(no subject)
I had a wonderful and exhausting weekend! The potluck was indeed huge. By my count over 150 people came, bringing a variety of delicious dishes. We didn't get as many guests from town as I had hoped, especially since we tried to do a lot of advertising there, but other than that everything was perfect. It was a great start to Food Truth Week.
Saturday was the Classics Picnic. Rob (and some colossally devoted underclassmen) took care of roasting the lamb, of course, but I was the activitiesmistress and brought everyone coloring pages and Plato-doh to keep their hands busy while they listened to the marathon reading of the Aeneid. Lovely people, those future Classics majors. I have much hope for the future.
Another cool thing about this weekend is that Anna Laube, Carleton '03 alum and real live folksinger, stayed at Dacie's! She hung out with us a little bit on Friday, gave us copies of her first CD, came to the potluck, and then we caught her show at Blue Mondays. She has a beautiful, soulful voice and an intimate, sincere style. She mostly tours the Midwest and California these days, though she's expanding, and I would encourage you to go check her out if you get the chance.
My Panamanian friend Kevin (a fellow Amigos volunteer) called me the other day! I was so surprised. Speaking Spanish was a shock to my system, especially since I've been studying German for the last nine months, but we had a short conversation. Nice to know he remembers me.
My period has been kind of wonky this month. It was all light at the beginning, when usually it's just the opposite. I'm gonna put it down to the stress of graduating; the last time my period threw me a curveball was when I came to Carleton and skipped it entirely. Funny that that's what my body seems to react to, while international travel, family crises, and whatever else don't faze it.
The Christian community at my school is having a week of prayer, which I think is cool. Prayer/communication with God is a part of my spiritual life that I feel definitely needs more concentration than I give it. My goal is to spend an hour every night this week practicing, enjoying, and exploring prayer. Last night was a good first experience. I found that praying the same prayers over and over put me into a meditative state where I was not so easily distracted. This time I am going to try praying with the rosary Erin beaded with a beautiful fish instead of a crucifix. I used to love praying the rosary when I was younger. Sometimes a small statue of Mary would be traveling around the country and my godmother Moni would keep it at her house for a few days, and she would call all her friends over to have a rosary praying party. Many of Moni's friends were native Spanish speakers, and I was shocked by the velvety reverence of their accented prayers. No matter how many times they said "blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus," they would always say it so tenderly. The memory is so powerful even now.
Anyway, if any of you reading this would like me to offer prayers on your behalf this week (even if you are not Christian or theist but figure it couldn't hurt to have someone think good thoughts for you, your little sister, the healing of the environment, or whatever), please let me know in a comment or email. I would love to.
Saturday was the Classics Picnic. Rob (and some colossally devoted underclassmen) took care of roasting the lamb, of course, but I was the activitiesmistress and brought everyone coloring pages and Plato-doh to keep their hands busy while they listened to the marathon reading of the Aeneid. Lovely people, those future Classics majors. I have much hope for the future.
Another cool thing about this weekend is that Anna Laube, Carleton '03 alum and real live folksinger, stayed at Dacie's! She hung out with us a little bit on Friday, gave us copies of her first CD, came to the potluck, and then we caught her show at Blue Mondays. She has a beautiful, soulful voice and an intimate, sincere style. She mostly tours the Midwest and California these days, though she's expanding, and I would encourage you to go check her out if you get the chance.
My Panamanian friend Kevin (a fellow Amigos volunteer) called me the other day! I was so surprised. Speaking Spanish was a shock to my system, especially since I've been studying German for the last nine months, but we had a short conversation. Nice to know he remembers me.
My period has been kind of wonky this month. It was all light at the beginning, when usually it's just the opposite. I'm gonna put it down to the stress of graduating; the last time my period threw me a curveball was when I came to Carleton and skipped it entirely. Funny that that's what my body seems to react to, while international travel, family crises, and whatever else don't faze it.
The Christian community at my school is having a week of prayer, which I think is cool. Prayer/communication with God is a part of my spiritual life that I feel definitely needs more concentration than I give it. My goal is to spend an hour every night this week practicing, enjoying, and exploring prayer. Last night was a good first experience. I found that praying the same prayers over and over put me into a meditative state where I was not so easily distracted. This time I am going to try praying with the rosary Erin beaded with a beautiful fish instead of a crucifix. I used to love praying the rosary when I was younger. Sometimes a small statue of Mary would be traveling around the country and my godmother Moni would keep it at her house for a few days, and she would call all her friends over to have a rosary praying party. Many of Moni's friends were native Spanish speakers, and I was shocked by the velvety reverence of their accented prayers. No matter how many times they said "blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus," they would always say it so tenderly. The memory is so powerful even now.
Anyway, if any of you reading this would like me to offer prayers on your behalf this week (even if you are not Christian or theist but figure it couldn't hurt to have someone think good thoughts for you, your little sister, the healing of the environment, or whatever), please let me know in a comment or email. I would love to.