So giddy I can't sleep.

Ok. So I have had a nagging feeling in my stomach this last semester that maybe nursing isn't exactly the right career for me. Don't get me wrong, I love being in the hospital and working with patients and their families, and I think I would enjoy it for the most part. But I know that my favorite part of working with patients is being able to listen to their stories and make them feel better, even if just by my presence or my interest in their lives. Which has led me to this...

Nursing isn't it for me. I like it, but I think there is a piece that is missing. Which I was struck with this thought (seriously considering it, that is. I have toyed with the idea before...) - I need to go into counseling.

It seems to fit perfectly with what my ideal job would be. If I could do anything, it would be working with kids who were soldiers, in sex trafficking, or affected by war. It would involve therapy, and taking care of them physically, as a lot of kids have been physically hurt, but perhaps the more pressing need is emotional.

I am telling you this because I feel the Lord presenting this to me, and I want to be faithful in prayer in the coming months. I am excited about this possibility for my future. I would appreciate the prayers or the reminders to be faithful in discerning what the Lord is laying in front of me.

Thanks - I can't even begin to tell you how much I have missed each one of you. I am praying for you each specifically tonight and hoping you are well. MISS YOU.

Sarah

Harro...

I miss you all so very much and I hope life is awesome for you all.

I'm super excited for Man Lunch on Wednesday so I can see John, Tyler, and Kylan.

Sarah, don't forget to call me back this week. If not something terrible involving clowns will take place.

Rebbecca, I'm super excited to hear that you might be working for West Side, make sure to keep us posted.

Molly, we should communicate sometime.

KaraLynn I hope I see you at West Side on Christmas Eve, all of us in the Tri-Cities should get together to watch a movie.

Loves,
Erik

por fin!

Hey all, so, I'm pretty stoked to finally share this; it's not that cool, but hey - más vale tarde que nunca, right?

Today, exactly 4 months after I finished with being a trainee and left for Spain, I FINALLY TURNED IN MY EVALUATION!!!!

woot.

--molly

Thoughts, wisdom, prayers

Hey all! After I told people about my job dilemma, Heather approached me about a possible opening in CFM as an intern because they are short of staff. She took the idea to session, and they have approved it. As she has prayed about it, she kept being led to me, and I've been looking into the possibility of church ministry. So I would like to know what you guys think. Any thoughts, wisdom, prayers will be appreciated.

Rebecca

Relieved...

Today my boss approached me at work and asked me to step down from my position and become a sub. Let me just say, I am relieved. I'm not the best fit for the one year old class, and I had been contemplating just how long I was going to stay at that job. For now, I'm going to stay on as a sub, but I will be looking for a different job. Maybe I'll be a nanny, or a paraeducator. Or something else, I don't know. But I am very relieved. I hope you are all well.

Rebecca

Turkey Day

Hey friends! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy time with friends/family/whoever you choose to be with today. For those of you currently in the Tri-Cities, I will be there tomorrow through Sunday. I better see you sometime!

Rebecca

Adventures in Abeland

So...Abe rides in my cup holder with my water bottle. He goes everywhere that Gene Parmesan and I go. Sunday night he went to Lawrence (location of KU) to see one of the best shows I have been to in a while - Punch Brothers.

We miss you and the other Abes.

Scriban piano music fits my mood...

I tend to think I'm close to God untill I realize I've been depending on things in this world to make me happy and not Him. Once those worldly things are taken from me I struggle. I liked being happy.

Pray for me
Erik

So we still know where I stand on this subject...

Still not a fan.

Something to make you smile

Today I was changing a kids diaper...and his poop was green. It made me think of you all.

Rebecca

prayer request

Hey everyone. I have a prayer request. One of my brother-in-law's dads is starting hospice care (for those of you who may not know, this is something to make people more comfortable as they die, they are able to stay in their home and there is a nurse that comes to them, which makes it easier on the families as well). He has been battling cancer for a while now, and it has spread throughout his body including his heart and liver. This is a really hard time of year for our family to begin with, and with this, it just makes it that much harder. 5 years ago this month, my family decided to do hospice care with my mom, and once treatment is stopped, we know how quickly the disease can progress. They said that at most, he has 3 months left. Please pray for my brother-in-law and his family as well as for my sister. And that my brother-in-law's dad would be able to be pain free in his last days. Thank you.

Rebecca

La aventura más grande de Abe Honesto

Yesterday we got up early (sort of) and took a bus to Gibraltar. It's not that far away; a couple hours, maybe. When you get there, it looks like a rock. Because it is a rock. Even so, you have to pass through Customs and show your passport and all that, because it's owned by England. Very weird.

We hiked up to the top - seriously, about 350 stairs straight up. Ugh. I'm not a hiker. Still, we made it up - dodging the monkeys who climbed all over the rail and the wall as we went. I want one for a pet. It'd be like having a child, only it can't cry and is probably a lot smarter. Perfect!

Anyway. I'd gotten some photos with Abe earlier on, when we passed through the City Under Siege (a very disturbing scene with amazing Monty Python-esque sound effects). One with dead guys on a cart, one with the mother of a headless child. If blogger were being amable to me, I'd put them on here, but just go to Facebook, I guess.

But I was determined to get a good picture with a monkey. We moved away from the crowd of tourists at the monkey house and hung out on this other strucure a little farther up. I pulled a banana out of my purse and the monkey that had been watching from a distance suddenly decided we were pretty cool.

Several attempts to make her hold Abe ended with Abe taking a quick dive over the edge of the stone wall (not down the side of the mountain, thank goodness.) Abe also got considerably banana-ed, but he'll live.

The best, though, was captured in a video by Señor España. Once he gives me his camera, I'll put it up here. Let's just say that even when Abe tried to camouflage himself by hiding in the banana peel ("I'm the same color..."), he was rejected in a most heartless manner. And that the narrator's voice sounds a little like Franny's (though not nearly as good, of course).

I've gotten many requests to make more presidents. Tampon Teddy, anyone?

con amor,
molls

We iz famous

But only in a small circle of mail-receiving West Side folks.
check out page four if you dare.

http://www.westside1.org/archive/InsideWestSide/iws2008-02.pdf

Rebecca has a job...

So, I know I just posted, but I have had an interesting turn of events. I just got a phone call offering me a full-time job at the place I was going to sub at. Of course, I accepted. I'll be working as a teacher's assistant in a toddler classroom. It will be different, but I'm sure it will be fun.

Rebecca

Rebecca may have a job (kind of)...

I may have some semblance of a job! It's just subbing, but I'd at least be earning an income. I'm going in tomorrow to talk with the director of what this would entail. It's at one of the places I applied way back when, and I really like this place, so it'd be fun. And I'd get lots of experience in different ages, which would be great for my resume. I hope you're all well! And John, congrats on your job. It's hard being out in the real world.

Rebecca

Erik can has prayer request?

So I got a job teaching beggining Band and Choir at Ellensburg Christian School. It's only an hour a day so I can handle that and school...I think. Its going to be tons of work outside of class, so I would really like some prayer that I can deal with this and still do well in school.

Molly, I really hope you know how much your mom loves you. Everytime I see her at church she gives me this big hug and then she talks about you and gets this sparkle in her eye. I don't know how to explain it, but she shines love for you even though you are across the world.

Yes I know some may want me to explain this seemingly out of know where "in a relationship" on facebook. Too bad lol, I like teasing you.

You guys are still in my prayers.

Love you
E Flat

never thought I'd say it...

I miss you guys a lot. So much so that I made this list:

-watching the tag-and-sniff
-Erik’s farting noises
-John’s giggle (and the way his eyes disappear when he laughs)
-Rebecca’s indignant face
-KaraLynn’s crazy eyes when she takes pictures J
-going eye-to-eye with Sarah
-Sarah’s prayers
-Tyler’s “Oh no…”
-Kylan’s puppet voice
-Mexican train….oh, the choo-choo.
-Mad Gab
-our “office”
-FAAAAYYYYYE!
-making care packages
-pixie sticks
-Warring with Pat over the camp night signs
-Heather’s “Get back to work!”
-sour blue candy
-listening to Erik play piano (and talk about music)
-Faye’s laugh
-Erik rofling
-Rebecca’s smile when she’s around kids
-KaraLynn’s guitar playing and the joy she gets from worship
-listening to the boys laugh over their horrendously dirty jokes
-rediscovering that KaraLynn’s just as bad as the boys are
-Kylan’s hats
-Tyler’s chicken dance
-The way John always heard me when I said stupid things…
-Free food….several times a day
-Spaghetti! no…really no.
-The sprinklers at the Tuckers’ house
-Walking to person-to-person
-Erik’s “Was Christ ever like, Hey God, can I get a ride to the crucifixion?”
-Grady Hoff’s giggle
-doughnut Wednesdays
-Wendy’s snacks….and Wendy in general.
-NOT the copy machine.
-punching John…and Erik…and others…
-Tyler quoting Home Star Runner in a perfect Home Star voice
-Kylan’s many admirers J
-Morning devotion
-Contemplating hijacking someone’s prayer (…Amen!!)
-Watching crappy/awesome late-night reality TV
-Leaving church at 5 but knowing that we’ll see each other later that night, so it’s never really goodbye.

There are lots more, but that'll do for now.

Oh, p.s. I'm tan.

and p.p.s. this place is gorgeous.

Love you all.

-molls

FAAAAYE says...

"Hi. Respectfully."
She would also like to hear how you all are doing. I related what I knew, which isn't a whole lot. So, I'm sure she would appreciate being bombarded with facebook messages and such.

Erik Says...

They're doing Fields of Grace again on Sunday...

One interview down, two to go

I have officially accomplished one interview. It's not the one I originally blogged about, though. That one got rescheduled to tomorrow. They were supposed to have the licenser come in on Friday, but she called in sick, and rescheduled for today. So they asked if I could reschedule my interview for tomorrow, which I gladly did, because being in a daycare/preschool when they are getting licensed is painful enough when you work there, but when you don't, it's just craziness. The interview I had today was for a job as a Teacher's Assistant and I already have a second interview for that job. It's a working interview, so I'll get to actually see classes in action. This interview is also tomorrow, so tomorrow is going to be a very busy day. The fact that they have already asked me back for a second interview is a good sign, it means they're actually interested in hiring me. It's nice to have one interview under my belt. I always get nice and tongue-tied during interviews, but I think my interview at the other school tomorrow will go better, since I had a little bit of practice today. It's always hard talking about what I feel I'm good at and why I feel I would be a good person for a particular position. But I manage to bumble my way through, in a somewhat intelligent manner. Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now. If you think about it tomorrow, you can pray for me at 9:30 and then again at 2:00 (or just pray once for it all to go well, and for guidance, in the possibility that I get offered both jobs). I love reading all of your guy's updates! I hope school is going well for all of you who are there. Missing you all!

Rebecca

Erik asks...

how long has that song been on here? I just noticed and then proceeded to smash my head into the wall.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

Yeah baby. Reunited with Abe, ROFL, and my WATER BOTTLE (GLORY HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD. IN FIELDS OF GRACE.)

Life is good. I am on a blog roll. FOUR in 3 days?

Love.

I feel like sharing

Wow, today seems to have been blog crazy.
Anyways, this post is nothing profound or deep or anything of that merit, so if that's what you're looking for, read this anyways.
My family is sitting in the living room doing one of the few activities American families do together, watching American reality TV. Ben and I are each on the computer as well. I start IMing him random pictures, just to pass the time and get a few giggles out of him. My mom, being the type of person that likes to know what is going on with everyone at all times, keeps trying to look past Ben at the monitor. As he pulls up one picture, she asks aloud (saying each letter individually), "What does 'Y, SO, SRS' stand for?"
I laughed so hard I almost fell off the couch.
After typing it all out, it doesn't seem so funny anymore and I almost don't want to post this. But I will anyways. Yep.
-KL

Miss Independent

Oh dear friends, hello.

I made a video update for you all, with individual messages, a tour of my room, and a demonstration of how I manage to get into my bed that is 17 feet off the ground. However, my computer won't upload it, so I have given in to a simple word update. BORING.

I am on duty. In the office. Of a freshman dorm. BORING. But seriously, it is. I have organized the board games (which includes Battleship and Mad Gab :( Miss you guys!), talked on the phone, and done some other things. I have not prepared for my class tomorrow...in fact, I am afraid to be quizzed on the information since I have no idea what I am learning tomorrow.

My clinical this semester is in a downtown county hospital that welcomes a lot of gangs and prostitutes - it is certainly a different world - but I am finding that this is the kind of hospital I would love to work in. I am on a telemetry floor (mostly heart patients) - it will be a new experience from last semester. I am already learning a lot. Monday we talked about hairy toes and what they tell us about the health of someone. The human body is so weird. God is funny.

I head west to Manhattan, KS on Friday to spend some time with my friends from summer staff and general KC life. I haven't seen most of them since the beginning of June, so it will be nice to be with them. Then I come back and have a hall event with my residents. I feel as though they are afraid of me. I think my "RA Mallet of Justice" while dressed in a spandex unitard for our opening night freaked them out. Washington messed me up.

And, finally friends, since I know you all miss me lots, here is a tidbit of me from the summer. I really feel that this captures me in all my glory. In the words of Ben, I really am not good at anything.

Rebecca says...

I can haz job interview. Yep, I have a job interview. It's for a job as a teacher's aid/childcare worker in a Christian preschool/daycare. It's on Monday, at 10 a.m., so I have some time to prepare for it and make sure I have clothes to wear to it. I've sent my resume to another child care place, but they haven't contacted me yet. So we'll see what happens there

In other news, I'm still looking for a place of my own (and since I don't have a job yet, I really can't find a place of my own). So I'm living at my grandparent's house (I'd say with, but I rarely see them, and they're on a cruise right now, and next week will be going to South Carolina to see my cousin graduate from boot camp). I have a very small room here, with no place to put anything, so it is quite a disaster. Although, I did find a place for Abe to stay safe from harm. Since I don't have a job, I don't have much to do around here, so I've been on the internet a lot, and have watched a lot of Television (as well as finished the 6th Nancy Drew book). But I went to the library, and have some reading material now, so hopefully I won't spend quite so much time watching the television. I'm missing Whitworth, and my friends who are still in Spokane. But more importantly, I am missing all of you. I hope this finds you all well.

Rebecca

Yay Whitworth

OK, so I've been missing you all so much. Nobody understands our inside jokes...sad.

Well, I had a great vacation in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We got to go fly fishing which was amazing (there was a buffalo that walked right behind us) and just relax with my family. It was so much fun!

So we got all moved in to the theme house and it's really cool. It's weird not living in a dorm or going to the HUB to have meals.

Wow, so I thought I was going to write a lot here and a now I can't think of anything interesting to say. I miss you all so much but I know God is there with each of us and we're connected through Him.

I didn't tell you guys this but I felt about the same as Erik did on his last day: it wasn't a goodbye more like an I'll see you soon.

I'm sad to not see everyone each day but I know we'll see each other sometime. I have my first class in an hour...oh boy.

Anyway, I love you all and it's hard not being physically around you all, but God's keeping us together. Take it easy, I'll talk at you later

Tyler

Erik Says...

I finally contribute to the blog!

Life has been an amazing adventure after my last day as a trainee. Details on that will soon be added to my blog, which I hope you all read as the school year starts to stay updated on my life.

My last day as a trainee was sad because I had to say goodbye to a few of the best people I've ever come to known, but something about the last day felt so good. The feeling I had as I walked out the door was just right. The feeling of the wind on my back as I rode my bike home seemed to send me off in the world. It was as if God was telling me, "just because you are done at West Side doesn't mean my plans are over for you." I feel so comfortable and safe in God's plans for me I don't have a single feeling of stress or worry on my mind.

I miss you all. It was great to see a handful of you at Church, but so short. After returning from Canada I'll be home for a while so I can hang out with John and KaraLynn. I can't wait to see you all again.

I'm praying for each one of you.

E Flat

molly grita - TOMATINA!

First off, I would like to thank the camera gods, particularly the god of Olympus, for making water-proof cameras that are also tomato-proof. Without them, none of this would have been properly documented.

Okay. So - Tomatina time. Wednesday morning in Valencia, our 6th group member arrived at our hotel at like 2:35 a.m. We woke up at 5 to get ready to take the metro to take the train to get to Buñol for the festival. Decked out in throwaway clothes - Adrianne's old cami, bright yellow sports bra (sad to see you go, buddy), shorts that wouldn't stay on in the river, and the 4euro shoes I'd bought the day before. KaraLynn, let me tell you, I was cold. We took epic pictures in the metro, all of us sporting our game faces and rockin' our bandanas. (I loaned out my bandanas to the other girls...they smell like mierda right about now.)

Took a 45-minute train to Buñol with tons of other soon-to-be-revelers. People were there selling sangria and beer already - at like 8 in the morning. Yep. Walked through the town, found a little plaza, ate lunch/breakfast and talked to some British kids, then went in to the square where the festival was.

Okay. To start off the fight, they put up this big tall wooden pole and cover it with lard. Seriously - big, fatty handfuls of lard, just coating this thing. They tie a ham to the very top, and let the crowds have at it. The fight is supposed to start when someone reaches the ham at the top and everyone throws tomatoes at him.

Now, most everyone is already drunk at this point. So we have people from all over the world trying to fight their way to the top, sliding around in the lard, stepping and climbing on each other and tearing shirts off right and left. "Strategy" was hard to come by. They needed to work together, and have some people at the base pushing others up to get higher and higher, but no. These retards would climb up over a few shoulders, get a little higher than before, then turn and face the crowd with a "YEAHHHH!" face. DUDE! You didn't DO anything! Stop posing for the cameras and GO FOR THAT FREAKIN HAM!

Sorry....the square was absolutely packed with sweaty people, and the balls of my feet were tired from standing on tiptoe trying to see.

Disgusting aside - this guy came over to the little steps we were standing on, squeezed into a corner, and peed. Not cool, especially in hindsight.

So, anyway. They got about a meter away from the top of the pole when the trucks started coming out. I guess people were tired of waiting.

So the trucks started coming through - the crowds packed up into the middle to reach for tomatoes as the people inside the trucks started throwing them out at us. Michael and Adrianne, having attempted to climb the pole, were closer to the center of the action. The rest of us had been standing on those steps, but after a few minutes, we moved in to where the other two were.

Once in the center, it was a total free-for-all. The tomatoes were turning to pulp at our feet as everyone kept stepping on them, and people would just grab handfuls of it and mash it into your hair or down your shirt or down your shorts. When you could find whole tomatoes, you got to chuck at someone nearby or throw it up in the air and watch as it fell. It was glorious. I had bought goggles the day before, but it was so humid out that they fogged up, so I just wore them around my neck. It was disgusting - I was so covered in tomato that I couldn't find a clean inch of me to wipe my eyes.

The guy in the mask is Nate, the other boy in our group. He broke his nose a while back and didn't want to do it again. Also, that's my (formerly) yellow bandana that you can just see at the bottom of the frame.

So...yeah. Ridiculous. Two of our girls lost their shirts, because the crowd just starts yanking on them. I was lucky; also, I stayed near Michael so I could yell for him to come get me if anyone tried. I wasn't too keen on the idea of riding the train home in my sports bra...although plenty of poeple did.

The fight lasted for an hour. 9 truckloads of tomatoes. The stats online say that 113 TONS of tomatoes were used. Holy crap, you guys! That's a freakin lot of tomatoes!

When it was done, they fired a gun to signal the end. Then people started moving down the streets, away from the square, and the fire hoses came out to clean it up. It's amazing how fast they did it. Also amazing was the sheer quantity of stuff lying in the streets - clothes, shoes, cameras, glasses, bottles, everything. I don't want to think about what all I rolled in when we took this awesome picture:

As you can see, sitting on the ground, even after the fight was officially over, made us prime targets for the random people around us. That's Lauren on the right with me.

Walking back was intense...people were chucking wet t-shirts all over the place, and Kelsey got nailed in the back really hard. Also, we were trying to find someone with a hose to help us clean off, but they kept saying the hoses were just for the street. You'd get a little bit cleaned off, and then get tomatoed again once you rubbed up against the crowd.

Still, though. It was the experience of a lifetime. Not one I'd like to repeat, probably; I don't ever want to dig tomato pulp out of my bra again, but I'm glad we got to do it. Look how cute and disgusting we were!

We're missing one of our girls in this shot, actually. She went and hung out with some Cal guys or something. She's a networker.

So, after we got out of the square and got as clean as we were going to get, we went back to the plaza and waited for Adrianne, the missing girl, to show up at our meeting point. Didn't show, didn't show, and it was hot and we were thirsty. The boys bought sangria and brought it back to share with us; thirsty as I was, it was good, but I tried some at the restaurant last night and it was just gross.

Oh, btw- Abe looked up some stuff on the Tomatina before we went and decided it just wasn't his scene. He might've exploded. He liked the pictures, though.

molly dice

This is what's so great about Spain:

EVERYTHING.

This will have to be a very brief version of what I wrote in my journal, because if I described everything, it would take up wayyy too much space.


Okay. I stayed in a hostel in a room without any of my group members, which was actually pretty legit. There were two guys from Australia (one of whom was gay? maybe?) who had been traveling for months, a guy and a girl from Germany who were studying architecture, and a 6'8" 26-year-old 6th grade teacher from LA. Really fun to meet all different kinds of people.

Yesterday was my first/only full day in Barcelona. Oh.my.gosh. I want to live there forever. It's the most beautiful city, EVER. Ever ever ever. We went to La Sagrada Familia, which Gaudi started in 1892. It's still not done. It's funded by donations and alms...wha?!



Abe came too.



After that, we hit up Parc Gual (btw, look all these up for better pictures than I took), from which you can see out over the entire city. So pretty. Lots of walking, though, and I was in flip flops. My feet were okay, but they got reallllly dirty. Gross.

Hokay. So. We got back to the hostel at like....5? We took a brief siesta, then met up at 8:30 and went to find some place to eat. Friday night, I forgot to say, we had tapas - very good, but I reFUSE to eat octopus. Freaking legs....*shudder* Anyway. We got pizza for like 3euro. Very good.

We went back to the hostel and chilled for a while, then went out at 11:30 with the Irish girl who was staying in their room - Megan. We walked - seriously - three miles to get to the strip of clubs out on the waterfront. Took us forever. Still in flip flops. Yep.

So. Ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not, I, Molly R------, square extraordinaire, went clubbing. Soy LOCA! We just went along the strip, hitting up every club that looked even semi-dec, with the girls leading the way in so the guys got in free. (Good conversation about how the boys are all about using pretty girls to avoid paying the cover fee in bars on the way out there.) Every bar was really loud, really hot, really crowded, and as you might guess, really awesome. Dancing, it's like...they don't care. You can do whatever and it doesn't matter. And they don't do gross freak dancing like in the States. It was just...comfortable and fun.

Getting to the WHAT?! part now. When we'd gotten a bit too warm from dancing, we went into this Irish bar (yeah, in Spain) a ways down the strip. When Irish Megan heard that I'd never tried anything, her mouth dropped open, and then she told me what to get. Yes, again, shock of your life, I finally tried alcohol. Took a foreign country, but hey.

P.S. - Malibu and pineapple, albeit a very girly wimpy drink, is DELICIOUS. Not worth 8euros, but delicious. The boys wished they'd gotten it instead of their Amstel beer. Oh, also, Irish Megan's Magner's cider was realllly good too.

So. After drinks, we went back to dancing. Salsa dancing, HOORAY! The club was sooo crowded....like, solid bodies....and no air conditioning. But it was amazing. Here's my favorite part. Mr. Spain, who is, btw, still gorgeous, still funny, still ridiculously nice and chivalrous, took my hand and led me out to the dance floor, ignoring my (half-hearted) protests that I couldn't dance. He taught me anyway.

Salsa is a close-together dance.

Yes indeed.

We had 2 boys in our group of 6, so they kept switching back and forth between us. Okay by me; a Spanish guy (no, Colombiano) found me and taught me some more salsa. Couldn't really hear what he was saying to me, but that's okay. I looked at his feet and let him lead.


Ohmygosh, this post is so long.

So, yes. We went to like, one or two more clubs; the boys got up on the bar and danced along to "ella, ella, ella, eh eh eh ,under my umbrella.." so funny. Oh man, the American music was everywhere. Umbrella and Hot Like Me were EVERYWHERE.

One more thing - Spanish guys are forward. Like, creepers. As we were walking down the strip to leave, I was trying to see where our whole group was in the crowd, so I was craning my neck, looking forward and back. Mr. Spain was behind me, the last in our group, so I was looking for him, and this Spanish guy came up behind me and made some random noise/catcall/I don't know, and moved realllly close to me and like...shimmied? It made me mad, so, being me, I swung at him and almost caught him in the chest, but he backed up. By that time Mr. Spain had caught up to me and he put his arm around me and led me away. Aw, so protective and reassuring. Love it.

Walked alllll the way back because we didn't have enough money for cab fare. Got back to the hostel at...4:45 or so; took a shower to wash the NASTY off my feet, and climbed into bed around 5:30.

Woke up at 6:15 when the Germans came back into the room and noisily said goodbye to the tall American guy. Went back to sleep.

Woke up for good at 9:30, packed what little I had to put back in my suitcase, and got my stuff downstairs by 10 for checkout.

We took a train to Tarregona, where we are now in a very nice hotel with free Wi-Fi.

I LOVE IT. The whole country. And I have friends! My group likes me! Life is good. (Humid, though.)

kaybye.

I didn't sign up for this...

KylanI didn't sign up with being a trainee to end up having to leave all of you. I definitely don't remember that in the paper works.
After leaving all of you guys Tuesday *cough* boo for not being able to see all of you *cough*, I haven't really had a life. The whole, little "retreat" I was going to was merely an informational meeting to where I, unknowingly, signed up to help with EVERYTHING! I feel like those parents who didn't make it to the PTA meeting and all the other parents just voted them the president, along with every other position they had, including some they just made up, but I was only there for the meeting. I'm working twice as hard up here but am not getting paid a penny or getting free meals nor am I able to see any of you! I don't remember signing up for this. Where's my fruit salad as my dessert?!
Other than that, I've finally moved all my things in my new apartment. I really like it. I went in my closet and while I was able to put all my clothes away, I didn't see KaraLynn making any new outfits for Jerome. This closet has just become not even close to as cool as KaraLynn's office is.
I miss everyone and I hope that everyone who was traveling made it safe and sound to their destinations. One good thing here, none of the middle school girls followed me to Pullman!!!

In the trenches of Pullman,
Kylan

What Saaaaaraaaaaaah Said...

GOOD EVENING.

Guys. I can't control my sadness. I, at one point, turned around. I backtracked 40 miles, then turned around again. Never mind that I turned around in an effort to not run out of gas in central Wyoming. I still turned around to see you all.

We are in Laramie. After a day of 17 hours in the car. My favorite moments of the day were when my mom began to lose all hope that we would ever make it. Those melodramatic times are the most enjoyable.

KaraLynn left sour candy on my car...and is giving me diabeetus.

I know who has diabeetus.

And, honestly, the water bottle thing was HILARIOUS. I walked out of the church, felt accomplished, realized the water bottle was inside, the door closed.

I stood there aghast.

And then LOLed. I did not ROGL. It was 2 rrrleeee.

OMG. I will video update soon so you can see me and we can pretend we are together.

KL's "The Final Day"--of work

The approach to West Side was a sad one.

I entered the building to find a single (not so smiley) face to greet me. Rebecca and I less-than-cheerfully said "morning" to each other before Erik joined us. We were all really mellow and probably still recovering from last night and dreading the good-byes ahead.

I put my stuff down on a couch and spotted Sarah's note out of the corner of my eye. It made me very sad and I had to keep moving before I could concentrate long enough to be overwhelmed with emotion. I walked towards the kitchen to put away my lunch and there I saw it. Sarah's water bottle. The sole reason she had come into church early that morning. I laughed and showed Erik and Rebecca and John, who had walked in as well.


Now, Sarah. I realize that you were probably really mad at yourself and frustrated when you realized that you had locked both your water bottle and key in the church, but it really did make my morning. In other ways, it made me miss you all the more. But I still smile when I think about it. :) It should be coming in the mail soon. Let me know when you get it.After some quiet prayer time with Faye (oh yeah, Erik did it. I trust he will write about it on here), Molly was waiting to say good-bye. Tears and hugs ensued, followed by Jackie trying to rush her out and Molly running back in 2 times to drop off receipts and maps.


John left for some non-official-contact time with our favorite freckled boy.


Erik and Rebecca still had to talk to Faye who was currently listening to G'ma Sue, so they finished off Heather's list and wrote letters to next year's Trainees (Heather's going to be a little irritated by Erik's letter--she should have seen it coming).


I proceeded to return people's random things to their proper locations and basically avoid my final evaluation at all costs (something Faye figured out and -gently- told me to have done by the end of the work day, which I did...4:40 still counts).

I then made myself useful by spending quality time in my office, cutting out felt hats and beards for a new army of Abes.

If you still need one, let me know. I'll hook you up.

This leads me to my favorite conversation of the day. It happened in our office, with Cathy Jones (the lady in charge of the preschool).

Cathy: (pokes her head in the door) I thought I smelled hot glue gun.

me: Yep. (looks around awkwardly, Abes are laying out on the table, another in my hand.)

Cathy: What are you making?

me: Just some gifts for the Trainees.

Cathy: Oh, that's nice.

me: Yeah.

Cathy: I see they have cute little top hats.

me: Uh-huh....like Abe Lincoln.

Cathy: Well, you're just so creative aren't you? (walks away)

After I finished making them, I put them in a very special place...

Making Abes took up the better part of my day. Rebecca had gone out to lunch and Erik had left for the week, so I was alone in the office. I opened my itunes and did what nobody else really wanted to do....cleaned the office. I now have in my possession, both of Kylan's notebooks and some papers, Molly's binder with her Mongo card and a copy of her school registration. I don't know if you need that. It looked semi-important. I also have some other random things that if people want, they can have. I'll probably just toss them though.

I finished all my/other people's work around 6. The office looks almost like we found it. Minus the stick person drawings on the board and finger-paintings hanging on the walls along with the HS girls' pictures. We'll see how long all of those last in there.

I also moved something.

Throughout the day, even though I was alone, I felt like the rest of you were just busy doing something and that I would see you as soon as you were done. As I left the narthex, it felt like it was just the beginning of a weekend and I would see you all on Monday for another week of work...strangely enough we would not be doing anything together this weekend. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I will see you on Monday. It may not be in three days, but it will come.

--KL

Molly says

My suitcase is impossibly heavy.

I feel like I'm going to be sick.

What's so great about Spain anyway?

John says

poooooooooooop

Sarah Says...

August 20th is a gloomy day in Richland.

We are currently enjoying our last night together in the Tucker's apartment...watching the Olympics.

I leave tomorrow morning at 6 am. Hopefully.

Molly leaves at 9:15 am for SPAIN.

Tyler leaves in the afternoon and skipping work. Slacker.

Okloveyoubye.