CRUISE!

My bag is packed and I’m ready to go. Where? You may ask…ON A MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE!!!

For a long time my cousin/best friend and I have been talking about going on a cruise. When I lived in the states, work and finances were just a few reasons as to why we kept putting it off. So, when the opportunity to go on one this year presented itself we jumped at the chance.

To be honest with you it’s by far a “cheap” vacation. It is however truly a chance of life time and who can put a price on that?

Here are a few things that are going through my mind before I take off for Rome….

• How am I going to get my suitcase down to a taxi (the dirt road is currently being paved)
• Will anyone notice the pit stains on my shirts?
• Is deck 6 (my deck) essentially the basement of the boat?
• Will I be able to find my cousin in the Rome airport?
• Is it worth 70$ to purchase an all you can drink fountain coke card?
• Will that crazy volcano effect my cruise?

Here is my prayer before leaving…feel free to join in on this if ya want!

"God, thank you for this opportunity to go on a cruise! Thank you for the finances and job that allows me to take this adventure!

I ask that you will give us four girls going safe travels and opportunities to be your light.

I also ask that you would give us a “charmed” trip…you know, the way that you always give me sunshine on the Oregon Coast even though people say it’s gonna rain, I ask that you would give us constant “sunshine” in the Mediterranean.”

happy thursday

Three happy things happened to me on the way home today.

First…

Nepal now has volunteer street crosser enforcer (I just made that name up).  Nothing drives me crazier then when the traffic cop finally tells me I can go BUT I have to wait because at that moment a mob of crazies decided to cross the street….not anymore! The volunteers even wear these spiffy white hats and white sashes.

Second…

On my way home I drove on a newly paved road. The road in question has been a thorn in my side and has often been referred to as “the devils doorstep”. I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that it was only half way paved…but this girl believes in small victories.

Thirdly…

The gym, that I have a membership at, got brand new treadmills! They look like something right out of an American gym. They are so pretty! Running on it almost made exercising fun...who am I kidding, I will never think  exercising as fun. 

unexpected free time

This past week I was supposed to be up in the mountains.  Due to the weather, the flight I needed was cancelled. On top of that the airports radio tower broke and due to repairs there was a good chance of me getting stuck in the mountains. So, with my the sudden change in plans came some unexpected free time that allowed me do this…

Yimona, also known as Didi, invited some friends and I to her house for dinner. I’ve known Didi since my first time in Nepal in 2004. She comes to my house once a week to give it a good cleaning. This night, at her house, was the first time we got to see her one year old grandson…and boy is he cute! It was so sweet to see Didi interact with him…Man, does she love that boy!

This weekend Avatar came to Nepal. I may be speaking out of turn BUT I’m pretty sure that this was the first 3D movie to come to here. The 3D glasses were even in their original plastic wrap. It was funny to hear the Nepalies reaction to their first experience of a 3D movie.

My 8 year old friend Chutin asked me to come to her dance recital at her schools parent’s day. Ever since I’ve known Chutin and her family I’ve have yet to miss a dance recital and so I was happy to attend. 

So even though I was not able to go up into the mountains I would say I've been able to occupy my tine well.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Passport

This month marks the 10 year anniversary of my passport…ie. It expires.

When I first received my passport it was love at first sight. At the time I never could have imagined the adventures that little Passport and I would have. The first stamp it received was from Manchester England. I look back on that first international trip with great fondness and to this day stay in touch with friends I made then.

Passport and I have had many adventures since then. There was that time we fell asleep in the Amsterdam airport and almost missed our flight. There has been more than one ocassion when we have had to bribe airport officials to get us a temporary visa. The best is when we return to the US and the government offical welcomes us home.

Whenver Passport and I travel I hold on tight and never let it out of my sight.

Passport and I have traveld to Great Britain, China, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Nepal. If you take a look inside you will see

18 visas

60 arrival/departure stamps

new pages added

a picture of me with bad hair

and a story to tell

I’m gonna miss you Passport. Although New Passport and I will go on many adventures you will not be forgotten 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today, April 2^nd, is my Mom’s birthday. She is the big “double nickel”.

Mom might hate that I posted her age, that is if you can figure out what double nickel means, but I don’t think she should mind.

When Mom came to visit me in Nepal everyone ewed and awed over how young she looks. Seriously…they were all very impressed, as am I. If you have ever met a Fredrickson woman you would understand this phenomenon but let me just say that my Mom, Grandma, and Aunts all look great…I can only hope to have inherited this gene.

My Mom’s hobby is people. She does not invest her time in scrap booking or anything that involves yeast rising but rather she spends her free time with people. Family is priority and my nephews, her grandsons, are currently reaping the benefits.

Some of things I adore about my Mom are…

Her laugh…especially when she is really tickled and can’t stop laughing

She writes me every week to tell me how she and the rest of the family are

Her willingness to step out of comfort and follow Christ’s leading

Her intuition and ability to read people. (don’t lie to my Mom she will see right through you)

The way she grounds me. When I was a kid she “grounded” me ALL  the time. These days it is an emotional grounding. When my emotions are high and my thoughts are muddled I know Mom will be a voice of reason.

How blessed am I for Elizabeth Gail Van Wyk to be my mother!

I love you Mom. Happy Birthday!

just a few things

I have obviously been behind on blogging. A large part of this is due to the wacky power schedule here in Nepal. It seems that when I actually receive power in the evening there is no Internet. So today (Good Friday) I am trying to get a little caught up.
Here are a few things that are on my mind

I went to the American Embassy the other day. I must say that the trip was a little disappointing.

1. I did not talk to one single American. For some reason I had it in my head that it would be a little bit like a homecoming. That I would see my fellow Americans and we would smile at each other and talk about hot dogs and Lucky Charms.

2. The waiting room was sterile and boring. There were a bunch of very quite Nepalese sitting in chairs watching a video on how to fill out the proper forms. If I were in charge I would have a big western mural (much like the Toppenish, WA murals) painted on the walls and patriotic songs piping through the room. http://www.toppenish.net/toppenish/home.aspx

My friend Andrea recently introduced me to a new web site called The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/)

Some of my favorite things about this website are…

Her blog is great. She is funny and real, two things I admire in any blog

Her recipes are AMAZING and they have lots of pictures

Her pictures. She shares me affinity for cows.

These days my current reading material is Europe On A Shoestring.

You see, on April 24 I will be boarding a ship for a Mediterranean cruise. This has always been a dream of my cousins and I…and now our dreams are coming true. Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt will be our stops.

Summer has come to Nepal. It is soooo warm. I love the warm weather but I am quickly remembering things I don’t like. With summer comes flies, ants, and sweaty helmet hair. However with summer comes swimming, volunteers from America, and mangos.

I feel like I am lacking in Easter traditions. Growing up I always had a new dress for Easter Sunday my Mom and Dad always had baskets for my sister and, lots of food was consumed. Now that I live overseas and Mom is not around to surprise me with an Easter basket I feel a little out of touch. So, to rectify this situation I am going to attempt to make a carrot cake for Sunday. If it turns out good then I will be making one every year and someday someone somewhere will blog about how much they love Aunt Jess and her Easter Sunday Carrot cake.

 

These are just a few things on my mind…

small goals

When you live on this side of the world you tend to get into the habit of setting small goals for yourself. For example, the other day my goal was to have passport photos made and then drop off an application for a new passport at the American Embassy.

In the states this goal would take no more than an hour. 15 minutes would be spent at Kinko’s getting the picture taken and printed, 5 minutes spent addressing the envelope and dropping the application in the mail and then 30 more minutes at Subway eating a turkey sandwich on honey oat bread. (Turkey sandwiches are on my mind today)

Back to the passport photo…

That morning I got up and ready and met some friends for breakfast. By ten I was headed with a friend to the place to get the passport photo. My friend and I noticed that there was an unusually large amount of traffic…and not just car traffic but pedestrian traffic.

The photo place is just a few stores down from the Stupa gate and the closer we got to the Stupa the amount of people increased.

the Stupa on a normal day

a lot more people than usual 

After taking my picture I was given a ticket to return in 2hrs to pick up my pictures (that was when the power would be on again and they could print the picture).

To get home I had to walk through the Stupa and as I entered the gate I immediately knew that there was some sort of holiday going on. There were sooo many people around. I kept looking at the people trying to decided which group they belong to. I knew for sure that they were not Sherpa or Tibetan.

the nose rings on these ladies are pure Thamong

When trying to figure out a people I look at the women. They are the ones who often give away their heritage with their dress and jewelry.

After looking at a few hundred of these women I was pretty sure that they were Thamong.  On my way home I stopped in at my friends teashop and there she confirmed that it was indeed a Thomong holiday.

where there are a lot of people there is an ice cream guy

A few hours later I made my way through the hoards of people again to pick up my picture. 

What usually takes just a few minutes to walk through took me much longer. So the passport photo process that started at 10am was not completed until 1:30pm.

free water...just don't let the water bottle touch your mouth

This day only proved once again why I set small obtainable goals for myself. One never knows when there is going to be some random holiday, road blockade, or any other random hickup that delays the common task.