Hands On Traveling - My Trip to Europe

This spring break I was lucky enough to be a part of an awesome group of both Deaf and Hearing people that went on a trip to Europe! The group consisted of one teacher and four students from William Woods as well as students, teachers and interpreters from St. Louis, Springfield and North Carolina.

We began our trip in London where we stayed for four days. During that time, we saw Big Ben, rode on the London Eye and toured the city with our tour guides from Hands On Travel, which is an all-Deaf tour company. London was one of my favorite places that we went; I wandered off for a while and explored the area on my own, it was an amazing experience!

Our group inside the London Eye!

Our next stop was Paris. There had been a lot of snowfall the night before, so we had to stay in London an extra day before finally being able to take the train, but once we got to Paris we were non-stop! We had a lot to see, and we had lost a day, so as soon as we got off the train we went right to the Eiffel Tower and the area around it. It was so beautiful, and cold! I always knew that the tower was big, but when we were right there next to it, it seemed larger than life. After the tower, we went back to our hotel and got ready for our free time. A group of us went to a little restaurant near the hotel and I had the best pasta I had ever eaten.

Another highlight of Paris were the catacombs. A few of us had wanted to see them, so our tour guide gave us directions to it, and we ventured off on our own. That was a once in a lifetime sight, and I was so excited that we had time to go there! We also visited the Love Lock Bridge. I’m not quite sure how it started, but people buy padlocks and lock them to the bridge then throw the keys in the river below. I bought a lock earlier and we all locked it to the bridge and threw the key in the water so that we would have a reminder of our trip if any of us ever came back. We also had the opportunity to go to a Deaf pub and hang out with the local Deaf community and I will never forget that experience; it was one of the coolest I’ve ever had. There were so many languages in one place, and so much interpreting going on at one time, it was fascinating.

Our last stop was Rome, which was my favorite place by far; there is so much history there, new buildings are built around the old buildings. They really value their history and culture, which I feel like we don’t do so much in America. Our tour guide Terry lives in Rome, so he was very knowledgeable about the area and the history around where we were. We went to the Vatican and looked at all of the artwork and sculptures that they had there. I learned more from Terry in ten minutes than I did in my art class I took in high school. All of the streets in Rome are filled with artwork on every corner, it was one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen, and I have every intention of going back there at some point.

I’m so glad that I got to be a part of this awesome group of people and be immersed in Deaf culture and ASL for 10 whole days! I learned so much and had such an amazing experience, I will never forget this trip!

- Sam H.

It's one of my favorite seasons by far. I think I also love it a lot because when it rolls around, that typically means I'm home in Minnesota and snuggling with my cat and dog and what's not to love about that?!

My dad was awesome enough to fly down and ride back with me so I didn't have to make the trip alone. My car broke down in the middle of an intersection during rush hour in St. Louis in October, so since then I've been fairly neurotic cautious and aware of every little noise my car makes. I had also only seen him twice between May and December so I thought it was a great way to kick off my break by spending time with someone I love so much.

Minnesnowta! This was taken when I was almost to my house!

If you've never experienced snow before, let me tell you - it's awesome! Alright, I'm a bit partial, but after it's done snowing and there's this fresh layer, it's so beautiful! Unfortunately {to me!} Missouri really doesn't get that much snow - the most snow I remember ever seeing down here was in February of 2011. I actually had my first snow days ever in my life then! Yes Minnesota gets a lot of snow, but that means we have the equipment to deal with it so school was never cancelled for me.

I haven't really seen any snow in Missouri yet this year - maybe it means we're in for another big storm soon! One can hope

Snowpocalypse in February 2011. There are cars buried under there!

This is what Minnesota looks like in the winter - and this picture was taken in December!

My winter holiday was pretty great - I was able to catch up with old friends, spend time with family, and relax. One thing that I have done for the past three years is jump into a lake with my dad on New Years Day.

It's called the "Ice Dive" and it's become a tradition with the two of us. This year, it was -1 when we jumped (without the wind chill factored in) and it wasn't that bad.....I always say that after we jump but before we do it, it's a different story! The lake we jump into is a really popular one in Minnesota and is pretty big. For you Missourians, I suppose you could say that it's comparable to the Lake of the Ozarks. It's called Lake Minnetonka (in Dakota it means "Big Water").

Dad and I last year after jumping.

Every year you jump you move up in the ranking system they have in place. Everyone who has never jumped before is considered a "minnow". After five years and five different fish names, years 6-9 you're a "barracuda 6, barracuda 7", etc and then when you hit 10 years of jumping, you become a "shark"! After 20+ years, you're considered a "whale". My dad has now entered the ranks of barracudas and I am a "muskie".

All of the lakes/ponds/bodies of water in Minnesota freeze during the winter so in order to jump into the lake, the ice needs to be cut out. We're talking ice blocks that are over a foot deep! The hole cut is probably about 10 to 15 feet long so after you jump, you have to swim to the other side and climb out using a ladder. Because it's so cold, the ladders have ice formed over them but luckily you're so cold numb you can't feel it.

So that was one of my great adventures while I was home, but I am excited to be back at The Woods to see all of my friends, make new memories, and celebrate my last semester.

I hope you all had a great Holiday break and Happy Valentine's Day!! I love love!

Sally

Last semester I took 15 credit hours (a class is typically 3 credits at WWU) which equals out to five classes - a definite norm on campus. My classes last semester were interpreting III, interpreting in advanced settings I, digital production I, senior capstone (ASL), and communication law and ethics. They were a lot of work, but you can't expect anything different when you enter into your Junior/Senior year and the majority of classes you'll be taking are 300 or 400 level classes. This semester I'm taking 16 credit hours and I'm hopeful I'll end my undergraduate career on a high note. This semester I'm in interpreting in advanced settings II, interpreting IV, digital production II, radio broadcasting, senior seminar (communications), and history of the U.S. II.

Even though it's a lot of work, I'm still having a great time with all of my involvements on campus and being able to squeeze time in with my friends. My busiest days consist of classes, a meeting or two for an organization, UA (that's what we call University Ambassadors), and a S.W.A.T. hour or two (Student Website Advancement Team). We also can't forget LEAD events! You'll definitely be busy here at the Woods, but hopefully it will be a good busy of things that you like. I've noticed now, in my senior year, that it's important to be involved in the things that make you happy as well as something you may be able to use on your resume.

Order of Omega Initiation

Interpreting for Dr. Lori Hart's LEAD presentation on Gender Communication

Spring 2012 Community Advisers!

A quick picture in the foyer after my sisters and I serenaded Chi Omega during their philanthropy week!

My interpreting III classmates, professor, and I.

I hope you all had an awesome winter holiday!

Sally

Breaks always seem to take such a long time to get here and then BOOM, they're gone! It means we're that much closer to Christmas break but between now and then.....this girl has a lot to do.

Since I live out of state, shorter breaks I typically don't go home for. Usually I'll head on over to St. Louis to my sister's house, but this year, I decided to give them some family time alone and venture out to do my own thing. One of my best friends from high school, Scott, was actually in St. Louis working - he is the head audio guy of the Blue Man Group and so he's currently traveling the country with them. Wednesday I packed a bag for one night and met him downtown at the Arch where we had dinner; I was able to see BMG perform and see his passion for his work up close, then we hung out and talked for hours. It had been a few years since we had seen each other, but it seemed like it was just yesterday. Those types of friendships are surely ones to cherish.

Scott and I in Germany on a school trip back in 2007!

The most recent picture of Scott and I that I have - from 2009!

Thursday night I headed back to Fulton to hang out with some friends for a bit, then re-packed my bags to head out to the Kansas City area, where I stayed with another friend and his awesome family for a few days. There were three of us extra kids from school there with his family, plus they already had five kids of their own {told you his family is awesome}! We were able to help decorate their Christmas tree, spent some time on their family's farm, and shared so many laughs. It was crazy, I didn't do enough homework, but this is life. And I'm trying my best to live it. Going on random adventures, doing silly things, staying up far too late while laughing with friends...I feel that it's these things and so many more that you remember for the rest of your life, cherish, and want to re-live.

Jacy, Sam, and I

Helping decorate the Christmas Tree - I haven't decorated one in years!

Kyle, Sam, and I

Kate, Sam, and I

Bernal, Joren, and I - clearly the boys had eaten too much pumpkin pie!

There's a quote that I've recently taken a liking to by Diane Ackerman that at first I kind of shrugged off, but now...it's a completely different story. I don't ever want to be complacent. I want to be on the go, trying new things, never giving up. And currently, this quote sums up how I'm feeling about my life:

William Woods has allowed me to experience living the breadth of this moment in my life and I am so grateful for it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

{xx}

Sally Jane

Woah.

I've had internships before, but this one felt....different. I was excited and nervous (of course) but more than ready to prove myself at a place where I knew I was going to learn and grow so much.

Side-note: I may or may not have driven to Chicago after FA to visit a friend before I started my internship. I may or may not have done it because I was so nervous excited about starting. And it may or may not have been planned less than a week before I went. Hey, I'm a college student...road trips are to be expected!

I'm lucky enough to have family in St. Louis who graciously housed me during my internship, which lasted until I came back to school for Community Adviser (CA) training. That was about six weeks of having another adult (that's not a word I associate myself with just yet - eek) living with and wreaking havoc on your normal routine, even though I promised they wouldn't even notice me. Kind of hard to hide in your room when your adorable niece and nephew are yelling up the stairs at you to come down and play (just saying). But I digress. My sister and her family were awesome in letting me interrupt their lives for the summer and I really appreciated it (still do).

My sister is also the reason I was even able to have an internship to begin with - she has worked at Fox 2 for quite a few years now as a producer/writer/director and I am in no way ashamed of the fact that she helped me land the internship - thanks Peggy! If there is any advice that I can give someone, it is to not feel bad about networking with someone! As long as you put your best efforts forward and work hard, people will not mind putting a good word in for you.

The experience was amazing and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I was able to work with so many different people and personalities, gain knowledge in news broadcasting, and network. I worked with producers, directors, editors, writers, reporters, and pretty much every other job one could have at a news station; the one area I spent most of my time in however, was with the web crew.

I learned how to upload content, updated all of the social media sites, and learned new media aspects - it was an invaluable experience. Definitely showed me that I would love a job doing interactive web media or something along those lines. I now also get this awesome internship to put on my resume which I'm hopeful will prove useful in the (very near) future.

So that was basically my summer, in two blog posts! What did you do over the summer? Make sure to comment down below!

Have a great Wednesday!

{xx}

Sally Jane

An awesome program, Freshman Advantage is open to all incoming freshmen students at William Woods, an opportunity to not only earn 7 credit hours, but also meet other students and make some pretty fantastic memories!

I was lucky enough to be a mentor this year along with 11 other current students and we had a BLAST! Split into four groups with three mentors each, the groups had around 10 students – my group’s name was the Screech Owls, our color was green, and it was pretty much the best group to be in! While Freshman Advantage was only three weeks long, I can definitely see the positive impact it had on the students that attended and looking around, it’s safe to say that the friendships made at Freshman Advantage are still going strong.

All packed up and ready to head to Missouri!

Scavenger Hunt!

Rollerblading

Working hard in the classroom

Some of the Screech Owls

FA students helping the community of Fulton by cleaning up a river front!

Banquet dinner!

Even WWU Admissions getting in on the fun at FA!

FA 2012 Design

So my month of June was packed with new friends and great times! I would definitely do it all over again if I had the chance.

{xx}

Sally Jane