Changes...

I'm sorry if you have experienced any difficulty seeing "Random Thoughts" these past few days. As you probably noticed, this blog is on www.joshgreenman.com. This will make it easier for people to remember my blog while I am away in Lithuania and/or Argentina. Also, this makes it easier for me to reserve the domain name joshgreenman.com for future use, such as posting job resumes, etc. I'm going to try to integrate "Lithuanian Dreams" with "Random Thoughts" so that they will be easier to see. Thank you again for your patience with the technical difficulties.

"Bienvenidos a Little Village"

I got to Chicago (not to be confused with the suburbs) on Wednesday night, even though Fall break doesn't officially start until our last class on Thursday. Sorry mom, I skipped out on one of my classes (don't worry though, I'm getting an A in it) to be able to see my niece Miriam (see previous post) for a few extra hours. The neighborhood in which Sara, David, and Miriam live is quite unique in it's own way. It is extremely Mexican and you can go days without hearing English. Even though it is a Latin culture, I can't say I felt extremely comfortable in that setting. Even their "Spanish" is different. My vocabulary actually grew during my days in Little Village. Patotero = Gangero = Gangster. Alquilar = Rentear = Rent. The list goes on, but I can't remember any more now. :)

I am currently taking "Immigration to America" with Dr. Winquist. It is quite an interesting class and we have studied the different waves of people groups that have arrived to the States. One example? Irish, Poles, and Czechs arriving into the big cities which include New York and Chicago. My brother David took me to a Bohemian restaurant (photo) so that we could enjoy fried Czech cheese and other Czech products (guess what mom?). It was weird to see an authentic Czech restaurant (I actually heard Czech being spoken in the restaurant) in the middle of a huge Mexican neighborhood. Where Lithuanians, Poles, and Jews used to live, new people groups are settling in and displacing older people groups out (relative to general immigration to the United States). Before we judge the Latinos, who is the next people group to take over the ex-Polish neighborhoods? Deep thoughts no? :)

Baby Miriam in October

This is my niece Miriam Oriana Hopson. We had a blast together. She loves airplane rides and kisses from her Uncle Tio. It's been really great getting to know this bundle of joy. The last time that I saw her she had a really hard time warming up to me (maybe it was my huge sideburns and the fact that her teeth were coming in). This time though, she liked me almost instantly (look at the videos, those were taken within the hour that I got into Chicago). I had a hard time saying goodbye to her when her family had to take her to Colorado for some interviewing. Maybe her mama will find time to bring her to Taylor for me to see her. I'm sure loads of people would love to see her! My popularity level on Facebook would probably increase too. The next time that I see Miriam in December she will be a bit older, have more teeth, walk a bit bitter, and speak a bit clearer (maybe I can will be able to get a "Tio!" out of her). Her mama says that she still won't be talking much then, but I have my hopes up. Love you che!

Plumbkins

It's time for carving pumpkins and that sort. The Soup House boys are planning on inviting our sister house over to carve pumpkins. It will be fun to socialize with them and let some of our international Soupies experience the cold slimy seeds (which Amy is going to bake) on their hands. Fun!


I found these random pictures of me when I had just moved to the States (2005). They were my roommates, and we made a mess in the living room. The little pumpkin was mine...

A picture of a drawing of me

Me, age 18, drawn by a hippie using chalk. This happened the 9 of July, 2005 in Salta, Argentina. I hadn't dyed my sideburns green yet, and I was about to go to the United States of America in August.

Christmas in October happened last night

I'm not sure how many people came last night. Maybe 50 between 8:15 - 11 pm? No one really knows. No one really cares. We all know though, that we had fun. Rebekka made quite a few litters of chai. There was a fire in the back for people who wanted to roast marshmallows.

Now, we just need to remember to clean up. I've already cleaned the kitchen table, cleared the back-yard (chairs, ashes from fire, etc). There are still many dishes to wash and other general cleaning to be done. I have a test tomorrow and a large history seminar on Wednesday. I have papers due (World Politics, Reformation, Intercultural Communication, and History of England) and other smaller homework assignments due within the next few weeks. I'm basically dead until Thanksgiving. I'm leaving for Chicago this Wednesday (yes, I am skipping my class on Thursday). I feel overwhelmed. Oh well. ☺

MuKappa boys sitting in a tree, s-h-o-o-t-i-n-g.

October 19, 2007 marked the second meeting of MuKappa warriors. Last year it was just Ian (the guy in the photo w/ the yellow shirt) and me watching a movie (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy?). This year though, we decided to up the party and drive to Ft. Wayne and go laser tagging. There were 11 of us in total. It was a blast and we managed to stay on the same team for both games. The first game we won 8,113 to 4,982. The second game we destroyed at 13,012 to 4,660. The second game was sort of lame because the kids that we played against thought it would be cool if they just hid from us. The first game I shot 953 times with a 3% accuracy. I shot 1111 times and had 4% accuracy.

When we got back I started a fire in the back yard and we roasted hot dogs. I had actually forgotten the metal sticks that look like large forks (¿como se llaman?) so Carl had to bring them over at 10:30 pm or so. He didn't mind coming over at that time of night and enjoyed hearing about our trip to Ft. Wayne. Some of the guys stayed downstairs and watched "The Last Samurai" and the rest of us went upstairs to play Jeff and Ian's x-box. Overall, it was quite an enjoyable time. :)

If a student falls and no one is there to hear him, does he make a noise?

Last night while I was standing in the hallway in Reade eating my sandwich (we aren't allowed to eat in the lab) I saw my professor Ms. Hoskins (a Medieval German scholar working on her Ph.D.). We started talking about the two day midterm that I had just taken. The first day was "short" answers and the second an essay. Thankfully she gave us a list of names to chose from (choose one of the following) to write our short answers on. One of the names that we could write about was King Henry VIII of England. Bingo! I'm currently taking History of England with Dr. Winquist and had written a 10 page essay on Henry VII, Henry's father. I knew quite a bit about Henry VIII and why he was important to the development to the church.

Remember? He wanted to divorce his first wife (his brother Arthur's wife before he died) because she wasn't producing male children (A huge issue for the Tudor family was to ensure their continuation as rulers of England. That's why it was important for Henry VII to set up his son Arthur w/ a good alliances a.k.a. Spain). So, Henry VIII sent his faithful servant Cardinal Wolsey to convince the Pope to annul the marriage. To make a long story short, the Pope couldn't because Henry's wife was Charles V's aunt. Right before this incident Charles had actually sacked Rome and had the Pope in his palm. The Pope couldn't do anything and was in a hard position. He didn't want to make Charles mad (he was the Holy Roman Emperor!) but at the same time he didn't want to disappoint Henry VIII who had a terrible temper. Well, the Pope chose Charles over Henry and lost all of England (Henry became the head of the Church of England just so that he could divorce his brother's wife).

So, on the short answer on Henry VIII I had actually written that Henry was married to Queen Isabella. Isabella is a good Spanish name no? Well, it turns out that Isabella was actually Charle's grandmother, NOT his aunt. His aunt's name was Catherine (Isabella's daughter). So, I had majorly goofed on the name. My answer still proved that I know a lot on Henry and his importance. At most my goof might cause someone to chuckle, BUT IT WAS STILL WRONG. I expressed my humorous grief to Ms. Hoskins, who thought the mix up was pretty funny to.

The subject of conversation then switched over to the essay topic that I had written on. I chose the essay that dealt with the spread of the Reformation in Germany and Switzerland. I had been curious about that topic beforehand and had done some minor research about it. The text-book that we are reading really didn't offer an exact answer, but I was able to extract enough to give a reasonable answer. Because I hadn't found a concrete answer in the book, I preceded to ask Ms. Hoskins what she thought on the matter. She was willing to talk about it, especially when I shared with her that I had actually gone back to the text-book to find the answer. I think I covered most of it, except that I had completely missed that Luther had used nationalism to stir people up. Oh well....

Today in class, Ms. Hoskins brought our blue books with her and handed them back, giving us 15 minutes to change answers if we wanted to. AHA! I quickly fixed Henry's problem in the short answer and added a bit on nationalism to my Reformation essay. She told us that we shouldn't only study history for the test but out of love of the subject. If we really loved what we were studying, we would have gone to the books after the test to see how we had done. A good lesson, and I'm sure some of my classmates are hitting themselves on the head for not checking their answers. :)

The End.

Brutal Honesty?

I can't tell wither this cartoon shows an Argentina that is sinking or floating and becoming more buoyant. I know what the artist wants to show...but heck, I might as well analyze it, no? Argentina's economy has actually been improving in the past few years since Kirchner took the presidency. Maybe Argentina is sinking because of our loss in the world cup? Could it be that Argentina is sinking due to global warming (we have claims in Antarctica)? Whatever is happening, it looks as if everyone has left for Italy or Spain and have left that poor Porteño to hold on for dear life. :)

Christmas in October

Yep, the Soup is hosting another event. This time it's "Christmas in October." I'm not sure where the idea came from but it should be a blast. We're going to get lights inside and out (we have bushes that will look cool w/ lights), a tree chalk full of decorations, cookies, spicy chai, a Caribbean Santa Claus, a fire in the back-yard, a Russian rapper (Sergey is going to lay down some scripture for us), a Christmas movie, and tons of other activities. I'm going to print off a few copies of the poster (seen above) and put one in the lounge of every dorm. If you are in the area, feel free to join us! I will post photos once the event comes and goes.

INFP Continued

INFPs focus much of their energy on an inner world dominated by intense feeling and deeply held ethics. They seek an external life that is in keeping with these values. Loyal to the people and causes important to them, INFPs can quickly spot opportunities to implement their ideals. They are curious to understand those around them, and so are accepting and flexible except when their values are threatened (wikipedia.org).

Famous INFPs:

Homer
Virgil
Mary, mother of Jesus
St. John, the beloved disciple
St. Luke; physician, disciple, author
William Shakespeare, bard of Avon
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Evangeline)
A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie)
Helen Keller, deaf and blind author
Carl Rogers, reflective psychologist, counselor
Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)
Dick Clark (American Bandstand)
Donna Reed, actor (It's a Wonderful Life)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis
Neil Diamond, vocalist
Tom Brokaw, news anchor
James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small)
Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek)
James Taylor, vocalist
Julia Roberts, actor (Conspiracy Theory, Pretty Woman)
Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap)
Terri Gross (PBS's "Fresh Air")
Amy Tan (author of The Joy-Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife)
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Lisa Kudrow ("Phoebe" of Friends)
Fred Savage ("The Wonder Years")
(http://typelogic.com/infp.html)

Myers-Brigg

I just took the test. This is what I am:

Your personality type is INFP.

Introverted (I) 68%	Extraverted (E) 32%
Intuitive (N) 73%	Sensing (S) 27%
Feeling (F) 75%	Thinking (T) 25%
Perceiving (P) 68%	Judging (J) 32%

I will analyze later.

International SoupHouse t-shirts!

We are going to order 20 black shirts. 7 are for us, the rest we are going to sell. I'm not sure how much they will cost, but probably not too much (je je je...I'm a good salesman no?). If you are interested, let me know and I'm sure I can ship one to you. I would just need a check and an address. Let me know...

Lithuanian Dreams

I have a new blog that will follow me through my travels to and from Lithuania to study. You can reach it here. I will be updating both blogs regularly so make sure you use the rss feed!

Neighborhood meal

The Soup House hosted a neighborhood meal back in September. A total of 16 people decided to attend (including 7 Soupies). It was a nice way to meet our neighbors and share some brotherly love.

Introvert or extra?

I've always considered myself an extrovert. Why shouldn't I? I love inviting people over to my house and being the host (coffee anyone?). I can be extremely talkative sometimes and will say anything that comes to mind. These are the time when I tend to become annoying and obnoxious. At other times though, I don't feel comfortable around people, don't have much to say, and just feel like getting away. This has happened quite a few times here in my house(International Soup House). I don't mind it when people come over (I invited them over didn't I?), I just can't be with them the whole time. I've also noticed that how much sleep I get the night before also effects how much "group" I can take. Two summers ago I asked both my parents if they thought if I was intro or extra. Both of them told me intro. Huh. I guess they know me better than anyone. We lived in a rather large house while visiting the United States so our family members would come together in our home. That house was packed full of people from all ages and sexes. Both my 5th grade year and sophomore year my mom would find me sitting by myself reading a book or listening to music in my room. I'm not anti-social, I just feel tired when there are too many people around and would rather just sit, listen, and think. I like taking walks and talking one on one. I'm not shy, just an introvert!

Intro

Extra

Random

Talk about randoma:

HOOOLA!

hey everyone!
I am having a wonderful day! I'm drinking coffee with amy!!!
I just stole her glasses and took a picture. gee, I'm so silly!

Well, ciao!

White Ninja

Ha...I love this guy. I'm not sure why but my humor fits the White Ninja comic strip pretty well. Some things no, most things yes.

Morning Dew

"Morning Dew is a (EARLY) morning service that happens on the first Thursday of every month. We are doing this because some students want to glorify the Lord by giving up their sleep and use the time to focus on God. We know it's early and giving up sleep (especially if you don't have to) is a sacrifice, but I've personally experienced that this is a really good time to refocus on God. Feel free to bring roommates and friends. Coffee and banana bread will be provided."

I wasn't sure if Morning Dew was going to be a "success" or just a bunch of Soupies getting together to worship and learn about God. About 15 people showed up, about 10 more than I expected. Not bad for 7 am on a Thursday morning (when most people get to sleep in and recuperate from their week). I wasn't too worried about the amount of people coming over even though I was running around making sure that all the bases were covered. After asking four people to lead worship Ian finally agreed and did a great job! Dr. Jones (my mentor) shared from 1 Samuel, about the people of Israel wanting a king to rule them.

Even though I am the "Bishop" (aka president) of Mu Kappa, I see the Soup House as part of my ministry and want to provide as many opportunities for people to grow as possible. Coming up on the Soup House plate: shirts and a Christmas party on the 21st of October. I'll be posting a few photos of our neighborhood dinner that we hosted back in September.