Update

And routine has kicked in again. Academics are back on track and most of the august period and induction spontinety has dissapeared.
Already I've finished King Lear, visited the Globe Theatre in London (life really can be wonderful!), finished learning the basics of logic, and there is so much more to come.
Next week I will interview for US University, fast all day Tuesday for Doctors without Borders, talk, listen, and dream.
As a second year I somehow see AC a little differently than I did last year. I feel much more grounded this year and mentally more stable. Although it pains me to say this, this extra year of high school isn't so bad afterall. In fact, I think its done me well.
My roommate-Nicole-has been such a blessing this year. She is the closest thing to family that I have at AC, and I am so lucky to have her.
Again, I am happy. I try not to stress about colleges and work and focus on the more important things.

I say AC, you say Camp

Already it seems the year is underway. The first years arrived on Saturday and the day was spent painting our faces, banging pots and pans, blowing the conch, and shyly greeting the newcomers.

What is to be said in the introduction? Eventually we get tired of "Hello, my name is ____ from ____. Where are you from?". That question morphs into "What house are you in" followed by "What service/classes are you interested in?".
The small talk gets a little old, but its the beginning of a real friendship.

AC Camp was different for me this year (going as a peer listener, not a camper). Different yes, but just as enjoyable. This time I saw how much work the second years do to make the experience enjoyable for the fresh new faces. We all basked in the new pool of optimism that came from all over the world. We enjoyed the optimism in Moroccan sweets, and American hugs, and the singing of the World Cup song "Wavin Flag".

"When I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom, just like a wavin flag.."

This quickly became the camp anthem. I won't lie, the chorus is still streaming in my head.

At camp I did the walk-an 7 hour hike along the beautiful welsh coast. It provided a great opportunity to spare good conversation.
I lost my voice, I think I have the flu-but I don't regret it in the least. Cheers to my last year at AC-now back to the books.


"When I get older..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBD9h0jUq3w




ps. On top of all the first year excitement- I got my Advanced Open Water Scuba Diving Certification! And I learned how to use a dry suit. All together- a great success

August Period

Although our August Period (the ten days where it is only second years, my co-years) is halfway done, it feels as though everybody just got here. The canteen (our dining hall) is full of familiar faces and I like it. I feel as though my house is slowly but surely coming together. Powys is such a good place to be and we just got our new dorm mates and our new first years!
This year I will be rooming with:
Nicole (Malaysia- I roomed with her last year)
Eeva (Estonia)
Hangwei (China).
It seems as though it will be a dorm with a comfortable atmosphere. Having second year dormies won't be so bad after all!

On top of adjusting to life at AC again, we have been dedicating our time to service. Tomorrow MEMS (Marine Environmental Monitoring Service) leaves on a weeklong camping trip with ILB (the inshore life boat service). We will be getting our PADI Advanced Open Water and National Geographic scuba diving certifications. Needless to say, I am very excited. We tried out our dry-suits today and they were more trouble than I was expecting. Wish me luck this coming week!

My second year at AC is already flying by a little too quickly. New friendships are forming in fears and excitement of the incoming first years. But most importantly, I have a very good feeling about this.

Here is a photo from our Powys 2nd Year girls bonding session:

Walton-on-Thames

Thoughts from my 5am walk into Llantwit Major on my way to Walton-on-Thames:

I feel lovely when that
first sliver of sunshine hits my face

the only one to see
my smile is the starling

and together we illuminate the sky




I am staying with my Aunt Chantal, her husband Matthew and her son Benjamin. All together, and incredibly fun and friendly family. I've even been mildly successful in forcing myself to work on things such as homework and college applications. Although nothing eventful is taking place, I am very much at peace with this family, England, and my work.
Best of all, I had a good meal! After eating the canteen food at the castle, any type of food is welcomed with a parade of enthusiasm. School starts up in.. 4 days now.
I think I'm ready.

It's good to be back

Reunions have been going smashingly (seeing as none of the people have arrived yet).
It falls so normal to be back at the castle and with these people again, besides the jet lag is was a though I never left.
The food is still miserbale, the people are still wonderful, and the campus is right out of a fairytale book.
I already know that I will be leaving a little piece of myself here in Wales (not literally). Something about being back is so comfortable and it really makes me smile.
Needless to say, I am happy. The reunion folks arrive in a few hours, and we are going to get very busy very quickly. I can't wait to meet these people, hear how their lives have changed, and hopefully have a good laugh.

Ready for Round Two

Although I got pretty bad with updating this blog, It's a new year and I plan to start afresh.
Tomorrow I board the plane which signifies the start of my second year at Atlantic College. Woah.
When I first arrive I will be helping out with reunions for old AC grads. I hope to meet some pretty interesting people and hear about how this college used to be. I am always up for a good story
After that, I get the chance to visit an Aunt who lives near London and work on the inevitable: US University Applications.

Thoughts on returning to AC:
-I'm not ready in the smallest sense of the word
-Summer has been too short (once again)
-I can't wait to see all of the strange yet incredible friends I made last year
-Will everything be so different?
-I sure hope it is beautiful in the summer
-Goodbyes aren't as hard this time
-No one can cook quite like my mother..


Goodbye Oregon, I will miss you..

Some more Fiction

Here are two very short stories I worked on for my class.

__________

champagne.

A sea of green helmets rolls over the landscape like a wave of destruction. Pulsing, pulling everything down as it goes by. This single entity of men is consumed with fighting, flowing, living, dying as one. Listen closely; you can hear their heartbeats. He hurts. He fears. He loves. He starts. He stops. This pounding echoes in their heads because wet heavy boots sink deep into the mud. With the glint of guns, is this garrison just a game? The pounding echoes.
Look there- a man breaks from group breaking the rhythm. A single smile spreads across his cracked dirty face. Anonymous, supposedly. The lone figure runs away from it all to the safe sanctuary of home. He’s broken away from the all-consuming monster of authority. That’s when the bullet hits him, plummeting deep into the flesh of his lower back. He is falling like rag doll to the hard ground. The ground is no man’s friend. Tides of consciousness and pain wash over his mind, balancing him on the brink. The smile strains to stay as the free blood pools out, seeping into the mud, staining it with hard earned liberty. The uniform is now matted with dark blood while he lies dying, life leaking from his core. His eyes can no longer focus on the gray morning. Another shot is fired into the mud man, the sound resonating in the cold atmosphere. Waves of human machines march on, forgetting the smiling, dying man.
His eyes are like champagne, they sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all that’s left is a hollow, splitting headache. Rain


________

What I am about to tell you is a lie.
I don’t love her anymore. I’ve been staring at my blank computer screen for 38 minutes. My soy latte has grown cold. The thought of her face no longer lingers in my mind. The sound of her laugh no longer plays on repeat. She isn’t a part of my life. I am happily heartbroken.
Was it yesterday? A year ago? This year has been caught in still frames and pictures in my mind. Images of rekindled love, broken hearts, injuries, smiles, and second chances spin through my head. I don’t care. It’s a pleasant sort of pain.
Seated here at the gratitude café, it all feels so slow.
I was eleven when I first told her I loved her. All she said was “I know, silly boy”. Even then she was a beautiful disaster. She was the only girl who wasn’t afraid to dance in the pouring rain. She makes me feel alive, or she did.
But none of this is true. This is not reality.
Across the café a couple shares a mug of hot chocolate. I see a chance, a dance, a romance. Endless opportunities reflected in his dark rimmed glasses. I used to be him. The girl doesn’t believe in love, I can tell from her lopsided smile. He doesn’t know that yet, he is far too mesmerized by the little green flakes in those big eyes. And she just likes those dark curls. I just know.
I’d write love stories if there was a girl worth writing for. I’d write my story for her. Childhood best friends, in love with her for 15 years, she left. Dropping me to shatter on the floor as she fled. Doesn’t seem so romantic now. Good thing this never happened. Now she’s gone, I don’t want to write. Now love stories seem ridiculous. Silly games from when I was a boy. My soft skinned inspiration left me to grow dusty on the shelf next to old Josh Ritter CDs.
The whole time I just kept sipping her sweet lemonade laced with love and lies.
The couple across the café finished their hot chocolate. Now they sing the tune of goodbye, dance the rhythm of farewell. I laugh at them, gleefully grieving. It’s all marvelously masochistic.
My soy latte is now icy because I don’t love her anymore.
Truth be told, I’m not a very good liar.