On to other things

I'm home!  Just thought maybe I'd mention that, you know - one last update for this blog.

So here's what happened.  I got back to my house in Yakima really early on a Thursday morning.  The next day I drove down to Walla Walla to see friends.  I walked into the place where I used to work, and immediately got offered a job.  Later in the day, my cousin's husband called and offered me a place to live.  Just like that - without even trying!  So, I spent the weekend in Walla Walla, drove home on Sunday, packed up, and moved back to Walla Walla on Monday.  Started work Tuesday.

And that's what I've been doing ever since.  This job has some perks.  Like, living in College Place.  Being around a lot of friends.  A trip to the Patisserie.  Not working weekends.  Oh, and a paycheck! Other than that, the job is really nothing exciting and I'll be very thankful when it's over.  Which is funny because the job keeps getting extended.

The end of next week I'm leaving for Hawaii.  A friend and her family offered to pay for my ticket, so, I certainly wasn't going to say no!  It'll be very nice to have a vacation - it's been a long time since I've had any kind of a break.  After that I'll work in College Place for another week or 2, and then I'll have a couple weeks 'til I move to Loma Linda and I'll start PT School June 20.  I cannot even tell you how excited I am to be starting school again!

I like that I lived in Nepal for 8 months of my life.  It's this secret part of my life that basically no one else knows anything about.  It was a huge growing experience.  I still have a hard time talking about it.  I miss my friends there a lot!  I got to skype with a bunch of them once, and I hope to again soon.

There's really no end to the story.  But I think my good friend Bill Lenz sums it up pretty well:

"Going as an SM forced me to reconsider the priorities and the vision I had for my life. When you push yourself to the edge of your limitations, God teaches you who you are and, more importantly, who He is."

This weekend I'm going to be a group leader for the outgoing student missionary retreat.  And I'm going to ride my bike 43 miles to get there.  Then I'm going to run Bloomsday.  Life is good.  Very good.

Thanks for all your support while I was away, friends.  I may blog from time to time at http://jennysloop.blogspot.com/, if you care to follow.

The End.

Tomato Face

Just, just before I left, the guys wrote me a song and sang it to me.  Here are the lyrics.

When you first came to Nepal

We thought you were different

Can't believe we became friends

Oh! The good time we had together

That made us more than friends

We have been like brothers and sister in one family

We have been like brothers and sister in one family

You've got hair like a bunch of spaghetti

Your face is like tomatoes

You were like a wild monkey

And your actual name is donkey

In spite of all this we liked you

And we became your friends

We have been like brothers and sister in one family

Farewell Jenny, we're gonna miss you a lot

Hope to see you again

Oh Jenny, we liked you more than ice cream

We liked you more than pizza

'Cause we were more than friends

Oh! The fun times we had together

That made us more than just friends

We have been like brothers and sister in one family

We have been like brothers and sister in one family

The last of it

Last "Bonfire"

The last few days have been nothing short of amazing.  I’m trying to remember a time in my life where I have felt more overwhelmingly loved.  I mean, I’ve always had good friends everywhere I’ve gone, but somehow, when you’re leaving a place you know you might never come back to....... it’s different.  And so that’s the only way I can describe the last few days:  overwhelmingly loved.

On Friday at the school, all the kids made cards and gave them to me and sang me songs.  A few of them even gave me paper roses they had made.  I know it’s bad to have favorites, but honestly, I am going to miss the 4th graders and the 3rd graders the most out of everyone.  The 4th graders gave me the most trouble, but I think I’ve always liked trouble makers :)  The 3rd graders were nearly perfect, and always interested in EVERYTHING I had to say.  Crazy, huh? ... In the afternoon, Dixon and Shrijan came over just to kind of hang out, which was special - even though I was in desperate need of a nap after sleeping only 4 hours (writing final exams).  I ate a delicious supper with the Welches and the Diaz’s.

For Sabbath lunch I ate with Lora and Carlyle and talked with Lora for quite a while afterwards.  It’s amazing what I’ve come through here, and how my perspective has changed on so many things, so many times.  I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had lately that have really helped to sum up my experience.

That afternoon I spent with the guys.  It was our last Sabbath together - and our Sabbaths have really been some of the most enjoyable experiences of the past 8 months.  They were all waiting for me on the monkey bars, and shortly after my arrival, they busted out a song - guitar and all - while standing on the monkey bars.  Quite funny.  Many more songs followed.  It’s kind of hard to explain all the things that happened that afternoon, but I have not laughed that hard in a long time.  I am going to miss these guys.

We had our last bonfire at Lincoln’s.  We had spaghetti and salad and garlic toast, a little more gourmet than the usual Top Ramen variety.  I was gifted a soccer ball with all the guys’ signatures.  It was by far the most meaningful gift I received.  The guys tried to convey what it was they liked about me, which was kind of amusing.  Among the comments were, “She’s not like other girls......She’s very frank.......She’s really funny......A good friend....”  But I think the resounding comment was, “She’s not like other girls.”  Hah, yes, I’ve heard that before.

Sunday was my last day at school.  I had parties with each of my classes, including no bake cookies, twister, three legged races, balloon popping games, and those little sponges that grow into animals for the wee ones.  The 4th graders made their own poster for me, a few students gave me other gifts, and at the end of the day, the entire school met for an assembly to sing me a song and give more gifts.  I then became the center of a throng of students all trying to give me a hug at the same time.

In the evening I received more of the same again at Pathfinders.  They gave me a small book filled with letters from most all of the Pathfinders.  I was surprised at how personal and well-thought out some of the letters were, especially from the guys I hang out with every day.

For dinner I was invited to Surya’s, where I ate and ate, desperately trying to take small portions because I knew I had a second dinner to attend directly afterwards.  I thought I was going to explode but then I ran, literally, to Abrik and Shrijan’s house where I ate some more and we watched a movie.  I felt very honored to be at their house actually and to meet their family.  It was the first time.

By Monday I finally had time to work on the movie I’d been making for the guys.  You see, when you’ve got thousands of pictures and miles of video footage, you’ve gotta do something with it.  It was my first time making a movie, and it is pretty amateur, but I was very proud of it nevertheless.  After school got out, we played our last game of uber-intense hide-and-seek.  We had quite a crowd with all of the kids from my apartment building and all of the guys.  It was very pleasant outside, and eventually the game dissolved into all of us just hanging out, laughing, goofing off, and play fighting.  I gave the younger kids bubbles and Sujal gave me ping pong rackets.  Then we went up to my apartment to eat pop rocks, bust out the glow sticks (all over the room, people’s faces, and the ceiling...) and watch the movie.  The title of the movie is 7 Brothers and A Sister and Bikram says, “Hey, that sounds like a movie title.”  “Well, that’s because it IS a movie, Bikram.”  haha, I think he was picturing a slideshow.  Seriously, it was like watching my movie premiere, and they were all cheering, it was so funny, and it made me feel so good inside!  The boys left my house with things, so many things.  And it only feels right to give to them, after all the giving they’ve done for me this year.

I also wrote the boys each a letter.  I am really really close to these boys right now.  It’d be fairly safe to say that I know them better than even their parents do, to say nothing of anyone else on the hospital campus or in the church.  We’ve had countless ridiculous, goofing-off times, but we’ve also had our share of serious conversations.  These boys are going through a lot.  A lot spiritually, socially, physically (good grief - how’d Abhishek get so tall?  oh wait, I’m still taller than him...).  They aren’t likely to talk about it with many people, but I’m really thankful to have gotten to know them so well.  There were specific things I wanted to tell each of them, especially since they are in this period of enormous growth, and there are so many different directions they could head with their lives.  It scares me, really.

On Tuesday I finally packed.  I gave and gave and gave more away.  It felt so good.  I went to the physical therapy dept to take some pictures and say goodbye.  I exchanged the last of my money back to U.S. dollars.  I met with Lincoln to discuss the possibilities for future SMs and many other things.  Another one of those conversations to really help sum up my experience.  I ran around here and there, distributing things I had borrowed or no longer had need of.

And then I had supper with all the missionaries.  I’ve shared innumerable meals with these people, and I am so blessed.  They are all such good cooks!  A couple more gifts there, good conversation, and I was off to pack the last few things.  As I walked to my house, a crowd of kids had already started to grow.  “Jenny, just come and have fun,” Shrijan says with a painfully sad look on his face.  “Yes, yes!  Let me just put these in my house and I’ll come back down.”  We flew paper airplanes and played a mini version of cricket.  And then the guys sang me a song they had written.  It was absolutely hilarious!  We are definitely family now, and the leaving hurts.  For all of us.

The boys collected all the leftovers from my house.  “Jenny can I have the soap?”  “The shampoo?”  “What is this? .... Oh, bleach, can I have that?”  Candles and cleaning supplies, q-tips and hand-sanitizer.  They carried down my enormous suitcases and we met with another crowd to pray and say more goodbyes.

Well, all the goodbyes are said.  I’m in Qatar after a miserable flight.  I’m really thankful for the 8 months I was able to spend in Nepal.  On the way to the airport Lora asked me, “So what was the best part and what was the worst part?”

“The worst part was being alone, in combination with sometimes feeling unappreciated.  But at the same time, the best part was being alone, because I’ve made some incredible friendships.”

I’ve left with no regrets.  All I can say is that I feel overwhelmingly loved.  And I know that feeling will continue as I return home.  “Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."  Luke 6:38

Thank you to Lora and Carlyle and Kathy and Ramon.  Thank you to Shrijan, Dixon, Dennis, Abrik, Abhishek, Sujal, and Bikram.  I will miss you all.

Dear America.... Love, Nepal

Dear America...

Things I’ve learned in Nepal:

• If the horn on your vehicle goes out, that is equal to losing your brakes.  You must park the vehicle until it is fixed.
• What is a personal bubble?
• The head bobble.  It means yes, I use it all the time.
• Grunting, that also means yes.
• Sticking out your tongue in surprise, yes, I’ve even picked this up. (I’m afraid I no longer have manners.)
• A number of hand motions that mean ‘No’ and ‘I don’t know’ and ‘What to do?’
• An acquired taste for some Hindi music.
• A comfortableness with being dirty all the time.
• Time is not necessarily of the essence.
• Enough Nepali to confuse English, Spanish, and Nepali all into the same word.
• The names of a couple friendly parasites.
• Cooking for just yourself is boring.
• A love for soccer.

I’ve learned some more serious things too:

• It would be awesome to have another 8 brothers at home.  When most of my friends are halfway across the world, these guys treat me SO well.  Who knew my best friends would be 12-15 years old?
• If you have a job where you’re not treated well, you should not feel compelled to keep working there.  Unfortunately, even I cannot take my own advice.  Because sometimes there are good reasons to stay, and all in all, you grow.
• Loneliness is more than an emotion.  It’s a deep pain in your gut, too.
• Being a missionary is actually not as glamorous as I used to think.  I seriously respect those who give most of their lives to mission service away from home.
• I like the Pacific NW mountains more than the Himalayas.  More accessible, less garbage, don’t have to worry about getting sick with everything you eat, you can climb how you’d like - without a guide.  The Himalayas ARE more impressive though.  Hah, at least I got it out of my system, I would never have known if I hadn’t come :)
• Living independently is fun.  It makes me feel so... alive, or something.  And I’m no longer afraid of living alone in a house.
• A lot of ways NOT to practice physical therapy.  I learned some good things too though.
• I am not meant to be an elementary teacher.
• God works.  He works through others, he works through me, he works in me.  And it’s humbling.

I’m looking forward to:

• Taking a 45 minute shower, and not even THINKING about how much water I’m using
• When driving through Walulla will be the worst thing I smell all year
• When spitting will be viewed as unmannerly and disgusting
• Not bleaching everything before I eat it
• Fast and reliable Internet
• Mexican food
• General cleanliness
• Walking down a street without hearing a single car horn
• Playing around the world ping pong
• Americans
• my cell phone and the sense of connection it brings
• Waking up in a room warmer than 48˚ F and not seeing my breath in my own house
• Sleeping on a mattress where I can’t feel each spring and a pillow that isn’t a rock
• My mom’s cooking
• Drinking water out of the tap!
• Company: quality family time and the quality college-kid atmosphere
• My bikes
• Real ice cream, lots of it.

See you soon!

Love, Nepal

PS:  I believe I’ll be collecting $10 for failing to bring home a Nepali husband.  Thank you Lauren and Jeff Spady.

Enough Said

Hilarious moment in Kindergarten today.

We were talking about the various “parts” of the face.  The problem is that there is no “p” sound in Nepali, only the “ph” sound.  And so, try as they might, “parts” was always “farts”.

Oh, the different farts of the face.

Long Enough

I’ve been here 8 months.  I have 8 days left.  Which is a pretty crazy thought considering the first month I was here I couldn’t fathom 2 weeks, much less 8 months!

I’ve been here long enough to watch people go through growth spurts - to look back at a picture and say, “Whoa!  He looks so small!”

I’ve been here long enough to be a part of conversations that go something like, “Remember the time when...”  (...when we had the thunder that blew out one of the windows of the hospital? ...Yes Abhilekh! I remember that!  That was the time I almost got fried on the top of the apartment building.)


I've been here long enough to see skinny jeans become almost as popular as the khurta.

I’ve been here long enough to watch Nepal finally set up a government.  It took over 7 months.

I’ve been here long enough to quit one job and start another.

I’ve been here long enough to go from very fit to very out-of-shape.....twice.

I’ve been here long enough to become so comfortable riding on public buses that I can ride on the roof, standing up, hanging out the door, or fall asleep in transit.

I’ve been here long enough to say things like, “Last summer....”

I’ve been here long enough to make deep friendships.

8 months.  I can’t say I have loved every minute of it, but I can say I loved it.  I wouldn’t do it again, not in the same way, but I am so glad I did.  I’m enjoying the last few days here, and home is sounding really good.

I’ve been here ... long enough.