It's Official!

Friday morning I got up to go to my last final exam of the semester. It took me about 3 1/2 hours. Having it done meant that one of my most stressful semesters was over. As I walked through my apartment door, my phone beeped. I finally got the email I had been waiting for. Officially, I have been accepted as a volunteer to teach English in the Republic of Georgia. My happy dance ensued for a good five minutes!  I will be leaving in the middle of January close to the 15th. I'll finally get to use my passport and go on my adventure.
The rest of the weekend was filled with boxes. I had to pack up all of my stuff. Jamison helped me move all of it to a storage unit. Aren't I lucky to have such great friends? I think so. Being organized meant that packing didn't take too long, but it still took up the rest of the weekend.
There is a great deal going on here at home, but I thought a quick update on the exciting news was in order. I'll explain the busy part later this week if I get time. Happy Holidays!

Patience

I'm waiting to find out if I'm going to Georgia or not. I'm trying to finish homework and study for finals. I would feel much better about finishing this semester if I knew I had an adventure waiting for me. I really need to work on being more patient. I just don't know if I can wait another 1 1/2 weeks to know whether I've been accepted or not. This is how studying has gone for me.

 Question: A perfect dipole p is situated a distance z above an infinite grounded conducting plane. T"he dipole makes an angle theta with the perpendicular to the plane. Find the torque on p. If the dipole is free to rotate, in what orientation will it come to rest?
*Danni starts writing down the problem and draws a lovely picture* Mirror image of P is the induced p below plane. Find E induced from E=p/(4pi epslon nough r^2) (2 cos theta r hat + sin theta theta hat) . . . *Danni realizes she hasn't read any of the volunteer blogs in Georgia today and takes a break to read them, 20 minutes later* Need to find p in order to use N=pxEinduced . . . *Danni checks email to see if she's accepted to Georgia program, no such luck.*

Things have continued in such a manner for most of the morning. I really should have studied harder for my tests today. . .

Papers & Interviews

Well, I had my skype interview on Friday for my trip. It included standard questions like: "What are your motivations?" "What travel experience do you have?" "How will you teach with little to no resources?" "How do you feel about living with a host family?"  I think I was able to answer most of them fairly well. My biggest weakness is I have no travel experience. I've only lived in the Midwest and been to Florida and Pennsylvania when I was five years old. The other awkward moment was the ending.  A standard interview is ended with a handshake and some confident body language. Who hangs up first on skype? I have no idea! lol Now, I'm left to wait two weeks for information on whether I was accepted. I hope and pray I was. I really want to do this trip for so many reasons. Wish me luck in finding out soon!

I am also coming upon the infamous DEAD WEEK. Creighton doesn't have the standard policy of not allowing professors to assign work due the week before finals. Yet, we all still call it dead week. It's a nice way of congratulating our professors on killing us with an overload of work. I have written more papers than I'd like to admit this weekend and still have more to finish. They are not particularly difficult, just depressing. My development paper is on identity during adolescence. My ethics paper is on Euthanasia. The combination is more than I can handle. Puberty and Death all right before a week of crazy finals. Sounds fun, right?   

Luckily, I got to start of these weeks with a birthday party. I turned 21 on Friday. A few friends came over to my apartment and we had food, conversation, card games (one of which was so violent I started bleeding. lol), and a movie. It was wonderful to relax for a bit and pretend I haven't been procrastinating this semester. No one got drunk or did anything stupid either, including me! See, it's possible to be responsible and have fun, too. The picture below was taken by my roomie when I opened my gift. It was a book. I'm kinda in love with books. Needless to say, I was overjoyed and look crazy due to the intense emotions. It's a book with all these great science and math quotes given to be my one of my favorite geeky friends, Steven.

Good luck to all those who are also studying for finals. I should be back to Wisconsin sometime before December 21st for those Wisconsinites that care to know.

A Cliche Update

The end of the semester is upon me. I foolishly thought that I didn't have enough time during the beginning of the semester. I know that is false as I really do not have enough time for everything right now. I really only have two weeks before finals. After I get my papers finished and practicum hours turned in next week, I should have time to focus on my physics classes. When finals are finished, I'll pack up all my things and head home for Christmas. Hopefully, in January I will leave for Georgia. (interview is prolly this week. I'll know soon as to whether I'm accepted or not!)

This week we only have two days of classes. Tomorrow I had two out of my three classes canceled. I still have work to turn in to my professors and of course the class not canceled is the one at 2PM. I can assure you that I'm looking forward to that class being over at 3:15. Break will officially begin for me, and even though I'm not going home, I'm still looking forward to having time to get homework done and maybe read a book for fun (that could just be wishful thinking on my part, we'll see how it goes).

Thanksgiving break will be very different this year. It's the first year that I'm not at home with family. Our extended family on my Mother's side gets together at a different house each year. My parents and I have missed a couple years. Those years we just had our meal at home. It's odd to think that I won't get to see my cousins, or Lana my crazy-loud-but-utterly-lovable-almost-aunt this year. Not to mention, I probably won't see them next year either. I can't tell you everyone's name because I'm the youngest of some sixteen cousins, the oldest of which has children that are older than me. However, I can still point out who is family by the eyebrows and that teacher-look everyone seems to have inherited even if they aren't teaching currently. Their stories and laughter are important to me. I shall miss them but know that they are having a marvelous time together on Thursday.

Besides family, I am thankful for Creighton and the things I am learning here even if the stress is enough to make me want to pull my hair out. I'm thankful that I have a job and an apartment here on campus. I don't know what I'd do without my roomie, Anya. She has been a blessing this year. Generally, I'm thankful for all the friends that I have who are willing to challenge me and laugh at me and occasionally believe my adventures are really as cool as I think they are. I'm thankful for the groceries I can buy and the skills and materials to cook. I'm thankful that I'm healthy this year. Yes, I know this all sounds cliche.( I did warn you in the title, though.)

Life might be a bit crazy right now and the future is big questionable adventure, but I've been truly blessed. So thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Zombie Appocalypse

 For a math methods class we had to use differential equations and numerical modeling to describe what might happen during a zombie apocalypse. I thought I'd share the back story we wrote. It describes the motivation behind the disaster we later model in the paper. Enjoy!

On a dark and stormy night, not too long after the midterm elections, an angry animator (a person who raises the dead for a living) paced through his living room. He was an active citizen of an island nation that was surprisingly similar to the current United States of America.  

The only difference was that there were ten individuals who were paid by the exorbitantly rich and the desperate to raise their loved ones from the dead as zombies. Some called them voodoo priests, others abominations. Yet, the money was good and the cause rewarding. Zombies could only be raised with a small blood sacrifice (like a chicken), an animator, a grave, and salt (to seal the dead back to the grave when done). Animators were required by law to keep zombies no longer than four hours above their graves. Sometimes zombies were raised to say their last “goodbyes” to loved ones. Occasionally, they would be raised by court order as a means to solving crimes.

But, back to our angry animator. He was a democrat of course, for everyone knows that only witches and voodoo priests are democrats. Delaware was proof enough of this. This country had similar results to the recent US midterm elections. The Republicans took control of everything. The hot issue of this election season was not abortion or taxes but the rights of the undead. Democrats felt that the undead, including zombies, should have civil rights granted to them. The Republicans sided with the religious right and said that it would go against God. Our animator was angry that his treasured zombies would not be granted rights now that the Republicans were in power.

He jumped into his car and drove to his favorite cemetery. Luckily he had an extra live chicken in his trunk. It would work perfectly for his plan. Once at the cemetery, he stood in the middle of the park and the rain and started his zombie raising ritual, killing the chicken and feeling for the dead that lay resting in their graves. Fueled by his anger, he raised the entire cemetery; a total of 50 zombies. Our animator, having control over those he just raised encouraged them to wander through the neighborhood. He believed that once the public saw how wonderful it was to have the undead hanging around, they would force the Republicans to concede civil rights to zombies. Hours passed and soon dawn was upon the town. Only the daylight had some unexpected effects. The animator’s control over the zombies was broken and the zombies became hungry. They went in search for human flesh to gnaw on.

The public became outraged and calculations were quickly done trying to figure out how to subdue the increasing results of zombies. Will the democrats get their way and have peace between humans and the undead? Will the republicans see their gruesome prophecies of death and decay fulfilled? Only Fox news knows for sure. 

Elections

What on earth was Wisconsin thinking today!! Vote out Feingold, ok I know he didn't run the beginning of his campaign as well as he should have. However, he spoke out against both parties when they were being idiotic. That is a good logical moderate person to have governing you. The governor race went  Republican, too. Democrats lost the house. Senate still a bit fuzzy on that. Let's pray that we can all get along and support the president and accomplish some things like energy reform. I'm so disappointed tonight.

First Protest!

Yesterday I spent the day at a retreat for Creighton's trip to the Igantian Teach-In. On November 12th I will be leaving with about 50 other students and faculty for Washington DC. We will be meeting with other members of the Jesuit community across the world to learn and protest against injustices. Our group will be lobbying to many senators for three issues: climate change, immigration, and the closing of WHINSEC (previously known as School of Americas).

This protest all started in 1989 when Jesuits working in South America were brutally murdered by graduates of the School of Americas. For those who don't know what this organization is, I suggest this wiki link. The United States, in hopes of preventing communism in South America started a school during the cold war for armies of many Latin American countries. Currently the school is located in Georgia under the name of WHINSEC. Graduates have gone on to become noted dictators, civil rights abusers, and cruel leaders of many of the wars seen on that continent in the last sixty years. You are certainly entitled to your opinion on the pros/cons of this organization. I'd love to hear about them. This protest called the Teach-In, however, speaks out against the school and hopes to stop what we see as injustice.

I'm going in hopes of learning more and becoming connected to the larger international community of Jesuits, their schools, and the lay people connected with hundreds of social justice orientated organizations. It will be my first protest. I see it as a great way to use the political rights we all have to make a stand for an issue I believe in. I don't plan on doing anything illegal. No worries, I won't be getting arrested or anything. I believe in being pragmatic in my search for justice and working within the system of law while opportunities still exist  to allow for civil discourse and mutual action.

There is a lot to do between now and leaving. I should prolly finish all my essays I have due this week. Not to mention that E&M test. *sigh* I need more time to accomplish everything in a given day.
Enjoy your Halloween and be safe. 

Deciding on a Gap Year

I'm a Junior Physics and Secondary Education Major at Creighton University. I love the subjects that I'm working on. I love my campus jobs at the library and raising scholarship funds at Phonathon. I have some amazing friends and a divine roommate. But, I've lived my entire life in the midwest in the States. I'm restless and want to move outside of my norms. I want to explore the world and take my learning outside of the textbook.

 "Learning by Doing" is a 4-H motto that I have lived with my entire life (my parents were club and county leaders). Through 4-H, FFA, other clubs, my church and my volunteering I was provided with opportunities in High School to get out of the classroom and do something. Lately, all I've had time for is papers, problem sets, work, and maybe a few hours of sleep. I guess I'm feeling "burned out". I don't like that term because I know that I have all this boiling energy right below the surface of my actions waiting for the right catalyst to explode into grand things. I just can't seem to find that catalyst. My environment has become stagnant.

Thus, I am going to take a gap year, or at least a gap semester. My plans have always been to volunteer overseas after graduation. I'm just going to take those plans and move them to this gap year. I found an amazing opportunity called GreenHeart Travel. Hopefully, I will get to teach in the Republic of Georgia. The program sounds safe, immersive, and exciting. The things I've gained in my education classes should help me make a strong contribution to teaching English there. I'll get to learn a new language and culture and meet tons of new people.

My application is almost done. Just my letter to my host family, a physical, and my reference letters left to do. Wish me luck! This could be the start to a brilliant new adventure!!