Locked in the Bathroom

Well, I am starting my 3rd month back. In some ways time seems to be flying by and in other ways it seems to be creeping by. I am now back to teaching art and not subbing in 5th grade any longer. So thankful for that!

Just a few fun stories since I've been here.

A few weeks back I was hanging out with some friends here. It was about time to leave so I thought I'd use the bathroom before I left. Everyone had been using it all night. When I tried to leave the bathroom I couldn't get the door to unlock. Now, just so you understand- the locks on doors here are a little different. Every door that locks has a deadbolt and key. So this deadbolt is stuck in the door. I kept jiggling the key hoping that it might work but it didn't. Finally one of my friends heard me jiggling the key and handle and started laughing. She asked jokingly if I was stuck and I told her I was pretty sure I was. I slid one of the keys under the very small space at the bottom of the door. They tried the key from the outside with no luck. At this point I could not stop laughing- I was laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face. The next option was for them to try unscrewing the door handle. This did not work either. Meanwhile I am inside trying to figure a way out. There was one window, very small and blocked by a metal pole. Not to mention the fact that we were 2 stories up. So I waited patiently while the 10 people outside tried to get me out. We couldn't take the hinges off the door because there were no pins in them. They tried drilling through the lock to no avail. The only option left was to kick in the door. They told me to brace myself and move everything away from the door while my friend put on his heavy duty boots. The next thing I knew I was huddled in the shower corner trying not to get hid by flying shards of wood. Once the door went flying open it was all over and I was set free from the bathroom after 30 minutes or so. Quite the experience though.

I was walking through a store here when I first got back and saw that they sell MSG by the kilo. Pretty ironic considering most people try NOT to have that in their food. Since then I have seen it in several other stores.

Our older girls basketball team had an exciting first game yesterday. They ended up tied with the other team in triple over time. Needless to say my throat is a little sore from the excited screaming and jumping up and down! The younger boys and girls teams have their last game this afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing them play again.

I'm sure I have more fun stories to share but an drawing a blank right now. I'll be back soon with more!

Finally Updating

For the few of you that read my blog- sorry that I haven't posted since January. It's been a busy time since then.

I have been home since the end of May. I've enjoyed every moment of being in the whirlwind called home. I have seen family and friends, traveled quite a bit, and met many new people. Thank to everyone who has helped me out this summer, new friends and old. I appreciate your hospitality and generosity.

In just 12 days I will be heading back overseas for a 3rd year. As I reflect on my time home this summer I know that it will, once again, be hard to leave my family and friends that I get to see so little during the year. Each year that goes by I realize more and more just how precious my time with these treasured people is. Although it is hard to leave again I am looking forward to the adventures and opportunites of the coming year.

And- I will try to update more often :-)

I have been meaning to post for a while now- it's been a while because for about a month we were having internet troubles and then I went on vacation. So many fun stories, where to begin...

A few weeks ago I was walking to school with some other teachers when we decided to stop at a small corner store for some lunch items. We were inside when all of the sudden this pigeon flies out from behind the deep freeze, into the spinning fan, and lands in a bucket of candy. Needless to say it was killed on impact with the fan. We all screamed in shock and horror and just looked at the thing. Then we proceeded to laugh as the owner of the shop picks the bird up by the tail, looks at it, and promptly throws it in the garbage bin outside without hesitation. It was quite hilarious!

Around Christmas time my roomies and I decided to go Christmas shopping together. I had already done mine but was going along for the roomie outing. So the three of us went to the only more western store we know to look around and see what we could find. This was my first time there as it had been closed every other time I had tried to go. I was enthralled at the assortment of items they offered. They had everything from house decor to electronics to kitchen stuff and even more. As we are looking around, we all just sort of got lost in the store. Then, just before we were about to leave one of my roomies finds something she has been wanting for a long time....a hair dryer that can actually be plugged straight into the wall here without a converter. So, after some thought she decides that it's a good price and decided to buy it for herself for Christmas. While she is checking out I jokingly said that she should get it gift wrapped and open it on Christmas day (because the store had free gift wrapping). Well, she took me up on it. Now my other roomie and I are waiting for her to get her "gift" wrapped and the other roomie finds something that she just HAS to have. I went with her to check out and said she might as well have it wrapped, too. About this time I am feeling a bit left out as I have not bought a gift for myself for Christmas. So I went back inside the store and found something I had been wanting for a while, a full length mirror- for an amazing price might I add. And, yes, you guessed it- I got it wrapped!!! By this time we were all laughing so hard the workers probably thought we were crazy but we didn't care. The funniest part of the story is that we had to take public transport home with our gifts in tow, including the fully gift wrapped full length mirror. So we rode home in a richshaw with the mirror accross our laps and sticking out both sides of the vehicle praying that it didn't hit anything! More than likely one memory I won't soon forget ;-)

Christmas was fun and though I missed my family I had people here to share it with. On Christmas morning a bunch of us were together for brunch. The boys came in with a box/present for the girls. The label read "To the girls From the boys". When we finally got around to opening it somehow it ended up on my lap. I was a bit leary about opening this present considering the boys' track record but I opened anyways- with everyone else holding cameras ready. As I opened it I wasn't sure what I was looking at but I unwrapped the inside bundle carefully to find...a sheep's head!!! You can just imagine my reaction. They were considerate enough to sew up the brains for us and after the initial shock of it all it was pretty funny.

I had a wonderful time on my vacation. It was nice to get away and be refreshed. I got to go white water rafting, spend some time in a more western city (which includes a little shopping and R&R), spend some time on the beach and go snorkeling, and attend a much needed retreat. On the way back from this our longer flight was overbooked so some people took vouchers to stay behind. Even after that they had still double booked some seats. After hearing some people in the back keep saying "No you're in my seat....No you're in my seat" I called one of the attendants over and offered to stay behind. He told me and a friend to just follow him. Well, we did and ended up in first class!!! I was pretty excited for the extra leg room, endless refreshments, and good food served on real dishes. It was so nice and such a blessing!

Well, I think I have caught up on most of my fun stories- the ones I can remember right now anyways. Until later...