Home at last

Well, after almost a year abroad I am home for three months. This weekend my mother, sister and brother in law were in town. I went to a wedding, shopping and hung out with C and Z. It was so crazy and I felt so bombarded by random people I know with questions I didn't know how to answer. I feel like in 4 days I spoke more English than I have all year. I wish I had more time to process b/c I am not even sure what I said to them. Then yesterday I went to the dentist. That was equally crazy. I am glad to finally just sit down and be. Everything is so different so it will take some time to get used to. As I kept racing against time I felt like I was still in a dream. Now that I finally had a little sleep it is starting to sink in. It seems like I have been gone forever but to some I just left yesterday. Just give me a little time. I've decided after running a marathon these past four days that I am doing nothing but cleaning, organizing and hopefully an on-line scrapbook. Granted my neighbor can fix my computer tomorrow. I look forward to chatting with you but if you want to hear the real story and not just me talking giberish give this little caterpillar some time in her cacoon to become a butterfly before you open my door. Thanks I look forward to chats in a week or two. You can call after Friday.

Things to adjust to:

1. My mother owns 4 computers and most people in Laos don't even own one or know how to use it.

2. What the heck is twitter and how does it work?

3. It took me 30 minutes to open the new dishwasher. Yes, still figuring it out.

4. My mom had a lot of house work done, no wallpaper on the staircase from green to yellow. Completely new kitchen including; microwave, sink, dishwasher, cabnet handles, lights, you get the idea, new bedspreads on my bed, and my older brothers bed, my sisters room that I live in painted one color. The list goes on- I still miss my old bedspread of 6 years who knows where it is now?

5. All my books gone, only a few t-shirts at home. Hints-why I went shopping I haven't bought new clothes almost all year.

6. Everything is just so big!

7. Wal-mart need I say more....

8. New stores in the mall

9. So clean and not dusty

10. Driving a car-so I almost forgot that you have to be in the left hand turn lane to turn left. I constantly remind myself to stop at stop signs and lights and that sometimes it is okay to drive above 35 miles per hour

11. Everything is so expensive! Thank goodness my mom left a lot of food in the house.

12. Cable-wow I forgot how to work it and had to be shown

13. The surround sound and 4 remote controls still don't understand?

14. Taking a bath and when taking a shower not having to put the toilet lid down so that the seat isn't wet.

15. Air conditioning-all the buildings are so cold

16. No flooded streets and not so dense air- I can breath

17. Trees- There are so many more trees in Arkansas than Vientiane. A little suprised but I love it or maybe it is just different kind of trees.

18.The tree on our backporch is gone

19. No squatty potties and soap and toilet paper in bathrooms!

20. Electricity-no dirty bucket showers or intense heat

21. I could go on for quite awhile but this is a good start.

I think the biggest adjustment might be interacting with people after having learned so many different cultural norms this past year. Remembering to be polite.

Massage versus Message

So I am grading some last papers for my year 4 students. THere final is Wednesday and Friday we have a party. I will be teaching year 1 until the day before I leave then I'll hand it off to another teacher. As you can see it is a busy time of year. Well, my students were writing suggestions for me. They had to write out a question from a phrase on a worksheet and answer it. Well, one of them was "Do you know where I can get a massage?" I got lots of "Sure you can get it from Lao Telecom/Tigo?" and "Sure, you can get it from the post office. " It took me awhile before I realized that massage=message in their minds. Oh sweet students I'll miss them and how much they have helped me to anticipate future cultural problems that never entered my mind.

Faithfulness

I feel that I often gravel and complain on this blog, so today I want to talk about the fathers goodness. If there is one thing I have learned it is how powerful it is when people talk to the father. This year he has answered so many requests that I could not have done without others. In March I posted about loneliness and 3 hours later a friend called me and invited me over to play volleyball. Another friend often cheers me up when I am down because she has such a joyful heart. I have been blessed with two good Lao friends and 2 Americain friends. As the year comes to a close I am sad but look forward to next year. I will attempt to post some pictures though my computer is a little messed up. Can't wait to see you all this summer!

My Lao teacher and I. They are all so sweet. One of many funny billboards. One of

my favorite pictures- Donna, me, Kaitlyn and Lisa baking cookies.

My roommates at the Boat Racing Festival and Marie's birthday party one of my teacher friends childrem

Workshop fun!

Ahh...so it has been awhile since I posted. It is amazing to think I have survived 10 months overseas. The father has been good even though it has been tuff. The day I wrote my last post someone called me up and invited me out. It is so neat how little things can change your mood. I cannot post pictures because my computer is a little whacked out but I will tell you a few things.

First, I will be home at the end of June and am looking forward to processing all I have and am learning

Second, I will be returning in October

Thirdly, I cannot wait to hear about yalls year.

Fourth , my day at the workshop.

First, V shows me a tiny picture of a butt with a small part of a hand and says "Kat what is this?" I look at her and laugh and say "a butt." Then she says "No, a ring and points to a fraction of a ring in the corner. Then she continues to cut out the bottom in the shape with the butt crack showing. She hands it to me " I say your naughty" but the side facing me is a girl and her dad so she tells me "Your the one with a naughty mind!" Next, I jokingly moon her with the photo a few times. V tells me "I am naughtier than her." She is so funny and so enthusiastic about everything!

We were doing a lesson on Martin Luther King and his speech. How it made you feel? What are your dreams? Me " Do you know who Martin Luther King was?" V "Of course, he was a King!" Awh there innocence in all areas is so precious I love the Lao. Living here can be a love/hate relationship but the people make it worthwhile.

Wow! These past few weeks have been crazy and now I feel sad. I will not lie I am lonely and I guess I say this out of desperation. I need something fun to do or look forward to or just someone to sit and watch a movie with me. I know I am supposed to be here and that He has a greater plan it is just so hard for me to see. I want the common comforts and a drive to motivate me but literally He is the only thing motivating me. I guess He is my drive and that will suffice but I miss my friends back home and just want a friend. Thanks for those who chat with me from time to time on Skype and those who write or e-mail. I wouldn't have made it this far without you!

My internal battle

Shells released
From their cacoon
The hermit crab
Never ceased
Coming out so soon
The pain but a dab
A night with a full moon
The hidden beasts
The ground my slab
Full of kee foon( dust in Lao)
Around and about watch them feast
The golden retriever and the lab
Sinking amidst the heat in this avenged sand dune
The fingers all creased
As I watch the baboon
The teeth but a stab
And then released
How inoppurtune
The chemistry lab
And yet still sits the high priest
My life a monsoon
Oh what a drab
Thinking of whats deceased
Yet still I hear the tale of the harpoon
Knowing that greatness comes from the scab
Healing but the smallest and the least
Seeing the seeping color of maroon
The blood but a tab
Yet to be greased
In the painted typhoon
The world sits ready to backstab
My heart decreased to be increased
How do I weigh the meterlogical balloon?
As I enter the cab ready for the grab
I feel my heart the brewers yeast
These emotions becoming my signature tune
Yet I always move on with a little jab
Knowing this is the last but not the least
This world is this world and I am, yes, I am ,but part of a silly frigatoon
Entering the aintab
The southeast
I eat off the greased spoon
Knowing the beginning Ninth of Ab
We will all be released
Is all too close and yet so far from this loon

March Madness

Dear Debbie,

So let me begin with last thursday it took me 2 and a 1/2 hours to catch a ride to get home from language school. Friday I was super excited to get a new bike! I got it during rush hour and it was too late for them to get an alarm put in so I have to do that sometime this week. It was also raining but I made it home safely. Anyways, since then a few things have happened.

First, on Friday I spent the night with a friend and put my bike inside her house. Coming home I toppled over but no damage done to the bike just one scratch. I am not good at getting into our gate, but the saddest part is that both of my roommates and their boyfriends were there and no one heard me yell "Help" I didn't want to burn my leg on the boiler. I managed to get out fine. Lately, I am home a lot by myself and even when I am not people don't hear my cries which leads me to the next thing that happened.

Secondly, yesterday, I had a Lao friend help me drive again and I learned how to better stop and start and how to turn better. I was nervous about these things so I wanted confidence and I got it. Well around 4:30am or 5:00am I hear my roommates bike going off. I run down the stairs to my roommate yelling at two men shimmying up a tree and jumping the fence. Then I go to check my bike the lock is broken(they had to break two gadgets to break the lock). Then I go inside to get the keys. They are gone I wake up my third roommate and it becomes a fiasco All our keys were stolen and two bike locks broken and one the seat lock broken. All of our house locks were changed today and we have to get our bikes fixed tomorrow.

Thirdly, I will get an alarm installed inside but the sad part is it is a $100 more dollars. I also have to take it in a tuk-tuk and ask for all this stuff in Lao. What have I gotten myself into! I love my bike even if I have only gotten to drive it one day. My roommate bought two locks plus I'll have the alarm. Hopefully that'll be enough. Please uplift my talking and driving. I also have to get keys replaced something I have never done before I don't even know how to find a place. I wanna go home! Not really but there are some things I will never understand.

Searching for strength,
Suzzie