The Zoo

I fell in love with the Knoxville Zoo once again. I took a 3-year old little girl yesterday, and she had so much fun. It was a perfect day for the zoo. The sun was out, and it was wonderfully warm. There was also a nice breeze that blew right when it seemed like it might be a little too warm to be standing directly in the sun. We started off at the black bears, and it was then that I realized the slight difficulty I would have. When I spotted an animal that was a little more difficult to see right away, I would try to point it out to the kid. I don't know if you have ever tried this, but it can be a bit harder to explain this kind of thing to a 3-year old. The cheetahs were the worst. There were two of them laying on the ground (which was covered in leaves) and leaning against a tree. They were also at the very back of the enclosure. I wanted to say, "Look past the green bush, and inbetween the two big trees." The trouble is: this is not little kid language. So, all I could say was, "They are on the ground...beside that tree in the back." She tried to find them for about 5 minutes, but no luck. With a little time and effort, I was able to help her find all of the others. When we got to the camels, she decided she wanted to ride them. At first, I wasn't so sure about letting her do it, but I finally agreed. My fear was that they would sit her on the camel, and she would start screaming. But, no.....she loved it. In fact, when we were leaving later in the afternoon, she wanted to do it again. We didn't have time for that though.

The funniest part of the day was after she rode the camel. There were two 9-month old baby camels standing beside the fence. We went to pet them for a few minutes, and one decided it was going to make a snack out of her stroller! I tried to pull the stroller out of the camel's mouth, whiile the little girl is saying, "No, no, no! Camel, no!" It was great. No damage was done to the stroller......it was just a little wet. Fun stuff.

I'm going to Brasil!!!

After spending all afternoon looking at ticket prices, I finally found a fairly cheap one. Well, it's still a lot of money, but it was the cheapest I have seen in a while. I decided to go for it. With the way gas prices are these days, I didn't want to pass it up. I fly out on June 30th, so I will arrive in Rio on July 1st. I'm staying until August 5th, and I am soooo excited! It is such a relief to finally have the ticket purchased and secured. Now, I just have to deal with the anticipation for the next 3 months!

Spring Break is coming!.......(and a game/puzzle)

I woke up at about 8 a.m. this morning, when my friend sent me a text message saying, "It's your last day of school!" By the way, she has been at the beach all week, and she knows how incredibly jealous I have been! I don't have class until 10, so I didn't plan on getting up until around 9. But after being reminded that today is my last day of classes for a little while, I can't deny the little surge of excitement in my bones. Since I was already wide awake, I decided to get up and continue working on a game/puzzle that I started last night. Let me go ahead and warn you that this puzzle is highly addictive, and rather difficult. (I saw it on the blog of a woman that works with the missionaries I was with when I was in Rio.) So, I gave it a shot. It will probably take me months to finish it! I wanted to include the link, but everytime I try to link to it, it goes directly to my puzzle. Now, c'mon....that's not fair! You have to do all the work yourself! The name of the puzzle is "Funny Farm". Google that, and you should find a link to it. Good luck!

Annoyances

While sitting in my room, doing some homework.....the fire alarm goes off. Not only is it the most obnoxious sound imaginable, it was also a really inconveinent time for it to go off. It happened at about 12:30 p.m. and I had class at 1:00. So, I was trying to finish my work for the class.....because I DO NOT go to class without my work done. So, I grabbed my keys and my jacket; and left my room. When I got to the front door, I saw that it was raining. Not just sprinkling...but pouring! Rather than standing out in the rain, I decided to just get in my car. After sitting there for a few minutes, I drove around the building to see if anyone else came out.......no, they didn't. Wtf? I parked my car again and waited to see what happened. My Resident Director opened one of the doors and looked outside, and then went back in. So, I thought maybe the alarm stopped. I opened my car door to listen, and unfortunately, I still heard it. I waited some more, and in the meantime, the rain was getting worse. It was really coming down. Finally, security pulled up and went in the building to turn the alarm off. It was obvious that the dorm was not on fire, and the alarm just tripped itself. After about 5 minutes, the security guards come back outside, get in their car, and drive away. At this point, I'm thinking the alarm is turned off, and I'm going back inside. I got out of my car in the rain, and walked up the steps....when I got on the porch, I realized........the alarm is still going off!!! I went ahead and went up to my floor, and as I was walking down the hall, the alarm stopped. It was now 12:50; my homework was not done; and I had class in 10 minutes. I was so pissed off, that I said "screw it", and decided to skip class. Basically, my day was ruined by the rain and the fire alarm. Nice.

A-Z

I saw this kind of thing done in a couple of different places, and I thought it was pretty interesting, so I decided to do one for myself. I would have done this several days ago, but I have been without internet access on campus. (grrrr!) Anyway....here it is: all about me from A-Z....

Animals
3 dogs (a Shih-Tzu: "Gypsy", a Daschund "Bullet", and a German Shepherd/Boxer mix "Samson"), several fish (sorry, no names), and a Tennessee Walking Horse (Prince)....who I am trying to sell...if anyone's interested! haha.

Beverage of Choice
My American favorite is Sweet Tea; my Brasilian choice is Guaraná (of course!)

Car
1988 4-speed Acura Integra (just like this, but red)....aka: piece of crap.

Dresses
I don't wear them often, but occasionally, if I'm in the right mood, I enjoy them.

Electronics
I would be lost without my cell phone....and my laptop.

Flower
Calla lillies...especially pink ones :)

Game
Catchphrase! I'm addicted to this game...it's so much fun to play with a big group of people.

Hometown
Knoxville, Tennessee

Instruments
Bass Clarinet, Flute, Clarinet, Pit Percussion, and a tiny bit of Piano

Juice
Orange juice!

Kids
I love being around them, and can't wait to have some of my own in the future.

Living Arrangements
I live in a pretty decent dorm on my college campus. When I'm in Knoxville, I live with my mom, brother, and grandmother.

Major
Veterinary Technology

Nickname
Jules

Organization
Sometimes I can be very organized, but in general, my life is fairly chaotic.

People
As I've gotten older, I have found that I can tolerate fewer people than I used to. I surround myself with people I care about, and pretty much avoid the others.

Quote
"There's too much beauty to quit." -from the movie Stay

Religious Views
I am a Christian. But as far as "religion" goes, I think things like mission work and simply helping others are far more important than whether or not you go to church every Sunday, and sing in the choir.

Siblings
I have one brother; 4 years younger than me. I also have two older step-brothers, but they live in Texas, and I never see them anymore.

Tattoos
I have two....a black star on the back of my neck, and the outline of Brasil on my foot. They really are addicting, but I'm trying to hold off on getting another one for a while.

Umbrella
I hate that song!

Vegetables
I like most vegetables, but I'm a pretty big fan of potatoes.

Worst Habit
Hands down, it would have to be procrastination.

Xylophone
Yeah, I can play it. :)

Your favorite place
My favorite place is definitely Rio de Janeiro, Brasil!!

Zoo
I love going to the zoo....even though I've been a million times, and it's pretty much always the same.

Strange Dreams

I have been dreaming a lot lately, and my dreams have been kinda strange. Seeing people I haven't spoken with in ages, being pregnant, running and hiding from someone trying to kill me, being in classes with people I have never seen before, getting married, etc. Just totally random stuff. Also a lot of them, not all, but a lot have something to do with Brasil. I'm either getting ready to go to Brasil; I'm in Brasil; or I just got back from Brasil. I have heard that your dreams are often related to things that you think about during the day. I guess I do think about Rio a lot, but wow! I never knew I could have so many dreams about it. All of my dreams that involve Rio are pretty good dreams though. They are never scary or bad. I know that I'm getting anxious and excited about going back, and I assume that is the connection with the dreams. It's just funny to go from only dreaming occasionally, or at least only occasionally remembering the dreams....to dreaming pretty much every night. I also have been dreaming when I take naps after classes during the day. My brain has just been very active during sleep lately! I find it pretty interesting. Bons sonhos!

I had a dream....in Portuguese.....kinda :)

For a few weeks now, I have been on an obsessive kick about wanting to dream in Portuguese. Not only would it just be freaking awesome, but it would also be a good indication of my progress. Just a couple of days ago, I mentioned my obsession to André. His response?? "You will. As you learn more, you will." Well that's all fine and good, but dang it, I want to do it now! As I woke up this morning, I remembered having a weird dream. I layed in bed; trying to recall every detail possible from that strangely inaccessible, and almost forbidden storage place inside my brain. This is my recollection:

I am in Brasil, and André takes me to a restaurant for lunch. We walk in, and an employee asks "How many?" André says, "Two." Then the guy says, "How are you all today?" André replies, "Fine." And I say, "Bem." (That was obviously the important part of this story! But, I will continue with the dream because it was just funny.) So the guy takes us to our seat, and I leave the table to go to the restroom. I walk in, and there stands a girl that I went to middle school with! (She moved to Kansas after our 8th grade year, and I haven't seen her since.) But, there she was....in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil....in the same restaurant....in the same bathroom. Then I go back to our table, and André says, "A guy named Stephen came over, and he wants to talk to you." (This was a guy I went to high school with, and I also have not talked to in a while.)

That is all I can remember. Very odd, right?? So, as I was lying in bed this morning, going through that whole scenario.....it hit me. Suddenly. I said "Bem!" Oh my gosh!!!! I said "Bem!" in my dream. Wow! I said a word in Portuguese....in my dream!! Now, you are probably thinking....ummm, it was just one word...what's the big deal? Yeah, I know it was just one word, but it was one more word than I had ever said in a dream before last night! It was a very exciting moment for me. I only hope this happens more and more. I'm not necessarily expecting it to happen every night, but hey, it wouldn't be disappointing if it did! :)

Pack up!

As you may or may not know, I am planning to go to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil again this summer. I was talking to André tonight about it, and he said something that was funny, but encouraging at the same time. First, some background info on the conversation: I have been unsuccessfully looking for a job. The problem is....I live in the middle of nowhere, with few job opportunities. I have some money saved up already, but as plane tickets to Rio are expensive, I still need to save more. The cool thing is this: my dad and step-mom are putting hardwood floors in their house, and my step-mom has offered to pay me to help her put the flooring in! Yay! After telling André about all of this he said..."Julie, pack up. You're gonna be in Rio in a few months." My first reaction was laughter, and then I felt really encouraged by what he said. Sometimes I worry about it, but then there are moments like that....and they make it all ok. Graças a Deus.

Why Can't I Sleep??

So it's like 1:00 in the morning right now, and I cannot seem to fall asleep. My brain knows that I have to wake up early tomorrow for church, but my body is just refusing to shut down for the night. My sleeping schedule has been totally screwed up since last Saturday. So I have had an entire week of small amounts of sleep at bad times. This coming week is mid-terms for me, so I will most likely be up late studying during the week. Great! Another week of crappy sleep. Just what I need. I'm gonna lay down, and try to convince my body that it is tired.......such a difficult task sometimes. Boa noite para todo o mundo. Até mais.