In four days I get to travel to my new home and I am so excited! It feels entirely surreal. And the reality of it has not sunk in yet, bu the excitement has! My visa did come through and I got my tickets on my birthday...it was the greatest birthday present ever. I did not actually see them until ten days later, but knowing they were on the way was a great blessing :) It is hard to believe that this time next week I will be writing again to let everyone know I have safely arrived on the other side of the big pond. The unknown lies ahead, but I am confident in the One who goes ahead of me and can rest in the truth that He knows what is there even if I do not.
This weekend is also a debriefing meeting for some who are just returning from the field. Among the people at the meeting were six who just returned form my country. It was wonderful to meet with them and hear what is happening on the field. They all loved it and say that it was the hardest, most wonderful years of their lives. I can't wait to be there!
Love you all!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
almost there
This past couple of weeks have been really busy at fpo (orientation) with little free time or weekends off. Despite the lack of free time, we do make creative use of the time we do have and enjoy venturing back into American culture briefly to go to the movies, bowling, or meet everyone else at Panera and Starbucks trying to get access to high speed Internet. The other day we were at Panera and nearly half of the restaurant was filled with friends from orientation and we joked that it was like "studying" at the coffee shop in college when all you did was run into people you knew.
Yesterday we went on a field trip to Washington to apply some of the tools we had been learning and meet some people from our countries. Our group had the opportunity to meet four people from the city I am going to and were able to hear the language spoken in real life for the first time. That was really exciting for me and David (he is going to the same country) because we were able to learn a few basic words and then use them to greet others in their native tongue. I don't know if we said it exactly right, but they were impressed that we tried. Two of the people that we met had just recently moved to the states and their eyes lit up when we told them we were going to visit their city, they are so proud of their country and wanted to share all about it with us!
I have less than three weeks before leaving for the field and I am so excited. However, I have not received my visa and passport back from the embassy yet and without them my plane tickets had to be canceled. Hopefully, the visa will come in this week and the travel agent can book my same flight again so that I can get on the field.
Cortney, Amy, and I bowling
Derek, David, Joanna, and I in DC
Yesterday we went on a field trip to Washington to apply some of the tools we had been learning and meet some people from our countries. Our group had the opportunity to meet four people from the city I am going to and were able to hear the language spoken in real life for the first time. That was really exciting for me and David (he is going to the same country) because we were able to learn a few basic words and then use them to greet others in their native tongue. I don't know if we said it exactly right, but they were impressed that we tried. Two of the people that we met had just recently moved to the states and their eyes lit up when we told them we were going to visit their city, they are so proud of their country and wanted to share all about it with us!
I have less than three weeks before leaving for the field and I am so excited. However, I have not received my visa and passport back from the embassy yet and without them my plane tickets had to be canceled. Hopefully, the visa will come in this week and the travel agent can book my same flight again so that I can get on the field.
Cortney, Amy, and I bowling
Derek, David, Joanna, and I in DC
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