So here it is... April 2... and the resolution I made to update my blog every month has failed miserably... Not only did I fail to update, I failed to even remember that I forgot! It wasn't until my dear friend texted me this week asking where on earth my updates were, but that he was still praying for me anyway.
Dear friends, take heart! If you, too, have failed to keep your New Year's resolutions, there is grace! :)
As penance for my neglect, I will attempt to create the most informative, fun-to-read blog ever!
Upon arriving back in California after my wonderful two weeks spent with family and friends in Illinois, I was one grouchy little sourpuss. I felt bad spending any time with my friends here because I knew I was in a funk and no fun to be around, however, I had to be around people to get out of my funk. Thankfully, my friends are full of grace and they put up with my mopey homesickness for as long as I needed to get over it.
Once I got into the swing of teaching my English classes and got to see my students happy faces again, I was quite cheerful and back to normal. Not to make anyone jealous, but January in California was gorgeous this year! I went to the beach a few times and got to wear sandals most days! I even got to drive to Arizona to visit friends and drove with the windows down most of the way!
Most months fly by, but February was insane with just 28 days! I managed to fit in as much as possible of course! I got to go to my first Afghan wedding, performed a puppet show as a groundhog, went to San Francisco for work and for play,hosted a Valentine's Day party for my English students, went to Georgia to speak about working with refugees, and spoke in San Diego! (Pictures below!)
Wedding fun!
Me in Chinatown in San Francisco on the first day of Chinese New Year!
My sweet kids at the apartment complex watching a movie!
Lovely Thai ladies dancing in traditional Thai clothing to celebrate the church's anniversary!
This is a Nowruz table! Full of things to celebrate the New Year (like eggs, new grass, apples, goldfish, and flowers!) This was taken at a Persian church.
Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy!! Here's to at least 25 more years! :)
Well that brings us up to speed on my life these last 3 months! Thank you for taking this journey with me!
Dear friends, take heart! If you, too, have failed to keep your New Year's resolutions, there is grace! :)
As penance for my neglect, I will attempt to create the most informative, fun-to-read blog ever!
Upon arriving back in California after my wonderful two weeks spent with family and friends in Illinois, I was one grouchy little sourpuss. I felt bad spending any time with my friends here because I knew I was in a funk and no fun to be around, however, I had to be around people to get out of my funk. Thankfully, my friends are full of grace and they put up with my mopey homesickness for as long as I needed to get over it.
Once I got into the swing of teaching my English classes and got to see my students happy faces again, I was quite cheerful and back to normal. Not to make anyone jealous, but January in California was gorgeous this year! I went to the beach a few times and got to wear sandals most days! I even got to drive to Arizona to visit friends and drove with the windows down most of the way!
Most months fly by, but February was insane with just 28 days! I managed to fit in as much as possible of course! I got to go to my first Afghan wedding, performed a puppet show as a groundhog, went to San Francisco for work and for play,hosted a Valentine's Day party for my English students, went to Georgia to speak about working with refugees, and spoke in San Diego! (Pictures below!)
A little lamb in Georgia... I nearly took him home with me!
San Diego! (I'd highly recommend visiting this city!)
March has been a lovely month! I learned that "In like a Lion, Out like a Lamb" only works in the Midwest... In California, March is pretty much lamb-like all the way through! (again, not to make anyone jealous!) I was able to spend a lot of time with young adults who are involved at Voice of Refugees where I teach English. Many of these young adults go to the community college, so they don't come to my English class. I only get to see them when we have events. In March, we had two events. For the first, we went to the park to play bucket ball. If you've never played bucket ball, it's kind of terrifying if you're playing with a bunch of 6 foot tall guys that are yelling in Arabic and Farsi. Afterward, we went to the beach and swam until the sun went down! Also this month, I got to visit a Persian church twice, celebrate the Persian New Year (Nowruz) a few times, visit refugee families, plan a movie night, pancake dinner, and an epic egg hunt event for the people in my apartment complex, attend a Holi Festival of Colors, visit an anniversary celebration for the oldest Thai church in California, and celebrate my parent's 25th wedding anniversary!
Holi! This is an Indian festival to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Participants throw colored powder at each other and dance to music!
Well that brings us up to speed on my life these last 3 months! Thank you for taking this journey with me!
