Orientation - Day #1

Today was the first day of orientation, and I finally got to meet a good number of the students who will be studying with me. Three of us hail from Texas, but there's a good bit of diversity among different parts of the U.S. I've gotten a little bit of grief about being from Texas, but it's been fun to explain the finer points of the local culture.

The thought that keeps running through my mind is that everyone is just like me! It is amazing to meet other people who love linguistics like I do! I'm not the only one who liked to watch foreign television even when I didn't understand it. I'm not the only one who enjoys a good joke about syntax. I'm not the only one who wants to read a book on the morphology of Asia and Africa. Moreover, I'm not the only one who felt like the only one her whole life!

My roommate is from Venezuela, which I am really excited about. Her story is really similar to mine in a lot of ways, and we stayed up late last night getting to know each other. She is super talkative, like me, and I know we will get along.

This afternoon, we did a scavenger hunt around campus, and I learned about places I never knew about before - the clinic, the free counseling center, the childcare center, and the boutique, which is like a free thrift store for all the missionaries and students on the center! There are so many resources here, and it is amazing the variety of jobs required to keep the center going! We have doctors and dentists and childcare workers and librarians and counselors and cooks, and so many are volunteers.

Tonight, we celebrated a birthday of one of the visitors here for Total It Up, and when we sang "Happy Birthday," and the most surprising thing ever was the unplanned, unrehearsed four-part harmonies that burst from the group of on-campus students. And if I wasn't sure of it yet, that sealed the deal. I am most definitely where I am supposed to be.