Off to MHS for both of us on the bus. Anya is knitting on the bus, making productive use of the time. She’s got two colors in patterns. I’m amazed. I try to read on the bus, which I did on some of today’s ride with a commentary on Exodus 20 (the 10 Commandments). (Anya doesn’t appreciate my commentary on the commentary!)
Anya was back in the library in the morning for her practicum, shelving more books. We had lunch together, estimating how much our $13.50 lunch would cost in the USA. We estimated $7, which is about the average at double the cost of food in Norway. Her afternoon was with the archivist, who spent quite a bit of time just introducing her to the discipline, the archives, and various related issues (new non-acidic paper storage boxes). He sounds like the dream archivist with a great passion for his work. But still, Anya is determining that this is not a vocational path for her.
Knut stopped by my office, seeing my door open with Anya there. He said that when he did this practicum at Anya’s age, he shadowed a dentist for a week and then interviewed him. His first question was something li,e, “Do you have to naturally be evil to be a dentist, or does that develop?” I’m glad he didn’t choose to be a dentist, and his would-be patients are probably too!
We arrived home to a mailbox with notification that a package for Anya was at the post office, ready for pick up. She was so excited. We walked down and picked up this huge box! Anya’s friends pooled together some gifts and about $63 of postage(!) and sent her a wonderful care package. She was so excited!
The package included taco seasoning, I made tacos for dinner. (In Norway, they have Norwegian-style tacos on Friday nights.) Anya even ate the ground beef because it had the seasoning from her friends! (Anya is a selective red-meat eater and prefers poultry.)
This was fun to see Anya so thrilled! Then we played “Name that Tune” with her Spotify account on her phone, which was shuffling through songs from musicals. She’s pretty amazing!
I’m exhausted! I think the mental challenge of more work on chapter 4, with a little revision of a part of chapter 3, is so draining. Our brains are like 8% of our body weight but consume 25% of the calories of a recommended daily allowance. Wow! It could have also been the wind that picked up in the middle of the night and made noise throughout the night. So, I need some sleep.
With blessings,
Beth
Dear Beth–
Thanks for sharing about Anya’s special “care package” from her friends. What a delightful thing to do!
I also wanted to let you know that, as you labor away on writing your draft of Chapter 4, you are especially being remembered and encouraged by both Pam and me.
Blessings,
–Charlie