Monday, June 21, 2004

what a weekend!

I got up in the morning to Jessi calling me and telling me that she was headed down to the writing center to start her 150 hours of paid work. I got ready and was about to head down there when she called again and said that she couldn't take it anymore down there. And then asked me to come home with her out of the blue and asked me to get ready in 25 minutes..lol! I got ready in about half an hour and we were on our way. I carried a book and my camera to try out there and basic necessities.. This would be the second time that I was going to spend a weekend on a farm. She lives about an hour east of Cedar Rapids. We got there around 2 and I noticed that the house and the surrounding garden and lawn was almost like that of Kit's. They had a wooden front porch with a swing. I got to meet her whole family then. I had seen Luke, her older brother before at Coe. The last time I saw Dustin was at one of his cross country meets which Jessi took me to. We had Sheik kababs which was pronounced Sheesh Kebabs. It was really good. I enjoyed the wholesome home cooked meal of the kebabs, corn, potatoes and the dessert, strawberry pie. She showed me around the house and then around the farm. She showed me her cows and a calf. I tried taking a picture with the calf but the picture turned out fuzzy unfortunately. I saw how a bale was made for the first time. If people want to get tanned, they should farm because all the guys in the house were brown! Jessi is tanned, but she is pale in comparision to her brothers. I took a picture of the bale coming out of the tractor that made bales. I then went along with Jessi and her brothers and father to de-pole. It's removing poles from the ground so that the fence can be extended. We also had to remove barbed wire off the poles before we could get the poles off the ground. I got stratched from the long grass and weeds and from the barbed wire..hehe.. It was very interesting to say the least. They also rent lot of land around which is currently on ten-year. They have a cabin by a river and she took me there to show the recent beach due to the flooding from the river. I also met her horses and pet em' and took a few pictures with them. We went to a graduation party for dinner. And then from there, Jessi, me and Dustin went to one of Jessi's better friend's home. We watched American Wedding. That movie is HILARIOUS! I couldn't stop laughing throughout the movie and I have seen it several times. Doll called me when I was there but I hardly had any reception there so I couldn't talk to her. I had little reception in her hometown.
The next day, Jessi woke me up at 10 instead of 8 because all of them woke up late. They were "supposed" to go to church..hehe.. Her mom made strawberry pancakes which were wonderful! And then, her dad opened up all his father's day presents. And then for the father's day activities, we went cave watching. We hiked around in one of their rented lands. Pretty early in the hike, I slipped on the slope and tore the jeans I was wearing. I slipped about 4 feet and broke a tree that would have been useful on the climb up..oops.. My butt hurt after that, I think it cut my butt and I touched around to see if there was any blood. I think there was a bit but not a whole lot. I was ok. Hiking is thrilling because I don't want to slip, so with my heart in my mouth, I was extremely careful. I think I was slowing them down because I was paying a lot of attention to my foot and handholds. It was a fantastic experience like the one I had with andi and her family. This was just a level higher in thrill factor. Jessi's lil brother was watching out for me which was good becuase he was the one who broke my fall earlier. Her mom's an avid photographer, so she was taking pictures of us hiking. After that I got back and showered. And then headed over to her grandparent's house for dinner. I met her extended paternal family. She apparently is not too close with them. We shot hoops outside till the tacos arrived. And then we ate. I sat there and watched her family talk. It reminded me of my extended family back home. I don't know if they have ever been around an international student before or not because they kept looking at me. Especially one of the 16 year old cousins. I noticed that she kept looking at me but wouldn't come forward and talk..strange! The funniest part was that they thought I was Jessi's boyfriend. I don't know what would have given them that idea because Jessi told them I had a girlfriend. I just laughed when Jessi told me that. We head back to Coe around 8.30 and got back to my room at 9.15. I finally called Doll and talked to her for a bit. And then I went upstairs to talk to Matt, Amanda and Jill. It's fun talking to them about different things.

[Listening to: Not Of This Earth - Robbie Williams - Bridget Jones' Diary OST (4:41)]

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