Hey all! It’s Spring Time! Well, almost. Just a few more days, and it will be official. I’m finally starting to see some squirrels out on campus again, though this time the little trash bandits can scurry away a bit faster than they could when they were packing it on for winter. I must say, however, I kind of miss being thought of as crazy because I sometimes wear shorts in 20 degree weather.

Well, in the past few weeks things have been trucking right along with everything that is going on. I got a new roommate, Ryan (who moved in about a week and a half ago); and since then, I’ve realized how easy it is to become mesmerized by his fish tank. Actually, quite a few people are getting tanks. One of my suitemates got a miniature puffer fish, but it only lasted a few days. Poor Shamus. Anyway, besides school and fish-watching, track and Falcon Acivities and Campus Events (FACE) take up a good portion of my time. We recently made the transition from indoor to outdoor track; and so far its all going pretty good, except for the being sore part. I have to say, practicing outside is a welcome change and I just can’t wait to get started with the meets again.

Also, on the occasion I find myself sitting and spectating at a heated Falcon intramural basketball game, sporting on the jazz team, or teaching my compadres to play the didgeridoo. There Chris is trying his luck at getting the perfect sound. With some more practice I think he might be accepted as an Aborigine tribesman.

I guess the next big thing on the agenda is spring break. To start it off I went with a few friends from the clase de español to watch the Nazarene Church’s presentation of the "Passion of the Christ" ... in Spanish. So we really got to test our listening ears ... and it went ok. As for the rest of beak, I’ll be heading down to Houston with Campus Ministries for a five-day mission trip. That should be awesome; I’m really looking forward to it. Ill be sure to tell you all how it went and hopefully have some good pics.

Well, I’m off to try to make an apple pie in the microwave (don’t worry, we have a recipe).   But, you’ll all hear from me again when it is “officially” spring so se ya on the flip side. –Nathan

Oh ya, one more thing. I have to say congrats to one of my fellow journalers for getting married. Congrats Seth!

Hey everyone. It’s back-to-school time. I hope everyone had a great holiday and came up with some clever resolutions. Well, I guess we’ve been in school for about two weeks now; and from the looks of it so far, I think it’s going to be a fun and busy semester. It was pretty interesting to come back to some new friends and brown grass, which finally decided to give the green a break. Not that I’m complaining about green grass. Far from it. I was just a little surprised at how long the blades retained their luster. But before we get into that lets talk about Christmas and winter break. Woot!

Chapter 1

I couldn’t believe that Christmas came up as fast as it did and how fast the break went by. One of the really cool things that I did over the break was travel to Honduras with a mission team of 16 other people from around Kansas. Finally getting to go on the trip was a thrill because I had been anticipating going for about three years. Our group traveled to a mountain village called El Bosque to put in a water system for the people there. Their idea of a village isn’t exactly what we would picture though. They like to stake out steeds on the sides of steep hills and disperse them through a valley. To reach all the houses we dug around 10 kilometers of trenches for the pipe. So many cool and interesting things happened. The whole trip was a thrill whether it was frantically trying to give a cab driver (in the cities) directions in Spanish, swinging across a river on a vine and falling in, or riding in the back of a flat bed truck ducking tree branches. There we are trying to push the truck up a river bank. Though, out of all those things the coolest thing was to see how the people in those villages worship whole heartedly, and anywhere they can find a light for night time services.

Chapter 2

After the mission trip I was kind of thrown into school again because I had class the next day after I got back. This winter and into the spring, I am jumping on the track team for Friends and playing in the basketball band. I have never done indoor track before so when it came time for out first meet, at University of Kansas, I wasn’t quite sure how it would go and … ha-ha, well….let’s just say for me … it went. We did have two people qualify for nationals already so that’s really awesome and we are all super excited for the rest of the season. Go Falcons!

As for school I think classes are going to be a lot of fun this semester and I’m looking forward to what we’re going to be learning. I’m still in Spanish and a whole lot of music classes. I also have a really cool religion class. As you can probably tell I’m pretty revved up for the semester.

Well that’s about all I have for now so I’ll catch you all next time around.

Nathan.

Why hello again everyone! It’s December, but the grass here on campus is still bright green! I’m kind of astounded by that.  We’re starting to wonder if they dye it at night.

But then again if they did, it would rub off on the squirrels; and I haven’t seen any green squirrels, so I guess not. I think people are starting to think that I’m a little loony because I always wear shorts, even when it’s freezing outside, and I’ve had to narrow my reasons for wearing them: my legs don’t get cold, they are already numb, or they just might be right.

Aside from the lack of green squirrels and my cold feet, quite a bit has happened since my last posting so I guess I’d better get going.  I’ll just roll the dice and see where it comes up. Looks like it's going to be ... Thanksgiving. Normally my family goes to my grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving, but this year we all stayed home because that would be a lot of driving on both mine and my brother’s behalf. It was awesome to see everyone again and just relax at home for a spell. There’s my family (ma, pop, and the bro) sitting down to a scrumptious dinner. I can’t believe that in a just a week I head back home for winter break. If you would like to find one of the ways to make time fly, you can either a) read on, or b) throw a clock out the window.The Monday after we got back from T.G. break, everything kicked right back up again. In fact, that night we had a choir concert. I have to give a high five to all of the choirs for all their awesome performances. Later that same week we donned our tuxes four more times for the yearly candlelight concert series and then again, a few days later one more time for a performance for the Rotary Club. But I’m not complaining, it all was a blast.

Everything on campus has just recently become a bit more festive due to the effects of the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and the CHRISTmas season. Unfortunately, I some how became a bit ... ummmm ... forgetful, so I didn’t get pictures of the lighting. I know, I know, and yes I am ashamed. I also didn’t get any pics of the Holly Jolly Trolly Tour, which is where the Activities Committee rents a trolley and we go around town to see the lights. Some of the houses I couldn’t believe! I’m pretty sure they would be visible from space.  Though, I would have to say one of my favorite parts was seeing the “Happy Birthday Jesus” on the top of one house; those people came out and waved to us too. This was the first year of the tour, and I can see it being a big hit later on.

So after a few concerts, tests, long nights of homework, and cool activities ... it's the finally the final week and finals week and its going to be busy. There is my lit class finishing our last paper so that’s one less thing.

Hey you guuyyyss! Wow it has been a busy (and sometimes crazy) few weeks again. I can really tell its fall now because on the way to class, I sometimes find myself ankle deep, wading through a sea of fallen leaves. I have also come to a conclusion that the squirrels are indeed neglecting students to fill their pantries. On my way to play ultimate Frisbee I saw one of the little rascals who was so plump he could hardly scurry away from me (Seth you can use this for your survey). 

Last time I checked in, I was enjoying some candy corn in preparation for Halloween, but that wasn't the only Halloween prep that was going on. During the few weeks that preceded the 31st, I was busy helping plan the Halloween dance we had here on campus, which I must say, turned out very well. Most of the people who attended the shindig enjoyed the candy, costumes, and ghastly decorum that Camp Odasac in the basement of the Casado Building had to offer. To continue the festivities, my roommate, Marcus, participated in Trick-or-Treat Off the Street. This is an awesome way of providing a safe Halloween for young children. There's a photo of Marcus handing candy to Bob the Builder alias Micah. 

While on the topic of Halloween and creepy things, I gave blood for the first time. Wow, that was interesting and (pats self on the back) I didn't pass out! I did get a little woozy but I just looked away and was practically fine. When thinking of other new things I did, two other things come to mind. I went to the Wichita Symphony to see the Russian pianist Lilya Zilberstien. I don't think I've ever seen hands move like that before. The Arts and Entertainment committee taught free salsa and rumba lessons, so I thought I would give it a try. That was a blast. ChaChaCha! 

To wrap everything up, I want to say nice job to the football team for winning its big game becoming co-champs for our conference and to the soccer team for winning the first round of regionals. There is suitemate Peter cheering for footballers. Go Falcons! Remember to keep you eyes peeled for the mid-November addition. Until then, Nathan.   

Howdy all! Its mid-term’s week, and more and more people are battening down the hatches to get everything finished before fall break weekend, which by the way, I’m really keyed up for because I get to go home for the first time this year! :DFirst off, I want to add to Seth’s squirrel study. It seems that the little rascals aren’t as curious as they were earlier; they seem to be more focused on hibernation prep than following students around campus….how rude of them.

It’s a little hard to capture the essence of everything that has happened in the past few weeks because quite a bit has been going on. The Jazz Band, Concert Choir, and Gospel Choir all had performances this last week. It’s so much fun to be part of those groups. I also went to watch the play The Enchanted which filled with great acting and classic humor.

Next up in line is Friends Capades, where the school rents the ice arena and people can test their skills, not to mention, the firmness of the ice. I believe that is Cameron about to go all out in the limbo (he’s a hockey player so he skated circles around all of us). I didn’t fall but, wow, I was incredibly sore the next day. Though, it was nothing a massage from the heath fair couldn’t handle. The annual heath fair was packed with all sorts of cool booths; my favorites were the massage therapy and the acupuncture booths. Let’s just say I “had to go to class” and didn’t get a chance to try acupuncture. That’s me with my hands covered with paraffin wax and mittens.

One of the coolest things that happened these few weeks was freshman seminar when we hung out with the special needs kids from local high schools. We played games, danced, did art work, and decorated cookies. I had a blast and I’d really like to volunteer for more things like that.

Hi everyone! As you probably can see my name is Nathan, and I am a proud Freshman here at Friends. I’m here to give you all an little glimpse into what my life is going to be like over the next several months. But first let me tell you a bit about myself.

I come all the way from the little town of Holcomb, Kan., which is about 3.5 hours west of Wichita. I love to be spend time with family and friends, sing praise music, and soak up the goodness in life. Right now I’m not sure what my major is going to be, but I  think it will deal with either music, Spanish, or something in the medical field. I’m taking classes that will allow me to go in any one of those directions. I also do drama, help set up and tear down the Cornerstone worship service, and in the winter and spring I be a jumper on the Friends U. track team. Because this is my first year in college, I wasn’t quite sure how the first few weeks of school and college life would go for me but let me tell you, its awesome!

Moving into the dorms was probably my biggest fear yet at the same time I couldn’t wait. It's so cool how everything works out because I’ve got some awesome roommates: There’s Zach in the red and Peter in the blue. But don’t worry; you will definitely get to see Andrew, Ant and Marcus.  After the whole roommate thing was settled, we began to take part in the Week of Welcome and orientation. 

I have to say, SGA did an awesome job. Everything from the movie on the lawn, to grocery bingo night (One of the greatest ideas ever! I still have Ramen from that.), to taking a bus to Lake Afton to cheer on our cross country squads, made me feel right at home while making loads of new friends. After a few weeks of class, I soon leaned that no freshman year is complete without trekking up the infamous Davis Halls steps to freshman seminar once a week. After about three trips up the stairs I was considering hiring a Sherpa.

But even Mount Davis cant deter me from enjoying my classes (most of which this semester are music oriented). School is going great so far and I love the fact that everyone is usually so positive. I am really looking forward to the oncoming weeks. That’s about all I can reasonably fit on this page so I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Keep it cool, Nathan