beththewise

2012-01-25T14:39:00.000-08:00

Snowboarding is one of my favorite things.
I reach a state of FLOW when snowboarding.
Factors that must exist to determine flow include: distorted sense of time, complete concentration, a loss of self-consciousness, direct feedback, balance of ability and challenge, personal control, intrinsically rewarding, lack of awareness of bodily needs, absorption into activity, clear goals.

It amazes me each time I go out again just how much it effects me. [And i get to go at least weekly, if not more if I get the chance thanks to my season pass!] I love and need it. All my worries and stresses and problems just cease for the time I'm gone. I don't even have to consciously push them to the back of my mind, they just go there.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T17:46:00.001-07:00

I guess I should mention that i'm home now! I got back in February...
I am so happy that today is Independence Day! I am wearing my favorite new dress, its white with blue stripes and has a pocket and a string tie belt and some bronze buttons for decoration. Usually it is my Nautical dress but today it is Patriotic! God Bless America!
Don't get me wrong, Russia was awesome and it has a place in my heart, but I sure love the good ol'e USofA. What a great nation we have, that was built on so many crucial principles.
Today is the perfect day, sunny in the sun but nice in the shade with a cool breeze, sometimes rexburg nails the weather. its great. Its nice to live across the street from the park because i just went down the street and got to watch the parade and then be in the park where everyone gathered with booths and set ups lounging around all day people watching, eating kettle corn and fries while listening to a Jazz band, and then some two guys on Manadlin and guitar [with harmonica]. time to go home, and i'm practically there already! Whats also nice is that everyone has left the house [usually 8 girls] and its just me [and Phuong but she just sits in her room doing hw a lot, i did get her out to the parade stuff and took her to get fireworks, she declared it to be the greatest day of the semester] but its nice cause i cleaned everything so its still clean cause no one is here AND ive moved all the furniture and put the soundsystem in the living room and ive been skateboarding and dancing and playing Donkey Kong in there and its just so open and nice. ah this it the life. but soon people will return and school will beckon again..
I made a great America playlist today and it makes me so happy [including American Girl- tom petty, American Woman- the guess who, US Blues- grateful dead, Fortunate Son- CCR, The Way I Was Made- griffin house, and many many others]. oh, AND there was a red t-top 73 stingray in the parade. yeah.

sunshine state

2011-03-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm down in Florida and it is fantastic. I don't want to leave. I wish I could retire already. This is the life for me, except for everyone around me being old... they all talk about their health and whats going on with all the people who are slowly dieing around them. It's quite sad. But as grandmama always informs me, its life, you get old and you die. and thats what happens when you have friends who are old, your friends die.
Sorry, something more cheerful... Their house is awesome. It looks like there is a pool in the living room, kinda.

the sun is constantly bright and shining. I can sit all day and read my book or watch NCIS which seems to always be on here. and if i get hot, i just jumpin the pool for a second. ok, more than a second. being underwater is one of my favorite things. i like to sink down and just sit on the bottom of the pool and watch the water, and how the sunlight dances around through the water. it fascinates me. i wish i didn't have to interrupt it by breathing so often.

I don't swim all that well. mom made us be on the swim team in elementary school for at least one summer. i dreaded it. i do not have technique. i can't seem to breathe while doing freestyle without getting my mouth filled with water. breaststroke was more fun, being underwater and all, but i seemed to always get disqualified... poor form or something. we always called mk the dolphin swimmer. she swims like a dolphin, just glides through the water like them. its the best way to swim, hands down.

I don't want to go home tomorrow. I'm not ready. i want to relax more. i told myself that i'd analyze my mission when i was down here, but instead i just want to escape into the beauty of being here.
This is the life.

Mission

2009-08-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving today for the MTC which i'll enter tomorrow. I'm going off on my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Russsia, St. Petersburg.

You can write me on dearelder.com or send me a letter at the MTC until mid November when i'll be in Russia.

Sister Elizabeth Anne Wise
Russia St. Petersburg Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center box # [i dont know yet]
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

I am sad to be leaving my family for so long but am so excited for the adventure that is ahead.

love beth

summer so far

2009-08-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Being home is nice, I spend my days doing errands with mom and John comes along sometimes too. I don't feel like I have downtime like I was hoping for but we get stuff done and I have read two books for fun already and thats nice.

John and I hiked the Billy Goat Trail last week...

and it was Mary Kates birthday...

and Daves is today. Yesterday we picked him up from scout camp where he's been working for a couple months...

and we went on a hike...

2009-07-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

I got some new skirts and my favorite one is the only one i can't take on my mission with me. lame. but its ok, emma will take care of it.

I had raspberries on my cereal this morning mmmm.

I've been very emotional lately.

18 months is a long time. thats like going through the whole baby thing twice, not that I know what that feels like but timewise it works.

2009-07-21T21:55:00.001-07:00

stressing stressing stressing out. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER

2009-07-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

HARRY POTTER VI COMES OUT TONIGHT!!!!! [the half blood prince]

and in honor, please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

SISTER WISE!

2009-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

I got my call on Thursday this past week, the 11th. What is awesome is that when I wrote the previous entry about being anxiously waiting...that was the day they did it all! how awesome?!

So, I'm headed to the Russia St. Petersburg mission! and am soooo excited!!!

"Have you heard? Theres a rumor in St. Petersburg! Have you heard? Sister Wise is preaching through the streets!"

I report to the MTC on August 26th [which is the same day I left for Ukraine last summer] Ukraine has prepared me a lot for this call, I wont have culture shock, I know I love Borsch and some foood, I love tea. haha its great! and I know a little russian, I can read and write in it, i just dont understand much. But thats what the MTC is for.

When I got my call I was sooo excited and freaking out and just shaking. The spirit was so strong. It was a beautiful moment to have so many people who care about me there, even my family through skype :)

So now afterwards I have this awesome little speech I wish I'd said but at the time I was just too excited and anxious and only said like three things. BUT it goes like this: On Tuesday we had a devo with Pres. Eyring and he talked about how the climbs that God gives us aren't meant for us to climb alone. [And then I'd add] that all you have been with me on this climb and I am so grateful for the help and company because you were needed. And now its time to move on to another climb. I love you all.

something like that. oh well. whoever goes on here will get to hear it now.

I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but now I have to study for my Physiology Exam on Respiration and Digestion. ahhhhhh

waiting

2009-06-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

I'm really anxious and just waiting to hear about my call... If it comes this week I doubt I'll be able to get any homework done so im trying to do some ahead of time but I really cant concentrate. I need to just put it out of my mind and not concentrate on it when I dont have any control over it. but i cant help it ahhhh. my stomach is constantly jumpy and floping around. oy oy oy. I dont like the unknown. Im a planner, i like to be on top of things and see them out how theyre going to go. ive gone over the moment of it coming a thousand and two times in my head. always slightly different, tweeking it here and there. but it wont go that way. it will come completely unexpected and throw me out of thought. I dont know if i'll be able to open the envelope ill be so shakey with excitement and anxiety and ahhh. this week is sooo long. and it might not even get here till next week, or the next one. i have no idea.

Exhausted!

2009-06-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

I just had my first mountain biking class -yes I get credit for going mountain biking. It was awesome, yes very hard and a lot of uphill, I even had to get off and walk up once BUT I made it on most parts. Wow, and the place we went had a gorgeous view. And Im making a really good friend in the class, she is just purely wonderful, we get along really well. I got all nice and sweaty and muddy and there were COWS! ahh they frightened me so much, I was just zipping down this one hill and there it was right around the corner. It was def scared but I think me moreso haha. And now im home and showered and clean and the soreness is just begining to set in... my butt hurts, I'm going to have to get some of those fancy padded butt biking shorts. Oh and gloves cause my hands are getting raw. I really look forward to every friday now. Supreme!

Also, I LOVE MARY KATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She made a giant map and put it up on the wall labeling all the places that everyone is guessing I will serve for my mission. She is the BEST. I am so happy, I can't stop grinning.

AND i've had two midterms this week, and was first completed with BOTH of them [in class] and they both seemed oddly easy. I guess Im improving on my study skills, sweet.

2009-06-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Neko Case was FANTASTIC! I loved it. She has a great stage presence and was hilarious. And shes beautiful and her voice, wow, very powerful. She played most of my favorite songs and
emmas favorite, star witness, was in the encore.

2009-05-22T09:41:00.001-07:00

yesterday I shot hoops for an hour and half so that was really relaxing and haha I can feel slight arm muscles starting to form.

I got out of class at 10 and now its a super long weekend until wednesday! crazy. hopefully I'll find other people who stayed up here in the nothingness of Rexburg and make friends. I do have a TON of homework to do so thatll consume a lot of time. And its gorgeous out so ill cruise around on my bike some. Too bad dads not going to be in utah anymore or id have caught a ride down and seen him, oh well. I'll be down there next weekend for Neko Case- im sooooo excited!

So in my leadership class our homework assignment is to run the bleechers twice, ahhhh. and he said each set should take 4 minutes. oy!

Oh, i bet ill have time to play bananagrams this weekend! hooray. and set and all sorts of games. thats exciting. So i've been flying kites with Kelli everynight when the sun goes down. We lay in the grassy field and just fly them for an hour or so as a wind down for the day. It was fun because we would swoop down and try to cut each others string with our kite and actually succeeded twice, mad skills.

In meditation we learnt about this concept of SHENPA and its really neat. shenpa is when something consumes you and you obsess and freak and the natural human instinct is angst and be nervous and fearful and upset. Instead we should just step back and breathe and even meditate a minute to calm down and look at the situation and instead of jumping right to angst about the situation to realize there isnt much of anything we can do and to let the light of christ work in us and overcome the urge to panic and worry and have shenpa.

My plan for the weekend is to find a barbque to attend on monday.

I am jealous of all you back home who get to see all the motorcycles everywhere for Rolling Thunder. And of everyone who's going to the free wolf trap memorial day concert.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everybody!

2009-05-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well its been a stress filled week but i'm holding on. I was informed today that there is a tunnel system under the sidewalks and you can get into it through a room in the basement of one of the buildings. I cant wait to explore!

And something else cool, I was walking through the parking lot after checking on my mission papers from the health center and this guy was walking too and holding a box of pizza and gave me a slice of his pepperoni pizza! it was awesome and inspired.

Oh! and in my D+C class I did a little powerpoint presentation on the phrase 'song of the righteous' and talked about music and worshiping through music. So the exciting part is, I played my harmonica in front of the class. I played sweet hour of prayer and it was pretty cool. I know because people told me, haha.

AND i had a study session for my program mgmt class and the only other person who showed up was this cute witty guy. It was fun.

I took my first physiology exam and got a B! an 86, solid.

Asside from massive wind storms, up to 60 mph and our power getting knocked out, nothing much is happening. and haha obviously its back on now...

and we've been having a desperate housewives marathon -my roommate has all 4 seasons!

2009-04-30T16:57:00.001-07:00

I am going to help start Rexburgs first official series of Farmers Markets. Awesome huh?

It rained, snowed, hailed, fogged, and was sunny today. ahhhhhh. At least I have an umbrella ella ella a a a

2009-04-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

So the first week is finished already! And the weather hasnt been terrible, maybe it'll really be summer term... who knows. I really enjoy all of my classes, they're fun and my teachers are great but I still feel overwhelmed by so much work. Hopefully I can stay on top of it all. I really like my apartment and having my own room is helping me get more work done. And my roommates are great as well. Kara from Idaho falls, Kristie from CA, Megan from WA and Kelli from TX. We went and saw Obsessed last night, it was intense and we were freaked out for a bit. Beyonce was in it and kicked butt!
Today I'm filling out parts of my mission papers!!! and then am going to do a ton of hw and go for a bike ride. yup, thats my whole plan. Hopefully it follows suit and any other activity is welcome.
AND i love the Neko Case cd I got last week, its fabulous. Hopefully I'll make it down to the concert in May, that would be awesome.
I need new brown sandals for church or just to go with my brown dresses.

For mom: the picture I put up in my mission papers.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Earth Day AND Dereks birthday so i'm going to celebrate both by eating ice cream and by the train tracks. AND i can play happy birthday day on the harmoncia...

easter time is the time for the eggs and the time for the eggs is the easter time

2009-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Easter was yesterday and it was lovely. It was great to be reunited with everyone. And the food was delicious and emma and dad made this pie that was to die for: raspberry and pear, HEAVENLY. and we had chocolate galore of course. I love easter.

Today I'm down visiting emma in Fredericksburg. We sat on a dock by the river for a while which was nice and peaceful. I love how well we can read each other, interperate actions and know how we'd respond to certain things. Its reassuring to have a deep connection with another person and to know itll always be there no matter how long we're apart. Sitting on the dock was so pleasant and dangling our legs was a rhythmic peacefulness. AND down the river in the distance there was a bridge and a couple of trains went by when we were sitting there. It was very nice.

We're going to get ice cream right now because Emma just found out that the project she was working on isnt actually due until thursday, hooray! what a great way to announce the fleeing of stress.

2009-03-29T21:43:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning and as I lay in my bed slowly registering the day, I heard a sound I almost couldnt recognize, this melodic yet strangely obnoxious sound. As I came to I realized it was birds chirping -the sign of a beautiful spring day! Then coming home from church there was a nice white surprise flying through the air. of course we got a crazy blizzard of snow. I cant believe it snowed today, it started off so nice. well at least its still march so that counts as wintertime.

Lets see...not too much is going on, im just super busy with school work. We went up to my fhe brothers cabin a couple weekends ago so that was pretty. I love being in the middle of nowhere seeing the stars so distinctly. I swear there were even more than they have in the planitarium!

My roommates made a little under one thousand cup cakes today and beautifuly frosted each one individually like MK always does. oh, my nail just broke -thats pretty lame. I've been practicing my harmonica a lot so when I get home you'll be blown away by my newly acquired musical abilities.

oh and I appreciate everyone for letting me interview them, it was great to catch up and I can't wait to see you all at eastertime!

karalee teaching for ex/ed

2009-03-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

2009-03-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

I've been working on setting up my schedule for this next semester and have it figured out so hopefully I will only have 2 semesters left once I get home from my mission, as long as class times dont overlap.

I'll be taking D+C, Anatomy PhysiologyII, Recreational Leadership, Program MGMT, Therapeutic Recreation, and Mountain Biking. I'm pretty excited, i'll be busy but thats a good thing. My classes start at 745 and 8 again everyday but at least next semester will be warm and light out.

My favorite place to go out to eat, Backyard BBQ has started having free bottomless french fries on mondays with any purchase so I have a new monday activity to add to watching 24.

I miss my boy...

i thought this was cute and funny, its dereks dad Bruce, and his youngest brother Caleb.

its play gun obviously but i just thought it was funny cause they're all hunter boys.

The whole family. i took these when i was at their house a couple weeks ago...

ahh im so bored, its saturday and I spent the day in the library and now am doing more hw... well i guess im taking a break.

I love easter season because they have Cadbury mini eggs and they are hands down the best holiday candy.

Last weekend I went down to my favorite spot in rexburg: the train tracks. It was so cold so I didnt stay as long as usual but it was very pretty out...

physiology stuff

2009-03-04T17:15:00.000-08:00

you dont have to continue reading, its nothing really of interest about my life...

I just got out of an anat/phys study thing and its boggling my mind, so I figured I would stop by the library and jot what I remember down so I can think about it again sometime once I more fully own the concepts. WARNING: this might not make sense the way I am writing it because I am not using proper terms and just getting thoughts out. and i am strange sometimes. I mean come on, i am a wise :)

We have action potentials occuring constantly through our body. [depolarization from gradients changing and reaching threshold to release different elements] These trigger voltage gated channels oppening and continuing down reaction style through muscles and nerves [mostly] These lead down cell membranes and continue with lots of different channels and nerotransmitters going through and they eventually go out of the nerve and with new parts added go down into t-tuberals and hit sarcolemas which release calcium to move our sacromeres closer together and our muscle contracts because of other details like a meyosin head being attracted to the active sites and then ATP cocking the head back down to be released again. And to the interesting part...haha ok well
our brain controls how many muscle fibers our motor units [a motor neruron and all the muscle cells it connects to] need to connect to which says how much strenght is used for an event. [example picking up a bowling ball] now our muscles exert to their full potential each time they are used but there are just different amounts and sizes of the fibers connected that are told to perform each task. Now applying this: we see a bowling ball and go to pick it up. our mind sends action potentials down our motor units telling certain fibers to fire in order to contract our muscles and pick up the ball. Knowing bowling balls to be on the heavy side we will be using more fibers connected to our motor neruons than if we pick up a sheet of paper. Now as we pick up this bowling ball, it is a trick one [extremely light] and because we already exherted so much strenght to the event our arm shoots up and the ball gets thrown up in the air. So I started thinking, can we trick our brains by telling them to use certain size or amounts of muscle fibers or are they learned already from experience, since we are little. Try to apply too much force to picking up the mouse, you catch yourself and stop it. so that wont work unless you fully devote yourself to it somehow without hesitation, but it would be cool to try and be able to control them. You kind of do that with like hitting a baseball you use as many as you can, but you already know to because of hitting one before.
Now even our thoughts are moved by action potentials, they are shooting through our brains to create the possibility of the thought we hadnt even thought yet. Then I realize that by exersizing we are expanding our motor neurons and fibers right? and keeping small ones too. BUT that means when we are working out to build our muscles we are actually also building our brains by controling the muscle possibilities. Do we use all possible fibers when we try our harderst? do we have to consiously think about it to do so?

OK now that most things are out of my head and I have not come full circle I'm going home....haha maybe one day ill look at this again and try to make sense of it all. Until then, I'll stick to what will be on the exam.

who knew? nothings new.

2009-02-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

so not much has been going on lately... I went sledding in the mountains last week with our home teachers. umm I've just been busy with school a lot. I really like what I learn in anatomy but it is totally kicking my butt. I have decided today that I am going to use our free service at the university and get a tutor. Mission prep is fun, I cant wait till I get to put my papers in. Experimental Ed Adv Challenge is still my favorite class. I havent heard from Badger yet but should this week. I'm anxious about that. We went bowling for FHE today. Oh my gums and mouth in general are doing a LOT better. Emma and I bought matching twin shoes for each other for our half birthday, hers came last week and mine arent due here until wednesday which is extremely lame because I have had an outfit planned out to wear them with all week long. Tomorrow I'm going to lunch with Natalie from home and on friday Beth Hansen is doing a photo shoot thing with me for her senior project. she is taking pictures of people looking how their major stereotypes them and as themselves normaly. pretty cool idea. I miss ukraine a lot lately. I wrote a letter to mikki [my freshman year roommate on her mission in arizona] like 2 full pages about ukraine and my experience. I really liked being there. Im sort of just procrastinating my homework right now... I should get on that. It hasnt snowed in Rexburg for almost a week and in fact it rained a little today it was so warm! thats all for now. I cant really think of anything else...

2009-02-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

Today is the day Derek is going into the MTC. I am so sad but excited, he already has his first letter written to me and most likely has sent it out by now. I cant wait to read it and finally get his address, haha what a guy. These past two weeks have been amazing. We've hung out almost everyday and have had so much fun. The next two years should fly by 'hopefully'. it makes it easier to know that i'm only waiting for about 6 months and the last 18 ill be active instead. We connect so well and writing each other is going to be so powerful for our relationship. I spent the past weekend down at his house in IF. His family is so much fun. Oldest of 5 boys so theres never a dull moment. And his mom is amazing, we are very similar. im not saying im amazing i didnt mean for it to sound like that but we had a blast together.

School is difficult but now i'm less distracted so that might help me out... go figure.
oh yeah and i got the most beautiful necklace from Derek for a pre-valentine's day gift. it has 6 perodots [sp?] increasing in size in a wave down on a gold chain. Its perfect.
i'm off to mission prep class, its snowing like crazy out today!

...mom requested pictures...

We have a new president!

2009-01-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been so much fun! I have a lot of pictures to catch up on as Alexis has so kindly reminded me...

my roommates are awesome, we all get along really well and have a blast together, and the other one in the picture is our pet cat who appeared outside our door one day. honestly it scared the crap out of me, like it was going to suck my soul at night or something... we got rid of it though, traded for some yummy pumpkin cookies to these boys who have disposed of it properly [shooting it of course]

ok so we have Jessie- el salvador, Cheri- CA, Chari-CA, Alexis-CA, Emma-CA, and me-east coast represent!

ok my friend Alyson who I met in ukraine and is at school at UVU came up for the long weekend and we had tons of fun. We went snowmobiling with Derek and Kelly and some relatives... it was amazing. We went to the Palacades (sp?) and they were gorgeous! the actual riding is fun but having to steer and turn on those things i did not really enjoy, my muscles ached like crazy for the next couple of days.

oh and our machine overheated and wasn't running correctly but since Derek is a mechanic, he figured out what was wrong and was able to after a little while of fidgeting, figure out the problem and fix it. I learnt to drive and I did a good job until this one turn i didnt slow down enough and well despite dereks attempt to stablize the machine, we fell off got ran over and it ran off into the deep powder hit a tree and got stuck. It really was fun though. oh yeah and bri came too.

AND as a goodbye for now since I am on a roll, here is a lovely picture of Dad from christmas time... credit to leslie.

queen of the mountain

2009-01-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

Well today up at Targhee it was GORGEOUS, the sun was shinning, and it wasnt too hot nor cold with a slight wind. Our teacher said its the best day all season. We could see out for miles of the mountains around and the flat valley below, amazing.

I signed up for level 4 and my one hour class has 7 of us. Two girls five guys. the other girl has only been up on the mnt four times ever. and she could keep up with us! mostly. The guys seem like fun, 4 of us stayed together for the rest of the day and hit everything, jumps, powder, tree paths, it was great. I am so worn out though, ill sleep so soundly tonight!

when I got home chari's friend was up here from utah so a bunch of her friends were all invited to craigos so i tagged along. There ended up being like 4 girls from Stafford VA, and they know oliver/ the johnston family. that was pretty exciting.

School has been good so far, lots of studying but fun. Alyson my buddy from ukraine is coming up this weekend so that should be tons of fun. We're going to go snowmachining on saturday which is going to be a blast. I cant wait!

school

2009-01-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

I've only been out here for 3 days and I feel quite at home. Everything is going well, my classes are challengingly interesting and I enjoy all the hard work i've already put into them. I've been mainly focusing on my anat/phys class, i really hope i can keep up so it doesnt kick my butt- theres a lot of studying and memorization required.

My Exp Ed/Adv challenge class is going to be so much fun, we meet in a dance room so we have no chairs, a giant mirror and get to take off our shoes and socks each time. I already know a bunch of the other students from previous rec classes too... AND this one girl named Melissa that i know served her mission in Oaklahoma and totally knows cousin Caitlin! She was like you know sister wise? i said, I am sister wise, and yes that one is my cousin! haha it was great.

Mission prep is fun, the guy has a whole lot of energy and is funny but kind of insane at times, im used to that though ;) the class has way more girls than guys which is really funny AND a lot of them are just in it for an easy grade and not actually planning on serving, its not my business though so i wont complain. I like the class because we get to sing 2 hymns at the beginning of every class 1 is always called to serve but the other gets changed up.

Im not sure how developmental psych is going to be, it seems cool well at least the topic does... but we havent done much yet so i bet itll get better.

I am so excited for snowboarding! sara cabrera and i went to the meeting today and i ran into my old roommates from colonial house, Tosha and Rachel who are both snowboarding and are level 4 so we are taking the class together! cool.

at our apartment we dont have wireless :( and our plug in box thing is missing from our room so thats lame... but its ok too because i study a lot better in the library.

today Emma is moving into Mary Washington, i hope it goes well. I'm rooting for you em! actually im about to call you back on my way down to my place for a quick snack before more studying, LAME.

oh nine!

2009-01-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well new years was pretty great, Emma and I went down to richmond and got to celebrate with basically all my virginia friends that i never get to see so that was nice. I made my resolutions back in ukraine durring october, posture and patience so i've been working on those for a while. It was nice to see so many people Ive hung out with over the years all together in the same general spot. its weird to think that its 09 alreayd, i mean i was supposed to be graduating college by 10 but according to my plans itll still be at leats 3 more years to get my bs degree but its all good, they will be very effective and benificial years. ive thought it was saturday all day today but soon it actually will be so i wont be thrown off anymore. oh! my friend travis wears suspenders just like me, we were sooo happy to both be wearing them. AND my friend daniel has picked up the harmonica too so we jammed some. I really like them all and am sad i rarely have time to see people since im always gone but im glad i enjoy the time i do get.
i feel i have completely adjusted to life here and that ukraine really is just a memory but now i will be leaving again in a couple days to head back out to school which will take another whole reality switch on me and i have to change to student mode again. it wont take much time at all though, i am generally good at adapting.

readjusting to life

2008-12-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

Well being home has been fun. My family is crazy as ever and i love it so much. Last week there was a Ukrainian christmas performance at the temple visitor center! It was so great to hear people speaking ukrainian again, and the costumes were quite a hoot. The lights were up as always for christmas season and the temple was spectacular. [I get to go with the youth to do baptisms after christmas :) i cant wait]

We've been busy getting the lasts of shopping and baking done. I love this time of year, my mom makes so many delicious goodies. Peanut butter cups, pepermint cups, fudge with or without nuts, chex mix, chocolate cookies with christmas red green and white chocolate chips, oatmeal craison chocolate chip, sticky popcorn. Its fabulous.

I'm starting to make the rounds and visit all the people here in VA that I need to see before heading back off to idaho for school [which i am so excited about because of snowboarding and living with my best friend Chari]
I am always happy with how many people there are who really care and want to keep in touch, its a good habit to have.

Its nice to be driving again, I love driving its very soothing for me. Although I did love walking and metroing everywhere in Ukraine, great exersize and rather enjoyable and good people watching of course.

Im pretty sure ive adapted back here already unfortunately. I wish i could go back to ukraine for a little but that was a part of my life that has passed and now I need to move on and keep working hard and alertly living life.

oh and my mom, sisters and I got pedicures. all red [for christmas] and we got cute designs on our big toe, they got snowflakes and i got a snowman, they are all so cute.

home again home again lickety split

2008-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

Well I made it back to the USA! i left my6 host familys house in ukraine 3AM on wednesday morning and I got back to the house at 630pm -just in time for dinner :) mmm

Its taken a bit of readjusting to things here but everything seems pretty much the same except for minor things here and there. There are so many things i have noticed and appreciate; nice toilet paper, spicy/flavorful food, family, understanding people, driving, internet, stand up showers... the list can go on for a while but being back here im back into the busy rush and fast paced life. Im putting pics up on my facebook since we got wifi!

I really miss ukraine and all that I got to learn and experience there. what an amazing culture i got to get to know, im so grateful I recieved such a great oprotunity in my life.

2008-12-11T02:35:00.001-08:00

Its crazy how little time I've got left out here, its already the last thursday!
Yesterday we went to the opera, some Masquerade thing. it was beautiful. and friday is our performance that weve been practicing with the kids for weeks, they'll be doing a lot of christmas songs and are going to be so cute. Even the 4 year olds have the words down.
I hope to write again once more before heading home but who knows how time will go. I sure love it here though!
On saturday night were going to a discoclub place. and tonight we discovered a university place that plays english movies on thursdays and tonnights is Its A Wonderful Life! - thats right, thats right.

Im off to teach, love ya!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2008-11-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving day and what a marvelous day it was! I woke and got to shower, put on a favorite dress and go downstairs and make blini with the host fam, mass amounts of blini. I was soooo full already.

Then TGD was at a family from the branch's apartment [who work for the embassy and are from RESTON va] they have 3 lil boys 1 3 5 who were so much fun to play with. We went over early to help and play games and the boys had put the alphabet up on the wall [the huge roll of sticky paper stuff AK has] and we wrote what we are thankful for by each letter accordingly, it was so much fun! Then I got a surprise from bri's mom, an envelope full of cards, pictures, resese' pb cups, and [ew the infamous cat tissues] It made me sooooo happy. Thank you all for all the love! I have the cards up on my windowsill, the pictures on the wall, and the tissues well we dont need to discuss those. Anyway, thanks mom for letting me get a bit of home for thanksgiving which i am very grateful for. Dinner was delicious, turkey, potatoes, sweet potato casserol, stuffing, ham, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, old people salad, we had everything which was quite a pleasant surprise! [if i thought id been stuffed before, boy was i wrong] I made sure to wear my indian headband that my class made this week and then made some for the boys too, their indian names were Turkey Leg and School Boy...hahah. Then they slipped out that they have an american line! and we could call our families for free! AWESOME, i am so grateful for that! so I rang up mums cell and got to talk to dad and mom and uncle bob and then emma for a bit! it was great to hear you all and I love you soooo much.

Then we headed back via metro [very funny to see the newbies who dont have their legs yet getting jerked around] and made it to our host house. Vierra had cooked a chicken and we helped shred carrots and cabbage for some funky salad stuff they always eat here. We tried to eat more and were stuffed to the max by the end of the day! and then of course we had tea to tap it off.

What a memorable thanksgiving! I am so grateful for my family, friends, people in general, truth... the list goes on and on. Thank you all for being such great examples in my life!

Sadly though this morning I was hoping to skype with the fam [in cape cod] and their internet is down. Its quite the bessing i got to hear some voices though yesterday and i'll be home before we all know it, Crazy.

Happy Thanksgiving from the one and only Ukraine.

circus

2008-11-20T00:06:00.000-08:00

on saturday we went... to the CIRCUS! its was so fun. I couldnt stop thinking about Earl from hotel new hamsphire when they brought out the bears. The whole animal part was a bit unsettling, them doing tricks that are so not natural AND the fact that the people had whips and tasers. they had camels, porcupines, dogs, bears, tigers, lions, warthogs, i cant remember them all- it was quite the experience, i havent been so a circus in a long time. I took lots of pics though of course. They had a lot of dancers and singers, only 2 clowns, and a bunch of acrobats and stunt and trick people. needless to say, it was exciting. The place was filled with kids.

Teaching has been going great lately, and all the contentions at home have vanished... well not all but a lot. Vierra taught us how to make Blini yesterday morning which was delicious of course- kinda pancake/crepe things. Shes teaching us some squash grape honey cake thing this week too.

I leave this friday for a weekend vacation to some other part of Ukraine with castles. We get back monday morning- only 5 of us are going so it should be pretty fun!

2008-11-14T09:58:00.001-08:00

Heres a play by play of the vacation that was 2 weeks ago *a little late*

Saturday oct 25-26 sunday [24 hour bus ride across the boarder to Poland]

Sunday oct 26 [Poland] Auschewitz
-We bussed out of the city to Auschewitz. It was a very sombering experience and sad to read how horrible a past occured. There are two different camps because one got too full. The real gas chambers are still there in pieces from being destroyed, its so sickening. The train tracks going through had roses all over them.
-took the shuttle to Aushewitz and stood under the 'work is liberating sign' what a horrible and false declaration.
-Each barrack is a museum dedicated to different groups of people. I went in Poland, Jewish, and torture. They were so powerful. Its all in three languages, Polish, English and Hebrew. It was quite a feeling to be in such a terrible place where so many people were slaughtered and to read hitlers disgusting words that so many people were naively blinded into believing. What a terrible time.
- back to Krakow for dinnger. I had some potato perogies [sp?] that were delicious! and tomatoe and pasta soup.

Monday oct 27 Poland [krakow]
-walking tour of Krakow... dragon legend, cathedrals, main castle. the pope's house, cloth market, Mary's cathedral where a trumpeter plays each hour but cuts off because he represents someone who was shot doing it centuries ago.
-souvenirs, amber is a big thing there. I got a rose flavored doughnut! all because of the article you sent me mom! i actually got 3, they were DELICIOUS and quite the experience.
-took the bus over to Prauge.

Tuesday 28 Prauge

Wednesday 29 Prauge

Thursday 30 Prauge

Friday-Saturday 31/1 Chez

back in good ol Kiev

2008-11-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a pasta party with all of our teachers and multiple types of pasta mixed together. It was delicious! we also had homemade oreos and ice cream. then watched enchanted [which was suprisingly hilarious]

Teaching has been so great lately, i love doing it and am going to miss the kids so much when its over. Yegor, hes 4, fell asleep on my lap yesterday when we were playing marbles- it was so cute.

I got my classes figured out for next semester and register on monday morning at 9 aka midnight in idaho.

Briana was chosen as christinas favorite and now sleeps in our host sisters room with her. AND we found out yesterday that tiffany is being switched to another family which makes us go from 4 in our squished room to 2. weird but cool, itll be cleaner and quieter and we all still see each other quite frequently, itl just be less contentious.

right now im waiting for emma to get on and skype with me! ahhhh yes!

i love you all! ukraine rocks

poland and prauge

2008-11-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

Hey! so we got back from vacation last saturday. Poland and Czech. They were both AMAZING and soooo beautiful. I dont have my notebook of what i did with me so i will have to re-update this later.... here are some pics though...

2008-10-24T00:08:00.000-07:00

Parents week went great! they all told the lady how much they liked me and how much fun the classes were. Phew, what a relief.
today we are having our Halloween party- we've been making a jackolantern pinata all week long and we are sooo excited. Candy and games and dancing and facepaint all day long. it should be a blast. I'm dressing up as a train Conductor because my favorite song is I've been working on the railroad.
last weekend i spent the night in Boyrka which is a small town outside the city where more ilp teachers live and teach. It was so much fun and we walked through the woods. Its autumn so the leaves were BEAUTIFUL.

I got to skype with MK and kelli this morning and it was soooo exciting. oh and grandparents the other day too. i love you guys!!! its so great to be able to be in contact so often.

On sunday i went and saw the construction site of the temple. that was great and there was real grass from the church parkinglot next door. it was so fresh and comfy to lay down on.

i have a new addiction- guava juice. oh and i found the market where you can get mp3s for 12 hrievna which is like 2 bucks. and they have every album by the artist on the one disc. its great and legal here :)

I love you all. ukraine rocks.

pic update

2008-10-15T02:14:00.000-07:00

ok so sorry its so late, but here are some pictures of our house...
well this is actually the driveway/sidewalk from the alley to our house...

tah-da!

a typical lunch at school...

the ballet... we saw romeo and juliet and swan lake...

more to come... im off to school.

2008-10-14T02:02:00.000-07:00

This week is parents week... i get to have the parents sit in my class *ill make em participate* on wednesday and thursday. AND on wed. Steve, the head huncho of ILP is watching me teach. ahh so i am a bit anxious and stressed but itll go fine because I got to pick our theme this week so were doing Outter Space and I am making alien masks for arts and crafts and UFOs for kitchen with crackers nutella pretzels and star cereal. yes, it will go well.

ukraine rocks!

Vacation Hungary and Austria

2008-10-04T02:13:00.000-07:00

We left for Budapest on Saturday the 27th? and took the train, we slept on it and got to the boarder at 6 am and then rented a bus that we used all week. Went through the boarder passed coustoms and got stamped. then we drove for hours and made it to Budapest, Hungary.

So much happened over the week we were there that i didnt exactly write journal form i just listed bullets of the main things i hope to remember so I'm going to do that and then expand a bit more on some for your comprehension.

Sunday: arrrived in Budapest
-Hero Square where there are statues of all the kings and rulers. one of my pics is there and the guys name was Beth....something or other so i was stoked :)
-nearby castle/palace with a statue titled Annonymous
-massive sand drop grain clock that takes the whole year for all the sand to fall and they flip it at new years
-Parliment (gorgeous and i believe is the biggest parliment and has 3 different buildings connected or something)
-Buda Hill, Matthias Cathedral, Martzipan musem mmmmm delicious. GREAT VIEW here
-Roman Aquaducts on the way to our hotel (Monte Cristo) in Obuda

Monday: first day of exploration BUDA side
-breakfast at the hotel of cereal yogurt and bread cheese and tomatoes
-we took a bus and then metro and wandered around up on buda hill again
-Labryth caves underneith buda hill/castle
-Met James from St. George Utah... we were lost and he heard us then came over to talk and one of the girls i was with is from sg too. He stayed with us for a LONG time. he was backpacking throuhg Europe and just got to budapest so didnt know much directional wise but pretended and liked to take control and ask people to get us going places. People are so nice and helpful here though unlike Kyiv.
-Statue park. a collection of fallen communist statues. WAY on the other side of Buda in some random neighborhood place. we took tons of buses and made friends with so many nice people who "happened to be going that direction and could take us closer and closer" it was so nice.
-at Statue park there was a lady from VA who works for Fairfax county public schools! she didnt care to talk more though.
-back the Pest but realized we didnt need to cross the bridge, James left and we walked across the bridge as the Sun was setting. GORGEOUS!
-walked around lost on the buda side but found a tram place and met two girls who took us to a general central travel area or something. They were nice and one is going to study in Austria and was excited we were headed there later in the week.
-figured out a place we'd been before and ate Gyros cause we didnt feel like going back to the hotel yet
-went to the metro to get some transfer cards for the way home and found a girl in a BYU sweatshirt and this guy started to help us out. Rocky, from SLC. Hes an RM who served in Hungary and was just back for a coulple weeks to be back. He helped us find an easier route home and we decided to meet tomorrow so he could take us to where we hope to go since he knew the place. Awesome!

Tuesday: Pest
-met rocky at the train station. rode the oldest subway in Europe
-House of Terror. The building where Hungarian tramatic events and tortures took place. The headquarters where all their evilness was planned and carried out durring the Wars. It was very sombering. What a scary and sad time of life. Its amazing how much hope and dedication people had to hold on to life and endure so many attacks and such brutal torturing. What guts people had to not give in to the communism and to stand up for what they knew to be true only to be silenced by death. Very touching and emotion filled exhibit.
-Great Market. Big marketplace filled with meat fruits bread pastries and then souveniers all over the top floor...
-H+M. yeah we went to one but there was this really cool hip old lady who was decked out in the styles of today. it was funny because its total stylish hippy wear so of course she got into it.
-breakdancers. well they have them in every major city but so far the best ones we've seen were these guys. Dave, maybe you'll be that cool someday, work on your moves and then travel through Europe on the money you make from the people :)
-hike up hill, statues, PHENOMENAL view of pest from buda. You could see the city for sooo far and up the Danube. it was breathtakingly beautiful.
-restaurant with authentic Hungarian food (gulash and pancake things and fruit soup and fried cheese and all sorts)
- so happy, couldnt stop smiling

*Budapest was Amazing and it was so cool to meet so many nice people. It was so funny that there were multiple random people from Utah. There is such a great feeling being there that is hard to describe. the people are nice friendly and feel obligated to help, they actually smile at you and want to help, the atmosphere is jolly, the food is wonderful, the air is way cleaner then kyiv. nobody could stop smiling which was a great feeling after never smiling in Kyiv. not many people seem happy in kyiv though im sure thye are they jsut dont show it as frequently*

Wednesday: Vienna, Austria
-woke up and drove 4 hours to Vienna, Austria.
-St. Stephens cathedral, a palace, Maria Teresa statue, the summer palace, some government place. We didnt have much time and no free time to explore so I spent most of the time taking pictures rather than listening to our guide... so im not quite sure what everything was that we saw.
- i got Shots the ice cream treat that i used to get in England :)

Thursday: Eger, Hungary
-we had to pack up to leave already :( but we stopped in a beautiful little town called Eger
-walked around and saw some castle. went swimming in a thermal bath called caves which was not as cool as it could potentially be but it was fun to go swimming.
-then on the bus and went back to the boarder and BARELY made it to the train with 3 minutes to spare. it left at 10 and we slept again and made it back to kyiv 2afternoon friday.

It was a beautiful trip and the weather was warm and sunny almsot the whole time. It was great! not exactly as i expected it to go but thats partially what made it so enjoyable.

Conference was GREAT so far, im on my way to the next 2 and then the last next week. I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL

address

2008-10-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Igor Vavilor
(for Beth Wise)
PO box 68
Kiev, Ukraine 03035

THIS IS MY ADDRESS so you can send me love if you please. i really dont mind if you dont though so its all good.

i just got back from vacation in Hungary and Austria (weve been gone a week) and dont have much time on here right now but will update tomorrow monring ok? well you dont have a choice much do ya haha. ok i love you all!

<3 Beth

2008-09-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

Time has been FLYING by, another week gone already. quite a bit has happened... nothing too exciting though. Teaching has gotten easier and i love the kids so much. This coming week we are doing Weather as our theme... sun rain snow fall stuff like that. im excited to make rain stick shakers on tuesday.

its already cold outside and im layering tons haha. itll only get colder so i try to appreciate how "warm" it is each day compared to how i know it will get.

we made it to church today, its quite the trip. I got to give the opening prayer. the ward is so tiny but refreshing because everyone speaks english :)

weve been eating a lot of nutella lately which is delicious of course. and also we make slushies of the raspberry juice which is still amazing.

Queen was here doing a free concert for aids awareness but we didnt get to go because it was on the otherside of the country and i had to teach till 7 so that was a bit disapointing.

Saturday we went in Saint Sophias Cathedral. it was gorgeous, its green and white with golden dome rooftops. I am always so amazed with how old things are and how much they have endured. history is a beautiful thing. the art and moasics were amazing. AND there is a prince burried there name Isalov or something.... the Wise. so everyone was excited for me and i pretend hes my ancestor although iknow hes not.... he founded Kiev's first library, cool.

On the sad side of things Briana got an email from her Tyson and they are breaking up... over email, while she is here in ukraine. AND Tiffany got an email saying her brother was hit by a car and in intensive care. it was pretty intense but im pretty sure will all be ok. Its interesting because there has been quite a bit of tension between the 4 of us, those two are messy while linsday and i are clean etc you dont need to hear about that stuff BUT its interesting because now something massive has happened effecting the both of them and its deffinately becoming a lesson for us. We are learning great patience in dealing with them everyday already and before jsut tried to just leave and avoid them before but now we are the only ones able to be there and comfort them so its a lesson in being humble and the ability to put things aside and try to help regardless of issues and animosity. I'm usually good at it but for some reason ive been letting things get to me lately. i guess this is like a reminder of sorts. This is quite the trip for building up independence and personality through our service and helping out but i dont think they like it when i talk like that. thingsll get better in a couple of days.

I really like it here. its still pretty when its cold and gloomy out. Im pretty sure im going to have some intense reverse culture shock when i come home... :)

at the end of september were going on our first vacation... Hungary and Austria. im pretty excited for that!

I love you ALL and Ukraine is amazing!

<3>

2008-09-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

ha well i wish i had written on tuesday right after teaching but i have been extremely busy getting ready to teach and making lesson plans etc...

it was pretty difficult at first, i was so anxious and couldnt remember kdis names and wasnt able to keep things going and the kdis talking. i felt like crying after the second day but things are getting much better.

i am starting to enjoy the time in the class rooms much more rather than constantly looking at my watch and counting down until rotations and the next group of kids come into my room.
the kids are so cute and i love it when they speak b/c of their accents. my favorite girl is Lada, shes in my basic reading class and is so cute. shes tough and has spunk and is one of our smartest kids. shes so cute.

this week we made it America week. monday was the flag then statue of liberty, fireworks, cowboys and indians. next week were doing fairytales. i do shop and drama for the other kdis that come through my rotation but for my basic reading group i am teaching them consenants and the sounds to get them ready to read. then on MW i do maitenance kids instead so they are older and stay till 7 not 6 and they can read and write but dont speak well because they havent been in ILP before. it is more elementary level so i feel a bit incapable but i am trying my best. i really love the little kids though, they are adorable.

i had raspberry juice today and it was DELICIOUS. we buy food at the supermarket that looks familiar but we eat lunch at the school and get traditional ukrainian food which is a nice mix.
tomorrow were going swimming in some river...it might be a bit polluted but it'll be so refreshing.

it was our host mom Vierras birthday the other day so we got her 4 roses and a wind chime. she LOVED it and tried to hang it from their chandelier. it was so funny. she tries to feed us so much, i was going to the bathroom at like 10 before getting ready for bed and she made me come sit at the table and made me eat like 10 bleanies... pancake type things. theyre good but not THAT good. it was fun though. she is so nice.
oh and i played soccer with my brother Sasha, it was so much fun and well im a bit rusty but i gave him a run for his money. we squeezed through the fence to some field with a smashed gravel rock type stuff in the back of what i thought were apartments but realized is a school. it was so fun.

my pictures keep failing when i try to upload so im a bit peeved. were at a pizza place cause they have wifi... its not the same but pretty good. OH we were at this one pizza place with english menus AND the missionaries were there! it was so funny so we takled a bit but they had to leave.

ummm well i love it here. time is going to fly so much!
UKRAINE ROCKS!!!!!!!

2008-08-31T09:32:00.000-07:00

We went to church today and it was a looooong trip to get there. metro bus and walking. I got some crazy blisters that popped and are pretty painful but that just means i get to wear my chacos for the next couple of days so its all good.
we made food for ourselves for lunch/dinner today... very american: potatoes, corn, bread and jam, and fanta. HA. it was good though.
tomorrow should be tons of fun. I love everyday so much. I never remember what i want to write once i get on here but im sure ill get some good stuff tomorrow, ive got a lot planned.
UKRAINE is the coolest!

2008-08-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today was tons of fun. We explored a lot more of the downtown part of Kiev and Tania, our native coordinator took us around and told us a lot of the history of being here. it was great. OH i got some post cards so whoever writes me a letter will get one! initiative people :)

Lindsay and i have been learning some russian from our lil sis christina... manners like thank you and colors which have been very helpful when we are going around the metro. I am pro at the metro though and always knwo where we are and where we need to be etc... so Tania told me that i need to make them independent so i pretended i had no idea where we were and made them figure it out. let me tell you they were horrible haha. we went on the blue instead of green and then went the wrong way on the green line. then i told tehm and they were like ha well i guess thats a good thing to make us figure it out.

I'm really excited to go to church tomorrow... that should be a fun adventure.

We had more training today and I am so excited to teach! i get to have the basic reading level kids so they are about 7-11 and havent been in ilp classes but learned written english. We have to do imagination type games to get them more involved and speaking instead.

it was cold today and a bit rainy, but i had my umbrella. typical rexburg weather which is funny.

Im so grateful i get to be here and have this experience.
Ukraine rocks!

2008-08-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

HEY! so i made it to Ukraine a couple days ago... wednesday afternoonish but havent had any internet because we dont have it at our house but my brother sasha which is alexander in english showed us the way to an internet cafe that is kinda close by today.
I've only been here 2 days but seems like i have done so much! it great being here and the weather has been super so far, even the drizzle today made me smile (which is not good because you are not supposed to smile here cause you stand out and especially not around men)

So it ends up that I actually live in a house rather than apartment like the rest of the girls EXCEPT they put 4 of us in it... me briana (washington) tiffany (utah) and Lindsay (texas and by far my favorite person). we all share a room and Bri and i even share a bed. Our family consists of Vera our mom, Vladamir our dad, Sasha 14, christina 7, and Evon 4. the kids speak more english than the parents but they try and its kinda funny cause we all make hand motions to try and help figure stuff out constantly. The stairs in our house are ocean blue and pretty. everything is run downish looking around the city and greyish with random splashes of color...mostly the playgrounds/parks. We metro EVERYWHERE which is easy for me and everyone has dedicated me as the leader to tell when to get off etc..
I love it here... we dont start teaching till tuesday but i am so excited! we are all spread out in different apartments all over the city and wont see many of the girls often. oh btw Lindsay and i are the coolest people in our group of teachers. we've been hanging out and exploring all over when T&B just go home to sleep or complain about EVERYTHING. it drives us nuts so we just go out and try to embrace the culture and discover as much as we can. oh and one lame thing is that since there are 4 of us we have to cook all our own meals in a little stove/kitchen by our bedroom so we wont be getting authentic ukrainian food all the time :( so far its been delicious though cause we've gotten to eat with the family for the first couple days. we had some bourche and some sauseage and salad stuff and all sorts but i have to go cause my hour is up at the cafe. i love all of you and UKRAINE is the BEST!!!!!