Holly

The academic year is over and I am now a SENIOR!! Last Thursday I met with my professor who sponsored my Spanish contract and I received full credit for the work I did over the quarter. It's such a relief to have everything completed and now I can move on to my final year of undergraduate study!! On Friday the 13th I participated in the graduation ceremony with the Evergreen Singers. We sang one song as a musical interlude, then we sang the Evergreen Alma Mater and the Geoduck Fight Song to conclude the ceremony. I had never seen an Evergreen commencement ceremony and it was awesome! Sadly, my camera was malfunctioning (eek!) and I wasn't able to take photos, but now I can't wait to graduate next June!

This summer is going to be a great break, and I feel more motivated than ever to finish up my last 38 credits or so and get me a Bachelor's Degree already! Having taken a non-traditional path to getting a college degree, I feel more accomplished than I thought possible for the work that I've done this year. Participating in my college education has changed a lot about my perspectives in life and society, but I've been thinking very critically and analyzing this stuff and writing about it very diligently for the past nine months. I'm thrilled to be able to read for pleasure again! And I have lived in South America for the past two summers studying Spanish, and it's cold in Argentina during June, July and August!! It will be nice to have a true northwest summer (sunshine and what not) and take a break from school!!!

For now, I welcome the end of the era of perpetual winter.

Posted by winhol13 at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I made the decision to move to Olympia and attend Evergreen, I was very sad to leave my comfy life in Seattle. I loved my community college, my little basement apartment with a private yard, my perfect student part-time job waiting tables at The Continental Greek Restaurant on the Ave in the U-District. It was a difficult decision to make... but the one thing I couldn't give up was my job. Many people have asked me why I still continue to work in Seattle, and besides the fact that it's the perfect weekend job, it allows me to keep in touch with my friends and family in the city, and gives me the opportunity to earn a decent chunk of change in a short period of a couple of days; besides all that, I have an amazing time while working.

The Continental is owned and operated by first-generation Greek immigrants, and they have been in operation at the same University District location for more than 30 years. The food is delicioso and six days of every week they host language conversation groups. Thursday night is Spanish Night, my favorite night to work. But, every once in a while, Demetre, my manager, will host a singing group that comes to the restaurant to play Balkan folk music. They sing songs in Serbian, Croatian, Greek, Bulgarian and other Eastern European languages. When they come to sing, The Continental comes ALIVE!

The busiest/craziest/funnest/most intense night I ever worked was a couple of Saturdays ago, and wow! was it ever an amazing night. We were actually filled to capacity and had to turn people away! That didn't stop people from standing outside on the street listening to the music through the open front doors, and watching though the large glass windows from the sidewalk. I opened more bottles of wine than ever before and got to listen to beautiful Balkan folk songs while simply just doing my job. There was singing and dancing and overall just the most incredible positive ambiance happening that evening. ¡Qué buena onda!

I've never seen so many people in the restaurant before!

My boss, Demetre, on the left dancing with one of his friends.

Eventually a large circle of people formed and they danced traditional Greek dances! ¡OPA!

Posted by winhol13 at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Friday of Week 10 and I'm finished!! There are no words to describe the triumphant relief I am feeling at this very moment. I have one more self-evaluation to write for my evening Spanish class, and my faculty evaluations, but I am done with all my academic reading and writing for the quarter AND for the year!!! Next week is Week 11, Evaluation Week at Evergreen, and Friday the 13th is graduation. I have a lot of friends that are graduating and I am looking forward to singing with the Evergreen Singers at the commencement ceremony. Apparently graduation is an extravaganza and seriously non-traditional, so I can't wait to get a preview to see what I am in store for in June 2009!

Where did all my stress and pressure go? I'm waiting for the reality of my relief to sink in and move from giddy happiness to intense joy! Now I can focus on working and earning some $$$$ for next year, and my boyfriend and I are planning a short road trip through Nevada, northern California, and Oregon. This has been such a rewarding year for me, both academically and personally, and I am excited to fully participate in the meaning of the word vacation. I'll keep blogging over the summer to help perspective Greeners like you get an idea of what student life is like, both on and off campus, so keep checking back and I'll fill you in on my summer vacation in Olympia, WA!

¡Chau Chau!

Posted by winhol13 at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)