Whatsa dasawisma? Part I

September 9, 2015

It took me the better part of 4 months to actually hear the word(s) “dasa wisma.” The fact that it is also shortened to “da’wis,” didn’t help. But seeing as how the word had definitley floated around in countless neighbourhood conversations, I can’t believe it never even registered at all (more on this later)! This got […]

Absorption – Soaking Up a New Language

May 9, 2015

A is for Absorption! So how do we get these old brains of ours to learn new tricks? By old, I’m mostly referring to the language part of our brains that hasn’t had new work for quite a few years now! The human brain is amazing, but we’ve had to shake it up a bit to get it going! Hopefully, […]

Leaving Cali

January 4, 2015

We will be gone on Monday. Michigan, here we come! Four months have disappeared and we have a vault full of good memories in return! Two major holidays made for plenty of time with friends and family. (Right: Grandma Goble and “The Great Dave”). Some of my favorite things included Christmas Caroling with LDPBC. My […]

California, land of rest and sweat

October 15, 2014

Rest. This is the first time since we started training a few years ago that my brain has been able to rest. There’s extra space or something. Maybe it’s the 45 minute drive to get to a good grocery store. Maybe it’s the quiet mornings without the frantic hustle and bustle to make breakfast and […]

Painting the Barn Red

August 7, 2014

I grew up with Do-It-Yourself parents. They liked gutting houses and fixing whatever they could. There’s a sense of satisfaction in a job well done, one that gave you blisters or put sweat on your brow. Plus, you kind of get addicted to it, although I’m not sure why. It’s a love/hate relationship for sure. […]

Fresh Air

July 31, 2014

All of Colorado air smells fresh, but the higher you go and the further you remove yourself from cars, the closer you get to vanilla pines, which means everything smells amazing. I’d bottle the scent and pack a few for Asia if I had the space. So, I was very thankful that we were invited […]

The Month of Loves

March 1, 2014

February causes mixed emotions for most people, ranging from hate to passion, or maybe even passionate hate, but I thought I’d recount some of the loves/likes I encountered along the way. #1. An Adventure with the Luyendyks! (Although this wasn’t quite in February, it was close enough to count in my book.) Seeing these old […]

Meant for the Wild

February 18, 2014

Not long ago my mom came over to our side of the house smirking and stifling a laugh. She said, “Well I always knew you were meant for the jungle!” And then she showed me this… Do you know what I was supposed to be? A zebra. Yup. A zebra. Payton saw it and told […]

Time with Family

February 1, 2014

This winter has been different. I think it’s been different for everyone. I don’t know if it’s the whole “polar vortex” or if it’s just a colder winter. I recently learned that a volcanic eruption can cause such a disturbance in the atmosphere that it can cause unusually cold winters or beautiful sunsets for up […]

Goodbyes

January 6, 2014

We did it! We graduated! And we met some amazing people in the process, which really did make it hard to say goodbyes and pack up. Whether it was our small group (elinc) or just working at the front desk for three semesters, I got to spend a lot of time with all sorts of […]