2 min to write:
From there we went to Pamukkale (Cotton Castle). It's absolutely beautiful, cascades of calcium pools that look like snow. We then took a bus to Istanbul, got there early in the morning...that place is crazy. First off the city is really dirty and there aren't any trash cans (link?), secondly they try to suck every penny out of tourists, thirdly the people there are so focused on trying to bully you out of your money that it's really hard to just talk to them as people. If you go to Turkey, stay out of Istanbul. That being said there were some nice things, the Aya Sofia, some of the people, Hellboy was in English (Whoop!), and there is a bridge with people fishing on top and cafes below.
On the way out of Istanbul we met a couple with a baby who were on their way back home to Bulgaria. They invited us to come with them, so on a whim we got out early, they gave us a tour of their town (no clue as to the name...north and central Bulgaria), I got to play with their baby a lot, and then we went to their house. But not just any house, it was in a tiny village and surrounded by little walls. Turns out it was an old farm house and inside they grew just about everything: peppers, tomatoes, grapes, apples, raspberries, and other stuff I've never seen. For dinner we had homemade brandy, homemade wine, a pepper salad, and more other food than we could handle. Also we got to watch Bulgaria beat Iceland in football on the TV. That night we played music with them and went to sleep really late. The next morning we had a huge breakfast with fresh cow milk, homemade yoghurt, honey from their bees...you name it, it was ALL fresh!
That day we went to Transylvania in Romania. Beautiful place. We slept in the mountains near where Dracula was from, then went to his castle the next day. The village was amazing and the people there really used pitchforks and scythes to gather hay, had clubfeet, little tiny houses, old toothy men grinning, gypsies ruined the countryside, and there were horse drawn carts galore. It was straight out of a fairy tale...but half the price!
Now we're in Budapest, about to head out to Vienna, and who knows where the road will take us from there...it's never gone quite where we thought it would before now, so why should that change?
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Fast Ferrıes, Excellent Hosts, and the Wonders of Turkey
So ın Turkey the keyboard ıs a lıttle mıxed up and the ´ı´ does not have a dot...therefore I am not goıng to bother changıng ıt...ç=. ö=, and i=´so just put your fun hat on!
Alrıghtö so the next day I woke up to some guy tryıng to steal my packç I trıed to chase hımö but seeıng as I was wıthout glassesö gımpıng wıthout the use of a bıg toe and barefootö he got awayçççfortunately he dropped my bag as he was runnıngö so he dıdnit get away wıth everythıng I ownedç All told I just had my cheap camera stolen and a cap from campç Not too bad of a dealçççI fıgure at that rate I stıll only paıd about 10 bucks a nıght to sleep ın AthensçççI wanted a dıgıtal camera anywaysçççnow Iive got a good excuse to get oneç
Anywaysö we spent most of the day fıgurıng out how on earth we were goıng to get from Athens one evenıng to Turkey by the next by spendıng the least amount of moneyç Not that easy of a task though because there are vırtually NO connectıons between Turkey and Greece cause they hate eachotherç Oh wellö but we dıd manage to fınd a ferryö but the tımıng was goıng to have to be precıseö we would have to leave early from the marathonö stıll see Chrısis frıend run ın ıt AND take about a 45 mınute trıp on two dıfferent metro lınesö PLUS follow all of that up by a dead run from the traın statıon to the ferryö whıch just so happened to be on the opposıte sıde of the huge harborç So that was the planö we had nothıng better to doö so we tımed everythıng down to the mınuteç We then went to the stadıum where the marathon wasö watched the begınnıngö raced back to where we stored our bagsö got a traın to further up the courseö waıted for hıs frıend to começççfınally gave up on hıs frıend gettıng there ın tıme start headıng back to the subway and then we saw hım! Mındı from Lıthuanıa was just further back than we thought he would be. Fortunatelyö we saw hımö cheered for hım and then ran down the subwayç Then on the way just a mıle before the end of the traın trıps our traın stoppedçççfor 7 mınutesç Weire ın a bıt of a panıckö cause we had only a wındow of about 4 mınutesç Once the traın fınally gets there we bolt for ıtç Unfortunatelyö I dıdnit pace myselfö so I couldnit even breath after about 1/2 a mıleç But I dıd get there jumped on the platform and they left wıthın 30 seconds of me gettıng thereç It was amazıng and yet another ´God means for you to be then and there´momentsç
We got to Turkey wıthout any real problemsö got ahold of my frıend ın Izmırö and met her at her beachhouse just to the south of thereç Theır mom was hılarıousö but unfortunately we dıdnit understand a sıngle word that came out of her mouthçççso we just had to assume she was jokıng aroundç The next day they took us to the beach and out to Ephesusçççthe best and most complete ruıns that weive seen yetç That nıght they stuffed us wıth food untıl we were about to popö then we went to bed and woke up early to head to Pamukkaleçççone of the most beautıful spots ın the worldç That evenıng we caught the nıght bus to Istanbulş whıch ıs where we are nowç Istanbul ıs neatö ın factö Iid say ıtis bazaarç But the tourısty stuff ıs really expensıve and weire really ready to get the move on for the rest of the trıpç So for now weire tryıng to fınd out ıf we should fly to Germanyö take a traın thru eastern Europe or take a ferry from Greeceçççıtis just a matter of balancıng tıme and money and fındıng the best optıonç One thıng thatis pretty sad though ıs that there really arenit any amerıcans hereç Accordıng to all of the shop owners theyive been scared off by reports of terrorısmç So just a moment on my soapbox: If you are AFRAID of terrorısts then that means you are helpıng them to do theır job better. You cannot lıve ın such a manner that youire afraıd you wıll lose your lıfeö because that ıs no lıfe at allç Alrıghtö Iill clımb down nowç In fact I thınk Iim goıng to go get a donner and a baklava perhaps a lıttle more shoppıng and who knowsö maybe weill fınd a cheap flıghtç
Alrıghtö so the next day I woke up to some guy tryıng to steal my packç I trıed to chase hımö but seeıng as I was wıthout glassesö gımpıng wıthout the use of a bıg toe and barefootö he got awayçççfortunately he dropped my bag as he was runnıngö so he dıdnit get away wıth everythıng I ownedç All told I just had my cheap camera stolen and a cap from campç Not too bad of a dealçççI fıgure at that rate I stıll only paıd about 10 bucks a nıght to sleep ın AthensçççI wanted a dıgıtal camera anywaysçççnow Iive got a good excuse to get oneç
Anywaysö we spent most of the day fıgurıng out how on earth we were goıng to get from Athens one evenıng to Turkey by the next by spendıng the least amount of moneyç Not that easy of a task though because there are vırtually NO connectıons between Turkey and Greece cause they hate eachotherç Oh wellö but we dıd manage to fınd a ferryö but the tımıng was goıng to have to be precıseö we would have to leave early from the marathonö stıll see Chrısis frıend run ın ıt AND take about a 45 mınute trıp on two dıfferent metro lınesö PLUS follow all of that up by a dead run from the traın statıon to the ferryö whıch just so happened to be on the opposıte sıde of the huge harborç So that was the planö we had nothıng better to doö so we tımed everythıng down to the mınuteç We then went to the stadıum where the marathon wasö watched the begınnıngö raced back to where we stored our bagsö got a traın to further up the courseö waıted for hıs frıend to começççfınally gave up on hıs frıend gettıng there ın tıme start headıng back to the subway and then we saw hım! Mındı from Lıthuanıa was just further back than we thought he would be. Fortunatelyö we saw hımö cheered for hım and then ran down the subwayç Then on the way just a mıle before the end of the traın trıps our traın stoppedçççfor 7 mınutesç Weire ın a bıt of a panıckö cause we had only a wındow of about 4 mınutesç Once the traın fınally gets there we bolt for ıtç Unfortunatelyö I dıdnit pace myselfö so I couldnit even breath after about 1/2 a mıleç But I dıd get there jumped on the platform and they left wıthın 30 seconds of me gettıng thereç It was amazıng and yet another ´God means for you to be then and there´momentsç
We got to Turkey wıthout any real problemsö got ahold of my frıend ın Izmırö and met her at her beachhouse just to the south of thereç Theır mom was hılarıousö but unfortunately we dıdnit understand a sıngle word that came out of her mouthçççso we just had to assume she was jokıng aroundç The next day they took us to the beach and out to Ephesusçççthe best and most complete ruıns that weive seen yetç That nıght they stuffed us wıth food untıl we were about to popö then we went to bed and woke up early to head to Pamukkaleçççone of the most beautıful spots ın the worldç That evenıng we caught the nıght bus to Istanbulş whıch ıs where we are nowç Istanbul ıs neatö ın factö Iid say ıtis bazaarç But the tourısty stuff ıs really expensıve and weire really ready to get the move on for the rest of the trıpç So for now weire tryıng to fınd out ıf we should fly to Germanyö take a traın thru eastern Europe or take a ferry from Greeceçççıtis just a matter of balancıng tıme and money and fındıng the best optıonç One thıng thatis pretty sad though ıs that there really arenit any amerıcans hereç Accordıng to all of the shop owners theyive been scared off by reports of terrorısmç So just a moment on my soapbox: If you are AFRAID of terrorısts then that means you are helpıng them to do theır job better. You cannot lıve ın such a manner that youire afraıd you wıll lose your lıfeö because that ıs no lıfe at allç Alrıghtö Iill clımb down nowç In fact I thınk Iim goıng to go get a donner and a baklava perhaps a lıttle more shoppıng and who knowsö maybe weill fınd a cheap flıghtç
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Lush Islands, Fantastic Views, Heart Ache, and Foot Aches
So after having a miracle hookup with tickets to THE track and field event that I wanted to see, we headed out on a ferry to the island of Santorini. It was more than I imagined it to be. Definitely coming back here with the wife one day, cause that place was MEANT for lovers. Fortunately Chris is about as far from that as I can get. In fact while we were watching the sunset from a cliffside cafe the songs "Live and Let Die" and "Love Hurts" both came on...perfect evening. So on the island I got to see my first black beach, red beach, active volcano, swim in my first salt water hot springs, and find out reef sandals are not meant for off-roading. While hiking around my sandal tripped me up, I put my foot down and sliced off the pad of my big toe...so now I'm gimping around. Funny thing is the next person I happened to meet turned out to be a doctor who just so happened to have a big thing of medical gauze on him...it's amazing how God provides when you'd least expect it.
Back in Athens today, saw downhill mountain biking it was intense. But the best story is that we met a cross-eyed guy who seemed pretty nice, talked to us for a bit, and said, "Hey, I got a bar just down the street, why don't you come in for a drink, it's on the house!" Thinking that he was like the rest of the amazing people we met we thought it sounded great. Then he took us into a basement bar...and we realized it was a strip club. Not wanting to seem rude we took our drink, and he sicced two girls on us, had some boring conversation, they invited themselves to some drinks on us, and we wanted to get OUT of there. But when we asked for the tab it was $25 PER DRINK. Multiply that by the 4 drinks the girls just took it upon themselves to get that was $100...forget that. We told him he was full of crap, threw him a 10 and literally ran out of the place, split up so he couldn't catch us both, and then met at our designated spot. Wow, so the lesson learned...never take a free drink from a cross-eyed man.
Tomorrow's adventure...who knows? But I guarantee it won't involve any strippers.
Back in Athens today, saw downhill mountain biking it was intense. But the best story is that we met a cross-eyed guy who seemed pretty nice, talked to us for a bit, and said, "Hey, I got a bar just down the street, why don't you come in for a drink, it's on the house!" Thinking that he was like the rest of the amazing people we met we thought it sounded great. Then he took us into a basement bar...and we realized it was a strip club. Not wanting to seem rude we took our drink, and he sicced two girls on us, had some boring conversation, they invited themselves to some drinks on us, and we wanted to get OUT of there. But when we asked for the tab it was $25 PER DRINK. Multiply that by the 4 drinks the girls just took it upon themselves to get that was $100...forget that. We told him he was full of crap, threw him a 10 and literally ran out of the place, split up so he couldn't catch us both, and then met at our designated spot. Wow, so the lesson learned...never take a free drink from a cross-eyed man.
Tomorrow's adventure...who knows? But I guarantee it won't involve any strippers.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Exotic Places, Secluded Beaches, and Ancient Wonders
Today I got to check off my first Wonder of the Ancient World. We got to see the Temple of Zeus at Olympia...Unfortunately though, the temple is long since destroyed. The good thing is that the stadium is still somewhat intact and that the surrounding area is really nice. We also got to spend a little time in the town (where I am now), and found out that the tourism industry is really down here even despite (partially because of) the Olympics. Evidently the amount of price gouging going on has driven many people away, and many of the towns are hurting badly as a result.
This morning was one that was an amazing display of providence. Last night we went to find our place to sleep (an olive garden just outside of Olympia) and then Chris made a disastrous discovery. Turns out that everything that he owned he left on the bus in his money belt. All of his cash, cards, rail passes, passport...you name it, he left it. So the plan was to ride the bus in the morning to where is stopped and see if somebody turned it in...not much chance, but it was worth a shot. Well, while we were waiting for the bus we saw another bus going in the opposite direction, but it was the SAME bus with the SAME driver that we were in last night! Chris flagged the bus down, and with some help from some English speaking Greek people he was allowed to get in. And VIOLA! He found it ALL, right there where he had left it. In fact, the bus came so early that it didn't even set us back in our plans for the day. God definitely had a play in the unfolding of this morning, cause without it, we would have been up a creek, and for a long time at that.
Other than that, today is the last day of 'vacation' from the Olympics. The first day we headed to my new favorite place in the whole world...literally. The town was called Nafplio and it was perfect. Nice town, cheap hotels, great food, within a short distance of the King Agamemnon Mycenae palace, another short drive to the best preserved classical Greek theatre in Epidavros, and we even found a virtually unknown beach (so unknown I can't remember the name of it!). It was the perfect town in the perfect spot. We got lucky too, cause the guy who kinda ran the hotel was an older Scottish guy, and we also ran into the Olympic Massage Team. We didn't get a massage, but maybe one day. Anyways, I'm running out of time. Suffice it to say it was perfect. Chris and I even made a pact that we will return to the place once we are both married, and come with just the wives. It will be great, and I can't wait for that day. We even took a picture of us in the sunset, arms open waiting for that special someone to be superimposed.
This morning was one that was an amazing display of providence. Last night we went to find our place to sleep (an olive garden just outside of Olympia) and then Chris made a disastrous discovery. Turns out that everything that he owned he left on the bus in his money belt. All of his cash, cards, rail passes, passport...you name it, he left it. So the plan was to ride the bus in the morning to where is stopped and see if somebody turned it in...not much chance, but it was worth a shot. Well, while we were waiting for the bus we saw another bus going in the opposite direction, but it was the SAME bus with the SAME driver that we were in last night! Chris flagged the bus down, and with some help from some English speaking Greek people he was allowed to get in. And VIOLA! He found it ALL, right there where he had left it. In fact, the bus came so early that it didn't even set us back in our plans for the day. God definitely had a play in the unfolding of this morning, cause without it, we would have been up a creek, and for a long time at that.
Other than that, today is the last day of 'vacation' from the Olympics. The first day we headed to my new favorite place in the whole world...literally. The town was called Nafplio and it was perfect. Nice town, cheap hotels, great food, within a short distance of the King Agamemnon Mycenae palace, another short drive to the best preserved classical Greek theatre in Epidavros, and we even found a virtually unknown beach (so unknown I can't remember the name of it!). It was the perfect town in the perfect spot. We got lucky too, cause the guy who kinda ran the hotel was an older Scottish guy, and we also ran into the Olympic Massage Team. We didn't get a massage, but maybe one day. Anyways, I'm running out of time. Suffice it to say it was perfect. Chris and I even made a pact that we will return to the place once we are both married, and come with just the wives. It will be great, and I can't wait for that day. We even took a picture of us in the sunset, arms open waiting for that special someone to be superimposed.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Rome, Ferries, Sleepless nights, and being a Hobo
So from Paris we went to Rome, got there, missed our train, waited around for half a day, and then headed off to a coastal town called Bari in Italy. We had this crazy taxi guy take us to the ferries and I thought we were going to die. We went thru red lights, drove on the wrong side of the road, and he even zoomed past and honked at somebody pushing a stroller! Better than six flags.
We met the ferries though, jumped aboard right as it was pulling away to go to Greece, and spent a great night on the top deck of the ship. It was cool too, cause it was a holiday and the Italians were shooting off fireworks like crazy on the coast. We ended up in a little port town called Igoumenitsa and basically just chilled on the beach all day, but caught a night bus into Athens that evening. On the bus things were crazy, with tons of loud Mexicans all hooting and hollering in the back of the bus...Man, I wish I could understand more of what they were saying. Also met some really cute girls from Greece who were nice enough to teach me a few Greek phrases and tell me more about the place.
Once we got to Athens it was like 4 in the morning, so we started walking to the center of town. We ended up seeing a sunrise from the Acropolis and it just took my breath away. The rest of the day was spent trying to find a place to stay, but there's nothing open in this town. And even the Youth Hostel is trying to charge $75 per night. So in retaliation we decided to just sleep in the park, and couldn't ask for better. It's a beautiful view of the Acropolis, the weather is like air conditioning at night, and best of all...It's FREE!
We got to see our first Olympic game last night (boxing). It was crazy we saw 14 bouts, some were Light Fly and the rest were Super Heavy. The final one was a US guy named Jason Estrada who beat the snot out of some poor guy. He even did this one punch that looked more like a girl's softball pitch.
Today we're headed off to the Polypenesian peninsula, and then we'll spend about 4 days there before coming back to Athens to enjoy more sleeping in the park and more Olympic Games!
We met the ferries though, jumped aboard right as it was pulling away to go to Greece, and spent a great night on the top deck of the ship. It was cool too, cause it was a holiday and the Italians were shooting off fireworks like crazy on the coast. We ended up in a little port town called Igoumenitsa and basically just chilled on the beach all day, but caught a night bus into Athens that evening. On the bus things were crazy, with tons of loud Mexicans all hooting and hollering in the back of the bus...Man, I wish I could understand more of what they were saying. Also met some really cute girls from Greece who were nice enough to teach me a few Greek phrases and tell me more about the place.
Once we got to Athens it was like 4 in the morning, so we started walking to the center of town. We ended up seeing a sunrise from the Acropolis and it just took my breath away. The rest of the day was spent trying to find a place to stay, but there's nothing open in this town. And even the Youth Hostel is trying to charge $75 per night. So in retaliation we decided to just sleep in the park, and couldn't ask for better. It's a beautiful view of the Acropolis, the weather is like air conditioning at night, and best of all...It's FREE!
We got to see our first Olympic game last night (boxing). It was crazy we saw 14 bouts, some were Light Fly and the rest were Super Heavy. The final one was a US guy named Jason Estrada who beat the snot out of some poor guy. He even did this one punch that looked more like a girl's softball pitch.
Today we're headed off to the Polypenesian peninsula, and then we'll spend about 4 days there before coming back to Athens to enjoy more sleeping in the park and more Olympic Games!
Friday, August 13, 2004
Parisites and Jetlag
Yesterday I made it into Paris quite safely and was greeted by Chris and his French friend Greg at the airport. We came back to his house, met his parents, ate some lunch, then headed out for my very first taste of Paris. The city was absolutely beautiful and the people seemed quite nice despite the stereotypes. Today we are going to Versailles, then maybe to the Arche du Triumph and the Eifel Tower. Well typing on these French keyboards is driving me crazy and I need to get busy trying to find some connecting flights.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Bon Voyage
No real time to post anything, but in one hour I will be leaving for Paris! It's hard to believe; yet, hard to contain. I'll be back on October 7th, so you'll probably have to wait until then for more blogs...but who knows, I may surprise you.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
End of Phase Two
I can't believe that my summer is finally starting to draw to a close. It seems like yesterday that I was starting to worry about graduation stuff and what I was going to do. Then I raced thru some grad school, went thru a whirlwind of fun and emotions at camp, and now for the first time since school I have a couple of days where I can decide upon what I want to do. Ah, the relaxation...and the further turmoil, cause I'll be trying to learn as much about the places that were going to go to in Europe as I can in just a couple of days.
I guess that brings everything to what "Phase Three" will be. I was truly blessed and when I asked National Instruments if I could start later, they let me bump my start date back to October 11th! That means that I get to spend almost 2 months in Europe backpacking it around! I'm stoked, the itinerary looks something like this: On Wednesday I meet my buddy Chris in Paris, we hang out there for a few days, then go to Athens, do the Olympic thing, spend a few days between events and visit Istanbul, drop down to a city called Izmir in Turkey and go see one of the wonders of the world (The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus), then after the Olympics take a ferry to southern Italy, backpack our way around southern Italy and Sicily, work our way up the boot, slide on over to Barcelona, meet another traveling buddy, go to Switzerland, go canyoning, do the Oktoberfest thing, visit my former host families in Germany, and finally head back to Paris and fly back. Then a few days after I get back I'll be starting work at NI and begin paying off all of the credit cards that are going to fill up during this trip.
So that's the plan for now. But the plan for the moment is this. I just had a long night of some very heartfelt goodbye's to people that I loved very deeply, so I'm going to go get some sleep. I met some of the most amazing people of my life at camp, and I hope that those relationships continue on for years to come.
I guess that brings everything to what "Phase Three" will be. I was truly blessed and when I asked National Instruments if I could start later, they let me bump my start date back to October 11th! That means that I get to spend almost 2 months in Europe backpacking it around! I'm stoked, the itinerary looks something like this: On Wednesday I meet my buddy Chris in Paris, we hang out there for a few days, then go to Athens, do the Olympic thing, spend a few days between events and visit Istanbul, drop down to a city called Izmir in Turkey and go see one of the wonders of the world (The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus), then after the Olympics take a ferry to southern Italy, backpack our way around southern Italy and Sicily, work our way up the boot, slide on over to Barcelona, meet another traveling buddy, go to Switzerland, go canyoning, do the Oktoberfest thing, visit my former host families in Germany, and finally head back to Paris and fly back. Then a few days after I get back I'll be starting work at NI and begin paying off all of the credit cards that are going to fill up during this trip.
So that's the plan for now. But the plan for the moment is this. I just had a long night of some very heartfelt goodbye's to people that I loved very deeply, so I'm going to go get some sleep. I met some of the most amazing people of my life at camp, and I hope that those relationships continue on for years to come.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Camp, Goldbond, and the Olympic Games
Oh so many things to Blog, but I’ll try to stick to the highlights. Today I’m on my first day long break (called a Selah) from camp, and I’m already missing the place. Camp has been more fun than I ever would have imagined and it’s a lot easier and smoother than I thought it would be. Each day we get up, eat, play, eat, sleep, play, eat, play, talk, sleep…and then repeat it the next morning. Honestly, this is the life. Plus one of the greatest parts is that the people who are at camp are amazing. Some of the kids are a little obnoxious, but I love the majority of the kiddos and all of the counselors are remarkable.
Most of my days are just spent corralling my kiddos (I’ve got 8 different 10 year old boys that I share with another counselor) and then heading off to work various activities, but mostly stuff involving ropes, like the zipline, the rockwall, the screamer, and the ropes course. But I also spend a decent amount of time fishing, playing soccer, and beating kids in tetherball. It’s a blast, and I love it…except when the snotty kids want to get their way and won’t listen, but hey, no job is perfect.
One of the funniest things that happened is the other night I was hanging out with my boys right around dinner time and decided that it was time to introduce them to Goldbond®. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, a bunch of little boys screaming, “My balls are burning, no they’re freezing, no they’re falling off.” All while running around the cabin doubled over and holding their groins. The funniest part is, they can’t get enough of it now! Every day they say, “We want Goldbond!” Ah, they’re great, and a better source of entertainment than any TV show.
Alright, last thing and I’m out of here. I’m going to the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens! One of my friends at camp got tickets (7 different events!) from another friend and needed a buddy to go with him. I’m going with this guy that’s just amazing, all around athlete, Christian, and servant to others…plus he’s cool as…well, Triple-Medicated Goldbond. So the plan is that as soon as camp is over I’ll go to Europe, meet up with him, head to Athens, watch the Olympics, travel some around Europe, visit my host family, and then come back and start work ASAP. It’s going to be a whirlwind, but definitely a whirlwind of fun, and with some excellent company. I’ve longed to go back to Europe for years now, and I’m just flabbergasted at how God has come thru and placed something in my lap that’s larger than I could even have imagined on my own.
Most of my days are just spent corralling my kiddos (I’ve got 8 different 10 year old boys that I share with another counselor) and then heading off to work various activities, but mostly stuff involving ropes, like the zipline, the rockwall, the screamer, and the ropes course. But I also spend a decent amount of time fishing, playing soccer, and beating kids in tetherball. It’s a blast, and I love it…except when the snotty kids want to get their way and won’t listen, but hey, no job is perfect.
One of the funniest things that happened is the other night I was hanging out with my boys right around dinner time and decided that it was time to introduce them to Goldbond®. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, a bunch of little boys screaming, “My balls are burning, no they’re freezing, no they’re falling off.” All while running around the cabin doubled over and holding their groins. The funniest part is, they can’t get enough of it now! Every day they say, “We want Goldbond!” Ah, they’re great, and a better source of entertainment than any TV show.
Alright, last thing and I’m out of here. I’m going to the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens! One of my friends at camp got tickets (7 different events!) from another friend and needed a buddy to go with him. I’m going with this guy that’s just amazing, all around athlete, Christian, and servant to others…plus he’s cool as…well, Triple-Medicated Goldbond. So the plan is that as soon as camp is over I’ll go to Europe, meet up with him, head to Athens, watch the Olympics, travel some around Europe, visit my host family, and then come back and start work ASAP. It’s going to be a whirlwind, but definitely a whirlwind of fun, and with some excellent company. I’ve longed to go back to Europe for years now, and I’m just flabbergasted at how God has come thru and placed something in my lap that’s larger than I could even have imagined on my own.
Friday, July 02, 2004
End of Phase One
This will be brief. Tomorrow marks the last day of summer school for me. I already had to take one final early today because I'm leaving again for camp this weekend. Fortunately I think that final went fairly well, albeit not as well as I would have liked. The really sad part about today is that I had my last class, and I'm really going to miss the personality of my teacher and the camaraderie of my classmates. It's always kinda funny in that you enjoy something most just when you're about to lose it.
In other news I've really gotten into the series Alias. I borrowed the first season from a friend, and one week later I'm halfway thru the second season. It's so entertaining, and I just can't get enough of it.
Other than that I'm just excited about camp, kinda worried though, because I don't really feel like I've prepared over the summer at all for it. I know it's pretty bad, but I've had so little time outside of school...and frankly the last thing I want to do is go out and shop for costumes. Oh well, I'm sure I'll still love the kids despite not being able to shoot them with the world's largest watergun. Okay, time's up...back to studying!
In other news I've really gotten into the series Alias. I borrowed the first season from a friend, and one week later I'm halfway thru the second season. It's so entertaining, and I just can't get enough of it.
Other than that I'm just excited about camp, kinda worried though, because I don't really feel like I've prepared over the summer at all for it. I know it's pretty bad, but I've had so little time outside of school...and frankly the last thing I want to do is go out and shop for costumes. Oh well, I'm sure I'll still love the kids despite not being able to shoot them with the world's largest watergun. Okay, time's up...back to studying!
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