And so it begins!

After over a year of waiting and hoping, I've finally made it to orientation! Today is my first full day on campus, and so far things have gone pretty well. Although, since things don't seem to really get started until tomorrow, most of us are just wandering around thinking that we ought to be doing something productive...we just can't figure out what. Especially since we know that in less than 24 hours we will be overwhelmed with everything that we will have to get done (or at least that's what I've been told).
So, even though I've technically started my journey, I guess I still have to wait a bit for the real thing to start. But here's what I do know...I'm extremely excited about having my own room!!!

My fuzzy friend even got his own bed!

Yes, this room may seem a bit bare, but I prefer tranquil...

South to North Carolina

Yes, I'm behind, but better late than never I always say. A couple weekends ago I took a trip to visit a friend from Liberty University who lives in Boone, NC. She's actually the one that told me about the missions program that I will be training for in about a week. Thank goodness for old friends! So, since I'm not much of a writer, here's some pics from my travel journal about my trip...
(warning, these pictures didn't turn out so well...resist squinting, it's not your vision)

I think Boone is very very cute...but there are a lot of trees...

Back to South Dakota!

Who knew I would be driving up to South Dakota for two weekends in a row! But I did, and I'm very proud of myself, especially for making it up there the second time in my car. A road trip in my car always involves some memorable moments, here is an example...


For about 6 months now, I have held the drivers side section of my bumper to the rest of the car with a bit of well-placed duct tape, but all good things must come to an end and my duct tape retired at the beginning of my trek from Kansas to Mitchell. I let it flap in the wind for most of the trip while I tried to figure out how to secure it without duct tape and here's what I ended up doing at a gas station in Hartford, SD. I happened to have some steel toed shoes in my backseat and was able to make use of a shoe lace. Not as attractive as the duct tape though...I will have to fix that before too long.

So that was my drive to Mitchell...my drive home was also a memorable experience. As I merged onto interstate 90 outside Mitchell, my speedometer quit. Good grief...I love my car, but sometimes...

Well now I've seen it!

I am in South Dakota, and yes, I did see Mount Rushmore. I find it funny that anytime anyone says that they will be visiting South Dakota, people ask if they will be seeing Mt. Rushmore, since they're so close. It is on the very west side of the state! And the state isn't exactly the size of New Jersey. But here I am, furthering the assumption...yes, I'm visiting South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore has been crossed off the list. Enough talk...here are some pictures...

The Classic Entrance

The Less than Thrilled "wild" Mountain Goat

Mens Capri Pants--available in Germany?

The Last Show
and a very cute (and cold) couple

In case you were getting worried, we did not stay at Rushmore the entire day, but I will go into the rest of our fun-filled adventures later.

i have roomates...

So, I know I said that I would probably be ready for a roommate after living alone for a couple weeks, but when I thought roommate, I was thinking a friend...or at least a human being. But no no, here are the four interested parties that I got...

Well, needless to say, I decided that we weren't compatible and after all...I am paying the rent.

what's this???

So, after 8 years with my trusty Nike running shoes, I decided it was time to go out and buy new shoes. If this fact hasn't tipped you off to the hard truth of my complete lack of regular exercise, let me be blunt...I rarely exercise. However, it is time to change things and so my first step is getting new shoes...easier said than done. The sports shoe walls at the local mall were covered in these:

What in the world? I suddenly felt very old standing in front of one of those walls...

Flight Plans!

First, I suppose I should apologize for my lack of posting in the past few weeks, but really, it's hard to post about events that don't seem too interesting to me, let alone to everyone else. However, I do have some Scotland-related news now. I have my itinerary for my first ever international flight! As it stands now, I will be officially starting my new life phase on January 6th, 2009. What makes this even more exciting is that last week, there were a few misunderstandings in regards to my flight plans, and I was beginning to get a little nervous. For some reason my e-mails weren't getting to the people they needed to get to, so things were moving much slower than they ought to be. I also had been told that I would be flying out later than my partner which made me very very nervous! I had expected us to fly together...I mean, that makes sense doesn't it? Anyway, after a week of uncertainty and a bit of anxiousness on my part, I received my new itinerary and it looks great. I will be flying out of the country with my partner now and can breathe a sigh of relief!

Having my itinerary also makes this whole thing seem more real. Lately it feels like more of a dream than anything because it seems too good to be true. I wouldn't blame people if they thought I was making the whole thing up! But now, I have my route to Scotland on paper....ahhhhhh...

And, apologies for the lack of interesting pictures on this post...but I intend to post a picture of the very very pink, recently painted foyer of my new house. I know I know, pink is scary...just wait and see!