Christmas traditions

My family has many Christmas traditions and over the years they have extended beyond Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  Here's some of the traditions I'm enjoying this week.

• Christmas Eve service followed by a simple meal.  It used to be oyster stew and potato soup (for those who couldn't stomach the oysters).  This year we had white chili.
• Stockings laid on the love seat with care.
• Presents with no names which means someone opens a present that is really for someone else.  (That didn't happen this year.)
• Too much food: date balls, ginger snaps, peppernuchies, ham, creamed corn, homemade rolls pistachios, eggnog, apple cider...
• Games played as a family
• A puzzle to work on while watching too much football
• A couple of days with some of the Louisiana relatives
• Playing in the snow no matter how cold it is
• The extended family celebration scheduled for January 1st.  As usual we are watching the weather to see how difficult it will be to actually get there.

As much as I'm enjoying traditions here, I'm missing traditions from France including papillotes (special chocolates sold only at Christmas) and a buche de Noël (ice cream Christmas logs).  I also miss dear friends.

All of this is to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  I think he enjoys all of the feasting, laughter, games, stories, naps and time with family and friends.  After all he was accused of liking parties a little too much.  I think he was delighted to hear my 8 year-old niece read the Christmas story before opening presents.  I think he was just as delighted to see the laughter (and a few tears) as my mom has given away some of the "flood treasures" she recently rediscovered.  I wonder what treasures/memories Jesus will have for us when we get to celebrate his birthday with him face to face?

A glimspe of what is to come

This week I finished the first semester of classes.  With only 7 more to go it is easy to lose sight of the end goal which is eventually being an occupational therapist.  Friday I walked a few blocks to spend the morning with some of the OTs at a therapy care unit.  The original idea was to strengthen my application to get into an OT program.  The added benefit was to be reminded of the joys and challenges therapists face on a daily basis.

It was a packed three hours and the therapists graciously explained a lot of what they were doing and why.  Robin told me that if you take an extra two minutes to do little things for the patients they will worker harder for you.  One of the women she was working with was just about ready to go home after back surgery.  Robin's role that day was to make sure she could handle taking a shower by herself.  The little extra was putting lotion on her back and legs.  Another woman, a stroke-victim, hadn't been a good patient from the beginning.  She had made things tough on all the staff and refused to work with the therapists at first.  Now she is willing to work with Robin.  I think that is because Robin reminded her of her options: lay in bed for the rest of your days, or get up and get dressed and work so you can handle a motorized wheelchair and go outside by spring.  It's not surprising that this woman in her 50s decided it would be better to work.  And having a therapist who would get her to sit forward in her chair and scratch her back for a few minutes while she worked those core muscles helped the process along as well.  The time I spent with her was doing some testing to make sure she had the necessary strength and reaction time to try out a motorized wheelchair next week.

I watched another therapist work with a young man who had brain damage due to carbon monoxide poisoning.  The sounds and activity in the therapy room overwhelmed him so he was wheeled down the hall to a sitting area where he could see outside.  There it was easier for him to focus and the task was just to get him to follow an object with his eyes and turn his head.  One side was a whole lot easier than the other.  She also worked with one of his arms trying to get the tense muscles to relax.  Afterward, the therapist explained some of the family dynamics I had observed during that half hour.   Some family members stay completely in the background and others get involved - and getting involved isn't usually helpful.  I would have liked to have seen this young man without the "help" of his family to see the difference. 

shoveling

I know, I wrote about winter weather last week. I should have waited a week as yesterday we had our first blizzard of the season. (In case you don't know, that means snow + wind which results in drifts in front of anything that stops the snow.)  While we didn't have terrible winds here, close to 12 inches of snow fell and in some places it shifted around into at least 24 inch drifts.  Last night about 5 it stopped snowing so I went out to to get a start on the shoveling.  I sunk up to my knees in most places but for some reason the drift next to the garage left a 3-shovel wide area with hardly any snow.  Then I walked around the corner and realized all the snow that should have been there had been deposited in front of the garage doors.  Last night I cleared a path to the garage and in front of one garage door.  If need be we could get out.

This morning the sun shone bright and it was down around zero.  My church was canceled since it would take most people all day to dig out so I walked to a church nearby that was still having services.  The man who gave the welcome said, "Welcome to both of you."  (There were more than 2 of us there.)  The sidewalks across the bridge had been cleared but other than that it was safer to walk on the streets.  I saw a few cars that were going to take some major work to get dug out.  One side was packed in by the snow from the snowplow and the other side was packed in by the snow from the sidewalk snow blower.

I spent the afternoon finishing the shoveling.  The alley was plowed last night leaving a foot high mound that I needed to get away from the garage.  The other problem was where to put the stuff.  There just isn't a lot of space.  I was about ready to peter out and offer my car to my roommate for work tomorrow when a neighbor came over to help me with what was left in front of the garage.  I met several of the neighbors today.  And despite the close to zero temps, I was far from cold.  In fact I was sweating.  My core definitely got a work-out.

Some may ask why we don't have a snow blower.  Actually Kathryn does - it's just over at her brother's and he's on another continent right now.  However the friend staying there said he'd gladly come over and help once he got his car dug out which he figured would take all day. He'll stop by tomorrow.  In the meantime we can get our cars out and the mailman can get to the mailbox (which is by the front door) and people can walk down the sidewalk.

Tomorrow I have my first of two finals.  Since it's online I can take it when I'm ready which will probably be sometime in the afternoon.  Wednesday I have my Math final and then I'm done for the semester.  I have quite a list of things that I want to catch up on over the break.

Winter

For the past 18 years winters have been mild for me. Since I grew up in Iowa I know what "real winter" is all about but in France it was gray and rainy with temperatures in the 30s. While living there I learned that "cold" is a relative term. Most French people I met think it is really cold when it gets down to 0°C (freezing). I'd show up with a fall jacket on and they couldn't imagine that I could possibly be warm. I'd smile and tell them it was -40° in Iowa and they couldn't fathom being able to function at such extreme temperatures.

Snow was another area of misunderstanding. I tried to explain the concept of dry snow that couldn't be packed into snowballs but it was beyond their comprehension. I'd invite them to come visit and they'd shake their heads in horror and add, "Not in the winter!" It was quite humorous watching the French drive in snow. But I can cut them some slack since they usually have only one opportunity to practice each year and quite a few cars end up in the ditch here following the first snow each year.

Now I'm getting to experience a full Minnesota winter while carrying on with my business despite the elements. I must confess that when the first snow came on a Saturday, it felt very much like a snow day, even though it was only about 6 inches of very wet heavy stuff. (Dry snow is MUCH easier to shovel.) After that I was able to ride my bike a few more times to school but now it's just too cold and the streets are too messy. I still see brave souls pedaling away but personally, I'm grateful for my student bus pass. I have to leave earlier and it's not quite so easy to stop by the post office or the library on the way home but at least I get to school without watery eyes and a frozen face.

At this point I still like "real" winter. (Ask me in February or March if that is still the case.) I went out for a walk this afternoon and the new layer of snow that fell on Friday and Saturday made the city seem very clean and picturesque (if I didn't look at the streets.) The beauty of God's creation is seen in the desert and the cold north. So let it snow - and I need to buy a pair of boots!

Hawkeye-Gopher game from the concourse

Saturday I had the opportunity to work security at the Iowa-Minnesota game.  What Iowa fan wouldn't want to get paid to see them play especially when Minnesota is doing the paying?  I went through a few hours of training a few weeks ago but didn't really know what to expect.  I reported at 11am for the 2:30 kickoff.  It took a few minutes to get my uniform, a bright yellow jacket to go over "however many layers you need to stay warm."  (I had 5.)  Then I found a chair until it was time to head up to the student section where we got our assignments.  When one of the supervisors added me to his group he told me it would be one of the warmer jobs.  As we walked around the concourse to our location the constantly running water fountains were my first clue that there wasn't anywhere on the concourse that would qualify as warm.  It was 21 degrees on the field and it was several degrees cooler when surrounded by concrete.

My assignment was shared with two other people.  One of us stood next to the entrance to Goldy's (the U of Minn clothing store which did a great deal of business - though it could have just been a great place to go to warm up).  Another checked tickets at the door leading to the premium seating elevators.  The third stood in by the elevators.  That's where the warmth was.  We rotated every 15 minutes so after a half hour of cold we took a turn getting warm.  None of the jobs were difficult and gave me ample opportunity to people-watch.  However I didn't have a view of the field.  Fortunately there was a TV monitor in both locations so I could follow what was happening.  It wouldn't have helped to follow the roar of the crowd since both the Minnesota and Iowa fans put out about the same volume.

During the training we had been told that the student section yells, "We hate Iowa" even when they aren't playing Iowa.  I'm not sure that is true (though I was far from the student section) and from my vantage point it was a good-natured rivalry among the fans.  In fact there were several couples or groups made up of both Minnesota and Iowa fans.  Everyone was cold (except those who were dressed for snowmobiling or hunting) and both sides had things to cheer about until the last Minnesota drive which won the game for them.   The goal posts came down and a group of fans thoroughly enjoyed leaving the stadium cheering, "Who beat Iowa?  We beat Iowa!" After waiting for the stadium to clear and checking a few sections for lost-&-found items, I was glad for a brisk walk and an all out sprint for the last block to catch a nice warm bus home.  I was also glad to have some left-over soup to warm up for supper.

Giving Thanks

It's the time of year when we remember all the things we have to be thankful for.  While there are always reasons to give thanks, it is good to have a day set aside to thank God for a bountiful harvest and getting us through another year.  This might be more obvious to those of us with some connection to agriculture.  Most of the time a good farmer will make a better living than a poor one.  But one storm can wipe out a year's income no matter how good of a farmer one is.  Maybe it's that realization that their livelihood is dependent on the weather that makes it easier for farmers to be thankful and enjoy a day of feasting to celebrate another year's harvest in the bins.

During this transition I've been purposefully reminding myself of the many reasons I have to be thankful.  It helps me put things into perspective when I'm missing friends and a sense of belonging.  So here's a partial list of what I'm thankful for right here, today.

• A great living situation: 12 minutes from school by bike with a roommate who understands cross-cultural transitions
• Numerous opportunities to speak French
• Twin Cities Church: a family of families where I am starting to have a sense of belonging.
• I'm only 3 1/2 hours away from my family
• Extended family in the area that include me in gatherings
• Classes that I am enjoying
• How nice people are when I ask for help or information.  "Minnesota nice" is a cultural thing that still takes me by surprise.  I guess I was used to getting a sense that my request is a bother even when responding to that request is that person's job.
• I'm not having to spend as much time studying as I did at the beginning of the semester.
• People around the globe that care about me and keep in touch

What's one thing on your list this year?

Odds and Ends

I was laying in bed last night and remembered I hadn't written anything here this weekend.  I was too snug under my blankets and quilt to want to get out of bed and I didn't really have any good ideas of what to write about so I stayed put.  I had talked to Mom on Sat evening and she did most of the talking.  In any case, here's some odds and ends just so I don't break my streak (even though I am a day late.)

Last week, despite the 60 degree temps, we got ready for winter by getting the upstairs windows covered with plastic.  (That "we" doesn't include me as I had no part in the actual work.)  I am living in a house that is over 100 years old and the window's aren't very tight so this will be a big help as temperatures fall.  Saturday I woke up to snow and it kept snowing until mid-afternoon.  It felt very much like a snow-day to me and I was wishing I had some hot chocolate in the house.  I did do the shoveling and walked to the library through.  It wasn't that much snow but it was heavy!

I've been more serious about the part-time job-hunt over the past week.  Part of my daily routine is checking the part-time job section on Craig's list and responding to anything that someone might think I was actually qualified for by looking at my resume.  So far, I haven't had any calls.  The disadvantage is that the vast majority don't have any company name so I can't actually follow up on them.  I'll keep trying.

Now it's time to study for my psychology test tomorrow on personality and motivation.  It's not too difficult but I do need to get the right dead men (and one woman) connected with the right concepts.

Cider and s'mores

About a month ago I decided which church to become a part of.  There are numerous good churches in the Twin Cities and several are within walking distance of where I live.  In the end I settled on Twin Cities Church which has a service in West St Paul in the morning and another in Uptown in the afternoon which isn't far from where I live.  TCC is a church plant so it is quite a bit smaller than most churches.  People will definitely notice if I'm not there.  What drew me was the friendliness of the people as well as the emphasis on what they call "house church" during the week.  I joined a group that meets on Wednesday evening at someone's home.  We eat together, have communion, study the Bible and pray.  I have appreciated the discussions and how the group doesn't move on until everyone has completed their homework.  And it's not enough to just get through the material; it needs to be internalized.

Yesterday afternoon my house church got together with a house church from St Paul on a small horse farm east of St. Paul.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  The horses and ponies got a good workout giving everyone rides.  We made apple cider which I had never done before.  It's a pretty easy process as long as you have some ready muscles in the group.  Throw some clean apples into the contraption and have someone turn the crank to grind them up.  When the bucket underneath is full a top is screwed down forcing the juice out where it drains into a pitcher.  That's about it.  The big question of the day was, "What's the difference between apple cider and apple juice?"  As the sun went down the HOT unpasturized and unstrained apple cider was a big hit.  Supper was bratwursts, sauerkraut, baked beans and numerous other side dishes.  Two of the people there spoke French so we had our own conversation going on for awhile.  We ended the evening sitting around the fire eating s'mores.  I enjoyed being out in the country where it was quiet and I could see the stars.

Election day

I've always exercised my right to vote when I've been in the country and even a few times by absentee ballot.  Now that I've moved to different state I have to learn a new set of issues and names.  The three-way race for governor has been well covered by the media in part because there is no incumbent.  Things get a little more complicated when it comes to county commissioner, supervisor for soil and water conservation or school board director.  (Where I'm from they are called "members" not "directors".)  Growing up in a sparsely populated farm county I could pretty much rely on name recognition/reputation for local elections in addition to the coverage given to each candidate in the weekly local paper.  That doesn't work so well since I'm new in the city and I don't know very many people.  Actually I doubt name recognition works for anyone here with an additional 1,134,544 people in the county.

My Saturday afternoon plans fell through so I decided to see what Google could tell me about the election.  I found the ballot and worked my way through it.  I was amazed to find that some of the candidates had no presence on the web.  In fact some of the candidates for State senator and Sate representative didn't have anything stating their views on the issues.  If they can't even do something as basic as posting a bit about themselves and what they hope to accomplish, I can't imagine them being a very conscientious elected official.  The same thing is true of some of those running for county office.  Some of the candidates for soil and water conservation supervisor didn't even bother filling out a simple questionnaire that would be posted on another web site.  I still feel like I haven't a clue on most of the issues, but if there is no web presence, there is little chance of getting my vote on Tuesday.

Indian summer

It was a beautiful Indian summer day as I headed south on Thurs morning.  Signs of autumn were everywhere all weekend long.  Cars had to share the 4 lane highway with combines, tractors and wagons.  Piles of corn outside just about every elevator I passed pointed to an abundant harvest.  While I didn't get home in time to make a round or two in the combine before the men finished up, I did get the harvest report.  Yields were very good and Dad had never seen corn that was so dry coming out of the field.  That made for a quick harvest and it's very rare that harvest is finished by Oct 21.  I guess that is to make up for last year when they finished on Dec 4 in the snow.  But besides harvest, there was apples and caramel, apple crisp, Hawkeye football and several pickups full to overflowing with leaves headed for the city dump. 

The record-setting rainfall this summer not only resulted in good yields but also many flooded basements.  The water that seeped into my parents' basement didn't qualify as a flood but it still took over six weeks for the work to be completed so everything could be put back.   An inch of rain fell on Saturday night and confirmed that the 2nd sump pup will help keep the basement dry.  My brothers spent a couple of hours Saturday afternoon carrying some of the bigger items down from the garage.  I'm sure Dad is glad to have his office out of their bedroom and back in the basement and I know Mom is glad to have her living room back.  The upheaval is resulting in the rearranging of the furniture in several different rooms.  Maybe I'll actually be able to park my car in the garage when I go for Thanksgiving.

Did you know there are 206 bones in the body and approximately 700 muscles?  Thankfully I didn't have to learn very many of either to make it through this week's tests.  If I can manage to remember some of the new ones I learned, I'll have a head start on that chapter in Anatomy next fall.

Tests

Students expect tests.  It just would be nice if I didn't have four in a four-day span.  Maybe they all fell together since we are about half way through the semester.  Wednesday I had a test in Sociology which covered socialization (i.e. how we learn what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior), status, roles and social interaction. 

Thursday began with a test in math on the most boring chapter yet this semester which covered solving and graphing linear equations as well as finding the slope.  I hope the following chapters are a bit more challenging.  From there I took a test in Psychology which covered two chapters on learning and memory.  I learned some things which would make studying easier if I actually put them into practice.  The professor asked us to mentally picture each of the words that he was going to read us.  The more crazy the picture the more memorable it is.  Normally we can hold about 7 things in our short-term memory but I was able to remember 19 of the 21 because of the mental pictures I placed in various rooms of my house.  Somehow that is much easier to do with words like rainbow, gloves and sofa than it is words like vomer, lacrimal, zygoma, maxially, and palatine.  I can picture a rainbow but never having actually seen that vomer bone in anyone's face I have a hard time actually picturing it.  I guess I'll need to pull out another technique that has something to do with the associations I make with those words.  Let's see vomer reminds me of Homer Simpson.  Maybe I can remember it by seeing Homer sticking out from under someone's nose - as the vomer is a narrow wall of bone that forms the inferior part of the nasal septum and continues posteriorly to join the sephenoid bone.  (If you didn't understand that last sentence a medical terminology class would help.)  Now where's the sephenoid bone? and what could I possibly associate with that? ...

Actually, the skeleton and muscles are for the test I need to take by next weekend.  Yesterday's test was on dermatology.  Learning the parts of the skin was a whole lot easier.  I still managed to get a few wrong on the online (and thus open book) test.  I do have a bone to pick (no pun intended) with the teacher on a couple of her answers.  One is clearly wrong as far as I'm concerned and the other was a very poorly worded true/false question if she's going to say that it is true.  So, I'll be asking her about that in class tomorrow.

This week promises to be easier (if you don't count learning the names of all the bones and muscles as well as all the things that could possibly go wrong with both) especially since I only have 3 days of class.  Even college students get to benefit from MEA (which is basically Minnesota in-service days).  I'm looking forward to a trip to Iowa to see some cornfields and help my niece celebrate her 8th birthday.  Oh, and to see Mom and Dad too.

French Conversation

When I decided to move to the Twin Cities I was glad to hear that there was an "Alliance Française" here.  These are centers that seek to promote the French language and culture both in France and in cities around the world.  One of the items on their web site was a list of French conversation groups around the city.  That caught my attention because I know my French will get rusty if I don't use it.  It's also a way to meet people who most likely have some connection to France. 

Several weeks ago I participated in a group at a coffee shop on the University campus.  Everyone else was a student with either a French major or minor.  I think all of them had spent at least a couple of months in France so their French was pretty decent.   Yet, I found myself wondering if I should correct errors or not.  The other downside was that the conversation was kept in one big group. It would be better than nothing - but some engaging conversations probably wouldn't happen. 

This past Sat morning I finally made it to another group that meets at a coffee shop about 10 minutes away from where I live.  I arrived a bit late and there was about 15 people around a line of tables.  There was a couple of empty chairs at one end so I sat down next to a young man who introduced himself as Guy.  Before long Dan and Ed joined us.  All of them had learned French while at University.  Dan walked in with his dictionary as he's just beginning to use his French after 30 years of being out of school.  He did lots of listening but said that was OK.   It looks like I'll be able to interact with some interesting people as I try to keep my French at least somewhat sharp.

Wedding fun

I went to Dallas over the weekend for a wedding.  It was a small family affair with about 30 people present.  An aunt of the bride introduced herself to me and asked what my connection was.  I responded with "I'm an aunt of the groom," and hoped there were no more questions because beyond that it gets kind of complicated.  Greg, the groom, was 6 when I first met him.  His younger siblings were 4, 2 and 2 years away from being born.  They welcomed me into their family and the love they showered on me helped keep me sane as I went through culture shock when I first moved to France.  I've been glad to be Aunt Alice every since even though I don't look like anyone else in the family.  I've baby-sat them, shared Christmas with them and was the only family member around when Heather was in the ICU with a concussion while the rest of the family was in the US.  Those four kids now range in age from 24 to 17; two are now married and the third is engaged to be married next April.  Attending weddings are a big change from playing games on the floor.

I was honored to be a part of Greg and Kari's special day.  One of the memories that I will savor is watching the guys polish their shoes and tie their ties just right.  Shortly after that I got kicked out of the room and told to go visit Grandma.  Evidently they needed some privacy to finish getting ready.

On the way back to the hotel, Karen, the mother of the groom, said the photographer had told her she had never seen such gracious children.  I may be a bit biased but I'd agree that they are great kids who are now great adults.  I enjoyed watching each of their unique personalities come out as they celebrated.  Greg, who says he never dances, sure enjoyed dancing on his wedding day.  The next two danced up a storm with each other but Heather was also gracious enough to dance with the bride's grandpa and other family friends she had just met.  Meanwhile the youngest was over in a corner deep in conversation.  Each of them stayed right in character.  Before the end of the evening the whole wedding party was in the pool - though the two younger brothers were the only one's who bothered to change into their swimsuits.  I think it had something to do with having paid for their own suits. 

Besides the nerves ahead of time and the fun afterward, I will also remember Greg and Kari's heartfelt vows.  They may be young but their words showed they understand that life is uncertain and marriage is hard.  But there was no question that they wanted to go through whatever the future holds together.  Both of them are adventurous and my wish for them is that 60 years from now, by God's grace, they are still going towards the next adventure hand in hand.

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.

First Week of Class

As I begin writing this it is about 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and I just finished my homework for the weekend.  I'm tired.  School (and new things in general) can be rather exhausting. 

I started the week off by receiving a 9 page syllabus at 8:15 on Monday morning in my Intro to Sociology class.  From there I went to Math where the syllabus was one page.  It basically said, "Here's the sections of the book that we are going to cover.  When we finish a chapter we'll have a test."  Of course in a Math class you can count on doing homework every night so how more detailed does the teacher need to be?  He also told us we were going to start slow and that if we thought it was easy that didn't mean we should be in a higher class.  So far it's been pretty easy.  One new experience I had was having a professor swear during his lecture.  That would be my Intro to Psychology prof, if anyone cares.

Medical Terminology is like learning a new language.  At least I've done that before and my French has been some help to me already.  I've been spending lots of time on that.  In fact, it seems I'm spending a lot more time studying now than I did 25 years ago during my first college experience.  My housemate tells me that is normal.  After all a) I am older and b) I need to figure out how to study again.  She has assured me from experience that it will get better.  I sure hope so.  I'm also reminded that intense mental concentration burns off as many calories as exercise.  Maybe that's why I'm tired and also eating more than usual.  I did take a break yesterday evening and went to watch a French movie at the Alliance Française.  It was nice to hear French again even though the movie reminded me why I don't like most French movies.

Why do you celebrate?

Friday night I went to an unusual party.  One of my uncles threw a surprise party for his wife.  He took her out for supper and then acted like he'd forgotten the tickets for the event they would be attending so they had to return home to get them.  In the meantime friends and family had gathered in their living room.  A son had driven 7 hours to make it home for Mom's party.  Some had driven 4 hours (or more since they got stuck behind an accident) and one couple had taken a two hour flight.  Some were old college friends and others from around the corner.  All those people kept it a surprise and I think it is safe to say that Aunt Nancy was overwhelmed when the blindfold was taken off and she discovered a house full of guests whose sole purpose was to celebrate her life.   That's what made it unusual.

About 10 years ago Nancy was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I was on another continent at the time so I know few of the details of her treatment or what that road was like for her and her immediate family.  I do know that she came through the treatments and is now cancer free.  That is reason enough to celebrate.  But there is more.  Everyone in their home Friday night was very thankful that Nancy is a cancer survivor but we are also thankful for her character.  Several told of how she had been a comfort and encouragement to them.  She knows what not to say and because she had walked a hard road she has accompanied others on their hard roads in a way she couldn't have before.  Her story has added depth to her character and strength to her faith.

I read this past week about how none of us like to go through hard times whether they be physical, financial, vocational, relational or any other ___al.  We like comfort and ease.  But as any athlete, musician, artist or student knows, progress is not made in comfort and ease but by being pushed and stretched sometimes beyond what we think is our breaking point.  We don't like that discipline but we do like the results.  I'm sure Nancy and her family wouldn't chose to walk down that road again but I think I can safely say that they grateful for how it has changed them and helped them grow.   

There were a couple of other cancer survivors there last night.  One of those is Aunt Suzanne.  She has brain cancer and is currently undergoing a second round of chemo treatments.  Yet she's a survivor; she's already lived longer than the average with her kind of cancer.  She and her family are in the middle of a longer road than Aunt Nancy's.  We don't yet know what kind of meadow will open up for Suzanne when she comes out of this valley.  But, as one of the women said last night, whatever happens it will be alright. 

That's why we can celebrate.  It's not because Aunt Nancy is a 10 year cancer survivor or Aunt Suzanne has beaten the average.  It's because of Jesus and the hope he gives.  Without him, no celebration lasts.  With him the celebration is eternal.

Heat

I grew up without air conditioning.  I've lived the past 18 years without AC.  Growing up I remember it being hot and humid enough that we wanted to sleep in the basement sometimes - and I think once or twice we actually did.  In France the humidity was low so it wasn't that bad.  I'd take a shower to cool off right before going to bed and with a fan blowing on me, I'd sleep pretty good.  There were summers when I didn't once use the fan at night.  Taking that into account I figured it wouldn't be that bad to move into an old house near downtown without AC.  How lucky I was to move in during the hottest week of the year.  By the end of the week it was over 90° in my bedroom at 10 pm.  Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot done.  I got some things put away, but I really didn't do much organizing.  It was just too hot.

I did discover a few ways to escape the heat.  One was to go to the river which is about a mile away.  Wed morning I was determined to go for at least a spin despite the heat.  I went down along the river and when I got back I noticed it was over 5 degrees warmer at the house.

That afternoon I also took a book and went to the neighborhood library to read.  I wasn't the only one who had that idea.  I don't know how many people are there on a normal afternoon, but I'm sure there were many like myself looking for a place to cool off and wake up.

By Saturday it had cooled off.  My parents came and brought a few things that wouldn't fit in my car at the beginning of the week.  One of Mom's first comments was, "It's hot in here."  I sure didn't think so.  It was actually below 80° in my room last night.  Maybe tonight I'll actually need some covers.

What's next in the story?

The last two books I've read to my niece were set in Africa and included plenty of danger from both wild animals and people.  When a chapter always ended at a point where the suspense was at its height Elizabeth would look at me with her big round eyes and declare, "Keep reading!"  A good story always has some suspense or tension.  We keep reading because we wonder what's going to happen next.  How will this get resolved?

Over the past few months I've read snippets from Donald Miller as he talks about viewing life as a story complete with characters, ambition and some conflict.  I was reminded of that this week as I spent a day shadowing two OTs at a nearby hospital.  I got a glimpse of some of the stories that were currently set in the rehab unit or acute care.  The goal for the therapist(s) in acute care was sometimes just to get the person sitting up at the edge of the bed and to get some movement in the upper body.  The patients in rehab are able to handle three hours of therapy a day so there is more intensity there.  Some of them are learning to dress themselves with their new (and hopefully temporary) physical limitations.  Others are working to get their strength back after a serious accident.  Whatever their situation, each one is at a point of crisis (suspense, tension, conflict).  Like a good book, it made me want to go back the next day to learn more about the characters and find out what would happen to them.  When will the man whose left side wasn't responding after a stroke be strong enough to get moved to the rehab unit?  Will he make enough progress to be able to use his left side?  When will the young accident victim get his strength back so he no longer has to use a walker or sit in a wheelchair and his handshake is once again firm?  Will the swelling go down enough for the man who had the diving accident so he can gain full use of his upper body? 

I've found myself feeling rather apprehensive this week as I prepared to move to Minneapolis on Monday.  The unknowns seem overwhelming at times.  But when I look at it as a story, I can enter the new situations with anticipation: What is going to happen next?  How will each need I have get met?  What people will come across my path?  And best of all, it is good to know the Author of the story, the Sovereign Lord who lovingly always does what is best.  It may not be easy, but that just makes for a better story.

Prerequisites to the Prerequisites

Since attending an informational meeting about the Occupational Therapy program at the U of Minn, my plan has been to take a heavy load of classes this fall.  Applications for the OT program need to be turned in by sometime in March or April to have a chance of being accepted for the following September and 5 of the 7 prerequisites have to be completed before applying.  If I want to start the OT program next fall, there is no other option.

At least that was the plan until Monday when I talked with someone at the registrar's office at the community college I'll be attending this fall.  Five of the classes I need have prerequisites.  Two of those are one of the other classes on the list and in order to take Anatomy I need to take chemistry and biology (in that order).  For some reason the classes I had in High School don't count.  Besides that, I also need a certain level of math in order to be able to sign up for Statistics.  My college degrees waived the reading and writing placement test but not the Math.  After looking at a sample test online, I knew I'd better brush up on my Algebra.  Four years of math in HS assured that the problems didn't look completely foreign but I hadn't a clue how to solve many of them.  I guess that's why prerequisite classes have to be taken within the past five years.  The day of reviewing Algebra helped but I still didn't do as well as I had hoped on the math placement test.  As things stand now, I get to take 3 classes before they will let me into Statistics.  My Math skills are still good enough to figure out that when I add the prerequisites of the prerequisites to the prerequisites it will take 2 years before I have them all completed.

My niece asked me this week why I was wearing my glasses all the time.  (I had previously wore them for reading.)  I told her I was getting old.  She responded, "You're not old.  Anyone who is still in college isn't old."  There you have it! 

I am now a licensed driver in Minnesota and my car has MN plates.  What amazed me was that I needed to furnish no proof of residence.  They actually took my word for it when I said I lived at my address.  It felt very strange walking in there without a file of papers to prove that I'm who I say I am who lives where I say I live.  The bureaucracy in this corner of the US is still pretty simple - at least compared to my experience in France.

Life doesn’t always go as planned

A few days after I arrived at my parents we started rearranging furniture in my bedroom to make room for some of the things I'd sent on the container. That led to the discovery of a water problem – at least in my room. Last Thursday morning my bleary eyes became wide awake when I stepped in water as I entered the bathroom. A quick look around showed that water was pretty much everywhere in the basement following about 6 ½ inches of rain during the night. I'm not sure what any of us had planned for the day but I know "completely empty the basement" was not on the list. Thanks to the help of my brother and one of his friends (thanks Randy!) everything that was in the basement (except for what is on shelves in the storeroom) is now either in the living room or in the garage. Dad even arranged it all so two cars will fit in the 3 car garage. In the process I made enough trips up and down the steps that my calves were sore the next morning. If you stop by during the next several weeks you are welcome to sit in the kitchen or at the dining room table. If you want something that is normally found in Dad's desk or in the sewing room, you'll just have to wait awhile. For now we have fans and dehumidifiers going to dry out the carpet as we try to figure out what can be done to try and prevent this from happening again. We've heard stories of someone who had waist-high water in their basement (thanks to 10 inches of rain) and another basement in the area that caved in. The dampness in our basement is inconvenient but so far all that's been thrown out is carpet pad.

Friday afternoon we headed north to De Smet SD with my brother's family. Elizabeth has loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books so a trip to see where most of the stories in her books happened and the pageant sounded like a good weekend getaway. We spent all our time at the Ingalls homestead which is a great place to take kids. You can't go wrong when the first rule is, "Please touch, feel and climb on anything you want." Elizabeth jumped in with both feet and loved it all. She even washed clothes twice using a washboard. The woman in the replica of the Ingalls home had a great rapport with the kids and an hour later as we came by again she called Elizabeth by name. As the evening went on the clouds became more menacing and once again the weather changed our plans. Shortly after we got back to the hotel rain was coming down in sheets. Elizabeth was disappointed (and so were the rest of us) but there is always next year.

As I go through this time of transition it feels like nothing is stable. I was just getting things unpacked and remembering where I'd put them when I had to pack them all up again and now it's all out in the garage in different boxes. I was reminded this morning that no matter how things change or how unpredictable life becomes Jesus is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He never changes and he's sovereign over all the change in my life. That is very good.

Some small town culture at the County Fair

I couldn't turn down Elizabeth, my 7 year old niece, when she asked me to take her to the horse show at the county fair this week. She loves horses and I enjoy spending time with her. It turns out that she had a friend with her and Mommy came along too but she wanted to ride in my car. It was a warm afternoon as we pulled in a few minutes late – though I didn't need to be concerned about that since the schedule is approximate. Back in my 4-H days (30 years ago) I took some things to the fair but I have little memory of it. I certainly never went to the horse show. The actual judging had been done the day before so we were there to watch the games. They included: carrying an egg on the spoon while trotting, walking and then galloping (none of the eggs lasted very long at a gallop), barrel racing, poles, the key hole, the softball drop… Horses all have their own temperament and one in particular wasn't excited about getting too close to barrels, poles, buckets or anything else it was supposed to go around. A crowd favorite was the little pony with its junior rider who looked pretty good in each game.

Elizabeth's attention span was up before the games so I walked around the rest of the grounds. There wasn't much in the 4-H building but the number of animals in the barns made up for it. Maybe that's why I found the fair on the internet as the "Osceola County Livestock Show". The noisiest animals were the sheep. They were bleating pretty much non-stop. The hogs were pink and clean and it was hot enough they were probably missing some mud. The beef cattle looked like they had lots of thick steaks in them. I was able to discover the name of the best jam and salsa makers in the county in the open exhibit building. The commercial building was pretty sparse. The company reps who had made the trip looked pretty bored. Osceola County is too small to have a mid-way but there were several inflatable slides and jumpers for the kids. The one ride was the local REC (Rural Electric Company) boom truck that would rise to full extension (maybe 30 feet) and make a 360° turn. If that isn't enough excitement for you, you could have put $10 into the demolition derby raffle. The winner gets a car to drive in the feature demolition on Saturday night. It wasn't specified if the helmet was included.

Change is taking shape

It feels like nothing is normal right now. Everything is changing and in the midst of transition I'm thankful that some of the changes have become more concrete over the past week.

I bought a car. This Corolla was previously owned by a little old lady who managed to put 12,000 miles on it in 7 years. Despite that slow break-in-rate it survived me driving it 6 months worth of miles in four days.   

I made a trip to Minneapolis, my new home. On Thursday morning I met a friend of a friend who was considering me as a potential housemate. Then I visited and applied to the community college I'll be attending this fall. I also attended an informational meeting on the Occupational Therapy program at the U of Minn. I have a lot of work ahead of me. "Rigorous" seemed to be the word of the day. By the time I returned to where I was staying I was exhausted. That seems to be a major side-effect of being in transition.

Saturday morning I walked around Lake Harriet. I will enjoy all the bike trails in Minneapolis. The next stop was getting my living situation confirmed. While it will involve many more changes, it's great to have an address. Now I can start whittling away on the list of things that couldn't really be done without an address even though I won't be moving until sometime in early August. Until then I've been counseled to rest, rest, rest. Sounds good to me!

What's behind this blog

Writing letters home is a family tradition.  My grandparents moved to Iowa from Indiana when my mom was 7. The story I’ve heard is that Grandma would walk to the train station once a week to mail a letter to her mother.  She would tell whoever had accompanied her that the letter would arrive the next day.  (It would take at least 3 days now.)

The letters I remember receiving growing up were from my aunt.  She is a great story-teller and writer.  It helped that there was never a dull moment in her family so she had plenty of fodder.  For awhile Mom and her sister also exchanged cassette tapes.  We’d sit around the table listening to the table chatter at their house and then tape over it with our own table chatter.  (To bad those no longer exist – it would probably be some great blackmail material against my cousins.)

When I went to college I did my best to send a letter home every Wednesday so my parents would receive it on Saturday before they called me Sunday afternoon.  At first those letters were easy to write; there was a lot to tell about.  But as I settled into a routine it became more difficult and I’d ask my roommate for some ideas.  Her comment was, “If you don’t have anything to write about, why are you writing?” 

“Because that is what is expected.”  As far as I know I didn’t miss a week – and neither did Mom.

A few years after college I moved to France and continued to send a weekly letter home.  International phone calls were expensive so we talked only on birthdays and at Christmas.  That made the letters that crossed the Atlantic even more important.  Once I put a letter in the slot at the post office only to realize I hadn’t put a stamp on it.  There was no way to dig it out and my French wasn’t good enough to ask if they would get it for me.  I went back home and printed another one out and sent it with a stamp.  My parents received both on the same day.

Over the years I became much less disciplined in writing home each week.  I suppose I can blame it on email and the dramatic drop in telephone cost.   With email I no longer have to fill up the page and sometimes it’s just easier to call.  I’m sure Mom would think that is no excuse. (though she’d never say so.)

Besides writing home, I also was responsible for a monthly newsletter.  Now that I’ve left that position and have moved back to the US, several who received the newsletter have told me that they would like to stay in contact.  That led to the idea of this blog.  I can post a letter and those who are interested can read it here.  At the same time I’ve wondered when I’ll run out of things to say.  Since I’m in the midst of a major transition there will be many stories to tell.  But eventually I’ll settle into a routine and it will take more creativity and thought to come up with a new story.  I may even have to ask a friend for some help.  But I think I’ll enjoy the discipline of having to post something once a week to family and friends wherever they may be.

Look for a new post every weekend – and be sure and write back from time to time.