Hi all. I just wanted to write a quick message to let you know all is still well here. We haven't had Internet for the past week at school. I am at a friend's house now. Sorry not many stories to share. I spent an hour writing my update letter which most of you receive anyway.
We did have our first movie night at DA. We set up chairs outside and watch movies as an entire community as a fundraiser for the students' junior-senior banquet and senior retreat. We had burritos and some great kettle corn (for the movie). We watched Flushed Away and Fly Boys. It was fun. I enjoyed the experience.
That's it for now...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
the hamster is a bit slow
Greetings. Please excuse my frustration of today. The internet is so slow. I feel a really big hamster is having trouble turning the wheel today. When I start to think like that, I make myself stop and appreciate the fact I do have internet. I can do something in Africa and my friends and family can see it in the US. That's pretty amazing.
I have added more pics and videos to Facebook. I tried to take some "day in the life" videos. They are short but they give you a small glimpse into my life here. You may be wondering why I've never taken any pictures of the poverty. Well I'm just starting to process that myself. I mean, it's here. It's all around. I just feel uncomfortable taking a picture of someone in need. It seems too intrusive.
Oh, I forgot to blog about my adventures of last Saturday. We went to a clothing market. It was crazy-a good crazy though. It's held in the middle of one of the streets here. There are just piles of clothes. I bought four shirts and two shorts (workout clothes). My roomie bought 3 or 4 shirts. I spent $8 and she spent $5. I know it sounds cheap but I need to clarify the clothes. Most of them are used and come from the States. Some of the clothes still had Goodwill Tags on them so they were clothes Goodwill couldn't sell. As some of you know, I am a big fan of t-shirts that have interesting sayings on them so I was in heaven looking through some of the piles. I bought one that talked about science camp and junior scientists in the making. My roomie had me buy a shirt that says Just Talented. (I said it needed to have humility on the back.) My roomie and I bought mainly out of the piles which have fixed prices but there are also clothes for sale where you need to barter. I bought a nice pair of soccer shorts that way.
This past Friday, we had a staff retreat at a local hotel. It was so nice. I felt like I had just climbed out of a brown hole when I saw all the color at the hotel-bright blue water and green grass!!! The hotel was right on the ocean so we could go swimming, walk along the ocean, and then eat at the buffet. We didn't spend the night or anything but it was still fun.
Well I am off to bake. We have a C&MA get together tonight. Woo-hoo!
Beach
I have added more pics and videos to Facebook. I tried to take some "day in the life" videos. They are short but they give you a small glimpse into my life here. You may be wondering why I've never taken any pictures of the poverty. Well I'm just starting to process that myself. I mean, it's here. It's all around. I just feel uncomfortable taking a picture of someone in need. It seems too intrusive.
Oh, I forgot to blog about my adventures of last Saturday. We went to a clothing market. It was crazy-a good crazy though. It's held in the middle of one of the streets here. There are just piles of clothes. I bought four shirts and two shorts (workout clothes). My roomie bought 3 or 4 shirts. I spent $8 and she spent $5. I know it sounds cheap but I need to clarify the clothes. Most of them are used and come from the States. Some of the clothes still had Goodwill Tags on them so they were clothes Goodwill couldn't sell. As some of you know, I am a big fan of t-shirts that have interesting sayings on them so I was in heaven looking through some of the piles. I bought one that talked about science camp and junior scientists in the making. My roomie had me buy a shirt that says Just Talented. (I said it needed to have humility on the back.) My roomie and I bought mainly out of the piles which have fixed prices but there are also clothes for sale where you need to barter. I bought a nice pair of soccer shorts that way.
This past Friday, we had a staff retreat at a local hotel. It was so nice. I felt like I had just climbed out of a brown hole when I saw all the color at the hotel-bright blue water and green grass!!! The hotel was right on the ocean so we could go swimming, walk along the ocean, and then eat at the buffet. We didn't spend the night or anything but it was still fun.
Well I am off to bake. We have a C&MA get together tonight. Woo-hoo!
Beach
Friday, September 12, 2008
what's three more days
I started this on Friday night. I guess if you wait a few days...
Friday:
I know I've hit the six week mark because I can't really find anything to write about that stands out. They say once you live in a place six weeks, things start to seem more "natural" or "routine."
I guess one thing that stood out this week was the big realization that I lived in a Muslim country. I was playing volleyball last Wednesday and the call to prayer really stood out. I don't live by a mosque so the voice is not that loud. It just seemed like I was in a movie.
Monday:
Whew. Today is a day where I have to look at the glass half full. I mean, I'm sitting here wishing I could have seen Big Z's no hitter. I can't even watch the highlights because the internet is sooo slow right now. I haven't checked the Iowa score b/c of the same reason. However, I am thankful I do have the internet.
It hasn't rained in a while so it's quite hot and steamy. At least we did have a good rain this year though. I guess this attitude is what gets us through life. There will be small frustrations that turn into big ones if we let them. The key, especially here, is not to let them grow too large.
I made a lot of food this weekend. It's all from scratch of course, right down to buying the veggies, soaking them, peeling them, etc. I even had to make the tomato sauce b/c it's a lot cheaper to buy tomato paste.
Now before I tell you what I made, I need to relate a story from my past. My parents were into really healthy food when I was a kid. My brother and I used to love nachos and it became our meal of choice after church. Then something terrible happened-baked chips were invented. Now, I am not talking about the baked chips that are out now. Those are fabulous. No, I am talking about the original, cardboard ones. It quickly squelched our nacho craze and we still talk about those baked chips today.
Fast forward to last night. I had finished making spaghetti sauce, limeade, salsa, and chips. To make the chips, I had to cut up tortillas and bake them. Now, I think that's exactly what the creators of the first baked chips did. However, being removed from the States made them taste wonderful. I am not a big chip fan, but having my chips and salsa, which probably would take like cardboard and tomato paste to someone in the US, was amazing. I couldn't stop eating them.So I guess after all these years I can thank my mom for buying those baked chips and preparing me. Thanks Mom. ;)
BTW-Homemade limeade is amazing. Mmmm....
Okay, time to try and talk to the Internet nicely so I can watch Big Z. :)
Oh, and I almost forgot. I may be coming home for Christmas. More on that later.
Friday:
I know I've hit the six week mark because I can't really find anything to write about that stands out. They say once you live in a place six weeks, things start to seem more "natural" or "routine."
I guess one thing that stood out this week was the big realization that I lived in a Muslim country. I was playing volleyball last Wednesday and the call to prayer really stood out. I don't live by a mosque so the voice is not that loud. It just seemed like I was in a movie.
Monday:
Whew. Today is a day where I have to look at the glass half full. I mean, I'm sitting here wishing I could have seen Big Z's no hitter. I can't even watch the highlights because the internet is sooo slow right now. I haven't checked the Iowa score b/c of the same reason. However, I am thankful I do have the internet.
It hasn't rained in a while so it's quite hot and steamy. At least we did have a good rain this year though. I guess this attitude is what gets us through life. There will be small frustrations that turn into big ones if we let them. The key, especially here, is not to let them grow too large.
I made a lot of food this weekend. It's all from scratch of course, right down to buying the veggies, soaking them, peeling them, etc. I even had to make the tomato sauce b/c it's a lot cheaper to buy tomato paste.
Now before I tell you what I made, I need to relate a story from my past. My parents were into really healthy food when I was a kid. My brother and I used to love nachos and it became our meal of choice after church. Then something terrible happened-baked chips were invented. Now, I am not talking about the baked chips that are out now. Those are fabulous. No, I am talking about the original, cardboard ones. It quickly squelched our nacho craze and we still talk about those baked chips today.
Fast forward to last night. I had finished making spaghetti sauce, limeade, salsa, and chips. To make the chips, I had to cut up tortillas and bake them. Now, I think that's exactly what the creators of the first baked chips did. However, being removed from the States made them taste wonderful. I am not a big chip fan, but having my chips and salsa, which probably would take like cardboard and tomato paste to someone in the US, was amazing. I couldn't stop eating them.So I guess after all these years I can thank my mom for buying those baked chips and preparing me. Thanks Mom. ;)
BTW-Homemade limeade is amazing. Mmmm....
Okay, time to try and talk to the Internet nicely so I can watch Big Z. :)
Oh, and I almost forgot. I may be coming home for Christmas. More on that later.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Josephine has some power
So two nights ago we had this really bad storm where the wind was actually being sucked out my bedroom window. I believe the name of that storm is now Josephine. Let me back up. You may or may not know that hurricanes start off our coast. Whenever we get a storm, it has the potential to turn into a tropical storm/hurricane. It takes anywhere from 7-15 days for the storm to reach America. I guess it's no surprise then that our rainy season and hurricane season last for the same length of time.
It's starting to get hotter and more humid. I guess Sept is the worst month and then it'll cool down. Fortunately I'm made for hot weather but 80% humidity is wearing.
What else is new? Hmm...I signed up to play intermural handball. I guess it's an Olympic sport. It's kind of cool that we can have a mixture of ms students, hs students, staff, and dorm parents on the same team.
It is now the 3rd day of Ramadan. It is a month where Muslims fast all day. As a Christian, we must ensure we don't tempt a Muslim by carrying open food or water. Please pray that God would be moving during these times and Jesus would reveal himself to our neighbors and some of our students.
It's starting to get hotter and more humid. I guess Sept is the worst month and then it'll cool down. Fortunately I'm made for hot weather but 80% humidity is wearing.
What else is new? Hmm...I signed up to play intermural handball. I guess it's an Olympic sport. It's kind of cool that we can have a mixture of ms students, hs students, staff, and dorm parents on the same team.
It is now the 3rd day of Ramadan. It is a month where Muslims fast all day. As a Christian, we must ensure we don't tempt a Muslim by carrying open food or water. Please pray that God would be moving during these times and Jesus would reveal himself to our neighbors and some of our students.
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