Enjoying Fall

After several weeks of gray, rainy and cool weather it was really nice to see the sun come up this morning and even better to see that there isn't a drop of rain in the 10-day forecast.  It was still cool (44°) this morning but sunshine makes a difference.  This afternoon I biked along the river and enjoyed two of the things I like about Minneapolis.  One is trees.  Having grown up on the prairie there just aren't many trees and the few that brave the prairie winds aren't usually very colorful in the fall.  But along the river here there are many trees.  In fact, on most of my ride, those trees hide the river.  Most of the trees haven't begun turning but the ones that have are bright red.  The second thing I enjoy is all the bike trails.  They not only go around lakes and along both sides of the river but also crisscross the city in different places.  These trails are well used as there are bikers of all kinds everywhere.  Because there are so many bikes, cars are used to looking out for them.  It's no wonder that Minneapolis ranks as one of the most bike friendly cities in the US.  Weather permitting I ride my bike to school but I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the sunny weather and doing some more exploring of the trails.  I may even load my bike in the car and go find some country roads so I can enjoy some cornfields.  I do miss those.

Classes are going well.  I've had at least one test in every class and have done fine.  It's taken a while for the brain cells to remember how to study but it is getting better.  I also had a job interview this week with a company that provides home care for those who need help with shopping, cooking, housework and laundry.  They couldn't offer me a job but if something comes up in my area that fits the hours I'm available they will give me a call. 

Awesome!

Over the past couple of weeks I've been studying the brain and how our senses work in Psychology class.  Did you know there are as many neurons in our brain as there are stars in the Milky Way?  That's pretty amazing.  We looked at the hindbrain which keeps our hearts pumping, our lungs breathing and our glands doing their thing at the right time.  The midbrain is a kind of relay station for the sensory messages coming at us (except for smell which bypasses it).  My professor got more animated when we got to the forebrain where all the higher mental functioning happens.  His comment was that the word "awesome" should be reserved for the brain.  "I've heard people refer to a hamburger as 'awesome' but it is the brain that is awesome." 

The brain is amazing.  Our vision is one simple example.  Well, maybe it's not so simple.  My textbook takes 20 pages to briefly describe how what we see gets translated into an electrical signal that our brains can understand and then how our brains interpret what we see.  I don't often stop and think about how it is that I can see color, or know that there is an edge to the table or have depth perception or how I can ride in airplane and know that those little cars down there aren't toys.   Scientists are still trying to figure out how it all works.  Numerous times the book talked about theories for how our senses and the brain work.  We don't really know.  Yes, the brain is amazing.  But I differ with my professor.   Superlatives like "awesome" should be reserved for the Designer and Creator, not for the creation.

Transition

A few weeks before I left France, a friend who is older and wiser sat me down to explain what transition is all about.  She has been through several continent changing transitions herself so she has lived through the chart she gave me.  Numerous times I have been thankful for her taking the time to do that.  It has helped me know that what I'm experiencing is normal.  I've pulled that chart out several times as I've tried to understand what I'm feeling.  As I read through the list that includes "statusless, chaos, anxiety, uncertain of position or how to respond..." I can understand why transition is hard.  I shouldn't expect anything else.  Still, it isn't a lot of fun to actually go through.  I talked with a couple who lived in Europe for over 20 years and have been back here for 7.  They told me it takes 3 years - and it's a good thing to know that up front.  Hopefully it will get better before that.

I had two experiences this week that reminded me that I'm not in Europe any more.  On a rainy day I decided to take the bus to school.  I had no problem getting there but it wasn't until I walked out of class that I realized that I had no idea where to catch the bus going in the other direction.  On the way I had been dropped off on a one-way street so obviously the return trip wouldn't be at the same place.  It seems like there are hundreds of bus stops in the downtown area and none of them (at least where I was looking) give any information about what buses actually stop there.  I ended up walking and checking the internet when I got home.  Hopefully the next time I'll be able to get it right.  I do need to figure it out before the snow flies.

When I went to the grocery store this week I had "juice" on my list.  I walked down every aisle that has drinks in it and didn't find any juice.  It's not with the tea, coffee, mixes, sport drinks.  It's not in the same aisle as the water and pop.  Then I remembered that juice doesn't come in a six pack of liter size boxes in this country.  I found what I wanted in the refrigerated section.  The only problem is that I wasn't able to stock up.

A weekend with my niece

It is Sunday evening and it's a good thing that tomorrow is a holiday.  I'll need it in order to recover from having too much fun with my favorite 7 year old.  My niece, Elizabeth, has worn me out.  Yesterday we did four rides at the Mall of America.  (I showed up after the shopping.  I almost felt like I was in Europe as I took the light rail from downtown out to the mall.  Then we had crepes for dinner.)  Then we went back to my parents were staying since they had forgotten Sally (their GPS) and I hadn't a clue how to find Como Park without a map.  Armed with a map we headed across town to St Paul and joined the state fair traffic.  As we circled looking for a parking place Elizabeth fell asleep so she was able to get a little nap before doing more walking at the zoo.  We enjoyed the monkeys and the polar bears the most.  On the return trip Elizabeth decided that Minneapolis would be a good city to play the alphabet game in - as long as you are going from east to west.  We ended the day with another first for Elizabeth (the Mall of America being the other one) - we went to an old-fashioned grill and had a malt with our hamburgers.  Yummy!

Today after church we drove along the Mississippi which Elizabeth declared to be rather small.  By the time we had wandered through downtown among some of those skyscrapers and stopped at a grocery store it was after 2 when we ate.  This afternoon included a bike ride around Lake Harriet.  We even went around twice!  It was fun "but my butt is sore."  The evening ended with a cone at Sabastian Joe's.  Actually it's not quite ended yet.  I'm being called to come read a bit before turning out the light.