Hey everyone!
Its raining here today... I love the rain.. for the most part that is. You see, while I usually am an avid fan of rain in any form on any day... I have encountered problems involving umbrellas, bikes, slippery streets, and wet pants. The thing is.... they dont mix. It would have been funny and expected had this resulted in some kind of typical "emily disaster..." but nothing funny came out of it, and instead I found it frusterating to get my pants stuck in the gears when they are wet... becasue then when i rolled them up my leg got real wet, riding through small spaces with an umbrella was a hassle... and I decided it wasnt worth the trouble... so I got wet... and then, I was running quite late... and not being able to go fast was... somewhat..annoying. LOL. Oh well. Life goes on hey?
I do have a funny story for you all though. Yesterday I was having kind of a bum afternoon, I diddnt have anything to do, no one was home, and I diddnt have any bokos to read... bleh...and I was in a bad mood to top it off...lol.
Soooo, when It came time for me to ride to the student center for the thursday night service, I got on my bike and like usual began the 15min ride downtown. Well, someone almost cut me off on a bike and that set me to giggling, then a ways down the road something hysterical happened..... I almost hit somone!!!
Now there are certain "rules of the road" that all bikers in Japan must follow. While I have no clear way to explain them to you... they are just... known. One of the more obvious ones, and easiest to explain is that you ALWAYS look for bikers when stepping around a building or out of one or something... I mean... duh!
Well, the guy in my story apparently forgot this all too important rule and decided to live life on the wild side (or he got stuck in never-never land and forgot how to escape) He stepped out right in front of me, I slammed on my breaks (they are squeaky), he jumps looks at me, makes the funniest face imaginable, and I swearve around him while he tries desperatly to get out of the way. Did I mention he was coming out of a police building....hehe...
Well, I was laughing the rest of the night. It was pretty funny.
Miss you all. More stories later!!
Mom and dad, thanks so much for the updates, it sounds like your trip to mammoth went good??? I had no idea the fires were so bad there... I am very out of the loop.
love ya!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
sharing
today i went with one of the American sinter teams to a university near-by to share the gospel with students there. although i was a bit apprehensive, everyone seemed so calm and excited that curiosity got the best of me and i found myself ready for whatever was coming my way.
upon arriving at the university i learned that it was a foreign language university, and that there were students from all over the world attending, although most of the students were Japanese. i was teamed up with Laura, the girl who i have been hanging with the last few days and we decided to grab some lunch at the cafeteria and have a chat before going out to talk with students. it was really neat because she invited me to ask any question i wanted about life as a stinter, and anything about the ministry or working in japan. it was such an amazing opportunity to hear her honest answers and talk to her a bit about what it was like to serve here in japan.
after lunch we cleared the table and walked around the cafeteria. we found two girls sitting at a table and went to go talk to them. although they had to leave strait away, over the next few hours we found ourselves engaged in heaps of engaging conversations about the gospel with the most open girls i have ever tried to share Christ with.
a typical conversation went like this:
after finding one or two girls sitting somewhere not really doing anything, Laura and i would walk up and say...
"do you speak English?"
if they said yes we would explain that we were on exchange with our international christian circle (club)and then from there either make some more small talk (dad... you should be proud i used the farm method) or ask them what they thought about or knew about Christianity.
the interesting thing is that most Japanese have never heard the gospel, and it was amazing to me how open they were and how easy it was to talk to them. in America i often feel as though i am fighting to keep the attention of those i am talking to and desperately trying to keep them from labeling me as another one of those "religious nuts" and totally discard everything i said to them. it was so refreshing!!
i even got to go through a bilingual version of the 4 spiritual laws with one girl who seemed very interested in Christianity and a relationship with god. we invited her to the Halloween outreach this week.
tomorrow i am going to a ladies college. i don't know what to expect and apart of me is... wondering....a whole 'nother day of evangelism...hmmmm... but today's experience of talking to 9 girls didn't drain me as much as talking to one would back home.
I'm still really enjoying japan... its so awesome here. i wish i was going to be here for longer....
upon arriving at the university i learned that it was a foreign language university, and that there were students from all over the world attending, although most of the students were Japanese. i was teamed up with Laura, the girl who i have been hanging with the last few days and we decided to grab some lunch at the cafeteria and have a chat before going out to talk with students. it was really neat because she invited me to ask any question i wanted about life as a stinter, and anything about the ministry or working in japan. it was such an amazing opportunity to hear her honest answers and talk to her a bit about what it was like to serve here in japan.
after lunch we cleared the table and walked around the cafeteria. we found two girls sitting at a table and went to go talk to them. although they had to leave strait away, over the next few hours we found ourselves engaged in heaps of engaging conversations about the gospel with the most open girls i have ever tried to share Christ with.
a typical conversation went like this:
after finding one or two girls sitting somewhere not really doing anything, Laura and i would walk up and say...
"do you speak English?"
if they said yes we would explain that we were on exchange with our international christian circle (club)and then from there either make some more small talk (dad... you should be proud i used the farm method) or ask them what they thought about or knew about Christianity.
the interesting thing is that most Japanese have never heard the gospel, and it was amazing to me how open they were and how easy it was to talk to them. in America i often feel as though i am fighting to keep the attention of those i am talking to and desperately trying to keep them from labeling me as another one of those "religious nuts" and totally discard everything i said to them. it was so refreshing!!
i even got to go through a bilingual version of the 4 spiritual laws with one girl who seemed very interested in Christianity and a relationship with god. we invited her to the Halloween outreach this week.
tomorrow i am going to a ladies college. i don't know what to expect and apart of me is... wondering....a whole 'nother day of evangelism...hmmmm... but today's experience of talking to 9 girls didn't drain me as much as talking to one would back home.
I'm still really enjoying japan... its so awesome here. i wish i was going to be here for longer....
Monday, October 22, 2007
Bushes and Such
I don't think I have laughed this much in one day in.... who knows how long. Today, as I mentioned, I went around town and to the next town over (they are all connected and run into each other but are labeled by the train stops) to do some shopping for the Halloween party the stinters are throwing as an outreach for the students here. I decided I am going to be a cat because I have everything I need except a tail and cat ears... so its much cheaper and easier than trying to buy a whole new outfit.
Ok so you are probably wondering about the title of this blog...
This is yet another hilarious incident involving bikes and unsuspecting Americans... although this time... it wasn't me!! I was riding behind Laura, going towards the student center, and we had to ride through this park. Well there were about 6 or 7 1ft tall posts in random order in the entrance to prevent cars from going in....well for us inexperienced Americans swerving in and around them quickly is very... hard... and exciting. Well, Laura was in front of me and as we turned into the "obstacle course" she yelled out "Be Careful!" just as she said it... she ran her bike straight into a bunch of bushes!! Not only was she in the bushes she went up a curb right into them. It wasn't like she turned into them or tried to turn and fell into them... she just went straight into them instead of turning around them. It was so funny I was laughing for about 30Min's after it happened. Yeah.
Another thing that was really funny today was a guy named Jared who came with Laura and I shopping (dad don't worry... he is engaged...and no... not to me)but anyways... he has no emotion in his voice at all, pretty much ever. He is also very tall and watching him ride his bike through all the little areas that are hard enough when you are little like me set me to laughing more times than I can count. His face was so serious when he was trying to go through and around everything... so funny!!!
Ok so about my jacket... it took three guys, a bicycle-repair-man, and 700yen (roughly $6.50) to get my jacket out. Everyone that looked at it laughed (and the Japanese men went...ooooooiii)ha ha. It was jammed in the worst place and the whole chain had to be taken off the sprockets and the gear changer thing on the bottom of the back tire had to be taken apart!!! Mom... it was my black jacket.... but its not in that bad of shape... its greasy a bit and has a few very small holes, but I am looking forward to finding some really cool patches... and excited about how it could turn out. Plus I have a good story to tell.
I wish I could say that was the first thing I got stuck in my bike chain since I have been here... but my pants won first prize on that one...hehe.
I am getting the hang of this whole bike thing though and now I feel much more comfortable riding around...so even though it sounds like every time I get on a bike, disaster follows, I really am (not going to finish that... because I don't want to jinks it...) haha.
Alright I am going to go. I'm borrowing someones laptop in the student center and I am going to watch a movie! Score! English movies!
peace!!
Ok so you are probably wondering about the title of this blog...
This is yet another hilarious incident involving bikes and unsuspecting Americans... although this time... it wasn't me!! I was riding behind Laura, going towards the student center, and we had to ride through this park. Well there were about 6 or 7 1ft tall posts in random order in the entrance to prevent cars from going in....well for us inexperienced Americans swerving in and around them quickly is very... hard... and exciting. Well, Laura was in front of me and as we turned into the "obstacle course" she yelled out "Be Careful!" just as she said it... she ran her bike straight into a bunch of bushes!! Not only was she in the bushes she went up a curb right into them. It wasn't like she turned into them or tried to turn and fell into them... she just went straight into them instead of turning around them. It was so funny I was laughing for about 30Min's after it happened. Yeah.
Another thing that was really funny today was a guy named Jared who came with Laura and I shopping (dad don't worry... he is engaged...and no... not to me)but anyways... he has no emotion in his voice at all, pretty much ever. He is also very tall and watching him ride his bike through all the little areas that are hard enough when you are little like me set me to laughing more times than I can count. His face was so serious when he was trying to go through and around everything... so funny!!!
Ok so about my jacket... it took three guys, a bicycle-repair-man, and 700yen (roughly $6.50) to get my jacket out. Everyone that looked at it laughed (and the Japanese men went...ooooooiii)ha ha. It was jammed in the worst place and the whole chain had to be taken off the sprockets and the gear changer thing on the bottom of the back tire had to be taken apart!!! Mom... it was my black jacket.... but its not in that bad of shape... its greasy a bit and has a few very small holes, but I am looking forward to finding some really cool patches... and excited about how it could turn out. Plus I have a good story to tell.
I wish I could say that was the first thing I got stuck in my bike chain since I have been here... but my pants won first prize on that one...hehe.
I am getting the hang of this whole bike thing though and now I feel much more comfortable riding around...so even though it sounds like every time I get on a bike, disaster follows, I really am (not going to finish that... because I don't want to jinks it...) haha.
Alright I am going to go. I'm borrowing someones laptop in the student center and I am going to watch a movie! Score! English movies!
peace!!
another adventure
yesterday morning was church here and i decided to go with some of the American stinters to new hope, a church near-by that has an English/Japanese service. it didn't start until 1:30pm so i knew that i could sleep in a bit.... yay. well, i was thinking, "i will maybe sleep in till 9, or 10am at the latest...." imagine my surprise when i woke up at 12:40pm!!!! ahhhhhh!!! it was a mad rush to not only get ready for church, wash my hair (in the sink...no time for a shower) and figure out how to get to the meeting place we decided on but also try to squeeze some kind of breakfast in (i settled on a very small bananna). yikes! i did made it thankfully, but it was quite a rush... haha. for now on i am setting an alarm even if i don't have to be somewhere till later in the day. i have no clue why i slept for 12 hours... i didn't really feel that tired... who knows. anyway...
the church service was awesome. the pastor is from Hawaii and so the service and the congregation somewhat reflected that. the worship was amazing and the message was totally right on. it was about loneliness and making god your source of comfort... how perfect.
i am totally loving japan and feel strangely comfortable eating heaps of rice and sweet potatoes with chopsticks, and today riding my bike was an absolute joy... its such a perfect fall day. i really love it here... allot.
today i am going to hang out with Laura, an American stinter, who (get this, small world) went to UCLA, is from orange county, goes to Francis Chan's church... knows people who go to ebc and is also craving Mexican food (she also doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, and is here in japan just kind of opening her heart to god and serving him until he directs her further...) there is another American stinter here who... this is crazy.. was in my room for a few days at cm2007 in Korea!! i saw her and i was like... wow... what the heck... where do i know her from!!!! lol fun stuff.
I'm really loving the food here and like i said, it all seems strangely normal... i don't know how to explain it. the "weirdest" thing i have eaten so far is raw squid legs but it was good... not that weird at all. its all how you think about it. this morning for breakfast i made rice and sweet potatoes (haha the easiest thing ever to make here) a fried egg, grapefruit and pearl-milk-tea (its actually Chinese.. black tea and soy milk with little square coconut jelly's in it...i will try to bring some back....) oh and of course coffee!! i found this awesome coffee that comes in a bunch of individual filters that sit on top of your coffee cup and you pour boiling water through it. perfect!!
alright well i am going to go... thank you all so much for the comments. dad... i was laughing so hard when i read your comments....haha!! and i love this whole blogging thing... so no i am not tired of it at all. mom... wish i was there (kinda...hehe)thanks for the updates on the doggies!!
i am not sure if pictures of japan will be available for awhile so don't hold your breath.. I'm using somewhat public computers at the student center and i don't know if they would be cool with me connecting my camera. i will check though.
love you all!!
haha i just remembered...today was my first attempt at getting to the student center by myself... i only made one wrong turn which wouldnt have been to big a deal but i went off a curb that made everything i was carrying shift and in the process my jacket got all tangled in the chain/gears.... =( so i had to walk for quite a bit and im still not sure how to get my jacket out... hahaha
never a dull moment!!
PS... the caps button doesn't work on this computer and the only way some of the words got capitalized was through the spell check... sorry!!
the church service was awesome. the pastor is from Hawaii and so the service and the congregation somewhat reflected that. the worship was amazing and the message was totally right on. it was about loneliness and making god your source of comfort... how perfect.
i am totally loving japan and feel strangely comfortable eating heaps of rice and sweet potatoes with chopsticks, and today riding my bike was an absolute joy... its such a perfect fall day. i really love it here... allot.
today i am going to hang out with Laura, an American stinter, who (get this, small world) went to UCLA, is from orange county, goes to Francis Chan's church... knows people who go to ebc and is also craving Mexican food (she also doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, and is here in japan just kind of opening her heart to god and serving him until he directs her further...) there is another American stinter here who... this is crazy.. was in my room for a few days at cm2007 in Korea!! i saw her and i was like... wow... what the heck... where do i know her from!!!! lol fun stuff.
I'm really loving the food here and like i said, it all seems strangely normal... i don't know how to explain it. the "weirdest" thing i have eaten so far is raw squid legs but it was good... not that weird at all. its all how you think about it. this morning for breakfast i made rice and sweet potatoes (haha the easiest thing ever to make here) a fried egg, grapefruit and pearl-milk-tea (its actually Chinese.. black tea and soy milk with little square coconut jelly's in it...i will try to bring some back....) oh and of course coffee!! i found this awesome coffee that comes in a bunch of individual filters that sit on top of your coffee cup and you pour boiling water through it. perfect!!
alright well i am going to go... thank you all so much for the comments. dad... i was laughing so hard when i read your comments....haha!! and i love this whole blogging thing... so no i am not tired of it at all. mom... wish i was there (kinda...hehe)thanks for the updates on the doggies!!
i am not sure if pictures of japan will be available for awhile so don't hold your breath.. I'm using somewhat public computers at the student center and i don't know if they would be cool with me connecting my camera. i will check though.
love you all!!
haha i just remembered...today was my first attempt at getting to the student center by myself... i only made one wrong turn which wouldnt have been to big a deal but i went off a curb that made everything i was carrying shift and in the process my jacket got all tangled in the chain/gears.... =( so i had to walk for quite a bit and im still not sure how to get my jacket out... hahaha
never a dull moment!!
PS... the caps button doesn't work on this computer and the only way some of the words got capitalized was through the spell check... sorry!!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Dinner and a Movie
Dinner was good! I am very happy!! If you read the blogs I posted below you will see that this was my first attempt at making a meal here in Japan and I really diddnt know how it was going to turn out.
I made chicken and onion seasoned by a soy-sauce paste, sticky rice and sweet potatoes (they are yellow here... weird, but taste the same) and a saled with 'not-so-italian' dressing. I put a bit too much of the paste in the pan I think so the chicken was a little salty for my taste but otherways I count it as a sucess!!I took pictures too, but I dont know when I will be able to upload them. Sorry!!
I am watching some kind of eating contest where these cute tiny asian young ladies eat like a whole table filled with food (no... not the actual table... haha... comon!)Its kinda gross but odly interesting.... evening tv in another country,...hmmmm.
aaaaandddd....
Thank you all for the commments... and to my besty.... Your the best, love ya!
Oh yeah...who is 'Yours truly' who missed the wedding...??? Tell me who you are!
Keep reading, I posted some funny stories down below!
I made chicken and onion seasoned by a soy-sauce paste, sticky rice and sweet potatoes (they are yellow here... weird, but taste the same) and a saled with 'not-so-italian' dressing. I put a bit too much of the paste in the pan I think so the chicken was a little salty for my taste but otherways I count it as a sucess!!I took pictures too, but I dont know when I will be able to upload them. Sorry!!
I am watching some kind of eating contest where these cute tiny asian young ladies eat like a whole table filled with food (no... not the actual table... haha... comon!)Its kinda gross but odly interesting.... evening tv in another country,...hmmmm.
aaaaandddd....
Thank you all for the commments... and to my besty.... Your the best, love ya!
Oh yeah...who is 'Yours truly' who missed the wedding...??? Tell me who you are!
Keep reading, I posted some funny stories down below!
Konichiwa
Sorry to any of you who speak Japanese and read this...I am proabably going to completely slaughter a bunch or words and/or spelling... so I would advise you to only read this if your in mood for a good laugh.
Ok so its now day...uh, wow how long have I been here? Day three...I think. Yeah. I am all mixed around, I have no concept for what day it is anymore, its a sad thing, but all in the name of adventure!
Today Anita and I rode our bikes (Ji-ten-sha)to go look at a flea market. I dont know if I mentioned this in my other post, but one of the most common ways of transportation here is by bike. Everyone rides their bike just about everywhere... its really a blast and a bit scary at times (they zip through and around very very small spaces... I just squeal and pray...rofl) but yeah.. I pretty much love it. I almost lost it today though trying to get on my bike with all my groceries hanging off the handle bars.... that was pretty much hillarous. I just about ran into this huge pillar and I swearved just in time, knocked my shoe on the rim of the front tire,scuffed a chunk of my shoe bottom onto the rim, and bent the rim a bit into the tire. It was really easily fixable but I was laughing so so hard... Im laughing now even as I write this. Not much has changed I am afraid. The girl I was with (Anita... she is actually from Tiwan) was laughing a bit.. but probably thought I was a bit stupid.
Another big adventure I had today was at the super market where the bike incident occured. Since this is my first time living away from home, and in a place where food is not provided for me... I am discovering the "joy" of going to the market, planning out meals, trying to save money, buy things for the best value, and then on top of that, make sure I can also cook it! So all of this for pretty much the first time but little detail...I am in JAPAN. So not only have I never seen most of the food in the market in my life, I cant read any of the lables, calculating the cost is also a bit of a challenge, and cooking... well... haha... we'll see how that goes tonight. A part of me is really excited for the adventure part of it... the other part of me just wants to make tacos and have pop-corn and a movie (I have not had mexican food in 5weeks... I am pretty sure I am officially dieing)I really do love the food here though, most of it is better than the typical american meal (whatever the heck that is) but I must say, I really miss Mexican food.
I think I am going to fry some chicken in a pan with some kind of paste-y seasoning Anita said I should use and make some rice in the rice cooker. If all else fails though I bought cheese and bread today and eggs. I have no idea what kind of cheese it is though... haha.
Oh, one more funny story:
Yesterday I went with Anita and Kaori (the other girl im staying with... she is so so nice!) to a Uni (Aussi for University... haha... I am an American in Japan speaking Australian... yeah.)to hang out with some CCC students and witness to some other students. I am just coming out of 4 Weeks of Spring in a very casual Australia and even though I know its fall here... I wore black cotton flowy capris, a bright yellow shirt I got in Aus, also very casual, and a cream sweater and flip flops. I arrived on Campus to see everyone dressed up like they were in New York complete with designer jeans, high-heel boots, scarves, the works. Oops. So not only am I the only one with blonde hair on the whole campus, I am also wearing a BRIGHT yellow shirt amid a sea of autmn brown and black and green colors. I am also a foot taller than just about everyone... and I am wearing flip flops. Hehe... yeah. So I am wishing now I brought a few different things from home... but I will make do with what I have haha. It was definatly a culture-shock moment I think. I guess I expected all uni's to be like America... really casual and not dressy.... but in Tokyo, everyone looked ready to strut down a runway. OOPS!!!
Alright well... I think I am going to go attempt to make some dinner. There is no one else home for awhile, so I may be back on to post some meaningless blog after I get tired of watching Japanese TV haha. (I thought baseball in english was boring... try watching it in a different language you dont understand a word of. Yeah.. Fun stuff.)
I am learning a bit of Japanese.
I can say Thank you, rain, yes, welcome back, look, it has stopped, how are you, I am good, what is your name, whats this, your welcome, sorry, my name is, bike and how old are you. Not bad eh?
Now remembering them on the spot when the right time to use them arrises... thats a different story.
Love you all!!
Sianara!
Ok so its now day...uh, wow how long have I been here? Day three...I think. Yeah. I am all mixed around, I have no concept for what day it is anymore, its a sad thing, but all in the name of adventure!
Today Anita and I rode our bikes (Ji-ten-sha)to go look at a flea market. I dont know if I mentioned this in my other post, but one of the most common ways of transportation here is by bike. Everyone rides their bike just about everywhere... its really a blast and a bit scary at times (they zip through and around very very small spaces... I just squeal and pray...rofl) but yeah.. I pretty much love it. I almost lost it today though trying to get on my bike with all my groceries hanging off the handle bars.... that was pretty much hillarous. I just about ran into this huge pillar and I swearved just in time, knocked my shoe on the rim of the front tire,scuffed a chunk of my shoe bottom onto the rim, and bent the rim a bit into the tire. It was really easily fixable but I was laughing so so hard... Im laughing now even as I write this. Not much has changed I am afraid. The girl I was with (Anita... she is actually from Tiwan) was laughing a bit.. but probably thought I was a bit stupid.
Another big adventure I had today was at the super market where the bike incident occured. Since this is my first time living away from home, and in a place where food is not provided for me... I am discovering the "joy" of going to the market, planning out meals, trying to save money, buy things for the best value, and then on top of that, make sure I can also cook it! So all of this for pretty much the first time but little detail...I am in JAPAN. So not only have I never seen most of the food in the market in my life, I cant read any of the lables, calculating the cost is also a bit of a challenge, and cooking... well... haha... we'll see how that goes tonight. A part of me is really excited for the adventure part of it... the other part of me just wants to make tacos and have pop-corn and a movie (I have not had mexican food in 5weeks... I am pretty sure I am officially dieing)I really do love the food here though, most of it is better than the typical american meal (whatever the heck that is) but I must say, I really miss Mexican food.
I think I am going to fry some chicken in a pan with some kind of paste-y seasoning Anita said I should use and make some rice in the rice cooker. If all else fails though I bought cheese and bread today and eggs. I have no idea what kind of cheese it is though... haha.
Oh, one more funny story:
Yesterday I went with Anita and Kaori (the other girl im staying with... she is so so nice!) to a Uni (Aussi for University... haha... I am an American in Japan speaking Australian... yeah.)to hang out with some CCC students and witness to some other students. I am just coming out of 4 Weeks of Spring in a very casual Australia and even though I know its fall here... I wore black cotton flowy capris, a bright yellow shirt I got in Aus, also very casual, and a cream sweater and flip flops. I arrived on Campus to see everyone dressed up like they were in New York complete with designer jeans, high-heel boots, scarves, the works. Oops. So not only am I the only one with blonde hair on the whole campus, I am also wearing a BRIGHT yellow shirt amid a sea of autmn brown and black and green colors. I am also a foot taller than just about everyone... and I am wearing flip flops. Hehe... yeah. So I am wishing now I brought a few different things from home... but I will make do with what I have haha. It was definatly a culture-shock moment I think. I guess I expected all uni's to be like America... really casual and not dressy.... but in Tokyo, everyone looked ready to strut down a runway. OOPS!!!
Alright well... I think I am going to go attempt to make some dinner. There is no one else home for awhile, so I may be back on to post some meaningless blog after I get tired of watching Japanese TV haha. (I thought baseball in english was boring... try watching it in a different language you dont understand a word of. Yeah.. Fun stuff.)
I am learning a bit of Japanese.
I can say Thank you, rain, yes, welcome back, look, it has stopped, how are you, I am good, what is your name, whats this, your welcome, sorry, my name is, bike and how old are you. Not bad eh?
Now remembering them on the spot when the right time to use them arrises... thats a different story.
Love you all!!
Sianara!
Tokyo
Wow... I seriously cant believe I am in Tokyo Japan!! What a trip (in more ways than one...)
Ok so, after I got off the plane I went through customs and all that stuff.. after a long time in the plane... it felt like it took forever!! After raising suspicion on the acount of my not knowing the address and phone number as well as who I was going to be staying with... they eventually decided I was not a significant threat to the security of their country and the customs people let me through.
I left the baggage claim area into the main part of the airport expecting to see the person picking me up. Fast forward an hour. Still nothing. Great... my first adventure. I was exausted in the kind of "can even blink your eyes beacuse it takes too much eneergy" kind of way... so walking around an airport with a massivly heavy (ok it wasnt...but remember... im exausted) suitcase wasnt really... appealing. Thankfully though just as I was about to page him Cam showed up appologising for being so late and told me the trains took longer then he expected.
We took the trains back (like above ground/underground subways)back to Mitaka (the suburb I am staying in). It was about a 2hr ride... but I got to sleep for a bit once I got used to all the noises and such.
After arriving we walked to the student center... and dropped off my bas and headed for lunch. It was delicious. I had chicken and egg and rice with some kind of soup and pickled veggies and tea. Yummm. So good. I think I was born in the wrong part of the world.... lol. jk.
After lunch Anita (one of my roomies) took the bus with me to her appartment. Their flat is on the....FOURTH FLOOR. Yeah and... no elivator. My arms and legs still hurt. I swear things weigh more in Japan. After 8 flights of stairs I was finally "home". Ok well I am on Anita's laptop and I think she wants to go to bed. I will try to post more later. I have so many stories to tell... this has been my most adventure filled place as of yet lol. Alright well... goodnight everyone. Thanks mom and dad for the fun comments you gave me!! I really like hearing from you guys on here.
Love to you all!
Em
Ok so, after I got off the plane I went through customs and all that stuff.. after a long time in the plane... it felt like it took forever!! After raising suspicion on the acount of my not knowing the address and phone number as well as who I was going to be staying with... they eventually decided I was not a significant threat to the security of their country and the customs people let me through.
I left the baggage claim area into the main part of the airport expecting to see the person picking me up. Fast forward an hour. Still nothing. Great... my first adventure. I was exausted in the kind of "can even blink your eyes beacuse it takes too much eneergy" kind of way... so walking around an airport with a massivly heavy (ok it wasnt...but remember... im exausted) suitcase wasnt really... appealing. Thankfully though just as I was about to page him Cam showed up appologising for being so late and told me the trains took longer then he expected.
We took the trains back (like above ground/underground subways)back to Mitaka (the suburb I am staying in). It was about a 2hr ride... but I got to sleep for a bit once I got used to all the noises and such.
After arriving we walked to the student center... and dropped off my bas and headed for lunch. It was delicious. I had chicken and egg and rice with some kind of soup and pickled veggies and tea. Yummm. So good. I think I was born in the wrong part of the world.... lol. jk.
After lunch Anita (one of my roomies) took the bus with me to her appartment. Their flat is on the....FOURTH FLOOR. Yeah and... no elivator. My arms and legs still hurt. I swear things weigh more in Japan. After 8 flights of stairs I was finally "home". Ok well I am on Anita's laptop and I think she wants to go to bed. I will try to post more later. I have so many stories to tell... this has been my most adventure filled place as of yet lol. Alright well... goodnight everyone. Thanks mom and dad for the fun comments you gave me!! I really like hearing from you guys on here.
Love to you all!
Em
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Singapore
Hey everyone... this blog entry comes to you from the Singapore Airport. Its about 9:30 PM Local Time... and my flight doesnt leave for another couple of hours...so I decided to do some exploring (not to worry dad... I am keeping a very sharp eye on my watch and where I am...)The flight from Perth to here was really interesting. There was a couple in front of me with two extremely tired and angry twin 2year old boys. I think they screamed for at least three hours strait. I offered to help a couple of times and got to play with them for a bit. They were really cute boys and once I played with them they seemed to calm down. They liked to run up and down the isles... and play in the little compartment bins that held empty bags used for the headphones and what not. One of them just sat and cuddled with me for a while. Really cute. I played with them for a couple of hours.. it was nice becuase I really had nothing else to do and they acted much better when i took them to go play instead of being bound to their seats. All the flight attendants kept asking if they were my kids. Hehe... nope! Everyone asked me if I worked with kids... I told them kinda, but then shared about Ish and Caleb and Seth. Aw man.... i miss those guys. These boys were definatly a handful... and they were back to screaming again once we had to return to our seats to land.. haha. Poor things. They were just so exausted.
Well I have another 7hr flight ahead of me. Love you all so so much.
Em
Well I have another 7hr flight ahead of me. Love you all so so much.
Em
Sitting
Well... its my last night here in Perth... wow. I can hardly belive I have been here two weeks. In some aspects it feels as though I have been here forever... and yet I feel like I stepped off the plane only yesterday. Strange.
Not much going on here at the moment. Rebecca is playing piano, and it sounds like something you would hear off a classical music cd... seriously amazing. Its hard to belive that sound comes from the same piano I bang out chords on all day .... teeheee..
Im kind of bored at the moment. Yeah.
Sorry... boring post. Hehe....
By the way though.....
I was made aware of something seriously funny today that needs to be cleared up:
I went out to dinner with Christan (Kristen) in Sydney... not Christian. Christan is a GIRL, thank you.
Not to worry though... I mixed up the names too... it was pretty embaressing. Knowing two people with similar names who you just met in a foreign country is not something I would readily reccomend. Just... so you know.
Anyway... no I am not getting married to some guy name Christian who swept me off my feet in Sydney and wrote a charming letter back home to my grandmother. Sorry to dissapoint. He is a she. And we are most definatly not getting married.
the end.
Not much going on here at the moment. Rebecca is playing piano, and it sounds like something you would hear off a classical music cd... seriously amazing. Its hard to belive that sound comes from the same piano I bang out chords on all day .... teeheee..
Im kind of bored at the moment. Yeah.
Sorry... boring post. Hehe....
By the way though.....
I was made aware of something seriously funny today that needs to be cleared up:
I went out to dinner with Christan (Kristen) in Sydney... not Christian. Christan is a GIRL, thank you.
Not to worry though... I mixed up the names too... it was pretty embaressing. Knowing two people with similar names who you just met in a foreign country is not something I would readily reccomend. Just... so you know.
Anyway... no I am not getting married to some guy name Christian who swept me off my feet in Sydney and wrote a charming letter back home to my grandmother. Sorry to dissapoint. He is a she. And we are most definatly not getting married.
the end.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Just Beachy
I cant believe my time here in Perth is already close to its end. I only have a few more days here then I am off to Japan. Crazy stuff!!
Today was nice... Bec and I went to the beach in the morning and went for a swim and just bummed on the sand for awhile. Yes mom.. I did wear sun screen...!! =) But it was really fun. The water here is so beautiful like I mentioned before. The color is like Hawaii and while its not quite that warm, it is heaps warmer than the water back home... brrrr.
Wes and Julie should be married by now... wow can you belive that! I am so excited for them. I hope the wedding went good... I would enjoy any details in the comments on this blog!!
Speaking of comments..
I really like comments. Like... really really. On all my posts. Hint hint...
Today was nice... Bec and I went to the beach in the morning and went for a swim and just bummed on the sand for awhile. Yes mom.. I did wear sun screen...!! =) But it was really fun. The water here is so beautiful like I mentioned before. The color is like Hawaii and while its not quite that warm, it is heaps warmer than the water back home... brrrr.
Wes and Julie should be married by now... wow can you belive that! I am so excited for them. I hope the wedding went good... I would enjoy any details in the comments on this blog!!
Speaking of comments..
I really like comments. Like... really really. On all my posts. Hint hint...
Saturday, October 13, 2007
What is it good for (absolutly nothing!)
Hehe... sorry.. I just came from a funny movie that closed with that song.
Sooo... lets see where do i start...
This morning Rebecca and I went for a really nice walk on the beach. It was really so beautiful! Then we went shopping, which was really fun, and had lunch and just hung out. I got a new outfit... haha.. (Leasa this pic is for you lol)
So what do you think? Totally different from my usual stuff but change is fun!
After shopping we came home and changed and got all dressed up and went to Freemantle... a town nearby and had pizza and walked around the open market and then saw Rush Hour 3... which was hillareous. All in all it was a fantastic day. Im really happy.... and really enjoying getting to know Rebecca. She is so humble and meek, always willing to serve, just has the most beautiful heart, and yet loves to have fun. Although she can seem a bit shy at first, she really is just fantastic and I am tremendously blessed by her. God has given me a lovely new friend.
Not to mention she kicks butt playing piano and painting... I mean hello!?!? What the heck... skills! hahaha =)
Nah she just is really amazing. Im so greatful to have spent time with her here.
Alright well... im pretty tired... so I am off to bed. Love to you all!
em
Sooo... lets see where do i start...
This morning Rebecca and I went for a really nice walk on the beach. It was really so beautiful! Then we went shopping, which was really fun, and had lunch and just hung out. I got a new outfit... haha.. (Leasa this pic is for you lol)
So what do you think? Totally different from my usual stuff but change is fun!
After shopping we came home and changed and got all dressed up and went to Freemantle... a town nearby and had pizza and walked around the open market and then saw Rush Hour 3... which was hillareous. All in all it was a fantastic day. Im really happy.... and really enjoying getting to know Rebecca. She is so humble and meek, always willing to serve, just has the most beautiful heart, and yet loves to have fun. Although she can seem a bit shy at first, she really is just fantastic and I am tremendously blessed by her. God has given me a lovely new friend.
Not to mention she kicks butt playing piano and painting... I mean hello!?!? What the heck... skills! hahaha =)
Nah she just is really amazing. Im so greatful to have spent time with her here.
Alright well... im pretty tired... so I am off to bed. Love to you all!
em
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
An Odd Day
First of all... sorry to all of you who tried to view the photos from the link I provided and were not able to.... here it is again... hope it works this time?
Let me know!
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17111&l=b69ce&id=712908464
Ok so Tuesday I had planned on attending a childrens conference at the encouragment of the man who created an itenerary for me while I am here in Perth. I was a bit hesitant because I was not all that excited about attending another conference I diddnt really belong at and I am not really feeling particularly called to childrens ministry. I did agree to go however... I mean I had to give it a chance right?
After arriving at the conference, I found it to be held at a beautiful monistary, but the rooms we were using were in a seperate building...bummer. When we found the room the conference was held in I was supprised to find that only about 20 people were there and everyone was sitting facing the front of the room in big comfortable chairs. In the front of the room was this big plant pot filled with dirt with hooks hanging all around it, and next to it was another smaller pot with seed in it. There was ambient music that sounded a bit like gothic vox or hynms or something. It was weird. One by one everyone came up and 'scattered' seed into the bit pot and hung a silk scarf on one of the hooks. I guess it was symbolic of scattering the seed of Jesus into the world? It was just... different.
I then found out it was in fact a catholic conference... hmmm ...ok? Everyone then sang along with one of the strange songs playing and read this prayer.... it was a nice prayer.. but again.. weird.
After the opening ceremony everyone headed into a smaller room with lots of tables and we listened to a Bishop speak on evangalism. I was so exausted from the bad night sleep I had the night before that listening was the last thing on my mind. When I did however I found it to be information that I had heard so many times... and just tuned the rest of it out. It really diddnt seem to have a whole lot to do with childrens ministry.. and although the bishop wasnt a terrible speaker.. it was pretty... um... boring.
During morning tea (morning break) I ended up talking to two middle aged ladies and... i think we all just pretended to be interested in actually talking to eachother... although I really diddnt put a whole lot of effort into it (sorry... i was just so tired and really wanted to leave...)and one of them showed me pictures of her new grandaughter who *gasp* has the same name as me. O joy.
After the second morning session we had lunch and I met more people and had to repeat my " I am on a holiday at the moment, just graduated high school... no I dont know where I am going to college... and I am on a 'round the world trip... this is my second stop... blah blah blah" like a million times. Its so tempting to change it up every now and then though... and i did at at one point tell some people that i was considering a double major in psychology and music so i could help the emotional needs of the children in africa through music (its not entirly a lie... i am... 'considering' it... lol)They were quite impressed.
One lady came up to me and asked what I thought of all the teaching thus far. Inside I was thinking," UM I HAVE NO IDEA! I DONT REMEMBER HALF THE THINGS THAT BISHIOP GUY SAID... NO OFFENCE BUT I REALLY DONT CARE... AND IT WAS THE LONGEST MORNING OF MY LIFE!!"
But not to worry... all she heard was, "Somtimes it takes me awhile to process things, but I found all of the information very... interesting."
After the morning conference the rest of the people were going on some tour to a place I had already seen and so Brady (the man who organized everything for me) took me home. Kinda... you see we had a slight detour of about... oh... and hour and a half where he drove me all around the entire city of Perth and surrounding areas showing me all his family's favorite places and what not. He was an excellent tour guide with so much information on all of the places we drove by... it just was not the best timing and i was about ready to explode. I felt bad though because he was taking the time to do this and everything but.. yeah. Then we took a 'slightly' longer scenic rout home...
meh.
The rest of the day was good though and I am starting to see the humor in all of it. Needless to say I am not going back to that conference.
Also one of my friends I met in sydney kept texting me all these hillareous things in the middle of the siminar and i had to bite my lips to keep from laughing... which was funny because everyone else was dead serious the entire time and i kept smiling really big and laughing in a giggly/muffled way. I am sure i annoyed some people... but i really diddnt care. I did try to be as quiet as i possibly could though and not distracting.
I know that my attitude sounds sounds terrible... and it was.. but there are some times when that kind of attitude arrises and there is not much you can do about it.
It is pretty funny though... it would have made for a good Fraiser Episode....
Let me know!
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17111&l=b69ce&id=712908464
Ok so Tuesday I had planned on attending a childrens conference at the encouragment of the man who created an itenerary for me while I am here in Perth. I was a bit hesitant because I was not all that excited about attending another conference I diddnt really belong at and I am not really feeling particularly called to childrens ministry. I did agree to go however... I mean I had to give it a chance right?
After arriving at the conference, I found it to be held at a beautiful monistary, but the rooms we were using were in a seperate building...bummer. When we found the room the conference was held in I was supprised to find that only about 20 people were there and everyone was sitting facing the front of the room in big comfortable chairs. In the front of the room was this big plant pot filled with dirt with hooks hanging all around it, and next to it was another smaller pot with seed in it. There was ambient music that sounded a bit like gothic vox or hynms or something. It was weird. One by one everyone came up and 'scattered' seed into the bit pot and hung a silk scarf on one of the hooks. I guess it was symbolic of scattering the seed of Jesus into the world? It was just... different.
I then found out it was in fact a catholic conference... hmmm ...ok? Everyone then sang along with one of the strange songs playing and read this prayer.... it was a nice prayer.. but again.. weird.
After the opening ceremony everyone headed into a smaller room with lots of tables and we listened to a Bishop speak on evangalism. I was so exausted from the bad night sleep I had the night before that listening was the last thing on my mind. When I did however I found it to be information that I had heard so many times... and just tuned the rest of it out. It really diddnt seem to have a whole lot to do with childrens ministry.. and although the bishop wasnt a terrible speaker.. it was pretty... um... boring.
During morning tea (morning break) I ended up talking to two middle aged ladies and... i think we all just pretended to be interested in actually talking to eachother... although I really diddnt put a whole lot of effort into it (sorry... i was just so tired and really wanted to leave...)and one of them showed me pictures of her new grandaughter who *gasp* has the same name as me. O joy.
After the second morning session we had lunch and I met more people and had to repeat my " I am on a holiday at the moment, just graduated high school... no I dont know where I am going to college... and I am on a 'round the world trip... this is my second stop... blah blah blah" like a million times. Its so tempting to change it up every now and then though... and i did at at one point tell some people that i was considering a double major in psychology and music so i could help the emotional needs of the children in africa through music (its not entirly a lie... i am... 'considering' it... lol)They were quite impressed.
One lady came up to me and asked what I thought of all the teaching thus far. Inside I was thinking," UM I HAVE NO IDEA! I DONT REMEMBER HALF THE THINGS THAT BISHIOP GUY SAID... NO OFFENCE BUT I REALLY DONT CARE... AND IT WAS THE LONGEST MORNING OF MY LIFE!!"
But not to worry... all she heard was, "Somtimes it takes me awhile to process things, but I found all of the information very... interesting."
After the morning conference the rest of the people were going on some tour to a place I had already seen and so Brady (the man who organized everything for me) took me home. Kinda... you see we had a slight detour of about... oh... and hour and a half where he drove me all around the entire city of Perth and surrounding areas showing me all his family's favorite places and what not. He was an excellent tour guide with so much information on all of the places we drove by... it just was not the best timing and i was about ready to explode. I felt bad though because he was taking the time to do this and everything but.. yeah. Then we took a 'slightly' longer scenic rout home...
meh.
The rest of the day was good though and I am starting to see the humor in all of it. Needless to say I am not going back to that conference.
Also one of my friends I met in sydney kept texting me all these hillareous things in the middle of the siminar and i had to bite my lips to keep from laughing... which was funny because everyone else was dead serious the entire time and i kept smiling really big and laughing in a giggly/muffled way. I am sure i annoyed some people... but i really diddnt care. I did try to be as quiet as i possibly could though and not distracting.
I know that my attitude sounds sounds terrible... and it was.. but there are some times when that kind of attitude arrises and there is not much you can do about it.
It is pretty funny though... it would have made for a good Fraiser Episode....
Monday, October 8, 2007
Yummah
Oh man I had the BEST dinner tonight! Mrs. Heggers is a fantastic cook... and she made green curry chicken (this creamy, melt in your mouth flavor-filled delightablility (yeah i know... but it describes it...)) and some asian salad. Oh goodness it was so so good.
I diddnt really do a whole lot today...
finished a book I was reading, did some picture stuff... when to the market... went for a little run... yeah. But it was still a pretty nice day.
Tomorrow I am off to a conference for childrens ministry... not sure if I am super excited about it, but the guy who is setting up my itenerary here in Perth said I could take it one day at a time and see how I go.
Ow... my back hurts... I think I have been on the comp a bit too much today lol.
Oh yeah... dad.. you wouldnt like this: You have to carry cash around everywhere because most stores have a $5-10 base for using a visa.... and because they dont have anything smaller than $5 notes, most of what you carry is change ($1 and $2 coins)
Just another fun thing to get used to....
Alright well.... I think I am going to go. Its only 9pm here... feels like much later (my body is still on sydney time i think... two hours ahead)
Farewell to you all...have a great day!
OH YEAH:more pics at:
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17111&l=b69ce&id=712908464
I diddnt really do a whole lot today...
finished a book I was reading, did some picture stuff... when to the market... went for a little run... yeah. But it was still a pretty nice day.
Tomorrow I am off to a conference for childrens ministry... not sure if I am super excited about it, but the guy who is setting up my itenerary here in Perth said I could take it one day at a time and see how I go.
Ow... my back hurts... I think I have been on the comp a bit too much today lol.
Oh yeah... dad.. you wouldnt like this: You have to carry cash around everywhere because most stores have a $5-10 base for using a visa.... and because they dont have anything smaller than $5 notes, most of what you carry is change ($1 and $2 coins)
Just another fun thing to get used to....
Alright well.... I think I am going to go. Its only 9pm here... feels like much later (my body is still on sydney time i think... two hours ahead)
Farewell to you all...have a great day!
OH YEAH:more pics at:
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17111&l=b69ce&id=712908464
Out One Day.... Walking One Day
Here are a few pictures from yesterday I thought you might enjoy. As I mentioned before I went for a bike ride with the Heggers (who I am staying with) and it was so beautiful.
This is the bike I rode most of the way... it was so fun. I felt like I had stepped back in time and that I was riding along the ocean in some storybook.
Cheese!! Behind me is the Black Swan River that runs to the ocean through Perth.
After our bike ride we stopped to get some gelato (i discovered that I absolutly LOVE bananna gelato....uhoh)and there was a beautiful beach just across the street. The sun was just about to set. It was so beautiful!!!
Driving home after ice-cream
Here is a fun picture of Lenie Heggers. We drove through this charming little town filled with old aussi buildings....
and old-style building... you can see the English influence
HAHA....
Mr. Heggers took us all out to their favorite restauraunt the night before last. It was really beautiful and the food was amazing. I had Spegetti Maranara... and the sea-food in the pasta was to die for.
My room at the moment... i love it!
Alright well there will be more to come later on. Hope you liked the pics!!
Have a Lovely Day!
all my love
em
This is the bike I rode most of the way... it was so fun. I felt like I had stepped back in time and that I was riding along the ocean in some storybook.
Cheese!! Behind me is the Black Swan River that runs to the ocean through Perth.
After our bike ride we stopped to get some gelato (i discovered that I absolutly LOVE bananna gelato....uhoh)and there was a beautiful beach just across the street. The sun was just about to set. It was so beautiful!!!
Driving home after ice-cream
Here is a fun picture of Lenie Heggers. We drove through this charming little town filled with old aussi buildings....
and old-style building... you can see the English influence
HAHA....
Mr. Heggers took us all out to their favorite restauraunt the night before last. It was really beautiful and the food was amazing. I had Spegetti Maranara... and the sea-food in the pasta was to die for.
My room at the moment... i love it!
Alright well there will be more to come later on. Hope you liked the pics!!
Have a Lovely Day!
all my love
em
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Bikes
Oh goodness!!!
I must be quick somone is waiting for the comp... but just a quick little blirp:
I had the best day today! After church everyone got in the car and we came home and ate cinnamon roles... mmm yummy. Then we went for the most fabulous bike ride along the huge bay/river that is connected to the ocean. It even started to rain (dave: if you ever get the chance to make it rain, do it just for me...rofl... remember??) which i LOVED. Then we went out for the best fish and chips i have ever had in my life. Seriously. You have not had better fish and chips then me. Be jealous.
kidding!
more pics tomorrow!
(we also stopped to have ice cream and there was this stunning sunset over the most beautiful beach....)
oh yeah and i changed the settings... even if you dont have a 'google account' you can comment me now. Sorry for any inconvenience that might have caused....
I must be quick somone is waiting for the comp... but just a quick little blirp:
I had the best day today! After church everyone got in the car and we came home and ate cinnamon roles... mmm yummy. Then we went for the most fabulous bike ride along the huge bay/river that is connected to the ocean. It even started to rain (dave: if you ever get the chance to make it rain, do it just for me...rofl... remember??) which i LOVED. Then we went out for the best fish and chips i have ever had in my life. Seriously. You have not had better fish and chips then me. Be jealous.
kidding!
more pics tomorrow!
(we also stopped to have ice cream and there was this stunning sunset over the most beautiful beach....)
oh yeah and i changed the settings... even if you dont have a 'google account' you can comment me now. Sorry for any inconvenience that might have caused....
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Pictures!
I am going to upload them into a blog... but that will take some time. If you absolutly cannot wait try clicking here
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16853&l=44d69&id=712908464
Love to you all
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16853&l=44d69&id=712908464
Love to you all
Friday, October 5, 2007
Lovely
Ah... today was simply the most lovely day!
Rebecca and Lenia(sp?) took me all over the beautiful city of Perth to show me the best sights and most relaxing day I have had in a long while. My first impression of Perth was that it felt very very similar to California.... and my travells today definatly confirmed it. To me Perth feels like a quiet calm version of San Diego meets Montecito with Hawaiian waters. Pretty close to paradise I would say.
It has also been such a blessing to be able to unpack all my stuff for a little while. I can go into the beautiful little room I am staying in and feel like I am stepping back home for awhile. I am just so relaxed... ahhh.... desperatly needed this =)
I am going to try to get some pictures uploaded tomorrow (my tomorrow.... not yours... so dont get on the computer this morning and expect me to wake up at 2am just to get you some photos hehe) I took some really awesome shots of the beautiful flowers and scenery here (mom your going to wish you were here with your water colors....)
Tomorrow I am planning another day of.... RELAXATION! YEAYA
And rumor has it we are going out to dinner tomorrow... and for a bike ride along the ocean on Sunday....
Miss and love you all! I am having a great time! Thanks for all the prayers!
Rebecca and Lenia(sp?) took me all over the beautiful city of Perth to show me the best sights and most relaxing day I have had in a long while. My first impression of Perth was that it felt very very similar to California.... and my travells today definatly confirmed it. To me Perth feels like a quiet calm version of San Diego meets Montecito with Hawaiian waters. Pretty close to paradise I would say.
It has also been such a blessing to be able to unpack all my stuff for a little while. I can go into the beautiful little room I am staying in and feel like I am stepping back home for awhile. I am just so relaxed... ahhh.... desperatly needed this =)
I am going to try to get some pictures uploaded tomorrow (my tomorrow.... not yours... so dont get on the computer this morning and expect me to wake up at 2am just to get you some photos hehe) I took some really awesome shots of the beautiful flowers and scenery here (mom your going to wish you were here with your water colors....)
Tomorrow I am planning another day of.... RELAXATION! YEAYA
And rumor has it we are going out to dinner tomorrow... and for a bike ride along the ocean on Sunday....
Miss and love you all! I am having a great time! Thanks for all the prayers!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
PERTH
YESSS!!
I made it! One more step in the adventure of a lifetime =)
I arrived here in Perth aroun 4:30pm local time after a fairly uneventful flight over the desert of Australia. The only unfortunate thing I discovered about this particular airline was that they offered no food or drinks for free... you had to pay for everything! Lame! Because of some last minute sight-seeing I ended up just making my flight with no time for lunch or time to buy any snacks or water to take on the flight. Being the typial American that I am... I am also not used to carrying cash or change with me all the time (because we can use a visa just about everywhere) and since they only took cash I was out of luck. This promised to be a very long five hour flight. Thankfully the flight attendent took pitty on my and gave me a water and ham sandwich for free (to give you an idea of the other fun supprise... that would have cost me nearly ten dollars... but thank God... He really is watching out for me.)
It was so nice to see some familiar faces at the airport as I was greeted by the Heggers (family of a very close friend... JOCELYN!!!) I am now sitting contently in their lovely home after eating one of the best meals ever =)
I am really excited about the next bit of my trip and dont feel as homesick anymore. The first few days were most definatly the hardest.
I can't wait to see what other fun things are ahead of me.
ps.... i think this blog is still on american time dad... im not staying up that late. hehe.
love to you all!!
Pictures soon... i promise!
I made it! One more step in the adventure of a lifetime =)
I arrived here in Perth aroun 4:30pm local time after a fairly uneventful flight over the desert of Australia. The only unfortunate thing I discovered about this particular airline was that they offered no food or drinks for free... you had to pay for everything! Lame! Because of some last minute sight-seeing I ended up just making my flight with no time for lunch or time to buy any snacks or water to take on the flight. Being the typial American that I am... I am also not used to carrying cash or change with me all the time (because we can use a visa just about everywhere) and since they only took cash I was out of luck. This promised to be a very long five hour flight. Thankfully the flight attendent took pitty on my and gave me a water and ham sandwich for free (to give you an idea of the other fun supprise... that would have cost me nearly ten dollars... but thank God... He really is watching out for me.)
It was so nice to see some familiar faces at the airport as I was greeted by the Heggers (family of a very close friend... JOCELYN!!!) I am now sitting contently in their lovely home after eating one of the best meals ever =)
I am really excited about the next bit of my trip and dont feel as homesick anymore. The first few days were most definatly the hardest.
I can't wait to see what other fun things are ahead of me.
ps.... i think this blog is still on american time dad... im not staying up that late. hehe.
love to you all!!
Pictures soon... i promise!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Home Again
Hey guys!
I am now back at Janes house... my "home" here in Sydney. Last week was really awesome as was Black Stump, the music festival that I attended.I had such a good time, and made some really fun friends. I am also really excited about the rest of my trip... I cant beleive I have only been gone two weeks... it feels like I have been gone forever. While the first few days were really lonley and kinda scary (not knowing anyone in a foreign country) I am feeling a lot more confident now and excited after meeting so many amazing people. Tomorrow I am going to meet up with a lady from the conference for "a night on the town" ....well...kinda... (meaning dinner, a nice chat and perhaps a walk or something) near the Bay. Her name is Christen and she is exactly what I imagine myself to be like in 20 years... only better. We are very similar, have similar stories and love alot of the same things. She is so joyful and just loves listening to people and encouraging them... so I cant wait to have another chat with her (we had a few nice chats at the conference).
Anyway... so far so good. Im off to Perth soon... only a few days left here.
I havent done much sightseeing... but thats ok... I have been very buisy with other things. Tomorrow I am hoping to do a bit more sightseeing.
Alright well if you have any comments or want to leave some love you can email, myspace, facebook or text me (so basically you have no excuses not too!!!) jk... love love!
em
I am now back at Janes house... my "home" here in Sydney. Last week was really awesome as was Black Stump, the music festival that I attended.I had such a good time, and made some really fun friends. I am also really excited about the rest of my trip... I cant beleive I have only been gone two weeks... it feels like I have been gone forever. While the first few days were really lonley and kinda scary (not knowing anyone in a foreign country) I am feeling a lot more confident now and excited after meeting so many amazing people. Tomorrow I am going to meet up with a lady from the conference for "a night on the town" ....well...kinda... (meaning dinner, a nice chat and perhaps a walk or something) near the Bay. Her name is Christen and she is exactly what I imagine myself to be like in 20 years... only better. We are very similar, have similar stories and love alot of the same things. She is so joyful and just loves listening to people and encouraging them... so I cant wait to have another chat with her (we had a few nice chats at the conference).
Anyway... so far so good. Im off to Perth soon... only a few days left here.
I havent done much sightseeing... but thats ok... I have been very buisy with other things. Tomorrow I am hoping to do a bit more sightseeing.
Alright well if you have any comments or want to leave some love you can email, myspace, facebook or text me (so basically you have no excuses not too!!!) jk... love love!
em
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