Dish Pit + Dancing: Summit Semester Week 2

Week two has come to an end, and we're starting to get the hang of things here in Colorado. Our weekends are still kinda random and that's cool cuz weekends are for fun, but the week is definitely more structured. I'm finding that getting up before the crowd is fun, and it's okay to go to bed before the party ends. The party will be there tomorrow. And the next day, and it will continue for the next 80 days.

     Our camping trip to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado was quite successful. I wrote all about my experience (link soon). I climbed to the summit of the dunes, slept in the sand, played in sandy mud puddles, ate a lot of red hot dogs, and sang to Disney on the drive home. I had a blast with the crew, and I can't wait until our next camping experience! (which is probably gonna be in November so that'll be interesting.)

     As a group, we have noticed that stargazing after class (around 9:00pm) is our new favorite activity. We've done it nearly every night this week and it's so fun. It's mostly spent sharing lame jokes or funny stories from our past, and there's a lot of laughter and shivering because it's about 58°. But no regrets, y'all.

     I mentioned in last week's update, that our dinner clean-up crew (we call it dish pit) was striving to join the names on the wall of who's the quickest group to get the kitchen + dining hall cleaned. Well, I'm pleased to tell you that we successfully made the wall! We cleaned up dinner in 27 minutes and we were so proud of ourselves. I'm pretty sure that the record has already been passed up since Wednesday, but it was a sweet couple of days.

     I haven't changed up my choice of exercise yet: I'm still stuck on basketball. Between basketball, volleyball, soccer, and ultimate Frisbee, basketball is definitely the easiest and safest of sports (in my opinion), so I haven't been convinced otherwise. But I have improved my hoop shooting skills! In the latest legit game that I played with the guys, I made a few baskets on my own and I was pretty proud of that. Maybe next week I'll switch it up, but why change it up when I know I'm good at it? We'll see.

     Because I'm going to bed earlier and waking up earlier, my roommate and I have had quite opposite sleeping schedules. I wake before she does, and she comes to our room to sleep after I'm passed out. But while shopping a few weeks ago, we got a whiteboard to write out things we needed to shop for, important dates or things to remember, etc. Because our sleep schedule is so off, we've written notes to each other every morning and evening. It's so fun to wake up to an encouraging note and be able to write one in return. I highly suggest doing this with roommates (siblings, roommates, spouses) of your own. It's so fun! We've had full conversations on the whiteboard and never even mention it in person. It's like a secret code or something.

     Did you ever have a pen pal in elementary or middle school? Someone you didn't know who it was, but you wrote notes to each other over the course of a year? Well, the girls here at Summit have decided to do something similar: Secret Sisters. We all wrote out a personal prayer request, and some interests or loves (like chocolate or candy, flowers, color, etc). Then over the course of the semester, we're supposed to pray for our Secret Sister and write encouraging notes or give love gifts to each other, but all in secret. At the end of the semester, we'll reveal to each other who our secret sister is, but it's a fun surprise. So far, I've gotten a few sticky notes with encouragements on my door, and a bottle of purple nail polish (one of my favs) from my secret sister. I've been brainstorming all week on what to do for my secret sister! Any suggestions?

Saturday night, we had a swing dancing party. I figured very few people knew how to swing dance, but I was happily incorrect. We had a few staffers who have done it in the past and knew a thing or two, as well as some of the guys who knew what's up. I got to teach some of my moves to one of the guys who knew nothing, which was pretty fun. He was scared to dance with any other girl after, because he knew I knew what to do. But I think I got his confidence to boost a bit and he was really good! Learning + teaching swing dance in high school has payed off! Another one of the guys, Parker, had some mad skills when it came to swing dancing. He said his girlfriend loves to dance so he's learned for her (sweetest gesture amirite?) and he was so good. He knew some risque moves – more than your typical spins or dips. I almost did a full flip once, as well as being dipped completely to the floor and back up again. I was glad he knew what he was doing, because even though I've swing danced for 4 years, I had done nothing that intense before when it came to dance tricks. But I had a blast! We even did a few line dances, which are a personal favorite too. We had a great time.

     Some things that are happening this week: we have a day trip to Durango on Monday! I have no clue what we'll be doing, but I know we'll have fun together.

Our cold weather is supposed to hit us this week also! It's been getting chillier, but it's supposed to drop to the 60s on Wednesday or Thursday, so pray for us. A lot of people have been in shorts and sandals (and one of the guys who's remained barefoot almost 24/7) so this will be a game changer. Pray that we stay warm.

I've said it once, I'll say it again: don't forget to subscribe to the blog to stay up to date on Colorado updates! As always, thanks for following along with me as I do life.

Blessings,

Becca

Hot air balloon festival on Sunday morning! The rain killed it too early but still a great time with the girls.

Annalise and myself at the summit of the Great Sand Dunes!