Watch the Walk

This is going to be a super short update also. You can read a little about my homestay experience here . I have another couple posts coming shortly.

After a week in the islands, here are a few reflections, notes, and random thoughts : - sweat has become the new normal. It's not a question of whether you sweat, but how much. - the contrast here between beauty and dirty poverty is dramatic. The ocean and palm trees are beautiful, but the garbage along the coast isn't. - islanders are very friendly. Each day as we go on language walks it's amazing to see the happy reactions. May I always be excited to see new people. - with more physical challenges, I recognize anew my need for the father's daily support. - cold showers are no sacrifice - rundown roads serve as decent substitutes for speed limits. - I'm super grateful for my team. The whole "when one is down another picks him up" bit is really neat. This week we'll be living in host homes to better learn the local culture and bond with our new people. I'd appreciate being lifted before the father, as I expect it will be physically and emotionally ...

My sister and I successfully surprised our parents with bringing her and baby Joseph for a visit before I leave. There's lots to the story, but I'll tell it in brief. Hehe. The setup: I told my parents that I needed to catch up with a friend after a meeting on Wednesday night. "You know how things go with Kami... it'll probably be late," I said. I did go catch up with Kami. I picked up a carseat from her, visited for a little while, then headed for the airport at 10:30 PM. Arriving at the airport about 1 AM, I met my sister and nephew, situated them in the car, and proceeded to drive through incredibly dense fog all the way home. Joseph alternated between sleeping (post-feeding) and wailing (any time he was returned to the carseat while awake). It was during one of those stops that I posted this status update :  We arrived home at 5:15 AM, and Joseph was asleep. So we parked, brought things inside, and situated R and J in the boys' room upstairs. Papa heard us...

Aside from the physical tasks related to getting ready for Africa, there's also the mental/spir'tual side of things. And a big part of this is being ready for culture shock. Culture shock : the emotional, psychological, and physical impact of learning to live in a new culture, that threatens unconscious assumptions and challenges a person's ability to flex to a new way of life.  The following is a list of various "symptoms" of culture shock. Take note though, it's not an exhaustive list: - Homesickness - Boredom - Withdrawal (excessive reading, excessive use of electronics, only wanting time with other Westerners) - Excessive sleep - Excessive eating - Irritability - Exaggerated cleanliness - Relational tension - Chauvinism - Stereotyping nationals - Hostility toward nationals - Loss of ability to work well - Unexplained weeping - Psychosomatic illnesses As you can see, it tends to manifest itself in various forms. From personal experience, I tend to withdraw,...

It's been barely a week since I transitioned from support raising to full-on Africa preparation. Hard to believe really; it seems more like a month. I've been busy finishing things up with work, making sure that things are ready to transition to a new person. I've also done a lot of sorting. There are clothes to get rid of, things to donate, items to store more efficiently. Everything is examined by these two criteria:      1) Is it something worth taking with me?      2) Is it worth storing for 2.5 years? If the answer is no to both of those, the final question is: discard, or donate? Fortunately, this process has been simplified by the fact that I've gotten rid of a lot of things with each transition back and forth between college, home, and Central America. Sorting as you go certainly helps when it's time to pack your life into a couple bags. So what do I still have to do? -- Sort some more. Still things to go through and deal with. -- Buy some...

I've got so many words, but very little order to them. 100%.  Fully funded. Wow. A million thanks to everyone who has been, is, and will be a part of this. You individually and collectively rock. PTL, I'm Africa bound!

It's pouring down rain outside, and today I'm sitting inside, nursing a mug of rooibos tea, supplemented by honey and lime. I had a cold this last week and lost my voice. Last night I had a meeting with friends in the Portland area, and by the end of it my voice was gone again. Tonight I've got another meeting, then another couple tomorrow. Please, please pr-y that my voice holds out a couple more days. I've got 90% of my monthly support now. With two days to go until the deadline, it's tight. But we serve the G-d of the impossible, don't we? I put a "shoutout" on Facebook this afternoon, asking if anyone had a question I should answer on my blog. This is the one that came in: How has my homeschool experience played a part in where I'm at today?  Man, that's a big question! I was homeschooled all the way from birth to highschool graduation, then after that I went to college. [And yes, the transition went well, I got good grades, and graduated.]...