SOOooo many blessings (emails from abroad)

Hey you guys,

I dont have too much time to send emails, because I want to call some of the mothers in my life, but I wanted to share the last couple weeks with all of you.

First of all, thank you all for the emails, cards, BROWNIES and such that were sent for my birthday. I know I am being lax on my thank-you notes, but I wanted to let everyone know just how blessed I felt on my birthday to have so many who love me. Believe me, it is reciprocated. I learned a lot about myself on this birthday, and in that I think it was quite a success turning 22.

I spent last weekend exploring Lisbon and the cities around it. Lisbon is not the most classical of European cities, and has almost no artwork of fame, but it had a very pleasant charm to it. I ended up being joined by a friend for the trip, and we got to go up into the mountains, down to the beach, and just enjoy a fairly relaxing weekend. I did, however, decide that Portugese is my least favorite of languages. Why dont you jushhht shhhpeak Shhhpanishhhhh? (they add very nasty syllables to otherwise lovely Spanish words) But the people were among the most pleasant I have encountered in all of Europe, and it was a fairly cheap trip (way to take advantage of a failing economy!)


I had my interview for the columnist spot for the Marquette Tribune right before I left, and I always hate phone interviews, made worse by the use of a one-way speaker phone, but I was waiting to hear back on that. I ended up not getting the spot, because they already have a liberal columnist, and adding me to the mix would make the paper a liberal power-house. But the blessing comes in that my roommate, Will, who is one of my best friends, got the spot. See... I suppose being conservative isnt all bad. Even the Tribune needs some wackos to give it balance. I am extremely pleased that if I couldnt do it, my best friend could. Awesome.

Minutes after I talked to Will, I talked to a guy that I have been helping deal with "closet issues" for the last couple of semesters. Long story short, this kid has had to face a lot of very strong, close-minded religious upbringing. Well, he is finally comfortable enough to tell his family, and to hear the calm joy in his voice from the burden that had been lifted from him. The fear of his family's rejection was intense. Well, I got a call at 4:30am today, and everything had turned out okay. Any of you who know who I am talking about will rejoice in this with me, because this guy is truly a gift, and I am so pleased that his family continues to see that. Thank God!

Then, I talked to my little sister, who kicked butt on not one, but two AP tests this week. She is getting ready for her first prom, a jazz concert that her choir will be singing "It's Raining Men" (my theme song), and the end of her semester. But along with being one of the best writers I have encountered in a while, she told me that two of my best-est friends in the world (there's good writing for you) will be in Traverse City the same time I will be this summer. God fills my life with such joy!

I am finally having to do some academic work right now, working on about 4 papers due next week. Not too much to whine about however, I just finished one 8-pager on a book I have yet to read. And the sad part? It sounds more intelligent than if I had perhaps read it.

Okay, I have a date to run to and some wonderful women to call. Hugs to all,

Christian