Where to begin...

The problem with having so much fun in over two weeks that you forget to blog is you have a lot to blog about after those two weeks... If crunched for time, I suggest reading one section a sitting. =)

Waverly: Rejuvenation. Comfort. Perspective.
And to think, I wasn't planning on visiting until summer... now I'm trying to organize my summer so I can visit again in a few months! The weird part of being back on campus is that it didn't feel weird at all... It's as if I had just returned from a break; no flooding nostalgia, no conspicuous changes... Wartburg remains pretty much how I left it, minus my graduating class. But really I got to see a lot of them too, and what a treat! It was refreshing to chat at length in the Res and Kdit with friends I had spent the last four years getting to know and love--those 4-hour fishbowl-style conversations just don't happen as often after college. It was exciting to hear stories of jobs and grad school and future plans and the general transition to being adults (are we there yet?). Also, $3 beer outside of happy hour. All in all, a highly successful trip. =)

Libertyville: Respite. Expanse. Cleanliness.
After my Iowa road trip, I spent the remainder of my break back "home" (I'm trying to condition myself to say "Libertyville" instead of "home" these days), enjoying the suburban oasis in my year of urban living. Whether I was jogging the neatly arranged neighborhoods or enjoying the warm night air over fire and wine (that's how we do "roughing it"), I was struck by the contrast of environment. Waverly didn't throw me because the population is so small; North Shore boasts a high population more (but not exactly) comparable to a city, so the differences are more acute. I experienced strong Tanzania flashbacks the whole week... At first I thought it was merely the smells of suburbanites lighting up their barbecues to celebrate the weather--in the villages everything is cooked over fire--but in discussing the nostalgia with my mom I discovered it was simply the space. I could more or less see a horizon in any given spot in town. Buildings are spread out, trees are more homogenously dispersed. Not quite Africa, but certainly not New York either.

New York: Energy. Ease. GREEN.
Yes, everything is green and blossoming here, seemingly overnight!! I left New York with bare trees and pale green grass patches; I return to find the city in the midst of a spring revolution. I am always, always, always in a better mood when the weather is beautiful, so thanks, New York, for making spring concert season much more bearable. By the way, the second time through the concert machine is a LOT easier than the first. Although still stressful and time-sensitive, I feel slightly more confident this time around. Slightly. On a teaching-related note (pretend I'm not a music teacher so that doesn't have to be a pun), I learned on a visit to my organization's office that my boss is trying to negotiate me a full-time, Department of Education teaching position at MY school next year! And if not that, then "definitely" (his words) the following year. He's a highly idealistic kind of kid so I'm not banking my future on it, but it's still an unexpected surprise! That revelation added to a pretty successful interview for a summer job earlier in the week (I'll know just how successful it was in the next two weeks), and I'm generally feeling good about being back.


Happy Feel Good Moments of the past 17 days (Oof.)

*It's hard to stay mad at a naughty fourth grader when he breaks into the Queen of the Night aria.

*Girl on the street to her little brother marching determinedly to a beat in his own head: "Do you realize you're the only one stomping like an idiot??"

*I saw Manhattan from the air for the first time in two years--I've had a knack for flying on overcast days I guess. But good news: I can locate my school, apartment building, and former Staten Island sublet from hundreds of feet above.

*You know you're driving in small town Iowa when you pass a man riding a tractor on the sidewalk and a giant inflatable Easter bunny on the lawn.

*They just don't make vocal harmony like the Wartburg Choir in elementary school... =)

*Pad Woon Sen: the new Pad See Ew.

*Eggs blowing up on the stovetop is always a good time.

*The nectarine I had accidentally left on my kitchen counter for the duration of break was not, in fact, moldy and bug-infested upon my return as I had imagined. So I ate it.

*One has not enjoyed life to the fullest until one witnesses 20 kindergarteners grooving to a funk version of "This Land is Your Land".


Aaaaand, debt to blog: paid in full.
KP =)