It's madness I say!

SIC 'EM BEARS!!!

Welcome to March Madness. One of most hyped sporting events during the year, and both the Bears and Lady Bears Baylor basketball teams made the NCAA tournament!

This past weekend Drew and I drove down to Houston along with the rest of Waco to cheer on the Bears in the SWEET 16 & ELITE 8 games.



Although we got a late start friday (thank you Village Apartments for deciding to turn my water off), we made it on time for the first game against St. Mary's. Baylor went to work, and won the game 46-17. It was a blowout! I've never been to a NCAA tournament before, and it was so exciting to be bursting with school spirit while competing against one of the best teams in the nation.

Chris Brown even showed up.

Sweet.

Since we were in a new city, Drew and I decided to explore Houston on Saturday. We ended up at a random park downtown and just sat in the grass admiring the beautiful weather and scenery. This week has been so emotionally draining, and it was refreshing to just sit and be still. Overall, I think Houston is a great city, but I still do not think I could live there. Too hot, and too Texas.

Sunday finally arrived, and it was the anticipated game between DUKE and BAYLOR. I'm so glad we were able to play Duke because it just goes to show how far Baylor basketball has come. It was a well fought game, and Duke ended up winning in the end. As much as it hurts to loose to Duke, the team I would want to beat the most, it was still such an accomplishment for the Bears to make it to the Elite Eight, and I'm so proud of them! SIC EM BEARS!

Peace!

"There is no remedy for love but to love more." -Thoreau

This week has felt like a year. I have had my heart broken and pieced back together again. At this time last Sunday, Drew and I were going on a "break", and now we are facing the future together hand in hand. I will be honest, I am ready to face a fresh, new week. SING is stealing my free time, and homework is now a thing of the past. I will not be sad when Chi O activities slow down. Up to this point it has been one event after another: rush, chi o christmas, initiation, and SING. Don't get me wrong, it's been a fun adventure, i'm just tired.

Valentine's Day is a very interesting holiday. I feel like everyone has a love/hate relationship with today. People only hate valentine's day because they are reminded that they are alone. Those lucky enough to be in a relationship are filled with anticipation of notes, flowers, and chocolate. Reminders of broken hearts, new romances, and love stories fill the air.

It's somewhat crazy how seriously people take today. I wish everyone felt that they were loved by someone so much greater than a boyfriend or husband. They are loved by a God who offers so much more than flowers and chocolate, but life eternal of peace, joy, and agape love. His love story is the greatest of all, but I fear that people are not focusing on Jesus today. Whatever my relationship status, I hope to always be content in the simple fact that I am loved unconditionally and there is nothing I can do to change that.

Winter

Ecclesiastes 3: 1;4
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…
…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance."

The snow is falling, the ground is white, and there is no visible sign of life anywhere. As I walk through the forest, my worn, leather boots leave marks tracing the paths I have chosen. Although, it is unclear in the present, there is a purpose for this journey. The leaves have long fallen, and have left the trees cold and barren. The wind blows against my face, stinging with every gust. Every door that shuts, relationship failed, and heartache begins to throb more painfully. Winter has settled in my heart, and in my life.

Alone and confused, I cry out to the Lord, but I hear no response. Where have you gone? It feels as if you were here once, and now I am left abandoned and bruised. I trust that you have brought me here for a purpose, but the answer evades me. I long for the fresh scent of flowers and the warmth of the summer sun again. Take me back to a place of peace of joy.

I hear a whisper in the distance, and begin walking faster towards the sound. It is saying, "Come all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. I will be your comfort, your strength." In my heart, I know there is hope beyond the woods, but I must trust that the Lord has a purpose for this season in my life. He will use both the times of laughter, as well as the tear-filled moments to refine me into a woman more radiant and faithful. Somewhere in the despair and darkness, He has created a plan for my life to prosper me, not to harm me.

With those soothing words of encouragement, I decided to take a step of faith, and trust in the faint whisper. Suddenly, a change began to occur in my heart. Slowly, I felt it thawing and softening. A warming sensation came over me, and my fear was replaced with security. Suddenly, the world around me was transformed into a winter wonderland. I looked up to the sky and watched the snowfall softly down, and caught a snowflake on my eyelash. How delightful it all seemed to me now. It seems as if, we must embrace the hard times for only then can we truly see the beauty in our surroundings.

As I walk through the woods, I can carry on with confidence because I know that soon enough there will be a clearing. Spring is just around the corner, and His faithfulness will endure forever.

Time, please slow down.

Dear Time,

Where are you going? Where have you been? Why is it that you always feel it necessary to travel quickly through the joyful moments, and drag slowly through the moments of sorrow. It has come to my attention that sometimes you scare me. This is cliche, but it feels like yesterday that I was building forts and living in an imaginative world of singing, dancing, and play dates. And now I'm faced with thoughts about internships, graduation, and marriage. It's your fault that this new, unknown world is approaching at a very alarming rate. People call it real. That would imply that up to this point in time I've been living in a fake world. Yes? I realize that I'm about to enter a world where dear Maxey Parrish would say I'm no longer a "receiver, but a producer." Wow, that's intense.

Ready, Set, Go?

P.S. I LOVE Ireland.

Can we please take a moment and talk about how unbelievably cool Ireland is? First of all, despite booking the wrong flight), and having to pay an extra 100 euros to go on standby and then almost missing our flight, the trip was incredible! From the moment we stepped off the plane, the atmosphere and the people were so inviting! Even the guy at customs who stamped our passport asked us our names, majors, and told us that we would be great at our jobs! Who does that?!

Flying definitely adds some stress to traveling, but the Lord didn't give us anything we couldn't handle with Him. When we arrived to our hostel, the cutest man ever told us where we could get some traditional Irish food. It felt great to take our packs off and finally get some food in our systems. I had this potato cake salmon dish. yum yum! We also tried a pint of the Murphys beer, but it was a no-go. gross gross gross....We perused down Temple Bar (a very touristy street) and then went to bed because we were exhausted after a long day of traveling.

We woke up early to try to get some sightseeing in before we hopped on an 11 am train to Gallway. However, that plan fell through as we missed our train by 1 minute. At first it was kind of frustrating, but it ended up being a blessing! We were able to walk around Dublin and see Trinity College, the beautiful doors, eat lunch in the park, and just experience the city. Dublin is a beautiful place. It's a lot different from the other European cities we have visited thus far. It's definitely a pub scene versus a cafe scene. I like it a lot. Not to mention, everything was GREEN, and that automatically made me smile! Speaking of smile...as I walking I passed this one guy and he looked at me and said, "Hey! Nice smile! Thanks!" He thanked me for smiling at him! How cute! haha.

Around 2 we made it back to the train station where we caught a train to Gallway. Can you say PERFECT?! Gallway was beautiful! It is on the west coast and where P.S. I love you was filmed. It was everything we dreamed it would be and more. We found the Sleep Zone where we dropped off our stuff, and went exploring! We were in a cute Irish town on the coast so we had to go try the Fish and Chips! We went to McDonoughs, the famous fish and chips place, and that's when the night starting getting interesting....

While we were eating, two men came and sat with us and started up a conversation. They were hilarious! Long story short, we met up at the Quays (it was 60s-70s night...so they had a live band playing Bob Marley, Beatles, etc.) It was perfect. One of the most engaging, interesting, and fun nights of my life! It really felt like it was straight out of a movie. Irish people are arrogant, witty, hilarious, confident, and chivalrous. Never once did I feel anything but pure happiness. We just had a great time.


The next day we went bike riding all along the coast of Gallway! It was epically beautiful. We saw clovers, rainbows, leprechauns...okay, not really, but I really could not believe that I was biking in Ireland. IRELAND.

We had a beautiful day biking through the coast. When we got to the beach we unpacked our lunch, had a picnic, and just took in the amazing scenery. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I was able to sit up high on a ledge and just sing, pray, and relax for a few minutes before moving on. I treasure those moments on this trip. After about 2 hours we stopped for coffee and rested some more. I loved getting out and getting to see the countryside. When we got back to Gallway we purchased rings and walked through the market. I could definitely see myself living somewhere away from the states and going to the market every saturday to pick up some fruits and vegetables for the week. What a great lifestyle. I wish we had more time to play in Gallway, but alas, we had to return to Dublin. The train got us into the city around 9 so we only had time to get some dinner and then go to bed.

Ireland is definitely a place I will return to visit. Despite the stress, what a gorgeous weekend!

Paris, Je T'aime!

From the banana and nutella crepes at the Eiffel Tower to sitting on the steps of the Sacre Coeur with wine and cheese this weekend was more than I could have hoped for! I left last thursday on a train to Paris where Neely, Will, Callie, Danielle, and I went to Giverny to explore Monet's gardens and the water lilies. Walking through his house was such an experience! I was literally standing on the famous green bridge and looking out into the pond with the boats and water lilies. This was the same place where Monet was inspired to create his famous masterpieces!

That night I met up with Heather and Lauren to go to our apartment, which faced the Notre Dame. Don't even worry about it. The apartment was just a small room up a narrow staircase, but it was perfect! Andrew, Lauren's friend, was so nice to let us stay there and show us around. We walked around the art district where we sat at a cafe and drank Cote De Rhone and I got this unbelievable Gelato! MMMM......

We woke up bright and early to grab a croissant (i'm trying to get my fix for all of the french food), went to the Notre Dame, and then went straight to Versailles! After a small ordeal with the ticket counter, we finally got in and spent the next few hours roaming around what was once the center of the cultural and intellectual world (18th Century). Louis XIV's palace was magnificent and so unbelievably ornate. Every room was more impressive than the next. I finally was able to see the famous hall of mirrors, which didn't disappoint at all!

When we got back from Versailles, we went to the Louvre! Despite what I heard, the Louvre was fantastic! Although I loved it all, my favorite was the room filled with ancient artifacts such as the Code of Hammurabi and art from the Sumerian and Assyrian time periods. It was unbelievable looking at creations from the beginning of time (thousands of years old)! PS the Louvre is huge. I got lost in it for about 45 minutes, and was freaking out just a little bit. haha. After pulling my jaw up from the ground, we walked to the Eiffel Tower to get the Oh so famous Crepe we had heard Lauren talking about for weeks. IT WAS AWESOME. (The Tower of course). Every time I saw it, it was just as cool! Watching it light up at night and sparkle around 11 blew my mind. It was so gorgeous and romantic.

Speaking of romance, Paris really is a lovely city. The architecture is breathtaking and their are adorable markets and flowers everywhere! Love is definitely all around....

Over the next couple of days, we went to the Musee o'Dorsay, which holds a lot of Impressionistic art such as Degas, Van Gogh, and Monet, went by the Arc De Triomphe, had a picnic at the Eiffel tower, and sat at multiple cafes and just took it all in. I was amazed at how much we were able to accomplish in a weekend. We successfully completed everything we set out to do! (Including a musical rendition in front of the Moulin Rouge and buying French Lingerie!). SO HAPPY.

I'm glad to be safe and sound and back home in the Nederlands! I'm even happier to have finished 6 hours of class today! Oh the joys of studying abroad! Off to read a novel by tomorrow.....

To Modernism and Beyond!

As of this moment, I have officially completed my first week of school as an International student. I am enrolled in two Baylor courses (Civil Rights and Human Dissidence and an independent Political Science class) and two classes through the Center for European Studies (Modernism and Beyond: European Literature and International Relations). So far, I love all of my classes except for the fact that they are 2-hours long. Coffee will be necessary in the CES classes because my professors love to hear themselves talk and I can barely understand what they are saying. I now realize how much work this program is actually going to require. It is going to be A LOT of reading and writing, but if I'm diligent it should be alright. Yesterday, we had a debate about the sovereignty of state and globalization in International Relations and watched Valkerie in Dissidence. So far, so good.

Today, I woke up early and went to the market with Madeline. I LOVE being able to wake up, shop in a market, and walk everywhere. It's wonderful not having to rely on a car to take you places. We can literally walk everywhere. We also stopped by the phone store to purchase a cell phone. It's been a very productive day, and a much healthier one. Yesterday, I got food poisoning and was sick all night so I've very grateful to be feeling a little better! After class Madeline, Callan, Danielle, Derek, and I got lunch at a gorgeous cafe. There is nothing better than eating outside on a beautiful, cool day.