Fun times before finals

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the last week of classes, and I could not be more excited. This semester has been tough and exhausting, and I can't wait to go home and relax with my family.

Yesterday was Chowder Fest on the commons, in which a bunch of the restaurants in Ithaca make chowder, you pay money for tickets and then get samples of all the chowder. Since I'm not an overly huge fan of seafood and most of it is some sort of seafood chowder, I don't eat a ton there. But it is still lots of fun and I actually got to taste some really good ones.

Chowder fest also means that ICE WARS. Ice wars is a big ice carving competition. Sadly, the weather was really warm yesterday so they were melting, but here are a bunch of examples of the artistry and skill

This statue is the mascot of the commons
Not sure why/what for.

Thanksgiving, Short Hair and Other Things

So Thanksgiving break has come and gone. It's hard to believe it's the last one of my undergraduate career... er... was the last one... Damn, time really does fly.

I had a lovely break, starting with seeing Cesca Friday night. It was my first time driving home alone, which was scary, but once I got there I got to hang out with my sister and my dad, which is actually one of my favorite things to do. Ever. I think we watched the Vampire Diaries and like 3 horror movies.

After some family time, I headed back with Cesca to Bonaventure for a couple of days, where we enjoyed Fakesgiving with her roommates (Emily is a vegetarian, so everything was meatless). Tofurkey is an interesting thing. Not bad, though. I attended some of Cesca's classes and got a multitude of stares, and then went to her Zumba class, where I even got to teach one of the songs with her, since I had shown her one from the classes I take and she really liked it! We had an excellent time hanging out with her grad school friends, who thankfully are awesome and like shows like Parks and Rec and Doctor Who. I met them last time I went, but it was nice to hang out a bit more with her friends and see what her life is like out there.

We spent Thanksgiving at an aunt's house who I haven't seen in ages, and it was nice to catch up with the family and chat about our lives, since now all of my cousins are in high school or above, so we actually can relate to each other. Despite the fact that I am 21, however, I did still have to sit at the kid table, though the lowest age there was like 15. Still amusing.

Aside from that, I did a lot of catching up this week, on sleep and on work. I also persuaded Cesca to catch up on my recent obsession, Once Upon a Time. If you don't watch, you should. It's awesome. I also went and got my hair cut. I got it cut a little shorter than I intended, but I think it looks cute and am really curious to see it curly, as I had my hairdresser straighten it to see the color. NERVOUS

In other news, I almost finished my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course, so there's that. Korea here I come (most likely!)

Lastly, drinking tea became more awesome than normal today, as I finally received my new Doctor Who mug!!!

Tea Time with the TARDIS. Yeah, I know I'm a dork

3.5 weeks left of the semester! Can't wait for Christmas break!!!

So Good

Just a quick update to show you pictures of our Sophia Grace and Rosie Halloween costumes:

Aren't we soooo cute?

My friend Daniel also dressed as Justin Bieber and since he and Sophia Grace and Rosie hung out on Ellen once I thought it was really perfect and had to get a picture with him

No wonder the girls in his psych class
think he should be in a boy band!

Sorry

I haven't posted in forever and I don't have a ton of time so I'm just going to upload a bunch of pics, caption them and call it a day. K? K.

Alright so first of all I hate seeing Christmas stuff come out even before Halloween, but last weekend Liz and I were shopping and I saw these guys and had to have them.

Rudolph is my favorite

In other news, since I haven't blogged about Fall Break, here's a bunch of pics from that. Liz came to my house and I took her to Niagara Falls/Canada for the first time

Roomies!

Finally in Canada

 We went on the Maid of the Mist- from the Canadian side, it's cooler.

Breast Cancer awareness ponchos

View of Canada

windy boat ride!

In front of the falls

Lizzie at the Falls

She also met my cats

My baby Nymeria

Bootsie following standard cat logic- "If I fits it, I sits it!"

In Halloween Town

Getting my Katniss Everdeen on and using
my new archery skillz

I want everyone to know this was not planned
They both happened to dress up like
characters from Aladdin

My daytime costume for Halloween-
50 Shades of Grey. I know, so witty.

I will have pics of my duo costume with Liz later once we finally put them on tonight. That's all for now!

The Fair of Sandwiches

So last weekend we FINALLY made it to Sandwich Fair, the thing that Liz has talked about for 3 years straight. She's told us repeatedly how awesome it is, and so last Friday we packed up and headed out. 8 hours later, we arrived at Liz's house at 11:00 pm (after eating Papa Gino's, a pizza place Liz also talked about for 3 years). The next morning, we got up and headed off to Sandwich Fair.

Now, contrary to what you may think, this was not just a fair about sandwiches. It has lots more! It was way bigger than any fair I've been to in recent years, and even though it rained a bit, it was a ton of fun. Here are some highlights of the trip:

Meeting some of Liz's pets

backseat in blue

One of the first signs we saw

I liked this shop

Deep fried milky ways

Liz is the most elegant eater. Ever.

This hat isn't ridiculous or anything

GIANT 

Sheep!

Feeding the llamas- this one was particularly pushy

Liz was not a fan of the llamas. You can tell by her rigid posture

baby!!!! SO CUTE

Andrea loves animals. And they love her back!

this one stole the little feed cup from me

Goats be tryin to steal our cotton candy

Apples!

Eating a sandwich at Sandwich fair. Life goal complete
also that sandwich was buffalo meat. It was pretty delicious!

"Smile, if you're hungry!" Which clearly,
Andrea is not

Beautiful fall colors!!

The very next day we crammed  back into the car and drove back to IC. 15 hours in the car wasn't an ideal weekend, but getting to see NH, Liz's home and this fair she's raved about for years made it totally worth it! I had a great time, and I'm glad we all went together.

In other news, here are some other things that are going on in my life.

I MISS MY BABYYYYYY

Family weekend at Bonaventure. Dad
found the perfect shirt

Lovely fall colors 

being a badass in archery class

So that's life. FALL BREAK IN A WEEK!!!!!!!!!

I'll have free time someday

I know I haven't been blogging a lot this school year, or really that much since I got back from Italy, but like most semesters, nothing crazy is happening, my life is just really busy.

I always say I'm going to make my semester easier this time around, and yet I always fill it up somehow and make it more difficult for myself.

Monday - Thursday I'm not done until around 8 o'clock, with an hour or two break during the day (which I fill up with homework or other assignments).

I have 5 upper level classes this semester, Honors, International Finance, Conversazione e Cultura, Operations Management and International Marketing, as well as the best class ever, ARCHERY. I'm a beast. Not really, but I'm doing way better than when I started!

Though this is a normal workload, I also have 3 jobs. I'm a Teacher's Assistant for Italian 101, teaching 2 drill sessions a week to the students (all in Italian), I'm a tutor for Italian and I'm a Teacher's Assistant for Organizational Behavior and Management. I work at least 2 of my 3 jobs Monday-Thursday. This semester, TGIF actually has meaning (finally) because it's legitimately a break for me. I'm done by 2 pm and since most of my commitments happen during the week, with the odd exception, my weekends are free.

I manage to pack those too, now that I have a car on campus. I spent last weekend at St. Bonaventure for Cesca's family weekend- it was wonderful to see her, and my parents even drove down for a day. I was nervous about driving by myself for 2.5 hours, but my playlists kept me entertained. I think I prefer driving with company- the 3.5 hour drive to IC didn't feel so long with my mother in the car with me.

This weekend is APPLE FEST. It's our last one for the foreseeable future so we're going to make it a good one!

Next weekend we are venturing to New Hampshire to attend Sandwich Fair. No, it isn't a fair about Sandwiches, it's a fair in Sandwich, New Hampshire. Liz has talked about it for the past 3 years (along with Papa Gino's) so we will finally get to see what all the hype is about. I've never been to NH so I'm excited to see where Liz lives.

That's about my life so far, busy busy busy. Hopefully someday it will slow down!

Decisions, decision

I've come across an interesting job idea for after I graduate... I'm still tossing the idea around in my head, but it's something that I think could be a great adventure. A terrifying, eye opening, crazy, probably stupid, ambitious adventure. Wanna know what it is?

Teaching English in Asia.

Sounds crazy, right? I know. I'm still debating intensely about it.

I'm trying to make a list of pros and cons about this idea. If you're reading this and can think of anything or want to weigh in, by all means do. I'm still just toying with the idea, but any thoughts would be welcome.

I was thinking particularly of Korea, because of certain factors like pay and standard of living, but that's not a sure thing either.

Pros:

I've always wanted to see some of Asia. Teaching would get me there.
The demand is pretty high, so the job market seems good
I'm not burdened by life right now- I don't have a house, a serious relationship, a car payment, or lots of loans (yet), nor do I have a job I'm committed to
There is no language requirement
In Korea, housing is often provided, as well as airfare reimbursement
The cost of living in Korea is cheaper than Japan, but Japan is also an option
Many teachers are able to save $800-$1000 a month in Korea, and can usually save in Japan if they're careful (meaning I could save up in the grace period before I have to pay back my student loans and start on those?)
Most schools give you 1 month's salary at the end of a 1 year contract in Korea
Korea/Japan are close and both well developed and technological
I'd be certified to teach English as a second language, which could look good on a resume
More international experience, and a unique one at that
If I hate it, it's only a year
How cool would my Facebook pictures be?

Cons:

It's a whole year. I've lived away from home, but for only 4 months at a time. I can't imagine the homesickness I might experience during a year
Culture shock in an Asian country will probably be more intense than in a European
I don't speak a word of Korean, and it's much more complicated and different than any Romance language I've been studying
If I hate it I'm stuck
I'd be alone- Sarah is thinking of doing it as well, but there's no guarantee we would be together
Getting certified is gonna cost money (good thing I have some jobs?)


That's not the whole list, but that's all I can think of right now. Thoughts? Opinions? Help me!

A Weekend of New Experiences

My last Labor Day Weekend in Ithaca turned out to be a great one for me, in terms of new experiences. I think after all the time abroad and traveling around the world, I decided at some point that I never wanted to stop trying new things or seeing new places.

While this weekend wasn't about jetsetting, it did turn out to be a good one for the 'trying new things' part of my philosophy. Saturday was the annual Honors whitewater rafting trip. Liz and I woke up at the god-awfully early hour of 5:45 am to board the bus with the rest of the participants and head out to Watertown to the Black River. Now, I have never been whitewater rafting or done anything remotely like it, so I was a bit nervous. The guy adjusting my life jacket didn't help when he said that this was a "pretty aggressive introduction" to the world of whitewater rafting. My nerves increased.

Thankfully for me and my nerves, the water levels weren't overly intense this year, as there's been a massive drought over the summer. While it wasn't easy, it wasn't as rough as it could have been. I was a bit sore afterwards, especially in the shoulder area, but it was great fun. We got to stop and swim in a couple of nice places and did some crazy stunts in the rapids. You really have to work hard and do your part though, even if it is hard. It is rather difficult to paddle with all of your might as the river guide is screaming 'HARD FORWARD!!! HARD FORWARD!!!' (which means paddle with everything you've got!) while you're being lurched about in a rapid. Nobody fell off our raft though, so that was an accomplishment.

Many a Titanic- "there's a boat Jack" references were made.

My next adventure came today. Casey invited Andrea, Liz and me to her house to go tubing on the lake. Now, I've also never been tubing, nor have I ever been on a motorboat. So today was another big new experience day for me. It wasn't the most gloriously sunny day by far, (in fact, it rained on us a couple of times!) but the poor weather made for a pretty deserted lake. The better to tube on, my dears.

Tubing was a blast! I think I swallowed a gallon of lake water though. Apparently my first, er, dismount as I call it was spectacular. Unable to hold on any longer, I released the inner tube. According to Liz, I barrel rolled off and through the air a bit before rolling on top of the water and finally under. Not the lease painful activity, but it was great! On my second run I felt sure that I was going to flip at least 6 times, and the waves crashing over nearly drowned me! (Ok, not really, but I got quite soaked).

Both were definitely activities I would do again, if I had my awesome and experienced friends with me. I'm glad I had the opportunity to try both, especially since I'm not an overly huge outdoorsy person. My paralyzing fear of bees tends to forestall any outdoor activities, but that fear, excluding a terrifying 30 seconds with a bee on my back while rafting, was avoided this weekend. I'm grateful for these opportunities and hope to continue doing/seeing new things.

So far so good. Senior year is gonna be a blast!