Thanksgiving

Well my Thanksgiving break is coming to a close, and boy it has been good!

It started with a bang (after finishing up school and paperwork for working some holiday hours at Kohls) with seeing the Lion King at the Buell Theatre.  It was absolutely incredible.  So many colors and such amazing costumes.  Who knew that a person could look so much like a giraffe or a hyena or a leopard!  Every costume was unique and so creative and they were all first shown in a whirl of color with the opening scene, "The Circle of Life."  The singing also caught my breath.  And the acting.  Everything.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to go, and especially with the wonderful people that went with me! Virginia thank you! and Mom woohoo glad we could go together! and Jon, oh yeah, that was amazing! In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight!

Then later in the week I hung out with some friends.  Always good catching up with people :)

Much time was also spent baking... all gluten-free, all delicious.  My mom sure knows how to work things out for her gluten-free diet with deluxe chocolate cake, pumpkin bread, cranberry walnut bread, etc.  Yum yum!

Thanksgiving Day came and it was a day of food!  My brother and I went to our grandma's and had a Thanksgiving lunch with family... well most of the family.  My dad couldn't make it because of car trouble.  That was a big bummer... Dad, I miss you and can't wait to see you in a couple weeks here for Christmas time!... But we had a lot of food there, and then my brother and I came back to our mom's for more delicious food.  I can't believe how much food I ate in one day.  Two huge meals was definitely enough.  I am thankful for that opportunity though!  THANK YOU!!

Black Friday came and I went to Kohls to work from 4 PM -12:30 AM.  Before going in, I was honestly a little nervous imagining how many people would be there and how crazy it would get, but that was for nought.  When I arrived, there was one person waiting in line.  Throughout the evening, the longest the line became was about 8 people, and that moved fast enough.  Instead of being crazy, the night ended up being very quiet as a folded and refolded things to keep myself busy.  I know I helped make the store look good, but it was a long time I spent folding... 8 hours!

We received our most recent Viking magazine, and there is a tribute to the memory of July 22nd in Norway.  They included a quote that I've been trying to think of for a while.  I even talked about it in my presentations at the Sons of Norway:

     "When one man can cause so much evil, think how much love we can create together." ~Helle   Gannestad

So now I am getting ready to head back to school tomorrow.   Got the list of things and food that I'll be bringing back with me.  Soon to be working on my homework.  French essay due Monday, a different French essay due Tuesday and a presentation on what to do in Oslo on Wednesday are the things that I need to prepare for.

With that, I want to wish everyone the best for a wonderful day.  I am so thankful for all of the friends and family in my life.  I am thankful for my opportunities to travel and experience what I love.  I am thankful to receive my education and share myself with others and have others share themselves with me.  I am thankful.

Hang in There!

Whew! I've been so busy with school and getting ready for next spring!  I am very thankful that I will have the entire week of Thanksgiving off so that I can catch up!

Anyways, here the update:
1)  I finally scheduled my visa appointment in Los Angeles for early December.  Now I have to get together all of the required documents... which is a lot!

2)  I'm in the process of booking my flight to France.  This has to be completed by Tuesday!  I will be flying into the airport in Marseille, which is the closest airport to Aix-en-Provence, on January 28th.  I will meet my program hosts there from Academic Studies Abroad and they will bring me to my host family, who I won't know anything about until about 2 weeks before I depart.

3)  I've scheduled a doctor's appointment so that they can sign me off that I'm good to go.

4)  My next scholarship application is due November 21st for the Scholars Abroad Scholarship with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.  I already received a teacher's recommendation so now I basically have to put together and fine tune my essays.

5)  I will also be applying to another scholarship whose deadline isn't due until January, so that is off my mind for a bit while I figure out everything else.

--Not only am I figuring out all of these study abroad things, but I'm doing all of my school work as well.  We have one week of school before Thanksgiving break.  Then we go back to school for two weeks and then finals week.  I'll be having four finals this year, for which I will need to study a lot... Finance is kicking my butt!

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  Thanks for all of the support!  I can't wait to tell you the good stories of what happens in France!

and P.S!
I received scholarship #2! It is from the CSU Office of International Programs :) woohoo!