I'm back at Iowa State. My 2 weeks in Eden Prairie flew by. I had a terrible 14 hours in the Toronto airport. I ended up having to buy a ticket to get to Minneapolis because when I called my travel agency a month earlier to get my flight changed, the lady forgot to click a button to make Toronto-MSP an e-ticket. Air Canada could not let me on my flight. The traval agancy also did not have anyone available to validate my e-ticket until 40 AFTER I had to check in for the flight. I cried. A lot. On the pay phone with the travel agency, after the phone call, waiting in line. I was devastated. To be so close to home. To wait 14 hours for a flight that is less than 2 hours long. I was completly out of control of the situation. I felt so helpless and alone. I saw a guy walk by with a golf bag and I just started to cry harder because it reminded me of my dad. I was so homesick and drained emotionally and physically.
Air Canada was awesome and waived a ton of charges for me so my ticket was really cheap. The travel agency said they would reimburse me, and im still waiting for that to happen. Caitlin came to pick me up and I was so happy to see her! That was a great running hug! I felt like we were in a movie, but I could careless about all the people looking at us as we were shreaking toward each other! She took me to Taco Bell on the way home and I got a mountain dew and chicken quesidilla. I spent the rest of Saturday unpacking, did all my laundry, and put away everything. It was a very productive day despite getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep that night. Better than the Amsterdam airport.
On Monday I left for Michigan. The drive across wisconsin went fast. I think I went through 7 CDs... Also, very funny because it turns out that the highway to get to the car ferry is the exact hghway my friend Molly and I took to see our friend last summer in Green Bay. I drove right past the exit to Erin's house and I've been driving past her house on that highway for almost 21 years now! So crazy how small the world is! Wow.
The Olmsteads met me at the boat-- a nice surprise! And I went on the next 2-ish hours to Grandma Scott. It was odd seeing the table not pulled out and bigger. Grandpas golf cart wasn't in the garage, neither was his hat collection. Grandma really seemed to be doing good. She said she's going to start going to church again. She needs to re-build her social contacts since she and grandpa had stayed in a lot the past few years with him not feeling well. She makes me laugh. She is such a smart, strong woman. She is a feminist and doesn't take crap from people. She told me about one of her friends and how she doesn't get along with her husband because the husband thinks grandma gives his wife 'too many ideas'. I like that grandma stands up for her friend and tells the husband that he is wrong. She told me a lot about her childhood and the silly campouts they had and about her group of friends. She was the out going, leader of the group. She told me her and grandpa used to dance, grandpa was a real good dancer. I can't imagine that, but I wish I could. She laughs away problems and drama; I love her laugh. A real hahaha laugh. We went out to dinner one night and all the staff came over and said hi, of course. I wish I could have stayed longer and heard more stories. I did ask her about dads adoption and she said they were really lucky. Of course, dad's 'her baby'.
I got to the Olmstead's in Pentwater later that week. I drove past the Ole Haus and it makes me so sad that its not ours anymore. The house next to it, 4 stories, is hedious. So, I'm gald I dont have to look at that all the time. We got sandwiches and ate dinner at the lake. It was beautiful, as usual. However, this is the first year in Pentwater that I realized how small it is. The beach is small, the channel is small, the pier and the 'lighthouse' is tiny. I felt for the first time that it's okay that I'm here and leaving in 2 days. Usually, I feel as if I never want to leave and it's perfect. I like that I am growing up in that sense. I went and watched the sunset the next night and ate plenty of Travers Bay cherry ice cream-- my all-time favorite. Jody, Kelli, Brody and Gabrielle came for the afternoon! I was so glad to see them! Brody is such a working boy and Bri is precious. I wish I could spend more time with her and give her lots of feministic ideas and keep the strong women in the family going! I know she's getting it from Kelli and Jody too! We went out to lunch and did some shopping after. I would have liked to sit down with Kelli and Jody and hang out, but time was short. I was able to show everybody lots of pictures and my voice hurt from so much talking. It was really cool for me to see all the pictures because there are so many of them that I had never really looked at past the glimpse on my camera after I took it.
The drive back was a struggle from Green Bay until Waseau. I was very very tired. Luckily, Waseau had lots of construction so that woke me up to get me to Eau Clarie. I spent the afternoon and night in Eau Clair with Sarah. It was so great to see her again. I still felt as if I hadn't seen her since she left in February, even though I saw her in May. She took me out to Torry's place and he took us on the lake/river. We swam and it was great. We cooked dinner at her place and chatted. It was so nice to be with her again. I drove home the next day and spent the next week in EP.
I was counting down the days until Kaila got home. Her fight kept getting delayed so I couldn't go to the airport. I went over to her house and hung out with the family and Summer. We went salsa dancing the next night and saw Andres for the first time in a while. It was very fun to be back. I got to see Pete, Halsch, Evan, Vinesha, Kristina and the girls. As tradition calls for, the day I left for school, dad, mom, Tank and I walked to Caribou for one last moment together. And, as usual, saying good bye was just as hard. I though as I got older and left to go back to Ames for another time, it would be easier, but it was not. I hate to see mom and dad sad to see me go and saying 'see you in a month'. Ironically, Juanes' song "hoy me voy" was the song playing as I drove down Luther, so I cried. I moved in early and got my room semi-settled. The madness of recruitment over took my next 2 weeks. We hit quota plus 1, had better return rates than last year, and took top girls away from Pi Phi, so it was very, very successful recruitment for us. School is, in fact, not very not fun. Marketing lecture is deathly boring and my teacher isn't even a professor...come on ISU. Economics is hard already and I am lost and it's week 3. I have a ton of reading for each class and my Spanish literature class is impossible. I do not have the time for school, social life, sorority, God and figuring out future plans. The constant elephant load of stress is back on my shoulders and I'm just remembering how no one understands my situation, although they try. I have 3 more months to reach my the goals I set for the house and I'm excited to get there and complete them. I'm excited to pass my visions onto the next president and I'm excited to get a part time job, have an income and join a business club. I'm excited for this semester, and although after this summer's amazing race, coming back to Ames and accepting that I live in small town Iowa is hard, I am so glad God brought me here. He's brought me to such a different place than I ever would think to live and He brought me to ADPi to show them Jesus.
On Monday I left for Michigan. The drive across wisconsin went fast. I think I went through 7 CDs... Also, very funny because it turns out that the highway to get to the car ferry is the exact hghway my friend Molly and I took to see our friend last summer in Green Bay. I drove right past the exit to Erin's house and I've been driving past her house on that highway for almost 21 years now! So crazy how small the world is! Wow.
The Olmsteads met me at the boat-- a nice surprise! And I went on the next 2-ish hours to Grandma Scott. It was odd seeing the table not pulled out and bigger. Grandpas golf cart wasn't in the garage, neither was his hat collection. Grandma really seemed to be doing good. She said she's going to start going to church again. She needs to re-build her social contacts since she and grandpa had stayed in a lot the past few years with him not feeling well. She makes me laugh. She is such a smart, strong woman. She is a feminist and doesn't take crap from people. She told me about one of her friends and how she doesn't get along with her husband because the husband thinks grandma gives his wife 'too many ideas'. I like that grandma stands up for her friend and tells the husband that he is wrong. She told me a lot about her childhood and the silly campouts they had and about her group of friends. She was the out going, leader of the group. She told me her and grandpa used to dance, grandpa was a real good dancer. I can't imagine that, but I wish I could. She laughs away problems and drama; I love her laugh. A real hahaha laugh. We went out to dinner one night and all the staff came over and said hi, of course. I wish I could have stayed longer and heard more stories. I did ask her about dads adoption and she said they were really lucky. Of course, dad's 'her baby'.
I got to the Olmstead's in Pentwater later that week. I drove past the Ole Haus and it makes me so sad that its not ours anymore. The house next to it, 4 stories, is hedious. So, I'm gald I dont have to look at that all the time. We got sandwiches and ate dinner at the lake. It was beautiful, as usual. However, this is the first year in Pentwater that I realized how small it is. The beach is small, the channel is small, the pier and the 'lighthouse' is tiny. I felt for the first time that it's okay that I'm here and leaving in 2 days. Usually, I feel as if I never want to leave and it's perfect. I like that I am growing up in that sense. I went and watched the sunset the next night and ate plenty of Travers Bay cherry ice cream-- my all-time favorite. Jody, Kelli, Brody and Gabrielle came for the afternoon! I was so glad to see them! Brody is such a working boy and Bri is precious. I wish I could spend more time with her and give her lots of feministic ideas and keep the strong women in the family going! I know she's getting it from Kelli and Jody too! We went out to lunch and did some shopping after. I would have liked to sit down with Kelli and Jody and hang out, but time was short. I was able to show everybody lots of pictures and my voice hurt from so much talking. It was really cool for me to see all the pictures because there are so many of them that I had never really looked at past the glimpse on my camera after I took it.
The drive back was a struggle from Green Bay until Waseau. I was very very tired. Luckily, Waseau had lots of construction so that woke me up to get me to Eau Clarie. I spent the afternoon and night in Eau Clair with Sarah. It was so great to see her again. I still felt as if I hadn't seen her since she left in February, even though I saw her in May. She took me out to Torry's place and he took us on the lake/river. We swam and it was great. We cooked dinner at her place and chatted. It was so nice to be with her again. I drove home the next day and spent the next week in EP.
I was counting down the days until Kaila got home. Her fight kept getting delayed so I couldn't go to the airport. I went over to her house and hung out with the family and Summer. We went salsa dancing the next night and saw Andres for the first time in a while. It was very fun to be back. I got to see Pete, Halsch, Evan, Vinesha, Kristina and the girls. As tradition calls for, the day I left for school, dad, mom, Tank and I walked to Caribou for one last moment together. And, as usual, saying good bye was just as hard. I though as I got older and left to go back to Ames for another time, it would be easier, but it was not. I hate to see mom and dad sad to see me go and saying 'see you in a month'. Ironically, Juanes' song "hoy me voy" was the song playing as I drove down Luther, so I cried. I moved in early and got my room semi-settled. The madness of recruitment over took my next 2 weeks. We hit quota plus 1, had better return rates than last year, and took top girls away from Pi Phi, so it was very, very successful recruitment for us. School is, in fact, not very not fun. Marketing lecture is deathly boring and my teacher isn't even a professor...come on ISU. Economics is hard already and I am lost and it's week 3. I have a ton of reading for each class and my Spanish literature class is impossible. I do not have the time for school, social life, sorority, God and figuring out future plans. The constant elephant load of stress is back on my shoulders and I'm just remembering how no one understands my situation, although they try. I have 3 more months to reach my the goals I set for the house and I'm excited to get there and complete them. I'm excited to pass my visions onto the next president and I'm excited to get a part time job, have an income and join a business club. I'm excited for this semester, and although after this summer's amazing race, coming back to Ames and accepting that I live in small town Iowa is hard, I am so glad God brought me here. He's brought me to such a different place than I ever would think to live and He brought me to ADPi to show them Jesus.
[edited 2-3-2010]
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