COUNTDOWN!

I have decided that I need to do some serious catching up here. I'm afraid that the 6 people who actually read this blog are starting to lose faith in me--not that I have ever been very good about posting, but hey, I figure that now is better than never at all.

Let's see here. Other than the fact that i am a quarter of a year older since my last post, lots of craziness has been going on. This is a countdown of some of the highlights from the past few months(aka the events that i feel like posting about and/or have pictures from).

3. Christmas Around the world. It is a tradition for the BYU International Folk Dance Ensemble to do a big Christmas performance in the Marriot Center every year. This year was the 50th anniversary, so naturally it was quite the production (it was a gala event--that was for you kris). During the week of the show, I think I spent a total of 40 hours in the Marriot Center for the set up, tear down, the 4 shows and 2 dress rehearsals. It was exhausting-- in the best way possible. My favorite thing was the energy and complete chaos that basically defined the backstage scene. This is my favorite memory:

I was in a Ukrainian number towards the end of the show. The costume I was in consisted of 8 separate pieces (two head pieces, tunic, two skirts, vest...you get the idea). After that dance- which was only about 45 seconds long- I had to run through the tunnels around the stage to the dressing room where I had nearly no time to change out of that costume and put my American square dance costume back on and change my hair from a bun to half up for the finale. If you had been in the tunnel right after that dance, you would have seen a deranged looking girl-named Suzanne- sprinting down the hall whilst tearing piece after endless costume piece from her body (for all those who are concerned, i was wearing a leotard underneath, i mean i'm at BYU here and as we all know, modest is hottest). Chaos. Complete insanity. Best times ever.

My incredibly lovely bruising from the lifts in the square dance. There is a reason why those near and dear to me often call me Bruisy Suzie.

(disclaimer: I have had my blood tested multiple times, and no, I don't suffer from any dreadful diseases)

My team. We were in three different dances for the opener: Belgian Flag, Korean Fan, and Israeli. I was in the Israeli dance & got to wear the most comfy costumes ever!

About half of the Kozachok girls. The directors made this group up out of two girls from every team. Definitely the best part about the ensemble are the amazing red boots. I'm pretty sure that in the folk dance world you can do no wrong while wearing the Urainian boots of glory.

Me. Mary. Jessica- she saved my life every time I had to do the impossible costume change by having everything ready for me every time I came careening down the hallway to where she calmly helped me change.

Mary was in the Filipino dance. Basically, she and I are soul mates, even though I'm Ukrainian and she's from the Philippines. Nope, nothing can tear us apart, not even our diverse cultural backgrounds that we adopted for the week. Ok, that was super cheese-bomb.

Yes, we were rocking the sassy country girl costumes. The layers of poofy slip totally took me back to my primary days, all I was missing were the huge bangs to go with the dress.

I am so glad that I've had the opportunity to be involved with the Folk Dance team. It is such a tight knit group that gave me an opportunity to meet some amazing people. However, due to the fact that I'm going on a mission in the spring, and moving up in the Folk Dance program would require me to postpone my leaving, it doesn't really make much sense for me to continue dancing with the team. I'm just really happy that I got to finish my folk dance experience with the Christmas Around the World shows.

2. Dinner Dance- as the closing social to the semester, the Folk Dance club always has a big dinner dance. This year's theme was the 1940's. There were some interesting moments when 1. the zipper on my dress began to malfunction--ya shady, I know. and 2. when a certain kid on the team tried to get me to cha-cha with him--it didn't go over to well & I ended up feeling a little...wierd. Good times in our lives huh?

From the more recent past...

1. MY MISSION PAPERS ARE IN. Yes, just in case you may have misread those capitol letters, I just turned in my mission papers. Let me tell you, it's been an interesting process. There have been a few unexpected--but not entirely negative-- obstacles along the way, including my complete inability to commit to any decision. However, I know for a fact that I am supposed to go and so I am. That's all there is to it. For now, I am simply concentrating on not letting anything--including my own doubts and rationalizations-- get in the way of leaving.

The story behind this picture goes as follows: I was finishing the final part of my paperwork and I realized that I needed to upload a picture of me "dressed and groomed according to missionary standards." I couldn't find any on my computer that looked semi-ok, so I had to take one. I needed to look like a sister missionary so obviously the quickest way to do that is to put on a cardigan--except that I already wear them all the time. It totally helps that my shirt under it looks like its one of those Jody dresses from 1999. So ya here it is.

The real countdown is on. In 2-3 weeks I'll know when/where I'm going. Any guesses as to where I'll be called to go???