Chelsea Rink

Photo from chelsearink.blogspot.com

Chelsea Rink, a junior education major, went to Barcelona to study abroad during the year. While she was video chatting with her friends from home, she didn’t want to disturb her sleeping roommate or anyone in her host family’s apartment. She turned on the nearest lamp, but realized it would be too bright. She decided to put a couch cushion on top of it. Unfortunately, the cushion caught fire, breaking the lamp and damaging the cushion. Jumping to action, she took the couch cushion and dumped the excess feathers and “burnt crispies” out of the apartment’s window. She proceeded to cut the rest of the “burnt crispies” off of the cushion, put them into a plastic bag and dropped it from the stairwell below. She turned the lamp on to check it, and it began to smoke.

“I checked out the lamp itself,” Rink said. “It was very, very burnt. I took a pair of my underwear, and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed at the top of that lamp…(then) I stressed a lot for the next few minutes, (and I) drank some water. I hid the (cushion) under my bed. I went to bed. It was 6 a.m.”

The next morning, Rink had to explain to her host mother what had happened to her couch cushion — in Spanish. Fortunately for Rink, her host wanted to get a new couch anyway.

Keaton Hewitt

Photo from Facebook

Keaton Hewitt, a sophomore finance major, has spent this semester in Sydney, Australia. During the Australian Mardi Gras, Hewitt and his roommates decided to dress up for the parade, although they didn’t realize the parade was a gay pride parade. Hewitt decided to dress as a Trojan complete with shorts, a Trojan hat and a small sword. Unfortunately for them, the weather dropped to about 65 degrees, and it began raining heavily. In an attempt to stay warm, they found the nearest café. When Hewitt and his roommates entered, everyone turned to them and started laughing and taking pictures with their phones. When he asked the waiter where the restroom was, one of them even yelled, “Down the stairs and to the left, Mr. Caesar.” Hewitt said he still saw the silver lining in his odd ensemble.“I don’t think I have taken so many pictures with so many strangers, but it was definitely an experience I will never forget,” he said.