Notes from the face of the sun

Hallo everyone. It's been only a few days since my last blog post, but it's been so hot here in Boise that there's nothing much to do but stay inside and play around on the computer... or watch endless amounts of bad TV. So I thought I'd tell you guys what I've been up to this summer.

In no particular order and with my usual unnecessary amount of pictures, I've...

Been to a 'rib fest'

Hung out with my family (there's my older brother Taylor, my baby brother Ryder, my dad and me!)

Hung out with my friends

Eaten epic American food

Made gorgeous cupcakes - that's a dolphin by the way

Gallivanted downtown

and been to the Boise zoo!

But of course no summer is without soul-crushing boredom at some point. I also have 3 online classes to complete, and although the workload is relatively light, it's hard to make myself sit down and listen to recorded lectures about the laws of Supply and Demand when there are naps to be taken and toddler pageants to be watched on TV. But I know it'll be worth it when senior year comes around and I'll have two fewer classes to complete.

I've also been working on Indonesian. Although my pace is a little slower than it ought to be, I've started to use a website called 'Memrise' to help learn vocab and it really helps! If you Google it you'll find the site and it has a LOT of languages with preloaded lessons, including Indonesian (or, bahasa Indonesia). Through Memrise I've already learned how to count to 20, frontwards and backwards. But, I really want to step up my efforts so I can at least communicate a little bit when I arrive in Jakarta. I think I'll make some blog posts in Indonesian so I can record my progress with the language, and hopefully by the end of exchange I'll be able to laugh at how bad I was!

On the exchange front... well, nothing much has been happening. I'm starting to get a little anxious about when we'll get visa information but I guess it'll come in plenty of time, otherwise they probably wouldn't wait so long to give it to us! I also have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday to get a consultation on what shots I'll need. I know I need Yellow Fever and a few others at least, and I need to donate blood so I can get it typed, just in case. I'm definitely not looking forward to that. Then again, I don't think anyone would...

In Boise, temperatures are reaching 106 degrees fahrenheit. AKA, my poor little hometown has been turned into a pit of fire... minus the flames, of course. I'm just glad it's dry as a bone here, and not humid like it is back East. If it were humid here I think I'd broil to death just going from the house to the car every once in a while. I'll definitely have fun in Indonesia where temperatures are usually in the mid-80's but humidity reaches about 80% too. 

I'll update soon when I get another genius idea on what to write or if something exciting happens. Until then, stay safe in this ridiculous heat wave and of course, stay fabulous readers!