Well, its been a quite week in Lake Wobegon Minnesota, my home town, at the edge of the prairie.
It has been rainy all week, so everything is blossoming and green. The hummingbirds are coming to the flowers and everywhere is the smell of mown grass.
My grandma and grandpa (Omi and Oompa) are here for the week. They are going to be moving here from Portland at the end of June after 25 years of living in Portland. As of yesterday they finally have a place to live. For a while they were waiting to see if they could get into a senior apartment somewhere, but there are long waiting lists everywhere. So while they sit on the waiting list, they are moving into a townhouse nearby. The rest of this week will be dedicated to them getting healthcare and insurance put in order. Then next Thursday my mom and I are headed out to their place to help them clean up and do some packing.
Next week I am starting work at the Early Childhood Center (ECC). Stay tuned for cute little kid stories.
That's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
What is in a Name
Because I promised people I would,
Why on earth did I name my URL ahobbitblogger? As my aunt so nicely pointed out to me, hobbits do not have a great affinity for travel.
Our story begins in a simpler age, when I was a carefree freshman in college. It was a time that was filled with me rereading the Hobbit in anticipation of the new movie coming out. I liked the idea of going on an adventure to places unknown to see things that were impossible to imagine, and to come back with fantastical stories. Somewhere so totally different from what I knew. But honestly, who was I kidding. I am not the adventurous type. I got homesick after being at college for three weeks, let alone a few months. Besides, I didn't know how to travel anywhere that was not in Europe. I jokingly told my mom that what I really needed was for a wizard to come up to me and say "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."
Now admittedly I have traveled a fair amount in my life. When I was a junior in high school I went to Germany for three weeks with a school group, and I have been to Europe several times with my family. But I have really never been out of the western world. And I have never been without my metaphorical pocket handkerchief.
My grandparents Took (Omi and Oompa) were quite the adventurers in their day. When my mom was one they flew off to Nigeria for three years. They have also lived in Kazakhstan, Japan, China, and England. My mother has been significantly less adventurous, leaving me with a secret (or not so secret) desire to go out into the rest of the world. I suppose that is very unhobbit like, but I am sure Bilbo had his moments.
The idea of a hobbit blogger came from my wonderful friends, who after seeing the cast list for the Hobbit movie and the BBC show Sherlock came up with the idea of Dragonbatch and his hobbit blogger. There and back again, along with being a direct reference to the hobbit, also has its roots in a chapel talk that I gave earlier this year (http://www.stolaf.edu/multimedia/play/?c=2031).
So now I am off on an adventure, blogging stories along the way. But for the next three months, I am here in Hobbiton. Life in Hobbiton has its little charms, which I am sure that you will here about endlessly. But now my prologue is done, and there are things to be done before the day is over.
Why on earth did I name my URL ahobbitblogger? As my aunt so nicely pointed out to me, hobbits do not have a great affinity for travel.
Our story begins in a simpler age, when I was a carefree freshman in college. It was a time that was filled with me rereading the Hobbit in anticipation of the new movie coming out. I liked the idea of going on an adventure to places unknown to see things that were impossible to imagine, and to come back with fantastical stories. Somewhere so totally different from what I knew. But honestly, who was I kidding. I am not the adventurous type. I got homesick after being at college for three weeks, let alone a few months. Besides, I didn't know how to travel anywhere that was not in Europe. I jokingly told my mom that what I really needed was for a wizard to come up to me and say "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."
Now admittedly I have traveled a fair amount in my life. When I was a junior in high school I went to Germany for three weeks with a school group, and I have been to Europe several times with my family. But I have really never been out of the western world. And I have never been without my metaphorical pocket handkerchief.
My grandparents Took (Omi and Oompa) were quite the adventurers in their day. When my mom was one they flew off to Nigeria for three years. They have also lived in Kazakhstan, Japan, China, and England. My mother has been significantly less adventurous, leaving me with a secret (or not so secret) desire to go out into the rest of the world. I suppose that is very unhobbit like, but I am sure Bilbo had his moments.
The idea of a hobbit blogger came from my wonderful friends, who after seeing the cast list for the Hobbit movie and the BBC show Sherlock came up with the idea of Dragonbatch and his hobbit blogger. There and back again, along with being a direct reference to the hobbit, also has its roots in a chapel talk that I gave earlier this year (http://www.stolaf.edu/multimedia/play/?c=2031).
So now I am off on an adventure, blogging stories along the way. But for the next three months, I am here in Hobbiton. Life in Hobbiton has its little charms, which I am sure that you will here about endlessly. But now my prologue is done, and there are things to be done before the day is over.
Concerning Hobbit Bloggers
If you have accidentally stumbled upon this blog, welcome. If you know me outside of the internet, welcome also. I thought it might be worthwhile to, at the forefront, establish who I am and what this blog is. So here it goes!
Hello,
Hello,
My name is Andrea. I am going to be a junior in college next fall at St. Olaf College. But I will not be going back to St. Olaf in the fall. Instead, I am going with 14 other students on a five month, round the world trip (hence known as Global Semester or simply Global). I have created this blog to document my adventures partly for myself, and partly for anyone else who is interested. As I am writing this (on May 28th) I don't know exactly when I will be leaving. They promised to give us an itinerary in June.
Until that time when I leave the USA behind, I am going to be doing my best to blog almost every day to get into the habit of doing it. I am also blogging because, in part, this summer's preparations are also kind of part of my trip. I have a lot to do before saying good bye to everyone. I have to help my grandparents more across the country, sew a new wardrobe for global, get a ton of shots, and earn money to help finance this trip.
Once I leave, I am really going to make an effort to blog regularly, but I make no promises. Please do not be like my mom and panic if I don't post one day. I am probably fine, just very tired.
I think that is everything for now.
Allons-y!
Until that time when I leave the USA behind, I am going to be doing my best to blog almost every day to get into the habit of doing it. I am also blogging because, in part, this summer's preparations are also kind of part of my trip. I have a lot to do before saying good bye to everyone. I have to help my grandparents more across the country, sew a new wardrobe for global, get a ton of shots, and earn money to help finance this trip.
Once I leave, I am really going to make an effort to blog regularly, but I make no promises. Please do not be like my mom and panic if I don't post one day. I am probably fine, just very tired.
I think that is everything for now.
Allons-y!
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