Blogs from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, North America

Fredag blev en rejsedag igen. Bortset fra vandfaldene ser det ikke ud til at byen er et ekstra "vidunder". Vi undrer os over hvorfor der er så mange indere og indiske spisesteder omkring Niagara vandfaldene - hvordan landede de lige i det område? Nå, nogle gange skal man ikke tænke så meget over tingene, men bare køre videre. Vi nyder vores "lille" bil, som er en skøn rejsevogn, og fortsætter henad de imponerende motorveje. Så flotte skulle de være i Danmark. Udenfor byerne er der 50 m meterrabat, så det ikke er nødvendigt med autoværn. Alt er grønt og frodigt i denne "landsdel" - sådan husker vi ikke Californien på denne årstid! Mens vi kører langs Eire søen - en sø længere end Danmark på langs - ser vi bare på omgivelserne, mens man bliver overhalet ... read more

We drove through Ohio with no time to stop at Columbus to see the Santa Maria replica as hoped. We arrived in Pittsburgh, winding through construction, to find our friends' home in a challenging urban neighborhood. These special friends are very dear to us since our friendship began when they were leaders in our youth group. They were soon married and began a family; a few years later we followed their pattern. They have always had a heart for ministry and subsequent years have found them doing campus ministry at U. of Pittsburgh. Several years later we heard that they were building a house in the neighborhood where they now live and joining an intentional community of Christians who are choosing to live there and be the salt and light of Jesus to the surrounding community. ... read more

I'm happy to report that, almost 2 weeks ago, my passport arrived in the mail! It's shiny and new, and I look pretty cute in the photo. All in all, I can't complain. It was even on-time! Yesterday, I e-mailed my application to ICPS. During an e-mail exchange, they clarified that the full course load takes approximately one year to complete, including breaks between semesters. It's slightly longer than I had planned to stay, but I think I can make it work. I'm continuing to work on my Farsi, with the hope of placing out of Basic I. Pimsleur's starting to bore me, so I've been listening to KIRN (a Farsi radio station from LA), watching Voice of America in Farsi, and brushing up on my (see: acquiring some) reading/writing skills. فارسی خیلی خوب بلد نیستم.... ... read more

Awaiting our flight at Pittsburgh Airport...what an eventful trip up here....Larry Richie & Bill Dawson are ready to dump me already because I ordered a burger well-done and we were the first to order and the last served at Fridays.....what a fun group!!! At McDonalds in Weirton the manager thanked us for our "laughter"....now I can't reveal the source of that laughter....you will have to ask Diane and Amanda about it......we are now waiting at the gate - early because Pat read the arrivals board and thought it was the departures board and thought our plane was leaving early.....some cause for excitement......I am including some pics....Larry's French Onion Soup was the topic of conversation...everyone loved french onion soup but nobody ordered it....go figure.....if the trip to the airport is any indication of the kind of trip ... read more

The smell of gasoline, as engines feverishly churn out horsepower, the open road (pardon the left lane drivers, which is a whole other topic for another day), the wind in your face, the voice of the announcer on the overheard speaker “The moving walk is coming to an end, please watch your step!” These are the familiar stimuli which fill our senses, letting us know; we are on our way. Now that the introduction is out of the way, it’s time to get down to some real business. My goal in venturing out here, into the digital world, is to provide you, the reader, with commentary and photos from my upcoming trip to an island in the Indian Ocean. The name of this destination will be revealed later this week as the day of departure approaches. ... read more

While working in West Virginia, I decided to go to Pittsburgh in order to obtain my NACE II certification. It was a nice trip. I stayed a week on the Pitt and Carnegie Mellon campuses. Well, not exactly. I stayed in the Wyndham right next to them. In only a short walk you could have your choice of just about any cuisine you wanted. Perhaps my favorite place to eat was Ali Baba's--meditteranean cuisine at its finest and lightest. I aslo visited the Carnegie Institute Museum of Natural History & Art, which was a lot of fun. I have travelled to and from Pittsburgh a number of times over the past year. Why? Tattoo Noire. There's an artist there by the name of Jason Angst, and he has created two great additions to my right shoulder ... read more