Hello again, I'm still alive!

Amidst the reoccuring nausea that visits me as I approach departure time I have been thinking about some things...

1. It may be wise for me to stay in Canada a few days longer to spend time with family and get a little more organized since I spent my first 2 weeks here crashing and recovering. I decided I'll make a decision about that this Wednesday.

2.Man, I've got is so good: loving family, incredibly supportive church, amazing friends, the best place in the world to come home to and jungle adventures ahead. I am so astronomically blessed to have opportunities to see God's beauty in all these different people and places. He is beautiful and it's good to feel like my eyes are open again.

3. This last one takes a little longer to explain. Last week I went to Mt. Baker with my fabulous friend and snow-boarding instructor extraordinaire, Alissa. As we swished (and I tumbled) down the snowy slopes I couldn't help but realize how learning to snowboard is very much like falling in love. Read on, if you will.

Learning to snowboard is like falling in love because...

-It's terrifying and so much fun at the same time.

-You're bound to get hurt, but if you don't get up and try again, you'll always wonder, what if my next run would've been my best?

-I get kinda nervous when I start going too fast because I remember what it's like to crash.

-Even though you go home a little bruised and tender, you know you'll come back because you remember the moments when you just didn't want it to end.

The chairlift, however, is like a blind-date; you're never quite sure how it's going to work out. It could start out wobbly (fall over before even getting on the chair) and end real smooth with an "Oh yeah" smile on your face. Or it could begin without a hitch and end in an awkward faceplant.


Stay tuned for decisions and thoughts on leaving!

Em