The End of All Things Junior

Oh hey! How are y'all?! I think the Spokane twang is getting to me a little bit... which reminds me, I was sitting at the DOL this morning getting my license renewed and someone's cell phone began ringing the most high-pitched, blue grass country tune I had ever heard. And that's when I realized; welcome to Hickville :)

Well, these past few weeks have been hard work but extremely rewarding. First things first, I finished my unit plan! It turned out to be 45 pages single spaced and multiple sleepless nights and weeks, but I actually had a blast doing it. I've already received feedback and my professor called it a "masterpiece" and is going to use it as an example for future students AND has shown other parts of it to the School of Education dean and professors. Apparently she was proud of my work :) Also, my advisor has asked me if my online teaching portfolio (obviously a working document) could be the chief student evidence used to help the School of Education renew their accreditation. I feel very accomplished and blessed; it's very humbling to know that God's call on your life is not only something you love but something you have the potential to be good at! It'll take YEARS upon years of experience, but I'm getting the best start possible at Whitworth. As far as other school things go, I wrapped up two of my three field experiences (thank goodness!) and am working on making my presentation for the Institutional Review Board for my behavior intervention. Good news, the kid's still living and we didn't completely tank his schoolwork. I count that as a success for being a newby, yes?! :)

In other breaking news, next week is finals week! HECK YES! I cannot be more ready for this semester to be over, but at the same time it has been the most growing semester and time of my life I think. I really feel like I've crossed the bridge from Kidville to Grownuptown... it's okay, you should be scared. I have become a huge advocate for children and feel ready to try my hand at adult life. With Haiti (which has been officially paid for :) I cannot thank you all enough for your support), Kazakhstan (I officially downloaded an English to Kazakh dictionary for my computer... did you know that atan means a castrated camel? Apparently it's important to know... it's a good thing I'm growing up, but apparently not fast enough), student teaching with Dave Gamon, graduating and living, I feel like I have been blessed beyond compare. Along with this, relationships here, gaining and losing friends, and building my relationship with God, I feel ready. Ready to affect others, and ready to share joy. He has given me the patience and ability to trust that I needed to get to this place, so I am oh so thankful. Okay, enough of this stuff, I seem to be doing it a lot :) next week shouldn't be too tough for me which is nice; the rough part was last week, it's all downhill from here! I have a huge Advanced Cell exam that I could use good juju vibes for on Friday, but other than that it is completely manageable.

A few weekends ago, Steph and I were visiting our Sudanese friends the Zaki's and was told by the five-year-old about his garden. He wanted to show it to us so badly, so we trekked outside and were taken to a weed-ridden plot of dirt with nothing useful growing in it. We asked him what seeds he had planted, and he replied "these!" and promptly grabbed a rock, buried it in the ground and watered it. It was both kinda sad and adorable :) so Steph and I decided to help him create his own garden a few weekends ago. Apparently he was up at 2:30 in the morning waiting by the window for us to come (which wasn't until 4pm...) and asked his dad to call the news stations. He said, "tell them to bring video cameras! We are making a garden! It's huge news!" Needless to say, parents = not so pleased with us :) So we borrowed a shovel and got to work.

We bought carrots, radishes, blue flowers and tomatos. You can see he was giving us a lesson. The look on our faces... we felt more scared than we look.

We found worms. He said we had to protect the worm homes. We did. So there. It was a ton of fun, and he goes out to check it every 20 minutes or so. Every kid needs a hobby :)

Last weekend was fantastic, it was our Women's Choir concert! It was called, "All Shall Be Well", and went off wonderfully. We sang mostly in English this time (who woulda thought!) except for one song in Latin called "Vivos Voco" and five songs that comprised a set called "The Hebrew Love Songs" in... well, Hebrew.... this set is my favorite. If anyone would like a copy of the CD, just let me know! There are a few pictures down below...

Typical.

These are the choir officers this year. Amy, on the left, was El Presidente, and Janelle, on the left, was the Chaplain. Tada! I'll miss these two Seniors!

Starting July 1, I will be living elsewhere! I'm very excited about this, as are the other housemates, and we think it'll be a perfect fit for us. But I really wanted to show you a picture, even though I haven't taken one of the place yet, so here's the Google Maps street view image of the place:
Lovely, huh?! We're on the right side of the "Magic School Bus", so the side with the garage door open. Can you see why it's called that? Pretty obnoxiously yellow... we love it :) After move in, we plan on planting a garden and fixing things up, even though it'll be pretty dang perfect. This summer will also be full of camping, playing outside and other frivolities. Still looking for a job; beginning to think I have more resumes out in the Spokane area than I have extended family members... but I'll keep trying. My best shot right now, I think, is at a small bakery behind the school called Le Petit Chat, but it's a long shot. I'm trained for absolutely nothing, I have no skills! I tell people that I have worked with kids at a theatre arts camp and was an RA and a tour guide, and do you know what that equates to? I'm trained for nothing. I'm also diligent though, so I'll be sure to keep you posted :)

Well, I'd better get back to work. I just need to stay strong for another week and I'll be golden! I love you all and hope you're enjoying your weekends. Hope it's as beautiful on the Westside as it is over here :)

Peace and love,

Chels

P.S. Have fun wth Payton if you're going to see her... give her a hug and a kiss from me :)