Today!

Today it was nasty and cold so that my nose felt like it was going to fall off and my legs were numb through my jeans. If it was even a degree or two colder I might begin to feel justified wearing clothing made for such weather, but such clothing is cumbersome and distinctly uncool, so I go on with just the gloves and the rather warm coat, beginning to use the hood. It was also snowing, though, which was nice. There was a small ice storm last night and my sister got off school in St. Louis. Apparently Southern Missouri had two inches of ice. Here nothing was cancelled, of course, though I gave some thought to skipping my first class. I went out, though, and found mostly harmless if ugly slush.

I 'cooked' today for the first time since I got back to school. It was nothing ambitious, but I've been so lethargic about such things that I felt that it was good for me anyway. I am trying to use up all of my brown rice, since I really don't like it, but then again, if you don't compare it with white rice, it's really not so bad. And I know it's healthier, but oh well. So I made some of that with my last bit of Indian tomato sauce. Perhaps this weekend I'll try to buy some more of that, since it's a very important part of my diet here at Mizzou. One pack (with rice, and if I'm very lucky, meat) feeds me 3 or 4 meals, so it's an excellent deal, really. Not having ready access to meat makes me feel so un-American. But it's good, too. :D Only Americans feel like they need meat at every meal...

In other news I called my mom today for the first time in a while, since the cell phone charger that I left at home finally arrived. :) It was a bit funny, because she kept commenting on how happy I sounded... well, I was crying last time we spoke, so I must be improved since then, but I'm only at about 75%... We talked about cars and whether I needed one for next year. It would undoubtably be more convenient for me to have a car then, but as long as I get the P.A. job, which is all but guerrenteed, I don't need one to work... and given that we'd need to insure and store it for the two years I spend abroad, I had to say that it just didn't make sense to get my 'new' car yet. In case you were wondering, the plan is that I will get a decent used car my senior year of college, and have that while I finish my education and start my career - basically, as long as I take good care of it. :D

I had my first candidate class for the P.A. position today. It's a bit pointless, given: A.) It is mostly to prepare you for the interview, which I have already had once and done quite well on, B.) Anything else that might be mentioned will be covered fully in training, once I get the position. Still, it's also relatively painless. Oddly though I ran into the girl who took 'my' position as C.A. - the one I was offered in Lathrop, but never found out about, because Marina turned it down for me. She was acting pretty fancy about getting the job, which of course I would have done in her sitution too, but given the circumstances I had to almost literally bite my tongue to keep from saying something along the lines of "Oh yes, that's the job I was offered, but I turned it down. :)"

I ran into Anlan, my new friend from last week, in Government today. We have almost identical schedules, but the classes we share are all big lecture halls, so we haven't really run into each other since the day we met. Anyways, we sat together and afterwards, with 15 minutes left in the lunch period, we went across the street to Eva J's and ate together. Mayumi was there with who I can only assume is her English conversation patner. Eva J's is the smallest dining hall, and much calmer than Dobbs, with somewhat better food and a permanent baked potato bar that is dangerous. I should never have gone to Finland - then I would still be safe in my potato-hating zone. As it is I give my arteries a bit of punishment every Tuesday. I tried to make up for it by eating a huge bowl of applesauce, (I can't eat apples anymore, because I'm allergic to them raw), a tall glass of milk, a few peas, and no dessert. I also ate some saffron rice and some stir fry. All small portions, except for the applesauce. And that's healthy eating for me. XD

American Journalism and American Government continue being decent but slightly boring. I actually think that all my professors are good this year, compared with the mixed bunch from last semester, but some of the classes just aren't exactly my cup of tea. I appreciate the need for me to take them, but they are required credits that I will be happy to have over with. Compare this to my love for Anthropology but hate for Anthropology Professor, I mean Graduate Student, last semester. The American Journalism professor tries so hard to use technology that it's almost funny, but it's sweet in a way. American Government professor wears Hawaiian T-Shirts and throws in strange little stories and remarks at just the right times to keep you listening. I have mixed feelings about such practices, of course. In a class that I love intrinsically they tend to annoy me, as if the professor doesn't trust us to pay attention or be interested in the subject itself, as if we are children who must be entertained. But then, in classes like Statistics and Principles of American Journalism, I don't mind the proverbial spoonful of sugar.

I really love to teach. Even little things. Today Tomomi asked about dialects in the US, Missouri dialects in particular, and she was so interested in everything that soon we were talking not only about dialects but about the history of American Music - Bluegrass, Country, Blues, and Jazz. Then Mayumi told us her 'funny story' for public speaking class, and I critiqued it and tried to help her capture a sense of humour in English. I know that she has one, of course, as we often share jokes that sort of transcend language, but this will be hard for her, because she feels that she has to memorize the script and it's scary for her to stand up in front of people and speak English. We'll see how it goes. :)