Goodbye

...Christ Church Pres
...Target
...Steinmart
...Barnes & Noble
...Panera Bread Co.
...St. John's Town Center
...FCCS
...Eastern Standard Time

Support Info

Thanks to Robin Hayse for this idea! Starting NOW I'm going to be adding my support sending info to the bottom of each post. That way you all who are my prayer partners and supporters will know exactly where and how to send support to me if led to do so.

1) Make checks out to Network of International Christian Schools

2) In the MEMO section put my number 001829

3) Mail to:
NICS Finance Dept.
PO Box 1260
Southaven, MS 38671

2 days to go before I board the plane and head off to Deutschland...And yes, I AM READY TO GO!

Ode to Basel

For those of you who didn't know or might've forgotten, the town in Germany where I will be living is a hop, skip, and a jump from Basel, Switzerland, which is where I was an Au Pair (nanny, babysitter, whatever you want to call it) 3 yrs ago. In fact, I will probably be spending a lot of time in Basel since Weil am Rhein is itty bitty and especially b/c there are 3 Starbucks in Basel as opposed to zero in Weil. As much as I am going to miss it here and miss everyone back home, a twinge of excitement runs through me when I start thinking a/b Basel. It was truly a fun little town. It sits on the Rhein River and there is a bridge that runs over it called the Mittlere Brucke (Middle Bridge). When you cross over to the left and right are steps that lead down to the Rhein. There were many times I came into the city w/my journal and a cup of Starbucks and wrote for hours or just sat and people watched. In the summertime, you can swim or ski down the Rhein and there is even a day designated that people jump off the Mittlere Brucke into the river!! From the bridge you can see off to Germany and France. And then there's my favorite part of Basel (or I guess my 2nd favorite part!) which is Steinenvorstadt. This is a street filled w/shops and restaurants and STARBUCKS. It's where my friends and I used to go for a cheap piece of pizza or wonderful Chinese noodles at Mister Wong's. Walking on down Steinenvorstadt brings you to the Marktplatz (Market Place) which is where they would have fresh produce from local farmers on Saturday mornings. During Christmas, Basel has a Christmas market (along w/the rest of most European towns!) and there are roasted chestnuts for sale and you can smell them for miles!! It's freezing outside but the minute you step into a store, it's nice and toasty!

I didn't mean to ramble on and on, but maybe this will give you a good idea of what awaits me Tuesday morning....with the exception of the chestnuts.

Production!

Well I FINALLY got the procrastination bug OUT of me. Yesterday I spent all day packing one of my suitcases and at the end it weighed 48lbs. They can't weigh more than 50 w/o paying extra so I got off 2lbs early! Last night Dad and I went to Wal-Mart and purchased a new suitcase that is GINORMOUS. I spent all of last night packing and cramming as much as I could and finally relented and had to part w/some stuff....including some seasons of Friends. Yes, I know--I had to part w/Friends. Shocking. However, I will be home at Christmas and can just get the rest of the seasons then. I feel so much more productive than I did last week. I think it's the realization that I am really leaving in less than a week. It's becoming REAL to me.

Procrastination

Today was supposed to be my "get up and go" day. I did at first...I woke up at 8:30 and ate breakfast, took my dog to Pet Supermarket, went to the bank, dropped the dog back at the house, and worked out. I was home by 11:30. The next big plan was to start working in my room. I did laundry first, talked to my new roommate on the phone, then went to Target and bought a new shower curtain for the apartment. By then it was 2:30 and so I decided to do more laundry. Now it's nearing 4pm and I haven't stepped foot in my room. I think it's just the overwhelming thought of ALL that has to be completed. Either that or I'm reverting back to college when procrastination ruled my life.

I wish I could be like Mary Poppins and just snap my fingers and everything would be finished!!!

Some pics of my time w/Erika in Disney & Sea World..Enjoy!

At Sea World I got the chance to feed some seals and sea lions. I have now decided I would like a pet seal. Anyone know if that is possible?!



Me & Herr Mickey!


We LOVE Pooh & friends :)

Going away party

a fun pic of my bro & some of my cousins

Laura, Tammy, Linz, & me

w/my big "sisters" Robin & Edna

Me & Bubblebutt

Temple & Alli

The Stroud fam

HOME!

After driving hours and hours and HOURS thru Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and finally Florida I am FINALLY back in J'ville. Let me sleep more then I will sum the entire week up when I am coherent.

Peace out.

some pics from this week...

Here are a few recent pics taken this week...Enjoy!






Alexa, me, & Kammie at the Redbirds game



The ducks at the Peabody Hotel

Me singing at the talent show

almost over

Isn't it funny how the things you look forward to the most are the things that pass you by the quickest?? I can't believe Saturday this whole experience will be over. Although I'm ready to get home and see my parents and my friends, this was something I'd been looking forward to since February. I've had an amazing time here and just knowing that I'll be better prepared for Germany is quite encouraging. I've made some pretty cool friends that even if I don't see them for a long time, I know they will always have a special place in my heart. I thought I had more to say this entry but I think I'm going to go and see what everyone else is up to.

Ciao.

last 4th of July in the States...(for a while)

Tonite I experienced the last 4th of July I will have for a long time in the US of A. PFO members all went to a Memphis Redbirds baseball game (they lost) and when the game was over we saw several candidates for US citizenship take the oath. It was especially moving. When we sang "God Bless America" I got rather teary eyed thinking a/b how this IS my home sweet home and I'm leaving it for at least 2 yrs. There are so many things I'm going to miss a/b this great country, even as much as I'm looking forward to experiencing my "new" country.
The night ended w/a beautiful display of fireworks (I still say Disney World's will always be the best ever but I digress) and then came back to the school. I'm exhausted right now and ready for some much needed sleep but I had to write about my last 4th for some reason. Call it one of those momentous occasions I guess.

By the way, Germany lost to Italy in the World Cup :( So I'm rooting for my next favorite country (besides the USA of course)...VIVA LA FRANCE!!!

emotional...

I think I've been going thru some major emotional changes this week. Most of the time I'm excited and can't wait to get to Germany to start all of this. But then there have been some days, like today, where I find myself getting sad. As much fun as this week has been I'm ready to go home....but then I know that once I'm home I'll have 3 weeks until I leave and that's what makes me teary. One thing they've suggested for us to do is to go around to places and take pictures of what reminds us of home or things/places we like doing and seeing. I've already made a list in my head, but these are some of the things going on my camera (the new digital one I'm getting as soon as I get back to Jax!):

Christ Church
the Worship Team (me, Mo, Temple, Jimmy, Edna, Steven, & Haley)
the beach
my parents house
my parents living room
Tammy's living room
downtown Jax

Those are just a few things that come to mind.

It was nice to have a day off today. My brain was fried after our last seminar yesterday.

Off to dinner.

Adventures in Mississippi & Memphis

These last few days in Mississippi have fried my brain. I've learned a lot but it's almost information overload. I felt it especially yesterday when my A.D.D. kicked in and I started letting my mind wander. I think it was the fact that I hadn't been off campus for a while. So last night after dinner we all left and took a tour of the NICS home offices. Their office is really cool and each school has their own cubicle where there are souvenirs from each country. As you can see I had a little fun and got REALLY excited a/b going to Germany!




Today we had shorter seminars and let out at 4. I was exhausted and took an hour and a half nap. When I woke up, my roommate Kammie and I decided to go get Mexican while we waited for Alexa to come back from her Korean dinner w/her team from Pyongtek. It was a nice change of pace from the cafeteria food we'd been having every day. It was also really good Mexican food!!!!! After Alexa returned we met up w/her at the school and then headed for Memphis. I'd never been to Memphis before and LOVED it!!! Very cool city!!! We parked near Beale St. then got out and walked. Then we went to Peabody Place, a really neat mall right by the famous Peabody Hotel. As you can see from the pics below, we really had a great time tonight! I've made some awesome friends, esp Alexa & Kammie. It's going to be really cool to have two friends in Korea that I can visit (hopefully one day soon anyway!!!). And who knows where my ministry w/NICS will take me. One week left of PFO then back home for three weeks....



WALKIN' IN MEMPHIS....

Alexa, Kammie, & I on Beale Street Me & Alexa in front of BB King's




Posing w/the dogs in the Peabody Hotel

On top of the roof of the Peabody after looking at the infamous ducks!