Week 15: Progress

I don't know why this didn't post on Wednesday. Sorry!

The theme of this week's blog is progress because Karl and I have both been making progress this week in many ways.

On the field....
While Karl's team didn't officially win, it was a victory in my mind. The final score was 34-28, and the most scandalous call against us was the recalling of a touchdown for offensive pass interference. The refs' interpretation of NCAA rules definitely differs from Karl's 6 years of experience with them. (Not to mention his team's understanding of them.) Some other interesting calls were things like late hit penalties for tackling that occurred before the whistle blew and so many other calls during the third quarter that even Claire (who was officially watching her third football game ever) realised were wrong. It was very frustrating to watch, but amusing to see how much our team got away with heckling the refs. Karl did receive an email from the head rep on Monday that praised Karl on the vast improvement of his team and how the whole league (all six other teams) had noticed. We still hate the man, but it was a nice sentiment. Karl's passing is also getting better, and his found two additional receivers who can catch the ball. That makes three! As far as my progress in this category, Carol taught me how to make a scarf with the team colours that I wore at the game. I'm also becoming the team's official photographer, but I have trouble taking a picture and watching the plays. I almost got run over on the sidelines during our first touchdown. Ah, I'll get better:)

In the kitchen...
Not having measuring spoons or a real oven or my mother to call when I have questions has greatly improved my cooking abilities. I baked a ham the other day. I didn't put water in the bottom of the pan, cut off the netting, or cover it, but it turned out edible, so that was good. I've learned to make a mean twice-baked potato and chicken pot pie. And Carol loves my homemade syrup! I also figured out how to make corn pudding without corn meal and gingersnap cookies without molasses. (Okay, so really I just figured out their substitutes, but either way it is impressive.) Karl's kitchen adventures have centered around Mexican food because it is the one kind of ethnic food this country doesn't have. He's recently figured out how to make salsa but not without a few efforts. The first one turned out brown and rather veggie. Making the second batch, he stuck a wooden spoon in the blender while it was on, so he had to pick out wooden chunks from it. Always exciting and messy in Karl's kitchen.

In the classroom....
I promise this boring section will be over soon, but I've got to praise myself. I've finished a second paper, and it was the longest one. My professor looked it over and said it was a very good first draft. I need to get at least one 'A', so I can transfer it back to WKU and complete my masters there, and I'm not going to get it from my current paper. Two more weeks and two more papers. I'm almost done!!!!

With my Rotary project...
Last week I wrote about the school in Tanzania that I was trying to get my host and sponsor clubs to support. This week I am very happy to report that both of my clubs' boards are looking into it seriously. I also received an email from Kentucky's Rotarian District Governor and he's encouraging all the clubs to participate. I'm not sure how many clubs that is, but it's at least 30. Nothing's official yet, but it's progress none the less.

With the Australian language...
Karl and I are adopting their words even though we said we wouldn't.

WORD of the WEEK!!!!

This week's word is one that I actually said in conversation without trying to make a joke. When Aussies want to demonstrate the intensity some activity, they say it is "full on." In gridiron, they use it to describe how they just got killed by a hit. It's also used to show the scale of an event. Like, exam week is full on, meaning it's overwhelming and really busy. I know, I know. This week's word wasn't as stimulating as last week's, but at least I just said a really bad pun!

In the looks department.....
I'll leave you with a short story about Karl's physical appearance. Our Malaysian friend, Field, was looking at Karl's old WKU ID. He wanted to know when the picture was taken, and Karl replied, "My freshman year. I was 18." I also mentioned that I hadn't met Karl at that point. Field exclaimed in broken English, "Brittney you are really lucky; Karl become handsome!" We weren't positive of his implication, but I don't think he was attracted to young Karl. Too bad!

Ooroo! (Goodbye:)

Britt

P.S. The season's have been making progress, too. Unfortunately, today is the first official day of Winter:( The only part I like about winter at home is Christmas, my birthday, and snow. They don't have any of those!!!!!!