Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Christmas at HOME!

Hello! I'm safely in the States and had a WONDERFUL Christmas with Isaac and the family.

It is soo good to be home, and it's great to be surrounded by not only immediate family, but also extended family this Christmas. In October, my Dad's twin brother and his family moved to Charlotte. Obviously I hadn't seen them here since they moved because I was gone already, but we've spent tons of time with them in the last few days, which I love. Also, yesterday my parents celebrated 25 years of marriage, so all 3 of my grandparents made the extra effort to come down to help celebrate. We went out for an excellent dinner last night and gave thanks to the Lord for that wonderful blessing.

Unless he's just a really good liar, Isaac is enjoying his time here as well. Everything is different, of course, including the meal schedule, but he's being a good sport.

I got a new digital camera for Christmas. It doesn't have quite the awesome zoom that my other one did, but it is MUCH smaller, so hopefully I'll take more pictures. Besides, since it's so small, there shouldn't be any problems keeping it attached to my body like another limb so it doesn't get stolen. Haha...

My sister pretty much still has control of my cell phone, but she's pretty much obligated to pass it to me if I'm around when you call, so go for it! And if not, she can at least give you the house number, where you're almost guaranteed to get me.

Hope this holiday season is giving you an opportunity to reflect on family as well as the Reason we are celebrating.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, December 19, 2005

pre-Christmas

Here we are... another Monday morning, another entry in the good ol' blog. The difference this week, however, is that you're probably not gonna get another one next Monday morning! And no, it's not because I'm being stubborn. The simple fact is that I will BE AT HOME! and therefore won't be following the same routine.

In case you were wondering, I'm very excited about said opportunity. I'm trying not to wish Friday here already, because I know that as soon as I arrive it will be time to return (12 days is not enough). However, the thought of seeing family and friends really excites me.

Isaac is excited too. I would assume he's a little nervous too. He says he's not, but every time I get off the phone with my mom and tell him about another person who's waiting to meet him, he makes some joke about staying here and sending someone else in his place. Hahah...

Back to life here for a quick minute, things are going fine in the house. I pretty much co-exist there, but that's OK. Alina (the housekeeper) and I spend lots of time talking, which I enjoy and like to think that it keeps her from being so lonely. They did actually get internet hooked up this week, so that has potential to allow for more communication, but probably not 'til after Christmas since this week is so busy.

Speaking of busy... I have to get dressed for work. Feliz Navidad to you, and I hope to see lots of you while I'm home!

Soli Deo Gloria...

This is a P.S. I was so excited about going home that I forgot some importantish things! Tradition here is to put up a nice plastic tree (they tell me there aren't enough trees to cut down/throw away every year). The Jimenezs have had the same one for several years, but apparently now it's broken. So on Saturday, after seeing the largest Nativity Scene in Europe (please note... largest as in most buildings, not as in life-size... I was slightly disappointed by that) with Christie (my other American co-worker), Isaac and I went to the local Wal-Mart-type store to buy a 180cm fiber optic tree. My favorite part was when Isaac pulled out a box, held it out to look at it, and said "I think this is the best one!" I mean, the box HAS to be good... it's got to uphold the next 15 or so years of storage! But it reminded me of my dad in Home Depot looking at TREES instead of BOXES. I laughed. There are a few select pictures of Miriam and I decorating said Christmas wonder on my pics page. Check it out.

Monday, December 12, 2005

post-pueblos

I don't know why it's always so hard for me to sit down and type here. It's probably because I want to take like an hour to do it, so I try to wait until I have an hour but I never have that much time.

Oh well... this past week, super fast.

Monday -- received my student residence card here, so I feel official (even though I already was). Besides, now I don't have to carry my passport to be able to use my debit card. Also used it to get a library card so I can read books in the metro without buying them.

Tuesday -- holiday. Enjoyed sleeping in, had my English class with Feli in the afternoon, and hung out with Isaac and fam in the afternoon.

Wednesday -- back to work, to Aravaca in the afternoon, and back to Isaac's house at night.

Thursday -- another holiday, and the beginning of a long weekend. We left at 9am (Isaac, his parents and I) to visit their hometowns in southern Spain. We were able to borrow Jonathan's camera, so I did post some pictures (the link is below, if you forgot). You'll have to read the captions for more details since I don't have time here (although, now that I think about it, I didn't even finish the last few captions. oh well.) We returned on Sunday afternoon. Let's suffice it to say that it was a great time, very relaxing, meeting his family and eating lots of home-grown food. And that, even though the weather was nice outside, the lack of heat makes the houses supercold inside. I've never been so cold in my life!

Hopefully next weekend I'll get around to writing more, and the weekend after that is Christmas and I'm home! Wow, does time fly...

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, December 05, 2005

new house!

Here we are, another Monday morning.

First, I would like to apologize to those of you who actually read this on a regular basis for not writing last Monday. I didn't wake up early enough to write... haha.

Plenty has happened in the last 2 weeks, including a lack of Thanksgiving celebration, which ended up to be harder than I had thought it would be. However, the most important event is that we finally moved last Monday afternoon! Having never been to the new house before -- and considering that boss-lady doesn't ever have to use public transportation so she was clueless for giving instructions -- it took me quite a while to arrive the first time. Now, however, it only takes me 1 hour and 15 mins to get to work (as opposed to 2+ in the other house), and without traffic I'm only a 5 min bus ride from the metro, which is significantly closer to civilization than I've been thus far.

I have my own room (which is not anyone else's office, like it was before), and the bathroom that the housekeeper and I share is in the hallway, instead of inside her room. My room is quite small, but sufficient, and at least I have closet space now so I'm not still living out of suitcases!

Things at the school are still going great, and we're starting to teach the kids Christmas carols in English to sing for their parents. The 5-yr-olds are doing a simplified version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and the first graders are singing "When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney", which unfortunately I had never heard before. I don't think we realize how complicated Christmas carols really are until you teach them to little kids who don't really speak English. I mean, for real... what ARE "bobtails" anyway?

This week is holiday madness here, as Tuesday AND Thursday are holidays, and in the schools we have Friday off too. We've worked it that Isaac and his parents have Friday off too, and we're leaving early Thursday morning to drive down south, hang out in his parents' hometowns, and meet some extended family. Should be a good time.

Now, before I get dressed, I'll leave you with one fun anecdote. It'll make me look like an idiot, but the few of you that read this certainly already know that, so why shouldn't I give you a good laugh?

On Friday I decided to take advantage of my new close-ness to civilization, and Isaac and I were going to see a movie with some friends after I taught class at the house. He waited for me, thoroughly exploring the shops around said civilized metro station (I keep repeating this, but I wish I could more thoroughly explain the joy that it gives me to be so close to stores and restaurants!). I arrived at 9ish, and we wandered around, waiting for them to pick us up, until at 9:45ish they called to say there was too much traffic and that we should take a bus. Long story, but the bus to get to that theater would take an hour, and Isaac had to work on Saturday morning, so we bagged the idea and just headed home. On the way, while changing metro lines, I decided it would be fun to fall DOWN the escalator. Yup, you read that right. I mean, I've fallen UP them before (just once). It kinda sucks 'cuz you feel like everyone around is laughing at you and you get escalator marks and grease on your hands, but falling DOWN is much worse. Thankfully, Isaac was only a few stairs in front of me, and even more thankfully he didn't fall over when I grabbed onto him on the way down, definitely saving me from smashing my teeth in. There is a small tear in one knee of my jeans, and each leg has 2 or 3 bruises from where I hit the edges of the stairs, but otherwise I'm unharmed. And I can laugh about it now... haha.

Hope you have a good week. I am super-excited about being home in less than 3 weeks. Which reminds me, if you didn't get an email invite to my New Year's Eve party, it wasn't on purpose, so just let me know and I'll send you the info.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, November 21, 2005

non-Thanksgiving

Good morning!

It's a typical Monday morning here in the Jiménez household, and I'm feeling the lack of sleep from the weekend -- maybe one of these days I'll learn how to get to bed "on time."

This past week was good, even though there weren't any holidays. It certainly felt long, and I kept waking up thinking it was Friday!

Finally Friday came, however, and it was good! Alicia, one of my "students" at home, turned 7 so she had a party for all her friends at the ice-skating rink, which meant that I got the day off. After my private lesson with my friend Feli, I headed into Madrid with my little suitcase and enjoyed my first Friday night like a normal 22-yr-old since I've been here. Isaac and I went to the SIMO, an annual technology exposicion. It was neat, but apparently it's been better in the past years. Besides, we didn't have more than 1 1/2 hours, and it needed more time than that to see it thoroughly. BUT, we did get to sit in a Ferrari... haha.

Then we went to the home of one of Isaac's coworkers. María and her husband, 2 other gals, and Danny (who you may remember from pictures of Segovia). We had a lot of fun, just talking and laughing, and looking at the wedding pictures/video (apparently our hosts just got married in May).

We didn't get to bed though until about 2am, and I felt really bad because Isaac had to work on Saturday. I got to sleep in, however, and didn't even crack my eyelids until nearly 11... it was great.

Yesterday was Youth Sunday, and I was in the youth choir to sing in both services. I also gave my testimony in the morning. As usual, I wasn't nervous until about 3 mins before, but ended up reading most of it. Considering it was in Spanish, I'm pleased with how I did. I pray that those who heard were encouraged to exhibit the joy of the Lord.

I was thrilled because my friends Mary and Feli were both able to come (although Feli arrived late and missed the song and my testimony, but she was able to stay for lunch). I take hope in these words from Isaiah 55:10-11: "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Now I face another full week, and I'm trying not to think about the pumpkin pie that is being consumed this week in the US. For those of you who didn't know (or simply haven't thought it through), there were no Pilgrims or Indians here in Spain, so we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here. It's kinda sad since it's one of my favorite holidays, but I certainly think I would be more homesick if everyone here was with family and traditions and I wasn't. Besides, Mom said we could make a pumpkin pie at Christmas :)

Hope y'all enjoy your holiday, and relish in the many blessings that you've been given. I know I'm giving special thanks for all of you, even though there's no turkey! Until next week...

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, November 14, 2005

short

Ok, I don't have much time.

Not a whole lot to say anyway. Mostly, it's getting really cold. We can still see the light at the end of the "when are we moving" tunnel, but it doesn't seem to be getting any closer, so it will be a surprise when we finally go. Also (and part of the reason I'm so rushed for time on here) is that I finally bought a ticket for the second half of my trip. I return to Spain on Jan 4, and back to the States on July 5 -- so if you're getting married or doing anything else important next summer that you want me to attend, make sure to do it after July 5, ok?

I now have a stretch of 3 weeks without any holidays, which will be rough since we've had so many lately. It also means that I won't be writing at least until next weekend, unfortunately. Hope all is well there :)

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, November 07, 2005

news - both good and bad!

Good morning! While most of you are still sleeping (primarily due to the 6-hour time change, which makes it 3:25am there!), I'm gonna fill you in on a bit of the latest news. Make sure you wake up before reading this though, or you'll lose some key stuff.

I'll start with the bad news. Last night, while we were in the evening service at church, someone came in and stole my camera and Miriam's camera from the back room. A little frustrating, considering that I just bought it with graduation money this summer, and it was a sweet camera. And moreso, because now it will be very hard to get pictures to post for you guys. Ugh. We're gonna see if the churches insurance will cover it, but it's doubtful.

Now the good news. This might be old news for those of you who are more observant and know how to read between my lines, but I've been informed that I need to be more straightforward, so here it is -- Isaac and I are dating, and have been for a little over a month. Things are going well and we're enjoying life, although we only get to see each other on weekends due to our work schedules (and that fact that I live "where the wind turns around", to quote a Spanish refrain). He officially has a ticket to come home with me for Christmas on Dec. 23, so those of you who are around can plan to stop by on New Year's Eve to meet him :)

As for more regular happenings... Pablo (Isaac & Miriam's brother), his wife Sara and daughter Marta were in town this weekend from Sevilla. We got to play magical beds here at the house, but it was good to see them again and meet Marta for the first time (she was born in March after I left 2 years ago). She is precious, but I think my blond hair wigs her out a bit... not quite comfortable with me yet! I'd show you pictures but...

Things at work and "home" (i.e. "the other work") are fine, although there's been another delay and it's looking like it'll be another good week or two or more before we move. So much for the hope I had last weekend. This past week was super short, since we had Mon & Tues off, and this week we have Wed off. Yeah for random holidays!

Ok... I just had breakfast and chatted with Sara, and now I'm gonna be late for work.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, October 31, 2005

Halloween

Hmm... it´s been a long time. Yeah for not having much internet access.

It´s a holiday again tomorrow, so I have today off also -- this time a long weekend. I got to sleep in a bit this morning, and have been chilling around Isaac and Miriam´s house all day today. One would think I would be all caught up on emails and such, but it´s amazing how time flies.

I was, however, able to put some more pictures up, so check those out. I added a few more of Segovia, and there are even some more recent ones of the girls I live with and my living arrangements. We are still living with Grandma far away, but should be moving in the next week or so (for real this time!), so that will be nice.

All continues to go well, although I am currently a bit congested. The weather is gorgeous here, but I do miss the beautiful Fall setting of Greenville and Charlotte (which are practically the country, compared to the city of Madrid).

It's Halloween today, but it's not celebrated much around here (it's becoming more well known as the years go on, but trick-or-treating is still not common). We did do some crafts with the kids last week, cutting out bats and singing songs about skeletons that lose fingers. It's amazing how stuff like that can be educational -- learning body vocabulary and counting backwards. Haha. The joys of being 6 years old, when learning how to count 10-8-6-4-2-0 in English is practically the hardest thing you do all week!

Anyway, instead of trick-or-treating, I think we're gonna go see The Legend of Zorro, since it came out this weekend. My sister saw it already and said it was good.

Thanks for those of you who have sent me emails with updates from home. Makes me feel at least somewhat connected to the Anglo-speaking world.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Segovia

Hey guys!

One super thing about Spain is that their holidays don´t always purposely fall on Mondays or Fridays. For example, yesterday was a holiday and it was Wednesday.

Around 10am, Isaac and his friend Danny picked me up in Danny´s car, and we went to Segovia, a small town about an hour from Madrid that´s known for it´s aqueduct. You may remember the pics I took from 2 years ago. Haha.

Isaac took over the camera, so I got a bunch of pics. I put some of them up, but haven´t had time to put all of them or add captions yet... maybe this weekend. Danny took some of the 2 of us too, but he hasn´t sent them to us yet.

We toured the fort there in Segovia, had lunch, and overall just wandered around. On our way home, it started raining -- Praise the Lord! We need rain here very badly.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Sunday, October 09, 2005

first week of school

I know, it´s been a long time since I last wrote. Sorry about that.

I started classes this week at the elementary school. Things are going well, but the other language assistant hasn´t arrived yet, so I´m spending all day at the school. Hopefully once she arrives, I can cut 1 hour off my work day. The biggest problem is that the commute is 2 hours -- each way. The good news is that it´s all public transportation, so I can listen to my iPod (best bday present ever!) or read my book (getting close to the end of the 800-page novel I brought with me) and keep occupied.

The kids are cute. I would note a slight lack of discipline (as in, they don´t like to be quiet and listen), but that´s probably normal for a group of +/-20 6-year-olds, especially since we teach completely in English, of which they know very little.

Things at the house are going fine. Don´t feel "at-home" kind of comfortable yet, but that´s ok. I sleep there, eat there, and work there... and spend my weekends with my friends from the church. The girls are totally spoiled and have some trouble with authority, but for the most part we get along fine, and I can already see an improvement in their English.

Yesterday was Isaac´s birthday, so we wandered around the city seeing new (for me) places and riding the cable car that goes over the city. In the evening was Bible study, and of course he got treated to dinner when we all went out afterwards. Today at lunch someone had made a cake for him and we all sang "cumpleaños feliz." 24... how ancient ;)

Tomorrow is back to the daily grind. However (one serious benefit of living in Spain) they have mid-week holidays sometimes. So... Wed is a holiday (I don´t know what we´re celebrating, but who cares?). I also don´t know what I´m going to do, but I´m sure it will include seeing my friends from church.

To those of you who have sent emails, keep them coming! I hate that I can´t usually respond personally, but with approx 1 hour/week of internet access, I can´t even reply to my own mother! So don´t feel bad...

Soli Deo Gloria...

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

El Escorial

I love random changes.

For example, when I arrived home after lunch on Monday I received a call from my employer Alicia. She told me to get my things... that the chauffer was coming to get me. I was thinking -- dinner, or maybe overnight. But no. She meant for good. So I had 1 hour to pack all my stuff! Thankfully, I knew my stay in Marta´s house would be short-term, so I hadn´t really unpacked.

The best part is that the house still isn´t ready (apparently they painted the whole thing the wrong color and therefore have to repaint it!), so we are staying at Grandma´s house in El Escorial. It´s far away from, well, everything. And I´ll be living out of my suitcase for about another 3 weeks. However, let´s look at the brightside... the views from the house are amazing! At night, you can see the lights from the city, and they tell me that on the weekends they light up the big Palace/Monastery for which the town is named.

In other news, I like the family. Honestly, I think Antonio, the chauffer, is my favorite, but he doesn´t live with us. Then there´s Alina, she´s Romanian. She´s 26 or 27 and has been with the family for 2 years, cooking, cleaning, bathing children, etc. Speaks Spanish almost perfectly, and we enjoy sitting on the porch at night, talking. Grandma, Maria (I think?) is a piece of work. I´ll have to think how to describe her better for next time. Alicia, the mom, is nice, but she´s been feeling a little under the weather lately, and we really haven´t spent that much time together.

As for the girls. Alejandra (9) is very much like me. Loves to read, loves to practice her English and does quite well with it, and is very mature for her age. Alicia (6) is a wild woman. She understands my English, but almost always prefers to answer in Spanish. She likes to run around the house, tearing things apart. Almudena (almost 3) is quite the copy of Alicia. One minute, she´s as sweet as can be. The next... a holy nightmare. Also understands me, but won´t answer.

Today, I have the priviledge (sp?) of writing you from the house of my friend Miriam. Since I had brought a bunch of stuff for her and her family from the States (mostly from Jessica!), her mom invited me over to lunch today. The 3 of us girls ate, and then her brother Pablo and her dad came home and they ate. She has since gone back to work, but her parents said they didn´t mind if I stayed a rato (while) to fill you guys in on what´s going on.

Once I leave here, I´m going to a hotel until Friday to have my orientation for my job (the one that got me here in the first place!).

Alright, I´ll leave you in peace to go to whatever it is that you should be doing. Thanks for reading! Oh yeah, and I put up a few pictures, so check out the link on the bottom that says "read my profile" and look for the España album.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Monday, September 26, 2005

after first weekend

Ok... not much time. This weekend was wonderful. It was great to see the rest of my friends (and their parents) and just be able to hang out and relax. I stayed the night at the home of a couple from the church since my house is so far away. The preaching here is incredible too, so it was awesome to get to hear that.

I still haven´t met Alicia, whom I´ll be living with. Hopefully she´ll call me this week. Also, from Wed pm to Fri am I have an orientation for my job at the school, so I´m looking forward to whatever information they´ll give me there. I´m anxious to start some kind of routine.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Friday, September 23, 2005

first days

So, I´ve made it for 2 days already. It´s great to be back. Yesterday I headed into the city and wandered around, met Miriam, a friend from my last trip, for lunch. It was great to catch up with her. Then I hung out with her brother Isaac after he got off work and we walked around my old "neighborhood" and past the soccer stadium. It brings back so many memories!

Thankfully, I´m feeling very comfortable with my Spanish and understanding what everyone says. The house I am currently living in is much larger than what I´m used to for Spanish houses, and is decorated in a Spanish version of Pottery Barn, more or less.

Last night the train took longer to get home that I had planned, so I arrived at 5 after 9 and Marta was a little upset becuase "the baby goes to bed right at 9, and he couldn´t tonight because you got home late." He wasn´t in bed when I got there, but whatever. Tonight I´ll be home by 8:30!

This morning I went for a run with the 50-year-old nanny at 7:30 before she woke the baby up at 8. It´s been a while since I´ve run and it was chilly, so it was rougher than I thought. Guess I´ll have to keep that up.

Ok, I´m out. I´m borrowing the computer of a friend of mine who´s an Au Pair in a neighboring town, and now we´re going to go eat breakfast of sorts. Taluego,

Soli Deo Gloria...

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

safe arrival

¡Hola hola!

I am officially here safely! Our flight arrived a few minutes early this morning, but then it took almost an hour to wait in line at Immigration. A friend met me at the airport, as well as a driver to take me to the house where I´m staying. I´m in a temporary location now (with a friend of my employer) until my room is ready at her new house.

Marta is very nice, and her 2 1/2 year old son is adorable (although he didn´t like me at first... after his nap, we got along much better!). Her husband is in town this week also, but they are moving to Atlanta shortly, so he´s been there quite a bit recently, and leaves again this weekend.

I have a cell phone number now, so email me if you want me to send it to you. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Soli Deo Gloria...

Sunday, September 18, 2005

pre-Spain (x2)

Ok... so a lot has happened since last time I wrote. Figured that since I'm getting ready to send this link to everyone I know, maybe the most recent post shouldn't be from March.

Besides, when I last wrote, what I'm getting ready to do was not even a figment of my imagination.

I leave -- in less than 48 hours, mind you -- to be in Spain for almost a year. I will be teaching English part-time in a public elementary school, and part-time to the 3 young daughters of the lady I'll be living with. I will also be improving my Spanish, soaking in the Spanish culture as much as possible, living and sharing the joy of the Lord, hanging out with my dearly-loved friends that I met last time I was there, and having other adventures that I don't even know about yet.

Before I forget, I want to thank those of you who took time out of your busy schedules this summer -- and especially recently -- to have lunch or dinner/tapas with me, or (if you're Emily, Kevin, or Donna) to plan a party on my behalf.

Even if I didn't get to see you this summer, I would be thrilled if you would join me on this journey with your thoughts and prayers. I would also love to hear what's going on in your life -- just because you're not in a foreign country doesn't mean it's not interesting!

On a more "technical" note, run your mouse over the links at the bottom of this page 'cuz I snuck around the system and changed them, but can't change what they say :) You'll find my pics and my Spanish blog. You can also email me with the "contact" link to the right (but you have to put the @ in the space... otherwise I'd get crazy spam mail).

¡Hasta España!

Soli Deo Gloria...

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

new blog!

Still in Charlotte on Spring Break. The conference on language teaching went well. That doesn't mean that I know yet what I want to do next year (this particular minute is a "grad school" moment... most of yesterday was "teaching"... it fluctuates frequently), but it does mean I learned a lot.

This afternoon I'm going to have lunch with my sister and talk to the Spanish teachers at her school, even observe her class. There's a possibility that I may end up teaching it later this week -- wouldn't that be cool!

Other than that, I'm taking it easy. I really have a lot of organizing to do, and one of these days I'll get to it. Hopefully before returning to school :)

One more thing I want to share with you -- the main reason for this posting -- is that I have begun a new, Spanish-language blog! I used a different site that has lots of cool features such as audioblogs and picture blogs... I'm really excited about it. I may even have to move this one over there, but for now I'll keep it. Anyway, the address is http://justinita.blogspot.com -- check it out to brush up on your Spanish or just see me play with my passion for the language.

I'm gonna go lift some weights/get some exercise and then shower before heading off to Chick-fil-A to buy lunch for Janelle and I. Have a great day!

Soli Deo Gloria...

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

post-teaching

Well, I'm home for Spring Break. Yes, I do in fact realize that it's still February, and no, I'm not wrong about which break it is. Now you understand why we force a "Beach Weekend" later in the year :)
I just finished a teaching practicum at a local Greenville high school. A lot of work and a lot of time, but overall enjoyable. I had a great mentor teacher who was wonderful to work with and from whom I learned a ton.
Now, I'm just trying to figure out if I want to teach next year. I've applied to several graduate schools (mostly for Linguistics, but one Spanish program). I was denied acceptance to Georgetown's Linguistics program, but am still waiting to hear from the rest. There's also a very good chance that I could get hired to teach at the same school I worked at this term, which would be neat. I am just praying that God leads me, since I'm totally clueless now about what to do. While they don't admit it, I really think my parents want me to choose the grad school option. Whatever.
So tomorrow I'm going to the Southern Conference On Language Teaching (SCOLT) here in Charlotte with a friend of mine. That ends on Saturday afternoon, and then I don't know what I'll do for the rest of the week. My roomies and I have talked about hitting the beach, but we all have small budgets, so I'm not sure it will work. I'll try to keep you posted!
For now, I'm gonna go remove the stench that is clinging to me from my workout, and then crawl under the down comforter that's on my bed.
Soli Deo Gloria...