4 Stages of Culure Shock::

4 STAGES OF CULTURE SHOCK:::
(excerpts from Center for Global Education Handbook)

-:- HONEYMOON -:- HOSTILITY -:- HUMOR -:- HOME -:-

1) HONEYMOON: everything is exciting and exotic
- "people seem so relaxed, unrushed; they really have their priorities right."
- "the tropical plants are gorgeous."
- "despite their poverty, people are incredibly generous."
- "People really know how to enjoy life."

2) HOSTILITY: everything is dreadfully chaotic and frustrating
- "People (systems/traffic/etc.) here are irrational."
- "Things are so untidy here / people are so dirty."
- "Things are so inefficient/people don´t plan ahead/people are lazy."
- "People here are supposed to be open and warm, but they´re actually very cold."

** in a reverse-hostility situation a sojourner´s hostility may also be directed towards one´s home culture. **(which we actually see quite a bit of here)

3) HUMOR: is reached when the sojourner is willing to make light of his or her confusion and discomfort. =) laughter eases the tension of not knowing what is appropriate or how to make sense of something. Easing the tension in turn, frees one to ask questions and continue learning

4) HOME: indicates that the cultural sojourner has reached a general level of comfort within her new context. there may still be questions and akward moments, but she has grown comfortable with a certain level of discomfort. she experiments with strategies to learn what she needs to know. She recognizes strengths and weaknesses of the cultures of both her home and new contexts.

MOLLY::: somewhere between hostility and humor. I´ve mostly been in the hostile stage admittedly - feeling that everything happens a bit too slowly and haphazardly around here, but i noticed myself crossing into the Humor stage a bit lately - making light of the constant fire crackers exploding outside of our windows, or while walking down the street for example. =) Anyways, I certainly don´t feel at home here. I think the key step towards progress in this are is: RELATIONSHIPS, the more people we get to know, the more we will trust we will build between us. I think TRUST is key to overcoming culture shock.

OTHERS::: Everyone who is living abroad is somewhere in regards to their new culture, any comments?

Shakin it up in Guatemala

interesting events from the past week::

- we had a small earth quake // tremor in the middle of Thanksgiving mass in a crowded room with about 100 people. it was one of the craziest sensations, i felt dizzy afterwards and confused until it dawned on me that it wasn´t just my chair that turned to noodles, it was everyones´ and well, it wasn´t the chairs that were moving, it was the ground! it was quite the rush.

- yesterday evening we had another slighter tremor, but i was sitting on the bed for that one. the door to our room started shaking in its frame and i was bouncing around on the bed, which is more vulnerable to shakiness anyways. this one was more scary, i asked matt to hold me and told him i didn´t want to die.

anyways, here´s a photo of the room we´re staying in, it is one of many rooms that make up Señora Rolanda´s lovely courtyard of a house.

A Different Kind of Coffee House

--

This is what we call "la casa de cafe" (i can´t find the accent symbol for the "e")

This is the building where they do the processing of coffee beans: peeling, drying, shelling, roasting, grinding and packaging. I´m sure I will have many more posts about coffee production because the harvest season is quickly approaching and in December I hope to help out with the picking or whatever else is possible.
---
Here are some shots of the road we´ve been working on. There are three short-term mission groups here this week and one of the three projects people are working on this week is: building a road from the back of la casa de cafe up to the coffee plantation. This road is important because since they started processing the coffee cooperatively through the church each of the farmers/harversters has had to carry the 100 lb. bags of coffee beans down the hill on their backs. And because the mission is planning on expanding the coffee production, they find that a road would be a very helpful endeavor, ergonomically speaking.

I had heard we were going to be working on the coffee road, but when i got to the actual sight, I was shocked at the steep, rocky surfaces and had a hard time imagining that this would ever be a navigatable road.


:::::


It was great to watch all the teenagers and other long term volunteers working so hard together.

We´ve Moved...

Lately it has been hard to blog at the pace that we´ve been living life and traveling::: through Europe, visiting old friends in Germany and Switzerland, and exploring rich scenery in Italy and Paris, New England with family and Texas with family. So I feel like i´ve left things out, but oh well, maybe i will ocasionally reflect anachronistically.

Anyways, we´ve moved to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala on Lake Atitlàn for 6 or so months. We are volunteering-serving at the San Lucas Mission mostly to watch and learn about all of the wonderful things that this church parish is doing to reach out to the community in the love of Jesus. It seems like every week of our time here will look different.


Today is DAY 3: We had the privilege of accompanying 2 dentists to a small village about 20 minutes away by the back of a pick-up truck. There was an American and a Guatemalan dentist extracting teeth today. Matt and I helped set up the area, sanitized the utensils and assisted in patient care. Here are some photos.


This is Matt and another long term volunteer, Garret, carrying a large table from a family´s home to the local school where we set up the dental clinic for the day.





This is a shot of the set-up before we started. Notice how long the line is: many, many Guatemalans suffer from tooth aches and decay and some waited in line for hours to see the dentists. The two dentists working with us today saw 45 patients and extracted 75 rotting teeth.


Here we are at the sanatizing station, God gave both of our stomachs much grace watching teeth get pulled and cleaning supplies all day long. =) Once again, we were so privileged to get to tag along and experience this.



*** My main question was: how do they organize all this? and the answer seems to be that most of these villages at least in this area have a "health promoter" who has contact with a local coordinator who is in touch with medical groups in the area. So the coordinator calls up a village "health promoter" and tells him to spread word in the village that a dentist is coming next Tuesday at 10:00am to pull out any rotting teeth in this example. I was super impressed at the communication between villages.

Apple-Pickin-Goodness

~ : ~ I Heart Connecticut ~ : ~


We went apple picking with Matt's parents while visiting them last week. It was such a refreshing time.




Even though most of the apple trees were already well-picked through and most of the leaves had already fallen -- I love New England in the Fall. I feel like i come alive in thickly forested areas. Leaves make my heart sing.







I'm so glad we got a taste of Fall before heading off to the tropical, highlands of Guatemala.

Under the Tuscan Sun

This was a much needed breath of fresh air, gazing out over the Tuscan countryside on a wonderfully sunny day. The rental and navagation of the tiny white auto was quite intense and stressful - so i am very thankful that we had nice weather and lovely vistas to enjoy as we detoxed from our stressful travels.







The perfect end to a satisfying day, sipping a glass of wine at a family run restaurant with the dog shuffling along at our feet.

















I noticed as we were bathing in the light of the sunset that the family dog was equally interested in the beautiful sunset. I didn't have time to perfectly frame the photo, but i loved catching the dog catching the sunset. it struck me as quite the beautiful scenario.





Here we are at Rocca della Macie, our favorite "visit a vineyard, sample their wine" experience for sure. They actually sell this wine at the Olive Garden and we were shocked to find out that a few Olive Garden chefs actually visit the vineyard every year to study Tuscan cooking-haha.





a quaint and ancient Chiesa in San Dalmazio, Tuscany, Italy

Mini-Me s

Oh man, i have many small thoughts::: It would be easy to write if I could show you some photos - but we haven't had the chance to upload photos in a while. So, we will have to catch up on visual effects later. Here are some samples of my would-be-blog-titles-if-i-had-the-time-to-blog:::


The Hours Inbetween::
It has been, believe it or not, difficult to embrace this present stage of life, traveling around Europe because I feel so torn about saying goodbye to people in Denver and I am apprehensive about what life (and relationships) will be like in Guatemala. So, as much as traveling around Europe with my Love is a dream - it is also still "life." We still have struggles and I still get sad sometimes. I totally buy into the philosophy of "embrace the MOMENT, don't fight it" but for some reason I've been fighting this "moment in time" - this chance to enjoy traveling and exploring new places with Matt...


Under the Olive Trees::
Italy really is a place for the five senses. In Florence we camped under a row of olive trees, looking out over the valley below, complete with the most lovely of Duomos and skylines. Matt and I are both suckers for the lovely culinary fragrances, peeping out around every corner. Matt has quite the sense of how far away the next wood-fired pizzeria is. And so did one of the local cats, who crawled under our tent and dragged away our leftover wood-fired pizza. I would have never known a sweet little kitty would do something like that! Matt is still a bit torn-up over it.


Thresholds:::
We are currently staying at a Seminario (an old monestary) in Volterra, Italy. Above our door is a fresco of an old monch, who presumably used to live in our room. It reminds me of this adorable little Inn in Twin Lakes, Colorado: ((Anyone who is in-love in Colorado should ask me about this romantic getaway.)) At the Inn in Twin Lakes, there was also a picture of a woman who used to live and
"work" in our room - if you know what i mean. And I just smile at the contrast of Ancestrial-thresholds in ancient Italy and the mining days of Colorado.

ççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççççç


Anyways, we've rented a little super old FIAT Panda for the day and we are looking forward to exploring the Chianti region of Tuscany. Ciao, ciao and much love to all.

East of Eden = Five Stars

The book starts off with a letter from John Steinback, the author, to someone named Pat.


it goes:::




Dear Pat,
You came upon me carving some kind of little figure out of wood and you said, "Why don't you make something for me?"
I asked you what you wanted, and you said, "A box."
"What for?"
"To put things in."
"What things?"
"Whatever you have," you said.
Well, here's your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts—the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.
And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.
And still, the box is not full.

- John


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I've really enjoyed reading this book and it has got me excited to try more classics in the near future. This is an excellent book by an incredible writer - the kind that shines through time. I will always remember the plot line intertwined with the places we were as we were reading this novel. (Matt and I have been reading it together). Riding the train in the Swiss Alps through tunnels and valleys, we read about forgiveness and brotherhood. Lying in the tent outside of Venice in the rain, we read of the terrible foreboding union of Cathy and Adam. and so on. Thanks for the recommendation: Jon and Emily.

Wieder-zu-sehen = To See Again

It's been great to see-everything & everyone - again. I haven't been back to Germany since my year abroad back in '04 - '05. So it was great everything wiederzusehen (to see again).



Here is a classic shot of the Heidelberg Castle, it's actually quite small - but look for it in the background.
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Here we are on the bridge - we really enjoyed strolling around this super charming old part of the city.
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Here we are biking in the Black Forest with my old neighbor, Matthias, from the dorms, he grew up in the Black Forest and always was and still is SO nice and hospitable.
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Here we are being tourists in Karlsruhe, walking around the palace gardens.
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Here is another shot of the Karlruhe Castle. I lived in a dorm 2 blocks from the Castle and the surrounding gardens. I will always treasure having had so much unique and antique beauty at my door step while living in Germany.






We asked for a recommendation from a local and we were SO delighted with the beauty and quaintness. At night all of the stores and cafés set out candles to set the most romantic mood.
******




Here is more of romantically, charming and beautifully cobble-stoned Ladenburg, i believe it was.

Germany ~ Switzerland

Grusse, Grusse from Switzerland and earlier from Germany!

Unfortunately we have not had much time to be on the internet = it's complicated in Europe and when we've been with friends, well, we've been with friends and then we've spent most of our time trying to figure out how to get to the next town and what to do when we get there. Here's our itinerary so far:::


Day 1: PERSON: Steffi! PLACE: Mainz and Kolonge
highlight: eating a traditional German meal with fried potatoes and Fleischkaese in a big dark wood, timber restaurant and drinking the local Kologne beer: Koelsch


Day 2: PERSON: sweet Esther and her new husband Manu; PLACE: Heidelberg!!

Day 3: PERSON: me and Matt; PLACE: Heidelberg and exploring the ruins of the castle

Day 4: PERSON: Matthias & Oli; PLACE:: all of our old hangouts in Karlsruhe, Germany where I studied abroad four years ago

Day 5: PERSON: Matthias & Miri & Dennis; PLACE: biking around the Black Forest and sampling local wines

Day 6: trainride through the Black Forest with Matty!

Day 7: PERSON: Dina (old coworker and friend from the Swiss grocery store where i worked Summer '03); PLACE: Basel, Switzerland on the border of Germany, France and Switzerland

Day 8: PLACE: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland = the most beautiful valley in the Swiss Alps for sure!! We hiked through the lush mountain faces for about 7 hours!

Day 9: PLACE: Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald in the same wonderful valley + an optional trip to the top of Schilthorn - a viewing point of the highest Swiss Alp peaks

Day 10: PLACE: Gimmelwald - Langnau (where my old Swiss host family lives!)


the Rest: TBD

Thank You and We Love You

Here is a full of LOVE video, that our dear friend, Kate Cremisino, put together for us. It captures many precious moments with our church community over the past two years = this is one of the most special gifts I have ever received. Kate is so good about capturing moments: through photography, video and words. She has inspired me to be a better memory keeper myself, which is why I now have a simple video recorder via my ipod. And I hope to share some of the videos of our Europe trip so far whenever we have a good enough Internet connection. So, thank you, Kate, for this wonderful tribute - our hearts are full to overflowing for sure.

A Tribute to Matt + Molly Orr from Kate Cremisino on Vimeo.

Bittersweet pretty much just means Bitter

This was the same title I used on my first ever Blog Entry. I wrote it as i was moving from Germany and saying good-bye to all the friends and the life I had made. Everyone would ask me then, "Are you excited to return home to America?" And I would think - "excited? of course not - saying goodbye is so hard to do."

And it's the same thing this time. People have asked, "ARe you excited for Guatemala and even Europe??" And i think, "of course not - saying goodbye is so hard to do."

But like my friend, Kate, had said as soon as we actually DID the thing I feared the most (leaving friends and a comfortable life) and after we actually loaded up the car and drove out of Denver - it did get easier and I was able to crack a bit of a smile thinking about what lies ahead for us.

I miss everyone reading this for sure! Much love to you all!

Matt's Colorado Trail Video

Here is a video that Matt made to commemorate his time on the trail::: He did a great job: on hiking and on the video. =)

I'm so proud of you, Matty!!

It's about 12 minutes, please enjoy:::

Matt's Colorado Trail from Molly Orr on Vimeo.

No, not Africa, this is Guatemala

I opened the Economist last week and saw this photo: the caption read, "No, not Africa, this is Guatemala."

The August 27th article was titled: "Malnutrition in Guatemala: A National Shame."

We are going to be living in a rural, Mayan village starting November 11th.
(( Here is the original article ))

IT IS hardly one of Latin America’s poorest countries, but according to Unicef almost half of Guatemala’s children are chronically malnourished—the sixth-worst performance in the world. In parts of rural Guatemala, where the population is overwhelmingly of Mayan descent, the incidence of child malnutrition reaches 80%. A diet of little more than tortillas does permanent damage.

This chronic problem has become acute. Higher world prices for food have coincided with a recession-induced fall in money sent back from Guatemalans working in the United States (remittances equal 12% of Guatemala’s GDP). Drought in eastern Guatemala has made things worse still. Many families can scarcely afford beans, an important source of protein, and must sell eggs from their hens rather than feed them to their children.

The government and aid donors are providing emergency food supplies for 300,000 people scattered in some 700 villages. Up to 400,000 more may need help. In Jocotán, in the east, rehabilitation centres have admitted dozens of children who are so malnourished that their black hair has turned blond, their faces are chubby from fluid build-up as their organs fail, the veins in their legs become a visible black spider-web and their face muscles are too weak to smile.

What makes this even more distressing is that Guatemala is rich enough to prevent it. Other Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, have reduced child hunger. Yet according to Unicef, the incidence of stunting—a common indicator of chronic malnutrition—in Guatemala is twice what it is in Haiti, where income per head is only a quarter as high. Stunting is not genetic: a study by the World Bank found that Mayans in southern Mexico are taller than those over the border.

That points to a failure of government in Guatemala. The Mayan population were the main victims of a long-running civil war between military dictatorships and left-wing guerrillas. Although democracy came, and eventually peace, social conditions have been slow to improve. Income inequality remains extreme, even by Latin American standards. Two-thirds of the rural population remains poor. Guatemala came second to bottom of a new index measuring inequality of opportunity in Latin America published by the World Bank last year. Whereas Guatemala City has shiny shopping malls, gated mansions and trendy restaurants, many indigenous Guatemalans scratch an inadequate living as sharecropping subsistence farmers. “These people were totally abandoned in the mountains with no infrastructure, no education, no health,” says Rafael Espada, the vice-president.

Much research shows that children who are undernourished tend to suffer from learning difficulties and end up poorer. So proper feeding is the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty. But schooling is vital too. Guatemala lags behind in educating girls in particular. As a result, mothers may not prepare corn-soya feeding supplements correctly, and may share them among all their children rather than favouring the malnourished.

The government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthier Guatemalans to provide good schools and health care for the majority, let alone the kind of targeted cash-transfer programme that has helped to cut poverty in Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere in the region. But urban Guatemalans are more worried about rampant crime, much of it by drug gangs. The government, like its predecessor, is full of good intentions. But several attempts at tax reform over the past decade have foundered in the face of entrenched political resistance. So malnutrition looks set to continue in a country in which it ought to be a cause of national shame.

The BEAUTY of DISENTANGLEMENT

I was telling a friend about our future move to Guatemala. And she shared about how specifically foreign missions had always been a dream of hers. I was quite surprised. You know sometimes you just assume people who are doing cool things are living out their dreams, but she shared that she and her family (two children) had become too settled, too established. She said they were too ENTANGLED in responsibilities and possessions and familiarities, which of course is beautiful in many ways. -- but I was so shocked that she was admitting that she had dreamed of something else.


So, I want to celebrate this occasion - to celebrate the FREEDOM OF DISENTANGLEMENT. It's not something that I take lightly - I realize it's hard and that we've had it easy because:::

a. We've had a month-to-month lease with a wonderful and understanding Lanlord

b. Most of our furniture, appliances and accessories we found down the hall and were able to use free of charge

c. The rest of our furniture we either made, found in the Alleyway or it was given to us by generous friends (shout out to Ian & Camille for the futon of my dreams!)

d. We've lived close enough to work that we survived with one car


~~~~ So, we are not too thoroughly entangled yet for which i am grateful. ~~~

I think of our current possessions/provisions like God wanted the Israelites to think about the manna from heaven. (Exodus 16) God sent just enough manna to the ground morning after morning and each family gathered according to its need. So, i look at it like God gave us just enough of everything we needed in this phase and as we let go, and move on, He will also provide in this next phase of life according to our needs. Thank you, Jehova Jireh, which means the Lord will provide!!

A Golden Birthday to Remember!

Thanks to my lovely friends down in Colorado Springs - i had a super, special Golden 28th Birthday. some people have asked - "what is a golden birthday?" Well, for me it was turning 28 on the 28th, for others it's turning 19 on the 19th and so on. So, if your birth date is a single digit - you probably don't remember your golden birthday. But anyways, it's just another reason to celebrate:::






Nice shot, Al, you should think about making a career out of this.

this shot was not staged - this is my completely organic reaction to the fact that Allison wrapped up and gifted me my camera that i left at her place over six months ago

a lovely double-decker-dark-chocolate cake
made with LOVE and choc. chips


~~~
I love you, girls !!!!!

YELLOWSTONE roadtrip '09

Here are some pics from the
Jr. High YELLOWSTONE roadtrip of Open Door Awesomeness '09:::

The Grand Prismatic Spring - the largest hot spring in the world - i had seen it photographed from above, but i had never seen it up close and personal!

some of the girls at Inspiration Point

the guys at Inspiration Point

the breathtaking boat-ride across Jenny Lake in Grand Teton Nat'l Park !!

the boat ride back was even better!

in front of the much anticipated eruption of Old Faithful !!

This is Obama leaving on a helicopter - we almost got to see the President! we watched his motorcade exit the area and we had fun spying the Secret Service agents hiding in the trees and on top of buildings - it was pretty exciting.

The Upper or Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, I forget which one, Gary.

Here's the "hard corp" group that hiked to the bottom of the canyon with the Falls in the background so we could feel the mist on our faces.

Being surrounded by a herd of Bison was one of the kids' highlights for sure.

A classic Yellowstone shot at Mammoth Hot Springs by the North Entrance.

This is Lake Isabelle::: it straddels the Continental Divide, so half of the water in this lake drains into the Atlantic via the Missouri River, which runs into the Mississippi and the other half drains into the Pacific via the Snake River, which runs into the Columbia, pretty cool, eh?

ON THE TRAIL, pt. 1

My Hubby is Hiking the Colorado Trail:::

**Matt is hiking from Durango to Denver (the opposite direction of what most people do) 500 miles and who knows exactly how many days.**

WEEK 1 ::: Saturday, August 15th
Day 1: Durango::: 13 miles (Segment 28A)
Day 2: 10 miles (Seg. 28B)
Day 3: 20 miles (Seg. 27)
Day 4: 11 miles (Seg. 26) ** resupply in Silverton
Day 5: 20 miles (Seg. 25)
Day 6: 22 miles (Seg. 24)
Day 7: 22 miles (Seg. 23)

WEEK 2 ::: Saturday, August 22nd
Day 8: 12.2 miles (Seg. 22)
Day 9: 17.1 miles (Seg 21)
Day 10: 10 miles ** resupply in Creede
Day 11: 22 miles (Seg 20, 19A)
Day 12: 17.9 miles (Seg 19B/18)
Day 13: 20.4 miles (Seg 17)
Day 14: 15.2 miles (Seg 16)

WEEK 3::: Saturday, August 29th
Day 15: 14.2 miles (Seg 15) !! meet in Salida !!
Day 16: with my honey in !! SALIDA !!
Day 17:(Seg 14)
Day 18:(Seg 13)
Day 19:(Seg 12)
Day 20:(Seg 11)
Day 21:(Seg 10)

WEEK 4::: Saturday, September 5th
Day 22: !! meet in Twin Lakes !!
Day 23: !! hang in Leadville !!
Day 24: (Seg 9)
Day 25: (Seg 8)
Day 26: (Seg 7)
Day 27: (Seg 6) !! Meet in Breckenridge !!
Day 28: "0" day in Breckenridge

WEEK 5::: Saturday, September 12th
Day 29: (Seg 5)
Day 30: (Seg 4)
Day 31: (Seg 3)
Day 32: !! Meet in Bailey !!
Day 33: (Seg 2) // drop off Matt's dad so he can hike the last full day
Day 34: (Seg 1) 16.8 miles = meet at Waterton Canyon in Littleton

Guess Where I get to go with my Job???

No, not Disney Land, even better ---

YELLOWSTONE National Park

-- woo hoo !!!!

So, think of me as I'm driving, chaperoning and exploring with 6 Jr. High kids in a van for 20+ hours over the next 5 days.

A + B + C

A::: THE PRESENT::: Wow, I can't believe it's already the weekend again! Time has been flying by so fast and I don't like it like that. I like to take things slow. I love my job and my boss and the kids and families I work with. I love my House Church and my community of friends. I love living on Washington St. I love hanging out with my husband aka, best friend in our "yellow room" and I love working in our garden with friends. In lots of ways I want to FREEZE time, I don't want things to change. I'm so full to overflowing right now! but alas


B::: The COLORADO TRAIL::: Matt is leaving to hike the Colorado Trail on Sunday, August 16th. It is a 500 mile hike from Durango, Colorado to Denver over many mountain passes and Wildernesses and glorious landscapes. I am very EXCITED for him. He has wanted to do this for a long time and the timing is perfect right now. It should take him about 7 weeks, which is faster than most people do it - but he is MATT ORR, the fastest hiker I know for sure.


C::: The SAN LUCAS MISSION, GUATEMALA::: Many of those who know us have known that my contract with Open Door Ministries expires at the end of September. And we have known for a while that when it ends we want to go ___________. (somewhere foreign, amongst the poor, mission minded, preferably Spanish-speaking.) We finally feel peace and clarity about our decision. It has certainly been a long journey of figuring out where we should go! ((So, thank you to those of you who listened to me externally verbalize the plethora of possibilities these past 6 months!)) We are planning on being "Long Term Volunteers" at SAN LUCAS MISSION, on Lake Aititlan in Guatemala for about 6 months.

~~~More to come on:::

~ the Here & Now
~ the COLORADO TRAIL
~ the SAN LUCAS MISSION, GUATEMALA

WALK, a poem

((this is my favorite poem - i ran across it years ago, author unknown))

One summer afternoon i met with you
And we walked all day for months and months
Eating apples and mangoes
'Till our chins dripped with juice

A perpetual picnic of magic and lust
We walked from Canada to Sri Lanka
Through yellow, rouge and blanca.

Hitting the blackest of waters at the end of the day
I closed my eyes and you swam away.

Sometimes when i see you now,
You pick me up and spin me 'round
And put me back where you found me,
Disoriented and dizzy.

One afternoon i met with you
And we walked all day for years and years
Eating apples and excuses
'Till our faces dripped with tears.

~~~~~~~

---- i like how it invokes all of the senses and seasons and different parts of the world. I love the smell and the sticky visuals of juice dripping down the face. It's about relationship and longing and walking and sucking the juice out of LIFE! ---

Good Fiction.

4.5 STARS !!

I never would have thought I would be interested in time travel - I'm not a Sci-Fi girl, but I couldn't put this book down! Maybe because I eat up love stories which is what this is. There is of course the major motion picture out right now, but I would recommend reading the book first as it certainly imaginative and exercises your brain trying to keep up with the timeline. The book alternates between Henry and Claire's perspectives and so does the narration. The story addresses love, coming of age, longing, loss, marriage and gratitude. An excellent read for sure!!




4 STARS

A compelling read, great character development, with a hilarious premise. Interpersonal mess-ups and relational exploration. The author includes thought provoking questions and book group discussion questions which really add to the experience of "The Accidental Tourist."
(excerpt from Amazon.com) "This thoughtful character novel focuses on Macon Leary, a travel writer who hates to travel, a man who has gone through life observing what is happening, but who has never been truly engaged. Compulsively tidy, Macon has always believed that it is possible to order one's life so effectively that the untidiness, or chaos, that throws life into confusion can be avoided."


2.5 STARS

A short, concise tale about lust, reading and shame in postwar Germany. I had already figured out the punch line through watching the movie trailer, so I found the book predictable and the story line and character development lacking. I, however, did get a degree in Germanic Studies so the postwar, generational shame and denial are indeed interesting, historical topics. The book raises some interesting questions, like:: what does it mean to love those people--parents, grandparents, even lovers--who committed the worst atrocities the world has ever known? And is any atonement possible through literature? The book attempts to bridge this generational gap between the guilty and the innocent between words and silence. I just think the book is not quite bold or profound enough to answer these questions.

Children, Children EVERYWHERE!

A glimpse into my work-life in the Summertime:::

Here's the "light green" team at Boy Scout Camp! These kids were awesome - i was very impressed with their behavior, well, there's one pouter in the front row in camo - but oh well, you can't make everyone happy. We did a lot of walking and skills training ( We learned some specialized knots, which we could use to make a "lean to" or a raft to float away on). We slept in hard-corp-flapping-in-the-crazy-night-wind-army-tents-on-planks and watched the flag go up and down at dusk and dawn each day. I wish I had taken a picture of the tents - it was a crazy indistinguishable maze of tents and the kids were always getting confused and turned around, which was hilarious.

playing with the i-phone

one of the Loves of my life

playing in the creek is a common event

one can never spend too much time playing with the sand