A few months ago, I did my first Q&A blog. In that blog, I promised another Q&A blog closer to the end of my Race. Here is the long-awaited Q&A blog about ending the Race soon!
(To see my other Q&A blog, click here)
What was the first thing that you dropped (left behind or sent home)? I did not drop anything until after month seven, which is super strange for a Racer. I kept accumulating stuff and my pack (and other bags) kept getting heavier and heavier. My first plan was to mail a TON of stuff home from Asia (because it’s more reliable than sending things home from Africa). Once I found out that we were going to have a long layover in NYC, I decided to save some money and not send things home, since I for sure would see my parents and sister during the layover (my family lives only about three hours away). When we left Asia, I had a whole small bag full of things to leave with my family (I bought the bag in Thailand just for that purpose). Snowstorm Jonas kept my parents from coming to meet with me, but I was able to send the bag home with the parents of a squadmate, who then mailed it home for me (thanks again to the Steversons!). All of that to say, when I finally did drop things, it wasn’t just one thing here or something else there. I sent home books, journals, clothes, and a lot of small things that I had accumulated over the past seven months. I think that small bag weighed around eight pounds!
Can I keep my desk in your room? LOL just kidding. (from my sister)
Hahaha. But no. My question to you is HOW did you fit it in there to be able to use it?
After seeing so many exotic beaches is the NJ shore still going to be fun? Of course. It’s the shore, it will always be fun! Just the other day I was wondering how soon I will be on the boardwalk after I get back to NJ, mainly because I was craving a lot of the food. Mancos & Mancos pizza, the really good fries from the boardwalk, Kohr Bros. ice cream….mmmmmmmm.
After traveling around the globe, is being home going to seem boring to you? I don’t think so. The Race is not full of exciting moments every day. The Race is basically normal life, lived in a different country. Take this month for example. We have a lot of down time, which could easily lead to being bored, but I have not felt bored this month. I do not remember feeling bored often on the Race, so I think that will transfer to coming home. There are certain adventures that I can’t do at home, but that is okay.
Do you think you remember how to drive? I think so, but I probably will need some practice. Good thing my car is spending these 11 months at my grandmom’s house at the end of a dead end street–I can practice for a little bit without many other cars around me! 😉 It’s also a very good thing that I’m spending the last four months in countries where people drive on the right side of the road instead of the left hand side–driving on the right-hand side seems normal again.
Are you still going to let your hair grow longer again? I’m leaning towards yes, but maybe not as long as it was last time. I want to be able to braid it a little more than I can right now.
Has your Spanish improved? I’m going to say yes. Some people think that I’ll come back basically fluent because I’ll be spending four months in Spanish-speaking countries. While that is true, I haven’t had four months of full immersion. In Ecuador, we worked with babies (can’t speak yet) and toddlers (they make up words and mispronounce actual words) and our host was from America. In Peru, we heard Spanish, English, and Dutch. Bolivia is the first country where we are truly immersed in the language. I definitely have learned a lot of new words and phrases. I can understand a lot, but my speaking still isn’t amazing.
Which was your favorite/least favorite country? / What was your favorite ministry/country to serve in? / What country did you enjoy the most? This is a very hard question to answer. Even with the countries that were not my favorite, there was never a full month/country where EVERYTHING was not good. There were always redeeming qualities to each month. With that being said, parts of Zambia and parts of Peru were not my favorites. My favorite countries were Malawi, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Ecuador. If I had to narrow it down to just ONE favorite, I would say Malaysia. My favorite ministries were in Malaysia (Ask The Lord) and Ecuador (working at an orphanage for perhaps the cutest kids ever).
How many thousands of pictures have you taken? I have lost track, sorry. There’s still plenty of room on my external hard drive, so that is all that matters–there are more to be taken!
Do you still remember where each set of utensils goes in the kitchen/dining room? (again, from my sister) No way. I barely knew where things went when I was at home, and Mom probably re-arranged since I’ve been gone.
MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION–What do you want for your first Mom homecooked meal? Pulled pork with Homemade mac and cheese and fried zucchhini. I had some really good mac and cheese when I was in Zambia, but that feels like forever ago. NOTE: this answer will most likely change between now and when I get home.
After your adventures, what was/where was your greatest thrill of all? I can think of two. One was more on the adventure side of things–ziplining from Zambia to Zimbabwe. The second one was a really great memory that can’t be truly put into words–celebrating New Year’s Eve in Malaysia.
What was a typical day like for you? What task did you have daily? A typical day changed from month to month, depending on what kind of ministry schedule we had for a particular host. Some months, we started our work early in the morning, while other months had work starting late at night. Sometimes, the late nights and early mornings were in the same month. My tasks also changed often, depending upon what was needed. One common “task” was to simply glorify God in all that I did, no matter what ministry looked like that day.
BONUS QUESTIONS:
When you finish the Race and Squadmates talk about you, what do you hope they say about you? “I’m glad that Suz was on R squad. She’s such an encourager, so full of joy! She also is so caring towards everyone she met. She inspired me to grow in my walk with the Lord. She was a safe place for me. I’m glad that she always encouraged us to blog, even when we didn’t want to hear it, simply because it meant so much to her. She is so faithful in all that she does.”
What do you think would probably surprise most people about you? Why? I’ve never actually had a PHILLY cheesesteak in Philly. I’m surprised by that fact too! It’s surprising because when you live near Philly, not ever having a real Philly cheesesteak is NOT normal.
How long did the pedicure that you got at Launch last on the Race? It took about 282 days for the very last bit of the nail polish to come off. Pretty impressive!
