Ecstatic...

What a great day!

I am so excited about so many new things right now! Forget about "getting back into the groove," am in my own new and completely amazing groove right now. So many exciting new things happened today, and so many things to come in the next couple months that I am sooo looking forward to! I feel sorta silly posting two days in a row, but when I'm as excited as I am right now, if I wait, it just isn't the same to write about in a couple days when the high has worn off. Plus, I'm sure it's a lot less exciting to read.

So besides a bunch of random good things happening today, like finally finding my geography classes workbook and a plain black binder, that they seemed to be out of everywhere, Heather and I went to the Gospel Expressions rehearsal tonight. I am making so many new friends and connections here, it's addicting! First off I'll start by saying, I have always wanted to join the gospel choir at chico state, but because I am always in a show of some sort and have rehearsals for that, I can never make the week night rehearsal times back home. I was so excited about joining, and neither of us really knew what to expect. As people started showing up, Heather and I realized we were the ONLY white people in the whole place. Now obviously, this didn't matter the either of us, but talk about a culture shock. The gospel choir in chico is probably closer to half and half, and Heather said there isn't a single black person (sorry I hate using the politically "correct" term African American) in her gospel choir back home in Wisconsin. HAHAHA. We were both SO excited we couldn't stop smiling, and feeling like we stuck out like a sore thumb, we weren't really sure what to do.

Everyone we met tonight was absolutely fabulous. As soon as we walked in that room we had person after person walk up to us and say hi, shake our hands and introduce themselves. I have never met such an incredibly friendly group of people in my entire life. And that is saying something, because I must say, Chicoans are pretty fabulous, and all the people that I've met here in Texas have been soo great to me and so welcoming :)

Honestly it was like an instant family. That's even what they called it. It was amazing to see how much love and compassion, and faith, and spirit could be packed into one room. By the end of the night we were getting hugs and praises for joining them. We have a gig lined up for every weekend this month! Our first is this saturday, so me and Heather are going to go and at least watch, if not do our best from what we learned in one night. It is so uplifting and humbling to sing with a group of people like that. Just some of the most gorgeous voices you have ever heard :) I am SOO thrilled and ecstatic about all of this.

I also went to the Catholic Student Center to turn in my application and $ for the Bobcat Awakening Retreat that is happening later in February. So I am all signed up for that! I found out about some more of their events, such as worship/open mic night on thursdays and a free lunch they have every tuesday. So I am also excited about getting involved in some of that and meeting some more amazing people there!

Plans for Spring Break have sorta been figured out as well! I am planning on going to see Amy J. which she doesn't really know about yet, the first 3 or 4 days of my break. Then a bunch of the guys that me and Heather have made friends with are going to rent out a condo/cabin on the beach at Port Aransas for the rest of the week! EEEEEEE!!!! We are so exciting! It's probably going to be about 8 or so of us and I am sooo stoked. With it split that many ways it shouldnt be too bad as far as the price goes. But I will be in search of a cheap plane ticket to North Carolina so I can see by bff Amy! With all the raving she's done about Charlotte I am really excited to check it out. Just hope all the plans work out :)

That's all for now folks! But YAYAYAYA for things working out and all the exciting adventures that are to come! I am SOOO EXCITED!!!!!

Getting in the Groove

I was shocked to see that it had almost been a whole week since my last posting. It's good that I am staying busy though. I still haven't quite gotten into the groove of the semester yet. Luckily, most of my classes are tests and a few papers, and not too much homework, so it's ok if it takes me a few days to get into my reading and all that. I have my first homework assignment for the semester due tomorrow. Still have a textbook coming in the mail, and I have one more thing to buy, besides a plain black binder for choir, which they are out of the bookstore and I blanked out on getting when I was at walmart yesterday...

This weekend was my first nights 'out' in San Marcos. Talk about craziness haha. My friend Heather joined the ultimate frisbee club team here, and all the ultimate frisbee players were having a party on friday night so we went to that. It was a pretty chill house party with like 2 kegs, but everyone was really friendly and awesome, and we had a blast. Then saturday night, we were going to a black light themed frat party with some of the people we met the night before. We got there, and it was deserted, obviously that party had been cancelled, so we found another, but it was a white trash theme, so were were in the wrong outfits haha, but it was still sorta fun. Because I was up till 4am both nights, after class today I came to my room and took a 3 hour nap. It was amazing.

I am super excited for this thursday night because Heather and I are probably going to Dillinger's, which is the only bar/club in town that is 18+. So we are going DANCIN'! I'm stoked about that. I wore my boots out the other night again, and I got my first couple little scratches on them, which is one of those things where it was going to happen eventually because they are shoes and they arn't going to stay perfect forever. Good thing I have my polish though :) And the scratches give them character right!?!? :/ Still not sure how I feel about it I guess.

We've been talking a little bit about spring break. Some of the guys might be getting a condo on south padre island, but the plans arnt solid yet. I am hoping I can fly to see Amy J. for at least a couple days in North Carolina, and then maybe fly back and go with the guys to a good spring break hot spot down here :) Crossing my fingers that I find something awesome to do though.

That's all for now. No pictures this time, cause I'm feeling lazy, but check them out on my facebook for sure! :)

♥ Chantal

Friends and Boots!

Last week might have started out a bit lonely, but this past weekend was everything but that. With all the students coming back, and having my exchange orientation, I've had no problem meeting people and making new friends. Ever since I met Heather, one of the other exchange students (she's from Wisconsin) and found out she lives right down the hall from me, AND we have a class together, we've been hanging out a ton. We decided we needed to be social this weekend and so we went out to the lobby of the dorm and hung out where there were people coming in and out and playing pool and ping pong.

Within an hour or so we had met a handful of people and started hanging out! Eddie (the magician) or "magic man" as some people like to call him, is who drew us to the crowd. His card tricks are insane and SO legit. I was freaked out at how crazy they were, and he totally gave us his business card haha. Too bad I won't be having my birthday while I'm here! :P We met Jesse at that point too, and pretty much ever since we've been hanging out. He took me and Heather to the huge outlet malls on sunday, and we all went shopping crazy! Well...mostly I did :) But how can you resist such good deals!?!? I spent a somewhat controlled amount of money, but definitely got a ton of stuff for it. I bought a pair of jeans and two pairs of shorts for $12 total. Got a really nice jacket from Lucky that was originally $130 for $30! Also at the Pacsun Last Call, I got 7 tops, a skirt and a dress for $45 total! Unfortunately we didn't have time to go to Cavender's, which is THE boot store. And I couldn't spend anymore that day because boots were the most important and I had to save some money for them :P

So we went on Monday! hahaha! It was amazing. I knew they were going to be pricey. It being like the NICE boot shop, with the REAL deal. But that's one of those things that lasts forever! And there was NO way I was gonna come to Texas and NOT get boots!! I mean seriously...So I told myself I could get some in the middle price range, but only if I found the PERFECT ones :) I totally did! I LOVE THEM!!!! They were $160 which is in the lower middle range, but they have the good soles which will last! I got the bottle of leather conditioner too because if I'm going to spend that much money on something like that I am going to keep them nice.

Everyone here knows, new boots=breaking them in! So excited to go out to one of the 18+ country clubs and learn how to 2-step! woohoo! A huge step toward becoming a true country girl :) Then on monday night, we were gonna all go bowling, but we got there and the wait was so crazy, that we all decided to leave and go play football on one of the fields on campus. It was like almost 10pm at this point but we played till midnight when the lights at the field went out. It was a blast and it was exciting to finally be making friends!

Classes started today, but I only had two. Tomorrow I have four, and I have a good sized to-do list I've gotta take care of on campus. Ordered my books online late last week, and I'm hoping they come soon. Really excited that classes are starting and things are getting busy on campus. I am so excited to see what adventures are to come! I am going to join the Loud Crowd, which is like the crazy spirit club, that goes to all the athletic games. It looks like SO much fun! There is a basketball game tomorrow night that I might go to too!

Tonight I went to the Rec center which is SO close to my dorm it's amazing. I took the Dance Cardio Crazy class, and it kicked my ass, but in a totally good way, it was soo much fun and I already know I'm gonna be feeling it tomorrow. I am pumped about some of the other classes they offer too! It's so nice having it so close to my dorm!!!

That's all for now. I'm gonna try to post a little more often so these arnt quite so long! haha.

♥ Chantal

Eat 'em Up, Eat 'em Up...

...GO CATS GO!

I'm all moved in! I love my room, it's so cute! And my bed is up so high, I have a birds eye view, hah. I was alone my first night, but I got everything set up and all put away. I've been giving everyone Skype tours! Took a massive trip to Target to get all the other random stuff that I needed for my room. My roommate Sara came back yesterday, and last night I went to the basketball game with her to watch her cheer and get my first taste of the TX State school spirit. It was a lot of fun.

That is my roommate Sara, second from the left :)

Today, I went exploring on campus. Walked all from way from my dorm, which is on the far left side of campus, to the LBJ building, which is like the BMU at Chico State. Got couple TX State shirts for myself and a cool keychain for my dorm key. :) I walked through the library breeze way which is a lot like Chico State's too. I went to the center/quad area of campus where most of the buildings are. It's really foggy today, and was sort of misting, but I got quite a few cool pictures.

This is the giant library
The Psychology Building :)
Go Bobcats!

Pretty!

And this is the LBJ Student Center

More pictures on my facebook, if you're friends with me on there check them out!

Sara leaves for Cheerleading Nationals in Orlando super early in the morning. They get to go to Disney World! I'm jealous. Then my other roommate Becca should be showing up tomorrow to move back in! So then I'll have her to hang out with this weekend. Yay!

This weekends mission, find boots...Cowboy boots of course! :D That shouldn't be too hard here though. They're everywhere!

♥ Chantal ♥

The First Tales From Texas

First off, here in Texas:

Safeway/Winco=H.E.B (they're everywhere!)

San Marcos=pronounced San Marcus (with the southern drawl of course)

Blanco=the name of my dorm hall, also the name of a nearby city, pronounced Blank-O (haha)

Hobby Lobby=I just like the name of this one, its like Michael's, but bigger (duh it's texas!)

**EVERYONE says ya'll, no matter how strong their accent.

Supposedly people are gonna think I'm a crazy person when I say "you guys"

More of that to come in later posts I'm sure...

Day 1: I'm not counting the night I arrived because all I did was pass out on the bed. My first real day here was Thursday the 7th. Went to the campus, and met my tx state exchange coordinator. Went to a bunch of the offices, asked questions and got some things figured out. Drove all around campus, found my dorm and both dining hall and the rec center right next to it! We drove around San Marcos and that combined with the 5 of 6 times we've driven through it on the way to somewhere else, I have gotten somewhat acquainted with where things are and what direction they are in relation to the campus. Pictures to come soon. We also drove around New Braunfels, which is a very German town, still strong in its culture. Location of the famous annual Wurstfest. Also home to Schlitterbahn, the largest water park in the country. Definitely going to check that one out!

Day 2: Slept in late again. It was a chill day. Actually very chilly in temperature too. Since I got here, it's been colder than it has been in 20 years. It's been getting down to the teens over night and not much more than the high 30's during the day. Went to Costco on the edge of San Antonio and took my first shopping trip to H.E.B. They feed me very well here :)

Day 3: Went to San Antonio and met up with some other cousins. We went to the Institute of Texan Cultures. Basically a museum/exhibit about all the different cultures that settled in Texas. There's a lot. It was really interesting. Then we drove around downtown and went by the Alamo, and drove by the River Walk, which actually doesn't have any water in it right now because it's being cleaned. So I will be exploring that more later. Saw dozens of Air Force guys in uniform downtown there. Mmhmm! :P

Day 4: Slept in once again, but not so late this time. We went to Austin and met up with my cousin April, Connie and Oscar's daughter, and her husband. Got a manicure with April and then we all went to a late lunch. Was hoping we would go explore in the city more, but I have plenty of time for that. Really looking forward to Tuesday, when I check in and move into my dorm. Earlier this week I found my roommates on facebook and have been chatting back and forth with them a little. Got my schedule, and figured out where my classes are, but I will have a lot of exploring to do once I get on campus. Its very spread out and hilly. Lots of and lots of stairs. Good news for my legs and butt! haha. That's all for now, but you'll hear from me once I'm moved in! Here are some pictures!

Flying over the clouds and fog on my way to Texas!

Thought this looked really cool.

Snowy Mountains!

Fun extremely hilly road.

Down the street from my cousins house.

My home for the past week. Thanks to Connie and Oscar :)

Lots of critters out here right in the backyard!

♥Chantal

Goodbyes

I hate goodbyes. It is only for 4 months and I know it will fly by, but there are a few people who I deeply care about that it could be...who knows how long until I see again. They have their own adventures that they're about to embark on, which is so exciting! Thankfully in this day we have things like facebook and skype and I can at least easily keep in contact with everyone. Even though I am going to be halfway across the country, with the things we can do with technology, I know I won't feel nearly as isolated from my friends and family as I would have 20 years ago, with the only real means of communication being snail mail and the occasional phone call.

Said goodbye to a bunch of my friends at the going away dinner party, which was a blast by the way, and had to say goodbye to my BEST friend on sunday night. The past few days have been full of goodbyes actually. I can't believe it is finally here. This time tomorrow I will be on my way to the airport. AHHHHHH! :)

I got everything worked out with the school as far as housing. Should hear about my dorm placement by the end of the week! Still waiting for my grades from the Chico State for the fall semester so I can send my coordinator my updated unofficial transcript. She needs it before she can register me for classes. Packing up the last of my stuff into suitcases. Going to the theatre one last time tonight to watch Paint Your Wagon rehearsal. Then my last Jon & Bons for awhile with my old roommates. Man I don't know what I'm going to do without Jon and Bons haha. I have actually been craving a Big Al's Milkshake for a couple weeks now, and I'm thinking I just might have to go get one of those today too :P

Got a couple last minute errands to run, and some more very important people to say goodbye to. This is probably my last posting until I arrive in Texas. Until then...

♥Chantal