goodbye 2008

dear shannon and elena-

Swedes dont celebrate Boxing Day as far as I know. I've only watched the Dark Knight once ever, and that was only because of Heath Ledger. This break has been fun, and my parents mailed me a U of M sweatshirt from your family shan!!! thanks a bunch for that...its pretty cold hear. I've also been ice skating on skates that have a really long blade...you strap into them like in cross country skiing. but anyways, these skates make you go extra fast, so we have been skating on rivers that connect to lakes and more lakes, its quite the adventure!

We dont have any snow yet. We have frost on the ground though. So, today is new years eve and i will be going to one of my friends house. im in charge of bringing dessert, so i am of course, making chocolate chip cookies. I think we are going into town later on too. its going to be busy!

oh, that reminds me, i love the chronicles of narnia too...im not sure which is my favorite but i really like 'the horse and his boy.' i havent read normal books in ages, so when my parents sent me the book 'twiligt' i read it in a day. it was like 400 pages haha. i have out grown swedish kid books (arnt you pround?) and i am reading comic books now. It is crazy how much more i have to concentrate on reading swedish, not to mention my limited vocabulary. but anyways, in about a month i am hoping to enjoy some of my christmas presents, i got 2 swedish books (one is a poem book) and also the movie 'Arn', which is about sweden in the middle ages. this is also in swedish. i have been bad this break and i havent been studying like i should...but i guess my mind needed a temporary break.

I have been working 0ut a lot lately. My first indoor track competition is comming up (January 10 and 11, called the Scandic Indoor Games) and i am pretty nervious. Its not the same training indoors and im not used to longer distances it feels like....i dont know. but i have been running 3 times a week and also weight lifting and climbing and stuff so i really hope it helps.

Well, thats all for now! Hope you have a great holiday! i miss you guys

The Dark Knight and other stories

Hi Nikole,

Just saw Elena yesterday so this post can be for you (sorry El :(   We watched The Dark Knight last night with Jackie and Abby at ma maison.  Caitlin watched it last night too, at Sam's, and we are going to watch it again tonight. Hip-hip hooray! We're working on reading all of the Chronicles of Narnia over break, and are in the beginning of The Lion, The Witch, etc. as of now.  I love them, they are so excellent; they remind me of crisp crackers at Christmas.

I'm glad  you had a good Christmas, Nikole, and that you have a long break. Leezanne goes back the 12th too, I go back the 19th-ish.  Everything's pretty good here, just relaxing.  Question: do Swedes celebrate "Boxing Day," or is that just an English thing?

Talk to you soon, Shannon

GOD JUL

so, merry christmas and happy new year! i miss you guys a ton. right now, its is the day before christmas eve, but they celebrate christmas on christmas eve so its like christmas eve lol, have i confused you yet? we decorated the tree this morning, and the house is oh so cozy. i made moose and pig gingerbread cookies too lol. so, hope you guys liked the cards i sent ya of me and my swede family. im off school now for the next three weeks, i guess i start on january 12th--just in time to be in school on my bday wahooo. anyways, i dont have much to add at the moment....im gunna go eat now but i will write more later! xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxo nikole

god jul--merry christmas
snow--snö
candle--ljus
christmas tree--julgran
santa--tomten
donald duck--calle anka

Here and going soon.

Hello, hello. I'm just about to go to sleep, so I'll keep this a little short. We now have A TON of snow, and it is vundava. Glad your finals went well Elena. And nikoles, I think its bioilluminescence, like what we saw in florida? The glowing proteins from certain bacteria can actually be injected into other bacteria, then petri-dished to grow, then injected into (you wont like this) mice and things for experiments, and the mice glow and they can get results from the glow. Anyway, I think its the same thing. If not, never mind; sorry about the mice. Finals are this week. Not too bad because I had a couple last week, I have some papers to finish this weekend, but just studying if I can get that done. Going to chicago on the train thursday, 10pm, overnight. my dad's going to pick me up because he'll be down there dropping Lottie and Drew off to fly back to Mississippi for the holidays. That's about it for now. Hope to see you at home El. Sending things your way soon Nikole; for now, just love. xxoo shannon

Hi!

Hi Nikoleson, I'm here but just got finished with finals!  Sorry I haven't been writing lately, but I've been writing papers instead. :( Yuck.  But I'm home now, I've been lazy for a few days.  I went in to pick up my sister and saw Mrs. Caldwell and Mrs. Watts and Mrs. Walter.  Did you know that Mrs. Walter is a bumper sticker on facebook?  Yeah... I think Darren Hart put it up....  

The Nobel Prize sounds so cool!  Did you have to get tickets or something, or was it open to the public?  And I'm glad you got to eat in a dungeon... I think...?  and glowing proteins?  what?  I should look that up, sounds like it could have some interesting uses.  Who did you go with?  Friends or family?

So how was everybody's finals?  Did you have any, Koleson?  And Shan, do you still have to take them, or are you done?  Mine weren't awful, but I needed the internet for most of them, and it was overwhelmed or something-- kept cutting out every five minutes or so.  And the art exhibit for my African class went over really well.  They had people playing the thumb piano and singing and everything.  And people really liked the Death Barbie.  Did I tell you guys about her?  She was my art project for the show.  She is terrifying.  It's a barbie covered in magazine shreddings and stuck full of nails and tacks, and is very pink.  And now they want to put her in a university-wide thingy.  People have weird taste in art, that's all I'm gonna say.

I miss you guys, I'll be able to write more now that I'm on break.

Love you both

is anybody out there?

shannon? elena?

NOBEL PRIzE LECTURES

hey guys!! so today was amazing! i got to attend the nobel prize lectures on chemistry and economy and they were sooo good. some parts were hard to understand, but all in all they were super interesting. the economy speech was about how trade is going through a transition now and how it is affecting the economies around the world. and the chemistry ones were on glowing protiens. u should check it out on the website, i can send some stuff in the box too. then after that, we went to the grand hotel...just to check out where the nobel prize dinners used to be held and just cuz its so beautiful. their were some rooms that were almost entirely gold! i even saw the old swedish ambassador to the united states...i guess a lot of famous ppl stay at the grand hotel. then we ate dinner in what used to be a dungeon. cool, and a little creepy. but whatev. i miss you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!xoxooxoxoox

Everywhere Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving Too! Have a good dinner on Sunday Nikole. You could totally do smoke jumping. It's a bit dangerous because they just drop you in the middle of a forest where a fire is coming, and you have to be in good shape, but definitely worth the training (for a skydiver it's no problem :) Careful on the ice! The field was so icy in our second-to-last game that everyone was "skating" on their cleats. There isn't much snow here in IL, but at home and Ithaca there is. It was good to see you at break El. The only thing we're missing for the holiday is our Nikole. Love you both. xxoo

vi här snö nu!!!

Hey girls! im sorry i havent written in a while. translation of title: we have snow now! i guess its going away again, but for the past week its been nice! we have a big hill up to my school, and on the way home everyone was sliding down it. i almost fell today...my shoes were flat on the bottom so i was going soooo fast haha. okay so, i hope you both got my postcards :) and also HAPPY EARLY THANKSGIVING! i miss that holiday, but my grandma sent me her recipes that she usually does for thanksgiving and so im going to cook for everyone. lena and jonas are really good at cooking and they are doing it with me. i think were gunna have 9 people here! and its not on the realy thanksgiving, but the sunday after. good job in soccer shannon! but thats too bad about the last game. let me know when the games start for winter (or is it just straight up practice?). ooh elenor! where did you meet chinese women? let me kno how they like good ol alcona. theres a girl and two boys in my exchange program from china! they are really nice. maybe you could talk to them sometime since you are learning the language, i think they would love it. and shazza, how is school going? thats cool that you got a 'little.' thats going to be a great experience! i am going to look into the peace corps thing. oh, and i dont think ive told you but i was thinking about becoming a smoke jumper..the summer after next (2010). i remember your mom (shan) talking about it once...and it involves parachuting...but yea i have to look up and its prolly really hard to get a job. well anyway, i have like 3 weeks left of school and then CHRISTMAS!! wahooo. i will talk to you guys later. love love love love love you.

xxoo Snow!

Love the snow! it mostly melted last night but it was very pretty. It makes me remember our ski trips....I love the pictures nikole, and karaoka...(we really need to learn how to spell that) sounds like so much fun! I got your postcard just before they harshly locked the dorms for break. And I'm curious too: did you sing in Swedish/Finnish? Sorry about the break-up El; that it was messy. But you are taking a Chinese woman home with you for break? Awesome! Thanks for following soccer. You and my dad can watch the live stats on line together next season : ) I know we play co-ed indoor a couple times a week through the winter, and individually need to stay in shape. not sure when that starts though, or the specifics. In the spring we practice with Coach and go to a couple tournaments just to stay in game-mode. Before break a few of us had dinner at one of our goalie's houses. She played us some guitar after dinner, and sang a couple of songs she wrote. It made me really miss singing and playing music...definitely will pick that up more now that there's less soccer. Though we lost sunday, we played pretty well. Williams is the #1 ranked in the country, I think. They didn't have more talent than us or anything straight-forward like that, they just played as a team better: connected, moved off the ball...better than we did. Bummer, but what can you do? There were some really close-calls the first 20 min. or so of the game, and we were lucky it wasn't 4 or 5 to 0, though we had some good opportunities second half. It was frigid and snowy on saturday, and the field was like an ice-rink for that game, everyone was slipping everywhere because the ground was so frozen. We moved to a different field on Sunday. (p.s. did I tell you that Coach Quigg is lesbian and has a partner that comes to some of our games? Just realized you might not know that).
I'm at my cousin's right now, and we're leaving today around 3 or so. They are going to Illinois, and Dad is going to pick me up (at the Hampton Inn where we're staying tonight) on wed morning. I think Drew will be coming too (my cousin; he's been hunting at your dad's camp, Nikole -- and hanging out with ryan and eric.) I'll be home until friday, when my mom and caitlin, maybe leezanne, and I are going to IL to see my grandpa Pete and my grandparents Nisbet, and I'll head back with Mark and Stephanie to Ithaca on Sat or Sun. That's my break.
I'm sorry this is so long, but just a couple more things: They have a "Little" for me for Big Bros. Big Sis! Her name is Tanisha and she is 11. BBBS will call me this week sometime with more info. Also; Peace corps is usually 27 months with three of those as training. Some people do take extensions; You work on all sorts of projects, sometimes related to your field, sometimes not. Like the guy at the info session was a history major, and helped breed pigs, set up bee hives, and build a bridge. But, some people do use those two years to complete grad school, and they'll often defer or reduce student loans as well. they have a website if you want to check it out. some people have been as young as 18 and as old as 80, some people serve as a couple. Health, education, and agriculture are the main fields they help in. Definitely check it out!
I'm going to end this novel now. Love you two. I know what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.

I Love Ithaca

Hey, Shan, I'm sorry about the game yesterday... but it sounds like you did a really good job against a scary team!  Did you guys play well?  Is there any post-season stuff going on, or are you through for the year?  Any plans for winter sports?  Do you have snow yet?  There's lots of snow here, but it never stays for very long.  It's actually snowing right now, really pretty.  We have Christmas lights up in our room, and that plus the snow makes it seem like Christmas already.  

I'm taking some Chinese women home for Thanksgiving!  I can't remember if I told you that already... oh well.  They're pretty excited for all the American holiday stuff, and they really want to try venison and see everybody going shopping on Black Friday.  My dad is going to light the sauna... I don't know if they have saunas in China... hmm... that could be interesting.  

Love you guys

Hellos and Silly Things

Shannon!! Playoffs are so exciting! Congratulations on going to the sectional semis! It just says the 21 or 22... which day is it?  Can I watch it anywhere?  So cool... and so is the Peace Corps! Do you know what you'd be doing?  Like, could you use your major to help, or would you build houses and things?  And I am very jealous of the cookies... :)  We were so darn cute when we were girl scouts... remember when we put on some play with a genie and a prince and Jenny Pruit got mad at Kayt and it all got way out of hand?  'Cause I do... and Nikole remembers Girl Scout camp!  Ahahahaha!  Good times.  And singing karaoke on a Finnish boat sounds wonderful.  Was it in English, or can you sing in Swedish/Finnish now?

There isn't much news here... I went to a talk by a woman whose transgendered daughter was murdered.  She wasn't that great of a speaker, but the message was very good.  Gwen was killed when she was only 17, because some guys decided she was "really" a man, and should act like it.  So sad... but it brought a lot of attention to the issue of hate crimes against transgendered people, so something good came out of it.

I also went through a nice messy breakup with Adam, so Elenora is now single!  Hooray...  I'm not happy it's over, but... *sigh*... I guess it was time.  

And here are some funny things!  

Stuff

Ooooh shannon! tell me about the peace corps! i dont know much about it but i was thinking about joining one day. as for me, theres not much new going on. i went to finland last week on this giant boat, which was pretty sweet. and i sung kareoke (sp?) and you would both be proud haha. i figured i could since i didnt kno anyone on the boat and it was unlikely anyone from harrisville would be there to laugh at me lol. right now im just getting distracted, because i am supposed to be doing homework!!! ahhhhh. love you guys. and i added some random pictures...halloween and friends...

Peace Corps

Hi. Besides the big game tomorrow (NCAA playoffs: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/bracket_dIII_soccer_women.html this is an "interactive bracket" to check out if you have a few) and Thanksgiving coming up, the big event this week was going to an info session about the Peace Corps. Ithaca's recruiter came and gave a short presentation....and now I can't wait until the end of college when it's possible to do things like that! I really want to volunteer for the peace corps....
Shannon
P.S. Girl scouts are selling cookies around campus, and I can't help thinking of you two when I see the brownies and cadets in sashes with their badges.

Sweet costume El! I'm glad you had a great Halloween. Nikole, I sent you an email update on uncle andy, El: I didn't send yours because I'm not sure if I have your right email or not...maybe you could post it? That's about it. It's 6:53 and I need to register for classes at 7:00 when the network opens and hopefully I can get my classes on the first try. Had a nice talk with Ben B. yesterday: he's at culinary school in Hyde Park, NY (just north of Poughkeepsie), about four hours south-east of me. His number is: (989) 884-1767 cell phone or (845) 483-2870 in his room (he's in a single, so I think it gets kind of lonely). That's about it for now....talk to you all soon!

I are lazy, sorry.... <:D

Hey guys, glad to hear that nobody got TPd or egged or anything.  I dressed up (of course) and watched Rocky Horror Picture Show, but that was about it.  Here are pics:

This was my costume.  I don't know what it was, other than sort of creepy. :)

This was everybody else.  The guy in the suit was "Evil Alternate Universe Carl Levin, running for Evil Alternative Universe Senate." Don't ask me why.  Other than the mad scientist and the princess, everybody else was a character from a graphic novel.  Hmmm... It cut off half the picture... if you click the edit icon, you can see the whole thing if you want. 

I am so excited for tomorrow and election day! We are having a party at which everyone is going to dress up as a political figure.  I called Barack. :)  I will definitely be up all night, and will check facebook regularly for chatting, if you guys would so desire.

I taught my first class on Halloween, and it went decently well.  They have ALOT of work to do, but they catch on very quickly and it was fun to teach them about Halloween and trick or treating and everything.  

I also got hit on by a creepy Indian man. (like from India, not Native American) So I spent a lot of Halloween trying to escape.  He kept trying to get me to come back to his apartment, or have me show him my dorm, and kept doing that awkward "I'm walking so close to you that my hand keeps 'accidentally' touching your butt" thing.  And he seemed to think that I would be teaching him English.  I don't know why.  So that was fun.

The Jazz concert sounds fantastic, Shan!  Are you still practicing piano?  You could be a jazz pianist and Kolson & I could come watch you!  If you aren't home for Thanksgiving, I'll call you and catch up.  

I love you both.

haha i'm the first person to write in november

hey! that jazz thing sounded awesome!!! i wish i could play an instrument. okay, so are you both excited to watch the elections? i wanna watch them so im gunna say up all night on tuesday and if you are, than we could maybe talk via facebook or something to keep each other awake. i dunno. but my news wont be as good as yours because 1, its in swedish, and 2, im only getting the old stuff lol. but yea, write me!

One last post before the tab (to the right) turns to November.

My roommate had a jazz concert tonight and it was AMAZING, SPACTACULAR, and more and more and more. There were six girls, seven boys in the ensemble, and they performed the best music I've heard in a while -- inspiring. there was a piano player (who reminded me of the one from Charlie Brown), a bass player (with a sweet guitar and shoulder-length hair), and a drummer (with gold-painted rock-band drums), who accompanied the group -- and together performed "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" without vocalists toward the end of the concert. A horn trio (trumpet+saxaphone+trombone) also played during a few of the chorus's songs; and one song was performed by this really cute womens treble jazz choir that also did the "doop-do-doops" behind the sound of the larger choir. It was jazz, like I said, and it was all MOVEMENT. Really free-form music, and everyone was moving continuously (dancing in place, etc.) and getting into the rhythm which was brilliant in itself: very spontaneous, especially in "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." The only non-student on stage was the conductor, and she moved around the stage and only directed certain parts of the group on stage when needed (ex: for one of my roommate's solos the director coordinated her part with the trumpet player, so that they listened to eachother pick up the music, one at a time, then free-style together). I wish I could send you a tape or recording of it...it's amazing what some people can do with music.
Tomorrow I'm going to the State Theatre to hear Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings -- another jazz group. So excited!

Hey gang! hope you all survived devils night. ill put pictures up sooner or later of my pumpkin. halloween is only like 5 years old here so its lame compared to the united states lol. no house decorations or anything...im trying to get lena and jonas into the spirit, so we are makeing some pumpkin pie over the weekend. and elenor, i definatly agree with you over the voting, but surprisingly i had it easier. i registered to vote in january, then they mailed me an absentee ballott form, and then they mailed me the actual ballott lol. okay, so it was a lot of hassel, but still. ive voted and i am happy. its strange, because i swear the US election gets more news in sweden then the swedish election lol. everyones alllways asking me about it, so i had to explain the electoral college numourous times...i get blank stares and people are like...well why do you still do it that way? umm i cant ever answer taht one...tradiotion?? haha. but anyway, i dont expecially love either candidate, but well i hope obama wins. and that was hard to say so you better be proud of me elenor!! me and my friend diana (also from the states) are staying up all night to watch all the states turn colors on tuesday. it will sooo be worth it. and i hope the war will be ending soon. and shannon, i will keep your uncle andy in my prayers. let me know how he is doing and you can always talk to me about it, my family went through it last year. i love you guys. xoxoxoxo.

Well, we've all said it so: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! with three exclamation points. We have one moldy pumpkin in our room that was colored, not carved, and trick-or-treating is not an option this year...no costume either. It's going to be a dismal Halloween, which is ok because it's sort of a scary holiday, and a bit on the crazy side. On the bright side: I have reason to suspect one of my teachers is a witch, and the dining halls are now serving candy corn on a regular basis.....maybe dismal is too strong of a word.
Despite voting and politics it sounds like you two are having a good time. Nikole: I sent you a letter like Jackie and El's, but it came back to me today without enough postage (even though I went through the postmaster). So, that should be coming soon : ) Elena: Thanksgiving is up-in-the-air. though soccer's great, it may keep us playing through break (for NCAA playoffs if we do well enough). Miss you guys!
Shannon

Happy Halloween Eve!

Yay for pumpkins!  Nikoleson, you should take a picture of it and post it. :) I want to see.  And a witch is so you. jk! Yay Ithaca soccer once again! I'm glad life is good there Shan, biking sounds very relaxing.  I'll pray for your Uncle Andy, it's good he's with family.  Are you going home for Thanksgiving?  'Cause I'll see you there if you are.  I haven't been going to karate, which makes me very very sad.  But the only good dojo around here is far away, and VERY stuck up.  They think that their style is the best thing since bloody sliced bread, but it's kind of dull.  They don't even allow spinning back-kicks, for crying out loud!  I love spinning back-kicks!  I miss my old dojo...

Halloween is going to be very busy, but I think I'm going to be at a party off campus with the group.  Or clan.  Or legion.  Or whatever it is that we call ourselves, it changes a lot.  I don't have a costume yet, but I'm hoping that will change in the next twelve hours....

I finally got the absentee voter thing figured out; still waiting for it to come, but I should be fine.  I'm supporting Obama.  Big surprise, right? :)  

I'm very frustrated with the U.S. voting system.  For starters, why does it have to be so darn hard to vote?  In MI, your registration address has to be the same as your driver's license address, which makes it extremely inconvenient for college students.  Of course, you could just ask for an absentee ballot, but in order to do that you would have to have voted in person before, which I couldn't do because I wasn't eighteen yet.  So they got around all that by letting me "double register," which just means you go into the SOS office and show them some ID and that shows them that you're a real person and not committing voter fraud.  Because using a fake ID wouldn't get around that? Apparently....  Would it not make more sense to just show up at the voting booth, give them a couple forms of ID, and VOTE?!  That's what Minnesota does, and they have the highest voting rate in the country.  Because it's easy.  And makes sense.  And you know what?  They don't have any more voter fraud than anybody else. 

And I'm not even going into the electoral college, except to say that while it may have been a good idea 200 years ago, it is no longer needed.  

So yeah, sorry about the rant.  I just think that exercising your constitutional right to vote should not be a headache.  That doesn't seem very democratic.

I love you both, have Happy Halloweens.

 

Hey!

So, today i carved a pumpkin..its a ghost! but it was a little sad because i miss doing that with my family. Yes, i have already voted. i sent my absentee ballot home last week! as for the election news here: the stuff i DO understand (which isnt much) gives me the impression that it is very one sided. the only issue that people in sweden care about is basically foriegn policy, and of course not bush lol. so its very much in favor of obama, like seriously, everyone here thinks exactly the same things about the election and politics in general. it makes me miss america and all the variety of people you meet there! what are you guys doing for halloween? i am going to a halloween party on friday and im dressing like a witch! scary! well i miss you both...talk to you soon.

nikole

P.S. The pond is too small for boats...but it does have fish!

El and Nikolie:
Life is beautiful, and I'm starting to get into a rhythm here. We beat Nazareth (our biggest rivals of all time) on Saturday in double-overtime, and scored off of a direct kick just outside the 18m (final score 2-1). I watched, not played, but it was so exciting I didn't notice. Then yesterday we had the day off, so I biked through the trails on the hill above campus; the sun was setting even though it was only 5:30ish and it was fun riding fast through all the leaves -- kind of like when we went trail riding and mud biking a while ago (but with only a little mud).
Elena: The powwows and temples sound so cool! Definitley a must-go. There are lots of things to do on campus here, but nothing as cool as that. Maybe at a visit sometime we'll have to go... Are you still doing karate? Teaching!!! And so soon -- it will be a good experience either way!There are sailboats on the lake here still, but I think they're mostly private (so I need to find a friend with one, like you, my dearest). (wow, this is really choppy...sorry).
Nikole: Casino Royale was the best movie I've seen in a while. I'm trying to watch V for Vendetta again sometime....maybe over winter break. Have you decorated any pumpkins yet? Send some pictures if you do! Are you running track? I hope you're having a good time either way. Did you send in your absentee ballot? I'm sure the news there is much different than here.

I don't know if you've heard yet or not...my Uncle Andy has pancreatic cancer. He just had a biopsy, and they're waiting to hear exactly what it is, or how bad it is. So, I'll try to keep you updated on that. My grandparents McNichols are at our house right now with my Uncle Mike and Uncle Andy, and they'll probably be there for Thanksgiving. That's about it. I don't want to end it on that note, but this is already getting long... Shannon

Sup Ladies, My Name is Slim Shady

Not really.... But my Chinese name is Ai Li Na. It means "Love Beautiful Girl", which doesn't really make sense, but the people who gave it to me said it was "really, really cute." So that's good. :)

I just got back from visiting Adam, so I'm not really sure whether to be happy or sad... But I got to see him play and he was really good and he didn't hurt himself (which he does distressingly often) and so all around it was a good trip.  

I'm a teacher now! I have my first class on Halloween at 3:00!  I'm teaching English to Chinese students at the International Friendship House.  So exciting! I finally get to try the job I want to do for the rest of my life!  I'm actually kind of nervous... I'm going to find out whether or not I need to rethink my entire life plan... whether or not I actually would like teaching English... Aaargh! Life-changing moments! How stressful they are! 

Shan, I got your letter!!! I love knowing where everything is, but where is the lake? You said you could see it from the roof, but what direction?  And how steep is the slope, it was hard to tell from the map.  The fountains look beautiful in the picture, and so does the pond! Can you take boats on it and everything?

I love you both.

In response...

Hey dearest shazza and elenor:

SHAN) I read Matthew 9:4-12, and I agree with you...it is a different look on marriage. i always got the impression that either you marry or become a priest, but this passage says that its not right for everyone. thats pretty interesting. what do you think about it?

Also, Ithaca sounds great! And thats crazy that your soccer team is so good; are you getting more playing time now that you are healed? How was Casino Royale?

ELENOR) Omg all those trible dances and what not sound oh so exciting. You must promise to take me to some of them when i come home (since i will be going to u of m). I expecially want to see a native american powow! Jackie confirmed that she indeed has the baton, and also that you filled it with lots of starbursts haha.

I HEART YOU TWO

Hello, darlings

 Hey guys, sorry I haven't been keeping up.  Yay Ithaca soccer! I wish i could come to a game... And Nikoleson, I got your letter, details are coming soon. :)  I'm going to the Song & Dance Ensemble of West Africa tonight--so excited!! I've been looking forward to it for so long! I also went to a Native American powwow and a Buddhist temple this weekend.  Shan, I think you'd like the temple.  There are three monks living there, and everyone is very peaceful and friendly.  There are lots of woods around it, with hiking trails and labyrinths and such.  The monks have really interesting things to say about Buddhism and other religions... it makes all the conflict about religion seem very silly.  And we should all go to a powwow sometime!  They're so much fun!  The dancing is very easy to pick up and the music is really good, all drums and singing and energy.  And they have amazing jewelry and clothing and art for sale, too.  

I sent the baton to Jackie on Monday, so it should be starting around again soon.

I love you both.

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Hi. I found this really interesting passage in the Bible: Matthew 19:4-12. It talks about divorce/marriage, and what caught me the most was the last verse that talks about people who are not called to marriage. Read it, it's open to interpretation (surprise, surprise). Talk to you soon.

Hi everybody. Life is going good. We had thurs. and fri. off for fall break, so I got some work and stuff done. Campus was really empty because most people live pretty close (east coastish). We had soccer practice both days and saturday had a game four hours north agains St. Lawrence U. It was FREEZING...but an exciting game. we were behind 1-0 after the first 15 min. and tied it up with three minutes left in the game. very stressful. we went into double overtime (10 min each) and ended in a tie. It was supposed to be a crucial game in deciding who was better -- we're ranked really closely in the region/conference...etc. exciting news: we're ranked 11th in the nation now for Div. III. YES. That took up my whole saturday, and when I got back to Ithaca I caught the 10:12pm bus to the commons and walked the rest of the way to my cousins to see leeza, who arrived in syracuse by train around noon. we walked a lot sunday, around campus, town, hiking trails, and I finally saw Casino Royale. It was the first really relaxing day i've had (no soccer either -- day off). Syracuse is about an hour away, so we left at 8pm the same day (so not much visiting time, but it was quality) to get leezanne to the 10pm train. And that was my four-day weekend. back to reality, and sorry this is so long. Shannon

is anybody there?

hey gang just wondering how life is. i mean. seriosly. how much homework can you have that you havent written on the blog in FOREVER!!! jk. but really. not much news here, fannys in south america, my bro has mono (kissing disease oh no), and im going to finland in a few weeks. on a boat. so yea. thats all....

Just some swedish stuff...

Okay. So first we have some pictures of the track camp i was at, showing the colors of the fall on one of the only sunny days there has been this autumn. Beautiful, i love all the trees and water here! Then, we have me in the outfit i wore at school today, styles much different here! haha, thought you guys would like to see...

Newsage

Hey everybody! Shan, BBBS sounds fantastic! You should definitely keep us posted on that...

Here is State news:

 Nobody has been raped.  However, some girl was assaulted by a guy with a pocketknife.  He ran away when other people walked by, though.  No harm done. :)

 I've been going to International Coffee Hour pretty regularly.  I always meet really cool people from Iran or something.  Or China.  There are so many Chinese students! It's ridiculous, but fun.  I can creep along behind them and try to understand what they're saying. 

 I went to a comedian with my Uncle Matt yesterday evening.  He was pretty good, but talked a little too much about his penis.  The comedian, not my uncle.

 If you guys ever get the chance, you should see The Bible Tells Me So.  It's a documentary on the relationship between the church and the not-straight community and what the Bible actually says about homosexuality.  Very interesting, but kind of sad.

 Did you know that many Native American societies had three genders?  Male, female, and nadle.  Anyone who didn't feel that they were male or female would declare themselves nadle, and they were often very respected leaders and such.  And other societies didn't have three genders, but if, say, a woman was a lesbian, she would go hang out with the men and do everything they did and would be treated like a man.  And it was the other way around for gay men.  I thought it was pretty cool... and we say they were "primitive." Pfft. Their societies were more understanding and civilized than ours.

 So thats about it for now. Love you guys, hope to hear news soon. 

Running is running no matter what.

Hey Koleson and Elenor:
That's a bummer about track. You can still do other things right? Rock climbing...biking...riding the bus...: ) I know not, but I hope it goes ok. How is Fanny doing? El: any new rendezvous for you? My Big Brothers Big Sisters interview is complete, so now I'm just waiting for them to process my app. That's about it for now. I'll talk to you soon. Lots of Love. Shan

?

Why does track cost so much?! Poor Nikolson... hey, if you do have to quit, then you can spend extra time on rock climbing! So there will be something, anyway.  Or you could go to ice bars a lot. :)

hjalp

hey gang
that picture is soo cute! well not much here, except i am a little sad cuz i might have to quit track...it costs around 400 dollars and i still have the rest of the year to think about. i dont kno what to do! love you both

Hooray!

Look! We were cute! 

This is from the window of the bus; coming back from the Skidmore game yesterday.

Ahhhh! I have not been keeping up with you guys!

Hi!
Sorry I havn't posted in AGES! I love the artwork Nikolie and I hope you're not lonely -- Sweden and school seem fantastic! And the costumes are great too! At applefest I met up with some girls from the team and we explored a halloween store: and the "v for vendetta" mask was there and it was awesome! I'm glad someone in your dorm capitalized on that, El. The pirate costume was great: you look like someone out of my "Captain Kidd and the war against the pirates" book. That class is going pretty good. Some of the lit. is entertaining and most of the discussions too. I get to watch an old 1930s film, Captain Blood, and turn in an essay on it for midterm. Renting the movie was not an option -- I tried several -- so ended up buying the movie....maybe it will come with the next baton trip. Hey -- do you guys realize that by the time we're together again we'll have at least 3 foreign languages under our belts? If we traveled together we could get by in almost any country. That's pretty sweet. Anyway I'll keep this short. Looks like you both are having a good time. Maybe I'll post tomorrow. xxoo

some more

here are some more people in my class. we got the blues brothers, napolean dynamite, pedro, mario, luigi, a king, and the spice girls

Speaking of Costumes

Ha! You look fantastic! Also scarily masculine... but fantastic! Was it a special day at school, or were you just being cool?  And I'm so excited that you also dress up!  Here is a picture of a typical dress-up session around my dorm.

I'm the one wrapped up and with goggles. Next to me are Jane, Vi, Bailey, and Jon, and Maurgerite is kneeling.

School

So, this is what i wore to school today. hahaha...argh

Miss you too

I miss you too, Kolson... I put a letter in the mail a few days ago.

Did you know....

i miss my sharona and my elenor. so so much.

Fabulous Renaissance Nudes!

I just learned something hilarious!  You know all those Renaissance paintings of gorgeous nude women that are supposed to be examples of high art and a celebration of the human form and so on?  Most of them were in fact, and I quote, "painted to meet a vigorous demand for bedroom paintings depicting erotic nudes in salacious poses." (Jardine, Lisa: Worldly Goods, London, W.W. Norton & Company; 1996)  That's right.  It was Renaissance porn.  They have letters from people boasting about them.  "My nude is better than yours!" Or rather, "My Venus surpasses thine in excellence and grace...and in the breadth of her...thou knowest..."

Yup.  This is no longer fine art, guys.  Sorry.

Nikole at Bar!?

Well...somebody seems to be having a good time.... :) I've never heard of an ice bar, but it looks fantastic!  But also cold....

I got to hold babies all morning! They were adorable! And I brought Shan (TA Shan, not Shan Shan) with me.  She loves babies too, but was a little freaked out whenever they started to cry or something.  I had to calm her down as well. :)  

I has a paper to write! I should not be on the Internets!

Weekendses

hey girls! good luck on the game shan shan. and elenor you need to get better. no more crazy parties. sorry. so today is then end of a long but fun weekend. above (and to the side) is me at an ice bar...where they keep the temp below freezing and everything is made of ice. next is a veiw of stockholm...then a cute bunny that i took a picture of...and of course we have clem. i am actually supposed to be doing swedish right now...oops. anywho, i miss you both bunches and bunches. kisses and hugs! puss och kram (i svenska)

Yayness!

Shweet! Everybody here! Good luck at your game, Shan! Well, I guess blogs are supposed to be about news from where you are, so here's mine:

I am sick with some kind of flu--you know, gallons of snot and your throat feels like its being cleaned with barbed wire.  So that stinks.  In about half an hour I'm going to go meet my International TA buddy and show her around my dorm.  We might have lunch or something, too.  She's really cool--her name is Shan, actually.  Your nickname is Chinese, Shannon!

Abby is coming to see me this weekend with Jackie and Mrs. Mullen! I haven't seen her since the hospital, and she was pretty drugged up and sleepy then.  I gave her the first two books in the Twilight series, and she loved them.  Unfortunately, she now cannot find the last two, and is very aggravated.  :)  

Thought for the Day:  Love can sweep you off your feet and take you places you've never seen before.  But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter. Wait.  Its not love.  I'm thinking of a monorail.

Blog Away!

Hi! My computer is good to go and now I know how to blog...so everything's ok now. I will be gone until Sunday because we have a game at Stevens (somewhere far away from Ithaca) on Saturday and are leaving today before 6pm. Glad the baton made it. Hope Sweden and Lansing are treating you good. Oh -- and is Jackie doing this too? -- Shannon

Im HEEEREEE

Elenora! do not be scared! lol. i have been a busy one this week. but i shall write something better later. i have a fortune though....great accompishments take time (on the toilet) hahahaha. i email shannon but her internets down. so we shall see. if you call her let her know. xoxo

Hello?

Hellos? Is there anybody else in this blog? Nikooolllle....Shaaaaanooonnn.... Write something! Argh! Oh, I GOT THE BATON! Is make my day glorious! 

I Has a Post

Ni hao! Wo ai nimen! (Hello! I love you all!) This blog is going to be muy fun! I don't know exactly what to write at the moment, but I like our name.  

Thought for the Day:  Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and find that I have forgotten to put on my pants.

Last days of summer

A Rainy Day

just some paintings