#A love story

Hey!

So I have this weird thing where I'm super conceited and think people like knowing things about me. Enough so that I write a blog. About my life. But then people validate my feelings by reading it. So theres that.

I'm going to tell you something so super cool that not a lot of people know about me.

May 14th is my anniversary.

The anniversary of the declaration of my love.

There's this Guy. He's really cool and stuff. The coolest actually. He's the love of my life. No, seriously. He's perfect. He always builds me up, and catches me when I fall. He steers me in the right direction, and holds my hand when I need it. He's so strong. He's carried my guilt and shame, my fears, anxieties, hurts, and worries. Most importantly He loves me. He loves me for all that I am. Even with all my flaws, and shortcomings, and mistakes. Even when I'm an asshole. He just says "Hey, it's ok. People mess up sometimes. I still love you. And I'll always forgive you as long as you love me back."

Awesome, right?! He's the best. Ever. The End. So I did what any sane person would do. 

I locked it down.

On a warm [I think it was actually rainy that day] spring evening, much like the one I will experience tonight, I stood up in front of my family and friends and hundreds of strangers and said "Hi everyone, my name is Mariah and I love this Super Cool Awesome Guy. I know you know Him. His name is Jesus. He's made a nice little home in my heart and I love that He lives there. He makes me a better person, and He makes me feel worth it, and also we have a pretty stellar relationship. And I'm gonna take a little dip in this water and make Jesus/Mariah Soup because I love Him so much. And I want everyone else to know how much I love Him. Also - here's a quote from the bible that I live my life by. The End."

Then I got dunked for Jesus.

Also there was crying and stuff.

AND because My Jesus loves me SO MUCH He gave me a Shelby to get dunked with me!

So we share an anniversary! It's also the annual celebration of the day she went from being a fetus to a neonate [that's actually the grossest thing I've ever said], so HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELBY!

And Shelby and I lived happily ever after with our forever friend, Jesus. [Even though baptism does not = salvation. We learned that in baptizing school.]

The End!!!!!!!!

[side note: I think that is the most times I have written "The End" in one post. Even though this post is kind of about new beginnings. I'm weird.]

#Never gonna give you up

Jan 4:Day 4 - wandered around Salmon arm with my FBF and my sisters.

Conversations with the best friend:

Jan 5:Day 5 - Came home. Ate half of a Pizza Hut pizza. Probably the reason I felt sick for the next 24 hours. #soberjanuary #sogross














"We're just on different wavelengths..."
"RIAAHHH!"
"He made rape jokes all night...it was weird.."
"Really? That is weird."
"Ya. Even after I told him it's like my biggest fear, ever."
"Obviously he doesn't have experience hanging out with girls."
"He says he does. Like he's had girlfriends before and stuff."
"Well....were they normal girls, or girls who think rape is funny?"

That is the reason I love you the most. 

Jan 6:Day 6 - Went shopping with K Ruhls. Finally bought the grey Chucks I've been talking about forever! #soberjanuary #impulsebuyer

"Did you put water in the bucket?"
"No.....how do you do that?"


That is reason I am the only one who loves you the most..

Jan 7:Day 7 - first Saturday of the year. Saw Sheebs, worked, then went out for pub food and iced tea. #soberjanuary
















"Stop farting in my bed or I'm gonna come over there and cuddle you!!"
"Hey! It's my half of the bed!!"
"It's my whole bed!!"
"Well..you did it first!!"

That is the reason boys don't love us..

Jan 8:Day 8 - Lazy churchy and junkfoody day. #soberjanuary #iloveicecream

"I always had a crush on the black one. And kinda the red one."
"Hey! There's a green one too! He's the hottest!"
"Ew. No. He is gross."
"Hahah I think he's hot."
"I lied. I wanna sit on his beautiful face."

That is the reason we watch power rangers.

Jan 9:Day 9 - First day back at school means a night of homework and organization (because I was not a good enough student to do it before the semester started..) #soberjanuary #immabeanurse














"Then she blew him a kiss!"
"I would have been like: HEY! That's super rude! Stop loving your boyfriend! Don't you know I'm alone?!"

That is the reason we have no other friends.

#Growingup

 Jan 1:Day 1 - I was super hungover so I laid in bed and watched movies and drank fluids and ate cheese all day. #beginningofsoberjanuary









I decided to do sober January.

And I'm sticking to it. Because I am growing up and I need to stand by my decisions. And stuff.

See.....I've had a bit of a problem lately. In the alcohol area.

And by "problem" I mean I was getting slammed 3-4 times a week. Every week.

Which could not be a problem. It could be a party. Depending on how you look at it.

But considering I have probably destroyed my liver, and my savings fund, and my good girl somewhat reputable reputation, I think it was a problem.

And using my nursing critical thinking skills I came up with a solution.

Sober January - no alcohol for an entire month.

Jan 2:Day 2 - No longer hungover; went to town, ate Boston Pizza, went bowling, later ate ice cream, and cookie dough while watching the worst movie of all time. #soberjanuary













Best idea ever?

or worst idea ever?

I don't know.

I guess I'll find out.

I know I can do it, regardless of if it's a good idea or not.

Especially with the support I've been receiving from all of my amazing friends and family.

You just know it's bad when you were waking up with a hangover and regret more than twice a week.

You also know it's bad when you get drunk enough to tell some unknown guy that you were "the hottest bitch in this club" 

And when you go tell your friends you were dancing with a black guy.....only to find out he was blonde. With blue eyes. And pasty skin.

And when you call and text your exboyfriend 16 times just to tell him you're "over him"

This has become my life.

Also, I would like to point out this is not a new year's resolution. It is not sober 2012, it is sober January. 

And besides, my liver needs a rest before the extreme bender known as FBF's birthday - in February.

I have nothing more to say about this subject that breaks my heart.

My name it Mariah,  and I am not addicted to alcohol. However, I feel like a recovering addict rereading this post. Hm. We'll see. 

Jan 3:Day 3 - Laid in bed and watched movies including the best movie of all time - The Outsiders. Went to town, got our skates sharpened, ate sushi, came home and packed to go home. Then blogged. #staygoldponyboy #soberjanuary

#The adventures of Jackie and the McDonald's drive thru

*editors note - there is swearing in this post. I'm very passionate about the topics at hand.

Ray Charles is in town.

So I spent part of my Friday night with him and my wifey.

And in typical form we ate greasy food, built gingerbread houses and watched high school musical.

I just sang the words high school musical, by the way.

And I actually only ate greasy food. I got there right as they were finishing high school musical and I laid on the couch doing nothing but demanding icing that tasted like play doh when they were building the gingerbread house.

But this is not a post about ginger bread houses and terrible movies.

This is a post about the best adventure/worst experience ever at a McDonald's Drive Thru.

It all started because we wanted ice cream, and we decided on McDonald's ice cream over Dairy Queen. Biggest mistake. 

We pulled up to the drive thru and the lady says "Welcome to McDonald's..blahblah can I take your order?"

And my wifey (who drove) leans out the window and says "Um yes, can I get a regular smarties McFlurry?"

Drive Thru Lady - "Regular Oreo McFlurry?"
Wifey - "No, a regular smarties McFlurry!"
Drive Thru Lady - "Regular Oreo McFlurry?"
Wifey - "No! Not Oreo!! SMARTIES! A regular SMARTIES McFlurry?"
Drive Thru Lady - "Oreo?"
Wifey - "NO!! SMARTIES!!"
Drive Thru Lady - "Please pull up to the window."

Then we had to go on an adventure to FIND the window. Because that McDonald's had about 12. And she was at the last one.

I actually think they had 3.

Details.

So we pull up and the conversation goes like this:

Drive Thru Lady - "What would you guys like?"
Wifey - "A regular SMARTIES McFlurry!"
Drive Thru Lady - "Ohhhhh Smarties!"
Wifey - "Yes. And also a regular rolo McFlurry and a hot fudge sundae with nuts."
Drive Thru Lady - "That costs *insert dollar amount here*"
Wifey - paid for it cause she's our suga mama.

We sat in the car and sang some awful top 40 music (sorry wifey) and danced around like 16 years olds with brand new licenses.

And we waited.

And waited. 

We heard the beeping thing going off inside the window that yells at the staff because we've been waiting for a long ass time.

And no joke 12 MINUTES LATER she walks up to the window with 2 McFlurries in hand. She opens the window and says:

"We ran out of rolo so I made you an Oreo McFlurry."

WHAT IS THIS WOMAN'S OBSESSION WITH FUCKING OREO MCFLURRIES?!?!

Ray looks displeased and says "Um. Can I actually just get another Smarties McFlurry instead?"

And drive thru lady hands us the one smarties McFlurry shuts the window then walks away.

7 minutes later she walks back with a smarties McFlurry. Which is really a cup of ice cream with a few smarties on top. I don't even think she put an effort into making it look like she mixed it.

And poor wifey has nothing so she says "Can I also please get my hot fudge sundae with nuts?"

And drive thru lady says "Ohhh yes." and shuts the window and walks away.

4 minutes later she comes back with a hot fudge sundae - sans nuts. Wifey laughs and says "Can I please have nuts?" Drive thru lady shuts the window and returns promptly with a package of nuts.

We pull away and wifey looks at her package of nuts and bursts out laughing.

"She gave me granola."

Me and Ray were like "go back in!! Get yo nuts Kixy!"

So wifey walks into the McDonalds (where there was nobody by the way. There was nobody there the whole time we were waiting in the drive thru. There was no reason for us to be there for 23 minutes. Literally, I feel like we should have gotten some free nuggets or something.) and comes back out laughing more.

She gets into the car, with her packages of nuts and says that she told the lady at the counter that she was just in the drive thru and asked for nuts but got granola.

The lady got her a package of nuts then turned to drive thru lady held up a package of nuts and the package of granola and said "SERIOUSLY JACKIE! These are nuts. This is granola."

End Scene.

#Colder Weather

Winter is my favourite.

Kind of.

Well....right after summer....and spring....and autumn.

I know what you're thinking. "Um. Rye. That means winter is your least favourite."

No. No it does not, good reader. It just means that winter is my fourth favourite season.

I still love it. Just not quite as much as the others. But that does not mean I don't love it. Because I do. I'll tell you why.

I love the snow....when it's still white and pretty. Not when it's brown and slushy.

I love skating...it's my favourite date ever. There's something so supremely cute about holding hands and skating. And drinking tea. And having cold noses, and hot kisses.

I love the lights....the Christmas lights up all around the city. Making otherwise bland cookie cutter suburban houses sparkly and glittery and pretty. Setting the one apartment balcony apart from the rest. Brightening up an otherwise dark city.

And with that I love zoo lights....even though they're the same every year. I just love them so much. Too much, even.

I love mittens....especially when they're animals. I have elephant and shark mittens. My elephants are married and they kiss at red lights. My sharks are best friends and do not kiss at red lights. They just munch on my steering wheel.

I love boots....and shuffling my feet when I'm in boots. And having toasty toesies! I also love fuzzy socks inside my boots. Except I get sweaty very very hot toesies when I have fuzzy socks AND boots on.

I love fireplaces....and the smell and heat and look of fireplaces. I could stare into the fireplace for hours.

I love Christmas....because God loved us all so much that He came to earth so that we could know Him as a person and have a real relationship with Him. He humbled Himself in the ultimate way, and for that I am forever thankful.

I love Christmas music....and Christmas movies, and Christmas decorations, and Christmas trees. And pretty much just Christmas. This could have gone under the last one.

I love turkey dinners....this is the last one not the last one about Christmas....I will give you a bit of a break though!

I love tea....I love tea always. Like every single night of the year. But especially in the winter because it warms my belly from the inside out. Big thanks to my Auntie for giving me delicious Holiday Tea last week. It is the epitome of winter tea.

I love hockey....just kidding.

I love ugly sweaters....for real though. They're the best. And they're warm! Who cares if they're ugly, seriously.

I love mugs....to drink my tea out of. Once again, I love this one all the time, but I especially love it in the winter.

I love layering clothes....cause it hide everything I want to hide, and it always makes me feel pretty!

I love New Years....and the chance to start something new. And set myself up for failure by setting resolutions I know I could never keep. Maybe I'll rethink that this year..

I love having a break from school....because even though I love school it stresses me out. And everyone can use a break sometimes.

I love hot dates....on cold days

I love making snow angels....and snow men. And snow forts. And snow balls. Then throwing those snowballs at people and hiding behind my snow fort and letting my snow men and snow angels keep guard.

I love watching snow storms outside....but only if I'm at home and I don't have to go anywhere.

I love television holiday specials.... mostly Community. Pure. Gold.

I love going on outdoor winter adventures....and I really wanna go to the ice caves in Kananaskis. Someone please go on this adventure with me! Like, now.

I love sunny days....and the way the sunshine and brightness contrasts the cold biting air.

I love volunteering....and making someone's day brighter and warmer. Directly or indirectly.

I love winter colours....White and blue and silver and grey. They just always look so good!

I love quality time with family....immediate and extended. Because my family makes me who I am.

I love naked trees....snow kissed naked trees. 

I love red Starbucks cups....because that's when you know it's really winter (ps. has anyone else noticed how coffee has transitioned from being a beverage to an accessory? I'm not cool because I don't really drink coffee)

I love work Christmas parties....especially if there is an open bar.

I love my brother and sister....who were both born in the winter. December to be exact. 5 days short of a year apart.

I love winter.....it's just soqw,,,,,,,,............................rrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt<------Thank you Kinjo, for your input on my blog post.

Take Two.

I love winter....it's just so peaceful and sweet. I love how clean everything looks right after it snows. And I love the way everything just hides under a blanket while it's still chilly, only to come out new and refreshed in the spring. So that's why I love winter, my fourth favourite season. Sigh.

However I do not love driving, or freezing, or static-y hair. Also, Valentine's Day. I know I sound like a bitter single, but I've always thought it was stupid, even when I had a boyfriend to share it with. But look at how much stuff I do love!! There's no way I can't look on the bright side for the 10 month winter that's just settling in now :)

#I love my life

You know it was a good weekend when you come out with quotes like these:

"Skinny doesn't always mean healthy. Obese never means healthy, but lucky for you, you're not either!"

"Grab the metaphorical bull by the horns, and grab the mechanical bull by the rope."

"I refuse to eat tiramisu until your mom makes me some."

"Why is that guy's light flashing?"

"Because he wants to change lanes...."

"I don't think I'm ready to drive."

"You can literally overcomplicate boiling water!"

"I only know two things for sure: 1 - Denny's is the cure to all of life's problems and 2 - never trust a girl with a nipple ring."

"The Lions winning the Grey Cup is like Ben getting herpes. We all know it's going to happen so nobody really cares when it does."

"For American Thanksgiving I'm thankful I'm not American."

"Skinny blonde bitches....the worst kind of bitches."

"I like your moustache. And when I said 'like' I really meant 'am grossed out by'."

"I'mma bust outta this hospital and wreck a ho...or take a nap. Busting out seems like a lot of work."

"I love when flexidave teaches us useful things like how to properly ride a bull."

"I love to love Dong Lover's dong."

"I just wanna cuddle your face off, then put it back on cause I love it so much!"

"Stop looking at my elbows. Pervert."

"I officially have $3.14 to last me until payday."

"Know what you should buy with it? Pi."

"Sometimes I just grab my pecks and wish they were boobs."

Dear all of my friends,

Please don't ever leave me. And thank you for making it so easy to be the happy, bubbly person I am!

Love, Rye. xo

#It's like the sister wife version of 'Night at the Roxbury'

The weirdest thing happened tonight.

I was at an open mic night with my sister wife, my FBF, my Garden of Eden, and........the prettiest hippy in all the land [tag to come] when this guy comes around the corner with his computer.

I've been to a few open mic nights in my time, and never have I ever seen someone pull out their mac before. (I wonder what his computer's name is..)

Because this was a DJ. At our open mic night. DJing. Kinda.

He defs just played some of his mixes that he had been working on....and walked off the stage while they were playing (I mean seriously?! At least fake it like you're doing it on the spot!!)

ANYWHAYYYYY!

What do you think I did??

Shimmey'ed obviously. And rolled the dice. Pulled out my special ed. dance moves. And then it happened.

Right there. I did it in broad daylight. 

With my sister wife joining in.

It. Happened.

We did hip hop abs.

We tilted. We tucked. We tightened.

We made Shaun T. proud.

Yep. That is my life.

Stay Tuned - Saturday night is the sequel to our hip hop abs adventure.

PS that is exactly what we look like when we do hip hop abs. You should be ultra super jealous.

#Simple Math

Calgary is cold.

Hawaii is not.

The high for Calgary today is 2 degrees Celsius.

The low for Honolulu today is 22 degrees Celsius. (Yes Wyatt, I thought of you.)

Calgary has icy patches on the roads.

Hawaii has beautiful beaches.

Half-assed winter vs. Tropical goodness.

....sorry Calgary, this is an easy choice. I'm going to Hawaii, see you in a week!

Love you, blog world! Have an awesome time creeping the internet while I'm tanning my face off!!

PS - RyGuy, you better take care of yourself while I'm gone. I don't want anymore of your monkey business!!! I want to come home to a healthy (somewhat) guy. Pleasepleaseplease be good to yourself. Also - GO COLTS! Love x

#Open Mic Night

Have you ever been to an open mic night?

Yes? No?

Cause it's pretty much an amazing experience all around.

I haven't been to one in a while. And I forgot how much I absolutely love it.

It makes me feel weirdly poetic. Or something.

Sitting in a room full of people, all wanting to be heard, all willing to listen. A room full of acceptance, a room without judgement.

Just sitting there, legs crossed, defences up, outside my comfort zone. Knowing one person in a place filled with unfamiliar bodies. A decision to push myself. It was the best decision I've made in a long time. I could feel the worries and anxieties of my life melting away with the warm fruit tinged tea sliding down my throat. The decisions that loom in my near future were put on a back burner to a few hours of ease and music.

Feeling the guitars, the vocals, the keyboards pulsing through the air, the floor, the walls and seeping into and around my body in a warm blanket of pure happiness. Smiling at strangers and making new friends. Seeing a whole new side of people, and society.

Genuinely loving to watch the people genuinely loving to play. Enjoying the gifts given to others by God to give the world. It's something I could do all day everyday.

And what I love the most is the atmosphere. The way everyone is brought together by the supernatural tie of melodies. The low murmur of voices as people quietly socialize and appreciate the music. The intensity on the musician's faces as they get lost in a sea of notes and chords. The smiling barista's, the lively hosts, the buzz of an excited audience. It all gets my heart pumping and blood rushing.

It's a little piece of heaven.

It's why I'm going to go every week. And that's why you should come to open mic nights on Thursday evenings at The House with me.

#364 days a year....

......I am myself.

And lately I've been dreaming of an escape. Just a temporary one.

Escape from my reality.

364 days a year I am myself.

But for tonight, the opportunities are endless.

The choices are infinite.

Tonight I can be anything I want.

Tonight I'm going to a sweet party.

Tonight I'm going to an awesome show.

Tonight I get to be someone who is not me. Just for a little while.

I get to check my life, my problems, my stresses, and my anxieties, with my coat.

Tonight I am a lost boy.

And tonight....we dance.

#African Cats

Meow.

Pray for me.

Because there might be some big things happening soon. 

#Chunkers

Sooooooo funny story.

Yesterday I was bored at home and not wanting to do homework. So I decided to go to a movie!

My brother wasn't feeling well and everyone else was at work or school so I went by myself.

And I felt super liberated going to a movie by myself!

50/50. People kept telling me it's super good and funny and heartwarming. It was on early enough that I could go to work after. So I went.

So I handed my ticket to the 16 year old high school drop out who rips tickets and he looks at me and says "I'm going to need to see some ID miss." 

Um. Excuse me. This movie is 14A.

"It is 1 o clock on a Friday afternoon. I am here alone. How do you think I got here?" I said, super offendedly.


"You could have walked. Or stolen a car. ID please."

"Seriously. You're gonna make me put down all this yummers fattening food for me to pull out my ID when I am clearly older than 14."

"Yes."

So I struggled for 20 minutes trying to wrestle out my driver's license without spilling popcorn.

Then, when he got the satisfaction of a quarter second glance at a picture of me looking like a native man, he let me go see my movie.

Rude.

Anyway, so I was sitting in this theatre, waaaayyyy at the back, in a theatre alllllll alone and excited to watch some Seth Rogen. Then another couple walked in and sat RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! There is a whole theatre! Nobody else is here!! Seriously!!!

Whatever. I got over it. So I started watching this movie. In a dark room alone. Then I found out that stupid movie was about cancer. So I spent the next hour and a half crying like a baby. Like, sobbing. Seriously the people in front of me kept turning around and I wanted to punch them in the back of the heads because they should have sat somewhere else.

So, yeah. That was my movie going experience.

Now I'm going to go eat some peanut butter before the world runs out, and head on down to occupy Calgary. Hope to see you there!!

#If We Are The Body

So today one of my good friends emailed me a link to this website. Because she knows I thrive off of stuff like this. And then I saw it referenced on another blog and having it appear in my life twice in one day was too much for me not to think it was a sign from God to reblog it.

Also I still don't want to do homework.

And a pretty sunshiny girl told me to blog more so she has something to read when she's bored in class (You're welcome =])

Anyway, here's the website:

http://www.100people.org/

But just incase you're too lazy to click the link (because I know I would be, and if you're my friend you probably are too!) I'll tell you all the cool things I learned from this awesomely awesome place!

If the world were 100 people...

50 would be female
50 would be male

20 would be children
66 would be adults 64 and younger
14 would be 65 and older

There would be..

61 Asians

14 people from the Western Hemisphere

13 Africans

12 Europeans

31 Christians
21 Muslims
14 Hindus
6 Buddhists
14 People who practice other religions
16 People not associated with any religion

17 would speak a Chinese dialect
8 would speak Hindustani
8 would speak English
7 would speak Spanish
4 would speak Arabic
4 would speak Russian
52 would speak other languages

82 would be able to read and write

18 would not

1 would have a college education
1 would own a computer

1 would be dying of starvation
17 would be undernourished
15 would be overweight

83 would have access to safe drinking water

17 would not

The world is comprised of 6.7 billion people. 

Who are we?

And what do we look like..

#These Four Walls

Did you know that about 6 out of 10 Canadian families live paycheque to paycheque according to Statistics Canada?

That means about 60% of families are one or two paycheques away from living on the streets.

Which means that if something happens; a parent get's laid off, a car breaks down, bills pile up, that poor family is hooped.

Yesterday I was blessed to meet families who opened my eyes to a whole new side of homelessness.

Moms and dads and kids who were not what you picture them to be.

Some dressed to the nines, and others just in casual every day wear.

Each with a story. Each willing to share.

Most were only on the streets for a few days. Some were on the streets for an extended amount of time.

There were no stories of addictions or crime.

Just people who had hit a bump in the road.

I know how blessed I am. That I have family I can always fall back on. No matter how old I am, or where I am in the world, I know my mother would call me home before letting me live on the streets.

But not everyone is blessed like that. Not everyone can count themselves that lucky.

So do me a favor.

Take the time to realize that homelessness isn't a disease. It's not something you can catch. It's not always associated with drugs or alcohol. Sometimes it's just about a series of unfortunate events.

6 out of 10 Canadian families are living paycheque to paycheque.

Who says it won't ever be you?

#China Doll

I spent 5 of the last 6 days in a class about Chinatown.

I sat through lectures, ate the food of my people, and wandered around a maze of shops and restaurants for 8 hours a day. Every. Day.

I was expecting to spend the entire week with my nursing friends. Being all giggly and silly and nursey together. Just like in every other class that I've taken.

I expected to listen to 8 hours of knowledge that has already occupied my brain from listening to my Grandma for the last 20 years.

I expected this class to be a breeze and a half. 5 long days in exchange for 4 long months? Yes please!

But man, was I ever thrown off my rocker!!

I was reunited with an old friend from high school. I met lots of cool and interesting people. I was blown away and inspired by the culture and history of a little town within our city. I devoured the food like it was going out of style. I was presented with opportunities to volunteer. I waited 45 minutes for bubble-less bubble tea. I forced my positive sunshiney-ness on strangers. I spent an hour and a half in a Buddhist temple. I took lots of pretty notes with lots of pretty pens. I drank copious amounts of tea. I learned a lot. Laughed a lot. Ate a lot.

This has probably been one of the most eye opening and interesting classes I've taken thus far in my university career. Probably because it pertained specifically to my life and personal history. Because I'm half Chinese, you see.

So while I may have enjoyed an extra week of summer I am so thankful that I was called to take that course. It made the transition back to my everyday routine that much easier!

#Crows Feet

People keep asking me:

What was the most important thing you learned in Belarus?

And every time I answer it's different.

They only eat chicken and potatos.

Different cultures are literally different worlds.

Moscow hates Canadians.

Oolibka = smile in Russian.

Jesus loves endlessly and can work miracles through you.

But my final answer is different. There is something way bigger that I learned that is none of the above. (Well, the Jesus thing is pretty big, but I already knew that so I don't feel like it should be classified as something I learned there.)

No matter where you go, no matter what language they speak, no matter who you are talking to: smiling is the international language.

It doesn't matter where you go. People are drawn to the positive. Think about it. Would you be more likely to approach someone who is complaining about your food, and your washrooms, and your general standard of living; or someone who is smiling, laughing, making jokes, and taking everything about your culture in stride?

It's true! Nobody likes a pouter. Nobody. Ever.

So here's my advice to you:

if you're going to travel bring with you - pain killers(for pain), antihistamines(for allergies), antiemetics(in case you have to puke), laxatives (in case you can't poop), antidiarrheals(in case you can't stop pooping), peanut butter(just in case your stomach really REALLY doesn't agree with the food), and toilet paper(just in case. It's a luxury from home).

Put in a genuine effort to submerse yourself into the new culture and it's beliefs.

And smile. You'll make lots of friends.

#A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words - Belarus Part 7

I know I promised this a few days ago. I just havent gotten around to editing it and stuff. Because I like pretty things and because this is my blog it will be a pretty thing.

Every picture, every person, everything you see has a story, and a background. There is a reason God sent all the people He did to that camp, and I think that there was a huge impact, not just on the campers but the people who were running it as well.

This is my story in pictures. We did everything from obstacle courses, amaing races, line dances, indoor campfires, talent shows, skits, english classes, bible studies, concerts, and most importantly building relationships. I hope you enjoy these pictures even a fraction as much as I enjoyed being around these people. Lalalalove

Big thanks to Pasha for letting me use some of these pictures! I have so much love for everyone in them.

Rye x