fall, fall, fall

i got to see my brothers at the same time last weekend!


it definitely feels more like fall, now that it's gotten colder. so let me think of what has happened in the past 10 days...maybe i'll start from most recent that I can remember and work my way backwards.

This morning I ran a 5.5 mile race at Allerton Park. It was sooo cold in the morning, but so beautiful out there. I ran with Alison and we talked and had fun. I finished well, under a 10 minute mile. I love running races, they are very encouraging to me as a runner. It isn't always easy to run...it takes discipline and some days you feel great and other days your legs feel awful. Whenever I run races, it makes me want to press on and not stop running consistently.

Within the last week I've gone salsa dancing three times. Me and my roommate, Christie, love salsa dancing. It's a very fun dance...and we are getting pretty good so it's fun to go and show off our moves. And it's an extra aerobic exercise!

I played my violin last night for Illini Life. I felt like the sound was a lot better and I was heard and it blended well with the band. I am so glad I have the opportunity to play my violin again and honor God through that.

Last Sunday we went to Kickapoo State Park, it's about 30 minutes east on I-74. It was fun exploring the park and having fun.

I've been pretty busy during the week. Monday through Thursday I am packed with so many things going on. It's nice to have Friday through Sunday to unwind and relax a bit.

I've been observing three hours a week at a junior high in a small town nearby. Two weeks ago, my classmate and I co-taught a lesson. and then this past week I taught two classes by myself. It's really cool to get experience as a real teacher and learning about what teaching is all about. For me, classroomate management is the hardest thing about teaching right now for me. It's not easy to have strategy to have all the students engaged and well-behaved throughout an entire class period.

oh! i got my bike fixed. so about a month ago i was riding my bike and--to make a long story short--this guy wasn't thinking and kinda ran into my bike with his bike...which (not until a few days later did i realize this) pretty much dislocated my back tire out of its 'joint' so my back wheel had been rubbing against a a bar for about 3 weeks. my friend from a math class fixed it two days ago and it rides so smoothly. i cannot tell you how frustrating it was riding my bike before, it felt as though i was riding a work out bike that had a lot of resistance making it harder to pedal. and it seemed to get harder as the days past. oh...ok here's a funny story. thursday morning i was riding my bike for the first time ever, my LEFT pant leg got stuck in the gear on the left side. i was approaching the intersection of green street and neil street so i thought 'ok i'll stop before the intersection and get my pant leg 'un-stuck.' well i wasn't thinking and leaned to the left to put my foot down but my foot was stuck and i just tipped over. and allllllll the cars at the busy intersection saw me. it was quite embarassing. i just didn't look behind me to see all the people staring at me. so it was quite a humbling experience. but i guess i'm thankful for it in a way cause it make me hate my bike and i was sooo angry when i walked into my math class that i told my friends what happened and how my bike stinks and is broken...and then my friend offered to fix it. because i mentioned. so praise God that i tipped over...right? haha

ok that has been the highlights of the past couples weeks. here are some pictures!

Rach