Chile: DAY ONE

so i made it to Chile safe and sound...the plane ride was great - we got on at 10 pm watched a movie and ate dinner i fell asleep at 12 and next thing you know it´s 6 am (aka i slept the whole plane ride which is a blessing) we´ve had a time change so it´s actually 8 and they´re serving breakfast and i can see the peaks of the Andes mountains right outside my window! i had a window seat by the way so that was awesome...the mountains were so beautiful i almost cried...i was really mad that i didn´t have my camera with me! and i got picked up at the airport and brought to the apartment i´m staying at... i have my own bedroom AND bathroom and an AMAZING view of the mountains right outside my window...i will send pictures as soon as i get my computer hooked up to the internet (right now i´m at a cafe)

but the people i´m living with seem cool... i haven´t met my hostess yet (Pilo) cause she´s at work, but i´ve met her 15 year old son Jethro and he´s cool..he speaks pretty good english so he´s been talking my ear off...and i´ve met Flor she´s the nanny-maid or whatnot which is cool. she made my lunch (el almuerzo) it was this casserole thing of beef potatoes and eggs and i had tomatos and cucumber (tomates y pepinos) it was all very good. i feel so healthy...no fast food haha

so i´m all settled in and such...and i have no idea what i´m going to do for the rest of the day...i kinda want to go exploring but i don´t know if i want to brave the Metro alone...but i might we´ll see...

correction on my address. i forgot to include the postal code so here it is again!
Maria Teresa 6286 Depto. 609
757-0090 Las Condes CHILE

Polluting a fountain in the mall in Charleston...i mean making wishes! 

This always seems to happen when you put PC on a charter bus 

You can't turn THIS off

Oh the joys of being in UAB choir!
so i just got back from Charleston, WV...my final adventure before heading off to Chile to start my "spring" semester abroad.
UAB choir was selected to sing at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Southern Convention this past thurs/fri... so we went, we saw, we conquered...so to speak
It was a wonderful 10 hour bus ride up and 10 more wonderful hours back - a ride which included everything from naps and movies, to religious discussions and truth or dare. oh yeah and who can forget that lovely southern gospel blasting from the front with added bass slides which got pretty mundane after hearing them for the umpteenth time.

As for the choral aspect of the trip, i thought we did an excellent job. Not a perfect performance, but that's to be expected. we had a few pitch problems that WERE unexpected but nonetheless i thought it was a great concert. my favorite part was when my nose started running at the beginning of "if i can help somebody" and i couldn't move to wipe it...oh wait that part sucked. and then there's the fact that it was my last concert for awhile and i got sick the day before - go figure. but we got up there, did our best, smiled and Blazed the Stage as i like to say :)
I'm so proud of everyone in choir!! We worked so hard and have accomplished so much this year...I just want to wish you all the best of luck for the rest of the semester i know that the "solemn vespers" and NYC will be awesome and who knows what Copeland will throw at you for the Spring concert...probably great fun songs and i'll be jealous

anyways so tomorrow (saturday) i'm headed home to pack for Chile and spend some time with the fam before i leave monday.

i'm totally exhausted from the trip and still kinda sick so it's definitely bed time!

also, my address in chile is on facebook if you need it (hint hint send packages) hehe or if you want to receive email updates and you haven't yet let me know!

ever in my life

ever in my life have i sought thee with my songs
it was they who led me from door to door
and with them have i felt about me, searching and touching my world

it was my songs, songs, my songs,
that taught me all the lessons i ever learnt
they showed me secret paths
they brought before my sight many a star on the horizon of my heart

the showed me secret pths

they brought before my sight many a star on the horizon of my heart

they guided me all the day the day long
to the mysteries of the country of pleasure and pain
at last,
to what palace gate have they brought me
in the evening, at the end of my journey

ever in my life have i sought thee with my songs

Road trip

Sometimes life just gets frustrating. why is it that when everyone is upset about something all they do is complain, just making problems worse, while at the same time no one is willing to fix the problem...and all it leads to is an ongoing circle of bashing other people for their shortcomings, which are probably mutual. i don't know if that sentence made any sense but i guess it's my blog so i can write stream of thought if i feel like it.

So today was interesting... finally got up at like 11, got my picture taken at walgreens, got a money order for $100 at the bank, filled up the car with gas, sang for an hour and headed off to Atlanta. So, i drove there had a lady take my fingerprint and got back in the car and came right back home...doesn't that sound like fun? but i'm now down with the final step of applying for my visa... now all i have to do is send it to miami tomorrow and i'm home free!

Next task: Moving out of my apartment :( something i'm not looking forward to, so if you'd like to help just let me know!

so my goal for this week is to love others as with God's love! Because he loves us so much and the greatest commandments that we are given are to Love HIM with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as yourself... and even though that's so hard to do sometimes, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength! (phil. 4:13)

When we are satisfied in HIM, He gets the glory!