Who are you running for?

Happy Sunday everyone!! I hope that this finds you well, no matter where you are and that you had a fantastic week and a great start to the month. Back on Monday, I thought that this week was going to be really rough for me, as I had a lot on my to-do list and did not think I would have a moment to spare. However, I surprised even myself with my work ethic this week and here I am with only a lesson plan for Wednesday left to complete (excluding my big projects that are not due until November). To reward myself, I am going to go to bed early. 

Official House Photo organized by Jocelyn

So as I said, on Monday, I was feeling quite overwhelmed because my list of things to-do seemed to be a mile long. Projects, readings, lesson plans, meetings - you name it, it was probably on my list. On top of that, it was my night to make dinner as well. Despite having all this to do, after my classes, I went to watch the season premiere of Glee with my friend Vicki in her rez room, and we are both such "gleeks" that we were crying tears of happiness by the end of it (I won't say why because I do not want to spoil it for anyone who has not watched it yet). Following that, I came home to make okonomayki (Japanese pancakes for my housemates. I was not sure at all how it would turn out but it ended up being pretty good and received decent reviews from my diners. 

My first attempt at Okonomayaki!

On Tuesday (aka the best day of the week) I went to the second day of my practicum. Sadly, I did not document my outfit this week but I wore a green sweater and a black high waisted pants in case you were wondering. I got to be in charge of one half of the grade three class while they worked on writing myths and I helped to scribe for one boy who was having trouble writing. I also set up a science experiment for my grade six class and we had a question and answer period about being a university student. And then (here comes the exciting part) I got to eat lunch in the teacher's lounge! Talk about feeling grown up! 

Tuesday afternoon, I helped the potter making the bowls for our Empty Bowls event apply base glaze to a bunch of pots. I know, I know, you are wondering why someone trusted me with anything slightly artistic but the ones that I glazed turned out just fine!! Tuesday night, we went to the student ministry dinner but we were a bit late to arrive and so when we got there, the line for food was halfway down the street! Word is spreading about the student dinners; there are more and more people every week. So we have promised ourselves that we will get there earlier this week to ensure we get to the front of the line. After scarfing down my dinner, I went to astronomy class, following which we went up to the observatory but by the time the telescope was set up, the sky clouded over and we were not able to see anything. Better luck next time. 

Wednesday I met with a prof to discuss my application for my year abroad. It was very helpful; he gave me some recommendations of schools to look at, and I really like the prof, so we ended up just chatting for a bit. Then, in my next two classes, we discussed lesson plans in both, making for  total of 3 hours of lesson planning!! Welcome to the life of a teacher.  I did not mind because it was very helpful and I love doing it, so it was not really that bad. I spent the rest of Wednesday doing a lot of homework by I took a break to watch the premiere of MasterChef Junior - wow those kids can cook! They range from 8-13 years old and are already way past me in terms of cooking skill. I can't wait to see what else they are able to cook for the judges! 

Thursday, I went to campus to help out with the first part of our Empty Bowls event. We were putting on a free bowl painting session for the community, so Lucy (the potter) brought down 90 of the bowls she made and people were able to stop by and paint a few. It was a huge success, with appearances from the BU principal, the SRC president, the Champlain director and many other "dignitaries" as we were calling them. A lot of my friends stopped by as well which was nice, and we painted a few bowls together. While I do not see a glazing career in my future, it was certainly a fun experience. 

Vicki and I painting bowls!

Thursday afternoon, I helped out with the LES Outdoor Club again and this time, the students were identifying different trees on their school campus based on the leaves and fruits of the tree. I wanted to teach them a game from camp called tree dates but there wasn't time. Following that, I met with a few of my Empty Bowl Committee members for a tour of the church that we will be hosting our event at. On the tour I learned that the church director who was giving us the tour is the twin brother of my landlord! Just another example of how small the Eastern Townships are! 

After a quiet night in on Thursday, I went to the library on Friday morning, followed by a workshop for an exam that all pre-service teachers have to take. It is an exam on English grammar, to show that you know not only how to use correct grammar but also how to correct students' errors. The test is two parts: the first part is fill in the blanks and multiple choice and the second is writing a letter and an email to parents. I will hopefully be writing it at the end of November. Following that, my friend Vicki and I spent the afternoon together, with a trip to Provigo, an astronomy assignment party and then dinner at the church (it was another free one). That night, my housemates had a games night at our house and had our friends over to play Bananagrams, Monopoly and Scattegories. I had the absolute worst luck in Monopoly (I went to jail three times) but I won 2 of the 3 rounds of Bananagrams!  

My new purple laptop case arrived on Friday!
Macky is no longer naked!

Saturday was the second best day of the week because it was the first day of BIG BUDDIES!! My little buddy Hannah is adorable but sadly, she wouldn't pose for a picture with me (or for anyone). We had a circus themed event at the Gait, complete with a magician, apple bobbing, pie in the face and popcorn. However, all Hannah wanted to do was chase seagulls, so that is exactly what we did. I had so much fun and I assume that she did too since she asked if she could come back on Sunday! I can't wait to see her in two weeks when we will go pumpkin picking together. 

While I was at Big Buddies, Hannah had let one of her frosh use our kitchen to bake cupcakes for her friend's birthday so that night, we delivered the cupcakes to her residence. I was experiencing total deja vu being back in rez on a party night so I left to meet up with Vicki and two other RAs, Erin and Tony. While I was there, my friend Gaby texted me asking if I wanted to take her spot in Run for the Cure the next day as she wasn't able to go anymore. I had forgotten that she had asked me the week before but thought that it could be fun, so I said yes. I then quickly came home to go to bed and rest up for the run.

I met the Pink Ribbon Society team on campus at 8am to head the race this morning. I luckily had one pink athletic sweater to wear the event as it was in support of Breast Cancer! I had always wanted to do a Run for the Cure but had never had the chance to participate in one so I was extremely excited to go. My friends Sara and Katelyn were also running in it so we, along with the rest of the club arrived bright and early for our team photo at 8:40am. I then got my face painted, made a sign for Alyson, my skating coach who was diagnosed with breast cancer during my final year on her team, and got ready to race. The park where the event was held was beautiful and the sun came out as we were running which was a nice change after the chilly morning. There was a great assortment of snacks post-run as well. I am so happy that I went and I will definitely be participating in Run for the Cure every year from now on, no matter what city I am in! 

BU Pink Ribbon Society!

Myself, Sara and Katelyn pre-race!
My sign says "I am running for my skating coach"

Modelling our beautiful face paint!
(Later, I accidentally wore my face paint to the gym...)

As for the rest of today, I finished an astronomy assignment, went for a swim and did some laundry and  will now spend some time finishing my lesson plan. Sad story - the activity that I made my lesson around involved using the NASA website but it is shut down due to the all the problems in the US government!! Hopefully my prof will understand. :(

On another note, just 4 sleeps left until I make my triumphant return back to Ancaster for Thanksgiving! I will be home from Thursday afternoon until Monday early evening which is considerably longer than my last trip home. I am super excited to see my family and friends who will also be home from school so I cannot wait! Elizabeth and I head out at 8am on Thursday morning and I will catch my flight after dropping her off at the train station. See you soon Ancaster!

And finally, here is an exciting bit of news - Sherbrooke is getting a Starbucks (and there is a rumour about a second one) but there is one for sure opening at the new Target at the mall! Luckily for my wallet, it is far away so it will only be on special occasions but I want to find out the day that it opens so I can be there for the grand opening! My housemate Sarah is equally as excited as me so I am sure that she will come along to purchase celebratory Starbucks drinks! 

So I will leave you with that as I dive back into lesson planning! Have a wonderful week everyone! Go get yourself a pink ribbon in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month! Enjoy the beautiful weather we are having before it goes away for another year! 

All my love, Erica xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo