Culture Shock

Yes, every now and then I still get culture shock here in the middle of no where Kansas. A couple of weeks ago we had a speaker in chapel and he was talking about his move to Kansas several years earlier and about how strange everything was and how different everything was from the large city he had lived in before. It was very funny. One of the funniest things was when he was talking about living in the city and being afraid of being robbed or whatever and he was said "Now I am afraid of nothing because nothing happens here". It was funny...you probably had to be there.
But it is funny how different things are here. We never lock our doors. I lock in when I am sleeping and that is about it. You really don't have to be afraid. The other night I walked home at 2AM alone. I would never do that at home (I do live in Surrey after all). In one of my classes we were talking about homelessness and my prof was talking about where she lived (in a nearby town a little bigger than Hillsboro) where they had "one resident homeless guy". I thought to myself, "ONE?! that's it?" Can you imagine Vancouver with just one homeless guy? It was so strange to me. Or think about entertainment. The nearest mall is an hour away. Same with the Starbucks. There is a movie theater half an hour away. What do college students do for entertainment here? We go to Wal-Mart or a late night donut shop that opens at 11:30PM (best donuts ever). And it is all half an hour away. There is so much that is amusing. They call cutlery silverware. Even plastic cutlery is silverware. If you ask for cutlery at a restaurant they will look at you like you are crazy. Believe me, I've done it. And don't call the bathroom a washroom. They will also give you that crazy look. They make fun of me for how I say certain words...flag, bag. Pasta is the best. You know how we all have the debate on the correct way to say pasta? No debate here...say it wrong and they think you are saying pastor with a strange accent.
But I do love it here. The community, the friends, the safety, the weather (I mean, it is almost October and it is still in the high 20s!), the school, the education. It's a good place. I'm enjoying it. Despite my instances of culture shock.

Musicals, State Fairs, and other things

Wow, it has been a busy couple of weeks here. Has it really only been three weeks? I already have exams in all of my classes and there are you Canadians just finishing your first week of school. So what have I been up to? Mostly the musical. We started rehearsals the first week of school and have not stopped since. The musical we are doing is Oliver, and I am in the chorus. As part of the chorus I am both an orphan and in a gang of pick-pocketers. It is a lot of fun. My scenes have lots of kids in them with other Tabor students to help out. We have been doing a lot of choreographing and memorizing music. My roommate gets very annoyed at my singing constantly, but I have to get the songs memorized so it's not my fault. We rehearse about 3 days a week - sometimes more. It is very busy, but is worth it. I have gotten to know a bunch of new people and have a lot of fun. It will likely get even more busy as we only have about one more month! Ahh!
On Saturday, I went to my first State Fair! It was quite exciting (at least for me, a newbie at state fairs). We went on come crazy rides - the kind that flip you upside down and spin you in circles. It has been a long time since I have been on roller coaster rides, so it was cool. Other than the rides we walked around a lot to see various exhibits, which was mostly of farm things. There were giant pumpkins and squashes and watermelons and anything else you can think of. We ate cotton candy and other 'fair' food...it was delicious. And we got henna tattoos, just for fun. It was a very fun day and a wonderful break from my school/homework/work/rehearsal schedule.
A couple of weeks ago we also babysat Whitney's cousin's kids. They are three beautiful girls under the age of 7. They stayed over for the night and we made them forts to sleep in and played barbies and lego and baked cookies and brought them to church. They are very precious girls and we are going to offer to take them some more once both of our schedules are less crazy.
And that is about it! Today begins another week of school and homework and exams and rehearsals and work! Now to get back to studying....