What I L.O.V.E.

The last few weeks I have become increasingly aware of my love for certain things. Living a whole sea away from everything that I know has heightened my awareness of the things I truly love. As I laid in bed on Valentines Eve, I couldn't help but think about all the things I love. So I thought today would be a perfect day to share some of the things I love. Some are truly insightful and others are little things that make me smile. But at the end of the day, I would say I love them all.

1. First and foremost is my family. I just got off a skype call with my parents and probably ten minutes of the hour was me professing my profound love for them. I know I am the person I am today because of the loving family I grew up in. I am one of the rare children in our society that has my two biological parents as the head of my household. I was one of the rare children that had household chores and curfews growing up. Sometimes I resented them for the restrictions I felt they were putting on my freedom, but as I have matured over the years I am grateful for the chores and curfews. I know that even though I was one of the few kids who had chores everyday and couldn't go out every weekend because I had farm responsibilities, I also know I am one of the few who has utmost respect for others, knows what true responsibility means, and has learned by example what it means to put others first. I would never trade all the things I have learned from my family for anything. I know things can be replaced, but my family could NEVER be replaced. They are safely secured at the core of my heart and if anything happened to anyone of them I would be devastated.

2. Secondly of course, is my friends. Being many miles away and in a time zone 6 hours different than all my friends has already been an interesting experience. I have learned who wants to make the effort to still be an integral part of my life even if only through stories and who might think about me once a week. I have learned how much I want to be physically present with some of my friends when they skype or email me with upsetting or glorious news. But by not being able to be there physically, I have also learned how to help others celebrate or cope via the technology our generation is blessed to have. One thing I greatly miss is the ability to send a text or call someone when I think of them. Many times throughout the day I wish I could tell one of my friends about an experience I am having or something I just saw on the street. But I am still very fortunate to have other avenues of talking to my friends. So for all of you who haven't gotten skype yet to talk to me, I know who you are and want you to get it ASAP so I can tell you when I have a daily reminder of you! So get it and leave it on whenever you are there!

3. Certain American Foods. Probably the thing I am most excited about is coming home during sweet corn season. I can not wait to eat through my fair share of cobs this summer. I also miss premixed boxes. For those of you who have not been in a grocery store in a foreign country, you will be amazed by how few pre-made things there are. To give you a good visual, I want you to walk down the brownie aisle the next time you are in the store and count how many different brands and varieties of brownies there are. Now imagine one box, I almost didn't see it when I went in search of a brownie mix to satisfy my craving. There was one variety of Betty Crocker brownies wedged between the one cake mix and four muffin mixes. And to add to the visual imagine them all being 3 times as much as they are now. My brownie mix cost 2 pounds which is as much as the shrimp or chicken in the store! That is outrageous for a brownie mix.. but I still got it. haha I also couldn't finish this paragraph without adding a sentence or two about my favorite food in the world. My skippy double chunky reduced fat peanut butter. Now that is something I will miss in Ireland.. after the two cans I brought with me are gone.. haha But that might be soon since I am already almost through one.. So, if anyone is thinking of sending me a care package make sure to include my favorite peanut butter!

4. The rush of love I feel when I breathe in deeply and look around Coe's campus. I absolutely love Coe and miss walking out into the quad and seeing the gorgeous brick buildings that I have made so many memories in. I have always loved walking around Coe's campus and will definitely love to set foot on it again.

5. The love and sense of comfort I feel when I see all the stars shining brightly on my farm at night. I have always loved getting home and walking inside while starring at the stars. There is a feeling of belonging you get when you see so many bright beacons of hope shining back at you.

So these are 5 of the things that I love on this Valentines Day and I encourage you all to do some soul searching and come up with a list of 5 of your own. And I feel Shakespeare sums my post up quite well when he said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." I love you all and wish you a fantastic Valentines Day.

My First Few Steps!

I feel like I took the first steps towards becoming a Belfastinian today. And for all of you wondering, yes.. I did coin that term. It reminds me a little of the sense of belonging I feel when I say I am a true Cedar Rapidian. I have lived there almost 3 years now and it took me far too long to go out and explore the city. It wasn't until I lived there this summer that I could say with conviction that I could get you almost anywhere in the city. So for all of you in a new place of residence, I advise you to go for a walk with only a slight idea of where you want to go. You will not only learn more about the city, but you'll also learn more about yourself in the process.

Today, I did just that. I spent it taking "walks" to wherever I had to go. The wandering started when I found myself sitting in the wrong classroom. Regardless of the confusingly numbered rooms, I was sitting in the right room as far as my syllabus was concerned but it wasn't the right course being taught. So I went to the classroom it had been taught in yesterday, but that wasn't the right class either so I had no clue where it would be and decided to walk around. In that walk I found many things. I found myself in a greenhouse in the middle of the Botanic Gardens. I found my first playground, which is one of my favorite past times as all my Coe friends know. Kory, parks always remind me of that day we went to the elementary school by Coe and tried to name off all the states on that huge map. hahaha I also found many things named Boyle, which reminded me of Billy! Billy you would LOVE it here, and I'm sure you'll visit Ireland someday. They might think you are a native since you're last name is so common. ;)

Besides my walking I also did a bit of running today. I got my membership for the local gym. It will definitely be a good investment, helping me work off the Guinness and huge floor dinners. In the last week, my floor in Grant house has made two communal dinners. The dinners have been one of my favorite interactions since I've been here. There is about 15-20 of us that get together and all make a dish for the floor to share. It is really nice to sit down with such a big group and enjoy dishes that are new to me. I have always been good at baking, but one of my goals for this semester is to become a better cook and I am already taking my first steps in that direction.

Another one of my goals this semester is to become more worldly educated. I get so caught up in my studies at school that I don't make time for what is going on in the rest of the world. Living in such a culturally diverse community, I have to be up on the latest happenings all over the world so I can be in on the conversation. I have already found myself googling topics so that I can become more educated about them. I hope to come back to Iowa with a greater understanding of other cultures and with a greater knowledge as to what is currently happening around the world.