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...