travels, travails

This is mostly a not-so-exciting summer for me. I spent all of June in a Spanish course. (Thankfully I'm done and have now passed both my language proficiencies! Woohoo!) And most of July and August I'm reading. That's right: just reading. I have approximately 100 books to get through by November, so I'm reading like a fiend.

But, I did get to take a week (well actually more like 10 days) and head out to Wyoming. It was wonderful! I stayed with an old and dear college friend, Amy Leicht Decker, on the way in and another, Jacki, on the way out--and was also able to find some time with some wheaton roommates and friends. And in the middle, it was hiking, hiking, hiking with my mfa pals (and also laramie's "freedom has a birthday" which is pretty much the best july 4 celebration anywhere..free snow cones, free ice cream, free watermelon, free lemonade: what more could you want?) It was great to see old friends and to get outside.

I was telling a friend, yesterday, that this summer's a bit weird. Usually, I live for my summers. For the past several I've been in Europe, or Wyoming or leading wilderness trips; actually, since I was 15, I have spent every single summer somewhere beautiful. I think, on account of that (blessing!), I've gotten into a space where I see the year as prep and the summer as game time, where I really live and have fun and do the things I'm most passionate about.

Not to take the soccer analogy too far, but I told my friend I feel sort of like the US soccer player, Megan Rapinoe, who played all the big games leading up to the world cup and then suddenly, two days before the world cup, got benched. Of course, she made the best of it and was a total game-changer. (If you haven't seen her Brazil assist, please watch it, right now. It's beautiful. ESPN3.com) Anyway, but it was a lot of lead up and preparation to be sitting on the bench.

Alas, my friend reminded me that this is how the summer before comprehensive exams year is for everyone. You work really hard all year and then you're stuck that summer working even more, with seemingly little payoff. You just have to buckle down and get the work done. Of course, the summer could be much worse. I like reading (just not at a book-a-day pace.) And it's terrific seeing my family and some friends. It's just an extraordinary amount of work. But that will be the theme of this year, I'd guess: work, work and work some more. It seems they don't just hand out PhDs for nothing.

Here are some photos from my fun trip!