Chill

I do enjoy summer. Life is just much more chill, like a Jack Johnson song. I'm just taking one class, which is still something, but it's not that big of a deal; I work just three days a week; there are less people at church and more chances to get to know people with such a smaller group; the SLC is never crowded. It's nice.

I went grocery shopping with Rachael today. I usually just buy the same items--cereal, sandwhich stuff, Lean Cuisine pizzas, milk, etc. I try not to be too adventurous, because then I usually don't end up eating what I bought and it goes bad. There also isn't a lot of refrigerator space to waste when one is living with five other girls. But today, I ventured out a little. I bought Strawberry-Orange-Banana juice, brie cheese, alfalfa sprouts, and strawberry Nutrigrain bars, along with my normal purchases. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm going to have juice tomorrow with my breakfast; the Nutrigrain bars remind me of my childhood.; and while in Kenya, I decided I love brie cheese.

Another thing I liked in Kenya was the mango juice Gracia Guesthouse would serve us in the mornings. It was soo good--thicker and creamier than other juices. There was also passion juice, but mango was my favorite.

Dang it, now I'm hungry.

Speaking of Kenya, here's another picture. Some elephants hanging out in the Great Rift Valley.

Back.

Oh me, oh my. I'm back in Waco now, thrust back into ordinary life. I flew back into Dallas at about 10:30 last night, spent the night at home, and got back to Waco this morn just in time to change and go to class (I just used the word "back" four times in two sentences). Today I have to read half of Beowulf and work five to close. I'm trying to catch my breath.

It's good to be back, but it's also just weird. For one, it's weird being here without a lot of people that are usually here with me, like half of my roommates. Rachael and Tinsley are here, and its fabulous to be with them again, but it's definitely a lot quieter than usual. Oh, another weird thing, my cousin, John, is in my Brit Lit class with me. I never would have guessed that I would be taking a class with him. It's an interesting turn of events.

And I just feel a little different.

I took 340 pictures in the last two weeks. Here's one, to entice you. It's Sandy, the Great Rift Valley, and myself, taken on the first Sunday we were in Kenya.



Back to Beowulf.

Jambo!

Hi from Kenya! There's so much that I could say, I almost want to say nothing at all. I basically just wanted to let you know that I'm alive and having the experience of a lifetime. If you want to know more details you can visit ubckenya.blogspot.com. I think that's right. If not, just leave a comment and then next time I'll tell you the right address.

Ok, people are waiting on me (I'm at an internet cafe near where we're staying.) I'm out.

Phew

Check out this headline to a news article on the msnbc website: Drunk students learn lesson from peeved giraffe. And then underneath, "1.3-ton animal attacks three Lithuanians after they climb into his cage." Awesome. Well, I guess it's not awesome that they were attacked, but it is an awesome headline. Don't worry, no one died.

And it's summer! Woohoo! Oh yeah, I already had my celebratory blog post. I won't bore you with another one.

So there is eight girls' stuff in our apartment at the moment. We have the six of us who live here, and then yesterday Sarah moved all her stuff in (she's moving here and Julia's moving out). And then there is also Elise's stuff, who is living here in the Fall whilst I'm in Italia. Phew. Yesterday was crazy, let me tell ya. All our couches are pushed against the wall and there's lots of boxes and random pieces of furniture in the living room. And a little tree. It's pretty great.

It's not a Christmas tree, just a little tree in a pot.

This time next week I'll be in flippin' AFRICA.

I am not studying right now.

My sophmore year is over.

It's been a really good year. Let's take a moment to be nostalgic and sad.

Hm.

__________________



Ok. Now to be excited. My sophmore year is over! Yeehaa! Man, so much is coming up--Africa, John Mayer/Ben Folds concert, summer school (woohoo!), ITALY, being a Junior. For now, these next few days, I'll just enjoy not studying. I don't know what else I will be doing with myself, but I won't be studying. I'll work some, I'll pack some, I'll read some, but I won't be studying. Holla.

The other day we figured out how to play iTunes wirelessly through the speakers in the living room. It's pretty dang awesome and made studying a lot less painful (except for those roommates who need silence to study. I felt bad for them . . .but not bad enought to turn it off). Rascal Flatts is blaring right now. "I miss Mayberry, sitting on porch drinking ice cold cherry coke . . ." Rascal Flatts reminds me of summer, East Texas specifically, because I bought the CD while I was working at Sky Ranch last summer.

Yum. Summer.

Blar de blar

I'm tired of studying. Just flippin' give me a test already. My first one is in 55 minutes, at 2--Religion.

That's all I have to say really. So this post isn't a total waste, I give you a picture of me and two of my roommates plus Shay and Sandy being locked out of our appartamento a couple weekends ago.



This is what happened a few hours prior as we were leaving the apartment:

Somone (I think Molly): Does someone have a key?
Laura: Yeah, I do. (IShe has her purse and so blindly believe her keys are in there. The thought crosses her mind that she should check said purse for said keys, but for some reason, she just doesn't)

And I think you can figure out what happens next. We come back, the door is locked, and no one has a key. So we chill out in the hall for awhile, until Rachael comes back and lets us in. It was kind of fun actually. Really, they should be thanking me for forgetting my keys and the ensuing adventure. It was good bonding. (If you click the picture, it gets bigger and you can better see our wonderful facial expressions)

The Next Two Weeks

Classes are now over and dead days are in full swing. My first final is on Friday. I also have exams on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, along with a paper due Monday. The following Sunday I leave for Africa (two weeks from this past Sunday). I don't want to even think about packing.

That's my life these next two weeks.

And last night I was trained on wraps at Camille's. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was pretty painless.

I feel like I'm on the cusp of so many things and I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll just dive right in.

=========