Sunday. After going to bed so late (4am), we weren't early risers. I wasn't sure if we were still planning on going to church or not. It was about 9:30am when Karen came and woke me up. We had to be at the horseshoe at 9:45am. It was at least a 10 minute walk. I don't know if I
have ever gotten ready so fast. 5 minutes, tops. It was nothing short of a miracle. I decided to wear a skirt. It was the first time I had pulled this skirt out of my suitcase, and I had been here for 5 weeks and 6 days. So, you could say I was dressing up. So me and Karen rush to the restroom
to freshen up, and we see the guys walk past us. We panic, and run after them. They, being the gentlemen they are, wait for us. We power walk to the horseshoe. As we are walking past the caf, we see a bus in the horseshoe...leaving...without us. At first we panic. That is OUR bus!
And it is leaving...without us!! So we kind of chase after it...but then someone read the words on the sides of the bus, which didn't match the church we were going to attend. Ok, we got this. We arrived at the horseshoe, and ask Trey, who was waiting there.
And he burst our bubble. Yes, that was the bus that was going to the church we were going to attend. It was almost... embarrassing. One volunteer even admitted to laughing as they drove past us...but the bus was full anyway. They turned away a lot of people that morning.
So we sat there, dejectedly. We were all dressed up with no where to go. So, like all would do in our situation...we went to the caf. We needed some water. It was cool in the caf, and we were relieved. We all get a refreshing glass of water...ok...it wasn't actually a glass. Just a cup.
But it was still refreshing. So I call my mom. It's her birthday, and she was going to spend half of it driving from one side of the state to the other. So I call her right after she gets on the road. I wish her a happy birthday. My call is cutting in and out continually (it is because I was in
the caf. If I was outside, my call would be clear. But it was cool inside, and hot outside. Decision made.) And everyone in my crowd sang to her. I think it was special to her...So we decide to go back to the Village. Lunch will be served in 2 hours, but we are all really hungry.
I go to my dorm and change into more comfortable clothing (goodbye dressy skirt!). We all reconvene in the lounge. I had brought over some Ritz Crackers, and we all snacked on those for a bit. Caleb, Trey, and Philip decide to leave and go to lunch, and even though I wanted to eat,
I decided to stay and wait for Karen and Mariam (I'm not quite sure what they were doing at this point in time). So they come back to the lounge, and are a tad disappointed that the guys left without us, but we go ahead. They were serving burritos. I have eaten these burritos before at home,
and they are pretty good. So I tell everyone to get the burritos. And then they have this chili that they pour over the burritos. It looks pretty good. Sure, I'll take some. We enter the cafeteria, and we spot Philip, Trey, and Caleb. And the first thing Philip says to us is "Don't eat the chili!".
Thanks Philip...but I think you were just a tad bit too late. What's wrong with the chili anyway? It looks pretty good. But then I take a bite, and I know why. The first thought that enters my mind...this tastes like cigarettes. Priscilla thought it tasted burnt. Everyone decided they
weren't hungry anymore. I forged ahead and ate my burritos. I just flipped them upside down and ate the inside, since the outside had been "contaminated". Andrew come down the stairs, and Mariam runs after him screaming "Don't eat the chili!!" At least we saved someone from
eating cigarettes with their lunch. He comes and sits down, and turns to me and asks, "Is the chili really that bad?" I pushed my plate towards him, and he scooped up some of my chili and ate it. He spit it into his napkin. Yep. It really is that bad.
Mariam suddenly gets the idea that she wants to go to Walmart. Wait...didn't we just go yesterday? And she wants go to again today? Ok then...so Mariam, Desiree, Priscilla, and Karen leave for Walmart. Andrew and I stay at the table and talk.
He is from New Zealand, so I was interested to hear his story. Turns out he has been traveling the States, staying different places. And somehow he found out about Teen Mania, so he came to volunteer. So I finish eating, and I go back to the lounge and make a bracelet for Mariam and
Philip. In the late afternoon, they arrive back from Walmart. And Mariam bought me more string. Thank you, Mariam!! And then Mariam lets me use her laptop so I can Skype my family. Well, mostly my mom, because it is her birthday, and I know she is home now.
So I get on camera, introduce volunteers and family, and while I am Skyping, Ulises and Andrew lurk in the background. After my mom wakes up from her nap, we all gather around the camera and sing happy birthday to her. And then Karen and Ulises sing it in Spanish. She cried.
I think she had a good birthday. And then they went to one of my favorite restaurants, and ate one of my favorite foods, just because I was gone. And because it was my mom's birthday. So dinnertime comes, and I sign off. So we all head to dinner. They had some sweet and sour
chicken concoction that I just moved around my plate. I really didn't want to eat it. But the others seem to like it just fine. Well, good for them :) We decide to go back to the lounge,
but before anyone leaves the table, I go and clear my plate in the trash. When I come back, Karen is leaning over Christa's toe saying "Oh, that doesn't look good. I think you should go to the doctor." I bent over to look at it myself. It was...infected. The toe was red and swollen,
and in the middle of the toe had a purple blister that I assume was filled with blood. So, we run all over campus. First we go to the administration building and find someone. We talk to her for a bit. While we stood there, I happened to notice a small, green grasshopper on the floor.
It looked so calm sitting among feet that could crush him at any given time. But it was a cute grasshopper. And it was so green!! Karen loved it so much she took several pictures of him. But there was still a more serious matter at hand. Christa's toe. While we were taking pictures of
the grasshopper, everyone else left and went to the GE building. We found them sitting and talking to a woman. I had seen her around a lot, especially when the missionaries are around. We told her we had tried calling Jorge several times, but he wasn't picking up.
So we went to her instead. She was really nice. She explained all possible options. Christa really wanted someone who was staff or close to staff to take her. She found a driver to take us, now we needed a car. And she found us a car. This lady was really wonderful.
And she was so calm about everything. But then again, so were we. So we had a car and driver. Now we just needed the driver to arrive. While we are waiting, this other guy shows us his sound system, and then blasts music throughout the whole office. So, our driver appears.
His name is Jared. And since he is a guy, it wasn't appropriate for Christa to go with him alone. So everyone chose me to tag along. I wasn't exactly thrilled, but I went to support Christa. So we drive to the city nearby. He is driving an unairconditioned car, so he puts the
windows down, which I'm ok with. What I wasn't ok with was my hair. It decided it didn't want to stay put, and flowed in the breeze. Ok, it was more like a tornado. The city hospital looms in front of us, and Jared, after several attempts to find parking, just drops us off and goes to
another location to wait. I had his phone number in case we had any problems. So we walk into the ER. Several people are in the waiting room. I suppose this is typical...I haven't made too many ER visits in my lifetime. So we go up to the counter, and the lady, in a round about way,
tells us of another clinic that is 24-hours. So I text Jared, he picks us up, and we drive to the other side of the city. The city itself is pretty. I enjoyed all of the sights. We arrive at the clinic about 7:50pm. Christa gets checked in, and we wait. And wait. And wait. All I can say is that I
am not a fan of 24-hour clinics, even though they can be a real blessing to people. While we are waiting, we begin talking to these girls sitting near us. They are in their teens. Christa talks to them about the bible, and they seemed so...amazed. They told us that they went to church,
but the way they were responding was...shocking. They agreed with Christa and all that she said, but when she mentioned missionaries who are daily persecuted for the faith these girls claim to have, they seemed very surprised. Like it wasn't just something to have.
That it could be real, personal. And then Jared starts talking about what he had done the past three years. Around 10:00pm, Christa is called in. And then we wait again. I was SO tried. The previous night was catching up. Jared slept on the floor because he had an awful headache...probably
getting close to a minor migraine. I am reading some health magazine, about ready to fall asleep myself when, at 11:00pm, Christa walks through the doors. She signs herself out, and I am given the, umm, unlovely task of waking Jared up. That was just short of awkward.
For me at least. We get into the car, and he asks Christa what is next. She would love to go to a CVS Pharmacy to fill her prescription. Ok, so Jared goes to CVS Pharmacy...only to find out it is closed. Great. He travels all over the city, trying to find another CVS. And then we found
one. And thank goodness, it was still open! So we go inside...only to find out that the pharmacy is closed. Great. What now? To find another CVS, or to go to a Walgreens? Christa chose Walgreens. So, naturally, the Walgreens right across from this CVS is closed. Just our luck.
We get in the car and drive all around trying to find a Walgreens that is open and has an open pharmacy. And then we find one at 12:15am. Right next to the 24-hour clinic. Of course. We go in, he is able to fill her prescription in a fast amount of time. By this time, I am completely
worn out. It was all I had not to fall asleep the moment we got into the car, let alone the 30 minute drive to campus. 1am we arrive on campus. I feel bad for Jared. He has corporate workout at 6am. So he drops us off in the Village (thank you Jared). Naturally you would think I would
go straight to bed and go to sleep. Oh no. I go to the lounge. Karen and Christina were inside. Christina is the new volunteer. She arrived yesterday while we were at the mall. Actually, she had already been on campus, because she was a missionary who just came back from Brazil,
but she had signed up to be a volunteer yesterday. So I walk into the lounge. I think Karen was expecting to see someone else, because she was surprised when she saw me. And the first words out of her mouth was "Your hair!" and laughed. Thank you Karen. My self esteem just rose
an inch. And then she said "Mik! How was it? Tell me EVERYTHING!" So I told her about my evening. I was standing by the foosball table, and I heard the door of the guy's dorm close, and then the lounge door opened and there was Ulises. "ME-KYLA!" He shouted. I'm not sure why, but I
get the impression that he was really hyper that night. Then Mariam came in. I should have just waited for her to come in, because she asks me the same exact questions Karen asked me. So I just repeated myself. And then they all seemed satisfied. So I sat down between Karen and
Christina. Mariam sits to the other side of Karen, looks at me and says, "Take your hair down." What?? Take my hair down? That was such a random thing to say! "Why?" I asked her. "Because I have never seen it down," she replied. So, out of all the nights, you choose tonight?
When my hair is some tornado blown, matted, gross mess? Whatever. I took my hair down, she had a good look, and said, "ok." So I put my hair back up, into the protection of some sort of bun, away from prying eyes. And then we begin talking about Andrew and Ulises's relationship.
They have seemed to become best friends instantly. Some call it a 'bromance'. And then we told Ulises that Andrew was his "brother from another mother". Ulises seemed to take a serious offense to this. Like, he was mortified that we would even suggest a thing. His eyes got really
big, he gasped, and he started saying something in Spanish. Karen had to explain to him that even though it was an inappropriate phrase in Spanish, it meant something completely different in English. So after we got past that confusion, we all had a laugh. He went around saying it.
"Brother from the other mother." Then we introduced "sister from another mister," and he tried to say "sister from another mother." So we stopped because we didn't want to confuse him too much. So, I am falling asleep on the couch. I had had a very long day, and long night,
and a headache. I just wanted to go to sleep. Karen, bless her heart, suggests that we all should go to sleep since we have work in the morning. Yes, Karen took it upon herself and signed me up to work in the caf with her. Really Karen? That seemed so...wrong. But I was ok
with it at the same time because that meant that I didn't have to go and make the switch myself. And then, I went to sleep. I slept really good that night. Thank goodness.
Nickel
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| This is our grasshopper! |
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| Not the best picture, but this is in the lounge after I get back from the clinic. |
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