Here we go!

We've finally made it - the last week of classes. It has taken a long time to arrive, but in hindsight, it seems like nothing. I've also received some good news about my finals schedule. Originally I was planning to have three finals on Saturday (the first day of finals) and one on Wednesday, but some recent changes have lightened my load substantially. Now, I only have two on Saturday, and am free. Well, not entirely; I still have a paper I must finish and submit by Wednesday, but I will get the bulk of my work done early and be able to relax while everyone else is stressing. Sure, I feel a little spoiled, but I do not think that my two finals on Saturday will be walks in the park. My chemistry exam is comprehensive over the entire year (not to mention it is at 8 am!) and my botany exam requires me knowing over 20 different plant families and their respective attributes. It will still involve a lot of studying, but I am glad to have a few days free before moving on to the next thing.

 

I am getting excited for summer, once again. I have my wilderness first aid course for 9 days in Iowa City and then am home for about a week before I head out to Colorado again to work as a whitewater rafting guide for the summer. I hope to do some training on the class V river, which, for those of you who do not know, is very intense - the hardest class run commercially. I am a bit nervous about leaving town again, trying some new things, and missing some folks back home, but I think it is good for all of us to step outside of our bubble for a while and see something different. I hope to be refreshed again upon my return and ready to start an even bigger adventure.

 

I must run to botany now - time to memorize all those families. I hope you are all having a great spring day; it is beautiful here in Decorah, so I plan to enjoy it as much as possible. Take care, everyone.

 

Peace,

Collin

One Down, Three to Go

It has been a pretty hectic week, especially these last few days. Things are starting to pile up as finals grow ever nearer. I've been struggling to finish a couple papers, study for a lab exam, get some hours at work, and finding some time for myself, as well. College is all about time management. Unfortunately, I am not that great at it.

 

This past week was pretty typical. The normal schedule of classes and homework. However, I have rediscovered my addiction to mountain biking over the last couple weeks. It has been pretty warm and sunny, apart from a couple overcast days, and it has gotten me out on the trails once again. It had been a while since I had spent any significant time riding off-road, but it only took one good ride and I was hooked again. I have been trying to fit in some rides between work and school, but I wish I could devote more time to it. I may have mentioned before, but Decorah is a great spot for all types of riding. If you are interested in biking, you should check out the website www.bikedecorah.com. It's got all sorts of information about the local trails and road rides. It is also a good resource for hikers since it has electronic versions of the local trail maps.

 

This weekend was pretty fun. I went to a couple musical performances on campus, both put on by student groups. I spent some quality time outdoors, putting off homework, which was a bad idea because the weekend ended with a beautiful Sunday, which I spent inside writing an ethical analysis of climate policy options for my Paideia Capstone class. It was a bit rough.

 

Today was pretty tough, too. I spent most of the day studying for a chemistry lab practical that I just took tonight. It was a comprehensive lab exam that covered information from the entire year. Needless to say, it was pretty brutal. We shall see how that turns out. But I can now check one final off the list, only three more to worry about.

 

If you are a student, hang in there, we are almost done. If you are something else, I hope you are enjoying springtime and the blooming of the wildflowers. Go outside and enjoy it.

 

Peace,

Collin

The Numbers Just Don't Add Up!

Hello all, I am starting to feel it. The slow, steady creeping feeling that can only mean one thing. Finals and the end of the year are lurking just around the corner. Yes, we still have a couple weeks of classes left, but that doesn't mean that there is still time to relax. It hit me last night at chemistry lab when we were reminded that next Monday is our lab exam, and shortly after that we have all the others. These last few weeks are really strange in that they make up a small portion of the semester, but they represent up to 40% of the class grade sometimes. Math can be tricky, but this seems a bit odd!

 

In all honesty, I have a bit of trouble stressing out about schoolwork. Some would envy me for this "problem," but it can be a curse at times. I tend to procrastinate because I don't have that nagging feeling to get me going. So we'll have to see how these next few weeks go; stress may be mandatory. 

 

On Sunday we filmed the commercial footage I mentioned last week. I had so much fun dancing with all the other folks and doing a little acting as well. They gave us all free pizza, which got everyone excited, and those in charge seemed to be genuinely pleased with how it all turned out. So in the next couple weeks, watch for a link, I'll be sure to post it up here.

 

I mentioned earlier how I tend to procrastinate; here is proof. Not only is this blog late, but I also have to write a 5-page paper that is due tomorrow, which I have not even started thinking about yet. So I guess I had better get on that. I hope you all have a great week and wish me luck with these upcoming challenges.

 

Peace,

Collin

Sore Feet

Hello all. I'm sorry, I guess it has been a while since I updated the ol' blog. So here we go.

 

Easter break was great. I spent time some quality time with my family. I saw my sister kick some major butt in tennis, my older brother was back in town, and we visited my grandparents for the Easter holiday. It was short, but sweet.

 

This week has gone by pretty quickly. There has been a lot to do. I have fallen behind in my readings a little bit, so I am playing catch-up. There was also a paper due for my Paideia Capstone class. It was a rather frustrating undertaking. I was having trouble gaining momentum when I started, so I ended up scrapping it twice and rewriting it. But I finally finished it and it was a relief to turn it in.

 

It is hard to believe, but we only have a few more weeks before finals are upon us. It is very exciting because that means summer is almost here, but it is a little unnerving as well, considering there is still much to do before I even think about finals. In addition to the stress of finals I have to keep in mind that I must move out and leave town early for a Wilderness First Responder (wilderness first aid) class I am taking in Iowa City at the end of May. So I will have my plate very full for the next few weeks. But that's what it always is like, and that's okay by me.

 

This weekend was pretty fun. On Friday, SAC Diversity, one of the branches of the Student Activities Council, brought in an Irish band called An Dochas. The music was really lively and fun, just like most Irish music. They played amazing instruments, too, including a set of Irish bagpipes, which was the highlight of the evening for me.

 

Last night we had a celebration for four of our friends who had April birthdays. We cooked a bunch of food, danced like mad, and just enjoyed each others' company. The four birthday girls were international students, and the international students tend to be some of the best cooks on campus so I ate way too much, but it was all very enjoyable. 

 

Today was also a very interesting day. The photo bureau on campus is putting together a Luther commercial that I agreed to be part of. It involves a lot of dancing and music, so today we had a four hour practice during which I learned some sweet dance moves. I was a little nervous going in because I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had fun the entire time through learning dance steps that the dance groups on campus had prepared. I am not going to give too much away about the commercial, but when it is done, I hope to put a link to it on here so I can share it with all of you. 

 

That is about all that has happened over the last week or so. I hope you are all doing very well and I will talk to you soon!

 

Peace,

Collin

Dancing, singing, and bowls.

It is cold and snowy in Decorah, which is good because there was and still is much to do this weekend, and it would be hard to finish everything this weekend carried if I were to be distracted by warm, sunny weather. And, boy, has it been a busy week and especially weekend.

 

I had a chemistry exam on Friday that involved some preparation, but the rest of the school week was pretty normal in terms of workload. This next week is going to be a little different. I am finishing up a lab report for chemistry lab, I have a couple of papers that will need to get written, another paper I must plan for and start researching, and I get to top it all off with a hefty botany exam on Thursday. Wish me luck!

 

However, there have been a lot of positive things happening this weekend. On Friday, I went to the final Center Stage Series concert in the Center of Faith and Life. It was the New Zealand String Quartet and Richard Nuuns. I had seen the quartet while living in Dunedin, New Zealand, so it was a nostalgic experience for me. They are fantastic musicians, and this time they performed with Richard Nuuns, who is an expert in traditional Maori (New Zealand native) instruments. It was fascinating and very entertaining. Saturday was a busy day. I went to my friend's junior vocal recital, and was amazed by his talent. There are so many good singers and musicians at Luther. I have a hard time keeping up. After that, I went to a performance done by a group of guys from Guatemala and Mexico. In May, there was a large immigration raid in Postville, Iowa, which is only a stone's throw from here. It was a very chaotic, painful, and in my opinion, poorly handled occurrence. These guys decided to tell their story in a play form in order to explain to people the terrible things they had to live through and hopefully shed some light on the crooked immigration policies in our country. It was very eye-opening. I have spent a bit of time with a few of the guys who performed, so I had a vague background of their stories, but it was shocking to hear it in its entirety. They are truly amazing individuals.

 

Saturday night was a little less heavy. It was the first Highlandville folk dance of the season. Each month, a great band called Footnotes performs in a small schoolhouse in a town called Highlandville which is about 15 miles north of Decorah. They play folk music and we all dance waltzes, polkas, two-steps and others until our legs are too tired to hold us any more. I have been going to these events consistently for the past few years and it seems to have transformed more into a gathering of younger people. There were lots of Luther students, as well as Decorah High School students. It was such a great time dancing and having fun with all those wonderful people. I cannot wait for the next one.

 

Finally, today is going to be another busy day. Another couple of my buddies have their junior recital, so I will undoubtedly go to that. Pretty soon here I am going to head over to the Center for the Arts for an event called Empty Bowls. It is a fundraiser for a couple agencies dealing with world hunger. Potters from around the area come together to make hundreds of bowls to sell for $20 dollars, which goes on to these organizations. Local restaurants donate soup and bread to fill those bowls. So it is a meal that goes toward a good cause. I have gone the last two years, and the soup and craft are amazing. There is music, good company, and a pleasant atmosphere. It is incredible what people do with their talents. 

 

So that is what my life has been like for the last few days. Hopefully this next week will be as enjoyable as the last. I wish you all the best. If you are getting snow, keep warm. If you are getting sun, send it our way. Take care.

 

Peace,

Collin

Spring Break

Hello everyone. It has been a great week for me, mostly because of the brief break from school, and all the adventures that came with my time off.

 

As I mentioned before break, we were planning on heading out to Aspen, Colorado to enjoy some spring skiing. This was a trip that I helped organize as part of my duties as a leader of Luther's Backyard Wilderness Pursuits. We left on Saturday at 5:30 am, drove all day long and arrived in Aspen around 10:30 that night. It was a long haul, but definitely worth it. The next three days we skied Snowmass and Aspen Highlands enjoying 4" of snow on the second day and a whopping 13" on the final day. We then made the long journey home.

 

We had a group of 15 fun, easy-going students come along. It was really great getting to know some new people and learning more about friends and acquaintances. On top of that, one of my best friends from Durango, Colorado (where I worked this summer) came to snowboard with me the last day. It was fantastic seeing her again, and she was lucky enough to come when the powder was perfect. We were fantasizing about the upcoming summer and the time on the river we are aching for already. 

 

This break was unique in that I got the opportunity to help create an opportunity for students to do something a little out of the ordinary (being from Iowa) and also to see it come alive. It is really neat how Luther provides so many opportunities not only to take part in activities such as this, but also help make them available to others. It gave me a sense of responsibility for the fun other students were having, and it made it even better that I could enjoy it with them. 

 

I hope that spring time is welcomed by all of you. And I apologize if you did not have any time off this last week and I am tempting or teasing you by describing the fun I have had. I am sure your time will come. Have a great week everyone, and I will talk to you soon.

Peace,

Collin

Spring is here

Hello everyone, I hope I find you in good health and spirits. It is warming up here in Decorah, and the warmth brings a few things. First, all the people that had been hiding away inside their warm dorm rooms are coming out to enjoy the fresh spring air. Bikes are now out of winter storage, people are tossing frisbees again, and I finally got to set up my slackline again! In addition to the outward migration, spring is a sign of something many people are excited for: Spring Break.

 

In just a few short days, students will be heading away for a whole week of relaxation. Some are heading home to spend time with friends and families, whereas others are taking trips to places far away from home. There are student groups heading to Georgia, The Dominican Republic, Louisiana, Mississippi, and of course, Colorado. Like I mentioned before, I will be heading out to do some spring snowboarding in Aspen, Colorado, and could not be more excited to do so. However, there is still much to get done before break. 

 

This week before break is also a time of midterms, which is surprising in itself. It does not feel as though the semester should be half over already. But it is here and with it comes last minute cramming and stress due to procrastination, lack of attention, or any other not-so-honorable practice. However, I seem to have it pretty easy this time around. I have only one midterm because my three other classes are either not requiring a big test, or we have already had some sort of exam to cover this requirement. 

 

I do, however, have to aid in working out any last-minute details for our BWP trip. Because I am one of the leaders taking this group out to Colorado, I must help organize the hotel stays, the lift tickets, and the transportation, not to mention the funding. Most of this has already been taken care of, it is just a matter of tying all loose ends up before departing on Saturday.

 

The next time we speak, I will hopefully have some good news about our break and some pictures to illustrate the fun had. I hope this fine weather is making you all feel refreshed and I urge you to spend time outside. Reintroduce yourself to nature.

 

Peace,

Collin

 

p.s. There was a speaker by the name of David Abram who came to Luther on Thursday night. He prepared an amazing presentation about how humans are becoming disconnected to the natural world and no longer see ourselves as part of it. It was really fascinating and inspiring. So I hope you all will do some research on him and the Alliance for Wild Ethics, and take his advice to reconnect with nature (you've got a lot in common:)).