Merry Christmas....and I got a NEW camera!!!!

Leisure Life During Exam Week...

Last night we had our Destino end of the year Christmas Party! It was really fun. We ordered pizza and played several rounds of "Christmas Charades". I think we were like 12 people in all.

After the party most of us went to Spice Street (a restaurant) for a night of Salsa dancing! So fun, so fun.

Today I slept late, at brunch, watched some college basketball and football on TV, and ran. My run was AMAZING! I ran for an hour and ten minutes!!! The cool weather is perfect for those long runs. I have not run that long/far in probably 2 months, so my legs are a little tired. Ironically during exam weeks I have lots of extra time because I do not have daily classes...so I have more time for TV and long runs.

Tonight I am having a board-game night with my girls!...fun, fun.

History Paper.....check!

I just finished my FINAL History Paper!!!!! It is 19 1/2 pages LONG. I still have to revise it, but the hard part is done.

I have a cookie decorating party tomorrow night and I just finished baking a ton of cookies. I have red and green sprinkles, icing, etc. We will also be watching the movie ELF to set the holiday mood!

Now that my paper is "done", my week is pretty uneventful. Yay!

Thankful

I have sooo many things to be thankful for this year, so here are a few in NO particular order....

I am thankful for:
-My parents. The older I get the more I realize how blessed I am to have parents that have daily shown me God's grace, encouraged me, supported me, and sacrificed for me.
-my RA position. I love it. I love Syme and I love my girls. God knew what He was doing when I was not hired the first round as an RA and was put in a wait-pool. He knew that the returning RA from last year would decide to give up her spot in Syme over the summer and that I would THEN be selected....on my plans, I would have been selected first round and would be in some other building.
-Salsa Dancing.
-my co-RAs. Even though this year began with a lonely start, God has been faithful to surround me with a consistent group of new friends (most of which are Christian!) to talk with, eat with, and laugh with.
-Destino. I thought Destino's days were over and that maybe it just wasn't meant for NC State's campus. God had other plans and it has become a place for me to truly fellowship and minister.
-God's mercy. I struggle often with the feeling of inadequacy; in school, as a friend, as a daughter, as a servant, as a role-model. And as I try to suffice for my inadequacies I am reminded that I don't have to because of God's mercy given to me.
-Friends/role-models. These two go hand-in-hand. I don't know where I would be without friends that challenge me to grow, without making me feel alone, rejected, or insufficient. For those who pursue me when I don't deserve it, and those that daily show me their love and appreciation for me. They are gifts!
-Zach, who has overcome so many obstacles and has worked so hard to achieve the position he has today. He is a role-model as well.
-Spanish opportunities. God has given me a love for Hispanics and their language and He never ceases to provide ways for me to pursue the love He as given me....Spain, Stoneridge Tavern, Destino, Mi Familia, Honduran friends...
-My grandparents. They have selflessly given to me time and time again. They are the first to support me and to brag about me to all their friends. Their generosity and kindness towards others never ceases to amaze me!
-Missionaries. Those who sacrifice more that some of us will ever understand to serve a God that we all get to benefit from.
-Forgiveness.

this is for you, Caroline...because if I hung it on my room wall you could not see it!

THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM AN EMAIL FROM MY RA CLASS PROFESSORS:

Hi Lara,
We hope you are doing well.  We wanted to let you know your final exam
and overall course grade.

Final Exam Grade:  100
Course Grade:  99 = A+

If you have any questions, please let us know by Tuesday, December 2,
2008 as we plan to submit grades on Wednesday, December 3rd.  We also
encourage you to complete the on-line course evaluation.

We thoroughly enjoyed having you in class and wish you all the best.
If we can do anything for you, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Good luck as you wind down the semester.  Take care!

-Kathleen & Jordan

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!

where does the time go?????

This week has been super busy and I have ended up canceling several evening activities because I just seem to run out of time at the end of the day; my daily scheduled activities don't seem to fit into one day!

This week is RA selection week for the next academic school year, so as an RA I have to help with the interviews, activities, etc.

Classes are wrapping up, which means lots of extra work! In Communication I am working on a final group paper (I finished my part this week) and I had an exam on Thursday. In my Run Conditioning class we had our final run exam on Monday, our final written exam on Wednesday, and our Nutrition Assignment due on Wednesday. In Spanish Literature I have a final paper and presentation due next Tuesday (so this class will be over for me before Thanksgiving!!!). I finished the paper last night and will work on the presentation today and tomorrow. In History, I have my final paper due after Thanksgiving...and I have hopes to work on it this weekend. For Intro into Education I have my final presentation ("teaching a mini-less"...I'm teaching the days of the week: los dias de la semana) this morning, and then my "Journey Of One" (final project) is due after Thanksgiving. I am done with the written part of Journey Of One, and I just need to create its physical display. I finished RA class last week and we took our final then. And last but not least, I turned in my final paper in Psychology last Friday and we don't have any more assignments until the final exam!

I only have two exams!!!....Communication and Psychology!!!! ...but I am paying for it this week and the week after Thanksgiving.

I am also holding the "Sexual Assault and Rape Hotline Phone" this week and I am on-call to answer calls from 7pm-7am (I have night duty!). On Saturday I plan on going to watch Christy Cor (friend from high school) play volleyball at State. She plays for UNC-Charlotte's club volleyball team. And I have a game night with some friends tonight!

Campus Crusade Dance Pictures

....compliments of friends with cameras! Ginny Davenport

Pictures with Kelvin, Jenique, Grace, and Ginny

Kelvin Zhang
j Jenique Taylor




Grace (co-RA)

My Week at a Glimpse

Monday:
~RA Training: "Around the Worship", various campus religious groups came out to present and then we had a question and answer session...very informative

Tuesday:
~Destino
~My Salsa Program for my residents, my Columbian friend Alexander Joyce (also president of State's Latin dance team) came out to Syme and gave a free Salsa lesson. We had a great time!

Wednesday:
~Despedida de William, Hillary and I made Cuban food (Hillary is Cuban) for dinner at the going away party for our Honduran friend William

Thursday:
~Crianza Con Carino (Growing with Care), a weekly meeting for Hispanic parents of small children that is to prevent child abuse. Our Destino group helps provide childcare.
~Going out Salsa dancing with residents and friends

Friday:
~Lunch Forum for Campus Crusade Leaders, presenters are CEOs from large companies (I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm going because I help lead Destino)
~Campus Crusade Semi-Formal, My friend Kelvin invited me to go with him

Saturday:
~I have weekend RA duty
~HOMEWORK!!!!

I'm a happy girl!

100
One-hundred
Cien

....that number sounds good no matter how I say it!

I got a 100 on my Spanish Literature Test!!!!!!!! How can this be????? I have no idea, but I got a ONE-HUNDRED!

Disclaimer: I actually made a 91, but the test had extra credit. I nailed the extra credit bring my grade up to a 100! The other cool thing is that I did so well on the extra credit that the extra points I received beyond the 100 my use-to-be-mean-and-ridiculous-but-now-great teacher put toward my first exam in the class (which was an 89, but is now a 98!)

Meaning: Exam One- 98%
Exam Two-100%
FINAL Exam Average in Spanish Literature of the Golden Ages- 99%

100=happy happy happy happy!

Spanish-ness

I have had so many opportunities to use my Spanish this week...YAY!

~Hillary Johnson and I went to a Giovanni Rios concert with some of our Honduran friends. Rios is a Christian singer, that sings to the popular tunes of Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Kumbia, and even a little Mariachi. The concert was at a large Hispanic church in Raleigh called Hosana. It was sooo fun!!! Afterwards we all went out to eat at a Salvadorian restaurant. (Mom, click on the words "merengue" and "bachata" to hear/see some music of his...didn't want you to miss out mom!).

I have a picture with Giovanni, Hillary, and me...but it's on Hillary's camera...I might get it one day...well, maybe!


~I went to a Despedida de Soltera (Bridal Shower) for Silivia, one of the girls in the Destino Bible Study. It lasted 5 HOURS!!! I have never played so many bridal shower games in my life. There was great food and I was the only white girl there...everyone else was Hispanic, hence I got to use my Spanish!

~We conducted Destino in Spanish last night! I was in charge of the "rompe de heilo" (ice breaker) and Ekaterina did the lesson. I quietly translated for Holly (the Crusade Representative) as her Spanish is minimal. Please pray for Berenise, who regurarly comes and always has great questions, but is not yet a Christian.

~Tomorrow night I am going to eat dinner at the home of our Honduran friends! MORE SPANISH!!!

~Friday night our Destino group is going out to eat at Havana Grill...followed by dancing! We are celebrating both Holly and Silivia's birthdays.

God-ness

God-ness #1:

This past Wednesday night, I had a great talk with one of my residents, Amanda. We were wrapping shoe-boxes for Operation Christmas Child and she was telling me how she use to put together boxes with her church when she was growing-up. I did not know she had a church background, but it opened some doors for me to ask her more specific questions related to religion. As our conversation continued, I learned that Amanda is really involved in Grace Church (a church that meets on campus).

....side note: Amanda is having issues with her roommate. Not "bad" issues, they just don't get along...at all.

After learning that Amanda was a Christian, I was able to address the roommate situation in a whole new manner. We talked about what maybe God was trying to teach Amanda in the situation, or maybe how God was trying to use Amanda in her roommate's life. I was able to encourage her to pray for her [Atheist] roommate.

All this to say, it was so refreshing to encourage a resident in a manner that was not based solely on my RA training. Please pray that Amanda, that we will continue to have good conversations, that God would open unknown doors with other residents, and praise God for this opportunity!

God-ness #2:

Yesterday we had our Fall Festival. It was fun, but I decorated the "Haunted Lounge" for like 3 hours, led social mixers for 2 hours, and then took down my decorations in like 5 destructive minutes! I was exhausted. Despite my fatigue, my friend Hillary convinced me to go to a Halloween party. A friend of ours was DJ-ing a party and Hillary wanted to go and support him (Ryan). I only went because Ryan is a friend of ours who goes to church with Hillary and who salsa dances with us, so I figured he would probably play a few Salsa songs.

A freshman in my building, Orlando, was walking up and down the halls prior to my leaving, and said he didn't have much to do this evening. I, not even knowing Orlando's name at the time, invited him to come to our party. He was hesitant at first, and even asked me if he would be the only minority (Orlando is Black). I told him I didn't know anything about the party, but that my friend Ryan was also Black. Orlando agreed to go.

When we arrived at the party, much to my surprise I was the minority, and also much to my surprise, it was an Every Nation Campus Ministries Party!!! (The ministry I did my freshman year!). It was so great to see all my old friends, and to get to introduce Orlando to them.

Orlando loved it, and ALSO to my surprise he was so excited to meet Black Christians. On the way to the party he told Hillary and me in the car that he didn't really like college and was thinking about transferring....Orlando, now has plans to go to church with some of the guys I introduced him to tomorrow morning!

AND I DID GET TO SALSA!!!




Spain girls reunite at Ginny's surprise birthday party!

HaPpY HaLloWeEn!!!!!

Last night I had my Operation Christmas Child Program. We filled 4 boxes among my residents and collected $28 to ship them!

Today is my good friend Ginny Davenport's 21st birthday! She was a great friend of mine while in Spain. I am helping out with her all-day-birthday-scavenger-hunt, going out to dinner with her, and then attending her surprise birthday party tonight! (DON'T tell her!!)


Tomorrow the Triad (where I am an RA) is having a big fall festival. We have elementary school children coming to trick-or-treat in our dorms from 1-3pm, then we have a cookout, haunted lounge, field games, movies, pop-corn maker, live DJ, pumpkin carving contest, etc from 5-8pm for our residents. It should be fun! I am going to be a cat because it was the easiest thing I could think of to be!...wear all black and make cat ears.

Then the rest of the weekend will include: homework, homework, homework, and if I have time, some homework!!!

The Mountains

I just got back from my weekend in Asheville! It was a fabulous weekend. I rode home with Hillary and we accomplished some much needed catching-up. I got home around 5:00pm and did laundry. Later Friday evening, Hillary and I went to eat at Cocina Latina and then salsa dancing! Saturday I took it easy (!!!!!) in the morning, then went shopping at Wal-Mart and the Dollar Store with my mom...we needed to buy Operation Christmas Child box stuffers. Then my mom made me my favorite Chili for dinner....Ummmmm....it was so yummy. Later Saturday evening I met-up with my friend Grace (co-RA) who was visiting Asheville with her family. We did random Asheville "things" and went by Stone Ridge Tavern (where I worked this summer) to visit all my friends! Sunday morning after church mom and I ate at El Chapala Mexican restaurant and then I headed for Raleigh around 1:30.

When I arrived to my dorm door SEVERAL of my girls had written sweet notes on my board for me and a few of them had created a "mountain scene" (including birds, clouds, ect) with painters tape on the wall next to my room. It is a huge mountain scene and below it, it said "We brought the mountains to you because we like it when you stay here!"

...how sweet are they???? I love my girls.

middle schoolers

I spend every Monday morning observing 2 Spanish classes at Carnage Middle School in Raleigh. This past week, after saying the Pledge of Allegiance, one boy asked his classmate:

"If Obama wins the election, will we start saying '...and to the Democrat for which it stands...'?"

His classmate then responded:

"Duh, it always changes when we get a new president."


I have thus added a new reason to become a teacher: Correct all Pledge of Allegiance misconceptions.

Destino Bible Study

I love Destino! We meet on Tuesday nights from 6-7:30pm, and it's great. We have been consistently a group of EIGHT girls. Ekaterina (Puerto Rican, Leader), Berenise (Peruvian), Sylvia (Mexican), Blanca (Mexican), Gladys (Mexican), Holly (North American, Campus Crusade Representative), Allison (N. A., Co-RA), and me (N. A.).

We always start out with an Ice Breaker (Rompe de heilo), like Sillas Musicales (musical chairs), and then we have a Bible Study. I love that it is a small group atmosphere and that we are all girls.

Tonight several of the girls could not make it, so I decided to postpone the lesson I had planned and the four of us there shared our testimonies. It was so incredibly neat to hear how extremely different our stories were, but yet how God was using each different detail in our lives to lead us to Destino! It reminds me that God has big plans for Destino on NC State's Campus or He would not have spent the time leading us all to be part of the Destino group.

Please pray for our group. We would love to have some guys join (we LOVE our girl group, but we can't stay exclusive forever). Also pray that God would use us on our campus and that we would know how to reach out to the Hispanics here.

When I visited State during my senior year of high school, I signed up on NC State's Hispanic organization's email list. While in Costa Rica I got an email announcing the first Destino meeting. I was so excited about the idea of Destino, that I prayed for it even before I came to State. It's fun to look back and see how God put Destino on my heart before I was even a part of it!...God clearly has had plans for Destion long before the rest of us did.

Busy Busy Busy

My list I created to be completed for the weekend:

-Call my Grandma Kincaid and thank her for also sending me a generous check to help out with Fall Break Break-Ins!
-Interview a resident for a Diversity paper
-Write Diversity Paper for RA Class (5-7 pages)
-Write Observation paper for Intro into Education (3 pages)
-Go visit CHASS Dean and get a class approved for next semester
-Visit Duke Nasher Museum of Art with Spanish Literature Class (1pm-4pm Saturday)
-Do research in Library on selected painting from Duke Nasher Museum
-Write analytical paper in Spanish about painting, artist, and time period influences
-Do weekly readings and answer questions for Spanish Literature
-Do Unit 3 Outline for Early American History (including researched sources)
-Do weekly History online readings
-Prepare for Bible Study for Destino on Tuesday (I'm leading!)
-Complete 2 reference forms for people applying for RA positions for next year
-Work on Logistics and Advertising for Operation Christmas Child program in my dorm
-allow residents to come and sit in my room for hours at a time and listen to them talk even though I have a lot to do (I really do love them, though...they're great! and they make me laugh a lot)
-sleep, eat

And to think that I (well, my parents) PAY $$$$$ for me to do all of this!....Americans are CRAZY!

Fall Break Positives!!!!

Yes, my Fall Break had some unfortunate events...but it was still enjoyable overall.

~I got a much needed hair cut
~I ate at Asiana
~I got some homework and a project done
~I got to spend time with my parentals
~I got to go WEDDING DRESS shopping with Caroline (and Christy), but ONLY Caroline was shopping
~I got to see my favorite dog and two cats
~I got to watch some TV ( which has truly become a veg-out-luxury...no TV time, or TV, in college for me)
~I washed clothes
~I got to visit, hangout with, and go dancing with some friends from this past summer
~I got to eat breakfast with the Whipple family and my friend Hannah
AND
~my mom told my Granddaddy that I was upset about the car break-in and all the $$$$ expenses that came with it, and he sent me a very generous check!

....there were a 1000 more positive things, but I have to do homework!

Why I have not written in forever....

So I was going to write story after story on here over Fall Break but then my Fall Break did not go as planned. My mother explains it well in her weekly update that she sends to the grandmothers.....

Lara's RA meeting for Wednesday night was cancelled, so she was able to leave NC State for her fall break around 2 p.m. Wednesday, meet her Grandmother and C.P. in Hickory at J & S Cafeteria for dinner around 5 p.m., and arrive home around 6:30. Lara went out to eat and dancing with friends Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, Lara took Ellie the dog to run on the Parkway trails. She parked just off the entrance ramp up onto the Parkway where four other cars were parked. When she returned to her car, the front passenger window had been completely broken out (Brent and I returned to clean up all the glass yesterday) and her purse had been stolen. It contained her cell phone, camera, driver's license, Visa card, SECU debit card, $25 cash, school RA keys, Social Security card that she was returning to me to put back in the safe deposit box after filling out papers for her job, Geico car insurance card, Cigna health insurance card, AAA card, and as Lara reminded me, a brand new pack of chewing gum I had just given her. She was in tears as she and Brent called the police and Park Rangers and returned to the scene to file a report and check to see if her purse might have been thrown out somewhere nearby. I began calling to cancel the credit card, debit card, and cell phone service.

To make a long story short, Lara got a new driver's license Thursday afternoon, and went to the Social Security Administration to order a new card on Friday afternoon. I called Geico, Cigna, and AAA to replace the cards. Brent immediately called to order a new window for Lara's car, which won't arrive until next Thursday. Lara has been driving my car and will get a ride back to school tomorrow. She then plans to ride back to Asheville with Zach and Amy next weekend to pick up her car, which hopefully will be repaired in time for her to take it back next Saturday or Sunday.

Lara has borrowed Brent's digital camera for a project in her education class that is due on Monday. Of course, she lost all the pictures she had on her camera and all the photos she had in her wallet. Her purse was a gift from her friend Caroline from Indonesia. Her wallet was a gift from a missionary friend in the Philippines. I had an extra cell phone because I had just renewed my contract, so Lara is re-programmed on a new phone with the same cell number. One of the hardest things for Lara is she will have to pay about $168 for NC State to re-key the master keys for her dorm and all the other RAs. The residence hall staff waved her room key fee (~$80 I think) and the emergency lock core change fee ($150) because she e-mailed them the police report. Even though there was nothing in her purse that identified her dorm name, the information could be gotten off the internet because all Lara's other personal info was stolen. Lara was very upset about having to pay the $168 on top of everything else, but we are just thankful that no one was hurt and that all this is just "sad stuff" that happens in this world. We encouraged her to learn important life lessons and move on.

AKA: NO PICTURES FOR A WHILE.

Christ the King

Christ the King is the church I attend while in Raleigh. I visited this church both my freshman and sophomore year, but in the end regularly attended different churches. This year, however, Christ the King feels like home, really meets me where I am, and I can see Jesus living in multi-colored members of the church. Let me give you a glimpse...

Tuesday evening Shannon Dod, a young mom to her two adopted boys (one Chinese with down syndrome and another little boy from India), died after fighting cancer for 14 months. Her memorial service was yesterday and today in church the pastor preached on 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7, which talks about how suffering brings God's comfort and then how anyone who has experienced suffering and God's comfort is now equipped to comfort others.

After the service we sang the song "It is Well with My Soul", and as we sang I watched Shannon's husband in the mist of his grief. He was sitting with their little boy who has down syndrome in his lap helping him to follow along with the words of the song, as any normal parent would do, and as her husband sang, though he was also crying, he was proclaiming the words "It is Well with My Soul...". Despite his suffering, he has found hope and comfort in the Lord.

This is evidence of Jesus. And this is why I go to Christ the King.

"It is Well with My Soul" Horatio Spafford, 1873

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Next Summer

Yes, I know it seems like I am getting ahead of myself...but time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana (I LOVE puns)!

I just got off the phone with MTW (mission to the world) doing my phone interview to be an intern in summer 2009. The interview went well and they will be sending my information to my three field teams of interest this week! My top three choices are Quito/Guayaquil, Ecuador (http://teamecuador.mtwla.org/), Mexico City, Mexico (www.mtwmexicocity.org), and Lima, Peru (http://limanewcity.mtwla.org). Both Ecuador and Peru are church plants that have ESL, Youth, and Children's ministries. The Mexico team does RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) and ESL for college students. I honestly like the ministry work in Mexico best (I really want to do ESL and I would fit in with the college "stuff"); but I would like to visit South America (and my mom wants me to go there too!).

Another option I am considering is staying in Asheville...

I would love your prayer as I pursue different options.

On another note: Today is my Grandma's Birthday! Isla Ruth Mills Stowe was born 80 years ago! I called her this morning to wish her a happy birthday and she told me about her big birthday lunch she was having with all her friends. The food they were all bring sounded so good, I considered skipping class and making the hour and a half drive to her house!....(but I decided not to skip class...)

I went to the State vs. South Florida football game on Saturday night. We lost and it rained....HARD!

Jeremy (co-RA) and me. I had a plastic bag on my shoulders to repel some of the water.

I was able to ring lots of water out of my hoodie by the end of it all and it rained so long that even my underwear was wet when I got back to my dorm.

I sit next to the quarterback!

Well for those of you who did not know....NC State upset ECU in football on Saturday!!! John Berger (friend from Asheville, who now attends ECU) was at the game with me. It was nice to beat his team. I have a ticket for the game on Saturday and I'm excited because it will be my first evening college game and night games remind me of high school!! The game starts at 7:30pm and we are playing South Florida. The only negative is that I do not have my winter clothes yet (I will get them when I go home for Fall Break) and the weather here has been a little chilly....



This morning in my communications class I went about my normal business making small-talk with the boy next to me, (I don't even know his name), which is our regular routine every Tuesday and Thursday. While we were making our usual small-talk another boy came over and said "I heard you weren't playing in the game this weekend. What happened?" My nameless friend replied "I have a hurt shoulder." I then proceed to ask what game he had to play in,... just to continue our small-talk. He replied by telling me "a football game". I then asked him if it was intramurals and he said "no, I play for the school."....All this time I have been making small-talk with Russell Wilson, the Wolfpack quarterback!!! (fyi- I take better notes than he does!)


Also this week we (the RAs) had a police engraving valuables/voter registration program. Heidi, Grace, and I made lots of yummy cookies for the event. I also ironically burnt myself right next to a previously existing burn scar from this summer...my left forearm now looks really horrible!


I have had an extremely busy week academically (3 exams, and a paper) and now that it has all come to a close I am going out to eat Sushi with some friends ("2 for the price of 1 night" at Sushi Blues!!!).

Thanks for reading!

I can't believe I ever complained about not being busy!!!

This week has been a whirlwind of fun! Let me try to recap in as few words as possible for y'alls sake...

~Wednesday night I went to the first Campus Outreach program of the year. I really enjoyed it. The CO leader and his wife are a young couple that go to Christ the King (the same church I attend) and there are like 8 other interns working with them! CO is a ministry that just started on State's campus last semester (although, has been worldwide for quite some time) and it is just really chill and laid back.

~During the day on Thursday we had a booth set up in the Brick Yard (campus "commons" area) to promote Destino. We had candy, drinks, information, and upcoming events calendars. It was fun to get to talk about the group to people stopping by.

~I had my first exam on Thursday in my RA class. It was no fun. But, at the end of the exam I got back my first paper in the class (1 of 3) and I got and A+!!! I also had to turn in my first Spanish Literature paper on Thursday afternoon...I'm GLAD it is done and turned in!

~All day today (Friday) I was in training with the NC State's Women's Center so that I can be an Advocate for survivors (aka: victims) of sexual assault and rape. As advocates, we will be working shifts throughout the year on the "Molly Hays Glander Survivors of Sexual Assault and Rape Response Line" which is basically a 24 resource hot-line for victims. The training was great and very informative, and I am excited to officially be a trained Advocate. The training also might come in handy as an RA (but hopefully I won't need to use it!).

~Friday night I attended Alpha Omega Chinese Christian Fellowship. (YES...I am still studying SPANISH!!). Two of my new good friends and co-RA's here at State are both Asian and involved in AO. I also invited one of my Chinese residents to join us, and she did. I had a great time!!! AO is a mix of State, Chapel-Hill, and Duke students and each week the meeting location rotates between the schools. After the meeting we played volleyball and ultimate frisbee until midnight! ...I did however stand out at the meeting!...A LOT!

~Saturday I am going to the NC State vs. ECU football game!...and then to Virginia for the night. My mom and aunt will be in Virginia at my grandparents and I am going to join them.

....I'm sure I forgot something, but I sure what I did remember was more than any of you wanted to hear! Thanks for reading!

Margaritas!!!

Today is a rainy day!!! I LOVE rainy days. I am always so productive because I feel good about being inside (as there is nothing to do outside!).

Sunday night I played in my first Intramural Soccer game. We lost, but it was really fun! The games are 7 v 7 (7 players on each team) and only 6 people showed up for my team, so we played a man down. There were some Africans (who are really, really good at soccer) watching us play and after our game one of them asked to be added to our team...of course we happily agreed. He is a grad-student at State and ended up being from Jamaica...he has a really cool accent.

Because Monday was the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month; and the Independence Day of Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador; three other RA's and myself had planned a special program (event). We had virgin Margaritas and then were planning on attending Salsabor (a combination of "salsa" referring to a form of Latin dance and "sabor" meaning flavor). The problem was all of NC State's campus was power-less for about 3 hours and Salsabor was canceled; we still had a good time drinking Margaritas!


Sarah, Jeremy, Me, and Allison (RA's)Some of my Residents!

I go to school and I study a lot!!!

This past week was actually a pretty sweet week...academically, I mean. Not too hard. I am finding that living on campus as a junior has left me with only my underclassman friends to hang-out with...aka: I have LOTS of time to work on my homework because I don't really have that many underclassman friends! Basically I am always ahead on my homework/studying!!!...and maybe a little behind on my social life...sad. Also, attributing to this is the fact that Caroline (past do-basically-everything-with-roommate) is now attending UNCA and Hillary (past-go-out-salsa-dancing-buddy from UNC) graduated and is now living in Asheville.

So, this weekend I have been in the dorm studying for an exam next week and for three exams in two weeks (man, I am sooo far ahead!)...how lame am I? Yesterday I ate lunch with some of the International Students and then went to the mall for an hour or so with my friend Marcela. I was also planning on going to a friends birthday party last night, but the party started at 11pm and I fell asleep around 10pm (oh well!). I am also planning on going to watch UNCA Bulldogs play NCSU Wolfpack in Women's Volleyball tonight here on campus! A girl I played volleyball with in middle and high school (Dana Rice, for you Rocket fans) plays for UNCA and I am excited to get to watch her play collegiately.

I was not so lame this morning and ran a 5K called "The Running of the Wolves" (...get it? we're the Wolfpack!); and I did enjoy my first official race!

My friend Kristen was also running!

WELL BACK TO STUDYING AND DOING HOMEWORK THAT IS DUE IN A FEW WEEKS...IT'S MY CURRENT LIFE!!!

class schedule and extracurricular activities

My Classes:
~Intro into Education: I LOVE this class and it is soooo practical and relevant to my life!!! My teacher is this sweet grandma-age woman with lots of spunk and personality...we call her Natalie. We basically talk about how to be good teachers; how to relate to students, what to do with troubled students, what methods work, what methods don't, ways to engage students, the importance of learning about each student's culture and background, etc.... Also, as a part of this class I will be observing a Middle School Spanish teacher in action for a minimum of 2 hours each week!

~Early American History: I LOVE this class. I have NEVER had a teacher that kept me so engaged in a history class. Professor Susanna Lee (yes, she is Asian teaching us American History!) is a late-twenties gal that keeps us involved, doesn't just lecture, and let's us discuss a lot. Her class goes by so fast because she makes history come alive! Also she does NOT use a textbook, but rather gives us first hand accounts from diaries and poems written by colonists or slaves and then teaches us from those. She also challenges us...but in a good way.

~Resident Adviser (RA) Class: LAME and a WASTE of time!

~Early Developmental Psychology: I originally did not like this class, but it is starting to become more interesting as we have progressed into the material. Recently we have been talking about the pre-natal stage and the effects of the mothers actions and habits on the babies development in the womb. This has been interesting and also relevant to my life (...well one day!).

~Interpersonal Communications: I personally feel this class is pointless for the most part and is making a big deal out of nothing....but I really, really like my teacher. She is a mid-thirties mom and makes everything seem relevant and relates all the concepts on personal levels. She has a good sense of humor and is histrionic.

~Spanish Literature: Probably my most dreaded class. I don't like the literature we are reading, I don't like the way the text book is set up, I think the class is too big (only 25 people...but not good for this particular class), and the material is just plain hard!

~PE: Run Conditioning: I like it as much as to be expected. We run, we do push-ups, we do sit-ups....we sweat A LOT.

Extracurricular Activities:
This morning I made a tough decision to give up my spot on "Sube Ritmo" (State's Latin Dance team). I tried out last week and made it, but had not yet decided if I was going to commit. This week at the Mi Familia meeting (Hispanic Organization on campus) two Campus Crusade representatives came out to support the start of Destino (Destiny, in Spanish) which is a Hispanic Bible Study created by Crusade to target Latinos (its really popular in Texas and California). I was a part of Destino last year. It came down to deciding between Destino and Sube Ritmo, because they both meet on Tuesday nights....I have decided to stick with Destino. Please pray that we will know how to reach out to the Hispanics on campus and how to serve the already Christian Hispanics well.

THIS IS PROBABLY WAYYYY MORE THAN ANY OF YOU WANTED TO KNOW....BUT IT WILL MAKE MY MOM HAPPY!!!

happenings....

I started Friday off by going to hear some missionary speak (related to Crusade). One of them worked for a Global Translating Group that translates the gospel into tribal languages and then goes on "excursions" to take non-power operated record players to the tribes! It was really cool!

However, the rest of the weekend I was on duty which meant I had to stay in the Triad (including my dorm and the two next to it) from Friday 5pm till Saturday 5pm, and then within 15 min of campus for the next 24 hours! It was actually good for me this weekend because I got TWO papers done!!!! We were on hurricane watch this weekend, and the best part was the RA supervisor brought me a Mop and Bucket, and told me in a serious voice "it's just a precaution...hopefully you won't have to use it." ....I guess if we had a flood I was supposed to mop the building or something. haha!

Saturday night my Spain study abroad group had a reunion! It was so fun to see everyone.




I went to Christ the King for church this morning and I thought the service started at 9am (they had planned to switch to this time), but apparently last weekend (when I was not here) they decided to keep the service at 10am....needless to say I was REALLY early for church this morning!

This evening Zach, Amy (Zach's girlfriend), and I went to Fiesta Del Pueblo, the annual Latin festival in Raleigh and then the three of us and Ginny Davenport (who traveled with me and my family in Spain) joined us for dinner at a Mexican restaurant!




I would say it was a successful weekend!!!

I can't believe I am doing this......

So.....I have been debating this blog thing for forEVER and I just did NOT want to add one more internet thing to my life. But after MUCH pressure from several other bloggers (...who said it was not fair that I could read their blogs, but they could not read mine) have guilted me into telling about my life's happenings on the WWW. Entonces, Me voy......

The Name: La Risa (meaning "The Smile" in Spanish)
Yes this is cheesy...but at least let me explain. So I really like names and meaning, and my name (Lara) comes from the name Larisa. I was ever so pleasantly surprised to learn recently that Larisa is from Spanish origins and obviously means "the smile" (la risa...larisa...get it?). So, "Lara" means simile/cheerful as opposed to "laurel crowned" (from Laura)...mucho mejor, no?

Also I have recently been working on "smiling" as God continues to do things to my life that were not part of MY plan. I know they are for a purpose, but I am working on living through 'them' with a SMILE when I find it hard to see HIS purpose.

All this to say....It's just cheesy, but I like it (and could not think of anything better!).