Good news: My passport came in the mail. Three weeks early to boot.
Bad news: The financial aid processors are taking their sweet old time in reviewing my paperwork.
Good news: I got a $20 anorak from Gap (marked down from $89). Fold away hood, ginormous pockets, snaps AND a zipper, quilted lining. Khaki color. Will serve as raincoat, windbreaker, and warm jacket. Extremely comfortable. Machine washable. A most practical find; it is functional, cheap, and saves me packing room by acting as a three-in-one outerwear.
Bad news: There aren't any Little Caesar's in Israel. A, it isn't Kosher. B, it's American. I suppose I can live without garlic for four months. [lip quiverring]
Good news: I got a good camera at a fair discount, and Mom found a great case for it at DI.
Bad news: I can only pack 50lbs. into the one suitcase I'm allowed to check, and I'm supposed to reserve 10lbs of that available weight for textbooks. (I also may take a 40lb. limit carry on... but it has to fin in the overhead compartments--so it can't be very big.) I need to practice packing and fitting everything in.
Good news: I found a cute, but still cheap, one-piece swimsuit. SHOCKING, but true. Momma was kind enough to alter it slightly which made it really modest. Great stuff. Oooh--AND.... it's blue. Looks good on me. Now if only I was thinner... ;)
TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD NEWS: I did some calculating. (that's bad news in itself.) Imagine two-semesters of Ancient Hebrew crammed into a term. That's the class I was signed up for Summer term. The beginning class is only taught fall semester, so as you can see, I can't take it--I'll be in Jerusalem. That means that I couldn't take Hebrew fall OR winter semesters, and I'd have to wait until next fall to take it, which would push my graduation back to 2011. BAD. Thankfully they teach the accellerated course during Summer term.
That class is torture; two hours of class in the morning, and two hours of class in the afternoon. You're given homework in the morning that's due in the afternoon, and given homework in the afternoon that's due the next morning. Egad. I'm terrified of taking it, but nontheless excited.
Herein lies the problem: The four hours of class time during the day cuts out 4 hours of possible working time. Besides that, tuition for that one class will cost me $945. I can afford to pay that, but what I can't afford is to lose that many hours of work. After calculations, I discovered that at the end of the summer:
If I took the class, I would have: $1,871 in the bank.
If instead of class, I work, I would have: $3,984 in the bank.
I can't afford to miss four hours of work during the day. With that much homework, I can't get an evening job. In order to pay for Jerusalem (I'm still going to need a few thousand in loans,) I had to drop my ancient hebrew class. THAT'S BAD, but as Mumsy Cratchit always says, "It can't be helped."
I've re-arranged planned classes so I can take the 131+132 class next summer, so I'll still take the Heb 331 class on time, which means that when ANES 363 rolls around I'll be able to take it. On schedule. (Which is good, because 363 is only taught Winter Odd years... so if I had missed it Winter of 2009, I would have had to postpone graduation to 2011.)
For those of you who are incredibly confused, I will sum up: I won't get to take an Ancient Hebrew class this summer (that would have been very advantageous for Jerusalem and for my graduation plan,) but I've thought about it, and I think I'll be okay taking it next summer.
Good news: Since I will be working more than expected this summer, I have more free time at my desk. That means I'll have more time to study and read my self-assigned prep materials. Which, now that I think of it, is a very GOOD thing.
-R.
Friday, June 22
Wednesday, June 20
Meeting With the Ludlow's
Victor Ludlow (and his wife V-Ann) will be teaching at the Jerusalem center fall semester. Lucky me, I grew up around the corner from them. Lucky me, my parents once rented their house. Lucky me, my parents are their good friends. Lucky me, I already know my religion professor! (I even went to youth conference with him.) Lucky me, my mom arranged for us to meet with them at their house to chat before they flew out to Tel Aviv one week later. Lucky, me--we got to ask them all sorts of questions for a whole hour and a half!
I made peanut-butter cups, (a marvelous Mildenstein concoction, if I do say so myself...) and Mama, Daddy and I drove out to Orem to see them. (An FYI for my family that might not know Dan Ludlow moved into their old house, and Vic and V-ann moved out to Orem...)
See, the Ludlow's are the GURUS of the Jerusalem Center. Bro. Ludlow has taught there for over THIRTY different sessions. Egad. Obviously they know just about everything there is to know.
Bro. Ludlow read the entire itenerary list of field trips for me. (Golly, was it long!) We got to see a bunch of their souvenirs--brass candlesticks with stars of David on them, paintings of the Galilee, and a bunch of other stuff. I asked them general questions, but more importantly I asked what the students would have to do to make fall semester the best they'd ever had. I also asked what they'd suggest I should do to prepare. (The prescription was a selection of books, including a 1009 pg. novel about Jewish history through the ages written by Michener that I can't take my eyes off of. It's well written to say the least. Starts out at an Archaeological tel-- and, well, it's really good.)
Daddy asked a bunch of questions about security and traffic. (My, he looks after his youngest girl, doesn't he?) Come to find out, a bunch of girls winter semester got groped on the field trip to Egypt. ... I'll wait for the shock to settle in. Yes, that's right, I wrote groped. Bro. Ludlow told Daddy that nothing of the sort had ever happened before, and Sis. Ludlow muttered that fall semester the boys will learn "a few choice phrases in Arabic" that will get certain points across. Hmm. My only question is whether I have permission to use what Star Wars calls "aggressive negotiations," or if I must maintain a diplomatic composure. Guess I'll find out. We are required to bring two Egyptian security guards with us on each bus. Sis. Ludlow said they look rather impressive. That should be fun, eh?
Sister Ludlow told me she knows Mom feels better knowing I'll that Sis. Ludlow will be watching my every move while I'm there. This was her way of telling me I that she'll be there if I need anything, but also not to do anything stupid. (... I knew I liked her!)
I was most grateful for the opportunity to speak with them. I can't wait to see them again.
--R
I made peanut-butter cups, (a marvelous Mildenstein concoction, if I do say so myself...) and Mama, Daddy and I drove out to Orem to see them. (An FYI for my family that might not know Dan Ludlow moved into their old house, and Vic and V-ann moved out to Orem...)
See, the Ludlow's are the GURUS of the Jerusalem Center. Bro. Ludlow has taught there for over THIRTY different sessions. Egad. Obviously they know just about everything there is to know.
Bro. Ludlow read the entire itenerary list of field trips for me. (Golly, was it long!) We got to see a bunch of their souvenirs--brass candlesticks with stars of David on them, paintings of the Galilee, and a bunch of other stuff. I asked them general questions, but more importantly I asked what the students would have to do to make fall semester the best they'd ever had. I also asked what they'd suggest I should do to prepare. (The prescription was a selection of books, including a 1009 pg. novel about Jewish history through the ages written by Michener that I can't take my eyes off of. It's well written to say the least. Starts out at an Archaeological tel-- and, well, it's really good.)
Daddy asked a bunch of questions about security and traffic. (My, he looks after his youngest girl, doesn't he?) Come to find out, a bunch of girls winter semester got groped on the field trip to Egypt. ... I'll wait for the shock to settle in. Yes, that's right, I wrote groped. Bro. Ludlow told Daddy that nothing of the sort had ever happened before, and Sis. Ludlow muttered that fall semester the boys will learn "a few choice phrases in Arabic" that will get certain points across. Hmm. My only question is whether I have permission to use what Star Wars calls "aggressive negotiations," or if I must maintain a diplomatic composure. Guess I'll find out. We are required to bring two Egyptian security guards with us on each bus. Sis. Ludlow said they look rather impressive. That should be fun, eh?
Sister Ludlow told me she knows Mom feels better knowing I'll that Sis. Ludlow will be watching my every move while I'm there. This was her way of telling me I that she'll be there if I need anything, but also not to do anything stupid. (... I knew I liked her!)
I was most grateful for the opportunity to speak with them. I can't wait to see them again.
--R
Tuesday, June 19
Havazalot Netanya
Ed Austin, head of the BYU folk dance dept., emailed the folk dance club about a free performance at the Capital Theater, June 11. A fund-raiser for the Utah Jewish Federation (or a name really close to it,) had arranged for an Israeli international folk dance troupe, Havazalot Netanya, to tour through SLC.
For those of you who may not know, I'm a folk dance minor--and my favorite style is Israeli. Naturally, when I found out about this concert I immediately begged my family to take me (Matt and Heather generously agreed to go,) and then I called to reserve tickets. Oh yeah--there's a funny story. The receptionist handling my call worked for the Utah-Jewish-Fed-thingy, and asked for both a phone number, and first and last name to reserve the tickets under. When I said, "Rachel Mildenstein," she hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Are you, by any chance, Jewish?" I grinned into the receiver and explained that I was not--my name is just very German, but thank you for the compliment. It made me laugh. Back to the dancing...
Capital Theater notwithstanding, as I headed up to SLC, I grew nervous that this concert could be any number of unpleasant-things: boring, lame, really long, or a bad combination of the aforementioned. I am most pleased to announce that it was none of these.
While the team lacked the polished coordination BYU teams possess, they did have technical ability and spirit, more than a dozen costume changes, and appeal. Some of their dances depicted scenes from the bible: Miriam and her tambourine, the Daughters of Jethro, Moses striking the rock, and one that described the building of the temple. My favorite was called, "Sun Beam," which has nothing to do with primary kids. The entire team was dressed in black, tan, and gold--they came out in a synchronized chain, then moved into ripple effect--oh MAN was it cool. All the while the backdrop behind them grew lighter and lighter as if the sun were rising. VERY COOL. Excellent choreography.
I mustn't forget the best details however. [A.] the SLC Jitterbug team initiated the performance. An abysmal performance that reminded me strongly of the big show. I even asked Matt why they didn't sing the muppet song when they opened. *shudder*... it was awful. [2.] There were no applause stops; they seamlessly followed a pattern of one long dance followed by two short dances. [D.] One side of the program was in Hebrew, the other in English... with a few fun typos: "holiest of holly," "a young lad froliskonig in a kibbutz," (that, I believe, is close to the German term for 'frog prince,' ) and of course, there was the BARBI dance.
When we first saw the program, Heather said, "Hey, they're doing a Barbie doll dance." Matt and I assured her that it couldn't possibly be a dance about a Barbie doll. Imagine our surprise when a girl in a neon pink strappy dress, complete with lime green daisies and a bright yellow purse strutted on stage flipping her pony-tail, flirting with a Ken-like person wearing jeans, a leather-jacket, sunglasses--and a black mesh shirt. They began to dance. Matt and I froze and turned away in disbelief, trying not to burst out laughing. This was difficult. It could not be avoided, however, when another girl-- wearing what I can only describe as a girl wearing a bunch of pillows stitched into some sort of fat-suit--walked on stage wearing a similar dress. The padded one wedged her way between Barbi (spelled w/out an e,) and Ken, who then finished the dance with disgust for her corpulence apparent on their faces. My description really can't do it justice.
22 numbers and an intermission later, the audience clapped in unison during the final number; a Hora dance! Whoo hoo! (That was for Alicia/Jacob, and anyone else who might know what that is. Man, it was good.) Then during the bows, the audience spontaneously began singing the Israeli national anthem--a simple tune that I absolutely must learn the words to--and to my surprise, nearly the entire audience knew the entire song. (Probably because most of them are jewish, and from what we saw, 2/3 of them had been to the Holy Land.)
After it was over, the director asked Ed Austin to teach the audience a little Israeli folk. This surprised Ed, who only met the guy 40 min. before the show. Ed asked all 9 of the folk dancers who were present (2 from SPAC, 4 from PAC, and 3 from WSC teams) to come on stage for the inner circle, then asked any audience members who were interested to join us as well. We did Haora Haktana and one other rec-night dance, and the Israeli's knew it too! I had no idea they were set dances--so it was really nifty. I danced inbetween the Barbi girl and another Israeli guy--really really schweet. I did Israeli folk dance with an Israeli national company ON THE CAPITAL THEATER STAGE. : D ! It was a lot of fun.
On a more general note, Matt and I both commented on how healthy they all were. The men were lean--very lean. The girls were not...they actually looked female. And nobody seemed gay! (Both points are quite refreshing when you've been in american dance your whole life.) Also, the girls all had really long brown hair. No short-styles, no blonde highlights--zip. Of course there was one girl whose hair had been dyed red-- but it was still 2 ft long. Guess I'm going to fit in well over there. Tee hee. Not only that, but the costumes were extremely modest. God bless Near Eastern cultures for that. In fact, one of the Bedouin dances they did included belly-dancer costumes--and they wore leotards underneath them! Wow! Big show, indeed.
Also, we heard remarks from Hebrew professors from the U of U that are from Israel, and once taught at the college in Netanya. Both are friends of the present (and recent past) Mormon prophet. With eyes filled with tears, they discussed the similarity between Mormonism and Judaism, our respect and belief in Zion, and how the House of Judah and the House of Joseph were together again. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah. Matt and I kept saying, "If Dad could hear this..." WOW.
What a fantastic night. What an incredible pre-departure bonus education. What increased love, respect, and excitement I feel for these people and the chance I have to spend in their homeland.
(Sorry this post was so long... there was a lot to describe. The beauty of a blog is that you don't have to read it all unless you want to! : P) --R.
For those of you who may not know, I'm a folk dance minor--and my favorite style is Israeli. Naturally, when I found out about this concert I immediately begged my family to take me (Matt and Heather generously agreed to go,) and then I called to reserve tickets. Oh yeah--there's a funny story. The receptionist handling my call worked for the Utah-Jewish-Fed-thingy, and asked for both a phone number, and first and last name to reserve the tickets under. When I said, "Rachel Mildenstein," she hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Are you, by any chance, Jewish?" I grinned into the receiver and explained that I was not--my name is just very German, but thank you for the compliment. It made me laugh. Back to the dancing...
Capital Theater notwithstanding, as I headed up to SLC, I grew nervous that this concert could be any number of unpleasant-things: boring, lame, really long, or a bad combination of the aforementioned. I am most pleased to announce that it was none of these.
While the team lacked the polished coordination BYU teams possess, they did have technical ability and spirit, more than a dozen costume changes, and appeal. Some of their dances depicted scenes from the bible: Miriam and her tambourine, the Daughters of Jethro, Moses striking the rock, and one that described the building of the temple. My favorite was called, "Sun Beam," which has nothing to do with primary kids. The entire team was dressed in black, tan, and gold--they came out in a synchronized chain, then moved into ripple effect--oh MAN was it cool. All the while the backdrop behind them grew lighter and lighter as if the sun were rising. VERY COOL. Excellent choreography.
I mustn't forget the best details however. [A.] the SLC Jitterbug team initiated the performance. An abysmal performance that reminded me strongly of the big show. I even asked Matt why they didn't sing the muppet song when they opened. *shudder*... it was awful. [2.] There were no applause stops; they seamlessly followed a pattern of one long dance followed by two short dances. [D.] One side of the program was in Hebrew, the other in English... with a few fun typos: "holiest of holly," "a young lad froliskonig in a kibbutz," (that, I believe, is close to the German term for 'frog prince,' ) and of course, there was the BARBI dance.
When we first saw the program, Heather said, "Hey, they're doing a Barbie doll dance." Matt and I assured her that it couldn't possibly be a dance about a Barbie doll. Imagine our surprise when a girl in a neon pink strappy dress, complete with lime green daisies and a bright yellow purse strutted on stage flipping her pony-tail, flirting with a Ken-like person wearing jeans, a leather-jacket, sunglasses--and a black mesh shirt. They began to dance. Matt and I froze and turned away in disbelief, trying not to burst out laughing. This was difficult. It could not be avoided, however, when another girl-- wearing what I can only describe as a girl wearing a bunch of pillows stitched into some sort of fat-suit--walked on stage wearing a similar dress. The padded one wedged her way between Barbi (spelled w/out an e,) and Ken, who then finished the dance with disgust for her corpulence apparent on their faces. My description really can't do it justice.
22 numbers and an intermission later, the audience clapped in unison during the final number; a Hora dance! Whoo hoo! (That was for Alicia/Jacob, and anyone else who might know what that is. Man, it was good.) Then during the bows, the audience spontaneously began singing the Israeli national anthem--a simple tune that I absolutely must learn the words to--and to my surprise, nearly the entire audience knew the entire song. (Probably because most of them are jewish, and from what we saw, 2/3 of them had been to the Holy Land.)
After it was over, the director asked Ed Austin to teach the audience a little Israeli folk. This surprised Ed, who only met the guy 40 min. before the show. Ed asked all 9 of the folk dancers who were present (2 from SPAC, 4 from PAC, and 3 from WSC teams) to come on stage for the inner circle, then asked any audience members who were interested to join us as well. We did Haora Haktana and one other rec-night dance, and the Israeli's knew it too! I had no idea they were set dances--so it was really nifty. I danced inbetween the Barbi girl and another Israeli guy--really really schweet. I did Israeli folk dance with an Israeli national company ON THE CAPITAL THEATER STAGE. : D ! It was a lot of fun.
On a more general note, Matt and I both commented on how healthy they all were. The men were lean--very lean. The girls were not...they actually looked female. And nobody seemed gay! (Both points are quite refreshing when you've been in american dance your whole life.) Also, the girls all had really long brown hair. No short-styles, no blonde highlights--zip. Of course there was one girl whose hair had been dyed red-- but it was still 2 ft long. Guess I'm going to fit in well over there. Tee hee. Not only that, but the costumes were extremely modest. God bless Near Eastern cultures for that. In fact, one of the Bedouin dances they did included belly-dancer costumes--and they wore leotards underneath them! Wow! Big show, indeed.
Also, we heard remarks from Hebrew professors from the U of U that are from Israel, and once taught at the college in Netanya. Both are friends of the present (and recent past) Mormon prophet. With eyes filled with tears, they discussed the similarity between Mormonism and Judaism, our respect and belief in Zion, and how the House of Judah and the House of Joseph were together again. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah. Matt and I kept saying, "If Dad could hear this..." WOW.
What a fantastic night. What an incredible pre-departure bonus education. What increased love, respect, and excitement I feel for these people and the chance I have to spend in their homeland.
(Sorry this post was so long... there was a lot to describe. The beauty of a blog is that you don't have to read it all unless you want to! : P) --R.
Tuesday, June 5
Photos of the Center
Photos taken by Bradley Ross, a past teacher at the center. If you want to see more of his JC pictures (or see these bigger,) visit http://bradley.dyndns.org/jeru/photos.html These selections are just a few snapshot glances at what the center is like. Sorry about the strange formatting-- I'm still getting the hang of this, and posting with this site takes a while to get used to.
"Enter to learn, go forth to serve, " well, almost... No BYU campus is complete without a sign like this. And check out the landscaping! I may never be able to escape juniper bushes...
Just inside the main gate, this approx. 2000 year old olive tree was transplanted fromNazareth 
(Below) Main Entry Hall, and the first thing you see after walking through the front doors. The first glimpse of the center's interior is breathtaking, or so I hear.
A dated shot of the "Oasis," or rather, the cafeteria. For those of you who thought I was making a pun, it really is called the oasis.
Different shots of the Upper Auditorium & the Organ:
View from the podium, or stage, depending on the type of concert or meeting. (Where church is held.)
Here's a bigger shot of the organ. There's a rather intriguing story about how we got it. If anyone wants to hear it, say please.
View from outside.The curtains you see in the window are behind the podium.
Taken from inside and across the way, this view is meant to show that the Auditorium is surrounded by green stuff.
The scenic view from the congregation. Bet it's hard to keep your eyes on the speaker instead of outside.
"Enter to learn, go forth to serve, " well, almost... No BYU campus is complete without a sign like this. And check out the landscaping! I may never be able to escape juniper bushes...
Just inside the main gate, this approx. 2000 year old olive tree was transplanted from
(Below) Main Entry Hall, and the first thing you see after walking through the front doors. The first glimpse of the center's interior is breathtaking, or so I hear.
A dated shot of the "Oasis," or rather, the cafeteria. For those of you who thought I was making a pun, it really is called the oasis.
Different shots of the Upper Auditorium & the Organ:
View from the podium, or stage, depending on the type of concert or meeting. (Where church is held.)
Here's a bigger shot of the organ. There's a rather intriguing story about how we got it. If anyone wants to hear it, say please.
View from outside.The curtains you see in the window are behind the podium.
Taken from inside and across the way, this view is meant to show that the Auditorium is surrounded by green stuff.
The scenic view from the congregation. Bet it's hard to keep your eyes on the speaker instead of outside.
June 1, 2007
I GOT IN!
After checking the mail half a dozen times in 15 minutes, I decided that the mail wouldn't come during my at-home-lunch-break, and decided to go back to work and have someone ferry my acceptance letter over to me when it came. An hour later, BAM, my phone rings.
It was a call from Home.
I answered, "Did the mail come?"
"A big envelope adressed to you," Mom slyly replied.
I squealed. "Oooooooh! Can someone bring it over?"
Matt and Heather kindly became post couriers, drove over to work, smiled, and handed me a BANK OF AMERICA envelope. Hmm. A large envelope, adressed to me. (Most amusing.) I thwacked Heather with it. (Lightly.) Then she handed me a large white envelope, wrapped with a bow. --she tied a ribbon to it! Isn't she sweet? I'm glad I thwacked her lightly. Thwack. What a good word... defintely an onomatopoeia. Such a nice zing to it.
As I was expecting the envelope, one could hardly say it had the same impact as a muggle-born reading "you have been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry," ( a total bolt out of the blue,) but it still knocked my socks off.
Congratulations! You have been assigned a position in the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies program Fall Semester 2007. ...
I think I've read the information packet four times now. I also copied each form so that I could practice filling them out once before submitting the final product. That way the ones I hand in will look almost perfect. Have to make a good impression for my interview, don't I? ;)
After checking the mail half a dozen times in 15 minutes, I decided that the mail wouldn't come during my at-home-lunch-break, and decided to go back to work and have someone ferry my acceptance letter over to me when it came. An hour later, BAM, my phone rings.
It was a call from Home.
I answered, "Did the mail come?"
"A big envelope adressed to you," Mom slyly replied.
I squealed. "Oooooooh! Can someone bring it over?"
Matt and Heather kindly became post couriers, drove over to work, smiled, and handed me a BANK OF AMERICA envelope. Hmm. A large envelope, adressed to me. (Most amusing.) I thwacked Heather with it. (Lightly.) Then she handed me a large white envelope, wrapped with a bow. --she tied a ribbon to it! Isn't she sweet? I'm glad I thwacked her lightly. Thwack. What a good word... defintely an onomatopoeia. Such a nice zing to it.
As I was expecting the envelope, one could hardly say it had the same impact as a muggle-born reading "you have been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry," ( a total bolt out of the blue,) but it still knocked my socks off.
Congratulations! You have been assigned a position in the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies program Fall Semester 2007. ...
I think I've read the information packet four times now. I also copied each form so that I could practice filling them out once before submitting the final product. That way the ones I hand in will look almost perfect. Have to make a good impression for my interview, don't I? ;)
Friday, June 1
Preparations Continue
I am as yet devouring any information I can get about what happens at the center. Which, considering that I search for more on a daily basis, is really quite a lot.
I've been reading a friend's posts on what she's been doing there Spring term--all about field trips, what the cafeteria serves, souvenirs, how exhausted everyone is, and even about cleaning checks. Valuable stuff, too. She mentioned that she brought her camera in a giant ziploc for the hezekiah's tunnel field trip, which I must say makes sense, being that there is often four feet of water one must wade through. Liquid and electronics do not mix. Tianna (my friend that's there spring term,) also mentioned how strict the cleaning checks are, and that she made the bed with "square sheets," whatever they are. ("Mr. Wickham has been transferred to Newcastle, wherever that is...")
Thus, I do have some inkling as to the common things afoot in the center--things I have discovered to satisfy the hunger for information. Mom says once I know for certain that I am accepted we'll go out to dinner with the Ludlows and I can ask question's to my heart's content. I'm so glad I get to go while they're there. Which brings me to another point.
Official acceptance letters were sent via mail both yesterday and today. So yes, as you may have guessed, I don't know for sure whether I am going to the center Fall semester--or not. I don't doubt that I shall however, and for several reasons; first, because they are not filled to capacity and usually take all eligible applicants (meaning yours truly,) and second, because I had planned on attending the center Winter '08, but felt impressed to apply for Fall semester instead even though convenience and advantage direct me to go during the Winter. Knowing that I ought to apply for Fall, I assume there are divine reasons, and hence I expect that some way will be paved for me to go.
While I'm on the subject, I may as well mention WHY I am all of a dither about how going Fall is inconvenient. Ahem: No Christmas around the world, I'll be behind on my major courses-- including missing a History and Culture of Ancient Israel class that is only taught Fall of odd years (talk about annoying), I won't get to go to Folk Dance workshop even though I was invited (that would provide the chance to be on a higher level team), I can't be in a performing group fall semester-- not even Choir, and to boot, I'm missing the chance to be in Savior of the World AGAIN. I'll be out of the country for two of my favorite holidays, and miss some of the best weather of the year, I have less time and opportunity to earn money to fund this trip... which is costing me a pretty penny.
Either way, I am glad to be going fall semester (I'm not sure I can wait much longer anyway), and I'm not grumbling--just expressing my emotions. ; )
And in the way of preparations, I stood in line for two hours last week to order my passport and expedite it so I can be sure to get it on time... can you say expensive? I also took advantage of Memorial Day sales and purchased a nice camera that I will need for the trip (nicely featured too, I might add.) All in all, I can't wait to get my official YES, YOU'RE COMING. Hope it arrives tomorrow...
I've been reading a friend's posts on what she's been doing there Spring term--all about field trips, what the cafeteria serves, souvenirs, how exhausted everyone is, and even about cleaning checks. Valuable stuff, too. She mentioned that she brought her camera in a giant ziploc for the hezekiah's tunnel field trip, which I must say makes sense, being that there is often four feet of water one must wade through. Liquid and electronics do not mix. Tianna (my friend that's there spring term,) also mentioned how strict the cleaning checks are, and that she made the bed with "square sheets," whatever they are. ("Mr. Wickham has been transferred to Newcastle, wherever that is...")
Thus, I do have some inkling as to the common things afoot in the center--things I have discovered to satisfy the hunger for information. Mom says once I know for certain that I am accepted we'll go out to dinner with the Ludlows and I can ask question's to my heart's content. I'm so glad I get to go while they're there. Which brings me to another point.
Official acceptance letters were sent via mail both yesterday and today. So yes, as you may have guessed, I don't know for sure whether I am going to the center Fall semester--or not. I don't doubt that I shall however, and for several reasons; first, because they are not filled to capacity and usually take all eligible applicants (meaning yours truly,) and second, because I had planned on attending the center Winter '08, but felt impressed to apply for Fall semester instead even though convenience and advantage direct me to go during the Winter. Knowing that I ought to apply for Fall, I assume there are divine reasons, and hence I expect that some way will be paved for me to go.
While I'm on the subject, I may as well mention WHY I am all of a dither about how going Fall is inconvenient. Ahem: No Christmas around the world, I'll be behind on my major courses-- including missing a History and Culture of Ancient Israel class that is only taught Fall of odd years (talk about annoying), I won't get to go to Folk Dance workshop even though I was invited (that would provide the chance to be on a higher level team), I can't be in a performing group fall semester-- not even Choir, and to boot, I'm missing the chance to be in Savior of the World AGAIN. I'll be out of the country for two of my favorite holidays, and miss some of the best weather of the year, I have less time and opportunity to earn money to fund this trip... which is costing me a pretty penny.
Either way, I am glad to be going fall semester (I'm not sure I can wait much longer anyway), and I'm not grumbling--just expressing my emotions. ; )
And in the way of preparations, I stood in line for two hours last week to order my passport and expedite it so I can be sure to get it on time... can you say expensive? I also took advantage of Memorial Day sales and purchased a nice camera that I will need for the trip (nicely featured too, I might add.) All in all, I can't wait to get my official YES, YOU'RE COMING. Hope it arrives tomorrow...
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