"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." ~Will Durant

Few things are more humbling than midterms week. Although, I must admit, it is strangely nice to have a distraction from the election campaigning. A superior break, however, would be a bike ride or a walk outside of the city. Last year's autumn was pretty disappointing...it was hyped by everyone I met, just to culminate in a rain storm that made for a soggy, dreary season. This year, however, is certainly living up to expectations! I had to stop and admire the Oak trees on my way home from the gym last weekend...I can't say I'd seen anything quite like them. Wonder how much of the brilliant colors come from the Oak being and Oak, and how much come from the Oak being in Michigan...

Autumn in Michigan

Finally...settling into my second year of graduate school! Just thought I'd put a picture or two up from my Natural Resources and the Environment orientation (my first year was focused on Public Policy, my second year will be a combination of the two programs, and who knows about my third year!)
Anyway...I have to keep this unfortunately short, but if I blog a little at a time then perhaps updates won't be so intimidating. :-)
So...I guess I'll do most of my updates as things come up in conversation. Otherwise,
this would be one very long, dull entry.

Right now, things are keeping pretty dang busy. I'm taking 13 credits, but this will likely turn into 15 within the next few weeks...I certainly hope so, as I'm doing the work for those extra 2 credits! This semester is the most difficult I will have as a graduate student. None of my classes (Environmental Governance, Ecology, Regression Analysis, and Foreign Policy) can be put on a back-burner, nor can the club I'm active in. Additionally, my master's project is gathering momentum, despite coming onto the scene 6 months early (hence the 2 credits that'll be added to the schedule). It's exciting, challenging, and a bit overwhelming. At least my adviser was understanding and let me cut my work hours back to 4/week rather than 12. That schedule, coupled with crazy courses, fund-raising for February's trip to Senegal (for the club I'm a treasurer for), and helping to get this project off the ground, was going to make me a stress case if I kept trying to do it all! So, horray for taking care of that!
Anyway...
As mentioned earlier, the pictures are from SNRE (School of Natural Resources and the Environment) orientation. They took us to the biological research station on the northern part of Michigan's lower peninsula, where we proceeded to enjoy our little shacks (mine was right on the lake, and I had an awesome shackmate), have bonfires, swim, shock fish (nothing like wading in electrically charged water to make you appreciate waders), raft, and generally enjoy the outdoors.
Must go, though! Tons to get done between now and Monday! Heck, tons to get done between now and 5:00 this afternoon. :-)

Oops!

Isn't it interesting how the lack of blogging seems to correspond with the start of school?! So I may have forgotten that I had a blog...oops! But nevertheless, I'm back and plan on keeping this fairly up-to-date. It's only fair given the amount of time I waste checking everyone else's postings!
The past few weeks have been dedicated not only to the obvious schoolwork, but also to the Great Internship Hunt of 2008. There is nothing like writing cover letters to make memos (and just about anything else) seem natural (even pleasant!) After all, the average acquaintance *particularly if from Michigan or the East Coast* rarely cares what you have done prior to what you are currently doing. Even in the most open, friendly community, the rules of 'polite society' seem to dictate that these conversations are for close friends only - definitely not for someone in another country whom you've never met! Anywho, this process is well worth the exciting potential internships available for this summer. Thus far, I've applied to one in Santa Barbara, CA (Direct Relief International...international aid non-profit with a focus on health care/health systems), one in Geneva (International Organization for Migration...very exciting prospect!), South Africa (Pretoria at the USAID office and maybe one in Capetown) and am looking into one in New York, one in Paris, and one in Montreal. I'll definitely let you guys know when/if I find anything out!
This year has definitely presented some pretty awesome opportunities, from traveling to see a friend's wedding in Wuppertal, Germany (worth every second of flight time!) to exploring Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Boston during my trips to see Ed. Currently, I'm working on organizing a brown bag lunch to host a South African speaker who is very involved in bringing art into the townships and consequently, very involved in the women's empowerment movement. Easing myself into graduate school has been an annoying process (yet intentional) and it is wonderful to finally start feeling more attached to the school and program. Speaking of identifying with the school and program, my statistics professor is from Seattle, went to UW (where he played football), and is now interested in Sub-Saharan African development (with emphasis on South Africa). How great is that?!?!?!?! :-)
Ok, I need to wrap this up. Hopefully you find this (I would've given up on me by now) and can keep me updated on how you're doing!

Pictures from Roadtrip Part I

Here are a few pictures I took on the June/July roadtrip. Our route was:
Day 1: Seattle, ID, Missoula, Helena
Day 2: Helena, Lethbridge (Alberta), Saskatchewan, Brandon (just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Day 3: Brandon to Atikokan (Ontario, ~1.5 hours from Thunder Bay)
Days 4-9: Break in Atikokan and Thunder Bay
Day 10: Thunder Bay to Pancake Bay (Ontario, near Canada/US border)
Day 11: Pancake Bay to Ann Arbor
Day 12: Ann Arbor to Toledo, Ohio after much apartment hunting
Day 13: Toledo, Ohio to Hartford, Connecticut via Pennsylvania and New York (if you ever make this drive and find that you're hungry, don't stop! Believe me, you're better off waiting until you get to your destination)

Somehow, I can't find a lot of my photos, so the majority of these come from Days 2-3 and the break in the middle of the trip.

Factor Lake Sunset

House on Factor Lake, Ontario (near Atikokan)

Reflections on Factor Lake while paddleboating

Bad picture of me with the Sleeping Giant (mountain) in the background behind Thunder Bay and Lake Superior

?Otter Rock? We biked for a couple hours before starting our hike up the Sleeping Giant. Seeing this spot in Lake Superior was a little side-hike.

Cut-away view of Lake Superior from near the top of the Sleeping Giant

We made it! So much for a nice break...as soon as we sat down for a picnic lunch we found that hordes of biting red ants had also made it to the top of the Giant. :-P

Saskatchewan sunset

The sun finally set around 2:30 am and rose again while we pulled over for a quick rest at 4 am

Crossing the prairies

Alberta at last!

"Oh Canada..." Just before getting the third degree from a cranky Canadian official. "I swear officer, I'm from Thunder Bay and am moving to Connecticut, she's from Portland, Oregon and is moving to Ann Arbor later, we've both been living in Seattle for the past few years..." The truth can be so complicated!!!


Northern Montana...definitely living up to the reputation of Big Sky Country

Finally!

A chance to update this blog! :-) It's been a crazy week, with the obvious amounts of traveling, meeting Ed's friends and family, etc. Driving was a bit insane, with the first day being Seattle to Helena with a detour to see my 100+ year old great aunt (~18 hours), the next day from Helena to Brandon (just West of Winnipeg, another 19 hours), then from Brandon to Atikokan (near Thunder Bay) where we spent a couple days. During this time we fished (I actually caught something...strange!) on a huge lake known as the Flood Waters, ate WAY too much good food compliments of Ed's grandparents and family, chatted, paddle boated, and relaxed a bit. From there, it was on to Thunder Bay, where Ed's folks are and where he grew up. It's been wonderful these past couple days, and relaxing, eating delicious food, listening to stories, meeting more friends and family, etc. What a wonderful place to have grown up! On a quick bike trip yesterday, I finally saw why this is called "Thunder Bay," with lightening strikes ~3 miles from where Ed and I were (ok, so maybe I jumped...and squeaked a bit when the sky lit up...I'm from Washington! 10 miles is too close for comfort...3 is just craziness!) After the initial shock, I discovered that it really was pretty awesome, and Ed and I sat on a bench and watched the storm go over before biking back. Also, I finally saw Lake Superior and it really does look like an ocean! The four of us walked along the waterfront for a while the first day we were here, enjoying the view and the sunshine. Tomorrow, Ed and I are biking the hour and a half to the Sleeping Giant (one of the seven wonders of Canada!) and hiking our way up the chimney before biking on back. Oh, and the day is starting with a trip to the Finnish restaurant...I hope to avoid the eyeball soup at all costs! Wish me luck, and keep reading...I should have better internet access for the next few days, which means more updates!

Oh Canada!!!

The past two days have been crazy!!! I'll post pictures and a route map later (we're about to head out, but I promise I have a ton!), but day one we went from Seattle to Hamilton, MT (40 miles south of Missoula), then to Helena, and yesterday we went up through Lethbridge and I am currently in Winnipeg, about to leave for Atikokan, ON. Will write more soon!