Hope

In my Current World Movement class, we have to read The Los Angeles Times a few times every week. While reading it earlier tonight, I felt deeply saddened. There is so much going on in the world that pushs me to lose hope. Sitting there reading though, I forced myself to remember what I believe and how I cannot lose hope. Hope is a firm foundation which I must uphold. I have to remind myself that no matter how bad things are or will get that everything will get better. I know how the story ends.

May you, this week, dig deep inside and know that hope is not worth giving up. It is one of the only things that keeps us going.

Elementary Hits

We just finished watching an hour long flashback of music we listened to in 6th-9th grade. Thank you YouTube. Our list consisted of:

Limp Bizkit- Faith
Limp Bizkit- Nookie
Papa Roach- Resort (Uncensored of course)
Papa Roach- Between Angels and Insects (Uncensored)
Alien Ant Farm- These Days
New Found Glory- My Friends Over You
Sum 41- In Too Deep
Sum 41- Fat Lip//my favorite part, by far, in this song is when the drummer sings "my mom should have had an abortion, abortion, abortion, abortion, abortion"
The Offspring- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)
Harvey Danger- Flagpole Sitta
Rage Against the Machine- Guerilla Radio


Tonight has been one of the best I've had in a long time. You know you want to go look them up. Go ahead. Enjoy.

MLK Day

I just finished listening to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Inspiring. It reminds you that no matter how crappy your day was today, that it will probably never be as bad as the days he had. And mine was pretty crappy. And no matter what the mouse says, its not the happiest place on earth. Liar.

And yes, I think its funny that I called a large headed, talking mouse a liar.

Hello 2008

I wasn't able to usher her in properly, due to traveling and such, but I welcome her now.

I'm about 10 days tardy also. Sorry. You will need to wait a little longer though. I will soon be back in action.

Middle Eastern Winter: Day, I Don't Care

It is interesting going overseas for a short period of time. Three weeks first looks as it will last forever, but at the end of those three weeks, the time spent felt so short. The same goes for my time last May in India. Time is an interesting thing. No matter how it felt or how it was first perceived to be, I'm at that point where I'm looking back and wondering where the time went. I feel sometimes that I did not allow myself to experience the culture has much as I should have. I know, however, that I have gained much more insight and understanding than what I think sometimes and that there is no better way, which I could see, that I could have spent my winter break. It was the first Christmas that I've celebrated without my family and I'm sure it won't be my last to do so either. I thank them they allowed me the chance to come and experience this place. It must have been hard to do.

Though Sam's parent's apartment, is far from resembling anything that is my home, I have realized how much of a home it has become. After returning from Egypt and Israel, it was one of the most relieving feelings to be back in their aparment. His parents have given so much for us to be here, and for that I'm very thankful and grateful. It is something that I believe I will never be able to repay, though I hope I would someday.

Through all this, I've also realized how comforting my true home is. Though I have been fully enjoying my time here, it will be a huge relief to be back home. To be able to spend time with friends and family. I can't quite seem to remember what "normal life" looks like though, but I'll soon find remember.

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I can assure you that I did not get a gift for you. However, if you would like to treat me to dinner/bake me cookies/buy me coffee during the week of my return, I would be pleased to accept. I also will accept Chipotle gift cards. Speaking of Chipotle, I haven't had it in over a month, which is awful and probably a crime. For the past few days, when food has been brought up, I've been faithful to mention Chipotle as an option. Rest assured, I will be having Chipotle on Tuesday sometime. I'm wondering what it will do to my stomach, but I'm not worried enough to not have it.

I'm not sure what else to talk about. We went to Jerusalem. There are beautiful girls there. By far the highest concentration of beautiful girls I've ever seen in one city. And that will definitely be one of the reasons I miss it. Jerusalem is a pretty cool city though. We went to the Holocaust Museum. I hope to write out a few thoughts on that sometime relatively soon. Wish we had more time, but that is not always possible. Not much else to say about that.

Tomorrow we're going to church, eating lunch, hanging out, and packing. We fly out at 4 am on Monday. We should be returning to the States around 3 pm on Monday. No the flight is not that short. We have three flights actually. Once again, time is an interesting thing.

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[The following conversation was overheard while sitting in Jerusalem, shortly after eating dinner.]

Mom: (Talking to five kids) Okay, who wants what? Your choices are shwarma, falaffel, or schnitzel.

Kid 1: I want a falaffel sandwhich.

Kid 2 & 3: I want schwarma.

Kid 4: I want a falaffel sandwhich too.

Kid 5: I want chicken stars!

[What followed was Ryan and I laughing because apparently Kid 5 didn't hear the options clearly. As it turned out, Kid 5 needed an attitude check also.]