I saw Cirque du Soleil last night!!! It was SO amazing!! I can't believe they actually came out here to the Pioneer Valley, probably all for the student audience. "Alegría" was beautiful. I actually teared up at one point because it was just so beautiful, and the music just adds a whole other dimension. Javier, Silvia, Florian, and I spent the whole time gasping at one feat after another, Javier sometimes cursing in Spanish. When the "arm guy" came out, essentially this perfectly built shirtless man in a leotard to perform amazing muscle feats, Javier and Florian flipped out and started salivating. It was quite hilarious. Silvia and I were caught in the middle.. sigh.

We walked all the way back from UMass, just because the next bus wouldn't come for another 45 minutes and we could walk back in 30 minutes. Javier, of course, talked us into stopping at Starbucks on the way back. Oh temptation.

I also got into a huge power struggle/argument with my dad. I basically enlisted in French 1 and absolutely refused to let him talk me out of it. It was interesting. We had a back and forth email argument going on in which he drew many examples from Chinese history and said many not very nice things about me being a failure and lacking self-control. No one else's parents even try to tell their kids what to study... wtf. But anyway, in the end, I basically told him it was the end of add/drop and there really was nothing I could do about it. So now he's angrily resigned, which means we have slightly strained relations right now, but it'll be okay. And though I feel pretty guilty, it dissolves when I walk into French class. :)

I need more time to write. Not even stories, but just about people and my life. I hear so many interesting things that I want to write down before I forget, but I never have the time, in between readings for class and newspaper and just hanging out with people. Oh! And I joined choir. Women's Chorus to be more exact. We had our first rehearsal Monday, where we just got to know everyone, so tonight we should be starting the actual singing! I'm excited! But it also complicates my schedule a lot... newspaper, choir, Spanish House, and the job that I still haven't secured. Whee!!

Finally, a new post! I've just been so busy visiting everyone, having fun before classes, working on the newspaper, and moving in that I just haven't really had time to just sit down in front of my computer. It's scary. We finally got the newspaper done (worked Monday through Friday). As much as I love the newspaper and it's an essential part of my identity (and possibly future), there are times when I think about all the things I could be doing if I weren't at the newspaper. For one, I wouldn't be so stressed out all the time. The weeks where I don't have newspaper, I have SO much free time I don't even know what to do with myself.

But anyway, I absolutely love love love the new TAs!! Florian (France) and Silvia (Spain) in particular. They're so amazing. :) So cute and nice and I almost feel like I won't have friends next year once they're gone. It's a little difficult to hang out with everyone and balance my time, especially because I have so much fun in Newport (my dorm) with these people, and then my other friends aren't very enthusiastic about coming to visit me (because it's.. "far" apparently.. spoiled Amherst people). And then I miss Shannon a lot. Not living with Shannon is sad, even if I have a huge room all to myself. :( Blah. Friendship circles will be rearranged this year, I'm sure. Hopefully it'll turn out okay.

Classes start Tuesday. I'm excited/nervous. My laptop is running out of battery and I can't find my charger, so I'll post more tomorrow! Happy Labour Day!