Bachelor Degree- check!

Well, I did it. In a few weeks, my Bachelor diploma will arrive in the mail. 

It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears.... figuratively speaking at least. It was a ton of work including many late nights, long days, and mental stretching. Probably the hardest part of earning my degree was the fact that I worked a regular job (and sometimes 2 or 3 jobs) throughout the process. And as hard as it is to admit, I'm not as young as I once was. When I worked on my Associate degree just five years ago, I consistently stayed up to 1 o'clock in the morning doing homework. But this past year and half, that was a lot harder to do. There were nights I stayed up late for sure, but my body craved sleep way more than it did years ago. But nonetheless, I survived. Some semesters I felt that I had no life outside of school; even when I was working or driving, or trying to relax, my brain was already thinking of the next assignment. But its all over now! Praise the Lord, for his strength and grace that saw me through this process. 

Many people have asked me what's next...well for one, I plan on catching up on sleep. (though this week, that's not really happening, since I'm working nights, as well as days) I have been enjoying the Christmas season with my family and just relaxing for change. I've been able to read some books, of my own choosing, :) and work on some projects I've put off for a long time. As for what's next. Well, guess you'll just have to wait and see. I'm sure it'll be an adventure whatever happens.... :D

Here's a few random pictures from the past almost two years of school. These may represent some of the motivating factors that kept me persevering-

teaching my nephew about AK hockey :) 

Enjoying sunshine despite sub-zero temps

doing homework by oil lantern - no electricity for days

hosting friends breaks up those long nights of study

nothing like sushi and free dessert to renew the spirit

sunrise!

facetiming a very dear friend half a world away

Procrastination and School don't mix well....

Here I sit at my desk, writing a blogpost.... when I should be writing something else. Saturday has been my self-proclaimed homework day for the past six weeks or so. I usually try to do some homework throughout the week, as I have a few minutes here and there, but Saturdays are my big day to get a lot done. But honestly, I'm a little burnt out. I have this one class that is challenging, like really challenging. I don't understand a lot of what I am required to read and then write about. And it doesn't help that it's an online class, so there is no classroom teaching time for the professor to assist my understanding. 

I've been doing okay in my last few classes, even the one which is challenging. But I think I've hit the mid-semester hurdle. I am just tired of reading, studying, and writing about stuff I don't care about. But must keep going...

The good news is, I am almost done!! For real done. :) I have 7 more weeks of school left, for my entire undergrad degree. I am taking four classes and need to test out of one more and I will have fulfilled all my degree requirements. So, come December 18th, I will be officially done with college! Hopefully, not long after that I will have my diploma in hand. (let's not think about master's degree for a little while) 

In other news, winter is here. It threatened last month to overwhelm us when it dumped 15 inches of wet snow in a day or two. But that melted over time and we had cool, but not cold weather for a few more weeks. But this past week, it dropped to below freezing and we've had a few inches of snow fall. I think it's here to stay. I'm looking forward to winter activities, though gotta do that school stuff first. :/ 

before the winter came for real

winter in Mongolia, a few years back

Tutoring Makes Friends

Last fall semester, I took a class about 2nd Language Teaching. Part of the requirement was to tutor an ESL student currently at UAF for 5 hours during the semester. Because they had surplus of ESL students who wanted a tutor, I was assigned two! Mine were both from Japan, though they had never met until arriving at UAF. Mika, Tsukino and I had a great time together and we spent more than the required 5 hours together. 

We spent a lot of time just working on pronunciation, talking, reviewing their homework, writing essays and having a good time. They were glad to have an American friend they could talk freely with. Mika decided to come back to UAF for the spring semester as well, so we got to spend even more time together. She came to church with me a couple times and I was able to share the Gospel with her as well. 

I am so glad for the opportunity to meet and become friends with Mika and Tsukino! Even though it was part of school assignment, we became good friends. We are still in contact and Mika can't wait until I come visit her in Japan. :) 

Don't overlook opportunities to help someone! You may become great friends, all from investing a little of your time. 

our last evening together before Mika left Alaska

Downtown Fairbanks

Is it over yet?

Lately, I've been swimming the ocean of Melville. Traveling in space with C. S. Lewis and through time with A. Huxley. Meeting the Bayou people of old Louisiana, courtesy of Kate Chopin. And just finished exploring the world of philology with Webster and Murray. 

Meanwhile, I'm also anticipating three exams next week, all while writing, revising, rewriting and editing papers on all the above topics. Yeah, I'm ready for the semester to be OVER! 

That's when the fun will begin..... only fifteen more days!!!! 

Randomness. Again.

Sunshine and warming days. The thought of spring lingers in the air. Currently, we are up to 13+ hours of sunlight each day and I am thankful for each one. Even on cold days, the sunshine gives me energy. This winter was a mild one, but Alaskan winters still last a loooonnnnnggggg time, so I'm thankful we are headed into April. There's a good chance we will have one more cold snap/snow, but still the nearness of summer is at hand. 

This semester started out well and I felt like I had more free time than last semester, even though I'm taking 5 classes instead of just 4 along with working more hours. But that has vanished. Perhaps because the end is drawing nigh, the assignments keep piling up and I can barely keep up with my reading. Now it's time to buckle down and start writing those 10 page papers... of which I have 4! Whew. 

Some days I truly hate school, well the homework at least. And some of our topics/books. Going to a secular university can be taxing on a born-again Christian. But the end is in sight. Lord willing, if all works out, I will be graduating in December of this year!! Then it's on to more exciting things. :) 

October's Disappearance

Wow, where did October go? I had every intention of blogging during October, but as you can see, that didn't happen. October disappeared in a sea of teaching/tutoring, Shakespeare, South Pacific literature, classes, working, Missions Conference, accounts receivables, studying, writing papers, deciphering morphology, researching, reading..... and the list goes on. 

It is not slowing down at all either. I will attempt to be more faithful at blogging, but I make no promises. You have not been forgotten though! 

Super excited about this week. Big things happening this weekend. But I will leave in you in suspense for a little while longer..... 

Until then, enjoy some sunshine!! :) 

Complete Randomness

If you are wondering what my days have been consisting of -

I could tell you of how yesterday I spent hours contemplating Shakespeare, or how this week I've been reading a random, weird, mind-boggling perplexing book (for school), or how I have played volleyball twice this week and lost both times. 

I could tell you about my love/hate relationship with school. Love the learning, hate the mounds of homework. 

Or maybe you want to hear about my sudden aversion to any kind of communication. If I've ignored your calls, texts or emails in the past two weeks, I still like you. Just haven't been in the mood to talk. 

Perhaps, you are wondering when "my next big trip is." Well, join the club, everyone does. At least they all appear to, since that's about the only question I get asked regularly. 

This is a completely random post, but hey, sometimes I am a strange person. So to close out this irregular post, I leave you with a random picture. 

sometimes you just need to act like a kid again :)

The Climax of Scripture

Recently, my brain has been a whirlwind trying to maintain order of all my school assignments, travel arrangements, scheduling of the summer, getting ready for AWG (more info. on that later), staying busy at work, etc. Whew, that's tiring just typing/thinking about it! 

In the midst of so much chaos and activity, I love the blessings God gives. With my English class the past few weeks, I've been brushing up on the fundamentals and structure of literature. Relearning about the plot, setting, characters, theme and literary devices within a story. My teacher has pointed out that each author is the creator of his fictional work. He or she determines what needs to be included into the story and nothing is there by accident. Everything has a reason, even little details and descriptions. He equated it to the author being the "god" of the story. Every plot has a climax, the conflict of it's characters reaching that one pivot point in the narrative that ultimately has the potential of changing the ending.

Couple days after that English review, I was reading in Mark 15 about the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. I came to verse 38. Here was the climax, the pivot point. Now the Bible isn't a fictional story book, it is the true, accurate account of God's creation of earth and mankind, man's sin and God's redemption plan for sinful man. But with all those English aspects of stories flowing through my brain, I couldn't help but connect the two. God's perfect, amazing story of love summed up within one verse. 

Mark 15:38 - And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

That verse may not seem like much to you, but when I read it, it jumped out at me. This is the climax of the incredible story of God's love for us humans. You see, the veil in the temple separated man from God. Beyond that huge, thick veil was the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant and during the ancient days of Israel where God was said to dwell. That veil symbolized the disconnect between us and God. Only one person was allowed past that veil in the temple and only once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, God tore the magnificent veil separating us from Him in half! He was telling us, that no longer would we have to offer sacrifices and go to a priest to get our sins forgiven and to know Him. We could now freely come into His presence! As Hebrews says, we can come boldly into the throne room of God, we do not need a priest to intercede for us. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt with His life, thereby allowing us free access to Almightly God. 

I'm thankful for even English classes, because it has made me recognize in Scripture that I would otherwise pass right over. And even more thankful for God's amazing, abundant love for me that He would choose to die in my place!!

Back to School

When I was in high school, I had no intention of furthering my education with university studies. Also had no desire to be a teacher of any kind.

Well, fast forward several years. I've attended Secondary schooling for 4+ years now and taught many times over. Funny thing is, now I enjoy school, both being a student and a teacher.

Thought I was done though being a full time student... well, that's going to change. I just started an online English course this past week. Also applied for admission back at UAF (where I got my Associates from). Since I already have my AAS, I should only need two more years before earning my Bachelors. And if I work hard (take summer classes), might be able to achieve that goal in eighteen months.

Meanwhile, I've been steadily working on a TESOL course online. For those of you who don't know what that is.... Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. I have about two weeks left to finish the course. Yay! I've wanted to do this for a long time and finally set my mind to it. It's been informative and I hope to put all that knowledge to good use. Maybe it will even help me get a job overseas teaching English.... one could hope. Until then, I'll use it here to help the students I tutor and for the classes I occasionally fill in for.

With everything else going on in my life, it is a challenge to keep up with school some days. But I have a goal in mind and I'm pressing on!

still hot!

 Its still HOT every day! Each day gets over 100 degrees, which is hard for this Alaskan to endure. I have survived so far, but some days I really feel worn out and exhausted from battling the heat. They tell me it doesn't last forever. One lady told me the other day at church, that they even seen 20 degree weather in the winter. That sounds wonderful! :) 

Classes are moving forward. We are learning a lot of new things in Phonetics. Some are easy for me and some not so easy. I have a hard time with learning different tones and saying them. The actual sounds are easier for me to produce. Hopefully with more practice, I'll get the hang of it. 

Culture class has been informative. One can not stress enough that a missionary needs to know much of the culture before 'forcing' new beliefs on the people. We read one story about a tribe in South America..... after a man's wife had a baby, he would lounge in his hammock for several days. The missionary kept pestering him, telling him he was lazy and needed to get to work. All the man would explain was that his wife had just a baby so he was staying in the hammock. He would lay there all day. After several days of the missionary bothering him about it, the man got up and went back to work. Later that week, the missionary heard that the mother of the new baby had killed her child. Appalled, he asked the villagers why she did so. It was a custom of their culture for the husband/father of the child to remain in his hammock for x amount of days after his wife had the baby - this signified it was his child. By getting up before the number of days was fulfilled, he was telling everyone it was not his child, though it really was. Rather than live with the shame of an illegitimate child, the mother killed the baby. This missionary did not try to learn the culture before trying to 'correct' it. Remember you may have the Truth of the Gospel, but they have a culture and way of life... you may be doing more harm than good, by simply coming in and sharing your culture/beliefs before first studying theirs.

For those of you who are curious about my living arrangements, here are a few pictures. I live on the right side of the duplex with another girl, Nicole. We have a nice little 3 bedroom place. We get along really well, which is a blessing, since we'll be living together for the next 9 months. :)