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.

It is True What They Say

September 30, 2010

One thing that I really enjoy about the place that I am at is the great amount of variety that I have the opportunity to participate in. These past two weeks were a prime example.

Tuesday the 21^st: Teach 2^nd graders about trees – twice

Wednesday the 22^nd: Teach 4^th graders about trees

Thursday The 23^rd: Teach 4^th graders about trees again, teach college students about challenge course facilitation

Friday the 24^th: Leave for a surf trip in SC with college students

Sunday the 26^th: Return from Surf Trip

Tuesday the 28^th: Teach Kindergardeners about Insects

Thursday the 30^th: Teach college students again about challenge courses

I am surprised I had a voice left after it all. With everything jammed together with little prep time, sometimes I am amazed that it all works. Laura was a huge part of the environmental education pieces coming together. She has the background for it and experience to knock it out of the park. I was really just her assistant. But to experience something like that, with such intensity, I can easily walk away testifying that the old saying is true – if you want to learn something, teach it. I learned more about trees in that week then I had ever learned before.

And in the middle of it all I got to go surfing and see old friends in SC. Was it absolutely exhausting? Yes, no doubt about that. Was it rewarding? No question. It was worth it.

Number 49

September 5-16, 2010

Yes, I have just meet one of my life goals, crossed another thing off of my ever growing bucket list. The goal: go to all of the 48 lower-continental United States before the age of 30. At age 29 on September 6, 2010 it happened. I crossed the Minnesota state line, my 49^th state.

The reason for driving all the way from Collegedale, TN to Ely, MN: class. Yup, that’s right. For my graduate intensive this semester, 8 of us piled into the Excursion and drove 30 hours to Ely, MN where were spent 6 days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The preparation for the was a little bit stressful as the Seliga canoe #20 has to be ready to return to its home at Camp Widjiwagen. I was over at Nelson’s hours before our departure to finish some of the final touches and load the trailer.

The trip as a whole was much more relaxed compared to the last intensive. The wilderness country was so peaceful and untouched. We say bald eagles almost everyday. With little rain, our group of nine maneuvered the lakes and rivers well as a different person was the leader each day. We covered almost 50 miles total including close to 5 miles of portaging.

Because the Boundary Waters are a formation of a bunch of little lakes, many of the islands have to be traveled on foot. Granted the distance wasn’t too long at once but our gear was not exactly light. The Seliga canoe weighed in at 88 pounds dry. For a person of my stature, every step was conscience and I walked along a rocky trail with a 17-foot canoe on my shoulders. The team effort that surfaced happened quickly as we found our rhythm. With three people to a canoe, one would take the canoe, one would take one pack and tent, and the other would get a pack and the paddles. Most of the time as person could carry the canoe the whole way. But when the portage was long, we used techniques we learned to switch without setting the canoe down. For the proper etiquette with a wood-canvas canoe is that the bottom of the canoe can only touch water and air. Never should the bottom of the canoe touch the ground. This meant that when we approached land, our feet always got wet as we stepped out of the canoe before it could hit the ground.

With the wolfs hollowing in the distance, I would lay in bed at night with the satisfaction that I had everything I needed after all long day of physical activity. And then in the very early ours of the morning, be woken up to go catch a glimpse of the northern lights was an amazing treat. Another experience crossed off of my list. I look forward to the days ahead when more of those goals are reached.

The Final Year

August 21, 2010

It is had to believe that I only have one year of school left. My first year seems like a whirlwind - teaching class, leading and organizing trips, traveling, working on a canoe, watching people come and go. This year, Laura and Christina are back but, unfortunately, our quartet is now a trio in Apt B.

The GA team at work has changed yet again. Fresh faces have arrived to bring new perspective and strengths: Sara with her clever wit, James with his charisma, Nick with his visual eye and audio skills, and Casey with his wilderness skills.

This semester has many adventures lined up. We will see if my head is still above water by the end.

The 4th

July 4, 2010

My sister and I were talking about the 4^th of July, that great day celebrating America’s independence. Growing up we always had fond memories of the 4^th: heading over to the Watson’s for a bonfire and running around the pond with sparklers, heading to the lake to watch the fireworks or watching the fireworks at the Swinging Bridge.

Since moving away from home, a vivid memory of each 4^th of July I can recall with ease just as I can imagine the 4ths of my childhood. All of my senses seem to be reawakened during this time of year just like at Christmas: The feel of the summer heat as it cools at dusk, the sound of the first firework being sent into the dark sky to expose its colorful light, the taste of sweet strawberry shortcake or cool refreshing ice cream, the amazing aroma of a Bar-B-Q causing my mouth to instantly water, and the sight of friends and family gathering to laugh and share in the experience.

I have always had a soft spot for traditions. This holiday is no different. The wonderful thing about the 4^th is the location is not important or when the key components take place. The only thing that matters is the search to find them or to make them happen.

My checklist for this year looks like many from years past:

• Stars and Strips Forever (by John Phillip Souza) √
• Hot dogs √
• Funnel cake √
• The National Anthem √
• Ice cream √
• Flag pants sighting √
• Time with friends √
• Proud to be an American (by Lee Greenwood) √
• The 1812 Overture (by Tchaikovsky) √
• Strawberry shortcake √
• My Country, ‘Tis of Thee (by Samuel Francis Smith with a special thanks to or UK friends for the tune) √
• Fireworks √
• Children running with glow sticks √
• America, the Beautiful (the Ray Charles version is great) √

Just the smallest combination of the list above fills me with a warm sense of patriotism and thanks.

The Seliga

June 14, 2010

Over the course of the semester and into the summer, I have been part of a crew that has been working to restore a wood-and-canvas canoe. Working on this canoe is like working a piece of history. You see, this canoe was originally built by a man named Joe Seliga. Joe built over 650 canoes in his lifetime. Many of his canoes were bought by Camp Widjiwagan, a YMCA camp based on Lake Burntside near Ely, Minnesota. This canoe, canoe #20, is just one of those canoes. All of Seliga’s canoes are numbered starting with one which in turn helps indicate how old they are. This canoe is therefore over 50 years old, and every time we work on it I am reminded of its age as one of the cracked ribs is removed or another piece of decayed wood chips off.

Still, my hands have touched 50 years of adventure. That canoe could have been on one of the voyages Camp Widji took to the Arctic Circle. Will the work we are doing allow another 50 years of adventure to take place? I can’t answer that question. But there is something about using my own two hands to help craft and preserve something that has been a vessel used to touch so many lives.

The process has been a long one with many trials and errors that have provided many learning opportunities. However, along the way great memories have been formed with the people that come and go from Nelson’s shop.

The canoe is not yet finished. However, its September due date is fast approaching, as my next graduate intensive will be heading in the direction of its home: Ely, Minnesota.