I'm Becoming a Villager

As I'm sure you've noticed, my posts are not as lengthy and more boring. For the last 2 and a half weeks since I've been here I've been in go mode, like normal for Holden. Of course I'm relaxed by the people, the atmosphere, and the wonderful scenery but I am always doing something. The last few days I have taken to sort of slow down and truly ease into Holden as a way of life. The more I'm outside and around, the frecklier my shoulders get. I am taking the number of freckles (in place of a tan) as a sign that I have been here long enough to be in living here mode, as opposed to here for 5 days so I must do everything mode. This is a nice pace. I don't feel guilty and impatient for standing around and talking to a guest or friend for hours on end. I have a lot of time here. I have now done laundry, I'm familiar with most of the staff (long term and short term), I know where to find things and who I need to talk to about different things, I FOUND MY TURNOVER FILE!! I have a handle on when I need to be places. I feel like I belong here now, like this is my village, instead of a guest. It's a nice feeling. I've been on the go with school finishing up, graduation, graduation parties, the week I was home trying to see everyone, unpacking, packing, moving...I feel like I'm finally processing everything and can take some time to relax and hang out with different people but not really do a whole lot.

Ebenezer folks, any requests for ice cream for when you're here?? Let me know. I'm ordering today and them next week and the next week but if you have any requests, let me know.

I'm feeling at home in my chalet, I am officially not moving to Agape. I like my housemates and my roommates...I haven't had to walk back home along the last few days because I tag along with other people I live with so the creepiness is downplayed.

Things are going really well.

I would love to hear from any of you!!

Amy

:)

Yesterday I had an area head meeting. That pretty much consisted of everyone going in a circle sharing their hi's and lows. After that me had announcements and discussed who needs what, we had some candy, then split. Coffee Break was Rhubarb apple crisp! Mmmm. Hang around, hang around, waved goodbye to the bus, got laundry for the snack bar and dishes that the kitchen has been hoarding. Lunch. Said goodbye to the bus again. Snack bar. I helped Allison warp and inkle loom. I had dish team. Dinner. Vespers. Snack Bar. The Lift. After the Lift and hanging out in the Dining Hall, I went back to Chalet 1 with a friend and watched the first half of Unbreakable, until we couldn't stay awake anymore.

That's pretty much all I've been up to. I have received one picture request that I plan on fulfilling tomorrow.

I can't think of a title.

Yesterday morning I got up for breakfast! Pancakes. I hung around, read, chatted..the usual. After coffee break I waved goodbye to the bus. After that I went and collected a bunch of random things I needed for the snack bar (medium gloves, green scrubby, sugar cones). Lunch. Wow, I'm really struggling to remember what I did. I need to start updating at night. Snack bar in the afternoon went well, I had some great scoopers and a lot of people came, which was a nice change. Once 4:00 hit and we were closed I had to strategically sweep and wipe things down to hint that people should hit the road. We had a big crowd for a while, it was great! The more people, the better. The snack bar has become quite the little hang out place for staff, which thrills me to death. No longer am I cut off from the village when I'm at work. A friend of mine was sitting by me while I was at work and was telling me that he and my roommate are brother and sister...small world! He said he found out when I told him to grab my ipod from my room and it was his sisters room too. haha. Oh Holden, never know what to expect.

I think more people who come through the snack bar are more entertained by my itrip that gives me the ability to transmit my ipod through the radio than they are the ice cream. Speaking of radio, the one in the snack bar was someone else so I told them they could take it because there was another one in the cupboard. Turns out the one in t he cupboard doesn't work so I've been carrying my alarm clock back and forth every day. Woohoo.

Last night after work I hung out on the porch of chalet 3 with my roommate and a bunch of people. After that I went to the dining hall to hang out with a bunch of people. After that, I went back to the chalet 3 porch...mostly because a friend of mine who lives in Chalet 1 told me he would walk back with me if I waited, so I did....for an hour. Why are you so creepy chalet 1??

Ok, people are waiting for the computer now!

Don't be strangers!

Amy

Mo pictures!

This is for those of you who were disturbed by the mouse story. Notice me putting a spider in a cup to free it outside!

This is for those of you who saw the avalanche in winter. This is it now.

This is Allison and I being "holdeny" on the way to Hart lake

Thanks to everyone who has been sending me mail! It really makes my day!

Yesterday morning I broke some rules and chatted with Diana via gmail chat. :). My days are becoming more and more regular, I pretty much spend my days hanging out with different people. I made an announcement at lunch asking for 2 volunteers, they are from Indiana, we had a really good time. They signed up to scoop 2 more times this week before they leave. Yesterday during my afternoon shift, one of the Narnia workers was babysitting Aubrey, the village baby when he wanted some ice cream. I bribed him with ice cream to let me play with her for a while...so cute! Errmmm...I mean, sticky.

I'm sorry to say that there isn't a lot to report. I'll take some more pictures and load them more frequently.

Don't hesitate to shoot me an e-mail if you want to hear from me or if you want any more details or anything, I've been pretty good about checking and would love to hear from most anyone!

Peace!

Amy

Pictures!

Allison "working" oh so very hard.

The other side of the room, sorry the picture doesn't show much.

My bed and nook area, the closet is to the left.

The view from the porch of Chalet 1, my home for the next few months.
My weaving, it's done and cut off now. Present for Mommy!

So here are some of the promised pictures! Let me know what else you want to see.

OK, I've spent the last 30 minutes trying to upload 3 more pictures and it's not happening so those will come at a later date, hopefully late at night when there is no one trying to use the internet so it's faster.

Thanks for reading/looking!

Amy

I can't beleive another week has gone by.

Well, it's been a long time since I posted due mostly to lack of internet, so I can't remember what I've been up to, neither can Allison. Sorry. Yesterday I hung out with the roomie for a while before Vespers. She played christmas songs on the harp while I wrote a letter home. While I was at work, my scoopers (the families of my scoopers) brought us all huckleberry pie...HUCKLEBERRY PIE (did you hear that Dad?). After work Allison and I went to the dining hall and played apples to apples and catch phrase with basically the entire staff. We all ate a bunch of chocolate chip cookies that were intended for the minors and junior minors (nobody cared because there is only 1). We stayed there until bed time.

Oh! I remember. The night before last, after work, there was a massive jam session happening on the front porch of my chalet. This is what made me decide that I don't think I want to move, if that would have been an option. I'm starting to really like my house mates...even if there are too many boys and it's always dirty. Our last person moved in so now there are 9 of us: 3 girls and 6 guys.

This morning Allison, Maggie, Hannah, and I went out to Hart lake. It was a gorgeous day (I took pictures that I will post soon, seriously.). We made it back just in time to miss the rain. I took the best shower of my life, then headed to Agape to watch a movie with Matia ("Yes Man"). After the movie, we had dinner. After dinner I went to choir. After choir I met in the VC, where I already was, to figure out communion stuff because I was assisting. Eucharist was fun. Now I'm here. Everyone is going to the jacuzzi but it's still too warm outside for that. Now I'm just hanging out until 10pm when we're all going to play games or something. Maybe I'll crash the minors and junior minors bowling event like the minors and junior minors person told me to. Hmmm.

My days have pretty much been consisting of setting up snack bar stuff, ordering things, reading, and hanging out with various people. That's what I've been up to.


Amy

Relaxation

The longer I'm here, the more I seem to get into the swing of things. Right now, I'm very comfortable with the people I hang out with and the people I eat with. As for the people I live with, I don't spend much time there because it's creepy so I don't spend that much time with them. That's ok though. It's almost time to do laundry for the first time since I've been here. That means I'm really here for a while. It's beginning to look more and more likely that I will be able to hike in this summer! I am going to submit my request today. Then again, it might be declined since I want to leave during the peak of summer. Paul and Carol Hinderlie just ran through where I am and whisper-yelled "morning" as they ran by. That was interesting.

Ok, what did I do yesterday (most productive day I've had here so far).

I ordered pop! I ordered ice cream! Found malt powder so now we have shakes AND malts! Messed with the pop machine for a while ( I still don't know how to work it completely, there is an open valve somewhere where the CO2 tank hooks up to the machine). I finished my weaving, hung out in the bookstore with Matia. Hung out in the posti-office with Wanda. Stole a straw dispenser. Played a GIANT game of 500 (flyers up with a point system) with a GIANT exercise ball rightfully dubbed "big ball". That was a lot of fun. We're working out the rules to human bowling. I Learned how to cash out the cash box, I set up everything for my stipend (yeah!), had dish team, or was that the day before? Oh well. I'm not sure what else I did but all of that was before 1:30. After we closed, which was late because I stayed open a few minutes for some people who are leaving today, Allison and I hung out on the porch swing for a while being tired, untill Dillon walked by then we started cracking up thinking about how fun the game of big ball was and how funny it was when he got hit in the face with the big ball, then Allison went to bed and I was no longer tired so I hung out in the dining hall with a few people until I was tired enough to not be scared of the walk back to my creepy creepy residence. How do you like my lack of punctuation? This morning I think is going to be pretty leisurely. I'm going to go finish tieing off my weaving (after I finish taking out all the mop cord). I decided that I'm going to make a rag rug after I'm done with this one.

Ok, that's all for now. Let me know what you want pictures of! There's no use dragging my lap top all the way here so I can put one picture up.

Amy