new room pictures!

So this is what Melissa and my room looks like now.  Funny that our comforters are the same color.  My bed is the one with the brown sheets!

First Week Complete!

So today was my last day of classes for this week, and I have officially had 4 of my 5 core classes. I have not had my audiology class, since it only meets on Mondays and the professor didn't show up the first day.  I also have not had my ASL class yet because they don't start for a few more weeks!   But, all in all it has been a great week.  I really like my classes and I have been having fun getting to know the people here.  Now that the 2nd years have moved into my hall it feels a little more social here.  I have been practicing my ASL like crazy considering all my classes are taught in sign.  I have improved so much in just two weeks, so I can't imagine what my skills will be like at Christmas time.  

More news, today I changed rooms.  I am still in the same suite but Desiree and I switched rooms so now Melissa and I are together in one room, and Desiree and Kristina are in the other.  Considering they are both morning people and Melissa and I are both night people it is going to be a great setup. Here are some pictures documenting the switch, quite entertaining.  Once I get settled in here I will post some pictures of our room completed.  

Clearly we made a complete mess in this move, but it is already looking a lot better!

In other news, James and I have started a complete war... Due to my inability to ignore the temptation to throw something at James from the 8th floor (while he was studying in the common area on the 7th floor) we now have a war in session.  I threw a pillow at him, and he proceeded to string it up in the emergency exit stairwell (don't ask me how he got it up there).  Now all I have to do is think of a way to get him back.  

Hmmm.... more updates soon!

I survived the first 2 days of classes!

Ok, I guess it is time for an update!

This is me in front of my building...in the middle of the fountain!

Yipee!  I survived the first 2 days of class.  Since my last post I have done a lot of things...including completely rearranging my schedule.  SO...here is the update, I am now taking:

Introduction to Eduction

Curricular Foundations of Early Childhood Education

Development of the Young Child

Families with Deaf Children

Audiology and Hearing Techniques for Educators and Counselors

and an ASL Class (I am not sure which one, I have to do a class screening next week)

So since I am going to have a crazy schedule...and we all are going to be hard core graduate students in a few days time-taking classes, studying like crazy, and having hard-core headaches from watching people sign all the time, we decided to have a little fun this past weekend.  

On friday night a group of graduate students went out to Remington's, a line dancing club, and learned how to do the Mambo Shuffle (doesn't sound very country does it...it wasn't), but we had a great time.  On the way there, on the bus there was the cutest baby ever, and James was playing peek-a-boo with him.  On the way back we entertained ourselves by taking pictures, and wondering if people were going to fall into our laps when we made a turn...  The following picture is of Melissa and I on the bus on the way home.  

Then, on Saturday we decided to explore the city a bit!  

(at the metro station near Gallaudet)

(once we all had our SmarTrip cards-clearly we are not tourists anymore!)

(at the National Mall)

(at the sculpture garden---Greg is being a pimp; Heather, Melissa, Jill, and I are spelling "DC"; and Allie is saying "I Love You")

(at the Sculpture Garden, looking at the National Archives)

After our adventures on the town we went shopping.  I bought a printer at Best Buy (thanks Dad! -it was my graduation present) and got some other things to help organize my room.  Then we came back and Heather, Jill and I played a few hours of Nintendo Wii Mario Kart.  It was sooooo entertaining playing with the Wii wheels (and we had a lot of people comment on our child-like joy).  It was a blast.   Sunday I slept in, went to Urban Outfitters and H&M with some of the girls and then met up with Lyndsay. She got to come see my room, and eat with us in the cafeteria, yipee!

Yesterday and today have been classes.  Yesterday I was supposed to have 2 classes but my professor for my first class didn't show up (supposedly he was in Istanbul, but is back now).  My class yesterday evening was fun, I think I am going to really enjoy it.  But SOOO DIFFERENT than my UCSD classes.  There were only 8 students in the class.  4 graduate students in my program, and 4 undergrads. And I was the only person who was not Deaf. Interesting!

My class today was a bit larger, but still nothing like my 300 person lectures my first year of undergrad at UCSD.  

Well that is it for now!  Enjoy the pics and I'll post again soon!

Ok, It's Friday!

Hello,

It's Friday, and orientation is over.  It was a bit of a hectic and busy week, but all is finished now. Today I actually got my class schedule worked out, which is awesome...since classes start on Monday.  It took multiple appointments with my academic advisor, and a bunch of running around back and forth from the Education Department, to the Registrar's office, and back to the Education department.  Quite exhausting!

So the classes I am taking are:

Introduction to Education

Curricular Foundations of Early Childhood Education

Development of the Young Child

Families of Deaf Children

Audiology and Hearing Techniques for Educators and Counselors

and an ASL class.

Exciting huh?

This weekend will be the last weekend of rest before the craziness begins, so I am going to rest, get some shopping done, and prepare myself for the semester ahead.  It doesn't feel like classes should be starting...my summer was so short.  But, what can you do?  Well, updates again soon, especially once I get some more pictures! 

Hello! My First Post!

Ok, well this will be the first post of many in my Graduate career here at Gallaudet.  I am hoping that this will be a good way for me to record what I am up to here in DC, as well as be a way for me to keep in touch with all of you.  I know this is not a formal way of keeping in contact, but if you want to know what I have been up to, this is where to find out.  

So this week I started my orientation at Gallaudet University.  If you don't know, I am starting my M.A. Deaf Education (Family Centered Early Education) program here in Washington, DC.  I am really excited about this new educational experience.  T

he program is technically a 2 year program for people with a BA in Education but because I do not have a BA in Ed.  I have a BA in Linguistics and a minor in Ed. I am taking 3 years of studies.

 

Don't you love my handy dandy ID and keychain! :)

I am living on campus and moved in on Monday.  

I am in a suite with 4 girls (including me)--2 rooms each with 2 people, and I am living on the 8th floor of Carlin hall (an older student and graduate student dorm).  

My roommates are very nice and I am getting to know them as we spend the days together running around to orientation.  Kristina, my roommate is from Scotland and is in the Deaf Studies program.  The other 2 girls in my suite are Melissa (from North Carolina, 

in the Speech and Language Pathology pro

gram) and Desiree (from Carson City, Nevada and in the Elementary Eduation program).  I have also been meeting a lot of new and friendly people.  So far it has been really fun! 

I have not moved in all my stuff yet because I am waiting for some boxes from my mom...but I am doing fine getting by with what I have so far.  

This morning I had my first meeting with the Education department, which was very informative and now I have about 1,000 pieces of paper I need to read through and sort. Also in about 40 minutes I am meeting with my Academic Advisor to decide which classes I need to take this semester.  I am excited to find out!!! 

So last night, after many hours of not so exciting GSO (Graduate Student Orientation) meetings we decided that we must have a gathering to wind down.  So the following 2 pictures are from the 8th floor, looking down into the common area on the 7th floor.  We were playing Nintendo WII and Jenga and hanging out, which was a blast!

Well that is all I can handle right now, I am off to my next meeting here shortly!  Please contact me!  I would love to hear from everyone and I will give you another update soon!