November Stuff

A couple of items of interest.

1. I TURNED 21!! On november 12th I became legal! Haha, now would anyone like to share a glass of wine with me?


2. Ryan came out to visit for my birthday, I took him on a surprise trip to Philadelphia! Which was a lot of fun because neither of us have really ever spent any time there. It is only about 2 hours away from here so we just took the train up and stayed for one night. We visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute (science museum) and we also saw the liberty bell. It was pretty neat. We also visited his cousin who goes to University of Pennsylvania. It was really nice spending time with my darling.



3. The Syrens Concert was last Friday! I think it went over pretty well. I had two solos this semester. I sang "So Complicated" By Carolyn Dawn Johnson and also "Mother, We just can't get enough" by the New Radicals. If i can ever figure out how to put up vidoes on here, i will. Because I know there is a way!!

4. This weekend my good friend Ashley is visiting Dickinson. She transferred out of Dickinson last year, and so it is so wonderful to have her back here. It just feels so natural for her to be here with us all! So we have a lot of really fun things planned for the weekend!


5. I get to go home for thanksgiving THIS TUESDAY!! I cannot wait. I haven't seen my mom since August 8th, that means I haven't seen her in three and half months. So i am really looking forward to it! Also, even though my dad is living in Arizona this winter, he is coming home for the holiday as well! And of course, all of my friends will be home! So i am so excited about the week ahead of me.

Top List of Things I am Excited About

1. Driving My Car
2. Sleeping in my own bed
3. Showering in my own shower, without shower shoes
4. Eating at all of my fav restaurants
5. Getting to talk with my family, face to face, instead of over the phone
6. Have days where there is NOTHING i HAVE to do!

I hope that you are enjoying this late november, it snowed for the first time here!! So wherever you are, hope you are enjoying the weather.. ( Dad - i know it is 90 and sunny where you are, so dont even try to rub it in! :)

Sending All of My Love,

Vanessa.

Announcement!

Hello Blog Readers,

For those of you who do not yet know, I will be spending next semester overseas studying in Valparaiso, Chile!!

I just received the final acceptance letter from CIEE (the organization I studying abroad through). SO I will be starting my trip in February, flying to Santiago to meet up with the 30 other kids from around the world that will be studying in Chile with me. Then we will take a bus to Viña del Mar, Chile, which is the suburb next to Valparaiso.

I will be living with a host family in Viña del Mar, I don't know who they are yet, but I can already guess how amazing they are going to be! I will be taking four classes - two of which will be with only CIEE students and a CIEE professor. The other two classes, I will enroll in the local university called Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso. These classes will be with other Chileans, studying whichever topics I am interested in! All of my classes will be taught in Spanish, and all of the people I encounter will speak spanish. What an excellent opportunity!

Here are some images I have found of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar






Can't wait for this amazing opportunity! Don't worry - I will be updating this blog often while I am there, so you can hear about my stories!

A lot of love and exciting adventures,

Vanessa

YES WE CAN!

" Now, I know that the easiest thing in the world is for young people to do nothing at all. To turn off the TV, put down the newspaper, and walk away from the stories about Iraq and Darfur or the rising levels of joblessness and the hopelessness in our communities. To go about their busy lives, wishing these problems away, expecting someone else to solve them. To remain detached and indifferent. But I hope they don't do what is easy -- because sometimes, there are moments when what's truly risky is not to act. What's truly risky is to accept things as they are instead of working for what could be."

- Our Next President, Barack Obama

I am so inspired by this man. He gives me hope for good in the world, for the power of the people to make the changes they wish to see and most importantly hope in my own life. I don't care who you voted for, or what you believe.. but how can you not believe in yourself?? You are capable... now get out there and make a change!

City of my Smiles

Hello Blog Readers! My dad and sherry just left here to fly on back to Phoenix, Arizona. We had a really wonderful weekend together. You wouldn't believe the beautiful fall weather we had here! Sherry took some gorgeous photos of the trees and the views we saw, once she sends a couple to me I will put them up on here! It was so nice to have a little slice of home here, it's been a pretty rough year and so it is nice being with people I love.

On a homesick note, my friend Juan is an amazing photographer and took this photos on Minneapolis, down by the stone arch bridge. I was happy to see just another little touch of home!

Look at these!




So beautiful! Well, off to dig in on some homework for the week. I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Sending love,

Vanessa.