Study Abroad, Honors Program & Other Student Experiences

            So I thought my weekdays were busy enough…allowing my weekends to be lazy and restful…clearly I was wrong. This weekend was so full of activity that it is only today that I don’t have any true plans, although I am going home for dinner tonight to watch the season finale of one of my families favorite televisions shows, True Blood! My last class of the day on Friday, Pathways to Leadership, an Honors course, seemed to spark all of this activity. We do Friday challenges to observe our styles of leadership and learn about each other. Last Friday we were given puzzle pieces and just told to put it together. It turns out ours was a simple kitten and puppy puzzle (very cute of course) and we were able to finish quite easily. We really came together as a team and got it done without very many shared words. This, although not usually my thing, was actually quite fun and a nice relaxing way to end my week of classes. This coming week all of labs begin so it should be interesting how two more labs will affect my schedule and work load.

                After classes on Friday I went to the Half Moon Restaurant and Saloon in Kennett Square for dinner with a few friends. We traveled there to try their game meats, for dinner I ate Gator Gumbo and an Antelope burger. Both dishes were fantastic…the alligator Gumbo was a little spicy and very filling, and I couldn’t even tell I was eating alligator. The antelope was a bit sweeter and chewier than beef, but yet much lighter than any beef hamburger I’ve ever had. The restaurant was really nice and in a great area, we sat on the second floor which had huge open windows overlooking the town. Afterwards we decided to walk around for a little bit and figured out that we were in the mushroom capital of the world! Even better than that we found that their mushroom festival was this weekend…and that a parade was about to begin…how we find ourselves in these situations I will never know. The parades theme was to honor mushrooms (hence mushroom festival) and the ten year anniversary of 9/11. It was a cool little thing to watch and it was nice to see that communities around the United States still stick to tradition and family values. Friday night I then picked up a friend from high school from the Septa station and she spent the night with my roommates and myself. We hung out, went to the Arcadia trivia night, and then I brought her back to the station at 5AM Saturday (talk about a hit and run visit).

                This weekend was great (more to come later) but it is also important to remember the ten year anniversary of 9/11. I remember like it was yesterday…I was on my way to the doctor’s office, I left school early and we heard it on the news. After that we went home and I would see the same image over and over again on every station. We will never forget what happened, never forget the innocent lives lost, and never forget those brave enough to risk their lives. This tragedy may be long past but it still affects everyone to this day…lets us never forget those who were lost, never stop loving those close, and always protect our great country.