Two very busy weeks - Part 2

Saturday morning I woke up early and got ready to go to Sectionals to cheer on the Varsity Cross Country team. Of course I took my book because of the amount of reading I had to do...but it was the same as nothing...the first time I grabbed it and started reading I fell asleep...profoundly...well, I'll get there.

The day didn't start very good - my friend Grant, who was supposed to be picking me up, didn't. And so my host-brother-in-law (ehe that's pretty neat :p) gave me a ride and when I got to the school the bus was almost leaving...I got lucky. Anyway, the bus trip was not very fruitful...I just talked and talked..and talked... (people say I'm a very different exchange student - they don't need to talk to me for me to say something...I just talk... I wonder if that's good...it sure looks like me, in my good days :) ).  The Sectionals, the race that qualifies people to the State meet, were in Monroe and the place was absolutely crowded. While our runners warmed up, some friends of mine (girls, obviously) and I walked around the course arms in arms - it was a pretty difficult one. It was so difficult and we were so tired at one point that one of the girls I was with started to have a mirage: yes, our girl runners were also checking out the course a little far form us and she said: "Look! It's the boys!"... Kind of weird, if you ask me... After this we decided to go to the playground they had there and just swing around and talk about horror movies (we even agreed we had top do a horror movie marathon one of these days). Oh, and of course everyone believed me and freaked out when I said I was going to do an entire turn on the swing...ehe so naive... Later, right before the race, I ate a giant hotdog with ketchup, mayo and mustard and everyone looked at me with a disgusted look and I was like "Hey, wait a minute! You're the 'sauce on everything' people! What's wrong with this...?". Apparently it wasn't very normal...

Eventually the race started and Cagla, Maggie and I (the running buddies ;) ) started running too...around all the course to cheer on the girls (they always start). They all ran pretty well and Tricia Serres (the coach's daughter) was first during almost all the race...! But...the race was simply to hard...in the very end, with like 500m to go, she crashed...we saw her getting behind and behind...just struggling to finish, already at an unusual slow pace... About a meter before the finish line she fell...with her last strengths she got up and finished the race...it looked like the dream for State had ended...all the other girls were in pretty bad shape, lying on the ground and very weak...but Tricia...she was delusional...we were all very worried... Eventually, she got better, started talking again and walking straight...but for a moment there...well, everything is OK now, that's what matters...

The guys ran very well and one of them, Adam Niehaus - a Senior who was for the FIRST TIME in Cross Country - finished 4th!! It was awesome! Some of the other guys were pretty upset though...one of them, Tyler Schaefer, got in the Cross Country team when he was a Freshman and he was kind of bad but he worked really really hard and now, his Senior year, he was the best guy on the team...but for some reason he wasn't able to keep up with the front pack during the race...

The qualifications ceremony followed... Adam got to the State meet and luckily Tricia was also able to qualify as an individual...! And we did pretty good as a team too!

Of course in the meanwhile I had forgotten my book...and I almost lost a friend of mine's car keys...like he left them by the swings and I found them some time later and they said Alex-Alika and I thought: "Oh, this must be some girl. I should probably leave them here 'cause she'll look for them here..." Well, it wasn't... Alika is just Alex in Hawaiian...oops...

On the way back to school I tried to read my book but suddenly I realized I had been reading the same part for like 10 minutes...Oh God...I just fell asleep and woke up when we got to Platteville.

I was taken home and spent the rest of the day reading, while Mateo went to a giant bonfire on a corn maze...and brought two pumpkins for us to carve next week...!

The rest of the weekend was pretty much the same...Eventually I read 140 pages of my book and finished it...but at midnight on Sunday...and the report was due on Monday... There was only one thing to do...and it was not lose my beloved sleep...

On Monday, first thing in the morning, Mateo and I ran to Mrs. Callahan's room...rather hesitantly we said we hadn't been able to finish the report and we were about to ask if we could do it for Tuesday and she was like "Oh, I'm glad you told me! Does Thursday sound good?" Well, YES!! We were so lucky...

The week was just loaded with work but other than that nothing special happen... I mean we had Mole Day in Chemistry (6:02 of the day 10/23, in this case 24 because 23 was a Sunday, but did you get it...? ehe We should do that in Portugal) and so there were mole cookies and Mr. Molle (how ironic aha) said mole jokes...well, it was a pretty neat day... I can even tell you a mole joke...hm...oh, yeah... "What is any chemist's favorite song in Aladdin?" Can you guess it? (sound of drums...) A Mole New World! AHAHA I'm so funny (or not). Well Chemistry was actually pretty cool this week because we didn't have classes neither Tuesday nor Wednesday so I got to just do nothing, which is always "something" nice.

Oh and I almost forgot! I had my first choir concert on Monday! It went really good except for the so famous and unfortunately so enjoyed by the Choir Directors, Group Piece...that ALWAYS goes bad..it's a universal truth my friends...I'll post some pictures in  near future (of course near only if compared to a far away future which would be between 700 and 7000 years). The 11th ad 12th grades Choir - Cantorum - sang two pieces and two demos: an arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's Scarborough Fair, a very very beautiful Amazing Grace by Craig Courtney and then a demo of the original Amazing Grace and Amazing Grace in shape-note style (as you can probably tell by now, the theme of the concert was...Amazing Grace).

And after the concert we all went to Culver's (a fast-food restaurant, what else?!) to get an ice-cream - but of course I got a burger...I was so hungry. In this day for the first time this year some people saw the Northern Lights but I didn't...well, next time I hope...

Besides that for Principles of Engineering we started a new project in which we have to build a Power Grid using solar, hydrogen and wind power for Team Sports we started playing Lacrosse which is actually pretty neat.

My friends to celebrate the last time I have to write in English (just kidding Mrs. Kies :p) I leave you a pearl of modern wisdom:

"You shouldn't take apples from a grocery store because that would be stealing."

Bye!