Rise Up or Bear Down?

I've officially started attending BYU! Its been quite the change, some parts good and some parts... not as good... but overall it has definitely been an exciting adventure. My biggest problem is that I don't know whether I'm an Arizona Wildcat or a BYU Cougar. My allegiance has yet to be determined.

In other news, camp was absolutely amazing. My favorite part was getting to drive the speed boats/pull kids on wake boards/water skis. =D It's especially rewarding when they have never been wake boarding before, and you teach them and coach them and they try so hard and then finally on the last day of class they're good enough that they pass off the merit badge. ^_^ So awesome!!!

I did, unfortunately, get pulled over while driving the boat. The scout that I put in charge of the orange flag didn't have it up, so the cop boat decided to come and tell us off, and then did a routine check-up on our equipment. Everyone on waterfront saw me get pulled over, and then they told everyone else, so I got pestered constantly with comments like "Oh hey there, convict" etc etc. But now I can say that I got pulled over while driving a boat before I got pulled over driving a car, so that's pretty cool. =)

After camp, I went on a family vacation up to Washington to visit my grandparents & to explore the cool natural sites, i.e. the temperate rainforest, the Puget Sound, the Pacific Ocean, etc. Because of my ridiculous tan from camp, my grandpa commented that I looked like I walked out of the Polynesian Cultural Center. XD My favorite parts were falling asleep on the beach, planking all over the place, and running through the forest with my brother, pretending like we were fighting bad guys (you know, ducking behind fallen trees, running low, standing  up behind trees and aiming around them, making blaster noises, throwing the occasional plasma grenade... that sort of stuff.) Ahh, I love family vacations. =)


Quote of the day:
"I need to throw a rock... where's Julia?"
--a fellow Waterfront Staffer

Camp!!

So I'm working at a Scout Camp this summer. I've officially finished my first week, and its been such a roller coaster! I was down in the depths of despair and misery the first day, but since have had so much fun! I don't really have computer access so my blog posts will be fewer and farther in between than before, so I apologize in advance. I might post a few awesome stories, but right now I'm supposed to be packing as I'm leaving again for camp in less than an hour. XD

Long story short, Scout Camp is a ton of hard work, but the environment and the friends you make are totally worth the effort. Plus I'm getting a killer farmer tan. That's always a plus. =)

Quote of the day:

Flynn Rider: "I mean because here's the thing. Superhuman good looks, I've always had them. Born with it. But superhuman strength. Can you imagine the possibilities of this?"

Para Para Part 2

Last year, around the end of the semester, I was really stressed, and had a TON of work to do, and I was working in one of the computer labs on campus with a friend, when I remembered para para and got really excited about it, and looked up a ton of para para videos, and I got this strange desire to learn the dances! King Kong, in specific, looked really fun. So I watched the movies a few times, and tried to teach them to myself, but I didn't really get anywhere. After the school year was over, I moved back home. One night I was bored so I put my laptop on my bed, and had my sister come in with me so I wouldn't feel like a moron, and we watched the movie and tried to copy it as we watched. We were terrible at it, but it was really funny and quite enjoyable. We kept bumping into each other though, so we decided to use our Wii downstairs, and we just used its internet to watch and imitate the videos. It was SO much fun! We felt kind of stupid but eventually we actually got pretty good at them! It was also great exercise. Because you lift up your arms and wave them around so much, its actually a pretty good workout. =) I have a hard time getting myself to exercise at all, but after doing some para para my body felt great. I had more energy and I was excited to get up and start moving. The challenge of learning new videos was fun and exciting, but once we knew them, it became even more fun! ^_^ It was also a great bonding experience for me & my sister.

Here are the dances we like the best!

-King Kong

-Ike Ike

-Sing Na Na Na

-Meccho Maccho (This is my sister's favorite... it WILL get stuck in your head, and you'll have to explain to your friends why you are saying in Japanese that eating isn't macho. XD You have been warned!)

Hope you enjoy! ^_^

Quote of the Day:

Mr. Timns: "Ever wondered why the Candy Castle is made out of ice cream instead of candy?"

Toby: "Not really..."

Mr. Timns: "Me neither. But NOW I really wanna know what they're up to in there!"

Para Para!! =D

The first time I heard about Para Para was about five years ago. I have a close friend who is totally into Japanese culture and loves going to ComiCon and AX and all of those anime conventions. The way she describes Para Para is basically Japanese line-dancing. At dance clubs they'll play these pop/techno songs to which certain Para Para dances have been choreographed, and then everyone in the club will dance the same thing in unison. It's fun to do by yourself, but it's really exciting to get a group of friends together and learn a dance and then perform it.

So, at one of the Cons, my friend entered a talent competition, the second round of which was a Para Para dance. All of the competitors were put in a room and taught a dance for 45 minutes, and then they all had to perform it en masse in front of a panel of judges. She enjoyed it so much that for our weekly youth activity at our church, she taught the girls our age one of the dances. I was really nervous about it, because I'm horrible and dancing. Dancing and I definitely do not mix! However, I gave it a try, and I was quite surprised! It is simple enough that I am physically capable to copy the moves, (which is a first for me) and yet the songs are so energizing and the steps are so much fun that it's quite exhilarating. It was really exciting for me to actually be able to dance! ^_^

Quote of the day:

"We breathe. We pulse. We regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. 37 seconds, well used, is a lifetime." --Mr. Magorium

Culture culture culture!!

About a week ago, I was invited to a friend's Henna night. One of my Turkish classmates had gotten married about a year and a half ago, but she had never had a bachelorette party, so she and our TA (who was born in Izmir) put together a party in which we would do the traditional Turkish pre-wedding activities. I was a little nervous about it, but I'm always up for learning about new cultures, so I decided to go.

I looked up the address and figured out where it was, and then ended up knocking on the wrong door first. XD No one answered though, and after standing there for at least 3 minutes, I heard some people speaking Turkish next door, and realized I was definitely at the wrong house. So, I finally got to the right place. It was very laid back and relaxed. The house itself was very cozy, and the backyard was mystical. They had this nifty trellis with these vines growing on it, and a tree above it and a bench beneath it. So cool! Some people brought some traditional Turkish foods. I'm not sure what they were called, but I shall do my best to describe them. There were these zucchini fritter things, this sticky rice with vegetables, some couscous-like stuff, garlic-y yogurt stuff, and some spicy soup. There were also strawberries, jicama, dates, and this delicious banana pudding topped with cinnamon. ^_^ Sooo delicious! I think my favorite, though, was the beyaz peynir (white cheese). It's a cheese that is very common in Turkey, and it is absolutely fantastic!!

After the food, the "bride" went and changed into her formal robes. It was a beautiful maroon color. I'm not sure how to describe it... it had those poofy pants like Princess Jasmine wears, but it had a long-sleeved top too, and then this sheer robe that went over the whole thing. She also wore these sweet shoes, and a headdress with a veil. She went outside and sat on a chair, and all of us ladies got a lit candle, and went outside, and we sang a song to her, while circling around her. The guys standing outside sang it too, which was nice, because most of us didn't actually know the song. I just knew the first words were Yüksek yüksek tepelere. But that was about it! The song is about how the girl is leaving her family, and generally the bride is sobbing through the song, but not this time. Oh well. =)

Next came the Henna! No one there was an expert, so the most artistic of us thought she'd give it a go, and it turned out great. =) Everyone liked her work so much that she was doing henna for over an hour! I did some on my ankle at the end. It turned out okay, not too bad. It's still there right now. I'll post a picture later.

While the henna was being applied, we listened to some awesome Turkish dance music and danced around. I'm not particularly dancey... so I mostly listened and watched. Towards the end though I tried dancing a bit and it was really fun. Our teacher also taught us a traditional Turkish dance, where you all for a chain by holding pinkies, and step left, right, left, kick with the right to the left, and then step to the right with the left, right, left, kick right to left, etc. That was pretty nifty too. There was another one that involved pointing your right foot in 3 different directions, then clapping at your knees, then about at navel height, with arms extended, and then face-height or higher, and then stepping, etc.

Overall, the night was awesome! The weirdest part was seeing my Turkish teacher drink a lot of rakı. XD The most fun part was dancing, and the most interesting part was singing the song. I loved seeing my friends outside of class, and getting to know a little more about Turkish cuisine and culture. ^_^ I really want to go to Turkey!! =D

Quote of the day:

"For Narnia!!"

--High King Peter, the Magnificent

Khan Academy

So this is my podcast about the Khan Academy. (Click on the title.)

If you want to learn more about Khan Academy, just go to www.khanacademy.org.

Enjoy!!

Quote of the day:

I made this for you!!!!

--Julian Smith

Fail.

I have this problem, and it's called "I sometimes say really stupid things." I'm hoping I'm not alone in this, but regardless, it can actually be pretty funny sometimes. The following examples come from Turkish class.

So we were talking about question words and their endings, i.e. neresi, nerede, nereye, nereden, etc. Our teacher was having us ask questions using these words as practice. We got to the word nereden, and I remembered that you use the 'den' ending (from) with the verb for 'to be scared of.' So, I asked Çiğdem how do say 'to be scared of' and I swear she said "kokmak." (The actual word is korkmak.) So, I raised my hand and said to my teacher, "Nereden kokuyorsun?" This doesn't make very much sense grammatically...but grammar aside, it means "From where do you smell?"

Awesome. I love it when the whole class is laughing at me and I have no idea what's going on. XD

Another time I apparently used a word that only kindergarteners say... I didn't know the word for waterbottle so I just called it 'suluk,' su meaning water and luk meaning container....and so Şirin and Hikmet laughed at my innocence and naivety. Awesome.

Class on Wednesday was fun. We were learning about using the word 'ile.' One way to use it is in conjunction with a transportational device.... like a plane, boat, train, etc. Tren ile means 'by train.' Also, you can combine the two words into one word, trenle, to make it easier. Since ile also can just mean 'with,' like, I went to school with my cat, I wondered how you would tell the difference... like, did you go to school with your cat or by your cat? =)

Oh yeah. And today is my little brother's birthday!

Happy Birfday!!

We played on Rockband for my brother this morning at 7:30. It was a little early for a Saturday, but that's okay. I felt worse for my neighbors who had to hear it... =)

Quote of the day:

Drive-thru Whale: "Sever your leg please, sir. It's the greatest day."

Welcome!

Merhaba, benim adım Jülide. Arizona Üniversitesinde okuyorum. Öğretmen ilkokula olmak istiyorum. Büyük, kusurlu ama mükemmel ailem var. Annem ve babam çok güzel var, ve üç kız kardeşim ve bir erkek kardeşim var. Dileler seviyorum! (Türkçe benim dile en sevdiğim!)

Hola, me llamo Julia. Asisto a la Universidad de Arizona. Quiero ser una maestra de escuela primaria. Tengo una familia grande y imperfecta, pero mi familia es excelente. Tengo un madre y un padre muy chevere, y tengo tres hermanos y uno hermano. Me encantan los idiomas. (Español es mi idioma favorita!)

Hello, my name is Julia. I'm studying at the University of Arizona. I want to be an elementary school teacher. I have a large, imperfect but excellent family. I have a great mom and a great dad, and three sisters and one brother. I love languages! (English is my favorite, since it's my primary language. However, I find other languages fascinating!)

I've taken several years of Spanish, and I'm now in my second semester of Turkish. (I took it in middle school too, but had long since forgotten it!) My parents both speak German, and my dad's taught me some Serbo-Croatian.

I plan on talking about Turkish & practicing it a bit on here every once in a while. My grammar will be imperfect, as I am just beginning, but hopefully it will be interesting. =)

I enjoy photography, para para, and poetry. I'll be posting some pictures, dances, and possibly some poems I wrote a while back for a poetry class. I said I enjoy it, not that I was good at it. Just keep that in mind.

I absolutely love music. There's a special place in my heart for techno, but I also love a lot of 80's music, alternative soft-rock, etc.

Well, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy perusing!

(Just a warning: I will quote homestarrunner.com and random movies on a somewhat-regular basis.)

Today's Quote:

George: "Here, let me peruse it..."
*Pokes motor*

Old Fred: "Well, what do you think?"

George: "I think I burnt me finger."