a freshman once more

Today is Wednesday. Today, I only have one short class. Today, (joy of joys) it is sunny. I really don't mind cool rainy days (and there have been a few lately), but they eventually do get to you. Not only is there a psychological reaction to sunlight, something about not getting a certain vitamin from the sunlight gets you down, I guess. Everyone here recommends a tanning session or two during the winter to get some of that vitamin and keep your moods up a little. We'll see.

Actually though, I have no desire to write about tanning beds. I was going to say that today is sunny and beautiful, so I decided to do my homework outside. I curled up on a bench next to a fountain and contentedly read my history textbook. I have to get through the first 46 pages by Friday morning. So I sat and basked in the sunlight and read. Of course there was the random fruit loop who casually strolled to the other side of the fountain and suddenly was kind enough to direct some of the splashing water my direction.

Boys!

I wound up greeting everyone who walked past as well. It may not be the most effective way of getting homework done, but I really do feel better about the sunny, social method than the cozy, isolated dorm room method. Anyway, I was sitting there, pondering Henry Hudson and Sir Walter Raleigh, when a voice from above me asked, "are you bszhi?" I looked up. "Am I what?" It was one of our Korean students. After several attempts, I finally answered that of course I wasn't busy. He sat down and thumbed through a small, bright pink book. He stopped on a certain page, then carefully asked me what kind of books I liked to read. We made it through that conversation starter eventually, with lots of hand gestures and funny faces. Whenever there was a lull in conversation, he turned excitedly back to his book. It was a handy little thing, full of various useful English phrases in both English and Korean. At least he didn't start with the phrase, "you are getting quite heavy" or, "are you out of your mind?" or, "only a haircut, please." There were some entertaining phrases in that little book.

We talked about a great deal of things, making it through most of the difficult parts with a smattering of Korean and related English words, and lots of gestures. Finally we were stumped on the word Frisbee. I said it several times, spelled it, described it, and acted it out. Nothing worked. So I dashed to my room for the best supplement I could find. When I came back out his face lit up. "A Frisbee!" It was so cute. So a couple Korean students and I played with my Frisbee for a while. One of my favorite parts of our conversations was the nod and smile. You know the one. It is the universal indication of polite bewilderment. The one I would rely on constantly if I was determined enough to learn a difficult foreign language.

Then there are some of the other students on campus. One of my favorite question sequences was this:
"Where are you from?"
"Were you raised on a farm?"
"Have you ever shot an elk?"
"Do you own a cowboy hat?"
"Has anyone you know ever shot an elk?"
"How often do you say, 'yeehaw!'?"
"Have you ever eaten an elk?"
"Where's that?"
The crazies I was talking to obviously know their stuff when it comes to different states.

All that to say, I am enjoying myself here. Classes started on Monday, though we haven't done a lot of real class work yet. All of our classes thus far have been spent in getting to know our 40 other classmates, reviewing our syllabus for each class, and going over the class assignment schedule (which is pretty intense, actually). I am taking 5 classes this semester: Communication II (oral communication), Matthew: The Life of Christ, General Psychology I, US History, and Physical Fitness and Wellness. I have met some very cool people, and my teachers seem to be quite good. Most of my free time is spent at volleyball practices, basketball practices (yes, basketball practices have started already), volleyball games, doing homework, and taking up space around campus (usually the cafeteria area and ping-pong tables). So there you go. =) I couldn't think of anything unique or inspiring to share this week, so you get a little glimpse into my first week of school. Exciting stuff...