Angie in Africa: December 2011

Tis the season.... for crying?

I always start writing these things in my head and have big notions pf writing something great about what my life is right now, but I don’t think it ever comes close to real life. I flew out from Ghana on Sunday, as a ship we sailed from Freetown to Tema, Ghana and got into port on Thursday. It was great to be in port and to be still, or as still as it ever can be. The last week of school is one that I enjoy when I look back but have to work hard at enjoying in the moment, Christmas Play Week. I was helping with dancing, I did not have to come up with the dances a crew member on bored Emma did all that and did great with it, I was just there to help and mock the kids of course. It was a fun week despite rocking and trying to dance and hating the songs we had to listen to hundreds of times. My friend Gini helped in the academy the last week and it was great to hang out with her more before she left the ship for good on the 20^th. The play turned out great and was full of great memories with all the kids, I am always amazed at how funny and talented our kids are. It is great to have a chance to hang with students that I do not spend as much time with like the junior high and high school kids. The play turned out great but still with lots of laugh out loud moments, like the nursery kids licking the baby Jesus doll!

I ended up being able to go home for Christmas, it was not planned and only got worked out about two weeks before I left, it was stressful for a bit about it but a true blessing to be able to spend time with my family on my birthday and Christmas. Had I stayed on board I would have been saying goodbye to a lot of great people over a week or two. Including my two best friends on board who are both leaving for good on my birthday, Brats. But in this way we said goodbye not on my birthday and I was not left alone there to miss them and feel sorry for myself. I am sad I missed their last few days on the ship but I know this was a better way for it to happen. There are a lot of things that my time at Mercy Ships has taught me and one of them is that it is ok to cry. Maybe that sounds strange but if I cared every time I cried what people would think then I would spend a lot of time worrying, because well I spend more time crying then I have before. Not always a bad thing, a lot it is because I think about the people who have left who I miss dearly or the ones that are leaving who I might not see again. But sometimes it is because I have laughed so hard of because I am overcome with how lucky I am. I was watching a movie on the plane called “ The Way” I would recommend it btw. But in the movie they played the song Thank U by Allanis Morissette one of the lines is “How bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out” well all right I will. It made me think of leaving the ship and saying good bye to people who will not be coming back and are leaving themselves in the time I am gone. Gini, Shannon, Sandra and Natalie. There are of course more who I will miss but these are the ones who not being here will impact my life the most because of the influence they have had on my life and the time on board already. Sunday was a bit of a mess, we had to scramble to find rides and had to change our plans about 10 times and it was also full of waiting and crying. Dislike both of these. It was a hard thing to say goodbye to my Ship life partners who I will not see until July. The song made me think of all the times I have been sad about goodbyes and great full for the people who I have loved so much that they would leave a whole in my heart in their absence. I cant be sad that the times are over but grate full that it I had a great time.

There were a few of us traveling out on Sunday and only two dear friends included who are not returning so that was a sad goodbye in Brussels. Before we got on the first flight we were all hanging out in the airport and started counting passport stamps. I LOVE that these are some of the questions you would hear during that time. “ Do visas count?” “ Is it every stamp or just one per country?” “ Is that your second passport?” I am up to 42 stamps, and I love it. When we got to Brussels I stopped and got a cup of coffee from Starbucks, with the exchange rate it was probably like 8 bucks, but it was nice. I also realized that I have three different currencies in my wallet and just like passport stamps I love it and take pride in it.

I am home now and realizing I have been able to have lunch with friends and see my family. Rob and Misty met my rents and I the night I flew in and Den and Tessa surprised us on my birthday with an un planned surprise visit before flying to Alaska. I am so thankful to be home for this time of year and am trying to live it up! Hope you all are doing great and loving the season.

December, 22nd 2011

One freaking great week
The last week was a great one, one packed full of old friends, family and lots of special moments. I went home for a little over a week to be at one of my college roommate’s weddings, she finally marred her guy after 9 years. There was a while there I did not think I would be able to go home, I know I’m a volunteer and it seems like I should just be able to have all the time off I want, but I made a commitment and don’t want to leave the school in a lurch. It is hard to make the change from ship to home to ship again, I have not had too much trouble before but this time it was hard. It was hard to say goodbye to my parents and think about all the things I am going to miss about home. It makes it clear to me that I am ready to be home. That maybe I am ready to not be a nomadic teacher. My heart is in Portland with my family and friends and that is where I want to be also. I will finish my time here and do it happily and with purpose for all my time here has taught be but still be very excited to get home.

The last week passed not in a blur as I feared but as a restful time spent with people that I missed. I am thankful that time slowed down and I was able to spend time doing what I wanted and needed without feeling to rushed.

I got in last Friday night after about 36 hours of flying, the now to common land rover, ferry, bus, plane, plane, plane and I am home! It is long and exhausting and trying on my patience (which I don’t have a lot of to start) but totally worth it, with out a doubt. I had been worried about the time at home. How it would go with friends, considering the distance between us things can be strange. I was worried about how fast the time would go. I was worried about getting overwhelmed at home with all I wanted to do. I am so glad to say that all the things I worried about were for nothing. Everything went great.

I got in on Friday and my parents picked me up, after a quick stop at the house for the dogs (Padfoot remembered me!) and a coffee we drove down to the beach. Robby and Misty where already at the house waiting, it was great to see them and grab dinner and catch up. My sleep schedule was/is all messed up but its ok, it was beautiful at the beach, cold but sunny. Even though it was before Thanksgiving we decorated the beach for Christmas, which I appreciated the chance to do. Perfect weather for fires and Christmas movies and even I am a little bit embarrassed to say, the new Twilight movie with mom. If you have not seen it don’t worry, it is as bad as you think it would be.

It was great to just be at the beach and not need to go anywhere or do anything, I updated my computer, used all the bandwidth I wanted and downloaded to my hearts content. On Sunday morning I took a bike ride to my favorite little coffee shop. It was cold, but it was sunny and silent and there were bunnies out. Cannon Beach has bunnies that are “ wild” and are just in peoples yard so its always fun to see them. The ride was so nice, to be on my own, on an empty street in the sun even though it was cold. To get a nice coffee and ride down to the beach and just be glad to be home, to be at an overlook to see how stinking beautiful it is, I needed that. Sunday we drove back into town and I went over to my friend Shannon’s house. Shannon is the friend whose wedding it was, it was great to hang out there and with our other friend Erin and just catch up. It is not easy being so far away from friends, we had all lived together for at least two years at school and it has been really difficult for me when I am away to be good at keeping in contact, so it was just great to hang out and catch up. Choosing to leave home is always a strange thing, it allows you to experience great things but you also miss a lot. I know that when I came home the first time after living in London I would get sad when friends talked about hanging out with each other without me, but life at home does not stop, we are just not a part of it. So it was hard for me to see and hear so much about the pre-wedding stuff that I missed, I know it was a choice I made by coming back for a second year, but it is still hard.

The beginning of the week passed with shopping trips and pumpkin spice lattes when they could be found, having lunch with friends and having fun being able to drive. I was able to spend time with my parents and catch up on everything that had been going on. I was able to meet Robby at a coffee shop that sells the coffee I love from the beach. It amazes me how much we change. Robby and I were not close growing up we were siblings we fought, a lot! But now its great we can talk and be honest and ask hard questions and be blunt about opinions. I love it and am so thankful that the relationship has changed into that as we have gotten older and dare I say more mature? I was also able to meet up with my friend Sarah for lunch, it was great to hang out with her and just talk. I love that it does not really feel like time has passed with friends. It is a gift, yes we may not know every detail about each others lives like we used to but it does not mean we don’t understand each other.

I had a nice treat of getting my nails done before the wedding with the bride and her sister and momma and a gromes-women. It was nice to be able t partake in some of the pre-wedding stuff and again just hang out. My momma and I spent Wednesday afternoon hanging out watching love actually and white Christmas and making pies, that is what Thanksgiving is all about. We did some more wedding stuff, and damn did those CD’s look good Erin! Den and Tessa got in late on Wednesday night so we stayed up and chated with them.

Thanksgiving was fantastic, loots of cooking the parade in the background and a never ending supply of coffee and mimosas! We had family over but it was still small numbers and it was nice. It was relaxed and fun. I love my family in all their strange ways of talking about things tat maybe should not be talked about or the way we play games which seem to get louder as more empty wine bottles appear on the counter.

Dennis and Tessa or probably really Tessa had organized that we take family photos on Friday. She is a brave women to suggest that to my family two days before the fact. It was a little bit of a hassle trying to work out what to wear and all that. It ended up being a beautiful day at the park and it was really fun despite the photographers multiple remarks about me being single. Like “ Do you want some of just you when I am done with the couples?” Umm… Hell no! Or “It looks unbalanced with the couples and then you.” Yes thanks I know. At least we were able to laugh at it and the balls it took to ask. Friday night was the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. It was so great to see the place and have an idea of what it was going to be like. As well as see so many people from college. It was fantastic.

On Saturday my family and I went to breakfast for my favorite, cinnamon roll French toast. Yes, it is as good as it sounds. Then the wedding festivities started. We ladies got there around 11, the wedding was at 5:30 but that is how long it takes. Its ok we brought supplies like music and food and champagne so we were ok. It was great to be together and get ready. Everything was beautiful and it was a great wedding. There were lots of laughs and nice moments and the entire thing was great. At one point I forgot that the next morning I had to be at the airport at 6 am to fly back to the ship. I was disappointed when a friend pointed that out to me, that was when I knew I was ready to be home. I will not be done here until June, that is when the school year is over. I do plan on making a stop or two on my way home to see people but I will be home this summer and I cant wait.