Ok. Sit down. Well, ok that isn't really a good thing to say since you are probably sitting at your computer reading this blog, whether on the blog website or Facebook. Anyway...I'm babbling. This is going to be a slightly different style of post than my usual...
I did what every college graduate does NOT do...I quit my job. Today was my last day. I won't go into the details on the blog, mainly because I feel like that would be a tad inappropriate and unprofessional, but if you just can't stand not knowing why send me an email or FB message.
How do I feel now? Well, I feel a lot of things. Free. Terrified. Hopeful. Excited. Pumped. Ambitious. Sad. Lonely.
What's next? Well...school is still what I'm doing now. I'm currently searching for a full-time job. Something preferably full-time, in a business field (I could deal with medical again), and enough pay to help pay the bills and save for the future. So if ya know anyone or any company interested in me, you know how to get a hold of me.
Have I lost my mind? Probably, but I am a huge believer in acting based upon principle. That may seem naive, stupid, etc., but I've always done it and I always will. Plus, it's nice to have family support me in my decisions.
Until the new job? I hope to get ahead in what's left of my school semester. I plan on having excellent weekends since I've never really had a weekend that I didn't ask off for. My sister is coming up this weekend and my parents the next. I plan on spending more time with my best friends from my now former work, as this is a strange transition for them as well. House wife, homemaker, personal maid, etc. Yea, I'm going to clean the house top to bottom. You know, spring cleaning. I'm going to attempt to have dinner on the table for Ryan at least once before he comes home from work. Truly come to a better understanding of how awesome Grandmama was for making the home her life...and then hopefully soon...
I'll be back to the crazy busy, constantly working, completely stressed (but the type of stress for a Type A personality), juggling school, work and social life schedules NORMAL life.
Say a small prayer for me please.
Wedding Countdown
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Short Update
So...I've been thinking about blogging for quite some time lately, especially since I haven't really blogged in almost 2 months! I have had a little bit of writer's block lately. (Maybe my bro, Zack, the writer can give me a few tips on how to get over that!) Anyway, I have two papers that I have needed to work on and April is now crunch time both. One is the research paper that I discussed in my previous post. Oh well, maybe a little blogging will inspire me a little bit to actually work on those papers at least get several pages written.
Speaking of inspiration...I attended an executive briefing on Friday mainly because one of the professors that I work for as a tuition scholar requested me to be there. I went to the event with a "this is going to be so boring" attitude, which is fairly unusual for me. Surprisingly, I found the lecture from the guest speaker, Tom Rath, to be incredibly engaging and inspirational! I bought both of his latest books on site and had him sign both! (This may not seem like a big deal, but if you know me you would know that I do NOT, seriously, do not read books.) Not only did I buy them, but I read both within 24 hours. Huge accomplishment for me! Anyway, the books talk about personal strengths and how to use those strengths to become better people, better leaders and better business people (which was the primary focus of the lecture). I took the test and found my 5 strengths to be: Discipline, Strategic, Achiever, Futuristic and Focus. So, if you're interested the books are Strengths Finder 2.0 and Strengths based Leadership by Tom Rath.
School has gone very well. I have straight A's so far, which is excellent, especially compared to last semester. I am enjoying my classes very much. However, there is a downside to enjoying the topics in my classes...the more I enjoy what I'm learning the more frustrated and disappointed I am at work. I won't divulge too much information about what specifically, but let's just say I have learned that there is a lot more to business than making money. Making money is really just a perk of business...people are what matter and what is most important to a business...after all without people there isn't money to be made in business. Oh well, enough of my business philosophy.
So, that's my short update on the major happening in life lately. Hopefully I can write a blog about the amazing adventure of spring break with Christie and Ryan and all of the exciting things to come in April (like me becoming even older...23 on the 15th!). Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. :)
Speaking of inspiration...I attended an executive briefing on Friday mainly because one of the professors that I work for as a tuition scholar requested me to be there. I went to the event with a "this is going to be so boring" attitude, which is fairly unusual for me. Surprisingly, I found the lecture from the guest speaker, Tom Rath, to be incredibly engaging and inspirational! I bought both of his latest books on site and had him sign both! (This may not seem like a big deal, but if you know me you would know that I do NOT, seriously, do not read books.) Not only did I buy them, but I read both within 24 hours. Huge accomplishment for me! Anyway, the books talk about personal strengths and how to use those strengths to become better people, better leaders and better business people (which was the primary focus of the lecture). I took the test and found my 5 strengths to be: Discipline, Strategic, Achiever, Futuristic and Focus. So, if you're interested the books are Strengths Finder 2.0 and Strengths based Leadership by Tom Rath.
School has gone very well. I have straight A's so far, which is excellent, especially compared to last semester. I am enjoying my classes very much. However, there is a downside to enjoying the topics in my classes...the more I enjoy what I'm learning the more frustrated and disappointed I am at work. I won't divulge too much information about what specifically, but let's just say I have learned that there is a lot more to business than making money. Making money is really just a perk of business...people are what matter and what is most important to a business...after all without people there isn't money to be made in business. Oh well, enough of my business philosophy.
So, that's my short update on the major happening in life lately. Hopefully I can write a blog about the amazing adventure of spring break with Christie and Ryan and all of the exciting things to come in April (like me becoming even older...23 on the 15th!). Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. :)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Ah!
Finally I have gotten a chance to blog! I have been thinking about blogging for quite a while. Lately, I have been fairly busy with school and work, as usual, with an occasional "not feeling well" day. Not a whole lot has happened since I last wrote and I will do a Resolution recap so you readers can check up on how I'm doing. Anyway, there are only a couple of things that have been super exciting in my life.
First, I was able to surprise my mom for her birthday at the end of January (Check out her blog post ---->) Anyway, Christie and I had planned it all out that I would come home after work and meet Mom, Dad, and Christie at the Melting Pot in Nashville. It was very funny because Mom was just chatting away with Christie as I walked down the stairs and stood in front of her for about 5 seconds before she realized it was me. She was so happy! It was great being able to come home to celebrate her birthday. Mom was especially relieved to have an extra set of hands to help with the Mission of Hope booth the next day at church. (If you don't know what the Mission of Hope is, you must ...I mean MUST...check out the Mission of Hope Website. I made it so I'm a little proud of it!) Anyway, later that evening we went to go see Shrek the Musical at TPAC. It was absolutely amazing! I think it was funnier than the movie. I highly recommend seeing it if if comes to your area. It was such a great weekend. I wish I could have spent some more time at home.
The second exciting thing is that Christie, Ryan and myself are going on a cruise for Spring break!!! :) I'm very excited about this. I must give a shout out to my mom for finding a great deal for us. Christie and I had spent hours trying to figure out where we wanted to go and how to spend the week. Naturally, when we looked at the cost of any of our ideas, it came to well over a grand for the 3 of us to go anywhere (not including food!). But, Mom came to the rescue and found a great cruise at an unpublished rate. I don't know how she does it. She needs to teach me (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).
The last exciting thing going on in my life, well at least I find exciting, is a research paper that I am writing for my management class. I'm not going to quite disclose what it's about, but just know it involves the industry I'm currently working in. My professor has been working with me already about my research and I have been more diligent at doing my research than I was in my undergraduate years. My goal is to get published with this research paper. (Who would have thought that I would ever say that!) I do have my reasons for wanting to be published, but I have had a little inspiration from a friend who is heavily into research in his graduate studies in Psychology, Zack Barnes. I've always admired him for his drive to do research in his field, and now I get to do a little of that as well. :)
Ok...I guess its time for the New Years' Resolution Update:
1.) Keep Up the Good Work on all of the successful 2010 Resolutions. So far, I think I'm doing pretty well at these. In my opinion the successful resolutions have become habits, so hopefully I will continue to go on track with these.
2.) Don't let too many things go to the back burner. I have been pretty successful with completing all of my to do lists. I am doing great and keeping up with the school work. My house is clean, deep cleaned in most rooms! I have even had 2 of my annual doctor's visits already. Oh wait...come to think of it I still need to get that blood work done to complete that basic check-up. Hold on let me put that on my calendar...
3.) Become a healthier me. This one has been a little hard the past couple of weeks. I have to say it's been a while since I've worked out. Hopefully I can jump back on track once some things settle down. I also hope to go to that Weekend Warrior Yoga this Saturday. I guess it depends on my work schedule. Anyway, since that last time I did an update, I have lost 10 lbs. I haven't weighed myself in about 2 weeks, so hopefully I have lost a little more since then. I can say that I am fitting into the jeans that are a size smaller comfortably. :) I think I'm getting there. My new doctor thinks so anyway. Hopefully by the next time I can give you more of an update.
4.) Call my parents more and visit more often than holidays. Well I went home at the end of January which is awesome! I do get to talk to my parents more often than I did last semester. I haven't been able to call Christie as often however, due to our crazy conflicting schedules. Sometime I get to talk to her online, during class :/ We'll work on that...
5.) Send Cards. Ok. Hopefully, Mr. Dave E. got his birthday card in the mail last month as well as my mom this past week. I'm soooo excited about this! My co-worker, Nate, and I are going to send out good-ole-fashioned Valentine's to our other co-workers. I'm pretty excited about that. Hopefully I can find some cool ones.
6.) Quit smoking. Ha. I love this one. For those just tuning into my blog this week, I am not, nor have I ever, been a smoker. However, one of my best friends and co-workers, Justin, quit on January 1. He hasn't had a cigarette since! I think I have been fairly supportive (you would have to ask him). I can say that I am super proud that he has come this far!!! I believe in a couple of weeks he steps down to a lower level on his patch. Hopefully it's not too too difficult. I'll be there though even if it is.
7.) Go to church more often. I cannot lie about church. This has been difficult for me so far. I've slacked a little on the devotional readings and really going to church when I went home was the last time I went. I need a little bit of prayer for this one. I can say I pray more...not that I ever stopped praying, but I have prayed more and not just when I need something. Hopefully this can change...soon.
8.) Go camping. We will table this until at least April.
9.) Finish my craft projects. Well I did get a chance to knit a couple of rows about two weeks ago on a scarf that is way over due. I would really have to micromanage in order to fit this in. I may have to wait until Spring Break or the summertime before I can really work on this resolution.
10.) Continue to blog about life. Well readers, I think you are the judge of this. :)
Well...that's about it so far. Crazy busy life, but I can definitely say that I'm enjoying almost every aspect. :) Have a great week and hopefully I can blog again soon!
P.S. Who tried my smoothie recipe?
First, I was able to surprise my mom for her birthday at the end of January (Check out her blog post ---->) Anyway, Christie and I had planned it all out that I would come home after work and meet Mom, Dad, and Christie at the Melting Pot in Nashville. It was very funny because Mom was just chatting away with Christie as I walked down the stairs and stood in front of her for about 5 seconds before she realized it was me. She was so happy! It was great being able to come home to celebrate her birthday. Mom was especially relieved to have an extra set of hands to help with the Mission of Hope booth the next day at church. (If you don't know what the Mission of Hope is, you must ...I mean MUST...check out the Mission of Hope Website. I made it so I'm a little proud of it!) Anyway, later that evening we went to go see Shrek the Musical at TPAC. It was absolutely amazing! I think it was funnier than the movie. I highly recommend seeing it if if comes to your area. It was such a great weekend. I wish I could have spent some more time at home.
The second exciting thing is that Christie, Ryan and myself are going on a cruise for Spring break!!! :) I'm very excited about this. I must give a shout out to my mom for finding a great deal for us. Christie and I had spent hours trying to figure out where we wanted to go and how to spend the week. Naturally, when we looked at the cost of any of our ideas, it came to well over a grand for the 3 of us to go anywhere (not including food!). But, Mom came to the rescue and found a great cruise at an unpublished rate. I don't know how she does it. She needs to teach me (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).
The last exciting thing going on in my life, well at least I find exciting, is a research paper that I am writing for my management class. I'm not going to quite disclose what it's about, but just know it involves the industry I'm currently working in. My professor has been working with me already about my research and I have been more diligent at doing my research than I was in my undergraduate years. My goal is to get published with this research paper. (Who would have thought that I would ever say that!) I do have my reasons for wanting to be published, but I have had a little inspiration from a friend who is heavily into research in his graduate studies in Psychology, Zack Barnes. I've always admired him for his drive to do research in his field, and now I get to do a little of that as well. :)
Ok...I guess its time for the New Years' Resolution Update:
1.) Keep Up the Good Work on all of the successful 2010 Resolutions. So far, I think I'm doing pretty well at these. In my opinion the successful resolutions have become habits, so hopefully I will continue to go on track with these.
2.) Don't let too many things go to the back burner. I have been pretty successful with completing all of my to do lists. I am doing great and keeping up with the school work. My house is clean, deep cleaned in most rooms! I have even had 2 of my annual doctor's visits already. Oh wait...come to think of it I still need to get that blood work done to complete that basic check-up. Hold on let me put that on my calendar...
3.) Become a healthier me. This one has been a little hard the past couple of weeks. I have to say it's been a while since I've worked out. Hopefully I can jump back on track once some things settle down. I also hope to go to that Weekend Warrior Yoga this Saturday. I guess it depends on my work schedule. Anyway, since that last time I did an update, I have lost 10 lbs. I haven't weighed myself in about 2 weeks, so hopefully I have lost a little more since then. I can say that I am fitting into the jeans that are a size smaller comfortably. :) I think I'm getting there. My new doctor thinks so anyway. Hopefully by the next time I can give you more of an update.
4.) Call my parents more and visit more often than holidays. Well I went home at the end of January which is awesome! I do get to talk to my parents more often than I did last semester. I haven't been able to call Christie as often however, due to our crazy conflicting schedules. Sometime I get to talk to her online, during class :/ We'll work on that...
5.) Send Cards. Ok. Hopefully, Mr. Dave E. got his birthday card in the mail last month as well as my mom this past week. I'm soooo excited about this! My co-worker, Nate, and I are going to send out good-ole-fashioned Valentine's to our other co-workers. I'm pretty excited about that. Hopefully I can find some cool ones.
6.) Quit smoking. Ha. I love this one. For those just tuning into my blog this week, I am not, nor have I ever, been a smoker. However, one of my best friends and co-workers, Justin, quit on January 1. He hasn't had a cigarette since! I think I have been fairly supportive (you would have to ask him). I can say that I am super proud that he has come this far!!! I believe in a couple of weeks he steps down to a lower level on his patch. Hopefully it's not too too difficult. I'll be there though even if it is.
7.) Go to church more often. I cannot lie about church. This has been difficult for me so far. I've slacked a little on the devotional readings and really going to church when I went home was the last time I went. I need a little bit of prayer for this one. I can say I pray more...not that I ever stopped praying, but I have prayed more and not just when I need something. Hopefully this can change...soon.
8.) Go camping. We will table this until at least April.
9.) Finish my craft projects. Well I did get a chance to knit a couple of rows about two weeks ago on a scarf that is way over due. I would really have to micromanage in order to fit this in. I may have to wait until Spring Break or the summertime before I can really work on this resolution.
10.) Continue to blog about life. Well readers, I think you are the judge of this. :)
Well...that's about it so far. Crazy busy life, but I can definitely say that I'm enjoying almost every aspect. :) Have a great week and hopefully I can blog again soon!
P.S. Who tried my smoothie recipe?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Recipe I had to share
As you readers know, I'm currently on the South Beach diet as part of keeping with my New Years' resolution to be healthier. Well Ryan and I have come along several new recipes, but this one was sooo delicious I couldn't keep it to myself. In the mornings, sometimes I feel a little rushed so I can't exactly eat a serving of eggs and turkey bacon, let alone wait for it to cook. So, this recipe has been a blessing for those busy mornings. Try it. Ya never know...you might like it!
Morning Mocha Smoothie
1 cup of vanilla, low-fat yogurt (if you get plain then it isn't as sweet)
1/2 half of 1% milk
2 tbsp of chocolate syrup (yep, this is part of my diet)
Instant coffee, to taste
6-10 ice cubes
*1 tbsp of peanut butter: This isn't part of the original recipe, but Ryan and I like this extra yumminess.
You can find the original recipe in South Beach Diet: Supercharged under Day 14 of Phase 1.
Hope you enjoy!
1 cup of vanilla, low-fat yogurt (if you get plain then it isn't as sweet)
1/2 half of 1% milk
2 tbsp of chocolate syrup (yep, this is part of my diet)
Instant coffee, to taste
6-10 ice cubes
*1 tbsp of peanut butter: This isn't part of the original recipe, but Ryan and I like this extra yumminess.
You can find the original recipe in South Beach Diet: Supercharged under Day 14 of Phase 1.
Hope you enjoy!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Week 1: Recap
Ok. So, not too too much to recap, but I figure that the first week is the hardest to keep New Years' Resolutions. So let's see how I've added up so far.
1. Keep up the good work on all of the successful New Year's Resolutions from 2010. Well, so far I think I have continued to be successful in these.
2. Don't let too many things go to the back burner. Keep making progress on dwindling down the to-do lists. No, Mom, I haven't made that doctor's appointment yet, but that's partially because I don't have the new insurance card. So, that's still at the top of one of my many to-do lists. Maybe I'll research that a little more today. But! I have crossed off clean the house...well pick up the house. My living room, kitchen (minus one load of dishes), hallway, room, and bathroom are all picked up. Pledge and my vacuum will be my best friend today. That'll be it in terms of cleaning. I will need to reorganize, but at least it's clean for now.
3. Become a healthier me. I have worked out a total of 4 times since the last time I posted using the EA Active 2 game for the Wii. Now let me just give you a little review, and Ryan can totally back me up on this, it is a real workout. If you are truly looking to get in shape and work out but don't have the money for the gym, or walking isn't cutting it, or the Wii Fit is only good for having some fun, then this is the game for you! (Gosh, I sound like a salesperson. Good thing I'm going into Business.) I get so much out of my workouts and I'm having a lot of fun. In addition to working out, I have been drinking lots of water, which is something that I have always been horrible about doing. I'm at least up to 6 glasses a day. :) In addition to working out, I have been eating much healthier. Ryan and I are currently following the South Beach diet. We both have been successful on this diet before so we are trying it again. I haven't really been craving too much, not sweets surprisingly. I have been craving chicken wing, garlic Parmesan chicken wings with some ranch dressing. I know, that's very specific, but that's what I want. Ryan and I will be on Phase 1 of the diet for another week, then we can start reintroducing good carbs and fruits. Yay!
4. Call my parents more and visit more than just holidays. So I think I have done better. I have called Mom at least 4 times this week, which is better than 1 or none. In terms of visiting, well, hopefully soon. We will just have to plan on that later...
5. Send cards. Well, it's only been a week and I haven't had anyone to send cards to! I do have one particular birthday coming up in the family in the next couple of weeks and then a very special one on the 3rd of February (cough:Mom:cough). Let's see how I do come week 3.
6.Quit smoking As of today, Justin has been smoke free for 9 days!!!!! :) I have given 1 inspirational quote of the week so far (I hope he realizes it was from me). I am just so proud. It is nice because now it's not just me supporting, his step-dad, and his boyfriend are quitting at the same time. I'm so proud of all of them! :)
7.Go to church more often. Well...church tomorrow? Maybe? I can say that I have been reading my devotional book and this other Christian book in the mornings when I get up. That is better than before. I am starting to reconnect more. I won't go too much into my testimony quite yet, maybe some other post.
8.Go Camping! Considering it's about 9 degrees outside, at least 2 inches of snow on the ground with a 50% chance of more snow tonight, then 100% chance on Monday, there's no way I have even started on this resolution. Check back on this one around April.
9. Finish my craft projects. Almost bought some fabric to make those place mats, but I decided to pass. I've been focused on some of my other resolutions so this one kinda goes on the back burner. :/ I know, one of my resolutions is not to let things sit on the back burner. It won't be too bad for one week...right...right?
10. Continue to blog about life. Well, readers, how do you think I'm doing on this one? :) I kid. I kid. I actually enjoy blogging. I just wish I had a little more to write about other that what I think is my boring life. I guess in the future I'll have things to write about like having a house, weddings, babies (no I'm not pregnant so don't start the rumors now...I meant like waaaay in the future), and I don't know, being a millionaire! lol. That would be nice. Oh, but while I mention that, Justin and I spent some time dreaming about homes that we would love to live in. Just check out: www.sothebysrealty.com. You will fall in love with at least one house, if not several. Be careful. It's addicting. :) Anyway, it's time to turn in now. I have to get up and work out. Goodnight world!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
So...I know it's a little late, but there are some excellent reasons as to why this post is so late (I mainly blame the hotel craziness of New Years' Eve and Day, but I won't divulge further.). New Years is an excellent time to look at how far we've come during the previous year and set some goals for the future. I'm sure a few of you (well hopefully a few b/c I don't know who reads this really) remember last January, I made a few resolutions for the year. Throughout the year I tried to post resolution checks so someone, whoever is out there reading, would keep me somewhat accountable for my resolutions. So...last resolution check for 2010...
1.) Try not to get upset when life has a few unexpected bumps. Well, I think over the course of the year, I have done much better in comparison to other years. I did have a little bump in the road around October, but I think we have gotten past it...well I think. I guess we will see after having a few more conversations in the upcoming week.
2.) Realize that plan b or c or d may work out for the best. I could say that this has been the resolution with some pretty hard core evidence that I have accepted this resolution. I am currently in graduate school for Business Administration and I absolutely love it! There are some other minor plans that have changed, but I'm just rolling with the punches (definitely last night included). Look here 2 for 2! I say that's pretty good so far for New Year's resolutions.
3.) Lose at least 35 lbs. before graduation by eating better and exercising. Ok. Epic Fail! If anything, I've gained weight this year. I blame it on the stress...and I guess me being lazy...and yea. Maybe in 2011. :/
4.) Make all A's this semester. Almost, all B's, but for not having any business classes previously, I think that's pretty good. Also, I have applied much of what I have learned in my classes to my job, which has been awesome.
5.) Take more pictures. School...work...sleep. Pretty sure that none of you would like pictures of that. Seems to be my life right now. Now I did take several pictures on the Philippines trip and some other occasions. They are probably on Facebook. So...I will say that I did take more pictures...ok I will give myself half credit. So what's our tally...2.5 out of 5...well that's still half!
6.) Call my parents more often. Oooo. This is a tough one to determine. I'm going to say maybe another half credit. My mom would say, "No, no, no. I never get to talk with her! She's a complete stranger!" I kid, I kid...kinda. It's kinda interesting. I PROMISE to do better this year, I promise!
7.) Send birthday cards.Another one of those epic fails! I even failed at this on Facebook, and it reminds me who has a birthday! Ok. I will send birthday cards or e-cards next year. hopefully.
8.) Have more laughs and smiles than "grr" moments. Definite Check, thanks to family, friends, and an awesome set of co-workers!
9.) Save some money. Ok. This one I kinda cheated. Well the first 6 months, Ryan and I saved quite a bit of money, but we blew it on the Philippines trip. But!...I recently received a generous gift for Christmas from my Grandmama's Legacy fund. I am happy and proud to say that I have put all of that money in a savings account and will not be touched until I am ready to buy my wedding dress. (Yes, I already have a few items budgeted for that one day eventually, and thanks to Grandmama I will be able to buy the wedding dress that I have budgeted for.) So...check.
10.) Blog more. Well readers, you be the judge. Ok...well, I'm counting this as a check.
Ok. Drum roll please! That's 6 out of 10! :) I think that's pretty good for keeping New Year's resolutions. Now for this year's list.
New Year's Resolutions 2011:
1. Keep up the good work on all of the successful New Year's Resolutions from 2010. This includes: saving money, "rolling with the punches", laughing and smiling more, etc.
2. Don't let too many things go to the back burner. Keep making progress on dwindling down the to-do lists. This includes big things like making that doctor's appointment (see I remembered, Mom) to small things like making sure that our living room is vacuumed. I know cleaning definitely went on the back burner in the past 6 months (If you don't know me very well, let me just tell you I'm kinda OCD, but you would not be able to tell from my house!)
3. Become a healthier me. I figured instead of a very specific resolution like lose 35 lbs or workout 7 times a week, etc. I'm just going to say healthier. Ryan and I are going to start eating healthier (starting Monday because today was kinda a bust with all the craziness at work). I bought the EA Active 2 Workout game & Just Dance 2 for the Wii so hopefully I can get back into the exercising routine. Nate, one of my co-workers, also said he would come workout with me at the CPA sometime because exercising is one of his resolutions. (Ha! Now it's publicly known so we both need to be accountable!)
4. Call my parents more and visit more than just holidays. For 2010, I only received a half point, but this year I am going to do better. Mom, this means we probably need to set a time that we talk because before it was 10PM my time (which I work now during that time).
5. Send cards. I love sending cards. One thing that I truly appreciated when Grandmama and Ate Jean sent me notes throughout the year, even if it was just to say "Thinking of You". I have to do better. Lots of their cards touched not only me, but others. So, let me keep with the legacy. January birthdays, check your e-mails and/or your mailboxes. You should receive something from me. At the least, a Happy Birthday on Facebook.
6.Quit smoking...Ha! Got ya. No, I do not smoke, however, a particular co-worker of mine (cough::Justin::cough) is going to quit starting yesterday. I have been a horrible support of the last couple of times that he has tried to quit, so this time I will be super supportive. If needed, I will use tough love! (Be ready, Justin!) So, if you have quit before or have supported someone who has quit, please give me tips! Ok...homework assignment to my readers: What is your favorite motivational/inspirational quote? Your answers may help me be a better supporter!
7.Go to church more often. I need to make time in the busy schedule for God. I used to be very active in church, but now with school, work, sleep (see a trend of my life?). So...church. Definitely a must. People, hold me accountable for this!!!
8.Go Camping! So Ryan and I have all this camping stuff and we have never used it (Relay for Life does not count!). So, sometime this year, even if it is just once, we are going camping.
9. Finish my craft projects. So I have been working on several knitting projects since the summer (Sorry, Alex. I will have your scarf made sometime before next fall!) I also have told myself that I was going to learn how to sew. I received my Grandmama's sewing machine and I really want to learn. My first project: place mats for the dinner table. According to a "how-to sewing" book, place mats are the easiest to start learning. Hopefully I don't botch it.
10. Continue to blog about life. I know that sometimes I feel like my life is so boring since it's mostly school, work, and sleep, but I would hope that someone out there is still reading and wanting to know more about what's going on in life. :) Plus, it's a nice little way to document life's little changes, miracles, surprises, etc.
All right. There we go. Set up for the New Year 2011! I'm ready. Any suggestions, comments, questions, please comment on my post (or for my Facebook readers, like my note so I know you're reading).
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Monday, November 8, 2010
Bitter Sweet
If you were blessed to know my Grandmama, you would know that she made the best homemade sourdough bread. She baked bread for every special occasion dinner, birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I first learned how to make her bread when I was in the sixth grade trying to raise money for my trip to Hawaii as a student ambassador with the People to People organization. Since then, I had not made her bread and here's why...
Many of you may think that this bread was mix the ingredients and throw it in a bread maker...oh you are so wrong. This bread is very time consuming and needs a little elbow grease. I'm surprised that my Grandmama could continue to make the bread in her last months, but then again, she was a very strong woman. Anyway...first, the yeast used for the bread has to be feed every 3-5 days. If you're like me, I have a hard time taking a vitamin every morning. After feeding the bread, it is a 3 day process until you get a chance to put it in the oven (then I won't mention how it should sit in the bread pan smelling deliciously calling your name for a while before you cut into it).
When Grandmama passed away, one of the things that I said I would miss the most is her bread. I loved the way it smelled, the way it tasted and the way it just made dinner complete. I said to myself that I would make Grandmama's bread for Thanksgiving, even though it had been years since I attempted to make it. In a conversation with Mom after the funeral, she had mentioned that she thought that Uncle Wayne or her had thrown the starter (yeast) away from the fridge/freezer because it wasn't any good due to the lack of feeding (due to the Alzheimer's) and that we would just leave the bread making with the memory of Grandmama. I cried for hours after we had that talk because I wasn't expecting her to say that. About a couple of weeks later, Mom called and said she found the starter and revived it! I was so happy that I had the chance to taste that wonderful bread again.
Fall break is when I received the starter. When I arrived back in Johnson City, I feed the starter and began the process for the first batch. I prepared myself because I figured I would be super emotional. I continued the 3 day process and actually left the bread in their pans overnight. The next morning I cut into a loaf and it smushed as I cut into the bottom. The top half had cooked through and had a good flavor, but the bottom of the loaf was dough. When Ryan saw me and the loaf, I lost it. Cried for a few minutes at the thought that I would never be able to get the recipe right and that I don't have Grandmama to walk me step by step through the process to figure out what I did wrong. That night I talked with Mom and she told me something to try on the next one...
After I feed the bread, I started mixing the yeast and the other ingredients to make the dough. I was mixing it in a bowl with my hands and I remembered how the dough would always stick to Grandmama's hands. Then I remembered the photo. Grandmama had a photo in her kitchen of me in pajamas with knee high striped socks mixing the dough and putting my hands up to show her the dough sticking to my hands and laughing. When I remembered this, I burst into tears. Definitely not what I was expecting nor not the best time with dough all over my hands so I could wipe away the tears. I just kept telling myself, "No tears in the dough. Don't cry in the dough..."
Well, today was the day that I could get the bread in the oven. I baked it this morning and didn't cut the loaf until this afternoon. The first loaf (of the four) was much like my first batch, cooked on the top and doughy on the bottom. But the second loaf cut beautifully. It was cooked all the way through and had the same smell and taste. Again, I cried in Ryan's arms.
So...if you get to taste my bread, which all of my fraternity Brothers will get a chance on Saturday at the Alumni Thanksgiving dinner, know that the bread not only has the hard work of myself, but a piece of my Grandmama. I do miss her very much, but at least I can remember and honor her by baking her amazing bread.
Many of you may think that this bread was mix the ingredients and throw it in a bread maker...oh you are so wrong. This bread is very time consuming and needs a little elbow grease. I'm surprised that my Grandmama could continue to make the bread in her last months, but then again, she was a very strong woman. Anyway...first, the yeast used for the bread has to be feed every 3-5 days. If you're like me, I have a hard time taking a vitamin every morning. After feeding the bread, it is a 3 day process until you get a chance to put it in the oven (then I won't mention how it should sit in the bread pan smelling deliciously calling your name for a while before you cut into it).
When Grandmama passed away, one of the things that I said I would miss the most is her bread. I loved the way it smelled, the way it tasted and the way it just made dinner complete. I said to myself that I would make Grandmama's bread for Thanksgiving, even though it had been years since I attempted to make it. In a conversation with Mom after the funeral, she had mentioned that she thought that Uncle Wayne or her had thrown the starter (yeast) away from the fridge/freezer because it wasn't any good due to the lack of feeding (due to the Alzheimer's) and that we would just leave the bread making with the memory of Grandmama. I cried for hours after we had that talk because I wasn't expecting her to say that. About a couple of weeks later, Mom called and said she found the starter and revived it! I was so happy that I had the chance to taste that wonderful bread again.
Fall break is when I received the starter. When I arrived back in Johnson City, I feed the starter and began the process for the first batch. I prepared myself because I figured I would be super emotional. I continued the 3 day process and actually left the bread in their pans overnight. The next morning I cut into a loaf and it smushed as I cut into the bottom. The top half had cooked through and had a good flavor, but the bottom of the loaf was dough. When Ryan saw me and the loaf, I lost it. Cried for a few minutes at the thought that I would never be able to get the recipe right and that I don't have Grandmama to walk me step by step through the process to figure out what I did wrong. That night I talked with Mom and she told me something to try on the next one...
After I feed the bread, I started mixing the yeast and the other ingredients to make the dough. I was mixing it in a bowl with my hands and I remembered how the dough would always stick to Grandmama's hands. Then I remembered the photo. Grandmama had a photo in her kitchen of me in pajamas with knee high striped socks mixing the dough and putting my hands up to show her the dough sticking to my hands and laughing. When I remembered this, I burst into tears. Definitely not what I was expecting nor not the best time with dough all over my hands so I could wipe away the tears. I just kept telling myself, "No tears in the dough. Don't cry in the dough..."
Well, today was the day that I could get the bread in the oven. I baked it this morning and didn't cut the loaf until this afternoon. The first loaf (of the four) was much like my first batch, cooked on the top and doughy on the bottom. But the second loaf cut beautifully. It was cooked all the way through and had the same smell and taste. Again, I cried in Ryan's arms.
So...if you get to taste my bread, which all of my fraternity Brothers will get a chance on Saturday at the Alumni Thanksgiving dinner, know that the bread not only has the hard work of myself, but a piece of my Grandmama. I do miss her very much, but at least I can remember and honor her by baking her amazing bread.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Almost a month!
So I've been a really bad blogger, but I do have two really good excuses: full time employee at the Carnegie hotel and full time graduate student at ETSU. :)
Basically this post will be about how my last three weeks have been. One word can describe those three weeks: BUSY! Let's see, we will start with...
Work
Since the last post I have continued to train our two new people. They have continued to learn a lot about the Carnegie and they are doing well. Business has picked up quite a bit lately. (We are sold out tonight and we will hopefully sell out tomorrow!) It should pick up even more during the month on October. Not a whole lot is going on other than conferences and weddings every weekend. I know that next weekend will be really busy because of Storytelling. That'll be exciting though. Oh, some people might not know this, but Ryan is currently working in banquets at the Carnegie! Is is now a full time employee at Student Support Services and the Carnegie. :)
School
School has been going very well. So far I have an A in Economics (and I was two weeks ahead last week, but now I'm only a few days ahead). I'm enjoying it, but I'm glad that I had Mrs. Robinson for AP Economics because I'm understanding it more now. If I hadn't had that class, then I probably would be very lost. Accounting is not as scary as I thought it would be. I haven't had any tests yet. It became an online class, so I'm having to teach it to myself, but so far I'm on schedule and I'm understanding everything. Business Statistics is super boring. It's the only class that I actually have to attend in a classroom setting. It is my least favorite of all of my classes. It isn't so much the professor or even the material; it's my classmates. Most of the people in my program are students who didn't just graduate from college (which apparently is a very rare thing to go straight into grad school after college). A lot of class time is spent doing Excel and Minitab tutorials, which is a pre-requisite for the course. Oh well, I guess I can consider myself to be ahead.
Extracurriculars
So I have joined the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA). I thought it would be a fairly formal organization, but man was I wrong. Apparently there are over 300 members that have paid dues and are classified as members, but only about 20 people are actually "active"! I just think that is crazy considering most of the organizations I've been a part of have some sort of attendance requirement. Oh well, I guess it'll be one of those things that pad my resume. I am still staying active in Phi Sigma Pi as an Alumna. This Sunday, I'm giving a seminar to the future Bigs of the Chapter. We will see how that goes. I'm a little nervous about it, but I know everything will go well and I'm very happy to do it.
Outside of the formal organizations, I've been preparing for the Grey's Anatomy season premiere on Thursday! I know, I'm on of those people who obsess with a tv show, but I've kept up with this show even during the crappy season of the writers' strike. Justin has been coming over after work several times because we are trying to finish watching Season 6 before the premiere. Only 12 more episodes to go. ;) We will get it done.
Well, that has pretty much been my life for the past few weeks...school then work then sleep. I do miss my family quite a bit though. I don't get to talk to Mom every night, even every day. I really miss that. At least tonight I will be able to call her since I don't have work or some crazy meeting or whatnot. I have been able to talk to Christie more often, well over the internet. Last night we talked quite a bit about the Young Women's Retreat. She has a lot of great plans to implement for the next year. I'm so proud of her and I'm very excited to be a part of it.
I guess that's it for now. Hopefully I will be able to blog a little more often. Have a great week everyone!
Basically this post will be about how my last three weeks have been. One word can describe those three weeks: BUSY! Let's see, we will start with...
Work
Since the last post I have continued to train our two new people. They have continued to learn a lot about the Carnegie and they are doing well. Business has picked up quite a bit lately. (We are sold out tonight and we will hopefully sell out tomorrow!) It should pick up even more during the month on October. Not a whole lot is going on other than conferences and weddings every weekend. I know that next weekend will be really busy because of Storytelling. That'll be exciting though. Oh, some people might not know this, but Ryan is currently working in banquets at the Carnegie! Is is now a full time employee at Student Support Services and the Carnegie. :)
School
School has been going very well. So far I have an A in Economics (and I was two weeks ahead last week, but now I'm only a few days ahead). I'm enjoying it, but I'm glad that I had Mrs. Robinson for AP Economics because I'm understanding it more now. If I hadn't had that class, then I probably would be very lost. Accounting is not as scary as I thought it would be. I haven't had any tests yet. It became an online class, so I'm having to teach it to myself, but so far I'm on schedule and I'm understanding everything. Business Statistics is super boring. It's the only class that I actually have to attend in a classroom setting. It is my least favorite of all of my classes. It isn't so much the professor or even the material; it's my classmates. Most of the people in my program are students who didn't just graduate from college (which apparently is a very rare thing to go straight into grad school after college). A lot of class time is spent doing Excel and Minitab tutorials, which is a pre-requisite for the course. Oh well, I guess I can consider myself to be ahead.
Extracurriculars
So I have joined the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA). I thought it would be a fairly formal organization, but man was I wrong. Apparently there are over 300 members that have paid dues and are classified as members, but only about 20 people are actually "active"! I just think that is crazy considering most of the organizations I've been a part of have some sort of attendance requirement. Oh well, I guess it'll be one of those things that pad my resume. I am still staying active in Phi Sigma Pi as an Alumna. This Sunday, I'm giving a seminar to the future Bigs of the Chapter. We will see how that goes. I'm a little nervous about it, but I know everything will go well and I'm very happy to do it.
Outside of the formal organizations, I've been preparing for the Grey's Anatomy season premiere on Thursday! I know, I'm on of those people who obsess with a tv show, but I've kept up with this show even during the crappy season of the writers' strike. Justin has been coming over after work several times because we are trying to finish watching Season 6 before the premiere. Only 12 more episodes to go. ;) We will get it done.
Well, that has pretty much been my life for the past few weeks...school then work then sleep. I do miss my family quite a bit though. I don't get to talk to Mom every night, even every day. I really miss that. At least tonight I will be able to call her since I don't have work or some crazy meeting or whatnot. I have been able to talk to Christie more often, well over the internet. Last night we talked quite a bit about the Young Women's Retreat. She has a lot of great plans to implement for the next year. I'm so proud of her and I'm very excited to be a part of it.
I guess that's it for now. Hopefully I will be able to blog a little more often. Have a great week everyone!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Excited!
Ok. Call me a nerd/dork/geek whatever, but I'm super excited for school to start tomorrow! For those who haven't read my last post, I have decided to go back to school and get my Master's in Business Administration. No, I haven't decided exactly what to do with that particular degree yet, but I feel like God and life will lead me to it when the time comes.
Tomorrow I will start classes with Accounting. I'll be honest. I'm a little intimidated my this particular course. Tuesday I will have Business Statistics, judging by my homework for the first day, it'll be just like Prob & Stats from undergrad. My online class isn't available to me yet, but hopefully it won't be too bad.
Anyway, just needed to blog a little bit about starting graduate school. Wish me luck!
“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”
-Sarah Caldwell
Tomorrow I will start classes with Accounting. I'll be honest. I'm a little intimidated my this particular course. Tuesday I will have Business Statistics, judging by my homework for the first day, it'll be just like Prob & Stats from undergrad. My online class isn't available to me yet, but hopefully it won't be too bad.
Anyway, just needed to blog a little bit about starting graduate school. Wish me luck!
“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”
-Sarah Caldwell
Friday, July 23, 2010
Life Changes
Ok. So I know I haven't finished my posted on the Philippines trip, but I can save that for later. It's been over a month since I've blogged so it's time.
So the blog...well in May I didn't really know what would happen to this blog because I had decided to take at least a year off from school to reevaluate some things in my life. So...here we go...
These past few months have been interesting. It hasn't really felt like summer too much because I've been working quite a bit, probably about the same as last year, but it still feels like a lot. I have had many opportunities to strengthen old and new friendships from college and from work. As of today, I'm simply just a college graduate working at a local hotel for now...
I have been thinking seriously for the past month about my next move in life. Ok. The suspense is enough! ;) So, as soon as I get my acceptance letter (which should be at the beginning of next week) I will be attending East Tennessee State University Graduate School. I will be taking classes to get my Graduate Certificate in Business Administration (which clears me of my prerequisite classes) and will continue next year toward a Masters in Business Administration. Surprise! Well, I know some people saw this change coming and I know several others are thinking, "Wasn't she going to be a doctor?". So...here are my reasons in choosing this.
Reason number one. This really came to mind when Mr. Erikson started talking about creating a non-profit organization for the Mission of Hope in order for our mission to expand. I, thinking to myself, thought um, who has any idea how to even start a non-profit organization or even run it? So that was kinda stuck in my mind. Reason number two. Jobs. I love where I work, but I know that I can't be a front desk girl forever (it doesn't actually allow me to live an abundant life if you get what I mean). A Masters degree in Business would be a little more incentive for promotions (hint hint) and future endeavors that may be in store for the Carnegie. Reason number three. My co-worker, Justin, and I joked that one day we would open a mega-store that included a bakery and duct tape emporium. Well, some major changes happened at work and we got to talking on one very slow evening (July 4th, people go travel on that holiday!) and seriously thought about opening a bakery (Justin makes AMAZING cakes)and even looked at available spaces to open one. But, I got to thinking again that I don't really know anything about opening a business, but it is something that I have always wanted to do. Reason number four: Right now, I am very excited about getting this degree, however, if I decide to pursue my original dream of becoming a doctor I will have the business skills to open my own practice as soon as I'm done with residency. Most doctors don't have these skills and that is a major reason why private practices fail.
Ok. So those are my reasons. MBA here I come! I will probably post when I have a little more of an idea of how this upcoming semester is going to pan out. But until then, I'll be taking donations for tuition, books, business course fees, etc. ;) Blog later!
So the blog...well in May I didn't really know what would happen to this blog because I had decided to take at least a year off from school to reevaluate some things in my life. So...here we go...
These past few months have been interesting. It hasn't really felt like summer too much because I've been working quite a bit, probably about the same as last year, but it still feels like a lot. I have had many opportunities to strengthen old and new friendships from college and from work. As of today, I'm simply just a college graduate working at a local hotel for now...
I have been thinking seriously for the past month about my next move in life. Ok. The suspense is enough! ;) So, as soon as I get my acceptance letter (which should be at the beginning of next week) I will be attending East Tennessee State University Graduate School. I will be taking classes to get my Graduate Certificate in Business Administration (which clears me of my prerequisite classes) and will continue next year toward a Masters in Business Administration. Surprise! Well, I know some people saw this change coming and I know several others are thinking, "Wasn't she going to be a doctor?". So...here are my reasons in choosing this.
Reason number one. This really came to mind when Mr. Erikson started talking about creating a non-profit organization for the Mission of Hope in order for our mission to expand. I, thinking to myself, thought um, who has any idea how to even start a non-profit organization or even run it? So that was kinda stuck in my mind. Reason number two. Jobs. I love where I work, but I know that I can't be a front desk girl forever (it doesn't actually allow me to live an abundant life if you get what I mean). A Masters degree in Business would be a little more incentive for promotions (hint hint) and future endeavors that may be in store for the Carnegie. Reason number three. My co-worker, Justin, and I joked that one day we would open a mega-store that included a bakery and duct tape emporium. Well, some major changes happened at work and we got to talking on one very slow evening (July 4th, people go travel on that holiday!) and seriously thought about opening a bakery (Justin makes AMAZING cakes)and even looked at available spaces to open one. But, I got to thinking again that I don't really know anything about opening a business, but it is something that I have always wanted to do. Reason number four: Right now, I am very excited about getting this degree, however, if I decide to pursue my original dream of becoming a doctor I will have the business skills to open my own practice as soon as I'm done with residency. Most doctors don't have these skills and that is a major reason why private practices fail.
Ok. So those are my reasons. MBA here I come! I will probably post when I have a little more of an idea of how this upcoming semester is going to pan out. But until then, I'll be taking donations for tuition, books, business course fees, etc. ;) Blog later!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Day 13: And we're back in Manila
So after breakfast, we all went to the airport to get on a quick (like an hour, which seemed like 30 minutes) plane ride back to Manila. Once we got back to AUP, we ate lunch. Can you tell one of the themes of the trip is eating? :) Anyway, we had a good 4 hours before we had anything planned so the "kids" updated Facebook, blogs, and started working on the pictures.
At 5 we headed back to the house that we had been staying in. AJ and David, two of the working students officers, were at the house. We were working on waiting for the others to arrive as well as food to arrive. We had planned to have dinner with the working students one last time before we had to leave for the United States tomorrow. It wasn't until 6 where everyone arrived and we ate dinner. The hour was another window into the world of the AUP working students. I'm sure I will have several more stories for later posts, but I will tell you a couple that I learned about during the hour before dinner.
One of the working students who arrived early was Amy. She is an English major looking to teach elementary school. She started at AUP in 2004. We discovered this when we asked her about her uniform. She had come to the house after arriving from her classes. (She had two 3 hour classes back to back.) She was wearing a plain white blouse, similar to the one that I wear for work, with AUP stamped on each of the buttons. She also wore a dark blue, knee-length skirt with black shoes. Mrs. Darlene asked her why she did not have a stripe across the blouse and why it did not have "Adventist University of the Philippine" and her name embroidered on the lapel. She responded that she started school before they changed the uniform and that she could not afford to buy a new one. She continued on as we asked her questions. She is a 23 year-old student who worked in one of the faculty houses. She acts as maid, cook, laundry service, and anything else that they need around the house. She works everyday, but did not tell us how many hours she worked a day. She said that is the second oldest of eight siblings and that her older brother is also a working student at the store. The last bit of her story that we got to hear is that she is planning on graduate in 3 semesters, including this one. Hopefully she will be able to pursue that easily in the upcoming year.
Another student that we had been spending time with is AJ, or Alain John. I do not know as many details as Amy, but I can tell you that he is very bright. His major is mathematics, which is an unusual major to have even in the States. I believe he is planning on teaching. I believe he has a natural talent to do so because he taught all of us an easy trick using our hands to do multiplication (ask me and I'll show you sometime) and a new card game (a little more complicated than black jack). I heard him talking with Mrs. Darlene when he said that he works 45 hours a week because he is required to based on the number of credit hours that he is taking (12). He works as a monitor in Eastern Hall, probably equivalent to an RA at any university, which most RA's will tell you that 45 hours a week holding a position like that is probably no where close to the actual amount of hours it takes. He has always been very cordial with us and he is very curious. He told us that we will definitely see him next year.
So after dinner, we had time to chat with some of the other working students. The current and former presidents of WSA (working students association) presented each sponsor with a certificate of appreciation. We each gave a little speech. After that we took lots of pictures and shared a special prayer over the sponsors, counselors, and the working students.
Now...I'm writing this as merely a summary of what happened this evening. However, like my mom told the Eriksons and Alex, you cannot truly grasp the joy, appreciation, hope, love, etc. until you experience it first hand. One thing that came to mind as we began to pray is the a verse, "I see God in you" by India Arie. I have always been a more spiritual person than religious and I probably always will be. When I was at the small church in Cebu, I felt out of place because I didn't know Bible verses or we discussed SDA subjects that I disagree with, however, this was not the feeling tonight when we talked about praising God and praying. I felt something more. The words "joy" and "hope" and "faith" cannot describe it. It was such a powerful feeling that you could see in each of the officers' eyes. It's something that is missing from most people who claim to be religious or spiritual. So...here's a little pitch...if you want to experience something so emotional, powerful, spiritual, awesome then email me because we are coming back next year! It is definitely something that I would call once in a lifetime. I did not get the same experience this year as last year and I'm so glad that I came back! I'm excited to do this again! So, like I said, if you are interested, especially if you have felt spiritually moved, let me know and we will start planning. :)
So now what...Alex and Christie are currently playing basketball with several of the working students. The "adults" of the group are meeting with the guidance counselors to discuss some business about sponsoring some students (this will be in the next post). Ryan and I are sitting in one of the rooms. I'm obviously working on finishing this post and will start working on pictures here in a little bit. Ryan is doing some research on a couple of last minute things for our trip. We will probably start packing tonight and finish up tomorrow. We leave for the airport around 6:30PM to catch a 12:10 AM flight back to Seoul-->LA-->Nashville. There are still several exciting things left for tomorrow and definitely for some future posts! So let me give you a quick taste...
-Sponsored students and details
-Traveling back
-Seoul city tour, hopefully better than Hong Kong and more like Cebu City
-Fun Facts that I've learned throughout the course of the trip
-22 Travel Tip for the International Traveler from the 22 year old (I'll try not to make them the same as last year and what I had posted already).
-My thoughts overall and my favorites and least favorites
-How you can help/get involved for the Mission of Hope 2011 trip
Blog tomorrow! :)
At 5 we headed back to the house that we had been staying in. AJ and David, two of the working students officers, were at the house. We were working on waiting for the others to arrive as well as food to arrive. We had planned to have dinner with the working students one last time before we had to leave for the United States tomorrow. It wasn't until 6 where everyone arrived and we ate dinner. The hour was another window into the world of the AUP working students. I'm sure I will have several more stories for later posts, but I will tell you a couple that I learned about during the hour before dinner.
One of the working students who arrived early was Amy. She is an English major looking to teach elementary school. She started at AUP in 2004. We discovered this when we asked her about her uniform. She had come to the house after arriving from her classes. (She had two 3 hour classes back to back.) She was wearing a plain white blouse, similar to the one that I wear for work, with AUP stamped on each of the buttons. She also wore a dark blue, knee-length skirt with black shoes. Mrs. Darlene asked her why she did not have a stripe across the blouse and why it did not have "Adventist University of the Philippine" and her name embroidered on the lapel. She responded that she started school before they changed the uniform and that she could not afford to buy a new one. She continued on as we asked her questions. She is a 23 year-old student who worked in one of the faculty houses. She acts as maid, cook, laundry service, and anything else that they need around the house. She works everyday, but did not tell us how many hours she worked a day. She said that is the second oldest of eight siblings and that her older brother is also a working student at the store. The last bit of her story that we got to hear is that she is planning on graduate in 3 semesters, including this one. Hopefully she will be able to pursue that easily in the upcoming year.
Another student that we had been spending time with is AJ, or Alain John. I do not know as many details as Amy, but I can tell you that he is very bright. His major is mathematics, which is an unusual major to have even in the States. I believe he is planning on teaching. I believe he has a natural talent to do so because he taught all of us an easy trick using our hands to do multiplication (ask me and I'll show you sometime) and a new card game (a little more complicated than black jack). I heard him talking with Mrs. Darlene when he said that he works 45 hours a week because he is required to based on the number of credit hours that he is taking (12). He works as a monitor in Eastern Hall, probably equivalent to an RA at any university, which most RA's will tell you that 45 hours a week holding a position like that is probably no where close to the actual amount of hours it takes. He has always been very cordial with us and he is very curious. He told us that we will definitely see him next year.
So after dinner, we had time to chat with some of the other working students. The current and former presidents of WSA (working students association) presented each sponsor with a certificate of appreciation. We each gave a little speech. After that we took lots of pictures and shared a special prayer over the sponsors, counselors, and the working students.
Now...I'm writing this as merely a summary of what happened this evening. However, like my mom told the Eriksons and Alex, you cannot truly grasp the joy, appreciation, hope, love, etc. until you experience it first hand. One thing that came to mind as we began to pray is the a verse, "I see God in you" by India Arie. I have always been a more spiritual person than religious and I probably always will be. When I was at the small church in Cebu, I felt out of place because I didn't know Bible verses or we discussed SDA subjects that I disagree with, however, this was not the feeling tonight when we talked about praising God and praying. I felt something more. The words "joy" and "hope" and "faith" cannot describe it. It was such a powerful feeling that you could see in each of the officers' eyes. It's something that is missing from most people who claim to be religious or spiritual. So...here's a little pitch...if you want to experience something so emotional, powerful, spiritual, awesome then email me because we are coming back next year! It is definitely something that I would call once in a lifetime. I did not get the same experience this year as last year and I'm so glad that I came back! I'm excited to do this again! So, like I said, if you are interested, especially if you have felt spiritually moved, let me know and we will start planning. :)
So now what...Alex and Christie are currently playing basketball with several of the working students. The "adults" of the group are meeting with the guidance counselors to discuss some business about sponsoring some students (this will be in the next post). Ryan and I are sitting in one of the rooms. I'm obviously working on finishing this post and will start working on pictures here in a little bit. Ryan is doing some research on a couple of last minute things for our trip. We will probably start packing tonight and finish up tomorrow. We leave for the airport around 6:30PM to catch a 12:10 AM flight back to Seoul-->LA-->Nashville. There are still several exciting things left for tomorrow and definitely for some future posts! So let me give you a quick taste...
-Sponsored students and details
-Traveling back
-Seoul city tour, hopefully better than Hong Kong and more like Cebu City
-Fun Facts that I've learned throughout the course of the trip
-22 Travel Tip for the International Traveler from the 22 year old (I'll try not to make them the same as last year and what I had posted already).
-My thoughts overall and my favorites and least favorites
-How you can help/get involved for the Mission of Hope 2011 trip
Blog tomorrow! :)
Day 12: Sabbath
Today is the Sabbath. We had breakfast at the hotel. It was surprisingly very delicious. I had a mushroom omelet. It was yummy. We then got in the van and headed to a more rural part of Cebu to attend a church that my Lolo Val attends. Lolo Val is one of my relatives (His wife, who passed away a few years ago, and my dad's mom were sisters) who moved back to the Philippines after spending most of my life in Kamloops, Canada. I had not seen him since elementary school when we visited him and Lola Becky in Canada. I believe it was about a 2 hour drive, so I of course slept the whole way.
The church was a small church with about 15 members. Apparently one of the customs in Cebu, well at least this SDA church, was to have the visitors run Sabbath school and the church service! We were definitely not prepared, but we somehow pulled it all together. For church, Alex, Mr. Don, and Uncle Prom gave "sermonettes" and Christie and I did "special music" by singing one of the songs we learned in camp. It was an interesting experience.
After church, we went to the house that Lolo Val is staying. It is a bigger house in the American style. There were Filipino marble floor and higher ceilings. We sat at a big dining room table and had lunch that was prepared by one of his helpers. It was very delicious, especially the crispy chicken and fried fish. At lunch, Lolo Val talked about many instances in his life. He then gave us a tour around his house and showed us some pictures of some paintings that he did earlier in his life. After a quick tour, he took us to his farm where he is building a large 4 bedroom house. His farm had a pig farm, 20 of which are pregnant. He told us that he sells that piglets when they are 3 months old for about 2400 pesos. He also has about 50 roosters, used for cock fights. His nephew showed us a practice cock fight. It was pretty intense. Also on his farm, he has over 20 medium size dogs. They protect the pigs, roosters, and house at night. It is very obvious that Lolo Val is the pack leader of the group. :) After spending much of the afternoon with him, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Cebu City.
After arriving back in the hotel, Ryan, Dad, and Uncle Prom went to a barber shop to get haircuts and shaves (they were only 50 pesos!). Everyone else relaxed back at the hotel until dinner. At dinner, I had chicken soup, which was pretty good. Everyone else pretty much got chicken or fish. It was a pretty good dinner. After dinner, Ate Glad had arranged for very one to get massages in their rooms, and a manicure and pedicure for Christie and I. It was a different experience. I'm so used to going to a spa, like Austin Springs Spa, that I didn't really know what to expect. The pedicure was really just a clean up of the nails. It was the same for the manicure. I guess I'm just spoiled. The massage was interesting. They used this menthol type liquid mixed with lotion. It was like Icy Hot, minus the hot. Christie and I were shivering the whole massage! Oh well. It was a different experience.
After our massages everyone headed to bed. Tomorrow we are heading back to Manila to spend our last night in the Philippines. We will be meeting with the guidance counselors and the working student officers. There will be a couple of last minute surprises that I will blog about tomorrow! :)
The church was a small church with about 15 members. Apparently one of the customs in Cebu, well at least this SDA church, was to have the visitors run Sabbath school and the church service! We were definitely not prepared, but we somehow pulled it all together. For church, Alex, Mr. Don, and Uncle Prom gave "sermonettes" and Christie and I did "special music" by singing one of the songs we learned in camp. It was an interesting experience.
After church, we went to the house that Lolo Val is staying. It is a bigger house in the American style. There were Filipino marble floor and higher ceilings. We sat at a big dining room table and had lunch that was prepared by one of his helpers. It was very delicious, especially the crispy chicken and fried fish. At lunch, Lolo Val talked about many instances in his life. He then gave us a tour around his house and showed us some pictures of some paintings that he did earlier in his life. After a quick tour, he took us to his farm where he is building a large 4 bedroom house. His farm had a pig farm, 20 of which are pregnant. He told us that he sells that piglets when they are 3 months old for about 2400 pesos. He also has about 50 roosters, used for cock fights. His nephew showed us a practice cock fight. It was pretty intense. Also on his farm, he has over 20 medium size dogs. They protect the pigs, roosters, and house at night. It is very obvious that Lolo Val is the pack leader of the group. :) After spending much of the afternoon with him, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Cebu City.
After arriving back in the hotel, Ryan, Dad, and Uncle Prom went to a barber shop to get haircuts and shaves (they were only 50 pesos!). Everyone else relaxed back at the hotel until dinner. At dinner, I had chicken soup, which was pretty good. Everyone else pretty much got chicken or fish. It was a pretty good dinner. After dinner, Ate Glad had arranged for very one to get massages in their rooms, and a manicure and pedicure for Christie and I. It was a different experience. I'm so used to going to a spa, like Austin Springs Spa, that I didn't really know what to expect. The pedicure was really just a clean up of the nails. It was the same for the manicure. I guess I'm just spoiled. The massage was interesting. They used this menthol type liquid mixed with lotion. It was like Icy Hot, minus the hot. Christie and I were shivering the whole massage! Oh well. It was a different experience.
After our massages everyone headed to bed. Tomorrow we are heading back to Manila to spend our last night in the Philippines. We will be meeting with the guidance counselors and the working student officers. There will be a couple of last minute surprises that I will blog about tomorrow! :)
Day 11: Beautiful Boholano Beach
We decided to spend the morning at a local beach in Bohol. As we traveled there, we stopped at a statue that signified the Conquistadores (the Spanish "settlers", to use an American term,) and the Padres (the church leaders) sitting around a table talking about the Philippine islands. This statue represents when the Conquistadores and the Padres agreed that the Padres would "Christianize" the people while the Conquistadores would "rule over" them. Ryan, the History degree holder, would be able to tell you a little more about it.
We finally got to the beach. It wasn't too hot. Let me try to describe it as detailed as possible so close your eyes, well I guess you can't do that if you're reading, but picture the beach scene. We walked onto the beach resort filled with locals in bamboo and palm leaf dining areas. The tan sand was course because of the shells, but not too hard that you couldn't walk barefoot. The air smelled of a mixture of salt from the ocean, savory meat being grilled, and warmth from the sun beaming on the sand. After setting our stuff down at a hut that overlooked the water under the shade of tall palm trees. The wind was lightly blowing enough to cool off those sitting in the sun. The water was a crisp baby blue in the shallower parts of the water and a deep, dark blue in areas were seaweeds rested. The water was as warm as bath water, well bath water that had been resting for about half and hour. The sun glimmered off of the water and illuminated the sand at the bottom of the ocean where you could see schools of fish. Looking down the beach was like looking at a postcard. This was a typical Filipino beach. I've never been disappointed with any of the beaches that we have visited in the Philippines. They all look like postcards. They are all breath taking. Pictures cannot describe enough to truly enjoy the beauty of these beaches.
It wasn't too hot, but Uncle Prom bought us all ice cream to cool us off from the heat. After a short snack, we headed back to the hotel for showers and lunch. After lunch, we packed back into the van and headed toward the "Super Cat" pier. We took the Super Cat ferry to Cebu, another island in the Philippines. The ride was about an hour and a half long. The sun had begun to set, so we were dropped off at a mall while Ate Glad checked-in and dropped our suitcases off at the hotel. We bought several items at the SM (Super Mall), including some shoes for me :) and some other souvenirs. After shopping, and being a little creeped out by a very "friendly" Filipino, we got back in the van and headed to dinner. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet, which should have been a hint at the quality of food, and then headed to our hotel.
At our hotel, the guys got some shakes from the restaurant that was downstairs and we all chilled in the room for a little bit. The guys got bored with what Christie and I were watching, so they went upstairs. Christie and I watched Slow Burn on tv. It was a pretty good movie. The beginning was kinda slow, that's why the guys left, but the rest of the movie was really good. Tomorrow is Sabbath. We will be traveling to a different part of Cebu for church where my Lolo Val is staying. Blog tomorrow!
We finally got to the beach. It wasn't too hot. Let me try to describe it as detailed as possible so close your eyes, well I guess you can't do that if you're reading, but picture the beach scene. We walked onto the beach resort filled with locals in bamboo and palm leaf dining areas. The tan sand was course because of the shells, but not too hard that you couldn't walk barefoot. The air smelled of a mixture of salt from the ocean, savory meat being grilled, and warmth from the sun beaming on the sand. After setting our stuff down at a hut that overlooked the water under the shade of tall palm trees. The wind was lightly blowing enough to cool off those sitting in the sun. The water was a crisp baby blue in the shallower parts of the water and a deep, dark blue in areas were seaweeds rested. The water was as warm as bath water, well bath water that had been resting for about half and hour. The sun glimmered off of the water and illuminated the sand at the bottom of the ocean where you could see schools of fish. Looking down the beach was like looking at a postcard. This was a typical Filipino beach. I've never been disappointed with any of the beaches that we have visited in the Philippines. They all look like postcards. They are all breath taking. Pictures cannot describe enough to truly enjoy the beauty of these beaches.
It wasn't too hot, but Uncle Prom bought us all ice cream to cool us off from the heat. After a short snack, we headed back to the hotel for showers and lunch. After lunch, we packed back into the van and headed toward the "Super Cat" pier. We took the Super Cat ferry to Cebu, another island in the Philippines. The ride was about an hour and a half long. The sun had begun to set, so we were dropped off at a mall while Ate Glad checked-in and dropped our suitcases off at the hotel. We bought several items at the SM (Super Mall), including some shoes for me :) and some other souvenirs. After shopping, and being a little creeped out by a very "friendly" Filipino, we got back in the van and headed to dinner. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet, which should have been a hint at the quality of food, and then headed to our hotel.
At our hotel, the guys got some shakes from the restaurant that was downstairs and we all chilled in the room for a little bit. The guys got bored with what Christie and I were watching, so they went upstairs. Christie and I watched Slow Burn on tv. It was a pretty good movie. The beginning was kinda slow, that's why the guys left, but the rest of the movie was really good. Tomorrow is Sabbath. We will be traveling to a different part of Cebu for church where my Lolo Val is staying. Blog tomorrow!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day 9 & 10: Bohol!
Ok. So I'm combining the two days because really there isn't much to say about Day 9. Day 9 was pretty much another travel day from Hong Kong back to AUP. The airport in Hong Kong was so nice and very comfortable. One of the nicer airports that I've been in, which is too bad that the airport was the best part of Hong Kong. Oh well. After arriving at AUP, we ate dinner and I went to bed because I'm feeling slightly under the weather I think because of the smog. Hopefully I'll feel better in a couple of days.
Today (Day 10), we woke up at 4:30 AM! It was a very early morning to catch an 8:00AM flight to Bohol, PI. Bohol is one of the southern islands that is supposed to be very pretty. Ate Glad and Uncle Prom are traveling with us this time, which is very nice because we all feel a little bit more comfortable because they know this area fairly well. I slept the entire flight, which we good recovery for waking up so early and for my health.
After checking into the hotel, which might I add is just beautiful and much more accommodating than the one in Hong Kong, we jumped in a van to do another city tour. This city tour was much nicer. Our first stop was a place with tarsier monkeys. They are the smallest monkeys in the world and they are just adorable. Christie and I have decided that we need one for a pet. I got some really good pictures of some of the cute things so hopefully soon I will be able to share them with everyone. After visiting the monkeys, we went to go eat on one of the rivers in Bohol. It is a tourist attraction where people get on a bamboo boat and have a lunch buffet which riding down the river. It was super enjoyable with fantastic food. During the river ride, we stopped at one pier where locals were singing and dancing. At one point they started singing and dancing the Tinikling. This is a traditional dance of the Philippines were typically two individuals jump through bamboo sticks being pounded together. (You should youtube it. I'm sure there's a video of someone dancing it.) Well, anyways, in high school for international day, Christie, Ryan and I, as well as several other friends, performed the Tinikling with the help of Ate Glad, Nittie and Nennette. At this pier they invited some of the visitors to attempt the Tinikling (which is harder than it looks). Christie and Ryan went out there to show them their stuff. Christie looked flawless and Ryan did a great job as well. Everyone was so shocked to see that a white boy could do the dance and so well! :)
After lunch, we headed onto the area of the Chocolate Hills. These hills are left over coral reefs that are in the shape of Hershey Kisses. They are also brown because no vegetation can grow on the hills. We climbed several steps (I mean like 300 steps) to the top of one mountain overlooking the hills. It was so beautiful. I have several pictures at this site as well. After spending some time at the top and trekking back down to the bottom, we enjoyed some ice cream at one of the shops. After the hills, we went to a couple of shopping place to buy some souvenirs that were priced very well!
Now, we are back in the hotel and have enjoyed a very large dinner. I'm headed to bed now so I can get some sleep before we travel again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some internet access there! :)
Today (Day 10), we woke up at 4:30 AM! It was a very early morning to catch an 8:00AM flight to Bohol, PI. Bohol is one of the southern islands that is supposed to be very pretty. Ate Glad and Uncle Prom are traveling with us this time, which is very nice because we all feel a little bit more comfortable because they know this area fairly well. I slept the entire flight, which we good recovery for waking up so early and for my health.
After checking into the hotel, which might I add is just beautiful and much more accommodating than the one in Hong Kong, we jumped in a van to do another city tour. This city tour was much nicer. Our first stop was a place with tarsier monkeys. They are the smallest monkeys in the world and they are just adorable. Christie and I have decided that we need one for a pet. I got some really good pictures of some of the cute things so hopefully soon I will be able to share them with everyone. After visiting the monkeys, we went to go eat on one of the rivers in Bohol. It is a tourist attraction where people get on a bamboo boat and have a lunch buffet which riding down the river. It was super enjoyable with fantastic food. During the river ride, we stopped at one pier where locals were singing and dancing. At one point they started singing and dancing the Tinikling. This is a traditional dance of the Philippines were typically two individuals jump through bamboo sticks being pounded together. (You should youtube it. I'm sure there's a video of someone dancing it.) Well, anyways, in high school for international day, Christie, Ryan and I, as well as several other friends, performed the Tinikling with the help of Ate Glad, Nittie and Nennette. At this pier they invited some of the visitors to attempt the Tinikling (which is harder than it looks). Christie and Ryan went out there to show them their stuff. Christie looked flawless and Ryan did a great job as well. Everyone was so shocked to see that a white boy could do the dance and so well! :)
After lunch, we headed onto the area of the Chocolate Hills. These hills are left over coral reefs that are in the shape of Hershey Kisses. They are also brown because no vegetation can grow on the hills. We climbed several steps (I mean like 300 steps) to the top of one mountain overlooking the hills. It was so beautiful. I have several pictures at this site as well. After spending some time at the top and trekking back down to the bottom, we enjoyed some ice cream at one of the shops. After the hills, we went to a couple of shopping place to buy some souvenirs that were priced very well!
Now, we are back in the hotel and have enjoyed a very large dinner. I'm headed to bed now so I can get some sleep before we travel again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some internet access there! :)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Day 8: First…and last Day at Hong Kong.
Well, a summary of today would definitely be interesting…or frustrating. In the morning we ate breakfast and boarded the tour bus that a travel agent booked for us. It was described as a “City Tour” that visited several shopping markets, the floating market/Aberdeen, and Victoria Peak in addition to some of the sites that we would see along the way. It was supposed to be a 4 hour tour…So I know you’re thinking that it sounds like a great tour why are you foreshadowing a “but”. Well, we start our tour. Naturally there are several spoiled little kids, who were old enough to know better. There were several Filipinos, which makes sense because the travel agent that we used was from the Philippines. The guide spoke English; however, his grammar was very poor and his jokes were below par. Our first stop was the “Avenue of Stars”. It is basically a little road with handprints in the cement, just like in Hollywood. This road was right next to the harbor, so that was a nice view of the huge skyscrapers. Since we are in Hong Kong, we didn’t recognize many names. It was limited to Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Our next stop was an hour long and it was at a jewelers. Let me just say, after listening to screaming kids on the bus, I was not happy to hear that ¼ of our tour was going to be spent looking at jewelry, described as using blood diamonds (if you don’t know what that is go watch the Leo DiCaprio movie, Blood Diamond, which I highly recommend as a movie anyway). Our next stop was a 30 minute stop at a “snack store” in a very sketch building. (We had to go through the delivery doors, go up 5 floors and down a hallway with dim lighting and only one door. It was sketch!)
Next stop was the floating market…aka “floating restaurant” which was about 100 yards away from the pier. It was supposed to be a 20 min boat ride (which was optional because it was $50 HKD/person to ride the boat/sampan. The Eriksons went, but the rest of us did not participate considering having to pay for anything after paying for a tour is ridiculous! The last stop was at Victoria’s Peak overlooking the city. That sentence pretty much sums up that experience. So after all of the frustration of a very poor tour…it got even better.
So, we found out that we had to drop the rambunctious kids off at some water park and another family at Disneyland. We were going to be dropped at some market in the middle of the city…here’s the catcher…they weren’t going to bring us back to the hotel! We had to find a ride back! Basically, we through a huge fit in front of several people and had the tour guide and driver bring us back to the hotel instead of dropping us off and removing the “mandatory tipping” that we were supposed to pay. We tried to give a tip to the driver when we arrived at the hotel, but he was so mad that he didn’t even accept it. The whole morning was pretty much a terrible way to spend touring Hong Kong. So…before I describe the rest of our day, let me give you a piece of advice if you ever plan to travel to Hong Kong. DO NOT USE WIN’S TRAVEL AGENCY LTD! They will screw you over. I blame that company and not our travel agent, because 1) the guide was incredibly unprofessional and tried to place all of the blame on the travel agency instead of trying to help 2) our tour last year, using the same travel agent, in Bangkok was fantastic! 3) The whole itinerary of the tour was a simple ploy to get you to spend money where they wanted you to spend it.
Anyway, even though our morning was pretty awful, we did have a good rest of the day. We decided to be a little more adventurous by trying to find the so-called “good shopping”. We managed to get directions to the subway, which was really not complicated to use. We traveled to Mong Kok market. It was huge. Tons of vendors. The prices were decent. You could tell that the vendors knew what other vendors were selling. I really wanted to get a nice mahjong set, but there were only a few places to get a nice one and they were asking $40 USD for it and would not lower the price. I should have got it anyway, but oh well. I can live without it. The rest of the family got a lot of nice things for fairly cheap prices. This was the place to go for the “good shopping”. However, I didn’t find as many clothes, shoes, or purses like I did in Bangkok which was a little surprising.
After shopping, we ate at another restaurant with pretty good food. We then caught the train back to our hotel and most of us just passed out. Overall, I’m very surprised at Hong Kong. It was definitely not the place that I thought it would be. The people are unlike any other Asian people I’ve ever met. They are actually really rude. Finding suits is not as easy as everyone said it would be which is kinda sad because all of the guys were planning on buying suits. Right now, the smog is really getting to me. Johnson City has such fresh air that even Nashville sometimes makes me congested. Here it’s worse. So, if you haven’t gathered from my blog post, it’s nice to say that I visited Hong Kong, but I will probably never come back. Goodnight all. Blog tomorrow!
Tip # 9: When booking a tour, make sure you know what you are getting so there are no surprises. It might even be better to venture out without a tour guide.
Tip # 10: If you know in advance that everything, including the language people speak, is in Cantonese, make sure to bring a dictionary. Even though Hong Kong is one of the business capitals of the world, nobody we met spoke good enough English to understand that we were lost.
Next stop was the floating market…aka “floating restaurant” which was about 100 yards away from the pier. It was supposed to be a 20 min boat ride (which was optional because it was $50 HKD/person to ride the boat/sampan. The Eriksons went, but the rest of us did not participate considering having to pay for anything after paying for a tour is ridiculous! The last stop was at Victoria’s Peak overlooking the city. That sentence pretty much sums up that experience. So after all of the frustration of a very poor tour…it got even better.
So, we found out that we had to drop the rambunctious kids off at some water park and another family at Disneyland. We were going to be dropped at some market in the middle of the city…here’s the catcher…they weren’t going to bring us back to the hotel! We had to find a ride back! Basically, we through a huge fit in front of several people and had the tour guide and driver bring us back to the hotel instead of dropping us off and removing the “mandatory tipping” that we were supposed to pay. We tried to give a tip to the driver when we arrived at the hotel, but he was so mad that he didn’t even accept it. The whole morning was pretty much a terrible way to spend touring Hong Kong. So…before I describe the rest of our day, let me give you a piece of advice if you ever plan to travel to Hong Kong. DO NOT USE WIN’S TRAVEL AGENCY LTD! They will screw you over. I blame that company and not our travel agent, because 1) the guide was incredibly unprofessional and tried to place all of the blame on the travel agency instead of trying to help 2) our tour last year, using the same travel agent, in Bangkok was fantastic! 3) The whole itinerary of the tour was a simple ploy to get you to spend money where they wanted you to spend it.
Anyway, even though our morning was pretty awful, we did have a good rest of the day. We decided to be a little more adventurous by trying to find the so-called “good shopping”. We managed to get directions to the subway, which was really not complicated to use. We traveled to Mong Kok market. It was huge. Tons of vendors. The prices were decent. You could tell that the vendors knew what other vendors were selling. I really wanted to get a nice mahjong set, but there were only a few places to get a nice one and they were asking $40 USD for it and would not lower the price. I should have got it anyway, but oh well. I can live without it. The rest of the family got a lot of nice things for fairly cheap prices. This was the place to go for the “good shopping”. However, I didn’t find as many clothes, shoes, or purses like I did in Bangkok which was a little surprising.
After shopping, we ate at another restaurant with pretty good food. We then caught the train back to our hotel and most of us just passed out. Overall, I’m very surprised at Hong Kong. It was definitely not the place that I thought it would be. The people are unlike any other Asian people I’ve ever met. They are actually really rude. Finding suits is not as easy as everyone said it would be which is kinda sad because all of the guys were planning on buying suits. Right now, the smog is really getting to me. Johnson City has such fresh air that even Nashville sometimes makes me congested. Here it’s worse. So, if you haven’t gathered from my blog post, it’s nice to say that I visited Hong Kong, but I will probably never come back. Goodnight all. Blog tomorrow!
Tip # 9: When booking a tour, make sure you know what you are getting so there are no surprises. It might even be better to venture out without a tour guide.
Tip # 10: If you know in advance that everything, including the language people speak, is in Cantonese, make sure to bring a dictionary. Even though Hong Kong is one of the business capitals of the world, nobody we met spoke good enough English to understand that we were lost.
Day 7: Welcome to Hong Kong!
Early this morning we arrived at the airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong. Our flight was only 2 hours. We arrived here around lunch time. I’m currently sitting in our hotel room, which is…well…interesting. First, I want to say that it’s been over two years since I’ve slept in a twin size bed, and even then I was sleeping in an extra long twin size bed. Our hotel room is about half of the size of my kitchen back in Johnson City; I know many of you can picture that because you’ve been in my house! The bathroom is very small, smaller than my half bath at the house and it has a shower in it. I’m a little bit surprised at the hotel. The service is ok as far as I can tell so far. The lady who was supposed to meet us at the airport to take us to the hotel just kinda stood around under Daddy finally asked her a question simply because she wasn’t doing anything. We didn’t even know she was the one we were looking for! Oh well. I guess I’m just super spoiled by my previous stays in luxury hotels (because they are so affordable internationally) and by my current job. (Carnegie crew, the room that my sister and I are sharing is smaller than our bathrooms at the hotel. No joke!)
So, after getting checked into the hotel, we started walking around trying to find a tailor to make suits for the guys. We were all told that the suits would be so cheap and that they were all hand tailored. Well…needless to say…after walking around we have yet to find a suit place that is cheaper than $1500 HKD ($200 USD). So, I guess we are just looking in the wrong place.
Our hotel room overlooks a park, which we visited very briefly. Let’s just say, after studying Zen Buddhism for my Ancient Religions class and being with a philosophy minor student and a graduate holding a History degree, it was a bit difficult to completely take in the beauty of it all with a camera and video camera constantly looking for “Kodak moments”. We, and I mean the students/recent grads, will probably go back before we leave to really take it all in. One thing that I did get to notice is many men playing mahjong in the park. We got to look at one of the tables just to see what it was all about. I would really like to get some mahjong tiles as a souvenir. Hopefully I can get some when we take our tour tomorrow.
Well, not too much left to say about today. It’s sprinkling (as the hotel staff here said, “freshly showering”) right now. We will go eat dinner soon and then probably come back here to rest. So, goodnight!
P.S. You will probably be reading this post later this week because internet, even through an Ethernet cord, is about $5 USD/hour! Poor Christie has to finish some homework for her online class, so we will have to pay some money for her to do that.
Tip #7: Check to see what you are actually getting. We could have done a little more research about where we were staying. I didn’t realize that there is an InterContinental hotel here in Hong Kong, which I could have gotten using my employee discount, and we would have had a little bit nicer (larger) of a room. This is the same for the internet situation.
Tip #8: Don’t take an online class when you are planning on leaving the country for a mission trip. (I’m not trying to pick on Christie here. It would just have given her a little more peace of mind if she didn’t have to worry that she has to have some stuff due in a couple days where we have to pay for internet.)
So, after getting checked into the hotel, we started walking around trying to find a tailor to make suits for the guys. We were all told that the suits would be so cheap and that they were all hand tailored. Well…needless to say…after walking around we have yet to find a suit place that is cheaper than $1500 HKD ($200 USD). So, I guess we are just looking in the wrong place.
Our hotel room overlooks a park, which we visited very briefly. Let’s just say, after studying Zen Buddhism for my Ancient Religions class and being with a philosophy minor student and a graduate holding a History degree, it was a bit difficult to completely take in the beauty of it all with a camera and video camera constantly looking for “Kodak moments”. We, and I mean the students/recent grads, will probably go back before we leave to really take it all in. One thing that I did get to notice is many men playing mahjong in the park. We got to look at one of the tables just to see what it was all about. I would really like to get some mahjong tiles as a souvenir. Hopefully I can get some when we take our tour tomorrow.
Well, not too much left to say about today. It’s sprinkling (as the hotel staff here said, “freshly showering”) right now. We will go eat dinner soon and then probably come back here to rest. So, goodnight!
P.S. You will probably be reading this post later this week because internet, even through an Ethernet cord, is about $5 USD/hour! Poor Christie has to finish some homework for her online class, so we will have to pay some money for her to do that.
Tip #7: Check to see what you are actually getting. We could have done a little more research about where we were staying. I didn’t realize that there is an InterContinental hotel here in Hong Kong, which I could have gotten using my employee discount, and we would have had a little bit nicer (larger) of a room. This is the same for the internet situation.
Tip #8: Don’t take an online class when you are planning on leaving the country for a mission trip. (I’m not trying to pick on Christie here. It would just have given her a little more peace of mind if she didn’t have to worry that she has to have some stuff due in a couple days where we have to pay for internet.)
Day 6: Surprises, Surprises!
Today’s the day! We had our big party with the working students this evening…but first let me tell you about our exciting morning.
We went to “shoot the rapids”. I was under the impression that this would be like white water rafting. WRONG! We left really early in the morning and had a 2 hour drive to get to the actually place we were “shooting the rapids”. Everyone was provided with a life jacket, which gave us some awesome tan lines, and a hard hat. No really, it was a hard hat with a chin strap! There were little canoes that fit a total of 4 people, two of us and two canoe guides. The guides paddled up the river, which was a nice little ride. So, you’re probably wondering where the “rapids” come in. Well, the rapids came when there were very rocky areas. We were paddled upstream for the first part of the trip. Now, I’m not talking a little extra effort to get up the river, I’m talking these guides were literally jumping out of the boat and pushing the canoe with two of us in it over big rocks with shooting water pushing against us. Those guides were incredible! Christie asked one of our guides how often they had to make the trip up and then down the river. He told us that they did the strenuous trip once every ten days for two reasons. 1) There were 2000 boatmen. 2) It is such a tiring job that they need the other 9 days to recover. I felt so sorry for them! At the end of the travel up the current, all eight of us got on a raft and headed under the water fall. It was so much fun, despite the fact that I almost lost a contact! We had Mom’s waterproof camera so we have several good shots with of that experience. After the falls, we traveled back down the river, which was much easier to control for the guides. Overall, it was a great experience.
After “shooting the rapids”, I love how I have to put that in quotations…people will correct you if you say take a canoe on the river or go to the falls…anyway, lunch was at Max’s. Max’s is a sit down restaurant with some of the best fried chicken in the Philippines. I remember eating there twice last year, so I knew what to expect. Ryan, Alex and the Eriksons tried halo halo which is a Filipino dessert. I will attempt to describe it (I do have a picture of it.). It is an ice cream bowl filled with shaved ice, coconut milk, ice cream, jello, pieces of fruit (bananas, jack fruit, coconut, etc.), sweet beans, and sometimes chocolate sticks. It is a very different dessert where apparently, “every bite is different”. It was a very enjoyable lunch. After lunch we went back to the university to prepare for the big event.
Around 5, we headed to the gym where we were having the party. Mylene, Flor, and Ester (the guidance counselors of the working students) decorated the gym with lots of balloons and set up chairs. In the middle of the room was a big, buffet table with a beautiful flower and balloon centerpiece (I don’t know why I never thought to mix flowers and balloons) and at the front of the stage there were two tables decorated with bright table cloths and flower centerpieces for the sponsors. When we arrived, not all of the students had made it into the gym because many could not get off work until 6. The working students had planned the whole event and started the program with some praise and worship after we arrived.
The program then consisted of several musical numbers of groups of the working students and then “testimonies”/words of encouragement from all of the sponsors to the students. After that part of the program, we ate a really large dinner. There was food to feed over 600 students! (Mom said that we paid $1400 for the whole banquet. To think that the amount of money that we spent on a banquet for 600 is less than most people who have their wedding/banquet at the Carnegie for ~100 is amazing! We were also able with that money to buy a very special treat, ice cream popsicle that the working students rarely ever get. Ester told us that when they went to go buy 600 ice cream popsicles they had told the store clerk that it was for the working students’ party and they gave them 1000! It was so great to see the community helping these students as well.
Game time was after dinner. This started with a balut eating contest between Daddy, Ryan, Alex, Christie, Ester, and Nelo (one of the helpers during our stay). If you don’t know what balut is let me describe it to you and then you will know why I did not participate. It is a delicacy in the Philippines so the winner of the contest received 12 balut. It is a fertilized duck or chicken egg that has been boiled. It looks like a regular egg that you would get in the store; however, inside of the shell is the “soup” as Alex described as, “Ramen noodle soup with about 5 packets of the seasoning in it,” and an embryo of a duck of chicken. Some have feathers, beaks, feet, eyes, etc. already. Most Filipinos love it! It was so funny for all of the students and the rest of the people on the trip to watch this because of the faces that Christie, Ryan, and Alex made. It was obvious that they will probably never eat balut again. I believe Nelo won by eating 4 balut eggs.
After the balut eating contest, we did some marching, which is equivalent to our dancing (more like line dancing) in the States. It was a lot of fun, but it was soooo hot! After marching, Mylene prepared the students in lines to receive the gift bags that we had made to distribute. We gave bags to over 500 students that night. The most popular colors among the students were purple and pink (even for the guys). They were so surprised and very appreciative for the gift. After distribution of the bags, we gathered recipients for the rice program and gave each 2 kilos of rice. There were about 144 of these students. We then gave away uniforms to each of the freshmen (113). Many of the older students watched as we handed each person a certificate to be handed to the tailor and many of them told us that it took at least one semester of work just to even purchase a uniform and that these freshmen were so lucky. For those who did not receive rice and a uniform they were allowed to look at the clothing that we had brought over and that had been sent to the university from the Color Family sponsors. So, in summary, everyone got a bag and either rice, uniform, or piece of clothing. It was such a fun time! I am so glad that we got to do it. Tomorrow we are headed out to Hong Kong! Blog then.
P.S. My parents and the Eriksons are already planning next year’s trip. If you are interested in helping by donating money, clothes, school supplies, etc. either email me or talk to me. It takes about a year to plan for a mission trip like this, so please don’t hesitate.
We went to “shoot the rapids”. I was under the impression that this would be like white water rafting. WRONG! We left really early in the morning and had a 2 hour drive to get to the actually place we were “shooting the rapids”. Everyone was provided with a life jacket, which gave us some awesome tan lines, and a hard hat. No really, it was a hard hat with a chin strap! There were little canoes that fit a total of 4 people, two of us and two canoe guides. The guides paddled up the river, which was a nice little ride. So, you’re probably wondering where the “rapids” come in. Well, the rapids came when there were very rocky areas. We were paddled upstream for the first part of the trip. Now, I’m not talking a little extra effort to get up the river, I’m talking these guides were literally jumping out of the boat and pushing the canoe with two of us in it over big rocks with shooting water pushing against us. Those guides were incredible! Christie asked one of our guides how often they had to make the trip up and then down the river. He told us that they did the strenuous trip once every ten days for two reasons. 1) There were 2000 boatmen. 2) It is such a tiring job that they need the other 9 days to recover. I felt so sorry for them! At the end of the travel up the current, all eight of us got on a raft and headed under the water fall. It was so much fun, despite the fact that I almost lost a contact! We had Mom’s waterproof camera so we have several good shots with of that experience. After the falls, we traveled back down the river, which was much easier to control for the guides. Overall, it was a great experience.
After “shooting the rapids”, I love how I have to put that in quotations…people will correct you if you say take a canoe on the river or go to the falls…anyway, lunch was at Max’s. Max’s is a sit down restaurant with some of the best fried chicken in the Philippines. I remember eating there twice last year, so I knew what to expect. Ryan, Alex and the Eriksons tried halo halo which is a Filipino dessert. I will attempt to describe it (I do have a picture of it.). It is an ice cream bowl filled with shaved ice, coconut milk, ice cream, jello, pieces of fruit (bananas, jack fruit, coconut, etc.), sweet beans, and sometimes chocolate sticks. It is a very different dessert where apparently, “every bite is different”. It was a very enjoyable lunch. After lunch we went back to the university to prepare for the big event.
Around 5, we headed to the gym where we were having the party. Mylene, Flor, and Ester (the guidance counselors of the working students) decorated the gym with lots of balloons and set up chairs. In the middle of the room was a big, buffet table with a beautiful flower and balloon centerpiece (I don’t know why I never thought to mix flowers and balloons) and at the front of the stage there were two tables decorated with bright table cloths and flower centerpieces for the sponsors. When we arrived, not all of the students had made it into the gym because many could not get off work until 6. The working students had planned the whole event and started the program with some praise and worship after we arrived.
The program then consisted of several musical numbers of groups of the working students and then “testimonies”/words of encouragement from all of the sponsors to the students. After that part of the program, we ate a really large dinner. There was food to feed over 600 students! (Mom said that we paid $1400 for the whole banquet. To think that the amount of money that we spent on a banquet for 600 is less than most people who have their wedding/banquet at the Carnegie for ~100 is amazing! We were also able with that money to buy a very special treat, ice cream popsicle that the working students rarely ever get. Ester told us that when they went to go buy 600 ice cream popsicles they had told the store clerk that it was for the working students’ party and they gave them 1000! It was so great to see the community helping these students as well.
Game time was after dinner. This started with a balut eating contest between Daddy, Ryan, Alex, Christie, Ester, and Nelo (one of the helpers during our stay). If you don’t know what balut is let me describe it to you and then you will know why I did not participate. It is a delicacy in the Philippines so the winner of the contest received 12 balut. It is a fertilized duck or chicken egg that has been boiled. It looks like a regular egg that you would get in the store; however, inside of the shell is the “soup” as Alex described as, “Ramen noodle soup with about 5 packets of the seasoning in it,” and an embryo of a duck of chicken. Some have feathers, beaks, feet, eyes, etc. already. Most Filipinos love it! It was so funny for all of the students and the rest of the people on the trip to watch this because of the faces that Christie, Ryan, and Alex made. It was obvious that they will probably never eat balut again. I believe Nelo won by eating 4 balut eggs.
After the balut eating contest, we did some marching, which is equivalent to our dancing (more like line dancing) in the States. It was a lot of fun, but it was soooo hot! After marching, Mylene prepared the students in lines to receive the gift bags that we had made to distribute. We gave bags to over 500 students that night. The most popular colors among the students were purple and pink (even for the guys). They were so surprised and very appreciative for the gift. After distribution of the bags, we gathered recipients for the rice program and gave each 2 kilos of rice. There were about 144 of these students. We then gave away uniforms to each of the freshmen (113). Many of the older students watched as we handed each person a certificate to be handed to the tailor and many of them told us that it took at least one semester of work just to even purchase a uniform and that these freshmen were so lucky. For those who did not receive rice and a uniform they were allowed to look at the clothing that we had brought over and that had been sent to the university from the Color Family sponsors. So, in summary, everyone got a bag and either rice, uniform, or piece of clothing. It was such a fun time! I am so glad that we got to do it. Tomorrow we are headed out to Hong Kong! Blog then.
P.S. My parents and the Eriksons are already planning next year’s trip. If you are interested in helping by donating money, clothes, school supplies, etc. either email me or talk to me. It takes about a year to plan for a mission trip like this, so please don’t hesitate.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Day 5: Mission of Hope- Sabbath
Today was the day that we spent most of our time in worship. We woke up at the same time as yesterday to go to have breakfast in the cafeteria. I had quite a surprise when I saw that oatmeal was already on the table. Now, I’m not a big oatmeal person because of the texture, but the oatmeal we have was a little finer than the oatmeal in the States. It also had all of the extra stuff (sugar and milk) added so it was very good. After breakfast we came back to get dressed for church.
Church was your typical Sabbath school, well despite having everyone in the sanctuary divided off by pews, and what Christie and I used to call when we were little “big church”. Today they had a special service 1) for Philippine Independence Day and 2) National Women’s Ministries Day. All of the speakers were women. Now, there were a few differences that I noticed. I remembered from last year, but I will elaborate, that the sanctuary is in a very large building, but the walls consisted of large windows instead of being bricked in. Fans were mounted on each vertical structure and were scattered in between the pews instead of air conditioning. The service was about 2 hours long, which is unusually long for a Seventh Day Adventist church service. Mrs. Darlene said it was a typical service from the 60s in the US.
Lunch was a potluck at the house. All of the guidance counselors of the working students made food for us, including some chicken adobo and beef. Needless to say, the boys and I were definitely happy to see some real meat for lunch! After lunch we toured about the campus to see some of the working student dorms. To give you an idea of what the living conditions are in a dorm room there are typically 10-12 people living in a, I would say, 400-500 sq. ft. room. There are bunk beds and lockers for each individual. Bathrooms are a community bathroom at the end of the hallway or in the basement. These spaces and drastically different from the dorms of the non-working students who live in about the same size room with only 2 to a room, private bath, with maid and laundry services. It was an eye opener for everyone, especially those who had not visited last year.
After siesta time, we went to a sun-down service in the gym run by the working students. Ate Glad and Uncle Prom were the speakers. They had great encouraging stories for the students. You could just tell that the students appreciated their words. Dinner was held after the service back at the house with all of the officers because not only did we have dinner prepared from the cafeteria, but we had so much left over from the lunch. Each officer got at least one plate of food for dinner as well as a to go box for tomorrow.
Now, the rest of the group is giving English classes to the working students and will probably be there for another hour. And why are you not with them you ask? Well…dehydration has hit me fairly hard. Water, that is bottled water, isn’t exactly readily accessible, especially on Sabbath when the store is not open for business. I definitely did not have enough to drink so I am here at the house. I’m very fatigued, but thanks to the speaker at church, Dr. Tobias, she gave us a large container of water to keep me hydrated, at least through the night.
So, I have noticed a couple of things as I’ve been blogging. One, I have left a few fun things and facts out, but I have written them in my journal to write down. Two, I haven’t really written anything that pertains to how I’ve been feeling personally. Every post seems to be a summary. Well, now that I have a little bit of time, I will elaborate on a few of those things.
Let’s see. Where to start. Ok. Well let me start with a description of the beautiful trees here at AUP that you will definitely not find at ETSU’s arboretum. One is the fire tree. It was not in bloom last year so we didn’t notice it, but this year we have gotten the chance to see them. They are fairly large trees with several branches. The flowers on the tree are bright orange (not like UT orange) but almost a neon orange. It is one of Ate Glad’s favorite trees. Another tree that one of the working students’ officer, Hana, introduced me to is the “calachuchi” tree, otherwise known as the plumeria tree. Its leaves look like something from a magnolia tree, but the flowers are the size of my palm with the most fantastic smell. They are quite beautiful. Can you tell that I hold a Biology degree?
One thing that was mentioned in Sabbath school was class participation. Students, listen up! So, in the US class participation is typically 10% of a course grade. If you talk, actively take notes, etc. you get full credit for participation. You can ask questions, give your answer whether it is right or wrong, state your opinion and it all counts positively toward your grade essentially. Well, apparently here in at AUP class participation is a little different. If a professor asks you a question and you answer “wrongly”, then points are automatically deducted. Correct answers don’t really go toward an increase in the class participation grade because a student is expected to know those answers. So, be thankful that in your classes, well I guess at least in my classes, it was ok to be wrong in stating an answer because it is part of the American way of learning.
Another thing, this is kinda straying toward a persuasive side…many people get upset in the States when someone does not know English. Business is conducting using English only and this is throughout the world. In the Philippines, when Marcos was president, he mandated that Tagalog would be the national language of the Philippines. However, now, English is required of the students, faculty, and pretty much anyone holding a decent job here in the Philippines because, as Uncle Prom stated, “English is the business language of the world. If you don’t know English, you don’t conduct business.” In my opinion, I’m a quite saddened to here this. Growing up, I was not taught Tagalog mainly because no one thought I would ever need it (we never thought we would be traveling back to the Philippines). However, I remember listening to my dad talk with his sisters or other family members. I loved hearing him speak because the language is so different from what I was exposed to at Meigs and Hume Fogg (Spanish, French, German, Latin, etc.). The thought that in say 100 years no one will be speaking Tagalog for the sake of business is very sad to me. So, keep in mind that the majority of people are causing many countries to abandon their heritage (i.e., language) for the sake of business. Many cultures have already lost their languages forever, which may have been useful in the future.
Ok. On a less opinionated, preachy note, I want to talk about some of the feelings that I have had over the last couple of days. First, I am still very excited about what is to come! Despite the very hot days and rainy afternoons (It is currently thunder storming outside); I am enjoying my stay here at AUP. The strongest feeling that I have is awe. The working students definitely cause me to feel awe. To think that my biggest worry in life, currently, is what my next move in terms of career is, is so small compared to some of the working students’ worry as to when their next meal will be. The idea that many American students are embarrassed to be going to school for 5 years instead of 4 is so small compared to the 10 years it takes for many students to finish just an undergraduate degree! Even though these worry weigh heavily on their hearts, they still smile. They are very gracious to the sponsors, which are what they identify us as, and we really haven’t done anything yet! All I can say is that I’m so happy to be a part of this mission trip. If I could express/show/have you come here and experience the joy and strength that these students possess, I would.
Tomorrow I will be giving a “testimony” and encouragement speech tomorrow right before we hand out the bags. I have been restless as to what I should say other than, “Keep up the good work.” I think I will share my story. Explain that they aren’t the only ones with worries and that we must keeping praying and having faith, which for me is extremely difficult in this part of my life, that God will have his plan revealed to us and that He will always provide, whether it is food or guidance. I think that’s what I will say…
Well, I’m off to bed, I’m getting a little more tired so I’m going to have another banana and bottle of water. Hopefully the thunder and lightning won’t keep me up. Post tomorrow!
Church was your typical Sabbath school, well despite having everyone in the sanctuary divided off by pews, and what Christie and I used to call when we were little “big church”. Today they had a special service 1) for Philippine Independence Day and 2) National Women’s Ministries Day. All of the speakers were women. Now, there were a few differences that I noticed. I remembered from last year, but I will elaborate, that the sanctuary is in a very large building, but the walls consisted of large windows instead of being bricked in. Fans were mounted on each vertical structure and were scattered in between the pews instead of air conditioning. The service was about 2 hours long, which is unusually long for a Seventh Day Adventist church service. Mrs. Darlene said it was a typical service from the 60s in the US.
Lunch was a potluck at the house. All of the guidance counselors of the working students made food for us, including some chicken adobo and beef. Needless to say, the boys and I were definitely happy to see some real meat for lunch! After lunch we toured about the campus to see some of the working student dorms. To give you an idea of what the living conditions are in a dorm room there are typically 10-12 people living in a, I would say, 400-500 sq. ft. room. There are bunk beds and lockers for each individual. Bathrooms are a community bathroom at the end of the hallway or in the basement. These spaces and drastically different from the dorms of the non-working students who live in about the same size room with only 2 to a room, private bath, with maid and laundry services. It was an eye opener for everyone, especially those who had not visited last year.
After siesta time, we went to a sun-down service in the gym run by the working students. Ate Glad and Uncle Prom were the speakers. They had great encouraging stories for the students. You could just tell that the students appreciated their words. Dinner was held after the service back at the house with all of the officers because not only did we have dinner prepared from the cafeteria, but we had so much left over from the lunch. Each officer got at least one plate of food for dinner as well as a to go box for tomorrow.
Now, the rest of the group is giving English classes to the working students and will probably be there for another hour. And why are you not with them you ask? Well…dehydration has hit me fairly hard. Water, that is bottled water, isn’t exactly readily accessible, especially on Sabbath when the store is not open for business. I definitely did not have enough to drink so I am here at the house. I’m very fatigued, but thanks to the speaker at church, Dr. Tobias, she gave us a large container of water to keep me hydrated, at least through the night.
So, I have noticed a couple of things as I’ve been blogging. One, I have left a few fun things and facts out, but I have written them in my journal to write down. Two, I haven’t really written anything that pertains to how I’ve been feeling personally. Every post seems to be a summary. Well, now that I have a little bit of time, I will elaborate on a few of those things.
Let’s see. Where to start. Ok. Well let me start with a description of the beautiful trees here at AUP that you will definitely not find at ETSU’s arboretum. One is the fire tree. It was not in bloom last year so we didn’t notice it, but this year we have gotten the chance to see them. They are fairly large trees with several branches. The flowers on the tree are bright orange (not like UT orange) but almost a neon orange. It is one of Ate Glad’s favorite trees. Another tree that one of the working students’ officer, Hana, introduced me to is the “calachuchi” tree, otherwise known as the plumeria tree. Its leaves look like something from a magnolia tree, but the flowers are the size of my palm with the most fantastic smell. They are quite beautiful. Can you tell that I hold a Biology degree?
One thing that was mentioned in Sabbath school was class participation. Students, listen up! So, in the US class participation is typically 10% of a course grade. If you talk, actively take notes, etc. you get full credit for participation. You can ask questions, give your answer whether it is right or wrong, state your opinion and it all counts positively toward your grade essentially. Well, apparently here in at AUP class participation is a little different. If a professor asks you a question and you answer “wrongly”, then points are automatically deducted. Correct answers don’t really go toward an increase in the class participation grade because a student is expected to know those answers. So, be thankful that in your classes, well I guess at least in my classes, it was ok to be wrong in stating an answer because it is part of the American way of learning.
Another thing, this is kinda straying toward a persuasive side…many people get upset in the States when someone does not know English. Business is conducting using English only and this is throughout the world. In the Philippines, when Marcos was president, he mandated that Tagalog would be the national language of the Philippines. However, now, English is required of the students, faculty, and pretty much anyone holding a decent job here in the Philippines because, as Uncle Prom stated, “English is the business language of the world. If you don’t know English, you don’t conduct business.” In my opinion, I’m a quite saddened to here this. Growing up, I was not taught Tagalog mainly because no one thought I would ever need it (we never thought we would be traveling back to the Philippines). However, I remember listening to my dad talk with his sisters or other family members. I loved hearing him speak because the language is so different from what I was exposed to at Meigs and Hume Fogg (Spanish, French, German, Latin, etc.). The thought that in say 100 years no one will be speaking Tagalog for the sake of business is very sad to me. So, keep in mind that the majority of people are causing many countries to abandon their heritage (i.e., language) for the sake of business. Many cultures have already lost their languages forever, which may have been useful in the future.
Ok. On a less opinionated, preachy note, I want to talk about some of the feelings that I have had over the last couple of days. First, I am still very excited about what is to come! Despite the very hot days and rainy afternoons (It is currently thunder storming outside); I am enjoying my stay here at AUP. The strongest feeling that I have is awe. The working students definitely cause me to feel awe. To think that my biggest worry in life, currently, is what my next move in terms of career is, is so small compared to some of the working students’ worry as to when their next meal will be. The idea that many American students are embarrassed to be going to school for 5 years instead of 4 is so small compared to the 10 years it takes for many students to finish just an undergraduate degree! Even though these worry weigh heavily on their hearts, they still smile. They are very gracious to the sponsors, which are what they identify us as, and we really haven’t done anything yet! All I can say is that I’m so happy to be a part of this mission trip. If I could express/show/have you come here and experience the joy and strength that these students possess, I would.
Tomorrow I will be giving a “testimony” and encouragement speech tomorrow right before we hand out the bags. I have been restless as to what I should say other than, “Keep up the good work.” I think I will share my story. Explain that they aren’t the only ones with worries and that we must keeping praying and having faith, which for me is extremely difficult in this part of my life, that God will have his plan revealed to us and that He will always provide, whether it is food or guidance. I think that’s what I will say…
Well, I’m off to bed, I’m getting a little more tired so I’m going to have another banana and bottle of water. Hopefully the thunder and lightning won’t keep me up. Post tomorrow!
Day 4: Mission of Hope- Preparation Day
A summary statement for the day would be that today was preparing for Sunday night. My day started out with waking up to the rooster’s call, seriously. The sun was just rising when I got up this morning. I don’t really know what time it was. Around 7:00 AM, we went to the cafeteria to have breakfast. The food was very good, but I am already starting to feel the effects of not having my usual amount of coffee. (No caffeinated beverages are served on this campus. I won’t have a soda or coffee until Monday!) After breakfast we came back to the house and started to unpack the suitcases filled with supplies and the eight boxes that we sent over earlier this year.
Before packing each bag with supplies, we looked around and estimated how many supplies we had and I said a little prayer that we had more than we had budgeted for and originally counted. Earlier in the year we planned for 400 working students. We wanted each student to have some school supplies and some basic toiletries that would be packed in a bag of some sort. A few weeks ago, the guidance counselors of the working students said that they were expecting around 600 students this year. Mom and Mrs. Darlene we have lunch at that time and they prayed about it. We were also told about 2 weeks before we arrived that there were 17 officers of the Working Students Association. We found out today that there are 25. We were a little discouraged because we had not planned so this morning at breakfast, as well as last night, we decided exactly how we were going to pick and choose who gets what. I remembered last year that we had only supplies and backpack for 300 and somehow 400 students received them, so I said the little prayer for God to show us some miracles again…
Before packing all of the smaller tote bags, we wanted to fill up the backpacks that we had gathered for the officers with the first pick of the supplies. Mom and Ate Glad started counting and counted 25 bags! Mom, with Dad agreeing, said she had only purchased 17 backpacks and only packed 17. But we had the 25 bags and filled them with good school supplies, toiletries, and a note from the group. After that we made an assembly line and started to fill up the other tote bags. Each student, on Sunday evening, will receive a tote bag, 2 spiral notebooks/notebook paper, 3 pencils, 1 pen, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 folder, 1 ruler, 2 bars of soap, 1 shampoo and conditioner, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 1 comb, and a wash cloth. Now, keep in mind that a bag packed like this would last a typical American for maybe one month for these working students they are so frugal in the use of these items that they may last for over a semester to a year. Some of the students from last year still have some of the supplies that we gave out! As we continued, Christie and I started noticing that as some supplies were diminishing (like toothbrushes because they are very difficult to get donated) we still had plenty of bags left to fill. So, we both decided to count the completed bags. We had 420 completed bags and we were still filling them up with a huge stack left to start. By the end of the morning, we had filled 600 bags full of supplies (and don’t worry, if someone didn’t get a tooth brush, ruler, etc. we supplemented with addition supplies that were extra). 600 bags! 2 miracles before lunchtime! All that I can say is that God is good.
After lunch, we took a tour of the clinic because we had a lot of medical supplies that were donated by Mrs. Darlene, an RN, and were given via inheritance from Ate Jean, who passed away last May. I can’t really describe in words how shocked I was by the clinic, so you will have to take a look at the photos. Maybe I’m being ethnocentric, but I don’t know how they practice medicine effectively and efficiently. I know that when I worked at the hospital I was responsible for 26 patients at some time; however, I had monitors and people watching monitors on all of the patients so if any of them became critical (especially since I worked on the ventilator unit) I could respond quickly. Here, there are no monitors. Blood pressures are taken the “old fashion” way without digital screen. Heart rates are calculated “the old fashion” way. Oxygen levels are only taken when absolutely needed because they do not have many pulse oximeters. How they do it, I don’t know. We saw the x-ray department which is an area that my parents were very excited to see because they are radiology technologists. Mom cried heavily at the sight. The x-ray unit is an old military x-ray unit (probably from Vietnam or even from one of the earlier wars). The aprons that they are using have no lead in them. (Which for you who don’t know much about radiology, let me explain why this is what made Mom cry. Lead aprons are used for protection of internal organs, especially glands. Every time a patient has an x-ray they are shielded by using aprons because of the high amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to. This radiation, even from one x-ray especially old units, can cause cancer because it kills cells and/or mutates them. Lead is what the aprons are filled with.) We then saw labor and delivery, which was basically the same as the bedroom that I’m sleeping in now. Again, words cannot describe what we saw in the clinic. This will probably become another project of ours in the future.
Anyway, on to a happier note. After lunch, because we had worked so hard the morning, we got to take a nap! ;) After nap time, we went to eat dinner with the guidance counselors and the officers of the working students. After dinner we all came back to the house. We introduced ourselves and then had each of the officers introduce themselves. I write about each person’s personal story because there were 25 of them; however, I can tell you that most of them have been going to AUP for the past 4 years. Only one is planning on graduating in March for sure. One is currently praying for a sponsorship because she has an internship that she must complete before she graduates, which means she cannot work in order to pay for school and food. One person has been going to school for 5 years and is expecting another 4 years to go. The most unique major of all of the officers, well I guess in my opinion, is Filipino. This major consists of learning the various areas, cultures, etc. of the Philippine islands. I believe she will be pursuing teaching after obtaining her degree. So, I guess it would be equivalent to a major in Anthropology. After introduction, the Torch Bearers, the choir of the working students, came in and sang to us (this put us around 50 people in the living and dining area). When they left, we handed out the officer bags, gave them 3 laptops, and gave the guidance counselors gifts.
So, we had a very blessed day. Needless to say, we are all exhausted and I am once again the last one to go to bed! ;) Tomorrow is Sabbath so I don’t know exactly what we have in store, but I will definitely blog about it. Goodnight! (Well, I guess really good morning to you!)
Before packing each bag with supplies, we looked around and estimated how many supplies we had and I said a little prayer that we had more than we had budgeted for and originally counted. Earlier in the year we planned for 400 working students. We wanted each student to have some school supplies and some basic toiletries that would be packed in a bag of some sort. A few weeks ago, the guidance counselors of the working students said that they were expecting around 600 students this year. Mom and Mrs. Darlene we have lunch at that time and they prayed about it. We were also told about 2 weeks before we arrived that there were 17 officers of the Working Students Association. We found out today that there are 25. We were a little discouraged because we had not planned so this morning at breakfast, as well as last night, we decided exactly how we were going to pick and choose who gets what. I remembered last year that we had only supplies and backpack for 300 and somehow 400 students received them, so I said the little prayer for God to show us some miracles again…
Before packing all of the smaller tote bags, we wanted to fill up the backpacks that we had gathered for the officers with the first pick of the supplies. Mom and Ate Glad started counting and counted 25 bags! Mom, with Dad agreeing, said she had only purchased 17 backpacks and only packed 17. But we had the 25 bags and filled them with good school supplies, toiletries, and a note from the group. After that we made an assembly line and started to fill up the other tote bags. Each student, on Sunday evening, will receive a tote bag, 2 spiral notebooks/notebook paper, 3 pencils, 1 pen, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 folder, 1 ruler, 2 bars of soap, 1 shampoo and conditioner, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 1 comb, and a wash cloth. Now, keep in mind that a bag packed like this would last a typical American for maybe one month for these working students they are so frugal in the use of these items that they may last for over a semester to a year. Some of the students from last year still have some of the supplies that we gave out! As we continued, Christie and I started noticing that as some supplies were diminishing (like toothbrushes because they are very difficult to get donated) we still had plenty of bags left to fill. So, we both decided to count the completed bags. We had 420 completed bags and we were still filling them up with a huge stack left to start. By the end of the morning, we had filled 600 bags full of supplies (and don’t worry, if someone didn’t get a tooth brush, ruler, etc. we supplemented with addition supplies that were extra). 600 bags! 2 miracles before lunchtime! All that I can say is that God is good.
After lunch, we took a tour of the clinic because we had a lot of medical supplies that were donated by Mrs. Darlene, an RN, and were given via inheritance from Ate Jean, who passed away last May. I can’t really describe in words how shocked I was by the clinic, so you will have to take a look at the photos. Maybe I’m being ethnocentric, but I don’t know how they practice medicine effectively and efficiently. I know that when I worked at the hospital I was responsible for 26 patients at some time; however, I had monitors and people watching monitors on all of the patients so if any of them became critical (especially since I worked on the ventilator unit) I could respond quickly. Here, there are no monitors. Blood pressures are taken the “old fashion” way without digital screen. Heart rates are calculated “the old fashion” way. Oxygen levels are only taken when absolutely needed because they do not have many pulse oximeters. How they do it, I don’t know. We saw the x-ray department which is an area that my parents were very excited to see because they are radiology technologists. Mom cried heavily at the sight. The x-ray unit is an old military x-ray unit (probably from Vietnam or even from one of the earlier wars). The aprons that they are using have no lead in them. (Which for you who don’t know much about radiology, let me explain why this is what made Mom cry. Lead aprons are used for protection of internal organs, especially glands. Every time a patient has an x-ray they are shielded by using aprons because of the high amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to. This radiation, even from one x-ray especially old units, can cause cancer because it kills cells and/or mutates them. Lead is what the aprons are filled with.) We then saw labor and delivery, which was basically the same as the bedroom that I’m sleeping in now. Again, words cannot describe what we saw in the clinic. This will probably become another project of ours in the future.
Anyway, on to a happier note. After lunch, because we had worked so hard the morning, we got to take a nap! ;) After nap time, we went to eat dinner with the guidance counselors and the officers of the working students. After dinner we all came back to the house. We introduced ourselves and then had each of the officers introduce themselves. I write about each person’s personal story because there were 25 of them; however, I can tell you that most of them have been going to AUP for the past 4 years. Only one is planning on graduating in March for sure. One is currently praying for a sponsorship because she has an internship that she must complete before she graduates, which means she cannot work in order to pay for school and food. One person has been going to school for 5 years and is expecting another 4 years to go. The most unique major of all of the officers, well I guess in my opinion, is Filipino. This major consists of learning the various areas, cultures, etc. of the Philippine islands. I believe she will be pursuing teaching after obtaining her degree. So, I guess it would be equivalent to a major in Anthropology. After introduction, the Torch Bearers, the choir of the working students, came in and sang to us (this put us around 50 people in the living and dining area). When they left, we handed out the officer bags, gave them 3 laptops, and gave the guidance counselors gifts.
So, we had a very blessed day. Needless to say, we are all exhausted and I am once again the last one to go to bed! ;) Tomorrow is Sabbath so I don’t know exactly what we have in store, but I will definitely blog about it. Goodnight! (Well, I guess really good morning to you!)
Day 3: Mission of Hope
I forgot to mention in my last post. I was slightly adventurous and got Korean style beef, also known as bibimbap, for dinner and kimchi for breakfast. The breakfast was excellent. I am so looking forward to eating yummy, authentic, Asian food! ;)
And back to Day 3. We arrived in Manila around 11:30 AM. We took our hour ride to AUP and got checked into our rooms for the trip. Mom, Dad, Christie and I are sharing a house with 2 bedrooms. Ryan and Alex are in one of the rooms of the alumni “hotel”. Mr. Don and Mrs. Darlene are on one side of a duplex next to Ate Glad and Uncle Prom. As soon as we unloaded we went straight to the cafeteria for a “merienda”, otherwise known as snack time. Oh, but Alex can tell you that this was not any ordinary snack. It was basically a meal. There was rice, pancit (a Filipino noodle dish), a “beef” tofu dish (I don’t really know how to describe it. This campus is all vegetarian.), caramelized bananas and fresh pineapple. It was very delish!
After snack time we all came back to our houses. Some took naps, I was definitely included in this group, while others greeted some students would delivered our boxes to the house for tomorrow’s preparation. It was kind of nice because it started to rain heavily so it was a nice pitter patter on the roof, at least for me, and it lowered the temperature significantly. After nap time, we went straight back to the cafeteria for dinner with the advisors of the working students. There was soooo much food. Let me try to remember. Well, there was rice as always, another “beef” tofu dish, vegetables, macaroni and cheese (not your traditional Easy Mac), watermelon and “buko” (coconut) pie. It again was very good. I didn’t eat much because I ate so much at snack time. I guess I will have to prepare for that in the upcoming days.
Currently, all of us are back at our houses and almost everyone is in bed but me. I took a shower, a much needed shower because it is extremely hot, even more so than last year, and rainy. So back to the shower (get your mind out of the gutter! ), if you’ve never experienced showering in a third world country you will probably not believe me. Ok. You walk into the shower. You see three knobs, a large box above the shower head, bucket and pail. Mrs. Darlene has already looked and immediately asked how to shower. I, over the many mistakes from last year, have learned quite a bit about these showers. The knobs are for hot, cold, and use of either the shower head or the other spout. The box above the shower head is to heat the water before running through the shower head. Now here’s the kicker. The bucket and pail is for exactly what you think it is. See, last year I didn’t think I needed to use it since the shower head was working perfectly with warm water. I saw it as just a think taking up space. That is until we went to Palawan last time and I was in the middle of shampooing my hair when a rolling brown out occurred (that is no electricity). Needless to say, I don’t like cold showers especially when washing my hair even if it is 90o outside. So, the bucket is the first thing I fill up before doing anything else.
Moving on, I know that just about everyone but the kids (and I mean Alex, Ryan, Christie and myself) were talking business about the mission trip over dinner. I don’t know exact numbers or anything, but I do know that we have a major work day ahead of us. Hopefully I will be able to post about specific numbers and things to give you a better picture of the work we are doing here. So, as I say good night after an exhausting day I want to say good morning to you because I know you are just starting your day, we miss you guys already and we got here safe and sound! (My computer is still set to the Johnson City time so I have an idea as to the time difference.)
P.S. I’m not quite sure if I have internet access here. We have a phone, but it doesn’t work. I don’t know if that means that the actual phone doesn’t work or that the line isn’t working. So, if you are reading this, it is probably a post that I wrote earlier and when I got internet access added it to my blog.
And back to Day 3. We arrived in Manila around 11:30 AM. We took our hour ride to AUP and got checked into our rooms for the trip. Mom, Dad, Christie and I are sharing a house with 2 bedrooms. Ryan and Alex are in one of the rooms of the alumni “hotel”. Mr. Don and Mrs. Darlene are on one side of a duplex next to Ate Glad and Uncle Prom. As soon as we unloaded we went straight to the cafeteria for a “merienda”, otherwise known as snack time. Oh, but Alex can tell you that this was not any ordinary snack. It was basically a meal. There was rice, pancit (a Filipino noodle dish), a “beef” tofu dish (I don’t really know how to describe it. This campus is all vegetarian.), caramelized bananas and fresh pineapple. It was very delish!
After snack time we all came back to our houses. Some took naps, I was definitely included in this group, while others greeted some students would delivered our boxes to the house for tomorrow’s preparation. It was kind of nice because it started to rain heavily so it was a nice pitter patter on the roof, at least for me, and it lowered the temperature significantly. After nap time, we went straight back to the cafeteria for dinner with the advisors of the working students. There was soooo much food. Let me try to remember. Well, there was rice as always, another “beef” tofu dish, vegetables, macaroni and cheese (not your traditional Easy Mac), watermelon and “buko” (coconut) pie. It again was very good. I didn’t eat much because I ate so much at snack time. I guess I will have to prepare for that in the upcoming days.
Currently, all of us are back at our houses and almost everyone is in bed but me. I took a shower, a much needed shower because it is extremely hot, even more so than last year, and rainy. So back to the shower (get your mind out of the gutter! ), if you’ve never experienced showering in a third world country you will probably not believe me. Ok. You walk into the shower. You see three knobs, a large box above the shower head, bucket and pail. Mrs. Darlene has already looked and immediately asked how to shower. I, over the many mistakes from last year, have learned quite a bit about these showers. The knobs are for hot, cold, and use of either the shower head or the other spout. The box above the shower head is to heat the water before running through the shower head. Now here’s the kicker. The bucket and pail is for exactly what you think it is. See, last year I didn’t think I needed to use it since the shower head was working perfectly with warm water. I saw it as just a think taking up space. That is until we went to Palawan last time and I was in the middle of shampooing my hair when a rolling brown out occurred (that is no electricity). Needless to say, I don’t like cold showers especially when washing my hair even if it is 90o outside. So, the bucket is the first thing I fill up before doing anything else.
Moving on, I know that just about everyone but the kids (and I mean Alex, Ryan, Christie and myself) were talking business about the mission trip over dinner. I don’t know exact numbers or anything, but I do know that we have a major work day ahead of us. Hopefully I will be able to post about specific numbers and things to give you a better picture of the work we are doing here. So, as I say good night after an exhausting day I want to say good morning to you because I know you are just starting your day, we miss you guys already and we got here safe and sound! (My computer is still set to the Johnson City time so I have an idea as to the time difference.)
P.S. I’m not quite sure if I have internet access here. We have a phone, but it doesn’t work. I don’t know if that means that the actual phone doesn’t work or that the line isn’t working. So, if you are reading this, it is probably a post that I wrote earlier and when I got internet access added it to my blog.
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