about 1/6 of the people that filled the seats today. The Harlem Gospel Choir got people of all ages from the community out of their seats, dancing and clapping to their up-beat music. I loved seeing these elderly men in their suits clapping over their heads and having a grand time. This was such a big deal that even a news station had their camera-man taping the service, although I don't think the tape can do justice to the actual experience.

It was very neat to see the CFL rocking with joy for the Lord. I loved hearing the Choir's own versions of Amazing Grace, O Holy Day When Jesus Walked, and When the Saints Go Marching In. The drummer and the soloists were phenomenal and they looked like they were loving every minute of praising the Lord. It was such an interactive worship service compared to the normal service, and I know that many of us would welcome back the Harlem Gospel Choir any Sunday.

Singles' Awareness Day

2009-02-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

"Singles' Awareness Day"- I heard this phrase for the first time Friday night in the lockerroom before practice as some of the girls were commiserating that Saturday would be Valentine's Day (apparently also known as S.A.D.). I laughed out loud when I heard this. Who needs a significant other to have a good Valentine's Day? Especially when you've got a whole team supporting and caring for you?!

Coming into college I thought that, of course, I would immediately meet some guy that I would fall deeply in love with and we would get along just wonderfully. Isn't getting into a serious relationship one of the goals of going to college? Well, things haven't turned out quite like that. Being part of the cross country team I did immediately meet lots of guys, and guys with some of my same interests nonetheless, but I haven't had a boyfriend yet. Those things take time.

I would say that about half of my friends are currently in a relationship and the other half are single just like me. I would imagine that this is probably true for a lot of campus. Just from walking around campus you'll notice how many groups of friends are walking, talking, and laughing. I think that Luther is a very friendly place, with respectful, fun students. If you're looking for a relationship, opportunities definitely exist to get in one. But if you're content just having good friends and remaining single, you won't feel pressured into finding a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Like I said, being on the cross country and track teams bring me lots of love. We had a Valentine's Day meet yesterday and not only were there loads of teammates cheering me on, I received many hugs and even chocolates that made me feel just as loved as anybody. No reason to be sad about being single on Valentine's when you've got this team!

Bridging Two Worlds

2009-02-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

Amazing how my daily life can seem so different after spending a month in another country. Perhaps I have just gained a new perspective on things, but I truly feel like my life in the United States is quite different from my daily life in Ecuador. I'll try to explain:

In Ecuador time is not valued in the same way that it is here. Lives are not run on a strict schedule. Yes, there were starting and ending times for schools, but in what I encountered, that was about it. My family ate meals just whenever everyone would arrive home. If someone was expected and hadn't yet arrived, then we waited for them. No one had places to rush off to, except for me when I had to be back at school at 3 and we weren't sitting down to lunch until 2! I felt almost rude and definitely out of place scarfing down my food so that I could dash off while everyone else was still sitting at the table enjoying their meal.

On our last evening in our host city 'Ecuadorian time' was very apparent. All host parents and Luther students were invited to a "going away" dinner that was at 7:45 based on the invitation. I know that my parents and I didn't even leave home until 7:50! I was getting a little worried, but then when we arrived at the dinner people were just chatting and at least 3 other families came in after us. The dinner didn't actually get started until at least 8:15, but no one seemed too bothered by this at all (except for us students who came in late with embarrassed looks on our faces).

Now returning to such a rigid and hectic class/practice/work schedule, I am definitely missing the calmness and flexibility of Ecuador!

One other aspect that I miss is the closeness and kindness of Ecuadorians! I felt so much care and respect from my host family (below picture) despite only being there for 3 weeks! It came from the custom of kissing everyone on the cheek whenever coming or leaving the house, even if you didn't know them. And it also came from spending so many evenings together just hanging out in front of the tv and talking! I saw my 27-yr old host brother sitting on his mom's bed one afternoon just talking about life, and I thought that was really neat and that it would be a rare sight in the U.S.

As soon as I returned to my home in Cedar Rapids, IA, I immeditately noticed that difference in how families interact and show affection here in the U.S. versus in Ecuador. At home I usually don't kiss or even hug my parents upon entering/leaving my house, but rather a quick 'hi' or 'bye' will suffice. I did spend quite a bit of time talking with my parents when I returned, filling them in on my great experiences, but I also spent so much more time alone doing my own thing while my parents did whatever they needed to do. In the U.S. I've realized how independent we are, worrying about our own schedules and obligations so much that sometimes we sacrifice time with the people we really care about.

Thus far it's been very eye-opening to see the direct contrasts of our culture and Ecuador's culture. But some of the Ecuadorian customs aren't all that I'm missing, what about the 70 degree weather?!

Welcome Back- Now Jump Right In

2009-02-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

I have now been back in the United States for almost 2 weeks, readjusting to the very cool Iowa weather and the pace of daily life. The first couple of days were not super easy, as I was trying to get my mind thinking in English again and my body set back to Central time (Ecuador was on Eastern time so when I would get up at 6:15 in Ecuador, that would equate to 5:15 in Iowa- not something I was excited to do). When our flight first arrived in Miami and we went through Customs, it was so weird how the official at the desk said 'Welcome Back' in English and I automatically wanted to respond with 'Gracias'. At that point my brain was literally mixing English and Spanish, but now that I've been hearing only English for awhile, my brain has decided to push Spanish to the back burner.

I arrived back to Luther this past Tuesday afternoon, and it was like coming back from summer break! It was so wonderful seeing all of my friends that I hadn't seen for almost 2 months, plus moving back to my dorm-sweet-dorm. It was super nice to see everyone's welcoming smiles and get many hugs. But that joy was dampened a little by the fact that three of my profs emailed out homework that we were supposed to have complete for the first day of class! I was not thrilled about that, seeing as I didn't even have my books yet.

Yesterday, then, was the first day of classes for the spring semester and let me tell you that my professors did not hold back at all. In all of my classes we pretty much just jumped right in to the material that we'll be plowing through together. I think that I will like most of my classes this term (Educational Psychology, Educational Methods, Botany, and O. Chem), but my schedule will take a while to get used to. Last fall I had 8 AM classes every day, but this term I don't start class until 11 on MWF and 12:45 on T/TH! We'll see how that goes, but I have no doubt that I'll be able to find some way to fill up my mornings.

It's great to be back at Luther and with all of my friends, now I just have to get my mind out of Ecuador time and expectations. Time to jump back into the crazy, fun, busy life of a college student!

The Good, the Bad, and the Buggly

2009-01-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Our last full day in Ecuador is here! One J-term abroad almost finished. The past week has been good, bad, and yes, buggly. Let me explain:

After we finished our final exam last Thursday morning we began our community service project. We were originally told that we would be painting a school. When we arrived at the school, though, we were presented with a much more challenging task- building a fence. The school wanted a fence to enclose their garden area. It was our job to first take down the original barbed wire fence, measure and mark the provided wooden planks so that they were the correct height for the fence, dig a trench for the fence to go in, and then drill the wooden planks and connect them to resemble a fence.

Doesn't sound too bad, does it? In fact, it sounds like tons of fun, and it was, except for one minor detail: The soil was full of rocks (some the size of a human head) that had come down from the nearby mountains and were strongly embedded in the land that we were supposed to be excavating. So for parts of 3 days we were removing these big stinkers out of the land. Our group of 12 students and 2 adult males had 1 pick, 1 shovel, 2 hoes, and 2 hammers to complete our job. It tested our teamwork and patience getting the numerous rocks out of the way for our fence. But we did it. And it was awesome! What a sense of a accomplishment we all felt when we saw our beautiful, unpainted fence up on Monday afternoon.

I am convinced that I will return to the U.S. with bulging back and shoulder muscles from heaving that pick around, trying to break up the land around the rocks, and then trying to get to get the rocks out of the trench that was continually getting deeper. Anyways, after working each day I would return to my host family very dirty, very sweaty, and covered with nasty big bug bites. They are all over my legs (due to the fact that we were wearing shorts since it was pretty warm out) and somehow even on my torso. Some are the size of quarters and very, very pink. It´s been a week now that I've had some of them and they still aren't healing! I´m hoping when I return to the cold Iowa weather the itchiness will just get frozen away- probably not gonna happen, but a girl can hope.

This week we've spent a lot of time in a bus going from city to city, visiting the middle of the world, seeing some new musical demonstrations, and seeing some things we've seen multiple times already- like tapestry demonstrations. It hasn't been the best week of the month just because I´m ready to get home at this point and be done with the touristy activities, but J-term in general has been very, very cool. Much better than staying in Decorah, although I do look forward to getting back to all of my friends. The only thing I regret is having to leave our host families when I was finally starting to feel very much at home, just like another kid of the family, and I could actually understand most of what they were saying! I guess that means I´ll just have to travel again so that I can really test my fluency. So long from Ecuador!

Crazy Taxi

2009-01-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

When I was in middle school I can remember playing the video game called Crazy Taxi on my friend´s playstation 2. In the game you are a taxi driver and you have to go around town picking up pedestrians and getting them to their destinations within a time limit. I vividly remember attempting to drive my taxi and ending up all over the road, on the sidewalks, getting way too close to my customers who were waving me down. I didn´t understand how in the world it could be so hard to drive a taxi!

Here in Cuenca I´ve seen taxis around the city that cause me to wonder if they didn´t learn to drive by playing that same videogame that I used to play! Taxis here are very common because many families do not have multiple vehicles and also because at night it isn´t super safe to be walking around the city. We were told that after 7 pm we should get a taxi instead of walking like we do the rest of the day. Taxis are pretty inexpensive- $1-2, but I still prefer not to take them if I don´t have to. Here´s why:

The second day we were in Cuenca, 2 girls from our Luther group were riding in a taxi in the middle of the afternoon to come to class, and managed to get lost. The taxi driver didn´t know where the correct building was and ended up driving them around the city for about an hour looking for the right place. It didn´t help that the girls didn´t know the address off the top of their heads- but it was only the second day so who can blame them. Eventually, though, they did make it safe and sound, but a little leary about using taxis in the future.

I also prefer to avoid taxis because of a personal experience that I had. One afternoon when the Luther group was going to visit a hospital, we all piled into taxis to get there. I was with 3 other girls and we were all thinking the same thing about this taxi driver- he´s crazy! Every time we started to slow down just a little bit he would honk at the car in front of him to go faster. (Honking is very popular here. I think I´ve distinguished 3 reasons people tend to honk. Honk 1 means watch out, I´m coming through this intersection whether the light´s red or not. Honk 2 mean HURRY UP, I haven´t got all day! Honk 3 means Hey look, there are some beautiful girls over there!) Anyways, he was weaving in and out of traffic like he was missing his child´s birth or something! We were holding onto each other for dear life as we managed to make our way to the hospital in one piece. When we got out we were all hoping to never get that taxi driver again.

But then again, I´ve had a super nice taxi driver who had lots of patience with us as we tried to tell him our home addresses, and he made sure all of the passengers entered their homes before he drove away. Taxi drivers are just normal people- they come in all shapes and sizes. I just hope that I get one who has more skill than I displayed while playing Crazy Taxi!

Cat Calls with a Round of Applause

2009-01-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

Buenas tardes! I´ve been here in Cuenca, Ecuador for over a week now and am finding myself very at home in this big city. There have been many new things that I´ve encountered that are very different than what goes on in Decorah. Let´s take meals for example. In Ecuador the times and the sizes of the meals are not what we would expect in the U.S. Breakfast can be any time in the earlier part of the morning and my family has been setting out wonderful bread (sweeter than regular sandwich bread) with jam and some fresh fruit like mango, melon, bananas, or strawberries. Then lunch is the biggest meal of the day and that´s around 1:45 or 2 at my house. Depending on what time I eat breakfast, I can get pretty hungry by lunch. For lunch we always eat white rice, some type of vegetable soup, some protein (like fish, chicken, or steak), and then freshly squeezed juice or lemonade. It all tastes very good since the food is fresh from the market. And finally, a lighter dinner is usually around 8pm and is not always eaten by my family. They always prepare something for me, like rice and an omelet, but I don´t always have company to eat with. So meals have been something to adjust to.

I've been taking advantage of the vast array of fresh fruits available. In the markets you can buy pretty much any fruit imaginable: strawberries, blackberries, cherries, bananas, watermelon, cantelope, etc. My mom also makes juice almost every day out of these fresh fruits and that´s a nice treat that I wouldn't get to enjoy in the U.S.

Another thing that I've been exposed to are the numerous cat calls and whistles that I get while walking or running around Cuenca. We were all warned before we arrive that cat calls are commonplace here, especially for those of us who clearly don´t look like we´re natives. We were advised not to react in any way to the people saying them and to just ignore them. Often when I´m out in the streets, vendors or people walking will say the word ´suca´, which means ´blonde´. I've also noticed that a lot of people honk when I´m around. I´m not sure if they´re honking at me or at the traffic, because it´s also very common for taxi drivers to honk at traffic to move faster, but either way it´s a bit startling when I´m not expecting it- just like it can be in the U.S.

This morning when I was running I received my first round of applause! I was just running along the same river that I've been going along since we arrived, and an older Ecuadorian gentleman was walking in the opposite direction. He stopped when he saw me, stood off to the side, and started clapping! I just kept running, but on the inside I was chuckling and smiling to myself- that´s surely something I don´t receive every day!

This week I am super excited for our first dance lessons and then our weekend trip to Cajas National Park. Should be lots of fun! Chao for now!

Smelly Socks and Foreign Talks

2009-01-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

Hola! I´m here in Ecuador, the country of my choice for J-term. I´m with 11 other Luther students and Professor Thompson, a Spanish prof from Luther, and his wife and 2 children. We are here for the majority of January to experience the ways that doctors and patients interact and increase our knowledge of the Spanish language.

I´ve been in Ecuador for a week now. Our first flight left from Minneapolis at 6am on Dec. 26 (talk about early!) That night we stayed in Quito, Ecuador, the capital, and then over the weekend drove to Cuenca, one of the bigger cities, where we are staying for the next 2.5 weeks with host families, having class, and visiting the hospitals/clinics.

The weather is a refreshing change from the cold and snow currently in Iowa. Here it has been in the 60s or 70s each day, often with a bit of rain in the afternoon. The scenery is gorgeous with the Andes Mountains looming in the distance and tropical plants all over the place. When I can, I will post pictures for all to see.

This past Monday we met our host families. My family has 3 children: 2 girls ages 19 and 22, and one boy, 27, that all live at home. Near my house is a river that has a path around it that I´ve been making use of and running on it each morning before class. Unfortunately, I didn´t bring all that many outfits to run in, so I´ve been wearing the same outfit for the past 4 or 5 days now. And let me tell you that my socks can basically stand up on their own now. No joke. They are beginning to make my whole room smell awful. So I am very much looking forward to doing laundry on Monday, which is the day of the week that my host family does their laundry. Oh, the things I take for granted at home!

It has been fun speaking Spanish, although it´s not all that easy when the natives are speaking super fast and slurring things together. But I´m sure I´ll improve over the next couple of weeks. I find myself thinking in Spanish and sometimes accidently using words from both English and Spanish in the same sentence! Oops!

Hope all is well and I´ll keep you up to date as I have more adventures in Ecuador!

Bittersweet Finals Week

2008-12-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

This past Friday was a momentary day for celebration. It was the last day of classes with both students and professors relieved that they made it through the semester- well almost. Final exams are the now the remaining item standing between us and Christmas break. As I left my room around 11 on Saturday morning, I saw the signs that finals are upon us.

1. Campus grounds were deserted. Everyone is holed up in their study niche.
2. Chatter at the lunch table revolves around these 2 questions: When is your last final? When are you going home for break?
3. The library is now open past midnight.
4. Cookies, hot cocoa, and treats are being offered almost daily and they are being advertised as good ways to 'Take a Study Break' (along with exercise and healthy meals, of course).

Finals week is always a little bittersweet. It's sweet because it's the last hoorah for the semester and a break is so near. The bitter part is the intense studying and minimal interaction with friends before everyone suddenly disappears from campus. Thankfully I have a pretty good exam schedule, with tests on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday all at 10:15. Having them spread out is much less stressful and will give me time to crawl out of my library niche once in a while to see the outside world.

Tonight's candle-light worship service in the CFL will provide the perfect opportunity to de-stress from a full day of studying and remind everyone that the real reason for the season lies not within a classroom or the words in a textbook, but in a manger.

Wishing everyone a safe and merry Christmas!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-12-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday evening I arrived back to campus to see the Christmas lights glowing around campus as the snow was gently falling. How quickly everything was transformed for the Christmas season! Only 2 weeks of classes and 4 days of finals are scheduled between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break, therefore students are trying to cram in many holiday activities around studying and spending the last remaining moments of the year with friends, myself included.

This past week has been one of the most enjoyable for me this whole semester despite having one final chemistry test before the final exam. On Monday I got to decorate the Legends Fitness Center with tinsel and Christmas lights, which was a nice surprise. My roommate had her first home basketball game on Wednesday so I was really excited to go watch and cheer her on. I love basketball and often wish I was out there on the court playing. So to appease my desire to shoot hoops, I coordinated a basketball game between the ladies and guys on the cross country team. It was a ton of fun, running up and down the court, trying to match up with the taller stronger guys, and bringing back some moves from my high school-playing days. I think we were all laughing and smiling the whole time, just having fun playing around even though many people hadn't had a basketball in their hands in a while.

Then on Thursday night I was treated to a Christmas At Luther performance, and it was amazing. This year, the annual choir and orchestra Christmas concert was being taped for Iowa Public Television, so the CFL (Center for Faith and Life where the concerts are performed) had beautiful Christmas trees and lights put up, as well as beautiful background decorations to put everyone in the Christmas spirit. I really loved just being part of the audience and trying to take it all in. One of my favorite songs of the evening was 'I Saw Three Ships' because during the second or third verse all of the choirs were singing, the orchestra was playing, and bells were chiming from all around the CFL. It was quite an experience, and in my opinion, it definitely topped last year's performance from what I can remember.

To finish out a great week, Saturday was our traditional cross country Snow Football game. A lot of alumni returned to help out the upperclassmen, who would've been struggling due to injuries and the vast number of freshmen and sophomores they would be matching up against. Snow was on the ground and the sun decided to come out, making playing conditions wonderful. The upperclassmen jumped out to a quick lead, but we answered back. Eventually, due to their experience, recruitment of ringers, and good passing skills, the upperclassmen went on quite a run. But, to our credit, we didn't give up and came back with a run of our own. When the score was 7-5 (upperclassmen leading) and we had just scored 3 times in a row, the game was called. I suspect the game was ended out of fear that our comeback would continue with enough force to take over the game. But in any case, the upperclassmen won, as always, and we all headed over to Baker for some hot cocoa and treats to warm up.

This week doesn't promise quite as many fun activities, but there is Christmas in the Union on Wednesday where we can listen to groups sing while enjoying sugar cookies and cocoa. Right now it's easy to forget that finals are just a week away with all of the festivities going on. I'm trying to soak up all the time I can with my friends knowing that I won't see them for over a month because I will be in Ecuador for J-term. I want to enjoy the Christmas season and the company of my friends because before I know it, this most wonderful time of the year will have passed.

My Friend Kay

2008-11-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

The summer before my senior year of high school I started volunteering through a business called Aging Services. Each week I would go over to an elderly person's home and read to them. The woman that I got paired up with is in her 80s, is legally blind but still living on her own, and is the only member of her immediate family still alive. Her name is Kay.

Kay and I got along very well from the start. She took me in just like she would a grandchild. Each week I would sit in her living room for an hour or so and we would chat, or I would read something for her. Eventually I started taking her to run errands and she would occasionally treat me to lunch. I would also be treated to her specialty cakes that she loved to bake for her church as well as for my family. We developed quite a relationship.

Now each time I go home for break and visit Kay, she tells me oh just how much she misses me, and that I better not forget about her. She continues to amaze me at how well she is doing considering her health history and that she can't see much at all. This past week when I visited her, listening to her current problems really made me thankful for all of my blessings. I have family close-by, I have my sight, I'm pretty agile and don't have to worry about getting light headed upon standing, and I have so many positive things in my life. It just takes someone like Kay to help me put my life in perspective and to be thankful for what God has blessed me with.

Action, Relaxin', Break Time

2008-11-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

It's almost here. I can feel it. Things are looking up because Thanksgiving break is only 2 days away! Count it, one-two! That's it! I am very excited. Fall Break seems like it was forever ago with so many assignments, tests, and cross country races filling the weeks. I am looking forward to a couple of days where I can take a break from homework and stress, some time to just relax.

But I can't let myself relax too soon because I have one more test to get through before my brain will officially be on break. It's hard to make that final push of thorough studying when I know that break is so close. I would love to be on break now, but this test is keeping me tied to my books. At least I can take comfort in knowing that tonight is the last night that I'll have to spend studying. Just one more night, just a few more hours.

I have to admit that these past 3 or 4 days haven't been the most productive due to my relaxed state of mind. On Thursday night the local movie theater was showing three free movies for Luther students who have a student activities card. The theater has a deal with Luther so that there's a free movie night about once a month. So I went with a few friends to the new James Bond movie. We had to stand in line outside of the theater for about 30 minutes because so many students showed up and the doors didn't open until 9pm, with movies starting about 9:15. That got to be pretty chilly, but a nice alternative to studying.

That was the first time I've gone to one of the free movie nights and I thought it was worth the time of waiting in line. I didn't understand much of the story line in the 007 movie, but the action was really cool. I think if I would've seen Casino Royale I would've known more of the story line, but I enjoyed feeling like part of the real world instead of always staying in my Luther bubble. I'm looking forward to a few days of break outside of Luther, but I know I will be ready to come back to my dorm, my friends, and my routine.

Looking Deeper

2008-11-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

This semester I'm taking my first education class since I'm planning on majoring in secondary education. This class focuses on the diversity of students that I will potentially be teaching in the future. I have learned a lot so far about laws that exist for helping students with disabilities, as well as programs that are available for gifted students. I have had to think from a totally new perspective- one in which I'm not the student focused on my own needs, but the teacher figuring out how I can reach out to all of my students with different needs.

This week we started looking a little closer into our personal backgrounds and culture since our personal backgrounds could influence how we deal with future students. We started by discussing our ancestry and how much our families know about where we came from. That was a lot of fun hearing how some of my classmates have connections to people who signed the Declaration of Independence or who fought in the civil war.

This week we have an assignment to look up definitions of culture and explain our culture. One of the definitions that I found talked about culture being one's beliefs, social forms, and material traits. So then I had to think about my own beliefs, social forms, and material traits- which wasn't as easy as it sounds. It was fun thinking back to some of the values and rituals that I picked up from my family. One example of a ritual at my house when I was younger, my dad would teach night classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and my mom would make my 2 older siblings and me 'silly suppers' on some of those nights. These silly suppers often included popcorn, apples, crackers and cheese, or pancakes with green food coloring. We always ate dinner together as a family and this was just one memory that sticks out as special, and something that I would want to continue with my own family in the future.

After putting a lot of thought into what I believe and how I formed those beliefs, it was pretty clear that my family and my experiences greatly influenced me. The next part of the assignment now involves comparing my culture with someone with a different culture. I love seeing how everyone is unique and has different beliefs and attitudes based on our experiences growing up. Everyone has their own story to tell, and each of us should take the time to examine our own lives to gain a better understanding of where we come from and why we believe what we do.

Pleasure in the Small Things

2008-11-09T12:46:00.001-08:00

It's amazing how much stress can be relieved just by rescheduling an exam. This past week I was supposed to have 2 exams on Friday, and not in easy classes by any means: Organic Chemistry and Human Physiology. On top of that my last cross country meet, a JV-only meet at St. John's College, was on Friday afternoon and the team was leaving at 11 AM. This meant that I would have to take both of my exams back-to-back starting at 7:30 and ending about 10:45, then quickly get down to the vans to leave for the meet. Thankfully, I didn't have to do that.

I arranged to have one of my exams on Monday, which left me a lot more composed and confident in how I could manage to do decently well on both tests. It also gave me a weekend in which I was able to have some fun and revisit some of my favorite things to do:

On the 4 hour drive to St. John's on Friday I cracked open the book Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult) that wasn't assigned for a class! Someone had loaned it to me before Fall Break, and Friday was the first time I actually felt ok sitting down and getting started on it. I love to read. It was so nice being able to lose myself in a book and not be bogged down by real-life responsibilities- or the traffic jam we were stuck in.

On Saturday afternoon I gathered up some friends and shot hoops for a while. Basketball was my first love and getting a ball in my hands always brings on feelings of excitement and comfort. Since it had been a few months since I'd even touched a basketball, I can't say that I was shooting anything but bricks, but it didn't matter, it was fun. After shooting around, I managed to do some cartwheels, round-offs, handstands, and back walk-overs without pulling or straining anything. My muscles had to tap into memories of when I used to do gymnastics in 2nd grade! That running, flipping, and jumping brought a nice adrenaline rush and made me feel like a little girl again, practicing my gymnastics moves all over the house. How I would love to have that care-free feeling more often!

Sometimes doing those small things, like reading a book or doing a cartwheel, can bring just as much pleasure as running with my teammates or doing well on an exam. Small pleasures make life more enjoyable and help to remind me that life is so much more than how I do on a test.

Conference Meet Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

On Friday the cross country team loaded up 2 charter buses and headed off for Storm Lake, IA where Buena Vista was hosting our Conference Championship Meet on Saturday. From Decorah it was over a 4 hour trip, so we made sure to have plenty of movies along. The mood was one of excitement, not only for the Conference Meet on Saturday, but because of the feeling that Halloween brings to everyone who has memories of dressing up as a youngster and getting loads of candy to either hoard, share, or consume in record time.

We arrived at our motel a little after 10pm. I think that most of us were surprised to see that it was actually a motel, not a 5-star hotel with a pool and hot tub. As I walked into my room that 3 other girls would be sharing with me, 2 of my roommates exclaimed, 'It smells like my grandma's house!' And surely, it did. Never the less, it served the purpose.

At our coaches' direction, the team dressed up in whatever costumes we stuck in our meet bags on the way out the door and went trick-or-treating at the rooms of our fellow teammates. It was a ton of fun since we were at a motel and able to go door-to-door outside in the dark of the night. Some of the costumes were pretty creative and the stash of goodies wasn't bad either.

Some people might not have gotten much sleep Friday night depending on how much of a sugar high they had or how nervous they were for the upcoming race, but Saturday was a successful day never-the-less. The race was held on a golf course that was as flat as a pancake (no complaints about that!) on a day when the weather couldn't have been better. A slight port-a-potty toilet paper crisis occurred early on, but not even that could distract the runners from focusing on the race.

The men raced first at 11 and the women followed at 12. The times were ridiculously fast thanks to the outlay of the course and the level of competition. The Luther men won first place as a team in the varsity race and also in the JV competition. The Luther women took 2nd place to Wartburg in the varsity race, and took first place in the JV competition. It was a successful day all-around, leaving the Norse runners feeling proud of their efforts and excited for things to come. Perhaps we should try to combine Halloween and Conference every year!

The Scary Unknown

2008-10-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Over fall break I participated in Luther's Externship Program where they pair up current students with alumni for a job shadow. This is the second year that Luther has had this program in place to give students an opportunity to narrow down their future career options. I was able to shadow a physical therapist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for 2 days since I've had the idea of possibly working in the medical field for a little while now. Before doing the externship I didn't know if I wanted to be a physical therapist or not, but I wanted to explore my options and see what was out there. Now I know what I don't want to do.

When signing up for the externship I had expected to be at a rehab clinic working with outpatients. When I think of physical therapy I mostly think of athletes working to get stronger and come back from an injury, because that's the only side of physical therapy I've had any exposure to at all. It didn't even cross my mind that physical therapists work with patients who are currently in the hospital, and it definitely didn't hit me that I'd be shadowing a physical therapist who works only with inpatients and specializes in patients with neural injuries.

So Monday morning I left my house at 6:45 am and didn't return until 6 pm. All day I wore scrubs, walked all over the hospital, and observed some patients who were not in the best situations. A lot of the patients that we worked with were quite elderly and could barely move around in bed without help. Some other patients were located in the ICU after having spinal injuries. It was hard for me to be around that kind of setting where people were so immobile and sick when I knew that that night I was going to be going for a 10 mile long run.

After just one day I had the strong feeling that I do not want to work in a hospital. The atmosphere was just too grim for me. I would rather be working with younger, optimistic athletes who aren't in life or death situations and who can really get some benefit out of the physical therapy. So I haven't ruled out physical therapy totally but if I don't want to work in a hospital then that rules out a huge chunk of other possible jobs. That's scary.

I had been thinking about taking the MCATs after my junior year and applying to medical school. Now that seems to be out the window if I don't want to work in a hospital. All of this thinking about the future makes me feel a bit anxious, leaving me to wonder what in the world I'll be doing in 5 years and whether it will be a fulfilling job or just something I got mixed up in. The future can be a scary thing since I don't know what I'll encounter, but for now I'll just try to live in the here-and-now and take opportunities as they come.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:10-12

The little girl within

2008-10-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I got home Saturday night anxious to plop down and begin my fall break. Most of the other students had already been home relaxing for 24 hours by the time I got the luxury, but then again, most of the students didn't get the opportunity to run through the dissipating fog at the cross country meet in LaCrosse on Saturday morning.

So coming home I definitely had some expectations. You know, some good home-cooked meals and affection, lots of sunshine, and time to de-stress and catch up with my parents. I also expected my parents to see how I'd grown (in wisdom, not height) and changed since they last saw me, and I was more than ready to awe them with my new knowledge of sheep brain parts and nervous systems in the body that I was just tested on in Physiology.

What I was not expecting to find were all the changes in them! That's probably really unfair of me, to expect them to stay the same forever and all, but that's what children do! We're brought up thinking that our parents will always be there and always be the same. It's easy to pretend that's the case since their voices sound exactly the same from week to week and they haven't changed all that much in the past (or so I thought)! So I was a little taken aback when I got home and realized that my parents are starting to resemble the grandparents that they now are!

Another thing that hit me again, as it had been evident over the summer too, is that I am no longer their 'little girl'. Or at least I'm not treated like one. I don't get tucked into bed anymore- no more back rubs or bed time songs. I don't get as many hugs or kisses, and usually the few I do get only come from mom now. And when it comes to spending money, most of the money is now coming from my bank account.

All of this is fine and dandy most of the time. I do enjoy the independence that I have and the fact that I can now carry on somewhat-intelligent conversations with my parents. I am almost 20, but still... what about the times when I still want to be their little girl? What about the times when I do just need a hug to let me know that they love me no matter how hard I study or how well I run? What about the times when I want someone to tuck me in, but I'm too 'grown-up' to ask?

At times like these I feel stuck; stuck between grown-up and child, independent but still wanting to feel supported. It will take some time to fully take on this grown-up role and adjust to everyone around me growing older too. But for now, bring on the hugs and back rubs, and remind me once in a while that I am that little girl.

Be Still

2008-10-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been jam-packed with a lot of activities, homework, and meetings. Most days just fly by at a ridiculous speed, making me feel like I'm living life in 'fast-foward'. I thought last year went quickly with everything I was involved in, and now this year has somehow managed to surpass last year in keeping me busy. This 'fast-forward' business may seem like a good thing because I'm not continually looking at the clock with the seconds dragging on, but honestly at this point I would love to have some time where I can just slow down for a few days.

Beware of possible side effects of fast-forward living:
1. Loss of motivation- when you're continually busy, eventually you reach a point where you just lose the urge to do stuff, you just don't care anymore (until that big test comes back with a not-so-wonderful grade).
2. Loss of social life- work, classes, and homework have definitely taken up the majority of my days leaving very little time for me to just hang out with friends. Thank goodness for cross country practices and long runs!
3. Limited time outdoors- when you have three tests and a project due all in the same week, the library becomes your daily home. It stinks because this time of year is so beautiful with all of the trees changing color and those crisp cool nights tempting you to forget about studying and go for a refreshing walk. Once again, thank goodness for cross country, otherwise I might not even know it is fall.

These are just a couple of the side effects that have begun appearing in my life, much to my dislike. So I'm very thankful that Fall Break is just around the corner so I can take some time for myself and recharge my batteries. Today when I went to teach Spanish at First Lutheran Church there was a poster that grabbed my attention. "BE STILL and know that I am God" was printed in big letters, and then there was a message underneath about taking time for what really matters when life gets so hectic. It was a very timely reminder for me and helped me realize that everything I'm stressing over at the moment cannot compare to the comfort and help that God can provide. So my advice to all of you overburdened, hardworking people is to take some time and just Be Still.

Spanish Sponges

2008-10-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

'Kids are like sponges, they pick up on everything.' I had heard this before and even witnessed it to some extent while babysitting over the course of years, but learning a new language had never been anything I'd seen little kids do before. So this past week I was pretty amazed at how quickly those young, active brains are able to remember and make sense of foreign words.

Last week I began teaching Spanish to preschoolers and 5-8 year olds at the Montessori school in town. I teach a half hour to each class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was contacted before school even started about this opportunity and thought that it'd be great to make use of my Spanish major and education minor. I love being around children and that was one thing that I definitely missed last year. So I jumped at this chance to be around kids for a few hours a week.

On Monday I was nervous because I had never been to the classrooms, never met the regular teachers or kids, and didn't have much of a plan besides our "Buenos Dios" song and "Adios" song. I was going in blind and had no idea what to expect. As I walked in the doors to the preschool classroom the whispers started going around- "The spanish teacher's here!"- and I could sense the kids getting a little squirrely. It was neat to see how excited they were.

I was given their full attention...for about 1 minute. Then poking their neighbor or telling how they love to surf became higher priorities. Immediately I realized that I had my work cut out for me. I would have to be pretty creative in my teaching activities in order to keep their attention.

After finishing with the preschool classroom I went up to the K1 classroom and was amazed by how much of a difference was apparent in attention span, knowledge of some Spanish vocab, and just how advanced they seemed for their age. I was very impressed. Over the course of the week we learned how to say the date, numbers, and colors. I couldn't believe how quickly they picked up on repeated phrases that I would say. By the end of the week the kids were singing songs with me and made me feel like I was actually a decent teacher!

The plan is for me to continue teaching throughout the semester and I can't wait to see how these children progress in their knowledge of the Spanish language. I'm also excited for the fun and light-hearted times that these children will give me, whether that's present in a preschooler coming to class with blue marker all over her face (art time was too boring?) or just hearing their giggles after we play a clapping game. I'm sure that I'll be learning from the kids just as much as they learn from me.

Continuing the Tradition

2008-09-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

This past week I had the opportunity to listen to a passionate, distinguished speaker about the history of Luther College cross country. This speaker was Coach Kent Finanger, the former cross country coach at Luther who spent 28 years working with the men's and women's teams, getting to know each person on the team and make them the best runner they could be. He is now retired, but his passion for the sport and his will to succeed was still coming through loud and clear- as if he was the current coach.

This wonderful talk took place last Thursday night before the team took off Friday for the Roy Griak race at the University of Minnesota. We had a team dinner at a freshman male runner's house, and it so happens that Coach Finanger is his grandfather. The meal was delicious, beating the caf by a long shot, but the talk by Coach was the highlight of the evening.

I learned that 2009 will be the 50th anniversary of the men's cross country team competing in the IIAC (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and that Coach Finanger has been the only Luther XC coach to have a team win nationals, which was in 1985. That is really something special.

He reminded the current team of our responsibility to run for each other, this family that we have, and that our actions should always reflect well on Luther College and be pleasing to God. He wrote down some of his thoughts and coaching phrases for us to have, and the following quote from Coach Finanger encompasses exactly what I've experienced on the team:

"Luther College Cross Country Family: Our lives are woven together with strands of Respect and Trust, Love and Friendship, Commitment and Family. Each is a Fiber of Strength in a Secure and Lasting Relationship"

The ties that connect Luther runners do feel like those of a family, and it's neat to see that the passion and love Coach Finanger felt when he was coaching is still being felt today. At the Griak meet it was awesome to see and hear all of the fans who were out there supporting Luther-parents, alumni, High school coaches and teams, and people I didn't even know. The support for Luther cross country continues to build. The tradition of hard work, love, and trust is passed on so that more people become part of the family.

Finding Time for Faith

2008-09-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Being in college means my days are pretty full with classes, practices, work, and time with friends. So why is it that some days go by when I get to cross off multiple things from my "To Do" list and enjoy time with friends, but I still feel unfulfilled, like something's missing? I've realized that missing piece has to do with my faith.

Luther provides many opportunities for students to grow in their faith. There are two worship services on Sundays- a traditional service in the morning and FOCUS, a student-led contemporary service at night. Many Bible study groups meet regularly and some even go together to Decorah churches on the weekends. Clubs, like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, also provide a way to meet fellow students with similar beliefs and interests. These options are all outside of the education realm, but Luther also requires students to take at least 2 religion courses before they can graduate. These courses may span multiple religions and eras, and are not like Sunday School.

Plenty of opportunities exist to strengthen my faith, but sometimes it's easy to just let that part of my life go unchecked with everything else keeping me busy. Last year I regularly attended church Sunday mornings on campus and even went with friends to a couple of different churches in Decorah. I also joined FCA and a bible study group that met Wednesday nights, which provided a great place to discuss what I was learning in the 2 religion classes that I took. I enjoyed being able to talk about the differences in what I had learned about the Bible growing up versus what the professors here were teaching. It definitely allowed me to examine what I truly believed.

This year, though, has been a bit of a challenge with a new schedule and new responsibilities. I don't have any religion classes, which I really enjoyed last year and they were an easy way to get me reading the Bible. I've gone to church on campus this year, but find my mind wandering during the service. Often I think that my best connections with God occur during some of my runs for cross country where I can enjoy nature and clearly see His power all around.

So I was thrilled this past Wednesday when I met with my Bible study group from last year and we had a great discussion. I'm also excited that FCA will be starting up again. It's great to spend time strengthening a part of me that is so easy to neglect. It's also relieving to be reminded that no matter what I'm going through, I have a loving God to watch over me and help me through.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
-Proverbs 3:5

Back to the Future

2008-09-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

As much as I didn't want it to happen, I knew the day would come. I tried my best to push it out of my mind and not think about it. I told myself to just enjoy the moment and make the most of the time I had left with that special group of ladies...

Last year's experiences running cross country and track were phenomenal. I never wanted to have to say good-bye to the seniors who made my first year on the team so much fun. What would the team be like without them?...

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My eyelids open, a dull light is coming into the room from the window. It looks a bit hazy and overcast outside. Perfect weather for running. Personally I'm hoping it doesn't rain today, but I know the forecast isn't in my favor. Our cross country course could have some big mud holes if it rains a lot.

I get up, brush my teeth, throw on some clothes and head down to the locker room. Some other runners on my floor are heading out too. The overall consensus is that it doesn't seem like a race day. Since we are hosting the meet there's not the usual bus ride to get our minds focused on the race ahead. Today that focus will come in the locker room, on the warm-up, and on the starting line.

Another factor taking our minds off of the race is the fact that many of us have parents and siblings who will be coming to cheer and spend the day with us. Questions fly about people's plans with their families and what they'll do if it rains.

In the midst of this chatter, I realize another reason this doesn't seem quite like a regular race day. The alumni will be back and they will be running with us! That thought just brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart as I think about seeing Hokie, Mel, Hillary, and Heidi (the ladies who were seniors last year) wearing the Norse blue again. As we continue to the locker room I can just imagine their cheerful voices and welcoming smiles that I was first introduced to a year ago, those smiles that I never wanted to say good-bye to.

It's Heidi who I see and hear first. She comes into the locker room just like old times. I feel like my mind is playing tricks on me. It's like one of those puzzles where you have to figure out how picture 2 is different from picture 1. To me it feels exactly like last year with Heidi still being one of the senior leaders. I remind myself that time has passed and things have changed. But have they really?

Hokie, Mel, and Hillary are all in a pack as I run up to them grinning like a goof-ball. It's so great to see them again and I can't stop smiling! All I can think about is how different (not necessarily bad) the team is without them and how I miss having them around to run with every day. I realize how much these ladies impacted me in my first year at Luther, and how much they are connected to my ideas about what Luther XC is all about.

The gun goes off and the Luther Alumni are right with us, all in a big blue pack. I hear the supportive voices of those Alumni, "Let's go Norse" "Work together now", just like last year. The Norse family and pride still running strong.

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It was great to run with those teammates again, those ladies who will forever in my mind be the ones who introduced me to the fun family of Norse runners. I realize that last year was something special to be cherished and remembered forever. But now it's time to turn my attention to this season, which calls for all of the same hard work, passion, and love that I experienced last year. It's time to make the most of today and enjoy my time with this special group of ladies.

Potty Talk

2008-09-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Being at college where students' minds are constantly working, being filled with new information and challenged by what others are saying, it is no surprise the diverse and wacky topics that arise at the dinner table, in dorm rooms, or on a long bus ride home from a cross country meet. So I was not at all shocked when last week the discussion at dinner turned toward the new "sweet" toilets that have been put in the new science building.

This fall Luther is proudly opening its new eco-friendly Sampson Hoffland Laboratories building. It will house the biology and chemistry labs, as well as some offices for the science professors. From the outside, one sees beautiful landscaping and many windows showing the comfortable study lounges right inside the main doors. Just glancing at this masterpiece will make any student wish they were a biology major (if only for a few minutes).

Now back to the subject of these new toilets. At dinner some of the guys were raging about how neat these porcelain bowls were. These toilets not only just flush, they have 2 options for flushing! Option 1 is when only liquid waste is present. In this case the handle should be pushed up. Option 2 is when solid waste needs to go down, and in that case the handle should be pushed down. These choices aren't just to make patrons feel more empowered during their bathroom experience. Rather, it is to save on water and electricity. When the handle is pushed up to get rid of liquid waste, less water is used than when the handle is pushed down.

And so after hearing all about these new potties, I decided I couldn't wait until my labs this week to see for myself actually how cool they were. So I wandered across the street and prepared myself to be amazed. I found out that not only are the toilets pretty high-tech, the whole bathroom is aimed at conserving resources. As I tentatively pushed open the bathroom door the motion-censored lights flickered on not wasting electricity when the bathroom is empty. Then I noticed that the handle on the toilet also has a green coating on it to fight germs! I really like that added amenity, hopefully saving students from spreading nasty colds throughout the year. The sinks are also motion-censored and will cut down on wasted water. All of these things will help reduce the mark that Luther leaves on the environment, and that's just in the bathroom! The rest of the Sampson Hoffland building is also very environmentally friendly- special windows, air circulation, and more.

Be sure to stop by and see this new addition to our campus. It is pretty neat (and not just the bathrooms). If you won't be on campus, you can check out pictures here.

One of the guys at dinner that night actually stood in the bathroom and repeatedly flushed the toilet just because it was so cool, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of the new toilets - but I guess the draw of these toilets will at least get people into the new building!

One Year Wiser

2008-09-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

I have now been at Luther for one week, after coming to campus a little early for cross country practice. It's amazing how much difference a year can make in how comfortable I feel here. On the drive up to Luther on move-in day I was thinking about how my feelings and knowledge differed from moving in as a freshmen. This year I knew where my mom should park the car in order to unload and move my stuff into my dorm. I knew who my roommate would be and who else would be living on my floor. This year I knew where the track was and where to meet for our first practice. And, best of all, I knew who would be there to greet me when I arrived- my wonderful friends and teammates.

As a sophomore I just feel a little bit older and wiser. For example, this year I actually know where I'm running when people say we are on Dug Road or Van Peenan Trails. The street names and trails are no longer a foreign language like they were at the beginning of last year. Also, I don't need to have my campus map out every time I leave my dorm room in order to figure out which way I should be heading. This time around I have an idea of what to expect from college courses and how much homework is involved. Nevertheless, each semester brings about new classes, new professors, and new challenges.

I am very excited to be on campus and to be running with the cross country team. As an older, wiser student I realize that my role has changed. I am no longer the lost, excited, anxious, homesick, giddy freshman girl of one year ago. Now I get to be the one who welcomes and greets all of the lost, excited, anxious, homesick, giddy freshmen, showing them the ropes, and reassuring them that they will, in fact, survive college life. I get to give out the advice to the new runners on the team and try to convince them that racing in 'buns' really isn't that bad.

I am enjoying the perks of being a sophomore: air-conditioned dorms, free time outside of orientation meetings and paideia class, but with all classes starting this Wednesday, I know my free time will dwindle. Although some thoughts resembling those of last year may cross my mind as the week unfolds, (What have I gotten myself into?!) now I have a little more confidence and experience to know that I'll be just fine.

I hope everyone will keep up with my new adventures this year. I will be trying out a new job at Legends, the fitness center on campus, as well as attempting to teach preschool kids and kids ages 5-8 some Spanish! It should be interesting and entertaining. Comments are always welcome and I'm looking forward to sharing my second year at Luther with you.

The End is Near

2008-05-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Two days left of classes. Two days! That's it! I am really looking forward to summer and leaving the caf behind for lots of grilled food! The warm weather we've had over the weekend has made it difficult to sit down and finish up the lingering assignments. Finding motivation to study for finals will not be an easy task with the sun shining and the birds chirping.

Thankfully I'll have a bit of a break from classwork and studying when we have our conference track meet this Friday and Saturday at Wartburg. I know there will be some fantastic performances. I'll be racing the 10K Friday evening, and am really looking forward to it. The distance will suit me well, but it'll be a lot different running that far on a track. I've only raced a 10K in a road-race, but I'm sure this will be awesome running under the lights and with my teammates. It's hard to believe that this is the end of the track season already. In January when we were beginning practice I thought that the season would be endless with both indoor meets and outdoor meets. But in reality, it has flown by- just like the rest of the year. Like the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun!

This year has been everything I hoped college would be, and more. I've made lots of friends and memories. It will be hard saying good-bye to everyone, especially the seniors, but we're already making plans to get together over the summer. If this year is any indication of how the rest of my time at Luther will be, I am really looking forward to coming back!

Freshman Year in Review

2008-04-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my first year of college will be over in just 2 weeks! Where did all of the time go? It seems like just recently I was moving into my dorm room, saying good-bye to my mom, and feeling so excited/nervous for our first cross country practice! But this year has been one of the best school years I can remember- thanks to the friends I've met, the activities I've been involved in, and just the welcoming, positive atmosphere of Luther and Decorah.

So I thought I'd make a short list of what I'd do over again and what I'd change if I had the opportunity to redo my first year here at Luther.

Do's

1. Get involved! Whether it's in choir, sports, intramurals, bible studies, or some other club on campus, participating in an activity is the easiest way to meet people with similar interests as you. All year long there are advertisements for fun events on campus, so take advantage of them.

2. Get to know your roommate(s) and the people living on your floor. They're the ones you come home to each night so you want to be on friendly terms with them. They're the ones you can go to for help on homework, when you're bored, if you need to talk, or if you need a ride to Wal-Mart. Dorm life is a lot more fun if you're included in all of the birthday celebrations and floor socials. Make an effort to know who you're living with.

3. Go to class! It's pretty clear that if you come to Luther you want a good education. Make your tuition worth it and actually go to class. Sometimes it's hard when you had a late night and don't really want to get up for an 8 AM class, but remember that you'll most likely have time later for a little nap. The professors are all very knowledgeable and the classes are small enough that they know when someone isn't there. Show the professors respect by attending class and be confident that you'll learn a lot from them too.

4. Buy textbooks online if possible, it can save you some money. I know after first term when I had gotten most of my books from the Luther bookshop and then went to sell them back at the end of the term, I felt like I got ripped off. The money you get if you see them back to the bookshop isn't a grand amount, so it will be beneficial to just pay less in the first place.

5. Have an idea of what classes you might want to take before you talk to your advisor and before it's your time to register. Advisors are great in helping you get the general requirements covered, but freshmen advisors get randomly assigned to you, so they most likely won't be experts in the field that you're thinking of majoring in. It's helpful to look through the course offerings before meeting with your advisor, because he or she may not know when certain courses are offered or what the normal sequence of courses it.

6. Branch out: try new things, meet new people, explore Decorah, and be yourself.

Redo's

1. I would apply for a 2-person room in Brandt instead of a 3-person, just so my room wouldn't always have someone in it and there's additional space to have a futon or place for friends to come and hang out.

2. I wouldn't sign up for 8AM classes every day of the week in February when it's dark and getting out of bed is hard enough as it is.

3. I would apply for a job on campus so that I could have some income. Granted, there's not a whole lot that I need to spend cash on, but it'd be nice just to know that I was getting paid in case I wanted to go eat in town, or buy something at WalMart.

That's my year in review. I'm sure I'll learn a lot more next year and the years to follow, but right now I feel right at home at Luther and I wouldn't trade this past year for anything. It was great.

Banana Bikes and Forest Hikes

2008-04-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

After a long winter, I think I can finally say that spring has officially arrived at Luther! For the past week or so we've had warm weather, lots of sun, and a few rain showers. The flowers are starting to bloom and students are 'studying' outside, playing frisbee on library lawn, and riding their bikes around again.

Speaking of bikes, Luther has 6 bright yellow bikes that they are allowing students to rent out for a day at no fee. It's a trial for the spring to see if lots of students are interested in a bigger bike rental program for the future. I tried one out over the weekend just to go into town real quick for an errand. It was definitely a nice option to have so that I didn't have to track down a friend who has a bike on campus and so I could save time riding instead of walking.

These bikes are pretty simple. They are very upright with huge handle bars so that your hands are almost at 9 and 3 on a clockface, the brakes are in the pedals when you push backward (reminding me of the bike I had when I was about 7, there are no gears, and I don't think you can change the height of the seat. So, like I said, very basic. You definitely wouldn't want one of these bikes to go up any big hills or for super long distances, but they are convenient for quick errands into town.

The bright yellow color makes it easy to identify a Luther student who has journeyed off campus. I think that's probably the point though, that if someone tried to take one of the bikes, it would be quite obvious that it belonged to Luther.

Besides running and my occasional bike ride, I've also been able to get out and enjoy the weather in my biology lab. For 3 weeks we are hiking in the Hickory Ridge Woods (right by Baker Village), learning to identify trees and then we are going to plot part of the woods to get an estimate of what types of trees are the most abundant in which parts of the woods. I've actually learned a lot about identifying trees based on their bark and their buds, and I have to say, it's a whole lot better than sitting in a lab room for 2 hours peering out the window and seeing kids outside playing, just wishing I could be out there too.

So with only 11 days of actual classes left, the weather warming up and classes winding down, I'm going to enjoy these last few weeks and make the most of the wonderful outdoors opportunities Decorah offers.

Success!

2008-04-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

What a great feeling! You know, when you were anticipating something, hoping it would go well, and then afterward you are happy, relieved, excited? Yeah, that feeling of accomplishment and success. That's what I'm feeling right now as I look back on what I've done this week:

Our Norse Relays that were supposed to be last Saturday got snowed out (flurries in April, can you believe it!?) so we turned Monday's practice into our own Norse Relays. So I did get to run the steeplechase and the weather was much nicer. I loved it! The water pit was pretty fun, especially once I got over the initial shock of how chilly the water was. I felt comfortable hurdling the other barriers, and didn't fall or clip them as I went over. Success! Now I'm excited to give it another try and see how I can improve.

This week was also the time to register for classes that we are going to be taking in the fall. It's amazing to me that we have less than a month left of school! This year just flew by. Anyways, I had all of my classes picked out ahead of time and there was really only one way that my schedule would work. So I had to get into specific time slots and certain labs, there weren't any alternatives. When I logged onto the computer, I saw that in the Human Physiology lecture only 3 spots were still available until the class was full, and only 1 spot available in the Human Physiology lab that I needed so my adrenaline was rushing. So at 7:28 Tuesday night I anxiously awaited for the minutes to tick by until 7:30 when I could push "submit" on the registering website. The thought kept crossing my mind, "what if someone else pushes submit 2 seconds before I do and gets those spots, then what am I supposed to do?" But thankfully, I got in. That was a big relief.

Next on my list of things to accomplish successfully is this biology test tomorrow, my 5k race tomorrow night at Augustana, and finalizing my rooming situation for next year. I can't wait to be able to check them off and know that I succeeded-doing the best that I could under the circumstances.

Water Hopping

2008-04-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

If asked, I would say that I'm a pretty adventurous person. I like to try new and challenging things, especially if they have to do with athletics or being outdoors. Just this past Monday for our long run I spent many miles on winding, hilly, and muddy trails known as Upper Palisades. It was great! I had only been up there once before and that was in the fall with Coach Yarrow leading the way. This time I was running with two of my best friends and happened to be leading. It was really neat just exploring, hoping we didn't slide down the steep slope just wide of the narrow trail.

We came upon a farm where some beautiful, auburn colored horses were out in the pasture just hanging out. We saw a horse or deer skull that someone had planted so that it was sticking out a tree. And we saw an old, run-down, rusted car that had a gnome inside and a plastic mannequin leg sticking out the back window. That was a little freaky! Anyways, you get the point: I'm not afraid to get out and about, and try something new.

That brings me to track. This Saturday at our home Norse Relays meet I'm scheduled to run the steeplechase. I ran the steeplechase indoors and it went really well as I managed to hurdle all of the barriers. But now that we're outdoors, a new element is added...THE WATER PIT! So the past couple of weeks we've been practicing our technique for how we'll clear the water barrier and get through the water pit, but we've been using the sand pit in place of the water pit. Today, though, we actually get to go in the water pit. I'm excited, but a bit nervous.

After watching last weekend's steeplechase race at Central College I was able to see how much of a difference technique makes on the water pit. A lot of girls stepped on the barrier and then landed with 2 feet and a splash. It looked fun, but unfortunately it stopped all of their forward momentum. So my goal is to not land on 2 feet but only 1, and to keep running through the water. We'll see if that actually happens though. Most likely by the end of the race as fatigue sets in, my form and technique will not be that great. But I'll definitely try to stay away from planting a huge cannonball and splashing all of the water out of the pit!

Application Memories

2008-04-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

Over break I had plans and ambitions to complete quite a few applications that are coming due in the next month: scholarship applications, my application to study abroad next J-term, and my application to do an externship next October for a few days during fall break. Some of the applications got done, some didn't, but it made me realize what a great break this past year has been from all of the stress that application processes can bring.

In some ways it's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since I was going through the process of applying to colleges and then making my final decision. In other ways it doesn't seem all that long ago because I can remember it all so vividly. There were some late nights sitting at the computer filling out paperwork and some long afternoons writing and rewriting essays for scholarship applications. Of course this is nothing new to all of you students.

As I was trying to decide which college was right for me, I struggled with knowing what I really wanted in a college. I had been accepted and offered scholarship money from most of the institutions that I had applied to, so that didn't really help me narrow down my choices. I didn't know for sure if I wanted to do sports or what I thought I might want to major in. As March rolled around I had my choices down to 2: Luther College and Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. These two schools were quite different in size, religion, and academic strengths. I wasn't sure which one would suit me better. It was a little frustrating but I came to the realization that no matter what college I decided on, it would work out just fine. My college experience would be what I decided to make it. I could be successful at any school if I made an effort to get involved, meet people, and work hard in my classes.

So how did I decide on Luther? I realized that I wanted to be an athlete at the next level. I saw that if I didn't continue with organized sports then I wouldn't be making use of my talents and doing what I really wanted to be doing. I also thought about the size of Luther and thought that it would be a better fit for me than a big university. I wanted to get to know my profs, and here at Luther I have definitely had the opportunity to. I wasn't sure that a big school would give me the small class sizes and the relationships with professors and students that I was comfortable with.

After I chose Luther it was like a weight had been lifted off of me and now I don't regret any part of my first year here. It has been everything I imagined and more. The students and faculty are all nice and they actually care about you. People see you walking across campus and actually know you and ask how your day is. The athletics have been challenging and extremely fun, while classes have been interesting and sufficiently difficult. Now I can't wait for my current applications to get finished so that I can feel that same sort of relief and usher in spring, just like last year.

Caf Controversy: Do Trays Stay or Go?

2008-03-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday on the front cover of CHIPS (Luther's weekly newspaper written by students) was an article titled "Trays' Days Are Numbered". The article went on to describe how the student council approved a trial period of 2 weeks sometime during the rest of the semester when the caf will not have trays for students to put their plates, silverware, drinks, or food on.

The idea behind this is that too much food is getting wasted at Luther because people just pile it on their trays without thinking about how hungry they actually are. During the two week trial the amount of food wasted will be recorded so that it can be compared to the amount of food wasted when students are allowed to use trays. Apparently this information will then be used in determining for next year if trays will permanently be taken out of the cafeteria.

The article also claimed that the students will ultimately make the decision about whether or not trays are necessary are whether or not they will be kept. We are all counting on this because I know a lot of people feel strongly about keeping the trays. I know I do. I think the idea behind getting rid of trays is very good, but I don't think that getting rid of trays is the only way to decrease waste.

Just so you know, the trays at Luther are very plain: green rectangles without little compartments for food. Some people choose to put food directly onto their trays, others choose to use plates or bowls. Everything goes through the same washing process so it's not a hug deal, unless you're eating soup or ice cream.

As an athlete I typically get 2-3 glasses of drink at each meal-at least one for water and usually one for milk. If we got rid of trays then I would spend one trip just getting drinks. Then I would also need 1 hand to carry a plate for my sandwich and vegetables, plus 1 hand to carry silverware and fruit. So at least 2 trips would need to be made. And when I think about all of the lunches where I get soup, I know that just that one bowl is going to require both of my hands. Just last week I went back to get a second helping of soup with just my bowl and ended up spilling some on my shoe. That's another thing trays are good for, catching spills.

So, although the plan may be able to be accomplished,I think that it's going to be more time consuming to get food, more plates are going to get dropped and broken, and the caf could potentially be more congested with a lot of people making multiple trips back and forth like busy bees.

Instead of getting rid of trays why don't we get rid of plates or have some fine or consequence for those people who are the food wasters. Maybe Luther should just buy trays that are smaller so that people can't fit so much food on their trays. We did get rid of plates, bowls, and silverware for one day in the fall to try and raise awareness about food waste and I know that quite a few people were upset. They argued that we're paying enough to attend this school so why can't we have all of those utensils to eat?

Right now that is the talk of the school other than spring break. Our last day of class before break is Thursday, and then we'll come back Tuesday April 1. I am really looking forward to break and will definitely be happy to just relax and take it easy- making full use of all of the plates, silverware, and cups available to me at home!

Basketball on the Brain

2008-03-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit, I love basketball season! These past few months have been great (despite the snowy, cold weather) because I've been able to come back from dinner, turn on ESPN and watch basketball whenever my heart desired. My roommates probably think I'm a little obsessed and are probably wondering how much longer this routine will last. Oh, just another month or so. But if they think that ESPN was on a lot in the previous months, just wait, because this month is the best...March Madness baby!

Whenever I watch a close, intense college game, a buzz of excitement fills me and I just love it. I think it's because I still vividly remember some of the close, intense games that I played in. The warm-up music, the fans, the atmosphere, the competition- all that is what makes basketball such a fun sport. I just can't imagine the same kind of thing for say, a golf tournament. Granted, Tiger Woods can bring some pretty fierce competition, but for me the atmosphere on a golf course would be nowhere near that of a basketball arena.

Last weekend as I was leaving the Ethnic Arts Festival early in order to get back to watch the Duke/North Carolina game, I realized how popular the sport of basketball is. I was opting out of a really cool Ethnic Arts show that's only once a year just so I could go watch college basketball which I could see any night. How bad is that?

At lunch Saturday afternoon I heard quite a few of the guys talking about good games that were going to be on TV, and how homework would just have to wait until Sunday. Just think about how many people will take part in some sort of March Madness bracket competition, or how many people will be locked in front of their TV sets once the NCAA tournament gets started. People will go so far as skipping work and class to see games- or perhaps they will just sneak in a lap top or IPOD so that they can watch or listen to the games in class. Basketball is a big deal!

So as Selection Sunday approaches, I anxiously await and try to figure out which bubble teams are in and which will get bounced. The past months' games are all culminating at the conference tournaments. This is the time when teams' hard work either pays off or their hopes are dashed. This is the time that every player, coach, and fan loves best: March- where basketball rules the brain.

Yoga: Stretching the Body and Mind

2008-03-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

Downward Dog. Warrior 1. Sun Salutation. Child's Pose. If you've ever taken a yoga class before, then these terms might be familiar to you. My senior year of high school I really got into power yoga at my local YMCA and felt myself not only getting some flexibility back and getting stronger, but I was more aware of my stress level and breathing. It's really eye-opening to see how my everyday breathing varied from my breathing when I was nervous, and how both of those were so much different from the relaxed, deep breathing that we did in yoga.

Here at Luther I was pretty excited when I saw that they offered yoga classes (along with other exercise classes like pilates and kickboxing). I've attended a yoga class a couple of times, and it provided a nice break from my normal, busy routine. The class here focuses a lot on relaxation, closing your mind from outside thoughts, and just focusing on your body and your breathing at that moment-something I don't think many students take the time to do.

This past week I've been reintroduced to some yoga techniques and I've realized how helpful yoga could be for me if I took the time to practice it. Last Friday before I raced my first indoor 5K at our conference meet (25 laps) I was pretty anxious. I was anxious about the various competitors and just about running for almost 20 minutes on the same oval. I could almost feel the nervous energy pulsing through my body. So to calm myself down I did this breathing exercise that I had learned in yoga. It's called a "breath of fire". You exhale through your nose 9 times fast (without inhaling in between, just keep exhaling until most of the air in you is gone) and then on the tenth time inhale deeply. Not only does it clean our your sinuses, but for me it just has a calming effect. That exercise definitely helped me to calm myself before the race and as a bonus, I ended up doing much better than I ever expected.

And then this week in Personal Fitness and Wellness we did yoga as our physical activity. It was great to take time and stretch my body, helping me reconnect with my muscles that I didn't even realize were tight. As a college student it is easy to get so wrapped up in classes, homework, friends, and sports that I neglect good posture. Some days with my backpack so full I get home at night and feel my back aching. So to do yoga in class was a great way to stretch and strengthen my body and also just to take time to de-stress. What a great way to deal with the stress that comes along with Paideia papers!

I'll have to keep in mind how great I felt during that session and take more time to practice yoga on my own. And when I need a quick-pick-me-up, I might even give that headstand pose a try.

Class=Fun! Really?!

2008-02-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

This week has started off great. First of all, we somehow slipped by the predicted snow storm yesterday, leaving the roads all clear for running and leaving my pants without the snow/salt line on the bottom.

Secondly, my classes have been pretty entertaining, possibly even fun. Now I know that may be hard to believe, but perhaps the profs have gotten a bit of spring fever and decided it was time to add a little pleasure to class. In my biology class we are beginning a new unit on microbiology. For part of our lab these next few weeks we, the students, get to come up with our own experiments dealing with microbes in the soil.

At first I wasn't too excited about this because it requires more work than other labs. But now that my group has decided what we're going to test, I realize that WE are actually in charge and I think it will be a good time. Although I will admit, the most fun part may be getting the soil samples from under 4 feet of snow!

So that is definitely hands-on and more interesting than just doing a lab out of the lab manual. The other class that I will venture to say is actually FUN is personal fitness and wellness. All freshman have to take this class that lasts for 7 weeks and is a 1 credit class. My class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-9:30 AM. On Tuesdays we do some sort of physical activity and Thursdays are a lecture.

This semester our activities have included lifting weights in Legends, walking on the indoor track, jumping rope, a stretch-band workout, and competitive 2 on 2 baseball! I'm a pretty active person so I enjoy doing all this, but today was absolutely fantastic. It was an open gym day where we could play basketball, raquetball, ultimate frisbee, go to Legends, or do an aerobic workout with Greg Lonning the Wellness Director. I chose the aerboic workout and I'm super glad I did, although I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow.

We were in a dance studio with some pretty groovy music playing. Greg led us through some hard-core sets of push-ups and sit-ups, then a kickboxing routine, followed by a stretch-band workout. We did that for 45 minutes, and then repeated all of it again at a lot faster pace for the last 15 minutes. The kickboxing was the most fun, with all of us jab-stepping and doing combinations that made us feel like pros. One combination of kicks ended with the WWF "skull crush" as Greg called it and made me smile every time we did it. The move is quite simple: bring your left knee up to your chest as you bring both arms down from over your head, but just thinking of all of us girls doing "skull crushes" makes me laugh.

It was a great way to get my heart rate up and start my day off right. Now I'm in a great mood and energized, ready to take on the day. Bring on more fun!

Running in Circles

2008-02-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

At times college life feels to me like I'm a hamster on a running wheel, working very hard but not really getting anywhere. I get into this routine of eating, sleeping, studying, running that just repeats each day. It's a bit overwhelming when I finally get one major assignment done and feel a sense of accomplishment, and then another professor assigns something big. Oh the rigors of college classes!

Ultimately I know that I am gaining knowledge, that all of my hard work will pay off, and that I will get it all done. It's important to take a deep breath, realize that many other students have gone through these exact same feelings before, and that they've succeeded. If they can do it, I can do it.

Better than just feeling like I'm running in circles with homework, I actually have been running in circles for track! We have now completed two of our four indoor track meets. Our first one was held here at Luther two weekends ago, and it was a small field: us, our Alumni, and Iowa Central Community College. I was really excited for that meet because I got to run the 2000 steeplechase for the first time ever. It was definitely a fun race and I hurdled over all of the barriers. Success!

This past Saturday we traveled to UW-Platteville for a much larger meet that was an all-day event. We left Luther at 7:45 so that we could make it there for the first events at 10 and we didn't end up getting back until 10:45PM. It was a long day but very much worth.

We started off the meet in an awesome fashion with one of our senior ladies winning her heat of the 5k. There were more exciting races as the day went on and I got to learn a lot more of my teammates as I spent a lot of time cheering. My 3k race was originally scheduled for 6:15 PM but I didn't actually race until 7:15 due to us getting behind schedule. It was really difficult waiting for 9 hours to race. I was pumped and raring to go at about 11 AM!

When the gun went off for my race, another freshman and I hung together toward the back before moving making our move. We ran really well together and were able to push and support each other for all 15 laps. I felt great and the results were better than I expected. It was so neat racing at that time because most of my teammates were done with their races and therefore spread out along the whole track cheering as loudly as possible. Along the homestretch it was just a sea of blue cheering us on, giving us the "WHOOSH!" as we went by. That is the beauty of Luther sports: constant support.

Now I can't wait to see what's in store for the next races, and I've learned that running in circles can be very rewarding.

Valentine's: Loving What I Used to Dislike

2008-02-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

With Valentine's Day coming up this week it's natural for students to be thinking about the people and things they care about: family, friends, pets, sports(ok so maybe my love of the game isn't on quite the same level as my love for family and friends.)

As I walked through the Union yesterday the line to pick up something at our Luther post office must have been thirty people long. That can only mean that something really good is waiting for all of those anxious students in their SPOs; something like homemade cookies, or candy, or better yet, a card with some money in it!

Many students are receiving care packages from home and I find it a bit ironic that now, as a college student, I look forward to some of those things from home that I used to dislike. For example, I remember getting annoyed with the kisses that my mom would plant on me each morning before she took off for work, and the conversations each night at the dinner table with the parental units inquiring about my daily activities. But now, I'll admit, I miss those things. A lot.

When I came to college in the fall it was an exciting time. I was stepping into new, unchartered territory with hopes and dreams. Now, coming back after J-break I know more of what to expect, and the newness of college life has kind of worn off. So at times I find myself wishing I had a parent around just to give me a hug, kiss, or back rub. I wish I could open my door and smell fresh waffles baking in the kitchen. I wish I could have someone inquire each night how my day was. Granted, I do have a lot of friends to support me, but it's just not quite the same as the love of a family you've had your whole life.

So, this Valentine's Day, no matter how fed up with your family at the moment, enjoy their presence and be thankful for all that they do. Take in all of the love that people send your way and don't forget to pass it on. And parents, FYI, those care packages, baked goodies, and phone calls are always welcome, even if it isn't Valentine's Day. :)

CAF creations

2008-02-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

This was our first week of full classes and it was tough after 2 months of not having any homework to suddenly have 5 classes to stay on top of. So to reduce the stress that a lot of the students were feeling and to give us something to look forward to, the cooks in the cafeteria got creative. In the first week and a half of classes we've had 3 special themes: Orange Day, Mardi Gras-CAF style. and a Chinese New Year meal!

This is the third or fourth time this school year that we've had Orange Day at lunch and I think I've figured it out. It's always the first day after a break and the idea is, "Orange you glad to be back?!" Ha ha ha. For that meal the main line has tomato soup, grilled cheese, and cheetos. When I first saw that day on the menu I was a little shocked, but it's kind of fun at the same time. I just wish they had meals for the other colors too!

For our Mardi Gras dinner this past Tuesday night the main line served blackened shrimp and chicken, crawfish boil, red beans and rice, spicy cabbage, and Mississippi mud bread pudding. That night you could smell the fish from way down the hall, which made me a little wary of the meal because I'm not a huge fish fan. I did try the blackened chicken and it was actually really good. It had quite a bit of zing to it as you would expect from Cajun seasoning. The Mississippi mud bread pudding was, let's just say, interesting. The girls at my table who got it thought that it was just a brownie. When they tried it they found out that it definitely wasn't a brownie, yet it definitely wasn't pudding either. We discovered that it was somewhat like the consistency of Play-Doh and even bounced a bit!

The last themed meal of the week was Wednesday night, which happened to be the Chinese New Year. One of the exchange students on campus actually cooked some authentic Chinese food, and it sure looked really good, which explains why the lines were super long. I, unfortunately, didn't have the patience to stand in the long lines, but I did get to try some really good lettuce wraps with sauce in the salad bar. Here's what the menu consisted of: Hot and Sour Soup, Asian Mixed Green Salad, William Lu's Grilled Special with pork or beef, Fried Rice, Make your own Lettuce Wrap, Pad Thai Mandarin Orange Cake, and Green Tea Ice Cream. That dinner seemed to be a hit with most students. Too bad the Chinese New Year only comes once a year.

Normally the cafeteria food is pretty decent. There's always a main line, a salad line, a pasta line, soups, a deli sandwich line, and the cereal bar. At lunch a grill line is also open where you can get hamburgers and then usually a grilled chicken or some other meat. I've started to realize that the menu kind of recycles itself after a month or so. Not too often do the chefs get creative and brighten up the lives of the students. I really like it when Chef Nic makes his homemade soups. Those are usually really good and differ from the normal day-to-day caf soups. For example, today Chef Nic has a roasted red pepper and tomato bisque that I had. It's just nice to get a change because after a while I find myself getting the same food. For ambitious students you can always make your own stir-fry at dinner, pizza, pb&j, panini, or anything else that creative minds can come up with.

I can't wait to see what exciting themes come up the rest of the year...perhaps a wonderful, loving Valentine's dinner?

LOST again

2008-02-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

Thursday was not only the first day of our second semester, but it was the season premiere of one of my favorite shows, LOST. This is going to be the fourth season of the hit show on ABC and I'm really looking forward to it. I got started watching LOST sometime during the first season and now it doesn't seem possible that this is already the fourth season. The producers decided to do something really smart in order to please viewers- they show the whole season of new shows all in a row, instead of including some reruns every so often. This is great because LOST needs to be watched sequentially in order for viewers to understand the plot and backgrounds of the characters. It could be really confusing to new viewers if reruns were thrown in the mix. The only down side to this setup is that the show is only on for a limited of time. The plan was for there to be 3 more seasons of LOST, including this season, with each season consisting of 16 new episodes. Now, with the writers' strike, only 8 shows for this season are made. That is a bit disappointing but it also makes me enjoy the 8 shows even more.

So, for all of you LOST fans out there, who do you think is in the casket at the funeral home Jack goes to? As my friends and I were watching the recap of the previous seasons and anxiously counting down the minutes to the season premiere, a few possibilities were thrown out: it could be Sawyer, Ben, or even Michael. I personally think that it's Sawyer because why else would Jack call Kate to see if she had seen the obituary? Kate and Sawyer have some sort of relationship so that makes the most sense to me. Also, who do you think the "Oceanic 6" are?

I think this season will be really good since they are now including flash forwards, instead of just flash backs, to tell the story. This will keep viewers intrigued and guessing. Already I have lots of questions which I can't wait to get answered. Hopefully the 8 shows will help answer some of them.

Other than getting together with friends to watch LOST, I've been doing quite a bit of homework for my classes. Despite only having 2 days of school this week, I am grateful for the weekend to be able to get some work done. I think that my classes this term will be enjoyable, but I know it will take me a while to get used to my new schedule. This term's schedule is a lot different than what I had first term. Last term on MWF I didn't start until 11. This term I start at 8 and my last class getting done at 3:45. The plus side is that I'll be up and moving, and I'll be able to can get homework done and study between classes. I know it'll work out fine, I just need some time to get used to it.

Let me know if you have any questions I can answer, and I would really love to hear from LOST fans about what they are thinking about the season. I can't wait for next Thursday's show!

Downside to Dorm life

2008-01-21T09:51:00.001-08:00

J-term has been full of new experiences, some good and some bad. Over the weekend Brandt (my dorm) unfortunately experienced something that I was not fond of:

Fire Alarms in the middle of the night, 2 nights in a row!!!!

In Brandt we've had at least 6 false fire alarms this school year. On Friday night around 2:30 the alarm went off with the voice coming over the loud speaker repeatedly saying "An emergency situation has been detected in your building. Exit Immediately" while lights in the hallways flashed on and off. So everyone reluctantly got out of bed (if they were asleep at that time, which I happened to be), put on some extra layers if they were smart because the temperature was below zero outside, and stood outside in the cold for 5-10 minutes while the RA's checked the building. Not too surprising, but no fire was found. Apparently there was a fight up on 4th floor and somehow the alarm got set off. To make matters worse, the people in the fight trailed blood down one of the stairwells on their way out, which really freaked some of my friends out, because no one knew what the blood was from.

Then on Saturday night, a little after midnight, the alarm sounded again. Not only was this very agitating because we had just had one the previous night, but this time we had to stand outside for 15 minutes in the cold weather because most of the Brandt RA's were not available to search and secure the building because they were helping out with Open Mic Night at Marty's. It was not fun.

We never did get official reports of what happened during those two nights, or why the alarms went off. Typically when the alarm gets pulled and no one confesses to it, the whole building gets fined. I just don't understand why people even pull the alarm. It's not funny and now we are so used to the alarms being false, that if some situation does occur where everyone needs to get out quickly, very few people will take it seriously. I know that I definitely took my time both nights to put on layers of clothes because I didn't want to freeze while I was standing outside. It's unfortunate and I can only hope that nothing serious ever does happen in the dorms.

On the bright side, there's only 1 week left of J-term! That means only four more nights to get through without alarms going off!

As always, your questions and comments are welcome. If there's anything you'd like to know, I'd love to be of assistance!

Cool Runnings

2008-01-15T13:36:00.001-08:00

My nose is cold, my hands are stiff, my cheeks are freezing, and my legs are red. That is exactly how I felt when I finished my long run for track yesterday. Welcome to winter running in Decorah! With the high around 9 degrees and the wind chill below zero, it was not an ideal day to be running 12 miles. But we distance runners accepted our fate, bundled up in many layers and headed out in packs. It was kind of funny seeing just a couple of eyes poking out of face masks, hats, and other winter apparel. Once I got going the only bad part was facing the wind. It seemed like no matter how many layers I had on, I could still feel that wind chill. When I got back after the run, I don't know if I've ever been happier to thaw out and warm up. While the weather outside is pretty brisk, the indoor track season is just heating up. We've had practice for about a week and a half, and thus far it's going well. Some of the team is not here during January though, as they are taking the opportunity to travel abroad or do an internship. On Tuesdays and Fridays the WHOLE track and field team meets for warm up drills before each group, sprinters, throwers, and distance, split up to do their workouts. By meeting together as a whole group I've met a lot of people who weren't involved in cross country. I've also been introduced to hurdle mobility drills and steeple mobility drills. I'm excited to try running the steeplechase during the track season. It's a 3000 meter race (a little less than 2 miles) with 4 barriers (steeples) and 1 barrier with a water pit on the other side on each lap. I've always loved obstacle courses and I am definitely pumped to give this a try, despite never jumping over a hurdle, much less a huge steeple.

It is clear that all of the coaches are really excited for the season and willing to give their time to help the team continue to improve. Already a sense of unity is developing among the team. When I run a couple of strides on the indoor track while the other groups are finishing up their practices, I'll always hear a "Good Job" or "Way to Go". It's great encouragement and helps me feel more like a part of the team.

I haven't run track since my freshman year in high school and I can't wait to see what this season will bring. For now I'm going to keep warm and keep running through these chilly days in Decorah...where there's always Cool Runnings.

The Other Side of the Desk

2008-01-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of J-term last Thursday, I've been anticipating my first day in the classroom as a teacher's observer. My J-term class is an education class where four days a week we observe and help out in an area school classroom. I was placed in a Decorah High School science class since I am interested in possibly teaching biology at that level.

This morning was full of excitement and anticipation, especially after we found out that there was a 2-hour delay due to weather. I received a call from my car pool driver at 6:10 AM telling me about the delay, and I was a little relieved. (I stayed up a little too late to watch the national BCS title game last night, and it wasn't even that close!) So after sleeping a bit more I was refreshed and ready to go. I felt so professional as I donned my black dress pants, heels, and nice top before heading out; not my usual type of attire.

Other Luther students are also placed at Decorah H.S. in other classrooms, so we all had a meeting this morning with the principal before school started. Then in we went, to meet our teacher and the students with whom we'll be working for the month. As I walked into the classroom I could tell it would be a great fit for me. The teacher is super enthusiastic and the kids were all participating and talking, and not just talking to their friends, but actually talking about the current classroom topic. This teacher really encourages discussions, interactions, and activities that help apply lessons from the book to real life. I'm really looking forward to seeing what all goes in to being a great teacher-the lesson plans, the relations with the students, relations with the other faculty, etc. It will be a great experience to see if teaching is what I'm really interested in, and it gives me an opportunity to step away from my role as a student, and try out being a teacher. It also gives me something to do during the days while all of my friends are taking their 2 hour classes and then doing homework. Last Thursday and Friday I was getting a little bored because we don't have much work to do outside of our observation.

Speaking of down time and boredom, during J-term not too much is going on at Luther other than movies on the weekends, varsity basketball, wrestling, and swimming, and INTRAMURALS! Intramurals are huge during J-term. Dodgeball, card games, basketball, indoor soccer, and much more are all offered to students. I'm playing in a 5-on-5 basketball league on a team made up of all cross country girls (we all played basketball in high school, though). Last night was our first game and it was awesome! We played a team of guys and we rocked. Despite the fact that we only had 1 substitute and non of us had shot a ball in quite some time, we did really well and won by 7. The 3's were dropping and I was amazed at how physical we were. It was so fun to play again and to see this 'baller' aspect of my teammates that wasn't apparent during XC. We have a total of 11 games in the next 3 weeks, so our conditioning will pay off.

So after a slow start, J-term is shaping up to be a fun month full of new opportunities. Not a bad way to start off a new year.

New Year, New Opportunities

2008-01-02T15:13:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the new year of 2008! I don't know how the days, months, and years just whiz by, but it seems like not too long ago everyone was in a frenzy over what would happen at the turn of the millennium. Now I'm back from Christmas break, finished with one semester of college and one collegiate season of cross country, and I'm ready to take on the new opportunities that come my way.

Looking back, my first semester at Luther was extraordinary. I can't pinpoint many things that I would want to change if I could do it over. Even finals weren't that bad, granted, I had a pretty decent finals schedule. I had 5 finals originally scheduled for that week: Spanish and Religion back-to-back Monday morning, and then my other classes had exams scheduled Tuesday through Thursday at 10:15. Luckily for me I got to take my Spanish exam the Thursday before finals started because it was an oral exam with a partner and only half the class would be able to finish in the allotted 2 hour period on finals day. So that helped ease a bit of stress, and then my last final, Honors Conversation, was a take-home final which my professor allowed us to turn in early. So I ended up with only 3 mornings where I took one test and most did not take me the full 2 hours to complete.

Going home for 3 weeks was very nice. I got to relax and do some pleasure reading while keeping busy seeing family and friends. We got a lot of snow over break, making it a little tricky to get a lot of running in, but I managed to make my way around the roads and at times I just felt like a little kid having fun in the snow.

When I arrived back to Luther today I felt like I hadn't been here in such a long time, almost as if I were moving in for the first time all over again. But, differing from when I moved in this past August, now I had friends that I couldn't wait to see and a much better idea of what college really is. As I settled in and unpacked, I realized how much of a home Luther has become for me. Yes, I still love going home to my family, but here at Luther it seems like I have another family, another routine, and it feels great to be back. I can already hear the excited commotion in the hall as roommates trickle in...

Snow Football

2007-12-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

Julia, Me, and Leah
Our freshmen group of girls. As the snow dropped continuously from the sky on Saturday, the cross country teams made the most of the opportunity and played the annual game of Snow Football. This is a team tradition where the juniors and seniors take on the freshman and sophomores, whether there's snow on the ground or not. The men's team plays all-out tackle football, with alumni returning to campus to play with the upperclassmen. The women, take a slightly different approach. We play ultimate frisbee, except with a football. So there's no QB and passes must be completed in order to advance toward the end zone. It's very competitive and a TON of fun.

According to tradition, the game is played until the upper classmen are winning and they decide that the game's over. So of course, our freshman and sophomore team decided we were going to make the game last all afternoon.

We trotted out onto Library Lawn ready to battle. It was pretty intense as each side did a team cheer, trash-talked, and got ready for the kick off. After the kickoff, though, it turned into a lot of fun and laughter. I'm pretty sure that we scored more touchdowns off of bad kickoffs by the upperclassmen than we did during the rest of the game! Some kickoffs only went a few feet, some went super high, and one involved us getting mooned! Ah, the wonderful array of skills that cross country runners employ! It was such a blast as we played around in the snow, slipping and sliding around. More than a couple of times I flew right by the girl I was trying to defend because the snow was fresh and slick. The score was pretty even through half time, but the upperclassmen did have one advantage- more girls. They were able to mark up on us when we had the ball. Each upperclassman had one specific girl that they were supposed to stay with. We, on the other hand, didn't really mark up, but we played a sort of "zone" defense, if you can call it that. It involved a lot of flocking to the side of the lawn where the ball was.

After half time the game just got crazy. Some tackling and running broke out, while smiles and laughter were incessant. It was great. Despite formal cross country practices being over, we all still have a great time together. This snow football game provided a great opportunity to have fun with our teammates and just let loose before finals start. It was the highlight of my weekend, and I'd be up for it every Saturday.

Christmas at Luther

2007-11-28T08:11:00.001-08:00

Brrr. I think it's safe to say that winter is officially here. As I headed out the door this morning for class, I was glad that I didn't have to walk far with the brisk cool air filling my lungs and numbing my hands. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was out running in just shorts and t-shirt and now I'm getting all bundled up with warm underarmour, gloves, and a hat.

Along with the change in weather, a change in the decorations around Luther is evident. Over the past week and a half it seems as though little elves have come through Luther and put up Christmas trees, garland, and Christmas lights all over campus. Everything looks great and the only thing missing is a little dusting of snow, but that'll surely be here soon. Christmas songs are occasionally played outside through the speakers and Christmas goodies can be bought for friends with the proceeds going to the less fortunate. It just seems like everyone is getting ready for the holidays.

The Christmas spirit is also gaining lots of momentum in my dorm. When I arrived back from Thanksgiving break there were lights strung in my hall and many doors had already been decorated. A window-decorating contest is going on with the top three rooms winning Wal-Mart gift cards (always handy in Decorah). Today some girls on my floor are putting up little stockings for everyone and Christmas carols are being played on the bathroom radio. Our floor Christmas party is even in the works. The countdown 'til Christmas is on.

This weekend Luther's choirs and bands are performing their annual "Christmas At Luther" concert which I am very excited to attend. The music program here is exceptional and this concert has a great reputation around the area. I have yet to go to a musical performance here on campus despite having intentions to earlier in the year, so this will be my first concert and I know that it will be awesome.

Yet, with students' minds filled with thoughts of Christmas, the teachers are still assigning homework in preparation for the end of the semester. The homework never ceases during the semester, but in just 2 weeks we will be done with finals and officially free for Christmas vacation. Just 2 more weeks...

Lab Rat

2007-11-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

As a member of the cross country team I have gotten the opportunity to know quite a few upper classmen. In many classes seniors are required to complete an experiment or senior project. So the past few weeks I've been recieving e-mails from the seniors on the team asking for participants in their experiments or studies. Thus, I have acted as the lab rat for 3 studies.

The first one I had the most fun with. I was put on a treadmill with my nose clamped and my mouth hooked up to a tube so that my carbon dioxide output could be measured (much like Lance Armstrong in this picture). The speed on the treadmill was kept consistent while the incline was raised every minute. Every minute or so my finger was pricked (while I was running) and blood was collected so that the level of lactic acid in my blood could be measured. When I was finished I had some pretty cool blood splatters on my shorts, but hey, poking and prodding is all part of being a lab rat!

It was hard work, especially toward the end when the incline was highest, but it was really cool. I got a huge kick out of feeling like the athletes on the Gatorade commercials that are working hard on the bicycles or running on the treadmills with multi-colored sweat pouring out of them. I would love to work at an institute like that or be the athlete that is tested. That would be sweet.

The other 2 experiments that I participated in were psychology experiments. The first one was testing how different types of music affect how well students are able to concentrate. While I was supposed to be reading two articles from the ACT exam, Black Eyed Peas music was played in the room. After we had 5 minutes to read the articles, we took a little break and then had to take a quiz over what we had read.

I am a person that likes to study in complete silence so I could barely concentrate on what I was supposed to be reading! It was amazing how much the lyrics distracted me. Some students are always listening to their I-pods while studying, but for me that would be very hard. I comprehended very little while I was reading thanks to the distracting music. Another section in the experiment listened to Mozart music and the final section didn't have any music at all. I am curious to see how great a difference the type of music made in the quiz scores.

The third and final experiment I helped with had to do with recognition of faces where the eyes and mouths were turned upside-down. We were shown 100 slides with two faces on each slide. Some of the faces were oriented right-side up, upside-down, or horizontally. We then had to say whether face A, B, both, or neither had inverted features. Once I got the hang of it the test was not too difficult. Here's an example of 2 faces with regular eyes and mouths and 2 with inverted features.
I enjoyed participating in the experiments and helping out my teammates. Now I have an idea of what will be expected of me when I am a senior. I also enjoyed the challenge of seeing how well I could perform in the different testing conditions. For the next week, though, my lab rat skills will be put on hold as I go home for Thanksgiving break. I'll get rejuvinated and be ready to push through the final 3 weeks of the semester, just as I would as a lab rat, giving my best effort through the completion of the experiment.

Team

2007-11-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

"Wow, look at them go!" I thought to myself as I watched the flash of color pass in front of me at the Regional Cross Country Meet at St. Olaf College last Saturday. "They look really good," I heard a fan around me exclaim.

Our top 7 men and top 7 women were representing Luther College in one of the biggest meets of the season. The top 2 teams from each region automatically qualify for the National Meet while some at large bids and individuals are accepted as well. This year the National Meet will also be held at St. Olaf.

Last Saturday morning most of the cross country team who wasn't racing departed from Luther at 7:45 to go cheer on our teammates. It was awesome to see everyone sporting Luther gear and getting pumped up for the races even though we weren't actually racing. When we piled out of the cars at St. Olaf, we were ready to run around the course and cheer like crazy. The anticipation was mounting as the time drew nearer to the gun going off.

As the races got underway, it appeared to be like all of our other races: a calm start before we move on up through the packs. Our runners were right together supporting each other each step of the way while the multitude of fans and alumni were loud and proud, urging on the Norse. It was great to be a part of this collective team effort.

The women had a spectacular finish: Janet Dobyns came away as the individual champion and the women's team took the 1st place trophy. The men, too, had an awesome day, coming away with the 2nd place team trophy. On to Nationals!

During the Regional Meet I was able to get a new perspective as a fan instead of a racer. It was awesome to be able to run around with countless other Luther supporters and cheer enthusiastically. It didn't matter that I wasn't racing, I still felt like a part of the team. This whole season has been amazing in that way: no matter how fast you run or what your role is on the team, you are as much a part of the team as anyone else. Everyone genuinely supports everyone else, making this team very special.

As we enter the final weekend of the season, it's great to look back on all that we've accomplished in just a few months. It's been a great blessing to be a part of Luther Cross Country and for me, it has probably been the best part about Luther College thus far. One more race, one more collective effort, and one more day of fun coming up on Saturday. Go Norse!

Phonathon Phenomenon

2007-11-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Sweet Phonathon T-shirt
"Hi, my name is Sharon and I'm a freshman at Luther College. How are you tonight?" That was the line I recited over and over again Sunday night as about 15 other students and myself volunteered our evenings for the Luther Annual Phon-a-thon! The goal of the phon-a-thon is to get donations from Luther alumni to keep Luther College up and running for the next year. My bible study group signed up to participate as a team, so I decided I might as well give it a try. Seriously, how bad can talking on the phone be?

As I sat in the training session beforehand, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. First it occurred to me that this phon-a-thon must be pretty intense if a half hour training session is required! All of the instructions they were giving us were a little overwhelming: what buttons to push on the phone, (NOT 911 which has happened in the past because in order to call you have to push 9-1-and then the number), what shmoozing lines work best, and what information to get from the alumni. I began to wonder how much fun I was really going to have asking people for money during the next 3 hours.

I thought about all of the times at home where I had been the unfortunate family member to pick up the phone when a telemarketer called. Don't you love it when they call in the middle of dinner? Those phone calls usually didn't last long, although sometimes I was courteous enough to say "No Thanks" before hanging up. I wondered how many times I would get that same delightful response as I recited my scripted lines to the alumni.

As I entered my cubicle and saw the stack of papers telling me the alumni I got to call, I started getting nervous. What exactly was I going to say and how many people would actually donate? Much like the beginning of a cross country race, I just had to jump in and get rolling. No use in thinking it over too much and psyching myself out. Luckily for me, I got an answering machine on my first try (and on 20% of my calls the whole night), so at least the nervousness of dialing subsided. Whew! The first lady I actually reached, though, was very nice and right off the bat said she would give $200! SUCCESS!

To make the evening more fun, small prizes were given away throughout the calling process for contests such as "whoever gets the next $100 dollar pledge" or "whoever gets the next pledge from WI". We also were given Phon-a-thon bingo cards with spaces such as "Donation from someone with my same name" or "Pledge from someone living in a state along an ocean". There was even a board for us to write any funny quotes that people said. My favorite was a conversation that happened in the calling room:

Boy 1-I got an answering machine speaking in Spanish.
Boy 2-Then you should leave a message in Spanish.
Boy 1-"Quiero su dinero" sound good?

At the end of the night we made over $13,000 which was over our goal. The night actually turned out to be pretty fun, cheering on people who got big donations, getting free snacks and a t-shirt, and winning prizes. It helped me realize how many people across the nation are somehow tied to Luther College. These alumni have a lot of pride in Luther and clearly had a good experience while they were here. This gives me confidence that my four years here will prepare me for the future while leaving me with lasting relationships and memories. I agree with the alumni: I am glad to be a part of Luther College, and for me, this is just the beginning.