Willow Finds...

Alrighty then. This is a follow up to Willow Wonders. I did end up finding an idea for my other pins. Here it is.

I ended up taking the picture of the crossed flags off the internet, cropping it into an oval, and then adding the words using Google Drawing. Then, I printed them out on card-stock, laminated the page, and cut them out. They were supposed to be ovals, but things happen. Finally, I hot glued a pin-back to the other side. They turned out pretty cool. And they were fairly easy to make. 

As far as games as presents went, I did end up buying Pit. I also bought this smaller, cheaper version of Dixit called Dixit Jinx. 

It seems like it will be good. I think I will give them to my host families later in my stay, so I need something to give them when I get there. Maybe candy? But I have to see what I can bring on the plane. Something local/regional would be cool. But I don't know what. Oh well. I'll figure it out later.

Chicken.

So Dudes. I was at The University of Notre Dame this week for a campy-thing. It is through Upward Bound which is this one after school program that I do. The main purpose is to get a credit for some class (in my case US government) while getting a taste (sort-a) of college life. It's pretty fun. The only problem is that I don't really get sleep, and I have to secretly write blog posts on the phone-that-I-am-not-supposed-to-have. (shh). But otherwise it's great! My government teacher is awesome, we get to eat at the dining hall, sleep in the dorms, and... what? How does this have anything to do with RYE? Oh, well sorry. I was getting to that. I'm also taking Spanish as my extra class. Even though it's not for a credit, it's really great that I am taking it because it reminds me of all the things I have forgot, I learn new words, and I can practice my accent! Because I stay there overnight, it's kind-a, sort-a, maybe practice for my exchange? At any rate, its a good time to practice my meditation techniques and imagine what life will be like next year. Oh my gosh! I guess it's not really next year is it. It's more like two weeks!! Anyway... it is also incomprehensibly nice to only have to worry about normal teenager things. Like what to wear, doing homework, gossiping, and hanging out with friends, instead of the constant "how am I going to do all of this STUFF and stay sane!!!". You may by now be wondering why the title is Chicken? And your answer is, for absolutely no reason. So there you go.

This is my dorm at ND.

#LifeLessons For Real

There are two things that I have learned so far.

1. Patience and Work will take you far.
2. Have an open mind and low expectations, and everything that happens after that will be great! :-)

It may not look like much to show for a year of work, but it's more than you think.

Calvin College etc.

I'm really, really glad that I went to the Calvin conference. Not only did I get to meet and bond with a ton of super cool people, but it also helped to remind me of why I chose Rotary. Before I went, I didn't really want to do anymore. I wanted what was safe and comfortable, and couldn't think of any good reasons how doing so much paperwork could ever be worth it. Now I am pumped again. I realized how great a time everyone has, how it changes your life, and why I want to be a member of the awesomeness.
     I have come to realize that many of the best things are like this, because you can't just fall into them. Like running. When I go to practice now, I feel great, but when I first started, it felt like hell. You have to work for the joy, but when you find it, it's the best kind.

Pictures:
-The variety show cast. (They did a really great job!)
-The Brazil vs. The world soccer game (the world won! :-) )
-Rotary!!!

Calvin College Conference- Day 1

So this is the big woo-hoo, The mother is all conferences, the thing we've been waiting for since we turned in our applications, and I just can't believe that it's here already!!
The inbounds that I have come to know and love will be leaving next week! So this is the last time that I will see them! It is also the last time that I will see the other outbounds, at least for a whole year. They have helped me to get through so much! They have showed me that I'm not alone in the struggles I face almost daily. I hope I can keep in touch with them throughout next year, because I think I will need some mental support from people going through the same things as me.
This conference is so good, and has taught me a lot. But, I'm really tired, so I'll post more tomorrow.

"Don't let the hippos eat your tomatoes."

S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G

Let's do a cheer! S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G {Yay}

I know it's really girly, but I actually really like shopping. The best part is, that it is an essential part of preparing for RYE, or "your year" as it is called in the bis, since, you have to be in love with the clothes you take.  So far, I have purchased the following:

1. Cute, billowy shorts that are supper comfy! Worst comes to worst, I can just wear them as pajama shorts. 
2. Knee-length gray caprices with a little room to... let's use the word "grow".
3. A pair of super comfy and cute Levis.
4. Underwear. {he he} a necessity
5. A PJ set for when its hot. Also super comfy and not too cute. ;-)
6. and finally... drum-role please... a super-wonderfully amazing camera! It's a far better camera than I ever thought that I would buy, since I am not currently much of the photographer, but I'm glad I got it. It has Wifi, a USB cable/charger, and like ten-million modes. Plus you can take it in up to 50 ft of water, and drop it from up to 7 feet!!!! (Which is the really cool part)

Don't you worry. I'm totally in love with all of it. <3

The Big, The Bad, and The Beautiful

I had this really long research paper to do on Chile. The point was to get me to learn more about Chile, and to eliminate some of my fear through this. Both of these goals were accomplished! Sounds great... right? It would have been fantastic, except that I kind-a put it all off until the last minute. So, it was reeaally awful. I have spent the last 3 days working on it, and did nothing else. I know that this was not a good strategy, but... the days got away from me and before I knew it, the project was due! If you have this same project, do not do what I did. Set aside time every day to work on it. It may seem like a lot at the time, but trust me, it's so much better than doing it all the last minute.

On a lighter note, If you would like to read as much (or more) about Chile as you ever wanted to know , I can email you my amazing project! However, I cannot post it here, because it is 35 pages long {someone just whistled}. However, I can give you a sneak preview. 

If you are doing this project, I know what you are thinking, and that my friend, is called plagiarism. Seriously though, you can ask me as many questions on it as you want.