End of week five

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Dear readers,

This is what I have learned this week:

1. The way there always feels longer than the way back. Every time I go somewhere new while here, the way to that destination always seems way longer than the way back. I guess that when things are new, life slows down so that one can have time to take in all of his or her new surroundings. Maybe that is why childhood seems to last forever—everything is new.



2. I was right. Silly bands are stupid and kids only like them in the context of a fad. This past week, operation Christmas child visited our village with boxes full of goodies for each of the children. I was looking through boxes with a couple of the kids and many of them received silly bands. Even with an enthusiastic explanation of what these strange little trinkets were, all of the kid gave me blank stares. Silly bands are lame.



3. We are all creatures of comfort and miss what we have when it is gone, however small that thing may be. This past week, we had a power outage for a few days. Even though we normally only have power for a few hours a night, I really missed it when it was gone.



4. Kids are small enough, but not agile enough to do that thing at the end of Dirty dancing with the lift. I have been trying non-stop to lift the kids above my head after they did an enthusiastic run and jump. I am able to get over my head, but they are not old enough to understand that they can keep their bodies straight…am I a bad person?



5. Old habits die hard. I have a hard time stopping myself from saying things that are weird inside jokes or ridiculously specific references that hold no relevance here. I quote my brother so much and SNL so much, that people probably think I speak my own additional dialect.



6. The rainforest café is not like the actual rainforest.



7. Grapefruit everywhere tastes nasty. There, I said it.

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