Re: Break

Still no pictures to post as Melissa has all of mine (including the CDs). Hopefully those will get up by this weekend sometime.

Meanwhile, let me catch up on what all happened this past week. I think the best way is going to be just hitting the highlights, so here goes:

The Drive: Eight-plus hours each way with Robbie, Melissa, and Yik (on the way back) means fun times. It's extended confined periods that lead to quotes like: "Severed puppy heads," "killer cemetery," and "In the end, I survived." We also learned the difference between sneaked and snuck, the importance of a clean palette, the status of Swedish Fish as the greatest candy, and that Robbie is easily distracted when driving (this caused some missed exits, speed limits, etc.). I also got to play with a cell phone. Buttons and I are not such a great combination.

Philly: Yes, we ran up the steps of the art museum. Yes, we had steaks (except for the sole person who ordered a "steak, no steak" which was quite entertaining). I really enjoyed the art museum, especially the early European stuff. Although once you hit the 1500s or so, it's not quite the same. I could have spent days in the European exhibits alone, another day or so in the Asian section. I ran out of time and I didn't even make it to the modern exhibits (although I'm not sure I missed much there).

Sunday:For the sole reason that we had to climb a barbed wire fence to get to church. Long story. Hilarious, but long. All I'm going to say for now is that I am still infinitely proud of us.

People: The staff, teachers, and missionaries are all really amazing people. I worked with Ms. Judy and Ms. Graham all week. They run a tight ship, let me tell you, but you can tell how much they love the kids.

The Kids: So many kids, so much love. I couldn't believe quickly they attached themselves. I wasn't expecting to get as involved as I did with the kids, but there was no way to avoid it even if I had wanted to. Needless to say, I miss my babies...

Tap: Melissa and I taught tap in the afterschool program. Considering I took two weeks of tap six years ago, I was expecting to be no more than a metronome. We actually got quite a bit done. The kids now have nearly perfect shuffles. Three hours a day, every day, plus outside practice hours. I was exhausted and loving every bit of it. The kids really enjoyed it as well, or so it seemed. Now the prayer is that we can find someone to go into the school to continue with lessons.

I absolutely fell in love with the school and can't wait to get back up there. I learned so much just from a week of serving. Going up, my prayer was mainly to be a blessing to the teachers. I wanted to serve them in any way I could which I did and I loved. It definitely reiterated what I knew of my longing to serve and made me even more determined to strive to be God's hands. I also surprised myself, teaching isn't so bad after all.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been studying/preparing to be the teacher she is now (she only started teaching a couple of years ago). She would tease me that I would wind up teaching as well. Yeah, right...My Kindergarten, 6th and many of my high school teachers also encouraged me to look into teaching. My response was always "Nope, not gonna happen." My main reason being I didn't think I would ever be able to clearly explain concepts to others when I just barely get away without confusing myself. And I had seen what teaching was and didn't want a part of it. Yeah, that's a bit different now. Not only did I learn that I kind of enjoyed teaching the kids, I wasn't that bad at it after all. Who knew? Not that my new passion is teaching or that I am dead set on being a teacher...but the idea has gone from "No way on Earth" to "You know, I could do this" and it is no longer ruled out as an option. Hmm...