...there I am

To get back from CLTC our students took PMV (buses) to Madang and then were scheduled to fly back here with Air Niugini on Friday.  But the airline overbooked so our students were forced to stay two extra nights, all expenses paid, at one of the nicest resort hotels in PNG.  Ha!  Talk about a lemon being turned into lemonade!  Now here's the funny part - many of these guys have never even stayed in a really cheap hotel in Indonesia, let alone a resort that caters to westerners.  Hearing them talk about it has been hilarious.  Me: "So what did you think of the resort?"  The Girls: "Wow, we were so excited we went right in and jumped on the beds.  They were really big!  And in the closet there was an iron and ironing board and there was also a kettle and toaster!!  And a refrigerator!!!  And free coffee and shampoo in little bottles!!!!  We just stayed in all day in the air conditioning and watched movies."  The boys were even funnier.  One of them had to ask Tim's cousin how to use the shower.  And the meals - one was a buffet style breakfast and they made Jonathan go first so they could see what to do.  One of the girls said in amazement about her bacon and eggs "We're only getting meat and eggs?!!"  (She must have been wondering where the rice was or something...)  And then, another meal was a served multi-course meal, starting off with soup.  This was a new concept and one of the guys was ticked - "What's the deal?!  We're only gonna get a small bowl of soup?"  Jonathan: "No, there's other utensils here, they wouldn't have given us a fork if we were only having soup."  Guy: "Well, I'm hungry now!  Why are they only bringing me a little bit at a time and saving the meat for last?"  LOL - he got so frustrated that he got up and left and went back to the room!  Which is where most of the guys hid when it wasn't meal times to avoid the girls in bikinis.  Culture culture...isn't it amazing? 

I don't do well with too much time off.  Not that the last two weeks have been a "holiday" but our students have been gone up to the highlands to attend CLTC's missions week so we had no classes and no action over here.  On the other hand Indonesia had LOTS of action with their election and political unrest in Papua so we weren't able to go across for Easter weekend like we had been planning.  I had so much time on my hands and I've learned that's not really good for me - I tend to think too much.  I do really well with and quite enjoy like one day or afternoon a week to be by myself, to reflect on things and get into a good place.  But give me too much time and I go a bit nuts.  Lately the thoughts have been about our move back "home".  Where should we live, what should we do...do we have what it takes to make it?  What's our five year plan?  Do we even have a one year plan?  How am I going to make new friends?  What if I don't fit in?  What if we hate it?  What if I end up being a caffeine dealer at Starbucks for the rest of my life?  What if I can't find ANY job and we end up living in a tent and shopping for Wonder Bread and Spam with food stamps at WinCo?!  More seriously, how do we know if we're fulfilling our destiny?  How can we live out of our passions when we're still learning what those are?  How can we pursue dreams like having a home or having baby with no money?  Will I end up old and alone?....