maudy's journal

Last quarter of the year is always sooo... exciting since that's when all festivities happen. Mine was started yesterday. We were invited to an annual hayride party courtesy of our church friend, the Snaders, a very heartwarming family that has farm in a very rural area. The trip to their house takes about one and half hour, meaning that's how long they need to drive to go to the church.

Every fall, people at church are looking forward to this special event. Sylvia, the wife is a creative woman, and also a great cook. Since they had fixed the date, I'd imagined Sylvia's trail mix that we would bring to the hayride, chili soup and apple cider that would warm us after being freezing on the hayride. She has been doing this since long before I moved to the U.S., and Sylvia's cook become a tradition that attracts people to this party in addition to the hayride itself.

Their log house located in the middle of woods. Behind the house is a pond that my friend Graham like to go fish to. The front and one side of the house is Sylvia's garden, where kids can play, swing, and tree climb. On that side also, the Snaders thrown corn that they store in a big barrel for deers that come frequently when there are no one frighten their presence.

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Preparing for mid-term exam for Monday after fall break, I brought my folder to DC. The material for the exam was so much and I hadn't had time to study before the trip. During the trip, I had to make time to study, or I would not finish studying before the exam. I brought part of my lecture handouts with me during the day. Although my backpack is waterproof, continuous rain made my bag humid, therefore made the papers wrinkle. Anyway, that's the proof of my hard try to study during the trip

I got back from the trip early morning on Sunday and was tired yet forced myself to kept studying. I slept late and woke up early on Monday. That day, we were running late. I run to the building, and impatiently opened my classroom door. It was empty!!! My heart stopped pounding for a second. I thought the exam was supposed to be in the same room as the lecture is. I called my friend's but there's no answer. I went to the lab and saw one of the teaching assistant for my class. I asked where the room for the exam was. He answer, "What exam? the exam is on Wednesday, not Monday!".

Going on a school trip particularly by bus with people that mostly I am not familiar with, never fails to make me nervous. My social distance-invisible bubble is getting much bigger to people that I don't know well which gives me nothing but claustrophobia. Question about how to stop 50-passenger bus when I need a bathroom break always comes up to my mind. For those reason, I had kept debating whether I wanted to spend my fall break in Washington D.C with a group of student from my university. I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to be able to see Solar Decathlon-a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The trip was very cheap, since it was sponsored by a National Lab. Despite those benefits, series of assignments and a big exam lined-up as soon as fall break was over.

In last minutes before I left house, I almost decided not to go. Hubby was being so supportive for every decision I made. I know he was as nervous as I was (he always nervous whenever I go without him). The anxiety swarmed myself as soon as I entered the bus. Soon I checked the exit windows-as hubby always forces me to make it a habit, in case of emergency. The bus we had was a really nice bus that had a bath room. One problem was solved! We left at 10PM from campus' parking lot. The bus' TV was blaring, made me sick. An hour passed by out of our eight-hour trip, I was dizzy and my stomach was feeling nauseous. I was ready to get a plastic bag out from my backpack (mom always brings plastic bag on a trip for emergency), and I tried hard not to vomit. Thanks God I didn't. Finally, My professor turned off the television, easing me to rest.

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