Contradictio in Terminis

From my Queen'sU inbox this morning:

February 27, 2012

Congratulations!  We are delighted to offer you a Residence Don position for the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year.  This selection was based on your application, references, and performance in the group and personal interview.  We look forward to seeing your contributions in creating strong communities in our residences.

HOLY SHIT, I'M NOT WORTHLESS!

In Finnish: Hyvää Joulua! 

We just got back from Hanna's grandparents' place, where, in true grandparent style, we were plied with all sorts of delicious Finnish Christmas food (I took pictures of every dish - all will be up on DUTCH MY LIFE once I have access to my laptop again). We had rice porridge (delicous!) and fruit stew, pulla (little balls of sweetbread), jouluutorttu (flaky pastries filled with plum jam), taatelikakku (date cake) and rahkapulla (cream-filled sweetbread with lemon and raisins). I also learned how to say "thank you" - kiitos. 

Hanna's family was there: her siblings came with their children (adroable!). Her whole family is apparetly coming over to her house tonight, so I will get to meet even more Finnish people (and fail to communicate, due to the language barrier - but I have developed he general strategy of thanking everyone copiously and smiling all the time - seems to have worked so far...)

Can't really believe it's actually Christmas, though! I donät know where the time went! But last night, we decorated the Christmas tree, and today, we laid out the presents under it (literally a mountian of them - feels just like home!). I hope Hanna and her family like the gifts I brought- I'm thankful that the Gluhwein survived the trip here. 

Suffice to say, life is quite exciting at the moment, and I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas with Hanna and her family - not that I don't miss mine, but seriously, this is something special! :D 

HYVÄÄ JOULUA TO EVERYONE :D 

I still can't believe this place. I still don't understand how this - any of this - is real. I'm still grappling with the fact that with one plane trip - literally, from August 28th to August 29th - life can change so drastically. Groningen is amazing. The people I live with are amazing. Everything is amazing and I am constantly in awe (and I know, I know, give it a few weeks and see what I'm saying then, but right now I'm living in this crazy happy bubble and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.)

In the two weeks since I've been in Groningen, I've met people from all over the world. I'm making plans to visit places I've only ever known as names on a map - if that. One of my friends, Hanna, is from Finland, and has graciously mentioned invites to her home near Christmas time. Apparently they can hunt moose there by the light of the Northern lights! There are jokes going around about Oktoberfest in Munich, which I am so, so down for. It's crazy.

And that's probably the most extravagant experience for me: I am surrounded by people - and it's awesome. Over the last two weeks, I've been talking to people, connecting with them, initiating and carrying on conversations - and it's been fun! I never knew just being with people could be this enjoyable; is this what normal people feel like all the time? Even though school is already in full swing (I read three chapters of my Industrial-Organizational Psychology textbook this weekend and I have an oral presentation due on Thursday), I'm able to sit with people and just chill, relax, without stressing about projects or deadlines. I'm actively seeking social contact, which is so novel for me that I'm having a hard time believing it myself. This is so different from anything I'm used to; I smile at people in the mornings, say hi to them, even just sit quietly as they talk around me, all of us just doing our own thing - it feels like acceptance, community, and it's such a completely addictive feeling. How have I never experienced this before? It's so liberating, and I never imagined it could be like this.

P.S.: DUTCH MY LIFE

I love dance, I love dance, I love dance. ♥

There was a SURPRISE!EXAM JAM DANCE CLASS today, which Julie taught - it was amazing! :D We got through 2:15 minutes of choreo in 1.5 hours - not too shabby ;p It was a challenging class - Julie said she was going to teach quickly, and she sure kept her word - but I'm so glad I went. We (well, I - the other girls all had actual dance training, and were far more advanced) learned a lot of things, like penchées and something Julie likes to call the "Beached Whale", which is kind of hard to explain in writing, but looks excellent when people can actually do it. If I can find a video that is not on facebook, I will try and link it. Probs should have been studying for those 2 hours I spent in the studio, but dance is forever a better use of my time. So. Much. Love.

ALSO, copperbadge  emailed me today about ordering his book, Charitable Getting, so I was VERY EXCITE when that message came in. I am such a creeper.

OH MY GOD, I JUST REALIZED THAT THIS JOURNAL IS (WAS? TURNED?) FIVE YEARS OLD AS OF JAN 26TH, 2010.

WHOA.

*crickets*