Some days seem to fly by and others drag on. One week from tomorrow I will be finished with finals and I will be a Junior at MSSU. Even saying it seems so strange and unbelievable all at the same time. If you would have asked me two years ago when I moved here if I could see this day I would probably have said "no". At that point it was so far in the future that it was much more of a dream than it was even a possibility. I had to determine to put one foot in front of the other and do whatever I had to do that day to move toward the goal. Here I am almost two years later and as I look back it doesn't seem to have taken that long.
Now on to the next phase. I have applied to the University of Savoie and there seemed to be such a hurry to get everything completed and turned in. The registration process in itself would deter the faint of heart! Part of the application was in English and part of it was in French. Since I am only in my second semester of French (like 1st grade), there were many parts of the process I was using freetranslation.com on a regular basis! At any rate it has been submitted for about three weeks. Now the waiting - and waiting - and waiting. I can't apply for my student visa until I have an acceptance letter from the University of Franc. Then it seems I need to go to Chicago to have an interview before I am issued a student visa.
Having said all that I can't go to the DRC until I have my student visa for France. When Dad and I were talking about it the other night I had the distinct impression that I will need to develop patience in this area since paper work in other countries can take a while. I think I have become so accustomed to such favor and things going relatively smoothly here that I will have to work on developing that fruit! At any rate I will continue to do what I can while I wait. I am finishing up classes, getting all my paperwork and documents in order, sorting through things and getting ready for the sale. Oh yes and I have gotten my shots - so any of you who know me know how thrilled I was about that!
I haven't decided yet what I will do for Mother's Day. My mom has been gone for several years. I have had a few offers, but I haven't decided yet. I also need to get back up to the farm and finish cleaning and repairing the wind damage up there. I like working on projects, it helps me think and Dad and I usually have some really good conversations in the process. He gets to show me what we need to work on in me most of the time. We have been working a lot on trust the past two years - wonder if we are finished or if He will just add a few new things to remodel?
Anyway the last day here in my apartment is May 31st. It will be a little sad for me to leave here. Brayden loves it here and said I should live here "forever". He also loves the swimming pool and he and I are going to spend some time in it before I move. I have met some wonderful people on my journey to Joplin, MO. In the last two years I have survived a divorce, moving and a tornado. The key word for me the first year is survivor and I am! The word I have for this year is persistent and I am! It will be interesting to see what the word for next year will be. I guess I'll have to wait and see :)
