Since moving here, Andres and I have had a chance to meet so many different and beautiful people from the lower working class. We have truly come to love many of them.
The most shocking thing for me is the social class system here.
A persons rate of pay changes here depending on your Nationality.
Andres is treated like lower class than me just because he is not white.
The inequality is just heart breaking to me. You hear about it happening in parts of the world but it is really something else when you see it firsthand.
(I do not mean this to slight Dubai in any way as a country. I think the government and what they are trying to do is so amazing and I would love to see more countries learn from Dubai's example and follow suit.)

Let me tell you about a new friend of mine.
Her name is Kay (not her real name).
Kay is a Sri Lankan woman who is working here in Dubai as a maid.
I met Kay a few weeks back and thought she was the cutest thing. She is tiny, maybe 5feet tall. She has the cutest little voice and a face that is always smiling.
I knew Kay just by name and face for the first few weeks until a few weeks ago.
Andres and i were going to order some hamburgers from a nearby place and thought we would ask her if she wanted one. She told us no thank you because she was cooking.
Andres and I love Sri Lankan food so naturally we asked her if she would be wiling to cook for us in the future.
She got so excited and said that she would share the food that was just now making.
A few hours later she brings platters of food to us and sets places for Andres and I.
I then ask her if she would eat with us. It took a bit of convincing before she agreed to it.
We sat down at the table together and loaded our plates with the food. Rice, beans, eggs, chilis, tomatoes and who knows what else; all cooked to a spicy  perfection.
She then began to open up to us.
Kay first married when she was 16 and had children right away.
She then moved from Sri Lanka to work so that she could take care of her children, who are living with family back home.
When she was 20 she began working for a family in Lebanon. The family was very tough on her. She spoke no Arabic which made things very hard for the communication between her and the family. She was often times beaten and upon completing her promised 3 years with that family they refused her a ticket home.
She went on a food strike until she fainted from it, even then they would not let her leave. After a month of asking they allowed her to go home.
She got home and was told by a family member that 3 months earlier her husband had died in an accident. In those 3 months no one had thought to tell her.

She then went to Dubai to work. She spent some time with a very good family until they no longer needed her. She then came to work for the family she is now with.
She was given the job when the previous maid quit. 

She was promised 2,000 AED per month upon starting with this family. The family then started paying her 1,900 or 1,800 AED a month and not telling her why.
She is often time asked to work in the heat for hours on end. (some days are as hot as 120 F).
Because of how hard she works she has been very sick for much of the time she has been with this family.
The family found out a month or so ago that they were going to move. The family did not tell Kay they were moving.  Kay saw the family begin to pack the house and then asked the family if they were moving. They waited to tell her until the time of year when so many families are on holiday, thus making it near impossible for her to find a new job.

The most amazing thing about this is you hear these stories and you see these people and how they live and work and you wonder at how they are so sweet still.
When we offered to help Kay buy ingredients for the food she was sharing with us she refused. She told us that she was just so happy that we wanted her to cook for us and that was enough. A few nights later she invited Andres and I to go out to dinner with her and her boyfriend. We went to one of our favorite local places, where as usual I was the only white person in the building, and at the end of the meal they insisted on paying.

I am just so amazed and blessed by the people here.
So many of them are working so hard and sacrificing so much so they can make money to send home to their families/ children. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for a woman to be in another country while their child is living with a family member back home.

It is just such a good reminder to be grateful for the life you have and the blessing you have.
I know so many people who have really nice lives and they feel that their world is ending if they don't have the nicest or newest things or if someone is even the slightest bit rude to them at one point during their week.
It is always an encouragement to me as well that even though I may not have all of these fancy things and the most up to date things I have better thing; I have spent my time and money on building relationships and memories that will last forever and mean so much to me.

Hey all

Sorry I have not blogged in a while.
I have simply had issues organizing my thoughts on everything going on, not to mention being unsure as to what I should share with the public and what not.

Hopefully you received an email from me (if you are family or a close friend), or seen on my facebook that Andres and I are now officially engaged.
If you are family and did not receive the  email I am so sorry. I had some issues tracking down addresses and many people were unable to open the announcement because of the document format.

I truly hope this is not the way you are finding out, but if so I am happy that you now know. :]

I know a lot of people are curious as to what happens now and what our plans are.
We are still working out plans, but I think we have it all mostly sorted.
This is why it took almost a month for me to write this. 

The plan as of now is this, Andres and I will jump through whatever hoops it takes to be "legally married" here in Dubai.
In Dubai this means we, as Christians, must have a church wedding ad then visit 4 different public official offices here in Dubai to make it official.
God totally blessed us and we started attending a church just weeks ago, and last weekend found out that the Pastor is one of the few Pastors in Dubai that can perform weddings.

We are going to go through some pre-marriage counseling with these pastors before setting the date for the "wedding" here. We will have the smallest ceremony that we possibly can. It will be my parents, Andy's family, maybe Julia and Kyle and probably some random people here in Dubai.


We are legally doing this in Dubai because we are seriously considering living in the States for a few years and going to school. In order to do that I have a ridiculous amount of paperwork I have to file to get Andres into the States.
From the research I have done it seems that it will all go much more smoothly and ultimately be cheaper and faster if he and I are legally married.
We have run into one snag, if you feel like praying for us in this, in order for Andres to get a green-card a person needs to fill out a form saying that they will be financially responsible for him. I was planning on doing this, but on researching it further I did not make enough money last year to qualify for this.
It is just something to pray about.
Also, if you know anything about filling out these papers, or know a person who has done this that I can talk to, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!



Now the fun part.
Andres and I are planning on having our actual ceremony, you know the one with the princess dress and the dancing and all that, in Ecuador.
We are hoping to do it in February or March of 2013.
I know that this will be hard for a lot of my family and friends to make it to this wedding, but I am really hoping that they will keep it in mind and see if it is an option.
Andres and I are trying to put together a budget, and to me it is looking like it will be a lot cheaper for my guests than I had originally thought.
I will be sending out this proposed budget to friends and family in the next few weeks.
If you do not get it and would like to, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!!!!
You can  comment on here and let me know, or email me, or facebook me, or even get ahold of someone in my family.





Let me think, what else is going on.
As of right now I am not working. The gym I coach at is closed for the summer months. Even though it is frustrating not working, I am not complaining because it is HOT here.
The last few days have been in the 100s, but the heat index says that it feels like 120 or more. I am glad I do not have to walk and public transport in this heat.
So in the meantime I am house-sitting for a neighbor.

I start online University in August.
The school seems really good.
I just got my class schedule and it seems pretty simple.
They put me in Conversational Spanish 1 and I am going to see if I can test out of it. 
Other than that, it should be fun.

SO there is an update.
I am going to get back to work on some wedding stuff.

unemployed

For the first time in my life I am unemployed. I have had times in the past when I was between jobs but this time it caught me off guard.
The gym I was coaching at sent me an email the other day saying that there is some new law being passed that made it impossible for the gym to continue renting the space they have been using.
Starting immediately classes would be canceled.
I had only 2 more weeks of classes  before the gym closed for 2 summer months, but this caught me completely off guard. There goes AED 2,400 that I was counting on earning.
The most ironic part is that the morning before receiving this news I went out and bought a scooter that would speed up my commute  only to find out that I cannot return the scooter because it was a sale item.


I updated my CV and will be applying for some new jobs. Hopefully the gym will open again in Sept. as was the original plan, but until then I really need to work.


OH GUESS WHAT!!!!
Today Andres and I celebrate 1 year as a couple.
Pretty cool!

this reminds me of myspace days. hehe

Are you young at heart, or an old soul? I'm an old soul in the sense that when people know me for a short amount of time they always feel like they have known me for years. 

What makes someone a best friend? I think this song sums it up. Except a best friend is this times 100. My best friends will be utterly ridiculous with me at any moment and not think twice about it. 

What Christmas (or Hanukkah) present do you remember the most? hmmmm...... my popason chair that I slept in every night for weeks after I got it. I also remember getting a pack of colorful sparkly toothbrushes when I was maybe 3 and I was so excited!

Tell me about a movie/song/tv show/play/book that has changed your life. That changed my life eh? Reading Captivating changed the way I thought about being a woman. It is an amazing book. Totally life changing.

Name one physical feature that you like about yourself, and one you dislike. I actually am quite ok with myself in general, though I don't like the shape of my hips at all. 

Would you like to reconnect with any friends you’ve lost contact with? I haven't really lost contact with anyone that I was ever really close with thanks to the internet. I suppose I would like to see what Rayah is doing with her life.

What’s more important in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection?  Definitely the emotional ; lucky for me I don't have to choose in my relationship.

Name a movie that you knew would be terrible just from reading the title. High Schoool Musical. I have blocked that movie out of my head forever.

What holiday do you most look forward to? Christmas and my favorite peoples' birthdays!

How is the relationship between you and your parents? Really good. I am really close with my Dad and can go to him about anything. My Mom is also one of my best friends and my confidant. She has one of the best hearts in the world.

You’ve got the TV on, but you’re not really watching. What channel is the TV on?  We don't get any stations here but in the States probably a Spanish channel.

Name a song that never fails to make you happy. Simon and Garfunkel's 59th st. Bridge.

You know at least one person named Michael. Tell me about him. My Uncle Mike is so great. He is hilarious and I just love the dynamics of that whole family.

Have you ever read the “missed connections” on Craigslist? Have you ever posted one, or wanted to? I have never read them. I just wonder how effective those truly are.

If you could pick anywhere to live the rest of your life, where would it be?hmmmmmmm that is too hard of a question. I have a few more places that I still have to try living in. Probably Ecuador or the Chicago area, but who knows maybe Portland would agree with me.

Can money buy happiness? Not in the least. My fondest memories are when my family was poor. The most interesting and fun people i have ever met have never been wealthy.

Do you drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Why, or why not? I drink very rarely, like 1 drink every 2-3 months. Just never found drinking or smoking to be enticing. It is just an expensive pass time.

Is there anyone close to you that you know you can’t trust? You don’t have to give names.  Yes, well we are obviously not close anymore because I cannot trust them.

Where was your favorite place to go when you were a little kid? How little are we talking? When we were living at the lake house I always liked to go into town and be around people. Going out to eat was also the best thing ever!

Have you ever spent a night in the hospital? Nope

Do you enjoy being with only one or two friends, or with a large group of people? I like being with close friends. Usually one on one, but a group of very close friends can be so great too.

Do you like the type of music your parents listen to? Do your parents like the type of music you listen to?  My Dad and I have very similar taste in music, and I like a lot of what my Mom listens to.

Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied anyone else? I was mildly (very mild) bullied by girls on my gymnastics team at times but it was mild. I don't think I have ever bullied aside from a bit of rough housing with neighborhood boys when I was a young amazon girl.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Hardest question ever. Maybe Shrimp Ceviche.

Do you believe in a god? Undoubtedly

Of all the social networks in the world, why use twitter? I have no idea

What’s your favorite hashtag to track? None

Would you call yourself/your family “middle class?” Never thought I would say this but I think they are more upperclass now.

Name a TV series you didn’t enjoy until after it ended. Malcolm in the Middle

Have you ever bought a product from an infomercial? Nah

If you could give up your car and never have to drive again, would you? If I lived in the city maybe (and they had 24hr Public tran.), but I don't like the idea of not being able to go far if I need to though.

If you go back to one point in time to give advice to yourself, when would you go and what would you say? I would probably tell my high school self to spend less time with certain friends and more time with others. Oh and to not try that back extension roll right before your 18th birthday.

What’s your “quirkiest” habit? Not sure. Maybe busting out into song at inappropriate times, and I have a tendency to say inappropriate things at the worst possible time, like making jokes (that are 100% not true)  about how terrible the wait staff is at a restaurant without realizing the waiter is right behind me.

What is “normal?” Are you normal? I came to terms with not being normal years ago.

Someone close to you is dying. You have the choice to let this person live for 10 more years, but if you do, you cause the death of 10 strangers. You don’t have to see them die. Do you take the offer?  I would never! How could I condemn 10 people to death so that one person can have 10 more years. Who am I to play God like that?

What is one thing you could never forgive? Being cheated on, or being abused emotionally or physically.

Would you rather be in a relationship after the honeymoon period ends, or be single?  I think both are fine. Being single can be really fun, but being in a relationship once it is no longer new and in the cloud is very safe and familiar and nice.

Is it possible for guys and girls to be just friends? Oh yeah. I have so many good guy friends that I know I would never be more than just friends with.

Where do you and your friends go to hang out? Depends on what city/ country I am in. Usually somewhere inexpensive or free.

Write the first sentence of your obituary. What!?!?! No one gets to write their own obituary, they are dead.

What is the best TV theme song ever? Malcolm in the Middle and Big Bang Theory

When you were young, what would you dream you would be when you grew up?  A Medical person living in a very broken and dirty area loving people.

When you’re alone in your own home, do you walk around naked? No. I am seldom home alone and when I am you never know who will randomly stop by.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Many things, and alarm, my dog whining, people talking downstairs, or this morning there was a bird in the house.

Do you want to have more friends than you have right now?  Sure, I like friends. I am just tired of getting close to people and then leaving them. :/

What part of the past year sticks out in your mind? So much uncertainty sprinkled with some incredible times and experiences.

You win a scratch-off lottery game that gives you $2000 a week (after taxes) for the rest of your life. Do you keep your job? Without a  doubt I would keep working, Probably a different job though. I love working.

Could you be in a long-distance relationship? If you’re in one, what makes yours work? Andres and I did that for our first 4 months. It was so hard. It worked because we started dating knowing that it would be hard and we just made the best of it.

What’s the best route to your heart? Laugh at my jokes and take care of me when I am feeling bad.

Have you ever met someone through the internet, then met them in real life? No. That freaks me out a bit.

What is your favorite sport? American Football and Gymnastics

What has been troubling you lately? One of my bestfriends and my sister are both planning there weddings and I am on the other side of the world instead of being there with them.

What do you use more often: your intuition or logical reasoning?I'm trying to find a healthy mix of the two.

Do you know what makes you happy? Sure, Hot wings, Poppers, Pasta.... oh wait that is all food....... there are a lot of things actually.

Tell me about the last book you read. A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahrens. Her books are always so different. It was really interesting.

What is the nicest compliment you’ve ever been given? My old boss asked me how I had such big feet seeing as how I am so "tiny". Best compliment ever for an amazon girl. Another Medic recently told me "I would go anywhere in the world with you.".

Who was your first crush? Who even knows? I have been boy crazy as long as I can remember.

Do you believe that there is life on other planets? No.

Predict what your life will look like a year from now. I don't even know what my life will be like in 2 months. Hopefully I am fluent in Spanish, my sister will be getting married, and I will be back in School.

Where is your favorite place to go out and eat? Depends on which country I am in; Dubai- Probably Chin-Chin or Sea Ship.
Ecuador- The Hamburger stand down the road, the Empanada place by the church, The lady that sells Pasteles...pretty much anywhere is great.
The States- That is too hard. Applebees, IHOP, and Panera.

Early bird or night owl? Night Owl

Are there any childhood possessions you still hold on to? My Baby Blanket

Give me an unpopular opinion you have. I don't really want to get into that at all.

What was the last song that was stuck in your head? Mi Primer Millon. I keep getting just lines of Spanish songs stuck in my head.

Where do you live? Be as general or specific as you want. My Parents' house in the country that boasts the tallest building in the world.

Do you believe in giving kids medals and trophies for participation? For little kids, yes. Like kids under 8 or 9.

What was the longest car ride you’ve ever taken? The East coast.

Have you ever taken part in a protest? Si! It was a silent protest.

Would you ever use an online dating service? Not personally, though I know many people who have had success.

What is your ethnic heritage? Irish, Swedish, German, Native American and who knows what else.

Describe a person that inspires you. I have many. Jen Boyd is a huge inspiration. I have more though of course.

If you earn minimum wage doing what you love, would you? Yeah sure. I often times do things I love for free.

Do you believe in luck? Naw, but I like to act as though I do.

Describe the last time you were very angry at someone. My insides where boiling and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to hurt them physically and emotionally and then run far away.

Do you want to live until you’re 100? I don't care. I would rather not live to 100 if it means I will be weak and in pain all the time.

Do people change? If so, how do you keep a relationship together when both of you start to change? You fall in love with a persons heart and spirit.

Have you ever risked a friendship by telling someone you liked them? Thought about it, SOOOOOO glad I didn't.

Would you rather be alone doing something you enjoy, or doing something you don’t like with your best friends? If I am with a good friend I usually enjoy doing anything.

Do you practice what you preach? For the most part yeah, though I'm obviously human and have done some things I am not proud of.

What do you value more in a significant other: Attractiveness or intelligence?  Intelligence.

Are you hard-headed? Only about some things. When I feel strongly about something you will know, but with most things I don't care that much.

Have you ever laughed uncontrollably when it was socially inappropriate? HAHAHA yes. Between Medical training and gymnastics and being Irish, nothing is sacred.

 

Where would you prefer to live? A city? The suburbs? The countryside? The mountains? I would love to wake up one morning as a Ecuadorian martial artist and live in Down Town Guayaquil. 

Do you often skip breakfast? More often than not.

How do you know what true love is? When you no longer get butterflies around them all of the time yet the thought of being  apart from them for any amount of time breaks your heart, and the thought of them holding hands with any other person makes you so upset.

Would you want to know the exact date and time you were going to die? That takes the adventure out of life.

Where is “home” for you? Been trying to figure that out for a while.

Do you want to be perfect? What does that even mean?

What have you never tried, but would really like to someday? What’s holding you back?  I would like to try para-sailing but it is expensive. So far life has been a pretty grand adventure.

How do you express your creativity?
Drawing, painting, dancing, talking to myself, creating things.

Name something you only liked because it was popular. I tried liking rap for a while but realized I am way to white to even try. I'm sure there were many other things but I don't remember.

Give me the story of your life in six words. I don't think I can do that... let me think about it for a minute.

My final days in Ethiopia

3-22-2012
WE headed up to the DayCare bright and early this morning.
We wanted to be there to do a basic check on all the babies at bath time.
Baths did not happen this morning so we had to improvise.


A care giver would bring us a naked baby and we would weigh it, check for lice and scabies, and check for malnutrition by measuring upper arm circumference. We would then record it on a sheet that was to become a regular chart for the Day Care.
We would then send that baby back to its loving care giver and the next child would be sent out.
For the first group of babies I felt I was more in the way than anything else so I went downstairs and sign certificates.
The team had done some training with the caregivers at the DayCare and each member of the team was to sign completion certificates that we were to give these workers. I also took this time to go through my assessment forms and set aside those mothers that needed follow-up.
I was feeling a bit weak at this point so I went to sit near Nejat. Nejat was one of the little girls that went to the hospital the day before and even today she was not well.
I was sitting next to her just resting and keeping an eye on her when her mother arrived.
This mother came up to me, shook my hand and then proceeded to kiss my hand.
This absolutely broke my heart. Who am I that this woman should kiss my hand?
I feel like I should be hugging these mothers and kissing their hands.  These women are 3x the woman that I am yet they kiss my hand.
I then left the mother with her child.
I then returned to the screenings going on upstairs.
I took over for Doug and absolutely loved every second of it.
All these cute chubby baby bellies.
It was too much cuteness!
I loved interacting with the babies this way. I love tickling them and trying to get them to smile.
We screened all 60 children pretty quickly.
The rest of the team then bought some of the jewelry and coffee that the mothers had made at the Day Care. I asked Christy if I could buy just the beads. She then led me to a back room and pulled out box after box after box of paper beads.
Caia, Micah and I spent a long time sorting through beads, hand selecting each one.
470 beads later I was done.
The team then helped bag coffee beans and sew them into sacks.
Some of the Day Care mothers roast coffee beans once a week there at the daycare. The beans are then sold, just like the paper beads, some embroidered book marks and baskets.
We sewed coffee bean sacks until lunch.
Any guess at what we had for lunch?
Something with lentils. haha
We were all pretty tired by the end of lunch.
We walked back to the Shannon's house and rested for hours.
After a snack of fruit we left to pick up Holly at the airport.When we arrives at the airport we were told that we had to wait outside. Fortunate for us, there was a sort of cafe there with outdoor seating. We sat and drank macchiatos  and chatted as we waited for Holly.When Holly arrived she just sat down with us and told us about her trip.
When we got into the van to leave it decided not to start. All of us then got out and pushed the van until it started then we jumped in and went on our way.
We went to Woody and Shewaye's house.  Jerry Shannon and Jen both knew this couple. They are vineyard pastors in Ethiopia. They invited us over for a visit and said they would do a coffee ceremony for us.
We snacked on homemade bread and popcorn as we shared stories and laughed about all the funny things that had happened over the last few weeks.
The coffee was then served. I was lucky. I sat next to Audra who is not a coffee drinker, but in the cultural context it is a bit rude to refuse coffee. Audra and I worked out a deal. She would eat my pop-corn and I would sneakily drink her cup of coffee after I finished mine.
Needless to say, I was really excited by the end of the ceremony having drank twice as much of the very stout coffee as everyone else.
By the time we left we were all pretty wonky.
We said our warm goodbyes to Shawaye. When I said goodbye to her and thanked her for her hospitality she invited me to come back because i live so close.


Once we arrived at the Shannon's house again we excitedly greeted Christy and started telling her all about our evening at the airport and the coffee ceremony.
Jen then walks out of the room and comes back a minute later with her arms full of plates and a huge smile on her face and announced that we should eat cake.
We all excitedly went upstairs to the dinning room and ate cake.
It was a really good day.

3-23-2012

I have a really bad habit of not journaling the last 2 or 3 days of a trip.
Ethiopia was no different.  Please be patient with me as I try to remember the details of the last 2 days.

Our last full day in Ethiopia was good.  The agenda for our last full day in Ethiopia was to
1) visit an orphanage (I will explain more in a moment).
2) Have a coffee ceremony with the Day Care staff.
3)Buy shoes that were made from recycled tires.

Audra had a friend in the States who had adopted a baby from Ethiopia a few months earlier.
While this woman was in Ethiopia taking all the steps needed to bring this baby home, she met a little boy about 10 years old and just fell in love with him.
Her and her husband wanted to adopt this boy also but did not complete all the papers in time.
They brought the baby back to the States but left the 10 year old boy with the promise that they would come back for him as soon as they possibly could and would then bring him to the States with them.
When this woman found out that Audra was going to Ethiopia she asked if Audra would be willing to visit the boy and take him some presents and cards from the family and just remind him that his new family loved him and couldn't wait to be with him again.
He were able to set up a time to go see the boy.
He was the sweetest boy, and super shy.
We brought him all of the gifts and showed him the cards and other messages that the family wanted him to have. We also made sure to take photos for the adopted parents in the States.

 Holly, on the other hand, had a family member that was just cleared to adopt a child.
They found out the good news while we were there. They asked that Holly go and see the baby and hug it for them.
This visit was a bit harder to put together. The orphanage finally agreed to let her in but only she was allowed to see the child and she was not to take photos.
It meant so much to Holly and Holly's family members that she was able to go hug this baby.

The Shannon's took us to a shopping center to show us a store that they thought was so cool.
This store made shoes from recycles car tires.
You would not believe it. These shoes were so cool.
The team was very excited and bought quite a few pairs.
They then found out there was a sale, something like buy 5 get one free.
Audra and Jen were buying 5 between the two of them and asked me if I wanted the free pair.
They are so sweet. I picked out the brightest pair I could find. It is made of different shades of orange leather. They are really cool.

After this running around we went to the Day Care to say goodbye to children there and also have the coffee ceremony.
The way a coffee ceremony works is this.
A woman sits on a small stool and has a small sort of oven in which she has hot coals.
She uses these coals to roast the coffee beans right in front of you. Once she finishes the roasting she immediately takes the hot pan of beans and passes it in front of each guest so they can smell the coffee beans.
This always made me a bit nervous to have a woman with a hot pan full of hot coffee beans shake said pan over the top of me.
In a traditional ceremony she would then hand grind the beans with a mortar and pestal, but in both ceremonies they just used an electric grinder.
Everyone is then served delicious homemade bread and hand-fulls of popcorn to snack on.
They then begin to brew the coffee in a really cool pot.
Once the coffee is hot she pours it into the small coffee cups (maybe 3 ounces) and adds milk to some of them.
SHe then walks around with the tray and one by one allows each guest to choose their cup and add sugar if desired. If there are not enough cups for each guest then some of the guest wait for  the already served guests to finish their coffee and return the cup to be reused (after a quick wash).
The woman leading the ceremony collects the cups once the coffee is drunk and then washes them quickly in a basin of water.
She then refills the cups and passes them out the same way.
Both ceremonies I went to consisted of each person being given 2 cups of coffee.
So in a scenario like our ceremony with the Day Care staff, this woman had to fill the cups 4 times in order to serve each person two cups.
During the ceremony people took turns addressing the entire group if they wanted. They just said thank yous and other sweet things to each other. We encouraged the staff, and they thanked us for coming. You know all those sweet things you do.
I was extra lucky. I once again sat next to Audra. I snuck her my popcorn and she in turn gave me her cup of coffee.  4 cups of coffee later I was so wonky. All I wanted to do was talk, and laugh and joke and play obnoxious games.

After dinner Jen we had some time of encouragement.
How do I explain this?
Lets see.
Sometimes when you are in the routine of something, or working on something, you see things in other people that is really good and they may not see it. The point of what we did was just to point out to one another the really great things we see in each other.We write these things down and give them to the person to keep. Sometimes you get back from these trips, or get caught up in your day to day and you start to forget and doubt so it is good to have something written down that reminds you of these good things about you.

SO, the team took turns encouraging the Shannon children.  This really meant a lot to the children.
After the children went to bed we did this with each other. We sat in the living room and just took turns tell each other of the good things we had seen in each other the last few weeks and just in general. I am not sure how to explain this in any better way that will  do it justice.
It was a really great time. Very building for each of us and a good way to end out a trip.

3-24-2012

The last day in Ethiopia was good.
We took some time to do some shopping, after stopping at Jerry Shannon's favorite coffee place for a quick macchiato.
We went to an area  that had a number of stores lining the street.
The people working in these shops spoke English because it is where most of the tourist shop.
We spent a few hours exploring these shops.
Like any country, the shops all carry mostly the same things. It is all about finding the best prices and who you can barter with the most.
I went into this with specific things i was looking for and the knowledge that I had packed in a pack small enough to be a carry on.
I returned to the Shannon's house with a small stack of scarves, and 3 pairs of earrings.
I had just the right amount of space in my pack.
Everything fit nice and snug, of course I did leave most of my clothes there to be donated.
It was very emotional saying goodbye to the Shannon family that night.
We hugged and said farewells and were on our way.
I will be honest though, I was so excited to get home to my family and Andres.
The whole trip home was something else.
Getting through customs and security was ridiculous.
I will also spare you the ridiculous details of my cab ride home.
I will just say that the lady cab driver had lived in Dubai 15 years yet did not have even the slightest idea of where I lived. She had to ask for directions 3 times.
It was all worth it when I arrived home and Andres met me at the door.
It was so good to be home.



That is what Ethiopia looked like. Sorry for how long it took. 
I will find a way to post more photos once blogger decides to let me. 

3-21-2012

I was feeling quite sick this morning.

I slept through breakfast and woke up when everyone except Audra was going to the Day Care.

AFter I got up and ready and ate breakfast, Audra and I walked up to the Day Care with the Shannon boys.

AS soon as we arrived Christy told us that the rest of the team had just left with Jerry.

Two of the children were terribly ill and had to be taken to the hospital.

One was severely dehydrated (2 second skin pinch.) and the other was unable to keep anything down.

We waited at the Day Care until Jerry came to pick us up a bit before 10.

We picked up Jen and Doug and drove to the Fistula hospital there in Addis.

In case you are wondering at fistulas here is a link to The Fistula Foundation site.

 (warning; it is a bit intense.)

This documentary is about the hospital in addis that we went to.

It is worth a watch.

The tour took us all over the hospital grounds.
We saw recovery rooms, physical therapy rooms and everything else in between.
The ground were beautiful!
I love that they take these women that are dealing with such and emotionally and socially hard thing and give them a beautiful place to recover after.

I will be honest, I was fighting off an off and on  fever during much of the tour which made it very hard to really pay attention.

The tour ended in a small gift shop where you could buy things made by the patients there.
There were hand made baskets, and paper bead necklaces, embroidered towels, knit scarves, small trinket boxes and more.
We all made sure to snatch up some goodies.

After the tour we went to lunch.
Jen (a nurse who is staying in Ethiopia for a while) and I shared a huge "fasting feast" (which means no meat) along with meat tibs.
It was so much food.
The two of us together ate maybe 70% of it.

We sat at the restaurant quite a while and just enjoyed ourselves before going to our 2nd hospital.

This hospital was more of a general hospital that also had special wards for TB, HIV and leprosy. We were invited to see the leprosy ward.
The men giving us the tour took us into the patients rooms and made sure we got up close and personal with the leprosy patients.
We made and effort to shake hands with as many of these people as possible.
We then told the tourguides that we felt very rude going into these rooms and want to respect their privacy more.

After walking us through rooms of patients with leprosy and telling us about how these patients had to have amputations they then walk up to a door and ask us to come in.
From our angle all we see in the room is a guy operating a power saw.
Finally someone was brave enough to peek in and found that a Dr. was just cutting off someones cast.
hahaha

They then showed us the PT rooms in the leprosy wards.
People who have finished their leprosy treatment go here to regain as much of their motor function as possible.

At the end of the tour we stumbled upon a Nurse who has been working in the leprosy field years and years.
He told us about working in rural villages before coming to the hospital. He also took us into a tukul where he teaches self care classes for lepers.
He was so excited about talking with us and sharing his knowledge.
He then introduced us to their lead dermatologist who is also one of the top leprosy Doctors in the world.
This Doctor was examining a patient that had some of the first signs of leprosy.
It was one of those experiences that not many medical people get, or really any people get.

By the time we got back to the house I was feeling so terrible that I just went to bed.
The rest of the group did a teaching to the moms and the day care.

It was also Christy's Birthday. We were so fortunate to be a part of the celebration. The boys had made cake that was divine.
The little Shannon, Hanna, was so excited about the cake that you would not believe it.
She was jumping up and down and dancing.
It was so cute!
Sadly I was feeling so badly that I only had a small piece of cake and ran to bed right after finishing.

Things I would tell my younger self

I turned 21 on Monday.

I keep asking myself "what do I miss about being a teen?".

Honestly my answer is NOTHING!

Nothing at all.

So to be cliche' just because I can (because lets be honest here, this is my blog) I wanted to write a list of things I would liked to have told my younger self.

Please do not be offended by what I type.

I like to be blunt with myself and if it comes off condescending it was not my intention. 

1. Don't worry about all of those high school aged girls you know who are always having their phones blown up with text messages from different guys, those are not the guys worth having.

The guys worth having are definitely worth the wait.

2. If he seems to good to be true, he is.

 I do not even know how to expound on this.

3. If a guy really liked you he would do something about it. (#1 thing teenage girls lie to themselves about.)

Any guy who really likes you  will bend over backwards to keep you in his radar.

It is worth waiting for a guy who will do that.

He will text you first, and try to get to know you first.

If you are doing all of the initiating then he is obviously not that interested.

4.You cannot be friends with everyone, but learning how to get along with and love any kind of person is a very valuable gift.

I tried to be friends with everyone when I was younger.

I poured so much energy into trying to connect and be BFFs with every girl and most guys I came into contact with.

It was exhausting and sometimes emotionally painful, but learning how to treat any person with respect is so important.

 5. Your body will eventually mature into something some what attractive.

        I thought I would have the body of a 12 year old alien forever.

It may have taken 21 years but now it has happened and hopefully that means my body won't start giving into gravity until later in life.

One can hope.

6. Do not worry about if you are being a "poser".

If you really like something, like really like it, then wear it. 

 I was so worried for a very long time about wearing something and the people around me thinking I was trying to be something I am not. 

I finally stopped kidding myself and decided that if I really like something I should wear it and as long as I feel good in it, then no one will question me.

6b. This also goes for being a "lifestyle poser".

If I like being and artist then I should proudly be an artist.

If I like playing mandolin, I should play the heck out of that mandolin,

DO not worry about fitting into a stereotype. It is better to be known as someone who is just themselves in every way.

7.Do not create levels of friendships.

The whole system of leveling friends in order of how good of a friend they are is terrible. This system leaves you making more time for some friends than others and missing out on so many great things.

Every friend brings something different to your life. A new dimension, a new outlook on life, and a new perspective.

trying to decide who is your best friend, and your 2nd best friend and so on is only a way to hurt people and deprive yourself of some beautiful things.

8. You will never regret those 2 hour coffee dates that turned into 6 hours.

Those conversations and moments are what makes life colorful. They will be some of your favorite memories.

9. Never take your parents for granted.

I feel like I did a pretty good job for the most part when it came to having relationships with my parents and respecting them. Now I am so grateful for all the times I made my Mom go on dates with me, and all the times she went along with things just because, and for all of the dollar burger nights my Dad and I made sure to attend and the countless hours I spent in the garage talking with him.

10.Always keep family first.

This means extended family too. These are the only people in your life that will love you no matter what and will bend over backwards for you in a time of need. 

I cannot say enough good things about my extended family on both sides.

11. You should have made yourself take those language classes.

I should have done at least a semester of Spanish.   

I know there are many more things, but I should stop here.