A little bit closer

I've gotten a lot of the paperwork done for the application of the school.

Yesterday I got my Iowa drivers licence (It's official folks...I'm definitely a resident of Iowa. Until I pack up and resume my vagabond-like existence, that is) and a driving record for the school application.

Now I just need fingerprints so I can send that off to the FBI and BCI, police clearance, a physical, and then a notarized document confirming that I haven't had any convictions and that's it!

I've got my psychological/socialogical assessment tonight on the phone. I'm pretty confident that I'm not insane or too bizarre, so I'm not particularly worried. Maybe I should be? Who knows.

Yesterday Morning Kristi and I had been recruited to babysit for outreach meeting that a lady in our church was putting on for young moms in the area. KRisti and I showed up. The ladies running it showed up. Even the ladies speaking and demonstrating ventriloquism (yep, you read that right) showed up. Unfortuneately, no young moms showed up. So Kristi and I got to eat the breakfast they had prepared and we got to listen to the Ventriloquist (which wasn't particularly fantastic, but I was inspired, so I got books on it at the library. I used to do puppets in highschool so why not step it up a bit and come out from behind the curtain WITH the puppet? Anyway, who doesn't want a nanny ventriloquist?) and to the speaker.

Then there was some luncheon planned by the same people. I'm a little fuzzy on what that was all about. I just know that Kristi and I were supposed to be at Trinity something church across from the highschool and on 10th Ave S in the Nursery to watch two sets of twins. We were excccited to actually watch kids this time. We found our way to a church that fit the bill and then waited. And waited. And waited. At 12, an hour after the luncheon started, we came home. There wasn't anything exciting to play with in the Nursery anyway.

After we got home there was a tornado warning which was pretty exciting. Actually it wasn't at all. Kristi was worried and Mom made us go in the basement (she stayed up stairs looking out the window, so eventually Kristi and I just joined her instead.) Pico couldn't figure out what was going on, so I played with him. I did make sure that I had my application down there with me. I mean, if I'm going to live through a tornado that destroys our house I am not going to have to re-do all that paperwork too! Yikes. But nothing came of it. Our house wasn't damaged. No trees fell down. On the whole it was quite dissapointing after all the terribly magnificent storms in Bongolo. I'm glad I suppose because it's a very residential area and if we had gotten to see a tornado it would've been very bad for someone, and while I have always thought it would be a rather exciting adventure to have your house demolished above your head and then fight your way to safety on foot through an wind-ransacked town I do realise that most people don't really want anything of the sort to happen. (And I don't want anyone to die, so I guess my idealized tornado strike is really far-fetched and would be much worse than I imagine, but all the same, it sounds exciting) But for everyone else, I am quite happy. I don't understand all the fuss about tornados that never materialize though.

After that we did go out and get the aforementioned license and driving record and we went to the library and got the also aforementioned ventriloquism books (and a few on church history. Yup, I'm a nerd. But I can't help it, if I have the opportunity to learn I may as well take it!)

In other news, I went to the eye docs on Monday and got screened and set up for Lasik. Yay. So now I won't have to wear glasses. Haha. I know don't really wear them now anyway, but now I won't need them, and that will be fabulous. They're only going to do my right eye because my left eye is really on the edge, if they had done lasik on my left eye and the end result was what my current prescription is then dad said they would be encouraging me to leave it as that. But if I get my right eye done and can't stand my left eye because it's worse now, then they'll do that too. Dad isn't doing it though, it's Dr. Bliegard. So Monday morning I'll be sitting before the firing squad and getting my eye lasared. It's pretty exciting! This was all started off by the realisation that was get a significant discount on it since Dad works there. Hurray for perks of the trade.

Alright well I'm off to achieve whatever I can before bedtime tonight. I love new days!

Tally Ho!

The interview went great. The school looks fantastic and they were very encouraging about making everything work out in time for this upcoming session.

The trip out was great too. It was really nice to see Karl, Bev, Carol and Eric. It's so great to see family again! We saw Grandma Ruth too one afternoon. And then on are way home we ate lunch with Marcella and Elisa (I met her in Bongolo--it was fun meeting up on this side!). Then we visited with Marcella and her family for a bit. We got to hear they baby's heartbeat! That was pretty amazing. Marcella is due in 4 weeks, so as her mom put it, it could be anywhere from 2-6 weeks now!

The drive back was pretty uneventful, although overall I think we drove something like 30 hours and then some!

So now that we're back I've been working on getting all kinds of documents and copies and whatnot ready so I can be in Cleveland all ready to go on the 6th of July! It's strange to be heading off so soon after getting back. So it's two weeks until I head out again, of course it's not like I'm going to Africa or Mexico or anything :-)

The best part about all this is that this means I will get to work with kids (which I love) and it should pay pretty well, and that means that I get to have fun and in a little while I'll be free enough to do more missions work or wherever God leads at that point! Anyway, being free from loans sounds fabulous, and working with kids sounds great. The school will probably be a lot of fun I think too. It sounds like some mix of college and playing with kids and art classes. I don't know what wouldn't be great about it.

So now I just need to get my Iowa's drivers license (now that I "live" here :-p) get cleared by the FBI and local police and pack up to move away again!

On the Road Again...

So tomorrow morning Mom, Kristi and I are headed back out to Ohio. Too bad we don't just live there still! But really, 10-12 hours in the car is so much fun :-p I'm really not complaining though. Our roads are fast and smooth and the car is quite nice.

After driving all day tomorrow the plan is to stay with Uncle Karl and Aunt Bev. From there we'll drive up to Cleveland area Tuesday morning where I'll get to see the Nanny/Governess school I'm applying too and I'll have an interview. After that it's back to Uncle Karl and Aunt Bev's for a little while.

I think Thursday we're going to head to Toledo and see Marcella and hopefully Elisa (who I met in Bongolo) but I need to let her know that... Mom is thinking we'll stay the night in Toledo and then it will be back off home again Friday! We may drop by Lima in there somwhere but I'm thinking that is not likely. I'm hoping to come out to school early (if I end up going) before it starts July 6th and maybe making a proper visit back to Lima.

Please pray that this visit goes well! I'm praying about if this is where God wants me and I'm honestly not getting any particularly clear leading about where to go. But it does look like a good opportunity and hopefully after working for a while I can get my loans payed off so I'm free to work towards whatever it is I'm working towards!

P.S. If I'm in town with anyone else, feel free to email/facebook me if you want to get together! I'm trying to see everyone but it's hard now that I live in the wrong part of the country :-/ On the bright side this trip is quite flexible so hopefully I'll get to see some friends!

Things I notice

Now that I'm back there are a few things that have stood out to me that didn't use to phase me at all.

• I'm freezing here. A sweatshirt in low 80s is tolerable--if it's sunny. But basically I'm just cold. I think in part because it's somewhere between 60 and 85, which at it's highest is about the same or towards the cool end of what I'm used to. And 60 is just cold. But I think I'm adjusting...to having constant goosebumps at least.
• Church is short. It's also pretty tame. The short isn't all bad, but I miss dancing. I also miss everyone praying out loud.
• Food here is really good. Especially salad. Which seems to be my favorite new food.
• All that French I learned is not very useful here. And no one understands what I'm talking about when I throw out random phrases here and there.
• Driving here is amazing. It's so smooth. It's so fast. It's so orderly. Just amazing. Now I just have to remember to start buckling up again...
• Stores are mind boggling. So much stuff everywhere.
• I feel like the richest person ever.
• It all feels a lot more normal than I think it maybe should.

Past, Present, and Future

So I've been home a little while and I promised a lot of people I'd keep up with this blog even though I'm not in Gabon. So I'll warn you now that I'll probably change the name (but not the address...since that's just my name) and the look, because a new name and a new look are inspiring.

Home is nice, but it's not really home-like. My parents moved to Iowa while I was in Gabon (in December). So coming home meant going to a house I'd never seen in my life, meeting a new dog that I had never pet, going to a new church, meeting a million new people, being introduced to a new grocery store chain (Hyvee...it's kinda a weird name but a nice store) and trying to remember that I'm in Iowa and not Ohio. On the whole it's not bad at all, but it is not the home I'm used to!

Before coming to Iowa I spent a few days in NYC with Heather. That was amazing. Time Square is gross though. Especially after Africa. It's nauseating. But I'm a fan of amazing food in NY and Coney Island. Heather and I were the only ones screaming bloody murder on the Ferris wheel at Coney Island, but I'm not sure why. All I have to say is do NOT go on the swinging cages (or whatever you're supposed to call them). You may die. Or wish that you were dead, anything to not have to keep swinging wildly with nothing to hold on to. Eek. It makes my blood run cold just remembering the terror. Here we are, absolutely terrified:

After 2 and a half days in New York I flew to MN where Mom, Dad, Kristi, and my Aunt Rita and Uncle Eric picked me up. Because it was memorial day they got there just about the same time I did. I thought I wouldn't see them till after the baggage claim part for some reason so I was terribly surprised when I saw mom and Kristi staring over a balcony at the baggage claim as I exited a long hallway. They kept staring down there (apparently looking to see if they'd missed me) and then they looked at me, and then went back to looking for me below. I guess the braided hair and purple african ensemble threw them off a bit. But just before I gave them both a hug they recognized me (or Kristi did, mom wasn't sure who she was hugging at first). It was nice to see them all and Aunt Rita made us a great dinner and we went on a walk before we drove the 3 hours Iowa.

The next day we drove out to Fort Wayne to see Grandpa Dick and Grandma Sue and Phillip and Marcella who were also in Ft. Wayne getting their car worked on. We ended up staying there a while longer than expected as the place kept finding parts that needed ordered. It was nice to get to see everyone there though. And thankfully their car is now running well!

After a few days in Fort Wayne we drove to Toledo where Marcella's family lives. The next day Phillip flew out to Spain for research. Marcella is staying with her family while Phillip is gone for a month.

We drove down to Lima and got to see some friends, which I was super excited about. It was a short visit, but I was so glad we got to go!

Then we drove back to Fort Dodge the next day after breakfast with more friends.

During all this time I talked with mom and dad and we determined that for financial reasons going to Mexico isn't actually going to pan out. I'm really sad about this. I was terribly nervous about the whole thing but also excited. Still, I think everything will work out just fine.

My current plan is to try and find a summer job here while I work on applying to a Nanny and Governess school. It includes 3 months of training and then they'll help me get a job. It will be a good way to pay off school loans and I'm really very excited about getting to work with kids more.

I loved watching Luke and Sarah and while I'm sure it will be a rather different situation I'm glad for all that I learned there and for the chance to do something similiar while being able to pay off loans so I can eventually get to the missionfield somewhere.

For now though, I'm just working on applications and unpacking. It's not terribily exciting. Plus I got this doozy of a cold which had me laid out for part of yesterday and today. But I've decided I should be better tomorrow, hopefully my body will decide to cooperate.

Alright, it's 1am, and since coming back I keep waking up at 6 or 7 so I'd better go to sleep before it's time to get up!

Jessica