Volume 98, Issue 16

Walla Walla University

the

Collegian 27 February 2014 | Volume 98 | Issue 16

#thecollegian

6

snapshots

12

food fiend

19

science

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Exploring new horizons

PERSPECTIVES

FROM ABROAD p.14

For my sophomore year of college, I studied abroad in France. The year was full of language learning, awkward encounters, nights spent in train stations, waffles, cheese, and incredible new friends, and ultimately resulted in the best year of my life thus far. I could take this space to share exhilarating tales of the 10 European countries I traveled through, but I’ll leave that to contributing and staff writers inside.

Grant Perdew Editor-In-Chief

In this edition, The Collegian has highlighted the countless opportunities for students to study and travel around the world. From summer study tours to England, the Bible Lands Tour, and ACA (which offers language study in places like Argentina, Spain, Germany, and Lebanon), many WWU students have gained enriching experiences abroad. In these places, students make connections, build relationships, grow as individuals, and create memories to cherish long after returning.

8–13

3–7

Context

Perspective

photo by carlton henkes

photo by timothy torres

News | Briefing | #thecollegian | Calendar

Opinion | Religion | Elections | Column Snapshots | Diversions

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Grant Perdew

Assistant Editor Nathan Stratte

Head Layout Editor Alix Harris

Head Copy Editor Carly Leggitt

Head Photo Editor

Kurtis Lamberton

News Editor

Carolyn Green

Feature Editors

Brooklynn Larson Katie Pekar Brandon Torkelsen

Opinion Editors

Carlton Henkes Rebecca Williams Andrew Woodruff

Fashion Editor

Brenda Negoescu

Sports Editor

Grayson Andregg

Religion Editor John Lubke

health & Outdoors Editor Justin Mock

Diversions Editor Eric Weber

Travel Editor

photo by peter flores

Layout Designers

When I was abroad, not only was I able to build relationships with a lot of different people from many countries and learn about numerous cultures, but I was constantly pushed outside my comfort zone into new situations that seemed awful at first but soon helped me grow. Being uncomfortable soon became my new comfort zone. Every day was a new adventure with a new experience impacting and shaping my life.

Once you’re back home, life can become mundane after having such incredible times abroad; we can so easily spend our days wishing to be back with those people in that foreign land. It’s easy to idealize certain circumstances in the past and compare the present to these and see our lives a lacking great excitement.

But truly, we don’t have to be in a foreign country to be inspired and feel alive. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and find at least a little adventure every day. And if you can, travel. Spend a year or a summer abroad and grow your horizons.

You might find that you have grown along with them.

14–17

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life

feature

photo by ricky barbosa

Exploring New Horizons: Perspectives From Abroad

photo by joe hughes

Arts & Media | Food | Science | Fashion Outdoors | Local | BackWord

Joe Hughes

Andralyn Iwasa Samantha Schnell Ian Smith Jenna Thomas

If you are interested in contributing to The Collegian, contact our page editors or the editor-in-chief at aswwu.collegian@wallawalla.edu. The Collegian is boosted by regularly incorporating a wide range of student perspectives.

Food EDitor

Copy Editors

Cover Credit: Ricky Barbosa, @katzenoregon, Janelle Aguilera, Andrea Johnson, Joe Hughes

Local Attractions Editor Timothy Barbosa

Rachel Blake Jassica Choi Lauren Heathcock

Arts & Media Editor

Staff Writers

Lester Biggs Savannah Kisling Lauren Lewis

The Collegian is the official publication of ASWWU. Its views and opinions are not necessarily the official stance of Walla Walla University or its administration, faculty, staff, or students. Questions, letters, and comments can be sent to aswwu.collegian@ wallawalla.edu or grant.perdew@wallawalla.edu. This issue was completed at 1 a.m. on 27 February 2014.

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For information about advertising, please contact aswwu.ads@wallawalla.edu.

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The Collegian | Volume 98, Issue 16 | 204 S. College Avenue College Place, WA 99324 | collegian.wallawalla.edu

Jon Mack

Science & Technology Editor

Andrea Johnson

Chad Aufderhar

Backword Editor Rachel Logan

Creative Writing Editor Rachel Blake

Columnists

Madeleine Boyson Micah Hall

Jon Mack

Jennifer Negoescu

CONTEXT NEWS | 3

the battle // lauren lewis Staff Writer

Get stoked for the Battle of Bands, happening March 1 at 7 p.m. in the WWVA gym!

Bring your boogying shoes and five dollars for the entrance fee which goes to “To Build a Home,” the ASWWU fundraising project.

Five bands will be competing for your vote, with the winner playing an encore. Each band will have a 20-minute time slot to impress the crowd and “rock out.” Rock, hip-hop, and rap are only a few of the genres being featured.

For the safety of your feet, closed-toed shoes are advised. “There will be moshing and crowd-surfing control for your safety,” said Jono Pratt, ASWWU president.

Dillon VanBuren, third-year Battle of the Bands competitor, will be joined by Kurtis Lamberton, Michael Roy Moore II, David

Portland Update THE AVERAGE WEEK

Olson, Brandon Torkelsen, and Benji Oliver in his band, Torpedo Kitten. Hinting at the band’s six-song set list, VanBuren said, “One [song] may have to do with dating an over-aged woman, but beyond that I cannot say, other than that we hope to receive an Applause.”

I’ve been asked to write about what a day is really like here in Portland for future students, so I asked around.

The average week goes like this: Monday and Tuesday you have your courses in the classrooms.

Wednesday and Thursday you have clinicals. Friday you breathe a breath of fresh air (unless you have a Friday clinical); then you realize you have to study for the upcoming week.

WWU student Trevor Chinn, who is coordinating the show and sound this year, says, “The absolute very best musical talent that Walla Walla has to offer is displayed for two or three hours [at Battle of the Bands],” and it should not be missed. “This is the event that everyone goes to,” said Pratt.

What’s your favorite part of the day? “Going to bed.”

— Matthew Habenicht

The band Arcadian Fusion, featuring Timmy Oliver, Benji Oliver, Anthony Lyder, Tyler Sherwin, Brandon Torkelsen, and Grant Gustavsen, will be, according to Timmy, playing “songs that you won’t find difficult to sing along with.” Timmy is excited to “express music through one genre that may not be appropriate for vespers. God loves variety, and so do I!” Don’t miss the battle; it is sure to be a rocking good time!

What do you do in your free time?

“What’s free time? No really, I watch movies." — Ryan Ford What’s the biggest difference between College Place and Portland? “Your friend base.”

— Bradley Billington

the festival of shorts 2014 //

I know it may sound like we don’t love it here, but we do. It’s hard work, and after a day in clinical, even though you may be exhausted, you feel like you’ve done something; you’ve made a difference. It’s worth the sleepless nights and the weekends of studying.

DAVID CRAWFORD

DRAMA DEPARTMENT wwudrama welcomes you to a new type of festival and a brand new title in Village Hall on March 1, 2, 6, 8, and 9 at 8 p.m. This year we have all alumni theatre directors! Five of our esteemed alumni have agreed to direct a stellar line-up. wwudrama is also working with the film/TV program in the department of communication and languages to start a new tradition that we tested out last year: theatre and film together. We offer to our audience an evening with: — Dueling Phobias, by Brenda Cohen and Jonathan Mayer, directed by Kristen Taylor. It is a game of one-upmanship that comes in the world of a waiting room. The show features Mason Neil and Jordan Stephan.

— 60 Years, To Life, by Nick Zagone, directed by Ryan Sturges. This unique monologue asks, in its comedic way, what is too much for a relationship to handle?

The show features Abigail Wissink.

— Taylor Higdon

— The M Word, by Alan Ball, directed by Jerry Entze. When a proposal becomes a negotiation, the business side of the relationship is the key. The show features Sabrina Tym and Jonathan Stephan.

— After Magritte, by Tom Stoppard, directed

by Joshua Haddock. Explaining a famous painting by Magritte, this show is a wild ride in the absurd and hilarious. The show features Grant Parfitt, James Fesler, Randall Lutz, Mariah Carlyle, and Brianna Eckler.

—Check, Please, by Jonathan Rand, directed

by Bradley Nelson. How many dates does it take to get the right one? Nobody knows,

but figuring it out sure is funny. The show features Brandon Pierce, Dustin Harter, Richard Wallace, Jalynn Berglund, Stephanie Septembre, and Morgan Sanker.

For more information about WWUDrama or to schedule an interview, call David Crawford at (509)527-2641 or email david.crawford@wallawalla.edu

— Finally, Debt Cloud, a short film by student director Carlton Henkes.

wwudrama is the Walla Walla University Drama program, established in 1961. They produce a variety of productions each year open to the University and Community alike. For more information or reservations visit their website at drama.wallawalla.edu. Tickets run from $8-$10.

For reservations or directions visit drama. wallawalla.edu.

CONTEXT

BRIEFING | 4

13 60

3 out of 4

Number of Olympic gold medals won

by Russia, the most of any country.

99 5

Years since a host nation last swept both medal counts (Norway did it in the 1952 Oslo Winter Games).

619,381 487,484

Number of recent winter Olympics in which the Americans have won the most bronze medals.

Age of Maria von Trapp when she died last week. She was the last surviving member of the musical Nazi-refugee family made famous in The Sound of Music.

Number of stray dogs that American freeskier Gus Kenworthy is bringing back home with him (in addition to his silver medal in slopestyle skiing).

Number of signatures on a petition to bring to vote a referendum to overturn a law that allows transgender students the right to use the public school bathrooms of their choice.

Number of signatures found valid, under the minimum required to force a public vote, meaning the law stays on the books and the referendum off the ballot.

“It feels very hard to look macho when you’re holding a tiny dog while another man changes your wife’s tire.”

— Seth Meyers, of SNL Weekend Update fame, in his Sunday Late Night Show debut.

“Those opposed to Black History Month are condemning black history to be as forgotten as American history in general. Increasingly in our schools, American history is being pushed aside by teachers who are being forced to teach to the test on issues of math and science.”

— Daryl Michael Scott, president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Number of medals won, overall, by Russia.

33

$100 000 TO BUILD A HOME PROJECT

“I think the idea that he is pushing legislation that is just hurtful and ridiculous is just plain stupid.”

— Dr. Jim Burkman, an anesthesiologist from Seattle, criticizing his lobbyist brother, Jack Burkman, for promoting a bill to ban gays from playing in the NFL.

DIED | Harold Ramis

Harold Ramis, known for writing, directing, and acting in some of the greatest comedies produced by Hollywood, died Monday at the age of 69. Ramis — whose writing credits include Animal House, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day — was perhaps most famous for playing Dr. Egon Spengler, the bespectacled and humorous fungus-loving scientist in Ghostbusters. Judd Apatow, who says Ramis played a large part in his decision to become a comedy director, had this to say of Ramis’ passing: “Harold was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and he inspired countless people to go into comedy. His brilliant work will make people happy forever.”

“Yes. Just with my looks, I could have won.”

“Tonight seemed like as good a night as any to join Twitter.

How is everyone doin?”

— Olympic halfpipe champion Iouri Podladtchikov on whether he could have won — and beat Shaun White — without “YOLO,” his signature move.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr., celebrating his second Daytona 500 win, which snapped a 55-race losing streak, with a first selfie and a first Twitter post.

“UGG boots are my fashion stepchild.”

— Johnny

Weir, two time Olympian and fashionista figure skating commentator.

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CONTEXT NEWS | 5

Concordia Choir Comes to WWU // Lester biggs Staff Writer

On Feb. 27, Walla Walla University will be hosting Grammy award-winning conductor René Clausen and his Concordia Choir from Moorhead, Minnesota, at 7:30 p.m. at the University Church.

One might wonder how a great choir on a 15-day tour through the Pacific Northwest found their way to our front door. Well, that is through Professor Kraig Scott of the music department.

“Concordia College contacted me and asked if they might sing in our great space. I checked with the University and the WWU church, and took it from there,” said Scott.

The tickets are $20 for adults and $10 dollars for students, and they are available

at ConcordiaTickets.com or at the door.

The concert is a part of the 79-voice choir's tour which includes Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Hawaii.

Clausen is well known by thousands of music lovers around the country for his performances and compositions.

“Concordia college contacted me and asked if they might sing in our great space.”

Be a Part of I Cantori History // Lester biggs Staff Writer

The release of Walla Walla University’s I Cantori CD this year has set new heights for the choir as it enters another year of music and fellowship.

Eternity Alone is available for $20 in the music department office in the Fine Arts Center or can be purchased and downloaded for $15 online at www.cdbaby.com by searching “I Cantori of Walla Walla University.”

The CD, Eternity Alone, became available at the end of Fall quarter 2013 and features 17 tracks of great music made possible by the dedication and effort put forth by students and Kraig Scott. The entirety of its production was done here on the WWU campus with the help of a few staff members, such as Dr. Larry Aamodt, professor of engineering.

“The recording sessions took place in the wonderful acoustics of the University Church. We sent the finished product to a professional company who manufactured

“Eternity Alone was made to help showcase the talent of the choir.”

the discs and printed the cover booklets,” said Scott.

Eternity Alone was made to help showcase the talent of the choir, not only to WWU members but to directors, churches, and other universities who might be interested in inviting the group to perform.

The release of these CDs will be something to look out for, as there are plans to make one every two or three years.

The repertoire featured on the CD was chosen based on the songs performed by the choir during the 2012–2013 school year. These songs were not chosen at random; they were thought out and selected based on the message that Scott wanted to present that year.

CONTEXT 6

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CONTEXT 7

week in forecast 27 FEB Thursday 46° 39°

photo bywww . greenbrokelivinginkits . blogspot . com

28 feb Friday 41° 34°

photo by janelle aguilera

1 mar Saturday 45° 34°

photo by carlton henkes

The Concordia Choir 7:30 p.m.

University Church

Vespers Speaker: Timothy Nixon 8 p.m.

University Church

ASWWU Dutch Blitz-athon 8 p.m.

SAC

JAM Session After Vespers Prayer House

ASWWU Battle of the Bands 7 p.m.

WWVA Gym The Festival of Shorts 8 p.m.

Village Hall

2 mar

sunday

46° 30°

photo by www . urbanchristiannews . com

Dr. Seuss Day The Festival of Shorts 8 p.m.

Village Hall

Switchfoot Ticket Sales 10:30 p.m.

WEC

3 mar monday

4 mar tuesday

photo by flickr user jeffreyturner

photo by arella aung

photo by ivan cruz

photo by thewoodschurch . org

36° 27°

Spring Quarter Registration opens for Freshmen

37° 39°

5 mar wednesday

photo by ivan cruz

43° 34°

photo by flickr user leo reynolds

CommUnity: The Skit Guys 11 a.m.

University Church photo by carlton henkes

Multiple Personality Day

PERSPECTIVE OPINION | 8

holiness, royalty, WISDOM and magic abroad // collegian

Carlton Henkes

Opinion Editor Man arrested on suspicion of running meth lab.

C

Wears Breaking Bad T-shirt in mugshot.

Texas’ ban on gay marriage ruled unconstitutional.

C

Texas insists Constitution is unconstitutional.

Bible in man’s pocket saves his life from two gunshots.

C

Literal armor of God.

NASA discovers 715 new planets.

C

Half are already signed by Chuck Norris.

=

“Got Milk” ad campaign officially ended.

C

Man puts hot sauce on dog when it has a seizure.

C

Milk moustaches will always be fashionable.

He really wanted a hot dog ....

I was thrilled for my first London experience, which was commandeering a bench at Paddington Station to read and people-watch for six hours while waiting for my classmates to arrive. As the rest of us trickled in, we got out BritRail passes and took the train to Bath Spa. Soon we were settled into our week-long home at the YMCA. Bath was a beautiful town with cobbled streets, corner stores, parks, and ancient ruins. From there we traveled outward, visiting Salisbury, Stonehenge, and the Old

After feeling like we had seen half the world, it was time to pack up and move to our next destination: York. The predecessor of New York was unlike anything we had seen before. The Shambles had soaked up the history of the town for centuries, aging gracefully while preserving the original architectural shapes that we now only see in period films.

A week spent in the dorms of the Queen’s College at the University of Oxford had us all feeling like royalty. The lavish breakfasts in the dining hall were certainly no less magical than Hogwarts. From here we discovered the Bodleian Library, the Sheldonian Theatre, and the endlessly tempting Blackwell’s Bookstore. Taking a train to Stratford-uponAvon, we explored the home of Shakespeare’s childhood and enjoyed the picturesque gardens of his wife, Anne Hathaway.

This is only a small fraction of the aweinspiring sights and experiences of which we were lucky enough to partake. It is my opinion that the UK Study Tour should be required curriculum for all students with a mind for literature, history, or travel.

From our new home at York, we continued our travels. The air was thick with ancient reverence at Lindisfarne, the Holy Island.

The tides came in daily to sequester this peninsula into a spiritual retreat, separating it from the sinful banality of the mainland.

Crossing the border into Scotland related a very different kind of sanctuary. Edinburgh had a nature all its own, with its signature overcast skies, ominous fog, and the charred

La Vie Est Belle // Andrew Woodruff

Switzerland will have highest minumum wage: $24.80.

Happy Meals three times happier in Switzerland.

It was the summer of 2012 when I first jumped the Atlantic puddle to visit the mystical island of Albion from whence my literary dreams originated. WWU’s UK Study Tour made this magic possible.

Sarum castle. Then came London, with its historically rich Westminster Abbey, architecturally impressive Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.

black stone that possessed its streets and castles. However, the spirit of the crowd was much brighter as we waved to the Queen and Prince, passing in their motorcade on their way to Holyrood Palace.

Opinion Editor It is all too common amidst our busy academic lives to get tunnel vision. We get so focused on the things we have to do that we forget to enjoy and savor the things we actually do. We get locked in and blind to the world around us. Author Robert Pirsig wrote that, “Quality is what you see out of the corner of your eye.” This means that to see beauty in the world we have to practice using our figurative peripheral vision. You have to be willing to be distracted for a moment. If something catches your mind’s eye, look at it. Chances are you could use a couple seconds’ break from what is directly in front of you. Beauty is often just outside your window.

In France, I learned to open my eyes to beauty. I was sitting in my dorm room around sunset and by chance chose the perfect moment to look through my windowpane at the towering peak of Mt. Salève. Typically, the rock’s face is white and cuts the blue sky like a noble Gothic steeple. I had seen it every day for months and yet it had never looked this majestic before. As the sun set down the valley, it illuminated the familiar face of the mountain in golden light. In that moment, a moment of distraction from my failing homework assignment, I saw the mountain bathed in a brand new light. Those two minutes of gold — that beautiful gold — made me realize how lucky a human being I was to have a window facing the French Alps, the base less than half a mile away.

Whenever I think of beauty, I think of that specific color of gold.

This was just one among many moments of simple beauty I would experience in France. One with an apple and Gruyère cheese in hand and a feeling of home.

Another, waking from the first dream in French where I understood every spoken word. The gentle rocking of a houseboat in Amsterdam. A cathedral in Orleans with pillars that looked like a forest of stone.

Using a knife to slide a waterfall of cheese off a half-wheel of Raclette onto a plate of potatoes. My first full conversation with a friend who spoke no English. Watching people from a patio in the little Italian town of Riomaggiore. An elderly French man in a flower shop who stepped out of his boutique and walked down the block with me to give me directions.

Beauty happens in moments, not in minutes or hours or days. They are there and then they are gone, and if we blink, we will miss the beauty buried within them.

PERSPECTIVE RELIGION | 9

Knowledge or belief: the agnostic fallacy // Daniel Peverini

Contributor

As a committed Christian searching for free thought in the context of communal conversation, I often find myself in the company of self-designated “agnostics.”

These agnostics are quite often the majority of people who are honest enough to converse with others openly. I like agnostics. They ask good questions: questions that need to be asked about God, the nature of knowledge, and the human condition.

They are honest, brutally honest, about the fact that they don’t really “know” anything.

O c c a s i on a l l y, “agnostics” will ask me a question along the lines of, “If you are so open minded, how can you stay Christian?” Interestingly enough, this question comes not only from “agnostics,” but also from traditionalists.

The question is a good one, one that I even wonder about myself sometimes. Since I know and respect many agnostics (and some traditionalists as well), and since I know many other Christians often struggle

with articulating their faith, I thought a consideration of this question was in order. I want to answer this question by showing that it is based on the misconception, prevalent in some agnostic circles, that knowledge is the condition of belief.

At this point, I think it is important to acknowledge that insofar as none of us knows anything with absolute certainty, we are all “agnostics.” Those who claim to know anything with absolute certainty are most likely deluding themselves or intentionally ignoring something. Inasmuch as I myself (and many Christians I know) don’t claim absolutely certain “knowledge” about “God,” I suppose we fall into the “agnostic” camp.

The figure of the “agnostic” that I want to explore here is not merely the person who, like all honest contemporary thinkers, does not claim to “know” anything with absolute certainty. To such a person I have no objection. Rather, I am talking about the person who acknowledges that she “knows” nothing, but going one step further, implicitly links absolute “knowledge” with belief. For this agnostic, knowledge becomes the condition of belief. Since she can’t “know” anything, she can’t believe anything. The figure of this self-styled “agnostic” emerges as not just the one who

“Faith can be best measured by its transformative potential.”

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“knows” nothing for sure (that is all of us) but is the one who also claims to believe nothing.

But what does the agnostic believe? This question lies at the heart of the problem with so-called agnosticism. No one knows what agnostics believe, or so it seems. But they must believe something, insofar as they interpret what they do as meaningful. For without belief, I am incapable of interpreting my experience at all. And interpretation is admittedly not merely a verbal exercise but is more importantly also a matter of action.

The self-styled agnostic says “I don’t believe anything,” but who will believe him? When I see an agnostic friend of mine laughing at a wry joke about economic inequalities, insisting that the Iraq war or NSA spying is immoral, or declaring gay love is as important as straight love, I become very skeptical that her self-declared “agnosticism” is different from my own.

The problem I have with traditionalists and agnostics alike is that for both, knowledge is the condition for belief. Traditionalists just think they can have knowledge while agnostics admit that they cannot. This important distinction made, one immediately notes that neither agnosticism nor traditionalism, as ways of thinking, compel their acolytes to take transformative action in their world.

Traditionalism is stationary because it refuses to take action without “knowledge,” and since it never really knows what it claims to know, it always fails to act meaningfully on the world.

Agnosticism is equally inert because it refuses to take action because it knows it can never have certainty. I do see many traditionalists and agnostics doing much good in the world. In this case, I will admit I think it is sometimes a mercy of God that we don’t always act in full accordance with what we say we think. In other words, it is sometimes a divine mercy that we don’t actually think what we say we think.

But back to the question I posed earlier: “How can I be open minded and still hold Christian faith?” By now, I think it is evident that the key word here is faith. I know I can’t “know” anything, but I choose to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead because I think that this belief is the interpretation with the greatest transformative potential in a world crying out for transformation.

And unlike knowledge, whose value is (perhaps) measured by its reasonableness or its accordance with “the facts” (this phrase is itself highly suspect, lacking any ties with philosophy or history), faith can be best measured by its transformative potential. We can say that knowledge is not belief, and therefore that Christian faith is not incompatible with being honest and open minded.

Daniel Peverini is currently an undergraduate theology student at La Sierra University . A version of this article was originally published on the LSU Criterion website.

Campus Ministries

Hi, Walla Walla U. As you’ve seen from the posters around campus, music ministries is putting on some exciting events in the next few weeks. After vespers this Friday, Feb. 28, we will be having a JAM (Jesus and Music) session in the prayer house. This will be a time to bust out your banjos, guitars, voices, harmonicas, ukuleles, saxophones, hurdy-gurdys, jingling johnnys, zithers, and whatever other instruments you can think of to join in singing and playing praise music to God. There will be extra instruments around, too, and chord sheets for all. I especially encourage you to come, play, and talk to me after if you’re interested in getting involved with playing music for the various worship services on campus.

In addition to the musical jamming, toast and various forms of preserves and marmalades will be available for your taste buds’ Sabbath delight. After the music dies down, we will transition into an all-night prayer session, led

by Sean Lenhoff and John Wilson. This is always a special opportunity, and is much less tiring than it may sound.

Also coming up is the March 7 Hillsong vespers. Though the Hillsong band won’t be joining us, this will be a special, student-led, all-music vespers styled after Hillsong’s worship events.

Thanks for reading! I hope to see you all there, — Nathan Stratte, Music Chaplain P.S. Email me at nathan.stratte@wallawalla.edu if you have any questions or want to get involved in music ministries on campus.

PERSPECTIVE ELECTION RESULTS |10

president executive Timothy Barbosa MAJOR Business, Pre-Med

vice president Atem Malak

HOMETOWN Walla Walla

MAJOR History, Pre-Law

FAVORITE ASWWU EVENT Rail Jam!

HOMETOWN Bortown, Jonglei, South Sudan

FAVORITE ASWWU EVENT Spring Jam BEST LOCAL EATERY El Sombrero Restaurant FAVORITE WEEKEND ACTIVITY Relaxing and hanging out with friends.

FAVORITE JUNK FOOD In-N-Out Burger LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

I have worked as a senator for ASWWU for the last two years and been Pre-

GUILTY PLEASURE McDonald's Fries

FAVORITE JUNK FOOD Wings LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE Currently serving with ASWWU Marketing and as Junior Class EVP SHORT-TERM ASWWU GOALS Involve students in ASWWU services.

Offer first-hand mission experience.

Find a use for the building beside The Atlas.

Prepare for a great year to come!

My goals for next year are to improve communication in ASWWU and make sure that your money is spent on things that students need. I hope that through better communication in ASWWU, students will start to care more about the organization.

vice president

FAVORITE WEEKEND ACTIVITY Skiing

CELEBRITY CRUSH Belle

SHORT-TERM ASWWU GOALS

spiritual

BEST LOCAL EATERY Worm Ranch

FAVORITE MEME Facepalm Picard

Law Club president, and History Club vice president. Back in Africa, I also worked as my clan’s association president for the youth, and worked as an advisor for my county’s youth association.

Elected Executive Officers

Austin Roberts MAJORS Theology, History HOMETOWN Loma Linda, CA FAVORITE ASWWU EVENT Barn Party GUILTY PLEASURE Chocolate milk BEST LOCAL EATERY Sweet Basil FAVORITE WEEKEND ACTIVITY Sleep

EXECUTIVE SPEECH PUMP-UP SONG: “Barbossa is Hungry” by Hans Zimmer

FAVORITE MEME Anything with the Queen of England CELEBRITY CRUSH Taylor Swift

MAJOR Elementary Education

FAVORITE WEEKEND ACTIVITY Baking and sleeping

HOMETOWN Orcas Island, WA

FAVORITE MEME Success Kid

FAVORITE ASWWU EVENT Battle of the Bands

CELEBRITY CRUSH Jim Halpert

GUILTY PLEASURE Pinterest, the Kardashians

FAVORITE JUNK FOOD Trolli Sour Brite Eggs

BEST LOCAL EATERY Maple Counter! Their blueberry

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE CSA president in high school, ASWWU senator 2012–2014, Girl Scout “Cookie Diva” 2004.

cobbler french toast is heavenly.

social

vice president Clarabeth Smith

EXECUTIVE SPEECH PUMP-UP SONG: “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding

FAVORITE JUNK FOOD Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

RA in Sittner, ASWWU Fundraising Team

SHORT-TERM ASWWU GOALS Promoting lives and service and getting more people involved, and the student-led church/Sabbath school groups to work together.

EXECUTIVE SPEECH PUMP-UP SONG: “This is How We Roll” by Florida Georgia Line feat. Luke Bryan

PERSPECTIVE CREATIVE WRITING | 11

Fighter Bird // MARY APARACIO CASTREJON

While we were at the house on Alberta Street, we bought a turkey because it was Christmas and because Ama’s teeth were still good and she wanted meat for the Noche Buena meal. The whole family

went to the rastro to pick one out. The animals looked sad and tired in their stalls. One cow I passed

had only one good eye; the other eye had been poked out and was now oozing whitish-yellow stuff that looked like jocoque. The place was stinky and

made me sneeze, made my eyes water, and made my nose bleed. Mama gave me a tissue and said I have hay fever and to not touch anything because the place was cochino. And disgusting it was, with its piles of dirty hay and walls of white, brown, and

blood. All nine of my cousins laughed at me because they thought my bloody nose meant I was scared. I stuck my tongue out at them and ran to my papi, grabbing his big hand and pressing a Kleenex to my stupid, scared nose.

Letter to the editor To the Collegian staff, Over the past several weeks, I have overheard many in the biology and chemistry departments dismayed to see that your special issue featuring students and faculty involved in unique projects across our campus had completely neglected the biological and chemical sciences. If this was an oversight, it was an egregious one. After talking with a few of your staff members, there seemed to be a belief that the life sciences were not involved in any special or interesting projects. Nothing could be further from the truth! To illustrate this, I have decided to compile and submit a list of just a few of the projects with which our students and faculty are involved.

We left the main building with all the sad cows and goats and came to a pen filled with turkeys.

They were noisy and pushed each other around like the cholos I saw at night on street corners, except these birds didn’t have guns. “Yo quiero esa,” said Ama, pointing at the biggest one in the middle of the pen. My five uncles winced. The stupid bird was in the middle of a fight with the second biggest bird in the pen. Papi let go of my hand, rolled up his sleeves and jumped in. Slowly, my uncles joined him.

Papi is the first son in my family, which means he has to do everything first and has special responsibilities. He eats first with Apa. He gets to church first. He cares for Ama when Apa is drunk and mean. He is the first to move away from the house on Alberta Street where our whole family has lived since being smuggled into America by coyotes.

Ama does not like our move, and now another responsibility he has because he is first at everything is to give her what she wants whenever she asks for it so that my papi can still be her son.

Between my dad and all of my uncles, the fight is stopped and the bird is pinned down. My dad has a cut on his right forearm and a handful of bruises on his legs but he does not care. He shows the turkey to Ama and she smiles and my papi is very happy because he has made her smile for the first time in months.

ability to steal chloroplasts from the eelgrass they eat and then use these photosynthetic organs to create their own energy.

Dr. Kirt Onthank, a new WWU faculty member, is doing preliminary research on pygmy squid, a species that has never before been studied in the United States and which has been studied very little even elsewhere.

He is also collaborating with Dr. Daniel Gonzalez (Andrews University) and Dr. Brian Kemp (Washington State University) to isolate the DNA from an extinct species of giant manatee, the Stellar’s sea cow.

In the chemistry department, Dr. Anthony Smith is working with Cascade Designs, manufacturers of Therm-a-Rest, Mountain Safety Research, and other outdoor goods, to produce a new commercial water-purification system. Dr. Smith and undergraduate Brandon King are currently measuring how long bacteria can survive after chlorination.

After paying the rastrero $150, we leave with the smelly fighter bird for the house on Alberta Street. Ama sends my nine cousins to the North Gate grocery store to buy garlic, green bell peppers, chile pasilla, and Knorr for the bird once it is dead. I am the only young one left while Ama and my tias prepare to kill the turkey in the backyard. “Wave your arms and jump up and down. Make it come over towards me,” says Tia Pera. I do, and she catches the fighter bird by its neck as it runs by her. The turkey’s neck looks like a twig between my Tia Pera’s strong, thick hands.

It breaks like one, too.

We hang the still-fighting bird by its feet and Tia Pera takes a knife to the turkey’s neck and cuts it clean in two; the turkey gives one last jerk and stops moving on its own and lets the rope sway back and forth. Tia Pera sits on an old milking stool next to the upside-down bird. “Ten mija,” says Tia Pera, and gives me a milking stool, too.

I don’t take it but watch her as she throws fistfuls of feathers to the ground. “Andale, Mary!” says Tia Pera, smacking the back of my Levis with a feathery hand. Shivering, I rip feathers from the prickly skin. First, feather by feather, then fist by fist. After a while, Papi brings Ama outside and my cousins return with grocery bags and they all stand there and watch me strip the bird. Papi is

to find a better understanding of how stem cells switch from growing and multiplying to differentiating into cells which fulfill a specific role. In particular, Dr. Lindsey is examining cells that act as models for human blood-cell development.

Dr. Kyle Craig is both a chemistry professor and pursuing his master’s in biology under Dr. Jim Nestler. His research is based in Mesa Verde National Park, where he examines areas affected by periodic fires, specifically how the populations of rodent species have changed since the most recent fire. His project also uses the vegetation of an area to predict the rodent population.

Undergraduate students Logan Villarreal and Patrick McGee are working with Dr. Janice McKenzie on a bioengineering project. They have been constructing a device to perform electrospinning, a technique used to extract very fine fibers from melted polymer. These fibers will be used to build nanofiber scaffolds for cell cultures.

proud that I am the only nieta brave enough to do this and Ama is waiting for me to get sick and run into the house. But I don’t get sick, and Tia Pera and I finish cleaning the bird. My cousins get bored and leave to play with the bits of plastic and metal they find in the street. But my Ama still watches me and my papi still stands behind watching her watch me and becomes more and more proud because I am so brave and because Ama approves of me.

That night for Noche Buena, the tortillas are hot from the comal and the salsa is fresh from the molcajete and the cheese is not moldy. The cousins are showered and well behaved. The whole family is happy and no one is fighting. The table is set and the main meal is served and everyone oohs and aahs. It’s pavo en chile de ajo. We look at Apa and he takes the first bite and Papi takes the second first bite and then Ama. They smile, nod, and we all begin. The turkey smells good, but the sauce is red and I cannot eat because of the color and because my hands smell of blood and feathers.

Then I do get sick and run out of the house, but it doesn’t matter because my Papi is proud of me and cannot stop smiling and Ama is not watching me anymore because she is eating meat and her teeth are still good and it is Christmas.

that Dr. Joe Galusha has been doing with this colony of gulls since 1980.

Another master’s student, Ben McCluskey, has been characterizing cancer-specific antigens. By locating proteins involved in the formation of tumor cells, he hopes that his research can be used to develop therapies able to target specific cancers.

Carly Leggitt, Leah Dann, Liesl Cole, and Robyn Reeve recently returned from the Philippines. While they were there, they worked under Dr. Jim Nestler researching the behavior and impact of a species of sea cucumber on coral reefs. They also attempted to quantify the damage done to local reefs by recent typhoons in the area.

In addition to these students, the biology department has seven first-year graduate students who are just beginning their research and many undergraduate students who have recently completed internships or have been assisting professors with research The chair of the biology department, Dr. Kevin House, a master’s student in the projects. There are many professors and David Lindsey, continues to do research, biology department, is finishing a behavioral students who I should include in this letter, despite his administrative duties. Dr. Lindsey study of Glaucous-winged gulls. He but am forced to omit for brevity’s sake. I has been working with Dictyostelium, a social spent two summers on Protection Island hope that these examples illustrate that those amoeba, which provides an excellent model in Washington’s Strait of Juan de Fuca Dr. David Cowles is investigating eelgrass for stem cells. He, along with his master’s at our school in the biology and chemistry monitoring and quantifying the behaviors of isopods, an aquatic relative of the pill bug. student and several undergraduates, is trying a gull colony. His project continues the work departments are anything but inactive.

These creatures appear to have the unique

Yours Sincerely, NOTE As stated in the special issue Editor’s Letter, "the magazine doesn't cover all of the talent on our campus. These individuals' names were given to The Collegian by various faculty, staff, and students." I contacted the heads of all departments and did not receive names or ideas from all of them. We Christopher Reeve FROM THE

EDITOR

printed the content we received within the timeframe we had, knowing that it was a very small selection of talent on campus. We thank Chris for pointing out these incredible projects and apologize for their omission in the magazine. — Grant Perdew, Editor-in-Chief

SNAPSHOTS

WELCOME BACK BASH

12 12

photo by troy isaacs

photo by vitaliy krivoruk

photo by janelle aguilera

photo by janelle aguilera

photo by timothy torres

PERSPECTIVE DIVERSIONS | 13

Eric Weber

Diversions Editor & Pontificator

Living Abroad //

Living abroad is generally over-glorified. It’s not all fun, games, baguettes, and skinny dipping in public fountains.

There is a lot of self-realization, introspection, and growth involved because when you’re on a train to Belgium, eating raw potatoes with a crying Rachel Logan, it really makes you think, “Is this how I’m going to die? Am I in hell?” But once again, everything works out and you’re on your way to your next adventure, Belgian waffle in hand. Here is an email I wrote to my parents when my friends (Rachel included) and I walked into our London hostel.

“It was good to talk to you today. My hostel isn’t my favorite by any means. The room I’m in is in the basement with only three very small windows. I share this room with a variety of people, including a small Asian family with their wok and camp stove. The room smells like a locker room on a bad day, and my bed just happens to be under a chunky English man, who smells pretty … dank. (For the locker room stench, I suspect either him or the chow mein being made two bunks down — it’s anyone’s guess/whiff.) I have found one corner of my bed that lacks this pre-teen odor, and it has become my nasal sanctuary. I try to savor this little piece of sensory relief for I fear it will be taken from me, just like my perception of cleanliness. They are moving us to a different room tomorrow. I’m praying my room will be odorless. Is this what prison is like? Please send me your wishes and some Febreze. Xoxoxox.”

‘

‘

FEATURE 14

Exploring new horizons:

PERSPECTIVES FROM ABROAD

photo by ricky barbosa

Jon Mack

Travel Editor

photo by rakita patel

photo by jon mack

photo by ricky barbosa

Adventist Colleges Abroad is a great way to experience the world. The basic idea is that students from Adventist colleges and high schools across the world travel to a host nation and experience a year of study in another culture. Many host countries are in Europe, but there are others in South America and Asia as well. Students take advantage of being in a different country and often have the opportunity to learn a second language while being immersed in the study of culture. Many study-abroad students share experiences such as school trips or traveling with a group of friends on a school break, but there are also very personal aspects of their experiences. Often times students find themselves experiencing the culture on their own, taking a quick stroll into town or spending a bit of personal time wandering a city on a school trip to take it all in.

But when their year is over and they return home, students tend to get bombarded with questions about their overall experience, if they are fluent in the language, and what their favorite thing was. After coming back from Spain last year I experienced this bombardment first-hand, but I really didn’t have good answers to those questions.

I would have found it more fulfilling to have a conversation about how life works in Spain, what the people I had come to know were like, or how life differs there.

This week’s feature is focused on ACA students’ experiences and how they best got to experience and participate in their host country’s culture. I asked these individuals to tell their experiences so that we could share it with those who are interested in their stories or interested in becoming an ACA student someday. Read up and get inspired!

I believe that my year as an ACA student was one of the best years of my life and that it is one of the best ways to get the most out of a year of college.

photo by ricky barbosa

photo by ricky barbosa

photo by shelby siebold

FEATURE 15

SHELBY

LONG ITALY As long as I can remember, I have always loved traveling. Growing up, I always planned on studying abroad, and when everything started to fall into place for this year, I knew it was time to pack my bags.

Being a graphic design major, I decided to attend the ACA program in Italy because of its large amount of trips. The school is located in Florence, Italy, which gives students a good opportunity to experience the Italian culture better, in a major city. The best way is to walk around and interact with the locals. It’s also important to remember not to be afraid to experience new things and that opportunity only knocks once.

This past break, I got the opportunity to visit and stay with a lovely family in Norway. The plane ticket was more then I wanted to pay, but knowing that I would be a fool to pass this up, I bought it anyway.

On my trip, I also ventured over to Sweden, leaving me with no regrets.

From Norway we continued on to London, Paris, and Belgium, making it the trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. We traveled around these five countries in three weeks, leaving us with little time to explore, but seeing as much as possible in a short amount of time is the best way to travel. This has given me the chance to see seven different countries since I’ve been here, and in a month I will be seeing three more.

RIKITA PATEL ARGENTINA

SHELBY

Traveling abroad to Argentina was one of the best and hardest years I’ve had so far. I learned Spanish, lived in a new country for nine months, and adapted to the culture. I had so many adventures and saw so many places! But at the same time it was a struggle with the language barrier and being away from the comforts of home.

I’ve been home from Spain nine months now.

I spent the year learning a new language, making new friends, traveling Europe, and changing the way I see the world.

I found that the best way to learn about the culture was to take myself out of foreigner’s shoes and step into native’s shoes. I would spend time with my Spanish-speaking roommates and eat authentic food. My favorite place to eat in South America was at a Peruvian family’s small apartment in our town. They cooked delicious Peruvian food and all the ACA kids would go there regularly.

I believe that it is more satisfying to travel slowly and be laid back like the locals, which is something I brought back to America. When a group of friends and I went on our month-long Christmas break, we had a plan to reach five destinations in Argentina.

In the end, we went to three and ended up staying three weeks in one place (Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina). I cherish having had the opportunity to travel for a month with friends. I truly miss that place!

That month of traveling I was able to practice the Spanish I had been learning at the university and relate the language to the culture around me.

Although I was tired of the heat and strange bugs and I craved Taco Bell constantly, I wouldn’t take any moment of it back. I encourage people to go out there, learn a new language, and experience something new — you won’t regret it!

photo from shelby long ’ s facebook

photo from rikita patel ’ s facebook

SEIBOLD SPAIN

About a month after arriving in Sagunto, Spain, our school took us on an eight-day tour of southern Spain and Morocco. We rode camels in Africa, held monkeys on the rock of Gibraltar, and got our first taste of foreign food poisoning. They were some of the most fun days of our year, but by the end of the trip, we were exhausted and more than ready to return “home” to Sagunto. Only a month into living in a foreign country, our little school felt like home.

For Christmas break, I traveled with friends through Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. As we traveled through confusing train stations in new cities every few days, it was easy to feel lost and far from the familiar comforts of home. Still, after less than a day in each destination, we would refer to “going home” at the end of the day to our hotel, hostel, or rental apartment.

Since Spain, I’ve transferred to Walla Walla and created a new home for myself in a state I had never visited before. When I come back from breaks or weekends away, I love coming home to my apartment and feeling the familiarity that’s built up here.

Traveling has changed my idea of what “home” really is. Home doesn’t have to be one place, with one group of people, speaking one language.

Everywhere we go we take our memories, our ideas, our worlds, and our loved ones in our hearts, and that’s what makes a place home. photo by rachel blake

FEATURE 16

RICKY BARBOSA

CEDRIC THIEL

SHANNON PIERCE

MONICA CULLER

I find my heart wandering off in a million different directions lately.

You know that feeling, right? The more you discover, the more you long to discover. This year has been wild. It’s the second chance I’ve gotten to explore another side of the world, and this time I’ve had no mother tongue to lean on.

Studying at Oxford reinforced my idea that the most satisfying way to travel is to stay in one place. Being able to make a life and to try to find your place in a new, foreign community brings its own rewards.

Since I arrived in September, I’ve figured out nine different metro systems, visited 15 cities in eight countries, and visited 12 Christmas Markets. It’s safe to say that I’ve been traveling Europe pretty quickly, but I’m not letting the small details pass by. My trick?

I wander; I use the map to get lost. I’ve stumbled across most of the Comic Strip walls in Brussels; the John Lennon Wall in Prague; Germans surfing on a river in Munich, and much more.

Traveling the world is an incredible privilege that can open your eyes to a huge array of new cultures, languages, foods, and lifestyles. Moving to a new country for a year, however, is entirely different. Instead of being a tourist, you are a local. Instead of a traveler, you are a dweller.

SPAIN

Spain is a wildly diverse country. Up north, Barcelona and its Catalonians speak their own language and fight for independence from the rest of the country. If you wander far enough south, you’ll find Arabic flavor and the gítanos — the masterminds of flamenco. I’ve even dodged an angry bull in the streets of Sagunto.

But there are moments that I value higher than the sights and sounds. The first time I fooled a local with my pronunciation; a reverent afterglow with my American and Spanish friends; walking alone through a foreign city and feeling the weight and beauty of my freedom. The quiet warmth of a sunrise that makes sense in every language. Traveling, I’ve come to see, is not about the destinations and the novelties, but about uncovering what it is to live a full and passionate life.

About finding the horizon you will chase.

The beauty of this is that inspiration doesn’t require an expensive plane ticket. I will continue to hunt down the nuggets of truth and grace, even in College Place.

I’ll leave you with a single vocabulary word, but not one from the spanish language.

Flâneur — a French word for one who observes, wanders with purpose, and observes passionately. Adventure is not about opportunity but about squeezing every drop from the world around you. Observe. Be inspired. Take action. Embrace your inner flâneur or flâneuse.

ENGLAND

You get to find out what is stocked in the grocery stores (and navigate the chaos when they reorganize every week), you get to try to figure out how one finds a new hairdresser (can Yelp really tell you about haircuts?), and you get to find new religious experiences (and see what the fuss over the Church of England was all about).

When you are able to experience one place in depth, you find the small quirks and discoveries that make it special to you. Muddy runs along the Thames revealed ruined abbeys, riverboat villages reminiscent of The Wind and the Willows, and close encounters with local bovines.

Studying becomes more inspiring when the building in which you read and the streets on which you walk are older than your home country. Making a life in a new place means you can experience candlelit worship services in brickwork chapels and have an angry Scotswoman loudly correct your bad archery technique. These are the memories you cherish, the experiences you miss, and the mindset you take away.

photo from cedric thiel ’ s facebook

FRANCE

However, my best experiences have surprisingly been at Campus Adventiste du Salève. There are more Tahitians, Portuguese, and Americans than French at the school, so we adapt for each other.

I’ve learned from the Tahitians that if I start something like a food fight, I better be prepared to finish.

The best way to learn the language and culture is to be open to and try new things! Kebabs will be the best thing you ever eat; vespers, afterglow, soccer, basketball, and Tahitian dance will help you practice French. Studying abroad is tough, but never give up. I’m surrounded by people going through the same thing.

You’re always loved, supported, and never alone. Since we’re all learning some Tahitian on top of French, I will teach you “I love you.”

Ua here vau ia oe (oo-ah hay-ray vah-oo ee-ah oh-ah).

photo from shannon pierce ’ s facebook

ITALY

For me, this mere act of walking through the streets, going grocery shopping, strolling mindlessly through shops, and having a caffè or gelato nearby have been the best ways to not only learn the culture, but to live it. I have learned so much about the Italian culture here through making friends with locals, talking to teachers and staff, and being in the country itself.

During this process, however, I was surprised by how much I had never realized about American culture as well! For me, the most amazing thing about my experience here so far has been the ability to learn a language that I have always loved as well as seeing the growth of my classmates and me as we are going from handgesture communication to keyword communication to full-on conversations. It is truly beautiful.

photo from monica culler ’ s facebook

FEATURE 17

SUMMER

PROGRAMS

ACADEMIC YEAR

PROGRAMS

Adventist Colleges Abroad SCHOOL

LOCATION

LANGUAGE

TUITION

ACADEMIC SESSION

Campus Adventiste de Saléve

France

French

$22,024

Sept. 15–June 8/9

Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo

Brazil

Portuguese

$17,855

Aug. 18–June 3

Escuela Superior de Español de Sagunto

Spain

Spanish

$19,544

Sept. 16–May 31

Istituto Aventista Villa Aurora

Italy

Italian

$20,362

Sept. 15–June 1/2

Middle East University

Lebanon

Arabic

$15,355

Sept. 17/18–June 14

Newbold College of Higher Education

United Kingdom

English

$21,181

Sept. 1–May 8

Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen

Austria

German

$16,654

Sept. 8–June 1/2

Theologische Hochschule Friedensau

Germany

German

$16,287

Sept. 11/12–June 11/12

Universidad Adventista del Plata

Argentina

Spanish

$18,758

Sept. 15–May 18

SCHOOL

LOCATION

LANGUAGE

TUITION

ACADEMIC SESSION

Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen

Austria

German

$3,886

June 17–July 24

Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo

Brazil

Portuguese

$2,890

June 23–July 24

Hong Kong Adventist College

China

Mandarin

$4,810

June 17–Aug. 10

Campus Adventiste de Saléve

France

French

$4,397

June 16–July 25

Jerusalem Study Center

Israel

Hebrew

$4,222

June 16–July 25

Istituto Aventista Villa Aurora

Italy

Italian

$4,196

June 13–July 24

Escuela Superior de Español de Sagunto

Spain

Spanish

$3,390

June 23–Aug. 1

Ukrainian Adventist Center of Higher Education

Ukraine

Russian

$3,390

May 26–July 3

Compiled by Brandon Torkelsen from http://www.aca-noborders.com/acafileupload/docs/Dates_and_Prices.pdf.

HOW TO

APPLY

To apply for an ACA program, pick up an application at the communication and languages offices on the second floor of Kretschmar Hall. The application is also available at aca-noborders.com: Select “Apply Online” from the “Applications” menu.

See http://www.aca-noborders.com/Assets/Application_Tutorial.pdf for detailed instructions.

LIFE LIFE

CULTUR ARTS & EMEDIA 18

Jacked up on the Gilded Oldies // Chad Aufderhar Arts & Media Editor Among the “special features” of my car, which include the cruise control automatically turning off when the headlights turn on and all the strange sounds that have yet to render it completely nonfunctional, is my CD player. Now it is completely broken, but for a time it would play only the CDs it approved of, apparently. In 2011 on my way to an acoustic show at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, I put in an album of one of the performers I was going to see that night. My lovely CD player decided to hold onto that album for the next several months, which meant that I only had Cataldo’s nine songs from Prison Boxing to listen to for a long time.

You would think that I would turn to the radio quickly for variety. I was surprised to find myself instead lost in the many layers of the album and the warmth and heartbreak that it exuded. I went back to his previous albums to get a fuller picture of the journey this musician has been on. Since my car and I both were captured by this music, I have been waiting for a new Cataldo album, and after 3 years, Gilded Oldies is finally here.

me is to have songs that live together well in the same emotional and sonic world.” Gilded Oldies’ songs are about growing up, stability, and coming to terms with reality. It seems that he is figuring things out or experiencing life and then telling us all about it. Something about hearing from a musician, a profession not normally known for stability, singing himself into this new time of life is comforting and contagious. The line, “We’re both jacked up on the gilded oldies” from the title track begins to feel true as the album progresses. It’s music that is amazing when you begin to realize what he might really be doing and fun to listen to even if you never figure it out.

For Anderson, music has become something that he does and will always do. It started with his first album almost 10 years ago, recorded in a friend’s basement in Moscow, Idaho.

Now 28, with a few albums and tours under his belt, it is simply a part of his life that won’t go away. “I would love nothing more than to be in a paper towel commercial and to have people come to shows and be able to afford the ridiculous 8-person band I’ve put together for myself and to be financially solvent. That to me would be the dream — to not lose money — but I also am just going to continue doing whatever I want because to do otherwise is illogical.

If it’s not fun then why are you doing it?” Cataldo will play their album release show at the Tractor Tavern this Friday in Seattle, and Gilded Oldies will be released on Bandcamp on March 4.

vimeo.com/aswwu

aswwu video

The great thing about a Cataldo album is that it all the songs feel like they belong together and in a specific order. As Eric Anderson explains, “What’s important to

best picture predictions

GRAVITY

AP film writer Jessica Herndon says: “Since Gravity stood out as an innovative prodigy advancing visual and 3-D possibilities, it’ll clean up in the tech categories and will be crowned the night’s big victor.”

12 YEARS A SLAVE In case you missed it at CommUnity, enjoy some more mustaches. Find your niche; get involved. Mustache or no, you’ve got something to give.

Thursdays at 9:37 p.m.

Moviefone’s Tim Hayne says: “At this point, pretty much everyone on the face of the planet thinks it’s a toss up between 12 Years a Slave and Gravity, but my pick for the likely winner is 12 Years a Slave.

It’s a beautifully moving, expertly acted movie, with a very human, America-centric story.”

LIFE

FOOD | 19

The Food Fiend presents

muffins

Today, let me offer you muffins: One mix, many possibilities. With a basic understanding of a muffin mix, you can make endless variations that are oh-so delicious. Here’s how it works: I give you the basic recipe and then three variations. In each variation, I specify which ingredients you need beyond the basic mix. All you have to do is add them where I specify in the recipe.

notes and suggestions

You can substitute up to half of the flour with any other flour (bran, whole wheat, cornmeal, oats, etc).

- You can substitute yogurt for milk, but if you do, add ½ tsp. baking soda.

- Try these other combinations:

blue cheese, pear, and walnuts; cheese and chive; pesto and tomato; corn and jalapeño; caramelized onion; granola; hazelnut and coffee; the sky’s the limit!

basic muffin mix INGREDIENTS Dry: - 2 cups all-purpose flour - 1 tsp. baking powder - ¼ tsp. salt Liquid: - 2 large eggs - 1 cup milk - 6 tbsp. melted butter, cooled Oil, butter, or spray for muffin tins

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with muffin liners. Mix together dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, gently beat eggs, and then add remaining liquid ingredients. Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and pour in liquid ingredients. Add solid ingredients.

Gently combine all ingredients; do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Bake approximately 20 minutes until risen, golden, and cooked through.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND CHEESE

Food Editor

SNICKERDOOLE

Andrea Johnson

APPLE CHAI

photos by andrea johnson

Dry: - ½ cup brown sugar, packed - 2 chai blend tea bags, opened Liquid: - 1 tsp. vanilla extract Solid: - 1 apple, peeled, cored, and cubed Other: - ¼ cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped (add as a topping before baking)

Dry: - ½ tsp. baking soda Liquid: - Substitute ½ cup greek yogurt for ½ cup milk Solid: - 2 tbsp. parsley or basil, chopped - ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, rough chopped.

- ¹/³ cup cheese

Dry: - 1 tsp. cinnamon - ½ tsp. baking soda - 1¼ cup sugar Liquid: - Substitute greek yogurt for milk - 1 tsp. vanilla Other: - Mix 1 tbsp. sugar with ½ tsp. cinnamon for topping before baking - Serve warm with cream cheese

LIFE SCIENCE | 20

Study Abroad Sharks // Joe Hughes

Science & Tech Editor

Two weeks ago, Grant asked me to write the feature. I tried as hard as I could to write something smart without using any equations. Although it took serious willpower, I managed to avoid math of all types, except for one graph. As for the smart part, I ended up just making fun of a dead philosopher and wearing carrots.

Grant didn’t ask me to write last week.

Maybe I should have worn a shirt.

This week’s theme is studying abroad.

Although I have studied many a broad and could write at length on the art of ogling, I suspect that he means the thing where you go to a different college for a while.

My study abroad experience at Oxford fell neatly into two categories: very formal and very sweaty.

The sweaty part was partly due to joining the Keble College rowing team.

So this week’s article is going to be about rowing and Oxford.

Let’s talk about rowing. Rowing is when 1, 2, 4, or 8 people facing in the same direction row a long, thin boat row very quickly in the opposite direction. If it’s a 4 or an 8, they usually have a coxswain, affectionately (not really) referred to as the “cox,” who sits in the back, yells at the rowers, and tries to steer. Although the cox tries to be motivating, he is usually just annoying. You know whats really motivating? A shark.

Without a shark to motivate, a good college crew can do a 2,000-meter sprint in 7:30; the current Olympic record is 5:19:35; and after two years away from Oxford spent lurking in Kretschmar, I might pull an 8:30. A great white shark could swim the same distance it in about 2:30. Although

adrenaline is a powerful force, it looks like we’re going to need a bigger boat. But how big?

drawings by joe hughes

Boats go faster if there are more people rowing them.

I made some physics-y assumptions and derived an equation for how fast you would go with bunches of people, but that gave me an answer I didn’t like. So I asked a computer to give me an empirical fit, and it gave me an answer I liked, so let’s run with it!

Before we talk about boats, let’s look at some speedy sea sprinters. The Olympic record for a 1,500-meter sprint gives an average speed of 1.72 m/s. Michael Phelps in the 100 meter will pull a 2.16 m/s. To put that in perspective, a leatherback has been clocked at 2.8 m/s, an Olympic men’s team of eight will do 6.29 m/s, Usain Bolt can run the 100 meter at 12.42 m/s, and the fastest legged robot in the world (MIT built a cheetah robot) can run at 12.65 m/s.

Going back to the ocean, you have blue sharks pushing 11.2 m/s, great whites at 13.41 m/s, Makos at 17.9 m/s, and sailfish clocking an astounding 30.4 m/s. It should be noted that this instantaneous speed for the sailfish was set while airborne. Yes, the sailfish prefers to

Hold on; just how big are these boats? A standard men’s eight is about 55’; this gives us about 6 feet per person, plus the ends. This means that if we were keeping pace with a blue shark, we’d need a boat 1.25 miles long if we had the rowers sit in rows of two. This is amusingly long enough that you wouldn’t be able to turn around in most rivers.

Keeping up with a great white would take a boat about 7.4 miles long. A boat this long is impractical for many reasons, one of which being that you couldn’t turn around pretty much ever.

To keep up with the mako shark, you’d need a boat 28 miles long. Crossing the English Channel in this boat is a cinch — all you have to do is board on the northern end and exit at the southern end — it

set swimming records while flying. I don’t know why.

will touch both shores. A boat that can keep up with a mako would reach space if you got it vertical (heh heh “space ship”). The boat to keep up with the sailfish? It’s 2.65 times bigger than earth.

Now that we know what we are up against, let’s see how many rowers it takes to keep up. Using models to extrapolate gives some loopy results — for instance, it only takes 0.003 people to keep up with a leatherback turtle. To keep up with the slowest shark requires 2,200 rowers. If we wanted to beat Usain Bolt or the fastest robot, you’d need 6,460 Olympic rowers to help. Finally, to outpace a great white shark, you’d need about 13,000.

That number is both huge and hugely wrong, but why stop now? To outpace a killer whale, you’ll need 50,000 rowers, a Mako shark will take about 210,000, and a sailfish will take a staggering — wait for it — 37 million Olympic rowers to keep up.

At this point, we should probably pause and realize that a shark could probably eat no more than 10 people in one sitting. This means that if you have 20 people in your boat during a shark attack, you have a 50% chance of not dying. If we want life insurance with a smaller turning radius, we might just row with 20–30 people who don’t swim as well as we do. Or, you know, boats with metal sides.

I hear that’s a thing, too.

Got a question?

Have a bonkers question? Have a serious question? Want to talk about cats in space? Send me questions on anything as serious as electron spin or silly as frosting-covered rabbits on pogo sticks and I'll do my best.

— Joe (joseph.hughes@wallawalla.edu)

oats? A is gives ds. This with a les long wo. This wouldn’t rivers. e would long. A tical for which n’t turn h ever. e mako boat 28 ng the his boat have to ern end nd — it

LIFE

FASHION | 21

Pastel Pink

Spring Into Pink //

Forever 21 Rose hair clips, $3 / H&M Short chain necklace, $15 / Forever 21 Faux leather crossbody bag, $20 / H&M Loafers, $15 / H&M Embroidered blouse, $50 / Forever 21 Colorful rhinestone bracelet, $13 / Forever 21 Posh bow belt,

Brenda negoescu

$6 / Forever 21 French bulldog compact mirror, $4 / ASOS Cath Kidston pocket purse with keychain, $9 / NastyGal

Fashion Editor

Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera, $100 / LuLus Bamboo strappy wedge sandals, $36 / LuLus A matter of time pink watch, $20 / Forever 21 Must-have m-slit maxi skirt, $13 ASOS Cat print bow tie, $11 / Forever 21 Favorite floral sneakers, $30 / TopShop Lips in petal (pale pink), $16 / Forever 21 Striped I Need Lipstick Compact, $4 / H&M Fabuleuse knit sweater, $25 / H&M Circular skirt, $15 / H&M Large wal-

Girls, it’s time to start thinking about your spring wardrobes. Let these stylish steals inspire you!

let, $8 / H&M Short rhinestone necklace, $15 / Sephore Ciaté flower manicure, $25

an keep if you ”). The t’s 2.65

y pause ably eat ng. This our boat chance ce with ust row s well as al sides.

photos by J ennifer negoescu

ST Y L E PROF I L E Ricky Garland Business and Fire Science, Freshman

How would you describe your style?

Relaxed, classy, simple

What or who would you say is your style inspiration?

Peter Asadamongkol

Favorite style icon?

Pharrell Williams and David Beckham Blazer | Nordstrom Jacket | H&M Shirt | H&M Pants | Urban Behavior Boots | Diemme

LIFE OUTDOORS | 22

Turning Your Outdoor Travel Idea Into a Reality // Justin mock Health & Outdoors Editor As we arrived at the top of the mountain and rose above the clouds, we could see the peak shining in the late-morning sun. I knew in that moment that if I did nothing else that day, my lift ticket was worth it.

We had just arrived near the top of the ski slope and the clouds that had once been

1. Decide on an outdoor activity/sport What is it you want to do on this trip?

Paddle? Bike? Ride horses? Your answer will greatly affect how you choose your destination. Also, the gear required raises other questions. Can my car hold this gear? Can I rent it at my destination? Do I have the skills necessary for this activity?

Will I need an instructor? These are the questions you must ask yourself when deciding on the activity.

4. Permits, passes, and papers

The government has set up rules to protect certain popular destinations from overuse. Without research, you may get to your destination only to find that the hike you want to do requires a permit that you should have gotten months ago. In order to avoid this, call the ranger station at the location where you are going and ask them about any possible passes or permits that may be required.

Weekly Winter Warm-Up

covering the Matterhorn were no longer in our way. Now, the mountain’s sharp peak was standing there against the blue sky with its white snow sparkling. It was the kind of moment where I take a deep breath, as if it will help me create a better mental picture and remember the feeling of awe.

This experience happened on a trip in Switzerland, during the Christmas-break travels of my year studying abroad.

That year, which I spent in Spain, was a chance to learn more than just the Spanish language. I also learned a lot about what it takes to plan a trip. I’ll admit that long-

2. Decide on a destination

Steps one and two go hand in hand. If “where?” is the most important question to you, decide on this first before the activity.

Narrowing down a destination can be hard, but hopefully your choice of activity will eliminate some options. If you find a location that truly matches your activity, check what kind of weather is typical for that area during the time of year you will be traveling. The site weather2travel.com/climate-guides is a great tool to check out the usual weather for different locations at different times of year.

5. Find a place to get gear Once you have completed all these other steps, it is a good idea to know where you are going to get the gear you need for your activity. If you don’t own the gear, look up rental shops near your destination. Call several places and ask about rates and predicted availability for the time you will be renting.

term planning for things like trips isn’t my strong suit. However, in Spain, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by traveling companions who had a knack for planning and organizing, and what I learned from them is that planning a trip takes work. Although some believe in the purely spontaneous approach to travel (which has that romantic vibe of sleeping under the stars, living off the land, and not knowing what will happen next), I’m learning that sometimes a baseline level of planning is needed to make the trip happen.

The summer after returning from Spain,

3. Find a place to sleep Once you have a destination picked out, you need to know where at the destination you are going to spend the night. My favorite way to stay is camping. However, this last summer I found out that some camping areas sell out quickly. Call early and reserve sites. Check the cancellation policy before reserving to see if they allow a cancellation if you change your mind. Let me say this again — reserve early. You don’t want to be forced to camp a long distance from where you want to mountain bike just because the sites nearby were booked.

I worked on planning a camping trip to two of Utah’s national parks: Zion and Arches. Although I was planning two or three months in advance, I found that many of the camping locations I wanted to stay at were full. Eventually I found places to camp, but I learned that some outdoor locations are in high demand, and starting my planning earlier would have been smart. That is why this article is made for the aspiring outdoor traveler. These steps will help you get moving on your summer outdoor adventure ideas so you can form a foundation of a plan that will give you the freedom to be spontaneous later.

What outdoor travel destination would you like to visit this summer?

“The volcanoes of Iceland.”

— Tyler Oliverio

“Berg Lake in Mount Robson Provincial Park. Look up the pictures and you’ll be like, ‘wow.’”

— Derek Glatts

6. go and be flexible Each trip is different and there is more to planning a trip than these few steps, but these are the areas you want to look into first. If you can start early and lay out the foundation of your plan, smaller details will fall into place later. Also, with a basic plan set up, you will have the opportunity to make small, spontaneous changes to your plan later.

“Zion National Park or the Cathedral Mountains.”

— Spencer Thorpe

“The Pacific Crest Trail. It’s something I hope to do some day.”

— Allison Kouns

Photos from mask.wallawalla.edu

If the weather is nice, take some friends to Bennington Lake and get some fresh air. It is only 15 minutes away and has several miles of hiking trails, making it an easy way to get outdoors for the afternoon.

LIFE LOCAL | 23

Bavarian Dream // TimOTHy barbosa

Upcoming Events

Local Attractions Editor Most of this school year I’ve sought to bring you ideas and opportunities about how to spend days and afternoons, but this week I’m going to share with you a favorite weekend destination of mine. For those of you who find the daily grind of university life stressful and want to take a few days away, Leavenworth might soothe what ails you. Situated northwest of Wenatchee and only about a three-hour drive from College Place, Leavenworth is the perfect weekend getaway.

The most unique characteristic of this small mountain town is its remarkable resemblance to a Bavarian village. From small shops to the infamous Cold Stone Creamery, every building features Tudor/Elizabethan architecture. Leavenworth caters to the tourist inside all of us and offers an opportunity to sport those lederhosen that I know you all keep in your closet.

From theatre to galleries to one-of-a-kind olde time shoppes, anybody can satiate his or her curiosity in downtown Leavenworth. A personal favorite of mine is the Hat Shop. For those of you cap enthusiasts, I once bought a Trenker with a classy pheasant feather sticking out of one side.

Never again will I be underdressed when presented with the chance to use a 20foot alphorn atop a glacial mountain.

March of the Oscars — Gesa Power House Theatre

Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. Admission: $8 This week’s screening features George Cukor’s Born Yesterday from 1950, which was nominated for five Academy awards. The screening is open to the public and is part of a series of classic films presented by the Gesa Power House Theatre.

Concordia Choir in Concert — Walla Walla University Church Feb. 27, 7:30–9:30 p.m. Student Admission: $10; General Admission: $20

The Concordia Choir from Moorhead, Minnesota visits Walla Walla under the direction of René Clausen. The program includes the premiere of Hans Zimmer’s choral piece Aurora, a tribute to the theater shooting that took place in Colorado in 2012. Zimmer has scored many films including Sherlock Holmes, Gladiator, and Inception. The Concordia Choir is widely recognized as a top a cappella choir and offers an incredible night of vocal creative expression.

Orchestra Christmas Concert — Chism Hall

Feb. 28, 7:30–8:30 p.m. Admission: free Whitman’s Christmas Concert, featuring their student orchestra.

The Secret Life of Walter Manny — Gesa Power House Theatre

Mar. 12, 3:30 p.m. Admission: $9 Presented by Adventist Health and featuring Trent Arterberry, The Secret Life of Walter Manny is an energetic, physical comedy about an awkward eight-yearold boy whose overactive imagination gets him into and out of trouble. Fantasy eventually collides with reality when he must use his imaginative skills to save his best friend’s life.

photo from: vrbo.com

Not intrigued yet? I guess some people need an outlet for their pent-up energy. You know, all that liveliness you have after a week in school with one or two midterms.

Well search no more, Leavenworth can keep you busy.

For the winter sport aficionado, there is a small ski hill minutes from downtown Leavenworth and world-class Steven’s Pass not much farther. Steven’s offers 10 lifts and 1,125 skiable acres. If you’re interested in trying something new, you can relax going dogsledding or test your limits ice climbing. Leavenworth gussies up nicely for snowy weather too, lighting up with Christmas lights and regularly featuring choirs, bells, and general yuletide fun.

If you miss the snow or just choose to avoid it, you can still indulge in the beauty of the town and the nature that surrounds it. The Wenatchee River offers both scenic views and adventure.

Whitewater rafting is available too, with Class I to Class IV rapids, depending on your taste. Climbing, fishing, cycling, camping, golfing, zip-lining, and hiking are only the beginning of the activities available to tourists. Though on a student budget you may not be able to seize the day as liberally as some, Leavenworth will never leave you disappointed. Get your Bavaria on, Walla Walla.

Engineers Without Borders Annual Gala — Walla Walla Country Club

Mar. 17, 9 p.m. General Admission: $50, Student Admission: $12.50 This annual gala funds EWB’s international fundraiser. This year’s project hopes to provide water to rural Peru. Last year’s gala raised over $10,000 and EWB looks to surpass their record.

Pink Ball 2014 — Walla Walla Fairgrounds Pavilion

Mar. 17, 7 p.m. Admission: $50 The Pink Ball is largest annual fundraising event for the local Just Us Girls Sharing organization. J.U.G.S. helps cancer patients make ends meet when no one else can.

photo from: alphorn.ca

back

word

Trains and Flames // I don’t want to sound like a completely paranoid traveler, but last I checked, trains aren’t supposed to stop on the tracks with no station in sight. I looked out the window into the inky black and convinced myself I saw movement. (Dementors?)

It was 2011 and I’d been living in France and attending Le Campus Adventiste du Salève for three months. It was finally Fall break and I was ready to start my fabulous life as the jet-setter I knew I was born to be. The only problem was that instead of flying first class, I was trapped on a train stopped in the middle of the tracks, somewhere in Belgium, with Eric Weber.

Go to France, they said. It’ll be all croissants and romance, they said.

“Dames and heren …” a voice began to crackle an announcement over the loudspeaker.

As it finished, the local Belgian passengers began to groan and rock in their seats, looking agitated.

“What’s going on?” I poked my other travel companion, Karli Will, hoping she’d

verbatim “Size doesn’t matter if it’s awful.”

— Monty Buell, on essays

“I can’t handle spicy, but I hope the boys can!”

— Rachel Tohm, on being a redhead

“Why is it that women seem so much better than us?”

picked up a third language in the 50 minutes we’d been in Belgium.

Karli shrugged her shoulders and looked over at the others who were traveling with us. Grant Perdew was playing with his iPod and our other two guy friends from Southern University were messing with their cameras.

They looked unperturbed.

There was an old man sitting nearby with his wife. He caught my anxious eyes and said loudly, in broken English: “It burns.”

What?

The boys looked up curiously, probably wondering where to point their Canons for the best shots of the flames.

“Excuse me?” I shrieked, forgetting to pretend to be Canadian.

The old man repeated himself, “The train station — it is burning. We cannot proceed.”

What were we supposed to do? Get out and walk to Bruges?

I repeated the question out loud to the man and he replied, confused, “This isn’t the train to Bruges.”

Rachel

Logan BackWord Editor

Oh. My. Gosh.

Three-and-a-half hours later we hadn’t moved, and I was making my way through the five steps of emotional upheaval.

Denial: I will wake up in my bed.

Fear: What if a train crashes into the back of us? Do they even know we are stopped here? We should definitely start lighting flares or something.

Logic: If I ration out my power bars, I can probably last four days.

Self-loathing: Why am I wearing a dress?

What was I thinking? I was going to meet someone cute in the Brussels train station?

If I survive this, I’ll vow to wear only fireresistant clothes purchased at REI. And lastly, Acceptance: I’m going to die in Belgium.

The boys were taking the whole ordeal far better than I was. Grant, Derek, and David had purchased raw potatoes at a grocery store in France and had begun to eat them plain while Eric walked down the aisle of the train offering apples to the other passengers.

“People are hungry!” he said defensively, as Karli raised her eyebrows at him.

If you could go abroad for a year, where would you go?

“I’d go to the Yukon so I could spend a year in the wilderness, fly fishing and hunting with Ryan McCrery and Alex Wickward.”

— Kurtis Lamberton, graduating senior, automotive management

“I’d go to Spain, because I want to travel the world and Spain is on the top of my travel list.”

— Erick Juarez, sophomore, forensic psychology/pre-law

— Paul Dybdahl

“You have no idea how stressful it is to be fashion editor and go out like this.”

— Brenda Negoescu, on wearing sweats to Walmart

“Rabbits are so soft and squishy; it's like they're meant to be cut open.”

— Kirt Onthank Have something funny to report?

Email me at: Rachel.Logan@wallawalla.edu

“I would go to Italy! Because of the pizza, gelato, and shopping!”

— Zoe Foulston, sophomore, nursing

“Aruba! I feel like it’s everything I want in one place; I would do yoga on the beach and drink from coconuts.”

— Christina Penalba, junior, health science/pre-physical therapy

Of course the only Americans on the train had food spilling out of their bags. Several of the older ladies giggled as they accepted the apples.

The hours ticked by.

Several people were trying to sneak onto the tracks outside to take a smoke, until finally the ticketer whispered to one agitated man, “Just go smoke in the bathroom,” which I’m sure was totally legal.

“I don’t know why you are freaking out,” Eric barked at me from across the aisle as I looked anxiously out the window again.

“Calm down and eat your power bars.” He didn’t know I was hoarding them for leverage when we formed our train community in the coming days.

Hours later we were finally rescued by firemen (whom, honestly, you couldn’t find anyone more deserving than I to meet). And with that, we’d been European travelers for 12 hours.

Go abroad, they said. You’ll have adventures, they said.

Check! #GoNow.

Confession “When I was living down in South America as a student missionary, I used to go running every day through a banana field — until the day I found some of the local farmers trying to make a baby in the middle of my running path.”

Sincerely, Lo Siento To submit anonymous confessions, type: wwuconfessions.tumblr.com into your browser and click the Ask Me Anything button at the top.