Important Words From Annalee!!!!

Important words from Annalee

Jari's P.O. Box has changed! So if you are wanting to write Jari this is her new address.

Sister Jarinete Thomas Santos
MTC Mailbox #210
NJ-MOR 0716
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Happy writing.

Mission Log: May 25, 2012

So. It's official. I'm in the intermediate Spanish class. Want to know what that means? It means that my MTC life got turned upside down and that I'm still here for 9 weeks. I have a new companion, Hermana King. She's lived lots of places (including central Florida) but right now she's claiming Alabama AND she went to BYU-I. She is so incredibly sweet and our teaching styles work well together. I also have a new room at the MTC. I live with my companion and then 3 other sisters, two of them are from Mexico so I hear a lot more Spanish now. I have a new district, a new zone, and a new branch. And I have a new P-day, which is why I am able to e-mail home twice this week.

My new teachers (Hermano Johnson and Hermano Walton) make fun of me all the time, because whenever I think I'm starting to speak Spanish and get really excited they have to break my heart by telling me that I was actually just speaking Portuguese again. But hey, good news I actually know a lot more Portuguese than I ever gave myself credit for. Funny how that has decided to manifest itself now of all times. My branch President served his mission in Brazil, worked at BYU for 32 years teaching Portuguese, and served as mission president in Brazil so he and I speak sometimes. He asked me if I wanted to move to the advanced Spanish class so that I can get out of the MTC in 3 weeks. I laughed.

My new district is great. The boys...I mean elders...are really funny and easy to get along with. Sometimes they sing more rap than they should, but we're all getting along well. In different ways I see my little brother in each of them, which makes it easy to love them...and to tease them, and to tell them to shape up.

I still haven't learned how not to refer to myself as "Jari" which gets me a lot of weird looks, especially when I introduce myself incorrectly to our mock investigators. Oh well, I really like my name. I can't help if I like to hear it every once in a while. But I'm sure I'll start refering to myself as "Hermana Santos" at some point.

There isn't too much else that is exciting around here. Although, I would like to say to all you crazies who promised me happiness on chicken cordon bleu day, y'all are liars. It was straight up awful. The salad and wrap station though, they are glorious.

OH!!! I met someone after my own heart yesterday, in the wrap line actually, he's half Portuguese and is learning Spanish. So basically we have the exact same problem of understanding really easily but sounding like idiots whenver we open our mouths. So glad that I'm not alone.

We got a new batch of missionaries yesterday. One of my efy boys is here now. Horray Elder Jimmy Davidson! He's going to be a fantastic missionary. It's so crazy that less than a year ago he was at SVU playing guitar and leading our group at game night. Oh how things have changed.

By the way, thank you thank you THANK YOU to all who have written me letters or dear elder letters (www.dearelder.com is pretty much the greatest thing ever!). It's really nice to hear things from the outside world. I try to respond quickly, so if you haven't received anything from me go yell at your mailman because I promise I've written you back.

That's all for now. Love you all.

Hermana Santos

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Mission Log: May 21, 2012

I made it to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) safe and sound. Cool facts, one of the elders who helped me with my bags was from Brazil and one of my companions is from Adelaide, Austrailia. So it was like I had a tiny piece of my parents here with me on the first day. I'm terrible at learning Spanish, and I'm terrible at calling myself "Hermana Santos." Other than that things are going well. I'm in a trio companionship. One of my companions is from Adelaide, like I said and the other is from Springville Utah. Their names are Hermana Kirk and Hermana Merrerly respectively. I have pictures of everyone, but I forgot my camera in my room so I'll have to send those next week. But, yeah, so the MTC...it's like the a little city of missionaries all running around super excited and super confused about everything. Depending on who you walk by you'll here "hey, how are you" in a range of languages in incredibly peppy tones. It's great. My teacher is Hermana Clark and guess where she's from? Morristown, New Jersey. And her grandparents are serving there right now. She gave me permission to adopt them. Which will be nice because I haven't met anyone else going to NJ yet. (Hermana Kirk is going to Argentina and Hermana Messerly is going to KY). What else? Oh, 19 year old boys. Everywhere! I don't really understand them, or their humor...but they're sweet and they love the work they're doing. They'll all be fantastic missionaries I'm sure.

Most exciting thing that's happened so far? My first night there was a fire drill because someone killed a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

Oh, and my Jari-self is still alive and kicking. Story time, I used to get teased a lot at BYUI because of how many people I knew and I couldn't walk on campus without stopping to talk to at least one person. The same is true at the MTC. I've ran into 3 teachers that I know from when I lived in Utah (they are all wonderful and it warmed my heart to see them!), Harrison Reid, a girl from my ward at BYUI, and a couple other randoms. My companions are getting annoyed with it, oops.

Hmm...what else? Oh, yeah! I'm an idiot. You would think that since I was leaving for 18 months that I would have thought to pack a couple essentials....like pajamas, or t-shirts at least. But alas, I did not. I also forgot a laundry hamper, a bath robe, and a slew of other things.

I don't really know what else to say about the MTC because mostly I study a lot and talk in Spanish a lot, and that doesn't make for very exciting stories. Oh. Wait. Here's a story. So I don't speak Spanish, right. But apparently I have the teachers here fooled because they had me take a test to see if I should move to the intermediate class...and it looks like that is what will be happening. So...that will be interesting. I mostly just jumble up the Spanish and Portuguese I know and make up the rest, but apparently it's working for me. Hopefully the Spanish speakers in New Jersey feel the same, though they probably won't.

Okay. I think that's all I've got. I'm happy, I'm healthy, I'm a missionary.

OH! Wait! One more thing. Do you want to know why being a girl is awesome? Because you get (I use that word loosely) to wake up a half and hour earlier than everyone else and go to a special exercise class everyday! Whoo hoo. Ha. Well actually they classes are fun...but really I'd rather sleep and eat peanut butter. Oh well.

Last thing. If anyone wants to send me a letter from DearElder.com I'll get them the same day, but PLEASE include your address if you do, otherwise I won't know where to send a responding letter.

Words from Annalee:

If you are wanting to send a DearElder to Jari you will need this info.

MTC Box #: 251

Mission Code or Mission: NJ-MOR 0716 

Estimated MTC Departure Date: 07/18/2012

She's Outta Here

It's taken me almost two years to get to this point, and after prayers and trials and travels it's finally here. In about 4 hours I will be set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't even fully understand the meaning of that role, and how I will be made to fill it. What I do know is that despite all the chaos that accompanied the making and following through of this decision that I have felt constant peace. I know that I am doing what is right for me at this time. So off I go with this as my compass:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Proverbs 3: 5-6  

Oh, before I forget. If you want to keep up with me this blog will be maintained by my mother and sister with excerpts from e-mails that I'll be able to send them. AND if you're really cool you can find my address on the right and send me a letter. Catch you in 18 months. 

Life Lately

Let's jump back to December for just a moment. I was trying to make a lot of difficult life choices back then. One day I was applying for grad programs, the next I was going to work as a country director for HELP International, another day I would be making elaborate travel plans, and a day later I was on to something else. The whole process was becoming exhausting, this was especially true for my parents. One day my dad called me and said frankly (more frankly than I would have liked) "Jari, you're 22 years old. It's time to grow up and make a decision so pick whichever one is right and stick to it. You're done flip-flopping around." So I thought a lot about it, I prayed about it, and that night I decided that the plan that I liked best, and the one that felt the most right was to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So that's what I am doing. On May 16th I will report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah then approximately 9 weeks later I will head to the Morristown, New Jersey Mission. So there you have it, I am capable of making decisions and I'm rather excited about this one.

Since I am reporting just a little over a month from when I graduated I decided to play pretty much the entire time in-between the two. First stop, Utah. I only stayed two days but I was able to visit with some of my most favorite people chatting, eating, and enjoying the lovely spring weather. Brenna made a delicious Easter dinner, Michelle taught me how to skip a rock, Holly and I had a lovely chat, and Sean even recounted all his favorite things about Utah and college life. Those were three days well spent. 

Second stop, Chicago. I wanted to spend time with my dear friend, Courtney. She is getting married in August to another friend of mine, Israel. Since I decided to serve a mission I will no longer be able to stand as her bridesmaid which breaks my heart. I still wanted to be a small part of the planning and see her before I left. We spent the week trying food and exploring the venue for her reception, shopping for dresses with the bridesmaids, laughing at wedding comedy movies in the man cave, baking treats, and oohing and awing over shoes, cakes, and Ryan Gosling. I adore Courtney and her family, they are so fun-loving and easy to get along with. Thank you again Shade family for letting me join in on the fun for a week. 

Now I'm home in perfect, sunny, wonderful Florida. About a week ago my aunt and uncle flew in from Brazil so we headed off to the emerald coast for five days. Make that 7 Brazilians, 3 Americans, 4 Halvsies, and 1 RV. It was a party. Lots of beach volleyball, frescoball, fruit, golden corral stops, made up sign language/English/Portuguese/Spanish communication, singing, and lots of laughing. I'm rather fond of hanging out with my huge, crazy family. Of course there is no such thing as a vacation without an adventure, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when the RV broke down for a little bit. Luckily everything got fixed and we were able to all travel back home together, and we definitely made the most of it. You haven't lived until you've had a traveling karaoke night complete with dance instruction courtesy of my father. It was a happy vacation full of sweet memories and gorgeous scenery. I'm so lucky to live in such a beautiful state. 

You would think that maybe I'd slow down for just a second, but that would be completely out of character. The first night back from the beach my family "surprised" me with tickets to the Lion King Broadway tour. I'm terrible about finding out about surprises just barely too early, but at least we had an extra ticket and were able to surprise Blake's mom, Liz. Surprise or not the show was beautiful. The Lion King has always been one of my favorite movies, and the show was just that more striking and emotional. Personally I feel that there are so many levels past entertainment and towards spiritual that the story line is capable of covering. If you ever have a chance it see to I would definitely recommend it. 

And the adventure continues...

Before the 16th the agenda still includes a Honduran dinner, two Brazilian dinners (can you tell my family is into food), scuba diving, blueberry picking, and a little Utahan get together with some family there. Life lately is pretty good. 

Graduation With a Hint of Nostalgia

Two weeks ago today I woke up in a tornado of a half packed room. I wandered around the kitchen giving partial attention to the stove I was supposed to be cleaning while trying to squeeze in some last minute studying for my very last final. I finally gave up, assuming I would fail, and went off to the testing center. By some miracle I managed a 98 on the test, and I was done. It was snowing so I ran home without celebration. I opened the door to the half empty apartment that had been my home for a semester and just started screaming. I jumped on couches. I cried. I laid on my back and kicked my legs up and down. I hugged my roommate. But mostly I just alternated between shouting "I'm done!" "98!" and other random screaming.

 

Alex Zeller, Anna Attebury, Christopher Swanberg

Ruth Arnell

I graduated. One more time, I graduated. I put on some funny looking robes and I dressed them up with high heels and lots of red, white, and black. I joked with dear friends. I listened to a speech in which I was labeled a "Viking Warrior" and got a bit teary eyed. I hugged a woman who I greatly admire as she told me that my senior paper blew her away. That simple comment filled my whole body with hope and provided that little boost of confidence one needs before they take the world head on. I walked across a stage, was handed an empty diploma envelope, took some pictures, and that was it. I was...I am done.

I spent the rest of the weekend packing up and saying goodbye to family and friends in Rexburg; and letting all the graduationy feelings sink in. It's strange to think that I won't make any more hikes to the Ricks building. I will no longer craft the perfect schedule to make sure I have at least one class with Duane, Ruth, and Trent, and that gone are the days of prefacing each of their surnames with Brother or Sister. I have lost my venue for overly loud rants about administration blunders, men, and poverty. In honesty, I feel slightly lost. I now live with this sort of hole in my heart that close friends and mentors used to fill with intelligent conversation/debate, uplifting and encouraging ideas, reading and music recommendations, and phenomenal comedic relief. It's just strange. For years the Ricks building was my home then one little strut across a stage and *poof* it's gone.

I'll miss my dear friends and roommates. I'll miss my professors. I'll miss class debates. I'll miss Pi Sigma Alpha and simulations. I'll miss the constant learning. I'll miss the feeling of endless opportunity. I'll miss a lot of things, but, let's be real, I'm also glad it's over. The feeling of accomplishment is almost intoxicating. There were so many times that I almost gave up, or transferred, or changed my major just one more time; but in the end everything worked out just the way it was supposed to. I'm going to steal from my friend Charles (Dickens that is) and say "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."

please ignore the alien eyes

I'm so glad that my family was there to share in this special time with me. They're all incredibly busy and for them to take time from their schedules to celebrate this achievement meant a lot. They helped me pack, they took a lot (a lot!) of pictures so that I have precious memories, they took me to a fancy dinner over looking the Salt Lake City LDS Temple, and before I knew it the weekend was over and they were gone. I'm very fortunate to have a family full of strong and motivating people. Their company and conversation reminded me that I have much to do and become now that my undergrad days are over. I'm excited for the new paths my life is capable of taking. I hope the sense of passion that was my constant companion throughout college will do nothing but grow stronger as I take all the things I've learned both in and out of classrooms and make my place in the world. I hope I make changes for the better, however small they may be.

Members of Congress, distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman...

I have a project every semester. Even when I tell myself "this semester I'm focusing on just school, I promise," it does nothing. I always end up with a project. My first semester I planned BYU-Idaho's International Food and Dance Festival. Once I was in charge of all humanitarian service activities on campus. In 2010 I was President of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science National Honor Society. And this semester I was done. I was going to take 14 credits, get a 4.0, and peace out of here. Good plan, right? Wrong.

Somehow within the first two weeks of school I ended up with an 18 credit course load and had agreed to head up a campus wide US Congress Simulation for Pi Sigma Alpha. No pressure. Regardless of the unexpected extra work this semester has been great. I was lucky enough to work with incredible people in preparing for the simulation. The kind of people who change your life forever and leave you with new ideas and goals. I loved getting to know them better, and they will forever be dear to my heart. They also  helped shoulder huge chunks of the work so that I didn't go insane. I'm very grateful for that. 

So after a semester full of lots of planning, and stressing, and e-mailing, and laughing, and pizza eating it was finally time for the simulation! We had 70-something kids participate, which is amazing! Mostly they were extra credit seekers, but regardless I was thrilled with the final turn out. 

I was playing the role of the President of the United States of America. It's a simulation, so I didn't think much of it...but there is something humbling about hearing "Hail to the Chief" play as you walk into a room full of well dressed, respectable, intelligent individuals who are applauding your entrance and then go on to give a rendition of the State of the Union. We went ahead with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then I gave the address. Very exciting, very nerve racking. Like any good president I had someone else write the speech for me (credit to Christopher Swanberg). You know you're giving a good speech when it starts: "When I took office 2 years ago, this country had gone to the dogs. But America is not a country for dogs, it's a country for people--you people..." He did a fantastic job writing  it, and it was a very good speech if I do say so myself. I was constantly interrupted with applause because, well, it was the State of the Union. As I reached the end of the speech I started to get a bit emotional. I really do love this country, and I appreciate the amount of work that goes into the political process.

The simulation went on from there. People broke up into committee sessions and floor sessions. Later we called an emergency joint session of congress to address a national security issue. There was a lot of stress and debate, but it was a great time. They even tried to impeach me. Fantastic, aye?

At the beginning of these simulated committee sessions and floor debates I truly wanted the participants to collaborate and reach the best decisions they were capable of. Is government perfect? No. But, it is my hope that those who are elected in this country have even a small portion of the hope and determination that were felt and expressed during the simulation.

We ended the evening with a banquet and some awards including but not limited to the "Mitty" for the best flip-flopper, the "Wilson" for the peace-seeker, and the "silver tongue" for the talker. Then I was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a thank you card. I felt so honored. It's something special to be recognized after long, long hours of hard work. I didn't do it on my own at all and I cannot say enough how grateful I am for everyone who helped make the simulation a success; but it was heartwarming to know that people appreciated the work that had been done.

It's funny that now the simulation is over my body assumes the rest of the semester has ended with it. My brain feels completely fried and I'm not sure how to muster up the motivation to get everything done, but I guess I'll get there somehow. I'm glad I've ended my last semester with good friends and fun projects, but right now I'm really ready to take a nice long 2 week nap and read something that doesn't have a homework assignment attached. T minus 10 days and counting! 

Tales of an Overdramatic Senior

I have a really bad case of senioritis.

Seriously, I don't know how anyone is putting up with me right now. I would like to thank my roommates, friends, and family for their patience.

Sometimes when I have been on campus too long hunger and fatigue completely take over my body. I start to fall asleep on random benches or I say outlandish things that students and teachers tease me about later. It's funny I guess.

Sometimes I think I have cancer, other times I burn my esophagus and have to get x-rays and take steroids for 2 weeks.

Sometimes I get in a car with my roommate and try to drive home from the airport, or to FHE. This normally ends up with us swerving off the road into a ditch, and having a fence stop our momentum (later to be saved by two Mexicans who spoke absolutely no English. They pushed Gus all the way back onto the road). Another time this ended up with us on some crazy back roads with trenches and mud and no cell phone reception. I'm just glad we made it out.

Sometimes I decide that I can take 18 credits, and plan a campus-wide simulation, and attempt to have a social life. Which led to my teacher issuing instructions for a class assignment that included: "it can't be Jari writing it down because I'm pretty sure she is going to explode if she gets asked to do one more thing so someone else be the scribe. We don't want exploded Jari bits getting all over stuff."

Sometimes I scream. Mostly only in my apartment or when I'm in a car with my roommates, but there is definitely a lot of screaming.

Sometimes my excitement is too much for my body and I end up laughing hysterically for close to 13 minutes.

Sometimes I stay up late. Sometimes I sleep all day.

Mostly I just survive.

But you want to know what's okay about having senioritis? The senior part. I'm so close to being done. I just have to do a couple more papers, just a couple more tests, just a couple more projects and I'm out of here!

Teary Goodbyes, Happy Hellos

2012. This is it.

New Year's Eve is always one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. I feel like sometimes it doesn't get enough credit for how fantastic of a holiday it is. For the past five years I have been attending the annual Russ fire. This generally guarantees really tall structures that, when lit, become burning towers of pyromanic joy. If you want to know what I mean you should check out the videos here and here. Really. I'm serious. Go watch the videos.

This year was a tad on a lower key.  There was less in the way of tower height and people attending, and more in the way of fireworks. Which is also fantastic. I do not discriminate in my love and appreciation for explosions of any type. I leave that for people who understand big words and physics.

It was nice to spend the evening with a smaller group of people who I really love. I was in a bit of a funk for most the night. A funk which only got worse after getting marshmallow in my hair and then later accidentally burning off some of my hair. It was one of those times when all the little things weighing on my mind were given permission to break the surface at once. At one point I may have curled up into a ball, buried my head in my friend's chest, and shed a few tears. Which is always awkward for me, but it turned out alright.

2011 was an incredible year, one that I didn't let go of easily. Here are the highlights:

Baby: Going to Detroit to help welcome baby Andrew Rice into the world.

Medieval Times: Celebrating my little sister's 20th birthday with some good old fashioned jousting.

Disney: Reunion with Courtney and Israel. Eating lots of delicious foods, riding all my favorite rides, seeing all my favorite shows, and talking talking talking with some very dear friends. Glorious.

Shows: Going to Wicked with Mom and Adam. They loved it as much as I do. We may have sang Defying Gravity together once or twice on the way home.

South Africa: No one specific story or event, just all of it. The people, the places, the food, the UNIC, the everything. A piece of my heart has taken up permanent residence in Pretoria, South Africa and will live there forever more. I never thought I would grow so much, love a place so much, learn so much in that small of a time. There aren't really enough words to express how perfectly tailored this experience was for me and my needs at that specific time. Perfect.

EFY: The name-tag rebellion. Trying to determine if I ever have felt like a plastic bag. Harry Potter. New friends. The kids. The wonderful, smart, spiritual, good kids. The learning we did together. It was great. Believe, Hope, Edure that's all I got to say.

Provo: Julie. Hollie. Sean. Boyd and Lloyd, the best hometeachers and dear friends. Michelle. 191st ward. HELP International. Figuring out my life. Learning how to knit. Talking into the night. Doing Utah specific things. Jane Austen movies. Fall colors. All good.

Thanksgiving: Family, Friends, Muppets, and gluttony. 

Costa Rica: Vacation bliss. 

And now it's over. It went fast.

Maybe it's because everyone is growing up. Maybe it's because I'm graduating. Maybe it's because I'm going on a mission. Maybe it's because of a lot of things all together. All I know is that the end of a lot of things felt tangible as 11:59 turned to 12:00 and took away 2011 with it.

I'm grateful for good memories though, they add to the excitement of the future.  I'm trying to keep in mind what Jeffrey R. Holland said, "We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives." 

On the agenda for 2012 are a lot of unknowns. Graduation and mission are the only certainties. I don't exactly know what to expect with either endeavor, which made resolution making difficult this year. So I only have three:

1. Follow the Spirit

2. Be happy while I'm here, because there's no here there

3. Don't pick at zits

Pura Vida

The last of my Utah days were spent eating all kinds of delicious foods, dancing, laughing, knitting, visiting typical Provo places, and staying up until the wee hours of the morning with my favorite friends. Not much to report, just that it was lovely. It was like TV life...expect for the part where everyone was drowning in finals week horror and I made myself into a constant distraction. Oh well.

On the 13th Provo decided to snow, and I decided to peace out. I boarded a big plane that brought me back to the land of sunshine, bliss, and clammy hands and feet. I finally got to see Blake and Annalee's new place in Miami and meet my niece, Bogie, the flying squirrel. They also took me to eat baleadas for the first time. All I have to say is thank you Honduras! Then I passed out in the back of their car and they drove me to my parents house in Belleview.

We were supposed to leave for Costa Rica the next day. Everyone woke up, sort of got their bags packed, and Dad was even ready to go by 10:30. But, a bank mishap, some traffic, and a bad stewardess later we had missed our flight. So we spent the evening roaming Orlando instead. We hit up Golden Corral and the outlet mall...which probably made us look very much like Brazilian tourists. Then finished off with a bell choir, Christmas decorations, and fireworks at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. When in doubt Disney property always has something that will brighten your day. We went to bed happy, and tried the airport thing again the next morning. We made it that time.

It's fun landing in places where you disembark the plane outdoors using those too-narrow, stand-up stairs. It's fun being a little too warm in December. It's fun having your passport checked in a country where the workers don't stare at and interrogate you like you just threatened everything dear to them. It's fun having a short man shout out your family name to which your oh-so-tourist-looking mother responds. Thus causing a rush of workers to whisk away your bags while you wonder whether or not you'll ever see them again. It's fun renting a mini van where the middle bench is completely detached from the rest of the car. It's fun showing up at a resort where they think your reservation has been canceled. It's fun having everything taken care of while you eat in the sun. It's fun being in Costa Rica.

During the week we floated around on the waves, watched as Blake made friends with all the iguanas and pizotes, attempted to convince our new Costa Rican friends that snow is the most terrible thing on earth, ordered lots and lots of flat iron steak and tres leches cake, went exploring on different rocks, watched Italian soap operas, and slept, and laughed, and got sunburnt, and climbed trees, and looked at stars, and spoke gringo, and drank virgin everything, and slept, and tried to convince my dad that vacations aren't so bad after all.

One of the highlights of the trip, for me anyway, was scuba diving at the Catalina Islands. I just recently got certified and this was my first time not in a pool or a crater in Utah. I was excited, and I was not let down. I'm terrible at remembering names of fish, sharks, and rays, but we saw some of them all while being tossed around by the current. It was great. Apparently the visibility wasn't fantastic, but I don't really have much to compare to. All I know is that being underwater with nothing to listen to but the sound of your breathing...it's glory. There's nothing to disturb your thoughts, everything to see is new and exciting, and in a non-verbal way there are people to share it with. Then there's the boat ride. Cruising along in the sunshine on the deep blue water and seeing the different views of somewhere you've never been while listening to the random conversations of strangers is happy. Really, it's one of those things that watching as an outsider looks like a fantastic time; and when you're the one living it, it's even better!

My only disappointment is that it took me so long to get certified. This is a beautiful hobby and I highly recommend it. The only downside is that now all I want to do is get back in the water and I don't exactly have the funds to support that desire. So I'll just dream until next time.

The vacation finished out nicely. We even made our flight home with no problems. I got stuck sitting next to a couple beer crazed, California-beach-bum-wannabees, but there are worse things in life. Overall I'm going to have to rack this up as an absolute success.

Holidaze

Remember a few weeks ago when everyone was talking about turkeys, pies, family, and things they're thankful for? That was a good time. Let's go back there for a moment. My Thanksgiving time was chaotic, tasty, sleep deprived, and full of love. Just the way I like it.

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving I helped cook a turkey for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner with my cousins Lala and Leilane and some other friends. Let it be known that I have never in my life cooked a turkey, and granted my only role was to babysit it while it sat in the oven, I was terrified. Especially when smoke started billowing out of my oven after it had only been in there for 10 minutes! But alas, all was well, the turkey did not explode. Mission accomplished.

Throughout the morning I had a couple adorable visitors. Tiago, Lucas, and Derek are three of the sweetest boys you will ever meet. I taught Tiago how to play Phase 10 and he kicked my butt. Then I took them all to the park and let them show off their monkey bar skills for me.  Right before dinner I brought them back to my apartment and let them help me with the mashed potatoes while rocking out to Disney music. During the potato making process Tiago and Lucas got in a fight over who was the better and faster potato peeler and Derek got a penny stuck between his bottom front teeth. I laughed hysterically through all of this, then wondered if that means that I am completely devoid of motherly sympathy.

Lucas

Tiago

Derek

So then it was off to Leilane's for round 1 of Thanksgiving deliciousness. I love being surrounded by people I love (I mean, who doesn't?). The jokes are better, the conversation more meaningful, it just makes life a lot more fun. Daniel, Leilane's husband, had never tried candied yams before. Watching him eat them for the first time was hilarious. He took a tiny bite and his face looked prepared for disgust. Then all of a sudden his eyes got the size of golf balls and a huge smile showed up. He was sold. We finished the night with a few rounds of Apples to Apples and pie. Fantastic, right?

The next day brought rounds 2 and 3 of Thanksgiving glutton happiness. The first with some family from my mom's side...

Actually, let's back up for a second. There was a lot of family from my mom's side, about 20-something people. But, both my parents are the 5th of 7 children so family, extended family, and friend-amily is nothing I am short on; and 20-something can still feel like there are some people missing.

Anyway, so we all piled into my Aunt Rochelle's house and talked and talked and talked about gluten free recipes, about football, about politics, about religion, and about the future. I like to talk. I like to listen. This was a pretty good gig for me. Dinner was delicious and oh-so-aesthetically pleasing. It looked like one of those Thanksgiving dinner's you see in magazine. We had name cards for our dishes, leaves on the table, the food was all brightly colored and color coordinated...oh, and the turkey and had cooked with a blanket of bacon on it. Take that.

I'm pretty sure poker, tim tam slams, a Winnie the Pooh marathon, Nertz, and pie were also involved in round 2. Let's get a couple things straight. My family is awesome. They do holidays right. I love them.

Now on to round 3. Dear friends who live far from home and family, Cracker Barrel, and The Muppets. Early on in the semester my Thanksgiving plans were Puerto Rico bound to visit some of my favorite friends, Courtney and Israel. Then I remembered that I'm super poor and couldn't swing that. I was explaining this to another friend, Sean, and it turns out he didn't have dinner plans at all. Neither did my friend Andre. Then Sean mentioned Cracker Barrel and all these things changed from a string of disconnected thoughts into an outing. Cracker Barrel makes dang good food, and they don't make you clean up. So after the turkey coma had worn off a tad from round 2 I went out with them.

Then off to the Muppets. I grew up watching The Muppet Show. In fact the very first time I heard that when you take an elephant and a rhino you get an "ellifIknow" was from The Muppet Show. Great children's humor, am I right? Anyway, I was bound and determined to see this movie. Lucky me Sean and Andre were happy to accompany. If you like The Muppets you should probably go watch it as soon as possible and get your giggle on. Then I'll tell you all about how Animal is the greatest and best Muppet  and how he makes me laugh uncontrollably. Then I might favor your with a round of "I've Got Everything That I Need."  You know you want to hear all about it. Just go watch it. Just go.

So to review: lots of food, lots of family, lots of laughing, Muppets, card games, sweets, zombies (yeah...that was in there somewhere), lots of talking, and getting just enough sleep to get by = Happy Jari. The end.

Bring it on Christmas! 

Sunday lessons: thou shalt think before you speak

I live in Utah these days. I know I've mentioned this before, but normally I'm teasing the state or myself when I mention that fact about my life. Today, however, I'm really happy that I live in Utah. Why, you ask? Five words: Music and the Spoken Word. That's why.

A Louisianan friend from efy found herself in Utah this weekend with a hankering for some MoTab. So we filled Gus with a couple more efyers and off to Temple Square we went. Let it be known that Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing as arranged by Mack Wilberg is my absolute favorite hymn at the moment; and today's broadcast closed with that song. The music filled my soul, found my pride, beat it to a pulp, then left me with the hope that I can be so much better than I currently am. "Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above." I am so grateful to have witnessed that presentation and to feel of the testimony shared there.

Utah, you have your perks.

In fact, Utah, since I'm being nice to you today I'll keep talking about how awesome spending Sunday on Temple Square is. It's stunning. You can't help but be completely overcome by the sheer majesty of the Salt Lake Temple. I admire and greatly appreciate the effort and sacrifices made by early saints to build a "sacred structure where the Lord could teach, guide, and bless" them and future saints.

The visitor's center, also great. It's filled with cute sister missionaries who are such pleasant company and great conversationalists. One even thought that we were all childhood friends, what a compliment. Then we listened to a presentation in Spanish, and I understood it! Happy day in the world? I think so

Another favorite from my Sunday on the Square was watching countless presentations of I'm a Mormon. They are incredibly uplifting stories of real people. Each story ended with the person explaining their different roles in life (fathers, mothers, teachers, publicists, professional football players, olympians, lawyers, friends, painters, etc.) followed by the standard quote "and, I'm a Mormon." Sometimes I couldn't contain myself and would follow up by cheering "yeah you are!" or "I just love him/her." I'm probably not the most reverent person alive, and I should probably learn to think before I speak seeing as this action repeated itself anywhere from three to seven different times. But, ya know, sometimes I can't help myself. My heart gets so full of happiness, and confidence, and triumph, and other goodness...and sometimes it has nowhere to go, so it comes out my mouth.

Stephanie, Michelle, and Sean you are absolutely wonderful. I'm so glad I spent my Sunday with you three. You are all amazing and inspiring people, and I definitely look up to each of you. Oh, and thanks a whole lot for putting up with my ridiculous nature.

Anyway, I guess all I'm trying to say is that my name is Jari Santos. I'm 22 and still learning to think before I speak, I love spending time with good friends at good places, I'm about to graduate and have no idea where my future is headed, I'm loud, I like to travel, I'm a halvsie, and I'm a Mormon.

(I'm sorry that I sound all kinds of crazy, bright-eyed and bushy tailed. But, hey, you're the one who stayed to read. So happy Sunday to you.)