Over
this summer, I worked for my campus's Conference Services. During the
summer, UAF becomes a sort of hotel for guests who are here for the landscape
or for conferences. My duties included making beds, cleaning and dusting
surfaces, doing laundry, washing windows, organizing cleaning supplies, and any
other jobs needed for us to do. It wasn't my favorite job, but it was
fine. I made a friend through it (whom I already knew from the
linguistics department). Most importantly, this job covered my room.
I began this job in late May, and continued until mid-August.
Halfway through the summer, I began my class called Cultures of Native
Alaska. We learned about the cultures in Alaska which were divided into
sections: Aleuts/Unangan, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Haida and Tlingit, Yup'ik,
Athabascans, and Iñupiaq. Our
professor was a person famous for dancing and singing in Alaska.
After
my job and class, I got to go home. I
hung out with my mom a lot, before she began teaching her students. I also spent a few nights hanging out with my
friends, eating and drinking unhealthful stuff and playing video games. One of the most therapeutic parts of the
break was my time spent with my cats. I
loved to love on them (perhaps more than they wanted to be hugged). I kinda wish that I had been home for longer,
but I need the money and need to take classes.
Now
I’m all settled in back at UAF. I’m in a
dorm I’ve never lived in before. I’d be
staying with friends, but most of them graduated or live in places I couldn’t
make work. I have a fine relationship
with my current roommate, though, probably the best yet. In my free time, I’ve been catching Pokémon
around campus and taking over gyms from team Valor (Team Mystic for life!).
I’m
taking five classes for fifteen credits: Spanish communication, introduction to
Athabascan linguistics, Spanish seminar, cultures of Latin America, and theories
of methods of second language teaching.
I’d actually be taking another class, introduction to TESOL (teaching
English to speakers of other languages), but the professor left us. It’s no worries, though, I’m still set to
graduate in May with a double major in Spanish and Linguistics as well as a
minor in TESOL.
Yesterday,
Saturday the 3rd, some friends and I went hiking up at Wickersham
Dome in the White Mountains. It was four
of us and a very hyper dog. Here are
some photos of the views:
It was a really nice day, temperature and weather-wise. Not too many insects nor too much mud. I really like this hike because it's not too extreme in terms of steepness.
Afterwards
we stopped at Hillstop truck stop for pie.
I had a slice of peanut butter pie that was very, very delicious and
decadent. My tongue appreciated it a lot
more than my stomach.
Everyone
seems to want to know what my plans are after graduation. I don’t know; I’m open to most any opportunities. Whether that be teaching English here, Idaho,
Costa Rica, South Korea, or wherever, I’m open minded. What I do know, however, is that the Spanish
Club, which I am part of (kinda), is planning on a post-graduation trip to
northern Spain. Naturally, I’d have to
do quite a lot of fundraising to be able to do so. But I think I’m at the point where what I
really need to fully augment my Spanish is immersion. Prayers and or suggestions for my future are
greatly appreciated. I’m ready to finish
up my final year here at UAF.
