pictures

So some of you might know about the 365 Project, where you try to take a picture every day for a year. I have recently decided to try and do this. Why? I miss taking pictures (I usually just bust out the camera for parties or family pics or something) so this will make me take time to do something I really love doing every single day...sounds good to me! Hopefully I can keep it up, I made it through my first week successfully...only 51 weeks to go:-)

Check it out and join in the fun if you're up for the challenge!

http://365project.org/angiemarie81/365

dancin' machine

Today I went to a birthday party for my neighbor's granddaughter, Noor. She turned 5, and I wasn't sure what the party would be like (being the first one I've gone to for a kid that isn't American and one I work with). Some friends, Ommi (the grandma), and I arrive and Michael Jackson is playing while 5 or 6 kids are dancing, all girls. There are a couple of boys there, but they weren't really into the dancing....at first.

Then, one little boy, Mohammed, hears a song that must be one he knows, and BAM! Let the dancing begin...this kid was SO fun to watch! Hope you enjoy!

let's take a walk....

I walk a lot here. Walking to and from class, the store, friends' homes...lots of places. Here's a few random shots of what I see on a typical walk home. You can get a feel for the trash, stray cats, etc. as well as what some stuff looks like. The whole place isn't like this, but there's definitely plenty of this stuff around!

One of many trash heaps...anyone remember Fraggle Rock and Madame Trash Heap?

Kitty looking for dinner...

Some poorer homes...

random fun doors behind a hoopty "hasnt run in how many years?" car

laundry

Here's a glimpse at one adjustment I'm still working on after 11 months of living here...

I have been doing my own laundry since I was in middle school. It's a chore that I really don't mind; I love fresh, clean-smelling clothes. I might let it stack up for a while, but I can get it done and out of the way in a day....well, I COULD. Living in Africa has me doing laundry without a dryer. In summer, it's no problem, my clothes can dry in 30 minutes in the hot sun! However, winter poses some difficulties. When you live in a house without heat, and the weather is damp and rainy, it takes DAYS to get a load of laundry dry...DAYS! Sometimes it's more annoying than ever. Here's how I've been drying some clothes today:



Meet DeLonghi. He's my heater, and helps keep me warm at night when I'm sleeping. Today I just rolled him into the living room and put him next to my roommate and I's "never gonna dry" clothes. Not exactly ideal, but does the job when your house is damp and refuses to let your clothes dry. Maybe one day I'll have a dryer....maybe:-)

Psalm 18...again

A favorite psalm of mine, no doubt....I've blogged on it before, and here I am again!

I was reading it in the Message this morning and I like the way they write verses 20-24:

God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I'm alert to God's ways;
I don't take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I'm watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

A few things stick out to me:

• Do I take God for granted? Do I take the "fresh start" that his grace gives us for granted?
• Do I daily review the way he works? Do I take time each day to look for him at work in my life and in the lives of those around me?
• If we open our hearts to him, he can change our lives, change the directions we are heading, make things new and fresh...how great is that?

So there ya go, a little Sunday morning reading for ya!

Visiting Ancona

Last week I went to visit Ancona, Italy. I have friends who live there and I spent a summer there a few years ago. Every time I leave Africa and head to Europe, I am reminded of how different my life really is. A few observations:

• My friends there spent 9 months in language school and were basically done with language. NINE MONTHS. I have friends here who have been here for YEARS and are STILL doing language lessons. Oh Arabic, how troublesome you can be!
• Clean clean clean....I truly miss going down the road and not seeing trash heaps and litter EVERYWHERE. Sure there's the occasional wrapper or cup on the ground...but man, nothing like here.
• Life here is CHEAP! The Euro is outrageous compared to our currency, and food, transportation, rent....all of it is so much more expensive there. I feel blessed to be living where I do and to not have that stress in my life!

Anyway, it was so fun to see old friends, see how life had changed for them, have lots of laughs and just enjoy that fellowship that being in The Body can bring! Now it's back to the grind for another season of work. New people arrive soon and my days will once again change and have new and different things on the schedule...such is my life!

so long "o's"....2010 is here!

It will be weird to be done with saying "in o-9 such and such...". What do you say for 2010? Two thousand ten? Twenty ten? I suppose only time will tell...

Here's how I started my year...at the beach! Some friends invited me to come and asked if I could help watch their kids while they had some meetings. It was great to get out of the city and to get some beach time in! Evan and Kate are the kids I hung out with...cute, huh?