Don't yuck my yum.

I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone who went back to school on Monday when I say this has been a rough week. If not, kudos, because this has probably been the strangest, most discombobulating, most difficult week of my life. I was surviving pretty well, though, until Friday. I woke up and knew it wasn't going to be pretty. My first class was Junior Seminar, where we talked about college applications. fun. After that I had a math class full of calculators and devoid of any interesting ideas or revelations. Then I had a meeting with Mia Ritter, semester 43 alum. It was awesome talking to someone about Chewonki and about the transition, but it wound up just making me sad.

After history and english class, I went down to the cafeteria for lunch. By this time, I was not in the best mood, to say the least. I found myself at the same table as a girl who went to the Mountain School. We talked about the similarities and differences between the two. First we talked about classes. Apparently, they have a class there called Environmental Science, which is similar to P. Sniff's class except with wayyy fewer field trips and altogether lamer. (i might be kinda biased...) She said it bored her to death and she hated having to memorize all the tree species. I was starting to get annoyed, but I tried not to show it as I told her that I had loved identifying species. The conversation turned to living arrangements. At the Mountain School, they live in dorms, not cabins, so they have their own rooms. I told her about our cabins and how great they were and how much I missed Ranch House. And she was all,

"Wait, so you all live in one room with a bathroom attached?"

"No bathroom. Three cabins share a bathroom."

"But you all live in the same room? You don't have any personal space? I would hate that. How do you live like that?"

End. Of. Conversation. I went to the library, sat in a comfy chair by myself and listened to the Avett Brothers while pretending to read King Lear. I had sat in this chair a million times before, but I never realized until then that the books in front of it were about plants! So I put King Lear away and instead picked up an Eastern Trees Field Guide. So, as I listened to Paranoia, I read the descriptions of Yellow Birch, and White Pine, and Balsam Fir, and wished I could still go outside and see them, but wished I could see all of you more.

I miss you all!

Love,

Rachel (Shelley, the Taoster)

P.S. I got a skype! rachel.oat. I don't really get how it works yet...but yeah!