A Day in the Life

Dear Reader,

I’d like to give you a taste of one day of dorm life at Sonne. Every dorm has different staff, students, needs, and skill sets. This is a glimpse into ours:

7:30am – It’s my turn to drive for early van. Each day we offer an early ride down to school for students who have sports practice, homework, or need to work with a teacher. This is usually a pretty quiet ride because everyone is still waking up.

8:15am – Time to catch the bus! As the students make their way to the bus stop, everybody gets a hug.

8:35am – Staff meeting. We discuss the goings on in the dorm, and solve the problems of the world before going on with our dayJ.

11:30am – After a quick piano warm up, I leave for school for some rehearsals. More on that later. During the afternoon, we have some free time for rest, activities, or basically whatever helps us to maintain the level of sanity which allows us to be ourselves.

11:40-3:45pm – Lots of piano playing! I love that I get to do what I love! Piano is definitely one of the things that makes me me. I’m doing a bunch of accompanying, for the BFA choir, Music Festival at the end of the month, and a staff recital in May. God knew that this was a bigger need for me than I realized.

3:50pm – I pick up a the substitute van to take back up the hill and realize that I don’t know how to put this particular van in reverse. I’m such a girl. By the time someone helps me figure it out, the buses have arrived to pick up the students and take them home, and have blocked me in to my parking space. At first I was frustrated, but then I realized that maybe this was some God-given ‘be-still’ time before the craziness of the evening. Thank you Father!

4:15PM – The guys arrive home, and I arrive ahead of them. Just barely. Getting back up the hill was an adventure. No danger, but I realize yet again that I am still new to driving a manual. This time of day is another favorite for me. The guys come home and have snack, and often relate hilarious little anecdotes about their day. Today, Paul, one of our juniors was ecstatic because he got a perfect score on a quiz he wasn’t ready for. He had been in a contest with another student, and being only somewhat prepared, he hadn’t expected to do well. Apparently he’s a good guesser though, because he scored higher than the other student who had prepared more than he had! Ok, so my story-telling skills aren’t as good as Paul’s, but I promise that it was funnyJ.

5:15pm – Upstairs for a quick Skype date with my mom. We’re currently trying to coordinate summer plans, and they’re starting to come together. We’re also trying to work out a way for some of my brothers to come over and visit me. I miss my family tons, and it’s always good to hear from them.

6pm – Time to call Henry from his room to come and set the table. Each of our students has a different chore that he is responsible for, and they perform these tasks daily. I have to say, on the whole these guys do a great job! They are hard workers and appreciate a job well done.

6:15pm – The dinner van arrives, carrying the last of our athletes home from practice, and bringing food for the dorm. It doesn’t take long to get the food set out and the guys to find their seats. Our guys are extremely active and have appetites to match!

6:35pm – The first night I was at Sonne, I was floored by how quickly these guys could eat. It still amazes me. They have begun to sit and chat longer, but they also know that they have chores to do and homework calls. Although the time we spend at the table is short, I always enjoy the conversation and laughs we share.  The night I’m writing this being Wednesday, many of the guys are also heading off to small group Bible studies which is further incentive to get chores done quickly.

7:15pm – The van heads down the hill to drop the guys off at small groups. About half of our guys go, so the dorm stays very quiet for a while. Some of our seniors are involved with doing Bible studies for younger students, and it is a great opportunity for them to hone their leadership skills.

9pm – It’s time for a mid-evening snack as the guys return from small groups and start in on any homework they might have for the next day.  It’s usually during this time that I get asked to proofread papers or help with homework.

10:20pm – The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors head to their rooms and get ready for bed. School days are long days, and sleep is a necessity!

11pm – Seniors head to their rooms. They don’t have lights out, but they’re usually pretty good about being quiet and getting to bed. With college days approaching, these are good habits to form.

11:15pm – I’m in my room and winding down. Sometimes I use this time to stay in touch with family and friends back in the US, but I’m usually in bed by midnight. Tomorrow morning is going to come sooner than I’d wish for, and I love my sleep. It’s been a great, full day. And we get to do it all over again tomorrow!