Day 9 - Tucson day 3

This morning we met up with Katie and went to the Gallery in the Sun. This collection of the life works of Ted de Grazia is located just off of the U of A campus. It was really neat. De Grazia's works looked oddly familiar. His style, although simplistic, evokes a lot of emotion and thought from the person appreciating his art. I was particularly impressed by his oil on canvas paintings. It really makes me want to learn how to paint. I have a great appreciation for art and yearn to find more avenues by which I can express myself artistically.

In the afternoon, Dad and I sat in on Katie's class. Her class was optional due to it being Friday afternoon at the start of Parents' Weekend. Therefore, it was more like a small seminar than a freshman composition class. Only three of her students attended the class. It was really good though. It reminded me how much I enjoy the stimulation of analyzing and discussing literature. I can definitely see myself back in the classroom sometime in the future. I feel like I'd be a much different student with a much changed perspective on learning. It was also great to see Katie in action. She's got such a gift for teaching. It's really quite a remarkable thing to see.

Later, Dad and I picked up Mom at the motel and brought her back to campus. We met up with Katie watched one of her suitemates perform a dance routine on the mall in the center of campus. There were lots of booths set up, selling food and beverages, and promoting their organizations. Then Mom, Dad, and I had some time to kill, so we went to the University bookstore and sat around and talked.Before too long, it was time to head over to La Aldea (Katie's apartment community) to set up for Katie's coffeehouse/party. It was a lot of fun. I think at one point, there were about 40 people there. The birthday soiree was held in the community room (or lounge) of La Aldea. So many people of so many different backgrounds, ages, and walks of life converged at Katie's party. It really speaks volumes about my sister that so many people from different social circles who know her came to celebrate and have a cup of Joe and some cookies. There were people there from Shalom Menonnite Church, her department at the U of A (Linguistics), GCF (Graduate Christian Fellowship), and some Iraqi refugees that the GCF is sponsoring. The coffeehouse was a huge success. Mom, Dad, and I felt really good about it as we were coming back to the motel tonight. I only hope that Katie feels the same way. She's got a lot of people around her here who care deeply for her. It's reassuring to meet a handful of these great people and know that there is plenty of support for her in Tucson.