Settling in

This week has been a total whirlwind! So many things have happened. Let's start with the best news...I'm officially done with internship interviews! Woohoo!! I did my last one on friday. So now I have to figure out how I am going to rank the sites I interviewed with. Rankings are supposed to be submitted in early february and then we get matched later that month...I think. I'm not positive on the exacty dates (probably should figure that out, eh? :) ). Anyway, so I kind of just wait to see what (and where) next year will bring. Now that interviews are done, I need to get focused back on dissertation stuff. I'm hoping to complete it and defend during the spring when I am back in Provo taking my last class. So that's the word on the school pressures.

As far as work at BYU-H, things are going much much better. I am really busy, but it is very familiar and settling to have clients again. I never have two clients in a row that are from the same place, have the same cultural background, or even speak the same native tongue. That has been fascinating and really challenging. It makes appropriately administering and interpreting assessments pretty tricky. The classes I am teaching are great. I totally love teaching! I've been learning a lot of new things as the sole teacher and the only one responsible to make sure we cover everything, get grades in, and influence the kind of experience my students have in class. I can totally see more teaching, of some sort, in the future.

Ok, now for the fun activities of the week! I was in charge of the activity at Family Home Evening, for our ward, on monday night. So I decided that they needed to learn to play dip-dip-dip. A classic game that everyone should know (and love!). It was hilarious to watch everyone play! Different levels of understanding, competitiveness, and humor made for some interesting dynamics. Everyone seemed to enjoy it though. Then tuesday was basketball. We had a ton of people but it ended up being pretty good ball (well...you know...as far as church ball goes) and fun. Wednesday we had a game night at my place with 7 or 8 friends from the ward. That went well and people just stayed around and talked for several hours...everyone probably took off a little after 11pm. Thursday was Institute (which is good and frustrating...more on that later...maybe). Then Friday hung out with a friend from the ward. We were planning to have a movie night, but we never got to the movie. Just spent several hours "talking story" as she like to call it. Then Saturday, I headed to the swap meet with a couple people. I had actually never been to a swap meet before. This place was about an hour away from Laie and it reminded me of the markets in Cambodia...only cleaner and more expensive. But it was a really fun place! And I bought a cool Hawaii visor for $5. Can't beat that! So we just spent a lot of time driving that morning. The weather was fantastic and the drive along the coast was gorgeous! It was a perfect day to just get to know some different parts of the island. When we got back into town, I went to the women's and men's basketball games. They both won and played really well (games worth watching).
Then this morning, we had a breakfast. Our ward doesn't meet until 2pm so we have a lot of time in the morning. About 6 of us gathered at my apartment and I introduced them to the deliciousness of Norweigan pancakes (I highly recommend them to those of you who have never had them), and our friend Sina made a corned-beef hash with tomatoes to put over rice. It was an excellent breakfast (if I do say so myself! :) ) and we just hung-out and talked for a few hours. It was really fun! We swapped stories about our favorite games (such as mafia, ulitimate red-light green-light, and smash 'em!), accidents and injuries we've had, music interests, hobbies, and anything else that came to our minds! I have met some pretty cool people here so far. Her are some more pictures of our breakfast activity (and my little studio apartment).


This has been a very exciting week for me because I have been learning so much and have had many opportunities to do fun new things. I'm grateful to be making some interesting and good friends. Next week we have a holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) and a training retreat for the counseling center. So it promises to be a busy week, but I'm feeling a lot more adjusted and happy to be here. I'm even going to (hopefully...cross your fingers for me) start working on my surfing skills tomorrow morning, with a new friend who has graciously agreed to help me learn (she probably has no idea what she is getting herself into!)!
Thanks for all your interest, love, and support! It is great to hear what is going on in your lives, so anytime you have a minute give me a call or send an email. I hope things are going well for you too!