Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Home again

 Back home from North Dakota and already missing the beautiful fall weather. It was a wonderful week and I learned a ton but took very few pictures to share with you. My first day I went to Red Pepper Tacos, which is a Grand Forks tradition. Friends who grew up there told me to have a grinder with ham, taco meat and hot sauce, so that's what I did. They also shared fond memories of stopping there after school or during college.

While online school is convenient, there really is nothing like being on campus in a live classroom, or going out with friends after class is done. It has been a good many years since I attended my undergraduate program and I'd forgotten how fun it is to be surrounded by a group of people who are as passionate as I am about social work.

Most of my classmates were kind about including this grandma in their activities even though many are young enough to be my kids! I did learn from the 20 and 30 somethings that Dr. Who is either for teens or old people. Does that mean I'm a teenager?

This week is back to the routine of work and homework with a long string of papers due between now and Christmas break. What about you?  How is your week going?

Friday, October 10, 2014

Live from Grand Forks, ND

It's hard to believe that I'm sitting here in Grand Forks, preparing for my on campus week at UND. I've known I would be here for a long time, but it's a strange feeling being alone in a city I know little about and not knowing a soul here.  That will all change tonight when the rest of my 50 or so MSW classmates show up for the meet and greet. 

I'm excited and anxious at the same time about a full week of immersion in group therapy practice but am looking forward to meeting my classmates in person, after months of online interactions.  Even with live feeds, it is hard to get to know much about each other beyond the superficial.

Today more people start arriving and I'm off to meet a couple of them for lunch.  Off to shower and bundle up for the cold weather.  Thanks goodness for wool socks!