SPRING BREAK!!

As most people know (due to the thousands of pictures I have inserted with many, many girls), I live with seven roommates. Before coming to DC, I dreaded this. I mean, it's hard to share a fridge with 4 roommates, let alone 8. Well...this experience has been incredible. No drama, no arguments, all love. We love each other so much, we decided to spend the first spring break of our college careers together (PS--BYU...spring break is a novel idea...you should consider it). Seven girls (Marisha went home and decided to get engaged instead of road tripping--which is understandabe) and a rented mini-van, ventured to the SOUTH. It was eight days of craziness. Let the summary begin. (Warning: blogger picture is driving me crazy and it's not letting me upload!!!)

This is how our trip began, at a rest stop. We visited many, many rest stops. Oh the joys of seven bladders in one van.
THEN we stopped at Wendy's favorite resort...South of the Border. It was created in the 70s or so and is this ghetto souvineer shop area. Boy, did it create great picture taking opportunities.
South of the Border, ladies and gentleman. Thank you North and South Carolina borders...
At last! We made it to Savannah. We were so excited to eat at The Pirate House. We walked around River Street waiting for our reservation time. Savannah is the most darling town. It is a cute little town with southern charm. I WILL be naming my daughter after this place. It is the best ever.

The Pirate House

We spent the night with my best friend from high school, Megan. She took us to brunch at a restraunt called Drift Away Cafe to show off where she works. We loved that place. It was so great to see Megan. Every day for about two years, I rode the bus home with Megan to save my parents a trip from driving to Leesburg to take me to softball practice. We spent our afternoons feeding horses, making blue rasberry kool aid, and 4-wheeling. Mostly, I remember the generosity of Megan and her parents and our long walks down the dirt driveway. Those were the days--of softball and soccer, bathing by the pool, and riding horses (well i was really scared of them...so i just ran from them). We created a deep friendship and I am glad that after so long we picked up right were we left off!

My friend Scott Belanger and his friend came to Savannah to see us. He goes to Georgia Southern. It was so great of him to drive to see us. I miss him :) We had great conversations, such as, "what do you people do for fun at BYU?" amongst more. I love him :) We didn't take pictures...

You might think this is a bit odd...and we did too. We went on a haunted ghost tour of Savannah while waiting for Megan to get off work and for Skot to drive to Savannah. We piled in the back of this hearse and were freaked out by our driver. We met these cool people on spring break from Chicago. Unfortunately, we did not hear any ghost stories--AT ALL. Our driver was quite entertaining...and so odd. SO ODD. Poor Carolyn and Wendy sat in the front seat with him. Haha--SO WEIRD!!!!

After church, we went to a cute little marina. Like my students, my roommates also call me Miss Anderson, though I prefer Miss. Amber. If only we knew we might see the beautiful see cow, the manatee, later in our adventures...

This might or might not be the bench that Forrest Gump sat on in his movie. It probably is not...but this is a bench, and the bench scene took place in Savannah. So you know, 1 in 100 chance?

Megan took us to Isle of Hope a cute little marina with houses that overlook the Savannah River. It was just like old times. We wanted to kidnap her and take her with us for the rest of the trip.

Sunday night, we drove to Talahasse and spent the night with Wendy's parents. We LOVE them. They were so great to us. Wendy's dad took us kyaking. Kristen and I had a very enjoyable time. This is the only picture you will see of us as the group ditched us...that is right...DITCHED us in this aligator infested water. How sad. No love. Kristen and I chased manatees, talked about our favorite books and movies, and had four hours of quality bonding time. Oh...did I mention we got FRIED. More to come.
This is what we missed out on in the Waculla River. They swam with the alligators. We sun bathed. Hmmm...if I had to do it again I wonder what I would do ;)

Colleen and Susie, rocking the boat (Not side to side...but like in that song...the cool kind of rocking the boat). They are team teachers and quite the pair :)
We saw wildlife :) I now know why Steve Irwin loved his job. It was so adventurous! And I learned in first person the old adage of how your if you aren't pushing your testimony forward it moves backward...or something...because whenever we stopped paddling, we just floated back into the shady slosh. (which if we stayed in we might not be toasted, but that is another story)

MANATEE!!!! We chased it. Kristen mastered the video camera and I guided the boat through the sloshy river. I'll find video clips. Don't you worry. They almost tipped us over!! A poor manatee had propellor cuts down its back. So sad.

I told you we got fried. I'm still peeling, 2 weeks later. Sigh.

Wendy had some INCREDIBLE connections in her ward. We were able to stay at a beach house that goes for $6,000 weekly for free. It was incredible. Somehow, the backs of our legs got fried Tuesday. We are so stupid. PAIN!
These girls didn't know Piggly Wiggly really existed outside of Sweet Home Alabama and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton so we had to document the momentous occasion.

Look at this place!! Thanks Wendy! (Wendy wasn't able to come as she had reconstructive surgery on her nose. It just wasn't the same without her).

This is our muppet roommate, Wendy. We love her. She healed so quickly and looks perfect now!
Susie was a great sport and sat in the trunk when Kristen and I were too burnt to suffer through the back. We are grateful for her:) And she was lucky that she got to hang out with Fran.
Dr. B was in LCHS's musical Footloose. It was so great. Dr. B was my Physical Science teacher and also my Student Government advisor. We had a class just the two of us when I was a senior to get all my Student Government stuff done. It was great to be back and to see her! It was odd to see Sheldon's old Georgia friends performing on stage, as well as some of my soccer girls. It was a really great production. Lee County always does so well with their performances. I miss those days of Drama...and High School!

Here I will insert a picture I took with Ms. Hopkins. I am at school right now where facebook is blocked so I can't copy it off of her profile. Ms. Hopkins let me and my 4 roommates stay with her at her home. Her and her husband took such great care of us! Oh my gosh. We loved their house. It was beautiful. Ms. Hopkins was my AP US History, government, economics, and Introduction to Teaching teacher. We also worked together in Future Educators of America (even though she told me not to run for president, I defied her...whoops). She was so generous...and she gave me a shirt...which will soon be highlighted in this post :)
Old high school friends. Dylan, me, Carolyn, Trae, Joe, and Mike. Dylan happened to be in town for the weekend. He only comes home a few times a year, so it's crazy that we actually overlapped! Carolyn and Trae are engaged and I'll be Carolyn's bridesmaid on November 7th :) I can't wait to go back and visit and spend their special day with them (Amanda will also be a bridesmaid so it'll be a great reunion!). Joe came down from Georgia Southern. We had lots of good times in high school. He always harrassed me in Drama and always through me inside my locker, which, fortunately, was located directly under his. Mike got me through school with our many AIM chats. He has always been a great friend. So great that he still has my books which I remembered this weekend (The Hours and The Miracle of Forgiveness--both which I would like to someday finish, hint, hint.).

The next morning, we woke up early and went to Pearly's. You know we have to show off good southern cooking to my roommates. They were so patient with me as I relived my high school days and caught up with my Lee County friends. I was SOOO happy being back at LCHS. I love these people. We shared great times. I keep telling myself that all these people are not always home and waiting for me. I can't wait to go back to see the wedding and everyone again!

Gotta love, the grits. Quote of the day,

Me: "Why haven't grits spread North"
Trae: "Probably because they aren't any good and we're the only ones dumb enough to eat them"
hahahah :)

Home Sweet Home

Our Spring Break Mascot, Fran
The Coca-Cola Museum. Note to self. Don't drink a lot of Coke after not drinking carbonation very often.

This place is right up there with Disney--3D movie and all.

We tried 65 different kinds of Coke from all over the world! Turns out, we have the best in America. I have such pride for Coke now. It's just a great American company.This is for my dad. His parting wish for me when I left for DC was not to turn into a liberal. Well, don't worry dad. My eyes are opened :)

The waiter felt bad for dropping water on Wendy. It was HILARIOUS. Happy Birthday, Wendy!!!!!!! For her birthday, she got water spilled on her, a nose job, a free shirt, a free meal, and a free dessert. We LOVE you :)
Jeremiah and his friend met us for dinner in Atlanta. It was so fun to see him. He is going to school in Marietta. We had a great reunion. A little story that they don't even know about. Colleen was trying to talk to Jake, Jeremiah's friend. Someone told her to jokingly put her arm around him. Well, she did, except she hit the old woman behind her instead. It was awkward. I missed it, but apparently they were all dying laughing.
Atlanta skyline. Nightline? We had a place to stay, but it fell through, so we spent the night with Wendy's boyfriends roommates parents. Yes. That is right. It is so great to be a member of a church where everyone is so trusting. Nick's parents (amazingly enough I knew their son from EFY and college) were at the temple so they alowed 5 strangers to entered their home. They left us cookies, milk, and ice cream. We got all ready for bed and then talked to them when they got home. When we woke up, the Mildenhall's cooked us waffles. It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip. They were so kind to us! Gosh, it was so great. All these streets were named after the birthday girl herself, Wendy Holland. This is my new shirt from Ms. Hopkins :)

We then drove the 10 hours in the minivan back to DC. Wendy, Susie, Meggie, Colleen, Fran (our mascott the flamingo), and I made great time and even made time to go around the van and tell everyone what we loved about one another. haha. I love you, girls!

AIDS in the District

I need to write this down before I forget it happened. On Tuesday, in Government, I taught the students of the current problems with AIG and how the government is asking them to pay back money they are handing out to bonuses because it is not fair to the American people that their tax dollars is going into the hands of wealthy AIG executives (AIG was infused with 170 billion tax dollars from the bailout bill).

While we were looking at the paper, another article jumped out to my 4^th period class. It was about AIDS in the District. The overall percentage in DC is 3%. This isn’t a simple random sample, but the actual number of individuals who have been tested and are positive, compared to the total population. One in 10 individuals between the ages of 40-49 has aids in DC. The rates in some parts of DC are higher than in Africa. This is insane!

Well, this peaked the students’ interest, so instead of moving on into our planned debate, we dove into this article. I opened up the question, “How can you as residents of the District change this?” The responses are probably what you would expect from a group of urbanized seniors. Condoms, safe sex, birth control (we discussed how that wouldn’t help too much), not sleeping around. Students discussed disseat of partners and brought up the gay issue. Students at Ellington have friends and parents with HIV. They know those who have died. This issue scares them. Unfortunately, they have lived through this and had personal experiences to provide. We talked about this for a good fifteen minutes. Then, as the subject took a turn for the worst, I got their attention and told them it was time for me to put a plug in. I stared at the talkative back corner of the room until they new I was serious and their soft chuckles stifled. With one extended finger in the air, I explained that there is only one way to completely prevent this epidemic. I passionately told them that abstinence was the only way. I explained that it might not be “cool” and it is definitely not the cultural norm, but it is right and it will work to prevent this. I went on to tell them that one day when speaking to their spouse of their past, they will be ashamed for the amount of people they have slept with and even the amount of people they have kissed. It might be cool to speak lightly about it now, but one day they will regret it. I went on to tell them how we have been desensitized in our society into thinking intimate relationships are no big deal and expected. We discussed how pornography and intimacy outside of marriage ruins marital relationships and the minds of those who see it. We spoke about these effects on the family unit. It is everywhere—soft porn on facebook, porn in the halls of DESA—it’s everywhere. Again, passionately, I drove in my point that they will regret their careless attitudes toward sex and that all problems within our society has streamed from this widely accepted phenomenon.

I guess they could tell how serious I was because some of them started clapping. A girl (has been dating a guy in the class for over two years) shared why it is important to wait until marriage for her. Others nodded as I spoke, urging me on and knowing I wasn’t casting something so precious before individuals who had no intentions of listening. I hope that our discussion of HIV had some type of an impact on the students and that they will protect themselves from the AIDS epidemic in the District. I guess it really is possible to share my beliefs in the classroom in an appropriate way, because, let’s be honest, I basically testified to them of the importance of keeping the Law of Chastity and the blessings of living a moral life. Whoops…

Week of March 8

Sunday, March 8, 2009--We have started to take Sunday afternoon trips and they have been our greatest joy.

Jefferson Memorial--Wendy, Mike, Carolyn, Kristen, Ryan, Amber. Superhero pose. This was the whole crew on our adventure. Mike drove us to the FDR Memorial and then we walked to the Jefferson Memorial. It was the most incredible weather. I realized how happy I really am when I am outside, as this was the first time it felt good enough to spend time outside since Fall.

Jefferson Memorial--Thank you, Ryan, for your expert posing skills. And, even more so, thank you Wendy for not wearing your ridiculous glasses.

We love old TJ

In awe...Don't worry, I was sore after this cartwheel ;) Again, Ryan was the brain behind the operation.

We ran into these great military officers.

Outside the TJM

George Mason Statue
He drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights which was the document that many of the phrases of the Declaration of Independence was drafted from. He more boldly declared equal rights for all individuals which Thomas Jefferson later lightly repeated.

With FDR and his little dog. Please note Wendy's glasses. She is our special roommate.

Depression Soup Kitchen Line--these were the people posing with the statues in front of us. They took a very long time, so we decided to take pictures of them instead.

It was a sorrowful day.Our Christmas Card Family PictureOur City :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Dr. and Sister Hansen, the National Teaching Coordinators, came to observe us from BYU. It was great to see some familiar faces. They met us at our apartment (the picture above is in our lobby with a doorman) and we had a quick seminar. Then they took us to dinner.

and it was delish. It was New Orleans Style eating.

Thursday, March 12, 2009
Our friend, Mike, got us tickets to go to the Senate and House. We heard a debate on DC Voting rights (which I loved because we've been debating this in class and following as it's appeared in Congress. PS--it's stalled because they tacked a voting rights bill on it which DC residents aren't too fond of) . There were NO congress people sitting in on the debates. It was so sad. We also heard a presentation on global warming. Quite exciting. Kristen and I arrived a bit early and explored the Botanical Gardens across the lawn from the Capitol building.
Haha--we have to get creative.

Friday, March 13, 2009
And to introduce one of the funnest weekends of my DC experience. It all started with this little guy, Oliver (the car, obviously). We asked for a ride to the temple and Sarah in our ward volunteered to lend us her car. It was SO great to have a car. What an experience.
The trip to the temple was so great. It was nice to sit in silence. The youth group was fun to watch. It's hard to believe that 10 years ago we entered for the first time! Mostly, the four of us sat in silence.

Washington, DC LDS Temple

Then, the excitement began. We got lost. We ended up at the wrong Target. It was closed. We found the right Target (my mom will be amazed that I've only been to Target twice in 3 months). We went to Wendy's (our directions told us to turn right at there, so naturally we ate there too). It was the wrong Wendy's. We were a block away from home and missed the turn. We ended up at the Lincoln Monument before we could turn around. We almost died in a head on collision. Apparently, Kristen doesn't have night vision or depth perception. Good thing we assigned her to drive.

Eventually we got home. I accidentally squished Kristen's loaf of bread. Somehow, Carolyn and Kristen started throwing it at one another, I found it and hit Meggie with it (it exploded). Instant bread crumbs. We have a hilarious video i'll have to add later. Oh wow, what a funny night. It was SO great to have a car!!!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Saturday night, we went to Georgetown Cupcake, the cutest little cupcake shop which ALWAYS has a line. We bought cupcakes before heading to Our Town at Duke Ellington (to give away of course...).
This picture was from the last time we graced Georgetown Cupcake, but the message is the same. Delish.
Our Town was SO good. I seriously loved it. It was one of the best plays I have ever seen. I felt like a proud parent watching our kids perform. Elijah waved at me as a part of his character. It melted my heart. I love those kids. Memorable quotes... "Don't spill the beans!" "cokle-doodle-doo!!!"
Then we took Oliver to a black and white Mocktail Party. It was pretty posh, at a old stake president/ representative from Oklahoma's home in Alexandria. Well we got lost. For a long period of time, but made it there for the end. It was fun. Notice the black and white.And, then we put gas in Oliver. Well, we delegated.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Sunday afternoon, we went to the National Cathedral. I accidentally declared my testimony of the Catholic Church when we sang a song. Everyone else in my group skipped that song, but apparently I felt strongly about my experience and decided to testify. It was a fun group and we heard some new insights, such as: adultery is the skeleton in all of our closets (oh really?) and "we break the sabbath", but "we're all in this together." (I guess it's better to sin collectively). It was pretty entertaining. I am really glad we were able to go.

It's True

I just had such a great discussion with one of my students. Her dad works for PBS and is a pretty big time journalist. We were discussing weekend plans and she told me she worked and went to church. I responded and told her I went to my 3 hours of church then to church at the National Cathedral. We started discussing the LDS faith. She took a class at Georgetown over the summer and said that her teacher really supported the LDS religion and had been into a temple (not really sure how that worked since she isn't Mormon...). My student and her family have been watching the television series Big Love. I explained to her that I did not appreciate them making a mockery of something that was so sacred to me. I am sad that the people of the world now know some of our most sacred ceremonies even more than I do, but I know that all things which are "virtuous, lovely, or of good report" will continue to prevail and all other things will have no lasting impact. This is explained in a message from the official LDS Church website in a statement to the public in reference to the Church in the media.

I know our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to be happy. Because of this, we have been placed in families. The only way to completely return to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, is through the family unit. The temple allows individuals to be sealed together for eternity. I love this Plan. While I do not know the meaning of all things, I have a personal witness that the work which takes place inside the temple is eternally binding and will one day allow me to live with those I love most--my parents, brother, husband, children, and relatives--forever. I will do whatever it takes to deserve the blessings my Heavenly Father is waiting to bestow upon me.

I wish the students I teach could understand what I know. I wish I could tell them. I am appreciative of their examples. (I say all this as I am sitting in the middle of the media center constantly being interrupted by, "Miss. Anderson...can I turn in my poster now?" and "Miss. Anderson which of these tattoos do you like best? I designed them for my friend.") When I debated coming to DC, I was really unsettled with many things. My old roommates thought I was falling apart. However, I received a blessing and I was told that I would come to be an example to those I am around. I feel that I have learned much, much more from the examples of my roommates and students, then I could possibly give. Examples of love, forgiveness, and appreciation. I am learning to love everyone because I see so many do this daily.

Quotable Quotes

Amber: "Who is our Supreme Court Chief Justice?"
Female Student: "Judge Mathis."
Amber: "hahahaha, you mean the equivalent of Judge Judy? Danielle...I WILL be sharing this answer with everyone I know."

Male Student's cell phone beeps while someone is commenting in class.
Same Male Student: 2 seconds pass, "cough."
Class looks at him and begins to chuckle
Ms. Anderson: "hahahahah, did you seriously just cough to cover up your cell phone?"

Ms. Chandler: "Son, take off your hat!"
Ms. Chandler: "Boy, take of your hat!"
Ms. Chandler: "Take your hat off now."
Male Student: "Ms. Chandler, it's my thinking cap."
Days later...
Ms. Chandler: "Boy, take off your hat"
Ms. Anderson passes out quiz. Students begin to work on quiz. Ms. Anderson looks at above mentioned male student who seems to be stumped. She observes him slump into his chair, retrieve his "thinking cap," put it on his head, give the top of his head a little massage, and easily finish the test.

More funny stories to be reported. I just have to edit all the good ones so that if I ever run for public office they won't be held against me ;)