Very Cold Day/Anniversary

Today was Jack and my one-year anniversary, so at my mom's request I am doing a post with those pictures.

It was VERY cold today, about -30 windchill, and walking around campus...that is HELL! So I was very surprised when Jack walked in with a huge bouquet of my favorite colored roses and....GODIVA CHOCOLATE!

Later we went out to dinner at a yummy place called Chez Willy's. I got steak.

Love, Kate

Back at School....

Well after a good long 6 week break of eating and sleeping back in Bloomington, I finally found my way back to blustery, boring Galesburg. It was really hard to leave all my friends in the cities. I got to see most of them over break, even the ones at school, since those in school were a short drive away.
My new classes for this trimester are Microeconomics, a critical reading class, and Atmosphere and Weather. They are all very difficult and time-consuming. My econ class meets 4 days a week. So far the material isn't too tough, but there is SO MUCH READING every night! My teacher wears turtlenecks and wears her pants up really high. My favorite part is that she sounds EXACTLY like Marge Simpson .

The girl who sits next to me in econ wears a suit to class every day and it makes me wonder....Should I wear a suit to class? I keep wanting to give her a handkerchief to wipe the brown off her nose; the way laughs after our econ professor makes a (not so) witty comment makes me wonder if I missed the joke. I always sit in the front row, and so does she. It's an epic battle (one-sided...her side) Every day she comes into class, looks at me, sighs, and sits down in the chair next to me. Then, reviews the situation and decides she can't be next to someone of my echelon, stands up again, and pulls her seat a good 5 feet ahead of mine. If you can picture it, the front row now has a sort of protrusion right in the center. She likes to be about a foot away from the overhead (closer to the professor?). Sometimes I act really offended to keep her going. It's really the only thing that gets me through class.

My critical reading class is very interesting. The professor looks like Kate Winslet, and is very loud and somewhat intimidating. Today she asked a foreign student a question, and when he mumbled the answer in a Spanish accent she shot back- "HAVIERE. EITHER SAY WHAT YOU JUST SAID IN AN AMERICAN ACCENT, OR SPEAK LOUDER." Poor chap.


My atmosphere and weather class is very difficult- very physics-y. I'm NOT good with that stuff. I struggle through every class, and just try not to get to frustrated. Our professor is very good-very into what he's doing.



I did laundry tonight, and I did a load of entirely wool socks. I have a plethora of them, you see, from Christmas. Thanks Mom.



All for now, but I'll add more later. I should get back to my (endless) homework.

Obama!

I knew Obama had the youth vote, but I have never seen more jubilance in one place than I did the night of November 4th.  The girls in my suite and I were watching the election on TV/doing homework, and when we looked up from our homework to see that Obama had won over 270 votes, we were ecstatic.  Scattering the next few minutes were screams of “OBAMA!” from the quad, as people ran from dorm to dorm. It was quiet throughout Obama’s acceptance speech, then we heard a strained chant through the TV. We turned off the TV to listen closer, and ran to the window. “YES WE CAN, YES WE CAN, YES WE CAN.” As we craned our eyes we saw people walking towards the quads emerging from the dark. We watched the few people turn into a parade of a couple hundred Knox students with American flags and fists pumping to the chant of “YES WE CAN.” Before we could yell out our support, someone pulled the fire alarm, forcing us downstairs and outside in our pajamas, and some of us without shoes (me included). We followed the mass of people around the corner as they stopped at the opposite end of campus, and chanted several different phrases. People were jumping and shouting. A group of people were standing on a couch that they had carried out of their dorm. As one chanting round died out, it got silent. Someone yelled “To Main Street!” And most people yelled varied responses of agreement. By now the group had grown in size, and we ran and danced past Old Man, to Cherry Street, which is lined with bars. Everyone came out of the bars and resturants and showed support, joining the chant, holding up their cups to the parade, and many joining the parade. We went down to Main Street to a monument, where many (drunk) townspeople and studnets stood on it and led patriotic songs. By this time I was on Jack’s back- my feet had been through a lot.
We paraded the rest of downtown back onto campus-- where, in further celebration, the jazz band was set up in the middle of the grass playing rousing music. The entire group gathered around the band and began to dance in the dark. The dancing went past 2:00 in the morning.
It was the most inspiring night I have ever had.

I joined Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity on campus!  It is different from the other sororities/fraternities in that it does not have an on-campus house, and it is not a social organization.  The single goal of Alpha Phi Omega is to give back to the both the Knox and Galesburg community through service projects and donating our time volunteering.  

Jack snuck my camera out of my bag while we were studying and took the picture above.

I signed up for a meditation class, and my first class is tonight.  It is in town, a pretty short walk from my dorm.  The sign I read said it would help to manage stress, so hopefully it does!  Now that I am all caught up (and not sick anymore), it is much easier to get all my work done.  I got a 97 on my first midterm (sociology)!  So that brightened my week.  

My sociology class is now talking about welfare and welfare reform, which is very interesting.  It makes me feel very lucky to have been born where I was social-class wise, because it opportunities are so much more closed to those born into poor families.  I feel very lucky to be getting a college education, I know how expensive it is.   One of our sociology projects is to make a survey and ask 10 Knox students.  The two others in my group will also ask 10 students, so we will have a total of 30 asked.  The survey is to gain some sort of insight into what college student's views are of welfare in general.  I know for myself, I knew almost nothing before I took this class; I'm sure people I ask will be in the same boat.

  I got my absentee ballot in the mail, so I better fill it out!  I have to find a notary official first, but then I will send it in!  Minnesota needs my vote more than Illinois.

Kate

Fall

Turning into Fall

The library during the day

My dorm

I can see (and hear!) the trains from my window

took some pictures outside the library

This week has been very hard- I have a serious cold that makes me very tired and is almost impossible to get over!  The work really seems to pile up when you're sick.  Other than that, my classes are going well.  I am having a lot of fun really getting to know the professors.  They absolutely love what they do, which really comes across in their teaching, and is so different than high school.

  I've made a lot of friends, too!  One is a senior, Polly, who everyone says looks like my sister," she's really nice.  She is from Missouri.  Another girl, on my floor, is Elle.  She is from Kansas City, Missouri.  We have a lot of fun together!  Yesterday we went to the laundromat and did one million loads of laundry, since our dorm is attached to another dorm and we only have 2 washers and 2 dryers for both buildings (4 floors of people).  It is IMPOSSIBLE to wash your clothes!!!! So we resorted to going into town.

   I'm having fun, it's weird that I'm getting more comfortable here, since I still think of Bloomington as "home", but I've heard from upperclassmen that eventually campus will feel like home and I won't want to leave.  We will just have to see.

Love,

Kate