rollercoaster

we are approximately nine days into the spring semester and it has already been quite the rollercoaster. i feel like drama has been dominating everyone's lives these days, both positively and negatively. it began with our seemingly eternal journey home, then continued with one of my closest friends leaving for the semester last weekend. she had to go abruptly for personal reasons and, although i know she'll be a stronger person for it in the end, i can only imagine how frazzled and uncomfortable she feels right now. my thoughts are with her.

the string of unfortunate events continues into my own family, as my grandmother is in the hospital recovering from a nasty fall. times like this remind me just how far i am from home, and i feel guilty that i can't be of any help to my family right now. i hope this situation goes as smoothly as possible because it sure seems like a troublesome one.

despite the groundhog's prediction that it will be winter for another six weeks (i'm assuming this...i haven't really looked into the matter), i feel like the usual spring semester giddiness is already upon us. romantic drama seems to be sweeping goucher and i know quite a few seniors who are already itching to leave. that, and baltimore's recent weather has been in the upper 60s and feels like april. this should be an interesting semester considering all that has occurred so far.

in terms of classes, i have been pleasantly surprised so far. i had pretty low expectations going into nearly all of my classes but have in fact really enjoyed all of them. it turns out that practicing methods of social sciences is much more fulfilling than i imagined! on top of that, we are off to a strong start on the newspaper staff and all of my jobs are looking bright. my newest job in the graduate program for education has been a pleasant challenge already- they are counting on me to redesign and maintain their website!

below you will find more south africa pictures. these are from grahamstown... more to come.