(The end of the semester took over and delayed my blog posts, I started this and am now finally posting it a week before Christmas, lol)
My family avoids leaving the house at all costs on Black Friday. Tad, however, LOVES Black Friday. He asked me this year if I would like to join him and experience it first hand. I said "sure, why not."
I would have enjoyed the experience more had I not been sick, but all in all, it wasn't bad.
Tad spent Thanksgiing with my family and brought with him all of the Black Friday ads. After everyone had headed home, we spread them out and decided which deals we absolutely could not pass up. We narrowed it down to about 10 stores, which I thought was a little ambitious, but Tad thought we could manage it. We decided to head out around 2:30 am, so at 10:45 pm I crawled into bed to get as much sleep as I possibly could before our expedition.
It was strange, driving around at 3:00 am. We went from my parents's house to Tad's place to pick up some blankets and much needed caffeine. Our first stop was JC Penney's. We looked at the wedding bands they had on sale and inquired about how long ring sizing took. I tried on some shoes, and then, empty handed, we moved on.
Next was Target where we raided the electronics section for super cheap movies and video games. After Target came Macy's (to look at more wedding bands) and Bed Bath and Beyond (to pick up new sheets for Tad). We tried to go to Border's, but they weren't open yet, so we stopped by Aaron Bros for art supplies for my older brother and Sears to take advantage of the sale on fleece blankets. The final stop before we crashed was Walmart. There was nothing of interest to me on sale, so I opted to stay and nap in teh car. I was glad, I got a full hour in while Tad navigated the zoo inside.
We arrived back at my parents' around 8:30 am, in time to grab a quick nap and soome breakfast before meeting with the wedding coordinator at the Marriott. On our way home from that we stopped by Border's and got the new Taylor Swift album.
I was pretty sick, and very exhausted, so I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I could have. But I think I'll do it again next year. It was fun driving around together, and we did get some really good deals. Plus, we didn't get trampled by any mobs :)
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Moonstone Beach
Our family vacation week continued Monday bright and early. We left the house around 9:30 to head to a formerly favorite vacation spot: Cambria, CA. About 12 years ago, we went for 4 years in a row and stayed at Captain's Cove Inn on Moonstone Beach. We enjoyed tidepooling, exploring the little shops, visitng nearby farms, and touring Hearst Castle. When thinking of a family vacation destination for this year, we decided it was high time to go back.
The ride was long, but fairly tolerable with very little heavy raffic. We got lunch from McDonald's in LA and had hoped to stop at a family favorite restaurant called Hobee's in San Louis Obispo. Sadly, Hobee's was no longer there. Instead we got cookies from the Madonna Inn. The most amusing part of the drive was Tilly growling at a hobo on the side of the road. We arrived on Moonstone Beach just before dinnertime. My mom had wanted to bring Tilly with us, so instead of Captain's Cove we stayed at the Cambria Shores Inn. I think everyone staying there had at least one dog with them.
The owners were great. They gave us a goody basket for the dogs which included some treats, towels for them to sleep on, and an issue of "Fido" magazine. Each eveningthere were appetizers set out in the lobby (next to the bowl of dog treats), every afternoon there were fresh baked cookies, and every morning there was a breakfast basket with muffins, croissants, and fresh fruit.
We settled into our room, freshened up, and then went straight into town for dinner. Night #1 we decided on our favorite place in town, Linn's. Linn's is a family owned restaurant, but not just that. They have a farm just outside of town with a large shop of fresh made jams, syrups, etc. They also have several boutiques in town and a small cafe. For dinner I had the berry stuffed chicken which was incredible. For dessert we took home one of their famous Olallieberry pie. Olallieberry is a cross between loganberry and youngberry which are crosses of blackberries and raspberries. The pie is absolutely wonderful!
Tuesday morning we drove to Linn's farm to do a bit of shopping and watch the peacocks that roam around the farm. My mom and I had fun taking numerous different farm themed pictures, many including Valencia. Lunch was in town at "Easy as Pie", the cafe associated with Linn's. Mom and I shared an amazing chicken and berry salad.
We all crashed for naps back in our room and then set out for our first try at tidepooling of the trip. We found a number of hermit crabs and one starfish clung onto a dry rock. For dinner we decided on the Mexican place in town called Las Cambritas. It was very festive, and the food was pretty good. Back in our room we had another slice of Olallieberry pie and watched "The Bucket List".
Wednesday morning was our tour of Hearst Castle. Back when we were coming every year, we had done all of the main tours, leaving only the gardens and special night tours. None of the evening tours were available during this trip, so we did the first tour again. It was just as incredible the second time to see everything. That man did not think in small scale on ANYTHING! lol
My parents had leftovers from Las Cambritas for lunch, but Steve and I did not. While my mom purused the shops, Steve and I got lunch from Round Up Pizza and Grub. The food was good, and I love hanging with my brother, but I felt like the staff assumed we were on a date, which was quite awkward. Once we'd eaten, we joined my parents for shopping, and got icecream before heading back to the room. My dad and I took another stab at tidepooling and found more hermit crabs, anemones, and a submerged starfish.
Everybody was still rather full from eating a late lunch, so we ate a light dinner back at Easy as Pie. We took another olallieberry pie back with us and watched "The Blindside". What a great movie that is. I love things that are true stories and don't overdramaticize conflict.
Thursday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast basket and headed for home. We stopped for lunch in Santa Barbara and stopped again at a Wendy's not too far from Biola.
It definitely wasn't a high action trip or an exotic one, but it sure did the trick of relaxation!
The ride was long, but fairly tolerable with very little heavy raffic. We got lunch from McDonald's in LA and had hoped to stop at a family favorite restaurant called Hobee's in San Louis Obispo. Sadly, Hobee's was no longer there. Instead we got cookies from the Madonna Inn. The most amusing part of the drive was Tilly growling at a hobo on the side of the road. We arrived on Moonstone Beach just before dinnertime. My mom had wanted to bring Tilly with us, so instead of Captain's Cove we stayed at the Cambria Shores Inn. I think everyone staying there had at least one dog with them.
The owners were great. They gave us a goody basket for the dogs which included some treats, towels for them to sleep on, and an issue of "Fido" magazine. Each eveningthere were appetizers set out in the lobby (next to the bowl of dog treats), every afternoon there were fresh baked cookies, and every morning there was a breakfast basket with muffins, croissants, and fresh fruit.
We settled into our room, freshened up, and then went straight into town for dinner. Night #1 we decided on our favorite place in town, Linn's. Linn's is a family owned restaurant, but not just that. They have a farm just outside of town with a large shop of fresh made jams, syrups, etc. They also have several boutiques in town and a small cafe. For dinner I had the berry stuffed chicken which was incredible. For dessert we took home one of their famous Olallieberry pie. Olallieberry is a cross between loganberry and youngberry which are crosses of blackberries and raspberries. The pie is absolutely wonderful!
Tuesday morning we drove to Linn's farm to do a bit of shopping and watch the peacocks that roam around the farm. My mom and I had fun taking numerous different farm themed pictures, many including Valencia. Lunch was in town at "Easy as Pie", the cafe associated with Linn's. Mom and I shared an amazing chicken and berry salad.
We all crashed for naps back in our room and then set out for our first try at tidepooling of the trip. We found a number of hermit crabs and one starfish clung onto a dry rock. For dinner we decided on the Mexican place in town called Las Cambritas. It was very festive, and the food was pretty good. Back in our room we had another slice of Olallieberry pie and watched "The Bucket List".
Wednesday morning was our tour of Hearst Castle. Back when we were coming every year, we had done all of the main tours, leaving only the gardens and special night tours. None of the evening tours were available during this trip, so we did the first tour again. It was just as incredible the second time to see everything. That man did not think in small scale on ANYTHING! lol
My parents had leftovers from Las Cambritas for lunch, but Steve and I did not. While my mom purused the shops, Steve and I got lunch from Round Up Pizza and Grub. The food was good, and I love hanging with my brother, but I felt like the staff assumed we were on a date, which was quite awkward. Once we'd eaten, we joined my parents for shopping, and got icecream before heading back to the room. My dad and I took another stab at tidepooling and found more hermit crabs, anemones, and a submerged starfish.
Everybody was still rather full from eating a late lunch, so we ate a light dinner back at Easy as Pie. We took another olallieberry pie back with us and watched "The Blindside". What a great movie that is. I love things that are true stories and don't overdramaticize conflict.
Thursday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast basket and headed for home. We stopped for lunch in Santa Barbara and stopped again at a Wendy's not too far from Biola.
It definitely wasn't a high action trip or an exotic one, but it sure did the trick of relaxation!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Independence Day 2010
4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I'd say it's tied with Easter and closely followed by Christmas. I am, always have been, and probably always will be insanely patriotic. Add on that it's in the middle of the summer, and fireworks are just amazing, and you have a winning holiday for me.
With exuberance, I finished my final for my dysphagia class 5 pm Wednesday. Tad picked me up and we were off for a night of "Summer Camp" at Mission. Tad insists that it's different from VBS, which it is in a few ways (it lasts the whole summer, one night a week, there isn't an overarching "theme", etc), but that's basically what it is. There are between 30 and 40 kids each week, and they're divided into 4 equal "teams" by colored bandanas. They get to play with water games in the parking lot for a bit, then head back for "camp challenge".
Camp Challenge is some sort of ridiculou game that has nothing to do with anything, it's just for fun. Wednesday night, the two selected kids had to eat through two cans of whipped cream to find the piece of bubble gum in the bottom. When they found it, they had to blow a bubble before the outher team. Quite silly. After Camp Challenge, the kids gather and are introduced to the night's message and memory verse. They split again into two groups and go to the rotations, where there is a lesson, and then a silly game. At the end of the night, they're divided by age group and gender into small group time.
Tad is the designated photographer, so as I was getting a feel for the program, I followed him around all night. I ended up getting to do some guide dog education with the younger boys. After explaining what Valencia does, I was asked by one little boy "Can you not see because of those 'context' in your eyes?" lol, kids are cute. I'm looking forward to helping for the rest of the summer.
Thursday I had a bit to do on campus in the morning. I met Tad at his place, we did a few quick errands, and then met Raelene for lunch at Sushi Diner. Yum! I sure love that restaurant. The 3 of us shared a California Roll, a Philadelphia Roll, a Tempura CA Roll, a Shrimp Lover's Roll, and a Caterpillar Roll. Once full of delicious sushi, Raelene drove me home and Tad headed to work.
Friday was my family's 4th of July celebration. My cousin Kim, her girls Jordan and Maddie, and my grandparents arrived in the afternoon. We enjoyed the nice weather for swimming. While in the pool Jordan, my mom, and I experienced the "Spa" and then Jordan took me on a cruise on the floating raft. My dad bbqed hotdogs for dinner, which we ate with our baked beans, watermelon and potatoe salad. After dinner, Jordan and I passed the time until the Westview fireworks by reading some of the Beatrix Potter books.
The fireworks were great, but not quite as fun as watching Jordan and Maddie enjoying them =)
Saturday my mom and I got to shop the presale items at Nordstrom. We picked out matching cardigan sweaters, and I got a new clinic jacket.
On the 4th itself we went to church in the morning, and then hung out at home. It was too cloudy and dreary out to swim. We had an early dinner and then went to see Toy Story 3, very cute!!! And now I've returned to the condo to prepare for the last few weeks of clinic.
With exuberance, I finished my final for my dysphagia class 5 pm Wednesday. Tad picked me up and we were off for a night of "Summer Camp" at Mission. Tad insists that it's different from VBS, which it is in a few ways (it lasts the whole summer, one night a week, there isn't an overarching "theme", etc), but that's basically what it is. There are between 30 and 40 kids each week, and they're divided into 4 equal "teams" by colored bandanas. They get to play with water games in the parking lot for a bit, then head back for "camp challenge".
Camp Challenge is some sort of ridiculou game that has nothing to do with anything, it's just for fun. Wednesday night, the two selected kids had to eat through two cans of whipped cream to find the piece of bubble gum in the bottom. When they found it, they had to blow a bubble before the outher team. Quite silly. After Camp Challenge, the kids gather and are introduced to the night's message and memory verse. They split again into two groups and go to the rotations, where there is a lesson, and then a silly game. At the end of the night, they're divided by age group and gender into small group time.
Tad is the designated photographer, so as I was getting a feel for the program, I followed him around all night. I ended up getting to do some guide dog education with the younger boys. After explaining what Valencia does, I was asked by one little boy "Can you not see because of those 'context' in your eyes?" lol, kids are cute. I'm looking forward to helping for the rest of the summer.
Thursday I had a bit to do on campus in the morning. I met Tad at his place, we did a few quick errands, and then met Raelene for lunch at Sushi Diner. Yum! I sure love that restaurant. The 3 of us shared a California Roll, a Philadelphia Roll, a Tempura CA Roll, a Shrimp Lover's Roll, and a Caterpillar Roll. Once full of delicious sushi, Raelene drove me home and Tad headed to work.
Friday was my family's 4th of July celebration. My cousin Kim, her girls Jordan and Maddie, and my grandparents arrived in the afternoon. We enjoyed the nice weather for swimming. While in the pool Jordan, my mom, and I experienced the "Spa" and then Jordan took me on a cruise on the floating raft. My dad bbqed hotdogs for dinner, which we ate with our baked beans, watermelon and potatoe salad. After dinner, Jordan and I passed the time until the Westview fireworks by reading some of the Beatrix Potter books.
The fireworks were great, but not quite as fun as watching Jordan and Maddie enjoying them =)
Saturday my mom and I got to shop the presale items at Nordstrom. We picked out matching cardigan sweaters, and I got a new clinic jacket.
On the 4th itself we went to church in the morning, and then hung out at home. It was too cloudy and dreary out to swim. We had an early dinner and then went to see Toy Story 3, very cute!!! And now I've returned to the condo to prepare for the last few weeks of clinic.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
4 Day Weekend
As an addendum to my last post, maybe June isn't going to be so crazy after all, haha
I certainly am extremely busy Mon-Wed, but after I posted Thursday, I finished my session plans for this coming week, and then realized "...I have nothing that has to be done for school until Monday." And thus the relaxing weekend began.
Thursday itself wasn't great, Tad and I had been fighting in the morning, and that kinda set my mood for the whole day. I did get to have Starbucks with Raelene, and get some grocery shopping done. Friday I went on a cleaning spree, I did laundry and vacuumedmost of the condo. I had a phone interview with one of my off campus placements, which went fine.
Chores out of the way, I had some time to read (something I haven't had time for for a LONG while), went to the mall, and finished out my day with time in the hot tub. Saturday morning I spent with Tad, we patched things up and had lunch together before he was off to work. On his way, he dropped me off at Daniel's and I got to hang out with Lindsay and Daniel for the afternoon. We chatted, listened to a random German radio station, and got Ben & Jerry's.
This morning Tad and I went to church at Mission and out to lunch with the college group to Chili's. I think I will spend the end of my weekend doing some more reading, and watching anime on hulu.
Oh summer, how I love thee!
I certainly am extremely busy Mon-Wed, but after I posted Thursday, I finished my session plans for this coming week, and then realized "...I have nothing that has to be done for school until Monday." And thus the relaxing weekend began.
Thursday itself wasn't great, Tad and I had been fighting in the morning, and that kinda set my mood for the whole day. I did get to have Starbucks with Raelene, and get some grocery shopping done. Friday I went on a cleaning spree, I did laundry and vacuumedmost of the condo. I had a phone interview with one of my off campus placements, which went fine.
Chores out of the way, I had some time to read (something I haven't had time for for a LONG while), went to the mall, and finished out my day with time in the hot tub. Saturday morning I spent with Tad, we patched things up and had lunch together before he was off to work. On his way, he dropped me off at Daniel's and I got to hang out with Lindsay and Daniel for the afternoon. We chatted, listened to a random German radio station, and got Ben & Jerry's.
This morning Tad and I went to church at Mission and out to lunch with the college group to Chili's. I think I will spend the end of my weekend doing some more reading, and watching anime on hulu.
Oh summer, how I love thee!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving with the Tildens: The Oregon Part
(Continued from "The Washington Part"
Wednesday morning we piled into the Tildens' minivan and set out for the Oregon coast. I did quite a bit of sleeping on this drive, and some homework, but still had time to admire the scenery out the window. Generally long drives bore me, but this one was brand new to me , and fairly pretty. Essentially, we followed the Columbia River all the way along the Oregon/Washington border til we reached the coast. We stopped for lunch at Wendy's in "The Dalles" Oregon, very interesting name for a city. A couple hours later the Tildens stopped to show me Multnomah Falls. I love waterfalls, so that was a fun surprise for me. I bought huckleberry muffin and pancake mixes from the gift shop for Christmas gifts.
After Multnomah, the ride got to be a bit tedious. We hit a LOT of traffic going through Portland and some thereafter. The original plan had been to meet up with the rest of the Tildens for dinner, reaching Newport before dark. That changed to 6 pm, then 6:30, then 7:00, then 8:00. At 7:30 we stopped for dinner in Lincoln City at Mo's Chowder. That was a fun dinner. It was a very casual, homestyle seafood place decorated cute with lots of twinkle lights. We all shared a pot of clam chowder and Tad and I shared a shrimp melt, mmm!
We finally got to Newport at 9:00, about 10 hours after we left Richland...apparently it's only supposed to be a 6 hour drive...yeah, yay traffic. We got settled in our rooms and then went to say hi to the rest of the family. I got to meet one of Tad's cousins, who is extraorinarily quiet, and his aunt and uncle.
Thanksgiving was extremely rainy. I was somewhat disappointed the I couldn't see more of, well, anything, through all the rain. I called home and did homework in the morning. Tad's family eats out on holidays, so we headed out just before 1 for our reservation. I was extremely nervous about this, my family NEVER eats out on holidays, but it actually wasn't terribly different. We ate at "Fishtail Cafe". It was a small restaurant, decorated like a home living room with pictures and comfy chairs and a Christmas tree. The owner had been there since 6 am cooking turkeys.
It was a wonderful, home cooked meal, complete with almost everything I've grown up having at Thanksgiving. The only real difference was that we weren't the only group in the room and the people serving weren't eating with us.
Once full with out salad, turkey dinner, and pie, we mosied back to the hotel and had triptophan induced naptime. ... Several hours later ... we gathered in Tad's uncle's room for a light dinner of lobster bisk, rolls and cheese, and more pie. I got a chance to talk quite a bit with Courtney, Tad's cousin Peter's new wife. We hung out for a while and then returned to our own room.
While his parents worked on a puzzle they had brought with us, Tad and I went to spend some time in the hot tub. We had about 20 minutes and then the pool closed. Before coming back to the room Tad took me down to see the crabbing dock. Crabbing is a major thing to do while staying in Newport. Back at the room Tad taught me how to play Guitar Hero, and I think I'm now addicted, hehe
Friday was a very lazy day. I did some homework and played a game on the wii with Tad and Jeana. Lunch was with the group at the Chowder Bowl in town. I shared a seafood platter with Tad and tried fried clams and oysters, not bad!
After lunch Tad and I walked (with Valencia this time) back to the crabbing dock. I had asked if we could go during the daylight so I could see more. It seems like it'd be fun to crab, or even just watch people. There was a tiny little dungeness crab on the dock, so I actually got to see one up close.
The afternoon was spent hanging out, doing homework, and playing more guitar hero. We rejoined the group again for dinner at Lum Yen for Chinese. There was more puzzle action in our room, followed by Tad and me starting a game of Mario Party.
Saturday we had a casual lunch type meal in Tad's uncle David's room (sandwiches, chips...and chocolate fondu) and spent most of the rest of the day shopping. We drove back up to Lincoln City and spent a couple hours at the outlet mall. I got a couple more things for Christmas gifts and a new clinic shirt from Aeropostale. I also got a tshirt from the Christian bookstore that says "Faithbook: Jesus wants to put you into his book, do you accept? Revelations 3:3" There was another one I wanted to get, but was too big that said "Join me for happy hour, every Sunday morning" it had a verse from Ephesians about not getting drunk on wine but worshipping God joyfully.
Shopping trip complete, we met the rest of the gang at Tidal Raves restaurant in Depoe Bay. It was a very nice dinner. I got more clam chowder and coconut shrimp. Tad and i shared a slice of marionberry cheesecake for dessert. After dinner we all played a couple hours of Apples to Apples. Tad and I finished our game of Mario Party once everyone else had gone to bed, I won!
Sunday morning we got up early and started the drive back to Portland for me, and TriCities for the Tildens. We got lunch at Gustav's Pub and Grill in Tigard. We shared swiss cheese fondue and a platter that came with broworst, snitzel, chicken, spatzel, and saurkraut. After that the Tildens dropped me off at PDX and headed for home.
I had a great trip, it was nice getting to spend time with Tad and his friends, and getting to meet more of his family. I'm having an awful time of it now without him, we only have a month til he moves, but that feels much too long. Hopefully I can pull the next 3 weeks together to finish the semester strong.
Me and my love :)
Wednesday morning we piled into the Tildens' minivan and set out for the Oregon coast. I did quite a bit of sleeping on this drive, and some homework, but still had time to admire the scenery out the window. Generally long drives bore me, but this one was brand new to me , and fairly pretty. Essentially, we followed the Columbia River all the way along the Oregon/Washington border til we reached the coast. We stopped for lunch at Wendy's in "The Dalles" Oregon, very interesting name for a city. A couple hours later the Tildens stopped to show me Multnomah Falls. I love waterfalls, so that was a fun surprise for me. I bought huckleberry muffin and pancake mixes from the gift shop for Christmas gifts.
After Multnomah, the ride got to be a bit tedious. We hit a LOT of traffic going through Portland and some thereafter. The original plan had been to meet up with the rest of the Tildens for dinner, reaching Newport before dark. That changed to 6 pm, then 6:30, then 7:00, then 8:00. At 7:30 we stopped for dinner in Lincoln City at Mo's Chowder. That was a fun dinner. It was a very casual, homestyle seafood place decorated cute with lots of twinkle lights. We all shared a pot of clam chowder and Tad and I shared a shrimp melt, mmm!
We finally got to Newport at 9:00, about 10 hours after we left Richland...apparently it's only supposed to be a 6 hour drive...yeah, yay traffic. We got settled in our rooms and then went to say hi to the rest of the family. I got to meet one of Tad's cousins, who is extraorinarily quiet, and his aunt and uncle.
Thanksgiving was extremely rainy. I was somewhat disappointed the I couldn't see more of, well, anything, through all the rain. I called home and did homework in the morning. Tad's family eats out on holidays, so we headed out just before 1 for our reservation. I was extremely nervous about this, my family NEVER eats out on holidays, but it actually wasn't terribly different. We ate at "Fishtail Cafe". It was a small restaurant, decorated like a home living room with pictures and comfy chairs and a Christmas tree. The owner had been there since 6 am cooking turkeys.
It was a wonderful, home cooked meal, complete with almost everything I've grown up having at Thanksgiving. The only real difference was that we weren't the only group in the room and the people serving weren't eating with us.
Once full with out salad, turkey dinner, and pie, we mosied back to the hotel and had triptophan induced naptime. ... Several hours later ... we gathered in Tad's uncle's room for a light dinner of lobster bisk, rolls and cheese, and more pie. I got a chance to talk quite a bit with Courtney, Tad's cousin Peter's new wife. We hung out for a while and then returned to our own room.
While his parents worked on a puzzle they had brought with us, Tad and I went to spend some time in the hot tub. We had about 20 minutes and then the pool closed. Before coming back to the room Tad took me down to see the crabbing dock. Crabbing is a major thing to do while staying in Newport. Back at the room Tad taught me how to play Guitar Hero, and I think I'm now addicted, hehe
Friday was a very lazy day. I did some homework and played a game on the wii with Tad and Jeana. Lunch was with the group at the Chowder Bowl in town. I shared a seafood platter with Tad and tried fried clams and oysters, not bad!
After lunch Tad and I walked (with Valencia this time) back to the crabbing dock. I had asked if we could go during the daylight so I could see more. It seems like it'd be fun to crab, or even just watch people. There was a tiny little dungeness crab on the dock, so I actually got to see one up close.
The afternoon was spent hanging out, doing homework, and playing more guitar hero. We rejoined the group again for dinner at Lum Yen for Chinese. There was more puzzle action in our room, followed by Tad and me starting a game of Mario Party.
Saturday we had a casual lunch type meal in Tad's uncle David's room (sandwiches, chips...and chocolate fondu) and spent most of the rest of the day shopping. We drove back up to Lincoln City and spent a couple hours at the outlet mall. I got a couple more things for Christmas gifts and a new clinic shirt from Aeropostale. I also got a tshirt from the Christian bookstore that says "Faithbook: Jesus wants to put you into his book, do you accept? Revelations 3:3" There was another one I wanted to get, but was too big that said "Join me for happy hour, every Sunday morning" it had a verse from Ephesians about not getting drunk on wine but worshipping God joyfully.
Shopping trip complete, we met the rest of the gang at Tidal Raves restaurant in Depoe Bay. It was a very nice dinner. I got more clam chowder and coconut shrimp. Tad and i shared a slice of marionberry cheesecake for dessert. After dinner we all played a couple hours of Apples to Apples. Tad and I finished our game of Mario Party once everyone else had gone to bed, I won!
Sunday morning we got up early and started the drive back to Portland for me, and TriCities for the Tildens. We got lunch at Gustav's Pub and Grill in Tigard. We shared swiss cheese fondue and a platter that came with broworst, snitzel, chicken, spatzel, and saurkraut. After that the Tildens dropped me off at PDX and headed for home.
I had a great trip, it was nice getting to spend time with Tad and his friends, and getting to meet more of his family. I'm having an awful time of it now without him, we only have a month til he moves, but that feels much too long. Hopefully I can pull the next 3 weeks together to finish the semester strong.
Me and my love :)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
6-2 Trip to Rossiori
Tuesday was a very early morning for us. I believe we were on the road by 6:30. I spent a bit of the time sleeping, but was awake to see a couple storks' nests as we drove past and the city of Alexandria as we drove through. The big exciting thing on our drive was passing through a gypsy village. Oh my was that interesting. Everything was very extravagant looking, big ornate houses. Jenny told us though that those are all fronts, the real house are quite small and behind them.
Our home base for the day was at a local church in Rossiori. We set up and put on a concert and carnival just like at Peris, except that these kids were crazy. It was kind of scary doing the cake walk with them because they were doing so much running and shoving.
We recovered over some lunch and then had free time. I did a bit of shopping, tried authentic Romanian sausage (called "meech") and bought a scarf.
We put on one more concert for a second group of kids and another carnival. These kids were much less hyper than the first ones, thankfully. One little girl was very cute, when given her candy she exclaimed in Romanian "I've won something!"
After carnival we packed up, got sack dinners to go, and made the drive back to Pipera. We could tell on our way home that a storm was blowing in and just as our van got back to the team house, rain drops started falling. These were HUGE raindrops. I made a ran for the porch, and no sooner had I made it up the steps then it started pouring buckets. This was absolutely the biggest thunderstorm I have ever seen.
Some of the others were not quite so lucky and were drenched by the time they made it inside. Gusting wind, pouring rain, and booming thunder...definitely a good night to be inside. There was pizza waiting for us for a little extra dinner, now that's a good pizza delivery service!
Tues night was when I hit my low of the trip. I was sitting on one of the couches pondering the week and the storm, and then it hit me. I thought of the babies at the baby hospital, lying in their little cribs, alone, in the dark, in the middle of this storm. Babies who don't have parents to rush in and comfort them if they're scared and crying.
It only occurs to me now, several months later, that this could be an analogy for unreached people: alone, in the dark, in the midst of storms, with no one to shed light into their world. How important missions are for all the lost and lonely people in this world!
After pizza consumption we had night light and hot seat. Hot seat quote, Ryan to Katie D. (who are dating) as he picks up paper and pen "Describe your perfect date..."
Our home base for the day was at a local church in Rossiori. We set up and put on a concert and carnival just like at Peris, except that these kids were crazy. It was kind of scary doing the cake walk with them because they were doing so much running and shoving.
We recovered over some lunch and then had free time. I did a bit of shopping, tried authentic Romanian sausage (called "meech") and bought a scarf.
We put on one more concert for a second group of kids and another carnival. These kids were much less hyper than the first ones, thankfully. One little girl was very cute, when given her candy she exclaimed in Romanian "I've won something!"
After carnival we packed up, got sack dinners to go, and made the drive back to Pipera. We could tell on our way home that a storm was blowing in and just as our van got back to the team house, rain drops started falling. These were HUGE raindrops. I made a ran for the porch, and no sooner had I made it up the steps then it started pouring buckets. This was absolutely the biggest thunderstorm I have ever seen.
Some of the others were not quite so lucky and were drenched by the time they made it inside. Gusting wind, pouring rain, and booming thunder...definitely a good night to be inside. There was pizza waiting for us for a little extra dinner, now that's a good pizza delivery service!
Tues night was when I hit my low of the trip. I was sitting on one of the couches pondering the week and the storm, and then it hit me. I thought of the babies at the baby hospital, lying in their little cribs, alone, in the dark, in the middle of this storm. Babies who don't have parents to rush in and comfort them if they're scared and crying.
It only occurs to me now, several months later, that this could be an analogy for unreached people: alone, in the dark, in the midst of storms, with no one to shed light into their world. How important missions are for all the lost and lonely people in this world!
After pizza consumption we had night light and hot seat. Hot seat quote, Ryan to Katie D. (who are dating) as he picks up paper and pen "Describe your perfect date..."
Monday, August 10, 2009
Girls' Weekend
What happens when your dad and brother go out of town, your best friend is in town, and you have keys to an empty condo?
A really fun weekend with the girls!
When my dad and Steve decided they were going to go to my dad's family reunion in Chciago, my mom and I decided we should have a mini vacay down at the condo, and since neither of my roomies are moved in yet, I thought it would be a perfect time to invite Becky to come see it.
We kicked off our vacay with a stop at my new favorite frozen yogurt place L'Amour de Yogurt and then headed down to Mission Valley. I spent some time unpacking and settling in and we made a grocery trip to get some food for the weekend. Once the groceries were unpacked, we made the short drive (I love being central to all the fun things in SD!) to Old Town for dinner.
Friday night is the best time to be in Old Town if you're looking for fun! We had dinner at La Pinata, a family favorite for as long as I can remember and walked along the shops listening to live Mariachi music.
My mom dropped us off at the condo and went home for the night since Dave had come down for the weekend. Meanwhile, Becky and I took the opportunity to check out the pool and jacuzzi. Honestly I can't remember the last time I was in a swimming pool, but I remembered Friday night how much fun it is to go swimming on summer evenings. THe only downside was the water was extremely salty, kinda gross. Hopefully it's a bit better once the summer craziness dies down.
We topped off the night by watching Top Gun, one of my all time favorites that Becky hadn't seen yet.
Saturday my mom and Dave brought one last piece of furniture down and then joined us for lunch at Outback Steakhouse. Yum good eatin'! Becky and I spent the afternoon exploring IKEA, and determined next time we go, we should actually have something in mind to buy. Perhaps then we won't end up dizzy and headachey afterward, lol.
We both crashed for naps when we got back to the condo. Once we had both resurfaced we made up a Ready Made Asian salad (neither of us were extraordinarily hungry thanks to lunch at Outback, hee hee) and munched on that out on the patio. Raelene came down to join us after she got off work. I gave her the tour of the complex and the condo. We chatted and hung out for a bit before deciding to go walk around Fashion Valley.
Basically we just window shopped. By the time we got there a lot of stores were closed or just about to close. But it was fun to walk around and chat. After seeing Dippin Dots (which regrettably was already closed!) Becky and I were craving a cold treat. It took a bit of driving around, but finally we found our way back to the Ralph's center my mom had taken us to on Friday and we tried out Paradise Yogurt. Becky and I shared a "hurricane" which is kind of like a Blizzard from DQ. We got cheesecake yogurt with oreo, coffee, and chocolate syrup mixed in. It was tasty, but rather expensive.
Raelene dropped us off and headed home and we headed to bed. Sunday morning we packed up and met my mom at church. The afternoon was pretty chill, I think we all got a bit bored. Dave had rented a couple movies, so we watched The Man Who Knew Too Little which was really funny. Sunday evening was my last concert with the Poway Community Band. My grandparents and Kim, Jordie, and Maddison came down for it, which was great, I love having people come to concerts. :)
The post concert evening was spent watching TV and Becky headed for home this morning. It was a great weekend. I'm really excited to be spending more time down at my condo and for my roommates to move in. Until then, I have a bit more packing up to do here :o)
A really fun weekend with the girls!
When my dad and Steve decided they were going to go to my dad's family reunion in Chciago, my mom and I decided we should have a mini vacay down at the condo, and since neither of my roomies are moved in yet, I thought it would be a perfect time to invite Becky to come see it.
We kicked off our vacay with a stop at my new favorite frozen yogurt place L'Amour de Yogurt and then headed down to Mission Valley. I spent some time unpacking and settling in and we made a grocery trip to get some food for the weekend. Once the groceries were unpacked, we made the short drive (I love being central to all the fun things in SD!) to Old Town for dinner.
Friday night is the best time to be in Old Town if you're looking for fun! We had dinner at La Pinata, a family favorite for as long as I can remember and walked along the shops listening to live Mariachi music.
My mom dropped us off at the condo and went home for the night since Dave had come down for the weekend. Meanwhile, Becky and I took the opportunity to check out the pool and jacuzzi. Honestly I can't remember the last time I was in a swimming pool, but I remembered Friday night how much fun it is to go swimming on summer evenings. THe only downside was the water was extremely salty, kinda gross. Hopefully it's a bit better once the summer craziness dies down.
We topped off the night by watching Top Gun, one of my all time favorites that Becky hadn't seen yet.
Saturday my mom and Dave brought one last piece of furniture down and then joined us for lunch at Outback Steakhouse. Yum good eatin'! Becky and I spent the afternoon exploring IKEA, and determined next time we go, we should actually have something in mind to buy. Perhaps then we won't end up dizzy and headachey afterward, lol.
We both crashed for naps when we got back to the condo. Once we had both resurfaced we made up a Ready Made Asian salad (neither of us were extraordinarily hungry thanks to lunch at Outback, hee hee) and munched on that out on the patio. Raelene came down to join us after she got off work. I gave her the tour of the complex and the condo. We chatted and hung out for a bit before deciding to go walk around Fashion Valley.
Basically we just window shopped. By the time we got there a lot of stores were closed or just about to close. But it was fun to walk around and chat. After seeing Dippin Dots (which regrettably was already closed!) Becky and I were craving a cold treat. It took a bit of driving around, but finally we found our way back to the Ralph's center my mom had taken us to on Friday and we tried out Paradise Yogurt. Becky and I shared a "hurricane" which is kind of like a Blizzard from DQ. We got cheesecake yogurt with oreo, coffee, and chocolate syrup mixed in. It was tasty, but rather expensive.
Raelene dropped us off and headed home and we headed to bed. Sunday morning we packed up and met my mom at church. The afternoon was pretty chill, I think we all got a bit bored. Dave had rented a couple movies, so we watched The Man Who Knew Too Little which was really funny. Sunday evening was my last concert with the Poway Community Band. My grandparents and Kim, Jordie, and Maddison came down for it, which was great, I love having people come to concerts. :)
The post concert evening was spent watching TV and Becky headed for home this morning. It was a great weekend. I'm really excited to be spending more time down at my condo and for my roommates to move in. Until then, I have a bit more packing up to do here :o)
Friday, July 3, 2009
5-30 Jim's "Revolting" Reveolution Tour
You'll see why the H2H staff nickname it the revolting tour by the end.
Breakfast was special this morning. Friday night they told us to be in the dining room half an hour before we usually were, or we'd miss out. The surprise was a H2H tradition: bomblets! Omelets made in freezer bags. You put the eggs, cheese, and other desired omelet ingredients into a freezer ziplocks, mix well (done by squishing, rather fun actually), and drop them in boiling water for 15 minutes. It's amazing, easiest omelet I've ever made, you should try it!
Once our bomblets had been consumed, we took advantage of having all of our group back together again and had rehearsal in the dining room. lol After lunch we headed out for Jim's tour. We started at the music hall in Bucharest, which is beautiful. Jim started off by telling us about Romania back 200 years ago. They were a strong nation economically thanks to agriculture and flourished artistically.
It was at this point that it started raining, which made things more exciting. But you can't have a trip to Europe without a little rain. We walked the couple blocks from the music hall to Revolution Square. On one side of the square is the old palace, which is now an art museum. Jim explained the events of the revolution to us.
After WWII the Russians took control of Romania. The people were miserable, forced to live in the enormous block houses and work 13-14 hour days. In the sixties Ceausescu, a Romanian with a 4th grade education, rose up and offered that he would lead Romania for the Russians. He promised that under his leadership the people would flourish again and prosper the Russians more than they were at the time. The Russians agreed and pulled out of Romania.
Work conditions did grow better for the Romanians. Ceausescu built thousands more block houses and set up a strict routine for his people. They would get up, go to work, come home, watch an hour or two of TV with their family, and then get to bed early. TV consisted mainly of Ceausescu giving a speech with the same 5 points every night.
Things changed for the Romanians though after Ceausescu spent some time in North Korea. He came back a different leader He began referring to them as "my dear children" and increased the length of their work days.
At the start of the revolution Ceausescu had been giving a speech about a week after a massacre of praying people in a town in the north. The square was so packed with people that there was hardly room to move. A group of people began shouting about the massacre, and because there were so many people, the secret police weren't able to reach them to silence them. The whole square became an uproar. Ceausescu and his wife were airlifted out and tanks came in, blocked all exits and opened fire. Mass chaos. The buildings in the square still have visible bullet holes in them. A couple of the buildings have been patched, making it look like scars.
The Ceausescus were caught and tried as enemies of the state and were executed Christmas Day 1989. That's within my lifetime. It's incredible to think these things happened while I was alive. It was a very disturbing day for me, I can't even begin to imagine what life that way would be like. I wonder now what things are going on in the world that we will only find out years from now. My mom said that they knew things were bad in Romania, but they didn't know any more than that.
It breaks my heart that there are things happening in the world, in Sudan, North Korea, Afghanistan, and so many other countries, to innocent people, that I won't hear about for another 10 years. By the time we hear about them, they'll be over, and it will be too late to help.
"Sometimes God breaks our hearts to show us a piece of his." Jen Schroeder
We spent a little time in Revolution Square and then drove past the People's Palace so the brass could see. Our final stop on the tour was the Church of the Patriarch. The Patriarch in the Eastern Orthodox Church is sort of like the Pope in the Catholic Church. Each country (I think, don't quote me on this part) has their own Patriarch. The Patriarch lives in a house behind the church. It was a gorgeous church, but it's sad how dark these old European churches feel.
At the conclusion of our tour, we broke off into several groups for some free time. My group went to the mall :D
The mall we went to happened to be the largest mall in Erope. Rnadom right? Who would have guessed that Europe's largest mall is in Romania? Not me! It wasn't set up too different from an American mall. The things that stood out were the very European styles in all of the store windows and the smoking. I hated the smoking. I don't know if I could ever live in Europe because of that.
We got to do a little souvenir shopping, which consisted of us crowding around one little kiosque. The rest of the time in the mall, I was in this Walmart like store called Cairfor or something like that. I bought a great deal of chocolate. Our shopping complete, we headed back to the team house for a bbq (done inside thanks to the rain) and hot seat.
Breakfast was special this morning. Friday night they told us to be in the dining room half an hour before we usually were, or we'd miss out. The surprise was a H2H tradition: bomblets! Omelets made in freezer bags. You put the eggs, cheese, and other desired omelet ingredients into a freezer ziplocks, mix well (done by squishing, rather fun actually), and drop them in boiling water for 15 minutes. It's amazing, easiest omelet I've ever made, you should try it!
Once our bomblets had been consumed, we took advantage of having all of our group back together again and had rehearsal in the dining room. lol After lunch we headed out for Jim's tour. We started at the music hall in Bucharest, which is beautiful. Jim started off by telling us about Romania back 200 years ago. They were a strong nation economically thanks to agriculture and flourished artistically.
It was at this point that it started raining, which made things more exciting. But you can't have a trip to Europe without a little rain. We walked the couple blocks from the music hall to Revolution Square. On one side of the square is the old palace, which is now an art museum. Jim explained the events of the revolution to us.
After WWII the Russians took control of Romania. The people were miserable, forced to live in the enormous block houses and work 13-14 hour days. In the sixties Ceausescu, a Romanian with a 4th grade education, rose up and offered that he would lead Romania for the Russians. He promised that under his leadership the people would flourish again and prosper the Russians more than they were at the time. The Russians agreed and pulled out of Romania.
Work conditions did grow better for the Romanians. Ceausescu built thousands more block houses and set up a strict routine for his people. They would get up, go to work, come home, watch an hour or two of TV with their family, and then get to bed early. TV consisted mainly of Ceausescu giving a speech with the same 5 points every night.
Things changed for the Romanians though after Ceausescu spent some time in North Korea. He came back a different leader He began referring to them as "my dear children" and increased the length of their work days.
At the start of the revolution Ceausescu had been giving a speech about a week after a massacre of praying people in a town in the north. The square was so packed with people that there was hardly room to move. A group of people began shouting about the massacre, and because there were so many people, the secret police weren't able to reach them to silence them. The whole square became an uproar. Ceausescu and his wife were airlifted out and tanks came in, blocked all exits and opened fire. Mass chaos. The buildings in the square still have visible bullet holes in them. A couple of the buildings have been patched, making it look like scars.
The Ceausescus were caught and tried as enemies of the state and were executed Christmas Day 1989. That's within my lifetime. It's incredible to think these things happened while I was alive. It was a very disturbing day for me, I can't even begin to imagine what life that way would be like. I wonder now what things are going on in the world that we will only find out years from now. My mom said that they knew things were bad in Romania, but they didn't know any more than that.
It breaks my heart that there are things happening in the world, in Sudan, North Korea, Afghanistan, and so many other countries, to innocent people, that I won't hear about for another 10 years. By the time we hear about them, they'll be over, and it will be too late to help.
"Sometimes God breaks our hearts to show us a piece of his." Jen Schroeder
We spent a little time in Revolution Square and then drove past the People's Palace so the brass could see. Our final stop on the tour was the Church of the Patriarch. The Patriarch in the Eastern Orthodox Church is sort of like the Pope in the Catholic Church. Each country (I think, don't quote me on this part) has their own Patriarch. The Patriarch lives in a house behind the church. It was a gorgeous church, but it's sad how dark these old European churches feel.
At the conclusion of our tour, we broke off into several groups for some free time. My group went to the mall :D
The mall we went to happened to be the largest mall in Erope. Rnadom right? Who would have guessed that Europe's largest mall is in Romania? Not me! It wasn't set up too different from an American mall. The things that stood out were the very European styles in all of the store windows and the smoking. I hated the smoking. I don't know if I could ever live in Europe because of that.
We got to do a little souvenir shopping, which consisted of us crowding around one little kiosque. The rest of the time in the mall, I was in this Walmart like store called Cairfor or something like that. I bought a great deal of chocolate. Our shopping complete, we headed back to the team house for a bbq (done inside thanks to the rain) and hot seat.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
5-29 Oldtown Bucharest and More Lessons at Peris
Morning devotionals Friday were appropriate for the work we were doing (not that there wouldn't be a devotional that was appropriate) "Found, Called, Adopted" Important thing to remember when working with orphans, we're all adopted. Jim mentioned that some of the older orphans have expressed a deeper understanding of faith because they can more easily make the connection of being adopted than we can.
Explorations of Bucharest continued with the oldest standing section of the city. We saw St. Anthony's church, the oldest church in Bucharest. The architecture in Romania is incredible. It's quite unlike anything I'm accustomed to; "beautifully unique is how I've been describing it. There are intricate paintings that cover the ceiling depicting Bible stories and beautiful stained glass windows. Something cool about all Eastern Orthodox churches is that they have 3 domes on top to represent the Trinity.
We walked through a town square where there was a statue of Dracula, after all, Transylvania is a region of Romania ;)
Around the square were a number of shops, which meant some souvenir shopping time. I bought three beautiful painted eggs and some postcards from one and then went to the glass shop up the street. Romania is known for their glass, crystal, and porcelain. I would have loved to buy some crystal, but even with the exchange rate in my favor, it was too expensive. I did buy a small braided porcelain bowl. It has small pink flowers painted on it and says "Made in Romania" on the bottom.
Lessons at Peris were made interesting thanks to a sudden rain shower that sprang up as we arrived. Most of us and most of the kids were mostly wet, lol. That didn't matter too much though, plus, it was an exciting day. The queen woke up. That was really exciting, seeing how happy the kids were. We played some humns for them, taught them how to play "Hot Cross Buns" on mini recorders, and gave them paper crowns to decorate.
Play time Friday was slightly gross thanks to a lot of wet dog poop on the play area. Pretty sure everybody changed clothes as soon as we got back to the Team House
Dinner was a cheerful affair, thanks to the return of the brass from Rossiori. We had a much more lively night light, hearing about some of what the brass had been up to, and then moved quickly on to hot seat.
Two favorite hot seat moments of the night:
*Abe's Turn*
Matt Fell "If had to marry someone in this room, who would it be?"
Abe "Erin or Andrea"
*Andrea's turn*
Matt Fell "Would you marry Abe?"
Abe "Hey! You have to at least let me ask myself!"
Matt "So ask her"
Abe "Andrea, will you marry me?"
Andrea "yes Abe, I'll marry you."
And
Stephen "I can be decisive, sometimes."
Goodness I love band people :)
Explorations of Bucharest continued with the oldest standing section of the city. We saw St. Anthony's church, the oldest church in Bucharest. The architecture in Romania is incredible. It's quite unlike anything I'm accustomed to; "beautifully unique is how I've been describing it. There are intricate paintings that cover the ceiling depicting Bible stories and beautiful stained glass windows. Something cool about all Eastern Orthodox churches is that they have 3 domes on top to represent the Trinity.
We walked through a town square where there was a statue of Dracula, after all, Transylvania is a region of Romania ;)
Around the square were a number of shops, which meant some souvenir shopping time. I bought three beautiful painted eggs and some postcards from one and then went to the glass shop up the street. Romania is known for their glass, crystal, and porcelain. I would have loved to buy some crystal, but even with the exchange rate in my favor, it was too expensive. I did buy a small braided porcelain bowl. It has small pink flowers painted on it and says "Made in Romania" on the bottom.
Lessons at Peris were made interesting thanks to a sudden rain shower that sprang up as we arrived. Most of us and most of the kids were mostly wet, lol. That didn't matter too much though, plus, it was an exciting day. The queen woke up. That was really exciting, seeing how happy the kids were. We played some humns for them, taught them how to play "Hot Cross Buns" on mini recorders, and gave them paper crowns to decorate.
Play time Friday was slightly gross thanks to a lot of wet dog poop on the play area. Pretty sure everybody changed clothes as soon as we got back to the Team House
Dinner was a cheerful affair, thanks to the return of the brass from Rossiori. We had a much more lively night light, hearing about some of what the brass had been up to, and then moved quickly on to hot seat.
Two favorite hot seat moments of the night:
*Abe's Turn*
Matt Fell "If had to marry someone in this room, who would it be?"
Abe "Erin or Andrea"
*Andrea's turn*
Matt Fell "Would you marry Abe?"
Abe "Hey! You have to at least let me ask myself!"
Matt "So ask her"
Abe "Andrea, will you marry me?"
Andrea "yes Abe, I'll marry you."
And
Stephen "I can be decisive, sometimes."
Goodness I love band people :)
Friday, June 26, 2009
5-28 Open Air Market and Lessons at Peris
Morning devotionals on Thursday were out of another Max Lucado book (they are big fans of Max Lucado, I think I should get some of his books, I've never read very much of his stuff) "Grace for a Moment". It described all the things hands do, and how everything your hands do should be ministry.
Cultural experience for the day would be the largest open air market in Bucharest (possibly in all Romania, I don't remember). We were informed that this would be the most likely day we would get pickpocketed, were that to happenon the trip. Thankfully it did not. Since a group of 15 Americans would draw too much attention, and we would inevitably get separated anyway, we divided into smaller groups. I was with Amanda, Andrea, and Sanda (our translator and guide).
The market reminded me a lot of the ones I've been to in Mexico. Jim mentioned later that most open air markets are the same no matter what part of the world you're in. A difference I noticed between the Romanian one and Mexican ones really surprised me though. The Romanians don't barter over prices. I tried on a lot of cute skirts, but didn't buy any because most were way too small for me. It didn't matter much that there wasn't price negotiating because everything was so cheap. I bought 2 mugs and a wooden spoon for 10 lei (about $3.50 American).
After lunch at the team house, it was back to Peris for more lessons. The classrooms are a surprising contrast to the rest of the orphanage. The orphanages receive funding from two departments: child protective services, and the department of education. The department of education does a lot more for the children than the child protective services do. The classroom was small, but clean with desks and a chalkboard and several computers.
We taught the same lesson to two classes: 1st and 2nd grade and 5th and 6th grade. There's a pretty wide age range in the classes though. For our lesson we introduced the children to the clarinet and taught them about musical tempos. Katie Feher made up this amazingly cute story to teach the lesson through, kind of like Peter and the Wolf. It was about a little girl who met a bird (flute) a cat (clarinet) and a bear (saxophone) while walking through the forest. The animals taught her about music, and through what she learned she was able to wake up the queen who had been put under a sleeping enchantment.
I got to be the queen, though I didn't do much, because the little girl didn't yet know enough music to wake her. The kids gave lots of suggestions to try to wake me. The cutest one was to ask nicely, and the little boy came up and asked me very nicely (in Romanian) to wake up. The funniest came from a 12 year old boy named Aline. Aline and his twin Florine are two of the more difficult children at the orphanage, they get themselves into a lot of trouble.
The previous day, when the queen didn't wake up, Aline suggested that they kiss the queen. Fairly standard method of waking sleeping royalty. Well, Katie asks "are you volunteering?" Wrong child to make that suggestion to. Aline got up, walked over, and gave Rachel (the queen on Wed) a very long kiss on the cheek. This story at Night Light Wed night prompted Jim to make the new rule: No making out with orphans.
In any case, since we were a different group of ladies on Thurs, Aline thought he should make that suggestion again. "Perhaps we should kiss the queen" As soon as Sanda translated that I began panicking, oh snap, I'm about to get kissed by a 12 year old Romanian orphan. Luckily Amanda was looking out for me and quickly said "oh, but you tried that yesterday and it didn't work, remember?" Thank goodness for friends! haha
We played several clarinet quartets for them, which they loved and kept asking for more. Florine even told us that he wanted us to play forever so they could fall asleep to music. Then we handed out tambourines we had made from paper plates and popcorn for them to decorate and play with.
After lessons we had more playtime outside with the kids. This was the day I met little Ana. Adorable little 6 year old who's favorite thing is piggy back rides. She doesn't do much talking, the staff said she gets some amount of speech therapy and they think she has some developmental issues. A very sweet little girl though. I also got my hair done by Alina and by Flori (Ana's older sister) and played a very vigorous game of tag with a blonde boy of about 12 (I think) named Alexandre.
When it came time to leave we had a bit of excitement. As we got back to the vans we noticed there was someone in the driver's seat of one: oh, it's Aline, surprise surprise. We all start yelling and running to get him out, and as Amanda and I pull open the side door, he manages to unset the parking break and put the van in neutral. Great. The van starts rolling down the hill towards the lake.
Luckily Stephen had already been in the van and was able to save the day. He pulled Aline out of the driver's seat, jumped into it himself. His eyes near about popped out of his head when he put his foot on what he thougt was the break and the van didn't stop. It was the clutch, he tried again, and this time succeeded in stopping the van. Whew!
This was actually the second time that Aline nearly sent the van into the lake. Several years ago he managed to get it rolling, but with no Stephen there to save the day, the only thing that saved the van from the lake was the tree it ran into.
Anyway, we certainly had a lot to talk about at dinner and Night Light. Ho Seat was fantastically amusing thanks to Elayne. Pretty much everything she says is hysterical, but the winning quote of the night was "I dig guys who don't have all their teeth."
Classic
A random note I included was that our "This is the day the Lord has made" devotional in the morning, really helped me think about my issues with change. *This* is the day the Lord has made. Not just yesterday, or 3 months ago, today, no matter what today holds, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
The trip itself really helped me transition from Biola into the next thing. I had great fellowship with everyone, but it really helped me see that God still does great things and brings great people into my life regardless of where I am.
Cultural experience for the day would be the largest open air market in Bucharest (possibly in all Romania, I don't remember). We were informed that this would be the most likely day we would get pickpocketed, were that to happenon the trip. Thankfully it did not. Since a group of 15 Americans would draw too much attention, and we would inevitably get separated anyway, we divided into smaller groups. I was with Amanda, Andrea, and Sanda (our translator and guide).
The market reminded me a lot of the ones I've been to in Mexico. Jim mentioned later that most open air markets are the same no matter what part of the world you're in. A difference I noticed between the Romanian one and Mexican ones really surprised me though. The Romanians don't barter over prices. I tried on a lot of cute skirts, but didn't buy any because most were way too small for me. It didn't matter much that there wasn't price negotiating because everything was so cheap. I bought 2 mugs and a wooden spoon for 10 lei (about $3.50 American).
After lunch at the team house, it was back to Peris for more lessons. The classrooms are a surprising contrast to the rest of the orphanage. The orphanages receive funding from two departments: child protective services, and the department of education. The department of education does a lot more for the children than the child protective services do. The classroom was small, but clean with desks and a chalkboard and several computers.
We taught the same lesson to two classes: 1st and 2nd grade and 5th and 6th grade. There's a pretty wide age range in the classes though. For our lesson we introduced the children to the clarinet and taught them about musical tempos. Katie Feher made up this amazingly cute story to teach the lesson through, kind of like Peter and the Wolf. It was about a little girl who met a bird (flute) a cat (clarinet) and a bear (saxophone) while walking through the forest. The animals taught her about music, and through what she learned she was able to wake up the queen who had been put under a sleeping enchantment.
I got to be the queen, though I didn't do much, because the little girl didn't yet know enough music to wake her. The kids gave lots of suggestions to try to wake me. The cutest one was to ask nicely, and the little boy came up and asked me very nicely (in Romanian) to wake up. The funniest came from a 12 year old boy named Aline. Aline and his twin Florine are two of the more difficult children at the orphanage, they get themselves into a lot of trouble.
The previous day, when the queen didn't wake up, Aline suggested that they kiss the queen. Fairly standard method of waking sleeping royalty. Well, Katie asks "are you volunteering?" Wrong child to make that suggestion to. Aline got up, walked over, and gave Rachel (the queen on Wed) a very long kiss on the cheek. This story at Night Light Wed night prompted Jim to make the new rule: No making out with orphans.
In any case, since we were a different group of ladies on Thurs, Aline thought he should make that suggestion again. "Perhaps we should kiss the queen" As soon as Sanda translated that I began panicking, oh snap, I'm about to get kissed by a 12 year old Romanian orphan. Luckily Amanda was looking out for me and quickly said "oh, but you tried that yesterday and it didn't work, remember?" Thank goodness for friends! haha
We played several clarinet quartets for them, which they loved and kept asking for more. Florine even told us that he wanted us to play forever so they could fall asleep to music. Then we handed out tambourines we had made from paper plates and popcorn for them to decorate and play with.
After lessons we had more playtime outside with the kids. This was the day I met little Ana. Adorable little 6 year old who's favorite thing is piggy back rides. She doesn't do much talking, the staff said she gets some amount of speech therapy and they think she has some developmental issues. A very sweet little girl though. I also got my hair done by Alina and by Flori (Ana's older sister) and played a very vigorous game of tag with a blonde boy of about 12 (I think) named Alexandre.
When it came time to leave we had a bit of excitement. As we got back to the vans we noticed there was someone in the driver's seat of one: oh, it's Aline, surprise surprise. We all start yelling and running to get him out, and as Amanda and I pull open the side door, he manages to unset the parking break and put the van in neutral. Great. The van starts rolling down the hill towards the lake.
Luckily Stephen had already been in the van and was able to save the day. He pulled Aline out of the driver's seat, jumped into it himself. His eyes near about popped out of his head when he put his foot on what he thougt was the break and the van didn't stop. It was the clutch, he tried again, and this time succeeded in stopping the van. Whew!
This was actually the second time that Aline nearly sent the van into the lake. Several years ago he managed to get it rolling, but with no Stephen there to save the day, the only thing that saved the van from the lake was the tree it ran into.
Anyway, we certainly had a lot to talk about at dinner and Night Light. Ho Seat was fantastically amusing thanks to Elayne. Pretty much everything she says is hysterical, but the winning quote of the night was "I dig guys who don't have all their teeth."
Classic
A random note I included was that our "This is the day the Lord has made" devotional in the morning, really helped me think about my issues with change. *This* is the day the Lord has made. Not just yesterday, or 3 months ago, today, no matter what today holds, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
The trip itself really helped me transition from Biola into the next thing. I had great fellowship with everyone, but it really helped me see that God still does great things and brings great people into my life regardless of where I am.
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