tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53960302374469683582024-03-04T21:20:03.553-08:00A Single LifeOne Girls Journey to Impact the WorldMeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-17424382625999039662010-07-09T19:08:00.000-07:002010-07-09T19:08:19.923-07:00Guess What I'm Doing?Watching TV!!!!! <br />
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And you are thinking, why does this matter? Well, while the rest of you watch tv at you house every night I have not had TV or internet at my apartment since moving to Fayetteville. Today, however the men from AT&T came and installed Uverse. I am really pleased and it is not too expensive either (aka it is cheaper than cox). Well back to TV!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-43224141155769557882010-07-03T17:39:00.000-07:002010-07-03T17:39:04.723-07:00The Starting LineWell, July is here, and it is going to be a crazy month! In a lot of ways I feel like I have spent the last several months, since getting back from Rome, just keeping myself busy and playing (probably because I have been). Now, that July is here, that is all going to change. Everything in my life is going to be crazy busy. I haven't even made it through the 1st weekend of July and I am pretty sure there is something on my calendar for every weekend between now and November 1. Whether is it school, work, or social I am really excited that my life is about to take off!<br />
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This month one of my best friends will get married, I will wrap up my internship with the FYE Office, and I will start my Graduate Assisitantship with the Office of Greek Life. Everything about this month is a huge blessing. <br />
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Though things have been crazy with the planning of Megan and Justin's wedding I am very excited and honored to stand next to Megan in less that 30 days as she and Justin become man and wife. Megan and her mom have worked so hard on planing the big day and I can't wait to see the results. (I heard a rumor about pool tables and Wii) Megan and Justin will be a wonderful family and I can't wait to see them become wonderful parents when Elizabeth Amalia Boeving arrives in November. But between now and then there are lots of showers and party's for attending and hosting. Including there Battle of the Sexes Shower at Fast Lanes next week. Just for fun here is a link to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=677216620507&subj=20609706">Megan and Justin's Engagement Video</a> and a Picture of the cute couple at Megan's Graduation about 24 hours before Justin proposed.<br />
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July should be exciting in FYE as well. We just finished up New Student Orientation, and Parent and Family Orientation. Over the month of June the office welcomed over 3500 students and their families to campus in an effort to help them prepare for the transition to college and life at the University of Arkansas. It has been a very educational and fun experience learning about the ins and outs of putting on an orientation program of this scale. The rest of my internship will be spent helping the office prepare for projects that will take place later in the summer and evaluating the work we have done over the past month.<br />
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My Graduate Assistantship with the Office of Greek Life is, by far, what I am most exited about this coming month. This job is truly a gift from God, and seeing his faithfulness in the process has truly been a blessing. (If you want to here more about this story, just let me know. I would love to share.) On July 19th, I will begin working as the GA in the Office of Greek Life. This position should compliment my academic studies very well. I will have the opportunity to work with lots of students in many different ways. It will be hard work at times, but it will also be fun and challenging. To say I am looking forward to it would be an understatement.<br />
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So July...<br />
On your mark, get set, GO!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-35440316925551450412010-06-30T23:19:00.001-07:002010-06-30T23:19:39.970-07:00KillersOne of the great things about summer, and being young and single is that you and 2 of your closest girl friends can decided at 9:00pm to go to a 9:30 movie and no one is going to care or stop you. That is is exactly what Tammy, Alana and I decided to do tonight. This is the 2nd time we have done this in about a week. Sunday we went and saw Grownups, also a good movie. <br />
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Tonight we went and saw Killers. It was good! A fun little love story with a bit of adventure. It was very predictable but what chick flick isn't? We enjoyed it all the same and it was a wonderful way to spend a summer evening with friends.<br />
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Quote of the night, Alana: "I really miss Vicky, but I feel like by going to a lot of movies I can channel her! I hope Kevin finishes his dissertation soon."Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-61631233279959032172010-06-29T16:32:00.000-07:002010-06-29T16:32:29.104-07:00Name ChangeI have decided to change the name of my blog to "A Single Life." The blog will still be about the happenings of my life but I feel the title "A Single Life" better portrays how I see all of the wonderful (and occasionally not so wonderful) things in my life right now. It is my hope that each post will discuss my life in one of two ways. <br />
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One, I am a young single female loving life. Though I wouldn't be apposed to God throwing a boy in the mix, I love being a 20 something single female trying to figure out where life (more specifically God) is going to take me. I feel that being single gets a bad wrap, and I hope to use this blog to highlight all the things I love about being single!<br />
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Two, I am not a family, a professional, a group, a church, a non-profit, or a business, I am one single individual life and I love seeing how God uses my single life for His glory. There is nothing that makes me anymore wonderful or special than any of my friends, family, or any other person I meet on the street, but for some reason God uses all 6'1" of me with my flaws, opinions, and stories to further His Kingdom and make a difference for him. Here I will share what He is doing with my life.<br />
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I also hope to include more pictures, but we will see!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-70599322436684174332010-03-10T10:13:00.000-08:002010-03-10T10:30:09.676-08:00"Greater things are yet to come!"So...I realize I haven't posted in quite awhile and that is mainly because I feel my life has been fairly boring. Though I love my parents and am grateful they have been willing to let me live at home, life here is boring and I find it fairly meaningless. Luckily, I have had many reason to take lots of trips to Fayetteville over the last 3 months so that has been a great relief. I love my friends and my life really is in Fayetteville right now. I am so grateful for all my friends who were willing to let me sleep on their couch while I have been in town. I am especially grateful for Tammy and Carter who put me up for whole weeks at a time. <br /><br />That being said. <br /><br />I am very happy to announce that I will be moving back to Fayetteville at the end of this month! I was officially accepted to the Masters in Higher Education program last week and can not wait to start in the fall. While in Fayetteville last week I also interviewed for Graduate Assistantships and put a deposit down on my new apartment. I will be living in the brand new Mountain Ranch Apartments. For those of you in Fayetteville or who know the area, they are off Wedington behind the Boys and Girls Club. I will be the first person to live in my apartment. The staff there is very friendly and helpful. The property is very nice with lots of great amenities, and the apartments are open and spacious. I will post pics of my new place when it is all decorated and pretty after I move-in on March 29th. If you are looking for a place to live in Fayetteville I would recommend checking them out they are really great. www.mountainranchapts.com<br /><br />I will hear back about graduate assistantships by Friday. I interviewed with 4 different office and overall I feel the interviews went well. My first choice is in the Volunteer Action Center. They coordinate service opportunities for students on campus and work with thousands of students and hundreds of non-profits each year. I also interviewed with the Office of Greek Life, the Office of Student Activities, and Housing. Each of these offices have great opportunities; I know that I will be happy and grow as a professional and a person wherever I end up.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-38671445840031024592009-12-17T17:51:00.001-08:002009-12-17T17:55:18.698-08:00HomeIt is good to be home! I made it home yesterday and was greeted by my parents brother and Tammy who rushed out of a final and made the trip straight to Memphis. We then met my Grandparents at Huey's. My flight was uneventful and it was a nice evening to relax and be with family.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-85028765829796589732009-12-15T07:51:00.000-08:002009-12-15T07:57:20.267-08:00All Good Things Must Come to an EndAll good things must come to an end and so the time has come for my adventrues here in Rome to end. I presented my last project of the semester today. It was by far the hardest project I have ever done, but I think I did okay. I have also turned in my keys and they have given me back deposit. I have a driver coming to pick me up at 3:30am in the morning to take me to the air port. I fly through Amstadam and scheduled a little bit longer lay over so that I can go see Ann Frank's house assuming everything is running on time.<br /><br />I have really enjoyed my experiance here in Rome! I have learned a lot about my sell as well as I have seen and experianced many great things. I am greatful to have had the experiance to travel around to a lot of different cities and several countries. I was counting it up the other day and I think I have been to over 20 cities this semester. If that isn't a lot of travel and taking advantage of the situation the I dont know what is. I would recomend study abroad to everyone.<br /><br />The next time I blog it will be from America! I can't wai to see everyone!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-24843853603770664952009-12-12T12:57:00.000-08:002009-12-12T13:10:03.567-08:00So Close!I am getting very close to going home and I can't wait. I have been studying for finals and working on end of the semester projects almost none stop since Thursday. It has been hard but worth it. This is really the first time I have had to do school work since I got here so I can't complain to much. I can't believe I will in the USA this time next week. I am very excited about getting home not only to Memphis but Fayetteville as well! I am looking forward to eating at all my favorite restaurants, and eating all the American dishes I have missed to so much. I am also looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my family and New Years with my friends in Memphis. Hopefully we will also be celebrating a Hogs Liberty Bowl victory on Jan. 2nd. I am so glad they made it to a "big" bowl game this year. I have missed watching football over the last for moths and it makes me happy to think about watching the Hogs play when I get back.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-37389049127832030292009-12-09T10:28:00.000-08:002009-12-09T10:43:09.187-08:00Salzburg...FinallySo I just realized I haven't blogged about Salzburg. I hit the ground running as soon as I returned on Sunday and doubt I will slow down until on get on the plane next Wednesday. Yes you heard me right NEXT Wednesday. This time next week I will be in an airplane and only 4 hours from touching down in the land of the delta blues! I will be honest. At this point it cant come soon enough. I have way to much work do between now and the end of the semester and cant wait to have it behind me. This is by far the most stressful finals week I have ever experience. 2 Oral Presentation, 1 Final, 2 Paper, and 3 Perfect Drawing. I will make it though! I am just keeping my eye on the prize... MEMPHIS HOME on the 16th and Fayetteville HOME on the 19th!<br /><br />Enough about my awful finals. Salzburg was amazing. It was super fun and relaxing trip. Our hotel was a very nice 4 star hotel with big comfy beds and an American Breakfast buffet ever morning. Ok, they were actually twin beds but considering the bed in my apartment in closer to a cot than a bed (lets just say my bed in Rome makes the beds at Kamp look plush) they felt huge and they were defiantly comfy with there big down comforters.<br /><br />Salzburg is a fun quaint little city of 150,000. It is full of charm and even in the cold it is a joy to walk around. The Sound of Music Tour lived up to Catherine and I expected. We saw all the big sites and had a blast. We also saw the birth place, home and church of Mozart. It was pretty cool too!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-9160400161508215482009-12-04T02:00:00.000-08:002009-12-04T02:04:51.785-08:00Salzburg SnowWell Catherine and I arrived safetly in Salzburg at 6:57 this morning. We went straight to our hotel hopeing to be able to put our stuff down and come back latter to check-in. We figured there was no way our room would be ready, but to our suprise it was. We went up to our room and took a little nap. We fell asleep to the Sound of Music (SoM) Channel. On this channel they play one of 3 things. SoM in English, SoM in Duetch, or the clips of the differnt SoM soungs. We are now getting ready to head out for the day and see a few sights. It should be a blast. MOre updates soon.!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-80811743733108697212009-12-02T08:24:00.000-08:002009-12-02T08:31:26.419-08:00Less than 14 DaysYes, it is official. I am inside the 2 week mark! This time next week I will be over half way home. I haven't started packing yet, but I have started to think about how I am going to get all of my stuff home. I have bought a lot of cool stuff while over here and it is defiantly going to require me to purchase another bag to get it all home. <br /><br />Although I am very close to being done I have got to stay focused on the task at hand. I have a lot of work to get done between now and Dec. 16th. I have 2 finals and 3 large assignments for my too classes that I must finish before I go home. I am trying to get as much done before leaving for Salzburg Thursday night, and will have to really work my back side off net week. I feel like I will get it all don't though. Thankfully I have Christmas music from WRVR and Ben Rectors new Christmas CD to work too.<br /><br />On a music note iTunes has good Christmas songs as there free download this week.<br />1. Katherine McPhee- I'll be home for Christmas<br />2. Darius Rucker- Candy Cane Christmas<br />Both are good and work the download, esp since they are free!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-66017150546356988932009-12-01T09:40:00.000-08:002009-12-01T10:52:41.927-08:00A is for AthensAs you all know I was in Athens this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. It was probably my favorite place I have traveled to thus far. Athens is clean, friendly and fun. All of the people are very nice. They dont all speak a lot of English but they try to speak as much as they can to help you out. <br /><br />Athens is also a foodies dream! I ate lots of kebabs and meat on skewer. For breakfast each morning I bought very large fresh doughnuts from vendors on the street. The first night I was there I ate a this locally owned family restaurant where the wait staff reminded me of the family out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I even saw a guy carrying around a bottle of Windex. When they learned it was my first time in Athens they brought be a free dessert of yogurt and honey. I also got to visit the Athens Central Market. It is a large market that is made up of there smaller markets; meat market, seafood market, and the vegetable market. Now, the market is not for those with a weak stomach or for those who don't like to think about where there food comes from but it is a really cool experience. There were whole animals skinned and gutted hanging up, pigs heads, the biggest pigs fee you have ever seen, whole livers, chopped livers, pork, and steaks. You name it and it was there. The fish market was neat too. It had all kinds of fresh and frozen fish. Squid, lobster, salmon, grouper, sardines, clams, oysters or sea bass; if it once swam you could buy it there. It was very fun and enjoyable to walk through the market and observe the commotion. I went back to the market later that day to have lunch in one of the restaurants located in side the market and had an amazing meal! There were no menus in this restaurant and the place was full of locals. I was the only American or tourist in the place. The waiter quickly realized I didn't speak Greek or know anything about what they served so he took me up to the counter, showed me what they had, asked me what I wanted and sent me back my table. When in 2-3 minutes I had a wonderful bowl of soup and a whole snapper (minus the head guts thankfully). All of this cost me only 7.80 Euro. I would highly recommend a meal in the market to anyone traveling to Greece.<br /><br />Shopping! Why no one talks about the shopping in Athens in beyond me?!? I would put the shopping in Athens up against any city in the world. Seriously, New York Milan Chicago Dallas Atlanta, Athens has them all beat in my book. It doesn't matter if you want couture, designer knock, affordable shopping, touristy stuff, antiques or junk for a flea market, you can find it all in Athens. Sundays are by far the best day for fun and random shopping, none of the legitimate stores open, but all of the tourist shops are open and literally the entire city center turns into a flea market with everything from from antiques to knock of hand bags. These are the best knock offs I have ever seen too.<br /><br />Oh Yea! Athens has lots or really great historical sites too and they are very affordable. As a student it only cost 6 Euro for me to see all 6 archeological sites and the new acropolis museum. They were all very interesting and I enjoyed them a lot more than the sites here in Rome. From a historical preservation stand point there has been a lot more reconstruction and intervention than you find in Rome. We can debate for hours as to whether or not this is good or bad, but I really appreciate the way they have preserved the sites.<br /><br />On Sunday, I went to the Byzantine Art Museum. My visit was not so much about seeing the Byzantine Art, though it was nice, but about seeing the special Andy Warhol Exhibit they were having. It was very interesting.<br /><br />I also got to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider twice. Once on Saturday and then again for the formal changing of the guard at 11 am on Sunday where there are more guards, a band, and people laying wreaths.<br /><br />Despite my rocky start to the trip I had a WONDERFUL time is Athens. It was a blast and I would go back in a heart beat!<br /><br />PS It is hard to believe but I will be home 2 weeks from Tomorrow.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-68934346627779216572009-11-26T14:19:00.000-08:002009-11-26T14:43:09.742-08:00Passport Nightmare!!!So...for those of you havent heard the story or are wondering what is up withthe strange facebook post here it is. As you all know I was supose to head to Athens this morning. I packed last night and got up at 7 this morning. I gave myself and 30 minute window in case something went wrong, and I got out of the house 15 minutes earlier than I planned (and that is about where the good morning ended). I got to the elevator adn relized I forgot to grab my passport, no problem I thought I will just run back in a get it (I also thought man I am glad I relized that now). So I went back in the apartment and my passport was not where I kept it. I proceeded to turn my apartment upside down looking everywhere. Eventually I gave up on finding it and pulled out the photocopy of my passport and called my mom (it was Mid-night in the states mind you) to see if she thought I would be okay. We both thought/ hoped that the copy as well as my American Driver license would be enough since I was staying in the EU. So i proceed to catch the bus that took we to catch that the train that took me to the airport. I got through security no problem and to my gate. As i was proceed to board the plane the sweet lady at the desk looked at my documents and asked me if a I had a letter from the police stating I had reported the passport lost or stolen, I told her know I just lost it this morning. She talked to the man and the next counter and they said therewasno way they could let me on. At this point I was holding back tears as I continue to talk to kind man at the other counter abotu what i neeeded to do.<br /><br />After talking to him I called my wonderful mother who had told me to call her when I got the airport with an update (at this point it is 3am in the us mind you). Sometime between my dad answering the phone and my mom getting on the line I just lost it and was bawling in the middle of the airport. She told me not to worry, go back to my apartment and look at getting a new flight. So I did. I was able to calm myself down and regain my compsure as I sat on the train and listened to my iPod. It real is amazing just how amazingly soothing a train ride is. I think it must be like what babies feel like when you put them in there car seat in the car and they fall asleep.<br /><br />I got back to my apartment and began putting my apartment back together and thinking about just what I could have done with my passport. And the I remembered. I had put it in my coat pocket in Milan last week. Sure enough there it was in my coat pocket! After finding my passport I sent my mom a text telling her I had found it, and I began to look at new flights. <br /><br />I am flying easy jet one of these cheapo discount airlines and they dont do refunds so I had to buy a whole new ticket to Athens. I made the purchase and 200 UDS later I will depart for Athens in the morning. I am trying to just look at this morning as apractice run. A dry run as my teacher Mrs. Smith use to call it in high school. She use to tell us about how growing up hermom would make them do dry runs of the first day of school before each school year started. I guess God just felt I needed a dry run on my Athens trip.<br /><br />I should have known my mom wasnt sleeping last night because she called my 7 am Memphis time to see how things were goign and if I had found a flight. She really is amazing and I love her a lot!<br /><br />With me in town there were 4 of us who didnt have family in town for the Holiday so my roomate who loves to cook tried to cook something that resembled Thanksgiving Dinner. We had Turckey and a fresh vegtible medly. It was very yummy and then we had Ice cream and Fresh Fruit Tort that I bought form my favorite pastry shop. I have been looking for a reason to buy one all semester and this seemed like as good as reason as any. After dinner we walked up to Piazza Nevona to see a Christmas Festival that we thought started today but apparently it doesn't kick off until tommarrow but it runs through Christmas so we will check it out again later.<br /><br />Though the day started out pretty aweful it ended up being very nice. Plus, I will still be able to enjoy the weekend in Athens.<br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I am so greatful for so many things at this point in my life that I could right a whole blog on nothing but that and perhaps I will later next week. To all my friends and family you mean the world to me and I miss you dearly. I cant wait to get back to the states and celebrate Chirstmas with each of you. I am bless to have learned so much about myself this year. Once again Happy Tanksgiving to you all.<br /><br />PS I am using the computer in the apartment again and the speel check doesnt work so pleas forgive the spelling errors. In case you didnt know by now there are many things in life you can count on me for, but one of them is terrible spelling and another is that with out fail I will loose something. Luckly, though, I have gotten better about both of these habits with age. Perhaps if I live to be 100 I will out grow one or both of them!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-17961777551643761672009-11-24T05:19:00.000-08:002009-11-24T05:27:31.022-08:00UpdateSo not much has happened the last few days but I figure I will just give a short update anyway, if for no other reason than to stay in the habit of blogging.<br /><br />This weekend was quite and low key. My roommates have there pre-final review today so they were stressing out all weekend. I had a few assignments to work on my self so to avoid the stress and tension that surrounded them I spent much of the weekend watching movies and studying in my room. Not the most exciting weekend ever but sometimes you have to get the non-fun stuff done so that you can play. <br /><br />Speaking of playing, I am very excited to be headed to Athens, Greece on Thursday. It is going to be an amazing trip. I doubt I will find a Turkey dinner, but I do here they have a T.G.I. Fridays! I think I might check it out. They are one of my favorite chain restaurants back home and at least would be an American meal for t-day. Other than that I am going to sample all the Greek food I can and take in as may sights as one girl can 3.5 days.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-73944420093101915692009-11-18T09:01:00.000-08:002009-11-18T09:23:08.145-08:00Northern Italy was AMAZING!!!!So if you are wondering why you havent heard from me the last few days it is because I have been on a trip through northern Italy and it was amazing. It was a class trip so I traveled with the 9 other people in my program and a professor. We were gone for 5 days and saw 4 cities Venice, Verona, Trento, and Milan. <br /><br />We spent a day in a half in Venice. It was nice, but the weather was gray and nasty so I would like to go back one day and get a better feel for the place. It was very neat to be in a place that didn't have any cars or streets, just rivers (or canals) and boats. I didn't have time to go to the island of Morano to see the glass blowing as I had hoped, but I did get to buy some beautiful glass while I was there. Because of time and other people on the trips tight budgets we opted for a short cheap gondola ride across the canal instead of a nice, long, expensive ride around the city. It is nice to say I had the gondola experience, but I would have much preferred the nice gondola ride. Ours felt more like an overloaded canoe with a driver in a stripped shirt.<br /><br />Next we went to Verona. The night we arrived in Verona was by far the most fun night I have had this semester. We were staying in a very nice hotel with a really good festival going on down the street. The festival highlighted the different foods from all the regions of Italy. There was a band playing and a booth that was making really amazing sandwiches. We spent the evening listening to the band and enjoying the atmousphere. The next day we toured Verona and saw all the sights including the house that is said to be Juliet's House from Romeo and Juliet.<br /><br />The next day we went to Trento. Trento is the city where the Council of Trent was signed and the Counter Reformation began. We spent the morning in Trento visiting one of the largest construction sights in Italy. They took very good care of there by providing us with boots and hard hats to wear on the job site, and they gave us free lunch. The project is by world famous architect Renzo Piano. That afternoon we went and saw a few sights around Trento.<br /><br />We took the train to Milan where we checked into the hotel, grabbed some dinner, and went to bed after a long day of traveling and sight seeing. On the final day of the trip we toured Milan. It was fun to see another city and to get to go on top of the Duomo, but over all I was not just overly impressed with Milan. It just felt like another big city to me. It didn't even really have the historic charm of Rome, though its public transit was much better!<br /><br />So here I am at Wednesday just now stating my week thanks to my trip. Lucky for me my week ends tomorrow because we don't have classes on Friday. We do however have a regional field trip. I am looking forward to it. My roommates and the other students however are not looking forward to it because they have a review next Tuesday in there studio class and are very stressed. I am extremely grateful that I am not in studio and do not have to worry about it.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-35113891769875700042009-11-11T13:27:00.000-08:002009-11-11T13:42:13.080-08:00A New OutlookSo yesterday I (well my mom actually did the work, thanks again mom) changed my flight from the 22nd to 16th of Dec., and today I had a really good one on one with my professor. In my one on one with Davide, my professor, we went over my exam, which i did well on(he said I needed to watch my spelling surprise surprise), and discussed both of my projects for the end of the semester. The drawing project I wasn't worried about but the research project on the other hand was totally stressing me out. He was very helped me put more direction on my research project and helped me find more sources. I now feel like I can actually do the project and do it well. I am very excited that my flight was changed. I know 6 days isn't that long but there is something about being able to say I go home in 35 days instead of 41 that just makes it seem like my time here is a lot shorter.<br /><br />Changing my flight combined with the great meeting I had with my professor has given me a whole new outlook on the semester. I know feel like I can make it, have fun and do well. Before today I wasn't so sure most of the time.<br /><br />I am also very excited about all the things that lie between here and going home. I have no doubt they are going to make the time fly by. I leave on Friday for 5 days in Northern Italy. Next Friday I have a regional field trip. I am going to Athens for 4 days over Thanksgiving. The First weekend in Dec. I will be in Salzburg on a Sound of Music tour, and the last Friday before finals I am signed up to take an amazing 5 hour Italian cooking class. Needless to say the rest of the semester is going to be pretty awesome!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-86206725095759419532009-11-07T06:11:00.000-08:002009-11-07T06:16:37.345-08:00Great LunchSince I wasn't traveling this weekend I decided to treat my self to lunch at the fancy restaurant down the street from my apartment. It was Amazing! I had a 4 four course meal (aka way to much food for lunch) and every course was fabulous. I started with a Salmon Salad. It was like tuna salad but with salmon. The I had a fresh fish salad that was very yummy. It had fresh squid and some sort of onion celery crunchy type vegetable with lots of fresh herbs and of course Olive Oil. For the main course I had veal wrapped in ham and boy was it yum-o! The final course was a lemon sorbet with basil, and it was wonderfully tasty. Over all the meal was a great time and I am very glad that I did it!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-67506543511066029212009-11-05T09:51:00.000-08:002009-11-05T10:01:29.391-08:00Just a little updateIt has been a pretty low key week here in Rome. My package from home finally got threw customs and arrived on Saturday. It was like Christmas! (Not really but I was very glad to have the stuff inside). We didnt have class on Monday but we did all go to Dinner with Dean Shannon (the Dean of the School of Architecture) It was a really great meal and we had a lot of fun. I really enjoy it when people from the states come to visit. It is a nice breath of fresh air! <br /><br />Wednesday we had class at the Vatican Museum. It was alot of fun and I kept having these "Oh Yea" Moments. Where I was like "Oh Yea I remember seeing that when I was here in high school" I enjoyed the visit.<br /><br />Today was Thursday, and well lets just say as usual Thursday class was miserable. <br /><br />I am here in this Rome this weekend so it should be another relaxing weekend.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-77676140769860451992009-11-01T10:25:00.000-08:002009-11-01T10:39:24.566-08:00SundaysI really like Sundays here in Rome. For some reason things seem much less touristy and everything is a little bit more chill.<br /><br />This morning I got up to go see the Pope bless the crowd on St. Peter's Square. He bless the crowd at noon and I got there at about 10 so that I could have a good spot. Well no one was there, except for the 100s of people running the Rome Marathon. Who knew the Rome Marathon and the NYC Marathon were on the same day or that the starting line was St. Pete's Square? Not me! It was a fun little surprise and it was fun to get to be a part of the hustle and bustle. I had planned to grad a quick breakfast on my way to the Vatican, but because of the Marathon and the fact that it was Sunday morning nothing was open. I finally found a place and spent 8 euro (yea, I don't know if you have been following the exchange rate lately but that is like 12 bucks), on a pastry and a drink at one of these tourist trap vendor stands. Everyone and there mother knows not to but stuff from them but it was the only place open. After getting my breakfast I found a place to sit in St. Peters Square and read my book. Come to find out there was no need for me to be early because the crowd doesn't really show up until 11:30 but it was a very nice a relaxing morning.<br /><br />At noon the Pope made his apprentice in the window of his apartment. He spoke for about 10 minutes in Latin (I think). I did recognize them saying the Hail Mary and one point and then he put his hands out for what I assume was the blessing. He then spent about 15 minutes speaking to the different groups there native tongue. He spoke to English speaking people and told us something about praying for those who have gone before us (I think) and then he spoke to Italians, and Spanish, and Dutch, and Polish. Is accent was so think that I really didn't understand what he was saying even when he was speaking English but it was still pretty cool.<br /><br />This afternoon I came back and took a nap and went to internet church. Once again I really enjoyed it. If you are ever at home on a Sunday and can't make it to church you should check it out. www.crossoverworship.com Services at at 11am and 8pm central time.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-13459017049026694422009-10-30T10:04:00.000-07:002009-10-30T10:14:52.970-07:00Im Excited!I haven't blogged much this week because it has been a pretty boring week with this whole design workshop thing. Since I am not participating I have slept late and begun gathering some stuff for Grad School. In other words not an exciting week but a fairly productive one.<br /><br />Yesterday, we found out that class on Monday is canceled because our professor is still recovering form surgery. This means I have a little extra time on my hand so I decided to see if I could find somewhere to go. I looked into Venice because I have feeling I am going to want more time there than what I will get when I go with my class. I decided against it because it was just going to be more than I was willing to spend for 48 hours. <br /><br />Then I began looking for cooking classes I have been thinking about taking a cooking class for several weeks. So with my moms help I was able to find what looks like a very good cooking class. They only do them on Fridays so I won't be doing it until Dec. 11th. That is the last Friday before finals so it will be a very nice way to end my semester. It is crazy to think that, that was my only free Friday between now and then. Between now and my cooking class I will spend 4 days in Athens, 5 days in Northern Italy, and if all goes as planned 3 days in Salzburg. Oh yea I still have class 4 days a week and several Friday field trips planned as well. Basicly this last half of the semester is going fly by (Wednesday marked the official half way point)!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-6436083765844565372009-10-27T14:28:00.000-07:002009-10-27T14:42:16.396-07:00Good StartThis week has started off very well, and appears to be shaping up into a very nice and relaxing week.<br /><br />On Sunday I went to church on the internet. It was really cool. No it isn't as good as the real thing but for a student who is studying abroad it gets the job done and is a huge blessing. For those of you wondering what kind of crazy stuff goes on at internet church, this is how it works. The church I go to in North West Arkansas, Church at Pinnacle Hills, started an online worship ministry. Since I was in Rome on Sunday I thought I would try it out. To attend you go www.crossoverworship.com Just before the service time the online minister will launch the broadcast and come on his webcam to welcome everyone. You can log into the chat portion of the website before the service if you wish. Then when the service starts it plays on your screen. During the offering, Chirs, the online minister stops the broadcast and comes to you via his webcam to tell you how you can tithe online and asks you till fill out a connection card online just as if you were at church for real. Then he sends it back to service. During the invitation at the end of the service Christ comes back on and speeks to us one last time. No, it wasn't real church but it was very nice to come together with a group of believers for worship.<br /><br />Yesterday I got all the paper work taken care of to get my package out of customs and today I got the fees payed. Lets just say this package has been a cultural adventure and I will never again look at Cheetos without thinking about Italy.<br /><br />We started the Roma Tre Workshop today. It will be an easy week for me but a very busy and stressful one for everyone else. I am not participating in the workshop, but have been asked to write an article for it so I will be in and out from time to time at the workshop. Other than that I dont have anything I have to do this week.<br /><br />After lunch today I went and got gelato. It was the best I have had yet. There was a line out the door the entire time I was at this place and I bet it took me 10 minutes to get my gelato.<br /><br />The weather has been beautiful here so far this week.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-60463699930561922392009-10-24T15:14:00.000-07:002009-10-24T15:30:09.189-07:00Graduate SchoolI have made a decision. No, I don't know where I am going but I have decided where I am going to apply. I have chosen 5 programs. 4 of them are 2 year Masters in Higher Education programs and the other is a 1 year masters level program of the study of the Bible and what ministry looks like in you daily life. At this point there is not a front runner among these programs. I am excited to see over the next few months where the Lord will put me. I hope to make a decision by mid March as to where I will be next fall. <br /><br />As many of you know I love tradition and do not always handle change well so you prayers for guidance and contentment over the next few months with regard to my decision for grad school are greatly appreciated. <br /><br />So without further a do here they are...<br /><br />Colorado State University<br />Kanakuk Institute<br />University of Arkansas<br />University of Georgia<br />University of South FloridaMeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-60828695707985517322009-10-24T06:55:00.000-07:002009-10-24T08:07:20.863-07:00FootballWhat I wouldn't do to watch just one down of Razorback Football!<br /><br />With all of my closets friends on a bus Rollin' with the Razobacks to Oxford to watch the Razorbacks take on Ole Miss, and a beautiful fall day here that just begs to be spent in a football stadium it is safe to say I truly miss Razorback Football. I am however grateful that the Razorbacks are playing a morning game and I am in Rome this weekend so I will be able to follow the game via the play by play updates live on ESPN. I got really excited for a few minutes this morning when I found out the game is being broadcast on ESPN360.com, and then I found out that Italy is the ONLY country in Europe that does not support the broadcast. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! But as I mentioned earlier at least I have the live updates on ESPN.com.<br /><br />I feel good about this game and after the great show the Razobacks put up last week I think we can win! <br /><br />To those of you who buy me Christmas gifts 2 tickets to whatever bowl the Razorbacks are playing would be the BEST Christmas gift I have ever received. Just so you know!<br /><br />To those of you I told I might call during half time, it doesnt look like that is going to happen because our wireless internet is out so my IPhone is out of commission today.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-14402906219035286412009-10-22T08:32:00.000-07:002009-10-22T08:39:04.378-07:00Happy Birthday William!Today is my cousin William's brithday! He is turning 9 and since it is his special day I wanted to give him a little shout out. He is having an ATV birthday party, which sounds pretty cool to me. Happy Birthday William! I hope you have a great day and a lot of fun at your birthday party!<br /><br />In other news...<br />I have survived mid-terms. They werent aweful but they weren't super fun. The best part is that they are behind me. It is rainy here today, but it made for perfect nap. Which was nice since I was up till 3 am working on one of the most rediculous projects ever. <br /><br />We are headed to Hadrians Villa for the day on Friday. It should be a nice way to end the week and then I will have a quite weekend here back in Rome. I think I might go see UP in Italian. I wont understand what they are saying but the music and the story are so good I dont think that it will matter.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396030237446968358.post-2491995714466196162009-10-21T02:18:00.000-07:002009-10-21T02:23:33.341-07:00Happy Birthday NanaSo it has been a very busy week here in Rome. It is mid-term week. I have had 4 mid-terms this week 2 for each class. I have finished 3 of them and have 1 left on Thursday.<br /><br />I went to Cinque Terre the weekend with my friend Catherine. She was a year behind me as St. Agnes and is here for the semester with John Cabot University. She was a wonderful travel buddy. We had a great time. We saw all 4 towns, and completed 3 of the 4 hikes. It was beautiful and the weather was very nice. We stayed in a little town that only had one restaurant. It was so nice to be a a quite tranquil place. You don't realize just how hard the city is on you until you are away from it. The trip was amazing and I hope to post so pictures this weekend after things slow down.<br /><br />Today is my grandmothers birthday! So Happy Birthday Nana!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792627890462259209noreply@blogger.com2