I have been home for just over two weeks now, and they have been full of holiday celebrations. The day I got home, I slept only for a bit so that I could start to get over the jet lag. Then I went to my grandma’s house to bake Christmas cookies. I collapsed and took a nap before going to my friend’s house for our annual Christmas party that we have been having since seventh grade.
Over the next few days, I slept about 12 hours a day, I rushed to get my presents wrapped, and helped my mom get ready to host Christmas day. On Christmas Eve we went to visit my Papa in his nursing home, went to church, and went to my Aunt’s house for dinner. Here is a picture of my sister and I on Christmas Eve in front of the tree at my house:
Family came to our house on Christmas day. It was really strange that my mom was hosting for the first time, when we always go one of my grandmas’ houses for Christmas day. But me and all my cousins are getting older, and the next generation is soon to arrive. My oldest cousin is expecting his first son in June, his brother is getting married in August, and another cousin got engaged on Christmas morning! It is strange that our generation is bridging the gap into the next stage of our lives. It was a very nice Christmas day though. It was relaxing to stay home, my mom cooked a delicious prime rib, and my dad light a fire.
The next thing I knew it was New Year’s Eve and there was unnecessary drama among my friends about where we were going to celebrate. I was always going to go to my best friend, Tessa’s, boyfriend’s house, and eventually some of my other friends were able to come as well, which I was very happy about. It is nice that even though sometimes it seems like my friends from home are growing distant, we can still get together to visit.
The final holiday gathering of the year was this Saturday. Everyone on my mom’s side of the family, including my mom’s aunt and uncle and all my second cousins, got together to see everyone we hadn’t yet during the holiday. It is also one of the few times I see all my second cousins each year.
During the week I also got to go out with a couple friends, go shopping, and I also went with my family to Wrentham shopping outlets and then to Patriot’s Place for dinner at CBS Scene. Here are Lindsay and I in front of the Pro Shop, and my dad and I at dinner:
While I was at dinner, I heard from my friend Heather about our rooming assignment for the spring semester, and let me tell you, it is enough to make me want to go back to Oxford. I am living in Corr Hall, an underclassmen dorm, in a quad. First of all, there are virtually no juniors who ever have to live in quads, and none who involuntarily must live in an underclassmen building. And I can’t lie, I was upset about this situation. There were 30 junior girls returning from a semester abroad who Stonehill did not have beds for. The one good thing about the situation is that Stonehill guarantees housing for all four years, so at least the 30 of us still have a room to move into this weekend, even if it is not what any of us were expecting. The bad part of the situation is that it is going to make the transition back to Stonehill much more difficult. I was excited to be living among my friends again, and eager to become close to them again. This semester, I also have a full day of student teaching every week, and I am really nervous about being able to get to bed early enough every Thursday night so I can get enough rest before this important part of my class. I was also excited to come home and be 21, and even if not in a wet residence hall, I was thinking I would still be with other friends my age. Finally, I was living in a single at Oxford, with my own bathroom. I’m not sure I am prepared to share a room with 3 roommates and a bathroom with 30 girls.
Residence Life very slyly sent out the housing assignments at quarter of five on December 30; right before a snow storm, and New Years. Finally, on Friday, I spoke with an RD, who informed me that no decisions have been made about any compensation that will be given to us, like they compensate freshmen who are living in forced triples. I surely hope they will because this situation is going to make it a challenging semester for many of us. If nothing else, this situation shows just how much we need the new upperclassmen residence hall that is supposed to be opened in the fall of 2010!
Now that I am home after being abroad, I was wondering what the re-entry and reverse culture shock was going to be like. What I am feeling is that being home is like being back to reality. I absolutely worked my butt off at Oxford, but living in a different country was like vacation from real life. While abroad, I learned a lot and took my studies as seriously as I do at home, but I was only there for a couple months. I wasn’t focused on everything that I will now be dealing with over the next two years. Now that I am home, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I applied for a job on campus for next summer, and because I was dedicated to that job, and fairly confident I had a chance of getting it, I turned down two other offers for work doing research with the SURE program on campus. But I didn’t get the job I applied for, and now it is too late for the other jobs. Now I am home and facing the harsh reality of the economy and the need to find a good summer job. My ideal job would be to have a paid internship with a children’s book publisher, but there’s not much in Massachusetts for publishers, and even less for paid summer internships. I only have a year and a half left at Stonehill, that means one semester of student teaching and two of classes. I am now thinking about getting a summer job that will be a step forward and a good experience for future employment.
In the mean time, until the semester gets under way and some of these things start to take shape, I am really excited to be back at Stonehill. It has been way too long since I have been there. I can’t wait to see all my friends, and to settle back into my life there.
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