Stop! It’s Party Time!

So, based on the last several posts (excluding the one about my Canada trip), you guys know that I’ve had a rough couple weeks. Both my roommate and I have been feeling the stress of finals looming over our heads. Final projects, presentations, and exams are coming up and it’s been a little daunting. Both of us have been sick lately, too, and Amanda recently sprained her ankle really badly at a Rugby game last week. Our apartment has been a little dreary.

The past week, especially, we’ve just been coming home and moping on the couch. We were just absolutely wiped out and spent our evenings attempting to weed through our homework and maybe get a little less behind in our classes. It was mildly depressing. So when the impromptu opportunity came to release a little steam, we jumped at it like a box of kittens at a laser pointer.

Amanda’s cousin was celebrating his birthday in Brookings, SD with a nice little grill out, and invited us to join. We packed up as soon as possible and got the heck out of Marshall.

The party was really fun, we met David’s coworkers and saw his college friends again. It was so great. We got to just relax and forget about all of the stuff back at school stressing us out. It was a fantastic break, and we didn’t have to stop there. The next night was chalk full of some really great plans.

A few weeks ago, my friends Michaela, Brianna, and Kelsey approached me and told me that they wanted to put on a surprise birthday party for Amanda. They just needed my apartment to do it and for me to distract her the night of so that they could decorate beforehand. This was indeed going to be a surprise seeing as how Amanda’s birthday wasn’t until June. I was so excited. Amanda puts on parties for everyone all the time and never gets one for herself. I was really looking forward to it because I knew she deserved it and I couldn’t wait to see her face when we got to the party.

Michaela had worked out the details with the others, and it was looking like the best party ever. I was going to take Amanda out to Applebee’s while they decorated and when we got back, they would jump out at her and scare the crap out of her. Or so I thought.

Little did I know, Amanda had known about the party all along. Brianna had made a comment about having a party for her birthday before we went home for the summer. Amanda’s crazy, creative, caring party-planning brain mode kicked in. She decided that if they were going to throw a party for her, they would have to throw a party for me, too, seeing as how my birthday was in the summer too. And, best of all, I was not allowed to know that the party was for me. So the entire time that I was planning things for Amanda, everyone was lying to me behind my back and planning it for me.

I cannot stress this enough. My friends are diabolical, lying fiends. The intricacies of this deception are so complex and deep that I doubt I will ever fully trust anyone ever again.

That being said, I was so touched that they care so much about me to even think about doing something like this. It was the biggest surprise, I had had absolutely no idea. When I found out that Amanda had known the whole time, I was shocked…

The party was a hit, though. A lot of people showed up, including the cousins we had just seen the night before. We had tons of food, snacks, juice, and…other…beverages…party beverages the like of which college students often indulge in…you know, like…Mountain Dew and stuff.

AND WE GOT PRESENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, we had a much needed weekend of blowing off steam. My friends are crazy and insanely creative and awesome. If any of them reads this blog, which I actually pray that they don’t, I love you guys! That was fantastic.

 

Je suis américaine!

Okay guys, this week is a little longer post that most, but bare with me because I’ve got a lot to share!

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to visit Canada for the first time. I travelled with the SMSU french club–Le Club Francais. We left on Thursday and spent the entire weekend exploring Winnipeg and it’s French quarter, Saint-Boniface. The trip came at the perfect time–I was stressing over school being so close to over, and needed a vacation. Even though I was stressing, most of my homework was reading and seven hour car rides are perfect for burning through a few hundred pages of novel. My medications, thankfully started kicking in a few days before and they had my appetite raging, which was absolutely perfect for a trip centered largely around eating delicious French foods. And last, but certainly not least, during my trip, my tax refund went through, so I had a comfortable amount of spending money for said delicious foods…and some presents for people I kind of like, I guess.

We went to so many amazing, authentic French restaurants and I got to try a lot of new foods that I had never had before. Duck, halibut, ratatouille, scallops (oh my goodness, scallops, guys: delicious), risotto, creme brûlée, floating island, St. Honore, and others. I swear I spent almost $200 on food alone during this trip. But, boy, was it ever worth it. We were literally planning our days around our meals. The ladies I was with sure do know how to travel.

We found a bunch of great places to eat. The first night, we went to Bombolini and had a great meal that we raved about for the rest of the trip. We sat and ate for so long that we did not even get back to the hotel until 11:30! Stella’s Cafe across the street from our hotel was fabulous. We ate there twice for breakfast and once for supper–each time we had great service and scrumptious, filling food. We got reservations at Retro Gare, a nice little place where you can actually eat in a train car! One of my favorite places, though, was Little Maria’s, an adorable little cafe that we found by accident.

We had planned to get a light lunch at Bombolini, so that the older ladies could have some more of the wine from Thursday night that they couldn’t stop talking about. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that they were closed for the afternoon, a very common occurrence in Canada and France that Americans just are not used to. We went back to the parking lot and saw the side of a little building with a gorgeous mural on the wall. Above it read: “Little Maria’s Porchetta and Meatballs.” We figured that we’d take a gander and see if they were open. I am so glad that they were because it was the cutest little place.

We talked to the owner and found out that they’d only been open for about eight months and that the man had named it after (I think) his granddaughter. The little girl, probably around six or seven, was there playing and drawing in a back room. She was adorable. They had put up all kinds of artwork around the cafe and they had a few pictures of Maria and even some of her drawings up as well. The food was exquisite. The side salads alone were really good and I had a meatball sandwich that was mouth-watering. After we had finished eating, the owner came over with two massive slices of apple caramel pie on the house because they were about to close for the weekend and needed to get rid of the last of it. The service was so great and the food was so good that we all tipped exuberantly.

We did get to see stuff, too. We visited two museums and saw some great exhibits, we went to an adorable little bookstore called “A la Page” and I found some cute kids books in French (kids books are the only ones I know enough to actually be able to read.) We went to an old church and saw many other cultural things. We also got to do a lot of shopping and the Forks, and Portage Place. Portage was a nice little mall, and my favorite store in there was HMV which was packed full of nerdy things galore. They had merchandise for Supernatural, Doctor Who, Fault in Our Stars, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and so many others. I actually had to leave for a bit so that I would not hyperventilate and spend all the money I had ever possessed ever. Mia and I both got hit on by the same guy and had a great time laughing about it later when we found out. I was very proud of myself that I walked out of that store with only one purchase–an absolutely adorable Grumpy Cat shirt with a red barret and moustache drawn on and “Non!” written above. In case any of you don’t know, “Non” is “No” in French. I thought it was the perfect thing for a cat loving French club president to take home after her trip to Canada.

When I went to the check out, I handed the cashier my Vikings-decorated debit card, and he said, “So you’re not from around here, eh?” I was like, “No, I’m from Minnesota. Je suis américaine! with a terrible accent….” He graciously said that it wasn’t that bad and we had a nice conversation about the weather and other stuff. That was the only time I really got to use the little bit of French that I’ve learned here, but like most people, he was glad that I had at least tried. A lot of people think that Americans are uncultured and self-centered, and I agree that, for the most part, they’re kind of right. But if you try just a little to be on the same page as some one else, it really brightens their day and brings a smile to their face. Even if they are laughing at you, it’s still nice. Plus, if you laugh along, then they’re just laughing with you!

Like I said, we did lots and had some great times, but the food was definitely the best part. We sat and ate for hours at a time. Some of my favorite parts were just sitting with these ladies at mealtimes and listening to their stories about life, kids, health issues (we all had some sort of problem), driving horror stories, and above all, stories of traveling.

My mom has always stressed travel while we were growing up, so I have been lucky enough to go to Italy, Greece, and at least half of the states. The rest of the group included Madame Leslie, the French teacher here on campus, Kathy Schaefer, also a teacher here, and two other students, a non-tradational student with kids in their thirties, and Mia, a 25-year-old originally from Haiti who had grown up in Miami. At 20, I was the youngest in the group, but was still able to hold my own in conversation. All of us girls came from different backgrounds, but we had all had some really interesting experiences that we got to share with each other. It’s amazing getting to learn about people’s lives and hearing all the things that they have been through. As a French teacher, Madame had been on countless trips with students across Canada and Europe. Kathy had been a travel agent and had seen many countries in her time. I loved to just soak up their stories and keep adding to my ever-growing wish list of travel destinations.

We only spent a few days there, but we saw and shared so much that it felt like longer. The weather was beautiful while we were there. We left Minnesota rainy, cold, and windy, and we came into Winnipeg with temps in the 60s, sun streaming down, and an only occasional ridiculous wind.

I’ve always loved travel, it’s one of my favorite things to go new places and just watch the people who live there. It’s fascinating how similar and yet totally different everyone is. There is almost always something you have in common with any given person, and being able to find that and sit down and have a conversation is a true gift.

I cannot wait for my next chance to travel. This summer, I will be attending my third League of Postmasters convention with my mother in Washington D.C., and I will be trekking through the Boundary Waters for the first time with my roommate and her family. I love taking vacations to new places, but I would also love to go back to Winnipeg-if only for the food!

I hope someday that I either get a high-paying job with lots of time off, or I marry rich and use my husband’s money to see the world. A girl can dream, right? Oh well, I will be dreaming about those scallops, regardless of my future outlook.

 

Another Angst-Filled Rant…

Throughout my school career, I have struggled with trying to balance academics, work, extra-curriculars, and a social life. Granted, I don’t have the thriving social life most college students have to manage, but I still do things. For whatever reason, this semester has been insane when it comes to sorting everything out. I’m constantly deciding between resting to stay healthy (not easy with a genetic medical condition), enjoying the activities with clubs, and not ruining everything grade-wise that I’ve been working toward for three years.

This semester, as you know, I have 22 credits worth of classes to juggle, only one thankfully very easy job, band, French and honors club, friends to hang out with and a relatively new boyfriend to hang out with. So. Much. Work!

These last few weeks since Spring Break have been truly awful. Over the break, as I said, I got really sick. It was a mixture of a bad turn with my condition and a cold. I was set up on the coach with Harry Potter audio books and Sudoku not getting any homework done and falling slowly behind. The next week I was still sick and hadn’t gotten much more done. I had lots of things looming: a big paper for a research conference that I would have to miss school for the next week(last Thursday through Saturday), group projects and other assignments.

Today is the Wednesday after the conference, which I actually couldn’t attend because I got the flu, but I still missed the classes, so yay! The medications I’m taking for my condition severely deplete my immune system making me more susceptible to other viruses most people get to fight off without ever even knowing they were at risk.

I just got back from a trip with the SMSU Symphonic Band and Chorale. It was fun, but I was still kind of sick and missed two full days of classes again. Friday, I’ll miss class again to go to the clinic and get needles stabbed into my arms and poison “medicine” pumped through my veins. Next week, Le Club Francais is taking an exciting trip to Canada for four days! I’m super pumped for it, but it means missing another Thursday and Friday of classes.

All of this is so overwhelming that I actually am not sure and cannot put a quantifiable number on exactly how far behind I am in all of my classes. I have missed more class this semester than in all of my previous semesters put together. I’m pretty sure that my Tuesday night class is just kind of…I don’t even know. How could I? I haven’t been there since….February 24th…oh my god, I’m screwed.

Obviously, health is important, but it’s hard to keep missing class and not feeling guilty about it, even if I am nearly dead to the world sick. Getting involved in clubs is great too, and this trip to Canada is an amazing opportunity, the band trip was completely mandatory, and the conference was required for class. Each one has good reason for skipping, but when I go to all three (or try to) and they’re all within three weeks of each other, it gets a little insane.

On top of all of this, I do want to hang out with my friends, and sometimes am obligated to. A couple weeks ago, we had a double birthday for two of the ladies in our group. It was a blast, but it took hours of planning, preparing, and actually enjoying. Ugh, and then there’s the boyfriend who wants to hang out. There is not enough time in the day for all of the things!!

I knew this semester would be crazy going into it, but I hadn’t expected to get so sick, and I really hadn’t expected a boyfriend. Juggling everything is getting stressful, but there are only five weeks left. If I can just keep it together until May 9th…but then again, I have to get everything done in five weeks. Holy crap. I’m going to die.

 

Spring…Break?

Spring break is finally here, but does it really count? Sure, we’ve had some beautiful weather that promises to stay really wonderful, but it does not really feel like a break. Don’t me wrong, I’m grateful for the time off, but teachers just don’t seem to get the fact that we need an actual break. Some of them have been amazing enough not to give me homework, but others lay on just as much as ever.

Right now, I’ve got four papers, two websites, and a scattered few other assignments on my to-do list. Granted, some of them, hopefully, won’t take too long, but it is still a bit overwhelming. I keep trying to convince myself that I should just do it all because after that, I get to relax. But this isn’t entirely true, is it? After I’ve used up my break time writing all of those essays, there will always be more.

Some of my classes have been rather light at the beginning of the semester, but that just means that the second half will be far worse. And even after I’ve dragged my procrastinating butt through the end of this semester, there’s always the summer. Will I find a job or internship to stress me out, or will I just stress out about not having anything to do, any way of making money and providing for myself?

I tell you, “Break” means nothing, it’s just a couple of days for you to temporarily remove yourself from the stress long enough to forget everything you were supposed to be doing, only to have it all resurface, ten times more overwhelming when you finally do come back to school.

Wow, this is an extremely pessimistic post, but I suppose Spring Break has actually given me enough free time to evaluate my life and finally realize how stressed I really should be. And it doesn’t help that I have a genetic condition that is only worsened by stress, so I am just peachy right now.

Oh well, I’m sure that responsibility and work will disappear some time, right? Like when I’m dead? Hopefully? Awesome…