tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57287250899050394502024-03-13T12:42:54.694-04:00It Is What It IsThe life of an American college student. It might surprise you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-74832840789536184752014-09-11T17:55:00.004-04:002014-09-11T17:55:59.417-04:00Public TransportationSince it's taking me so long to get through these posts, let me "re-start" by talking about one aspect of Spain, and probably Europe in general, that I thought was amazing - and that is: the public transportation.<div>
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Being from a pretty rural town, we don't have a lot of public transportation. Even at school in Raleigh, where there is a bus system, the efficiency is not all that great. Needless to say, I was amazed by the bus system in Spain. The buses were efficient, meaning they were on time, and there were plenty of them. Even if the bus wasn't on time, the system has developed an app, and a website, where you can track where you bus is, and how long until it gets to you. </div>
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I'm mainly talking about the buses, because that's what I used the most. When we arrived, all of the students were given a bus card with 20 bus passes on it. Each ride costs one pass, and the card is refillable as you run out. You can even personalize them.</div>
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Other than buses there's the metro, plenty of bike lanes for personal bikes, and a system called "Valenbisi" which is essentially a bike rental system. With the Valenbisi you can rent a bike for 30 minutes from a checkout point. Then when you are done with it (or if you need more time, you can switch it out) just return it to a station near you.</div>
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The streets are well taken care of, with trees and recreational areas found all over the city. All in all, I loved being in such a big city as Valencia, being able to easily navigate probably played a <i>large</i> part in that. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-63807258420156297382014-08-17T16:00:00.000-04:002014-08-17T16:00:01.721-04:00Spanish FoodLet me interrupt my talking about our wonderful events, with a short explanation of a major part of the culture. The food. It's one of the things people seem to be curious about. I'll start by explaining that Spain is on the Balearic Sea, closer to the Mediterranean than you might think, so the food is very fresh, and a lot, and I mean a lot, of olive oil is used.<br />
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It may have been that my host family was just really healthy, but I didn't find the food served at the house to be all that much different from the food that my family normally eats at home. Healthy food seems to be somewhat universal in that a lot of fruits and vegetables were served, along with grilled meats. I say meats because we had dinners ranging from chicken, to white fish, to chicken burgers, to octopus.<br />
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One major difference was that in Spain, bread is served with <i>every</i> meal. Except breakfast, they eat little to no breakfast. At no point is bread eaten plain, there is always something to dip it in, whether it's olive oil, or the juices from the rest of the food. A native Spaniard never eats dry bread.<br />
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In an earlier post I mentioned that my host mother made me bocadillos, so let me explain what those are. Basically, they're sandwiches. But they look like this:<br />
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At least, mine normally did. The sausage and egg, or tuna and egg were my favorite. Although there was also some kind of tomato, chili that I sometimes got which I also loved. Because of my class schedule I got a bocadillo almost everyday. The rest of the time my madre would give me a tupperware container full of something from the night before or other left-overs. The main meal was lunch, or "comida" which is served around 2:30, when I had class. So I had to pack one everyday.<br />
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There are a lot of interesting food in Valencia, which I'll talk about in a couple later posts. One about a cooking class that I was able to be a part of, and another about an excursion for my culture class. If you have any questions before then I will definitely answer them to the best of my abilities.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-46480114995299989912014-08-02T08:58:00.000-04:002014-08-02T08:58:16.605-04:00Old ValenciaOne of the perks of being on a college trip abroad, is that the program gives us plenty of time to figure out the city alone. But, they also take us on little trips that allow us to be tourists every once in a while. Peñíscula was one thing, but early on in our trip we were able to take a walking tour of the older parts of Valencia<i> (where we are usually trying to blend in as students, not stick out as tourists)</i>.<br />
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Everyone going on the tour met outside of the cathedral, La Catedral de Santo Cáliz, and waited for our lovely guide Paul.<br />
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A lot of the conversation was about the architecture and the different forms of construction. I myself, being in school for civil engineering, found it to be extremely interesting. Especially when we looked at the historical events and happenings that caused the changes in design.</div>
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Since this was an opportunity to be a tourist, of course I took a lot of pictures. Here are some more.</div>
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We walked around the cathedral, and then over to the Lonja, which used to be the silk market, where I found this window. Finally, we ended up at the train station, and that concluded our tour.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-56785706239954461622014-07-14T15:07:00.000-04:002014-07-14T15:07:52.702-04:00LladroDuring the first week of classes, we already had activities prepared for us. (As we do for the entire trip.) As it happened, the first activity with the program happened on the same day as activities for both of my classes. But right now I'm going to focus on the guided tour of the Lladro factory, the middle event of the day.<br />
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Lladro is a world renowned porcelain manufacturing company. When I say world renowned, I mean, their porcelain can be found not only in the same shopping area as Swarovski, but in the same store. I haven't been in one, but I'd imagine that some of the jewelry costs less than the porcelain.<br />
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When we got to the factory, we were welcomed by a tour-guide, and taken to watch a short video about the process of making the porcelain. The video was a brief glance at everything that they make, and a bit about the family Lladro. After the video our group was taken to see more of the process, albeit, sped up, with most of the waiting cut out. The porcelain is made in a mold, and the guide spent a little while explaining the negative and positive aspects of the process. He also told us that one mold can have up to 30 pieces. Once the porcelain has dried for a specified time, the porcelain in the middle of the mold is poured out, leaving the hollow figure. This has to dry for much longer. We got to walk around and see how the pieces are put together. The people working in the Lladro factory are professionals, and have exquisite talent. Each piece is hand-painted, and then fired according to specific instructions. I won't go into the process much deeper here, but if you ever have a chance I definitely recommend taking a tour. Whether it's Lladro, or elsewhere similar.<br />
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After the tour, the group was taken into the show room. Pictures are not allowed, so I can't show you the amazing things that they create, but -> <a href="http://www.lladro.com/collections/temas-LLADRO_BY_THEME/" target="_blank">here's a link to the website</a> <-, so you can look for yourself. Since everything they make is of such high quality, even the slightest defect makes a figure unfit to be sold. However, there is a small shop at the factory, with said imperfect pieces at discounted prices. They are still beautiful, and to the untrained eye, there is nothing wrong with any of them.<br />
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I wish I could leave you to one last picture. But, as I said taking pictures was prohibited. Definitely take the opportunity to look through the galleries on the website. The pieces are varied, and subject matters cover a wide variety of feelings, cultures, and time periods.<br />
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Just because no blog post is complete without pictures, and I want to share the cool things I find with you, here is one of a building that I found while I was wandering Valencia one afternoon.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-77545554119348222812014-07-08T14:59:00.001-04:002014-07-08T14:59:56.942-04:00PeñíscolaAfter the length of my last post, and the time that it took me to write it, I've been a little put off of blogging. That being said, I do want to start telling you about all of my adventures and such.<br />
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As you know, our getting here was an interesting process. However, the next day we turned around and ran off to Peñíscola (aka Peniscola). A little history: Peñíscola is a small walled-in town in the province of Valencia, slightly north of the city. Not only does it have a beautiful beach, there's a castle! The castle was built in the 13th century by the Knight's Templar, and was later reverted to the Crown of Aragon.<br />
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The history of the castle was interesting, but I was honestly more focused on trying to drink in all the sights. Yes, the beach is amazing. But as my host-mother told me, Peñíscola is a unique town, and a beach is a beach. [Words of wisdom for anyone and everyone traveling anywhere.] So after spending enough time at the beach to eat my bocadillo and cool off in the water, I found some friends and we went wandering around the town.<br />
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Basically, once you enter the city all of the streets are uphill. I'm not exaggerating. On the way up to the castle (which you can see at the top of the picture above), there are no flat streets, none at all. A typical street looked something like this:<br />
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But then you get to the castle, and it's amazing. It's very split level, and the church below is somehow connected, but also outside? I'm not quite sure. The view from the top was breathtaking.</div>
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That's all for now, but I'll work on having slightly shorter posts, and more of them. Hasta luego!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-33230015038736231632014-06-30T14:16:00.001-04:002014-06-30T14:16:48.834-04:003 Days of TravelWhen I left my house at 7:00 am EST on June 25th I had no idea that it would take until about 4:00 pm CET (Summer) on the 27th, to make it to Valencia. Neither did anyone else in our group. This post is going to be long, because it was a long couple of days, but bear with me.<br />
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A few days before the group was set to leave, we were told that it was possible that our flight itinerary may change because of strikes going on in France. We're not going to France, I know, we're headed to Valencia, Spain. But, our flight connected in Paris. Anyway, because our plans weren't concrete everyone arrived at the airport in Raleigh at 9am. That way, if anything were to happen we would be able to adjust.<br />
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The funny thing is, this being my first time flying at all, much less flying internationally, the thing I was most nervous about was airport security. Actually, that's what I was the most nervous about for this whole trip. Yea, I don't know why either. In the end, or I guess really at the beginning, our flight was not moved, and we loaded onto the plane at our scheduled 2pm boarding time. Take-off was scheduled for 2:30. Once we were all on the plane the pilot came on the intercom and announced that due to weather conditions at JFK there was a ground lock. This ground lock meant that our take-off time was moved to 3:30 as we sat on the tarmac for an hour.<br />
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Another thing that I was worrying about was getting motion sick. Lately I haven't even been able to ride in the back seat of a car without feeling nauseous at some point, so a plane seems like it would be much worse. I was delighted to find that not only was I not motion sick, I could even read without a problem. Other than the one hour delay, the flight to JFK happened without any problems. We arrived in New York some time around 4:30. It took us a while to navigate the airport, but eventually all 17 of us made it to the Air France desk. There we were told that our boarding time was 7:30, although there was some problem with our connection in Paris to Valencia.<br />
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Knowing that there would be more negotiating ahead of us, because it became clear that we were going to miss our connecting flight, the flight to Paris went fairly smoothly. It was a 6 hour flight, and while we left the airport around 8:30pm, we arrived in Paris at 9:40 or 10:00 am. Fortunately our luggage arrived with us, though we missed our connection flight to Valencia. The staff at the airport had to be working hard in order to get all 17 of us flight for the next day, so it's hard to be too bitter about the wait.<br />
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In the end we were all put on flights, the airline gave us lunch vouchers, and a stay at a hotel (with complimentary dinner). I'm willing to bet that once we got to the hotel and sorted out rooms, that everyone took a nap. At least, that's what I did. We met up for dinner at 7, and then a group was making plans to go into the city. Of course, we're in Paris, so I'm interested. The trip they were considering, a half-way guided tour with stops for pictures, was 50 euro a person. That's a lot. You all know how I've budgeted, and planned for this trip. I was trying to talk myself out of going. At the same time, I knew I would regret it if I missed this amazing opportunity. So I went. Myself, three other girls, and our driver (Errol) toured Paris, with all the lights on and people out and about. The rest of the group in other taxis behind us.<br />
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<i>Let me just take a minute to say that not being able to have a real conversation with anyone in France (because I don't speak French) was one of the most frustrating things I have ever experienced. Definitely in the top 5. If I can encourage you to do anything, it would be to learn the language of the country you're visiting. At least to a conversational level. Yes, we weren't supposed to spend that much time in France, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at.</i><br />
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Now, I'm not going to tell you about racing around France taking pictures and not show you any. Here are what I consider to be the best four of the night:<br />
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After we got back to the hotel at 1am, the rest of the traveling didn't seem as bad. Our group met in the lobby at 4am, went to the airport again, where we waited, then flew to Madrid. In Madrid we waited some more, and then flew to Valencia. Finally we got to Valencia at 4:00pm, then went through orientation, and got to go home with our host families. </div>
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I know I sped through those last hours, but not a lot happened, and I'm honestly happily surprised if you've kept reading this far. Please leave any comments or questions below. Until next time.</div>
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<i>One last note: I'm keeping a journal of everything that happens, so I can get as much feeling, and be as accurate as possible with these posts. That being said, there will most likely be a considerable time lapse between these events are taking place, and when I am able to sit down and write about them. Thanks for understanding.</i></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-23807129422909153962014-06-24T19:27:00.000-04:002014-06-24T19:27:46.135-04:00Packing!I am leaving tomorrow! While I can barely get this through my head, I suppose that means it's time for me to finally post about my packing experience.<br />
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First of all, I am attempting to take as little as possible, while still taking everything that I need. Right now the majority of the weight of my bag is taken up by toiletries. You know, the necessities, shampoo, conditioner. But then I also included things like, sunscreen, lotion, and a couple other hair products. And where would I be without my acne wash and cream? Up the creek, that's where. A majority of those things I was able to fit in the L.L.Bean toiletry bag that I've had for years. The rest I put in zip-lock bags so they wouldn't leak everywhere.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r9-Lj3vmty4/U6n-8KFLAjI/AAAAAAAAAaM/jgNKcmUqjzw/s1600/DSCN3584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r9-Lj3vmty4/U6n-8KFLAjI/AAAAAAAAAaM/jgNKcmUqjzw/s1600/DSCN3584.JPG" height="400" title="" width="300" /></a></div>
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The other items in my check bag include a beach towel, sneakers, my yoga mat (yes, I am taking my yoga mat, and man does it take up some space), and then my clothes. Clothing for this trip includes:</div>
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<ul>
<li>about six dresses, </li>
<li>two tank tops, </li>
<li>one pair of non-workout shorts, </li>
<li>one pair of jeans</li>
<li>two bathing suits</li>
<li>one pair of work-out shorts, </li>
<li>yoga pants, </li>
<li>two t-shirts (for exercise), </li>
<li>underwear, etc.</li>
<li>and last but not least, pajamas</li>
</ul>
Normally I roll my clothes, even to put them in my drawers at home. In an effort to be as efficient as possible, and hopefully have a <i>major</i> reduction in wrinklage, I did a little research on different packing methods.<br />
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What I found could potentially be called the burrito method, and is similar to rolling. You start with all of your underwear, etc. in the middle, tightly wrapped in a t-shirt. Order the rest of your clothing from least-likely-to-wrinkle to most-likely-to-wrinkle, and then simply wrap the pieces one by one around this core. (Garments most-tailored/most-likely-to-wrinkle on the outside). My end product looked like this: </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HSDD3PUGxb4/U6oA4RlbnYI/AAAAAAAAAaY/zfatTz26TYo/s1600/DSCN3581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HSDD3PUGxb4/U6oA4RlbnYI/AAAAAAAAAaY/zfatTz26TYo/s1600/DSCN3581.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Which is why I say it could be called the burrito method. This bundle is about a foot across, and a little over 6 or 7 inches tall. Since there is a chance that our luggage won't arrive at exactly the same time that we do, I have a similar, smaller bundle in my carry on with a couple days worth of clothes.</div>
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A carry on is for much more than clothes though, as I'm sure many of you know. It's where I have more valuable items, things I need to be easily accessible. Below you can see I have some electronics, my straightener (which I opted to take <i>instead of</i> a hair dryer), an umbrella, my bible and journal, and some reading materials provided by the program. Not shown, but included are a small make-up and jewelry bag, and some other electronics.</div>
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And how could I possibly make it through such a long flight process without some for-me books?</div>
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Even though it still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving, I think I'm ready to go. My mom is taking me to the airport early tomorrow morning, and I honestly don't think the reality of this trip will hit me until I've been in Valencia for three days.</div>
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¡Hasta pronto!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-25267058234650243452014-05-29T13:00:00.000-04:002014-05-29T13:00:21.632-04:00Getting My Funds in OrderIn an effort to be as honest and helpful as possible, I am going to be extremely transparent when it comes to money, and my funding this trip abroad.<br />
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<b><i>For those of you out there who are considering Study Abroad, but don't think you can afford it, I promise, if you start looking around you'll be surprised who all wants to help you.</i></b><br />
<br />
Normally I am the type of person to look at every detail of a trip/experience/whatever, and then worry about every single one until I am so stressed out I can barely sleep. But worrying about gathering money for this trip hasn't really crossed my mind at all. I say "gathering" because that is how it feels. I seem to have found support in several different places, for which I am extremely grateful.<br />
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Now, don't think that because I wasn't stressing out about where my funds would come from that I wasn't doing anything. All of the money from my summer jobs for the past couple of years has been going in a savings account (kept separate from the checking account I regularly use) with the idea that it would all be for the study abroad trip that I got to take at some point. Being in college, there are other expenses that come up, books being a primary one, so occasionally I had to dip into my travel fund to cover miscellaneous expenses as well. Even with having to sometimes use this fund for school, I ended up being able to build up about $2500. Money from the part-time job I picked up last semester also went in this fund.<br />
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The program itself costs $4550, along with a plane ticket (that ended up being $2089.10) and other costs such as new luggage (mine didn't meet the size requirements for flight, <i>since I've never flown before</i>) as well as covering the excursion trips (to Barcelona and Granada), class supplies, and other every-day expenses like transportation and pocket money.<br />
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Obviously my $2500 wasn't going to cut it. So I applied for Study Abroad scholarships through NCSU. Being my impatient self, I was beginning to think that I hadn't received any help, until I checked my Study Abroad account one day and saw that I had received $2000 in scholarships! It came in the form of two separate scholarships, one for maintaining a blog (which I was planning to do any way), and another generous scholarship (the L. I. Felner) of $1000.<br />
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<b><i>Again, for those of you out there who are considering Study Abroad, but don't think you can afford it, I promise, if you start looking around you'll be surprised who all wants to help you.</i></b><br />
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Along with scholarship money, I was given a generous gift of $2000 from my grandmother. While I know that not every has a family who can help them out in this way, I am grateful that mine did, and didn't want to leave them out.<br />
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That puts my funds at about $6500. Which is almost enough to cover the cost of the program and the ticket. However, knowing that there would be more miscellaneous costs, I kept looking. One of the first places I went was the Financial Aid office at NCSU (separate from the Study Abroad offices). My advisor informed me that because I turned down some of my loans for the spring semester, I could take them now, and put them towards use with my trip. Which I then did. Bringing my total up to about $8800. Which is more than enough to cover everything for the trip (as long as I don't go crazy).<br />
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I know that I'm throwing out these numbers like they're estimates, but the total is pretty close. I am currently in the process of planning my budget for the trip, so afterwards I will write a post about the details of my spending and paying for the trip.<br />
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I hope this was helpful/encouraging for you all reading. I leave in less than a month! so I'll be posting about packing sometime before I go.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-72595005314309415402014-05-13T12:42:00.000-04:002014-05-13T12:42:44.716-04:00AnticipationSomehow, knowing that I'm going to spend four weeks in Spain this summer was simultaneously encouraging me to finish the semester strong, and to drop everything so that summer could come faster... which is both a positive and negative way to view the end of the school year.<br />
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With exams finally over I can begin to focus on this Valencia trip. I was waiting, because I knew that once I started working out details and planning, that's all that I would be able to focus on. And can I just say, the anticipation has been killing me! A couple weeks ago I was in the library trying to study for my economics final, when an email notification popped up on my screen announcing that our housing assignments had been finalized. It was all I could do to keep from jumping up and down in excitement, which of course would disturb everyone else diligently studying for finals.<br />
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Of course, as soon as I got the chance, I looked up the address on google maps and "walked" around a little bit using the street view tool. Now, Valencia is a metropolitan area, and my housing assignment is, of course, in an apartment. So that in itself is going to be an adjustment for me. All of my life I've lived in houses with large yards, and not really had neighbors to speak of. It will be exciting though, being surrounded by people, taking advantage of the time to improve my Spanish as much as possible.<br />
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Along with sort-of exploring the area, I have started to think about packing. First of all, I'm going to need a new suitcase. The bag that I have that I would normally pack in doesn't fit within the dimension specifics for flying. If you have any suggestions for a new bag I would love to hear them. Also, as far as wardrobe goes, I want to blend in as much as possible. Which means leaving things that are stereotypically "American" at home, such as t-shirts and jeans. Not only am I trying to get out of the American look, this will be my first time flying, as well as my first trip out of the country, so packing is probably going to take a while. Nervousness is definitely one of the feelings I've got right now. Reading other travel blogs for suggestions on packing and how to successfully pack what you need and only what you need has taken up a bit of my time. There are also some other miscellaneous things that I will need to pick up before I leave, like an outlet adapter, and possibly a voltage adapter as well.<br />
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As I pack I will be sure to take pictures, and share with everyone, hopefully to be helpful to you in the future if you do any traveling. An evaluation upon retuning will also be necessary, to let you know if I actually needed everything that I took, and if I wished that I had anything else.<br />
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My thoughts are all over the place, as you can tell. Right now all I know for sure is: I'm going, and I'm excited. Given that this post is mainly my thoughts and feelings, I don't have any pictures to share. Sorry about that. Thanks for reading this far, and I hope we take this adventure together.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-46338227894160961802014-03-22T17:02:00.000-04:002014-03-22T17:02:27.455-04:00Woohoo! Orientation!"Woohoo Orientation!" Were you ever expecting to think that?, because I wasn't. But I was so excited to get started with preparing for this summer, I couldn't help it.<br />
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As with any school-organized, or large group event, orientation is necessary for the participants involved. The way my orientation is organized right now, it is split into three sessions. The first, general session was a few days ago in late March. The first Valencia specific session will be in early April, and the last a couple of weeks after that.<br />
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The first session was all about the basics. Anything that NCSU needed to say was said during that session. Everyone on any study abroad program was supposed to be there. We all checked in, and at check in we got a "Pre-departure Handbook". In it is all of the information, or at least directions as to how to find all of the information that we could possibly need while preparing to leave. A few of the bigger points that were covered during this orientation were safety, and coping with culture-shock, which will undoubtedly be a part of the trip. </div>
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Culture shock is a very personal and individual experience, how quickly it sets in, how long it lasts, and the ways it can be dealt with, are all specific to you and the situation you are encountering. One thing that was strongly encouraged, and which I hope to be able to do, is to jump in to the local culture. Not to the point that you wear yourself out in the first few days, but going in with an open mind, allowing the newness to have an effect on you, and to not create a bubble of American culture around yourself. This American bubble is often negatively referred to as The Ugly American.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d3qlCIuZpU4/UqoM7lHG_cI/AAAAAAAADYU/l_DW3PbJQnw/s1600/Cartoon-tourist-running-38791693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d3qlCIuZpU4/UqoM7lHG_cI/AAAAAAAADYU/l_DW3PbJQnw/s1600/Cartoon-tourist-running-38791693.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture credit to Rawhide Travel and Tours®</td></tr>
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The persona of the "Ugly American" probably has some reference to the book/movie, but I think was mostly tied to the stereotypes that American tourists have brought upon themselves.<br />
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-The Ugly American is the loudest person on the subway, or<br />
in the restaurant.<br />
-The Ugly American is the person who hasn't cared enough to<br />
pick up on the subtle social nuances of the culture they<br />
are currently a part of .<br />
-The Ugly American is the person who refuses to try and<br />
understand the people around them, but instead makes<br />
judgements about everything based on the ideals and<br />
perspectives that they learned at home.<br />
-The Ugly American is the person who has made no effort to<br />
learn even a smidgen of the local language, and instead<br />
treats people who are not able, or are just not willing,<br />
to speak English with them as stupid.<br />
-The Ugly American is rude, is obnoxious, and thinks too<br />
highly of himself.<br />
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Personally, I hate that this stereotype has been put in place, but as long as there are American tourists who behave this way, I don't see it going away any time soon.<br />
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Anyway, that was the biggest thing I took away from the first orientation. I can't wait for the second session, with just the Valencia people. That should be when I finally get to meet the other 28 or so of them.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-81104627949059225792014-03-06T12:28:00.000-05:002014-03-06T12:28:49.808-05:00My First Trip AbroadLet me start this with a little bit of background information. As you can tell from the title, I have never been outside of the United States before. With-in the States I have traveled a bit, trips to Philadelphia, D.C. to the north, then more extensive traveling to the south, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, even a day trip to New Orleans.<br />
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That being said, I have dreamed of traveling for as long as I can remember. I also talk about it a lot, even though at this point in my life I haven't gone very far. My parents are even expecting/planning on being able to visit me at my foreign house (at some point in the future). I think that everyone has those dreams that they have as kids. Their parents encourage it, usually just because they're glad that their kid has big dreams. Well, traveling the world was my dream, and I never stopped talking about it. The fact that this summer will be my first step toward what I consider to be my life's goal makes me a little giddy. Valencia, Spain will be my first trip.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GguoSSVqG9w/UxYTzL5fp9I/AAAAAAAAAYo/IvLZS2kocdk/s1600/spain_cities_map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GguoSSVqG9w/UxYTzL5fp9I/AAAAAAAAAYo/IvLZS2kocdk/s1600/spain_cities_map.gif" height="475" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map courtesy of goeurope.about.com</td></tr>
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I've decided to write about my trip on my personal blog, rather than starting a new one, as I did with my <a href="http://morgan-mysouljournal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">SOUL</a> experience last summer. The difference being that SOUL was a job, and this is simply part of my life as a student. I also wanted those posts to be easily distinguishable from others, whereas I hope to continue documenting my travels here throughout my life.<br />
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Though my trip isn't until late June, I want to go ahead and start documenting the process. Beginning with examining my expectations. My hope is that I remember to come back to this list afterwards and relate my experiences back to it.<br />
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<span style="color: #f6b26b;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;"> <b> 1)</b></span><b> </b>My number one expectation is that this trip will help me to<br />
be much more confident in my Spanish speaking. I am<br />
currently pretty proficient at reading and writing, even<br />
listening. But when I go to speak, I am so scared of making<br />
mistakes that I just don't say anything.<br />
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<span style="color: #f6b26b;"> <b>2)</b></span> An expectation that I have of myself is that in this trip I<br />
am able to become more flexible. By that I mean better able<br />
to go with a change of plans, or to make plans on the fly.<br />
As far as organized people go, I am one of the more<br />
organized people that I know, however with organization<br />
brings a certain rigidity in the plans that I make. I'm<br />
hoping that with this trip I am able to have a plan, but be<br />
more willing to change with changing conditions and<br />
circumstances.<br />
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<span style="color: #f6b26b;"> <b>3)</b></span> When I leave Spain I want to be able to cook a solid<br />
Spanish meal, hopefully a skill learned from my host-<br />
mother.<br />
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<span style="color: #f6b26b;"> <b> 4)</b></span> If you've read any of my other posts, you may know<br />
that I love photography. Throughout this trip, I want to<br />
focus some on my photography. I want to capture as much of<br />
the people, the culture, the way of life as accurately as I<br />
possibly can. I hope that my pictures will begin to reach<br />
another level as far as connecting the viewer to the<br />
subject of the photo.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-27780718746187546772013-11-06T17:14:00.000-05:002013-11-06T17:14:04.759-05:00Picture of the Week - Is that really happening?So yeah... The whole "I'm going to take pictures everyday! All the time! Then have time to edit them and share with everyone!" thing isn't really happening. I am sorry. I do love photography and I love to share the things that I create, as far as photography goes anyway. But you start carrying around a point-and-shoot digital camera in a world of smart phones and see just how inconvenient it is, as well as how many strange looks you get. That being said, I do not have a smart phone, or I would just take pictures on that. So instead, what I'm going to do is simply share with you as I get pictures.<br />
<br />
Being in college, most of the fun, exciting things that I do happen on the weekends, and at events having a camera out is perfectly fine. That being said, this past weekend I went to my first college football game! Personally, I am not a huge fan of football, I'm more of a soccer fan myself, but it was a fun, interesting experience nonetheless. Not only was this a big game for me, it was also a big game for all of the football fans at NC State. The game on November 2nd was the NC State Homecoming Game, <i>and</i> we were playing our rival UNC. (According to UNC we aren't their rival, Duke is, but Duke could care less. Also, rivalries are typically between public state schools, and Duke is private, so that another thing.)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HihiMbylVZg/Unq7x4kFcGI/AAAAAAAAAXA/l1_1sN62fIE/s1600/DSCN2863_Fotor_Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HihiMbylVZg/Unq7x4kFcGI/AAAAAAAAAXA/l1_1sN62fIE/s640/DSCN2863_Fotor_Collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These are some pictures from the game. The zoom on my camera is somewhat limited, so blowing them up anymore just makes the pixels come out. Of the three here, I think the top one is my favorite. It was taken during a time out, or a break between plays, I don't remember. I like the symmetry of the two teams (NCSU - red, UNC - blue) standing in their huddles on the field.</div>
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Anyway, I'm going to start posting a new picture on the "Picture of the Day" tumblr, but they're going to be picture that were not taken day-of. I hope you enjoy!</div>
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Morgan</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-76674961992434538982013-08-18T22:27:00.000-04:002013-08-18T22:27:05.229-04:00Picture of the Week - What is it?Some of you may have noticed the new tab at the top of my blog titled "Picture of the Day". This, in an effort to keep me taking pictures and essentially practicing photography is a link to a tumblr that I have created on which I will post a picture everyday. The idea is that I will have taken the picture that day, but this past week I have used some of my favorite pictures from the summer.<br />
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Instead of clogging up this blog with simple picture posts, they are all viewable if you click the above link. However, every week (probably on Sundays) I am going to go through the pictures that have been posted and try to pick one that I want to share with you all here. If I get enough interest in the blog then I will most likely pick the one with the most notes (which means the most people have liked or shared it.)<br />
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Through all of this I hope to improve my photography skills, as well as keep my eyes open to the things that are going on around me.<br />
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This week's picture of the week is:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C0UESIgvgW8/UhGBvsJX6JI/AAAAAAAAAVI/9JhnStvjjYA/s1600/skyline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C0UESIgvgW8/UhGBvsJX6JI/AAAAAAAAAVI/9JhnStvjjYA/s640/skyline.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was taken while my sisters and Gran strolled along a pier in Myrtle Beach, SC.</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-75856100789120936052013-08-14T19:42:00.000-04:002013-08-14T19:42:09.850-04:00Myrtle Beach AdventuresLet me start by saying that I <i>love</i> taking pictures. And some of them even turn out pretty good. One thing that I have learned this summer while keeping up my SOUL blog is that pictures are important. <b><i>I</i> </b>wouldn't even want to read a blog that didn't have any pictures. So why should I expect you to want to? I shouldn't. My Mom also gave me the idea to take and post a picture everyday, so that may start happening once I get back to school. Anyway, I'm going to start doing a better job of including pictures on my personal blog as well.<br />
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I figured that one of the best ways I could introduce that is by telling you all about the trip I took to Myrtle Beach with my sisters and my Gran. (pictures included).</div>
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Now, for the story. When we got to my Gran and Papa's house, Gran told us that there were kittens on the back porch. I was expecting them to be cute, but this basically-new-born cuteness is more than I was prepared for.</div>
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There are three orange, but the calico in the middle is my favorite.</div>
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Then we left, on our drive to the beach. Once we got to Myrtle Beach we checked in at our hotel and lugged all of our stuff up to our room.</div>
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Once we had settled in, the first thing we did was walk out on the pier near the hotel. Just to hang out and to see where we were. The sky and the water were gorgeous.</div>
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Then it was time for dinner. Instead of searching around for somewhere to go, we just went to a restaurant near the hotel. Now, my usual go-to burger is the mushroom and Swiss, and this place had one. But I decided it was time to mix it up. So instead of my standard, I decided to try their Southeastern burger. It had fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese on it. How amazing does that sound? And it was, believe me.</div>
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That completed our first night at the beach.</div>
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The next morning we headed straight out to the beach after breakfast. It was a bit cloudy, and the tide was pretty rough, so we weren't able to go out very far. </div>
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My littlest sister, Shelby, loved it. She was in the water the majority of the time. Elizabeth (my little sister) and I spent most of our time on the beach laying on our towels enjoying the sun. I was even able to listen to a few chapters of <i>The Three Musketeers</i> which is the latest audio book I'm working my way through.</div>
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That night we had plans to go to a show at the Carolina Opry, so we spent the afternoon walking around the board walk and killing time, eating ice cream, you know.</div>
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Then we got there. The show that we got to see was the Carolina Opry's "Good Vibrations", which goes through the 60's, 70's, and 80's. </div>
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I am proud to say that the three of us knew EVERY song. We were jamming out so hard that two of the guitarists, when they came off stage to walk around during a song, made sure to stop next to us and hang out for a second with their guitars. I took some other pictures, but the lighting was part of the show, and my camera doesn't handle that well. That show was definitely everyone's favorite part of the weekend.</div>
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Hopefully this post was more interesting, and after I move in to my dorm on Saturday I will begin putting up a photo a day here and on the link above. Until then, I may just share some of my favorite pictures of the summer on the new tumblr.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-23619626977401783712013-04-23T14:58:00.000-04:002013-04-23T15:00:09.261-04:00What is that new button!?Oh fundraising. How I've grown to despise thee.<br />
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I believe this has a lot to do with how every other month since kindergarten, schools and athletic teams have been pushing the same fundraisers. Everyone sells cookie dough, or chocolate. I guess you could say, the word <i>fundraising</i> brings a sour taste to my mouth.<br />
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However, in the missions field, gathering support (a bit of that being funding) is always necessary. It is necessary that I ask people for their support, not only monetary support, but moral and emotional support as well. Now, I'm going to let you in on something that I don't like to talk about: I can be a rather prideful person. I mean prideful in the sense that I feel like I can do things alone, without anyone's help, and I don't like having to ask for help. Which is probably another reason that fundraising and asking for money is always hard. Because even though I do need it, I don't want you to know that I need it. Which makes it difficult to raise any support.<br />
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That is why I am writing this post. To get it out there that I do need help. I need <i><u>your</u></i> help if I want to have a successful trip this summer. <b>But!</b> I don't want you to think that I am just asking for your money. If you can donate money towards my mission this summer then please, do. But if you cannot, I am still in need of your support. Like any mission, we need the Lord's guidance, and we need people who believe in our cause. Praying for me and the team that I am on, that is just as important as anything else.<br />
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I realize that in order for you to fully understand what exactly you will be supporting, I am going to have to let you in on what I am doing. That is where my new <a href="http://morgan-mysouljournal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: cyan;">summer blog</span></a> comes in. There is a link at the top of the page that will take you to where I will primarily be posting about my summer. There is only one post so far, but I am working on another one about this past weekend and our trip to Goldsboro. Not soon after this one goes up there will be a similar post about raising support on it as well.<br />
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A button was placed below the "popular posts" on the sidebar on the right where you should be able to send any monetary donations that you wish to an account that I created specifically for this summer. There is also a button at the bottom of this post.<br />
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To end off, I just want to say thank you to everyone who reads my blog. I haven't seen a whole lot of comments, but the page views keep going up, so I guess someone is reading. I would love to hear about your lives, or what you think of the things that are going on in mine, so please, feel free to comment.<br />
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Mo<br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Donate here for NC SOUL 2013:</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-42660032278623105942013-04-23T13:44:00.001-04:002013-04-23T13:44:50.402-04:00Self Discipline Let me start off by saying that lately, the most consistent thing that I've been doing is getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. <i>Which is not a bad thing.</i> Sleep is something that I have come to realize is extremely important. This realization had taken me about four years. My initial sleep deprivation started at good 'ole NCSSM that fateful August in 2009. The insane amount of academic pressure at that school (and at college afterwards) makes getting the least amount of sleep possible something to be proud of. <i>Which is shouldn't.</i> Admittedly, the faculty does promote good health and not just exercise but also healthy eating and getting enough sleep. But the "I only got four hours of sleep last night", said with that tone that is meant to sound like a complaint but is more like a brag, conversations continue.<br />
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AND, sleep is not what I was planning on writing about in this post. Although is does kind of go along with my topic of self-discipline. As some sort of segway, I'll at least say that if you have the discipline to get your stuff done, then getting enough sleep is not going to be a problem. That being said, my self-discipline has been severely lacking lately, specifically in the spiritual areas of my life. As you may have read in one of my earlier posts, I was planning on reading a chapter of Acts everyday this month. Just one chapter. Everyday. And I am currently about nine chapters behind. While I know that this is just a goal that I set for myself, and that no, the Word isn't going to change. The fact that I am now so far behind is discouraging me from starting up again and trying to finish. The problem isn't even that I don't enjoy reading the Bible, because I do. Reading the book Acts (the bit that I have) has opened my eyes a lot to what the church is supposed to look like, what the original church looked like. Before it came to be about the building and the denomination. When the people were simply following Christ and not bothered about the more petty things of religion.<br />
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Self Discipline is a topic that has come up again and again this year at the weekly Bible study that I go to. And every time it does I feel so convicted. But a feeling of conviction is not what is going to make me change. Only I can do that, with the Lord's help. This is really about my focus, what I am focused on. My focus has been changing, and needs to continue to change in order for me to be the person that I want to be. A model that I go to is the "<a href="https://www.youversion.com/bible/114/pro.31.nkjv" target="_blank">Proverbs 31 Woman</a>". Starting at verse 10, she is described as hardworking, loving, innovative, and she is constantly looking to improve her relationship with her Lord and Savior. That is the kind of person that I want to be.<br />
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MoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-70729263693508660852013-04-03T16:07:00.001-04:002013-04-03T16:07:46.881-04:00Following Christ: Before it was CoolIt's so easy to forget that people other than the disciples followed Jesus around too. Like, a LOT of people. We get this image engrained into our minds of him and the apostles, and <u>only</u> the apostles that makes it hard to picture all of the other people who were Christ followers at the time. there were tons of people who heard his teachings and were like, "You know what, I believe this guy." then they just <b>picked up and left</b>. they left their homes, their jobs, a lot of them probably even left their families. All to follow this radical man, who many had deemed a lunatic. Doesn't that change the picture? Try to imagine it this way:<br />
Everywhere Jesus went a giant crowd followed. When he stopped to rest on the road, tents<br />
popped up all around. If he stopped in a city, a large party of people stopped too. They filled up<br />
the inns, they stayed in fellow Christian homes in the city. All of those people had to eat<br />
something. Where do you think that came from? I don't know.<br />
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<i>Can you imagine doing that today?</i><br />
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Even then, the Roman people spread rumors and talked about Christians as a cult, as people who hated humanity. Christ's followers were persecuted, they were used as examples, being thrown in jail*, subjected to torture, and even murdered. On top of that, there were other guys running around claiming that they were the Chosen One, that they were the Messiah, not Jesus. So besides having to live a life of persecution and oppression, <i>how did they know they were following the right guy?</i> What was it that made him so obviously different to these people, that they believed Jesus was the real deal and no one else?<br />
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Also, lets keep in mind that the New Covenant had not yet been formed. That Christ hadn't died for the sins of man. These people did not have any proof that the Lord's grace was coming, that He was going to save them from sin. They must have been scared out of their minds at times. - What faith, that they would follow Jesus anyway.<br />
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When I think about what these people had to go through, I am so thankful that we have it so easy today. There is no threat (at least currently in the US) that I will be killed for sticking to my faith. Christians can meet out in the open, we can worship God in front of the whole world. And that, my friends, is an amazing thing.<br />
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It makes me sad to see Christ-followers now who don't reach out, who have their church, and their denomination, and they don't care about anything else. <b>WE ARE ONE BODY.</b> It is our job to tell the world about our savior! We don't need to get caught up in petty arguments or create division among our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians should be out there, searching for the lost, leading them to knowledge and faith in Jesus.<br />
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I want to say thank you to the first church, the original church. For taking the steps that they did, for enduring the pain and the suffering that they did, so that we could be where we are today.<br />
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All of this came to mind because I'm trying to read through Acts again, to really understand what the first church was like. I want to know what made it so strong, and to apply those things to my own walk with Christ.<br />
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If anyone wants to start this study with me, I just finished <a href="https://www.youversion.com/bible/114/act.1.nkjv" target="_blank">Chapter 1</a>. I will be reading a chapter a day for the rest of April. (I prefer the language of the New King James Version, but you can check out others and see if there is a different one you prefer.)<br />
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I would definitely be interested in hearing any thought that you have on this subject, or if you want to read through with me we can discuss things as they come up.<br />
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*Jail in the Roman empire was not like it is today. If you want to eat, you had to have someone who was willing to make and bring you all of your meals. There were no beds, no opportunities to bathe, no health care. If something happened or you got sick, that was just too bad - deal with it yourself.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-90844279758422666732013-01-24T21:08:00.000-05:002013-01-24T21:08:35.466-05:00A Love Like ThatEarlier this month my family lost two of its most elder members. My great aunt Alma past, then only a few days later, on the day of her funeral, her husband, Tom, also left us.<br />
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Alma's health had been on the rocks for a while, so her passing, though still painful for the family, was not unexpected. Tom on the other hand, he was raring to go. The doctors say that he died of a heart attack. I believe it is a bit more poetic, and probably more true to say that he died of a broken heart.<br />
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Now, I'm going to preface this by saying that I did not have an intimate relationship with either of them. Seeing them at family reunions, hearing them make comments such as, "Oh, how you've grown!", and, "I remember when you were <i>this </i>big," (while miming rocking a baby in their arms) are about as far as my personal relationship with them goes. That being said, they had some great stories. My family tree is large and intricate, so I won't even try to begin to clarify or tell who people are. But, his daughters? granddaughters?, either way, they absolutely adored Tom and Alma. At his funeral, three of them got up and gave, not really a speech, but a wonderful telling of some precious memories featuring Tom and Alma. The couple used to own a large chicken farm, and they worked their tails off. They would even get the kids to go gather eggs, singing the whole time.<br />
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Tom and Alma worked hard, and they loved hard. Having to spend time away from his family during WWII, Tom wrote countless letters back to Alma. She responded in kind. As they got older, they kept all of the letters in the trunk and would occasionally read them aloud to each other. How sweet is that? As they were going through Tom's things, they even found a short letter in his wallet, it read something like this (not an exact quote):<br />
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"Dear Tom,</div>
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You are the most handsome guy I know.</div>
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I am so glad that you are my husband,</div>
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That is as much as I remember, and I don't want to botch it, or not do it justice, so I'll stop there.</div>
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As Alma's health was declining, she was put in the hospital. Every day Tom would drive to see her. He would stay there as long as he could, even sleeping in a chair beside her bed at night. In the morning he would get up, go home to shower and eat breakfast, then head back over to the hospital.</div>
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If that's not dedication and commitment, I don't know what is.</div>
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What I'm getting to with this story, bittersweet as it is, is that love like that exists. God knows what is right for you, and <i>who</i> is right for you. And if you keep waiting, He'll give you something amazing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-92067877231304989002012-12-06T10:50:00.000-05:002012-12-06T10:50:26.037-05:00Exams: The Art of Procrastination and a Consideration of the World Around UsSo, as I am sure many other college students are experiencing right now, I am currently doing my best to avoid studying for my finals even though I know full well that I need to do amazingly on them to get the grades I want this semester. Sorry for that obnoxious run-on by the way. But seriously, I can never focus.<br />
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This morning was great, I met up with one of my friends and we walked to a bridge downtown and got to see the sun come up over Raleigh. Which, I am proud to say, is developing a skyline of sorts. There is something about getting up before the sun and getting to see the city wake up around you. Feeling the bridge you're standing on shake under feet with every passing car. Standing in the quiet with a good friend that helps you see that the world is bigger than the bubble that you put yourself in. Mine is currently NC State and all that entails. Actually, I would realistically say that I have multiple bubbles: my family at home, then more exclusively my sisters and myself, as well as my bible study through my church, another bible study a friend introduced me to, then there is the Honors Program, the Ben Franklin Program, and finally the United Way club. I'm sure there are more, but I am not going to try and list them right now. We put ourselves in these bubble and forget that the world will keep going without us if we stop paying attention. Then, when we catch a glimpse of reality it can knock us off our feet.<br />
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Living in and growing up in today's America, we are taught to focus on ourselves, to make sure that things work out for us, often at the expense of others. If you want to go deeper with that, the "American Dream" is really a one man on top scenario in the first place: You can't have everything without taking something from someone else. Lets call that the <i>Conservation of Things</i>. Anyway, that tells us that living in a bubble is completely acceptable, and keeps us from developing a fully formed idea of what the world is really like. Without understanding the world around us, we are content to simply think that we are the best and couldn't possibly have anything to learn from anyone else.<br />
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I find this to be extremely sad, and am often disappointed with the problems that America thinks it has. When I look at the news and the most pressing issue in America (that is spoken of) is that of marijuana being legalized while other places in the world are dealing with massive natural disasters and drastic social revolutions I can't help but think that we are ignorant in our wealth. I say wealth to mean that most have food enough to eat and a place to sleep at night, not to mention the amazing technology we have at our fingertips almost every second of the day.<br />
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It seems that this post has developed in a way that I wasn't expecting, and I'm not sure what the point I'm trying to make is, but thank you for reading this far.<br />
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...still thinking..<br />
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.. To all of you college/university students out there going through finals with me, just remember: Although studying is important and I'm not advocating for unpreparedness, the world is bigger than you probably realize. In the long run, this one set of finals will most likely not have that great of an impact on the rest of your life.<br />
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Good luck everyone, and God bless,<br />
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MoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-51773514747725465042012-09-17T22:32:00.000-04:002012-09-17T22:32:09.423-04:00Keeping PerspectiveThis is my fourth year in a highly competitive academic environment, and I think I am finally getting a handle on the fact that grades, though important, are not everything. I have let my grades basically rule my life for so long, and been thoroughly stressed out the whole time. It's exhausting, really. Every time my friends and family who aren't at school with me see me, they comment on how tired I look. Actually it's usually one of the first things that my Mom says every time I see or talk to her, whether I see her, or am even talking on the phone.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to put in the effort, still work for those good grades. I'm just trying to make them have less of an impact on my life. The sobbing breakdowns on the phone with my mother do not need to happen. They are as unpleasant for her as they are for me. My first year living at school, it literally got to the point where my Mom didn't want to talk on the phone with me because it usually ended with me bawling my eyes out about some assignment that seemed to important at the time, but now I see that it was so trivial. The work is still necessary, you will still find me furiously taking notes in class and when I do assigned readings. I will still be doing all of the homework and practicing as much as possible. But there are so many other things that are important too.<br />
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Family is definitely one of those things. Now that my middle sister is also away from home, and Dad is always traveling with work, just leaving the littlest one with Mom, it seems so important to me that I stay in touch with everyone. I love the phone conversations where there can be a break in the conversation for what some would think is an awkwardly long amount of time, but we don't care because that's how comfortable we are with one another. I will be the first to admit that I am horrible at keeping in touch with my friends and family. That is something that I have been working on, maintaining relationships with people that I love, and it's not easy. Not only am I bad at keeping up, the communication skills that I have in regards to emotions are severely lacking. I just hope that the people in my life can see how important they are to me, and how much I love them.<br />
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Other activities, such as Bible study, and volunteering with the NCSU Student United Way, that I am the president of (which, by the way, still blows my mind) take up a bit of time. That was something that I used to feel guilty about on some level, because it took away from my studying. But seriously, those things are just as, if not more important than hitting the books. I'm going to look back at my college experience in twenty years and not remember how dedicated I was, or how long I spent studying. I'm going to remember the people and the times that had an impact on my life, and I am grateful for that.<br />
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People have been telling me for a while now that I work too hard, and I'm just now realizing how right they are. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been here by my side to support me, and to try and keep my head where it should be. Mom has always told me two things: 1) Everything happens for a reason, 2) You've got to keep perspective. I didn't realize the impact that those two statements would have on me and my thinking, but I think I'm beginning to. Thank you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-33107766493901849832012-05-22T10:09:00.000-04:002012-05-22T10:09:21.941-04:00Home with the CatI've been home since the 8th. While that is a good thing in the sense that I actually have a break before diving in to my planed activities for the summer, it hasn't been the most exciting time of my life. Lately I've just been sitting at home watching TV or playing a number of games on my iPod/computer. <br />
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Okay, I just want to make it clear that I am one of those people who never had any type of gaming equipment as a child. No gaming consoles, not even a GameBoy. That's right. Honestly, it's probably a good thing, seeing how awkward I am in the first place. I can only imagine that my awkwardness would have been majorly enhanced by those kinds of things. Well.. we did have a couple of kid-friendly computer games, like Harry Potter (Quidditch was my favorite part of that game) and one Lego game. I think it was Lego Island, but I could never figure out how to catch the prisoner after you release him with that spicy pizza... Yea, so my childhood was mostly made up of spending hours outside with the sisters, real life Legos, and almost weekly trips to the local library. During the summer we would go spend the afternoon at the lake down the road with what few other kids there were in our tiny little town.<br />
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That being said, I am now extremely susceptible to being sucked into a game, and since I have nothing else to do, play it for at least a couple of hours at a time. So that is a lot of what I have been doing for the past two weeks. Someone in the Honors Quad posted a link to an online GameBoy emulator on our facebook group page. That was at least 2 days right there.<br />
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Yesterday there was a Warehouse 13 mini-marathon on Syfy, which of-course, I watched most of. For those of you that don't know, Syfy actually has some really good shows. Their movies are getting better too. One show of theirs that I have been curious to see but haven't gotten a chance is "Face Off". I think the show is a competition to find the next great makeup artist for them to hire. But don't quote me on that, because I'm not positive.<br />
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In other news, I spent three days last week being a proctor for the middle school that my dad works at. Definitely not the most exciting three days of my life, but it really wasn't that bad. I definitely suggest that if you have nothing better to do (like I didn't) that you go volunteer your time at a local elementary/middle school and proctor for the EOGs. They can always use the help.<br />
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So my cat is actually kind of irrelevant in this post, but I didn't want the title to be "Home Alone" or something depressing like that.<br />
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Have a great week!<br />
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Mo<br />
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PS. Hopefully I will find the will power to get into C. S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters" soon. I've been wanting to read it, but I know his books are really dense and haven't yet.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-39416393297349307752012-04-25T22:56:00.000-04:002012-04-25T22:56:02.309-04:00Winding DownNo, today was not my last day of classes. But it was pretty darn close. Friday will officially be the last day of the semester, and all I have between now and then is some homework, that I should probably be doing right now instead of writing this. On second thought, the only reason I am writing this is because I am waiting up until 10:00 to have a skype date with one of my best friends from high school. That's right, I would be asleep right now if it weren't for that.<br />
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What a change right? Not too long ago I had one night where I was up until four in the morning, working on a presentation for Spanish, that I ended up not even presenting the next day. Luckily all of my classes for next semester start at eight in the morning. Which means that I have no reason to be up late at night.<br />
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Anyway, that is not what I had planned to talk about. What I meant to talk about is how the year is coming to a close. I have two more days of class and three exams left. All of the decor is off of my walls, and I am slowly packing my things to send the first load home this weekend. My goal is to only have here what I will need for a week.. even though I will be here a little longer than that. I think going to boarding school for two years of my high school career has influenced my ideas of dorm-room decoration, but I just don't understand how people can live in a room for a whole year without covering up the bare, white walls.<br />
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I have finally started connecting with a group of friends outside of class and Bible Study (not that I don't love my Bible study, I just don't get to see them as often as I would like), but we have like a week and a half left to spend together. This is all so very bitter sweet. I am so ready for summer, but at the same time, I wish I had more time to get to know all of these people, because I don't know how much of them I will get to see of them next year. Especially since they are all design majors and I am in engineering and humanities.<br />
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The only thing I know to do is to be thankful that my year has been good, that I have been able to make some new friends, bond with my roommate, and have almost an entire two months at home with my family before I start working this summer. I haven't been home for that long in three years, and I think it is time for a break.<br />
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MoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-73116391432100739002012-04-06T21:05:00.001-04:002012-04-06T21:51:59.325-04:00The Hunger GamesNow, I don't know how others who have read the books feel about the Hunger Games movie. Admittedly, it was a good movie. But I must admit that I was slightly disappointed.<br />
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Recently I have really become a stickler when it comes to movies based on books actually following the book, and leaving the same impression in me as the book did.<br />
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In this case, the movie did, for the most part, an excellent job at following the plot line of the book. I just have one main issue. There were of course some details from the book that were missing, but most of those were minor. What I had an issue with was the way the movie came off as being mostly about the kids killing each other. Yes, that is a large, important part of the story, but I saw a larger picture in the book that was not conveyed through the movie.<br />
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The book showed a bigger picture, one of the struggle of an oppressed people, just beginning to realize as a whole that they can stand up for themselves. All of the character interactions that show this at the beginning of the book, such as Katniss selling to the Peacekeepers and the power that the Capital has over the rest of the districts is left for the viewer put together themselves. They show an uprising in District 11 as a result of the way Rue was treated when she died, but it doesn't clearly tie to the overall rebellion growing among the people. All of the story that makes the Hunger Games what it is was left until the end of the movie, like when Haymitch tried to explain to Katniss that she had upset the Capital, so it didn't have the full effect that it has in the book.<br />
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While I did enjoy the movie, the book was infinitely better. But, one must keep in mind that I am a bit of a bookworm.<br />
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Thanks for reading,<br />
<br />
MoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-21180924009269084402012-03-24T23:38:00.002-04:002012-03-24T23:38:52.670-04:00ViolatedLast night, between the hours of 12am and 7 am, my laptop disappeared from my room. Well this may not seem like a big deal to some. But the fact that I was there, in my room, in my bed, asleep, while my lovely MacBook Pro disappeared, puts it on a whole other level. <br />
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I am not one to put too much value in material things. Yes, I hate that my laptop is missing, but I can replace a laptop. It may be inconvenient and a little costly, but it can be replaced. The fact that some creeper was in my room while I was asleep in my bed and I didn't know is extremely disconcerting. I feel so violated, like someone was in my safe zone, and I wasn't the one that let them in. That may not be a very good metaphor, but it's the best I've got at the moment. The world I come from is not one where these kinds of things happen. I was raised to believe that people are usually good, I'm not saying that I'm completely naïve, but I never thought that this would happen to me.<br />
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Given that nothing else in the room was touched, they didn't take the charger, the TV was fine, my roommate's laptop was also fine, and my purse was untouched, including my debit card, I know that this was a crime of opportunity, not against me in particular. But, with my personality, I can't help but take it as a personal attack. <i>What did I do to someone to make them do this to me? Was it something I didn't do?</i> I generally get along with everyone, so I can't imagine someone disliking me enough to do something like this. I want to be angry, I really do, but I want my anger to go to the deserving target. Since I have no idea who did this, or why it happened, it just keeps falling back on myself. <i>What did I do wrong?</i><br />
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Yes, I have followed all the right channels, and have filed a report with the police, but still. This is very much a personality trait of mine, sometimes it's good, sometimes, not so much, but I like to handle my own problems. There is no way that I could handle this myself.<br />
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So, time to pray about it, put it behind me, and move on.<br />
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1st step: Do some research on a new Mac. (because I do love them, no Windows for this girl).<br />
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God Bless,<br />
MoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728725089905039450.post-36105034329211888452012-02-23T01:24:00.002-05:002012-02-23T01:24:59.712-05:00Who needs sleep anyways...Lately I have had quite a bit of school work. What, with spring break coming up, midterm season is just getting started good. Being the great adventurer of academia that I am... I have decided that working out (most days) and getting my homework done is more important than going to bed at a reasonable hour. Is this the smartest decision? I will be one of the first in line to say that it's not, but that is the way that it is.<br />
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I have been told that reaching a certain point of sleep deprivation is the same as being intoxicated, and I am inclined to believe them. There will be weeks, or, more normally, a couple of weeks where the amount of sleep I get is way below the amount that I need, and I can get pretty loopy.<br />
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Writing this, I have realized the irony of my sitting here doing this instead of going to bed, but I'm at the point where it's going to be a battle to get up in the morning no matter what, so I might as well just use my time. <br />
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For those of you who are interested, the weather in Raleigh, and probably over the whole of North Carolina is kind of crazy right now. Maybe three days ago*?* it was sleeting and snowing, and today it was a balmy sixty degrees and sunny. Now, it's thundering, threatening to storm if it's not storming already. While I heard that the weather doesn't really have anything to do with catching a cold, or a cough, I find it easier to just blame it on the weather that there is now a frog living in my throat. I wake up in the mornings, and the first few words I say, I sounds like a man. If I were, in fact, male, that wouldn't be a problem, but since I'm not, I would really appreciate it if this frog would just leave me alone.<br />
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In other news, I am getting a hair cut over spring break. Not like a trim, or a couple of inches. Right now my hair is down to my mid-back, straight, and blonde. After this cut, it will still be straight and blonde, but it'll only be a couple of inches long. I'm going for a drastic change with a pixie cut. I'll try to post some before and after pics if I remember to.<br />
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And now, I should probably go to bed...<br />
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God Bless,<br />
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MoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12852557328017238865noreply@blogger.com0