Not California

I was suppose to go to California with Sharell this week… then my car decided to get sick. We decided not to go. Sharell went with some other friends on a mini-trip and I stayed home to enjoy not doing anything: reading, beading, gone-with-the-wind, and frantically trying to finishing my tie skirt. It was really nice.

Thursday after a game of Volleyball at the Rays, Hannah invited me to go Backpacking the next day. After some apprehension, I agreed and Friday afternoon I was hiking up a hill with a 20lb pack. We went swimming in freezing water and swatted at mesquites. We made a fire and swatted at mosquitoes. We played a game of cards and swatted at mesquites. Did I mention that we had some mosquito visitors?

It was bad. Bed came before the sun, and we huddled in our sleeping bags beneath the open sky for about 10 hours… not really sleeping. A quick breakfast, sloppy packing and we ran down the mountain… swatting at mesquites. We came home 24 hours early, feeling slightly defeated… and oh so itchy.

I have about 300 bites. On my right leg alone I lost count at 150. I got bit through my pants and long sleeve shirt… I guess the little bugs like lotion.

As miserable as this all sounds, this was an absolutely wonderful week. I accomplished things, and spent time doing nothing, and backpacked. I have not yet spent time with Sharell… but we will make up for it. I am just working on not touching my right leg.

the Not post

I got on here and started writing a blog about Jon and Kate Gosslin, but I decided that it sounded too much like all the other articles I have read. I don’t want to repeat gossip or focus on the lives of 2 people, because the enemy uses that to take attention off of our King. I think I am not going to get caught up in a TV show again.

Face Paints and Friendship

I spent 6 1/2 hours at my moms school today. I volunteered to be a face painter for the last day of schools Field Day. I think I painted a few hundred faces. I had a piece of paper showing what I could do... but that didnt seem to stop kids from asking me to do stuff like "dragons" and "teletubies" and "skulls" and "horses" and "mexican flag". and and and...

I loved being around elementary age kids again, they cracked me up! One girl inparticular, one of the few I actually knew, really got me smiling. She got a really cool cat face with wiskers and the whole deal and told the girl behind her that was what she needed to get, the girl argued because she had something else in mind. "I'll be your best friend if you get it!" There was silence and she walked away hoping with all hopes that the girl would take up her offer, after all she was auctioning herself off as a best friend for the price of a simple face picture. The girl got to me, I wondered what she would do, would she succomb to the pressure. Just as was about to encourage her out of it... she said "Can I have a little butterfly and a flower?" She looked up with almost fearful eyes, I smiled and said "You absoltly can, what a great choice!" I am glad that she didnt walk away with a "new BFF" today.

My Field

This evening I was sitting in my field. The grass was tall, did I really sled down this same hill in January? I squished bugs in my fingers. I was sheltered from the wind. I looked up in the sky at watched an airplane go by, its white smoke leaving a skidmark behind. I am glad I am not on that airplane. I am glad I am here sitting in my field.

Nana

Her face had 117 wrinkles. Her hands had 201 between the pair. She wore a colored silk scarf over her wispy white hair and it draped into her stained kaki jacket. “Nana” was curled in the corner of a closed shop’s door stop. She was selling little Kleenex packets, about 15 sitting in a wicker basket next to another basket with one layer of coins. I walked past her slowly but as I got to the corner her face was imprinted in my head. I went back to “Nana” and knelt down so to be more eye level. She was frail and tiny and worn. She motioned to me that she Kleenex was 5 baht. (Equal to like 20 cents) I gave her a bigger bill then slowly took hold of her porcelain hands. I wanted to scoop her up into my arms and protect her from the world, from the jeering people who walked by and don’t look back (like I almost did.) I wanted to protect her from sickness and hunger and pain. I wanted to hold all her fears in my hands. But as I walked on I knew that God was holding her in his hands. He has her pain and her sickness and her hungry and her worries. He has her in his hands. On the way back to my hotel all I wanted to do was to go back and sit with her, but I knew God was… and he is sitting with all the other lonely people sitting with outstretched hands as well.

Layover in Bangkok

Riding in the orange taxi, driving on the wrong side of the road, listening to Taylor Swift sing her heart out, I feasted my eyes on the things outside. An elephant, and open air karaoke bar, Pizza Company, street venders, palm trees, and thirteen 7/11’s.

A crazy trip with the bro

We spent 18 hours on a train and got to Chung Du at 6 am. A map bought just outside the station directed us to the correct bus which would lead to the center of town; there we assumed we could find a Starbucks. It was there in all its glory sitting one floor below the golden arches. We waited at the door for it to open at 7:30. Free wifi, 2 frappichinos and many questions the English speaking employee later, we headed towards our hostel. Took a tour bus for three hours to see the giant Buddha, took a couple pictures, climbed down and returned to the city. Ate at a Thai restaurant near the train station, had mangos and sticky rice for an appetizer. Back to the hostel to chat with our roommates, the Hungarian Brothers. End of Day one.

Up again at 6 am, this time in a van on the way to the Panda reserve. Saw baby pandas, big pandas, drunk pandas and red pandas. Watched a funny movie. Bought some panda souvenirs. Matthew and an interesting conversation with the Ausie couple; she was a Christian and he didn’t understand it. Back in Chung Du we went to the American Embassy, it was nice to be in a place where I knew my rights were my rights! I could be a Christian, I could salute the flag, I could know I was safe. Watched happy Chinese students walk out holding accepted visas, smiles on their faces. Ate lunch at a Tex Mex, had Nachos with cheese and Vanilla Coke! Wandered the streets, found funny shops, and after a long time… a Starbucks. Tried to see a movie at the theater, but none were in English. (A week later we found out that Matthews word for “English” had been “Music” so I guess we were asking for music movies the whole time, perhaps they had an English movie after all. Ha!) Went to Hooters for dinner, witnessed to the waitress and gave her my email. The girls were trying to be something they were not and put on a pretty funny show dancing to songs like “YMCA.” Tried to find some evening entertainment and walked towards a 90ft bowling pin on top of a building. Made fools out of ourselves trying to do “tricks” next to the professionals in lane 6. They thought it was so disgusting that I LAID DOWN on the floor, but when I got more pins down with that move than Matthew, they cheered. Even though Matthew one both games. Tried our hand at ping pong, but were shamefully disgracing the sport. Matthew won the left handed game until later that he admitted he cheated by continually switching back to his right hand. So because of his cheating I won the night. Isn’t that how it always works out? Some how I always win. J At the hostel we watched Kung Fu Panda on a projector that shone on the wall in the “movie room.” Climbed in our bunk beds, chatted with the Hungarians who had once lived in Oregon, and fell asleep. That was a really weird day, day two.