A Game, A Sickness and A Party

Friday the 10th of August it was business as usual. Then I made up a guest bunk bed.  That was a new experience.  Try making a bed on the top bunk of a metal bed with sharp edges and make it up to Bethel standards.  2 flat sheets, a thick blanket and a bed cover.  Took me a half hour to make it look perfect plus trying to avoid cutting myself on the aforementioned sharp edges and climbing all over the place trying to tuck everything in properly.  However, I prevailed! In the afternoon another sister and I went to Hledan where there is an apartment that 6 Bethelites live in.   We got back in time for dinner despite the torrential rain.  Then Matt and I walked to House 5 in the slightly less torrential rain so we could get our exercise.  We played  a game with 2 couples from New Zealand.  Settlers of Katahn.  Have you heard of it?  We never had but you can see the game board in the picture.  It was quite a long game because we kept rolling sevens.  Anyways.  If you play it sometime you will understand why.

Matt, Ryan, Rhonda, Ryan  and Rachel

We left around 10 and I was actually cold on the way home, highly unusual because, it's not cold here!  Turned out that I couldn't get warm because I had a temperature over 102.  By the next day it was over 103 and my stomach was playing all sorts of cruel games with me.  Folks, it wasn't pretty.  Matt stayed in and took care of me all weekend.  By Sunday afternoon my fever had come down and it wasn't too high for the rest of the week.  I did end up going to the doctor on Friday and the antibiotics plus another medicine to calm my stomach down seemed to kick whatever bug I had.  It was nice to go outside for a change even if it was to the clinic.   First time in a week that I saw the great outdoors!  I took this picture on the way back from the doctor's that I thought was neat.

By Sunday the 19th I was ready to party.  Well, not really but I was well enough to go outside and talk to the 3 dimensional people again.  (I watched ALOT of movies while on my sick bed.)  There was a Goodbye Lenny and Rachel party that I did not want to miss!  There was lots of good food:
 
And even better friends:

Me, Rachel and Allison

Some laughs:
 
And some music.  However, by the end of the evening, by which I mean 8 o'clock (I thought it was 10 and was shocked when we got home and it was only 8), I was pretty tired so we went home and got some rest before the start of another week. 

Since I was sick I missed out on Matt having his first 2 assignments to pray at breakfast.  And his first 2 times to have the yearbook reading.  :(  I was really sad to miss those firsts.  We did have our first Morning Worship comments the week in between me being sick the first and second times.  At least I didn't miss that! The first 2 commenters weren't there so that threw me off a bit.  I kept thinking they would show up but I had to go first.  It seemed to go ok though.  It was nice to have that privilege for the first time ever!

Also, most of you may know this already but we are staying until mid December.  We are so excited to be able to stay for 6 whole months.  We love it here and we love the brothers and sisters we have met.  They have made us feel so loved and welcome. We really feel like part of the family. The time has flown by so far.  It's already been 2 months, can you believe it?  It sure doesn't feel like that.  It's been nice to hear about how things are going back home.  It sounds like everyone's summer has flown by too. Well that's all for this post.  We miss you all, keep the emails and comments coming!

Parties, Art and Longyis

Ok. So it's been a week and a half since I last posted. Sorry friends. I got sick again. Oh yes. More on that later. Anyways, while I was sick the FIRST time I mentioned that Matt partied it up. The reason for the parties (although who needs a reason) was to say goodbye to 6 single sisters that were leaving. So there were a couple parties at our house for them. Sunday the 29th was the first and largest. They played party games, such as "guess what is in the bag":

Barb with the girls that are leaving.(The one in pink was not leaving.)

Here is Lenny explaining how to play the "scissors game":

It took a long time to figure it out. I don't like to brag but I got it the first round when I learned earlier.

And then everyone enjoyed dessert, Pavlova and Fruit with a Fresh Mango Puree sauce. (It has been Mango season since we got here, but now it is changing.) Courtesy of Lenny. I got to try it too, Matt brought me up a plate. YUM!!!!! First time we have had Pavlova.


Monday evening they had another, smaller gathering for the girls. Matt went to that but I still had a 102 temp so I didn't attend that one either. I stayed in bed through Wednesday and took it slow on Thursday. Apparently there were like 20 people sick that week. Thursday evening there was a little party to spend time together as a house. I made my FIRST Vanilla cake from scratch ever! Vanilla, boring. But it tasted pretty good for my first try. My only other cake attempts have been my Mom's coffee cake (yum) and boxed cake at home (yum). We had a nice evening chatting. Friday was work, and 2 sisters helped me since I had been out all week and didn't accomplish ANYTHING. Friday evening is Market and then we just relaxed.

Saturday morning I went out and about with Dale and Courtney. Matt wasn't feeling well all week, although he insisted on not resting. So Saturday morning he stayed in bed getting much needed rest. The 3 of us had an AMAZING morning. Yearbook worthy. Tell you all about it someday if you remember to ask:) In the afternoon I took a nap and then went to the market with Rachel. I had to pick up 2 shirts we had ordered for Matt and also take a look at a painting. The art here is absolutely beautiful. There are 2 art gallerys here that we love to browse through. A couple weeks before we had asked an owner about getting a painting done in one style with the colors of another. So I went to take a look at it. I loved it. I bought it. Yes, I bought art. We are now ART OWNERS! Rachel and I got it in the taxi just before it started to rain.

We had to stop at the supermarket so we wrestled it in and out of another taxi, in between downpours. And when we got it home I unveiled it for Matt:


Isn't it beautiful? It makes us happy to look at it. Now, you may be thinking, how on earth is she getting that home? Ha! I have a plan. No worries. Hakuna Matata. Saturday evening Rachel and I made dinner for the 4 of us which was pretty good!

Sunday August 5th we had pancakes in the am and then went to meeting. I wore my Longyi for the first time in public:


Laday! All the sister's kept telling me that and it means beautiful in Myanmar. The local sisters really appreciate it when we wear their dress. I wore it in honor of Matt having his first talk here in Myanmar. For which he wore his custom tailored new white shirt:


He did so good. As always. After meeting a big group of us went for sushi. I stepped in mud on the way to the restaurant. Yucky. In my pretty gold shoes too. Pout:(. This is the restaurant:


In the evening we went to House 5 and visited with a couple from New Zealand and a couple from Australia. We left early so we could get a good start on our week.

The week started uneventfully...Our Favorite Snail turned up missing. Turns out he met his end because he kept pooping on the wall outside the cafe dining room. He was the coolest snail ever too. He was as big as my palm and 5 inches long with his head out too. We would look at him everyday but he did make a huge mess. Did you know snails poop? I didn't. But it's just like that book that my niece has which according to Matt is titled "Who Pooped in the Park?". Have you read it? Well it's very informative. And totally scientific;)

Poor guy. I asked the gardener about him to find out the truth about what happened. He felt bad that we were sad about it. Anyways meeting Wednesday... On Thursday I got to prep guest rooms. One room was completely out of sorts, they moved an office out and furniture in. It was a crazy day. But it was nice to do something different. Plus I learned to make some towel creations. (Snails too, sniff sniff...) I didn't have time to take pictures, too crazy but now I can practice for next time. My elephants look really stupid though. Need to get tips from Tera. Well that is all for this post. I'm nearly caught up guys!

Flooding, Ranting and Eating!

Well on Wednesday July 25th it rained. As it does every day. However, it rained so hard that we got to experience our first flooding on our way to meeting! I should emphasize, that it wasn't the first flooding here. Just for us. It floods downtown each time that there are torrential rains here. The flooding made us late for meeting and they held the meeting up for us all to arrive. The other truck was even later than us. It was very exciting. We didn't get stuck, although I wouldn't have minded. The guys might've though. Since they would be the ones to carry us out and push the truck out if we did get stuck. And the water is NOT something you want to be swimming around in. Ew.

Brave little Fake Jeep.

Tri-Shaws lined up. The curbs are very high here since it rains and floods so often. This time though the floods were too much for most of the curbs.

I had a householder part with Kit Kit that night. I was nervous because we started out with me stomping up to the stage and ranting about the rent. It went well though because she had done such a good job preparing the part.

Mid Rant

Wednesday I was very proud of myself because I thought I had finished most of my goals for the week. Til Kendra and Matt asked me if I had cleaned the outside toilet yet. Uh. I didn't know there was one. So. Thursday first thing guess what I cleaned?

My first Myanmar toilet. Which I cleaned by getting the hose. I know how to handle a challenge. I threw a bucket of disinfectant PineSol on it and hosed it down. Finished! After that I passed out linens which is my favorite thing to do because I get to fold them all pretty. Not fancy but neat. Thursday evening Matt made chocolate chip cookie bars. YUMMMM!

Friday evening Kerry and I did Just Dance on the Wii for an hour for a workout and then Matt joined us after he got done at the gym. We stuck to our health plan by eating the rest of the chocolate chip cookie bars. After all that exercise we needed to rebuild our strength.

Guess I didn't eat enough of the chocolate chip cookie bars because I woke up on Saturday morning with the distinct impression I was coming down with something. Which I did. I stayed in all day trying to give myself a head start on resting, but to no avail. Got sick anyways. For 5 days. I missed 2 parties! Matt went to both. Pictures to come!

About Geckos

There are no pictures in this post, I haven't had my camera handy during my gecko sightings.

Well. Since we have lived here we have come in close contact with Geckos. Did you know that they communicate audibly? We aren't talking about the friendly Gecko of American TV commercials who has a lovely accent, nice manners and only comes into your bedroom when you invite him in your TV set. No. Myanmar geckos are not that pretty green color. They are yellowyish and they make chirpy sounds. You would almost think its a bird. Except birds don't chirp in your room at night when it's dark and you don't have a pet bird.

We saw our first gecko in our room a couple weeks ago. I was a little uncertain but as Matt pointed out, he'd rather have geckos than nasty bugs. He was kinda cute. Only 2 inches long. When I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I met his Momma. Huge and Fat she is. Ugh. I scurried back to bed and pulled the covers over my face. We went a week without seeing them in our room and then we saw the little guy behind our chair on Sunday. And then it happened. Now, Everyone knows that geckos are hard to catch. They are fast and you can't grab them by the tail or they will leave it with you as a gift and grow a new one. Well. I was walking out my bedroom door to go downstairs and STEPPED ON HIM. Oh my goodness. I felt absolutely terrible. The poor thing had no chance against my big fat foot. (BARE FOOT, ew!) I called Matt to see if he couldn't rescue him and ran downstairs. Where his Momma was waiting for me on the kitchen floor. Daring me to try it again. I feel so guilty. I was going to to name him Ned before my foot ruined that plan. Matt sent him to live with Nemo in the ocean and that was that. I still feel awful. What are the chances? Geckos are supposed to be FAST!

Speaking of Geckos, here is a fun fact for you. Geckos poop. Yes they do. Now, most of you might think that was obvious. And it isn't like I thought they didn't but it never occurred to me that they do. And when they live in your house, then somebody has to clean it up. And if I clean your house, then that would be me. I was wondering how poo got INSIDE the window frames. Well. That mystery is cleared up. Case closed.

Wash-up Duty to Sushi

So sorry that this post is delayed. I have been sick since Saturday so I haven't felt much like writing. I haven't been this sick for awhile and there is just nothing worse than being sick in a foreign country, it makes you homesick like nothing else. I had to Skype my mom just to have her tell me I'll be ok soon. However I thought I would fill you in on just some highlights where I left off last time. Thursday the 19th we had our first wash-up duty. Here they assign 5-6 people depending on the night which is so nice. Makes everything so much quicker.
Here Matt is threatening Caroline, his adopted Myanmar little sister.
We finished in an hour which is pretty good considering all the tables had to be reset too! Friday evening we had Market and then after we spent the evening with our next door neighbors. He is the overseer of the project here and it was nice getting to know him and his wife better. We watched a movie and it was so convenient to walk 2 feet and be home for the evening! Saturday morning we got to Skype with family before we went out and about in the morning (it was SO nice to see you gals). I met someone who spoke excellent English (I thought) to visit with and when I said I'd like to leave him with a gift he said "Why? We just met?" Since I had not encountered this response I looked to the local brother with me for help and it turns out that he thought I said KICK. So. We were all thoroughly confused but had a good laugh in the end. Hopefully we will visit again. No kicking. Matt found a lizard. Actually he was the biggest reptile we have seen so far here, even bigger than our house geckos.

We went to a mall for a break. I love air conditioning. The mall was hosting a gamers extravaganza. The guys (ALL guys. Not a woman to be seen anywhere nearby.) in line were just dying to start gaming. Since it was a game that we really couldn't consider playing as peaceable people I can only say, GEEKS!
If it had been a Mario Kart Competition we might have had to investigate it more closely. We found Cream Puffs and Iced Tea in the food court. Ohmygoodnesssoyummy. Mine was apple cheese, I chose it over chocolate even and was not disappointed.
Matt chose Oreo Smoothie and Chocolate Chocolate. Since we are on the other side of the world I guess our taste buds are backwards and switched places too.
We went to a grocery store and I found a new friend.
We took the picture for our nieces. We thought they would like to know they have teddy bears where we are! Here is something you will not see in Wyoming. Buddhist Monk Gift Baskets. They have robes and food and fans and donation pots and umbrellas. Everything that one would need if they were entering into a monastery here for awhile.In the afternoon I hung family and friends photos in our room so now it is even homier:). We made kabobs for dinner and ate at House 1 with Jeshua and Kendra, our buddies that helped us in Bangkok.

Sunday morning Matt made a yummy oven baked pancake for breakfast. On our way down our road after meeting on Sunday we saw a man sharpening knives. I took a video too, so we can show that when we get back to any interested ones. So cool.
We went to the market to get some shirts made for Matt. We shopped around a bit and then went for SUSHI! They didn't have regular silverware as an option (that's when you know you are not in the states anymore, if everything else didn't convince you), so Matt had to learn to use chopsticks.
Took him a little tutelage from Lenny to figure it out. But his efforts were rewarded because the food was so fantastic. And seriously inexpensive. It was less than 4 bucks per person. I couldn't get full off the dollar menu at McDonald's for that at home. This was so satisfying. Plus, we didn't get sick. BONUS! I have never enjoyed Calamari so much. Ever. In fact I'm spoiled now. Might not eat it at home now because after that meal I'm a snob about it.

Well that finishes up that week. You might be able to tell that I haven't talked to anyone besides Matt this week so the words keep pouring out. (Talked to mom on Skype like I mentioned but my fever was so high she mostly had to talk to me. I was just happy to listen:) Well I will try to get another post out quick to get all caught up if I can. Just one more picture for Karen R.:
I mean, obviously I took pictures of our toes directly after the spa adventure, I just didn't post em in case people didn't want to see my feet. However, she had a valid point, I take pictures of toilets, why not toes? This color matched my purse. Love you all! Thank you for the comments and the emails this week. It seriously brightens our days to hear from you all. Please, don't stop!