The semester is finally over, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the long-awaited break! As they always do in school, the weeks between Thanksgiving and the semester close flew by with non-stop culminating projects, research proposal deadlines, and final exams. We have spent many a recent day in our favorite local study cafe, Colectivo, and drinking too much coffee!
Over Thanksgiving break, we stayed around in Milwaukee and hosted a small Friendsgiving gathering at our apartment. It coincidentally turned out that everyone who attended was from California and couldn’t afford to go back home for so short a time. We had a great time, and I happily succeeded in making my first spatchcocked turkey along with some sticky rice stuffing and a pumpkin magic cake for dessert!
On Black Friday, we went to see a movie in the theater for the first time since La La Land. “Wonder” was definitely a tear-jerker (x5), and I highly recommend seeing it if you haven’t already! That weekend one of my classmates also invited us over to her home in Brookfield for a delicious dinner. We met her husband and children and giant German Shepherd, and the night really felt like “real life” in contrast to all the school-oriented tasks and activities that normally occupies our time.
In early December, Jonny had a medical volunteering event at a Hmong New Year celebration in Milwaukee (apparently Hmong Americans are the largest Asian ethnic group in the state of Wisconsin), and I decided to tag along to check it out. Good decision on my part, because the organization was very generous with the food vouchers for the medical student volunteers, and we ended up taking home a plethora of Hmong food for dinner…and lunch and dinner the next day too.
Since our last update back in early November, we’ve started attending a neighborhood community group through our church. Our group has a good mix of members in different life stages, and it’s great that one of Jonny’s classmates and his wife attend the group as well. We meet every Thursday night to discuss the previous Sunday’s sermon and bible passage, and once a month we have a potluck/fellowship night.
In other news, it’s really cold here and the snow has finally decided to stick around! It’s quite surreal seeing everything covered in snow, but so far it hasn’t been too much trouble (underground/covered parking will do that for you). It also make Christmas lights and decorations WAAY more beautiful, so that’s a plus!
While we are definitely glad to be settling in well here, we are excited for our time back in California to see all of our beloved friends and family!
grablifebythehorngs 