Please Pray...

One of the girls from a neighboring cheerleader camp was jaywalking and got hit by a car. Some FSI students saw her being loaded into the ambulance, but we don't know how the girl is right now. Please pray for the girl and because the other cheerleaders haven't learned from her mistake yet...

All Dressed Up...

So, this is the group on the way to our first industrial visit.I'm the one in peach and black in the front (of course). The short girl beside me is Nguyen and the blonde is Lena, a cowgirl...

Blood and Physics

Yesterday in Rose's class we got to make smears of our own blood, which was totally awesome. By far the hardest part was pricking my own finger. I pushed the pricker all the way in, and the blood wouldn't come out! I finally handed it to Brady, who got the blood gushing. Unfortunately, when i was making the smears, the blood clotted, so Brady had to stab it again (now the finger is terribly bruised, but it was worth it). I pricked my right hand so i could play the guitar, but turns out i need that finger to hold the pick! I guess it's time to get creative!
Last night we had a seminar on Physics which was totally awesome. The instructor told us that the only difference between magic and science is that in magic, you don't know how it works. He then did a whole bunch of "magic tricks" but told us how they were done. He played with soundwaves, fire, bowling balls and mirrors. He had Nevin lie down on a bed of nails and someone else walk on broken glass. It was all very cool.
Well, i have chemistry soon! GOD bless!

Guitar

I just got to see my family this weekend, which was lots of fun. Now they are on their way home and i'm playing my guitar that they brought. I'm so happy to have it back! It's already causing quite a stir...

A Typical Day

Wow! i so can't believe it's Friday! It's my first weekend free. Everyone here is stressing out over our first major paper, not to mention homework, that is due Monday, so things are a little crazy in the dorms. We NEED this weekend.
Okay, if you're halfway curious, what follows is a typical day up here. It all starts for me at 5:15 in the morning. We have about 8 alarms that go off, most of them on Jamie's phone. I don't know if i love the song on her alarm 'cause it's fun or hate it 'cause it means i have to get up. Breakfast is at 6:30, but the food is terrible, so we sometimes sneak downstairs to the boys' area to raid the kitchen. i then call Daddy in while he's on his way to work. I love to hear his voice in the morning! Classes are at 8:00 and consist of either Biology and Engineering or Earth Science and Chemistry. The classes run to about an hour and 45 minutes. We've gotten to do some pretty cool labs so far. In engineering we shot off rockets made of matches and aluminum foil and in chemistry we burnt peanuts. In Biology we dissected a fresh, very bloody femur from a cow. It was actually pretty interesting. Brady and i put some of the marrow on a slide and got to see individual cells under a microscope while my other lab partner, Alex, carried the rest of the bone around the room. We've also made blood smears with horse blood and Monday we get to do our own! After all that is lunch, when i normally call my mom, and research time. Mia and i head down to the lab and mix a bunch of chemicals, plus mRNA. By the time we are done mixing about 8 chemicals, we only have less than a drop of liquid. We work in very small quantities. Research is done around 5:00 at which time we eat dinner, take a shower and do homework. Then it's finally time to sleep. Jamie and i are the first to go to sleep and the first to get up. It's kinda nice.
Since today was Friday (and still is, for that matter) everything was a little different. Most people left, while those that stayed played cards and had a dance contest (yes, i did dance). It was loads of fun. I get to see my family tomorrow, which is very exciting! Well, g'night and love y'all!

South Dakota

Hey y'all! i have a few minutes right now to tell you about the camping trip. The first thing that happened was that i was somehow convinced to let the guys zip me up into a small duffle bag. After that i was considered a half person and am the smallest here (and the oldest, go figure). I also ended up sleeping outside. Four girls and four guys slept outside all except the last night when it rained (we slept on the bus then). It was fun to sleep under the stars. Everynight i sang to myself
YOU walk amoung the stars
the worlds are in YOUR hands
the universe YOUR home...

Umm, the lake was just down the road, so there was a lot of swimming and boating. There was also a ton of card playing. Everyone was teaching each other new games. Keith was particularly funny as he was a horrible player, but was eager as a child to learn. I also went hiking several times with a group of people. Everytime we went in the woods we would find the bones of a two year old deer. We'd come running back to Rose carrying it shouting "Rose, we found you some bones!" Now, for the field trips:

Jewel and Wind Caves
The caves were beautiful. The tours was nearly two hours and hundreds of steps. At one point they turned off the lights and we stood in complete silence and darkness. It was fascinating. The idea that we were so far underground and in these amazing places, how do you even begin to describe it? GOD is good...

Mammoth Site
I sat with Keith on the bus on the way to this field trip. Since he'd been there before, he would tell me all the cool things we'd see and i got to pick his brain about different theories. What was really neat was that since he knew i was so interested in everything, he pointed out things the other kids didn't get to see. The site itself was an old sinkhole that a bunch of male mammoths had died in. The actual bones were still inside...

Mt. Rushmore
It was so much smaller than i expected! I guess i wasn't as impressed as i expected to be. The lighting ceremony was a bunch of propoganda that a ranger read from a piece of paper. The best part was the end. They called everyone that had ever served in the military up to the front, introduced them, and let them take down the flag. Yes, i cried, but it was so cool to see these people come together from all walks of life...

Hmm, a few loose ends... I finally got my hearing aid back! It's working and i am so happy! Some people wanted to go the hot springs while we were camping, but the bus driver got lost, so they ended up in Wyoming instead. I stayed back with a small group. We played frisbee and saw Jupitar and it's moons through Millicent's telescope. That was pretty sweet.
Well, i have a five page paper to write, so I'll write later. GOD bless and i love y'all!

Teachers

Hey Y'all! I just got back from South Dakota yesterday. That was a total blast, but way too long to write about before class this morning. One of the cool things about the trip is that the teachers went with us, so we got to know them pretty well. They'll be just as tired as we are this morning!

Rose - Biology (Brains, Bones and Blood)
She's the oldest of the group, but very athletic and a ton of fun to hang out with. She's actually a researcher and is currently studying how teachers are doing with hearing impaired students. If they have enough funding, training and resources. She's been helping me since my hearing aid isn't working...

Millicent - Engineering (the basics)
She's a graduate student at School of Mines. The first thing that strikes you about her is her dreadlocks. It just shows though, she's crazy in that she'll try anything. In class we've measured out various objects with our fingers and stride length...

Nevin - Chemistry
He's also a graduate student. He likes to let us play with fire and blow things up. His hat has a tendency to be stolen, but he has ingenious ideas on how to get it back (such as locking 21 girls out of the bathroom when we've been camping and haven't had a shower in four days. He got the hat back real fast that time)...

Keith - Earth and Space Science (aka evolution)
He's pretty awesome. We hung out a lot on the camping trip, talking about evolution theories and quantum mechanics. He's like a little kid when playing cards and can't do anything with a joker to save his life!

So anyway, those are my teachers here! Love y'all!

I'm Here!

Hey, Hey Y'all! I'm here and the internet is actually working now. So let's see, what has happened so far? Well, i've met my instructors and they are pretty awesome. I've also met my mentor and been assigned a research project. I'll be isolating a particular gene from bats and cloning it. It's the gene that causes the bats' immune system to react to a virus. Okay, that's the short version of what i'm doing.
Within the first afternoon of being here i have gotten into a "debate" about evolution and GOD, plus reverse osmosis all while playing pingpong. Debate is such a strong word. Surprisingly, these kids might love science, but they don't like math (or English and history). Oooh, i am far too tired to form anymore coherent thoughts. I still need to pack for South Dakota and study for the lab tomorrow. G'Night y'all! GOD Bless!
~Laura

Getting Ready to Leave...

Hey y'all! So many people have expressed an interest in what I'm doing this summer. I'll keep this blog updated so y'all know what's going on. Here are the details... I'm headed up to Greeley, Colorado for six weeks at UNC. I'll be a part of the Frontiers of Science Institute at the college. Basically, I'll be hanging out with a bunch of geeky kids like me studying science. Right now I'm just trying to get ready. I can't believe the amount of STUFF needed to live in a different location for such a short period of time! I'm still having trouble realizing that it's really happening. It probably won't sink in until I've said good-bye to my parents and I'm on my own. I'm so excited! Hey, if y'all wouldn't mind praying for me while I'm up there, I would appreciate it. GOD and I have been discussing that this is an amazing opportunity. I'll be stuck with the same 30 people (or rather they are stuck with me) so maybe I'll have a chance to influence them for HIM. Would y'all pray for chances to talk with the students I meet? Thanks! I'll be in touch soon! GOD Bless!
~Laura