Catching Up to Date

      The Fourth of July began as a bright and early Thursday morning.  There were hardly any clouds in the sky that morning, and so the sun shone with that particular intensity that happens whenever there are celebrations.  Even though it was a holiday for the fellows, I was asked to get up early so I could buy some sodas for the party before guests arrived.  Blonde Anna had offered to help me, so at 8:45 a.m. we got into my car and made our way to the Mandala House.  Mrs. Bortins gave us a debit card and gave us some generic instructions before sending us out to the local Food Lion.  We managed to get enough of the ice and soda that we needed, with less than the allotted amount that Mrs. Bortins had asked us to spend, so we were pretty proud of ourselves as we pushed our loaded grocery cart back to my car.  Elizabeth and Red Anna helped us unload the refreshments into a bin on the back porch, and my job was done.

      It was absolutely gorgeous outside, with only a few gray clouds peeking out from behind the trees that line the horizon.  Days like that are the best days for swimming in a lake, so once I was done helping Mrs. Bortins, I rushed home to change into my swimming suit.  A few of the other Fellows wanted to come to the party too, so it was some time before we all got into my car and went back to the Mandala House.  By that time, all of the parking spaces in the driveway were taken, so I had to park on the empty lot across the street.  The house was bursting with excitement as we walked through the door, kids running across our path and between circles of adults talking and holding plates of food; the teenagers and young adults were easy to identify as almost all of them were in their swim suits and towels.  A beautiful young woman was playing the piano in the lobby, and above her the loft shook with the pounding of feet as people played ping-pong, Foosball, or pool.  There was a feast lining the kitchen counter, and the tables were grouped into one big square lined with matching chairs.  Sitting in one of those chairs was a stunning young woman with short black hair and an awesome dress.  She called out to me as I passed, complementing me on my Doctor Who pins that I keep on the fedora I wear.  This opened up a conversation, and soon I was sitting next to her and talking to her like I would with an old friend.  I learned that her name is Mary and that she is Blonde Anna's sister before we got into more personal subjects like boyfriends and career preferences.  Her family came over to sit with us, and her grandmother joined into our conversations.  She was an absolute joy to be around.  She talked to me about my blog, mentioning a sweet comment she had left on one of them, and told me about one of her grandchildren and how much she enjoys writing to him.  Before I knew it, more than an hour had passed.  So I bid farewell to my newest friends and went outside.

      The surface of the lake was riddled with float noodles, the heads of swimmers, and the small vessels like Kayaks and a SUP (Stand Up Paddle) Board.  The mortar boat had gone out into the main part of the lake, captained by William who was taking guests out for tubing.  The water was constantly shifting from the remains of wakes thanks to all of the boats and jet skis out in the main body of the lake.  I dragged one of the orange kayaks out into the water and hopped in, braving the choppy waters and joining the others under the sun.  I met a lot of new faces, and splashed around with some of the other fellows who had dragged themselves out of bed to join in the festivities, despite it being long past noon.  At one point I even got to try out the SUP Board.  It took me a while to figure out the balance of it, but pretty soon I was all the way to the sand bank-- which is almost 100 yards from the dock-- and back.  Hours flew by, and pretty soon dark had fallen.  Inside the house, Barnabas and a lovely young woman named Emily had started a swing dance in the classroom.  The room had a variety of Fellows and guests dancing within it and music echoing off of it's walls.  Seth surprised us all by exercising his own amazing swing moves, danging with a good number of the females, both young and not-so-young.  Laughter abounded throughout the house as the party continued on into the night.  Up in the loft, the games grew more and more intense as players challenged each other again and again.  Blonde Anna's brother, Russel, was playing the piano; the notes wafting throughout the house.  Back near the docks I tried to help with the lighting of a massive bonfire, but the logs were cut too recently and we ended up needing lighter fluid to get them to catch.

      The sky was deep black by the time things began to wind down.  It was later still when I drove myself and a few of the other fellows back to our villas.  We were all exhausted from all the activities, yet elated from the excitement.  That night we fell into our beds, eagerly anticipating the next day.


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      Friday's party was much the same as the day before, except that I slept in much later.  I managed to get a seat on one of the tubing trips by offering to go with some of the younger girls who had never gone tubing before.  Tubing is one of my favorite things to do, so I had a lot of fun.  The hours were spent mostly in the water, either boating or swimming, but things began to wind down even before the sun set.  Most of the guests were leaving by dinner time, so the house grew a bit more quiet than before.  At dinner, I took my food out to a circle of chairs where a mixture of guests, neighbors, and Mandala Fellows were all having friendly conversation.  It was right after I cleaned my plate that I noticed the faint echo of music drifting from the lake.  I immediately recognized the tune to be the Cha-Cha Slide, and I brought it to the attention of my companions.  We deduced that the music must be coming from the marina, which was visible from our dock.  Some of the other girls and I got up and danced to the song on the dock.  I knew the next song as well, and I got to teach a bit of it to my fellow dancers.  By the end of the second song I decided that I was going to go to marina so that I could join in the community party happening there.

      After a quick change of clothes, I drove myself to the marina.  It was there that I, unsurprisingly, found Blonde Anna and Barnabas cutting a rug under one of the joined gazebos.  I was a little disappointed that the music style changed, and so I couldn't dance to most of the songs; but there was a live band and it was really fun to watch my two friends swing dance.  At one point they even got a round of applause!  Eventually, Zack showed up and he tried to dance with me a bit.  The swing lessons we had done as the Mandala Fellowship helped a lot, but I was still not very good.  After the dance, the rest of the Mandala fellows showed up and we all went for a swim under the stars.  All in all, it was a wonderful evening.

      We finally got to see some fireworks on July 6th, as Mandala Fellows drove up to the dam after sunset.  The fireworks were set off from the island in the lake, and the show was absolutely breathtaking.  The last of the guests left the next morning, giving the people of Mandala a chance to rest.


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      The next week flew by, as always, in a flurry of music and math papers.  The Mandala House was especially populated those days because Mrs. Bortins had a group of writers living with her and working on a book together.  We were blessed to have those same people teach us some writing lessons on Friday.  Even after taking advanced English classes, I learned a lot from them.  We even did a super cool poetry slam before lunch!  Not a moment of time was wasted, as even our lunch was coupled with group discussion on topics like 'Women in the Military' and 'Which is more important- music or color''.  After lunch, we said goodbye to our tutors and turned our attention to an SAT writing practice video.  By the time all of our lectures and videos were over, it was after six at night.

      Throughout the week, fellows searched desperately for some free time just to get in their respective groups to work on projects.  The most pressing assignment that we all needed to work on was a music piece called White Winter Hymnal.  There were only two groups for this project, and so we all had to work together to make sure we had a good harmony with all of the voices and instruments.  It was frustrating at first, but when it was time to perform we were all proud of the work we put into it.

      The publishing team has gotten a new agenda aiming us at getting our names, and the name of Classical Conversations, more widespread onto networks.  Today we are working on getting some connections and becoming part of the education media.  There is a lot of work yet to be done on our math project, but I'm really excited about what my team is doing with it.  Each day here brings new excitement and experiences, and I'm so glad to be part of each one!

Getting Ready

      Monday morning came far to quickly for the Mandala Fellows, seeing as all of us were just a few minutes late for devotions.  Our voices sounded a bit more rusty when we opened, but by the end of our discussion of the Psalms our vocal cords had warmed up quite nicely.  The morning flew by in a flurry of math equations and SAT practice questions.  Many of us weren't fully awake during the first half of the class but we all managed to understand the math lessons.  After lunch, we jumped right into practicing Coldplay's The Scientist with our music groups.  All of the groups could play the song very well after nearly a week of practice, and so we were all confident about the approaching performance.  Classes ended a little early that day, giving Fellows a little down time before work.

      Back at the villas it was about time for dinner, and a big group of Fellows went into town to find a Mexican restaurant.  My house didn't join the group, because Laura made us a delicious meal of chicken with dressing and some sweet potatoes.  Michael, a well-built fellow with short brown hair and a dashing smile, had also opted-out of Mexican, so we invited him to eat with us.  I personally think that we had the better dinner experience; the food was absolutely delicious and the company couldn't be beat.  The rest of the night was rather uneventful, and so we all turned into bed a bit early to make sure we wouldn't be late again.

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      Tuesday classes were dedicated completely to music.  There were some extravagant debates during our discussions of philosophy, and we all learned a good bit of the uses of music in ancient times.  We were all grateful for our lesson on music theory, which helped a lot of us further understand our own music.  After lunch, instead of splitting back into our groups, we gathered in the classroom and practiced The Scientist all together.  After a few times through, the piece sounded really great.  Caleb gave us a quick reminder that groups would preform our song the following afternoon, and then we were all dismissed to work.

      The night was very productive as fellows gathered in various villas to practice in their groups.  Even with five villas full of musicians, there are only two pianos that the five groups had to share.  Still, it was very interesting to watch the groups all work together so that all of the pianists could get enough practice.  By the time we all retired to our beds, we all were confident in ourselves and our groups for the next day.

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      My alarm clock went off long before I was ready to hear it, but the upcoming performance gave me the motivation I needed to fall out of bed in the morning.  Unsurprisingly, all of the fellows arrived a bit early at the Mandala House.  Anticipation began as we did our daily devotions, and it grew throughout the math and even the music classes.  Finally, it was lunch time again.  Finally, it was almost time to preform, almost time to prove ourselves to ourselves and our groups.  We made a little theater in the lobby, each of us finding a seat on one of the red couches, in a kitchen chair, or even on the floor; all of us facing the imaginary stage surrounding the grand piano.  Jake, the youngest fellow as well as the most muscular, kept time on a bongo beside the preforming fellows.  Guitar players would sit either in the wooden chair or on the stairs, the pianist of each group would sit at the piano behind everyone else, and front-most would be the unique instruments such as the violins, clarinet, or trumpet.  Thus, group by group we preformed.  Everyone played their parts above and beyond our own expectations, leaving us all feeling elated by the end of our turns.  Chris Blackburn managed to get videos of all of the groups; he even made a compilation for the Mandala YouTube account.

      Work flew by that day, mostly because of the lingering excitement from our successful performances, but also because we were all working hard to prepare for the upcoming Forth of July holiday.  Mrs. Bortins throws a big party every year at her house, and this year there was going to be more than a hundred people coming to celebrate with us.  We were all assigned small jobs to help during the festivities so that Mrs. Bortins could enjoy her party and we could all still relax.  My job was to make sure we didn't run out of soda or ice, Zack was asked to make sure that none of the lake floaties floated away, Jake, being a fire fighter, was asked to make sure that the grills were in proper condition so that no fires would start, and Barnabas was given the title 'Trash Boy'-- which I will never let him live down-- and so on and so forth.

      Astronomy class was held inside once again as the sky was covered in a thin blanket of cloud.  A quick review of the five great circles map and then we were watching some amazing videos about the stars and string theory.  The time passed quickly, and soon we were all gathering our notebooks and getting ready to head out.  On my way out of the classroom, I happened to hear Blonde Anna calling out to someone, asking something that pricked my interest at once.  I approached her, and asked her to explain what she had said.  Happily, she told me that Jake had offered to take everyone out to a haunted stretch of woods in town.  I immediately agreed to join them and helped spread the word about it.  When we got back to the villas, nearly all of the Fellows ran to get changed into outdoor clothes.  I excitedly grabbed my long, emerald and black cloak that my mom had brought for me during her visit, and hurried off to join the others.

      Squeezing more than a dozen teenagers into two large cars was an adventure in itself, but it wasn't even close to the excitement and thrills we had that night.  One of the biggest shocks of the night was pointed out before we even got to our destination-- while we were all making plans, Alec made a great exclamation and brought all of our attention to Barnabas, who was wearing jeans for the first time since we had met him.  It took a long while for us to get over this achievement, and by then we were all ready to explore.  The night was as black and dark as we could hope for as we went on our adventures.  From the old woods, we all went to Cook Out, and from there some of us went home and some of us went to hang out near the fire station.  Even the drive home had it's own twist, because I managed to get some of Jake's fishing lures caught in my cloak-- squished between two other fellows on the bumpy road, I felt like I was disarming a bomb as I worked the five tri-hooks out.  Pretty soon though, we were all back safe and sound in our beds.  I at least will always remember the great excitements and experiences we all shared.

      The night came to a restful end as the Fellows climbed wearily into their beds.  I can't say for sure if the buzz of excitement which hung over us was from our adventures in town or from anticipation of the upcoming holiday, but I there was a certain satisfaction with it all as we turned to sleep.  What the next morning would bring, we couldn't know; but we could hardly wait to find out!

Family and Friends

      Sunday morning was absolute bliss for me, simply because I slept in almost two hours more than normal.  I had decided to not go to Sandhills Church, but instead I watched the broadcast of my friend's church Elevation.  Despite my computer constantly buffering, it was a really good service-- and I didn't even have to dress up!  When the service was over, I decided it was time to get dressed and to do some cleaning.  My room had gotten a tad messy over the weekend, and I needed to pick it up before my special guests arrived.  It was only as the sun drew near its peak that my cell phone rang, a familiar name illuminating the caller-ID.  A few minutes later there was the sound of a car pulling into our front yard.  The engine of an old gray Mini-Van was cut off, and two women stepped out of the car.

      I opened the door just as my mother and Juliana, a transfer student from Brazil, came up to the villa.  I greeted them happily, showing them inside for a minute before we unpacked the things they had brought up for me.  I was excited to finally have all of my things in my new home and, though I'd never admit it, it was wonderful to see my mom again.  I showed them around my house and we all had delightful conversation.  The rest of the fellows had gone to the Skogen's house for lunch, and so the street was oddly lifeless as the three of us climbed into the Mini-Van.  We went into town where my mom bought me some new clothes and then took us out to my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden.  A few more stops here and there made the hours fly past.  The sky had grown dark with ominous gray clouds that threatened to unleash a downpour with every breath of wind; and so I regretfully said goodbye to Juliana and my mom, letting them drive home before the bad weather hit.

      Altogether, I had an absolutely delightful afternoon.  My secret homesickness had ebbed slightly thanks to the time I was able to spend with my mom, and so I faced the renaming hours of the day with a new energy.  However, my energy turned out to be useless, as I spent the next few hours just re-organizing things in my room.  Yet before my task was complete, I was called out to join the other fellows on a trip back to the Mandala House.  We were finally going to watch the musical we had all been singing since we arrived-- Les Miserables.

      I grabbed my giant teddy bear that I use as a pillow and rushed to my car.  A few others rode with me, and when we got to the Mandala House we all talked about our day while we waited for the popcorn to pop.  Some of the guys carried some couches from the living room into the classroom, while others moved our desks out of the way and arranged chairs for the movie.  When the snacks were prepared and the theater set up, I set my teddy bear on the floor against one of the couches and settled in.

      The movie began with a blast of brass instruments, the oh-so-familiar melody reverberating in our ears.  For most of us, it took a great deal of effort to refrain from turning the movie into a sing-along.  Apparently many of us, myself included, need to learn a bit more self control; as a good number of us could no longer hold back during One Day More.  As the movie neared it's close, the whispered singing subsided into sniffles and the subtle wiping of tears.  By the grand finale, we were all completely enthralled by the wonderful music and story of Les Miserables.

       Back at the villa, Red Anna and I each had a bowl of sherbet ice cream before I finished organizing my room.  Looking back on it, I had a really wonderful day with my family and friends.  Knowing that the morning would seem very early and that classes were fast approaching, I turned in early, quite satisfied with my day.

Keep On Keeping On

      On Thursday morning Fellows awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with excitement, despite having to set their alarms a bit earlier than the days before.  It was the day we were to bring in our musical instruments, and we were all excited about honing our skills and putting them to use.  The trunks of the bigger cars were loaded up with cellos, banjos, and more guitars than I thought would fit; while some students held their clarinets, violins, and ocarinas during the drive to the Mandala House.  The morning devotions and math classes flew by in a blur of anticipation till it was time for lunch.  Lively conversations flew around the table with everyone wondering about what would happen once we all got our instruments into the classroom.  Eventually, Master Lord Sensei Skogen called us all back into the classroom and instructed that we bring our instruments with us.

      We ventured back inside and settled into our seats as best we could with all of the guitar necks swinging around.  There was an unorganized jumble of sounds as everyone tried to tune themselves, Zack's trumpet echoing above the various strings and woodwinds.  When everyone was set, Sensei Skogen called for silence and attention as he passed out sheet music.  At the top of the page in large print were the words 'The Scientist'.  Students shared a hushed voice of excitement as the Coldplay piece was passed around the room.  After a short demonstration of the song, the fellows were all given parts to play and then were sent to find a place to practice.  The other four piano players and I went out into the lobby and very quickly began to figure out the notes with the grand piano.  Sensei Skogen ran back and forth between the groups of instruments, helping Fellows recall any training they may have had and teaching the basics to whoever was completely new to it all.  By the time everyone was called to reassemble, everyone had a good feel for the basics of the song.  We were split into bands so that we could all work together on learning the song.  Each group had one piano player, at least one guitar player, and then one of the more unique instruments such as the violin or trumpet.  Laura, a very talented violin player, ended up being in two.  Once we all had our bands and the teams had discussed meeting times, we were dismissed to go to work.

      The weather was perfect, so I decided to work on one of the sun-bathing chairs on the back porch.  Like always, time flew by for me as I typed away on my computer.  I did a bit of blogging and some research on articles, and soon enough I was done for the day.  I decided to not get up yet-- I was far too comfortable for that.  The sky was beginning to darken with clouds, but that only meant that the sun was no longer beating down on me.  Minute waves were rippling across the lake's surface, and some Mallard ducks were talking softly among themselves.  Altogether, the scene was just too peaceful for me to even think of moving; at least till Barnabas came out to tell me he was done for the day too.

      With our work done early, Barnabas and I decided to get some shopping taken care of while we had the time.  I drove us into town and made him wait while I did a quick once-over of the Goodwill.  From there we crossed the street and ventured into the Walmart Super Center, where he got some groceries and I stocked up on Mountain Dew.  We got back to the villas just in time to eat dinner before everyone went to the marina for a swim.  Out on the floating dock, we played King of the Hill again and our own lake-version of Duck Duck Goose.  Yes, we did feel very mature.

      As the sun began to set, I was introduced to a new game called Signs.  It is a very strange game indeed, but we had a lot of fun playing it.  The sun had completely vanished before we grew tired of Signs, and the lack of light forced us to choose between our game and our location; we ended up going back to the villas in order to continue the game.  Once we were back on our street, my room mates went inside to change out of their swim suits while the rest of us debated on which villa we should all go to.  I quickly grew tired of the excuses, and so I called everyone to follow me into my own villa.  Despite only having a small couch, everyone fit comfortably inside-- sitting in the rocking chairs, on pillows, or just the bare floor as we picked up the game again.  The game continued into the night till we all grew tired, most of us already dreading the sound of the alarm for the next morning.  Around nine in the evening our group dispersed once more, everyone returning to their respective villas, and Red Anna, Laura, and I collapsed into our beds.


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      Soft sunlight was filtering through my closed blinds on Friday morning; a scene which would have been quite serene, were it not for the obnoxious sirens exploding from my cell phone speakers.  My eyelids felt like weights as I forced myself out of bed and into the shower.  It was only as the bathroom filled with hot steam that my mind began to feel energized.  By the time I was presentable to the public, my mind was fully awake and I was ready to drive with my villa mates to the Mandala House for a meeting.

      Once we had all filed into the classroom and found ourselves seats, Mrs. Bortins began the morning meeting.  She began by reminding us that Brent, one of the Classical Conversations warehouse leaders, was going to be at our villas after the meeting to show us some basic car maintenance.  After the brief announcement, Mrs. Bortins pulled up some amazing videos of something that combined music, science, and sand.  While we watched in amazement, it was revealed that we were going to be split up into teams and that each team would make a replica of what we were watching.  When the videos were over, team captains were appointed and then allowed to choose other fellows for their team in turn.  Each team was given $30 for their project and a date for presentations was chosen.  Once everyone was clear on the directions and some plans for team meetings were set, we were dismissed.

      We all went straight back to the villas where we met Brent.  He gave us all packets explaining everything he was going to show us and then got right into the lesson.  Using Ian's Jeep for his demonstration, Brent showed all of us how to check our oil, brake fluid, power steering, and so on, as well as teaching us how to inspect our tires and lights.  There was even a nail in one of Ian's tires, and so Elizabeth volunteered to help change it for the spare.  Once the demonstration was over, Brent met with whoever had a car and showed each person how to take care of their own engine.  It was actually very interesting, and even people who didn't bring cars to Mandala learned something.

      For an entire hour afterwards, fellows got to do something they had not yet had the chance to do all week-- rest!  I'm not sure exactly what the others did; but at my villa, Red Anna napped in her bed while Laura and I sat on the couch and looked out the window.  We had some conversation, but it was mostly about how happy we were to have some moments of peace and quiet.  Enjoying each others company, we savored each and every minute of our free time, both of us glad to have some time for relaxation.

      Two o' clock came as quick as a fiddle, calling the fellows to snap back into gear for work.  Engines revved to life as car after car carried us to our various work locations.  I drove a small group back to the Mandala House for a brief meeting before our work would begin.  As soon as the meeting was concluded, my team and I set to work updating, uploading, and beefing up our web pages.  My blog was just starting, and so that was my main focus for the day.  As always, it seemed like no time at all before we were done for the day.

      Back at my villa, dinner was earlier than usual due to everyone having an easy work day.  During the meal, we all talked about what we expected Saturday morning to be like.  We knew that there were going to be people visiting to tell us about nutrition and house maintenance, but we weren't sure if there was going to be a house inspection while everyone was home.  To be on the safe side and because we had plenty of free time, we decided to tidy up everything after dinner.  Once we had cleaned, we went across the street where a group of fellows were blasting music and some of the boys were snapping towels at each other.  It was quite the spectacle of shenanigans, though pretty soon a few people went back to my house for a game of cards.  Olivia and I wanted to stay and listen to the music, but that alone made us bored, and our boredom quickly drew us into the tremendous mess that the guys called a 'kitchen'.  We cleaned up for them, singing with each other while watching the guys joust with rolly-chairs and canoe paddles.  The kitchen was spotless by the time Olivia and I were finished.

      With nothing else to do, we all ventured back to my villa where a large group of fellows were playing Liar on the floor.  Everyone was giddy after having such a great day and, before we knew it, we were all trying to figure out how to throw playing cards while singing Weird Al's 'Amish Paradice' and 'White and Nerdy'.  Blond Anna nearly went insane as she tried to find all of the cards that had been thrown around the room, moving furniture in desperation as she searched for the last of the deck-- completely unaware that Ian had the last card in his pocket the entire time.  We were all in fits of laughter by the time he showed it to her, trying and failing to keep a straight face as she snatched it from his hand.

      Laughs continued to fill the room as our games subsided into conversations.  Many of us snacked on mega marshmallows as we talked.  Lights were turned on as stars began to appear in the darkening sky.  Slowly but steadily, people began to bid us goodnight as they returned to their own villas and to bed.  Within the hour there were only a few other fellows in our villa, and then it was just Laura, Red Anna, and myself in the little home.  After putting the pillows and rocking chairs back in their places, we wished each other sweet dreams.  It had been an exhausting yet wonderfully satisfying week.


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      The second week of the Mandala Fellowship begun late Saturday morning as fellows were permitted to sleep in a little later than usual.  My room was completely illuminated as I sat up and stretched the sleep out of my muscles.  Kicking off my covers, I got up and made myself presentable for the public.  Knowing that people were going to visit us that morning, I decided to clean my room a little more carefully than I do most mornings.  By the time I emerged from my room, Red Anna and Laura were already eating breakfast at the kitchen table.  There was a knock at the door while we were still putting our plates away, and Laura ran to open it.

      On our doorstep stood a youthful woman who had the presence of someone very wise.  A warm smile was on her lips as she stepped inside, introducing herself as Mrs. Harvey, trained nutritionist and mother of Blonde Anna.  We all sat together at our little table, sharing friendly conversation while our guest showed us how to read food labels to determine what foods were healthy or not.  She had brought a basket filled with examples of affordable health foods that we could find anywhere and a couple books about nutrition, and even a little caterpillar she had found in her garden that she wanted to get rid of.  By the time she had finished her lesson I felt much more informed than I had before and I had my own pet caterpillar!  Before she left, she let us choose a gift from some of the things she had brought along, including some herb barrels.  Thanking her profusely, we chose one of the barrels from the group.  Mrs. Harvey then moved onto the next villa, leaving us to talk about our next grocery trip and wait for our next guest.

      Another knock on the door announced the arrival of our newest visitor, but it wasn't the person we were expecting; it was Barnabas.  Dressed in his usual suit pants and a button-up shirt, the youth stepped inside our abode to announce his plans for a dance lesson that night.  He and Zack were planning on teaching swing dancing to anyone interested and he was trying to get a head count of who was interested.  My villa mates and I all heartily agreed to be part of the festivities and then waved goodbye to Barnabas as he went on his way.  Right after the he left, another person came to our door-- Mr. Bortins.  The charming gentleman got straight to things, showing us how to care for our villa and inspecting all of the utilities.  He was  even kind enough to fix the outside lights for us.  The encounter was brief but efficient; and soon we were confident in our ability to maintain the villa, and he continued on his way.  Lastly, Mrs. Bortins herself was in our living room, ironing out Mandala rules such as a prohibition on entering the villas belonging to the opposite gender after ten at night, and confirming that it was alright for me to keep the caterpillar Mrs. Harvey had given me.  Red Anna, Laura, and I initialed a packet containing everything Mrs. Bortins had talked about in written form, and then we were free for the rest of the weekend!

      A while after we were released to our own devices, I was sitting in my living room with a small group of other fellows when we heard a slight commotion outside.  Immediately giving into curiosity, I went outside where I found something completely unexpected-- a basketball hoop.  A few of the others had also come to see what all the noise was about, and we all helped put it up.  After a couple practice shots, I went to swing in Barnabas' hammock while I watched Seth and Chris play a one-on-one game of basketball.  From my position I could also see some of the other guys as they started to grill up their dinner, making the air warm with the smell of burgers.  I hardly realized how much time had passed when Barnabas came out from his villa, announcing to everyone that it was seven o' clock, and reminding us that the Swing lesson was being in the Mandala House classroom at eight.  There was suggestion to bring swim suits for a swim after the dance, and then everyone went back to their business.  I went back home to change into more appropriate clothes and to tell Red Anna and Laura that it was almost time to go.  Once I was ready to go, I went back outside to see if anyone would need a ride to the Mandala House.  I was amazed to discover that nearly everyone was going, with the exception of three or four guys who wanted to watch a movie instead.  I ended up with a full car as Red Anna, Laura, Austin, Chris, and I made our way to the lesson.

      Inside the classroom, the dance lesson had already begun.  Zack came over to help show us the little bit we had missed, and then we paired up and tried our best to follow along with the music.  It was very different from the dancing I'm used to, but it was fairly easy to learn as we all danced together.  Our faces were grew flushed from adrenaline from dancing, and sometimes embarrassment whenever we made mistakes.  Everyone was very supportive of each other as Zack showed us different moves we could use for Swing dancing, Barnabas helping wherever he could.  The night passed quickly and eventually I had to stop for a rest.  I watched as Harrison did some gymnastics in the back of the room, right behind Zack and Olivia as they practiced some cool swing variations.  Red Anna was circling the room, snapping pictures of everyone as they danced and flipped.

      Bored of dancing, a small group of guys watched as Ian tried to do some gymnastics in the back of the room.  Being cautious at first, it took him a long while before his jumps began to even resemble a back-flip.  Barnabas and Blonde Anna were keeping things classy on the dance floor, awing onlookers as they preformed dips and spins and all sorts of tricks; making mundane movements sparkle with glamour.  True to his nature, Zack was leading Olivia in a very jazz-ified variation of swing, kicking and twirling across the carpet in a near frenzy.  The rest of the fellows, including myself, had long since tired themselves out and so were resting themselves, sitting against the wall and watching the dancing and gymnastics.  Altogether, the scene had a most peculiar mixture of energy and exhaustion.

      William, having left the room a little while before, poked his head in the door to announce that he and three others were going to go swim in the lake, and that anyone was welcome to join.  Hot and sweaty as I was, the invitation was too tempting for me to ignore.  I left the room just as Ian was starting to pull off some stunts, even landing a few back-flips.  Grabbing my bag from the couch, I made my way to the upstairs bathroom to change into my swimming suit.  Once I had finished changing, I paused to look out over the loft banister.  The night sky was visible through the large windows across the way; the stars looking like little pinpricks of light penetrating the black curtain above the trees.  Just below me, there was a slight commotion as a figure collapsed himself into a kitchen chair.  Ian, laughing as he did, propped his right foot up onto a chair in front of him.  Two of the other fellows were attending him, and a third was putting ice into a Zip-Lock bag.  Calling out Ian's name, I asked him what I had missed while changing.  With his usual, somewhat cheeky smile, he told me that he twisted his ankle but that at least he landed the front flip.  Torn between laughing and cringing, I made my way down the stairs to see for myself.  He held the pack of ice to his ankle,  but there was no sign of swelling yet.  So after making sure that he didn't need any of my assistance, I made my way out the back door and down to the lake.

      The moonlight was dim that night, and it took me a while to see where the swimmers had gone.  A thin sliver of white was just visible beneath four dark blurs, marking the location of my companions to be near the sand bank: a good hundred yards from the dock.  The swing music which wafted from the house dimmed into silence as I stepped into the cool lake water, an entertaining thought blooming in my mind as I slowly walked into deeper waters.  Wearing dark colors as I was, it was easy for me to become camouflaged in the dark waters, giving me the perfect conditions to sneak up on the others.  As soon as it was deep enough-- which, due to my shortness, was very soon indeed-- I shifted from walking into a stealthy swimming style, making nearly zero ripples and keeping only my nose and eyes above the surface.  Very slowly as to not attract any attention, I steadily crept nearer and nearer to the other swimmers, their voices becoming more and more distinct even despite their backs being toward me.  Finally, long after they had floated away from the sand bank, I caught up to them; but having no foothold, there was nothing for me to jump at them from, and so my plan was spoiled.  Slightly disappointed, I settled for wading beside them just one or two inches away from William.  I was actually surprised at how long it took for them to notice me; even when Will looked directly at me, it took him a few moments to figure out exactly what it was that was floating beside him.  The tiny jolt that went through him was not nearly the response I was hoping for, but I still laughed before grabbing onto the long-board they were using to stay afloat.

      Somewhat exhausted from dancing, not to mention the long swim, I relaxed while talking with the others and joking with William about how he thought I was a mermaid when he first spotted me.  The other dancers eventually came outside to cool off, though Barnabas was still teaching a few moves on the dock.  A small band of fellows had taken some flashlights and were catching frogs by the pond.  Soft moonlight enveloped the whole scene in a gentile silver glow.  A long time had passed before, car by car, we began to leave the Mandala House.  One of the guys drove Ian's car back with its owner in the passenger seat, his feet still sore from the poorly landed front-flip.  I drove with my windows down, letting the warm air flow through the my car.  It had been a very satisfying night, and I personally had a lot to look forward to in the morning; and so, as soon as I had exchanged my swim suit for pajamas, I tucked myself into bed and fell asleep.

Turning Up The Heat

      Day two of classes began with a devotion of Psalm 2 lead by our very own Master Lord Sensei Skogen.  The discussions had already become more intense as we all warmed up to each other.  Comments of the futility of rebelling against God and a debate on the definite difference between fear and comfort flew around the table, pulling everyone in with vigor.  Nothing was left unsaid: even a quote from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was drawn into the conversations.  By the time the discussions were concluded, the Fellows were wide awake and ready to go.

      What they didn't realize was that their morning was about to get confusing.  Mrs. Bortins shattered the Fellows' understanding of math by having them create their own mathematical system.  To ignore the ideas of formulas, equations, numbers, and even the theory of value, gave many of us a headache; but it was so intriguing that we just couldn't help but try our best to comprehend the exercise.  Starting from nothing, we created value, then symbols to represent that value, and then symbols that we could use to count more than one value, and then ways to combine values, so on and so forth.  It took us nearly an hour to create a way to simply add numbers together, and by then we were all completely immersed in the game.  Though we couldn't tell at the beginning of it, the exercise helped us understand the ideas of different numerical systems such as binary and trinary, as well as deepened our understanding and reverence for math in itself.

      There was only a short stretch break between the brain-busting "warm up" before we did our daily SAT practice passage.  This time we all worked individually on the same packet; and when time was up, Mrs. Bortins explained any problems we had difficulty on.  I got one less wrong answer than I had the day before, so I felt accomplished!  Once we finished the SAT answers, we had more lessons in Algebra and Geometry; ensuring that our minds were thoroughly befuddled.

      When it was time for the Fellows to go their separate ways for work, Mrs. Bortins asked my team and I to stay in the classroom.  Unsure of how to feel about being called out, we waited for the others to file out of the room before approaching Mrs. Bortins.  She explained what she wanted for us to accomplish throughout the year and we all brainstormed ideas for how to do this.  It was actually quite enjoyable to work with her as we planned for the upcoming months.  Once we had made a basic outline of our objectives, Mrs. Bortins gave each of us starting assignments and let us have at it.  My assignment was to take care of a letter from someone concerning a Classical Conversations teacher.  The teacher had just retired after ten years of instructing, and yet had received no recognition for her service.  I was happy to do it, as my mission was simply to write a few emails in order to have a token of appreciation sent to the teacher.

      While I was busy writing emails and organizing information, Barnabas and Zack were working on their own assignments.  We had been given the passwords for the various Mandala websites, and it was now part of our jurisdiction to maintain them.  Barnabas was working hard on setting up blog links and organizing the main page while Zack started updating social media and added pictures to our gallery.  Together, the three of us took care of the most pressing issues before getting started on our more personal projects.  Once everything had been updated and we had begun advertising our sites, we began to brainstorm on ways to get the word out about Mandala.  Barnabas and I, being writers, decided that we would each write a blog on the happenings of Mandala.  We got some sites and links and did a little bit of set-up, all the while discussing various ways we could both write without being redundant.  After we each wrote a little bit in our blogs, we discovered that we have very different writing styles.  This turned out to be to our advantage, as his active narrative-type writing was a great contrast to my more personal story-type writing.  Time flies when you're having fun, and soon enough we had done all we could for the day.

      After each villa had eaten dinner, a few Fellows went around and invited the rest to join them for a swim.  Pretty soon there were a dozen or more Fellows strutting in their swim suits and piling into cars.  At the Mandala House, the cars emptied and the serene surface of the lake was shattered by the splashes of cannon-balls and kayaks.  I, of course, hopped into a kayak and paddled after my companions; most of which were holding onto the sail-less windsurfer board and were kicking their way out to the sand bank.  We all played water games in the near-pitch dark, some of us wishing that the clouds would part enough for us to see the moon or stars.  It wasn't too late when we re-emerged from the lake water, wet feet padding up the walkway and back to the cars.  The Fellows slept well that night.


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      Wednesday morning came quickly for the Mandala Fellows, but we still got up and ready in time.  Devotions were lead by a Fellow named Seth, whose tall figure and sweet face matches his personality.  He started wonderful discussions regarding the situation and context of Psalm 3 and didn't withdraw from the discussion once it had picked up.  We closed with song and prayer, before transitioning into the classroom.  There was a buzz of excitement throughout the room as we waited for Master Lord Sensei Skogen.  No one really knew what to expect--it was the first day of music lessons.

      Most of class was spent in a lively discussion of what music actually is.  We were never really able to answer.  The conversation hopped from one theological idea to another, but the main subject was maintained as we all racked our brains for more to contribute.  Eventually the voices yielded to the shift into what makes music good or bad.  This flow of conversation only deepened the intellectual digging.  So on and so forth we went, including history and theory in our conversations, till the growling of stomachs was louder than the voices.  We broke for lunch, and then entered into what we had all been nervous and excited about--chorus.  Sensei Skogen put us into groups according to vocal range as we were instructed on how to read music.  At first the sounds we created were less than easy on the ears, but by the end of the lesson we had managed a great harmony of voices.

      Zack, Barnabas and I worked hard on writing blogs and uploading pictures.  When one of us finished writing the rough draft for our blog entries, we would send it to another to be proof-read and nit-picked.  Once the mistakes were pointed out, we edited and then finally published.  There was a nerdy sort of excitement as we each publicized our blogs, which turned almost ecstatic as we kept an eye on our view counts.  Pretty soon Barnabas and I were comparing view counts, sparking the flame which has blazed into the Blog War we are now immersed in.

       The other fellows were a little late getting home from work, but none of us wanted to make dinner before all of our villa mates were present.  Despite our desire to eat dinner with our other Fellows, we quickly grew impatient.  I'm not really sure how, but all of the Fellows who were around ended up in my villa.  Everyone had brought some sort of food, and Laura was busy in the kitchen making it into a delicious meal.  When the meal was ready to serve, the rest of the fellows had come back from work safe and sound.  Everyone was invited to the potluck, made up of pasta with sauce, green beans, stir-fried veggies, and rotisserie chicken.  Shouts of gratification to Laura were mixed in with the laughter and conversations as those at the dinner found seats here and there in our living room and kitchen.  Some of the guys graciously washed the dishes for us since Laura had done all the cooking, and when they had finished it was time to go back to the Mandala House for our first astronomy lesson.

      We feared that class might be canceled due to the gray blanket of clouds overhead, but we were put to ease as Mrs. Bortins welcomed us into the classroom.  After conversation on the creation of a Mandala Calender, Mrs. Bortins came up with some birthday prank ideas.  Once the business side of things was taken care of, class was in session.  The lesson started out with a very humbling exercise where we all attempted to draw an accurate map of the Earth--each person failing at various levels.  Due to the weather and the fact that we have yet to discover a field in which we can properly stargaze, we ended up watching a number of interesting videos on maps and stargazing.  By the end of the night everyone felt very satisfied with what they had learned, and we were all ready for a good night's sleep.

Classes Have Begun!

      The next two days of mandala were a blur of activity.  On Sunday morning we all got up with the sun in order to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in time for church.  The lady Fellows all wore lovely dresses suitable for the warm weather, while the gentle folk adorned themselves in suit-pants and polo shirts.  We gathered together and set off for the service.  I found the message given to be quite appropriate; the preacher gave a word on Ecclesiastes 3 where it is written that there is a time and a season for all things in life, just as the Fellows were transitioning into our new lives together.

      After the service, Mrs. Bortins invited us all back to the Mandala House for lunch.  Once again we ate taco wraps together before heading back to the villas to change into our swim suits.  Laura, Red Anna, and I had a very in-depth discussion about our feelings on the service as we gathered our water things together.  Once we were dressed properly, we drove back to the Mandala House and from there we journeyed across the lake to the marina.  Olivia and I each had a kayak, while Red Anna, Laura, and William raced us in the canoe.  We met up with the others by the floating dock, where I was promptly tipped out of my kayak by one of the guys.  Our water games of King-of-the-Dock and Tip-The-Kayak were cut short by a fast approaching rain cloud.  The swimmers of our group raced back to shore in an attempt to beat the rain to their bikes, while Michael and I raced the kayaks back to the Mandala House.  We had just beached the small boats when the droplets began to patter on the dock.  Snatching up our towels, we headed for shelter as fast as we could.  The door opened for us as we approached, and Barnabas cheerily greeted us as we stepped inside.

      The rain only lasted a short while, and so I decided to go sit on the dock and allow my feet to dangle in the water.  Barnabas came with me, though instead of drying off in the sunlight like I did, he decided to go back into the water and skip stones as we talked.  I watched as little pebbles leaped from his finger tips, frolicking across the surface before hiding themselves once more into the lake bed.  We lost track of time as we joked about his Irish heritage, making potato puns and such, and had lengthy conversations.  I laughed as Barnabas gave an animated recalling of how he met the love of his life, and of his thoughts about dancing professionally in competitions around the world.  After some time, three of the other guys came down and talked with us.  Austin took some awesome pictures of Barnabas diving into the shallow water before we all went back to the Villas for dinner.

      My villa mates were just seating themselves around rice and salad when I got home.  After the wonderful meal, all of the Fellows gathered between the villas to play Frisbee.  Once the sun had set and we could no longer see the frizbees flying at us, we all decided to call it a night in order to get up early the next morning.  I wasn't sure if I should feel nervous or excited about the first day of classes, but it didn't matter much.  I bid everyone goodnight and went to bed, passing out before I could think about the morning.

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    It felt like I had just put my head on the pillow when my alarm demanded that I get up again; I ignored it.  I knew myself well enough to set a number of alarms, and by the time the seventh alarm went off I was annoyed enough to get up.  A quick shower gave me a boost of energy, and by the time I had changed my clothes and gathered my note things, I was ready to face the day.  I ventured forth from my little hallway, and from there I found Laura in the kitchen making her lunch.  There was still sleep in my voice as I wished her good morning.  I began to put together a Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich and some fruit for my own lunch as Red Anna joined us.  Once we had all finished preparing our meals, we piled all of it into a little white cooler and loaded up Red Anna's car.

      Despite not knowing how long it would take, I decided that the first day would be a great time to ride my bike to the Mandala House.  It had been a long time since I last rode my bike, but for some reason I still went along with the idea.  The ride was mostly downhill - a luxury I paid dearly for later - and so I made it to the Mandala House in plenty of time.  As I squeezed the breaks handles, I noticed that I wasn't slowing at all but the bike was making a very high pitched squealing noise as I sped towards the House.  I took a gable by putting my feet on the ground in an attempt to slow myself; and by a miracle I didn't lose any of the skin from my feet, or even break my 98-cent flip-flops.  I leaned my bike against a tree in the front lawn and made my way inside.

      By 8am, all of the Fellows had gathered at the row of tables in the dining area.  We 'warmed our voices' with a shakily-sung hymn before opening our Bibles to Psalm 1.  As lively as always, Mrs. Bortins read the passage and then opened the discussion with some comments.  The table of Fellows was soon deeply immersed in philosophical conversions and discussions regarding the historical and religious comparisons between King David's life and ours.  We closed the devotion by praying and re-singing the song that we had attempted earlier, which was much softer on the ears the second time around.

      Gathering our things from the tables, I and the other Fellows made our way into the classroom where thin white tables and red chairs were lined up to face a white board.  Each of us found a seat, some stumbling over others as they went, and prepared ourselves for the unknown.  Mrs. Bortins called somewhat needlessly for our attention to be on the board as she began to draw out a warm up game for us.  Those who had attended the retreat searched their memories for the rules to this game while those of who had not attended any of the Mandala retreats, us such as myself, paid close attention as the game began in hopes of figuring out the rules for ourselves.  It was a fairly simple game, and it was a wonderful warm up for the mind.  Once the game had been completed, we were divided into pairs for the practice SAT passages.  With only 30 minutes to do twenty problems, students were absolutely silent in concentration.  Once each pair had completed their tests, they collaborated to check their answers.  By the end, we all agreed that we did much better than we expected of ourselves.

      After a short break to stretch and mingle, the Fellows reassembled to begin with the Algebra and Geometry lessons.  We started out with simple word problems which progressed in difficulty as we advanced.  I enjoy working out word problems, and so I had a lot of fun figuring out the answers.  Once we had done enough algebra problems for the day, we studied and discussed geometry theories.  By the end of the lessons we were all ready to give our minds a rest.  So we took another break for lunch, allowing us to relax and joke around about the day so far.

     After lunch, we once again gathered in the classroom.  This time it was not Mrs. Bortins who was teaching, but the man I have previously called Caleb Skogen.  We have since then lovingly renamed him to 'Master Lord Sensei Skogen'.  He kept the mood light-hearted as he had each of us stand in front of the rest to test our vocal range.  At first it seemed as if it would be embarrassing, but everyone's voice cracked at least twice, and we all had fun with it.  By the time we had all discovered the name of our vocal range - be it Soprano, Alto, Tenner, or Bass - it was time to fill out the last of the documents for us to legally work for Classical Conversations.

      Each person was directed to their job site and sent on their way.  I was still unsure of my job position, despite having asked for a position among the lines of writer or editor, till Mrs. Bortins told me to just stay where I was.  Soon, everyone had departed except for me, Barnabas, and another guy named Zack.  The Fellow has piercing blue eyes and the kind of face you naturally trust, and standing between Barnabas and me made his features stand out all the more.

      Mrs. Bortins announced that we would Mandala's first Publicity and Editing Team and gave us our first assignment.  We were each to go online and search for educational news articles, read them, and then post comments on them to just get our names out there.  I could hardly believe my ears as she explained the details to us; I was going to read and write, just like I love to, and now I was getting paid to do it!  We were then dismissed to begin our assignments, with the reminder that the laptops she had bought for all of the Fellows to use - not keep - during our time as Mandala students.

      Due to the nature of our job, we were permitted to work wherever we pleased.  The first day we all needed to go back to the villas for our computers, so I drove us all back and there we decided to stay.  I spent the next four and a half hours swinging in Barnabas' hammock and reading CNN education articles.  I was beyond content as the day flew by.

      As the other Fellows returned from their jobs and ate dinner, a number of us gathered outside to mess around with our various musical instruments.  More and more of us gathered and soon we had our own jam session going on.  The theme: Pirates of the Carabian.  The music continued long after sunset, with everything from guitars to didgeridoos, and even banjos to ocarinas, playing in a jumbled harmony.  When the night finally ended we were all extremely tired, and once again I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.