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Wow I need to post! [Feb. 14th, 2007|12:50 am]
[mood |sleepysleepy]
[music |U2 "One Love"]

Ok so it's been almost two years since my last post, probably not the best.  Here's what is going on.  I work at Barnes & Noble, I read books, I chill with lots of odd people.  That's my life at the moment.  Not thrilling, but it works.  Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and as a perpetually single person, I feel like celebrating with a good book while curled up in my quilt.  However, I must work.  It's not that I don't know any "nice, young men", the problem is I really shouldn't get involved with the ones I do know.  That whole not staying here in the US thing really puts a damper on a relationship.  Life isn't really as horrible as all that though.  I hang out almost every weekend with an interesting assortment of friends.  I have roommates who don't judge me too much for being a total nerd with my school projects :)  I think my brain is a bit loopey due to lack of sleep.  I am going to dream now that icy rain shuts down the train system so that I can't get to work....hee hee :P
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and the race begins... [Mar. 30th, 2005|12:17 am]
[mood |mellowmellow]
[music |The Nanny theme song]

So I began classes yesterday. It was interesting. Picture this: Your favorite professor using you as an example of a perfectly good student who sucks at writing papers and then mentions your lack of a sex life. My life never gets dull. Fortunately I have a very good sense of humor.

My favorite little Bulgarian left today for CT. I am enjoying being able to use her space as well as the labtop for the moment. I actually do kind of miss her occasionally. Anyway, she'll be back tomorrow so its not like I will get too morose.

I have actually been very relaxed lately. My free time seems to have skyrocketed and I am enjoying it incredibly. I even cooked tonight! I might make it a habit. This weekend should be nice too because my trip to DC (yes I just got back from there) was cancelled. The only thing that I have planned is my cousin's wife's baby shower. Now that the nice weather has arrived I think I might read out on my roof a bit.
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DC [Mar. 22nd, 2005|10:27 pm]
[mood |crazycrazy]
[music |The Incredibles Theme Song]

Hello all! Yes I know...Rachel isn't out of the country, so why is she journalling? Well, I thought I would get myself back in the habit so that I do a better job in April (when I go to Tunisia!). I am in DC for Spring Break with Jenn and Jenny...yes I know, a bit redundant, but rather enjoyable. Today we went to the Smithsonian and had a blast! I really loved the African Art Museum and would totally get married there if they allowed it. Jenn wanted to go to the Air and Space Museum, which I don't really get into, but I figured might as well. While we were there, I spotted the man of my dreams, except he had a girlfriend...sad. I followed him until I decided he might think I am a stalker, which of course I am not (at least not since high school). So it was a fun day which we ended with pizza and The Incredibles. Great way to spend a day. Also, I bought an African cookbook and a book about the gem industry (after seeing the Hope Diamond...ok I could love a diamond if it looked like that). Then I went to Best Buy and noticed that John Legend's cd was priced at $13.99, but then there were some other copies for $9.99, so I quickly grabbed one of the cheap ones and bought it! I am so excited! I really wanted his cd, but I wasn't expecting it to be so cheap.

Tomorrow I am having lunch with a friend that I know from London who I haven't seen in two years! I am so excited! Also, I am going up to Philly to see my Margot! Yay! I can't wait for tomorrow.
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Heh [Feb. 1st, 2005|11:12 pm]
[mood |mellowmellow]
[music |Usher - thanks Corey!]

So I know all of you will be absolutely shocked, but yes, I am posting while still in America! I've been getting comments from random people lately and it suddenly occurred to me that other people actually find reading my posts interesting...very intriguing idea.

Anyway, for those who I haven't been keeping up with lately, I am going to Tunisia in April for 10 days. Yes that means I miss school, but somehow I will manage. The money almost all raised and I haven't even sent out letters, God Rocks! I found out that my super nerdy high school actually prepared me well for this trip as we will be going to some famous sites of Roman invasions, such as Carthage. Our group got letters from some of the students that we will meet in Tunis and it was nice to hear that people there are awaiting our arrival. I always find it hard to be in the US. I just don't feel I have as great a sense of purpose. Oh well. I got an email from my friends in England. They told me to come visit whenever and as I miss their kids (I love British children!) and the fun of London it is tempting.

So I took my first exam with the new professor on Monday and it wasn't quite as bad as I had anticipated. Now I just have to give a presentation in the class I have with all grad students tomorrow on how states unify their citizens. Yay! I am such a nerd!
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Sweet Home, Cincinnati :) [Aug. 12th, 2004|10:28 am]
[mood |happyhappy]
[music |Star Trek movie]

So here I am, back in the Buckeye state. My flight home was better than the one going there, but I still had to contend with plenty of screaming toddlers and infants. I managed to get some sleep and God blessed me with the last seat on the plane from NYC to Cincinnati (which was very overbooked). Right now the only things on my plate are Mary Kay and the sorority. It's rather nice to have a lighter load. I am preparing to move into Mom's house for this year. God showed me that this may be one of the last couple years that I will spend in the States and that I need to spend time with the person who means the most to me, my Mommy. Plus, the scholarship that I have been living on for four years now just ran out in August, so I am now on my own! Yay! One incredibly exciting opportunity has opened for me. While in Jordan, my roommate was able to meet a little girl (through a friend) who is waiting to go to the US for surgery on a hole in her heart. My roommate came home all excited to announce to me that the little girl will be having her surgery at Children's Hospital here in Cincinnati! I knew then that I had to meet her, but my schedule was hectic. The last day I was in Jordan, her and her aunt came to the church that I attended (they are not Christians)! So I got to meet her and her aunt and I gave them my contact info in Cincinnati. The people who were arranging their stay in Cincinnati said they would pass my info along to the family with whom the child will be staying. When I returned to the US, I got an email from the family they are staying with and it turns out that they are old friends of my mom and dad! God works in awesome ways! Woo hoo!
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Too Little Time [Aug. 5th, 2004|01:57 pm]
[mood |crazycrazy]

Alrighty, the time on my internet connection is about to run out, so I will give a brief update. A couple of weekends ago I went to a Shebeebeh (youth) camp and it was awesome. I made tons of friends. This week I am running like a mad woman to spend time with all of my Arab friends before I leave. I am currently in Petra (an Ancient city built into the beautiful sandstone of the desert). I have only a couple of days left and it seems like I just arrived in Jordan yesterday! Craziness! Thank you for all of your loving support. See you soon!
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(no subject) [Jul. 21st, 2004|05:52 pm]
Ok so my last post probably baffled many, so I thought I would follow a friend's example. This won't clear much up, but this is the song that has sort of been the theme for my summer and our team. Parts of it are extremely relavant to our circumstances.


VERSE 1:
A E F#m7 D
Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
A E
Where Your streams of abundance flow
D
Blessed be Your name
A E F#m7 D
And blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
A E
Though I walk through the wilderness
D
Blessed be Your name

PRE-CHORUS:
A E
Every blessing You pour out I'll
F#m7 D
turn back to praise
A E
And when the darkness closes in, Lord
F#m7 D
Still I will say

CHORUS:
A E
Blessed be the name of the Lord
F#m7 D
Blessed be Your name
A E
Blessed be the name of the Lord
F#m7 D
Blessed be Your glorious name

VERSE 2:
Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

BRIDGE:
A E
You give and take away
F#m7 D
You give and take away
A E
My heart will choose to say
F#m7 D
Lord, blessed be Your name
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God Speaking [Jul. 21st, 2004|05:31 pm]
[mood |irateirate]
[music |whatever the Books @ Cafe is playing]

Hey all! Sorry I haven't posted for a while! My internet access has been severely limited. This week I had an awesome time just fellowshipping with my teammates and spending time with God. I was praying one day and God gave me a very clear vision of my purpose. (Unfortunately this is not the best forum, so I will try to be discreet.) Sarah told me that in old pictures of Amman there is a beautiful river flowing through the city with plants on either side. She said that she didn't know what had happened to that river, but it was probably still around somewhere. Then I was driving to a baptism with some friends when we began to smell something horrible. They explained to me that it was the river. Over time, waste had been dumped into the river and eventually it was covered over to make room for bigger streets. So now it flows underground with all the crud that has built up over the years. I have been reading stories of the early church (specifically the churches in this area) and it has been very inspiring. I began to see this river like the church here, once vital and life giving, but now buried under tons of crud. From there you can probably follow where God led my heart. Needless to say, it was quite awe inspiring.

Elizabeth and I have been dealing with extreme exhaustion. The heat here combined with the strain of cramming Arabic into your head has made us desperately need more sleep than usual. (Some of you may find this amazing.) However, we really need to spend more time seeing our friends here before we leave. We have been blessed with an awesome opportunity. An Arab church invited the two of us to go to a youth group camp this weekend. Don't worry, youth group here is anywhere from 16-35. :) It's that whole, don't move out of home until you are married. So it should be interesting to see the two of us floundering in an Arabic only environment for two or three days! Also, this weekend, our group is going to Mt. Nebo and Madaba. Very cool spots!

Thanks for all of the prayers for mom. I will post when I know more! But I really appreciate the support. I am personally struggling with some issues back home, so keep that in prayer too! I'll update more soon!
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BUSY BUSY [Jul. 8th, 2004|12:26 pm]
[mood |giddygiddy]
[music |elevator musaq at the internet cafe]

Ok so I haven't been keeping up with my journal very well, so this may take a while. Jerash was awesome and I especially loved the food! I could definitely get used to eating like that regularly. I was very excited to see, however, that the food has not affected my weight and I have even lost 8 pounds from all the walking we have been doing.

When we returned from Jerash, I went to the local Arab church's youth group (college age and up). It was so fun! The girls were so welcoming. There was even this one girl who barely spoke any English, but she was determined to communicate with me so we mimed for about an hour. She is so cool. They girls here are very stylish and girly, but they don't seem to mind that I'm a little more casual. Saturday I taught children's church at the English church. It went well except one little girl got mad at me because I wouldn't allow her to climb on the window. She kept saying that she was going to tell her Daddy that she didn't like me. I said that was ok with me, but she would just have to wait until the service was over. I figure 7 out of 8 happy children is pretty good odds.

Sunday was the fourth of July, so we decided that there should be some sort of party. My roommate arranged for us all to go to a local restaurant called the Blue Fig. It was really good, but my taxi driver made fun of me when I told him the restaurant's name in Arabic. Apparantly mostly foreigners go there so people know the name in English. Oh well.

Monday, Elizabeth and I spent time with an Iraqi family that is working on their English. They are so sweet. I discovered that Iraqi Arabic is a lot closer to Fushah (what I learned in college) than Jordanian Arabic, so I was able to speak really well with them. They told me that my handwriting is very good, which I took as an extremely high compliment.

Tuesday was our team time. We had dinner at a couple's house. The wife is Jordanian and cooks like a good Arab wife. We ate a ton of food and then she sent some home with us! Her husband is Lebanese, but was born and raised in the States. He talked about how whenever he wanted to see her when they were "dating" he had to go to her house and sit with her WHOLE family. Needless to say, they got married rather quickly. They now have four boys and all night the boys were running in and out. It was definitely fouda (chaos)!

Yesterday I lived through my first earthquake. I had dozed off while reading a particularly exciting book :) when the room started to shake. In my dazed state, I thought our washing machine must be getting more forceful with her shaking (Candy normally walks loudly across the bathroom when the spin cycle is on). I was about to go back to sleep when Sarah came in and informed me that no, that was not Candy, that was an earthquake! Apparantly the earthquake started in the Dead Sea and we were feeling the last waves of it. It wasn't strong at all because most of the other students in my class didn't even feel it. I was really excited, though!

Sarah left for London last night! Elizabeth and I were so sad to see her go. She is so awesome! She was really good at introducing us to all the local shopkeepers as well as our landlords and a bunch of her friends so we aren't completely alone. It is sad anyway. In order to keep things simple yesterday, we ordered pizza from Pizza Hut. (It's much better here) The delivery guy called at one point and Elizabeth didn't understand him so she gave me the phone. It took a while but I finally figured out that what we had ordered was a special that came with a free soccer ball. However, they were out of soccer balls so they would deliver one the next morning. I tried very hard to thank him seriously, but it amused me so much that a delivery guy would go out of his way just to deliver a free prize that we didn't even know we were getting. Apparantly he felt so strongly about it that he came back an hour later with our soccer ball. Elizabeth and I were relieved that we didn't have to get up early in the morning to answer the door just to get our soccer ball! After dinner we said good-bye to Sarah and went to bed.

Keep me in your prayers, I have been having rather disturbing dreams and last night I only got three hours sleep because I was so upset. On the amusing side, I was awake for the three am call to prayer! :) Also, the heat today is so much more moderate than it has been, so everyone is feeling better. A tip to know when it is really hot: when all the taxi drivers roll up their windows and turn on the air and when shops are shut down for three to four hour lunch breaks. The last two days it has been well over 100 degrees and so the lovely break from the heat today means that everyone and their brother, Muhammad are outside enjoying the weather!

I suppose that is enough for now! The Arabic word for today is zilzaal which means earthquake.
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Jerash [Jul. 5th, 2004|06:47 pm]
[mood |busybusy]
[music |Arabic music on tv]

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while...life caught up with me. Our group went to Jerash on Friday which is the site of some truly awesome Roman ruins! It is a bit weird because the ruins are not roped off or anything so people can just climb all over them, which some of my group did. Once again it was a bit of an ordeal just to get there...at least for Elizabeth and I. We were late getting up and so we were frantic to get a taxi quickly. Of course, though, when one wants a taxi, that is what one cannot find. We waited for a while and then a service pulled up. Services are a type of taxi that travel on a set route. They do not deviate and can get into big trouble for doing so. However this one pulled up and offered to take us wherever we wanted. I advise never to do this, but we got in. We got a little lost trying to find the group, but finally arrived very late and owing our driver two dinars (rather expensive). When I arrived I discovered that my roommate from London last summer was going on the day trip with us! It was great! We talked for a long time and caught up on all the details of life.

The ruins were great and afterwards we went to Saladdin's castle. Saladdin built it to repel the invading Crusaders. It was lovely. Then we went to lunch at a Lebanese restaurant and gorged ourselves on fabulous food! All in all, the day was awesome! More later!

Word of the day is maTa'am which means restaurant.
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