Asheville, NC

May 26-29, 2011

Over the past few months, Laura has been hooking me up with some pretty great experiences: Memphis, AEE, and the Webb School. Now it was my turn to reciprocate.

My connection took us to Asheville, NC– a destination I have heard great things about. Two things were housed in Asheville that were of great interest: my cousin’s family and the Biltmore Estate. Plus Asheville is best known for its local artists and local flavor.

Our first full day took us straight to the Biltmore. My cousin Nathan just happens to work there so we were able to get on the grounds at no charge. One didn’t even need to go into the house with so many gardens to explore! The drive to the house alone was beautiful as the recent rains saturated the forest colors.

The grounds were magical, as they possessed some features that I would put in my dream garden. An arbor covered walkway for example. Or creative displays.

I could tell that Laura enjoyed the farm portion of the estate the most as she caught chicken after chicken after chicken. Olivia joined the fun as well. However, not all attempts were successful.

We also ventured out to different parts of Asheville. Enjoying the drum jam session and chocolate delights.

Sunday came too soon as it was time to part ways. Thanks Nathan and Olivia for a fantastic weekend!

Now What?

May 20-26, 2011

Well, that ever-pressing question has been looming for months. I have had phone interviews and have even been flown to Wake Forest for a face-to-face interview. The final word on that interview still is without resolution; however, I couldn’t just sit around and wait twiddling my thumbs.

Solution: Get paid to hang out with youth from The Webb School and be outside. Thanks to Laura, that is exactly what we just did.

And so the last 6 days consistent of canoeing, whitewater rafting, and hiking 24 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The days on the water were spent getting to know the kids…well they were seniors in high school. As always, I love to see how others react to a world that I am so comfortable with.

While whitewater rafting the Middle Ocoee River, I saw one student in particular display courage time and time again. She was not scare but TERRIFIED to go whitewater rafting. Having been down the Ocoee a couple of times before, I knew what to expect. Therefore, I made it my mission to make sure that she stayed in the raft. Before we even got in the raft, I had to be strategic. I eyed the guides and picked a raft with an experienced guide. I put her in the back of the raft knowing that those that sit closer to the front are more likely to pop out.

The guide was aware of her fear. As we went down the river, I saw her eyes get bigger and bigger as we hit each rapid. At moments I wished I had a recorder to capture some of her intellectually sassy comments.

The moment of truth came as we went in to try to surf. Like I said, I had done this before so I new what to expect. Before we headed back up stream to catch the hydraulic, my mind flashed back to a similar situation two summers ago when I almost was ejected from a raft during a surf.

As we paddled forward, I looked directly to my left to try and read her expression. Here extreme level of fear was evident, put not paralyzing as her arms continued to paddle– a good sign indeed. I knew my mission. I had carried through thus far. I was determined not to fail.

We caught the surf on our first try. We did our first 180 and then another. After two more turns, internally, I knew it was time for us to exit the surf. Instead the raft was thrown around again. With the back of the raft in the hydraulic and water pouring in, I knew things were not good. With the raft being kicked to and fro, out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the other girls in the raft tumble into the rapid. Immediately, my gaze turned to my left. With eyes as big as saucers, she knew she was loosing the battle and being pulled by the force of the water. My reflex action kicked in as I grabbed her arm and pulled her back in without even thinking.

Finally the guide got us out of the surf. With so much water in the raft, she had trouble getting her feet under her to exert the proper leverage.

The rest of the week presented other challenges as the fellowship journeyed through the hills of North Carolina, but that experience, by far, was the most memorable.

It Finally Happened

May 5, 2011

After putting up my last star…..

And borrowing Christina’s Cap and Gown (because I decided not to walk)…..

Graduation!!!!!!!

Association for Experiential Education Conference

April 8-11, 2011

As I was not able to go to the Association for Challenge Course Technology conference this winter, I couldn’t let the year pass without attending some kind of conference. Two things lined-up to make this conference possible: first, it was in the great city of Chattanooga. Second, Laura was on the planning committee.

As is tradition, I signed up to help volunteer. Laura was in charge of transportation. Thus I became one of the drivers along with Christina and Shannon. The beauty of the conference was in the idea that workshops were held all over the city. Not only were we learning about experiential education, but we also got a glimpse of Chattanooga.

The conference as a whole was full of lessons. Whether about water barrels, new ways to play Simon Says, or compost, dull moments were rear because we were always engaged in our learning.

A few highlights:

Sleeping on a big boat in the Tennessee River: the Delta Queen

Going to a farm in the middle of a city: Crabtree Farms

See my name (along with some great friends) in a published work: Setting The Conflict Compass by Michelle Cummings and Mike Anderson.

Where Did March Go?

March 29, 2011

Here it is the end of March, and I still haven’t made an important introduction. Meet Shannon (the one in blue), my new roommate this semester. She is from Georgia, plays the harp, and is one of 13 children. Moving into an apartment with 3 other people is cake for her. She is living proof that girly-girls can be outdoorsy. She has spent more time in the outdoors (and getting ready) than I have, and she is 6 years my junior. On the road to graduation just like the rest of us, Apt B is blessed to have her with us even if it is only for one semester. We love you Shanno!

The Break Experiment: Episode 2

January 25-February 5, 2011

As the last Break Experiment took the three traveling companions East to Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, this journey take them in the opposite direction: West. Destination: Siloam Springs, AR.

Reason: 1.) It is far away: Distance proved to be an important factor in the last Break Experiment. 2.) Connections: Locations included very affordable (if not free) housing, those talented in the culinary arts, and, most importantly, old friends that needed to be visited. 3.) Location: as it is the middle of winter the three thought staying in the South would be wise, especially for Laura’s sake. She struggles with the cold. 4.) Oh yeah: To do Homework

The journey began with the three traveling companions, Christina, Laura, and Heather loading Heather’s seasoned cavalier and hitting the road toward Memphis. After just finishing their last intensive, the three had some decompressing to do. With Laura’s fingers flying on her computer keyboard, the lessons learned and hopes for the future of the program and the graduate assistantship were documented. Nashville came and went with great productivity. In no time they reached their first destination: Memphis. Laura’s connections came through wonderfully as we were treated to a Mexican dinner and a warm comfortable place to rest their heads.

As their final destination was still six hours away, the three continued moving forward the following day. As Heather had driven this route years before, she drove the whole way excited to see familiar faces at the end of the road.

The arrival in Siloam Spring brought an instant feeling of being home for Heather and it was 73 degrees outside. She had spent two and a half years working at John Brown University. It had been 3 years since she last saw her friends at the Soderquist Center. But even better was the out of town faces that were here for the milestone event of Luke Voss’ baby dedication.

Laura and Christina watched the buzz around them as Heather’s roommate from college’s house overflowed with laughter as old friends from Indiana Wesleyan days interacted as if no time had passed between their last meeting.

The winds changed on Monday, as the house calmed. Before the ever-dreaded homework could be attacked, Heather had to show Laura and Christina some of the highlights of the area. The main attraction: Greystone.

Good-ol’-Frank led the band of now five (Heather, Laura, Christina, Lynette, and Luke) through every nook, cranny, and tunnel of this 16,000 square foot estate. The rain held off as Heather finished the tour showing off some of the highlight areas of the grounds.

Little did the crew know that if they had waited 24 hours the tour would have been impossible.

The oh-so-uncharacteristic-of the-area event hit: 8-inches of snow with temperatures way below freezing.

The next three days merged together as all were trapped indoors. Homework was inevitable. No more excuses. However, many distractions came to the rescue of being too productive: Wii-fit and Dance-Dance-Revolution. After all, movement is important when the majority of the day is spent sitting in front of the computer. Heather, Christina, and Lynette also got a fabulous ab workout watching Laura do the hula!

By the time the roads were semi-cleared, it was time for the three traveling companions to head back East. The laughter, wonderful home-made meals, lessons in child care, and wii experiences were mementos taken by the three as the left Siloam Springs.

The road back to Memphis was long as the snow continued to come down until Little Rock. Laura’s relatives were once again so welcoming. Continue to expand their horizons, the three embarked on a traditional Southern culinary adventure: fried everything… fish, chicken, pickles, hushpuppies, and green tomatoes.

Later that evening, Heather had a chance to show her mad skills on the alto saxophone. She was so rusty that her skills did about drive Laura and Christina mad. With the help of one of Laura’s cousins, she was set to right.

The evening culminated with more Wii action, as all were introduced to Just Dance.

Tennessee was reached once more the following day. Although the journey took our travelers from on extreme end of a state to the other extreme of the neighboring state, the distance was well worth it. Laura and Christina experienced new states (Laura found her way to Oklahoma for a side geo-cache adventure). Heather just left one home to arrive at another.

The 3rd and Final Intensive

January 16-27, 2011

With this being my last intensive before graduation, I felt like an experienced veteran. I knew what to expect for the most part. I knew it would be intense. I also knew new dynamics would unfold with new faces that had just entered the program. Camp Wesley Woods near the Smoky Mountain National Park was our first destination.

Our focus this time around was Adventure Based Counseling. A very fancy term for what I had been doing during my challenge course years. Be familiar with much of the information, I didn’t feel overwhelm with information. Instead, this allowed me to just have fun. To watch others, who had never done anything like it before, be challenged and encouraged.

Other assignments involved being dropped off at an unknown location with 3 other people. Then with a map and list of items, we were sent out to find out as much information about the area as we could. We walked through the town of Townsend, TN talking with librarians, artists, musicians, political leaders, and local historians – people that have spent their whole life in this small town and others that came for different reasons and fell in love with it.

This intensive also led us to some interesting places. We visited a landfill (talk about experiential learning!), an environmental school in the Smokies, and a tree house. Yes. A tree house. This visit wasn’t really a school related function. It was a optional activity on our day off. I am so glad I didn’t opt out. I didn’t expect what I saw.

Stepping lightly, I was a bit nervous to move too quickly at first. I imagined this tree house really wasn’t regulated by any building codes. Within minutes my fears faded, as I was climbed up the staircase to the highest point.

As I reached the top, I knew little of the ministry that was behind the tree house. One only had to look out the window to see what it was all about.

After our day off, we changed locations and moved to a different part of Tennessee to experience another challenge course. This facility was very familiar t me as I had been their with my Challenge Course Facilitator class during the previous two fall semesters.

Again by this time, all of us were becoming more like a family– cooking meals for each other, staying up late to play cards, frustrations and laughter. I found myself surprised one morning. Conversation and statements I barely remember having made came to life before my eyes.

Greg and Casey were on breakfast crew. Pancakes were on the menu. I remembered mentioning the day before that my mom used to make pancakes in the shape of the first letter of my name. Well, that morning, they took it to the next level. I felt honored to receive their beautifully crafted masterpiece as Laura and Lauren also receive their flippantly-mentioned hippo and Minnie Mouse.

Our final destination was Atlanta where we visited Winshape, a conference center own and founded by Chick-fil-a, the PMI factory, and one of the best nature interpreters in the Southeast, Jerry Hightower.

Uncle Jerry was a common thread through all of the intensives, reminding us that learning should by interactive and fun. Prime example: the Scat Rap. Just like each person that was on each intensive, all brought a unique element that will always be connected to this experience and forever etched into my memory.

The Joys of Winter

January 10, 2011

What is winter without snow? Cold. Winters in Tennessee have little except cold. Not this winter. Everything shut down in the local area because of snow. Usually in the South everything would shutdown with only a half an inch on the ground. Being from the North, I can only shake my head. But this time, the complete shutdown was called for. With 6 inches of snowfall in one night, most places with the proper equipment would find it challenging to keep up.

With the University closed, the beautiful hills of Tennessee were open for fun. My boss just happened to have an AMAZING hill in his back yard. With an open invitation, the girls of Apt B bundled up and grabbed some trash bags.

People came and went in waves. Some arrived with tubs you would see being pulled behind a boat, others came with snowboards and even some skis.

The trash bag method was new to most. I had many surprised looks, but after I showed them how it was done, the girls gave it a go. Like a torpedo we shot down the hill. I walked away a little sore as always, but also with the satisfaction that this winter would not bare the label: cold.

Bring in the New Year

January 3, 2011

When traveling in the uncertain times of winter, one can hardly expect everything to go smoothly. My trip back to Tennessee did not by any means fail to match these expectations.

With my eye on the mend and interesting discoveries made about my medical condition, I made it out of England with little problem. I almost laughed out loud when I walked onto a 767 and saw the layout of the plane. No personal entertainment station on the set in front of you. Instead, 3 small screens hung from the center of the plane toward the front. A true blessing, as I am sure I would not have been able to resist the movie selection (as always) and given my eye some rest.

After landing in Raleigh are 5:30pm, the weather entered the scene. My next flight, from Raleigh to DC, was canceled. Next flight out…9:10….the next morning. Stranded. Lovely.

In moments such as these, I am thankful for 1.) having all of belonging in my carry-on 2.) my cell phone 3.) my past wanderings– creating friends in many places. After a few phone calls, brilliantly, my long time friend Ginger picked me up on her way home for work. The next morning, she dropped me off once again on the way to work. I arrived at the airport early enough that I was able to race through security and walk onto an earlier flight.

The weather’s involvement in my travels from this point on proved to be no more of an issue. Laura picked me up in DC and off we were to her house once again. In two days, we ventured to Annapolis, completed a tough puzzle, and enjoyed the wither activity of ice-skating.

With the Laura’s car loaded we headed back to Tennessee but not without one pit stop along the way. My mother’s house has become a regular stop on the journey from Highland, MD to Collegedale, TN. Spending New Year’s Eve and day was a treat as we made new years hats out of a 2010 calendar. As Laura and I were full of confidence in our ability to do puzzles, we decided to pick up a couple of puzzles from the dollar store to collectively do as we awaited the New Year to roll in.

The hours spent on one puzzle with little result made me reexamine my abilities. I wondered if this was a sign for the year to come: frustrating…impossible…incomplete. No. Those didn’t seem right. It was possible to complete the puzzle, little by little, in time. Thus we drove into Tennessee with our incomplete puzzle feeling not defeated but…humbled.

The Full Experience

December 28, 2010

I have often wondered where the line is between a break, a vacation, a holiday, and a stay. I was in England so long that it didn’t feel like a vacation, it felt like a way of life. Don’t get me wrong; my time over there was very relaxing. I worked hard on my homework. Lois helped choose what color stars to put on our assignment chart. I did some reading for fun as I continued to chip away at my goal of reading all of the Newbery Medal winner books. I had a fantastic time fulfilling some of our traditions and watching new ones unfold. I about died when I went to Boot Camp with Mark. I feel up to date on all of England’s pop culture, and I had a blast playing with my niece and nephew who are so lovely!

I felt like I jumped right in to their everyday occurrences. When you go somewhere for a short period of time, special events are planned because the visit is so short. For me this wasn’t the case, so the sense of urgency was not there. Plus. I actually felt like a UK citizen as I got to experience their health care system three times in less than a week.

For almost a year I lived life without any eye problems. And here it is, Christmas again, and I am having issues with my eyes. This time, things were even more serious than before. Fortunately, I still have my eyes and I have sight in both of them, which I will never stop being thankful for. On the other hand, the cause is still unclear.

They did, however, run some blood tests while I was over there. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask about them during my last visit. Hopefully, some answers will come in the near future.

Thank you to Hilary, Mark, Lois, and Casey for taking care of me during my stay. Whether driving through the snow to the hospital (Mark) or using all his strength to bring me my water bottle so I would stay hydrated (Casey) or reminding me to take my medicine when my timer went off (Lois) or cooking and bringing me meals in bed (Hilary); I couldn't have imagine going through that experience all on my own. Love you all!

Makes Me Wonder

November 23, 2010

As you might have noticed in the last posting, we already have our Christmas tree up. As is tradition in my family, the tree always went up the day after Thanksgiving. This is where my confession comes in–we have had the tree up since the 1^st of this month. This might seem a bit overboard but with every crazy thing there is usually a good excuse. The reason this time is linked to the Thanksgiving holiday. For tomorrow I will be boarding a plane that will take me over to England to spend both Thanksgiving AND Christmas with my family. Hence none of us would be around to enjoy the Christmas decorations if we had waited.

It is so weird to think that a year ago I was living with Ann, Kelli, and Lauren. Out of the three, two of them are now married. Kelli was married this summer and just two days ago Christina, Laura, and I were in Florida to witness the marriage between Lauren and Aaron. You would think that Christina, Laura and I would be getting sick of going on all of these road trips together on top of living together and working together. But for some reason we make it work and laugh along the way.

However, it makes me wonder which one of them is next. Next…next for what you ask? Marriage. If you have read my blog over the years you can easily gather that I a) move around a lot and b) I have had a lot of different roommates. I actually have to use both of my hands to count all of the roommates that start living with me as a single person and then leave either engaged or I have to leave because they have a more permanent roommate moving in. Many times this happens in only a few short months.

I have to admit that this is not the first time I have noticed this pattern. I have often joked about it with my roommates and watched them shake their heads in disbelief or they say, “Well, it is not going to be me.” Oh how many of them have eaten their words. And yet I wonder, is it really coincidence? Out of the two roommates I have now, I could easily make a prediction of who will be next. Only time will tell…

Let the Traditions Continue

November 15, 2010

I have always found it interesting all of the different things I learn by living with people from all walks of life. My experience at Southern has been no different. With Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday season approaching, the three of us started having a conversation about traditions. Thanksgiving was never really very traditional in my family. Christmas, on the other hand, was bursting with tradition as is common in a lot of families. For Laura, every year her family and friends would make gingerbread houses. So when Christina bought Laura gingerbread graham crackers, an event was triggered. With an event planned, Apt B had a small group of undergrads showing off their creative juices with a wide variety of decorating options.

Redhots, shoelace licorice, marshmallows, flax seed, Hershey bars, junior mints, gum drops, soft mints, and sour patch kids were all spread out on the table. With graham crackers and plenty of icing, the construction of our houses commenced.

By the end of the evening, the houses were complete and some even had landscaping. The process had a few mishaps and miscalculations of structural integrity, but overall I think this an easy tradition that I will continue in the future.

The Pattern of 2s

October 17, 2010

Over the past 2 months, I have been to eleven states. In the eleventh state, West Virginia, I rappelled off of a bridge that is 876 ft high 2 times. 2 of my friends from college got married in the same weekend in 2 different states. Sadly, I couldn’t go to either. Because in the past 2 months, there have only been 2 weekends when I have had both Saturday and Sunday off consecutively.

Some might say that this seems crazy and ridiculous, I have to agree that it is. But, to quote my beloved sister, it is only a season. So, I think it is my responsibility to take advantage of every opportunity I have without loosing my mind. This makes me very thankful for the 2 roommates I have who help keep my sanity in check.

The Break Experiment

October 11, 2010

So this semester, organizationally, things are a little different. During our everyday lives, it is very easy to forget that we (the GAs) are not only employees of the university, but we are also students of the university. In the past the employee aspect greatly overshadowed the student aspect. GAs turning in their homework EXTEREMLY late was a testament to that. Thus the GA break was created.

Any normal undergrad student experiences break during their semester – fall break, thanksgiving break, spring break. Well, in this line of work we are expected to offer and lead trips for students to go on during those breaks, causing breaks to be busy times for us.

Laura, Christina, and I knew that if we hung out in the area during this break we would find ourselves sucked back into work. The solution was a road trip to a place that both Christina and I had never been to before: Washington DC. Fortunately for us, Laura is from Maryland with her parent’s house being one-hour northwest of the city.

I have heard people say that you could spend a week in DC and not see everything. Although we had a week off, our homework had to be our main focus. So a condensed tour of DC was planned. To help this go smoothly, I did some research and a little pre-planning.

The one-day that we had to spend in DC started with a tour of the White House (just write your local congressman at least 6 weeks in advance). We had a little glitch with our background checks but after a short delay in what we call the holding-pen, we were in the White House down hallways rich with US history. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed in the White House.

Next came lunch at the Lincoln Memorial as we did headstands with the Washington Monument in the background.

With the Lincoln Memorial at one extreme end of the Mall, we started the walk to the other end for our tour of the Capital Building hitting the WWII memorial along the way. At the WWII memorial, local children were giving thank you cards to the visiting WWII veterans.

After the tour of the Capital Building, we headed to the library of congress. Finally with most of our time used up, we went to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence. I was amazed at how faded the Declaration of Independence was. You could hardly see the ever-famous John Hancock signature.

With a stop at my Mom’s in Virginia on the way in,

a day trip to Gettysburg

and Harpers Ferry,

a stop at Virginia Tech on the way back,

two party’s celebrating Laura’s monumental birthday (10/10/10),

and a day in the Nation’s capital, some might wonder if the break really did anything for us. I can say with confidence that it did. With two full days plus evenings to focus on homework (and work in the car for those of us that could), we all got something accomplished. Plus with the assignment-star-chart hanging on our wall, I can see all of our homework being turned in on time without a problem.