an almost 3 week wrap up

so i have been in the states for almost 3 weeks and honestly it has not been the easiest of transitions but hey when are transitions normally easy?!

so what has made the past few weeks a bit challenging? well, it's a combination of things. transitioning from an environment where i was surrounded by the same people every moment of the day to an environment where independence and alone time reigns has been surprisingly hard. surprising due to the fact that i normally love being alone and independent. this environmental change was especially hard the first week but since then i have found the joy i remember experiencing in the quiet moments.

i have also come to realize this is the first time in life when i don't really know where i am going or doing. i don't have the "next" thing lined up nor do i even have an idea what the next thing is. this fact alone provides a great opportunity to shape my perspective in life. should i look at this time as being wasted time or is this an opportunity to truly define myself and profoundly think about which path to follow? my perspective as of now is of the latter... which i am thankful.

the final ingredient to this transition combination is the rekindling or reevaluating of relationships. some have grown stronger during my time in the philippines, others have basically disintegrated. past people have resurfaced as well as current people have disappeared. it has been challenging and valuable to recognize the role others play in my life and vis-a-versa. tears have been shed, memories have been made, laughter has been shared but eh, isn't that life?

so what have i been doing? well for the first week i tooled around in dc trying to kick the lasting effects of the 12 hour transition. lovely lovely stuff jet lag is. then exactly a week after returning i headed back to the midwest to see beloved friends and family. i spent a few days on the ohio river in southern indiana where my brother-in-law and i swam across the ohio river. probably the hardest physical thing i have ever done but downright awesome. then i spent a few days in goshen visiting good friends and hanging out with the sister. then rounded out my trip on the farm where 3 calves were born, there is no light pollution and my favorite dog greeted me with a dance.

now i sit and fervently pursue job opportunities, at least in my dreams. but seriously, i have continued in the quest to find an excellent job in the disaster relief, post conflict reconciliation or the international social development field. Lord, grant me patience.

so that is me. i am sad to report i will probably not blog about my thailand nor boracay trip and i apologize for that. i feel i have been detached from those experiences too long to blog in the manner those experience justify. so until whenever...

blessings.

and i'm back...

so i made it back to the good ol' U S of A and it only took 31 hours. perhaps the longest day ever!!! my journey began at 5 am in manila on thursday, august 9th continued for 31 hours until i landed in dc at midnight on thursday, august 9th. that dang international date line makes for super duper long day.

oh and i know i need to write about thailand and boracay and i plan to do that some sleepless night when my body is telling me to eat lunch when i really should be in a deep slumber.

hope all is well.
blessings.

thailand... kinda

alrighty folks... i am back from bangkok, thailand and it was fantastic. unfortunately i do not have the time to seriously blog about it but i did post the pictures. sorry no captions. when i have some time i promise to catch up. only a week left of my asian adventures. looking forward to seeing you all.

blessings.

the final day...

today is my final day of work in manila. and it feel pretty good!! i have completed everything i wanted/needed to finish and it's all good. so i guess i could write a sappy "i'm going to miss this and i'm going to miss that" but instead let's just do a few top 5 lists.

top 5 things i will miss
1. the mangoes (fresh and dried)
2. tropical rural vacations
3. warm smiles, bright eyes and the beautiful shade of bronzed golden skin of the filipinos
4. hot calamansi juice (hmmm... heaven in a mug)
5. fantastic sushi

top 5 things i will NOT miss
1. throwing toilet paper in the waste basket
2. hot, smelly, crowded trains
3. being stared at EVERYWHERE i go
4. sharing a bed with a person i can't cuddle with (no offense jen.. :))
5. airport terminal fees

so very quickly there are the lists. in actuality i don't know if i could add anymore to the "NOT miss" list but i know there is more to be added to the "miss" list. all in all it has been a wonderful experience and i feel very blessed.

tonight myself as well as two of my roommates will be headed to bangkok, thailand for a few days... another adventure i would imagine. on wednesday i will return to manila for about a day and then on thursday travel to boracay, philippines for a few days on the beach. the hope is to come home on the 9th tan and stunning. we will see how that goes. i do not know if i will have time or access to blog while i am out and about so this may be the final entry for awhile. i know i know wipe the tear.

oh but seriously... thank you for your thoughts, prayers, letters, emails, phone calls and IM chats... you all are very important to me and i thank you for your love!!

so until the 9th...

blessings.

different, diverse, destiny.... DY-NO-MITE!!

why does it seem that once you get acclimated to new surrounds your time in that environment has nearly evaporated? i was kindly invited to dinner and other good stuff by two filipino cousins of a friend from dc. good japanese food, a scrumptious and warm krispy kreme donut, refreshing san miguels and great bands... what a recipe for an excellent night!!

so at one point i asked my new found friends to pick one word to describe the philippines. yeah i know it's hard one!! nikki said different... agreed!! jon said diverse... agreed!! and jep (to follow the 'd' description words) said destiny.... hmmm. let's play with that one a bit.

so was this experience destined for me? do i even believe in destiny? hmmm... well i know these past few months given me time to think, it has opened my eyes to the "status" of many of my relationships, it has challenged me professionally and most of all it has given me the opportunity to learn from another culture. so how will this experience affect my perspective in life? i have no idea.. that will be for my close friends and family to decipher.

so as i begin my final week of work in the philippines i predict my mind will be constant summarizing mode. fervently trying to sum up the many thoughts, feelings, experiences of these past few months in the most succinct and powerful few words or phrases in preparation of the barrage of questions upon my return.

blessings.

and i'm spent

okay it's about 1 pm on friday. i have gotten about 2 hours of sleep in the past 30 hours due to a crazy schedule involving the presentation of my symposium paper. for all who wonder the presentation went well... i think. i am not quite sure given the fact i have never presented a paper before. but what i do know is i am tired, i am heading home for some shut eye, it is friday and i feel like i have accomplished something. is there a better feeling??

have a good weekend.
blessings.

mennonite and justice

so a few know that i struggled with the decision to come to the philippines. this struggle was not due to fear or the lack of desire to travel but instead due to a prior commitment to an academic symposium sponsors by the north american association of social workers. earlier in the year i submitted a proposal to research and explore the connection between the historical and biblical underpinnings of mennonite faith and how those factors have shaped the faith's perspective on social justice. it was fascinating research that opened my eyes further to experiences of my ancestors and also allowed me to visit good ol' indiana an extra time this year. (the mennonite historical library, the location of the vast majority of my research, is located on goshen college's campus in goshen, indiana. shout out to my aunt regina who also spends significiant time in the "little" rooms in the MHL)

anyways... so around march or so i needed to make a decision. i couldn't do both... i couldn't be in both places at the same time. it was either the philippines experience which would last from mid-may until early- august or the symposium taking place during the 3rd week of july. what to do what to do? of course i sought the wise counsel of friends and family. most, if not all, told me to head to the philippines yet i did not want to "punk-out" on my agreed upon commitment of attending the symposium. plus i was excited to be apart of the symposium. anyways after much prayer i decided to head to the philippines and by pass my involvement with the symposium. so i thought....

as i wrote my letter explaining my decision to pursue the experience in the philippines i wondered if there was still a way to submit the paper for review even if i was not physically able to attend. the powers that be agreed to allow me to participate even though i was half way around the world. wonderful... all set. and i flew to the philippines.

upon my arrival at CFSI i quickly figured out i had been "googled" and my new coworkers were aware of my symposium involvement thanks to catholic university's website. they were very concerned about my participation in the symposium thus strongly encouraged me to use internet based service to present my paper via the computer. hmmm.... good idea all expect for the 11 hour difference.

so folks to make a long story short early friday morning, like around 2am, i will be presenting my paper via skype. it should be interesting and i hope that my brain is engaged. anyone who has had the experience of talking to me when i am either partly asleep or not completely awake should be grinning right now imagining me trying to sound smart in the middle of the night. hmmm.. should be interesting... :)

blessings.

if you are interested in my paper, "Mennonite Faith and Social Justice", just let me know i would be more than happy to share it with you. it's GREAT napping material. :)