Back home

I really should update, eh! I got back to Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon after travelling 24 hours from San Francisco. I have way too much to say, it would take years. So I'll just edit something I wrote on the train from London (the last leg of my journey), edit, as in I'll add a few anecdotes and explanation notes to some of these. It is in no particular order, just as it came to my head. Things I learned this summer... * I can take care of chickens, turtles, frogs and rats. (one frog died because I child put a little friend in with it, and the rat died on the last day of camp...) * East coast trumps west coast. * The most random and insignificant things can become your best memories. * Harry Potter 7. Good book. * I can live for 11 weeks without having mum on the phone. * Airport security is often irrational and always excessive. "Excuse me Maam, your toothpaste is too big to take in your carry on" (you never know, I may be carrying a bomb in it or something) * Amish people do really exist. * Palm trees do really exist! * Cravings come in two forms: subway and Tacobell. Even Ben & jerry don't cut it. * After 3 days in San Fransisco, you expect to see men holding hands. * I am not the most compassionate of people. * Your closest friends will be those you least expect. * My life is not an average life. There is no average life. * My mood is directly affected by the temperature outside. * Never buy a bookcase from walmart. (though it can lead to funny moments and some of those unexpected best memories) * Greyhound is a good bet if you want a stressful life. (lateness and booking too many people on a bus for all to get on are two factors of this) * We can fit 13 people in Shaina's car. * Some 25-year-olds are less mature than some 15-year olds. * Is 2007 the new 2007? (Spice girls reunion tour, and Hanson are on their way back to the charts... aie aie aie!!) * Some people speak guetto. That's just the way they speak. For dogs. * Watching the camp dvd one more time will not bring me back there. Sobb. * Snapping turtle. Such a thing exists. * You can get Dr Pepper jelly bellys! * I can live with people! * It's a small world (I met Alan (guy from my homegroup)'s best friend Ben at camp. also, Brad knows the Fauveau's who live in France) * Times Square is amazing! * Tubing is fun. * Driving is not too difficult (Janelle took me to a parking lot one night and made me drive. A manual, and I only stalled once, because I forgot to put my foot on the clutch when I braked to park. Or something like that. I kind of forget to steer though because I'm too focused on everything else going on, which may be a problem...) * Often the only way to love something/someone is to see another person passionate about it/them. * No one can agree on a word for flip-flops. (Jandles, slops, flops...) * Small things can mean the world to people (like time beside a flagpole just chatting, or a worship service in the rec field, or going to CVS just before curfew) * My love language is quality time. * You can forget everything on a canoe. * Only women feel comfortable touching each other's legs hours after they met. * Camp is not camp if crazy stuff doesn't happen (good crazy and bad crazy). * Alot of fun can be had on a highway with 4 vehicles and a cd. * "When it comes to God, we must come with great expectations - we will experience what we expect." Please note, this does not apply with humans. Humans disappoint. * Animals have a special knack at calming kids down when they're upset. (One day I just sat on the stairs beside Jalen, 6, who had been crying all week, with one of the turtles in my lap. He calmed down and a bond grew between us. I love Jalen! Cutest kid) * 5 minutes can feel like an eternity (like when you have smelly Dale on your lap in a crowded car, or even just on a walk from waban to the chapel and back.) So that's for that. I also have a few examples of God's sense of humour... * Sharon's stalker ends up living in the dorm room next to hers, better still, he shares a wall with her. Unbelievable. Of all the dorm rooms at Akron University, he is placed in the one next to hers. * A summer of eating chicken and rice pilaf ended with that very same meal on the plane home. * I met Ben, Alan's best friend, whilst eating fresh ice cream and watching the cows who gave the milk, poop. A surreal experience. That's that folks. I'm home, back to normal, thrown in the deep end. I had to call 999 and put someone in the recovery position yesterday, after he'd had an epileptic fit (so the ambulance people said!). That was pretty scary. Looking for a job, getting stuff sorted in the flat, like a telephone line, unpacking bags and boxes (everything is unpacked, it's just all on my bedroom floor), helping new flatmates settle in and get on with church life also. Index, homegroup, ahh, I love it! I really do!