ohrid! :)

i'm loving macedonia...
it's been great to hang out with some amazing girls..
it's not that i am necessarily really good friends with any of them, but just hanging out... laughing... talking... spending time with people who will listen and who you can listen to..
even just this weekend has been really good for me...

i was talking to one of the girls tonight about how i miss really close friendships..
i have great friends in turkey, but none who REALLY understand me and who i can 100% at any time be myself around...
it's a different way of living and some parts of it are better and some are worse...

ya, so macedonia's been amazing these few days so far! :) here's a few pics from the hike and the city of ohrid--beautiful!

macedonia!

i am on my first real vacation since i got to turkey.. i've gone a few places, as you know if you have seen my thousands of facebook photos, but none on official vacation. 

so needless to say, i'm thrilled... i am visiting a few friends in macedonia.. so far all i've seen is the bus station and my friend's apartment, but we're going to a different city tonight to visit a friend of ours... 

i rode the bus, which was definitely interesting but not bad. i met an interesting pink-haired girl from Latvia and some other nice people... we stopped what felt like 50 times but it was really about 6 or 8 on our 14 hour ride... 2 border crossings--turkey to bulgaria and bulgaria to macedonia.. 

the guy in macedonia was quite intense as he searched through EVERYONE'S bags... i think he particularly had an issue with me after i told him i was american... he pulled out a packet of spices and asked "WHAT IS THIS!?" to which i replied ".... um... spices... Turkish spices" and pointed to it on the packet... he acted like it was explosives, geesh... then he pulled out a plastic baggie of tampons and pulled one out to feel and see what it was... talk about AWKWARD and slightly embarrassing, especially in a country like mine where they are looked at a little differently... then he pulled out my bible and flipped through all of the pages... the most random things for him to search... as i put my things back into my bag and zipped up, he had already finished the guy beside me who said "geçmiş olsun" which is the equivalent of "get well soon"... ha.. 

but now i am here, and very excited about catching up with friends and spending some time out of the BIG city... :)

oh, and a pic of me and my cousin scott, who i saw earlier this week.. he works on an amazing cruise ship and stopped in istanbul for a couple of days.. it was great to hang out with him for a bit... & i'll be in america in 18 DAYS!!!! :) 

rachel..

tonight i hung out with my friend *rachel again..
she is one of the warmest, kindest people i know...
she is fasting for ramazan this month, so we met for iftar, the time each night she breaks fast..
the first thing she did was grab her drink and take a huge gulp... she was so thirsty...although she had fasted all day from both food and drink, she knew that her thirst overshadowed her hunger..
my desire for her is that she would have that same thirst for our Father, Messiah.
to drink in His Truth and be satisfied.

each time we talk, she openly listens as i (and others) explain deep spiritual truths to her. she listens, reflects, asks questions, and is never impatient with me...

i've explained things ranging from j's life, death, resurrection, what it means to have a relationship with God, the picture of Chrst and the church, what a godly husband looks like, why i would never marry someone who didn't love jesus like i do.

she has told me she knows i am going to paradise because i love my jesus so much.
i can only hope some of this is leaving her waking up in the night... desiring to know Truth...desiring to know who this J is I talk about...and that she will find Truth in him..

as we talk, my heart breaks in ways it has not before for Mslm people. i want her to know the saving grace of my Redeemer. to be free. free from practices that will never get her to Heaven. free from lies she has believed. free to love Him. & free to be transformed.

goodbye, beach...

yesterday i went to the beach...which made 2 times in a week, which is unheard of for me.. this summer, the beach has been my friend.. i have gone to the beach more times this summer than i have my entire life... growing up, we never went to the beach, but instead spent our summers in michigan on the lake... which was fabulous as a child, don't get me wrong... i am just happy to have spent so much time at the beach this summer...

yesterday was my last time at the beach for the summer, i am pretty sure... and it was a good one. apparently, nobody goes to the beach in september... perfect!

krispy kreme is here!!!!

tonight, i got home from english tea time and right after i walked in, there was a ring at my door... my friend stopped by to drop something off.... and it was...... A DOZEN KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS!!!!!!! ah!

To understand the excitement, first remember that I have only had a doughnut once since I got here almost a year ago.... and that was at the London airport in March... not SUPER fresh, free, and at my DOOR! and... there has been talk about a Krispy Kreme opening up since before I got here, so i wouldn't have been surprised at all if they never opened here...

My friend and her roommates got invited to the VIP pre-opening party (suits/ties/dresses and all)... where they got to eat all they wanted and have all the coffee/lattes they wanted for free and were given 2 dozen on the way out the door... so, it was super kind of her to bring me and April a whole dozen of delicious awesomeness to our door.... April and I split two--chocolate dream and caramel dream....and about 45 minutes later could not resist the temptation anymore and each went back to eat a glazed one.. YUM YUM YUM!

i figure the 45 minutes or so it takes to walk there and the 45 back will work off my donut or two when i go there.. :)

taco night! success

tonight was a lot of fun.. april and i had some girls over for a taco night... we had a taco night once before and this one was definitely more successful for us! we had tacos, chicken chimichangas, home fried tortilla chips, a peach cake, velveta queso dip!!!, and a pound cake... whew.. it was a feast!

the best part was the girls that came... there were three from english tea time and one of our neighbors... *Chloe, our neighbor, was the first Turk we met here, and a very kind girl just a year older than us... she had a lot of boy problems, a busy job, etc. so hanging out with her has been impossible.. so we were thrilled she came tonight.. two of the other 3 girls are my closest non-American friends here, *Natalie and *Emma... so it was great that they could both come.. we also had a couple of american girls here... so it was a full table of 8... fun times..

politics, blah!

generally, i really could care less about politics... i know, i know.. i should...but i don't. i don't follow policies or candidates or anything really...

but...

Memphis's ex-mayor... seriously????!?!?!? ah, GO AWAY! & stay there!

http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=10933510

what was.

when i came here, i didn't think I would be giving up much... when I got here, it took me less than 10 hours to ask myself "what in the world have i gotten myself into? and i can take my unpacked bags back to the airport right now"...but even then i didn't have a deep sense of loss or sacrifice..

6 months or so after i got here, my sister had a baby,,, i wished I could be there and i had a twinge of some sort of regret, but i still didn't think it would affect me much... but when i saw him on video in the hospital and it hit me that I was not there at all for it and I would not get to hold him... that hit me in a new way...

today i have been thinking about loss. coming here, i lost what was. some things will be the same. but they won't. people move on. their lives continue with or without me being a part of it. i miss what was even though i am content with what is. ah, life.

year in review...

last week was a year...
me and the 4 people i headed over here with celebrated this past weekend.
by going to get bacon cheddar cheeseburgers..yum, yum...
bacon is a rarity here in a 99% muslim place. .
_______________
looking back, it seems crazy to think that a year ago, i got to VA to train & prepare to live here for 2 yrs. I have lived herealmost 10 months. Here are some highlights of my year, to catch you up (or refresh your memory)...

AUTUMN:
After 2 months of training, i headed home for a very quick 2 week interval to wrap things up and say final goodbyes... i arrived in my city in mid-october, greeted by very joyful teammates and lots of fresh fruit/veggies.. the first night, i had a moment of panic, wondering what i had gotten myself into..... but G is sovereign & i knew He had called me here... i started language class, painting, and making myself at home in this strange place... :) In November, I started to get involved with English Tea Time and made my first friend, Natalie, who is very much a seeker and is my closest friend here.It took me a month to really make one friend, and she is a great one... I celebrated thanksgiving with my new friends here..Most of my time was spent hanging out with friends I had made at ETT, studdying the language, and trying to get out and use it when I could...

WINTER:
winter here means a LOT of rain.. at christmas I had rain boots sent to me from the states, which I wore every single day, and which now have holes in them...it was dark and rainy a lot of the time, which meant a lot of being inside and catching up on the Office and AI...
There were a lot of Christmas parties, and I had my FIRST visitor--Lindsay!! we had a fun christmas, followed by a trip to ski/snowboard...my first trip out of the city at all.. we had our first vol group (as a univ. team) come, an awesome high school group... I also started going once or twice a month to help watch/homeschool a family near the city I live in...Winter was challenging because of all the rain, but a lot of fun, too...

SPRING:
by the time spring rolled around, i was more than ready for some sunshine.the first sunny day, i remember sitting on rocks near the water in tears.i needed the sunshine. i also discovered the beautiful tulips that surround the city in early April..breath-taking.
In early March, University of Memphis (my univ). sent a group for spring break, much to my excitement..which also came with a suitcase of goodies from home (bacon bits, brownie mixes, mousse, dove chocolate, etc).i went to ephesus, cappadocia, london,& antalya.
my twin sis had a beuatiful baby boy on april 23, who i will meet in a few weeks.
we had an ISP team come for 3 weeks followed by the arrival of the 5 week long ACTS students.
Spring time meant a great change of pace in my schedule and the ending of my lang. classes.& the arrival of a new couple on our team!

SUMMER:
the month of june was pretty much spent with the ACTS team and our awesome summer intern.that kept me busy every day. i also went to the island twice--to help set up and teach english! i got a new roomie for a couple of months, turned 24, and experienced my first mass exodus of both city residents (for the summer) & team members (for good)... i also had more visitors: joseph and the weavers, and several other people i know from my time in VA training... i had more opportunities to share Truth, more conversations, and new friendships...

leaky toilet....expensive.

so a few days ago i got my water bill.. it was 107 lira, which is over 4 times what it normally is.. (around 20-25 lira) so, needless to say, i was very confused and determined to solve this mystery... well, i have been busy and keep putting off figuring it out.. well today i talked to my boss about it and we finally figured out it's a running toilet in my apartment....that's apparently been running for oh, SIX weeks! what?!

you may ask how i don't notice a running toilet over the course of SIX weeks, but in my defense, we have 2 bathrooms right next to each other.. one is a normal one with a shower, storage, a washing machine, etc... and the other one is basically a closet. it has enough room for a toilet and a sink...barely... so i only ever use the big one.. maybe twice a month if necessary, i'll use the closet one..

to make sure the toilet had, in fact, been running this whole time, i called my new roomie since she uses it a lot.... and i found out, oh ya, it HAS been running every time she has gone in there... what?!

and to make it worse, the numbers on the water meter are already as high as last month's reading and we still have 13 or 14 days left before it's read... ughhh...

well, i did turn off the water to that toilet with strict instructions NOT to use it anymore.. and someone should be here to look at it on saturday... i just wish i had known earlier.. oh well!

washing dishes...

tonight i was excited to cook because, well, it's been a while.. i bake often but actually cooking has been a rare occurrence for me recently.. i cooked for me, one of my roommates, and a friend.. i cooked stuffed peppers, mashed potatoes (with bacon bits!!, thanks allyson), coban salata, bread, and peach cobbler.... yuuum yuuuum..

problem 1 arose when i tried to prepare the food and had to rush out in the middle of it for a language tutoring lesson..

i returned an hour later to a stopped up sink.... so i continued cooking and not washing dishes... we ate and it was delicious and then we went to English Tea Time and i came home to a still stopped up sink (oour draino type liquid didn't help at all....)

since i couldn't go to sleep with a kitchen full of dirty dishes, i decided to clean them by using a plastic tub... every time the water got gross, i dumped it out the kitchen window... from the 4th floor..... i looked both ways and dumped and then closed the window quickly..

it ended up taking an HOUR! there were so many dishes! but, a good meal with friends was worth it... :)

i didn't feel so bad about dumping the water since turks don't mind dumping their trash in the sea, on the side of the road, or out their windows.. mine was just water and a few food scraps.. ha...

oppressed and afflicted.

been reading through/studying psalms for the past few days.... i am amazed at all the characteristics of the Father are shown in these chapters.... one that always sticks out is how He cares for the afflicted and oppressed. when you are oppressed, you usually have no hope. but our Creator cares so much for the oppressed and needy. He is our sustainer and refuge....

psalm 9:9-10
“the Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble, and those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You”

psalm 9:12b
“He does not forget the cry of the afflicted”

psalm 10:17-18
“O Lord, You hear the desire of the afflicted, You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of earth may strike terror no more”

how much more should we be focused on the cry of the afflicted? on those who are oppressed...

slowing down.

this week (sort of) for the first time since i have been here i'm slowing down.
i have no language class other than one hour a week of tutoring..
i have no students here.
i have no refugee center.
i have no cbs group.
i have nothing really, except english tea time on wednesday.

i think i need to slow down a bit.
listen more.
allow myself to be open and okay without having to be busy and scheduled.
maybe i will learn something more about myself.
i am happy to have more time to hang out with my national friends who have stuck around for the summer..

here's to a relaxing and probably uneventful rest of the summer.. :)

sunset.coffee.roma.

tonight was good. i needed to go outside and see the city a little. and be reminded of more reasons why i love this place and why it is home for me.

i drank a white chocolate mocha from starbucks. and talked with my roomies. and watched an amazing sunset over the city. and talked with a couple of sweet, adorable roma girls. one was a little frisky and i had to tell her over and over not to grab unmentionable areas, but other than that, it was a great night. :)

not so true but crazy story about an organ..

the other day, i was hanging out with a new friend, *Rachel. Rachel is conservative (covered) but a very bubbly and outgoing girl. We talked for a while about what different religions consider sin. Somehow our conversation led to Rachel saying....

"I don't drink because you could be out with a guy you don't really know well and take one drink and the next thing you know you are laying in a bathtub bleeding from your side and he's taken your organ".....

excuse me?

april, my roomie, thought to herself "this must be a metaphor for him taking your heart, a vital organ..." while i thought to myself, "is she talking about rape?"
so i said, "wait i am confused....your organ? like your...... ovaries?"
and she said no and pointed to her back on the side... and i said "your kidneys?!!?"
"yes, your kidneys" said Rachel.
"WHAT?!?!" was the question from both April and I......
"yes he might take your kidney"....
"no way. i don't believe it. does that really happen?!" I asked.
"yes, it does... like rape. it happens.."

so now it's a running joke between a few of us about being careful not to have your kidney stolen and sold on the black market... parents and what they tell their kids to make them avoid drinking..

oh and one thing to make it even funnier... April and I got a new roommate for a couple of months *Elizabeth and she was there for the conversation.. welcome to the 'Bul, roomie.

thunderstorm gibi.

sunday, for the first time since i have been here.......

i heard thunder and saw lightening. mostly thunder.

april and i were soooo excited because we both miss good thunderstorms..
it didn't end up raining much at all, but it was a taste of what we were both missing.

memphians, don't take your awesome thunderstorms for granted. :)

busy summer.

we had a group of 30 students here for 5 weeks. every day i was with some of them. for 5 weeks. they left on saturday and sunday. the past 2 nights i have slept about 10 hours each.

tomorrow i leave for a little island for a few days and then another week. i'll be teaching english to children.

next week, 2 of my friends will be here.. SO excited!!! yay!!!

how to live.

today i heard someone speak about sharing Truth with others. he told a story of a girl he knew that shared Truth with so many people and one day someone asked her if any had come into a relationship with God. she said no, none. that person asked her if she had asked any of them if they wanted to. her answer...no. so she met with her friend who she had the deepest spiritual conversations with and asked her if she thought she was ready to have a relationship with God. her friend became a believer that day.

that story challenged me in the way i share. i think relational sharing is deeeeefinitely the best way for me to share and i have seen God move people closer to the Truth through it... but ya... i don't ever ask.

another story the guy told was about a man who traveled to universities proclaiming hell, fire, blah, blah.. and calling out specific sins and saying all people who do "[this]" are going to hell....when "[this]" is not at all a sin...

later i talked to a friend about it and he said the hell/fire story sounded like it could pooooosibly be a prophet. i was appalled. i am aware and agree that prophets called out peoples' sins, and even an entire nations' sins, but they were not anything like these men i've run into, even on my campus. i told him how people like that, more often than not, turn people away from seeking Truth because they condemn as if it is their place, they speak false truths about sin and how you are to be in relation with God, etc. and that if those are prophets i don't even want to be a part of it. somehow i am convinced that's not at all what God had in mind when he said love one another. take my words to the nations. live like my Son. nope, not convinced.

create.

i find that when i paint i am happy. when i take photos i am happy. when i edit photos i am happy. when i create i am happy.

soooo..why am i just now figuring this out? aaaffttter my undergraduate is finished.... hmm.

spit and dirt.

you made the blind man see by your spit and some dirt... surely you can make this blind man see.
you redeemed your beloved from Egypt even when they turned back again and again....surely you can redeem me.
questions come from a deep longing to know the truth.
questions come even after i know the Truth.
struggles, questions, things that may never be answered as long as i am here.

but you say you redeem us.
you are always true.
you always care for those who trust in You.

call them to You.
make her believe you are able to do what you say you will do. show her your deliverance.
make his eyes open like you have done so many times in the past.
make me really trust in your redeeming love.

life lessons

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
romans 12:9

He has come and has redeemed his people.
luke 1:68

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
philippians 4:8

"Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
john 8:10-11

live music, balcony, fireworks. 11:30pm

one thing i love about living behind a university in the spring....

live music out my window... well more like in my entire apartment from about 6:30-11:30pm.. haha.

i've been sitting outside on my balcony listening to the music which included "oooh baby baby it's a wild world" "no woman no cry" and a couple of other english songs with many reggae rock songs..

earlier there were fireworks and popular music playing... while we were having a storying group in my apartment.. hilarious.... ah how i miss live music.. i'm going to the show on friday night.. a band called Duman... i may actually lose a significant portion of my hearing while in attendance...

grasshoppers and snails.

today we are learning about direct an indirect speech in language class.
my teacher just compared direct and indirect speech by saying they were like grasshoppers and snails. haha....
after today's class ends, i only have 4 more days of class.
friday, monday, wednesday, friday.....
wow.

encouragement today

The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.......

...But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me....

...So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Chrst J_s_s. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death...

...you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of G0d are children of G0d....

...And the H Spirit helps us in our weakness...

...And we know that G0d causes everything to work together for the good of those who love G0d and are called according to his purpose for them....

...Can anything ever separate us from Crst’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Chrst, who loved us....

...And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from Gd’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from Gd’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of Gd that is revealed in Crst Jsus our Lord....

tonight.......

it threatens me.
it shocked me.
God convinced me. No man could.
i want to go there!
we are hurting ourselves.
does it match what you've been taught?
i have to tell you.

if you have not heard, i am now a proud aunt to Jackson Avery Brashier... He was born Thursday, April 23 at 11:31 am via emergency c-section. He is 7 lbs. 5 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long... And, is the most beautiful little boy ever.... :)





He has a lot of funny faces..

tulips......... :)

today i chased tulips. i found them 2 hours from my house, yes in the same city. the best part is that it took FOUR hours to get home. gotta love traffic.

besides that, it was a beautiful day in a beautiful park with more tulips than i have seen in my entire life combined.... gorgeous.

sometimes we wish for things that can never be. things that should never be. sometimes we trust our hearts only to find our hearts are deceitful above all else. time and time again. same thing. different way. then we are reminded there is a better way. a better way. and sometimes we so easily forget he. has. redeemed. us. [from much]. i have it on my wrist as a constant reminder and sometimes that's not even enough.

ah, antalya....

so i am sitting at a beach on the mediterranean soaking up the sun.. you have to catch it at the right hours, otherwise it's a bit chilly... i have yet to get in the water, other than ankle deep, but tomorrow, i plan to swim in one of the pools... some people i work with have a conference here this week and i get the pleasure of helping with childcare.... trust me it IS a pleasure, especially considering i am HERE... it's so gorgeous... only 4 days, but it's my longest time to be out of the city and away from all the noise... i haven't really heard the sea, even though i live right on it....

last week i got more rest than i expected, which was a good change from the crazy month before.... and this is wonderful too... it's amazing how long you can go without true peace and quiet... it's quite overwhelming....

i think our brains and our bodies and our souls really need quiet more than we give them quiet... somewhere deep inside us there is this part of of that screams for quiet but we are too busy or loud to hear it, notice it, or care...

sunshine, at last.

sunshine.
sunshine.
sunshine.

ah, happiness.

i've had more sunshine than i know what to do with this week. it's rained some, but compared with the past month...whew... it's been nice. i've also had more american food than i know what to do with.. i didn't realize til this weekend that there are at least 20 different american fast food or regular restaurants in this city.. some of those have 20 or more locations... it's insane.. i must not eat American or any other food out for at leaaaast 2 weeks or more.. man..

next weekend i am doing childcare for a conference in antalya.. so excited! it will be a nice "vacation" even if i am working. yay!

weekend away in london

last week was really restful. i also had a lot of chances to hang out with new friends and deepen relationships. it was such an encouraging week for me...

friday afternoon, i headed to the airport and hopped on a plane to london for the weekend.. 4 hours later i was there. i got through passport control and headed outside to find a taxi.. i was a bit surprised when the taxis weren't yellow and the drivers were sitting on the left side.. ha.. but i got over it.. the hotel was lovely and i woke up bright and early to head into london.

i met with a friend of a friend, who is my age, and i had a lot of fun being shown around the city. fish & chips....krispy kreme.. and store bought, self-cooked bacon for dinner... AMAZING.. i even froze the second package and brought it back on the plane... along with 6 krispy kreme doughnuts to share with the roomie, some twix bars, and tea.

it was just what i needed, i think.... however, being in a place where everyone spoke english was a bit overwhelming... it was such a beautiful city to escape to... (check facebook for pics soon, hopefully)...

Efes/Ephesus--see facebook for pics.

this is the first time i have heard thunder in at least 5 months. it's so strange.. i had not thought of it until today but i really miss thunder.. almost to the point of crying because it is finally here. the rain looks like it is about to pour from the clouds, but as i wait they crash together.

thursday i went to efes/wphesus with the memphis group. it was the most amazing place i have ever seen. walking on the streets paul walked on...ceasar walked on... down steps that so many who formed our history walked on.. was simply amazing.

the ruins that have been preserved made me stand in awe when combined with the beautiful landscape behind them and the rolling, dark, thick clouds up above. all day it looked just as the clouds look today, as if they are about to burst and pour forth the rain that is making them so full and dark up above. but, it did not rain the entire time we were in ephesus which was a special blessing. the lighting and the shape of the clouds provided for even more spectacular pictures.

the stadiums..the library...the arches...the walls...the streets.. the mosaic floors... the marble... everything was absolutely breath-taking..

as we came to st. john's bascillica, the rain came down as a fresh breeze, so light you could barely call each one a drop. it was refreshing in a way i cannot explain..

the ancient ruins at the bascillica were equally stunning... the more i walked around, the more i discovered. it sat upon a hill that overlooked the village on one side and had mountains rolling on the opposite side.. from the edge, you could see the ancient pillar which was to worship the goddess artemis and a newer mosque very close beside..

thinking about how three such different belief systems could exist in one small area amazes me.. it also shows me how easy it is for His people to forget what he has done for them and how far he has brought them and to turn to false gods and worship another.

at the end of the trip, we vistied a carpet making and selling factory. it was very interesting and a good end to the day...

my week...

the memphis group was in town this week for their spring break. i got to be heavily involved in their schedule, which made me happy. they toured universities, helped out at a refugee center, toured ephesus/efes, came to English Tea Time, and toured the popular sites in the city..

i cannot tell you how much it pleased my heart to have a few friends in town and even new ones from my hometown. i had so much fun with them and it was amazing to watch as the Father used their mouths to speak His Truth to my friends here and to new friends they met. I am always amazed at how much He can use people who come in so quickly. He is definitely capable and willing to use anything/body willing to speak His Truth..

Thanks to those of you who sent gifts through the group and who continue to send your thoughts this way. Keep lifting up the people of this city, especially the Marmara students. I can see Him beginning a great work on that campus through our requests and through people like the Memphis group.

back to "reality"?....sunshine!!!!...and ephesus soon!

well, i survived the first 4 days of the fast. not too bad.. i just worried about someone posting something they shouldn't on my wall and silly stuff like that.. i had as much as i needed of facebook and blogs for the day, however..

today, something awesome happened.. the SUN shone! it literally rained at least 2 weeks straight.... no sunshine at all.. that has to be the hardest part about living here.... the nonstop winter rain.. in the past 3 weeks, there's been about 3 days total of sunshine.. that's ridiculous! but, i do appreciate the sun much more now.. ha. it also provided a beautiful sunset, which i saw out of a friend's flat...

the memphis group gets here in a week from today--i'm so excited about it! they'll be here a week, but it will be great to see a few friends and meet some new friends... i'll be going to Efes/Ephesus with them, too--which is even more exciting. well.... maybe just as exciting.. ha..

well, back to fasting..... :)

lent.

tomorrow starts lent.
i usually don't observe lent, but i also never fast, either..
i see the value of fasting, but i am lazy..
with that being said, i am observing lent through fasting this year...

i thought about what to fast from for a while, and the most obvious, hardest thing for me to fast from is: facebook, blogs, and twitter. i don't use twitter often anymore, but i am way too obsessed with facebook, and my google reader is full of posts every day... which i skim over and sometimes read...

but, when talking with a friend, i also decided i will still need to communicate with the world, since i'm halfway across the world from most of my loved ones, so i will be on facebook/blogs on Sundays...

if ya need me, you can email me... :)

oh and by the way, lent is february 25-april 11. Easter is on April 12.

redemptive story.

one thing that's come back time and time again for the past year or so is that i am redeemed of God.
my wrist shows proof of the promise God spoke to me so clearly one day... and continues to every time i need reminding..
sometimes the reminder comes in a short, sweet whisper of a promise.
and sometimes, it's more like a parent disciplining..
but always how i need to hear it.
i am with you.
you are mine.
redeemed.
at a price.

i am more convinced than ever that each of our lives are a beautiful redemption story written by God.
that he can make a beautiful story out of the mess i've made. with my own hands.

i'm also more convinced than ever that the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
there is nothing good in me.
if i follow my hearts' desires, i will always fail.
i will always have to be reminded i am redeemed of God and i am to trust in him.

"no distrust made him (abraham) waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised."

taco bell sauce...check! burt's bees... check!

today i got a package at my door......from darlene!!! it's my first package and i was sooo excited.. i opened it and i actually cried just a little bit because it was so thoughtful.. everything seems random, but each one is special to me. ha. anyway.. so i blogged about taco bell sauce cravings recently, and darlene included that.. hilarious... this definitely made my day.. no, my week. ha... :)

[[vday card, vday socks, vday m&ms, vday runts, vday post its, TACO BELL SAUCE, salsa SEASONING!!, burt's beeeees, magnetic calendar, and CD]]

yesterday i had language, taught 3 year olds in the afternoon, met with my tutor, and then had a 4 hour long storying group.. it went sooo well i think. it was a lot of fun spending time with friends discussing Truth. we had a chance to clear up some misperceptions and answer a few questions, but there are still tons from my friends here.. so this looks like it will continue to be a great study. i'm being challenged about how i know some things, why they are true, and what it would mean if they weren't... so, it's a great time of study for me too.

thursday, a high school group gets in! exciting.. :)

we must choose what our hands will do.

most of my "spiritual" thoughts lately have been focused on justice. the oppressed. mercy. loving people.

there is so much in the Bible about loving people. about bringing justice and providing mercy. there is a high importance and calling to love the oppressed, specifically. the poor. orphan. widow. (refugee).

i was listening to d.c. band and some of his lyrics echo my thoughts lately. "and our problem is this//we were bought with a kiss//but the cheek still turned//even when it wasn't hit//and i don't know what to do with a love like that//and i don't know//how to be a love like that//when all the love in the world//is right here among us//and hatred too//so we must choose what our hands will do//where there is pain, let us bring grace. where there is suffering, bring serenity. for those afraid, let us be brave. where there is misery, let us bring them relief.//surely we can change//oh, surely we can change something"..

my thoughts have been about what this looks like. what does it mean to love like this? what does it mean to bring grace, serenity, bravery, relief, change?

there is a refugee center here that a place that brings relief and change and grace and bravery and serenity to many people who have fled their countries. in this country, to live as a refugee is much different than in america. i keep hearing more stories that break my heart.

i was recently approached by a friend to help teach some of the children. we only get to spend 1 1/2 hours with them a week and that is pretty much all the schooling they get, but what an opportunity to start to put some of this in action. i am humbled by the ways the father is answering my questions and yearnings to really love like he loves. i think that in my relatively futile attempts to love people i am learning more and more about how great his love is for me. (and how tainted and broken and incomplete my love is).

bird droppings.

today, i got to hang out with my friend, natalie and walk by the sea.... we walked in and out of sunny streets headed to the sea, and all was great until.... something dropped on the back of my head.... i said "oh no..i hope that wasn't a bird"... and natalie said "uh, it was a bird!" yep, i got pooped on today--yuck! then she offered to clean it with a tissue for me. you know it's a good friend when they offer to clean bird poop out of your hair.

:)

but one good thing--natalie is interested in doing a storying group/study with me and some friends...that was awesome. if i ever doubt he's working, i will remember times like these.. it starts monday, so keep me in your thoughts.

hippies, free bracelets, and more conversation!

so i finished class this afternoon and decided to head to my normal coffee shop, which ended up being closed..... so, we went to this other cafe i pass all the time.. it's called Agape Cafe, and it has two signs: 1 that is a light up sign with a nargile and coffee cup and 1 that is in big rainbow bubble letters.. ha! so naturally, i HAD to try it some time.. so why not now since i had a guy to go with me.

so, we go in the door, down a hallway with small shops and then up these sketchy stairs and into the cafe...i walk in first and it's all guys and it's smoky.. which we expected

so we go in and sit at this booth and then the guy asks what we want and we ordered cay and then when he came back we had already pulled out our notes to study and our ipods and he starts talking to j and there's a girl behind me at another booth...so he starts talking away in only turkish and we are trying our best to follow and respond

then the girl turns around and says "i want to give you this bracelet as a gift" in tukish...it was one she made. and i love the colors! it's like multi colored and pretty sweet...then she gave j one too.. same one, so now we look like we have friendship bracelets..even better. haha.

and so we ended up talking to them and like 4 other people or an hour and a half 98% in Turkish about what our jobs were and our family and stuff...and ya.. definitely hippies and i loved it

so later after we left, j said stuff like that happens to him a ton here and he said "does it not happen to you? and i was like "NO! if it's guys they dont talk to me bc im a girl if its a girl and a guy, she's interested in talking to the guy, not me, if it's 2 or more girls, they have people to talk to, and if it's one girl, she's probably independent enough she doesnt want to talk to anyone or she would be WITH someone...

so, yeah. it was cool.. and i got a pretty sweet bracelet out of it too!

then, at tea time, a girl i've been trying to talk to more sat by me and we talked a lot.. she's coming over for lunch tomorrow afternoon and i'm excited! she tried to encourage me in my language by saying i need to SPEAK it more (true).. so she suggested we meet once or twice a week.. she said we'll speak turkish one hour and then we can speak english 1 hour and so on.. sweet!! i have been really hoping for this, so lets continue hoping it plays out... :)

muffin maddness!

this weekend i cooked a lot. well, mainly muffins..
really, making a bunch of muffins takes a while, but they are so easy to freeze and grab with a piece of fruit in the mornings...
plus, cereal is way too expensive here..
so, i made three kinds this weekend... strawberry banana, banana kiwi, and, my favorite--mocha chocolate chip banana. they all have banana, but i bought two bundles of bananas and my roommate is out of town..soooo.....

i also made grilled veggie potato skins, stuffed peppers, roasted potatoes, and brownies in the past 3 or 4 days..

other than that, i cleaned a lot this weekend..
and hung out with some amazing people.

what is happening to meeeee!?

aşure (uh?sure?ay!)

this time of year (january), Turks celebrate soooomething. so, they give their neighbors/friends a dessert called aşure. our neighbors brought some over tonight, being our first neighbors to share aşure with us. we have, however, had aşure at least 2 other times this month, and this was the best yet....... maybe it's an aquired taste?

aşure usually consists of 12 ingredients.. the one we got tonight had.... cinnamon, chickpeas, beans, crushed pistachios, crushed almonds, coconut, apricot, peach, pomegranate, raisins, bulgur rice, grapes.........

yum!

some people celebrate in honor of a prophet who died... some say it's just a time to thank God, but the most commonly celebrated is.....

Noah and the ark.... they say Noah made a dish similar to this after the flood because it's all the food he had left and he did it to thank God... so that sounds good to me. Thank you, God for your faithfulness (and aşure, of course).....

oh, and april and i decided we will come up with our own aşure-like dessert....with 12 random ingredients--any suggestions?

cozy cafe & taco bell sauce.

tonight i got to hang out with my friend *natalie. we hang out at least once a week, and she is great to just sit and have çay (hot tea) with... so i always enjoy our time together... she also enjoys filtered coffee, which is rare here... so, ya.... tonight I was excited to be able to hang out with her, since exams keep college students here SUPER busy...

when we met up, she said that she had seen some cafe she was interested in going to, and I was up for something new.. so we walked down this street a while and found this sweet little cafe. definitely reminded me of java or a number of small, chill cafe/coffee shops in america... i was thrilled, because i have been wanting to find places like that! she said "when my friends and I find places we really like, we go back there over and over and we say it's 'our place' so this can be 'our place' and I will show more friends where it is..."

the great thing about it is it's quieter than regular cafes and you would never notice it walking by, since it's upstairs. so, no crowds or obnoxious music. ah, blessing for sure. the father is looking out for me by providing a place like this for me.

on another note, today i microwaved a quesadilla of sorts and it was very small..... and the result was cheesy goodness... but it left me with a rare craving--taco bell mild sauce.... i know... i feel like a pregnant person because that is SOO random, but i really really want it now.... anyone want to send me a letter??! haha.

three months.
a couple of days ago marked three months.. how do i feel?
hmmmmmmmm.......

well, i have missed home a little more recently.
but, not terribly. just ya know..
i miss barbeque. ah! and tortilla chips and salsa.
man, i could go for some central bbq and then mexican food.
yea....

but...... hmm language..
it's coming.. i am understanding a lot more.
i thiiiink my pronunciation is better at times and sometimes i think it's terrible, so who knows.
we are getting into more complex stuff in our class and i am still happy, so that's a good sign. :)

i am ready for a short trip out of the city/country.
oh the possibilities.

oh and one thing that frustrates me to no end is the process of paying bills.
every month i dread it.
i think once i get it sorted out it will become easier.. but ya.
i want to pull my hair out some days.
DO NOT take for granted the luxury of checks and simple online bill payment in the states. ha.

strawberries!!!

Today i went to the pazar to get my groceries, as I do every Friday...

and there were....... STRAWBERRIES! 1 kilo for 2 lira.. or 2.2 pounds for $1.25 us dollars. wow! this makes me excited about spring/summer.

this weekend, i hope to: study, sleep, paint. maybe get out and take more pics. we'll see.

memories.pics.small victories.

small victory this week... i got a few of my favorite pics developed without anyone assisting me. yay. so, in celebration, i will share a couple of my favorites of my favorites. ha. (since blogger takes about a year to upload any pics....)


amos lee best describes my late night ponderings....
"A thousand empty windows
And only half the lights are out
I wonder what these people's lives
What they might be all about.."

do you ever have one of those days when you walk out of your apartment and realize an hour or so later that every piece of clothing you put on that day was a mistake?

that was my day.

but, good news is: i have rain boots now! i ordered some from piperlime in america and i got them today... yay! less of those days, hopefully.

google-helping people cook

today after a somewhat frustrating start to the day, i decided to go chill at starbucks for an hour or so and study and read.... it was nice and i am glad i did it, but i came home just before my tutor showed up for our monday night 1 hour session.

i didn't have time to cook anything before tutoring (and wasn't hungry after starbucks...) so, i tutored til about 630 and decided i would make potato soup.. but then my potatoes were all bad

so i googled broccoli red pepper soups to see if they existed since i had a ton of both..
and i found a recipe that sounded good.. so i decided to try, hoping for a quick, yummy dinner..

yeah.....

i didn't read the part about roasting the red peppers
or the part about PUREEING since we don't have a puree machine

so i googled "can you puree with a hand mixer?"
and found out it IS possible, but not highly recommended
since i was halfway through with the soup i decided i would try..

well, just a hand mixer wasn't enough so i frantically searched the cabinets looking for something to help. ha
so i decided on a potato masher.. and mashed away (the red peppers, then two bowl fulls of the soup mix i mad made..

and almost three hours later, i had broccoli red pepper soup
it was delicious though...just a little more than i bargained for.

so google searches= potato soup recipe, broccoli red pepper soup recipe, how to roast red peppers, how to peel broccoli stems, cooking conversions, how to puree with a hand mixer...and maybe others.

catching up--holidays & 1st visitor

have i mentioned that i love living in sunshine apartment on idea hill?
that's what it translates into in english.
so inspiring--how can you not be creative here?

besides that, my favorite thing about this apartment is that i can always hear the (frequent) rain on my fire escape outside my window.
kind of like having a tin roof.
i think my room is the only one in the apt that has that sound, and i love it.

catching up......

first visitor.
my best friend, who is living in poland, came to visit for christmas!
she was here a week and we had a lot of fun.
it was nice to have a piece of home here for christmas.
it was nice that she's not a "touristy" person since i didn't have much time with christmas cooking and all.
and, we went skiing/snowboarding! (see below).

christmas.
this was my first christmas without my huge, awesome family.
it was sad but it helped to have a big group of friends here to celebrate with here.
we all had a big white elephant christmas eve party.
on christmas day, april and i made a lot of food and sweets and invited a turkish friend over to celebrate.
banana pancakes, socks on the tree, big dinner with close friends...all may be new traditions.

skiing/snowboarding.
i went with a group of people to uludağ.
it was supposed to be 2 or 3 hours outside of the city but it was, in fact, SIX hours.
after riding a city bus, a shuttle bus, a charter bus, a ferry, the same charter bus again, a city bus, 2 cable cars, and a taxi van, we arrived.
the snow was beautiful. the hotel and food were amazing.
i got to hang out with friends and enjoy the Maker's wonderful creation.
good times.
well, except for the fact that turkish men (in general) CAN NOT ski!!!!
i should have known this after my experience ice skating in turkey, but no, i got to experience it firsthand..
in the form of being knocked out by turkish men while skiing TWICE.
the second knock down resulted in a headache, soreness, and a very bent ski pole.
i'm talking at least a 45 degree angle bent. not normal.
i survived though, and it was worth it.
i think next year, i'll learn a way to say "hit me and die" in turkish and tape it to my back.
the guy #2 said "you didn't see me coming!" to which i replied "i usually look IN FRONT of me when i am skiing!"
ah, turkey.

new years.
the rain sometimes never stops here.
like all winter.
so, new years eve consisted of shopping at a mall in the afternoon and then going over to my boss's house to watch movies and eat pancakes with him, his wife, and daughter (around my age).
it was the perfect indoor new years celebration.
we ended the night by standing against a window watching fireworks off in the distance across the water (and some inbetween tall apartment buildings..that's when we closed the window).

i'm going to have a nephew

i am way too excited about this to have it share a post with a phone story..

so, my sister is 21 weeks pregnant and just found out yesterday she is having... a boy! April 25, Jackson Avery is due.. i can't wait!!!! :)

another phone crisis.

so, yesterday i had language..... well, i got on the bus, headed home.. and i got off the bus.. the bus was still waiting for people to get off so i decided to cross in front of it, but cars were coming in the second lane..so i took a chance and ran in between two cars, sucessfully, to the median.... well, maybe not sucessfully.. cause right as i hopped onto the median...

my phone bounced out of my jacket pocket and onto the median..
and then proceeded to bounce into the next lane of oncoming traffic!

so i see this all slow-mo... like noooo---o----oooo.. and literally at least 5 cars went over my phone..and it bounced around at least 3 of those times..and finally traffic was slowing and the light was turning red, so i stepped out in front of the next car (big truck actually) and put my hand up and said stop! and i gathered my phone.. [it was in four pieces..the front, back, battery, and sim card] and got out of the street..

the guy in the truck was all wide eyed and looked so concerned and i think he was like saying sorry ha....and so i crossed the street getting my phone back together and i was literally about to cry..thinking "oh great, its broken and i just flushed my last phone 2 months ago"

and then i got it together and turned it on and it WORKED!!....isnt that insane?! i promise at least three of the cars hit it and there's no visible damage..except that the back wont go on completely and there are a couple of knicks on the front

bus ride from europe...

i hung out with some friends on the european side last night and i listened to a mars hill podcast.. a guest speaker was there and spoke about isaiah. i think this one was from july... anyway.. i liked this point he made at the end..


"the bible is mainly just poetry. but the poetry is the word of God that imagines us to get outside ourself, by the Spirit, and entertain another kind of world that God intends us to have."
-walter brueggermann

oh, and i also sipped on a Starbucks caramel hot chocolate, while listening, and it made it THAT much more enjoyable. highly recommend (both mars hill podcasts and) starbucks caramel hot chocolate.. yum!

week off! yay!

this week is kurban bayram. this is good for me because i get the WHOLE week off.. most of it is over now but it has been a wonderful week. i painted my hall tiramisu. i edited a 54-page paper. i stayed inside a lot. i had a christmas movie night with friends and goodies. and i went to büyükada. oh, i also witnessed part of a sacrifice outside my apartment window.

kurban bayram is a yearly holiday for Muslims devoted to sacrificing animals in remembrance of Abraham and Isaac (they say, Ishmael) when God provided a ram in the place of Isaac and also as a time to give to the poor. I witnessed some sacrifices outside of my window and it burdens me even more to lift up their salvation to the Father. So, please, remember them, too.

seeing the sacrifices was actually something i hoped for because i wanted to feel it more.

sometimes i feel it a lot. sometimes i don't for a while. sometimes i get too settled. too comfortable. too okay with how things are. right now i am slipping into one of those times. i need to feel more broken. i need to be more aware. more alert.

tomorrow i am planning to go to çamlica...the tallest hill in the city with the biggest view. last time i was here i went there. that is the place i felt it most here. the realization of HOW many people are here who don't have Truth in their lives. return that feeling to me.

thanks, cooking, december?

thanksgiving was good for me..
i missed my family and celebrations, but my friends here made it feel like thanksgiving.
we had a mini celebration at English Tea Time, a big celebration Thursday, and we are doing something else this weekend! whew.

i have been experimenting and cooking a lot more since i have been here. i think there is just something about living in another country that makes you want to or have to cook from scratch more.. and i have more time here so i am not as lazy. ha. but ya.. i am enjoying it.. so by the time i get back, maybe i'll be an awesome cook, too. ha. i think it's because i realize i will be living here at least 2 years.. everywhere else i have lived the past 5 years has been for anywhere between 2 months and 8 months max.. so ya.

i can't believe it's december on monday.. i am kinda like that at the beginning of every month i think.. but really? december already!? i guess i need to look for some christmas decorations or something.

stories from the sea.

so ı had an adventurous and somewhat hilarious day today...

today we were supposed to go to büyükada, the big island, to hike up to the top of the hill because it's gorgeous..well we got to the iskele (boat dock) and there are 33mph winds today...

so no boats were crossing the bosphorus..
for good reason.. [see pics on facebook and you will understand more fully..]

so we stood around, took some pics and then decided to pile 8 people into a car and go to this polish village in a forest..so we got there successfully and it was beautiful.. and some of us decided to go down this steep incline to climb a tree..
me being one of them..

i made it to the tree and climbed it and then i had to get back up the hill..
the other two can run up the hill but it's muddy and slippery and steep.. and i couldn't get up
so i continued trying and sliding down the hill..and i ended up falling straight forward on my stomach and getting all muddy....and then FINALLY made it up with some help'

a little ways later, we decided to go the road less traveled and ended up coming to trees in the road.. one had fallen all the way over just where if i stepped over it, i could barely get over it..
so a turkish guy with us wanted to sit on it and take a picture.so he, april and i did...and right as the picture was about to get taken, the tree completely uprooted and we fell to the ground.. .
but it was pretty funny..

then we navigated and kept taking turns that made us feel like nobody ever went that way
so that was confusing and full of adventure, and then we ended up finding the way out...

and then we went to this turkish restaurant because there are no polish ones on this polish village hill..and celine dion, kelly clarkson, whitney houston, and any other cheesy music you can imagine played in the background.then we piled back in the car, headed back and dropped people off along the way...

till it was april and i and the couple whose car we were in.. well we were close to the fenerbache park which is right on the water.. so we decided to go so they could show us the park
remember, the waves on the sea are insane....

well we decide to park so we can check out the waves and take pics and whatnot.these waves were insanely big,HUGE!
well, there was this tree with these benches on it with an amazing view of the sea and i say to april "man i wish you could take a picture of me standing over there and waves coming up" and she decides to run over there so i can take her pic and then i go over for her to take mine.. and the waves come higher and higher

and i think to myself "i should really bring my camera over and take a picture of these humongous waves" yea......... not the best idea of the day

i definitely got SOAKED by a monster wave..
i am talking about jeans so wet they are falling off, hoodie soaked through to my shirt which is soaked through to my undershirt........ hair dripping wet. and it's sooooo windy

but i am just glad everyone got to see it because it was HILARIOUS
then we walked back to the car with people stopping to stare

and yea. made it home and took an awesome shower

magic coat.

because i did not bring one, because it is getting colder, and partly because i wanted to blend in here, i bought a plaid pea coat this week.
it was on sale, and would equal about $24 USD!!! so that was nice..

but i am beginning to think that it is a magical coat.
the first day i wore it, i had at least two Turks say i was very fashionable (a first here) and a couple of people say i looked Turkish.
today i wore it again and i had about ten people talk to me in Turkish with that look on their face like they fully expected me to respond in fluent Turkish.

maybe i should chunk all of my American clothes and buy a Turkish wardrobe..
do you think maybe i would learn Turkish faster that way?

new friend!

after language class, i baked brownies from scratch for the first time.
then, i cleaned the WHOLE apartment, other than sweeping.
i felt so domesticated

i took them to english tea time, so i was hoping they would turn out well....
and they did!

even better, i made a new friend!!!! yay!
that's a great feeling at this point..
i really desire to live life with people.
i want to develop friendships and speak truth into people's lives.

i really feel like i am adjusting well here...
i know i could use more practice with language and speaking it with natives here..
but, overall, i think my expectations coming in were pretty reasonable.

i didn't expect to make tons of relationships right off.
i expected to be tired. to get lost. to be frustrated at times.
i did not expect to be fluent in the language in a month or two months or a year....

all of these things i think i have had a pretty good perspective on.
so..... we'll see how it goes.

sometimes i do slip into the mode of "i need more turkish friends!" or "why don't i understand this conversation or remember EVERY single thing i learn!?" but then i remind myself: i am living in a new country, and just living here is enough to make you exhausted, let alone try to learn the language and invest in a friendship...

things are going at a pretty good pace. :)

one month!

i've been here a month! crazy..
it's been a good month.

i went to a birthday party last week.
this saturday, i am supposed to go to the "big island" to hike up if the weather is nice.
we'll see, i think it is supposed to start raining tomorrow for like 8 days nonstop. ha.

keep thinking about me and developing friendships..
i'll go to English Tea Time Wednesday night, so hoping some other girls will be there.

anyone else think it's weird Thanksgiving is sneaking up so fast?

new friend

tonight i made dinner before april got home.. making me feel a bit like a house wife. haha. but, it was fun and relaxing in a way.. i made brownies too..

so, i called my neighbor to see if she wanted to come over for cay and brownies.
she was busy waiting on her sister, so we didn't make cay.
but, we took her brownies and she invited us in for cay!
so it worked out, and we were showered with snacks too.
so, i am definitely excited about new friends, conversation, and cay.

scarf addiction....

so, i am forming new "addictions"...
i went to the "tuesday pazar" as everyone calls it, for the first time today..
it was my favorite one i have been to and i got really good deals.
i got two scarves for what would be less than 4 US dollars! nice.
so, you see why this can be habit-forming..

i also kinda learned how to make cay (chai) the other day.
i have only done it once, but, it is yummy and will add to my coffee addiction. :)

i have gotten to spend a little more time with my neighbor who is around my age.
i'm hoping to continue developing this relationship..
all of the neighbors i have met are so sweet and welcoming (even if they don't know english..)

my hard drive crashed, but a friend helped me find an apple retail dealer who honors apple care, so i won't have to pay anything. that's nice. i dropped it off today, and he should call me in about a week.... so ya.. :)

weekend maddness.

this weekend was waay too busy for me. ha.
i went to two huge malls and a huge bazaar.
but, i did get to go to ikea to get some stuff for the livingroom and go to the Spice Bazaar (without guidance!!!).
April and I are getting better at finding our way when we get lost. doesn't sound like an accomplishment, but believe me--it is!

i started a book study with some women i know and it was really really good.. it's something i definitely need, so I hope to be able to continue...

i have been studying language a lot (but i need to much more...) I am trying to figure out a tutor and how much a week.. that will help me be able to speak it better.

oh, and i went to a halloween party friday with other Americans, and it was fun. April and I were M&M's. simple and free.

we DID meet up with our neighbor friend last night!!! that's something I have been hoping for, so she came over and we are hoping to see her again Monday or Tuesday... so be thinking about that.

tomorrow is more language class... :) i think it will be an early night for me. yeah.