Katie Axelson

For my Spanish 305 class I need five Spanish service hours.  During the school year, adding anything extra to my plate is pretty much impossible.  In addition to catching up on some reading for my lit classes, I planned to collect my service hours over spring break. 

My friend Christian is the pastor as an inner-city church with a primarily Hispanic population.  He and his wife (April, she’s amazing!) both have limited Spanish skills, so they were thrilled about my willingness to help out at their food pantry on Wednesday.  This past summer I helped with VBS at this same church but dealing with adults is much different than dealing with children, so I was nervous.

To add to my nerves, in the doorway of the church building a woman with a small child asked me for a dollar.  Is that allowed?  I opened my wallet and found only a ten dollar bill.  I did give her a dollar in quarters because God calls us to give to the least of these.  This woman is among the least of these.  True, it was risky because I don’t know how she’s going to spend it but that’s not my problem.  Whether she really uses it for a bus ride or not is between her and God.  Besides, to me it’s just a one-time gift of a dollar and to her it’s a bus ride home.

Once I finally made it to the food pantry, I almost immediately began to translate for one of the workers there.  Some of the people coming through for food spoke English and I didn’t want to offend anyone, so I tried to just hang out and be prepared to translate.  It took the other volunteers awhile to catch on that I was there to be an interpreter not just another set of hands.  I was willing to do both.  I did everything from voice translate, fill food bags, and translate fliers.  I also got to tease around a lot with the other volunteers and some of the pantry regulars.

One of my concerns had been the fact that I never really learned food-words in Spanish.  Face it, in daily, classroom conversation how often do you talk about food?  You really don’t.  When I went to Spanish-speaking countries I kind of guessed at a meal that sounded good and was brave.  The type of food preparation is so different than it is in the states, so it didn’t really matter if I knew what I ordered or not.  I was afraid this was going to be a major disadvantage in my work at a food pantry, but it really wasn’t too bad.  Of course, I didn’t know words like “walnut” and “popcorn” but I showed the food to the recipient and said the English word.  Most of the recipients responded with the word in Spanish.  That helped a lot.

I ended my morning with a lunch from the soup kitchen and some great, hilarious conversations with Christian and April.  I would be content to grow up and turn out just like them.  They’re not perfect, but no one is.  What I love is their willingness to drop everything to help, giving hearts, and appreciation for the people God has placed in their lives.  As a thank you for my help, Christian gave me a gift.  Well more accurately: he found an odd item in the troves of this hundred-year old church and put it in my purse.  It’s a salt and pepper shaker that looks like a fruit-bowl.  I have this feeling it will be reappearing in his office in the near future!

<>< Katie

My senior year in high school, I had committed to Gardner-Webb and was headed out there for a Dawg Day with my mom when my aunt and grandmother joined us for a Girls Weekend.  This past weekend we continued the tradition to visit my sister’s school for next year for our second Girls Weekend.  Of course, GWU is better than Laura’s chosen school, but it was very interesting to compare the two.  It was also great to spend time with the women in my family since it’s been two months since the last time I saw of them.  We have lots of great new memories and inside jokes. 

Go bulldogs!

<>< Katie

In case this hasn’t come across yet, Garnder-Webb University has a phenomenal English department!  Not only are the students amazing and the professors incredible but we know how to have fun, too!

This past Sunday was the Sigma Tau Delta inductions.  Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honors society, and Gardner-Webb’s chapter inducted four new members.  As part of this event, we shared poetry and other works, conducted the ceremony, conversed, and ate foodfrom literature.  I see that “huh?” look on your face.  Well, you see we’re English majors, so we felt it was appropriate to eat food mentioned in literature.  My favorite was the cheese-ball to represent, “I was blown up while eating cheese” in Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms.  We also had butterbeer from Harry Potter, cucumber sandwiches from The Importance of Being Earnest, apple pie from On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and some other fun foods.  We wanted Turkish Delight from the Chronicles of Narnia, but Wal-mart was fresh out.

On Tuesday the English department got together to socialize again at Quiz Bowl.  Ok, yes, that sounds like an intimidating name.  They recently renamed it Pizza Bowl, but the new name hasn’t really taken off yet.  At Pizza/Quiz Bowl English majors, minors, and professors gather together in the Clubhouse, eat pizza, and have a quiz game show.  All attending majors and minors are divided (unequally!) in to two teams each complete with a buzzer set while gameshow host Dr. Theado asks questions from English classes offered in previous semesters.  I realize it doesn’t sound like fun to sit beside a panel of your former professors and try to answer questions about their classes that you took two years ago.  And, yes, I was intimidated at first.  Honestly, it’s a blast.  We laugh so hard!  Most of the jokes are “you-had-to-be-there” types but it’s always funny when a student buzzes in and hesitates answering.  The professor goes, “You know this; we talked about it with this book.”  The student looks the professor straight in the face and confesses, “I didn’t read that book!”  Oops!

My favorite Quiz Bowl slip was my freshman year.  The professor asked a question from that very semester.  Of course, the answer was nowhere to be found in my head.  The professor reminded me we had just studied this novel in class two weeks ago.  Yeah, still wasn’t bringing an answer.  I said, “I’ve moved on.”  Meaning the newest novel was consuming my brain but that’s not how it came out.  It’s going to be a long time before I’m relieved of all the, “Don’t ask Katie; she’s moved on” jokes.

Oh, and in case you’re ever asked at Pizza Bowl: The Last of the Mohicans was written in 1826.  I get that question wrong every time!

While we’re talking about English-y things… check out the latest English Channel!

<>< Katie

PS: In case I haven’t sold you on the English department yet, we play kickball, too!

I was running late headed to my Creative Writing class this morning.  I don’t like to be late to class because I feel like I miss important things, but I’ve been late to Creative Writing once or twice.  Normally it’s not my fault: dimensions runs long, a meeting with another professor doesn’t wrap up nicely, whatever.  Dr. Davis, the Creative Writing professor, knows I’m not one to skip class and he’d seen me in Craig Hall earlier this morning.  I’m not dumb enough to go talk to a professor in his office and then skip his class less than an hour later.  So when I walked into the classroom two minutes late and found it empty, I figured he was playing a joke.  Surely the entire class was hiding in an office or something.  That was, until I saw the note on the board.

“Creative Writing class outside under the big tree.”

Sweet!  The only thing better than Creative Writing class is Creative Writing outside!  We work-shopped poetry and discussed writing fiction all while sitting in the grass under the shade of the big tree on the quad.  I must say, the fresh-mulch smell is inspiring.

<>< Katie

I threw my Bible across the room today in the middle of class.  It was not intentional, but it was out of frustration.  I tried to slam it onto my desk with emphasis but my slippery, sweaty, freshly lotioned hands missed that memo and the wonderful, little Bible went flying backwards.  My face turned a beautiful shade of red as my class erupted in laughter.  Lucky for me, they all knew I didn’t intend to do that, but that didn’t make it look any better.

I stood up, recovered my Bible and attempted to regain my composure.  The first was successful the second was not.  Yeah, class was pretty much over for me at that point in time.  Oh, well, I did get some much-needed laughter.

<>< Katie

One thing everyone always asks is: What do you guys do for fun at Gardner-Webb?  We kind of chuckle to ourselves and give some patent answer… “We play BananaGrams, go to Wal-mart, and chase the geese around the lake.”  While all of those things are true, there is more to do for fun around here.

On Saturday, nine of us went ice skating in Charlotte.  It was really cheap a lot of fun!  We started out getting our skate legs on and continuing in circles.  After they zambonied the ice we started a game of tag.

I’d like to go on record and say that I would not have fallen if it had not been for this game of tag.  The first time, Adam was IT and he was trying to get me.  My dodging failed because I fell. The second time I was IT and I was trying to get Melia.  I got her, but there was a crowd of people in front of her, so we had a hard time stopping.  To avoid crashing, I fell and Melia fell on top of me.  We sat on the ice laughing for a good five minutes.

Our favorite fall, however, was Will’s.  Mind you, Will already had a broken arm.  Well, a small child (age 8 maybe?) was spawled out on the ice in front of him.  Will didn’t have enough time to stop or avoid this kid and isn’t talented enough to hop over him.  Instead, he fell, too.  One leg was on one side of the kid and the other leg on the kids’ other side.  The best part was that the blade of Will’s skate was up the kids’ jersey.  Oops!  At least he didn’t injure his arm more!  (Or injure the kid).

This may just be me, but I was shocked to know that none of my eight companions had ever ice skated on a natural body of water.  Have you ever skated on a river or a lake?

<>< Katie

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go on a F.O.C.U.S. (Fellowship of Christians United in Service) trip to West Virginia.  Basically my team of five got to hang out with some local youth, teach them about God, and play games together.  One of the things that made this trip unique is that we got to go skiing at Winter Place on Saturday night.  I’ve done a lot of skiing, but I’d never really skied in the Appalachian mountains before.  That was a fun experience.  There was nice powder is some places but ice in others.  Not the best skiing of my life but not the worst either!

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend:

- The youth used an ironing board as a sled as they rode down the mountain…

- We were playing this game where you had to move the Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands.  Well, this turned into a game of Oreo Olympics.  My favorite was, “If I bounce this Oreo from one shoulder to the other and then kick it, will you catch it in your mouth?”  Fail.

There's a telephone next to the toilet!

- We stayed in a house that sleeps 16 people each floor.  Naturally the kitchen table must accommodate this same amount of people.  I was the only one sitting at the table, please note.  That means all of the other seats were empty.  A girl ran in the house to avoid a snowball.  She dodged it.  I didn’t.  The snowball hit one chair and one chair only: mine.  There I was sitting inside at the kitchen table minding my own business, and I got pelted with a snowball.  Somehow I don’t think that’s fair!
- One of our favorite FOCUS games is called “Body Parts.” Basically, two partners are seperated and when two body parts are called the partners have to run to each other and connect the called body parts. For example, “Nose to toes” means partner one’s nose goes to partner two’s toes. We got bored with calls like that and after “tongue to ear” we called “cranium to femur.” Well, “cranium” missed… oops!

Oh, and check out the cool telephone next to the toilet. You know, just incase you want to get two things done at one time or something…

Have a great weekend!

<>< Katie

Disclaimer: No people were harmed in the making of this blog.  (Well, ok, except the two pukers).

Please allow me, just for a moment, to make a shameless plug for our Gardner-Webb University Writing Center.  These ladies and gentleman are phenomenal!

As an English major, I often don’t spend time receiving assistance from the Writing Center.  Yes, sometimes it’s a pride struggle accompanying the idea of “I am a writer; why should I go to the Writing Center?”  Well, a lot of my friends work there this year and I’ve come to appriciate feedback on my work.

When you sign up for an appointment (which you can now do online; I’m lovin’ it!) the computer lists your classes or it says, “Not related.”  Call me a nerd, but I had a “not related” consultation this week.  Not just one.  Two.  For two different “not related” projects.  The amazing staff at the WC are ready, willing, and capable of helping you with anything and everything that deals with writing.

If you haven’t done so yet, check out the Writing Center website.  Let me tell you first hand, the Writing Center is definitely worth your time!

<>< Katie

PS: While you’re on the WC website you should take a look at the English Channel.

Being from so far away, I don’t get to go home very often.  Normally this isn’t a big deal but there are times when I need to escape the madness of college life and enjoy family time again.  My adoptive family here has become really handy for that!  If I somehow manage to find a few spare hours, I head over to their house to hang out, help with homework, cook, play video games, watch weird YouTube videos, whatever.

On Tuesday, I was helping 8 year old Malachi with his homework about slavery.

Katie: What were you doing in class before you got this homework?

Malachi: Math!  No, I mean lunch!

Kids say the darnedest things!

A few hours later, I was standing in the kitchen helping to cook dinner.  Andy, who graduated from GWU last year, was sitting at the bar talking to me.  He picked up a big box of matched, opened it, and pulled out three matches.

“Andy, please don’t play with matches,” I warned him, knowing my suggestion would have not impact on his decision to make fire in the kitchen right in front of the kids.

“Why not?”  He asked, lighting one match and watching the flame jump to the other two.  “Are you allergic?”

The word “allergic” was cut off by a loud beeping noise.  As it turns out, Andy was sitting directly under the smoke detector as he was playing with the matches.  Of all of the seats in the kitchen!  OOPS!

Yeah, I think all of the kids learned a lesson (Andy included):  If you’re going to play with matches, don’t sit under the smoke alarm.

Not going to lie, I almost died laughing.  No, I’m not allergic to fire but the house is.

Be safe!
<>< Katie

For Mardi Gras one of my friends from Louisiana bought us all a King Cake to enjoy. Excited to experience my first King Cake, I took a big bite and what did I find? A piece of plastic.  Everyone in the room erupted in laughter.

Apparently, every King Cake contains a plastic baby and whosever piece of cake contains the baby is responsible for buying the King Cake the following year. Everyone else noticed the baby in my piece but no one bothered to tell me it was there OR what it meant. Instead, I’m gnawing on plastic. Thanks, girls.

Oh, and thanks for giving the girl from Wisconsin the fetus because she’ll definitely be able to buy the King Cake next year! Not gonna happen. 

Happy Fat Tuesday!  Don’t choke on plastic.

<>< Katie