I keep forgetting to write about one of the most epic things EVER: there are LIGHTNING BUGS here!! I saw my first one last Monday night with people from the ward as we were leaving from FHE. I was sooo excited!! People didn't believe me when I said that I had never seen one before. I really hadn't, and I was jumping for joy at the sight of a glowing bug! I just think that they're so pretty! I notice them all the time now, and I still get just as excited. I never get to see lightning bugs in downtown, but when I'm at the church at night, or outside someone else's house, I sometimes get to see them.
I also forgot to add in a very...cultural experience about the trip to the beach. On our drive home, right after we arrived back in Baltimore city, we were driving up Charles Street toward Homewood to take Sam and Tori home, and guess what we ran into...a gay rights rally. The whole street was blocked off (Charles street is a major street in Baltimore, too)! All sorts of people were roaming the street, doing all sorts of things. It's a gay rights rally. In Baltimore. It's gonna be just a little weird. I can't even put into words the crazy things that I saw. People didn't have signs, and they weren't chanting or anything, it seemed more like a festival kind of, just without all the booths and such. If I would have gotten out of the car, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
Now that I've caught up on what I forgot to write about... :)
Sundays here are really boring. Okay, they're not terrible, just...boring. Relatively speaking that is. When I was in Utah, in Logan, I would always have somewhere to be on Sundays: someones apt., or something at church. At home, there was always family to be with. Here in Baltimore, Sunday schedule is like this: church is from 10 to 1. Choir practice is after church and usually goes until 1:45 or 2. I usually get home around 2:15 or 2:30. At that point I literally have nothing to do. I mean, I have random things to do. Hence, the reason there are usually blog posts on Sundays. And long naps on Sundays. I think my point is that if anyone wants to call me on Sunday, I won't ever complain :) jk.
I really don't want this to be a sad blog post, but I just have to post about what's been happening. So I'll just be honest. I've missed home a lot the last few days, and for a couple days, I really wanted to go home. Days at work seemed awful, and I was just too tired of everything. By everything I mean the unfamiliarities, the loneliness, and the commotion of living in a city that I could never escape if I wanted. All my life, I have been able to escape to my own "place". A place where no one else was. Somewhere where no one else could be. A place where the rest of the world was silent to you for just an instant. Growing up, I was literally surrounded by those places. My whole yard and neighborhood would be a place like that. In Logan, it was easily found at place on campus, a bike ride down the hill, or it was just a two minute drive up the canyon. In Baltimore, those places don't exist. Literally. I think that's why a part of me is starting to not feel at home. It is a very rare moment for me to ever have silence here. Even in my bedroom, when I listen, I hear the commotion of the street below. I constantly hear sirens going by. Sometimes every 10 min or so. I notice them less frequently now. The only thing that keeps me going is when I tell myself that it's only for a summer, and that it's like a summer adventure of sorts. Then I grin to myself, and remember how much fun I'm really having, and then it doesn't seem too bad. It is really hard to live this far from home though. I miss everyone a lot. I had a dream the other night that Darren came to live with me in Baltimore for a month. He was too disappointed with the bus system here to be completely happy with his stay, but he found a good noodle restaurant that made him satisfied. Haha!
Last night the Relief Society had an activity. We had a swimming party, and learned how to cook vegetables on the grill. It was at a girl named Emily's house, who lives outside of Baltimore, about 45 min. away from where I live. There were about 10 or 12 people who showed up, so there was a relatively good turn out. Only three of us got in the pool to swim though, and you better bet that I was one of them! The veggies we grilled were super delicious too. Surprisingly, my favorite thing we grilled were some onions and tomatoes that we placed in foil with nothing but basil and salt and pepper on them. While we were swimming, I got to see some more lighting bugs! They explained the difference between lightning bugs and fireflies. Fireflies stay lit longer. So what I watched were for sure lightning bugs.
Tomorrow Dr. Torrey is doing the Schizophrenia lecture for the Stanley group. It should be really good. I'm excited!
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