2008 Siempre Fuerte De Konsencia
I am very excited to say good-bye to 2007, although it held its wonderful moments and learning experiences, it was still a bit of a rough year, well at least defiitely the latter half. 2008, I am anxious to say, holds some very exciting things. For one, I don't think anyone else should be getting in any more car accidents (knock on wood). We should just say 2008 fulfilled its maximum capacity of car accidents in a year with the largest accident I-4's history has ever seen of 70 cars.
It's a full year though. I am starting it off with a bang. 6 classes, 5 of which are Spanish classes. Next semester I will complete my first bachelor's degree and then take one or two more semesters and finish my second bachelor's degree. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I am taking Iberian Literature (the second half) which holds very many exciting pieces of literature from some very influential Spanish writers of the Romantic period. Iberian Theatre, which I recently learned is Iberian Theatre during the Medieval era and The Golden Age and I don't particularly find these two eras the most exciting ones, even if theatre was beheading, animal cruelty and live fornication on stage. However, the professor I've had before and she is very interesting and there are many interesting people I know from last semester in my class, so I expect nothing less than an exciting three hours every Monday evening. I am taking Advanced Spanish conversation with the professor being the man I most absolutely adore simply because of the way he carries himself. I want to be his apprentice and follow him in his ways of teaching Spanish. I could carry on for a while about his diverse and effective teaching styles and then continue with how he not only is he a wonderful professor, but he is the most well-educated, well-balanced, bilingual man I have ever met. I hate when people ask if I have a crush on him. I've had several people ask already. I can admire a person of the opposite sex purely for their elegance and grace! He's not even extremely good-looking.
Continuing, I am also taking the second half of Advanced Spanish Grammar, with an interesting and twitchy man, who auspiciously, expresses himself sincerely. Which is what helped me declare a second major and find a bit of happiness at U.C.an't.Finish.
AAAAAAAAAAnd finally, but not by least I am taking a Spanish Syntax class with my yet again admirable and wonderful role-model. I love Spanish. and those months in Spain are evidentally, really paying off because I have been shining in all of my courses, by my surprise!
I am extremely serious about school this semester, not that I am ever not. But I mean I am really, truely enjoying school a bit more than normally and I have a nice tingle in my bones about it, despite the heavy load. I am extremely prepared however, I have pinned up the schedules to each of my classes and I am working to get ahead in assignments in each of my classes, so that when the time comes for research I will be well prepared and not feel in the least bit overwhelmed. Can I get an "At'a girl!"?
I am also keeping busy with the fund-raising for the trip I will be making to the Dominican Republic during Spring Break. It's a bit of money, but I have been assured that I can realisticaly fund-raise all of it. So I just pray they are right. I am going with a group of kids my age from Discovery Church-Status and we will be working under the a non-profit organization called Mission Emanuel www.missionemanuel.org who are currently working on a project to build a "learning facility" for the Immigrant children from Haiti. Due to circumstances such as extreme poverty and deep-rooted prejudism in the DR, the Haitian immigrants are not granted the right of entrance in any school. We will help construct a school, build up a library and begin preparing the classrooms. Apart from that, we will be spending time with the people of Nazaret, DR and Cielo, DR. and just building relationships. I'm obviously very excited, since I am a future educator and I am very passionate about Education. But I need desperate help fund-raising. My group and I will be organizing events as well to help fund-raise and we are sending letters to friends and families. If anyone reading this would like to help by donating I urge you to go to www.discoverychurch.org and go to
ministries,
click LoveWorks,
click GlobalWorks,
click Dominican Republic Status 3/08
and then create an account in order to recieve a tax deduction and then
click my name: Ileana Fernandez.
2008 is just going to be a great year. I feel it. I'm going to make it a great year. Juan Ramon and I are doing great. We still talk everyday for hours and it's working out all thanks to that super awesome and cheap phone card we have. It's amazing. I get 3 or 5 hours for every dollar I have if I call a land-line. And for Three Kings his parents got him a laptop with a webcam so now we can use Google talk and the webcam and talk for practically nothing. It made me so happy to hear him talk and see him move at the same time. He teaches me a lot of things. I'm just very happy and very lucky to have him love me and be in my life, even if he is far away, it's like the least thing. It's hard to explain, but it's so simple to understand.
I'm in a sort of mood where I miss a lot of people, tonight more intensely than all normal nights. I miss Joe, I haven't talked to him in a couple days and I go through withdrawl...I'm worried too, I hope he's ok and that he's finishing his week well in school. Then, there is Nomy who is across the street but not so close at times. School and other things get in the way. It happens i guess. I miss JR obviously. I miss just being over there and listening to the music I like and having it feel different when I listen to it over there. I miss just waking up in the mornings. I miss waking up and looking out the window. I miss the stars. I miss missing Keith. I still miss Keith. I miss Keith and Derek. I feel fortunate, but unfortunate at the same time. I mean I'm obviously fortunate that I can call home two different places, many people can't even say that about one place. So I am ashamed for whining, but the draw backs of having two homes is always missing one and the people on the other side.
I conclude here. I'm going to go to take a shower and read. I also wanted to mention, that I miss Jana. She is somewhere in China and I've been thinking about her lately and wondering where she is. how she's doing and what she is doing.