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A Day in the Life...

Final report

Information about me:
School:

I attend Bethel College, a small, Mennonite, liberal arts college in the great metropolis of North Newton, Kansas.  Starting in Fall 2003, I will be a senior and hope to graduate in May, 2004.  I am a computer science and German major, possibly also something in math (we'll see how Multivariable Mathematics goes in the fall!).  My advisor at Bethel is David Janzen. Merle Schlabaugh also has been very helpful throughout my college career with information about German and study abroad.
I spent the 2001-2002 school year studying at the Bergische Universitat in Wuppertal, Germany.  Bethel has had a partnership with that university for over 50 years, the oldest university partnership of its type.  I took classes mostly from the Language and Literature department, and especially enjoyed the linguistics courses.

I can be contacted (through June 2004) at penneraa@bethelks.edu

Personal:

Family:
I have a mom, a dad, and a sister (Margaret).  My parents live in my hometown of West Chester, OH, and my sister goes to school with me in Kansas (although this summer she is at the University of Idaho being a smart physicist).

Friends:
I am lucky to have friends all over the world who don't tend to stay put for very long, so I love to go visiting!  Right now I have friends in Kansas, Ohio, Taiwan, Washington D.C., Chicago, Denver, Idaho (well, that's my sister, but she counts as a friend, too!), Germany, Austria, Singapore, Quebec, Spain, Missouri, Tennessee, Seattle, Rome, California, and, OF COURSE, Manitoba.  I also have friends who are from other places but not necessarily there right now, including Kenya, Peru, and Russia.  And I am busy making friends here in Wisconsin, both native Wisconsinites and people from other places like Ft. Collins and Thailand.

Church:
I am a member of Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship, but since I am hardly ever in Cincinnati anymore, I also consider myself at home at Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, KS and Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church in Goessel, KS.

Hobbies:
Travel:
I love to travel, especially when I get to visit people I know.  My best adventure so far has during the semester break while I was at Wuppertal.  I spent six weeks hiking across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago.  I got to meet dozens of wonderful people from all over the world and had some life-changing inner and outer experiences.

Music:
I've played the piano and cello for a really long time, and especially love playing duets with my sister.  I started playing the pipe organ my freshman year of college, and am addicted, although I haven't had much chance to practice this summer.  I also enjoy playing recorders, whistles, and percussion instruments of all sorts.  I am seriously considering teaching myself harmonica, especially after seeing a rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with harmonica and orchestra.

Reading:
I am a fanatic reader and can swallow whole books in one gulp.  My favorite author is Madeleine L'Engle.  If you've never read A Wrinkle in Time, I would highly recommend it.  If you've already read it, read it again.  If you like that, read some of her adult fiction as well.  My personal favorite is A Severed Wasp.  I think she is a very smart woman and it shows in her writing.

Cooking:
I love eating, so it's good that I love to cook as well!  I especially like trying foods from different countries.  I love it when people send me new recipes to try.  My most fundamental cooking philosophy is that if there's no garlic in the recipe, it was probably omitted by mistake.