ReneFoster

2009-05-11T17:09:00.002-06:00

So let me just say that I have failed miserably at this blog thing. I got it so that I could do amazing things on it while I am in Chile. Here I am. I´ve been here for two months and I haven´t posted a single thing! So here is my post, and I´ll try to tell more when I have more time to tell it!
P/S pictures coming soon!

The Roommates

2008-12-06T23:21:00.004-07:00

I know that I have spoken about my roommates and how we have some good times. Well, yesterday, I was doing homework in my bedroom. I heard a knock. It was my roommate, Becky Stoker, telling me that there was a delivery for me. So, she left for a moment and came back in wheeling an extremely large suitcase. By this point, both my room-roommate, Ashley, and I were totally confused. I was trying to remember whether I had lost or misplaced a piece of my luggage. (By the way, the answer that question is no!) So, I unzipped the suitcase. Lo and behold: another of my roommates, Mary Morse! In the picture, it is me along with Becky (sitting beside me) and Mary, still in the suitcase! Can I just say I have wonderful roommates?

We Say Happy Thanksgiving to All!!

2008-11-30T21:32:00.002-07:00

Every year Mom makes a family newsletter that we send in our Christmas cards. She wanted a few good pictures of Dennis and me from Thanksgiving so she could put one of us in it. Because we forgot to take pictures at Thanksgiving, Dennis and I posed for the camera today. We actually took more pictures, but each one was progressively sillier. I deem these two to be the better of the batch. There was one of Dennis's roommate, Aaron, brushing his teeth which was quite comical. However, Dennis forgot to email that one to me.

Thanksgiving Week

2008-11-30T09:55:00.003-07:00

My roommates left this week. One went to Florida, three to Utah, and one to Washington, leaving me to roam the apartment alone. I did homework, went to the library, watched a movie, and visited the nursing home. There is a blind man, Harold, and he was a judge here in Rexburg for thirty years. He authored many books on education and he loves poetry! I spent an hour and a half reading to him and talking to him. He listens to devotional on the radio every Tuesday and he wants me to come and listen to it with him this week. I'm excited to do it! My roommate, Kendra, went with me on last Tuesday and talked to a woman name Phyllis. They have a lot in common, Kendra is an art major and Phyllis is an artist. Kendra is going to take some of her works for Phyllis to look over.

I rode my bike a lot and explored Rexburg. I have these great gloves, so even if it is really cold outside, I can still go out on my bicycle because my hands don't get cold!

Thanksgiving day came and I made a blueberry, raspberry and blackberry pie. I think the crust is the best crust I have ever made. Then, I went back to my homework and completed an annotated bibliography. After that was finished, I peeled potatoes, cut them and carried them to my brother's apartment to cook. No one was there, but the door was unlocked. So I went inside and put some water in the pan and started to cook the potatoes. Dennis never showed up! So I called him where he was (at a friends apartment) and told him that I was at his apartment. Why? Well, he'd told me dinner was at five, so I got there to cook the potatoes. Silence. Then he told me that he'd already eaten. Oh well. Could have been worse! I'm planning on having a real "Thanksgiving Dinner" with my whole family come Christmas.

So, yesterday I went to give plasma. He put the needle in with nary a problem. The plasma went out, the red blood cells were returned. The plasma went out but when the blood cells were being returned, my arm started to swell. So they wiggled it around to see if they could fix it and it started to swell even more; hence, they switched it to my left arm. They returned the red blood cells and started the process over. Upon the second return, my arm started to swell again! So, they wiggled it around to try and fix it and again! they made it worse! They guy took off the bandage on my right arm and found a different vein. This one held and I finished after two hours and forty minutes. I was expecting rather large bruises, but because I iced the needle sites, I haven't a black-and-blue mark!

I am no longer alone, as Kendra arrived last night. We got up this morning and, according to the established tradition, ate waffles. It's nice to once again have her company!

2008-11-23T15:22:00.002-07:00

My first couple semesters of college, my roommates were the same. We had a lot of fun and we took lots of pictures. This just happens to be one of the better ones of me, minus the roommies. We would spend hours in the gardens taking picture after picture. This particular picture is from Fall 2006.

This is another shot of the whole apartment; however, I don't think my roommates would have approved of my posting this picture with them in it. It is from Fall 2007, another one of the better photos of me!

My roommate, Kendra Sue, was invited to a Halloween party this year and did not want to attend it by her lonesome. So, of course, she dragged me along. We dressed in black and pinned white circles to clothes creating the end result: dominoes. In these particular photos, we are wearing the hats of one of the other participants (and host) of the party who dressed up as a S.S. officer (he served his mission in Germany).

2008-11-23T14:16:00.003-07:00

My name is René Foster. I am currently an English Major with a Music Minor at Brigham Young University — Idaho. Even though this semester has been going rather well, I must say that I am looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. You see, I am preparing to go to the Universidad de Viña del Mar, translation: University of the Vineyard (or Wine) of the Sea. I am doing so to become fluent in Spanish. I actually set up this blog to make it easier to communicate whilst being in Chile.

However, before I get there, I must tell you about the semester. I am taking a few English classes and a few Music classes, plus a late night religion class. I do love these classes and I am learning a lot! With each text I read, I get more excited to read the next! Thus far I have read Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets," Kate Chopin's "The Storm" and "Story of an Hour," Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," as well as some T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Yeats, A. E. Houseman, James Joyce and many others. Right now I am working on writing a feminist perspective on Oscar Wilde's "The Sphinx Without a Secret." The final project should be fairly fascinating!

In the music, I am working on three pieces: Nel Cor Pui Non Mi Sento, Caro Mio Ben, and Sento Nel Core. All of these are beautiful pieces. I think Sento Nel Core is my favorite and possibly my best piece. I am also required to observe six hours of high school choirs and volunteer to help for two more hours. Of course, I am loving every minute of it!

Recently, I volunteered to help do a sacrament service at one of the local nursing homes. I played the organ for all of the musical numbers. I fell in love with one of the women there and am going back to visit her and read to her. Especially since none of her children visit her, I thought it would be especially nice to visit her during this Thanksgiving season.