After almost a year of not blogging, I stumbled upon xanga again and figured I'd give it another shot. So, here's what I've been up to for the past year, cleverly organized as an alphabet meme (which was a lot harder than I thought it would be).
A is for Arabic, which I am still studying. I’m getting better at it, but it’s a slow process…
B is for our Border collie, Nana. I’m working on finding a new home for her, because we can’t really bring her to Egypt or Russia or France, and she needs some stability. She’s such a sweetie, though, it makes me sad…
C is for Cozy, our 17 year old cat. She’s still alive and healthy.
D is for (It was a) Dark and Stormy Night, the play R did last fall at her community college. She auditioned and got cast as both a singer and an actor.
E is for Egypt, where I am going this summer to continue studying Arabic. I plan to sort of wing it, and see if I can get around with my mad Arabic skillz.
F is for French, which R studied this year at the community college. She also started a French club there, and of course was president.
G is for Growing up, which R definitely is. It’s really cool to watch at times, but it’s also, well, sad sometimes… like she’s not my baby anymore.
H is for House, my new favorite tv show. I feel so mainstream…
I is for Ifrane, Morocco, where I went to study Arabic last summer… great place! Lots of fun! Morocco rocks!
J is for Johns Hopkins CTY, which is sponsoring the French immersion program R is doing this summer, and is also giving us 100% financial aid.
K is for Kirov, Russia, where R. will be living for the 2009-2010 school year, learning Russian and eating bliny.
L is for Languages, our new hobby. If all goes well, in a year I’ll be passable in Arabic and French, and R will be passable in Russian and French. My Spanish is still in there somewhere – I understand it still, but when I try to say something in Spanish it usually comes out mostly in Arabic.
M is for Missouri, where we live now. We’re in St. Louis!
N is for NSLI-Y, the program that awarded R a full scholarship to go to Russia. If you have older kids, get them to apply next year!
O is for Office – I have one now, and I think it’s very cool. Granted it has no window and I share it with two other grad students, but it’s still a good place to escape from the distractions of home.
P is for Paris, where I’ll be studying during the spring semester. I really must start learning French soon.
Q is for Quiet, as in “peace and…”. It’s in short supply here at the moment, but R’s finals week is next week and then things will settle down a bit, insha’allah.
R is for Ray, as in sting ray, one of the many animals R will now touch with her bare hands. She even touched mealworms once… trust me, this is huge.
S is for Shakespeare, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, which R was in this weekend.
T is for Transportation… public transportation, to be specific. St. Louis has light rail and a decent bus system, and my university gives all students a free pass. I love it!
U is for my awesome University, where everyone is supportive and smart and where they keep giving me money to do cool stuff. I am so lucky to be in this doctoral program!
V is for Vegas, where my brother lives now. He just bought a house there, and I’ll probably go out and visit him this winter.
W is for World Aquarium, where R volunteers now. She mostly leads school group tours and spends much of her time being hugged by small children and trying to keep them semi-corralled
X is for X chromosomes, which are still the only kind in our house. Even all of our pets are female. I did have a nice summer romance in Morocco, though…
Y is for yeast bread, which I have so totally mastered. I make up big four-loaf batches at a time and freeze some until needed, and it’s really good bread! I also give away at least one loaf from each batch. I started doing that last fall, as sort of a giving back to the world thing… so many cultures and religions talk about sharing bread, and it seems to be that maybe there’s something to it.
Z is for Zoo – St. Louis has a great one, and it’s free! Come visit us and we’ll take you there.
