an update.................

It has been awhile since I posted... I am so sorry! This week has flown by with loads of homework every evening and evening seminars twice this week. A very lllllooooonnnnng week, but very informative and helpful nonetheless. And SO, I back-posted 3 entries tonight, so please check those out. 2 of them are speeches that I wrote during the week for our practicums in the afternoon.

Saturday also ended a 2 1/2 day Robert's Rule of Order Parliamentary training ... The theory is that it is important as future leaders to learn how to run, introduce and stop legislation in a meeting. If/when I pass the test that we took today, I will be officially certified parliamentarian - wahoo. Even though our instructor is actually was one of 3 editors of the illustrious Robert's Rules book and obviously very much an expert, it still was pretty difficult to stay awake just because of the nature of the material. He kept making motions to execute all those who were having trouble staying awake!!! Guilty as charged. But now I can have a credential after my name if I so desire! On Saturday, we divided up into 4 teams and we all had to try to get a motion passed in the meeting and at the same time try to block another team's motion! That was really fun, and very very competitive. No wonder nothing gets done in a democracy - everything can be so easily derailed. What a crazy world we live in!

This week, besides being exhausting, has been wonderful. We're all getting into the swing of things, we have our routines down (like waking Andrew up 3 minutes before Natalie and I are ready to walk to work) (family dinners on Saturdays on the balcony) (getting free dinner at the Catholic Newman center around the corner), and most of all, starting to build great relationships. Most evenings that we happen to have a spare moment free, everyone (besides the one who studies constantly) slowly gathers into Anna and I's room - we hang out on the balcony or lounge on our "living room", talking, talking, talking. I love it. We don't have any mutual friends or any other shared experiences, so mostly we talk about politics, pro-life issues, worldview topics, religion & theology, current events, etc and of course joking around and telling silly stories. We also do crazy things too: a few nights ago, 5 of us ran/jogged/walked to the Lincoln Monument (~1.5 miles away) around dusk. By the time we got there, it was absolutely stunning in the night sky. I loved how the Washington Monument shimmered in the reflecting pool. AND then we walked back and ate ice cream.

I am lovin' DC and all the adventures - large and small. This week promises to be a great week - hey, we get to go swing dancing tomorrow! Natalie and I taught the guys last night. Life's never dull.

I'll post tomorrow on the wonderful lecture that we had today - I learned ALOT.