State Bound!!!

Why hello- a bit late, I realize....

For which, I'm confident you'll forgive me, when I share about my day yesterday.... 2 essential points: 1. I took the student council to Custer for the 2nd half of our exchange experience. 2. I took a fan bus to Rapid for the girls' regional bball game, which THEY WON!!!!!

This past week has really been a bit of a blur, since I have felt so busy, a phenomenon I have been trying to avoid while being here. I have gathered this notion (from college) that being busy is different than having a full schedule. I generally have a full schedule here, what with my random jobs and all, yet I rarely feel 'busy', like the 'no time to think or process' busy. And unfortunately this week I have felt like that- mainly just Sunday through today....

On Friday I worked the concessions stand for the final boys' regular season b-ball game, which was a wonderful way to- again- smell like popcorn (I literally made popcorn for 2 1/2 hours straight!)... but the more exciting part is their overall excellent performance this season (only one loss), which is continuing on into playoffs. Do not confuse the girls' success with the boys'... because boys are still in districts playoffs (tomorrow's the championship between Custer and Red Cloud)... then on to regions, and if they win- STATE! The girls', now, have already obtained their place among the top eight in the state- with last night's victory! :) *Off to Watertown, SD for State, yeah yeah! My home country!

Saturday I spent a majority of the beautiful day outside, playing basketball (and beginning my career as a b-ball coach by teaching my housemate Erin a few tips!), going for a long walk and sinking into the mud while simultaneously shrieking with surprise and delight, and going for a hike through the snow-laden hills behind our campus. Overall, a beautiful day spent with friends and nature.

My co-volunteer Ben and I decided to head to Custer on Sunday (as if I wouldn't be getting enough travel in during the week's events) :) for a summer-job interview. We have decided to be the co-coordinators for a summer program which runs through Outlaw Ranch, in which we will 'host' various youth groups who will come to the reservation for a service/cultural immersion trip. I think it will work really well, particularly with my other plans of enjoying sista's wedding, and chaperoning Red Cloud seniors on a backpacking trip in Colorado! More on this later, of course.

After spending a weekend being active- and ignoring a bit of the coming week's details- I began what was a whirlwind of work on Monday. Some days- and I know you've all experienced them- really challenge me to stay focused on the positive, and Monday was one of them. Of course as you might imagine, I did find the positive (since that's how I roll) yet my day did not end until 11:30pm, when I scraped out the final caramel roll onto a paper plate for the student council trip the next morning....

*(One point of interest... Ken, the senior student body president, approached me Friday afternoon with an idea for student to raise money for the Hill City wrestler Dusty Swanson who became paralyzed at last week's regional wrestling tournament. Since our b-ball game was against Hill City, he suggested doing a 50/50 raffle for Dusty and his family; thus, we raised nearly $600 dollars, 1/2 of which we presented to Dusty with a card signed by several students. What a great and spontaneous act of generosity by the student body and crowd. These moments give me true hope.)

And I must say- apart from the massive headache from 3 1/2 hours of pounding rock music- the student council trip to Custer was a great success. (Yeah, um, Custer's a LOT different, but the exchange of ideas was valuable none-the-less). I did maybe leave (accidentally) one of my students at Red Cloud, but hey! 2 things going for me- 1. he didn't turn in a permission slip and 2. he wasn't on time. There you go! I'm in the clear. ;):)

The game last night was quite the event! We took a fan bus, which consisted of 34 students and 3 chaperone's, and actually the girls' were picked to lose to St. Thomas More- but they played hard and came out about 8 points on top... which means this will be their 2nd state showing in two consecutive years!!!

I think I will wrap this up, since I have yet to study (and finish the worksheet) for my Lakota class tonight... oops! Definitely not expecting a good score tonight! The material is covering relations vocabulary and sentences....and I must say- you'll be amazed to hear all the variations on 'grandfather,' 'aunt,' 'mother,' 'cousin,' etc.... all depending on the speaker's relationship to the person.

Yep- definitely gotta go. Until next time, may you find similar joy in reflecting on your life- and I'm always up to hearing your reflections as well!!!

Peace, Emily