earthquake numero dos

so apparently this morning while I was in the shower there was another earthquake!! I'm so disappointed I didn't feel it! I think I saw online that it was a 5.0 magnitude but everyone said it shook their beds and doors so I feel like 5.0 might not be right... any way, it's been a very rainy morning so I'm wearing jeans to class today which feels kinda good because I'm always wearing skirts and shorts. I forgot how much I love a nice pair of jeans! :)

Almost September!

It is August 31 here already which means it's almost September which means it's almost my favorite month of the whole entire year! Not just because it's my birthday month, but also because it is SO beautiful back home! It means pumpkin, apple crisp and leaf changing season along with harvest time and homecomings! But this year it will be even more memorable here in Guam! Also, the big 2-1 is coming up in a few weeks! :D)))
I am almost done filling out my Americorps application. If I get accepted I will be volunteering 20 hours a week starting in October and then will receive 2-3 checks for over $400 dollars for every month I am active with the Americorps here in Guam as a "living stipend." I really hope that I can participate in this. The Americorps is such an amazing organization and it just so happens to be one of the organizations that I am hoping to get involved with after college so this could really boost my resume in the non-profit sector.

So wish me luck!!!

Peace & Blessin's :D

Sunday night

Yesterday was an extremely lazy day for me. I got some laundry done, studied a bit and then just layed around, mostly. I was in a weird sorta mood, though. Not homesick, just not happy either. So around 8 pm I decided to head out for a run. It was dark and just starting to sprinkle. It was one of the best runs I've had in a very long time. It started raining harder and it felt so good to be running. I had this realization while I was running of how amazing this world is and this place that I'm in and how stinkin' blessed I am to be not only in Guam but to have the family and friends that I have. God truly is amazing and He really showed hHmself to me last night. It was a great run!

Leah and I then watched a movie and hit the hay. I have 3 classes today and probably more studying since I slacked on that yesterday.

Catch ya on the flip side, brah!

going out!

Tonight my roomates Leah, Jackie and myself along with our Guamanian friend Cabrini went out to Club Fab. It was a great time! I have never cared so little about what people think of me while I'm dancing! None of these people will ever see me again after December so it's fun to go out and just have a blast! We had a ton of fun and now I'm gearing up for homework tomorrow...it's 4:15 am here and I'm headed to bed!

Goodnight!

Guam partying

Last night Jackie, Leah, Hazel, myself, and Cabrini went out toa couple different clubs. The first was Lush which was a very crazy place! All of the girls were wearing spandex teeny tiny dresses and dancing very.....exotically. But I had fun there. We were dancing for all of 3 minutes when a couple guys started dancing with us, which was fun. Then we went to a gay club called Fab which was a blast!! It was so much fun there! Everyone was just having fun and it was a ball! Then we came back to the dorms around 2:00 and I hung out with Floyd for a little bit before heading to bed. Fun night all in all. Today we are going to the beach with Cabrini, Tina, Kathy and the other dormies. Then tonight is the dorm all welcome back bash and the probably going out again.

Love!

8/27/10

Friday is finally here!! I have one class today then I am going to get my student ID printed off and to pay some bills. Then this afternoon is going to be nap time because tonight a bunch of us (NSA students and islanders) are going out! It should be a blast! I can't wait :)) anyway, i'll let you know how all of it goes,

Later Gator!

blazin' saddles!

Yesterday was not a very good day. I had more problems with financial aid. The communication here is just very very frustrating! I was very set on coming home, but I got everything taken care of and today is going MUCH better! I DO love it here, I just get a couple days here and there peppered with a little homesickness. This evening a few of us are going to go snorkeling with our new friend here. Also, we made friends with Tina, Kathy and Cabrini. They are so great! We are going snorkeling with Dave though, he's great too. Classes are going well, very interesting, keeping me busy for sure. I got my first delivery of snail mail today and it was SO exciting!! Keep those letters coming!!!!
My address here is:
Maggie Aldrich
c/o National Student Exchange
University of Guam
UoG Station
Mangilao, GU 96923

I LOOOOOVE getting mail! :)))

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and support, it really helps me get through those rough days :)

God Bless!

EARTHQUAKE!!

As I was sitting in my minority relations class all of a sudden there was an earthquake!!! It was a 5.5 even! It only lasted a few seconds but it was so cool! I've never felt one before! How exciting!!!!

Tumon Bay

Yesterday afternoon a few of us went to Tumon Bay on the other side of the island. Tumon is a very touristy area that is a very very popular vacation destination for Japanese and other Asians. We went on a bussing adventure, not really sure where to get off. We finally made it down to the beach, hiked alllll the way down the beach and started snorkeling. We were about to give up after half an hour of swimming and not seeing the kind of coral we did down at the marine lab when all of a sudden the ugly rock and reefs opened up to neon colored fish, trenches, and brightly colored coral. It was amazing. I like the marine lab snorkeling more for its coral and trenches and a little bit deeper but Tumon Bay was much more amazing in the amount of fish we saw. I saw a small bright purple and green fish, an electric blue fish, a neon pink fish, a whole HUGE school of fish swimming in a circle that looked kinda funny with a bulge for a nose, and some beautiful blue starfish. Amazing! What a great day! It was raining the entire time we were there too so that was cool seeing the rain hit the water from underneath. Last night we kinda just sat around, watched movies/tv and hung out. We were all pretty exhausted. I am going to try to hit the library today and get some laundry done. I have to keep reminding myself that this is NOT a vacation, even though it sure seems like it! :)

Peace & Love!

snorkeling

Yesterday Will, Hazel, Lisa, Leah and myself went down to the marine lab bay and went snorkeling. As we were walking out it was just very rocky with lots of yucky moss but then about 100 yds out the rocks kinda dropped off and BEAUTIFUL coral appeared. It was more beautiful than in Finding Nemo, so you know it's good! The colors of the coral and fish and the depth of the drenches was just astounding. I have never experience something so magnificent! Then last night we all went to a Mexican place called Caliente's for supper. That was so delicious! Then we came back and hung out in the dorm and played some super smash bros. on Wii. I beat 3 guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think Brock will be proud of his little sis :) Today we are going to another beach on the Southern end of the island for some even more beautiful snorkeling! YAY! :))) The Southern part of the island is supposed to be more mountainous and hopefully the coral is even more abundant.

Hang Loose, brah!

TGIF

The first part of classes if finally almost over! I am sitting in one class right now (art history) and will be done for the weekend in 5o minutes! YAY!! This afternoon/evening a few of us are going to catch the bus and head to a Mexican place for supper followed by hopefully a bar or a club of some sort. Today will definitely be an adventure! :)))

...

I am starting to feel a bit homesick... I am making friends but I just have not quite reached the same level with them as people from back home. Which is obvious because I have only been here a week. But it's still kinda hard. I know I will make it and love it here, I'm just have a rough couple hours.

Miss everyone! :)

8/19/2010, 3:25 pm

Nothing toooo exciting today. Went to a couple classes. I still need to pick one class up and I'm having some trouble with that so hopefully I can get all that figured out tomorrow. Went and looked for a job and it looks like that's going to be pretty difficult. Homer is taking us to Kmart tonight so probably going to get some food for nachos or maybe some corn on the cob. yummm!
I'm not homesick yet but I do feel a little lonely :/ that's alright though, it's awesome here!

8/18/2010 - 9:40 pm

YAAAAAAAAAAAWN! It's only 9:40 pm here but I am exhausted!! This morning Leah, Will and I ate oatmeal together. Yummy! Then we had classes. I finished out the day with the Sociology of Sex and Gender. That class will be very interesting but I'm a little nervous about it because we have a write another research paper on top of my 40 page paper for my other sociology class. Everything will work out though!
I am loving it so much here! Everyone is so awesome and neat! I can already tell leaving is going to be hard! This afternoon I took a run down to the marine lab ocean area and sat there for a while. It is so relaxing and a great place to think there. Then I ran back up the steep hill and headed for home.

Alas, another great day in Guam and many more to come!

Love always,

Classes!

So I just got back from my first 2 classes. The first is intro to art. I think that class will be pretty interesting but also pretty boring. I guess we'll see. The next is minority relations. I found out that class is a senior level research class where we've been assigned to write a 40 page research paper about race and stereotypes between groups in Micronesia. Of course it's too late to drop the class without losing serious money. :( Oh well, it shall be a great learning experience!
My next class is Sociology of Sex and Gender which I think will be rather intriguing.

Peace!

8/18/10, 8:30 am

Yesterday Will, Jackie, Leah, Lisa and myself went to the beach East of Hagatna village. We were there for a few hours swimming, laying on the beach and just messing around. We took the public transit system there and we had a blast the whole time! Just as we were getting ready to go it started pouring rain on us! But that was an adventure too, GUAM! haha. Last night we got back and made some spaghetti for supper. Then a bunch of the islanders and us were in the tv lounge singing karaoke and having a blast! Everyone here is so amazingly nice and welcoming. As soon as someone walks in the room that you don't know it's totally okay just to ask their name and you're instantly friends! I love it here so much! Everyone offers food to you or to hang out or if you need anything they'll give it to you. This is going to be an amazing four months! :)))))

8/17/10

This morning Leah and I walked down to the marine lab ocean area. We hiked around again and brought back a ton of rocks and shells and reef stuff that was washed up. It was so beautiful and awesome!!! It was so crazy hot and humid though, which was rough. Anyway, today we are going to head to the beach and hang out. Classes start tomorrow!! if you want to see pictures from today check out my facebook, they're pretty legit! :))))


Hakuna Matata

Today!

We just got back from the grocery store. We had to walk there and back. It was about a 20 minute walk, but on the way back it took forever because we all had our groceries! yikes, what an adventure! This evening we are going to cook some pizzas, throw back a few, and hang out. School starts the day after tomorrow!! Hopefully tomorrow we'll make it on some sweeet adventures! :))))


Peace & Love!

8/16/2010 1:50 pm here, 10:50 pm home

This morning Will, Lisa, and myself (all National Student Exchange students here from the mainland) went running in the rain. We ran to the on campus marine lab. When we finally got there it was a break in all of the cliffs and vegetation that just opened up to the Pacific ocean. It was so amazing and tranquilizing. I can't believe I got to experience that. We all hiked around on the rocks out in the ocean off the coast that are underwater. It was such a cool experience. After, we had oatmeal for breakfast. Then we showered up and got all of our crazy errands done like figuring out housing, financial aid, ya know, the fun stuff. Now, it's time to relax :))

I forgot!

Oh! I forgot! We went to the beach yesterday. It was so amazingly beautiful. We were swimming 0ut and it seemed like normal beach swimming but then the farther you go out it started getting really shallow, about knee deep. As it got shallower there were a ton of these sea cucumber things. I'm not really sure what they actually were but I think their real Genus Species name is Sea Turd. They were kinda just like a muscle that wiggled and when we pulled them out of the water they peed on us! Haha, what an adventure. Also, there was a lot of reefs and fishies and stuff which was way cool. We saw one reef that looked like a brain! It was awesome!

Well, off for a morning run.

8/16/2010 - Guam

It is 6:40 am here and about 3:40 pm back home right now. I'm still not fully used to the huge time difference. I think I'm still functioning on SD time. It is morning 2 here in Guam but it feels like I've been here for a week! I am anxious for classes to start on Wednesday because it will give me something to keep me busy and look forward to. I know this semester will fly by in no time once it gets going! Everything is so beautiful here! The trees are a lush, vivacious green color and it rains at least 3 times a day. I love it when it rains because it makes everything cooler. The temperature here is about 85 degrees a day which isn't terrible but it is extremely humid! I have been hanging out with 4 of the NSE students that are also here. I think we are still waiting on a few more of them to show up though. Today, we are going to get our student ID's, figure out our financial aid, go running, make breakfast, figure out our dorm situation, and hopefully do some more exploring. When we arrived they gave us all very different living arrangements than what we had previously been informed of so we are trying to straighten all of that out. There is a marine lab on campus and there are octupi and star fish down there and you can even swim a bit if you want so we are going to go check that out at some point too. I haven't been too homesick yet which I'm pretty proud of. I know I can do this! God has a reason and plan for everything and everyone and I know there's a reason I'm here.

Peace & Love!

8/15/2010 – First night in Guam

I landed in Guam around 6 pm last night. The National Student Exchange (NSE) coordinator and her assistant picked myself and two other NSE students up from the airport. We got to campus and met with the other NSE students. There are 5 of us here now and there should be 9 or 10 total when everyone gets here. The campus consists of about 3,400 students. The 5 of us NSE students hung out last night, toured around campus, and met some of the locals. Everyone is so incredibly nice here! I didn't sleep hardly at all last night. I mostly paced up and down my room because I am definitely still on South Dakota time. So, I've been up most of the night and am now sitting in the College of Business building milking the free internet. It just all of a sudden started pouring rain; which apparently happens quite frequently throughout the day with stretches of sun between. It's nice when it rains because it instantly cools everything down and breaks the humidity at least for a while. Last night was pretty rough being homesick and all. I can already tell this is going to be a long semester, but I also know that I am going to have an amazing time just peppered with some homesickness. Last night I just kept thinking: why am I here? I can go home now. I don't have to be here. What would mom and dad think if I came home early? Why am I not just going to SDSU like a normal year? I'm missing out on so much stuff! But in reality, I know that this whole trip/experience/adventure are going to be extremely worth it, and I will regret it if I don't follow through. I have to prove to myself and everyone that I can do it!

Leaving for LA today!

Sorry I still need to get all of my journals posted from Africa...but until I get that done I guess I'll get started with this trek to Guam. Dad will be home in a few minutes to pick me up and take me to the Sioux Falls airport. From there I fly to LA and stay with my cousin Jennifer and her boyfriend for 2 nights. I then head out to Guam Friday morning. I just had lunch with mom and Tove. It was so sad saying goodbye! That is by far my least favorite part of leaving. Oh well, that's life. I'm excited to get settled in Guam.

Peace & Love!