Aiya Napa, Cyprus

While we were in Cyprus, John and I took a day trip to Aiya Napa, a resort town down the coast. What a beautiful place!





The harbor in Aiya Napa.


We spent a lot of time wandering around an old monastery.













What a quiet peaceful place.
Perfect for reflection and prayer.



The coast was amazing. Clear blue water.
Rocky cliffs. Greenery.

Larnaca, Cyprus

Ok, Jeremy. Noted. I don't blog. It seems that all of my family and friends have jumped on the blog band wagon and I have fallen off somewhere along the way. I promise that I do visit other people's blogs and keep updated on their lives. I know it sounds lame but I just don't seem to ever get the time to sit at the computer and maintain my own blog. I keep up with facebook. It's just difficult to keep up with two such sites, and I know a ton more people on facebook. However, in the spirit of trying to climb back on that blogger band wagon, I am going to try to catch up on a few of the things in my life that I haven't posted.

These photos are from my husband's and my time in Cyprus this past summer.






The beaches and streets of Larnaca are very pretty. I wandered around with my camera or enjoyed the beaches during the days while my hubby was working.







These are of St. Lazarus Church in Larnaca.Some believe that after Christ raised Lazarus from the dead he came here to Cyprus to live out the rest of his days, and died here. His body has since been removed, but this church was erected in honor of him.

Insight Writer

Hi Sarah,

Since you hardly blog anymore and since I am still a contributor on here I figured I would let you know about my newest blog project.  insightwriter.com My new .com site dedicated to the application of knowledge. Please visit and let me know your thoughts, feelings, expectations, general rants, websites of interest, fascinating news, and whatever else comes to mind.

Thank you,

The Insight Writer Himself,

Jeremy

p.s. how are things with you? ;-)

Last month John and I went to Alexandria with some of our friends for a few days. It was a lot of fun. We explored the catacombs, the site of one of the ancient libraries of Alexandria, and many coffee shops throughout the cuty, and we ate great fish. Here are some shots of the bay.





This was on our way to the catacombs.



This was at Ptolemy's Pillar, believe to be the site of one of the ancient libraries of Alexandria.

Along the Nile.

John and I took a bunch of pictures infront of our favorite mall on the Nile one Saturday.





This is a lovely view of the Nile.




This is my favorite bridge in Cairo.




Driving across my favorite bridge.






Me and my boy.

Anafora

Last month my school sent us on a staff retreat to a beautiful farm called Anafora. It is a Coptic Orthodox retreat center, run by Bishop Thomas, and his amazing staff. Everytime I go there I come away feeling relaxed and refreshed. It's an wonderful place. Here are some shots of it.




This is a view from the front balcony of the second floor of the main building.



This is the room where we met for morning and evening services. In the evening all the candles were lit. It was lovely.




These are the rooms where we stayed. I don't have photos from inside, but I wish I did. They were so nice! Very simple, but lovely.





Beautiful Palms!








This is the entrance to the church at night. The whole thing is lit only by candles. We attended a service there. All left there shoes at the door out of reverence, and entered in quiet. The service was very simple, Scripture readings, hymns, and prayers in Coptic, Arabic, and English.




This is the inside of the church at night in the candle light.

Amsterdam Photos

I finally uploaded pictures from my fabulous new camera that my fabulous brother gave me, so I thought I'd share random pictures with you.

On my way back home in August, I was able to do a canal tour of Amsterdam during a long layover. So fun!
These are a few pics.






This orange people are lined up to go into the Anne Frank House, which is the building behind them.

We're Getting Married

After constant touble since April with paperwork and international law, my fiance and I have finally found a way to get married!!! And we're going to be able to have a wedding in both countries. What a huge relief!

We celebrated by spending a few days in Dahab with our friends. Fabulous place. Fabulous time. We did some snorkelling, some lounging on the beach, and a whole lot of eating. No diving this time due to our wedding budget. Maybe next time.

Now it's back to Cairo and the long lists of thing that we have to accomplish in the next two months.

I am hoping that soon our apartment will be finished. I am living there now, well, more like sleeping there. I lock myself in my bedroom at night, and leave in the mornings. I can't wait to have a home to live in. It's not the most comfortable thing cohabitting with a crew of Egyptian workmen. Now the walls are up. Most of the painting is done. Doors and windows are finding their way back to their respective holes in the walls. Soon the men will begin work on the floor. After that, I think it will be done.

Now for some furniture...

I live in a fishbowl where everything I do ticks somebody off. Quick, break the glass and save me from this constant audience.

Review and Progress

Yes, I am still alive. I haven't blogged in forever. It's hard to have access to the internet anywhere, but at work, and it's hard to find time to blog at work, so not a lot of blogging is getting done. Anyway, here's the deal. I am becoming more and more at home here in the sandy land of Egypt. Things are going really well. I have moved since the last time I posted. I now have a home, a place where I can relax and truly rest. It's great. My fiance and I put up and decorated a fake Christmas tree this past week, making it feel even more homey and comfotable. The weather has been chilly, which is perfect for me. It's nice and cold so that I can bundle up in all the sweaters, and drink the hot drinks that I love, but it's not frigid to the point that I can't enjoy the cold like it gets in the USA. The only problem with that is that we never get snow days. I did ask God for a snow day this week though, and He answered by giving us a day off due to an electrical fire in the school. I was just happy for the extra time to catch up on work!!! I do really love teaching here. The staff and students are awesome. Every so often though, it's nice to have some down time to catch up on work. We will be getting a Christmas break soon though, and I will not be traveling for it, so I will be able to catch up on things. That will be nice. I am going to miss my family and friends a lot over the Christmas holiday. It's going to be strange to have Christmas all by myself. My fiance and his parents all have to work that day, so it'll be me. Pout. I'll have to find something to do. We shall see.

Coffee Anyone?

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Rough Week

This past week has been really rough. Our little community here has suffered a great loss. The staff is all fairly exhausted and emotionally drained. I haven't been here as long as the others, so my role is more one of emotional support than personal grief. It's still pretty tiring. I am having on of those weeks where I feel like I just can't get ahead of things. I really enjoy my job, but I think it's going to take at least a year before I will be comfortable enough with the material and in the classroom to face a day without extreme amounts of time and preparation going into it.

Engagement

I have now gotten engaged three times. The first time, was the necessary cultural engagement, with parents approval. Culturally it's inappropriate for a couple to go out together without that, and since we plan to live in this culture, we must follow it's rules. Our parents chatted and basically both gave their approval to our relationship. The second time was just three days ago when John proposed on a sailboat on the Nile. I must say the Nile provides an excellent stage for romance. That was our engagement, not for anyone else but us. The third time was last night at our Khotuba, or engagement party. It was almost a wedding in itself. I had the hair, the nails, the make-up done. Family and friends gathered. I was hidden from my fiance until he came to usher me into the party with everyone watching, including the professional videographer and photographer who was hired for the event. We exchanged rings. John's uncle did a special message and prayed over us. We ate lots of good Egyptian food. We toasted and fed each other wedding cake. It was quite an event. So now, after all that, I think I'm quite officially engaged. No questions about it. Who wants to help me plan the wedding?

Getting Started

I have finally found a home! It is near my work, near modes of transportation, and near all the basic shopping needs. I am pretty excited about it. My roomate and I get to move in in a week. We were supposed to move in today, but some things are not finished yet. I will be happy to move in and get settled.

I started work last week. I am pretty excited about it, and a little nervous of course. I think it will be good. I just hope that I do a good job. Once I get through a week or two, I'll feel a lot better. I just need to get my feet under me. I'm sure I'll learn as I go.

Homeless

I am still homeless. I begin work in less than two weeks. I need a home! So far things haven't worked out to get an apartment, but I am hoping that they will soon. Until then a remain a vagabond refugee in my fiance's parents' home. They are so good to me, but I have that western need for autonomy, and I am really getting desparate to have a life of my own. I hope it will all work out soon. I'm sure it will, I'm just getting a little nervous.

Culture Shock

I embark on another venture into culture shock. This time it's with someone that I love which makes it so much easier. Language issues and cultural discomfort, however, cannot be avoided. I am living in a sort of language immersion program. From morning til night I hear Arabic. You would think I would learn faster than I do. Sigh. I know this process will take time, but I'm not very patient. I feel like I am a baby. I can't talk or do things for myself. I can't express to those around me that I have a functioning brain. I can't express myself at all. It's very frustrating. My fiance's parents, though, have been so patient and kind. Thank God for them. I hope their patience doesn't wear out anytime soon, because it's going to take quite a while for me to conquer this language. Until then I have to rely on my face and actions to convey what I want ot say.

This culture is not mine, and so I don't naturally understand cultural expectations, therefor I am constantly concerned about offending. It's draining to spend the whole day focussing so hard to understand just a little about what's going on around me or to have the right reaction to each situation even when I can't understand the situation.

People here are incredibly warm and gracious though, which makes my own faults easier to deal with. Lord give me grace and wisdom.

I am actually alive

Yes, I am still alive. Access to the internet and time to post have been non-existant for the most part. The past three months have been crazy. At the moment, however, I am staying in a location that has internet, and so I will post.

Over the past several months I have packed up my life in four bags and moved across the Atlantic once again. For the past two months I have been living with a group in an apartment in a neighborhood in Cairo, doing orphanage work. The group that I had been living with left the country last week to return to the USA, leaving me homeless. After a considering several bridges to live under, I decided to take refuge in the home of my fiance's parents who have been gracious enough to offer me a place to live until I find on of my own. My mission at the moment is to find a place to live before the school term starts next month.

I am very excited about the school that I will be teaching at, and the people who I will be working with. I'm slightly nervous about teaching secondary school since I have never done it before, but this is the level that I wanted to teach all along,so I can't wait to begin.

April Update

I thought that I should blog at least one time in April. The month is almost over and haven't blogged at all. I'm sure that once I head to Egypt I'll blog more frequently. So far this month has been good. I spent a weekend out east with a bunch of my college friends. That was a ton of fun. I realized once again how much I miss college and how much I miss them. Sniff sniff. I spent Easter with the family. This was the first Easter that I have spent here with the family in about seven years. Other than that I have been working, spending as much time as possible with friends and family, and trying to get everything for the trip organized before I go. The whole thing has its stressful mooments, but I am really excited about it.

Brief

My time here in the U.S. is winding down. Less than two months before I'm off to things unknown. The job opportunity that I mentioned before looks pretty positive, which means I'll probably be staying in Egypt after the others come back from our trip together. It seems highly likely that I will be staying there to teach for a couple of years. It's all very exciting, but I am beginning to get a little nervous. I am hoping to at least be home for summers, but we will see what happens. Right now I am just enjoying everything, and spending time with the people that I will miss while I am there.

Your Heart Is Purple




For you, love is about establishing and developing a deep connection.
If it's true love, it brings you more wisdom and inner strength.

Your flirting style: Sincere

Your lucky first date: An afternoon at a tea house

Your dream lover: Is both thoughtful and expressive

What you bring to relationships: Understanding

EEEEEEEEEEEE

Some breakthroughs on the job front. Very exciting stuff, but I will refrain from details until a later time. Ambiguities until some things have been settled. Details to follow.

Anxiety

I am beginning to get stressed about finances. I feel like I will never get ahead. I am tired of struggling though. I am still trying to prepare myself financially for this summer. I have this dumb school loan to pay off. People are always asking to go out and do stuff, and I really can't afford to. I feel like a jerk turning them down over and over again, and when I go I feel guilty for spending money that I shouldn't be spending. I want so badly to get out to Denver to see the boys out there before I leave the country. I know my job isn't going to help much, but there are reasons that I have this job and not a better paying one at the moment. Life just gets stressful sometimes.

Misc

Life's been busy. We opened the new store this past week. I'll be working six days a week at the store and at least one with the girls, which is great. I know that I don't have the highest paying jobs, but they are jobs that I love, and hopefully I will be able to save a little bit of money. This summer's coming quickly, and I need to be ready for it. I am so excited about it. I talked to my friend about our travel plans yesterday, and it seems that everything is falling into place. So far so good.

1, 2, 3...

Life's been busy, in a good way, but there's really nothing remarkable to write about. So I'll list it.

1. I have become friends with a starving Bohemian writer.
2. I discovered an amazing Thai restaurant through some friends at work.
3. My car was brutally attack by a rabid shopping cart while I was at work in the predawn hours of the morning.
4. I have begun an Arabic tutorial, so hopefully I can independantly ask where a bathroom is this summer.
5. I have continued search out job possibilities, and have come across something that just might fit. (We shall see)
6. I have discovered a few new Starbucks beverages to add to my much-loved list.
7. I ate Mineo's pizza with some of my closest friends. Good times.

See? Really not much worth writing about. Tune in for better stuff (hopefully) next time!!!

Phad Thai

Mmmmm.... I found all of the ingredients and tried my hand at making phad thai today. Sooo good. A taste that I have missed. I tried it out on my parents. They approved. So delicious.

I went back and read some of my Thailand journals (my personal ones, not blogs), and looked through a bunch of my photos. Squeazed in between the rough moments were some really good times. I loved travelling in Thailand. It is a wonderful country to travel in. I think it's a really good country to work in too, but I definately had my rough spots. My two biggest issues were homesickness and being screamed at in another language almost everyday. I think that the screaming might have contributed to the homesickness. I am almost certain that screaming and misery like that are not at all common for foreigners working in Thailand. Thai people are so sweet and polite. There are so many things that I miss about Thailand.

I worked open today. Love that shift. I work with great people and had a really good time. I am really tired now though. Why is it that the night before I have to wake up at 4:30 I can't fall asleep? It happens everytime. I didn't sleep at all last night, and when I did it was in ten minute clips. Now my eyes are droopy and I have to stay up and take the kids to youth group tonight. Might get rough. I may actually skip CSI tonight and head straight to bed.

I have less than a week to decide whether I am going to take an Arabic course or just do a computer program. I'm not sure what is best. I want to be wise with my money and time, but I also want to learn. Back to the scales. I wish those pro's and con's would maintain a consistant weight.

Good books and great coffee

So I worked the early shift today. I love opening the store. It may be way earlier than I care to be awake, but for some reason I find myself in a better mood and functioning better somewhere in that misty space between sleep and reality. The drive at 5am is much calmer, and it's great to be done with a day of work somewhere around lunch time. Besides, what better place to spend those early morning hours than a coffee shop, especially for someone as addicted to the beverage as I am. It works for me!

Tomorrow is my day with my kids. Have I mentioned that I love all of my random jobs?

I just finished reading a book called Inside Afghanistan by John Weaver. It's about an American (the author) living in Afghanistan doing relief work with refugees in the year 2001. It speaks of the atmosphere of the country leading up to the events of 9/11, of the hardship that the people of Afghanistan endured at the hands of the taliban. It gives a unique perspective on U.S. retaliation after 9/11. Definately an eye-opener. I was also a moving reminder that there is world beyond America, and in many places it is a very desparate world. Americans tend to forget that.

Jase is coming home this weekend! Yeah!!!! I can't wait to see ya bud, but do you have to go home in the middle of the Superbowl? Honestly!

MySpace?

So MySpace seems to be the new trend, the place where everyone is, yet I continue to do all of my babbling on Blogger. Should I get a MySpace? The only use that I see for it would be to post some of my photos. I have issues getting photos to load on this site (Jase, help), but I would like to put some of my photo's on the web. I have some cool ones of far-away places. Advice?

Movies

Two dvd's that I recently rented and think are worth checking out: Cinderella Man and The Constant Gardener. Both worth your time (I think). Tom if you disagree about the latter, sorry for making you watch it with me, but you're a good friend for enduring it.

The Beauty of Technology

Oh the wonders of the internet. I love voice chat. In the past couple of days I have had conversations with friends on three different continents. It is so nice being able to just put on a headset and talk to someone for as long as you want completely free. It's definately a plus with my lifestyle. The beauty of technology.

Egypt this Summer

I am getting an apartment in Egypt this summer with some of my friends again. I am sooo excited. My cousin is probably coming with me for the first month, and I think that my best friend is coming for about ten days. We are going to work in the same orphanage that we worked in the last time we were there. I can't wait. Maybe I'll get teaching job while I am there. Who knows. We shall see. I will eventually settle into some form of consistant life. I feel like that's what everyone's waiting for me to do, but something in me won't let me live the typical American dream. It's just not my dream. Until I leave I'm just going to do my random jobs and save money for the summer. I'm so excited about it!

I took J's test

Does this sound like me? It seemed a little off, but maybe I just don't see things about myself that others see. What do you think?


Extraversion |||||||||||||||| 70%
Stability |||||||||| 40%
Orderliness |||| 20%
Accommodation |||||||||||||| 56%
Interdependence |||||||||||||||| 63%
Intellectual |||||||||||||| 56%
Mystical |||||||||||||||| 63%
Artistic |||||||||||||||| 63%
Religious |||||||||||||||||||| 90%
Hedonism |||||||||||| 50%
Materialism |||||| 30%
Narcissism |||||||||| 36%
Adventurousness |||||||||||||||| 63%
Work ethic |||||| 30%
Self absorbed |||||||||||| 43%
Conflict seeking |||| 16%
Need to dominate |||||||||| 36%
Romantic |||||||||| 36%
Avoidant |||||||||||| 50%
Anti-authority |||||||||||| 50%
Wealth |||||||||| 36%
Dependency |||||||||||||||||| 76%
Change averse |||||||||||||| 56%
Cautiousness |||||||||| 36%
Individuality |||||||||||||||| 70%
Sexuality |||||||||||| 50%
Peter pan complex |||||||||||||||| 63%
Physical security |||||||||||||||| 63%
Physical fitness |||||||||||| 44%
Histrionic |||||||||| 36%
Paranoia |||||||||||||||| 70%
Vanity |||||| 30%
Hypersensitivity |||||||||||||||||| 76%
Female cliche |||||||||||| 43%


Stability results were moderately low which suggests you are worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.

Orderliness results were low which suggests you are overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense too often of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment.

Extraversion results were high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.


trait snapshot:

craves attention, messy, open, rash, irritable, likes large parties, low self control, weird, fragile, does not like to be alone, emotionally sensitive, worrying, depressed, heart over mind, does not respect authority, dependent, not rule conscious, not good at saving money, more interested in relationships than intellectual pursuits, likes to fit in, very social, frequently second guesses self, phobic, suspicious, not careful, outgoing, vain, compassionate, aggressive, likes to make fun, hates to lose

Back to the drawing board

I went to talk to some people today about further education. I really don't know how practical this is at the moment. I don't know if itis going to happen right now. I think I may be reverting to former plans and holding off on the master's. Who knows things still may work out sooner than expected, but it doesn't seem so. That is fine though. I have always planned on getting my master's. That isn't changing, I just have other ideas about how it is going to happen. Back to the drawing board.

*Brrrr!*

Christmas is over and New Years is over, so now basically I have months of frigid weather to look forward to and no holiday to give that weather the illusion of being festive. And the snow continues....

The headaches are back. I think that most of last month was headache free, but they have returned. I have had this one for two days now. It makes me want to puke. Gotta love those. I don't know what the issue is, but I wish I could get rid of these. Yes, I have had my head examined. They can't find anything wrong. I'm not saying that there isn't anything wrong, they just can't seem to diagnose anything medically. It's just one of those lifelong annoyances that I'll probably never get rid of. Blah.

I really am not feeling as negative as I sound in this happy blog. I am looking for another job. Now that the Christmas rush is over I need some supplementary income. That's always fun. I probably will just get something to generate some cash for the next couple of months until I head to Egypt.

I'm also looking into possibilities in further education. We shall see how that goes. I know I want to get my master's, but I didn't think I would get into it this soon. The way things seem to be working out in my life lately it just might be best for me to pursue my master's sooner rather than later. That's all up in the air of course. We shall see what happens.

This weekend I am spending with the youth group at church. This is their winter retreat weekend. It's a lot of fun. These kids are a trip. I really enjoy participating in these things. I wish I could do more with them. Right now a bunch of them are playing football out in this frigid weather. Crazy kids. Well, I supposed I should return to my shivering.

A Continuation of Christmas

Christmas was wonderful, although I haven't fully relinquished my hold on the holiday yet, so in my little unimportant world the holiday season continues. The festivities shall continue through the New Year and beyond.

I tried to shop today, but as I entered the first store I had a change of heart, and decided to spare my heart and just go home. I hadn't seen my home since Christmas morning anyway. It's been nice having a couple of days with friends and family, but an evening at home may be nice. My house is crying out for a little bit of attention, especially my bedroom. It's looking rough. Maybe I'll be inspired to do something about that today. Of course then again, maybe not.

Christmas Eve Eve

Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, and have I wrapped a single gift yet? No. Have I even finished me Christmas shopping? Nope! Will I? Eventually. I can't believe it's almost over already. I was planning to savor and enjoy every moment of it, and ... Puff! It's gone. How does that happen? I've been working a lot. But it hasn't been an overwhelming amount of work. I have no idea how it has all gone. And I am unprepared as usual. Welcome to the life of me. Well, Merry Christmas anyway!!!

Winter Insulation

There's less than two weeks until Christmas, and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping. I am way behind. I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done either. I just can't seem to find the time to get everything done. I just may have to get creative with things.

The snow has been falling like crazy here. It totally puts me in the Christmas mood. We decorated the Christmas tree today. It's been up for a while now with lights and cranberries, but today we finally put up the ornaments. (I put one up for you Jase - the hand painted one with your name on it.) We have been baking like crazy. Our kitchen is overflowing with Christmas cakes, cookies, and candies. My dad made this English toffee that is amazing. Nothing like Christmas goodies to pack on the pounds and provide some good winter insulation.

I am looking into my back yard as I write, and I am watching a doe chewing on our shrubbery. She's coming right down to our dining room doors. Deer never come that close to the house. What a funny little thing.

Jobs, jobs

I worked with my kids today. As usual it was wonderful, rewarding, and enjoyable. Right now I am working random jobs to make money while I search for "the real job". The thing is, all of my random, non-real jobs are wonderful, and I enjoy them so much! If you put all of my hours together from all of my jobs, I'm working more than full time. It almost makes me not want to get a real job. Ok, I don't want to get a real job, but that nagging sense of responsibility demands that I continue the search for one. Until I get one, however, I will continue to enjoy my days with the kids and my days at the shop.

Oh Tanenbaum

My family went to the tree lot and picked out a Christmas tree today. It was a numbing experience. My extremities have not thawed yet. I discovered that
picking out a Christmas tree to please the whole family is not always easy. Everyone has their own taste in Christmas trees. I like stiffer trees, the kind where you can hang an ornament and it won't slide off fifteen times because of flimsy branches. I like Christmas trees that are shaped like christmas trees, not like over grown bushes. I like them to be tall and full, but triangular, not round. Not everyone agrees with my taste. We ended up finding one that everybody approved of. It's actually very nice. I can't wait to decorate it.

I am bound and determined to enjoy the holiday season to its fullest this year, especially since I didn't really have one last year. Even dumb little things that nobody cares about are huge events for me this year. I refuse to listen to music that isn't Christmas music. At work I refuse to create packages or gift baskets that aren't Christmassy (no orders for Hannukah baskets yet). I definately wouldn't let my family just go out and pick up a tree without me. I had to be part of the process, browsing and delkiberating ovver which tree would best suit our needs and (of course) my taste. I even tolerate freezing temperatures for the experience.

As Christmas crazy as I have been this year, I have not done much Christmas shopping yet. First the money just wasn't available, and now the time isn't there. I'm also struggling for ideas. One thing about last year's Christmas season: the Christmas shopping was so much fun. Having Dave in Thailand with me, wandering through the markets, finding all kinds of random and somewhat exotic novelties to buy for people at home. It was a blast. This year it's back to America's malls and high prices. But that's part of being home for the holidays, so I can't complain. Eventually I will get the shopping dne, and then I will have a blast wrapping all the presents.

Shiver

We had Bible study at my house tonight. I think it went well. We have been doing a Sunday night, young adults Bible study at my house for a couple of months now. I really enjoy doing it. Of course we hang out and eat. That always adds to the enjoyment of an event.

I have had my first driving-in-the-snow experience of the season. Actually for me this was the first in years. I was a little freaked out. I made Tom come with me and talk me through the process. Eventually I'll get used to this winter thing again... maybe that will happen when I begin to feel my fingers, toes, and nose again... sometime in May? Anyway, despite the scarey driving conditions, it's all very pretty, although my view of it has been a little blurry. The perpetual shivering that I have been experiencing since somewhere in the middle of November seems to blur my vision. I am excited about Christmas, however. It will be nice to be back home for the holidays again this year, winter or not.

I have been working everyday but Sunday lately. I really love my jobs though. I love the children that I work with. They are all adorable. I have also been working at a gift/ coffee/ candy shop. That is a ton of fun. I manage the store while the owner works at the candy house. We make hot drinks, ice cream, baked goods, and gift baskets, etc. She gives me complete creative freedom. I have so much fun with it. Honestly, by the end of the day I am always left wondering where the time has gone. It's been great.

Quick Blip

I am in Lebanon, PA with Debbie and family for Thanksgiving. I bought a winter coat today. It's as orange as my shoes. I am so excited. My leather coats just weren't keeping me warm. Anyway, now I will look like a winter tangerine walking around this season.

So my family just bought a new computer this week and they are contemplating a decent internet service. The small-town dial-up thing is more frustration than it is worth. Maybe if my actually concedes that we need high-speed internet I'll actually be online again. One can hope.

I am going to work at a coffee/gift shop this Christmas season to suppliment my tutoring income. I get as much free coffee as I want while I am on shift. This could get dangerous. I am excited.

This is so me

I took another one of those tests:

The Peacemaker (the Nine)
Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure.
I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advatage of this.
Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit.
Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally.
Ask me questions to help me get clear.
Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery.
Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings.
I like a good discussion but not a confrontation.
Let me know you like what I've done or said.
Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life.


What I Like About Being a Nine

being nonjudgmental and accepting
caring for and being concerned about others
being able to relax and have a good time
knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe


What's Hard About Being a Nine (The negatives are definitely me.)

being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
being confused about what I really want
caring too much about what others will think of me
not being listened to or taken seriously

Back at Lin's

So I'm at Lindsay's again,and therefore I can post. Jase and Tom are back in town. Life is wonderful. I have missed Jase soooo much, it's good to have him around again (if only for the week). It's good to hangout with Tom too although he's mainly preoccupied. Jase had me convinced to come back to CO with him earlier today, and then my mother reminded me of previously made obligations and destroyed those plans. It would have been so fun. Oh well. I guess I should stick around here and do something with myself. I really do want to get out there and bond with the guys at some point though.

So I Took J's Test

J, I think I enjoy these things as much as you do. Unfortunately Teacher was not on the list of possible jobs for me. Hmmm.


Career Inventory Test Results


Extroversion ||||||||||||||||||||| 63%
Emotional Stability ||||||||||||||| 50%
Orderliness ||||||||| 30%
Altruism ||||||||||||||||||||| 70%
Inquisitiveness ||||||||||||||| 50%




You are an Inspirer, possible professions include - conference planner, speech pathologist, HR development trainer, ombudsman, clergy, journalist, newscaster, career counselor, housing director, character actor, marketing consultant, musician/composer, artist, information-graphics designer, human resource manager, merchandise planner, advertising account manager, dietitian/nutritionist, speech pathologist, massage therapist, editor/art director.

A Brief Hello

I'm at Lindsay's where there is a functioning computer and decent internet access, so I decided to make use of it and actually post. I feel more cut off from the web at my parents home in the U.S. than I did when I was living in Thailand. How sad is that? Anyway, two of the boys are coming home this weekend!!!! I am so excited. Dave's coming home too, and he's bring his girlfriend. It's going to be a reunion!!! I can't wait! Now, time to find a job...

OBX'n It

So I'm bonding with my family and the sun on the Outer Banks right now. Fun times. Before too long all of my extended family will arrive and the noise index will increase dramatically, and hopefully so will the fun. It's nice to be back for a family tradition. I haven't been down here in four years. It will be good to see people who I haven't seen in ages.

Update

I know I haven't posted in ages. Sorry about that. I've been pretty busy lately, which I think has been good for me. Since my last post I spent a couple of weeks on the side of a highway in Philadelphia helping my brother to run a fireworks tent, spent a couple of weeks out east bonding with my Egyptian family, did dramas and medical clinics in Nicaragua with a team from my church, taught children at an Arabic conference, and bonded with the whole extended Egyptian family at Ocean City. I haven't been home much at all, but I think that's been good for me. Tomorrow I leave to spend two weeks with my family on the OuterBanks of NC. I haven't spent too much time with my family since I've been back from overseas, so this will be fun. The second week the while extended family will join us. Some of them I haven't seen in four years or more. I'm kind of excited. After all of that is over though, real life hits. That's not so exciting, but it's about time I face it. So here goes...

sunlight in the hole

So I'm trying this week to stay out of that hole as much as possible, but living in the light of day isn't incredibly easy or comfortable. The hole is appealing. Why are some things so hard? I don't understand myself.

that hole

Do you ever feel so insecure and inadequate that you'd just rather back up into a hole, hide yourself, and watch life from the opening, than participate somewhere where you can be seen and are vulnerable to attack? Eh, but life doesn't happen in that hole, and so I will do my best to drag myself into the light of day until at some point I am comfortable there again.

sunshine

Thank God for the sunshine. If a sunny day can be this depressing can you imagine what a rainy day would be like?

It's been a while...

So I haven't written in a while. Why? Mostly because I don't feel the need to share my psychological distress with the world via the internet. Also because my computer is a dinosaur that is in the process of fossilization and often won't let me post.

What have I been up to lately?
A million meaningless things that both amuse and depress me.

What do you do when people you care about add to your distress and you can't even talk to them about it? I guess you just fake it until you can get over it, until you can climb out of the pit you're in. I'm not very good at faking things though. It only last so long. Sometimes just ignoring things works, but then people bring them to your attention, and remind you that you are in that pit that you were pretending was a castle. How do you climb out of it? Every time I think I've found a ladder it collapses under my wieght. Everytime it collapses I look ridiculous to the crowd of friends at the top of the pit who watch me fall and land on my face. They pretend that they want to help me but the ropes they lower have rotted and crumble as I reach for them. In the end I resent their pity, and determine to make the pit my home.

Shoot Me

Today I bonded with my best friend all day. We went shoppping. I hate shopping, but sometimes it's necessary, and it'always better to do it when you have your mother's gift cards and a little moral support. We also went out for coffee where I think I had most of an emotional breakdown. Jason, this is what happens when you leave me here to survive this place without you. I have had quite a number of emotional breakdowns lately. I am not good at adjusting to change, and yet I seem to be the queen of change. I don't understand myself.

Where is the balance?

I can blog!!! For the first time in weeks my home computer is letting me post! This poor decrepit machine is struggling.

The wedding this past weekend was beautiful. Two of my closest friends from my school in Florida got married. Theirs is the kind of relationship that left me no doubts or concerns when they headed to the altar. Marraige seems pretty scary to me. So many of my friends have gotten married only to encounter major problems which either make the institution miserable or simply break it up. I guess marraige is never a sure thing, but I feel pretty good about this one. I'm really happy for them. As for me, well, I have another lovely bridesmaid's dress to decorate my closet with.

Now I'm home and back to the task of reorganizing my room, and somehow making it work for me. I think that culture shock is starting to catch up with me finally. I have begun to find some things hard to reconcile, American materialism for one. I have to once again find my place in this society that puts such an emphasis on things, on what you have, and how you look. I feel like I don't fit. I'm not as cute as all the other girls I see. I don't have the trendy clothes. I drive a ten year old car (to which I have quite an attatchment). I don't own a cell phone. Half of me feels like a bum for this. It makes me feel insecure. But the other half of me is proud of it. I'm not sure which is right. I'm not sure where the balance is found. Americans have things. It's part of the culture. Most people would have no idea how to live without their things. I wouldn't know how to live without most of my things. But is that healthy?

I find myself looking around me and feeling inferior because of what I lack. The battle has begun. I see things. I want things, but do I need them? Am I less of a person because of what I don't have? Of course not, I know that, but I still find myself struggling with that dumb insecurity. I feel guilty for that insecurity though, because I realize how shallow it is. I have a hard time reconciling the things that I have because of all of the people who I know who have so much less than I have. Where is the balance? What is the right view?

Bob

I chopped all of my hair off yesterday and donated it to charity. Now I'm bald.

I am in Rochester with my roomates from my first college. My roomie's getting married and the rest of us are the bridal party. My life, always the bridesmaid, never the bride. It's all good though. I like being a free spirit. Anyway, it's fun to be back with my friends. It's been three years since we've all been together. It feels like we never parted though. So much fun. Ok, well back to the pre-wedding bliss. I'll blog later.

Catching up...

It's been a while since I have posted. I've been running like crazy. I spent last week in Virginia hanging out with my brother, college friends, and professors. Good times. I loved hanging out down there, it made me miss college. I miss the whole atmosphere. I miss my professors. I was one of those cheesey students who hung out in my professors offices, etc. Yes folks, I am a nerd! I miss having so many people my age around all the time. I miss having so many friends around, always having people to hang out with. So much fun. Probably too much fun.

So this week I am home trying to fit my life back into the room I lived in in high school. Man have I thrown away stuff!!! I have been dumping my stuff in that room and then leaving for a good six years now. It's accumulated a lot of crap!!! Some it of makes me nostalgic. Some just makes me roll my eyes. I've done so many random things the past six years, made so many random friends, and what do I have to show for it? I'm not sure. Pictures. I have a bunch of pictures.

Tomorrow I am leaving for New York. I am in another wedding. It will be good to see people who I haven't seen in years, but I am a little nervous about it. It's gonna be weird. I am not too sure what to expect.

Sorry guys, but for some reason I can only publish the title box lately, so when I figure out how to post, I will post again.

 

Quick Update

I have only been online once since I got back to this lovely country, so I haven't been blogging lately. Right now I am visiting family. They all got together at my grandparents house last night and threw me a little birthday party. It was fun. I got to see relative that I haven't seen in ten years. Today we went to Philly and hung out down there. We went to all the historic site in the city. I really enjoyed hanging out in an American city. It was so clean compared to what I'm used to, and everyone spoke my language. Tomorrow we are going to New York to do the Statue of Liberty, etc. Good times back in the U.S.

Shock to the Senses

I am in the good ol' U.S.A.!!! I landed on U.S. soil in Chicago to strains of the Nutcracker Suite and snow. It disoriented me a bit. I thought that I had been coming home just in time to begin summer, but it felt more like I was coming home for Christmas vacation. Winter wonderland! From a Bangkok summer to U.S. winter, what a shock to the senses!

Everything else has been strangely normal. I thought everything would be odd, that I would have culture shock like I have every other time I have returned to the U.S., but I haven't really. I didn't even experience much jet-lag. Maybe the strangeness just hasn't hit me yet. I don't know. Whatever the case, I am really happy to be home, and to be with my friends and family. I can't wait to see everybody.

Goodbye Thailand Movies

So the movie people are getting annoying. I don't like to have an audience. You would think that I was the one making a movie the way they crowd around the window while I am teaching. Stress.

My evening students took me out to dinner to say goodbye last night. We had so much fun. Sometimes being the only foreigner in a group can be a blast. They are such precious people. I am really going to miss them. At the end of the evening they gave me gifts and the waterworks began. Saying goodbye really sucks! I just keep doing it though. Sigh. And tonight is the final goodbye. That will be rough. At least I'll be able to leave behind those annoying movie makers!

Movie Making

I guess that Bangkok is the LA of Thailand, and that's where I live. Today I walked into the staff room at school and was informed that I will have to change classrooms for the day because a Thai movie company is filming on the school property and they were using my classroom as a makeup room. So odd. The people, equipment, etc. was all out there when I headed to my classroom. I made the mistake of letting my students out for lunch when the lunch bell rang. Apparently they hadn't finished filming a clip, so my poor little grade one and grade two students unknowingly cased quite the ruckus on the set. They were quickly hushed and corralled into a waiting area until the scene was finished. During lunch hour it poured. I have no idea if that disrupted the filming, but the cast hung out all day. So weird.

Cold Wata' and Cold Weatha'

Ok, so the hot water that I was so excited about a couple of posts ago is gone. Sigh. Well it was nice for one day. Only two more days of cold showers and then I get hit with cold weather! We'll see if I can handle it. Don't forget that ice pick!!!

Evening ESL

I love my evening ESL class. I like teaching adults. I love teaching those adults. I always leave that class happy. I always anjoy teaching them. Even when my teaching day at the school has been really long and trying, and I come into the class dreading another hour of teaching, I always leave glad to have come. Tonight we tackled some confusing stuff. They worked so hard at understanding the concepts that I was teaching. I'm glad that English is my first language. I don't envy anyone trying to learn it as an adult. The adults in my class do really well though. I teach Basic I and Basic II, so sometimes communication within the classroom can be challenging. I often resort to my Grade 1 tricks to get a concept across. Sometimes I feel really stupid doing this, but they are great. They laugh at me, but they never make me feel stupid. I like teaching my little ones, but I think I prefer the adults. I love the little ones, but I'd rather babysit them than teach them. Teaching adults is so different. It just works better for me. I am really going to miss that class.

Tonight after my evening class I went bowling with my friends. I bowled a 179. I never do that. I break 100 only on the very best of days. I don't know what was going on today, but it was sure fun!

Hot Wata'

My bathroom has hot water!!! I know that I live in a tropical environment, and that cold water is usually a relief from Bangkok's heat, but sometimes taking a cold shower first thing when you get up in the morning is not a ton of fun. I am quite happy to have a heater for my shower water. I'll enjoy it thouroughly for the next three days. After that it's home to the U.S., land of hot showers and the home of the brave (or something like that).

Things The Teacher Is Still Learning

Disclaimer:
This post has been inspired by Alyssa (who I have never met in my life) and Tom (who I have known for about half of my life).

I am not about to finish my first year of college like the previously mentioned parties. I am, however, less than a week away from boarding a plane that will take me half a world away from Thailand which has been my home this past year, where I held my first "real adult" job, where I have been stretched and stressed, where I have made incredible memories, spent time with amazing people, and learned a lot about myself and about God. So, to follow in Tom and Alyssa's pattern, here are some of the things that I have learned this year, and am still learning, in no particular order:

1.) I have learned that a lot of people hate America, but I am still proud to be an American. I hope to represent it well and maybe I'll alter their view a little.

2.) I will probably never achieve the epitemy of adulthood that I had in my mind, but that's ok. I don't think anybody does.

3.) Not everything in life that is good is fun. Often experiences that are worth the most are not fun at all.

4.) I can handle more than I thought I could, but just because it's possible doesn't mean it's pleasant.

5.) Understanding a person's culture goes a long way toward understanding a person.

6.) God does not place you somewhere. He takes you there and stays with you. He never gives you a situation that He will not give you the strength to handle. He never abandons.

7.) The future will always be uncertain. Even when things seem stable and planned, nothing is sure, but God will always be there.

8.) You're not going to find a job that you love all the time. Even in the best situation life brings moments of unhappiness, that's where perserverence kicks in.

9.) All people are amazing. Even the ones who drive you crazy, there is something amazing about them.

10.) On my own I am nothing.

Week of Lasts

I am beginning my week of lasts. I hate those lasts. Today I went to the weekend market for the last time. I rode the skytrain for what was probably the last time. This week I'll do all of those things that I do on a daily basis here, and it will all be profound because it will be my last time. So sad. I will be sad to leave Thailand, to leave my lifestyle here in Bangkok. I will be sad to leave the markets, the street venders, my favorite food stands, the tuk-tuks, the elephants, the river taxi, the temples on every street corner, the people. I am excited to go home. I know it will be good, but I'm not there yet. Right now I am in the goodbye process, and I'm a little melancholy.

The Night Bus

Well. I'm back in Bangkok. Deona and I caught a night bus last night and headed back. Of course the bus left over an hour late (typical). It also ran out of gas on the side of a hill some where. When it finally started moving again the air conditioning vent above me dripped cold water consistantly everytime I started to fall asleep. I was pretty sure that I had had enough of Songkran, but apparently my air conditioning vent wanted to give me one last taste of the holiday. Oh the joys of bussing across Thailand!

Chillin' Thai Style

I have been wet all day and I am really cold (it's probably well over a hundred out there), but it's been a fun day. A bunch of the teachers that I know stayed at my friends house with me last night. This morning we were walking out of the neighborhood to catch the bus into town when a bunch of Thai people in a pick-up truck pulled up alongside of us and asked if we wanted to hop in. We figured "why not?" and hopped in. They drove us all over town where we got soaked and slimed by a million random people. Other pick-ups full of people drove past us and heaved buckets of water at us, little kids shot us with their squirt guns from their front doors, tourists attacked from every angle. It was soo much fun, and sooo wet! They finally let us off in the Night Bazaar area where we split up to wander around. Elly and I spent to day in this part of the city dodging water and sipping coffee the local Starbucks, and hanging out at a local sidewalk cafe. We chatted with other foreigners, took pictures of the chaos, read, wrote, etc. It was a pretty chilled out mellow kind of chaotic day. Chiiled out in a literal sense as well as a metaphoric sense. This evening Deona and I are going to meet up with some of our Thai friends to hang out. Should be fun. Everyone else is heading back to Bangkok where we'll be heading tomorrow night. Yuk.

Climatization

I think I must have finally climatized (or whatever the term is). This morning I found myself sitting on my friend's porch sipping my hot coffee and thinking "my, it's comfortably cool this morning." Well, then I looked at their thermometer which is in the shade, and it read 90 degrees. It was only maybe ten in the morning, so it hadn't gotten over a hundred yet, but it was still 90 and I thought that was cool!!! What am I going to do when I have to adjust to North American weather? Somebody bring an icepick to the airport to chip away at me.

Dripping in the Net Cafe

I said my tearful goodbyes to the friends whose house I am staying at today. They left for a family holiday, and I am staying at their house. I didn't realize that saying goodbye was going to be so difficult. I have been through a lot with that family though, everything from our very trying work situation, to First Christmas in Thailand, to Fields of dead bodies after the tsunami. I don't think I would have made it through this year with out that family, and I am really going to miss them.

Now I am dripping in a net cafe in town. Let me tell you how difficult a simple tast like catching a bus to Starbucks can become in the midst of a nation-wide water war! Chiang Mai is chaos right now. It's so funny! Don't step out your front door unless you are ready to participate. Nobody's shy about it either. Pick-up trucks with huge barrels of water and tons of people are driving around everywhere just nailing people with water. Parents have their children armed with super-soakers in the front yard ready to blast any passers-by. People are hanging off of the backs of songtaus with huge water guns strapped to themsleves as if they are part of a special songtau military. Tuk-tuk and motorcycle taxi rides are a bit dangerous right now with the amount of water flying through the air from any given direction at any given time. And of course everyone want a chance to get the farong. Sometimes standing out in the crowd is not an asset, but I guess it does make things interesting -- and a lot of fun!

Let the Water Wars Begin

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it or not, but I love Chiang Mai! I guess it may be evident in the fact that I come here everytime I have a break, and I rave about it to all of my friends. I love this city!!! It is beautiful, Thai, and smaller than Bangkok, but it still has all the comforts of home. It's a great place and if I ever move back to Thailand, I am moving to this area. So far my time here has been totally relaxing.

Yesterday I got to hang out with some of my Thai friends and a few of my farong friends as well. I went to church twice (once in English, and once in Thai), and I did some shopping at the famous Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. Why doesn't the U.S. have markets? Man am I gonna miss those!

Today I have been roaming around, being lazy, shopping a little, stopping at little cafe's, talking to people, and just enjoying the city - oh yeah, and dodging the occaissional onslaught of water. The festivities haven't gotten into full swing yet, but they have begun, my very damp shirt testifies to that fact. Mostly little kids have gotten me. So Much Fun! I hear them plotting against me as soon I am in sight. They chatter away in Thai. "Hey, look, it's a foreigner. Let's get her wet." With my very elementary understanding of the Thai language, I can still understand this much. So I know what's coming, and of course I appear to be absolutely horrified as adorable little Thai children come running at me from their hiding places with buckets of water and squirt guns. I act like I am trying to out run them as they giggle and chase me, squirting away. Eventually I decide that I really am wet enough and I do out run them effectively, leaving them giggling amongst themselves proudly with a "We got her!" attitude. I am sure that halfway through the week this will get annoying, but right now it's so cute. So fun.

Songkran Here I Come!

Tonight I am off for Chiang Mai. I am hoping to spend the week visiting with all of my friends from the north and several from Bangkok who will be in the north. I'll probably spend most of the week dripping, because this week is the Songkran Festival, a week-long, nationwide water fight from which no one escapes unscathed, or should I say unbathed. I have heard that it's pretty crazy, and I can foresee it getting a little annoying at times, but hopefully I'll have a good week anyway. Relaxation is what I'm aiming at, but in order to do that I may have to hide in my friends' house. We shall see how it goes!

Breakfast Guest

I didn't sleep well last night, so I got up a little early and went upstairs to make my morning coffee. While I was preparing my coffee I heard some scratching noises coming from under one of the cupboards. I figured it was just one of the friendly neighborhood lizards. They run around in all shapes and sizes and never bother anything so I ignored it and forgot about it. I forgot about it, that is, until I absent-mindedly walked toward that cupboard and frightened a mid-sized rat-type creature out of it's hiding place. I was caught off guard, so (brain child that I am) I walked toward it's alternate place of refuge to make sure I had really seen a rat. Of course the gray creature with an ugly tail was a little nervous that a frighteningly large giant was following it. It broke free of it's second hiding place and went zig-zagging all around the kitchen bouncing off of things in the process. As it was panicking all over the kitchen I came to my senses and panicked a bit with it. Basically I just jumped on a chair and watched it blaze it's little trail until it disappeared. After it was gone I climbed off of my chair and thought how nice was is to have company at breakfast in the morning.

Culture Shock Prequel

Today was a random holiday in the middle of the week. It was kind of nice though because it fell right when my roommate was back in town for the day. We got to hang out together and just chill. Tonight we went to a movie with some of our Thai friends. One of them drove. It was so nice to be in a person's car rather than a taxi, tuk-tuk, bus, boat, songtau, skytrain, subway, or any of the other random modes of transportation that I take to get around this city. Those are all cool, I don't mind them. They're can sometimes be quite an experience, but I found myself sitting in TDum's car this evening thinking "oh yeah, this is what it feels like." We had control of the radio. We had control of where we wanted to go. It was just our group of friends and nobody who we didn't know. It sounds weird, but I had forgotten what that feels like.

I go home in two and a half weeks, and I think that I am going to discover a lot of things that I had forgotten. Bangkok is no longer foreign to me. It doesn't have hometown familiarity, but I am used to it. It's still an adventure everyday, but it's an adventure that doesn't throw me off quite as often as it did when I first got here. When I get home I'll realize how many things I've gotten used to here. What a weird though. Culture shock here I come!

Thai Massage

So I finally went for a massage here. Thailand is known for their massages, but I've always been a little afraid of them. I went last night with two of my friends to a place on my friend's soi. What I thought would be a nice time of quiet relaxation ended up being neighborhood gossip time in the buff with all of the ladies on the soi. Funny stuff. And all of that chatter was in Thai, so once again I had an opportunity to work on my language skills.

Clouds and Contemplation

It stormed today. The thunder cracked louder than I have heard in months and it poured. The weather matched my mood. I said goodbye to so many people today. I was a little depressed, a little lonely. This place is far too quiet now. I don't know how to handle it. I'm sure my class full of rambunctious six and seven-year-olds will snap me out of my cloud of gloom first thing tomorrow morning. I am starting back to my evening classes as well. At least I'll be really busy for my last three weeks here. I'm sure it will be good.

In his prayer at the beginning of today's sermon, my pastor said, "Lord thank You that the whole earth is yours and all that is in it, and that when our eyes are closed in prayer, that is when we see all that we truly possess." What a true statement. Everything in this world that we consider ours can be taken from us in an instant. Nothing tangible is eternal. Only the sacred hope that we have in Christ is lasting. It's a good reminder to hold lightly to what we have on earth, and to set our priorities on the eternal. Something that I certainly struggle with. Something to ponder and work on.

Starbucks

Yesterday Starbucks taught me how to use thier equiptment and offered me a job. Unfortunately I will soon be moving and will not be able to take it. If the job had been offered in August I probably would have taken it simply to be surrounded by coffee on a regular basis. Good thing it wasn't. I was a pretty neurotic mess this year with only one job. Could you imagine adding another job to that and then pumping me with more caffine than I already have in my body on a daily basis? Yeesh. Not a very good thought. I made a pretty darn good latte though!

Today I went to the market with my friends. Man did I spend the baht! I got wedding presents and miscellaneuos other things. It was a productive trip, and fun, but man was it hot! The heat index today is up above 120 again. I am really looking forward to getting back to the States for spring weather!

Dinner Entertainment

So teaching summer school has been really good so far. My kids have been really cute. Some of them know no English whatsoever, but some are really good. Basically I'm just teaching conversation and phonics. Today we learned the polite way to respond in English if somebody sneezes. I had a class full of first and second graders sneezing their little hearts out. They were so funny. We had a lot of fun with it.

This evening my friends and I went to the mall and to Khao San Road. Khao San is such a backpackers haven. All the European tourists who are doing the southeast Asia loop stay there while they are in Bangkok. It's a cheap place to stay and a good shopping area. The markets there have all kinds of random things that foreign tourists want. It's definitley a different atmosphere from the markets here where I live though. It's nice to go there and eat western food, and mingle with so many random people, but the atmosphere there is much more jaded and harsh than it is here in my neighborhood.

Tonight my friends and I ate at a really good Italian restaurant on Khao San. The table that we sat at was out on the sidewalk. An adorable ten-year-old boy came to our table trying to sell us roses, and ended up spending the evening there. I practiced all of my Thai on him and he entertained us with coin tricks. My friend bought him ice cream and he made himself at home at our table. He was SOOO cute! We had a really good time playing with him until he finally got shewed away by a local cop. Of course we each bought a rose from him before he left. I gave mine to another vender's daughter who was also very adorable. Fun times. It's moments like those I'll miss when I leave Thailand. Evening like that make this place special.

Monday, Monday

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and all of the farong staff got together for a big dinner to celebrate. It was a lot of fun, but bittersweet. It was our Last Supper. This week everyone is cleaning out their classrooms, homes, and dispersing for random places on the globe. Bittersweet. We are all a little sad to see this year end, but I think most of us are pretty excited for whatever is next. I'll be sad to see everyone go. I'll miss everyone. This month is going to be so quiet! I think it'll be good though.

I started teaching summer school today. It was good. I am teaching first and second grades. I only have fifteen students in my class though, and they are really good. I am kind of happy to be back in the classroom. I enjoyed my break immensely, but it's good to be back to work, and the work environment here, though sometimes chaotic, is much easier to deal with than the last one. My students seem to be pretty cute too. I am sure this month will be a good one.

Happy Easter!!!

Love that I am loved by a living God.

Happy Good Friday

A perfect day to reflect on how much we have to be thankful for, how blessed we really are...

Thoughts

So many things have been good lately. I am enjoying life so much right now. It's almost frightening to me, but I know I should just enjoy the good times and not worry about the bad. I went back and read my journals from the past six months today. I was really depressed for a while. I was truly miserable. Now I am having a great time and really enjoying things here. It's crazy how things change. Monday I have to start teaching summer school here at GES. Hopefully teaching here will be different from teaching at the other school. Hopefully it will go well. I think that it will be good, but I always get a little nervous when I am about to start something new. Only one more month left here in Thailand! I can't believe it. Time is going by so quickly. Oh I hope the rest of my time here is good.

Lists

I have been thinking a little about Jeremy's Death Clock blog, and about the idea of making a list of things that I want to accomplish before I die. Right now I am looking at the future with no clue as to what I am going to do next, or ever for that matter. The thing is I always come to this point where I am looking ahead at a blank future, and I never have a list to refer to to figure out what to do next, but God always lets me know what He wants me to do. I decided that I don't want to make a serious list. I always make little lists of random thing that would be cool to do in life, but none of them too serious. I think though, that that's a good thing, because I want to be open to whatever God wants me to do, and not get too focussed on things that I had set out to accomplish. It's worked out alright for me so far. I've gotten to live in random places and do random things that I would have never put on a list of my own.

Tsunami Stuff

This past week was amazing. It was a trip that combined Campus Crusaders from universities all over the U.S. with Crusaders from universities from all over Thailand. The combination was incredible. This was why I came to Thailand. This week represents what I love about being in places like this. It was truly amazing.

There were more than 300 of us, American, Thai, and a smattering of other nationalities. We broke into three major teams and various subteams. The three teams went to three different locations. One team went to an island that had been completely destroyed by the tsunami. They spent the week clearing debris and doing whatever they could to help the villagers who were displaced from the island by the waves. Another team worked within a fishing village on the mainland, clearing debris, repairing houses, and doing whatever the villagers needed. The team that I was on worked alongside a tribe of sea gypsies to building a village from the ground up. They had nothing left to even salvage after the waves, so the village that we worked at was being built from scratch. My meanial job was to run the skill saw. I spent most of my time measuring and cutting siding boards. I really enjoyed it though.

We didn't get as much done as I would have liked to. When we first got there things were pretty unorganized and communication was a little difficult, but soon we got a system going and communication improved. Even at the beginning when the foreigners and the Thai were learning to work together and struggling a lttle with communication, everyone was incredibly patient and kind. Watching everyone work together was great.

One day, work was cut short because of another tsunami scare. Apparently there was another earthquake in Indonesia. Somebody phoned the info down to us on the site and everyone headed for the busses and headed out. When one of my team members told me about it, I laughed, rolled my eyes at her and kept working. I totally thought that she was just being stupid. Then I saw everyone running, and I figured that I should follow so that I at least had a ride back to where we were staying. The scare was nothing more than a scare, and I know it happens down there all the time now. Most of us weren't bothered about it, but a few people were a little shaken.

The tribe itself was living in tents and temporary housing constructed from various peices of debris in an area a little ways from our worksite. We were able to spend time with them after work on several of the days. The people there were so gracious in recieving us into whatever form of home they had. I felt like I really made friends with one family in the village. I definately had an opportunity to work on my Thai language skills. I loved using as much of the language as I could. We really wanted to let them know that we care, and that God cares. I hope we were able to show them the kind of love and hope that they need right now.

It was so good to be back in the same area where I was right after the waves hit. It was good to see improvement. It was good to see rebuilding, to see new life spring up where in December I had seen the worst death and destruction of my life.

Honestly, this is what I came to Thailand for. This is why I will be sad to leave. Doing things like what we did in the south is where my heart is. I just wish that I had been able to hook up with an organization like Campus Crusade for Christ earlier in my time here. Who knows what the future holds though. Who knows where else I will go and what else I will be able to be part of. God knows.

Missin People

I don't know why, but I am really missing everybody from home today. Yesterday I was in an "I'm going to explore the world" mood, and today I just want to be home with my friends and family. I don't know what my problem is. I'll be home soon enough though. I just seem to have this nagging anxiety. I don't know where it's coming from. I'm sure it will pass. I haven't been this homesick in a while though. It's not like I am miserable here. Usually when I am hating my job or something I am homesick, but right now I'm not. I'm just really missing everyone right now.

Tonight I am supposed to leave for the trip south. That should keep me busy and keep my mind from being homesick. I really hope the week goes well. I'm excited about it. It will be good to get back down there and see some improvement fromthe devastation that I saw the last time I was down there. Lord help me to make a difference.