Second Day of School (almost like a first day)

Since all of my school days begin at 10:45 in the morning, I get to pretty much have a relaxing morning. ^_^ At least, for the while that I don't have too much homework or tests coming up...

I watched a little tv while doing some computer then Naomi dropped Maki and I off to our first class which was History 151. And what can I say; I think this may be one of my favorite classes! I know I'm being a little premature in my opinion but so far, my history teacher, Brian Cassity, seems like a terrific teacher! He has a PHD and he said that in his fourteen years of studying, he's had all straight A's, meaning his GPA is 4.0! Mind boggling, isn't it? He was telling this because he also said that he was the worst student during his high school years, almost getting kicked out on several occasions. :P He gave us a wonderful lecture on what this class is going to be about, and what he expects from us as his students. All in all, I thought that the time flew by because his talk was easy to listen to and easy to understand.

We finished exactly on time (noon) and we got to leave class without any homework. ^_^ Hurray! Naomi picked Maki and me up and we went hoe for lunch. Ham sandwichs, yum! Sandwiches are the best when you can have cucumbers in them...

Naomi left right after lunch to take Maki to the campus (she needed to check with our math teacher about getting registered into his class) and then afterwards pick Erin up from her internship. I was left at home until Naomi came back and took me to campus for my ASL class (which I'm taking with Naomi. ^_^)

ASL classes are usually three times a week but because our ASL classes are only twice a week, they're a bit longer than the usual class (a little over two hours). Our teacher is a deaf woman and is an excellent teacher. She made everyone feel very comfortable and had every single person participate. There were maybe about twenty people in the room and we had to remember everyone's name so that we could sign and greet each other. ^_^ Whew, it's good that I know a little ASL so that I could keep up! The girl sitting next to me, Lori, couldn't understand some bits so I helped her a bit; hopefully we'll get to know each other over this semester since she seems like a really nice girl.

As I said, it was a very 'class participation' type of class. We all had to go up front and 'say' our names and afterwards did many 'visual' exercises. For example, she'll have us go up front and will sign for us to draw or write something on the board. We had to figure out on our own what it was that she was signing. Actually, everyone is pretty 'sharp' in my class and caught on fairly quickly. Most everyone looked like they were really enjoying themselves and since it's such a 'fun' class, I'm hoping this is a class where I can make some friends.

Got home and as soon as I sat down at the computer the kids at church in Japan called on chat. ^_^ I must honestly say that I was so proud of them when I saw them do I Will Worship and Open the Eyes without any obvious mistakes! I seriously didn't have to say anything, only a few suggestions here and there. We worked mostly on Hear Our Praises which is a bit more tricky because there is more dance and movement involved, especially with the crates incorporated in the dance. We went through the whole dance and after we had decided on everything, there really wasn't much more I could really teach! Honestly, everyone is doing exceptionally well (though I admit I don't say too much how exceptionally good they are during practice since it might get to their heads... :P). Still, they'll need lots of ractice, practice, practice! Only song left to re-choreograph is We Go Together but I'm trying to let Maria handle most of the chances since she's being doing very well so far. Good luck everyone, continue in the good work!

Naomi made a delicious dinner of a potato dish and chicken drumsticks (when I heard just the word drumsticks, I just stared at Naomi for a few seconds until I realized what she meant. :P) lol!

After dinner, I got to talk with Aunt Jean on the phone to tell her how the past few days have been. She was really happy to hear that I'm 'surviving' (^_^) the first few days of college. When that was over, I began doing my ballet homework which was to read a chapter in my book on the history of ballet. It's actually fascinating how the forms of ballet came to be. Oh, and when the book began telling about the history in the 20th century, there was quite a few mentions of Mikhail Baryshnikov! Sigh... no wonder he's considered one of the best ballet dancers in the world and one of the highest jumpers in the ballet world (see picture). All I can say is... wow. For ballet class I have to watch a full length ballet and write a paper on it. I can decided which ballet to watch though I'm definitely seeing something with Baryshnikov in it. Perhaps Don Quixote or Carmen. Must decided soon...

I relaxed and watched a few episodes of L&O before getting ready for bed. I might go through my ballet book a little bit before actually going to bed. Some of the French terms are hard to get so I need to review a bit. Well, good night! I'm a bit nervous about handing in my homework for English and Math; hopefully I did well. :S

Before I close this off, here's a picture of Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, best EADA in tv history. ^_^