An Intense Weekend

Hello again! It's nice to take a break and write for a little while. If there is one word which describes Mandala, it's "intense". The days and nights are non-stop, with early mornings and nights which are far too late. We've all been indulging ourselves a little too much when it comes to our nights. It's just so incredible to be part of a close group of great people. 

I suppose it's time I introduce myself. My name is Barnabas Holleran. I graduated high-school after three years of Classical Conversations and one year of unaffiliated online homeschool. Mandala attracted me strongly with promises of intense mathematical study (an area I am utterly useless in), a small and personal community, and the excitement and adventure of an unexplored yet immensely promising program. I want to do grand things with my life, and the idea of forging my own path while helping forge the reputation of a program clearly destined for greatness appealed to me very strongly.

Now, to resume my tale. Last you heard, it was Wednesday afternoon, after our first session of choir. After work, everyone returned to the villas, where a few girls opened their home for a potluck dinner. When I walked into my villa, I was surprised to see my roommates crowded around a 48-inch LCD TV which had definitely not been there before. It had come from the dump, and we were all excited to see what was wrong with it. Harrison plugged it in and turned it on, and just for a moment, a crystal-clear picture showed up on the screen. Our success was short-lived, however, as the next moment, smoke started trailing up from the back of the display. As the rest of the guys began disassembling it and assessing the damage, I left to visit some other fellows.

 The plan for the rest of the night was a first astronomy lesson at the Mandala house, but the ominous clouds which hung over us all day had us a little worried. Sure enough, as the sun dropped low on the horizon, the twilight wrung the rain from the drenched clouds. The common rumor was that the evening was still on, so we piled into our cars and moved on to the house. Mrs. Bortins handed out scrap paper and showed us how to draw the seven circles of the earth on a piece of scrap paper, then she gave us a few minutes to sketch a map of our planet. Our sad attempts concluded, we realized how little we knew and humbly sat through a pair of videos about maps, one on the most basic level of cognitive mapping, and the other on a grand scale: a three-dimensional computer map of the observable universe. We finished the night and returned home to our beds.

Though Thursday morning started with a drizzling rain, an air of excitement hung over the neighborhood. Why? It was our first day to bring instruments. After loading cellos, trumpets, and stacks of guitars into the larger cars, we left for the Mandala house. After the morning of math, Caleb played a song for us- "The Scientist", by Coldplay- organized us into groups by instrument, and instructed those who knew what they were doing to teach the newer musicians. We scattered across the house (the music room still not finished) and Caleb followed us, working with each group of instruments. We played for an hour until he called us back into the classroom to assign us into smaller bands and give us our assignment. The confidence of the practiced musicians strengthened the unsure novices as we discovered that each band would perform the song in front of the class after one week. We broke for work, running through the rain to cars or staying behind to work at the house, and didn't meet up again until nightfall, when we drove to the marina to swim. The lightning quickly convinced us to stay out of the lake, so we played by the waters edge, swinging on the heavy set and doing acrobatics in the sand until the cold rain drove us into the dry gazebos.

Despite our late arrival back at the villas the night before, Friday morning saw us all at the Mandala house a quarter hour early. Eight o'clock rolled around with no sign of Caleb, so Zack Leitzel, who had volunteered to present that day's scripture, led the group in a discussion of Psalm 5. Caleb arrived a few minutes later and let him finish the devotional unaided. Infusing the conversation with interesting questions, Zack proved that he didn't need any assistance. Emboldened by the lead of this fellow, we moved into our morning studies with strength and confidence.

Mrs. Bortins spent the morning showing us mind-bending videos of a certain phenomenon of physics and music, and assigning us to build one of our own. She chose Austin Schaller, our resident technological wizard, as the leader of one team, and then asked for volunteers for the other two. Christopher Blackburn and I raised our hands. We chose our teammates by turn, strategically at first and then randomly, excited to explore each of their strengths and weaknesses. We broke for a few minutes before music, and my teammates surprised me by circling up to discuss potential ideas and make loose plans. We spent the rest of the morning in music and then returned to the villas where Brent, a leader at the Classical Conversations warehouse, taught us all the basics of vehicle maintenance and helped everyone currently driving to inspect their cars. 

We broke for lunch, and had a well-earned hour of relaxation before we had to return for five more hours of work. As my housemates and I left, we all agreed that it was about time for the weekend. Gracsyn, Zack, Laura and I all returned to the Mandala house to meet with Caleb and work on our projects. Through the rest of the day, Anna Gordon and Christopher would pass us on their way from one job to another. Christopher kept us updated as he donned chest-waders and valiantly took to the under-maintained pond in the back yard. 

The rain kept us indoors that night as we played Dutch Blitz and B.S., which soon devolved into learning to throw cards, and then learning the value of keeping a clean house as a few of us scrambled around, indulging our OCD, as we slowly found the cards, one by one. 

We slept in on Saturday, enjoying an extra hour of shut-eye before getting started on the day. At ten, Mr. and Mrs. Bortins showed up with Mrs. Harvey, Anna's mother and a certified nutritionist. We spent the morning going over the rules and details of the villas, and then consulting with Mrs. Harvey about what we eat and how to stay healthy. After they left, we all started on our own projects. Chords and notes drifted around the villas as we practiced our parts, until the Harveys brought a basketball hoop from their home, and the strum of guitars was accented with the percussion of rubber on asphalt. 

A few of the girls biked to the lake to swim, while Austin led an expedition to the dump, looking for spare parts. Digging through piles of junk, he discovered another LCD TV, which looked like it had the right parts. While my roommates disassembled it, I went from house to house inviting everyone to a lesson in swing dancing. I returned to the house an hour later in time to hear a cheer go up as the screen flickered into life. Harrison plugged his computer into the display and pulled up an incredible high-definition picture. Everyone is pretty impressed.

We all met at eight and because there were so many of us, we caravanned to the Mandala house to practice swing. I put on some of my favorite swing music, and Zack and I led the group in a crazy lesson. I was surprised at how quickly most people picked it up. Everyone had a great time, and after hours of dancing, we changed into our swimsuits and ran to the lake for a dip. A few of us sat in the water and talked about swing, while the others went to catch frogs. 

It was hard to get out of bed the next day, but we managed it, leaving Seven Lakes car by car. After church, we drove to Pastor Skogan's house for fellowship and relaxation over a great home-cooked meal. Ian was limping all day after a failed frontflip on Saturday night. In the middle of the afternoon, he went to the hospital to get it checked out, and came back with two casts and a pair of crutches. Apparently he broke both of his heels. He's doing alright now, but he'll be limping around for a while. The rest of the group has been a little more subdued since then. Sunday night found the majority of students back at the Mandala house, using the equipment there to watch Les Miserables.

We were late the next day, yawning all through class. We quickly woke up as Mrs. Bortins ran us through some math drills and taught us basic calculus. The class burst into a round of applause for Laura Bos, one of our fellows, as she discovered a perfect score on her SAT practice test of the day. All the students' scores are improving, and we're all excited about it. After math, we discussed the upcoming holiday weekend and distributed housekeeping jobs between the nineteen of us, freeing Mrs. Bortins up to actually enjoy her party. 

That brings me to right now. Everyone else is still at work. Gracsyn is blogging on the couch next to mine, Anna G. is managing the house, and Christopher and Brooke are interviewing people for the upcoming video logs. Zack is working on the website, and he needs my help, so I have to wrap this up. Before I go, let me wish you a blessed week from everyone here at Mandala. 

Au revoir,
Barnabas