Holiday update

Happy holidays everyone!!

I hope you're all having a delightful time, with lots of good friends and great food!!! I'm enjoying life to the fullest this semester. Trent is such a wonderful break from UofT for me! Small classes, beautiful nature all around, interesting courses, amazing people!!! I've never been happier!!

I've been taking anthropology with an emphasis in linguistics, as well as keeping up with Spanish. I decided to take a first year Spanish course so that I can really learn the basics of grammar so when I go back my students will be proud of me!! (I promised to return to Sahuayo within 5 years, so I've got some time to get really good!!) Linguistics is fascinating! I wish it could be my major but Trent doesn't have a large enough department, so I'm doing anthro which is also really interesting. The first year (intro) course, not so much, but I'm loving the second year course. The professor is a really interesting woman who's travelled to many different places and has lots of life stories she brings to our seminars. My linguistics prof is this really awesome guy who obviously LOVES linguistics! It shows in each and every class. He also wears really cool/funny hats every day, and gives funny examples which adds to the entertainment factor of it all.

I'm working on campus at Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) as the KWIC-TIP (Trent International Program) Liason. I'm currently leading with a working group which is organizing Global Education Week at the end of January, so things are going to be REALLY busy when I get back to work next week. I also update the community calendar and send out monthly e-mails to our distribution list about different things going around in Trent and in the Peterborough area that have to do with global education and awareness. It's a non-profit organization, and it's the kind of job that I would do anyway, but I end up getting paid for it! I've also been cleaning the midwives office which is a great way to make a few extra bucks each month. School is expensive!!! It's soooooo hard to imagine ever paying off my loans!! The plan is to teach in Asia when I'm done my BA and then go to teachers college, so hopefully someday I will be able to get out of debt. Not for a looooong time though!!

Otherwise, I'm meeting some really amazing people! I'm playing with some of my friends, and we've put together a kind of jazz group. Hopefully we'll start making some tunes and I can get them up on my Myspace (www.myspace.com/hanahmuck)

It's sooooooo wonderful to be back in Warsaw, living on the farm. My parents and I are getting along better than ever, and it's so nice to have good food around all the time! I see my friends wasting away, or eating junky food, and I feel soooooo lucky! I end up doing a lot of shuttling around of Naomi to and from ballet and school, but she's worth it.... I guess... hahaha, just kidding. We still have things to work on with each other. We get into silly arguments all the time, and it is really awful sometimes to realize what we're arguing about, and think about how much it can affect our moods! But we're working on it! I'm sure we'll be the best of friends someday.

This has been a pretty good winter so far, with lots of snow (something like the biggest snowstorm in 10 years hit a couple of weeks ago) so we've been making the most of it, getting out on skis at least a couple times each week. The forest is sooooo beautiful and I feel so spoiled!!! Only a princess should have such a wonderful place all to herself! I really feel like the luckiest person in the world whenever I step into the forest, or head down to the river. It's also so great to be able to bring my friends out here and have so much room for everyone!! I've been teaching friends to ski, and we've been having lots of good feasts (as usual).

As well as meeting so many great folks who I play music with, or cook with for Food Not Bombs each Monday night, I've managed to keep in touch with some of my old buddies from high school and before. It's sooooo good to see some of them coming home for the holidays. Peterborough feels sooooo much different when Trent's in and when it's off. The city has a totally different atmosphere. Everyone says they don't feel like they're at home when they're back in town, but for me it really does feel like home! After getting a bit of travelling in, I realize how much I love this place! I think I'm the only one of my friends who actually sees themselves settling down in this area someday. I plan on having many more adventures before that, but when it comes down to it, I think I would be quite happy with a bit of land somewhere around my parents!

Mom's family is coming tomorrow for our late Christmas celebrations, so it's yet another feast! I can't wait!!! But also, it will be good when school starts so I stop eating cookies all day!!! Anyway, I really hope everyone is having a wonderful time, and that 2008 brings much more peace than last year to everyone!

Cheers! Salud! Hanah.