A few of us volunteered at the RAM (Remote Area Medical) Clinic today. It's a clinic where people can go to have medical/dental/vision work done for free. We left our house for a 2 hour drive to Tennessee at 4:15 am and were expecting to be there until 5pm. Thankfully, we only ended up having to be there until noon because there weren't as many people there today. The reason I say "thankfully" is that it was one of those things where there were a lot of people who were willing to volunteer, but there wasn't a lot of work for everyone to do. I ended up with Jordan (another CAP volunteer) and we made sure that all of the seats were filled with people who were waiting to have their vision checked (definitely not a 2 person job and they probably didn't need either of us there to figure out where to sit and wait). It was nice to get to talk to Jordan, though, because she lives in a different house and she seems like a great person. We were the first ones done since our jobs were finished once everyone was seated. Jordan and her housemate, Ryan, went home after they were done and I stayed to wait for the rest of my housemates.
Here's why I think I was supposed to go today, even though there wasn't much for us to do... I went to visit Jessica while she was directing people on where to go in the dental line. She said something to one of the men waiting about me being from CA and he said something about his ex-wife being from there. That somehow led to the guy across from him striking up a conversation with me. There was some small talk about teeth since he was waiting in the dental line and had some questions (I decided not to bore him with my wisdom teeth story). Then he said he had moved back from Pennsylvania to Tennessee 2 months ago because his mom was dying from cirrhosis of the liver. He told me about how she had died while he and the rest of his family were there on Wednesday. He also talked about the fact that his great-nephew was born on Thursday, so it was strange for him to witness death and life in the span of 24 hours. This kid was only 18 years old, the youngest of 9 kids, and he's a Hare Krishna. Basically, he's completely lost right now and doesn't really have anyone to take care of him. He said that he wants to travel around the U.S. and visit Hare Krishna places, but it sounded so empty and meaningless. His name is John and I told him that I would be praying for him. I really should have prayed with him there because I felt that nudge from the Holy Spirit and didn't follow through with it :(. Anyway, to those of you who read this, please pray for John that he'll find peace after his mom passing away and that he'll find hope in Jesus instead of through the Hare Krishnas.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Go, Rockcastle Rockets!
Here's what happens with the little ones for Halloween... there's a Fall Festival that is held for them and it's a carnival type of thing. They get the day off of school in order for us to set everything up, then they come with their families and have a fun evening. It was scheduled for Oct. 30th this year, which seemed like a good idea because it meant that the kids wouldn't be there for 4 days (Thurs.- Sun.). The only problem is that the city of Mt. Vernon decided to move their trick-or-treating event to Oct. 30th as well. Why did they do this? Because the football team is having a game on Friday, Oct. 31st and they didn't want that event to interfere with the game... I can't believe I now live in a town where Halloween can be moved to a different day because of a high school football game.
p.s. We moved the Fall Festival to October 28th.
p.s. We moved the Fall Festival to October 28th.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Undercover
Zaneta and I are in the computer lab right now because we got kicked out of the Child Development Center. The state department came to check on how the CDC is running and we're not sure how long they're going to be here for. The reason we can't be around the kids right now is that neither one of us has a recent TB test (we have appointments scheduled for it this Friday). This wasn't a problem, except for the fact that the state showed up unannounced this morning. Jenifer came over to us and said, "I don't mean to be hateful, but I need you two to go hide out in Kiara's office." So now we wait... I'm going to try to beat my score in "Who Has the Biggest Brain" again.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Wherever I go, there I am.
I've been in Kentucky for almost 2 weeks now and I'm beginning to get adjusted to the fact that this is my new life. There are still a lot of things that need to happen before it feels like home, but the reality of the fact that this is going to be my life for awhile is setting in. I'm also beginning to see that there are certain things about my temperament and the way that I live my life that are probably going to be unchanging, no matter where I'm living or who I'm living with.
First of all, I'm still an introvert. Obviously that will never change because it's part of my temperament and my disposition has been pretty much the same since the day I was born (or at least that's what people have told me). I definitely love to be around people and I LOVE to get to know about their lives, but I forget that when I'm tired or when I've been around people a lot. I had my first full week of volunteering with the 3-4 year olds who are adorable AND exhausting, which made it difficult for me to interact with my housemates at the end of each day. All I wanted was a long nap and time spent by myself after each day was over.
Another thing that hasn't changed is my love of walking in beautiful places while listening to my ipod. I've been walking around here, but I wasn't finding any places where I could walk long distances safely (i.e. the only one where I could walk for a long time was on the side of the highway). I found a road this morning that's near our house and it just kept going. It was absolutely gorgeous and had a ton of trees, open fields, and even a few horses off to the side. Plus, the sun was shining on all of it perfectly. It was equally beautiful to what I would see while walking at the beach.
I spent a lot of Saturday by myself because I was so wiped out from the week. All I wanted to do was find a nice place to sit outside and read/write, which has always been my idea of the perfect weekend. I went to church on Saturday night with Jenny (one of my housemates), then we went to Panera. It was fun to get to know more about her and what her life has been like. I've found that I still love broccoli cheddar soup, Saturday night church, and quality conversations with people.
Some things that are changing are that I'm going to cook for our house on Wednesday night and that will be happening once every 2-3 weeks. It should be interesting since I barely even cook for myself. I'll be leading devotions for them on Wednesday night, too, and that's something that I haven't done on a regular basis for anyone. I'm also more willing to meet more people right now. I went to another one of the volunteer houses with my housemates on Friday night and felt fine while I was meeting the people who live there.
All of this is a fascinating experience and I'm looking forward (kind of) to growing/being challenged. I'm also curious to find out what will remain the same once my time here is finished.
First of all, I'm still an introvert. Obviously that will never change because it's part of my temperament and my disposition has been pretty much the same since the day I was born (or at least that's what people have told me). I definitely love to be around people and I LOVE to get to know about their lives, but I forget that when I'm tired or when I've been around people a lot. I had my first full week of volunteering with the 3-4 year olds who are adorable AND exhausting, which made it difficult for me to interact with my housemates at the end of each day. All I wanted was a long nap and time spent by myself after each day was over.
Another thing that hasn't changed is my love of walking in beautiful places while listening to my ipod. I've been walking around here, but I wasn't finding any places where I could walk long distances safely (i.e. the only one where I could walk for a long time was on the side of the highway). I found a road this morning that's near our house and it just kept going. It was absolutely gorgeous and had a ton of trees, open fields, and even a few horses off to the side. Plus, the sun was shining on all of it perfectly. It was equally beautiful to what I would see while walking at the beach.
I spent a lot of Saturday by myself because I was so wiped out from the week. All I wanted to do was find a nice place to sit outside and read/write, which has always been my idea of the perfect weekend. I went to church on Saturday night with Jenny (one of my housemates), then we went to Panera. It was fun to get to know more about her and what her life has been like. I've found that I still love broccoli cheddar soup, Saturday night church, and quality conversations with people.
Some things that are changing are that I'm going to cook for our house on Wednesday night and that will be happening once every 2-3 weeks. It should be interesting since I barely even cook for myself. I'll be leading devotions for them on Wednesday night, too, and that's something that I haven't done on a regular basis for anyone. I'm also more willing to meet more people right now. I went to another one of the volunteer houses with my housemates on Friday night and felt fine while I was meeting the people who live there.
All of this is a fascinating experience and I'm looking forward (kind of) to growing/being challenged. I'm also curious to find out what will remain the same once my time here is finished.
Irem
Here's the story behind my email and blog names... I had a student named Irem and she was the epitome of a pistol. She did all sorts of things that were really funny, but we would have to stifle our laughter because they weren't usually things that she should be doing or saying. She's from Turkey and has this amazing accent that makes it sound like she's singing everything. If there is 1 syllable in a word, she somehow makes it have at least 3. For example, one time she tripped a little as she was coming to the front of the classroom and said, "Am I dru-unn-nnnkKK???"
Anyway, when she'd call me, she'd say, "Jennaaaaa, JennnnaaaAAA," then I'd give her the stink eye and say, "IREM," because she knew she wasn't supposed to call a teacher by their first name. After that, she would say "Jennamissboyd." Then I (and any other adults in the room) would turn our heads the other way because we didn't want her to see us laughing.
My favorite story that I heard about her from her mom was that when she was 7 or so, her mom was driving her home from school. Something happened and her mom somehow ended up driving through a fence as she was leaving the parking lot. A police officer came over and asked Tulay (Irem's mom) what had happened and Irem threw up her hands and said, "I didn't do it!" She was used to being the one who gets into trouble.
Finally, that girl knew how to flirt like no one's business. She'd say things like, "Hey there, CutieeeEEE," and give a guy a kiss on the cheek. Whoever was around would have to tell her that was inappropriate. She had crushes on about 10 guys and would always bat her eyelashes and smile whenever she saw them... I should have taken lessons from her on that when I knew her.
In conclusion, she was a character and I miss her!
Anyway, when she'd call me, she'd say, "Jennaaaaa, JennnnaaaAAA," then I'd give her the stink eye and say, "IREM," because she knew she wasn't supposed to call a teacher by their first name. After that, she would say "Jennamissboyd." Then I (and any other adults in the room) would turn our heads the other way because we didn't want her to see us laughing.
My favorite story that I heard about her from her mom was that when she was 7 or so, her mom was driving her home from school. Something happened and her mom somehow ended up driving through a fence as she was leaving the parking lot. A police officer came over and asked Tulay (Irem's mom) what had happened and Irem threw up her hands and said, "I didn't do it!" She was used to being the one who gets into trouble.
Finally, that girl knew how to flirt like no one's business. She'd say things like, "Hey there, CutieeeEEE," and give a guy a kiss on the cheek. Whoever was around would have to tell her that was inappropriate. She had crushes on about 10 guys and would always bat her eyelashes and smile whenever she saw them... I should have taken lessons from her on that when I knew her.
In conclusion, she was a character and I miss her!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Homesick
Well, I've been in this new chapter of my life for about a week now and it's finally beginning to hit me that this is what my life is really going to be like for the next 10 months or so. I had a really tough time tonight because I was missing everyone back home. Even though everyone here is very nice and welcoming, there are still a lot of people that I love back in CA and I wish I could be spending quality time with them, too. Basically, I wish that I could be in 2 places at once right now.
I watched "The Hills" tonight with Kim, Jenny, and Terri, but I got pretty sad thinking of the fact that I'm not at home, sitting on the green couch with my roommates and mocking it mercilessly. Also, the fact that I'm not going to be there for our Monday night HIMYM party is really getting to me. I ran 4 miles tonight just to clear my head and get my energy up, which kind of helped. I played a lot of my songs about depending on Jesus and it reminded me that I'm not in Kentucky for me right now. I'm doing this because God opened the door for me to come here and it's the place that He wants me right now. I heard a sermon last week and the pastor said, "No call matters without surrender." Right now, I'm having to surrender the quality time that I had with my friends in CA, that I can't just go to bible study or church, that I can't see my family whenever I want to, etc.. I expected it to be a character building year when I signed up for this, I just didn't know in what ways and now I'm starting to see what the challenges are going to be. It's not that I don't like it here, it's just hard to leave the place that I came from behind.
In conclusion, here are some of the songs that I listened to tonight to remind me that God is present:
- "Speak"- Lindsay McCaul
- "Let Go"- Lindsay McCaul
- "Take My Life"- Chris Tomlin
- "I'm Not Alright"- Sanctus Real
- "Take Away"- Mainstay
- "In Your Presence"- Charity Von
- "Taken"- Plumb
- "Take Me Through It"- Charity Von
- "Invitacion Fountain"- Vineyard
I watched "The Hills" tonight with Kim, Jenny, and Terri, but I got pretty sad thinking of the fact that I'm not at home, sitting on the green couch with my roommates and mocking it mercilessly. Also, the fact that I'm not going to be there for our Monday night HIMYM party is really getting to me. I ran 4 miles tonight just to clear my head and get my energy up, which kind of helped. I played a lot of my songs about depending on Jesus and it reminded me that I'm not in Kentucky for me right now. I'm doing this because God opened the door for me to come here and it's the place that He wants me right now. I heard a sermon last week and the pastor said, "No call matters without surrender." Right now, I'm having to surrender the quality time that I had with my friends in CA, that I can't just go to bible study or church, that I can't see my family whenever I want to, etc.. I expected it to be a character building year when I signed up for this, I just didn't know in what ways and now I'm starting to see what the challenges are going to be. It's not that I don't like it here, it's just hard to leave the place that I came from behind.
In conclusion, here are some of the songs that I listened to tonight to remind me that God is present:
- "Speak"- Lindsay McCaul
- "Let Go"- Lindsay McCaul
- "Take My Life"- Chris Tomlin
- "I'm Not Alright"- Sanctus Real
- "Take Away"- Mainstay
- "In Your Presence"- Charity Von
- "Taken"- Plumb
- "Take Me Through It"- Charity Von
- "Invitacion Fountain"- Vineyard
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