Thursday, December 29, 2011

A Wee Bit Crispy

   Another day, starting off with another lazy morning :] Then around 10:30, Christa & I went to a pool/fitness center downtown. It was really nice and perfect weather. We stayed for around 2 hours and now have rosy cheeks. Lao people don't understand why us Americans with beautiful light skin want to make it darker. They all walk around with umbrellas. Christa & I think quite the opposite. :] So now we are happy to have a little color--and tomorrow we'll probably be getting even more! We're going to Vang Viang for 2 days. If the weather is nice enough, we'll go tubing down the river. I don't know what else we will do, but I'm excited!
    After the pool, Christa & I had lunch, showered, and went to her class at 2:00. Shortly after we got back from school, our entire house of girls went downtown for sticky rice with ice cream--sep lai lai! :] I think we're going there again with Heather & Kirsten. For those of you who don't know, Heather & Kirsten are my Dad's cousins who are coming to visit for a week. When they come, I finally get to start doing the "touristy" things around Vientiane. ;]
    So we had our meal in opposite order tonight, because after ice cream we went to an Indian & Pakistan Restaurant with Stephanie, Angie, and two other girls from church to celebrate Steph's birthday. Again, the food was very good. Then after, they were all going to go to Steph & Angie's house for cake & ice cream, but Christa & I opted out of a second dessert and came back here to pack. We're leaving at 6:15 tomorrow morning for our 4 hour trip to Vang Viang. We come back Saturday night in time to pick Heather up at the airport, and then Kirsten comes in Sunday morning.
   So my next post will probably be in the new year! Hope you all have a happy & safe ending to 2011! :]

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Something in the Air...

Dinner with Yui was very nice. For those of you who don't know, Yui is Christa's Christian friend whom she met through Prof. Art Anema from Dordt. Faith CRC in Sioux Center partners with a Lao church in Sioux City and with Lao Christians here, so that is how they are all connected I guess. We'll see if Christa corrects me on that. It was nice to have a conversation with a Lao person where Christa did not have to stop and translate for me. :] The food was sep as always, including the spring rolls. We got back from dinner around 8:30 and just sat around and read/watched a movie until bed.
Tuesday morning Christa had to teach at 8am, and I stayed home all day. I had an extended time of devotions, read more of the Chronicles of Narnia, watched the movie Letters to God (which was surprisingly not that bad/cheesy for a Christian one!) and started reading a book based on Ephesians called Sit, Walk, Stand. I might post on that later.
So Christa taught until 11:45, came back and had dinner with me, and then taught one more class. During her afternoon class, I was in charge of making banana bread. When she got home, we went to the sauna. The first time in, I felt like I couldn't breathe and wondered how relaxing this could really be, but the second time in was better and I could actually enjoy it. My skin is definitely softer now, too. We just used regular vanilla yogurt. The same kind that I had for breakfast this morning! No pictures of that adventure though, sorry to say ;]
        For dinner, we went back to Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant and then went to the Night Market to try to return a shirt and finish getting my souvenirs for people. So I think I'm finished with that now! We also had roti for dessert. It's an eggy pastry thing with sweetened condensed milk drizzled on top--sep lai! :] Again, we were early to bed. I think I slept from around 9:30pm to 6:30am. Now that I'm on Lao time, I am getting a ridiculous amount of sleep on this trip. It might be harder yet to get back on Iowa time! Christa says there's something in the air here.
     This morning (Dec 28th) I went to class with Christa. I graded for her while she taught and then I read more Chronicles of Narnia. One of her classes also had a gift exchange for the New Year, which is what the banana bread was for. I got an interesting little blue jar in the shape of a heart. :] It was lots of fun to see the different personalities though, which you can maybe even see in the picture a little bit.

Christa's been trying to teach one of her classes the difference between "You have to" or "You don't have to" etc. "You have to" is 100% = You must. But "You don't have to" is 50% = You may, or you may not. Which is confusing because they seem like they should be opposites. So in their example sentences, the students write "You don't have to touch a monk. If you touch a monk, you are sinning," because they think it the opposite of "You have to..." The English language really is confusing!
Shortly after class, we went to Corky & Maurice's house again for the ELI Teacher's Christmas party. Last time I was at their house, I was a bit of a zombie, so it was nice to actually be able to talk to them with a well-rested, fully functioning brain. That also means it's been one week since I've gotten here. Christa & I decided that in many ways, it seems like I've been here for more than a week, but in a good way. So far, we've just had a nice relaxing week with a few Christmas parties here and there, but not rushed really at all, so we've had lots of time to catch up. :]
     We had a gift exchange with this Christmas party, too. Christa said I should bring Velveeta cheese from home, which was battled over between two people a little while. I ended up with a cool little lamp thing, and Christa got a coffee mug and granola bar from one of her favorite local coffee shops.
After the Christmas party, we went to visit the "four girls" dorms again. There were two guys there this time too who weren't so shy to talk to me, and they are level 5 in school, so they knew English pretty well, too. It was fun. :] It's only 9:30pm here, but I think we're off to bed for a bit of reading before probably falling asleep by 10. It is vacation indeed. ;]

Monday, December 26, 2011

Merry Kreestmaas

That's kind of how it sounds when Lao people say Christmas. They say "Merry Kreestmaas Teacher Kreesta! :]
The rest of our Christmas was merry, too...lazy, but merry :] Christa woke up around 7, (so only three hours later than me), and we got to work on making an egg bake for our Christmas brunch with other ELI teachers.
We also had a breakfast with the other housemates. Julia made delicious homemade cinnamon rolls. Then we opened gifts.
We were too cold to sit on the ground with everyone else (even though we're from Iowa)

I brought Christa's gift from Mom & Dad from home.
Around 10:30, Christa and I headed to Teachers Steph & Angie's house. We had our egg bake, more cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, and fruit. We also had hot apple cider and hot chocolate. As Christmasy as we could get :] First, we watched Elf and then It's a Wonderful Life after. I don't think I had ever seen that entire movie from start to finish, so I really enjoyed it. :] Then we just sat around & chatted until 6ish.
When we got back home, they were just getting ready to have supper out on the patio with the Christmas lights all around, so Christa & I joined them. It was called Suki--a meat, thin noodle, lettuce, & egg mixture that's cooked in chicken broth and everyone just digs in with their chopsticks. I was chilled all day and feeling worn down either from lack of sleep or a cold, so I didn't stay outside very long, but it was fun.
Christa & I skyped our family back home on their Christmas morning which was kinda weird to be on the other side of the screen. :]
This morning, Christa & I went on a run again to attempt to work off all those Christmas goodies from the weekend. Then we had a nice morning of devotions, coffee, and more chatting before her class at 10:00.
Here's a quick little video of what it's like. Can you hear the girls in the back say "I love America!" ?? :]

After class, we had lunch with other Lao teachers and then we spent the rest of the afternoon in her office. I helped grade papers while Christa planned lessons and then I finished book #1 in the Chronicles of Narnia series. We'll see if I can finish them all on this trip. :]
Christa's friend Yui showed up last night while skyping Mom & Dad. She's been studying in Thailand for the past 8 months, so we're going for dinner with her tonight at the place with "the best spring rolls in the country" according to Christa. I'm excited! :]

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Carols Retake

Often times when I sing Christmas carols, I fail to reflect on the words because I've heard & sung them so often. So this morning, I've really enjoyed just reading through some instead. Thought I would "pass it on" ;]

O Little Town of Bethlehem
All the verses are good, but I especially liked these two :]
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray!
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels,
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Away in a Manger
Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay.
Close by me forever,
And love me I pray.
Bless all Thy dear children,
In Thy tender care.
And fit us for heaven,
To live with Thee there.

Go, Tell It On the Mountain
I've never actually heard these verses before but I like 'em! :]
When I was a seeker
I sought both night and day
I sought the Lord to help me
And He showed me the way.


Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.


He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall
And If I am a Christian
I am the least of all.


Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is probably my new-found favorite. You can check it out here with the others.

Great Minds Think Alike

Merry Christmas!! Notice the new Christmasy background?? ;]
I was up early again today. I don't know what my deal is...
Anyway! Our Christmas party yesterday was fun. We made wire ornaments, cut paper snowflakes, and decorated Christmas cookies. We also played the game where you have to open a gift with oven mitts on and a body-part match-up game. The music would play and the students would walk around the room. When the music stopped, the students had to find their partner and match-up whatever body parts the teacher called out. Very entertaining :] Then we just chatted for a while--there were a few guys that knew English okay so I got to talk with them and learned some more Lao, too. Christa and Steph (another teacher) got lots of little gifts from their students. They love to give little stuffed animals. :]
After we left Steph's house, Christa and I did some shopping at the night market and I bought some souvenirs for some people--my favorite! :] I was looking at a T-shirt shop and found one that I wanted to buy for myself, but right when I was going to ask the man how much it was, Christa told me to wait because she actually bought me a T-shirt to open on Christmas morning. I also was going to buy slippers from the market but found those in her closet for me to open, too. So great minds think alike I guess! :] Now I still won't have any gifts to open this morning, but that's quite alright. I had plenty before I came here.
When the rest of the house wakes up, we will open gifts and maybe have some worship time. The foreigner's church where Christa usually goes does not have a service today, so we will be going to another ELI teacher's house for brunch and Christmas movies most of the day.
For you Americans, a notice on Christmas Day--it is definitely merry so far in case you were worried ;] Here's to hoping you sleep in past 4 am though! :]

Friday, December 23, 2011

Aham Sep Lai

The traffic to downtown was crazy busy yesterday. I think it took almost a half hour to get there, but I took lots of pictures. Our breakfast was sooo good yesterday. I had my first experience with Lao coffee. It's basically darker with sweetened condensed milk on the bottom. I'll definitely be getting more of that :] We also had mango stuffed pancakes, banana french toast, and a plate of fresh fruit. Throughout this whole past semester, I would usually have just yogurt, Cheerios, and a banana for breakfast, but this past week I have been spoiled. First at Matt's house, we had yumma breakfast every day and now here too. I love it! :]


After breakfast we went to Morning Market for Christa to shop for Christmas gifts for her housemates. I got a few things too. Then we went to White Lotus for an hour long massage/stretching--very nice :] We might go again...why not when they're only $5? After massages, we went to Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant--Christa's favorite. I liked it a lot too, so I'm sure we'll be back there, too.
They massaged our head too--hence the bit-o-craziness ;]
We headed back home for a little while and then went to "the four girls." They are four of Christa's students that she spends quite a bit of time with. A few of their friends/brothers were over, too, and they wanted to ask me questions but they were too shy. Christa was disappointed, but it was still fun just to watch/hear her interact with the others. They were all shocked by how tall I was of course. The guys found out that I play volleyball, but there was no way they would want to play against me because I wouldn't even have to jump. Then they asked how tall my boyfriend is, assuming, I'm sure, that there was no way that someone could be even taller than me, but I assured them that he was. ;]
After we got back, Christa & I had to tear mint leaves for supper and then I took a nap while Christa's housemates and other friends made the rest of supper. We had authentic Lao lapp with sticky rice. It was good too! That's where Sone taught me "sep lai" which how I respond when someone asks if the food is delicious. Sep lai = very delicious. All my food so far has been sep lai lai! :]
After supper, Christa and I chatted while making Christmas cookies for the party on Saturday. Then we watched Get Smart with the other girls until bed around 10ish. I slept in until 7 so I was happy! :] It's been a pretty lazy morning. We had breakfast with the same girls again. It wasn't exactly breakfasty food, but still sep lai! We're going to a Christmas party at another ELI teacher's house at 2pm, and that should last most of the day. Maybe then it will start feeling more like Christmas! :]

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Galem, BanSong, Nyim, & Fan

Teaching was fun yesterday! I got to talk with three of Christa's more advanced students while she taught the rest of her class. They helped me write/say a whole paragraph in Lao about ice cream (galem), volleyball (bansong), smiling (nyim), and boyfriend (fan) ;]
For her second class, I had to try to grade the students on their English pronunciation of Christmas words. I think I was too harsh, but Christa said it was good because usually she's too easy. During the rest of her class, I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. I haven't read a regular novel in a looong time, so this'll be good :]
After class, we went to a friend's dorm with maybe 12 other students for a Christmas party. We sang songs, played games, and ate food. For one of the games we had to put a chopstick in our mouth and transfer a rubberband down the line. Kinda tricky--especially when I'm over a foot taller than them. :] They were kind of shy to talk to me at first, but towards the end they warmed up. Christa basically speaks fluent Lao with them--I'm impressed! ;]
We left around 6:30pm, stopped at one roadside market for fresh papaya & dragon fruit and another market for grilled chicken, sticky rice, and papaya salad. Then we watched a movie while eating supper. It was good but the papaya salad was a little too spicy for me. I got tired pretty early and headed to bed around 9:00 I think? So then I was up at 5 this morning already, but that's okay :] Christa woke up around 7...we got ready for the day and now we're about to head out for breakfast, shopping, and massages!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Day 1

Christa picked me around 11am and we took a taxi back. First thing we did when we got here was empty my suitcase and give her all the food and gifts she got from everyone :]
Then I took a shower and we went for lunch at the Common Grounds. It's a cute American-style coffee shop. I like the name :] Then we walked around a little bit before going to Maurice & Corky's (Christa's leaders) house for their weekly Wednesday group meetings with the other ELI teachers. I wasn't feeling tired until we sat down to start our meeting. I heard the majority of Maurice's devotional on a piano tuning analogy and was able to worship for a while, but by then I couldn't keep my eyes open to save my life. I wanted to be at the meeting just to see/hear the group dynamics and get to know them a little better, but instead I basically passed out upstairs for two hours. :] Much needed though. It was great.
Then we went out to eat with the group and got back around 9pm. I slept from 10:30pm to 6am after taking a Tylenol PM so I'm hoping that I'm on Lao time now--that'd be wonderful :]
This morning, Christa and I went to a track near by for a run, made banana-berry smoothies and coffee for breakfast, and have just been relaxing all morning. Soon, we're leaving for her school. I think I get to help one of her students practice his English just by talking with him while she teaches the class. Time to get my sinh on! :] (That's the Lao skirts, fyi)

The Rat Lady

I have arrived! and all in one piece...which is not that I was thinking at 3 o’clock in the morning in the Hanoi, Veitnam airport. If you’re wondering if I’m referring to those thoughts in my title, you are absolutely correct. Flight #1 from Seattle to Seoul went well—I watched 3 ½ movies, journaled, read, and ate good food…no sleeping. Flight #2 from Seoul to Hanoi went well…a little more of the same. At that point, I had been awake since 5am Monday morning in Washington, and it was 10am Tuesday morning in Washington by the time I landed in Vietnam…that’s 29 hours folks. So I was really hoping that I would be super tired and just sleep the night away at the Hanoi airport. Not quite…
When I first arrived, the man at the check in said at least four times “You a very brave girl…very, very brave…” This, of course, was referring to me spending the night in the airport. Yes, I suppose I had to be brave to spend it in the airport by myself as a 20 year old girl in an unknown land, but I’m pretty sure he was referring to something else. Now we refer back to the title: yup, I spent the night in the airport with RATS! ICK!! If they weren’t my least favorite animal before, they definitely are now.
A Steve Green song I used to sing came into good use that night. Over and over again I sang “When I am afraid I will trust in You, I will trust in You, I will trust in You…” I was literally begging God to keep those rats away from me. I don’t know if I have never been more disgusted and scared in my life. But then after maybe 20 minutes of being absolutely petrified, I started to journal and get my thoughts together. :]
It really hit me how terrified I am of a tiny little rat. Okay, well not exactly tiny—they were seriously the size of my tennis shoes—but still I’m 20 times bigger than a rat. It’s not like they could kill me…unless they had the Black Plague or rabies…but that’s beside the point. This struck me because it made me question the last time I’ve felt this terrified of what Satan can do to me. He’s not just interested in getting a little food for the night—he wants my soul for eternity. Why doesn’t that terrify me? Yes, I know I have the hope and confidence in God’s protection, but really I rarely give Satan recognition and I think he needs it. Further yet, why don’t I tremble in fear of the Lord? It made me realize once again how disconnected I am from the eternal realms. I need that mindset—of continuous watching and preparation for Christ’s coming. How appropriate for the advent season—even in 70 degree weather with no snow. :]
Home Sweet Home in Hanoi, Veietnam for 12 hours :)

Monday, December 5, 2011

Diamond Column #5

Small Beginnings . . .
     This fall I was encouraged to make a list of ten goals. The list has been tacked up on my desk all semester, but I haven’t paid much attention to it. Looking at it now, I’ve realized that I set my goals waaay to high. If you’re in the same boat as me—realizing you didn’t get everything done that you wanted to this semester, were hoping to grow more spiritually and didn’t, or whatever the case may be, then I want to offer some encouragement. Even if you’re not feeling that way, maybe you can take this away for further use. J
        It’s an Old Testament parallel from  Zechariah 4:6-10 (mine is New Living Translation) Go ahead and read it and then here’s a little summary.
       God’s people have just been released out of captivity in Babylon. God’s Temple is in ruins. The Temple has to be rebuilt, and God tells Zechariah that Zerubbabel is going to lay the foundation of His Temple and complete it (vs 8). And how is this going to happen? Not by force…not by strength…but by God’s Spirit. (vs 6) With God’s Spirit, Zerubbabel will not be stopped by anything. The biggest mountains will become level fields that cannot keep him from setting the capstone of the Temple in place. So even though Zerubbabel might look at all the work that has to be done on the Temple and feel discouraged, God tells him, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” God is trying to give Zerubbabel a little pep-talk.
       Now here’s the parallel: We are God’s people released out of captivity of sin. God’s Temple—which is our own bodies, by the way, according to 1 Cor. 6:19—may not be in total ruins, but they’re certainly not a finished product. Our Temple has to be rebuilt and God is telling us that we will lay the foundation and complete it. And how is this going to happen? It’s not by forcing ourselves to be good Christians or by having really strong self-discipline. It’s by His Spirit! With God’s Spirit, we will not be stopped by anything. The biggest obstacles in our walk with God will become level fields that cannot keep us from setting Christ, the capstone of our Temple, in place. Even though we might look at all the work that has to be done on our Temple and feel discouraged, God tells us, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” The beginnings are small, but the capstone—the perfect finishing touch—will be set. And when that happens, we will shout: “God bless it! God bless it!” Do not despise your beginnings, no matter how small. Simply continue to look forward, relying on His Spirit’s power and blessings and knowing that God is rejoicing to see you become more like Him. J

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Alphabet of Thankfulness

Well, November and Thanksgiving are over, but I'm still feeling thankful!
Thanksgiving night, my parents drove me down to Omaha to catch another MegaBus to Chicago. So I got to spend the next 2 1/2 days in Chicago with Matt! : ) Besides doing a whole bunch of touristy things, enjoying all the Christmas decorations, drinking Starbucks, and trying Thai & Indian food for the first time, we got to spend some quality time together. One of those times was going through the alphabet of things we're thankful for. Here's what we came up with:
Airplanes to travel to see family & friends
Berries & Bananas--really all kinds of fruit are worthy of thankfulness
Christmas season--it really is the most wonderful time of the year
Danae--This was not my idea...I'm not that vain. : )
Ears & Eyes that function
Family
God
Holding Hands : )
Iowa
Jam
Kids
Laughter & Letters
Matt--This one was my idea : )
Nighttime walks
Originality
Pancakes
Roommates (and other friends)
Stars (including the Sun)
Talents
Understanding
Victory over death
Washington
Xcitement
Yellow (and all things bright & cheerful)
Zechariah 4:10

Interesting quote from Campus Life tonight (a middle school youth group I help out with): "If you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today, what would you have?"
Here's to waking up to at least 26 wonderful things! : )
Enjoying Christmas-y downtown Michigan Avenue