Last weeked home!

We had a short meeting today. We finally got to meet the Dean. She seems very excited about our trip and is really looking forward to all of the knowledge we will be bringing back from New Zealand. I know that Brittany and I are both very excited and thankful to be given this opportunity, so it was nice to be able to thank her for helping make it happen.

After the meeting, we went and met with Becki Alfrey for singing lessons. Dr. Fernandez had a good excuse for missing the meeting, but I think that she just didn't want to sing again (just kidding :) ) We chose My County Tis of Thee as our new song, and Ms. Alfrey claimed that we didn't sound too bad. She also taught us a lot of fun vocal warm ups that we have to practice everyday.

After singing, we went back to Dr. Lindsey's office to talk about the trip. Our plans of going to Christchurch are still up in the air. We have to wait to see when some of the schools reopen and whether or not it is safe to travel there.

After the meeting, I drove home to Northern Kentucky. This weekend I am going to try and get all my packing organized. Also, I have a few last minute items to buy. This is the last time I will be home until the night before the trip, so I have a lot to do. I plan on getting traveler's checks while I am home. My goal is to get a lot of things finished this weekend so that I am not stressed out the night before the trip.

18 days!!! :)

20 days!

I passed out the info folders Wednesday. When I gave Dr. Meyer his folder he told me that there was a problem. I was nervous until he told me that the problem was that he was not allowed to go to New Zealand with us!

I am starting to feel comfortable with all my school work. I have been working ahead a little bit in some of my classes, and I will be doing a lot of assignments through blackboard while I'm gone. Now that the trip is so close, I have been thinking a lot about what I want to observe when I am there. Ever since the call with Ms. Aukafalau, I have been looking forward to observing multicultural education. Also, I want to see the attitudes of the students and see if they enjoy school. I feel like kids in the U.S. find school really boring and dread going. Since my MNSA proposal was about middle schools, I am really looking forward to observing at that level. I am hoping to pick up a lot of tips seeing that I am a future middle school teacher!

I have decided not to bring my cell phone on the trip because of the cost of international calling and texting. It will definitely be interesting being without a phone since I have had one since middle school and am hardly without it. My mom and I were recently discussing whether I would be homesick. She said she didn't think I would be. I think that I will be doing/learning so much and seeing so many amazing things that it will keep my mind off of missing home.

This is such an exciting experience, and I still can't believe that I was chosen to be a part of it. I can't wait to come back and share what I discovered from New Zealand. Tomorrow we are meeting with the Dean and then practicing singing again. I am excited to meet the Dean and thank her for coming up with the brilliant idea of taking two undergraduate research assistants on the trip!

Start of a new week!

I was flipping through channels tonight when I saw something about New Zealand. This afternoon, there was an earthquake in Christchurch that measured above 6 on the Richter scale. The footage showed a lot of damage to the buildings there and there were a lot of injuries. Christchurch is one of the cities we will be visiting when we visit New Zealand so the footage really resonated with me. I will definitely be praying for all the citizens of Christchurch tonight!

Dr. Fernandez mentioned in class today that The Hobbit will start filming while we are in New Zealand. Since I have never read the books or watched the movies, I am more interested in Orlando Bloom. Haha. Brittany and I might have to search for him while we are there. :)

 I have started a word document on my computer listing all the things that I am going to bring. I am determined to not forget anything! When I go home this weekend, I am going to get all of my money together, go shopping for a few last minute items, and start packing. It is unbelievable how fast time is flying and how soon we will be leaving. I am starting to get really nervous about the trip because I want to be really prepared.

22 days!

Friday meeting and pictures!

We had another meeting on Friday. We realized that we had less work to do then we expected. As a result, we might not have to meet every Friday. This weeks meeting was very short. I put together another travel folder and then we went to Baird Music Hall and practiced our song. It took a while to discover the key that we all felt  comfortable "singing" in. On Wednesday, I am going to deliver the folders around campus.

Today, I went around campus to take pictures. I got pictures of my dorm, Ginger Hall, ADUC, the bell tower, the library, and other campus locations. When I am home this weekend I am going to a truck stop to get KY souvenirs. I just got off the phone with my mom and we both can't believe that the trip is so soon! This weekend I am going to start getting everything together since it will be the last time I am home until the night before the trip.I am feeling really prepared for the trip. It seems like Dr. Lindsey has everything organized and we all accomplished the projects we were working on. Before the trip, I have to finish comparing the standards and continue to read about NZ.

24 days!!!! :)

Time is flying!

This was a really fast week! I cant believe we have less than a month to go! I have started making a list of the things I need to pack for the trip so I wont forget anything. I am going home next weekend  to get everything organized, and that will be the last time I go home until the night before the trip. The weather here the last couple of days has been amazing and I keep forgetting its February. I am definitely looking forward to warm weather and swimming in New Zealand.

I forgot to mention in my last blog that I e-mailed my Senators about KY items. Also, I sent Representative Koenig another e-mail because he told me to keep reminding him and he would see what he could do. Comparing the standards is coming along pretty slowly because I have had a lot of work for my classes. I am hoping to get a lot of homework done this weekend so I can focus on the standards.

I have been saying for the last few weeks that I was going to take pictures around campus, but I have yet to accomplish that. So, I am making a vow that I will get it done Saturday. It wont take me long but I keep forgetting about it. I have written a note on my desk so that I will not forget this time!

Tomorrow we have our weekly Friday meeting, so I'll be back tomorrow with another blog.

26 days!!

A month to go!

 Tomorrow marks four weeks until the trip (Ahhhhh!!!!). A few days ago, I watched a video of someone doing the sky jump off the Sky Tower. I cannot wait to do it but I am definitely nervous! The video showed a girl who was about 12 doing it so if she can than I think I can do it. We are going to the sky Tower the first weekend we are there.

As Brittany mentioned in her blog, the closer we get to New Zealand, the more work I have piling up. My goal is to get things finished as soon as I can and not procrastinate like I usually do. I do not have class tomorrow so I hope to get a lot done tomorrow and this weekend. If the weather is nice tomorrow I'm going around campus to take pictures.

Now that Posters is over, I have started working on the standards again. It is a very slow process because there is a lot to compare. Dr. Fernandez is waiting on syllabi from other universities. When that comes in, I will be helping her organize the info in them. We are meeting again Friday to sing and check in.

28 days!!

Getting organized!

We had another meeting today. Yesterday must have exhausted us because today Dr. Fernandez was suffering from a cough, Brittany was not feeling well and had a headache, and I have a runny nose! Luckily, our singing debut was pushed back another week so we have time to recuperate.

At the meeting, Brittany finished the schedule of our trip, and I got together our information folders that we are leaving behind when we are in New Zealand. The folders contain our flight information, contact info, etc. Brittany and I submitted our abstracts to NMSA. I decided to focus on the middle schools in New Zealand and I am looking forward to seeing how different they are than the middle schools that I have had field experience in. I am especially looking forward to seeing their physical/outdoor education that Mr. Mattingly alluded to at Posters. His grandchildren went to school in NZ for a year, and he had a lot of great things to say about how fun and interactive the classes are. Brittany chose to look at interventions at the middle school level. We submitted our  each abstracts with both of our names, but we are hoping they both get selected. Dr. Lindsey and Dr. Lindsey also submitted a few abstracts. We won't know whether we are excepted until school gets out, and the conference is in Louisville in November.

Unlike our previous attempt, we successfully got a call through to Dr. Lindsey's sister. We will be staying with her during the majority of the trip. We even got to talk to her 6 year old twins, Robert and Sophia. The whole family seems really excited for our visit.

32 days!!!!

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Today was a very long, yet exciting day. We left Morehead about 7:30 and arrived in Frankfort at about 9:00. Dr. Lindsey made a cd of New Zealand songs that we listened to on the way there and back. The songs were very catchy and I have found myself singing the words ever since. We also played "My Old Kentucky Home" to practice for our singing debut!

I had a meeting with my senator, Jack Westwood, at 9:00. Dr. Fernandez went with me, and he seemed very interested in our research. We took a picture with him that will be sent to me. Also, he gave us 25 Kentucky pins that we can pass out on our trip. Dr. Lindsey and Brittany set up the poster while I was in the meeting. We got the group picture of all the students and mentor on the Senate stairs. Since we had not received an email back from him, we went to look for the senator of Rowan county, Walter Blevins. He was able to meet with us, and he gave us a large cup full of Kentucky senate pins. Senator Blevins also invited us to the Senate floor when we were finished presenting our poster.

We went back down and caught the end of the opening ceremony. Afterward, we met with President Andrews, our university president. We told him all about of research and promised that we would report back to him after the trip with all that we had learned. After lunch, Brittany and I met with the representative from my district, Adam Koenig. Hopefully, he will be able to send me some KY items for the trip.

Brittany and I returned to the poster, and spent the next three hours talking to people who were interested in our research. a lot of people from Morehead stopped by including the provost, other professors/mentors, and the director of undergraduate research, Bruce Mattingy. Everyone is s excited that we have been given this opportunity and many of them wish they could go too! Brittany and I will have to report back to a lot of people when we conclude our trip.

Senator Blevins visited our poster and got a few pictures with us. At about 3:00, when we finished presenting our poster, we went to the senate floor. Senator Blevins introduced us and said a little about our research. The four of us think that the meeting was being recorded and we may have been on KET. We were able to get a picture with Senator Blevins behind the pedestal that the president of the senate stands behind! I am really looking forward to getting that picture back.

Overall, Posters was a very good experience. I had expected there to be a lot more interaction, but I think Brittany and I did a great job answering the questions that people asked us. I really enjoyed meeting the senators and representatives.  Also, it was fun seeing all of the other work that other students at MSU had done.

Once we left the Capitol Building we went to Lexington and Dr. Lindsey and Fernandez bought two cameras. I can’t wait to use them during the trip because I know we will be taking A LOT of pictures. The plan was  for them to buy two Ipads at Best Buy but they decided to buy them at another location. We ended our day with dinner at Logan's roadhouse. We discussed words that are commonly used in the US that do not translate the same way in NZ. For example, when you order lemonade in NZ they bring you Sprite.  Brittany and I suggested places that we would like to visit, and I learned that we might be able to go kayaking and fishing while we are there. The trip is coming so fast and we discussed the items we will need to pack for the trip. I am going to pack lightly because I know I want to bring home a lot of souvenirs.

Tomorrow we are meeting to practice “My Old Kentucky Home” and to try out the new cameras.

33 days!!!! 

trancribed call #2

I just finished transcribing the second international call that was made to Lesley Smith. I also need to transcribe the call to Carolyn Aukafolau, but I am waiting to see if I can use the voice recorder program to help me. The other day when I tried to install the software from the voice recorders to my computer it would not work. Unfortunately, my computer uses the 64-bit version of Windows Vista which is incompatible with the program. Hopefully when Dr. Fernandez's laptop comes in we can install the program on that computer and see if it transcribes the interview. I am really hoping that it does since that interview is about three times as long as the other two interviews I transcribed so far.

Posters-at-the-Capitol is tomorrow. It is crazy how fast time has flown by because it seems like we just sent in our abstract with our idea. I am meeting with Senator Westwood and Representative Koenig and I am nervous to meet them. Representative Koenig came to my high school to do a debate, and I worked on a bill that he supported so I wonder if he will remember. I asked them to donate small items that represent Kentucky, so I hope that they will be able to give me a few things tomorrow.

Once Posters is over I am going to concentrate on the standards which I started on after I was selected to be on the research team. I will give a recap of how posters went on Friday. I am looking forward to spending the day in Frankfort!

34 days!!

Finishing the Poster

Today, Dr. Lindsey and I met and finalized our poster. It looks great! We decided to take out some of the interventions on the chart in order to have more room on the poster. We are going to have handouts of the full charts for people to look at. My favorite part of the poster is the chart because we put a watermark of the New Zealand and US flag behind it. I am going to put all of the sources on the handouts so that we can print copies Wednesday. Now that the poster is finished, I am very excited for Posters at the Capitol. It will be really fun to tell people about our trip and our research and see our hard work pay off.

I emailed my Senator and Representative a while ago about Posters and I will hopefully be able to meet with them Thursday.

37 days!!!!

Update

I met with Dr. Fernandez on Wednesday, and she gave me a few new projects to get started on. So far, I found out that the STAR program that is used in Kentucky is not the same as the STAR program in New Zealand. I also found a great website that listed all the book awards that are given to New Zealand books/authors each year.  I still have to start on questions that I want to know find out when I go to New Zealand. I am going to ask my friends and family for any ideas.

We also had anther meeting today, and we are going to be meeting every Friday until the trip. Posters at the Capitol is Thursday, and Dr. Lindsey and I will be meeting Monday to put the finishing touches on the poster. I am really looking forward to this experience!

I have two NZ calls to transcribe which I hope to have done soon. Also, I have to email my state representatives and senators to see if they have any items they can give us for the trip such as flags, pens, etc. We are also submitting our research to NMSA and a conference in Ireland. Brittany and I are going to submit an abstract on the interventions for NMSA, and I am going to think about what I want to propose for the Ireland conference.

I can't believe that we have less than six weeks left. Recently, we found out we will have to sing a song, and we decided on My Old Kentucky Home. I think our version of this song will be unlike any version that anyone has ever heard. Haha.

40 days left :)