This is the last weekend of my winter break between semesters, so despite the fact that I don't feel like there's a lot to update about, I figured it's time to document that time has passed and I'm still here!
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| Here I am! |
So, I know you're all holding your breath to know.... I survived my first semester of grad school! They aren't kicking me out yet so woohooooo! Also I realized that if I'm here for 5 years-- and undergrad took 4-- then now that I'm done with my first semester I'm officially halfway through college. Now that's something to celebrate!
The next biggest news is probably that I will be going to Guatemala this summer for 10 days! This fall when Capital (the church I attend here) did its missions focus, I really felt that God was calling me to continue to stretch my faith and further my reliance on Him by applying for a mission trip. I prayed about it for about a month and realized that my doubts were really just excuses so I decided to apply for the Guatemala trip (so I can hopefully use my Spanish!) and I just found out last week that my application has officially been accepted! [Huge thanks to Rachel and Anne Marie for writing me reference letters!] In Guatemala we will be building stoves, homes, and working on an ongoing project that is building a church in the village of Membrillal about 20 km outside of Guatemala City.
One of my major concerns when I first started thinking about the trip was the cost of the trip, but God showed me right away that He would be faithful in all things. The very day that I found out the official cost, I got an interview with a family and the next week I started babysitting about 7 hours/week for a 4 year old boy and a 1 year old girl. I've been with them for about a month and a half now and it's been going pretty well. It's nice to have that time set aside when I'm a) making money for Guatemala, but also b) not thinking at all about school, which has turned out to be serious bonus of a blessing!
A few weeks later, my advisor Shannon asked me if I would be a graduate assistant for her as part of a grant she received to improve the Psycholinguistics class she is teaching this spring semester. Accordingly, I have been helping her develop some lab experiments for her class. It's great experience and it is also paid, so I think I will be able to cover the cost of the trip between these two jobs! Praise the Lord for open doors!
Around the same time I started babysitting, I thought it would be a good idea to get involved in the community as well (in addition to choir, of course) so I started volunteering at one of the elementary schools in my neighborhood (yes, there are multiple). Last semester I went in twice each week to read with two third graders who have tough home lives and are performing well below grade level. They are adorable and it has been so much fun! I have to cut down to once/week this semester but I'm glad I can continue working with them and watching their progress.
Speaking of choir, it never stopped being my favorite thing! We had our Christmas concert the day before I left for winter break and lots of people from the community, including the mayor, a UT senator, and a newscaster came out to support us! We're on a two month break now :( but we'll restart in March and I can't wait!
One final thing from last semester: Samantha visited me over Thanksgiving break and we had a wonderful week traveling through states we'd never been to (Idaho! Montana! Wyoming!), visiting my mom's cousins in Bozeman for Thanksgiving, and exploring Salt Lake City together. It renewed my appreciation for this awesome little city and that was really great!
This semester I will be a TA for a course that teaches teachers how to teach English to nonnative speakers. I have no idea what qualifies me to be a TA for a course like that but I'm really looking forward to working with the woman who teaches the class and learning lots about TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I hope to get a TESOL certificate myself while I'm here.
Over break, if you haven't already heard, I had the fantastic gift of spending ten days with my three favorite people in the whole world!!!!!!
Oh yeah and we were in England.
We had a wonderful time and it was so great to be reunited with my family who I have missed so dearly since moving here.
Speaking of which, Monday is Mom's birthday, so give her a shoutout!
Since I got back to Salt Lake I've read 6 novels. As much as I've enjoyed having time to free read, it's been pretty lonely so I'm about ready to go back to class.
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| Twist ending! |
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| Very dark |
Last time I asked, I got some awesome surprises in the mail so I'm going to do it again. I know-shameless- but fun mail is still my absolute favorite thing!
271 E Street #3
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Praises:
-For God's continued faithfulness in all things
-That Madeline is coming to visit in three weeks so I have something to look forward in this "dark month" that is January
-That the weather has continued to be pretty warm and I've yet to experience the infamous inversions
-My new friend from church Jenny who has been a HUGE blessing
-That I was able to spend a glorious week and a half with my beloved family
-All of you!
Prayers:
-That the beginning of this new semester starts off well
-For a good relationship between me and the woman I'm TAing for
-That I make more friends that I can spend time with outside of class
-That God continues to prepare my heart and body for Guatemala
Thank you for loving me!
Hablamos pronto :)
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