Oh. my. gosh. so. tired. It is past midnight, so I only have time to scribble down a few thoughts from the day.
This morning was church, and I went along with the others to Boerne Bible, which seemed to be the more popular option. I was slightly happy and sad all at once (I've got this bittersweet thing going again.)
Happy because it reminded me of St. Boniface Chapel in Geilenkirchen, Germany, and sad because I remembered how much I miss Gateway Fellowship with our drums, electric guitars, familiar worship music, and weird people. Just kidding about that last part, but still...I felt a tinge of homesickness, not for home, per se, but for the church I'm not fully connected to but still partially attached to.
Okay, so I'm just a little odd. Maybe.
It was an Evangelical Free church, which means--well, actually I don't know what that means. Free of evangelicals? I guess it'll be one of those things I'll have to research when I get home. I mean, hymnals are fine and all, but...oh nevermind. I don't even know what I'm trying to say, except that it was a nice church, but not one I would attend regularly if I lived in the area. Bwahahaha, I guess that's what I've been trying to say all along, but it took me a while to sort out my thoughts. Feelings are like laundry, before you can sort them out, first you have to dump them out.
Also, I choked on the communion tablet. The ones at Gateway Fellowship (and even St. Boniface) were paper-thin wafers that sort of dissolved in your mouth. This one reminded me of those horrid little clam crackers you eat with chowder. I tried swallowing it whole, and it got stuck in my throat and wouldn't move down, even when I tried washing it away with the grape juice.
Don't you just love awkward moments where you want to spastically run from the room and choke, but can't because someone is ceremoniously reading from the Bible about the Bread and the Cup? So I sat there, tears springing into my eyes from lack of air, and suffered silently. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if you might be considered a martyr if you died in church while taking Communion.
Miraculously, I survived. :)
After church we stopped at Wal-Mart (aka HEAVEN!) and I stocked up on junk food, flip-flops, laundry soap, and a grandpa-is-here-never-fear (or whatever) shirt that everyone else is getting for Grandpa Tuesday. Peer pressure! Don't judge!
Then the first week of camp began with head lice check for the campers, which I was involved in. It was sort of icky (but not as much as the spiders, granted) and I was stared down by suspicious and troubled parents. One pushy mother gushed all sorts of hateful things at me to make me feel naive and foolish when all I asked for was a second opinion (which was routine) on her daughters' hair. Don't they know we're doing it for their children's own good? But I digress.
And then there was the laundry and the laundry and the laundry, and oh did I mention the laundry? All the campers found with lice had to have all of their blankets, clothes, and belongings washed, dried, and refolded.
I am exhausted, but not weary of working. (There is a difference, of course. I'm not complaining, for I do like it here!) Good night, travel journal.
Well, as you can see, today ranked a 10 on my scale! The day wasn't "more fun" than the 9.5 Friday that recently occurred, but it was a fulfilling work day. Hannah Bowden--this girl I know from track and xc--joined Jaquie, Juli, and I on housekeeping and we got everything done on time, even early!
We washed the vans in 100 degree weather and everyone got sprayed with the hose. I think washing vehicles is the most fun job you can possibly do out of doors in hot weather! :)
Now that the campers are here, dish duty has fairly triple, but that is okay, I suppose. The meals are wonderful here! There's grilled cheese and tomato soup, baked oatmeal, curry chicken, lasagna, fruits galore, panini, and so much more I can't even begin to describe the delectable feast my tastebuds are enjoying. After working, coming into the air-conditioned dining hall and eating a full meal with endless quantities of salad is an unimaginably fantasmagical thing!
At about 8:30, Jaquie, Dania, Hannah, Juli, Valerie, Kyle, Gaby, and I went swimming. We had races across the pool, and of course I lost miserably. I wasn't built to swim, apparently. ;) I think I would drown if it weren't for my epic dog-paddling abilities! Oh, I can swim, but certainly not competitively, and since I am a ridiculously competitive person, to do something I cannot win at is something of a downer. Oh, well--it was still fun! :)
Another 10-day. I guess a day would really have to be downright bad to rank lower than a 10. Having someone my age here--Hannah--makes everything fun! And the people are beginning to know me, and the food is amazing (did I mention that already? I think so...)
We nicknamed the housekeeping office 'The Bowling Alley' because we are the bowling team/bowling alley crew, on account of the fact that we scrub toilet bowls. Bwahahaha. Fine, go ahead and laugh! :P
In the evening we played dodgeball in the gym, which was incredibly fun. (I need to think of a new word besides fun...but enjoyable and pleasant sound so old-fashioned. *Sigh*...it was FUN, so there!) I haven't played dodgeball in ages, and was a bit tentative at first. After about three-quarters of the game, I finally figured out what in the world was going on and was able to be something of an asset to the team. (I think I might have gotten two little elementary kids out. Huzzah.)
There was home fellowship at Guenther's house, which was fun (drat! there I go again! what is it with me and fun?), but I left early to call home and see how things were there, in my alternate and past life. ;)
Po cried and cried and said he missed me, and he sounded sick. I felt this lump rise in my throat. I miss him too! I miss all of them, but with the going-ons of the day, I rarely think about home. I've never been one to get homesick for my family. I don't know why--it isn't that I don't love them (I do!), but perhaps I enjoy vacations a bit too much. I like new experiences. I always have.
Amidst all the labor (don't pity me, gosh...I sound so dramatic!) it is sometimes hard to keep my chin up. Today was dining hall cleaning day, which was perhaps the most difficult job (in my lowly, unwarranted opinion.) But I do try to remain bubbly and cheerful for the others, especially Juli, who tires easily (unlike I, who can go all day jumping and skipping and running and then crash on my bed and sleep forever at 11.)
Guess what? Today, while carrying a bucket of cleaning supplies with Juli to the dining hall, the wind swept up a handful of leaves and blew them across the sidewalk in front of us. I had my eye on this one leaf which kept rising and falling so delicately--like a dancer in a ballet! I was so enraptured with this one leaf, that when it landed on the sidewalk right in front of me, I could have fainted dead away with shock and general happiness.
I scooped it up and turned it over carefully in my hands. It was so perfectly formed and flawless! I was in love...with a...leaf. :) Isn't God's creation phenomenal? I drew a smiling face on one side and his new name--Frederic--on the other. I then proceeded to carry him around with me the rest of the day, to the curiosity of everyone who saw him. Now several other people want leaf buddies. :D How fun is that? I believe I shall keep Frederic forever!
Dania, Juli, Hannah, and I met at Jaquie's home for some hysterical games, and we took turns telling our life stories. I really don't understand why they were rolling on the floor laughing the whole time. Is my life a joke to them? Just kidding...but I do enjoy retelling some parts of my childhood. Apparently I was quite the rough-and-tumble child.
It seems now that every time I open my mouth, my friends here laugh. When I walk through the dining hall door in the morning, my table of general buddies smile. Mia, one of the Germans, described me as "cute and crazy". I think it is an appropriate title. I like making people smile. I like being different. I LOVE having fun (accursed word!).
My motto: Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.
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