I've made friends, biotch!
Yes, I realize that this is a big "Duh, Mei, you big doubting dork" moment, but there were a couple of hours there where I did, indeed, doubt. Open heart and open mind Ofelia vs. doubting Daisy: 1 - 0. I sincerely hope that Ofelia wins by a landslide!
Yesterday after those Doubting Daisy hours and after a horrible dinner, I did some of the NY Times crossword puzzles in a little puzzle calendar that I got for Xmas this past year. (Miss you and your fabulous brain, Joely-Moely-Guacamole!) I only do the Monday and Tuesday ones because those are the easiest, but whatever - it makes me feel smart and I like it! Haha. I was doing some puzzles lying out on the big wagon bed in the sun when Sunny (new friend number 1) came up with a book and a bean bag chair and asked if she could join me. I agreed readily, eager to get the friend-making process underway. It was great fun! She was reading Amy Tan's Saving Fish from Drowning which I just finished over the Xmas break, and we just talked about various and sundry small light things. It was great. It started to look stormy and so we decided to move inside, but en route we were invited to go out canoeing/kayaking/paddling around on the lake with Amy and Sam and a whole posse of others. It was really great! Katie and Sam were in a kayak, Amy and Lisa were in a canoe (Lisa had never paddled before and so there was a lot of lilydipping going on - definition of lilydipping: A lily dipper is one who looks from the outside like they are paddling like everyone else; however, from inside of the team, they are known for just going through the motions of real work - but in this case it was because of a lack of familiarity with canoeing), and Barbara, Sunny, and I were in a canoe (Barbara up front, Sunny in the middle confusing things, and me in the back trying to keep up with the switching of Barbara and Sunny and struggling to hear Barbara's requests of directions). It was so much fun! It was absolutely gorgeous, with a breeze (that later became a wind as we straggled back to shore), a beautiful sunset through the big scary tornado-esque clouds, and the fabulous company. I had such a great time I laughed the whole time! Barbara, Sunny, Katie, Sam, and I got back to shore, but Amy and Lisa were still paddling around way out in the middle of the lake. We thought they just wanted to hang out way out there for a little longer. Little did we know that they were actually stuck because of the wind!
When they finally made it in, Amy was so frustrated she was "really fucked off!" which she prefers to "really pissed off" because it has just that extra much of oomph to it. As they were struggling in, Charlotte arrived with two new additions, Emily and Josh who had just flown in from England. They had flown to New York, spent the night in "a hostel," and then flown here. Two solid days of traveling with very little sleep and they were both wiped out. But they went out in a canoe with Charlotte anyway and had a great time. Sunny and I went up to grab a snack from the dining hall (bagel and jam), and then just hung out doing crosswords on the wagon and then chatting in my cabin when the clouds became too menacing. The lighting was absolutely incredible though! The sky was the gorgeous deep pink color, while the lighting on the trees behind us was the eerie copper red, deep tang (Kate Campbell reference, please check out her music!) orange color. It was amazing!!!!
Emily eventually made her way back to the cabin and we all sat around and talked, learning stuff about our different cultures, customs, and schooling. It was so much fun! I really had a great time! Emily said that her favorite parts of England are the Lake District because of the mountains, lakes, and just all out beauty, and Yorkshire where her aunt lives because of its "quintessential English village look." At the end of the chat night, Emily and I were both falling asleep while Sunny was just as peppy as ever (she had been here a lot longer than either Emily or myself). It was "damned amusing!" (Vicar of Dibley reference)
Amy, Sam, and Katie stopped by on their way out for a smoke and it was quite hilarious. I greeted Amy with the standard greeting, "Yo what's poppin'?" Her response was to look at me like I was crazy and laugh at me like I knew exactly that what I had said was ridiculous. She is correct on both counts. Thanks, Justin Cervantes Morehouse and Wheezy! Let me ask you something, dear reader. What would you think an individual would be purchasing if they were to say: "I'm going out to buy myself some togs"? Tee hee hee. Here's a teaser! Personally I thought they meant just big wading boots or some such. We also had a great little discussion on nomenclature. For example in New Zealand, diapers for children are called "nappies," while the same for adults are called "mollies." In the U.S. we call diapers for children, well, diapers, or we go for the good ol' brand name "Pampers" or some such. For adults, we always default to the brand name "Depends." Lovely conversation though - very amusing!
This morning I got up about 8am CST for a little morning exercise. Note to self: must get up earlier (well, I will have to get up earlier) because the sun is ridiculously warm already at 8am. RIDICULOUS! But it was a nice mile and a half or so walk/jog (about 90% walk, 10% painful jog - I'm bound to get better though, right? Right?!). So now I'm sitting outside in my favorite spot beneath the Friendship Lodge looking out at the lake and enjoying the cool breeze. It's fabulous!
Here are things I miss from home:
- Humming birds - instead they have tons of dragon flies
- Bird calls - of course there are different birds and other such up here, but it surprises me how much it startles me to hear completely different bird calls and see different kinds of birds!)
- Reddy - my dog - I will certainly go mad up here wifout a puffy/fur fix at some point!
- Walking in the woods wif Reddy
- Vicar of Dibley viewings with mother (no, I don't quite miss the "watery cow" dinner sounds ... yet ...)
Oh! I talked to Michael (love you!) yesterday who promised fabulous omelets upon return to Emory. I in turn promised yummy french toast, though I suspect that I will also be making sweet potato pancakes ... yum ... Tubbies (my my, Z, are we getting frisky), we are going to make FABULOUS din-dins when we get back!!!!!! I'm getting a rumbly stomach already - this is not a good sign - breakfast is still a good hour away! (10:30am CST.) Haha!
Training starts tomorrow. Yikes! I will certainly keep you posted!
Love to you all!
~ Mei
