Life Update -- Summer 2007
Alright, so I've realized that I haven't been on livejournal all summer. Not that it really matters all that much since nobody really reads this, but hey, I'm going to write anyway.
So back in the beginning of summer I flew off to San Francisco to meet up with a group of strangers to go on the International Scholar Laureate Delegation on Anthropology and Archeology in China. We went to Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Lhasa (Tibet). It was, to sum it all up in one word, amazing! It's incredible how much one bonds with strangers in a foreign place. There is really no one to turn to or relate to besides the people you came with. For instance, a group of us went out one night for dinner. We were walking around the back streets of Chengdu and wandered into a restaurant. We sat at a family style table and ordered by pointing at pictures. None of us could read or speak Chinese. It was a really grounding experience, but also very liberating. I'm not going to write more on this now since it would take forever to write about the whole trip. But I did, I kept a travel journal. If you want to read that some day, just let me know. Check out my pictures on facebook.
A few days after getting home I moved to my subletted apartment in Madison. It's actually really nice. I really like my little room. It's so cozy! I'm past Camp Randell, the football stadium, so it's in a nice area to live. But I'm kind of far away from stuff. Especially Ryan, so lives on the far side of the Capital. We're basically as far away from each other as we can get, but that certainly doesn't stop us from seeing one another. That being said, I can say that I've used my bike a lot this summer.
Then I stole Ryan and we went to my grandpa's cabin in the UP of Michigan for a weekend. We went with my Dad. They were hosting a group of Chinese business men, so we did a lot of showing around. It was a nice little get away.
I believe this week I started my summer class. I took an Anthropology class called Ancient Technology and Invention. It's one of the best classes I've ever taken and definitely perfect for the summer. Half the classes were held in the archeology lab while the other half were held outside in the forest out by the peninsula of Picnic Point. We made stone tools and I made an arrow/spear. We also made pottery, hand built and fired an updraft kiln (that was really muddy and so much fun!), and made wax molds for bronze casting.
Today I presented my project for the class. I made and fired a sawdust kiln and compared the pottery results with the pottery from the updraft kiln. It was a really neat project and had interesting results. I had to turn my 17 page paper (35 papers including all the pictures and graphs) last Tuesday. Unfortunately I was gone all last week in Missouri, so I had to drive back to Madison from home (thankfully Ryan did this for me) and write the entire paper all on Monday. I didn't get to sleep until 4:15am (which isn't normal for me, I usually spread out working on my papers and don't pull late nighters). I think I did pretty well. I'm not worried about it. Now I can just relax.
So anyway, the weekend after I went to the UP with Ryan, he and I went to Chicago. It was discount day for the museums, so we tried to hit up as many museums as we could. Unfortunately the traffic was ridiculous and we only managed to get to the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium before the museums closed. We met up with Ron and Erin and hung out. I like watching Ryan and Ron together because they have so many similar interests. The next day we met up with my sister and her friends, ate dinner, and watched the fireworks from Navy Pier. Ryan and I also went on the ferris wheel, which was neat at night. Ryan was pretty freaked out though because he's not so good with heights. Then we went back to my house, spent the night, hung out with my family in the morning, and drove back to Madison.
While I was in Chicago, I got a call from my Mom asking me if I wanted to go to Ireland. How could I ever say no?! So that very next weekend I got the opportunity to go to Dublin. We were only there for about 2 days, which isn't enough time to be in Ireland, but it was still totally worth it. I definitely want to go back some day. I have pictures from this on facebook too.
I spent the next couple weeks in Madison. Besides my summer class, I took a black and white photography class. I've always wanted to learn how to use a darkroom. It turns out that I'm terrible at it. Oh well. Ryan was rehearsing a lot for the operas. Otherwise, there wasn't much else going on. It was a good relaxing time. Ryan and I starting playing Heros of Might and Magic again. I guess we spent a good chunk of time with that.
The weekend of July 21st I went home so I could go to a Cubs game with my family for my Dad's birthday. I love going to Cubs games. This was the first weekend of Ryan's operas. I felt bad not being around for that, but I made it the next weekend.
The next weekend my friends John, Alison, and Caitlin came down to visit. Jackie was home then too, so Adam picked her up. We went to Farmer's Market and to The Simpsons Movie. After Adam and Jackie went to Ryan's opera we got an urgent call from their roommate Will (who used to by my RA freshman year) telling us that he had barricaded himself in his room because there was bat in the apartment. So we went back and searched for the bat. John was using an umbrella... for some reason, and Ryan ended up trapping the bat in Tupperware container and running it outside. Then on Sunday my family came up to see Ryan perform. The operas were Cox & Box and The Sorcerer by Gilbert and Sullivan.
The Tuesday after that I left for home after my class for Missouri. I took Ryan with me and my family drove down to Missouri. We did what we usually do-- boating, water skiing, tubing, ect. It was fun and relaxed, but I burned again. I'm not very good with the whole sun thing.
So that brings me to this week. I already told you that I spent all Monday writing my paper. Tuesday I turned it in and relaxed (napped, ect.). Wednesday I moved Ryan out and made my presentation. And that brings me to today.
What else haven't I mentioned? Oh! My family got a puppy. She's a chocolate lab named Lola. She's absolutely adorable.
The end.
So back in the beginning of summer I flew off to San Francisco to meet up with a group of strangers to go on the International Scholar Laureate Delegation on Anthropology and Archeology in China. We went to Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Lhasa (Tibet). It was, to sum it all up in one word, amazing! It's incredible how much one bonds with strangers in a foreign place. There is really no one to turn to or relate to besides the people you came with. For instance, a group of us went out one night for dinner. We were walking around the back streets of Chengdu and wandered into a restaurant. We sat at a family style table and ordered by pointing at pictures. None of us could read or speak Chinese. It was a really grounding experience, but also very liberating. I'm not going to write more on this now since it would take forever to write about the whole trip. But I did, I kept a travel journal. If you want to read that some day, just let me know. Check out my pictures on facebook.
A few days after getting home I moved to my subletted apartment in Madison. It's actually really nice. I really like my little room. It's so cozy! I'm past Camp Randell, the football stadium, so it's in a nice area to live. But I'm kind of far away from stuff. Especially Ryan, so lives on the far side of the Capital. We're basically as far away from each other as we can get, but that certainly doesn't stop us from seeing one another. That being said, I can say that I've used my bike a lot this summer.
Then I stole Ryan and we went to my grandpa's cabin in the UP of Michigan for a weekend. We went with my Dad. They were hosting a group of Chinese business men, so we did a lot of showing around. It was a nice little get away.
I believe this week I started my summer class. I took an Anthropology class called Ancient Technology and Invention. It's one of the best classes I've ever taken and definitely perfect for the summer. Half the classes were held in the archeology lab while the other half were held outside in the forest out by the peninsula of Picnic Point. We made stone tools and I made an arrow/spear. We also made pottery, hand built and fired an updraft kiln (that was really muddy and so much fun!), and made wax molds for bronze casting.
Today I presented my project for the class. I made and fired a sawdust kiln and compared the pottery results with the pottery from the updraft kiln. It was a really neat project and had interesting results. I had to turn my 17 page paper (35 papers including all the pictures and graphs) last Tuesday. Unfortunately I was gone all last week in Missouri, so I had to drive back to Madison from home (thankfully Ryan did this for me) and write the entire paper all on Monday. I didn't get to sleep until 4:15am (which isn't normal for me, I usually spread out working on my papers and don't pull late nighters). I think I did pretty well. I'm not worried about it. Now I can just relax.
So anyway, the weekend after I went to the UP with Ryan, he and I went to Chicago. It was discount day for the museums, so we tried to hit up as many museums as we could. Unfortunately the traffic was ridiculous and we only managed to get to the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium before the museums closed. We met up with Ron and Erin and hung out. I like watching Ryan and Ron together because they have so many similar interests. The next day we met up with my sister and her friends, ate dinner, and watched the fireworks from Navy Pier. Ryan and I also went on the ferris wheel, which was neat at night. Ryan was pretty freaked out though because he's not so good with heights. Then we went back to my house, spent the night, hung out with my family in the morning, and drove back to Madison.
While I was in Chicago, I got a call from my Mom asking me if I wanted to go to Ireland. How could I ever say no?! So that very next weekend I got the opportunity to go to Dublin. We were only there for about 2 days, which isn't enough time to be in Ireland, but it was still totally worth it. I definitely want to go back some day. I have pictures from this on facebook too.
I spent the next couple weeks in Madison. Besides my summer class, I took a black and white photography class. I've always wanted to learn how to use a darkroom. It turns out that I'm terrible at it. Oh well. Ryan was rehearsing a lot for the operas. Otherwise, there wasn't much else going on. It was a good relaxing time. Ryan and I starting playing Heros of Might and Magic again. I guess we spent a good chunk of time with that.
The weekend of July 21st I went home so I could go to a Cubs game with my family for my Dad's birthday. I love going to Cubs games. This was the first weekend of Ryan's operas. I felt bad not being around for that, but I made it the next weekend.
The next weekend my friends John, Alison, and Caitlin came down to visit. Jackie was home then too, so Adam picked her up. We went to Farmer's Market and to The Simpsons Movie. After Adam and Jackie went to Ryan's opera we got an urgent call from their roommate Will (who used to by my RA freshman year) telling us that he had barricaded himself in his room because there was bat in the apartment. So we went back and searched for the bat. John was using an umbrella... for some reason, and Ryan ended up trapping the bat in Tupperware container and running it outside. Then on Sunday my family came up to see Ryan perform. The operas were Cox & Box and The Sorcerer by Gilbert and Sullivan.
The Tuesday after that I left for home after my class for Missouri. I took Ryan with me and my family drove down to Missouri. We did what we usually do-- boating, water skiing, tubing, ect. It was fun and relaxed, but I burned again. I'm not very good with the whole sun thing.
So that brings me to this week. I already told you that I spent all Monday writing my paper. Tuesday I turned it in and relaxed (napped, ect.). Wednesday I moved Ryan out and made my presentation. And that brings me to today.
What else haven't I mentioned? Oh! My family got a puppy. She's a chocolate lab named Lola. She's absolutely adorable.
The end.