Zihan

Two kids including the Kid Captain Sean Peck with Herky

About two months after school started, I finally got a chance to watch my first Iowa football game.

It was showering and was expected to stop any minute. But it didn’t actually matter whether it rained hard or not, we were heading to the football game.

We were part of the people waiting in the cold rainy weather before it was even one o’clock. It was kind of crazy I thought, “do we need that much time in advance?” The answer is absolutely yes because you know it is all about football. For Iowans, the wait was definitely worth it! And you know what, we won!

Staring at the really empty stadium, we stood where the players come out for a time until I couldn’t feel my feet. People flew out of that entrance all of a sudden, then there was a pause. This little kid went out. He dressed as the captain football player. And when he walked out, he greeted the first row with a big nice smile. He was like a professional football player, at least he’s going to be. There was one time when Herky came with a skateboard, he let Sean stand on and hugged him. It was such a lovely moment that warmed the whole stadium up.

Go Kid Captains, Go Hawks!

“Yes, we did it! I can’t believe that is true!”

“This is so much fun,” Bailey said, “I am going back to this next time.”

I looked at that piece of wood we just put on the left part of the roof. I felt extremely happy looking at what we have done as Engineering students. I couldn’t even find the exact words to express myself. My heart was going to pop out because we were building a family’s home! We were making a difference! We were helping people make their dreams real, and it really makes me happy and energized.

We started this morning with the 30 degrees and sunshine. Our mission was to help build a home for the Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity. It is a process to build a home for those in need with this charity organization and lots of volunteers. The family will also help in the building process, but most of the designing and coordinating is done by professional trained leaders and volunteers.

My partner Bailey and I picked up our hammers, and they put us right to work. The job for us was to stabalize a long stick on the top of the roof. This kind of job is different from the normal hammer work: we need to lift the wood up to the roof and hammer the nails in at the same time.  That looks crazy to me and I don’t know if I can handle this as a person that never touched a ladder and a hammer before.

Before we actually started to knock the nails into the roof, we measured the distance from the corner of the each stick to the point where they needed to be out really carefully. We knew this was not building sand castles. We were building not only a home, but also the trust of that family. Team spirit has built house, as well as the enthusiasm and excitement to witness their dream coming true. I was a little afraid of the ladder, and the hammer in my pocket when I stood on the top of the ladder helping Bailey hold the other end of the wood in order to knock the nail in.

It was my turn to hammer the nail in now for the other end. I picked up a nail and aimed it on the intersection of the two sticks while Bailey was holding the stick for me. After several times of knocking, the nail was just into the wood little. It was hard. Nevertheless, I never thought about quitting because I knew I was going to knock this tough guy in. That’s what I was there for. This day was so special! I love it!!

Here is our group!

Congratulations Hawkeyes!
With the joy from the Homecoming football game, I looked back on what I have seen and experience throughout this week. It was a true Homecoming.

The Friday night was my favorite part. First came the parade, and the Chvrches Concert right after that. I could tell everyone was excited to see the Homecoming Parade. At that moment, the whole Iowa City was filled with pleasure, excitement and fun.

My friends and I were waiting right east of the Old Capitol facing the Iowa Avenue. It was literally one of the most famous spots: the density of people can not be expressed by an exact number. Tons of people have already arrived and it was hard for us to find a spot to stand.  Hundreds of people were still heading towards here. Kids holding big plastic bags stood in line in the front waiting for candies. I would say that the Iowa Fight Song was the highlight of the parade. Because that was where our Hawkeye Spirit should belong to.

The Chvrches’ Concert was another highlight of Friday. I felt that I was fully into the music and absolutely loved it. It was a great time to relax from the busy midterm week. Although surrounded with people like a sardine pack, I didn’t even want to move. It was nice and warm here in the crowd because people together as a whole was the biggest defender of the wind. Music was not only functioning as music anymore but also as the pain-killer for people. Forget all those unpleasant things, and let’s have fun at Homecoming.

The old Capitol was a little bit different that night– it was more honorable and sacred by the comparison of the dark night; and the night was special  because of the Homecoming!!

Talking about weekend, I’m going to tell you what I have experienced.

As an International student who doesn’t have a home here in the United States, I have to stick around the campus area, although I know it is sort of lonely to walk on the streets that are almost empty on the weekends. I keep trying to get outside of campus with a couple friends when they stay for the weekends; nevertheless, the only familiar place to hang out in a different city is the Coral Ridge Mall. Once I went to Christian church further away from where I live. That was the farthest place I have ever been to in Iowa.

What is the life like outside of the campus? I have kept thinking about this question for a long time after I got tired of studying on the weekends.

Until a peaceful Thursday afternoon, in my Bible study group,  our leader Ashley said:

“Come to Fall getaway for this weekend!”

“What is a getaway?”

“That is a chance to be away from the campus and have fun!”

All of a sudden, I felt my heart is filled with energy and so many question marks. It is so attractive to have chance to see what’s outside! Will I see lots of corn? What friends I am going to meet? What kind of the Bible study camp is that? How far way is that place from Iowa City?

I got all the questions answered and met a bunch of awesome friends there.

It was truly fun and energizing. I felt sad for I lost the first Friday night and Saturday sections of Fall getaway! But it is all good when I looked at the part I experienced but not the part that I didn’t get.  By the time I got to the Bible study camp, the camp fire has already been set up. With a whole group of new friends from freshmen to seniors, we sang and talked and laughed while sitting around the fire. It was like a family gathering: everybody was relaxed sitting around the fire and sharing blankets; but it was kind of different from the family gather-together because we understood others in the same age range. So we didn’t have to hide certain secrets. The only and the most important thing was to be our “selves”.

In the morning service on Sunday, which was the last section of the camp, our leader suggested us to bring the spirit of fall getaway back to campus. We can’t be “away” every weekend, and it won’t be that fun if we have it every week. The happiness results from something new.

I would not see what I experienced if I didn’t go on this safari.

I really appreciate it!

“We need to feed our brains with fresh oxygen so please take a deep breath…then breath that out… calm and quiet… and now you may begin.” This is the gentlest way I have experienced to start an exam. It came from my chemistry professor right before my first, and one of the biggest exams. I didn’t even feel I was getting a bad grade or anything like that. It was just like doing my daily mastering chemistry homework. I worked through the problems step by step, then I finished.

Walking out of that big auditorium, I felt so glad that this chemistry exam was over. It started at night – that is the one thing I have never tried before. I never ever had a really important exam that ends at 10:20p.m. Although I thought it was kind of crazy, and I didn’t know if this was a good time to take it, this night exam sounded more exciting and new to me rather than stressful. Because I can see if it is a better time for me, a night owl, to find something refreshing.

Luckily enough, I recognized that my favorite chemistry professor was right in the front row when I was walking into the room. I felt more excited. I love his class a lot. His lecture is well-constructed every time; we know what to expect in Chemistry and he always works through hard problems in class, and more importantly, he has the precious patience for everyone, which I admire most.

He was with us throughout the whole exam period. I was surprised to see him standing there checking people’s scantrons when there were only few people left (including me). He is the professor that we meet every other day for a 50-min lecture; he is the professor who works with students during his office hours; he is the hard-worker who deserves a good night for tomorrow’s lecture… but he was right there with us until the last second. That totally surprised me.

At that moment, I thought about my goals for a second. I made a quick decision to let chemistry become a part of my life!