Snow Shoeing...

...a winter escape that keeps me sane.

Week 3 of Winter Quarter

One of my unofficial resolutions this year (I never took the time to actually make any solid ones) was to update my blog more...as it is now the 18th of January, you can see how that is going. :)

Since yesterday was a holiday, today was the beginning of Week 3 for this quarter...that means that I am already 1/5 of the way through, and at the end of this week, I will nearly be 1/3 of the way finished. I’m not sure I will ever get used to 10-week quarters.

After adding and dropping classes a lot the first week of the quarter (due to scheduling issues, incorrect class descriptions, and classes I just didn’t want to take), I ended up with Foundations in International and Intercultural Communication (the second of my required courses) and Gender and Health. Though I never really thought about taking Gender and Health I’m pretty excited about it. So far it seems interesting and will fit in nicely with my human rights concentration.

In addition, I am taking private Spanish lessons six hours a week. Spanish stresses me out much more than either of my “real” classes, but I really like my tutor and feel like she’ll get me to the point where I can pass the proficiency test (hopefully by the summer!). I’m also hoping to be able to speak a little bit for my trip to Peru this summer.

Overall, I feel really great about this quarter. Not only do I have classes I love, but the end of this quarter will mark the halfway point through my program. I’m excited to finish the schooling part of my life, but am also really excited for the classes and internship to come. Now, I’m off to write two papers...oh the joys of grad school. :)

The Obligatory End-of-Year Post

As I spent New Year's Eve driving for 10 hours on crappy Wyoming roads and ended up getting stranded in Cheyenne, I started to reflect on what a crazy year 2010 has been. If someone would have asked me in November 2009 what 2010 would hold, I never could have guessed where it would take me. It involved many unexpected (and sometimes frightening) things including:

• Quitting my job
• Moving to Denver
• Starting graduate school
• Gaining a niece and a nephew
• Traveling to a new city (Mexico City)
• Visiting one of my favorite places (New York) to see one of my favorite people
• Discovering a new favorite place (Estes Park)
• Getting a dog
• Making some great new friends
• Starting to learn a new language
• Discovering that I’m capable of much more than I ever thought

I can’t wait to see what surprises 2011 has in store!