MAPS!

I have learned to find my way around this crazy city! My students come on Tuesday, i started my unit plan, tommorow i leave to go camping with my cousins and aunt and uncle, this could prove to be adventrous! i might hike on a mnt.

sunday turned around

So I went to the beach yesterday and that brought my sunday to my favorite day of the week!:) i love my family! They are completally out of control, but a total blast! Plus we have even had real converstations....
My cousin and his friend and i walked out practically 1/2 way across the ocean! My word! It was low tied (?) and that was going to be an adventure in and of itself! We saw some seals and when we got about to the deepest part (where i could no longer touch, but they could:) and our feet got frostbite in the water, i was amazed by the stillness. let me paint you a picture:

So here we are standing in this ocean water, we are surrounded by mountians and the only thing outthere besides us is seaweed, some sand dollars and off in the distance some seals and birds (maybe having dinner). The water is completely still, a slight movement of a current slides by, but no waves, no noise (well, only from the shore) just simple unadulterated stillness....

I guess i see God so much a part of creation and i think about the faith and trust of the prophets and wonder how they were able to have such streagth in faith. Like daniel, faith that saved him from being eaten by lions? Wow. Those two thoughts are disconnected, but whatever.

After teh ocean walk however, i tried to skim board and i now can say that i have tried it, but am not good at it.... so that being said... i might try again, but i will not list it as a stregth.

THen my far more adventuroues cousin took me trompsing through a dark wooded path (which lead to a bueatufil little area) and on the way back i encountered stinging nettles.... this was a strange senseation... who does that? Anwyaz, all in all a full day.

At school today i learned that setting up desks in a classroom is annoying and something that i am not to excited to try again any time soon. But i conqured the copier and the electirc pencil sharpener. I am doing a unit in october about matter (solids, liquids and gasses) if you know of anything... let me know.:) Cheers!

Teacher days...

So i have now been here over a week. First i have to admit that sundays are defintally the hardest day of the week, i never thought i would miss sioux center so much, but i think i miss my routine. Even in Sydney i found a church quickly with people my own age, and it was worshipful, and i love my church at home. Funny thing is that here people are friendly and i am meeting a lot of older people, or teachers or parents of potentail students, but no one my own age, it is sad. But that is ok,i have only been here a week. How much do i invest myself in meeting people, scince i leave in october?

In other happier news we had teacher meetings in the later part of this week and the fist one was actually a lot of fun! We went on a treasure hunt and so i got to know a couple of teachers, including mine, a little better and we went for coffee and then bowling and then we went for fish and chips at the beach, i ate fried zuchinni. It was amazing and we had such a good time! Plus the school paid for it all, it was a definite blessing. Well the next day was a boring meeeting, and next week is classroom set up at least fo a 1/2 a day each day until thursday, and then we have a long weekend, and who knows what that will bring!:) Awnayz, i am starting to figure out where everything is and i think i might finally understand how to get out of the residentali area. Well things are going well, this afternoon i am planning on heading to the beach with my cousins and aunt and uncle, it is always a party with them!:)

A Sunday afternoon drive

Well i have been in BC for a grand total of 3 days. We safely arrived on Friday night and went for supper, i had deep fried Zuchnni ( a vegitarian dream) Then on Sat. I went to my uncle's b-day at the lake, i love lakes, i got to sit in the sun, and i love that. We swam a long time, and that was good too. i love to swim. the water was cold.
I have tried to drive on several occasions to get the feel for where things are, but it is tricky for me, as most people know my directions are no good, but alas, i think i have figured things out. i went for a drive today and i 1st found my school (major acoplishment) then i found Tim Hortons, which ironically is not as big of a deal out here (compared to out east) but i was craving a double double and that was satisfied. Then i found a wonderful coffee shop, which i plan to frequent, that has equal exchange coffee and a delightful atmostphere (ann and tom would like the lighting). Then i found the healthfood store. I have no found everything i would ever need in any given place, coffee, good food, and a job!:)
I feel funny admiting this, but i have found my self in greater culture shock coming here to BC then i did going to Sydney. What a strange thing to experiance so much culture shock moving to be with extended family. What a Dutch, CRC culture i have been dropped into, take Sioux Center and multiply it times 10. It is crazy!
I had a man come up to me after church today and our converstaion went like this:
man: so you belong to a CRC church right?
me: Well, i have membership to a CRC, but i am currentally attending an E-Free church
man: well, that is ok, many of our young people try out thier wings at diffferent demoninations... but they always come back to the CRC.
me: *nervous laugh*

Trip Across the country!

So i have been on the road for two days, and we have stoped in Spokane WA. My paka has this crazy idea that we have to stay at Super 8 every night, becuse that is where we stayed the first night. It has been fun to travel across the country with my paka (grandfather), but it has been a little wierd too, becuase we have never spent alot of time just the two of us, But it has been good, we have gotten to know each other alot. Thankfully Super 8 has free wireless internet!:)
So it is beautiful in the country with the mountians and i am really excited to visit with my friend tommorow, and i have not seen her for like 4 years so that will be fun. Then we will finally get to BC on Friday i can hardly wait for that too to get settled and ready for student teaching. It is going to be crazy and probally really really fast!
I feel a little bit unsettled seeing as we were supposed to leave last friday and so i feel a little bit behind. Well we will see how the rest of the trip goes! Oh this is a funny thing... we stoped at a petrified wood garden:) It was actually quite intresting!:) How fun life is!

This week i have learned alot about that phrase "Lord willing" In the book of James, i think chapter four it talks about being to quick to say i will be in this city for a year and then that city. Well, my dad always presendented every statement about the future that he made with "Lord willing" this or that will happen.
Well this week Lord willing seems to be a very prominant statement that i should be making before each sentance. I was planning on leaving for B.C. on Friday, but then on Wed. I brought my mum to the hospital and she had an emergancy histerectamy. Things to note involving this... she was supposed to drive with me to be B.C. and then spend time with her family and then head home on a plane. Well as many of you know, you can't travel one or two days after a major surgery, so last night the desision was made to fly my paka down so that he could drive up with me. WEll, plane tickets can cost a billion dollars, and so we looked and looked and finally did find a plane ticket that was an appropriate price. So he will, Lord willing, fly down here on sunday and we will (again Lord willing) leave for B.C. on Monday or Tuesday. I tell ya.. things are crazy! Also with my mum being in the hospital and here and there and everywhere and me having to drive an hour to get to the hosipital i have not had time to pack or anything, becuase that has really kept me busy. But i am very thankful that she was able to have the surgery before i left for B.C. so that i coudl help out and things like htat.
I can also see now why being a stay at home mum/house keeper is a full time job. It took me all night to get the house back in order from our several rushed trips out the door. Anwyaz, Lord willing mum comes home on Sat. and i will leave for B.C. on monday, wow! What a week!
Praise God for surgons and for family.

forgot to mention a few things...

I forgot to write about a funny story involving a group of little girls and myself. The pool has become a great plae to play games that invlove food like things. These little girls wanted to pretent to sizzle on the sidewalk, becuase it was 102 F and you could probally fry an egg on the sidewalk! So then we jumped in the pool to be eaten. But instead of being vomited up or pooped out we decided that we would come out the persons nose. (I accredite this to mahaffy) anywaz, then after a day or two of this we decided to use the sidewalk to cook us, the slide to add saliva and then by going down the slide we were going down the throat into the stomach (also known to the general public as the pool), we would then come out the nose and that was a party and a half. Anwyaz, i thought it was a fun game and with lots of work could maybe become a lesson plan on digesiton. that was story number one:

Story number two involves several things includeing a race car bed, lots of pakcing and a few assundry things. So we had been packing up my room and Dani was driving my bed like a race car and we then decided for a pit stop, which was good, but then we finsihed the packing and brought stuff to my car. Which is where Dani decided to get in the trunk, and low and behold you can open the trunk of my car from the inside, now why you would ever need this feture i have no idea, but it exitis!:) maybe that story makes no sense to you at all, but i am ok with that! I am board today! I need somehting to do!

End of week 8... End of camp....

So camp ended this weekend, talk about out of control! ANwayz, it was a party and a half as awlays. This kids were great, i had a small group of 13 and two conulars who did a great job, plus one of my counsulars even helped me pack:) Anway back at home and i am working on several picture projects, trying to get caught up on my life and the real world and thinking about going to B.C.
In regaurds to B.C. i was thinking we might be leaving on friday but that is only Lord willing, as should be everything in my life i think.
In terms of the guitar playing i have discovered that i have NO rythum, and this is causeing me many many problems,but depsite all odds i have improved from the last couple of weeks. Htis is in part due to the fact that it was week 8 and at night i had nothing better to do then hang out with my counsulars and my fellow coord. who play gutair and we learned together. Needless to say however, i have a long ways to go. it is so much cooler today and i have to say that i am in some ways dreading hte wave of potential cold that is coming due to the nature of the seasons into winter. blah. well enough on that, soo to B.C. from there i make no guarentees expet that Lord willing i will be back in Iowa in October to finish up some teahcing, and then if anyone has any great ideas let me know. I find that when i have nothing to really say i make things up. Cheers mates!