I've been preparing for my finals and working my butt off. Not only have I been studying a ton, but I've been working on final projects...which stink. ESPECIALLY group projects. Now don't get me wrong, I love the people I'm working with, but writing group papers are just THE WORST idea ever...Anyway, I've been listening to a lot of Pandora (pandora.com) lately to help me stay motivated and all that. I've created a few Christmas stations and the one I like the best is the one where I entered Bruce Springsteen (holiday) and Jackson 5 (holiday). I don't know what is more Christmas then the Jackson 5! I mean, really, what could be better then The Boss, Little Michael, The Rat Pack (mainly Frankie and Dino), The Temptations, The Drifters, Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Harry Connick, JR., and Michael Buble singing holiday hits? It really puts you in the holiday mood!
Ya know what else puts you in the Christmas spirit? Watching your favorite Christmas movies on the couch with some hot chocolate. I did this recently (minus the hot chocolate :( ). For a study break, Alexis and I watched Nestor the Long-eared Christmas Donkey and Cece and I watched A Year Without a Santa Claus (one of my ALL TIME favorites...Alexis and I have Snow Miser and Heat Miser t-shirts because we're awesome). I can really appreciate those old, stop-motion (clay-mation) animation movies that were made in the 70's. Classics. Basically, this is a really long introduction for my actual point: I'm really excited to go home and spend some much needed time with my family. I'll be home for about 5 weeks (have I mentioned that?) which definitely is NOT enough time, but it's much longer than my normal Christmas break would be. Since my break is so long, it's going to be even harder to say goodbye.
HOLD ON NOW FOLKS! This is where it starts to get sad, sappy, & sentimental so if you don't want any of that just skip to the bottom...I always have a hard time saying goodbye to my family, whether they know that or not, but it's true. Such is the life of a daddy AND mommy's girl that decides to explore the world, I suppose. I'll miss my family the most out of everyone. Whenever we're together we always have a good time, even when we're not doing anything! (I wouldn't have it any other way.) One thing I've learned these past 3 semesters in college is this: absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. I know when all is said and done they will always be happy to see me when I return from wherever my travels take me, which makes the return that much better. I thank God everyday for the family He has given me...it would be great if they would visit me while in Ireland...just sayin' (I HEAR PLANE TICKETS ARE CHEAP NOW!).
Geez, I don't know when the heck I turned into such a sap but it has happened and I don't know how I feel about that...I realized, before Cece locked my facebook for me (hence my status), that I have two weeks left here in South Bend and then I won't see these people until August. If you think about it though, I really only have ONE week since the other week is chock full of finals. I won't see my friends out here for 8 months...WOW. So much can happen in that time span. I've talked about this a lot lately with my other friends going abroad and, from what I've gathered, we're all slightly afraid to go abroad. What if we come back and none of our friends from school are excited to see us again? Or don't think twice about the fact that we haven't seen them for 8 months? It's scary to think about. What if we all drastically change while we're gone? Most importantly, how the heck can a person focus on things like finals when these are the things they're thinking about with increasing regularity? (Don't worry mom, I AM focusing on finals, too :D ) I'm really going to try to live for the day (like I mentioned in my last post) every day this week. I'm going to take pictures of everything and not care if I look like a crazy person for documenting every little event that happens. (I'm going to need something to look at when I get South-Bend-sick.) I'm going to savor every minute I get to spend with my friends from here because I'm going to miss them a lot; some of them have become my family away from home. SO. This paragraph. It's my way to say "Welp, see ya later!" to my friends in the hopes that when we actually say our goodbyes I won't be a weeping, sobbing mess. I'll miss you all. I love you guys. I'll see some of you across the pond!
Well, this post certainly turned out to be something I did not expect...with all this sadness out of the way I calculate I won't need another sad post like this until...maybe the first week in Ireland? We'll see...Anyway, Christmas. I'm excited. Food, family, football (no ND bowl game...lame.), mass at home (which I genuinely miss), presents, friends, and most importantly RELAXATION. It'll all be worth it in the end. Christmas, don't be late!
P.S.-I'm also genuinely excited for Ireland, despite what my posts would lead you to believe. It's bittersweet.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
I think of a place on a faraway coast
As I think about what this week is going to do to me emotionally and mentally, my brain kind of just wants to cave in on itself. That being said, I am currently procrastinating doing my accounting homework for a bit in order to 1) unwind and 2) write this post!
I would like to take this moment to say Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone reading this! Hopefully it was an enjoyable holiday spent with those you love. My holiday was awesome. I like spending copious amounts of time with my family, food, pumpkin pie, seeing friends, & watching football so it was a great break for me! (I won't speak of the ND game...)
Yesterday when I arrived back on campus, South Bend was its usual gloomy, November self and as I walked up the stairs of Le Mans I had the depressing thought that a few hours prior I was in the comfort of my own home. Then today, while in my 8 o'clock computer programming class (anything, let alone C++, is tough for a college student to do at 8am), I was organizing my academic life and realized I have about 3 weeks left on campus until I leave for Christmas break. At first, I was really excited then I thought "Wow. I won't be back on campus until August." It is still such a weird concept for me to grasp. As I was walking to lunch with Kelly, we talked about how conflicted we feel. My general feeling is: I have a hard time wanting to leave while at the same time I want finals week to just get here already so I can go back home. Therein lies the predicament. I've decided that while I will work hard these last 3 weeks, I will also cherish every minute I have left with my friends from school, especially those who will be graduating. I feel like I've taken this semester for granted and didn't live in the moment enough and because of this, I will make sure to take more chances & recognize an opportunity when it presents itself. These are going to be the best last 3 weeks of school ever.
Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
(Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.)
Note: I also plan to carry this mindset over into the FIVE WEEKS that I'll be home during Christmas break :)
I would like to take this moment to say Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone reading this! Hopefully it was an enjoyable holiday spent with those you love. My holiday was awesome. I like spending copious amounts of time with my family, food, pumpkin pie, seeing friends, & watching football so it was a great break for me! (I won't speak of the ND game...)
Yesterday when I arrived back on campus, South Bend was its usual gloomy, November self and as I walked up the stairs of Le Mans I had the depressing thought that a few hours prior I was in the comfort of my own home. Then today, while in my 8 o'clock computer programming class (anything, let alone C++, is tough for a college student to do at 8am), I was organizing my academic life and realized I have about 3 weeks left on campus until I leave for Christmas break. At first, I was really excited then I thought "Wow. I won't be back on campus until August." It is still such a weird concept for me to grasp. As I was walking to lunch with Kelly, we talked about how conflicted we feel. My general feeling is: I have a hard time wanting to leave while at the same time I want finals week to just get here already so I can go back home. Therein lies the predicament. I've decided that while I will work hard these last 3 weeks, I will also cherish every minute I have left with my friends from school, especially those who will be graduating. I feel like I've taken this semester for granted and didn't live in the moment enough and because of this, I will make sure to take more chances & recognize an opportunity when it presents itself. These are going to be the best last 3 weeks of school ever.
Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
(Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.)
Note: I also plan to carry this mindset over into the FIVE WEEKS that I'll be home during Christmas break :)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Things I'll miss (and some I won't)
This past Saturday night my roommates and I had a "heart-to-heart crying night." This consisted of us eating pints of ice cream (or gelato, if you're Natalie...just getting ready for Italy I suppose...) and watching sad movies: P.S. I Love You, When Harry Met Sally (which is not actually sad...just cute), and Away We Go. While watching P.S. I Love You, the movie panned over Ireland quite a few times. If I wasn't already crying, which I probably was, I started crying more. I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful it is and the fact that I'm going to physically be there for close to 5 months. This naturally made me very sentimental.
As the semesters end is rapidly approaching, I can't help but think about all the things (and people) I'm going to miss during the second semester. I stole the idea for this from my roommate Cece and I think it's a good one. I'll periodically update it whenever I think of something new and exciting.
Without further ado, my list of things and people I will miss:
1) Room 291 and all its glory
2) The people who inhabit room 291: Cece, Natalie, & Alexis, otherwise known as some of my best friends.
3) Seeing Kelly and Laura all the time, a couple more of my best friends (Not so much Kelly though because I WILL see her all the time...IN IRELAND!!!)
4) CAROLINE (because I told her she would be on my list with her name in caps but also because I will miss her!)
5) The senior saxes and the fact that I won't be here for their last semester on campus
6) The sax section in general and anything having to do with them
7) Broomball playoffs (except for the fact that we don't have a team this year...lame. Next year!)
8) The Office and Glee nights with the roomies
9) Procrastinating homework by doing things like: stealing an obscene amount of toilet paper, sticking it in our clothes, and sumo wrestling.
10) ND hockey games & trips
11) The last stall in the bathroom in my hall, also known as the big one with the heater in it. (I feel like that heater would be awesome on a cold morning in February...)
12) Watching movies with subtitles
13) Waking up in the middle of the night and hearing someone snoring or talking to themselves
14) Cheese time
15) Talking about Stewart to...everyone.
16) Striped polo shopping with Natalie...
17) Making my roommates feel awkward (which happens the majority of the time...they secretly like it)
18) Participating in tomfoolery with Cece while the other two judge us.
19) Watching "Hercules," the most underrated Disney movie, whenever possible with people who appreciate it just as much as I do
20) The last band dance in the College Football Hall of Fame
21) Snow
22) Being able to go see my sister at a moments notice
23) Being on the same continent as my parents/family (Guess that means you're just going to have to visit!!)
24) Alexis' fiery red hair
25) Alexis' obsession with playing with everyone's hair
26) Spring break at home and the friends I would see during that time (Dream Team!)
27) Band Futbol
28) Running around the ND lakes in the Spring
29) Saint Mary's in general
30) The Man Wall
31) Omega, Cece's beta fish
32) Dining Halls (ND & SMC since in Ireland I have to feed myself. Yikes.)
33) Saying we're going to pull an all-nighter, but only lasting until 3am.
Now for some things I will absolutely NOT miss:
1) Walking to class in the snow
2) Walking to class in -35 degree wind chill
3) Cleaning snow off my car EVERY. DAY.
4) Leggings as pants
It seems the things I'll miss heavily outweigh the things I won't...however, I expect this trip to be totally worth it.
As the semesters end is rapidly approaching, I can't help but think about all the things (and people) I'm going to miss during the second semester. I stole the idea for this from my roommate Cece and I think it's a good one. I'll periodically update it whenever I think of something new and exciting.
Without further ado, my list of things and people I will miss:
1) Room 291 and all its glory
2) The people who inhabit room 291: Cece, Natalie, & Alexis, otherwise known as some of my best friends.
3) Seeing Kelly and Laura all the time, a couple more of my best friends (Not so much Kelly though because I WILL see her all the time...IN IRELAND!!!)
4) CAROLINE (because I told her she would be on my list with her name in caps but also because I will miss her!)
5) The senior saxes and the fact that I won't be here for their last semester on campus
6) The sax section in general and anything having to do with them
7) Broomball playoffs (except for the fact that we don't have a team this year...lame. Next year!)
8) The Office and Glee nights with the roomies
9) Procrastinating homework by doing things like: stealing an obscene amount of toilet paper, sticking it in our clothes, and sumo wrestling.
10) ND hockey games & trips
11) The last stall in the bathroom in my hall, also known as the big one with the heater in it. (I feel like that heater would be awesome on a cold morning in February...)
12) Watching movies with subtitles
13) Waking up in the middle of the night and hearing someone snoring or talking to themselves
14) Cheese time
15) Talking about Stewart to...everyone.
16) Striped polo shopping with Natalie...
17) Making my roommates feel awkward (which happens the majority of the time...they secretly like it)
18) Participating in tomfoolery with Cece while the other two judge us.
19) Watching "Hercules," the most underrated Disney movie, whenever possible with people who appreciate it just as much as I do
20) The last band dance in the College Football Hall of Fame
21) Snow
22) Being able to go see my sister at a moments notice
23) Being on the same continent as my parents/family (Guess that means you're just going to have to visit!!)
24) Alexis' fiery red hair
25) Alexis' obsession with playing with everyone's hair
26) Spring break at home and the friends I would see during that time (Dream Team!)
27) Band Futbol
28) Running around the ND lakes in the Spring
29) Saint Mary's in general
30) The Man Wall
31) Omega, Cece's beta fish
32) Dining Halls (ND & SMC since in Ireland I have to feed myself. Yikes.)
33) Saying we're going to pull an all-nighter, but only lasting until 3am.
Now for some things I will absolutely NOT miss:
1) Walking to class in the snow
2) Walking to class in -35 degree wind chill
3) Cleaning snow off my car EVERY. DAY.
4) Leggings as pants
It seems the things I'll miss heavily outweigh the things I won't...however, I expect this trip to be totally worth it.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Class(n): a meeting of a group of students for instruction.
As the first semester is nearing the end and I am getting closer to Ireland, I've decided it's time I get my act together and make sure everything that needs to be turned in is turned in. This includes my class schedule. Apparently when you study abroad you actually have to go to class. Crazy huh? I thought I could just travel around and get an A for it...That being said I finalized my classes for Ireland today. Now technically I won't actually register for classes until I'm at NUIM, but I have my "road map" of what classes I'm going to take.
I'll be taking 19 credits while abroad which would normally scare me but 19 credits abroad is not the same as 19 credits in the US. I'll be taking Irish Studies (which is an English course), Victorian to Modernism (another English course), Ireland since the 1800's (History...duh.), Themes in Fundamental Moral Theology, and IRISH LANGUAGE (we also get a credit for going on mandatory trips around Ireland. Yes, MANDATORY. Awesome). I am SO excited for this Irish Language course. This is the one course I really wanted to take and I didn't think I was going to be able to because it's a 6 credit course and then I would have 20+ credits which is not allowed. The class meets once a week and I'll be learning Gaelic. How cool is that? The best part? If I can't take that class due to low interest (which would be very sad) I'll be taking an Anthro class which only lasts for 5 weeks. It's basically like a summer school class but during a regular semester; therefore, shorter than a regular semester. I feel like this is a win-win situation for me. If I have to take Anthro instead, whole weeks will be freed up at the end of the semester!
More good news! Karen Chambers received our room numbers for next semester! Sadly, I won't know my flatmates' names until I arrive at NUIM but I'll know my room number and have my official acceptance letter! My room number is 8B Avoca...whatever that means...and for all those who want to mail me presents and such send it to:
Kim Jordan
National University of Ireland at Maynooth
8B Avoca
Co. Kildare, Ireland
They don't use zipcodes or anything so nothing to worry about there! This makes it so real. I actually have a residence for next semester. So crazy...
Well, until next time!
I'll be taking 19 credits while abroad which would normally scare me but 19 credits abroad is not the same as 19 credits in the US. I'll be taking Irish Studies (which is an English course), Victorian to Modernism (another English course), Ireland since the 1800's (History...duh.), Themes in Fundamental Moral Theology, and IRISH LANGUAGE (we also get a credit for going on mandatory trips around Ireland. Yes, MANDATORY. Awesome). I am SO excited for this Irish Language course. This is the one course I really wanted to take and I didn't think I was going to be able to because it's a 6 credit course and then I would have 20+ credits which is not allowed. The class meets once a week and I'll be learning Gaelic. How cool is that? The best part? If I can't take that class due to low interest (which would be very sad) I'll be taking an Anthro class which only lasts for 5 weeks. It's basically like a summer school class but during a regular semester; therefore, shorter than a regular semester. I feel like this is a win-win situation for me. If I have to take Anthro instead, whole weeks will be freed up at the end of the semester!
More good news! Karen Chambers received our room numbers for next semester! Sadly, I won't know my flatmates' names until I arrive at NUIM but I'll know my room number and have my official acceptance letter! My room number is 8B Avoca...whatever that means...and for all those who want to mail me presents and such send it to:
Kim Jordan
National University of Ireland at Maynooth
8B Avoca
Co. Kildare, Ireland
They don't use zipcodes or anything so nothing to worry about there! This makes it so real. I actually have a residence for next semester. So crazy...
Well, until next time!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Blogging?
Hey hey to my many readers! As you know, or should know if you're reading this, I'm going to Ireland in 83 days! To prepare myself, every post will be timestamped as if I were in Dublin. I think it's cool. I also think it's visual tour time! I'll be attending the National University of Ireland in Maynooth.
Maynooth is located in the county Kildare.
I'm pretty sure this is a picture of where I'll be staying on campus; The River Apartments
Now that you're all visually stimulated, how about some Q&A?!
Q: Why a blog?
A: The main reason for this is so I can keep my family and friends in the US and abroad (Hey Italy/Spain girls!) up to date with what I'm doing. I figure I'll be able to upload some awesome pictures (see above) and periodically let my family know I'm still alive and well if I can't get in touch with them through other means. I will be keeping an actual journal while in Ireland, but that is for my eyes so I also want to keep one I can share with others.
Q: Why so early?
A: I decided to start my blog now so I can look back and read about my anticipation, questions, concerns, etc. and see how all those feelings match up with my actual experience.
S(tatement): Your title confuses me.
A: The title, for those of you who don't know, is a line from a John Mayer song called "3x5," which makes a cameo in my "About Me" section. It is my favorite John Mayer song and I can really relate to it since: 1) I go to school in Indiana, thus am away from home a good majority of the year. 2) I work down the shore all summer and again, am away from home. Plus, this past summer I sent postcards (3x5's!!!!!) to a bunch of friends from school 3) I'M GOING TO IRELAND which means, you guessed it, I am away from home.
Now that's done let's get to the meat and potatoes:
My good friend Kelly, who will be with me in Ireland, and I went to talk to the head of the Ireland Program about my classes while abroad. After leaving her office we were overcome with excitement. We talked and skipped (I'm serious. We skipped.) all the way to the student center where we hijacked a computer, wrote down all the European countries, and talked about where we were going to visit. I think now is as good a time as any to publish this list so I can look back in June and see if I was able to visit all of these places!
The places I want to visit before I leave Europe (in no particular order):
Norway
Russia
Lithuania (My people!)
England
Netherlands
Belgium (Waffles? Yes please!)
Germany (My People!)
France
Italy
Greece
Spain
Poland
Austria
Romania
Scotland
Switzerland
Portugal
Turkey
Just so we're all on the same page, I would be more than fine to travel ANYWHERE in Europe, but this is my "A-Team."
B-Team:
Denmark
Crete
Czech Republic
So that's a lot of countries but I'm optimistic and will be in Europe from January 27th-June 6th. Who knows what can happen!? You'll know when I do.
(I google searched Maynooth, Ireland and this came up. I'm pretty pumped.)
Maynooth is located in the county Kildare.
I'm pretty sure this is a picture of where I'll be staying on campus; The River Apartments
Now that you're all visually stimulated, how about some Q&A?!
Q: Why a blog?
A: The main reason for this is so I can keep my family and friends in the US and abroad (Hey Italy/Spain girls!) up to date with what I'm doing. I figure I'll be able to upload some awesome pictures (see above) and periodically let my family know I'm still alive and well if I can't get in touch with them through other means. I will be keeping an actual journal while in Ireland, but that is for my eyes so I also want to keep one I can share with others.
Q: Why so early?
A: I decided to start my blog now so I can look back and read about my anticipation, questions, concerns, etc. and see how all those feelings match up with my actual experience.
S(tatement): Your title confuses me.
A: The title, for those of you who don't know, is a line from a John Mayer song called "3x5," which makes a cameo in my "About Me" section. It is my favorite John Mayer song and I can really relate to it since: 1) I go to school in Indiana, thus am away from home a good majority of the year. 2) I work down the shore all summer and again, am away from home. Plus, this past summer I sent postcards (3x5's!!!!!) to a bunch of friends from school 3) I'M GOING TO IRELAND which means, you guessed it, I am away from home.
Now that's done let's get to the meat and potatoes:
My good friend Kelly, who will be with me in Ireland, and I went to talk to the head of the Ireland Program about my classes while abroad. After leaving her office we were overcome with excitement. We talked and skipped (I'm serious. We skipped.) all the way to the student center where we hijacked a computer, wrote down all the European countries, and talked about where we were going to visit. I think now is as good a time as any to publish this list so I can look back in June and see if I was able to visit all of these places!
The places I want to visit before I leave Europe (in no particular order):
Norway
Russia
Lithuania (My people!)
England
Netherlands
Belgium (Waffles? Yes please!)
Germany (My People!)
France
Italy
Greece
Spain
Poland
Austria
Romania
Scotland
Switzerland
Portugal
Turkey
Just so we're all on the same page, I would be more than fine to travel ANYWHERE in Europe, but this is my "A-Team."
B-Team:
Denmark
Crete
Czech Republic
So that's a lot of countries but I'm optimistic and will be in Europe from January 27th-June 6th. Who knows what can happen!? You'll know when I do.
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