a most beautiful thing

tonight in my kitchen

the most beautiful occurrence came to pass.

it is wednesday, which is el dia de hablar espanol for my roommate and i

so that we don't get rusty.

today, our neighbors leigh and francesco came over for dinner.

leigh took spanish in high school

and has lived in spanish-speaking countries for several-month periods

but isn't fluent

and francesco is a beginner student of spanish

but, since he is italian, it sounds as if he can speak quite well.

sabina is fluent in french,

leigh is in beginning french,

and i have several semesters under my belt.

fra is clearly fluent in italian

and i am a beginner.

as we sat around the table,

our conversation became a montage of romance languages.

based in spanish,

we would insert french

or italian

as needed;

sometimes italian would become our foundation,

and sometimes french

(with the occasional english word or phrase tossed in for good measure).

i just sat there smiling,

wishing i could record it for you.

but instead

just sit back,

close your eyes

and smile,

imagining

a most beautiful thing.

3 new things i learned about my roommate

tonight i had a little history lesson...

my roommate's great grandma had an affair with picasso.

her great uncle started the gold rush.

and her family is somehow intertwined / has roots with boeing.

yes, like the airplane.

who ever would have guessed that i am living with such greatness?

catching up...

it is now october 15, and i am officially halfway done with my first semester of grad school.

what have i been up to the past few weeks?

[visiting the ben and jerry's factory with friends from mn!]

[at the dr. seuss memorial in springfield, ma]

BUT

the honeymoon period of schooling is now over...

don't get me wrong, i am still thrilled to be here.

but the emotion, excitement, and enthusiasm from the first couple weeks has slowly diminished

and now....

i am a graduate student.

it is hard work.

i don't know if you've noticed, but the number of funny stories in my blog have slowly decreased...

actually, the number of posts in my blog have slowly decreased...

what do i spend all of my time doing, you ask?

three words:

reading.

reading.

reading.

oh, and another:

group projects.

we just love those here at SIT.

and, as much as i love learning, i have decided that i am not an academic.

in my theory and practice of international education class (endearingly called TPIE - we love the abbrieves here, too. it's almost as bad as bethel) we are learning all about, well, the theory and practice of IE (another abbreviation....). these are two camps of the field, and let me tell you i have realized pretty quickly that i am all about the practice, not about the theory. it is interesting to learn, but i would much rather spend my time seeing that theory applied in the field than researching it :)

therefore, as much as i love school.....i am also excited that it is only a year and i will be done with class in may :)

lots of things are happening in the near future though....

i'll name you just a few.

-making apple pies with my friend naomi from london who goes to circus school (yes, circus school) for thanksgiving dinners distributed to the homeless by the soup kitchen at our church

-going to the pumpkin festival in new hampshire (as long as it doesn't rain...)

-class on a friday night (yes, a friday night) but don't worry, it will be fun. it's a training techniques fair...

- the regional NAFSA conference! (nafsa stands for the association of international educators...yes, you're right, the letters don't match up with the name)

- volunteering for the international fashion show

- passing the oral proficiency exam in Spanish

- serving at the soup kitchen

- IE week

- Christian Fellowship during lunch on Wednesdays

- the macy's thanksgiving day parade...

- researching and presenting a topic (tbd) at our very own IE conference in december

- becoming "fluent" in italian...

- HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

these are just a few of the things you can look forward to me talking about in the next 8 weeks...as long as reading doesn't take over my life. or my eyes :)

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" [Ephesians 5:19]

chilly days and hot chocolate

it has been pretty chilly in vermont these days

and on sunday all i wanted was hot chocolate.

unfortunately, hot chocolate is something i haven't bought yet...

...because it is still september (at least for another hour and eleven minutes).

BUT i did have some cocoa powder left over from my delicious gluten-free black and white cream cheese brownies (thanks, martha)

and remembered last year on dave's birthday when we made hot chocolate from cocoa powder to go with our homemade churros...(what a great night...thanks again, martha :))

so i got online and tried to find the best single-serving recipe for the ingredients that i have.

here's what i came up with:

1 T cocoa powder

2 T sugar

2 T water

heat it up, stirring til it's kind of a paste. then add a cup of water (i just fill my mug and dump it in) and a couple squirts of vanilla.

stir til it's warm, and pour it right back into the mug.

YUM it's delicious!

it calls for milk, but it's rich enough with water...it would be decadent with milk :)

you can find the original recipe if you google "sara's homemade hot chocolate"...thanks sara!

it's now my favorite rainy/chilly day treat...

but WOW i just realized that in every cup i am drinking 2 tablespoons of sugar....

that is kind of a lot....

hmm.

but it sure is good!!!!!!!

winner winner chicken dinner

yummmmmmmmm here's my new favorite chicken marinade:

lots of lime juice.

fresh garlic (chopped).

cloves (whole).

ground black pepper.

olive oil.

i marinate it in a plastic bag during the day (or at least for a few hours) and then pop the chicken into my george foreman lean mean fat reducing grilling machine. and hazaa (that was for you sonja) delicious grilled chicken :)

2 credits down...34 to go

(my cute little home sweet home)

two weeks ago today, i sat down in my very first graduate class.

the classroom looked different than most that we are used to -

the chairs were arranged in a circle.

some had pull-out desks, some did not.

it was a bit unnerving for this concrete-sequential to sit in a circle

facing my peers,

being invited to share my thoughts and feelings...

i'm getting anxious just thinking about it :)

i put those thoughts aside as the teachers rose from their seats in the circle

to post sheets of butcher paper on the chalkboard

and invited us to list our expectations for the class,

"Effective Multicultural Teams."

Then, we proceeded to make lists of how to maximize our classroom time together

and which behaviors would minimize our learning.

as i opened my brand-new, fuschia composition notebook, the binding crackled

and i smiled, smelling the fresh paper and being reassured of just how much i love school.

those two weeks of school were very long (class from 830-515, M-F)

and very different,

but so enriching.

they are big into experiential learning here,

and it is very new but has inspired a LOT of personal growth

as well as some challenges as i learned how to effectively work in multicultural teams.

but i made it.

i completed my first 2 graduate credits,

and now it is the first week of my real semester.

morning classes from 830-1215, afternoon classes from 130-515.

(don't worry - i only have both sessions 1 day a week!)

independent study of italian for at least 4 hours every week

and studying for the spanish oral proficiency exam.

hopefully i'll get some work hours in too....a little income goes a long ways :)

i'm working on getting the Christian fellowship started on campus...

oh, and let's not forget about homework.

speaking of....i should go :)

xoxo

(this is how dorky we are in grad school: taking pictures with the posters that indicate our group process....)

home

it has been a few days, but i did want to tell you all that i found a church!

my roommate and i went to one on sunday that we had heard about from another student (sabs even called first to make sure that they believe in Jesus...you never know these days), and it was like coming home.

don't get me wrong....it really wasn't anything like home. home would be a gigantic church filled with many people from many walks and backgrounds, many of whom know and love me and who i love dearly, too. this church resembles an old house, with the one-room, one-aisle, 12-pew worship center on the second floor. no big screens, no fancy lights, no videos, no childcare :) but as i slid into my seat, i saw the communion table up front and instantly teared up, knowing i was with family. the tears welled again when worship began and they started the service with revival in belfast's "Days of Elijah" (i really wanted to break into the motions, but don't worry...i held myself back). as worship continued, i noticed the international flags around the room, reading the banners and realizing that this church, too, finds Jesus' last command to be our first concern. reading the bulletin, and listening to the day's missionary testimony, i was captured by their ministries to the local area and their desire to be missionaries not only around the world, but across the street.

and then...they preached from the Bible. i had been holding my breath, not wanting to love the church too much before the teaching actually began. as the sermon continued, i let it out slowly and just wanted to cry with relief. after the service, we met several students who had attended our school last year, and they gave us a lot of information about the spiritual climate on campus. they also told us how to connect with the one christian faculty member on campus, encouraged us to get involved in intervarsity, and gave us some ideas of how christians had come together and reached out in previous years. it was really encouraging - somewhat scary, because students with christian beliefs are truly the minority - but really a blessing to connect with them.

next sunday can't come fast enough. i am so excited to turn in my visitor card and start to get involved; hopefully i will be abled to serve in their soup kitchen or something like that! i would also loooooove to connect with the families and get some babysitting done :) and i am thankful to have found my home...away from home.

oh - zigzag - i have registered to take a course in NYC in january and am looking for a place to live for a few weeks - if anybody knows of any options or connections, please let me know!

climb every mountain

today, i climbed a mountain.

and added another state to my "where i've been" map.

that's 5 since coming to the east coast!

anyway....

i climbed a mountain with my roommates.

and it was hard. but sooooo fun (especially once we made it to the top)!

i love the great outdoors :)

a whole new world

wow.

that is all that i can say after spending a friday evening in downtown brattleboro.

and yes, "downtown brattleboro" looks exactly like it sounds.

are you picturing a main street?

good, because we have one.

i love main street. it's lined with fun or old or quirky or junky stores, all with something unique to offer. the people are smiley and really nice, and the traffic is more than anyone would ever imagine on a main street in a small town. and on the first friday of every month, there is a gallery walk. all the art galleries are open, there's free food, and supposedly everyone in the town comes out.

i bet the picture of downtown brattleboro created by your mind's eye didn't include hippies.

yes, hippies.

as we walked down the hill towards main, we were attracted to the photography display on the side of the road. as we looked at the photos, i saw a unique pair coming towards us. one was a man with long, knappy hair wearing a gunnysack dress. i prepared myself to smile and walk by, reminding myself that "you're in granola vermont. you're in granola vermont." when i made eye contact, he complimented me on my pearls. i thanked him and replied with a comment about them, he replied, and we moved on. my very first conversation with a real drag/cross dresser/transvestite...i'm not entirely sure which category he falls into - i'm kind of new at this :)

as we continued through the gallery walk, we experienced some incredible art. photography. paintings. smelled some new smells....body odor, dreadlocks, and marijuana. we got to know our town and saw a whole lot of new people. as i made my way through the throngs of people on the street (where did they all come from?!? this is only a town of 12,000) i became thoroughly and completely overwhelmed...and extremely conscious of the aforementioned pearls. as usual, i was all j.crew'd out. chino shorts, cardigan, pearl necklace and earrings. coach wristlet. never before have i felt like such a city girl. i was experiencing just a little bit of culture shock; it was a good thing i was wearing my gladiators...literally :)

won't you be my neighbor

i . love . community .

every time i leave school, i get a little sad that i'm leaving my fellow students. it seems like i'm missing out on an opportunity to meet new people (if that's even possible) or to actually get to know the ones i have already met. i envision your typical freshman-year-dorm experience...everyone piled onto the couches in the lounge, watching new movies, playing new games, having deep conversations til 4am: the beginnings of a community.

but today, i realized that community isn't built only on campus. it is built by knowing your off-campus people, by not being too shy to ask for rides into town, by not being afraid to be the first to go visit the other students you know live down the street.

we're day 2 into orientation, and man have my gladiators been pushing me through. from info meeting to personality tests to course fairs to advisor sessions, those shoes have taken quite the beating. by the time i get home i only want my slippers :) (i actually don't own a pair, come to think of it). but tonight, we decided to put the schedules and details aside and have some fun. we put on our galoshes (some of us may have been layering gladiators underneath for confidence!) and headed down the street to meet out neighbors, intending to visit 3 other students a few houses down. but when we crossed the street, there were 2 other students entering THEIR house. what a great surprise! then we made our way to the intended destination, received some cookies and planned a party (AND found out where to do our laundry...that's always important) only to go behind THEIR house to knock on another door!

we made our way home, so so glad that we had taken the time off from our business to reach out to our neighbors, some we didn't even know existed.

giddy with the happiness of making new friends, we had one more stop: the boy who had moved in downstairs. we knocked on his door. no answer. so we decided to run up and write him a note saying we had stopped by...only to find him in our kitchen drinking tea with roommate #3!

it was so nice to finally just sit and talk with people, to begin developing relationships instead of just fleeting meetings in and around school. i am so thankful to find so many students living in my neighborhood, and we are all excited for the start of our little community!

i think i'm going to like it here

there is a sea creature living in the river in my town. picture loch ness or champ of lake champlain. seriously....i saw it this morning as the fog lifted off of the water. but don't worry....after i ran to get a better look, i found it to be simply a recreation of a monster. and...it's smiling :)

remember yesterday when i talked about my wonderful roommate and how she is so incredibly similar to me? (i hope you all got that i was the one who you were supposed to be reminded of...) well, today as i sat in my first orientation session (which was outside, overlooking the beautiful, tree-covered mountains and valleys) and met a LOT more people, i realized that i am in a place with a LOT of people like me. and i love it.

it is so cool to be in a place where people share a passion for language and culture, a passion for making a difference, a passion for learning. when i get excited about something here, that excitement is more than simply acknowledged or appreciated. it is understood. and that, my dear ones, is a really, really fun thing. and i think i'm going to like it here :)

we are the same person

so today was the first day of orientation. i met a lot of people from all over the country and the world. i tell you, it's tiring. i was ready for bed about 2 hours ago...it's currently 9:46 and i'm on my way there. BUT being there and seeing the people i COULD be living with (even though i did meet many wonderful people) made me EXTRA thankful for who my roommates are...but one in particular.

here's a few things about her that i find interesting...

- she is a Christian! [in this atheist and liberal region that is SO RARE]

- her undergrad degree is international business and spanish

- she studied in spain

- she worked in her university's study abroad office

- here, she is studying international education

- she wants to advise/direct study abroad programs

- of the dvds that we own, i would say 75% of them are the same

- she's doing a running plan out of women's health [just like me]

- she wears a sleep mask. enough said.

let's see.....who does she remind you of???

a barefoot day and a conquered fear

surprise, freaks!

no gladiators or galoshes for me today! my first whole day in vermont was, instead, a carefree and relaxed barefoot day. it is very unusual for me to not have things to do, places to go, and people to see, and i think God knew that i needed some time like this just so i could be in rest and be me.

i DID, however, unknowingly conquer a fear. this is the fear of running outside where people can see me. you see, i'm not exactly the cutest when i run. my face gets all red and my breathing gets really loud...and the embarrassing part is that i run slowly so my red face and hard breathing hardly seem earned :) however, when i woke up this morning i didn't think twice about putting on my running shoes and jogging down main street, cutting through people, grinning a good morning, one person even asked me for the time! my final destination: the food co-op.

i didn't think twice about being all hot and sweaty...i just felt like an appropriate fit amidst the organic foods. the unaware observer would assume that i am both athletic and a healthy eater...we're working on the validity of that assumption :) although i did panic as i stood in the check-out line - it's a food co-op, everyone else was carrying their eco-friendly tote bags. i didn't have one. picture this: newbie food co-oper jen hiking up main street carrying individual plastic bags of produce, 1 lonely avocado, 2 granola bars and an odwalla. yeah, quite the sight. i think i breathed an audible sigh of relief when the man started to bag my groceries (in a plain paper bag, of course, which i am greenly using as my garbage can to make up for my lack of a personal grocery tote).

all this to tell you that it wasn't until a few hours later, when i was talking with my roommate about my running plan (because she has the same one from the same magazine!) and i casually mentioned that my run today was down main street that she said, "oh so you're one of those confident runners who doesn't care who sees you when you run". it caught me so off guard i didn't know what to say - because i guess that, now, i am! goodbye, irrational fear of people judging me while i [try to] run and helllloooooo confident running!

my first night in my new home

well here i am, in my cozy little bed in my cozy little room on my very first night away from everything and everyone familiar, near, and dear, on the very first night of my brand-new adventure.

after a late, late night of packing and tying up loose ends, a tearful early morning airport farewell, 2 delayed flights (having a delay due to the effects of a hurricane is a new one for this midwestern girl!), an airport transfer and 4 new states later, i arrived at my new home.

i knew i was on the east coast when, in philly, i had to awkwardly sidle in between two people to get a seat on the airport shuttle, i had several large bulky bags that had no choice but to bump into the man next to me as i tried to make myself as small and unobtrusive as possible. i apologized, and he looked at me and said, “no, you don’t have to be sorry”

i knew i was on the east coast when my airport transfer got out of the van and he was a short, bearded old man wearing suspenders, a plaid shirt and a newsboy cap. kind of like a leprechaun, but new england style.

i knew i was on the east coast as we drove through the hills and into my town, and beautiful old houses lined the streets....we passed one, and my heart sank. i had hoped that was mine. but then....we turned around and it was!

an overgrown patch of sad-looking yet somehow cheery sunflowers greeted me through the foggy afternoon sun, and this dazed little girl was lucky to finally see a face and hear a voice to make her feel welcome. throughout the afternoon i unpacked my things, slowly making my room my home. as i write, i realize that today, i have been living a dream. not living THE dream, as some speak of. rather, this doesn’t seem real. here i am, a new state, new roommates, a town i have yet to step foot in, a new school and new schedule...but for some reason, it just hasn’t set in as real. when will it? i don’t know. but i know that today i was wearing my gladiators, doing the things that had to be done through a daze of lots of change. the faces of my friends and family from home are smiling down on me from my martha stewart photo craft, but i am not going to see them again in the flesh for several months. and when i think about it, it’s awful. but then i think about everything awaiting me, the new people, experiences, adventures, learning opportunities.....well, i guess it’s kind of neutral right now :) was it worth it? trading that - people who love me and who i love - to follow the passions that God has put in my heart? i don’t know....but God does, and i trust him.

and already, i feel His presence and His blessing on my life here. #1 blessing is indeed my roommates....i know it’s only the first day, but i can already tell that it is going to be good. they are both so caring and sharing and willing to chat and to help...in anything. it’s weird making a home with people you have never met, hanging out in each other’s rooms talking, but not really having much common to talk about. they aren’t 336 or d2 by any means...or anything even close....but it was just one little piece of the puzzle that proves that God is taking care of me.

#2 blessing is kind of a weird one....because it’s kind of backwards. but being here, and missing my life there, is showing me what AMAZING people i have in my life, and how blessed i am to have them. yes, that means you! all of the parties and last-minute visits and dates before i left, the fun times just relaxing and laughing with my family, and all of the texts, calls, messages and blessings i have received since i have left mean the WORLD to me....more than you know. i thank God for you, my friends and family (and some of you are both) every single day. and thank YOU, too.

an introduction...

hello to my friends and family and everyone else out there who happened to stumble upon my new blog...i am honored that you are taking the time to read about my life. my life is a new life now, as i have traveled across the country and in just a few short days will embark upon a new academic adventure.

some may be wondering about the title of my blog....why did i pick gladiators and galoshes?

just a few reasons...

(a) it's catchy, isn't it?

(b) i wanted a title that will let me continue blogging forever (if i'm up for the challenge), not just for this one new year

(c) gladiators and galoshes are 2 of my favorite kinds of shoes...

(d) and they are very different kinds of shoes:

some days you have to go, see, and conquer. that's when you wear your gladiators. other days you can wear those trendy gladiator sandals when you want to say, "hey world, here i am!" galoshes are used more rarely, but just because it's raining doesn't mean that you can't have fun. puddle jumping, laughing, running in the rain...every day in this adventure i call life, i wear a different pair of shoes...and sometimes there's a costume change halfway through the day :)

these two different kinds of shoes portray something that i am always learning how to balance in my life: work and play. some days, you have to put on your gladiators and plow through. other days, you put on your gladiators and strut your stuff. and other days, you put on your galoshes, throw your cares to the wind and laugh and play. hopefully, as you read my blog, you will see me wearing both gladiators and galoshes (figuratively, of course) and making the most out of every second in them.