Here I am… Month 11, with only 11 days left until I fly back home. So, for reflections today, I'm posting about the different adventures I was able to go on. I guess I'll just call this one the "World Race Tourist/ Wait, I Did THAT?" blog. I was able to do some really cool things outside of ministry because of the Race. I only have a few for this month because it's only half over. I'm sure I'll have more for Estonia later. I know this is a lot of stuff, and I didn't really explain, so if you have questions, please feel free to post them! Here they are… oh the memories…
World Race Tourist/ Wait, I Did THAT?
Layover in Qatar: First time in the Middle East! Looking at the long stretches of desert from the plane.
India: Causing a scene in the Calcutta airport by playing instruments and singing, eating with my fingers, squatty potties, riding in tuk-tuks, rabbit hunting with a stick, water fight with our host family in a downpour, sleeping on the roof and then getting poured on in the middle of the night, double rainbow experience (diarrhea and vomiting at the same time), carrying water to the house from the pond across the field and then bathing – fully clothed – in the same exact pond, children picking flowers and chasing us down the street to give them to us, and wearing a sari
Nepal: Bungee jumping on the Nepali-Tibetan border over the Himalayas, building a fence out of bamboo, cutting down a bamboo tree all by myself, walking for hours through rice patty fields, non-stop sweating (6am to midnight), swimming in the brown ditch water because it’s so hot, losing power for hours on end, making momos, and sleeping five girls under one bug net inside the church
Thailand: Eating street food, visiting temples and the lounging Buddha, driving scooters down the coast, painting a wall mural for a school, going to the fishing town to play with the kids, feeding elephants and having a baby elephant put its trunk around my neck to kiss me, playing silent football, collecting stamps from 7-11s to save some Baht, going to the night market to buy cheap clothes, having my head shaved until two in the morning, and enjoying the beaches
Malaysia: Living in a foster home with 17 girls, Twin Towers, creeping on Tiger Woods, teaching English to Sri Lankan refugees, staying at a sketchy hostel and making backpacker friends, shopping in Chinatown, being awoken on my birthday so all the foster girls could give me birthday cards, going to TGIFridays for my birthday dinner then watching 007 SkyFall, watching Gangnam Style videos while eating our chicken patty burgers, feeding the monkeys, joining an international church and being the most active members for one week, visiting the Batu Caves, and riding buses through KL
Cambodia: Killing Fields, living with fourteen people in a house made for two, sleeping in a hammock every night, getting a free boat ride, playing with street kids, going to a funeral, carving coconuts, getting my first tattoo in a sketch tattoo shop on the side of the road, Phnom Penh for Thanksgiving (Tutti Frutti, Blue Pumpkin), roller skating in the mall and attempting to go over jumps, Thai-Kwan-Do, two words: blueberry dewberries, and preaching in Angkor Wat
Vietnam: Climbing up and camping on the side of a mountain, motos through the Christmas lights, Christmas party with the underground church, teaching English, doing insanity on the roof of the hotel next door because it had shade in the morning, watching Mai-Thai boxing, Badminton and jumprope in the park, taste of the world festival, being taught how to dance Gangnam Style by Korean dancers, spending the night at My’s house, avocado smoothies, and street food (pho, milk coffee, and bubble tea)
Layover in Dubai: watching the sunrise over the tallest building in the world
Uganda: Rafting the Nile, pit latrines, getting malaria, pineapple fanta, being renamed “Mzungu” by all the African kids, having skin peel off me because the kids pull on my arms and legs day after day, and feeding jackfruit to monkeys
Kenya: Writing letters for kids sponsored through Compassion International, helping to paint a wall mural in the church, Yako Mart every day for lunch, blackcurrant fanta, learning how to tie a headscarf, using bota botas as daily transportation, playing soccer with the street boys and serving them lunch, experiencing the Kenya presidential election, hugging a Maasai warrior, chasing zebras, and riding an ostrich
Tanzania: Running through dust funnels, carrying water on my head and being called an African woman, passion fruit fanta, one-day Kilimanjaro climb, playing with orphans, learning how to tie an African skirt, bartering at the African clothes market and buying my first pair of TOMS, espresso milkshakes at Kilimanjaro Union Coffee, singing songs with the Passport Team
Layover/Flight to Turkey: Enjoying a taste of Turkish delight
Latvia: Easter Gospel choir concert, Granny playing accordion, tour of Karosta Prison, swimming in the Baltic Sea, exploring Soviet forts and tunnels on the beach, attending the 17th annual Baltic Ballet Gala at the opera house in Riga, training for my upcoming 5k and running through the parks, worship nights with lots of food and eating until our stomachs hurt because “we’re new here”
Estonia: Becoming half-Estonian along with the women’s Bible study group by going in the sauna then jumping in a freezing cold shower, laying out by the lake, climbing the lookout tower, shopping in thrift stores
