Hey blog world,
Here we go again. Third time is a charm, right? I'm going to try to update this blog of mine again. That statement is rather contradictory to the post's title as I don't sound very resolute in my decision to take up blogging again.
I'm not sure what the goal or vision will be this time, but I do know that I want to blog again. So here we go...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Coming soon to an RSS feed near you...
So, I think that I'm going to start writing in this thing again. This time without the expectation that someone will for sure be reading it/commenting...just as a way to post thoughts/reflections/things that are going on.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
holy COW.
Okay, so if you know me, you know that my biggest fear is falling from high places. I have nightmares about falling; it's an activity thats not okay with me. So whenever someone mentions skydiving or bungee jumping, my automatic reaction is no, but when our group decided they wanted to go paragliding (paracaidismo en español) this weekend, for some reason jumping off a mountain in the Andes with nothing but a parachute and a guy who doesnt speak my language strapped to my back saving me from certain death sounded like a totally great idea.
And it WAS. When I got picked up by one of the pilots, I was the only person of our group and I got picked up in a jeep that was prally around during the mesozoic era, which was awesome/really sketchy. Then, when we arrived at our destination after a 30 minute drive, my initial reaction was, ¨oh, great, this is the part where they kill me¨ because it was an incredibly run-down building (more so than what Im used to seeing here). The rest of my friends arrived around 20 minutes later and they all had the same reaction. There were eight of us and we went in two groups since they could only take up four at a time. I went in the second group bc I wanted to hear their reactions to the experience first. When they came back down, they were all incredibly excited and had a blast, but told us it was really cold up in the air. Fortunately, none of them said they were scared either.
Our pilots told us it was our turn once they had all of the chutes folded back up, and we loaded into another sketchy off road vehicle. We soon discovered as we made our way up Cerro Arco that the reason the girls who went first werent scared of paragliding was that the trip up the mountainside was terrifying. I think our driver drove as close to the edge as possible because he had a good five feet on the side closest to the mountain that he could have driven on if he had so chosen. It was fun tho. As we kept getting higher I kept thinking that we must be near the top because we were so high, but it took about 30 minutes to reach the top of the mountain. We were so high. It was incredible- you could see all of the city around you and so far into the distance.
When our instructors handed us our equipment, we thought we were being prepared for a trip out into outerspace because we definitely looked like astronauts; it was hilarious. My instructor turned to me and told me that once the chute was up in the air i needed to run off the mountain and then sit when he told me to. I started freaking out a little bit, but once the chute lifts up and starts pulling you, you dont really have any other option but to go. Once we lifted off however, it was such an incredible feeling. It's not really fast like skydiving, it's actually really relaxing and exhilerating at the same time.
We spent about 20-30 minutes in the air and during that time my instructor and I spoke in Spanish some, and he let me pilot the chute for 5 minutes, too. We got really close to other chutes at some points which made me a little nervous, but apparently its a game the pilots like to play. I was completely fine and couldnt understand why they told us not to eat lunch before we went until my pilot started doing tricks. Not okay lol. The phrase ¨no me gusta¨ was uttered many times haha. Landing was really easy, too. You just stood up and walked when the time came.
The rest of the evening was great, too- Sarah, Emily and I had McDonald's which was the first time I had had American food in over 3 weeks lol. (I know, I'm pathetic lol) and then we went to Havana for dessert and used their wireless on Sarah's laptop there.
So if anyone is up for paragliding or parasailing back in the states, Im totally all for it.
And it WAS. When I got picked up by one of the pilots, I was the only person of our group and I got picked up in a jeep that was prally around during the mesozoic era, which was awesome/really sketchy. Then, when we arrived at our destination after a 30 minute drive, my initial reaction was, ¨oh, great, this is the part where they kill me¨ because it was an incredibly run-down building (more so than what Im used to seeing here). The rest of my friends arrived around 20 minutes later and they all had the same reaction. There were eight of us and we went in two groups since they could only take up four at a time. I went in the second group bc I wanted to hear their reactions to the experience first. When they came back down, they were all incredibly excited and had a blast, but told us it was really cold up in the air. Fortunately, none of them said they were scared either.
Our pilots told us it was our turn once they had all of the chutes folded back up, and we loaded into another sketchy off road vehicle. We soon discovered as we made our way up Cerro Arco that the reason the girls who went first werent scared of paragliding was that the trip up the mountainside was terrifying. I think our driver drove as close to the edge as possible because he had a good five feet on the side closest to the mountain that he could have driven on if he had so chosen. It was fun tho. As we kept getting higher I kept thinking that we must be near the top because we were so high, but it took about 30 minutes to reach the top of the mountain. We were so high. It was incredible- you could see all of the city around you and so far into the distance.
When our instructors handed us our equipment, we thought we were being prepared for a trip out into outerspace because we definitely looked like astronauts; it was hilarious. My instructor turned to me and told me that once the chute was up in the air i needed to run off the mountain and then sit when he told me to. I started freaking out a little bit, but once the chute lifts up and starts pulling you, you dont really have any other option but to go. Once we lifted off however, it was such an incredible feeling. It's not really fast like skydiving, it's actually really relaxing and exhilerating at the same time.
We spent about 20-30 minutes in the air and during that time my instructor and I spoke in Spanish some, and he let me pilot the chute for 5 minutes, too. We got really close to other chutes at some points which made me a little nervous, but apparently its a game the pilots like to play. I was completely fine and couldnt understand why they told us not to eat lunch before we went until my pilot started doing tricks. Not okay lol. The phrase ¨no me gusta¨ was uttered many times haha. Landing was really easy, too. You just stood up and walked when the time came.
The rest of the evening was great, too- Sarah, Emily and I had McDonald's which was the first time I had had American food in over 3 weeks lol. (I know, I'm pathetic lol) and then we went to Havana for dessert and used their wireless on Sarah's laptop there.
So if anyone is up for paragliding or parasailing back in the states, Im totally all for it.
Monday, June 15, 2009
This one is pretty long, but pretty great
This weekend has been absolutely awesome. Saturday, my friends Ashley, Sarah, Paige and I went on a bicycle tour of three wineries, a place where they make olive oil, and a chocolate factory. After the 1st bike ride my asthma/lack of physical fitness kicked in. Our tour guides were really nice and didnt make me feel inferior and offered to let me ride in the van the rest of the afternoon. The wineries were all beautiful and it was really interesting to see how unique each one was as well as learning the histories of them as well. The chocolate factory wasnt really like a factory- if anyone is familiar with Artisans Alley in San Antonio, it kind of had that atmosphere.
When I came home from our day out, my madre told me that Belen (my host sister) was at a church, but it sounded weird. From what I could somewhat understand it sounded like a church that incorporates a lot of religions, so I'm going to ask Bele more about it or at least get the name to find out what it is.
Yesterday was our surprise party for Ashley's birthday- it was great. Her madre had all of her family come over (including her adorable grandson who we all want to take home) and six of us including Ashley. Its incredible to me how readily the people Ive met in Argentina open up their homes to others and are truly genuine in their hospitality. Birthdays are pretty much the same in Argentina as they are in the US, except for the cake: the middle of the cake is saved for the birthday girl/boy bc it is the heart of the cake and they get to make a wish on it before they eat it.
After the party was over, I went downtown to get cash for paragliding today and decided to kill some time down there. After going to Dun-ken (really great bakery/cafe), I was walking around the Plaza de la Independencia looking at the artisan's craft tables they have set up on weekends when I heard some girls speaking English near me. I asked one where she was from and it turned out they were all here from Idaho on a missions trip with their church and they were all college-age. We started talking and I hung out with them for about an hour. We talked about the work theyve been doing here and how they were supposed to have gotten together with some people from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) earlier today, but it didnt work out.
After hanging out with that group, I headed to church with Ashley and Sarah. Sarah doesnt normally go to church so Im really glad she went. Ive never worshipped in a different language and it was such an amazing experience. There were two missionaries who were visiting the church and they guy who spoke only knew English so we got to hear his message in both Spanish and English. Before his message though, I really felt God telling me that my time in Latin America is not over after this trip and I'll be back down here. I dont know when, I dont know in what capacity or how long or what country, but I can't deny that was what God was calling me to last night, especially since I first heard that call in summer of 07.
When church was over, we talked with another girl there who was from the states. She works with YWAM here and actually knew the group that I had hung out with earlier in the day. She talked with us about some opportunities to serve with YWAM while we're here, and if we dont have stuff planned with school, Ashley and I are definitely going.
And today, Im going PARAGLIDING. I know. who am I? My biggest fear is falling. I'm excited tho and Im sure its going to be great.
The next three weeks I would really appreciate prayers for the following
When I came home from our day out, my madre told me that Belen (my host sister) was at a church, but it sounded weird. From what I could somewhat understand it sounded like a church that incorporates a lot of religions, so I'm going to ask Bele more about it or at least get the name to find out what it is.
Yesterday was our surprise party for Ashley's birthday- it was great. Her madre had all of her family come over (including her adorable grandson who we all want to take home) and six of us including Ashley. Its incredible to me how readily the people Ive met in Argentina open up their homes to others and are truly genuine in their hospitality. Birthdays are pretty much the same in Argentina as they are in the US, except for the cake: the middle of the cake is saved for the birthday girl/boy bc it is the heart of the cake and they get to make a wish on it before they eat it.
After the party was over, I went downtown to get cash for paragliding today and decided to kill some time down there. After going to Dun-ken (really great bakery/cafe), I was walking around the Plaza de la Independencia looking at the artisan's craft tables they have set up on weekends when I heard some girls speaking English near me. I asked one where she was from and it turned out they were all here from Idaho on a missions trip with their church and they were all college-age. We started talking and I hung out with them for about an hour. We talked about the work theyve been doing here and how they were supposed to have gotten together with some people from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) earlier today, but it didnt work out.
After hanging out with that group, I headed to church with Ashley and Sarah. Sarah doesnt normally go to church so Im really glad she went. Ive never worshipped in a different language and it was such an amazing experience. There were two missionaries who were visiting the church and they guy who spoke only knew English so we got to hear his message in both Spanish and English. Before his message though, I really felt God telling me that my time in Latin America is not over after this trip and I'll be back down here. I dont know when, I dont know in what capacity or how long or what country, but I can't deny that was what God was calling me to last night, especially since I first heard that call in summer of 07.
When church was over, we talked with another girl there who was from the states. She works with YWAM here and actually knew the group that I had hung out with earlier in the day. She talked with us about some opportunities to serve with YWAM while we're here, and if we dont have stuff planned with school, Ashley and I are definitely going.
And today, Im going PARAGLIDING. I know. who am I? My biggest fear is falling. I'm excited tho and Im sure its going to be great.
The next three weeks I would really appreciate prayers for the following
- That I not waste my time with my host family
- That I get over my embarrassment of lack of knowledge of Spanish and try harder to communicate with my family.
- That in the midst of being served so much here I really look for opportunities to serve others as well. Not only Mendocinos, but in my Baylor group as well.
- Continued good health!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Three Weeks Left
Its really hard to believe I have three weeks before I leave Mendoza and my family here. I really wish I had more time to spend with them and learn more Spanish. I dont want to waste the three weeks Ive got left. I feel like the first three weeks were spent getting used to things here and getting over being homesick. And I feel like theres so much left to do. Im so grateful for the friends that God has provided me with here- theyre an awesome group.
And I really want to spend more time with Belen (my host sister) before I leave. I think something that Im realizing is that I really dont know much about missions and while Tanzania was great and God did/is doing some amazing things there, its incredibly different to what long term missions is. I really want to talk to a missionary family that we had dinner with the other night and find out more about their experience here since theyve been here for 20-something years.
And I really want to learn Spanish.
And I really want to spend more time with Belen (my host sister) before I leave. I think something that Im realizing is that I really dont know much about missions and while Tanzania was great and God did/is doing some amazing things there, its incredibly different to what long term missions is. I really want to talk to a missionary family that we had dinner with the other night and find out more about their experience here since theyve been here for 20-something years.
And I really want to learn Spanish.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Buena Vida
Part of the reason I wanted to go on this trip was to see God working in Argentina. Not because I doubted that he is, but because I just wanted to see it for myself like I did in Tanzania. Last night I realized I had been getting so wrapped up in being here and trying to figure things out that I havent been looking to see God working here. So I asked Him last night to show me his love here. I wasnt really sure how I would see it, but I definitely did this morning. One of my friends and I got on the bus as usual, but two guys from the UC Davis program got on as well at another stop and we hadnt seen them before. We started talking to them and probably 5-10 minutes later the bus broke down and we had 20 minutes until school started. Fortunately, one of the guys was fluent in Spanish and helped us ask a woman how to get a taxi. As we were getting off the bus and onto the taxi it dawned on me that this was God showing his love for me in a simple, but awesome way. And it wasnt in a ¨santa claus¨ way like Donald Miller talks about in Searching for God Knows What. He anticipated my needs and provided a way for them to be met. God is so incredibly good and I love how he makes a whitness to himself in the most simple ways. It shows how humble he is that he doesnt always express his love in some big extravagant way. Man I love my God.
And today, so far, has been a great improvement from yesterday. After the placement exams I was feeling kind of disappointed because I didnt do very well on the oral part. Ive never had an oral exam before and couldnt remember how to say anything. Then, I was really looking forward to our tour of the park and downtown Mendoza, but when we got on the bus, we found out that the whole tour would be in Spanish. I mean, yes, I did come here to learn Spanish and immerse myself in it, but at the same time, I really did want to learn about the city and not just guess from context clues. Our tour guide was really nice though and we did speak with her in English some. Plus it was good to get to hang out with other Baylor kids.
Okay, I'm going to try and make plans with other Baylor people.
¡Ciao!
And today, so far, has been a great improvement from yesterday. After the placement exams I was feeling kind of disappointed because I didnt do very well on the oral part. Ive never had an oral exam before and couldnt remember how to say anything. Then, I was really looking forward to our tour of the park and downtown Mendoza, but when we got on the bus, we found out that the whole tour would be in Spanish. I mean, yes, I did come here to learn Spanish and immerse myself in it, but at the same time, I really did want to learn about the city and not just guess from context clues. Our tour guide was really nice though and we did speak with her in English some. Plus it was good to get to hang out with other Baylor kids.
Okay, I'm going to try and make plans with other Baylor people.
¡Ciao!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
¡Primer dia de la escuela!
Today was the first day that I went to the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. We didnt have any official classes today; instead we had an orientation with the Argentine program director. I'm really excited about all of our weekend excursions that we're going to take- there's only one weekend where there isn't one planned.
My first two full days in Mendoza were good, but kind of hard. One of my friends had told me that I would become pretty frustrated during the first week with the language barrier. Maybe I'm less patient than she is, but I became frustrated within the first two days. I felt bad because I really wanted and still want to converse with my host family, but right now I'm very limited in my ability to do so. It also seemed that by the end of the second day both my host mom and host sister were kind of frustrated with me. Today was better though, probably because I spent about 7 hours at school.
Tomorrow we are going on a tour of the city, which I'm really looking forward to
My first two full days in Mendoza were good, but kind of hard. One of my friends had told me that I would become pretty frustrated during the first week with the language barrier. Maybe I'm less patient than she is, but I became frustrated within the first two days. I felt bad because I really wanted and still want to converse with my host family, but right now I'm very limited in my ability to do so. It also seemed that by the end of the second day both my host mom and host sister were kind of frustrated with me. Today was better though, probably because I spent about 7 hours at school.
Tomorrow we are going on a tour of the city, which I'm really looking forward to
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