SNOW!

Friday night through Saturday night, here at Loyola got our very first real snow of the season!  it dumped about 5-6 inches of snow and at several points was almost blizzarding.  Waking up to see everything pristinely white was so exciting, something i've been waiting for since I got here. And although I haven't had my official first snowball fight or made my first snowman, getting up early and seeing the untouched snow was pretty fun. 

Coincidentally, the IC plunge happened yesterday.  The IC plunge is an event to raise money for the Ugandan conflict in Africa, and a person will raise money, then run into Lake Michigan.  I did not partake this year, but 2 of my friends plunged.  Having is on the same day as the first snow made it even more hard core.  

Room Rearrangements

Claire's bed and the windows (snow outside)

After some fiddling around, Claire and I managed, on our own, to un-bunk the beds and rearrange our room.  We still have lots of floor space, but a much roomier feel to the room.  Here are some pictures:

My Desk

My bed and desk

Knitting Craze

Ryan's Hat!

Recently, thanks to some girls on my floor, I have taken up my knitting again!  Although it is a sever addiction, it is very relaxing and definitely helped the time pass on my flight back home to SF for Thanksgiving.  So far I've successfully finished a hat for Ryan, and I'm working on a cable knit scarf for myself, a hat for my dad, and soon going to start a headband/ear warmers and fingerless gloves for the cold Chicago winter.  

My cable scarf!

Birthday Weekend

For the weekend of my 19th birthday, my boyfriend Ryan flew all the way out from Santa Clara, CA to visit me.  He arrived super early Saturday morning and our adventure started.  He got to see all of Loyola, get some breakfast, and take a quick power nap.  We then headed to downtown for his first visit to Chicago.  We visited the bean, picked up some Garrett's popcorn, shopped around on State street, had delicious pizza and attempt to visit Willis/Sears Tower (we decided we'd try when it wasn't a hour wait!)

Later that evening we headed to Evanston for dinner and to walk around.

The famous Chicago Bean!

My flowers :)

On my actual birthday we went and picked up some yummy food from Whole Foods, grabbed breakfast, and headed back to school.  Ryan got me a wonderful bouquet at Whole Foods... it looks great in the room!  We video chatted with the family as I opened my presents and met up with my roommate and her boyfriend. We headed back to Evanston from some noodles for lunch, and a beautiful walk along the Lake. 

I had a great Birthday, even though it was my first one away from the family...  I'm so glad Ryan was able to come and surprise me too :) And I can't wait to come back home in only 11 days and get to see everyone!

Happy Halloween (x13.1)

     So this Halloween morning, Claire and I got up bright and early (5:50 AM... we decided we may have set a college record!) and hopped on the L toward Grant Park.  In the cold we walked over to where the Chicago Monster Dash Half Marathon was gathering. Claire's boyfriend Nathaniel nicely came along to carry our bags, cheer us on, and take pictures.  We started up at the front and kept up a good pace, a little under an 9 minute/mile pace for the whole race. The last two miles I went a bit ahead to try and see what time I could get.  We both finished under 2 hours, my final time was 1:53:25!

     In an almost Bay to Breaker fashion, there were crazy costumes along the entire course.  Men dressed as Hooters girls, lots of superheroes, a blow-up sumo wrestler, and even two men connected by a massive structure of the Golden Gate Bridge (they were walking of course)!

     Even though it was a bit chilly at first (and after, even in fresh clothes), I am very surprised and proud to say that I was the only person that I saw all day in only shorts and a short sleeve shirt. These Chicago people must be such wimps with the cold! (I will be eating my words by Thanksgiving).

     Nathaniel then took us both out to a delicious brunch and we all ended up sharing our wonderful meal of French Toast, pancakes, omelets, toast etc... A very nice way to start off a Sunday morning and to start off a good week.

Surviving the Weather

As some people may have heard, this last week started out with a historical Midwest storm... LOTS of wind and rain and even tornados across Illinois!  I made sure the weight myself down to the ground with some heavy books in my backpack and managed not to get blown away.  I was very shocked though when I saw someone wind surfing on Lake Michigan!!  Must be insane to go out in 60 MPH winds... well guess it proves there are some crazy people outside of the Bay Area :)  Even though it was windy, it was in the mid 60s.
Then I woke up today and all the sudden it was 42 degrees out!! It never got above 45, but I managed pretty well.  I was proud when I saw several other people wearing (simultaneously) scarves, gloves, coats, and ear muffs! I managed with a long sleeve shirt and my vest.
But the best part of today was most definitely the GIANTS WIN!!!  2 more wins to go!

GO GIANTS!

I'm definitely repping the black and orange here in Chicago!

I've even converted my roommate!

Halloween in Regis

Since both Claire and I love holidays, we've decided to decorate the room for Halloween.  Everyone enjoys our room and we are all excited to see what will happen around Christmas!

Pumpkin lights and bats on the wall

Happy Halloween!

Fun spider webs over the windows!

Color changing ghost lights

Fall Break in Bloomington

For my four day weekend, I was planning on sticking around Chicago since I got the opportunity to volunteer at the finish line of the Chicago Marathon.  So Friday and Saturday I spent up in Winnetka with our friends the Baneux's, and Sunday I headed downtown to hand out gatorade to thousands of runners after they finished their 26.2 mile race. I was really a fun experience and a great chance to get to be part of something so important to the whole city of Chicago.  

Corn from the corn maze

From there, I walked to Union Station where I got on an Amtrak train to Bloomington/Normal Illinois to spend the next 2 days at my roommates house.  We had a ton of fun making carmel corn, watching movies, seeing new scenery (at least for me) on our runs and having home cooked meals. We also went to a pumpkin patch and did a corn maze, picked out some mini pumpkins for the room, had slushy apple cider, and went to the petting zoo.  Claire admits that it was the true Midwestern farm experience :)  We took the train home together Tuesday and made it back to Loyola in one piece. 

Alpacas at the petting zoo

We weren't quite ready for dining hall food yet, so we went up to Evanston that evening for dinner.  It was a wonderful 5 days, and the best is that we only have 3 days of school this week!!

PS:  We also both signed up for a half marathon on Halloween...not sure why, but we think it will be fun. Now we'll have something to train for!

Pictures from LUC

Since the leaves have been changing, I've really been dying to get and take some pictures around campus.  After Claire left to head back home for fall break, I had some free time to just walk around and take some pictures.  We are planning on riding our bikes down to the bike path area where there are a ton of beautiful trees with all different colored leaves soon.  But here are a few pictures from around Loyola's campus.  It definitely was nicer weather than it is now... it's currently pouring rain and the thunder is shaking all the buildings. Pretty exciting though!

Weekend Runs

So lately I've ben getting really pretty bored of my running options here... it's either run North, or run South, turn around half way and come back.  Not to say that the bike trail can't be interesting, but compared to all the trails that I'm used to, it's gets monotonous.  

When my mom was here last weekend, we stayed in Evanston and ran on some trails along the Lake there. So this weekend I tried something new.  I took my school ID, my train pass, $4, phone and iPod, and ran up to Evanston, around Northwestern, then to downtown Evanston.  I stopped in at Peets after stretching, grabbed a coffee ($3.72, I brought just enough!) and took the L back to school.  It was so fun to try something new and adventurous, get to see new places.  Even though it was EXTREMELY windy, it was still fun.  By Northwestern there are big boulders that line the trail, and the wind was so strong that the Lake looked like an ocean with all its waves, and when they crashed against the rocks it splashed about 15 feet high!  

After enjoying my new long run so much, Sunday I convinced my roommate to run it with me again! I think it'll probably become my new weekend long run, or at least change up my weekly run a bit now and then.

PS:  Claire and I found the dishes situation in the dinning hall pretty funny! There wasn't even room for us to put our dishes in...

Family Weekend

Last weekend was family week, and my mom got to come visit me.   When she walked up to my building, she was carrying a pumpkin with her.  She carried this pumpkin from our garden all the way to Chicago... it is know sitting happily on my window sill.   

When she was here, we stayed up in Evanston to get away from campus for a bit.  We enjoyed running together on new paths, eating really good food, getting Pete's coffee in the morning etc... We had to do all my winter shopping, starting from scratch.  I got a pair of snow boots (like hiking boots), gloves, earmuffs (so funny looking!), warm socks, another pair of warm shoes, and a coat that goes to my knees!  It has a funny fur thing on the hood... we'll see how long that lasts :)  We also made a trip to Target and stocked up on fun Halloween decorations for the dorm.  We got some really yummy apples and veggies from Whole Foods to make.  Though this week was really stressful with exams and papers, last weekend definitely made it seem a lot better.  And after next week, we have a 4 day weekend!!   

Crazy Week: Tie-Dye, Giants, and Switching Majors!

The shirt of a true SF hippy :)

Although the weather was weird as usual (87 one day, 60 with rain the next!), this week had some fun and wild adventures. On Tuesday our residence hall had a BYOT (bring your own t-shirt) event and had a tie-dye station set up. The only white shirt that I had that I was willing to dye was my bay to breakers shirt from last year... I figured tie-dye would suit the spirit of the shirt. Although I love my shirt, I could have passed on rinsing out the dye in my tiny sink and having purple hands for 2 days.

A very happy Giants fan!

On Thursday my roommate and I, with two other friends from our dorm, took the "L" several stops to Wrigley field to go to a Giants game, I repeat, a Giants game (no, not a Cubs game). We paid $8 a seat and had an awesome view.   I wore all the orange I had and my SF hat and surprising I was not the only one (quite reassuring). Though Claire is a pretty big Cubs fan, she doesn't hate me after the Giants creamed the Cubs 13-0. It was a fun game :)

View from our $8 seats 

Today I was finally able to get all the signatures required to switch my major from Biology (what I put on my application when I applied here) to a double major in French and Spanish. So now when people ask they won't need a super long explanation. But I am still following a pre-med track, just not subjecting myself to the torture of a Bio major.

My mom should be walking up in a few minutes as she landed this afternoon for parents weekend. And although my first paper for my Honor's class is due next Friday, we will certainly be enjoying this weekend!

Weekend Happenings

After a day full of homework and a morning run on Saturday, Claire and I ventured to Target to stock up on some Cinnamon Pita chips, vitamin water, and fresh fruit. We also happened to find ourselves caught in the middle of the Halloween aisle wanting to by room decorations, bags of candy corn (we couldn't not buy some) and fun costumes... we promised each other that we'd come back when it was actually October. That night some other girls from our floor went out to Thai food right down the street from our dorm with us. The crab rangoons and pad thai were amazing. Sunday was mostly a day of sleeping in and reading, along with a late afternoon run (cool breeze included!)  I'm gearing up for a week of 2 quizzes and 1 exam and lots of reading, but being able to look forward to a Cubs v. Giants game on Thursday and my mom arriving Friday I think I'll find a way to survive :) Also, this morning I had my first interview to become a student ambassador who hosts prospective students and later gives tours and works at Open Houses... keep your fingers crossed!

PS: For the pure entertainment of the Marin people reading this, I thought that I'd mention that there are the "Bike and Roll" tourists bikes around here too... students can even rent them out for a day or two. I may have to put a skirt and flip flops, rent a bike, and find a steep hill to ride up (not many of those around). But so far no one has stopped me on my run to ask for directions yet... probably a good sign.

TGIF!!

After a long week, and some rain, it's finally Friday. Although I was really excited to get to wear my rain boots yesterday and actually have a reason to do so, the college perks of Fridays are awesome. In my Biology lecture, we finished a chapter, but rather than starting the next powerpoint presentation, my professor just dismissed us 25 minutes early.  And in my discussion for my Honor's class, the teacher agreed that she too was tired and ready for the weekend, so we got out 15 minutes early of a 50 minute class. So, finally the weekend here. Other than a few errands and a trip to Target, I'll mostly be relaxing and getting ahead/catching up on reading for the week and studying for my first real EXAM. I shouldn't be too nervous since I did hand in my first college paper 2 days ago!  But the blue skies and cool air are wonderful for hanging out by the lake and if it does happen to rain this weekend, a good reason to stay indoors and read :)

Pilsen Urban Immersion 2010

Over this weekend, a group of 15 first year students and three leaders went down to the Southside of Chicago to the Pilsen neighborhood for an Urban Immersion.  We stayed in a huge 4 story church, St. Procopius. We left Friday night, and on Saturday did a bit of work around the church to help. We fixed the side walk and picked up trash and weeded in the back alley. Around lunch time some of went over to help make sandwiches and serve at the church's noontime soup kitchen.

In the afternoon, we heard from a Union representative about some worker injustices around the city. Ten years ago all the hotels in downtown Chicago agreed that together they would raise the wages for their works. All of the hotel agreed except for the Congress Hotel, and for the past 7 years the workers have been on strike and picketing every day. We were able to talk to the workers and walk the picket line with them while participating in the chants, right outside the front entrance to the hotel. Later that evening we heard from several undocumented immigrants and the issues that they face in their everyday lives and what they are doing to advocate for more just legislation. We had a delicious Mexican meal that evening and were able to just relax back at the church and enjoy some Mexican hot chocolate.

On Sunday we went to the Spanish mass at St. Procopius and then walked to the National Museum of Mexican Art where they have an exhibition of Mexican Art through the ages in Mexico, and a special exhibit for Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The altars and small, colorful clay pieces we beautiful. After another meal of delicious mexican food, we packed up and headed back to school. Over the two days I meant a lot of really nice people, and I'm looking forward to seeing them around campus and in my classes. We are thinking of going back next weekend for their annual Kermes festival which highlights culture and really yummy food!

Last night back at the dorm, we had a "3rd Floor Slumber Party" minus the sleep part. So we decorated cupcakes, painted our nails, met new people, and watched the VMAs... what a fun weekend. Hopefully this week will be as enjoyable!

The Happenings of the Week

Second week, almost done... only 3 classes today! This week the weather has finally started to cool off and the humidity has disappeared (knock on wood). This week all the clubs had their first meetings, so I went to the ones that I could. Habitat for Humanity looks like a good club to join, I know that they will be doing lots this year. I'm also going to join the Gardening Club and a few others ones that I'm passionate about.

We finally finished the Odyssey in our Honor's class, with our last lecture happening today. Then onto Genesis for a week.  With the weather cooling off, my runs are seeming much more doable, and I even tried a spin class in the Gym this week!

Other than that, this week was pretty straight forward. I leave this evening on a 3 day Urban Immersion to the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago where my group will be doing community service and learning about the issues that this neighborhood faces. Can't wait to post pictures and exciting stories from that trip! Have a good weekend

Labor Day Weekend

After completing my first week of college classes, I took the "L" up to Wilmette in order to visit the Baneux's, the family we met while living in France. I got to see Julien's soccer game, have a homemade meal, watch Iron Man, see Isabelle get asked to homecoming and sleep in a very comfy bed on a quiet street. Isabelle had swim practice in the morning, but when she got home, she made us her famous buttermilk pancakes! We also played Scrabble, and got a delicious lunch before I took the L back to Loyola. This evening there is the New Year's Festival celebrating the beginning of the new school year where there were carnival games and carnival food (cotton candy, snow cones....) Claire and I both accumulated lots of raffle tickets and won Loyola coffee mugs :) We are about to go back out to watch the fireworks, and then enjoy the rest of the weekend. More to come soon. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Nick (Izze's boyfriend), Isabelle, and me

Ignatius in the House!

After an on and off day of rain, my neighbor Susan and I walked from our Chemistry class to go to the Jesuit Fest.  A fun-filled afternoon of food and fun celebrating the Jesuit heritage of our school and an opportunity to meet some of the Jesuits who live at Loyola.

We got t-shirts that said "Ignatius in the House", had some dinner, and a chance to joust and dunk Jesuits in a water tank! It's always fun to run into those few Jesuits who have worked at SI or who know my teachers from my high school :)

Reading, Reading, and more Reading

The IC, on the edge of Lake Michigan

That sums up the last few days... Although I did get out for a tempo run in the rain this morning and got dinner with friends and got to relax, a lot of my time has been spent reading theology books, The Odyssey, Bio, Chem etc... After dinner tonight I decided that I'd get out of my room to read, so I went over to the Information Commons. They have nice comfy leather chairs, and I sat there, with a Chai Latte, and read The Odyssey for 2.5 hours. It was so peaceful even when it became too dark to see the lake. At least I know I can always have a beautiful, quiet place to study or read, read, and read!

My College Classes... with real College Professors

I have survived my first two days. I didn't sit down in the wrong class room, I have not forgotten a class, have not had my phone go off like a "freshman". This week I start at 11:30 MWF, which has been really nice so far. I have Bio first on those days, beginning with the 140 student lecture. So far it seems pretty straight forward... hopefully review after last year's AP Bio class. Then the 250+ student Honor's seminar followed by the accompanying 25 student discussion. My professor for the discussion is Australian and seems really energetic and will keep everyone interested and excited. I am proud to say that I am on course with reading, finishing 130 pages on the Odyssey in less than 2 days! My Chemistry class seems like fun, the professor surprised all of us by showing up having roughly memorized all of our names! My religion, I mean theology class, seems interesting and the professor again, seems wonderful and engaged and caring for the students. When he learned that I was a French major, he began speaking to me, IN FRENCH, in front of the whole class. So much for staying unnoticed to the Seniors for the first week... And as it turns out, my neighbor and I confused him as we, the two Abby's in the class, just happened to be sitting next to each other. I had my 3 hour lab this evening, which passed pretty quickly. In my spare time I've been running (quite hot and humid here) and reading lots. I love going to the IC (Info Commons) which is a glass building looking out onto the lake to just sit in a comfy leather seat and ready. I try not to let the lake distract me. I am really really excited about all my classes and to getting to know my professors and other classmates (wonder if I'll say that 2 months from now...) And I am really much looking forward to fall so that the frigid air conditioning will hopefully disappear!

Last Day of Summer

A smiling building in downtown :)

Classes start tomorrow... so for our last day of summer Claire, our neighbor Kelsey, and I travelled to downtown to do a little exploring and shopping. Claire and I went running along the water this morning, had brunch in the dinning halls, did my first load of laundry, then met up with Kelsey and took the "L" to downtown. We went into Old navy, Gap, Forever 21, H&M etc... It was pretty hot and humid out, so any store that looked good we went in to enjoy to air condition. On our way home, we stopped to find some posters but weren't quite as successful as we were with clothes :) Now we are heading over to the Mass of the Holy Spirit and a restful night watching a movie to relax before classes tomorrow. Though my first class doesn't start until 11:30 tomorrow, I will enjoy relaxing tonight!

Welcome Week at Loyola

The famous green gates of Cudahy Library

Over the last week, I have been running from one activity to the next... We had a hypnotist come, hypnotize students and make then do crazy stuff, such as having two guys wildly sing Lady Gaga! I also went on a walking tour around the neighborhoods and had lunch at an Ethiopian place. The food was new, tasted great, and I met some great people. Loyola-opoly was a packed event where I walked around to different booths, did an activity, and won a bunch of free stuff. That night, I took a trolley tour of Chicago. saw the lit up skyline, and had my first taste of deep dish pizza and Garrett's popcorn. I've mostly been meeting new people, roaming the campus, going on runs, and just having a great time. Yesterday we had Convocation for all freshmen where we walked around campus and through ceremonious green gates that only open 3 times a year (convocation, graduation, President's weekend). Eboo Patel, a wonderful speaker, welcomed the class of 2014 to college. This evening I am off to hear Seth Meyers, the comedian, speak and then tomorrow Claire and I are going shopping/exploring in Chicago. Classes start Monday!

The beautiful blue Lake Michigan

Welcome to my dorm room!

After my first week at college, my roommate Claire and I have put the finishing touches on our dorm room (for now). We live in Regis with the rest of the Honor's Program here at Loyola. We decided to leave the bed bunked... I took the top, Claire is sleeping on the bottom bunk. We each also have a desk, 2 closet spaces, and a dresser. We share a mini fridge and a microwave, along with our very own bathroom! What a luxury. Check out the pictures!

My desk

Our bunk beds

Our desks