And the first month is over...

September has come and gone (almost) and it has brought a lot of good things!
- I made the BYU ballroom dance company!!! the auditions went exceptionally well, I think because I was so ready by now; I felt really confident and so I just went out there and let it show, and I danced my little heart out... and I made it! I'm now a member of 10 o'clock team, and we will be Lindy-hopping down the street for the homecoming parade!
- I love my classes--all of them. My poly sci teacher is fabulous (although she is a bit "jaded and cynical" according to her own words), my religion teacher too, my broadcast professor is great (and funny), and of course I love my dance classes I'm learning so much!
- Finnish! Minä pidan suomesta!!! I love Finnish! first month of Finnish has come and gone, and I like to think that so far I have been successful; I got a 99% on my first midterm!!! The language I have fallen in love with is full of little particularities like conjugating numbers (yes, weird...) and taking out letters for no good reasons. Oh, and lots of double consonants--yay! here are a few of my favorite words to date:
kukka --> flower
joulopukki --> santa claus!
minkavarinen --> what color...?
sisu --> an untranslatable word meaning something like "the undying will to survive in front of impossible odds"--it's a very finnish concept :)
- Incredible roommates. My roommates have been so kind and so much fun to be with! We do homework together, we go out together, we party together... For my birthday they threw a huge party (the theme was black and white) and then this morning (the day of my actual birthday) they surprised me with french toast and a fish-- well, the bowl is empty but we're gonna get a real fish!!!
- and plenty of new friends :)

So midterms and stress-- bring it on!

Finnish

I've been talking about it for years, but this time it's for real: I am taking Finnish 101 this fall!



I can't wait to start... so far there are 15 people enrolled in the only section offered-- and yes, I was number 15! I'm convinced that someday, somewhere, this beautiful language will come in handy and maybe even save my life! I dream of serving a mission there, and while it's highly improbable, it is not entirely impossible!
The textbook is daunting: not ONE word is in English... and I don't get a word. not. one.
Thank goodness for the pictures
Finnish, here I come! Moi moi! (that means bye bye in finnish :)

PS: for you french speakers, Finnois is the finnish language, Finlandais is a finnish person

Back to school

I love the Back-to-school season more than any other (except Christmas). I love carefully opening and smelling my new textbooks, I love the rustle of brand-new sheets of paper on a perfectly untouched legal pad, I love dumping out the pens from their packet into my pen drawer and placing everything just so into my backpack. Yes, I am a nerd deep down inside, in more way than one.


But what I love most about this special time is the atmosphere.

I love the slight change in climate, that cool wind instead of the hot air from all summer long. I love reorganizing my room and putting everything in its perfect place, and being completely prepared. And I feel like I could do anything. No, I am not afraid to take Political Science 170, because I'm excited to learn about international relations! I can't wait for all my auditions and I can't wait to start dancing again. I feel as if, this time, I can do it right.
It's a new start, a chance to get things right, to really be the kind of person I want to be, to accomplish all my goals, and to just plain have fun!
And really, I think everyone feels that way a teeny, tiny bit. You know it... so let's embrace the sentiment and all prepare to have the best year ever!

Here it is in all its glory

And now I begin a new project that will probably be forgotten in a month's time, due to my short attention span, but I promise I will try. Why cartwheeling down the aisle? because it's something I have an urge to do every time I enter a tramway or metro. Just because it would make everyone's day a little brighter and mine that much more exhilarating. That's all.