La Exploradora

México o México

2006-04-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

¡Hola Todos!
Todavía estoy en México. Tengo 12 días hasta regrese a los Estados Unidos. Estoy muy emocionada para regresar. Mi Español está mejorando pero todavía me falta mucho de hablar y escribir...y todo. Estoy frustrada a veces porque puedo entender mucho más que puedo decir.
Traducción:
I´m still in Mexico. I have 12 more days until I return to the US of A. I´m very excited to return. My Spanish is still getting better but I still have troubles speaking and writing...and everything. I´m frustrated sometimes because I can understand a lot more than I can say.

Ta da!

I´ve had a lot of adventures and I´m excited to tell you all about them. I´ll post again some other time. I apologize the blog hasn´t been very exciting...at all.
Missing you all.

cuernavaca, city of eternal spring

2006-01-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

hi everyone!
i made it to cuernavaca, safe and sound. it was a long day of travel, starting at 4:30 a.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m. the city is absolutely beautiful! it´s a little bit dirty and in some places run down, but there are flowers growing in the most run down parts of the city. the weather is great, and by great, i mean, awesome. the sun shines and it´s warm everyday. it´s not so hot or cold(at night) that you don´t want to move, it´s always just right.

i only had one stressful snafu during my trip. after being dropped off at the bus station with all the other iowa staters, i was the only one who didn´t have a roommate to ride to the house with. i took a cab by myself and asked the driver to take me to the address on the sheet iowa state sent to me. it turns out that address doesn´t exist so the driver drove around for a half hour trying to find an imaginary house until he decided that it might be smart to call the family and ask them for their address. the 8 was cut off of the 108 so the driver was looking for house number 10, anyway, i finally made it there and Consuelo greeted me with open arms. i was so nervous and stressed and tired and grouchy through the whole thing i just wanted to tell the man to take me back to iowa where i belong. then i realized i didn´t know how to say that in spanish.

day two of class was ok. it´s hard to understand when you don´t know what they´re talking about. but one day, i´ll be able to speak spanish and i won´t even know what happened.

oh, and i only have 28 days in mexico on my student visa but evidently there´s nothing to worry about...i just have to go change it. no big deal.

¡que tenga un buen dia!

mexico

2006-01-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

mexico.
t minus 12 days.
pray.
hard.

Toe Jam

2005-11-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

Ten things I love about winter:
10. Rosie cheeks.
9. Seeing your breath.
8. Freshly knit scarves.
7. The realization that mittens can make the most simple tasks challenging, and the later realization that the cozy warmth is worth taking them off every three minutes.
6. The crunch of snow under my feet.
5. Snowball-making snow.
4. Huge piles of frozen water.
3. Are the clouds one big snowball in the winter?
2. Feeling warm when it's 32 degrees. Thank you, Columbia.
1. When you look out the window from inside a toasty warm house and for a split second you swear you just breathed the crisp, cool outside air.

Ten things I love about summer:
10. Sweat.
9. Barbeques and bonfires.
8. Family camping trips.
7. Star-filled night skies.
6. Fireworks.
5.
4.
3.
2. Sunburn turned tan.
1. No socks, no toe jam.

I only shave my armpits...

2005-11-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

...because they're a small area. My leg hair is approximately two-and-a-half inches long.

-Maddy the Great

Long time, no blog.

2005-07-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

My first semester at ISU was...awesome:) I'm ready for fall to be here, I love Ames and I enjoyed all my classes last semester so hopefully that's the case in 05-06, too. I'm planning to study in Cuernavaca, Mexico during the spring semester. Tune in at the end of January, maybe I'll speak-o a little Espanyole.

Summer has been fairly uneventful. I met a pretty cool kid at ISU and we spend a lot of time together. We've done a lot of boating, we went to Ohio for a weekend with his family, Riceville a couple times, and we're leaving for NYC on August 11th. I'll update you on Jenny & Dereck's NYC Adventure. I've never been anywhere without large amounts of parental guidance. I bet we won't go on any boring tours of the Empire State Building:)

Life is good. Later dudes.

The Observatory

2005-01-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

In my first day as a Cyclone, I have observed two differences in the ISU environment vs. the U of I scene.

1. More Carhartt, less North Face.
2. More Cowboy, less Ugg.

Flunking Out of Common Sense

2004-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

My brain is fried. I wanted to write something...but I can't think. All I know is that the population of the United States is 281 million, actually it's 294 million but my Professor thinks it's 281. Oh yeah, and China has 1.3 billion, while India just topped 1 billion. Sociology seems to be the most pointless subject in the history of subjects. Sociologists get to point out the obvious and get lots of money and their names in books. I could have told you that people don't make eye contact in cities, or that workers who don't like their jobs aren't happy with their jobs. It ticks me off that I have to learn all of these things I already know...but my Professor can't write a test question that isn't confusing...so I study and I study and I still don't do as well as I'd like. I can't even get an A on a test that seems to be over everything everyone already knows. Dang it. But I'm not really flunking...I'm doing OK, just not great, or really even good.

Anyhow, I have three tests tomorrow. My tu-estday starts at 7:30 in the morning (yeah, I know, I didn't know that brains worked before 8 either, but I guess they're supposed to) with Mathematics for the Biological Sciences...probability, yippee! Then I freeze over to the Chemistry building for 40 questions about acids and bases. And FINALLY, at 2:15 in the afternoon, I begin my last test, the one that everyone could do well on (yeah right...not if Randee has anything to do with it) and at 4:15, I will be finished with my semester at the University of Iowa. I'll miss this place. I'll miss walking around the beautiful campus and the lazy, crazy weekends. (Oh yeah, my roommate got arrested last weekend, but only for drinking...not for anything she'll learn from) I won't miss driving home or driving back. I won't miss wondering what my room is going to look like when I walk in. I won't miss being awakened by loud dumb (seriously...dumb, so dumb I wanted to pluck my eardrums out so I wouldn't have to hear him talk) boys who talk with an Illinois "I'm not really cool but I talk like I think I am" accent. I'm not sure I needed to transfer...but I felt like I knew I needed to at one point, so there must be a reason I am. I really wish I would have thought about what going to college really meant before I made my decision last year. But, I've learned a lot about myself, a little about who I am, and a few things that I really want in life by coming to the University of Iowa...so I'm glad I "messed up".

Cathy: Drug Dogg

2004-12-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

My brother Joe, and fellow Blogger, recently posted an interesting story of our mother's crime-fighting pursuits.

"My mom, drug-buster
My mom has worn many hats in her day, but this past weekend she put on a new one. She was working at the nursing home when the cleaning lady approached her and asked her to come look at something in the bathroom. "I thought she was going to show me that some resident had, you know, 'decorated' the bathroom," said Mom. Instead, the cleaning lady showed her a pouch that had fallen--during cleaning--out of the locked medicine cabinet that is used only for employees. One of the two zippers on the pouch was open when it fell and inside were small zip-lock bags with some sort of powder in them. My mom, aka Sherlie Holmes, took the pouch, locked it away, called the administrator who called the police, and then told the cleaning lady, "We'll just wait and see who starts to get anxious." Well, someone got anxious and went out to their car three times, searched the lockers and break room and asked co-workers if they had seen a little pouch that held medicine.The police came and took the person away. This person had apparently had some problems with meth earlier as well. The cop was encouraged, though, by the fact that the person had been worried that some of the residents might have found the pouch and hurt themselves. He said that three years ago this person would never have thought of anyone besides themself. Small victories."
You can read more from Joe at josephchristensen.blogspot.com

The Great Jenniferican Countdown

2004-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Alright, the title...strange, I know. But I thought I saw something on the news with the words "Great American Countdown", I couldn't tell you what they were counting down, but anyway, I can tell you what the Jenniferican Countdown is all about.

13 days until my last day at UI.
17 days until I go home for Christmas.
24 days until Christmas.
40 days until my first day at ISU.
103 days until Spring Break.
178 days until the last day of my freshman year of college.
192 days until my birthday.
557 days until my 20th birthday.
922 days until my 21st and golden birthday.
11507 days until my 50th birthday.

I was walking down the street today and I realized that I was counting the days until this or that, and I realized that I wasn't enjoying the freezing temps or the long walk ahead of me, instead I was looking forward and not living the moment. Such a cliche...live for the moment, right? I live for the moment...or should I say moments? Everyone seems to live for the moments that make them feel good when the moment is gone. Afterall, they're the only moments worthy of memory. So what's wrong with that? They should definitely change that one to "live for the moments".

That's about all I've got, and I'm not sure if I meditated that one enough to Blog it, but I suppose we'll see...after all, you're the only one that reads this, Joe.

Having the perfect person in your life is the most amazing thing ever...he is so GREAT says:

2004-11-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

Have you been on MSN lately? Cause I have. When did the MSN name become the anti-name? Beats the heck out of me! The way I see it, there are about 6 different categories under which everyone's "name" fits...

1. Your name. Rare as it is, there are still a few chatters who choose to be recognized by their name.
2. Your nickname. I once changed my name to Niffer...it didn't last long, I got incredibly annoyed with people asking what it meant. At least Jenna and Emily knew what was going on.
3. A minute by minute update on what exactly you're doing. I never saw the point of letting your contacts know you were showering.
4. Deep thoughts. For example, "Death is the only race you don't want to finish first." But shouldn't it be "Life" since you never actually finish death...you're just dead?
5. Movie lines or song lyrics. I like the movie lines, they crack me up. And I've been guilty of the song lyrics a time or two...but really...who wants to talk to someone whose name is "WHAT'S COOLER THAN BEIN COOL, ICE COLD ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT"? Poor Outkast.
6. An update on your personal life. That's probably the most annoying of them all...which is why I chose the example for the title of this post. Ha!
Oh, and..
7. The 7th category was only appropriate during electiontime, but became the most annoying and least productive of them all. People felt the need to share their political preference, as if it was going to change other people's vote...when really it only changed their MSN names.

A windy city

2004-11-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

Brr...it's cold and windy.

As you might have noticed, I haven't posted in a couple of days. I've been a little concerned that this Blog thing will require a little more effort and brainpower than I first thought. First of all, I have to be extremely cautious and spell everything correctly, or I'll feel the wrath of Mr. Englishmajorjoe (I spelled "censored" as "sensored" in the first post...oops). Thanks, Joe. I complain, but I really did appreciate the critique, it just made me feel so stupid. Secondly, I have to think of something to write that will be interesting to people other than myself. What kind of subjects would be fun to read about? It's a mystery...so maybe I'm not cracked up to be a full-fledged blogger. I suppose I should attempt a few more entries before I decide whether or not blogging is for me.

Today was a pretty good day. It was the last day of one of my classes. This class was kind of a joke, but it was nice to have one of those while I transitioned between high school and college courses. Funny I say that because the class was called "The College Transition". We mostly talked about study skills and healthy living. One of our last assignments was to come up with a "motto for living". This so-called motto was supposed to be something we live by, a saying that gives the terrible days a little hope. We had to get up in front of the class and read them and tell the class what they meant to us. It was a little ridiculous. One girl's motto was "Life's a bitch and then you die." Surprisingly enough, she churched it up, and said that bad things happen but it doesn't matter and you shouldn't dwell on it. My motto was Jeremiah 29:11. It's a verse that says that no matter what, God's plan will be the best and His plan can give you hope for a prosperous future. It does give me hope and it's something I hope I can say that I live by. Maybe God's plan for you doesn't involve making millions of dollars because I'm quite positive that the word "prosper" didn't mean material riches or money, but happiness and personal fulfillment. I could probably go on...but I'll let you take whatever you will from that.

Well, I'm off to another exhilarating Marketplace meal, and then for a little time with The O.C.

Stacey says: "Is it always so windy in Iowa?"
Jenny says: "Aren't you from Chicago?"
Stacey says: "Yeah..."

Wire...less.

2004-11-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Iowa City after a weekend at home. I had a good weekend. I spent a little time with friends, and the rest with family. I got a little crazy on Saturday and went and left my cell phone at home for the day. I found myself hearing it ring and constantly wanting to flip it open to see if anyone had called. There were quite a few times that I wanted to take it out and call a friend, and I felt extremely distant and disconnected when I realized that it wasn't there to use. Why are we now so dependent on our phones to keep in contact or to feel safe? I feel like I need my phone with me at all times (mostly because I use it for the clock, not because lots of people call me), why is that when just a few months ago I felt just fine without it? And here I am in Iowa City...minus my phone charger. What will I do all week with a dead phone? I think it'll be fun...I challenge all of you to hide yourselves from your cellular device, just for a day or maybe seven.

In the beginning...

2004-11-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

After reading my brother's blog several times, and feeling like I always have something to say (but usually no one to say it to) I decided that I could probably fill up a little space on the world wide web and let all of you poor souls in on a mildly censored version of the thoughts in my head. Unlike big bro, I'll refrain from subjecting all of you to my political views (I'm not sure I have them anyway). As most of you know, I'm currently attending the University of Iowa.

Interrupting that thought...I just told Matt Sprecher that I started a blog. First he asked what a blog was, then I told him and tried to cover up the fact that I like this stuff by saying "I know, I'm a loser", then he said "you're not a loser for doin homework"...

jenny says:
it's not homework
matt says:
oh
matt says:
well then i'm afraid you are a loser

Matt probably speaks for others, but eh, I'll just keep doing what I do.
Anyway, I'm a Hawkeye and I'm majoring in Biology, for the moment. I say for the moment because I recently had a little bit of a "freak out", if you will, and decided that the U of Iowa wasn't the right place for me. I realized that the only reason I was going here was because I wanted to make a lot of money one day, but it turns out I don't really care about money, and what matters to me is doing what will make me happy, with my family pretty close to me.
I feel like I have a lot more to say...but I'll save it for another day. Aren't you glad you get to read all about me? Ha, I thought so.