Sixteenth week of college! 12/09/12

Well it has been a VERY fast week and an amazing one too. It is so weird thinking that a lot of the people in my classes this semester I may never have a class with again or even see anymore. It didn't really hit me until this past week when I was actually saying "goodbye" to several classmates and professors.  I'm sure there will be several students that I do see around and continue to talk to but for the most part, I feel like we will both go our separate ways and continue on with the subjects more related to our own majors.

This whole weekend I have been busy studying for my Math and Meteorology finals that I have on Monday. I am not too worried about my Meteorology final, however, my Math final is going to be very challenging and I am stressing heavily for that test. Unfortunately, I was stuck studying today (on my birthday) instead of going out and having fun. I did get to go to dinner with my wonderful roommates and neighbors tonight though which ended my day on a good note. I hope my studying pays off because I can't remember the last time I studied for something this hard or long. (Probably never)

This was taken at about 12:30. 

I haven't mentioned this yet but it is crazy seeing the Sun rise and set during the day. As you can see, this is how high the sun gets during the day. It comes up at around 8 and then sets at 4:30. They are very short days and it is weird waking up in the morning, going to class, and it feeling like it is the evening because of all the shadows that are cast and the "sunset" feeling. (hope that makes sense?) So pretty much the Sun makes a rainbow pattern right along the horizon from morning to nighttime. 

 Another fun thing that Devin and I did this week was walk on the frozen river that goes through the middle of campus. After coming back from the gym one afternoon, we decided to go down and try to walk along it. Fortunately, it was frozen solid and we were able to walk from one end to the other. Definitely a first time experience for both of us and it was so much fun being able to do that. Since that day, I have seen many people ice skating and playing hockey games on the ice!

Completely frozen shut.....

Today I woke up to it being -5 degrees outside. When I opened my curtain, I saw my window completely frozen shut and I was physically unable to open it because of how much ice was built up around the edges and along the whole window. (Devin tried too so it isn't just my weak self that was unable to do it :P) As I'm writing this....the current temperature in Grand Forks, North Dakota is -11 degrees with a wind chill of -20. I only went outside once today and that was when I went out to dinner for my birthday. Breathing in hurt and it made you cough from how cold it was. I don't care what anyone says this is absolutely freezing cold....but I LOVE it! :D

This was a great final week of my first semester in college. I hope everyone has enjoyed my blog for these first 16 weeks! I look forward to starting up when I get back here after the new year! Maybe I will write a few times while I am back home but I might be too busy hanging out with my family and friends. I miss them all so much and can't wait to see them in 3 days!!

Hope you all enjoyed! Merry Christmas!

Cameron Mosher

One semester down...many more to go!

Trying not to fall on the ice!

Fifteenth week of college! 11/30/12

This week will probably be short...having only 5 days from my last post to this one leaves minimal time for anything exciting to occur. However, I do have some exciting stories about the current prank wars that have been going on throughout our floor.  Our room (on the left) was taped up which made it difficult to get out and on the right (Jenn and Chelsey's room) Devin, Ryan, Tyler and I filled up 200 red cups and stacked them right in front of their door while they were gone. As you can see for yourself, the men of room 6 come out on top with this one but Jenn claims that they have big plans in the making to get us back. As for Devin, Ryan, Tyler and I, we also have big plans and I look forward to posting pictures up so everyone can see! Not sure if it will happen before winter break but who knows.

Wasn't too hard to get out of but still a funny prank!

I don't think I have mentioned before but we also call our wing the "Bat Cave" because of how we are separated and unique from the rest of the dorm. Unlike all the other wings of the dorm, ours contains no common-area in the middle and instead it is only a hallway. I really enjoy it though because there are only 4 suites versus the normal 6 or 8 on every other wing. It allows us all to become good friends with one another which also leads to being able to make noise and be loud even after quiet hours. 

Well that is pretty much all I have for this week. I haven't seen the sun for several days and it looks like it is going to continue to stay away throughout the weekend. 20's during the day and single digits at night. It only continues to drop as days go on.

12 days until I come home. I am pretty much finished in all of my classes other than the finals which I am starting to study for. 

See everyone soon!

Cameron

Fourteenth week of college and Thanksgiving! 11/25/12

I was very sad that I chose not to go home for Thanksgiving this year but I was fortunate enough to go home with my friend Chelsey to her house in Harvey, ND. I know now that I will not make that mistake again of going home for this holiday. I was "adopted" by the Marchand family for the weekend and had such a great time. They were so kind and friendly which made me feel very welcome and happy to be apart of their family. We had our Thanksgiving "supper" Thursday evening with one-half of their family and then another Thanksgiving lunch with the other half of the family on Saturday. Both meals were amazing and there were a few dishes I had never tried before which I really enjoyed as well. I had deer for the first time and I would have never noticed the difference between deer and beef if someone wouldn't have told me. When I asked how they purchased the deer....they explained how it was a deer they had killed. That was kind of startling for me to hear because I have never eaten or been in a situation like that where I was eating a meal that was killed and prepared without the help of others. But either way the meal was delicious. (I still had turkey and all the other standard Thanksgiving meals on top of the exotic ones too)

Harvey, ND

As for the town itself, it was nothing like I have ever lived in/experienced before. The total population of the town was only about 1800, smaller than my whole high school, and a little....old fashioned?  It's not that they didn't know about all the current technology but that it just simply hasn't been introduced greatly in this town.  I'll give an example; the use of checks is still very big there and using my debit card in the movie theater was not possible. I can't remember the last time I wasn't able to use a debit card to make a purchase but I guess I did live in So Cal my whole life....I'm so used to how everything flows there that I don't realize there are plenty of other places in the country that don't all live the same way as I do. (did?)

Going to the movie theater was so enjoyable and it was the smallest theater I had ever seen. Only one theater, with one movie showing, one time a day, on the weekends. (If that makes sense) They also only got digital projection this last year which I thought was an interesting fact as well. 

Lastly, it was awesome walking around town with the family and noticing that everyone knew each other. The environment was so much friendlier and you could easily get stuck in a store for 30 minutes just because you start talking with someone that you know. How often does that happen back home? Maybe once in awhile you see someone you know at a store but for the most part you get in and get out and move on with your day.

I went a little backwards this week starting with Thanksgiving first...but it was the most recent and I didn't want to forget to talk about any of the interesting events that had gone on over the weekend. Last week of school went very fast, only having two days of classes then showing up to my one class on Wednesday to have about 7 people in the class of about 50. However, I did get some good news in my math class when my professor mentioned to me that there was a mistake with my test and I actually got a 92% instead of an 82, so that boosts my grade up to an 86 and I can't decide if I want to try really hard to get that A or just settle with my B. :P  Let me know what I should do! 

Hope you all enjoy the pictures and had as an amazing of a Thanksgiving as I did. We are just about on a two week countdown (17 days to go) before I am back in YL. Can't wait to see my family and friends.

Cameron

My whole drive to/from Harvey. Nothing but flatland.

A few fun phrases that people use and like to say down in Harvey:

**"Neck of the woods"

      Ex: You don't see much of this down in your "neck of the woods" do you?

      Ex: We will have to come down and visit your "neck of the woods" sometime.

The one street in town with a majority of the stores.

**Order of meals for the day

     -Breakfast

     -Lunch/Dinner

     -Supper 

**There is a siren that goes off EVERY DAY at 12 PM and 6PM. When I asked what the meaning of the siren was, I was given the answer "it lets everyone know that it is time for lunch(12pm) or supper (6pm)" 

Thirteenth week of college! 11/16/12

Not very exciting of a week. My roommate Devin and I can't believe it is already Friday again and how fast weeks come and go. As much as I like the weekends, I kind of want them to go by fast as well so that it gets me closer to coming home!!

Next week is only a three day week so that will go by just as fast, and then only 3 weeks after that!  I am not coming home for Thanksgiving, but I am fortunately able to go home with another friend, Chelsey, who lives up here in ND so I can still have an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner. What I am most excited for is being able to make my Aunt Debby's WONDERFUL Orange Delight fruit salad. (I don't know the exact name?) I know I will never be able to make it as amazing as she does but it still reminds me of her and how she used to make it for all of us on Thanksgiving. :) Miss you Debby!

I also applied for classes this week, and got everything I wanted when I wanted!! No Friday classes and only one class on Monday and Wednesdays. It won't be an easy schedule but because of my availability on Monday and Wednesday it will give me plenty of time to get my homework done for all the classes on Tuesday and Thursday. I also start up flying again next semester and continue to improve in my flying skills. Hopefully I will be able to juggle work, school, and flying all at the same time and still have fun too.




Weather this week was amazing. Clear skies and little wind but because of how cold it is here already...the snow/ice stays! I tried to go for a run this week in the morning, however, with it being only about 15 degrees outside it made it rather difficult. By the end of my run, I had a massive brain freeze/headache and my hands were completely numb.  Lesson learned, no early morning runs until the Spring!





26 days until I come home. Under one month!! Fun week overall and I can't wait to see everyone soon!

Until next week,

Cameron

Eleventh/Kansas City/Twelfth week of college! 11/2-11/10

Finally able to sit down and write about my last two weeks! I wasn't able to get my week 11 blog in last weekend because I was in Kansas City and then Monday started a VERY busy week, so this blog will be filled with awesome times and lots of pictures!!

I will first talk about last week and then move into talking about this week.  Last week (Halloween week) was a blast! There weren't too many Halloween parties actually occurring on the 31st but there were a lot the weekend before! I didn't really have anything to wear but my roommate Ryan and I just kind of threw stuff together that we both had to look like homeless people!  That night was a lot of fun and it led into a great week of school! All that week, I was finishing my homework early and having plenty of extra time to do whatever I wanted to. I had also taken another math test which I did very well on, leaving me with a solid B coming into the last test and final exam.

As last Friday rolled around, I began packing and getting ready to head off to Kansas City for the weekend with Pike. That Thursday night, I was up late knowing that I would have a 10 hour drive ahead of me and that we were leaving Friday morning at 4. I decided to not sleep much so I could do that while on the road. The drive down wasn't even that bad. A lot of laughing and having a great time with several guys I have gotten to know very well. We arrived in Kansas City around 4 and it pretty much led straight into wearing my suit for hours on end.

So that Friday afternoon consisted of many speakers and learning a lot more about Pike. As the evening and late night rolled around, we all decided to roam around and cause mayhem in the streets of Kansas City! Taking pictures with legos and seeing questionable billboards up around the city were only a few of the exciting adventures we encountered. Being in Kansas City also gave me my first experience at using 4G on my phone!! It was so nice being able to move quickly on the internet and not have to worry about my connection being slow!  Friday night finally ended around 2 in the morning which wasn't a good thing because we had to be up at 8 the next morning to start our whole day over again.


Saturday consisted of mostly the same events. My suit went on at 8 in the morning and didn't come off until 9 o'clock at night.  I definitely need to get used to wearing a suit for that many hours, because I was very uncomfortable for most of the day. During those 13 hours of wearing a suit, there was just a lot of listening to speakers and several meetings, however, the fun adventures luckily began shortly after I took my suit off that night. The meals that were served to us weren't amazing but were definitely decent. I learned how to "formally" eat food and have the proper table manners when eating this way. I had to eat my chicken breast with a fork and knife and was unable to just pick it up with my hands and munch away.  It made it a lot more difficult to get all of the meat off the bone and towards the end, my plate looked like a huge massacre of chicken. But overall, I would say it definitely makes eating food look nicer and more proper, however, I wouldn't want to do that on a regular basis.

As the weekend came to a close, our 12 hour drive home was even more enjoyable than the ride down. We stopped at many places which helped contribute to our slightly longer drive, but it was definitely worth it. It was my first time ever going to Hooters, firing off fireworks in the middle of no where, and seeing nothing but fields for hundreds of miles! It was a weekend to remember and I will have plenty of pictures and memories to remind me of it forever.

Now comes this week......and all I can say is.......LONG!  I got home Sunday evening around 11, having done no homework for my classes on Monday, and trying to prepare for initiation which occurred all this last week as well.  I ended up being awake until like 2 or 3 in the morning giving me about 5 hours of sleep and waking up to a very busy Monday. I went through all of my classes on Monday, stressing about getting my work done for my next class, trying to mentally preparing myself for initiation, and also figuring out when I was going to have time to go in and speak with someone from my new job (i will talk about that in further down).  Luckily I got through that day but the rest of the week just led to more stressing and a lot of laziness and putting my school work off.

Initiation was......interesting. Like SO many others have said before, "It's the most fun you will NEVER want to experience again" and they all are completely right when they say that.  I will simply leave it at that, and long story short....I am officially a PIKE! Such a great feeling of accomplishment going through these last 8 weeks and finally being done and able to relax for a little while.  I look forward to the years ahead of me and the memories I will gain from it.  Sorry I am unable to share more about how my week was, but some things are meant to be kept secret ;)

FINALLY, I will just briefly mention the new job I got last week! I applied for a position at the dining center on campus, and was given a job without even hardly trying. The interview was easy, the people are nice, and I'm sure it will be a very chill job and it is only a minute and a half walk from my room!  I can't wait to start bringing in some cash flow to start slowly paying off debts and being able to go out and spend money again!

Hopefully I didn't upset anyone too much with my lack of posts these past two weeks. It is finally calming back down here and I will be back on track this next Friday with my weekly blogs. :)  Four weeks and two days until I come home!!!

Miss everyone so much!

Cameron


Oh, AND MORE SNOW!

Not me but just showing the snow! My suite-mate Tyler!

Tenth week of college! 10/26/12

This was probably the best week of being up here so far. It went by just as fast as usual, and it was filled with good times and doing all of my school work! 

For the last couple of weeks, I have been starting to slack in some of my classes. Coming into this week, however, I knew that I needed to start focusing again and completing all of my work. And that is exactly what I did. I finished all my math homework on time, and even went to the tutor this week to get help with some lessons I have been struggling with. I had my second math exam today which I feel very good about as well. I have never felt so satisfied with completing all of my homework and actually turning down going to the movies and hanging out with people to study and get all my work done for my classes. I think I finally realize that sacrificing time with friends now only allows me more time to have a blast later when I have everything done! 

Next weekend I go out of town to Kansas City with Pike! I am very excited about that and being able to get to know a lot more guys from, hopefully, my soon-to-be fraternity. I haven't been initiated yet but so far I am loving it and can't wait for that time to come!

Weather was very chilly this week. It rained on Tuesday and Wednesday and then the last two days have had high temps of about 35 degrees. The wind chill brings those temperatures down to about 22 degrees as you can see for yourself :)  But I'm NOT complaining! Maybe there are some few, occasional, no-big-deal moments that I want to be in warmer weather, but then I put another jacket on and it's all good! And I realize I'm much happier than being in 81 degree weather as we approach November!

As I said above, it was a very stressful week trying to catch up with my homework and getting everything done for my classes. But thanks to so many friends back home, they made my week so much more enjoyable. I had posted on Facebook how I missed my friends and can't wait for winter break, and long story short, it lead to an amazing conversation with a lot of people I really miss. And it put me in such a great mood I was laughing and getting such a kick out of what people were saying. I was actually sitting in class and read a message from my wonderful friend/brother/dad Paul Carnegie and I starting laughing and smiling and people were turning around looking at me wondering what I was watching. But there was nothing I could show people because it was simply one message that only I would understand.  Times like those really make me miss all my friends more but gets me excited for winter break! Which is in 47 days by the way...

 

Now because of all of my focusing on classes and getting my work done, I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures this week. :P However, next week will be much more relaxed and I will have time to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather around me and take a lot more pictures. Since I know all of you are jealous that you can't experience the FLAT land and 40 degree weather. :)

Overall a fantastic week, and I can't wait for many more like this! Very happy with how my blog turned out this week as well. :) 7 weeks till I come home!

Love and miss you all!

Cameron

Ninth week of college! 10/21/12

Little delayed for this week....it has just been a very busy/lazy? weekend. I'm sorry to upset the THOUSANDS of people that read my blog every week :P  I will try not to let it happen again. I have been really busy with Pike and doing a lot of activities with them this weekend. 

Well....like I said above.....I was pretty lazy this last week which I need to get under control. (As you can tell by my late blog :(   I made sure to sit down and just power through all the homework I had for next week and I started figuring out the classes I want to take next semester. It's only about 3 weeks until I register for spring semester classes and as of right now....it looks like it is going to be a busy semester. 19 credits is the plan right now and after having Friday classes this semester...I want to try to not have classes on Friday ever again. But most likely because of my possibly busy schedule, I will probably end up having a class or two. 

Just another fast week as usual. Devin, my roommate, joined an intramural ice hockey team and that makes me want to look into the Lacrosse team here too. I miss playing lacrosse so much and I think by Devin joining a team, it will motivate me to find something to do as well. I have also started looking for a job. As more time goes on, the savings I have in the bank continue to diminish and there are some expensive items I have been looking at getting but I just don't have money to pay for them. So I have been applying to some places (pet stores in specific) hoping to start getting some income again. For those who don't know, I worked at a pet supply store for a year and a half and loved it. I want to try to work at a place that is similar to where I worked before just because of how enjoyable it was. I will make sure to let everyone know where I end up once I am offered a job.

It rained three days this past week and it looks like there are a few more days this next week of possible rain too! The high temperature on Friday is supposed to be 35 degrees! Definitely excited for that.

That's pretty much all I have for this past week. I go out of town to Kansas City with my fraternity in two weekends which I am very excited about but I will make sure to still write a blog of that week!

I also haven't taken any pictures since last week but I will upload several next week!

Sorry for the very basic, simple, boring blog....I will make up for it next week!

Cameron

 

Eighth week of college! 10/12/12

For this week I will just get straight to the questions I have been asked because I've talked about the weather and how fast the week goes by too many times. 

I have never really mentioned the typical class sizes or the environment type in my past blogs. To answer that  question, with exception to my lecture hall classes, all the other ones are only about 20-30 students. And my lecture hall classes are at most 100 students, so even then it isn't that bad. I am able to talk and get to know my professors a lot better in my smaller classes which is definitely a benefit. It feels similar to high school in a sense that because of the smaller classes, they are able to remember my name and I actually have conversations without having to remind them of my name every time. 

The learning environment in both type of classes is pretty much the same. In my lecture halls, I sit more towards the front because it is hard to hear what my professors are saying if I am in the back. By sitting closer it allows me to focus more and understand what he/she may be talking about. And since I am such an overachieving student I love sitting in the front anyways :p

I have mentioned it before but just to say it again now that I am halfway through my first semester, (crazy right?!) all my professors are wonderful! Most of them keep there office hours pretty open (although I haven't taken advantage of them yet) and are always there to help. 

Another question that was brought up is how the campus life is, and for the most part it is pretty laid back.  Walking to classes, eating food, hanging out in my room, whatever it may be it seems like everyone is just doing there own thing, especially walking to classes. I also haven't seen many people very angry up here. But maybe that is because they don't have time to and everyone just wants to hurry and get to class and get out of the 30 degree weather. But not me! :)

There are many group organizations that I have seen around campus but I haven't joined any yet. It seems like there are a lot of just general clubs; recycling, republican, christian, etc. and not so much the random wild clubs that I have heard about in various colleges. But who knows I'm sure some of them are out there I just need to look harder. 

Lastly, one last question I was asked was if there are many student events/activities such as concerts, dances, movies, etc. I know that the school has "late night" activities almost every weekend however I have only been to one of those events and it was one of my first weekends up here. Usually they have bingo, movie night, or other types of activities that can involve a lot of people. All of this takes place in our "Union" which is like our main building that has almost anything you can ask for.

All the above questions were from my wonderful Aunt Debby and Uncle Paul. Thanks for giving me topics to talk about because coming into this week I didn't think I had much to talk about :)

As weeks go on...this may become shorter and shorter....I just don't have much to talk about anymore! Help me out with that!

Cameron

Thought this was a cool picture. 

First hockey game of the season!

Seventh week of college! 10/5/12

Only the first weekend in October and we have had our first snow! I loved waking up to about 4 inches on the ground! Since it is still October the snow doesn't stay long but I hear that this is a promising sign to a very cold winter. I promised I would never complain about this wonderful weather and as of right now it's going great! People look at me crazy when I stand outside taking pictures and talking about how I LOVE the snow! All they say is that I am in for a big surprise when winter actually shows up.
I know my Aunt Erin and Uncle Loren got hit with some themselves over in Montana so it should be exciting for them too!

It is amazing how the weather can drastically change as well. When I got back on Monday it was 80 degrees, and on Tuesday it was in the mid to high 70's. But as Wednesday and Thursday came around, the temperature had dropped 40 degrees. The high for Thursday was 36 and today it hasn't gotten above 35 degrees. Not to mention there have been 30+ mph winds that beat on your face while walking to class. The weekend is supposed to bring clear skies though and all the snow should be melted away by the end of the weekend. However, the high temps for the weekend are only about 55 degrees so it will still be cool.


Thanks to my wonderful Aunt Debby and Uncle Paul, they gave me another interesting topic to talk about.....the prices of everything up here.  I haven't really ever talked about the pricing of stuff but it definitely is a big change from California. I heard today about the dramatic increase in gas prices in Cali....I guess it doesn't really affect me because I haven't been driving around but the prices here are still significantly lower than the prices back home. I think the local gas station is about $3.75 a gallon? Definitely a lot cheaper and prices seem to be pretty stable.

As for food, most restaurants and grocery stores seem to have the same price for meals, drinks, etc. So for the food side of it I think it is pretty standard compared to back home.  The BIG change that I see and hear about are the prices of parking/speeding tickets. Nothing close to how ridiculous the fines are at home. I overheard a girl talking on the phone in front of me while walking to class one day and she was talking to her mom and upset about how she received a $20 parking ticket for parking in the red zone. When I heard that I just about busted up laughing. The one parking ticket I have ever got was for that reason, and the cop that wrote me up slapped me with a wonderful $110 ticket.  So like I said before, that is the one BIG price difference I see between the two states.

Just another fast week as usual. My first math exam I got an 85% on so I was very happy about that! As far as I know, all my grades should be A's with maybe 1 or 2 B's but I am definitely doing much better (so far) than when I was in high school and for the past 6 years of my life. It feels good to actually get homework done early and not procrastinate. This week I got a little lazy but I blame the snow for that :)

Hope everyone is enjoying the 90 degree weather still back home, I know I'm NOT! And all my wonderful family that is everywhere else in the country, hopefully it isn't too bad wherever it may be.

Stay in touch :)


Cameron

Just another picture of the snow!

North Dakota.....told you it was flat ;)

Sixth week of college! 9/28/12 (plus some of 5th week and Oktoberfest!)

I first wanted to start off with one thing I didn't mention in my week 5 post....I had said a couple weeks back that I was planning on joining a fraternity, and last week I was given a bid to all three of the ones that I really liked. It was a tough decision choosing which one to join but in the end I chose Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike). I'm so excited to begin the fraternity life and being apart of the brotherhood.

Now about week six...

The week itself went by very fast and I found myself last minute packing realizing it was already Thursday night and that I was leaving to go home the next day. Throughout the week I was very excited to come home but as Thursday and Friday came along, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go home and the excitement went away. But that changed soon after I landed in OC and spent my first night at the Oktoberfest with many friends.

And as for the week of school, it was fast like i mentioned and nothing new was really going on. I did have my first math exam though and thought I did pretty well on it.

Weather has been pretty much the same. There is a chance for snow this coming Thursday which would be a great welcoming back after a miserably warm weekend down in SoCal. I definitely do NOT miss the hot weather and I can't wait to be back in the wonderful North Dakota environment.

This weekend was such a blast despite the heat keeping me from enjoying the outdoors. It was awesome seeing my friends and family and getting to catch up on everything I have missed. I'm not sure if this makes sense but I am already ready to go back to North Dakota and I was actually feeling a little bit of "homesickness" (I think?) today. Seems a bit backwards but I have had such an amazing 6 weeks at school that I just want to be there and continue having a great time with my new friends and the North Dakota weather.

I will still miss my friends from home though and I don't want to make it seem like I only want to be at school and not hang out and be with people here. I still love being here but it's just the new and exciting living that makes me want to go back "home".

I won't be home until winter break so I think that will give me enough time to start missing my family again. :) (just kidding)

Sorry to all of those (if any) who were waiting for my Friday post. (Jenn in specific :P ) I thought it would make more sense to do it at the end of the weekend so that I can add my weekend adventures too.

I know I say it every week but don't be afraid to shoot me an email or leave a comment with other things you would like to hear with college or whatever it may be. I don't know how much longer I can go on just posting the same repetitive information. Give me stuff to talk about! :)

Cameron

 E-mail: camtmosher@gmail.com

BINGO! (never won)

Real, authentic Mexican food! Esthers Taco House!

Fifth week of college! 9/21/12

If feels like I was just writing the last blog and I'm already writing another for this week. I can't even keep track of time anymore. It's already one week until I come home! I think I can finally say I miss some things about home....I'm not homesick at all but just miss some of the luxuries I get when in SoCal. Food is definitely one of the big ones as well as finding activities to do.

The only (decent) ethnic food I have found so far is an Asian place called "Drunken Noodle". And it is mediocre at best.  I miss the authentic Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc. food found at home and any place that calls themselves "authentic" here is a joke. For example (Mom and Dad will understand this one) there is a Mexican restaurant/fast food place called The Red Pepper. They microwave their enchiladas, have a big pot of meat, and pull their taco shells out of a big box. And to put the icing on the cake, this place is always bumpin'! I have been twice (didn't learn from my first time to not eat there) and each time it has been PACKED. Everyone loves going to Red Pepper to get the Mexican food (and sandwiches which are gross too). I pass by people talking about Red Pepper and how amazing it is. I guess I just have to learn and realize these poor, deprived, North Dakotan's have never experienced a true authentic Mexican restaurant. 

Anyways, I haven't really talked about my roommate/suite-mates that much. My roommate, Devin, and I have been friends since 1st grade. We came up here together and he is studying Air Traffic Control.  Ryan and Tyler are my suite-mates, as well as Nigel when he is here.  Ryan is actually from Anaheim Hills and went to Servite but I had no idea who he was until we met while moving in. He is studying Commercial Aviation just like me. Small World. Tyler is studying Commercial Aviation as well and he comes from Seattle, Washington. Now about Nigel....not the most social guy. He lives in the single room that is still connected to our "suite" so technically he is our suite-mate but none of us 4 talk to him much. He just does his own thing and will talk with us every once in awhile. But he is cool with noise and how loud Devin, Tyler, Ryan, and I get sometimes. That's just a little bit about who I'm living with!

Best weather by far this week. Clear skies, high 50's mid 60's, couldn't ask for better weather. Just look for yourself! Can't experience these beautiful blue skies at home. This picture was taken at about 10 this morning And it will only get better as winter approaches and I can't wait to continue taking pictures and showing off what I get to live in. :) 

However, the weather is so crazy and awesome here that only 5 hours later it can look like this. >>>

The storm moved in and now it is windy and rain is on the way. But it makes days so exciting!

Well I think I have dragged this on enough...I have a lot to say still but I feel like by now no one is reading because they lost interest but I will just try to add it into next week. Oh wait...I'm going to be home next weekend!! I will still try to write one either before I leave of sometime on the way home. 

Until next week,

Cameron 

Fourth week of college! 9/14/12

This has been the busiest week of college by far. Had my first couple of tests but did really well on them. It's different not being able to just go online and look at what my current grade is....I have to go talk to the professor and so far none of them have really posted or graded anything....so I'm sitting here not knowing how I have been doing other than a test grade here and there. But I feel like the grades are definitely doing well.

Weather this week was absolutely gorgeous. Yesterday the high was 68 and today was only about 73. I actually had to put a jacket on to get to classes yesterday morning! Feels weird already having to pull out "cooler" weather clothing. Reminded me of Christmas and got me excited for actual winter time.

Unfortunately I'm still not done with my flying....just waiting for an instructor to fly with so I can take my "Stage Check" and be done for the semester. Hopefully by this next week for sure but who knows. 

This week was Rush Week as well. I have been checking out numerous houses over the past week and have narrowed it down to only a few. I didn't know it was going to be such a tough decision on which one to choose (pending a bid from one of the houses of course) but I feel like I know where I want to belong. Next week's post will give all the fun information about where I joined and all of that. :)

I guess over the past three weeks I haven't really talked about the type of people around here either....so here it goes.  Mostly everyone is friendly when you go around town. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere and traffic is very minimal. The only time, for what I have seen, when people get angry is when you have the ONE person trying to drive around people and get somewhere in a hurry and just start pissing everyone else off. But other than that it is rather peaceful. 

The lack of diversity is VERY different as well. It's strange being in a class with mostly white people. I mean there definitely are a good amount of Hispanics, Asians, etc. but nothing like the amount of white people you see everywhere. 

Like I have said before, it will be hard to not start speaking like a North Dakotan. Hopefully I don't sound too bad yet but let me know. :) (below)

Other than that, another great week and look forward to many more. I COME HOME IN TWO WEEKS!!!

Cam

Third week of college! 9/7/12

Can't believe it has already been three weeks of college and being gone from my family....it feels like it has only been a couple of days. I really enjoy all of my classes and professors. Surprisingly, I think math is going to be my favorite class this semester. The way he presents the curriculum and teaches the material is amazing and I actually understand it! But he is also a complete goof and cracks himself up. "Have a great weekend guys. Math On! We have some very exciting stuff to go over on Monday so be sure to bring your friends." I don't think I would be able to get through this class without a professor like him. The only hard part is being able to cover everything in one class period, so quite often I'm doing my homework (yes I said doing MY homework) and having to try to teach it to myself. I really need to start taking advantage of his office hours and getting some help. But other than that it is an enjoyable class.

Weather has cooled down this week. Past two days was mid-high 60's but I am loving every second of it! It's awesome waking up in the morning, checking weather, and seeing that back home it is still 90 degrees while I am enjoying 70 degree weather :) Can't wait for the cold!

Last week I got to experience my first college football game as a student. Such a different experience in watching football games when you have chants and hand motions and everything else contributing. Get to enjoy another game tomorrow evening and I look forward to that as well.

As I stated in my last post, I flew my cross country flight this week. It was supposed to be to Minnesota but it was changed to Fargo, ND. It was very difficult to find where I was in there air and I would have definitely gotten lost if it weren't for GPS. I also flew on Tuesday in the rain which was also a first experience.

Overall another great week. I hope I'm changing it up a little so it isn't the same repetitive stuff every week.

Once again let me know if there is anything you want to hear about so I can post them in the future!

Cameron

Typical day in ND! Ryan (suite-mate), me, Devin (roommate)

Second week of college! 8/31/12

Week 2 has gone by so fast! I hope weeks are as quick as this last one so that I can get home to see everyone again on the 28th of September! I'm starting to get into routine of my classes and changing my sleep schedule accordingly. Most nights I'm up until 1 at least so don't be afraid to call cause I will be awake.

Almost done with my flying for this semester as well. As long as weather is good, plan on flying to Minnesota tomorrow (Saturday) for my cross-country flight. Then only two more lessons after that. 

For those who don't know, I came into college with my private flying license so my first semester is an "abbreviated" course of what everyone else does to get their license. So I only have 7 lessons compared to other students 45+. UND just wants to make sure I know what I'm doing so I can progress in further classes.

Went to a show/performance earlier this week called "The Maze". Pretty much the trippiest thing I have ever watched. All sorts of illusions and mind boggling routines that didn't make sense at all. A complete turn of events about halfway through though which ended up being a testimony and this magician talked about his life. It takes to long to explain it but it was very moving and I enjoyed listening to it. Had no idea that was going to happen though and I don't anyone else saw it coming either. But a very interesting story.

There has also been one more thunderstorm since my last post but nothing as bad as that first one. Don't get to see anything like this in SoCal.

Weather has been mid 80's this week. Next week is supposed to cool down which might start to begin our fall season. I'm so excited to experience the falling leaves and trees changing colors. Another thing you don't see much in SoCal.

Overall it has been another amazing week. I can't wait to come home but at the same time I love living on my own. Also proud of myself that I continued with this blog.

Let me know if any of you would like to hear other info as well so I can add that in future posts!

Until next week,

Cam

    Picture that I was able to take....

First week of college! 8/26/2012

Well, it has been an amazing first week. I can already feel the close friendships forming and I continue to meet new people each day. My roommate and suite-mates are really cool. Everyone on my floor is awesome as well.

Pretty bad thunderstorm hit Friday night which killed the power in my dorm and lost my first try at this blog thing. It's never as good the second time you write it. 

Even through all the anger of me losing my progress, I managed to have a great time jumping in puddles and running around in the pouring down rain with a lot of people. Glad I can still have my kid moments while being in college. 

Other than the bad thunderstorm, weather has been beautiful. Mid-high 70's everyday and crystal clear skies. NO MORE SMOG!! Flying is incredible too. Such a different experience getting into the air and only seeing 1x1 mile square farm land in every direction. 

Accents here are hilarious. I can already feel myself starting to talk like a North Dakotan! Not sure if that is a good or bad thing yet but I enjoy it.

My classes are alright. I don't have any horrible teachers which is cool but I can tell there is going to be a lot of homework in a few of them. So the laziness and procrastination I have built up over the years is going to have to go.

I'm excited to take up hunting in the fall/winter with a few friends, too. Plan on going out and buying a bow and arrows in the next couple weeks. 

Other than that, not really feeling the homesickness yet, but it has only been one week. And I will be going home for the Oktoberfest anyways so I'm not even gone for that long.  I will try to write a little something every week but who knows. Thanks Jenn Ower for convincing me to do this one at least! :)

Picture of the Hockey Arena at UND.