Yep, it's that time again! What is 12:30 am, Alex? (excuse the lame Jeopardy reference. Man, I love that show like a nerd...) I can't believe we are only 1 month away from the end of year THREE!! How is that even possible? So much difference in my life between then and now. It will be such a fun ride to see what the next year holds.
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| Easter Sunday with Sayaka, Tong, Aika and Brianna |
I'm trying to think what is really new and unusual in life lately. To me, it feels like a lot of the same thing, and a lot of me just loving what I do and who I am with. College is good, I finally finished the last 'real' exam between now and Finals week. All left to do is papers and daily work, which feels a little more manageable and it is operated on MY time, which is also nice. Granted, there are 2 papers due which I haven't even started yet. One is for Math 320, and so I am expecting to be able to ramble through that one without much trouble. The one for my middle eastern history class needs a little more effort than it's received thus far, but I have all of next weekend to work on it.
Next weekend is Mom's Weekend on campus, but I'm cloistering myself instead. I told mom not to come over this time - she's travelled east enough for one semester, plus it's a big homework weekend for me. The following Saturday, we're gonna go to a Chris Tomlin concert instead, and that will be our 'thing'. I won't likely be home again until...sometime mid May? even then, it will only be for a few days.
Related to that, yes, I am officially in Pullman for the summer! And I am so excited about it! :) My purpose and ministry are here now, so it just makes sense. Full time job, good friends, beautiful weather...all in a region I love so much. Don't get me wrong, there are things I will miss about being home for the entirety of the summer, but most of those things will still get seen and done, just in short weekend increments. I plan to go home for at least a 4-day weekend every month, and probably a full week in July (can't miss Go 4th in Longview!), so I'll see my family, and get to catch up with friends here and there... although frankly, very few friends are going to be there in the first place. Plus a wedding or two which will require me traveling west, and it may end up being more time than I think my parents are expecting. They're not super stoked about the idea, but they are trying to be supportive and see the logic in my decision.
Starting June 22nd, I'm legally bound to an apartment! Brianna, Audrey and I signed a lease last week, so it is official. I can't believe it, but I'm excited for the new adventure. And it will be an adventure, and a learning curve, I know. Good for everyone, I hope. We're doing pretty good so far tracking down all of the necessary items and planning out how life will work differently living off campus. For me, the main challenge is going to be balancing time at home and time on campus. My tendency already is to feel guilty taking nights to just be, and not see any international students, and I will have to be careful not to take on more of that than is healthy. It's gonna be important to have roommate-only nights too.
I am excited though! The complex is great, and almost all of our 'would like to have' items are checked off the list. It's another topic where I can tell my parents aren't 100% on board with the idea...and I haven't completely figured out where the hesitation is coming from. I hope that once I'm officially moved out of Honors and they get to see the apartment, that the excitement will come. It's happened that way every year so far with all my previous dorm situations. Plus, I'm saving so much money this way! Which will take pressure off of them, I hope, coupled with the fact that I am praying for a good financial aid package.
Oh - praise report! The new group of students from Kansai Gaidai University in Japan arrived! So far, I have met three of the girls, and I'm trying to reach out to them in a non-pushy way. They don't know why I'm so excited to meet them, but that's okay. :) Time will grow our friendship, I hope. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do if it didn't. I'm trying to prepare myself to say goodbye to the beautiful girls I've already had the privilege to know this year, and it's so hard. We've really started to get close in the past month or two, and I consider them as much my friends as anyone else here. *sigh* I just wish I spoke Japanese...or Arabic...or Chinese. It would make the cultural differences seem a little smaller, and it would help me get to know them so much better! Even when their English is great -- there are some things that can't be expressed in a 2nd language, and so I never get to know that part of them. Summer bucket list - keep studying languages!
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| Crazy face pictures with Yocchi <3 |
Tomorrow I'm checking out a new church with Aika. Should be fun, and a good chance to spend more time with that girl! ;) I love our conversations, even if they are scattered amongst intense study sessions. Then later tomorrow night is Japanese movie night! Woo! Gonna be a good Sunday.
*From Where You Are, Lifehouse
