Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything about Nathan! So here's a nice long update in chronological order :D
Sat, Sept. 18 - 30 minute phone call
Nathan got his phone on the weekend for the first time! I was, of course, pretty excited to get to talk with him! Sadly, I only got about half an hour because by the time I got off work he had an OCF (Officers' Christian Fellowship) event (a Bible study at the house of a guy on base) about an hour later. So some of what is below came secondhand from Mom.
He said that his Chinese and Calculus 2 classes were both mostly review.
That night, he attended a "Birthday Ball" to celebrate the creation of the Air Force in 1947. It was a required event, at least for the freshman.
Mom said that he was holding his own in his classes, and that he planned to go to church off campus the next day.
On the 24th through the 26th, he was planning to go to the "Protestant retreat" hosted by the chaplain (I think). More about that a little later.
He said that no one on his intramural rugby team had gotten hurt too badly, but that his shins were kind of bruised up from that.
He still couldn't have any music on his computer, but he could have as many pictures as he wanted.
The nine people in his element (a smaller part of his squadron) had gone to eat together off base sometime.
Every so often they have "commandant days" when they don't have classes and have training in the morning instead. Then in the afternoon it's more relaxed I guess (one time he got to play capture the flag in the afternoon).
Sun, Sept. 26 - hour-long phone call
Nathan got his phone for a second weekend in a row! :D He went on the Protestant retreat that was off in the mountains some place. He called me for a couple minutes Saturday night to wish me a happy birthday like the wonderful brother he is, but I was about to watch a movie with some friends and so we didn't talk long then. He had some problems with his phone service breaking up on Sunday (he was talking to us on the bus while driving back from the retreat), but we still had a good chat. We're getting good at doing 3-way calls between Dallas, Arkansas, and Colorado :D
He said that during the retreat he had lots of free time and lots of things to think about. The retreat was at an altitude of 9,000 feet with mountains all around. On Friday as they were driving out to the place, he was able to watch the sunset for over an hour - I bet it was sooooo pretty! About 300 doolies (freshman) went on the retreat. There were also some upperclassmen who served as small group leaders, but they were really relaxed (no saluting, etc) and they could wear their PC (Physical Conditioning) gear instead of regular uniforms.
The speaker at the retreat was a pastor from Iowa. The main session on Sunday was about perseverance. There were also small groups that talked about various other topics such as avoiding temptation.
They were able to do lots of activities like play Foosball, water volleyball, swim in a heated pool with a really fast water slide, etc. And the food was better than Mitch's (the campus cafeteria) Nathan said he knew lots of the other doolies that went.
He also told us a bit about SPIRE (Special Programs in Religious Education). The on-campus Monday night OCF Bible studies are part of SPIRE. He said there are usually 30-40 people at the study.
Tues, Oct. 5 - short email
Nathan sent a short email to let us know that he had gotten his progress report with his grades and such. And he was doing very well at that point :D :D :D (I don't think he's had another "report card" since then). Also, he had a training day that day, but it was mostly just a free day so he got the chance to catch up on some non-academic stuff.
Thurs, Oct. 7 - another short email
He let us know that his squadron had won another knowledge bowl and had gotten an average passing grade for the knowledge test, so he would get his phone for the weekend! [The cadets have what are called "contrails" - I'm sure I've mentioned them before. Anyway, they're these books stuffed with (seemingly useless) information that the doolies have to memorize. Then each week they are tested on part of it and on the extra daily sheets, "probooks," that the cadets also have to memorize. And every so often the squadrons have a competition--the knowledge bowl--to see which squadron can answer the most questions right.]
Sun, Oct. 10 - 90 minute call
As promised, he got his phone! We did a 3-way call, but I had to go meet someone after an hour and a half. Dad and Mom talked to him for another hour after that!
That weekend was a 3-day-weekend for the cadets because they didn't have classes on Columbus Day. So Nathan was able to get off campus and spend the weekend at his roommate Metzger's house (his family lives in Colo. Sprgs.). Nathan enjoyed being able to just hang out without worrying about the military stuff or school!
Nathan told us that he had gotten moved from the beginning Chinese class to the intermediate Chinese class because the department advisor noticed that Chinese wasn't at all new to him. So now his Chinese class meets every other day instead of every day. He hadn't attended his first intermediate class yet, but he said that there was going to be a quiz his first day.
He also joined the saber drill team! The team performed during half time at the football game Parents' weekend. I'm sure you could find videos of them on YouTube. Anyway, he said that he had to "earn" his saber by doing lots of PT (Physical Training) stuff. He practices with the team everyday in the evening. Later he may travel to competitions and stuff, so he had to get an extra fancy uniform for that.
He is done with rugby!!!!!!! I'm so happy he's out of that without having gotten hurt!
Sun, Oct. 17 - short email
He told me that he hadn't gotten his phone that weekend because the squadron's average score on the knowledge test was a 78 instead of an 80 :(
He also said that he did some volunteering on Saturday (I don't know what/where) and went to Lt. Col. Wade's house for an OCF Bible study. I think that is the off-campus one, but I'm not positive.
He was also able to run on his own that day, so he was excited about that.
Thurs, Oct. 28 - hour-long phone call
My phone rang with the ringtone that indicates a family member is calling - so I figured it would be Mom - but then I looked at the caller id and it was Nathan!!!!!!! I was really surprised and excited :D Turns out, Nathan now has his phone PERMANENTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SUPER excited about that :D He had been talking to Dad and Mom for about 45 minutes before he called me, but then he and I kept talking longer after they went to bed.
He said the squadron finally got their phones for good because they "definitevely won" the semi-finals of the knowledge bowl, because they did well on the Wednesday morning inspection, and because the upperclassmen were evidently asking the training officer why the doolies didn't have their phones back yet!
He said that intermediate Chinese is manageable. Next semester they are going to put him into the second semester of THIRD year Chinese - so hopefully that will go okay!
Some of his other classes for next semester will be Economics, Physics, Boxing for PE (not his choice - but he doesn't have a choice), English 2, Intro to Military History, and Calculus 3.
On the sabre drill team, he's learning how to do throw passes and such. The sabres that they practice with are blunt at the tip instead of being pointed. Nathan also clarified that the sabres they use in performances are not very sharp on the edges - which makes sense, I just hadn't thought about it!
Since he's on the sabre drill team, he has to "miss out" on squadron training meetings. That day, he had missed a session when the upperclassmen took the doolies out to a big hill/small mountain and made them do squats up the hill...I wouldn't be too sorry to miss something like that, but Nathan said that he feels bad he doesn't do it with the rest of his squadron. That's why he's at the Academy and I'm not! ;-)
He said that he's made friends with cadets in other squadrons because he meets them in his classes and such. In his engineering class especially he has lots of group projects, and always with the same group. Their first project was to design and launch a rocket, and the second one was a glider. Currently, they're working on a surveilance type vehicle - meaning that it will have to launch like a rocket and float like a glider or something like that. He was telling me all sorts of technical stuff that went right over my head :D Their last project for that class will be to build a bridge.
He said that in his classes the points are more heavily weighted toward the end of the semester - meaning that a lot of his final grades in the classes is yet to be determined. I have confidence that he'll manage just fine though :)
He's been averaging 5-6 hours of sleep each night, which is, I think, pretty decent for the Academy. He said there was going to be a Physical Training Competition on Saturday morning (today), and that on Sunday (tomorrow) he'd be free to go off base.
So - that brings you all up to date, and I will try to post a little more frequently! He does get to come home for Thanksgiving - gets a whole week off of classes! So we're all looking forward to that :)
