Holi Fest!

I can't believe yet another weekend has come and gone... they go by so fast! On Friday night we had a study party at my friend Rebecca's since we had a scheduled ochem exam on SATURDAY MORNING at 9am! Can you believe it? It ended up working out perfectly though, because I got a lot of good studying done and I think I did pretty well on it and I definitely NEEDED to do really well on it. Then I went to my volunteer thing where a group of junior high age girls come and learn about science and then we dissect things! This week it was cow eyeballs, and I love just watching these little pre-teens so excited and grossed out... they are just plain funny. I can't believe I was their age not too long ago, but I wouldn't go back to that age for a million dollars. Well, maybe for a million dollars. Anyways, then on Saturday night we went to Holi Fest where you throw colored chalk on everyone in celebration of the coming of spring. It's at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork (which is AMAZING, who knew that was there?!) and they played some really fun music. I ran into a lot of people I know, and Shalene, Melissa, and I danced the night away with Chris Gong and his friend Micah and some other really weird people. We then ate some amazing Indian chili-type soup with curry and garbanzo beans and then we headed home for a little guitar hero and then some Rooibos tea while we sat on the couch in the dark and chatted. I love being the age I am right now. I have the most amazing people in my life... friends and family alike.

Church today was amazing, fast and testimony meeting was definitely one of the best I've been to. I had a meeting with our bishop and we chatted about the possibility of me serving a mission and he said that he thinks it'd be really amazing if I did it. I'm really seriously considering it, I had some really strong impressions that it was the right thing for me to do. My roommate Rachel made a strong point this afternoon though.... she said now that I have made a decision to serve a mission, everyone and everything will be working against me as Satan wants to prevent us from serving missions. It kind of worried me, but I know that if it's what I am meant to do, it will happen!

The Grand Canyon

So.... I promise this will be my last road trip of the semester. I will actually go to class and I won't fail ochem.

With that said, this past weekend, we kind of up and left and went to the Grand Canyon (not so long of a drive and definitely worth it!) The first night we camped out in Moab in this trashy trailer hook-up campsite complete with a creepy 1950s style truck that looked like something out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Seven college students, sleeping outside, right next to a huge open field, that creepy car, and an abandoned hut. Definitely horror movie material. It was also frreeeezing cold, and I did have the brilliant idea to sleep outside so I'm pretty sure my foot as still thawing from that experience. Although it wasn't as cold as the camping trip to the West Desert in October when KK was here. So, we woke up and hiked around Arches National Park for a little while, it was weird because of the fact I had just been there a few weeks prior. We drove all day and got to the Grand Canyon a little before sunset and we watched it over a look-out that I clearly remember being at as a child complete with an Indian watchtower thing. We camped again on the rim of the canyon and stuffed all seven of us into a tent for warmth which ended up being actually very comfortable. We woke up and watched an amazing sunrise and then went back to sleep for a few hours accidently, but woke up yet again to hike the most intense hike of my life with switchbacks six miles down the canyon, but the view was incredible the whole time, and the hike back up wasn't actually as bad as I was anticipating. We got down to the bottom and actually contemplated my faking a seizure so we could get airlifted out of there. However, we all made it with frequent stops in the shade, and we climbed in the car to head home. We made a grand pit stop at the Hot Springs in Meadow and hung out there (I got some quality naked time after these creepy people with a nasty dog left) until about midnight and then drove on home. It was nice to sleep in my own bed rather than a rocky and quite hard ground, but I really miss the fresh air and new surroundings. I went with a group of people whom a majority of them I had never met before and it was really fun getting to know them in so many ways. I told my roommates that before they get married, a road trip is definitely in order because you find out more about that person when they're taken out of their element and then you can truly see if you're compatible.

Caitlin does Yale!!

So, this past weekend I decided to up and leave Utah, and decided to travel to Connecticut and visit my high school best friend David at Yale. It was probably one of the best defining weekends of my life. I really came to appreciate everything I had at BYU, although Yale was amazing in so many ways. The single's ward was incredible, everyone was so welcoming and intelligent and just amazing. We had the most amazing sushi at this place called Miya's and I really want to go back sometime in the future. Yale also has a post-bac nursing program with a nursing midwifery master's degree, so I've been really thinking about that as of late. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to change my major to Anthropology, that is if I like the classes I'm taking the in fall. I'm just really unhappy where I am with my education right now, and I really do need a change.

We had such a good time and I was really upset to leave after such a brief visit, but I'm thinking I'll go back in a few months when I'll be in NYC anyways since it's only an hour and a half away. We'll see anyways.

Last night I went to the Hunger Banquet up at the Wilk, hosted by the Students for International Development... it's a really neat idea: they divide you into social classes when you arrive, and depending on where you are from (I was from Bangladesh) and what your income is, you either get a meal of rice and beans (or a fourth of a bagel in my case because they ran out), a moderate meal like pizza, or a five-course meal at a really fancy table. The majority of people (60%) got the low income meal, and we sat on cardboard and rough blankets, attempting to represent the billions of people in the world that go without. When I walked out to go to the bathroom, I ran into my friend Yoga John and we ended up chatting for a while. When a guy was getting up to throw away his plate, I noticed a little food left on it and totally stole it from him and ate it. I mean, come on; a, I was hungry and b, I was totally just trying to play the part! Then we listened to an amazing keynote speaker and danced some Indian folk dance. It was really an amazing presentation, and I was impressed with Amalia and Eric for getting it all together.

Later that night, a huge group of people drove up to Yoga John's cabin for delicious curry made by Thelma and riveting conversation provided by all. I ended up crashing with John in his bed, and we talked the night away about our crazy past lives and the ones we lead now. One of the most amazing parts of the night, however, was lying with my friend Chris Gong underneath the piano while Yoga John played (he's so talented) and talking about how incredible our lives are. It was a really refreshing experience, and I feel a lot better about life this morning after that great night.