After all the energy and effort of preparing to come, it was a relief to finally be on the plane to Guatemala City (GUA)...even if it was a middle seat. To my great fortune (as I would later realize) I ended up next to a girl from Illinois who lives in a small town close to Antigua with her husband and adopted Guatemalan daughter. She is here in the mission filed working to set up an orphanage. As we departed she gave me her number, in case I should need anything and offered to help negotiate a shuttle rate. What [View Full Entry]

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Spain Kirsten Sheppard 8 days but only 1.5 days to explore. These are the challenges of travelling on business. You get to go cool places, but have to work harder than you play. As a result, I can say that I visited Madrid, Alcala de Henares, Toledo and Pamplona...but I barely saw Toledo... of course, I got to speak espanol and dine as I imagine Queen Sofia does. Madrid It would be easier to do this if I actually wrote it when I was there. But I truly did not have time. For anyone reading who is romantacizing the [View Full Entry]

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Two years and 1 month into our time in Knoxville, TN and I experienced a culture shock like no other. After all, how could we ever say we lived in Knoxville, and had never been to a Vols game? It was pretty amazing! A little bit of background: The Vols are the University of Tennessee Volunteers. [volunteers, because we are in the volunteer state; volunteer state, because TN volunteered more people than any other for a war... led by Davey Crockett] In this case, the NCAA Division I football team. And in case you can't tell from the photos, the official [View Full Entry]

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Back in Tennessee, yet still somehow immersed in Costa Rica... Here I was reading the Knoxville News Sentinal, not expecting any international news except maybe about terrorism, Iran or North Korea (and I was not disappointed there - only 3 international stories today), yet as I turned the pages of the local news I came across and article under "family moments." The title caught my eye "Fear conquered in 'bery fun' treetop adventure" I love conquering fear stories, so I read on. Turns out it is a story about how one woman and her family overcame their fear of heights on [View Full Entry]

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I am not sure I can actually express how amazing Costa Rica is. Despite being a believer that short-term periods of being abroad can have incredible impacts on people, I am still thrown by how much I got out of only 10 days. I'll give you the personal, rather than professional version of this site visit to the land of plantains, coffee and cacao.... San Jose I only got a glimpse at what San Jose has to offer. We were there less than a day - mostly driving the Avenida Central, and spent the first night at the Airport Hampton Inn. [View Full Entry]

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So hockey in Atlanta was not at all what going to an NHL game in Canada is like. The music was weird, and the energy was different. I'm not sure how to explain it since the Phillips Arena was pretty full. Not that I'm complaining - it was a big step up from the energy at the Knoxville Ice Bears game! Go Ice Bears! (I'm serious...they are pretty good...and lotsa Canucks). Baseball in Atlanta, on the other hand, was fabulous. Just like a good soccer game in a country that loves soccer. In the US, you can't beat baseball fans. Especially [View Full Entry]

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One of the most stressful, yet exciting things to do in one's life is to buy a house. After 5+ years of moving and turmoil and adventures, Daren and I have decided to settle down for awhile, and took possession of our first house on Friday! This is probably going to be the nicest house we will ever have - because I'm not sure we could afford this much space in any other city we hope to live in! Yes, this does mean we are planning to stick around Tennessee for awhile. For once both of us are enjoying the challenges [View Full Entry]

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This is just a quick post to share my excitement of the past few days! The BIG news is that I just bought my first car!!!(well besides Happy the VW rabbit I shared with Juan! Oh, Happy, where are you?) It is a 2000 VW Beetle (yes that is a picture of her). She does not yet have a name, but she is divine! She is a 5-speed bubble. That is how it feels inside. Tall people don't be afraid to come visit me, because there is plenty of room (Daren fits better in my car than most he rides in!) [View Full Entry]

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Sorry to those of you who either have heard and don't want to again, or to those of you I have not had the chance to tell in person yet...but it is true. Daren and I eloped to Las Vegas! Yes, it is kind of sudden and crazy, but over the past few months we were thinking that we should do it now so that immigration will not be a nailbiting, tense situation next year when her student visa runs out. This way we can decide to stay in the USA or leave on our own terms, and not because "The [View Full Entry]

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Seattle.... (a little delayed in posting...) It is strange that one can be in a new place, a new city, for just a short time andknow that it could be home. Seattle is like that! It has a marketplace, international flavours, coffee shops where people actually sita nd drink coffee (ok...maybe a few too many coffee shops). It has a downtown filled with tall buildings...both business and residential. But above all it has people...peaople everywhere. Out and about, wandering, exploring, shopping, meeting, hustling. It has a stunning ocean, and green spaces too. It has an attitutd [View Full Entry]

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