Monday, October 30, 2006 

Don't Blame Me

Sorry for the weirdness, blogger is on the fritz. There's not much I can do, but hopefully it will get fixed pretty soon...until then no new posts or comments will show up for some reason.

12:34 PM | |

Saturday, October 28, 2006 

4 Down...

I just received confirmation from an old roommate and friend that he has officially gotten engaged...

That makes 4 friends in 3 months!!

Friend #1: Married on my birthday, 8/17
Friend #2: Engaged to be married on January 1st
Friend #3: Married on October 8th
Friend #4: Engaged to be married in January or February

I don't really have any comments on this, just that it's weird that all this starts happening after I leave...

9:20 AM | |

Saturday, October 21, 2006 

Picture Time!

It's been way too long since I put some pics up, so here we go. Most of these were taken this week as I was walking around on my way to a meeting.




This is a sign for the metro, the subway system they have. I think it's a cool sign. It's like a 3D square thing. In other words, a cube.



Here's some people. That's about it.



Check out the big buses they have here...



Here's a pic of kid jail.



I'm not sure what the translation is for the words under the skulls and crossbones, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to.

12:57 PM | |

 

A Note on the Hardest Part

I need to say, I am probably not working enough rather than too much. I looked over the past week, and I've worked around 50 hours this week, which is average. Please don't think I am some kind of super-worker studying night and day.

Anyway, my point is, don't think of me more highly than is warranted.

12:36 PM | |

 

The Hardest Part

So far, I've found that the hardest part isn't getting out in the city and trying to make friends with people I can barely communicate with. The hardest part isn't trying to share, I've found it pretty easy to bring up spiritual things. The hardest part isn't going to school all day and trying to wrap my head around this very different language.

The hardest part is doing nothing at all.

God rested from His work, so why do I feel guilty every time I rest from mine?

It is hard to take a break. After all, I didn't come here to lay on the couch and watch Star Trek or Walker, Texas Ranger. I didn't come here to write on this blog, but here I am.

This isn't like jobs I've had in the past. You can't even call this a "job", it's too much more. When I worked in the states before, I showed up, worked hard during the work hours, then clocked out and went home. There's no going "home" with this job, this is my home. This is my life.

Today, I slept until 10:30 (yeah, I didn't mean to sleep that late), spent some time with God, read, went for a run, re-arranged some furniture, and ate a big supper while watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.

How much impact have I had on the people today? I think I've talked to a total of 5 local people today. Is that wrong? How much rest is too much? When does it become selfishness, slothfulness?

I don't have the answer, but I certainly have the questions.

12:12 PM | |

 

Same and Different (Part 3)

I wanted to write one more post on the new language class I'm in. The majority of the class is made up of 17 & 18 year olds. These kids (am I old enough to call 18-year-olds kids?) have come from other, poorer nations to get an education here in my country. But, before they can get an education here, they have to learn the language that they will be taught in.

Can you imagine having to leave your family, friends, country, culture, and everything else to go to another country, learn a new language, and THEN go to school there? At 17??

Wow.

I traveled 2 hours down the interstate to go to university. At the time, it seemed like a big deal. It doesn't seem so big anymore...

11:35 AM | |

 

Vonage!!!!! (And Why I Have It Really Easy)

I went to the market yesterday and got the needed plug adapter, and now the vonage is hooked up and working! I called my parents and my grandmother last night, it was pretty cool.

It's pretty amazing technology. After I hooked everything up I picked up the phone and heard the usual dial tone. I dialed my parents' number just like I was back in the states, and we talked as easily as over a normal phone. I was worried that it would be choppy or low quality, but it was perfectly fine.

It made me think of how easy I have it nowadays. I can contact anyone I want through email at any time I want. Shoot, now I can call anybody like I was a mile away from them.

How much harder overseas workers had it a few years ago. No internet, no vonage, and if you go back far enough, no phones. The only way to communicate with people from home was letters, which took months to get to their destinations.

Anyway, just a thought...

11:02 AM | |

Thursday, October 19, 2006 

Living Lessons #1 & 2

Since I'm living alone in my apartment here for the next few years (or until a roommate comes into the picture), I thought I'd start recording the lessons I'm learning as a 23 year old bachelor living alone in central Asia...

Lesson #1: Don't store bananas in the cereal drawer.
Lesson #2: Don't store bananas in the refrigerator.

Why, you ask?

#1 (Cereal Drawer): Apparently, stuffing bananas in the drawer next to cereal boxes doesn't give them air or sunlight or something they need, and they go real bad real quick.

#2: (Refrigerator): Though refrigerator storage works great for such fruit as apples and grapes, bananas tend to get hard and bad in refrigerators.

Hopefully Lesson #3 will include the correct place and way to store bananas...

1:10 PM | |

Monday, October 16, 2006 

Is This Culture Shock?




Apparently, I've developed an allergy to peanut butter in the past couple of months.
I've eaten it 3 times since I've been here. The first time was right after I got here, and I had no problems...

The second time was a few weeks ago when a friend made butterfinger ice cream. (Yes, it rocked, and was completely worth the allergic reaction I had later).

The third time was like 20 minutes ago. The past two times I've eaten peanut butter, the left part of my upper lip has grown to quite ridiculous proportions.

I've eaten peanut butter all my life, only to have allergy problems in the past couple of months. Could this be some kind of weird mental reaction to all the stresses of cross-cultural living?

11:41 AM | |

Saturday, October 14, 2006 

Same and Different (Part 2)

The teachers are pretty good in class, but it's a lot different from American university life.

Yesterday, two people did not do their homework. The teacher made them each pay her (American equivalent) 5 dollars.

One guy showed up late to class the other day and was sent home.

Everyone stands when the teacher walks in the room and says "Good Day" in unison. If a student does not stand with the others, the teacher (and students) wait until that one stands up.


These are (mostly) good things, and they made me think of how different it is in the States. People do their homework if they want to, show up if/when they want, and usually don't show the teachers much respect. Here, respect and work is expected from every student.

But seriously, 5 bucks for not doing homework? =)

4:27 AM | |

 

Same and Different

Well, with no vonage yet, I figured I might as well add a post or two...

I'm back in school these days, which is normal for me, but every now and then I'm reminded I'm not in school like I've been in the past.

I go to a big university in the city to take language classes Monday - Friday. Some days I feel right at home, like I'm still going to university in TN. For instance, the other day I was walking along the campus heading home after class. It reminded me of how I used to walk across my old campus a few months ago.

Then I realized I'm not walking to my car to make a 5-minute drive to my apartment in TN, I'm walking to a subway to take it across town to where I can hop on a bus to go further across town to finally get back to my apartment here...

4:18 AM | |

 

Never Leave Home Without...

I had decided today would be the official day of hooking up my vonage phone. (A vonage phone system is a phone and adapter that makes the telephone work over the internet instead of usual phone lines. Basically, it's a great and cheap way to call America while you're living overseas.)

So, with thoughts of calling my family and friends in the states, I began hooking up the wires and connectors between my computer, the DSL modem, and the vonage adapter. After untangling the mess of cords behind the desk, I finally got everything plugged in right. Then I took the vonage adapter power cord and attempted to plug it into the electrical socket, until I realized I'm trying to plug an American cord into a non-American socket...

Plug Adapter! My Kingdom for a Plug Adapter!

The situation's not that bad, it's just that the only place around here I know of to get plug adapters is in the huge bazaar place an hour away. Maybe tomorrow will be the official vonage day...

4:10 AM | |

Saturday, October 07, 2006 

The Week That Was

I've been trying to think of a fun, crazy cross-cultural story from this week to post about, but I can't think of any. Either I'm getting more acclimated to the new culture and things don't seem silly or different to me anymore, or it has just been a boring week of school and homework.

What have I done this week? Besides go to class and do homework?

I went to the university gym and played some basketball. For future reference, it's pretty much impossible to explain how to play the basketball game "21" if you don't speak the language...

I met a group of guys and hung out with them one day. We all got in a car and went to the grocery store. (Don't laugh. There's nothing wrong with going to the grocery store for a wild and crazy afternoon. Plus, it was a little more exciting for me because I really didn't know if they were on the up and up, and was a little apprehensive of jumping in a car with 3 strangers.) They were on the up and up, though, and we had a good time. I shared some truth with them, and as usual, they didn't care.

I was heading home after school one day and my best local friend called me and said that he and his wife had a big argument and he needed a place to stay. (Mind you, this is 9 o'clock at night, and I'm stinkin' tired.) I got back to my part of the city and met him, and we ended up talking in his car for a while. I think I said 10 whole words the entire hour and a half we talked, but at the end he said he was going back home to talk to his wife. I haven't heard from him since, so either they're doing well or he's been out on the streets for a couple of days. I should probably call him...

Well, them's the notables for this week.

12:17 PM | |

 

And Other Days I Feel Like...

Some days I just want to put in my time and go home and do what I want to do. Like office jobs I've had in the past, I just want to clock in, put in my hours, and clock out.

These seem to be the two extremes of my attitude the past few weeks. Neither one is right, but that's how it usually goes...

11:54 AM | |

Wednesday, October 04, 2006 

Some Days I Feel Like...

Everywhere I go, I am surrounded by people that do not know God and are going to hell. They're at the grocery store, at the bank, on the buses, at my school, at the restaurants, everywhere.

This truth has really hit me the past few days as I've been going to school at the university. There are 30,000+ there that are going to hell. They don't know their right hand from their left (Jonah 4:11), and they're going to pay for it. Is their blood on my hands (Ezekiel 33:1-9)? It's easy to say no, but honestly, what is my responsibility?

Sometimes I feel like this huge responsibility of the eternal outcome of 30,000 people has been put on me. What in the world do I do? How great a cost others will pay if I fail!!

Who is sufficient for these things?

1:20 PM | |