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.
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.
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