Here's a quick overview of my first few days in Berlin:
I had to fly on 3 different planes to get here. All were on time, and my luggage was the second one out on the belt. Miracle of miracles. And the Brussels airport is awesome for only one reason: chocolate everywhere. Other than that, it's a stupid layout. But there's chocolate.
I guess I should explain that the point of me being in Berlin is to help out with an English camp that is run by Don Jones (the pastor that married Steven and I). Him and his family live in Berlin as full-time missionaries, and he was on furlough when we got married. English camp is for teens ages 13-17 and has two purposes: to get them better their English and encourage their walk with the Lord. I am going to be a counselor, co-captain for a team, part-time babysitter, and help out with whatever needs done.
The mornings and most of the afternoon have been devoted to planning for camp, which includes games/activities, sports, English lessons, worship songs, meals, etc. In the afternoons, we have been able to go check out some of the cool things in Berlin, like a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Wall Museum, the rememberance church (a church that was bombed during the Cold War and has a real bomb in the basement that was dropped during WW2), and the market on the south side. The market has the Ampelmann Store, which is hands down my favorite store ever. Ampelmann were the East German of the crosswalk people that coordinate with the traffic lights. They are shaped like real little people, complete with suits and hats, and are quite loved by the city. I suppose it's just a historic and cultural thing that united the city after the wall fell.
We've also been eating some legit German food, which is always awesome. We've had real grilled bratwurst, Milka chocolate and Nutella (of course), chocolate croissants (they are European, but vary from country to country), spaetzle (Southern German dish with egg noodles, some sort of pork, and cheese), and a dessert that is essentially cherry pie filling.
There have also been some noteworthy moments thus far. For example, last night Don, Sarah, and I went to bed around 12 or 12:30. I awoke at about 1 to some ridiculous neighbors hanging out in the yard (they've been known to do things like grill at 11 o'clock at night. In fact, they are out there right out talking outside my window. It's 11.) and making tons of noise. Don and Sarah woke up as well, not because of the noise, but because their room was illuminated with green and red flashes like a strobe light. Sarah went over to the window to check it out, and as she got closer, she saw that these ridiculous neighbors had LIGHT SABERS and were playing with them in the yard. At 1 am. Did I mention they are 40 years old? With light sabers. Really?
The following is a conversation that some of the girls and I had with Dane (Don and Sarah's 6 year old son) earlier today:
Dane: "Have you guys ever seen the movie 'Pistachio'?"
Us: "Umm... no..."
Dane: "It's about a boy with a long nose!"
Us: "Do you mean "Pinocchio'!?"
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
From State College to Athens to Berlin
Since I last updated, my brother has gotten married; I went on a service trip to Athens, OH; my brother went on his honeymoon; I returned to my husband for a day; and I went from Reagan to Philly to Brussels to Berlin. And here we are!
Ian and Bren's wedding was... totally Ian and Bren. There's really no better way to put it, so if you know those two, then you know what I mean when I say that. Every detail was created and tailored to their quirky, creative, beautiful personalities and it was wonderful. I do need to see a video though- when being a part of a wedding, many things become blurred. The newlyweds then headed off to Jamaica for their honeymoon, which I'm sure was fabulous.
The day after the wedding I went to Athens, Ohio with SWAT (Students With a Testimony), which is a youth group of the daughter church that my home church planted a few years back. My official title was "meal coordinator", which I absolutely loved, and I served alongside Lissy Muchler and Tim and Sarah Shutes, all of whom I went to Mexico with on a missions trip in 2006. There were 8 students that came along as well and they were either 14 or 16 years old. We worked with Good Works, Inc., which was created and based on James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Essentially, our mission was to serve those that needed it and in various capacities, like just talking with someone who doesn't get a lot of social interaction to taking care of their lawn or fixing a leak. In this part of the country, we were serving the rural poor. Whatever it may have been, Good Works and SWAT were ready to tackle it.
Almost.
Before I went on this trip, I had never mowed a lawn, split wood with a hydraulic splitter, power-washed anything, or planned a meal for lots of people. After the trip, I mowed two lawns (that looked pretty good, if I do say so myself), split wood for 6 hours, power-washed a woman's deck to prep for staining, and planned and bought groceries to make a meal for 130 people.
All the while, I got to meet some amazing individuals. John, who taught me how to split wood, looked like he was Jed Clampett straight off of the Beverly Hillbillies. He spoke long and slow with a bit of a twang, and used words like "poosh" (push) and "golly". We bonded quickly over our mutual love for the Steelers, and worked side-by-side for 6 hours. He wasn't well-educated, but he was witty and had one-liners to die for. Another lady, Anne, is a widow, slightly disabled, unemployed and recently impoverished. She had zero furniture- she used plastic lawn chairs inside to sit on and stumps from trees for end tables. She has an entire house to herself that is unfurnished. But she was incredibly generous- she was so happy that we came over that she fed us what she had, which consisted of white bread, peanut butter and honey, and some fruit. Truly, the widow's offering. Finally, there was Sharon (whose lawn I successfully mowed). She is also a widow and has a 30 year old daughter who is developmentally disabled and has the functioning capacity of a 7 year old. Her days are spent caring for her daughter by herself with very little social interaction. But she has a heart of gold, and kept saying things like, "I thank you so much and I pray God blesses you abundantly. I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Just for mowing her lawn.
On Friday nights at Good Works, they have a community meal that is provided and cooked by the volunteers, i.e. us. We had tons of veggies, whole wheat linguine with roasted vegetables, and fresh fruit salad for dessert. The coolest part was that everyone that we served that week was able to come to the dinner, as well as those from the homeless shelter and the youth group GW runs. I met a lady named Cathy and we talked (and by "we", I mean I said like, 5 words the entire time) for the better part of 2 hours. It goes to show that 1) some people really are lonely and just want someone to talk to, and 2) everyone is more interesting than you or I could ever imagine, so it's worthwhile to strike up a conversation with someone you don't know.
I returned to DC on Saturday night, went to church with Steven, my cousin Alison and her fiancé Johan on Sunday, and headed out on Monday. More on that later!
Ian and Bren's wedding was... totally Ian and Bren. There's really no better way to put it, so if you know those two, then you know what I mean when I say that. Every detail was created and tailored to their quirky, creative, beautiful personalities and it was wonderful. I do need to see a video though- when being a part of a wedding, many things become blurred. The newlyweds then headed off to Jamaica for their honeymoon, which I'm sure was fabulous.
The day after the wedding I went to Athens, Ohio with SWAT (Students With a Testimony), which is a youth group of the daughter church that my home church planted a few years back. My official title was "meal coordinator", which I absolutely loved, and I served alongside Lissy Muchler and Tim and Sarah Shutes, all of whom I went to Mexico with on a missions trip in 2006. There were 8 students that came along as well and they were either 14 or 16 years old. We worked with Good Works, Inc., which was created and based on James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Essentially, our mission was to serve those that needed it and in various capacities, like just talking with someone who doesn't get a lot of social interaction to taking care of their lawn or fixing a leak. In this part of the country, we were serving the rural poor. Whatever it may have been, Good Works and SWAT were ready to tackle it.
Almost.
Before I went on this trip, I had never mowed a lawn, split wood with a hydraulic splitter, power-washed anything, or planned a meal for lots of people. After the trip, I mowed two lawns (that looked pretty good, if I do say so myself), split wood for 6 hours, power-washed a woman's deck to prep for staining, and planned and bought groceries to make a meal for 130 people.
All the while, I got to meet some amazing individuals. John, who taught me how to split wood, looked like he was Jed Clampett straight off of the Beverly Hillbillies. He spoke long and slow with a bit of a twang, and used words like "poosh" (push) and "golly". We bonded quickly over our mutual love for the Steelers, and worked side-by-side for 6 hours. He wasn't well-educated, but he was witty and had one-liners to die for. Another lady, Anne, is a widow, slightly disabled, unemployed and recently impoverished. She had zero furniture- she used plastic lawn chairs inside to sit on and stumps from trees for end tables. She has an entire house to herself that is unfurnished. But she was incredibly generous- she was so happy that we came over that she fed us what she had, which consisted of white bread, peanut butter and honey, and some fruit. Truly, the widow's offering. Finally, there was Sharon (whose lawn I successfully mowed). She is also a widow and has a 30 year old daughter who is developmentally disabled and has the functioning capacity of a 7 year old. Her days are spent caring for her daughter by herself with very little social interaction. But she has a heart of gold, and kept saying things like, "I thank you so much and I pray God blesses you abundantly. I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Just for mowing her lawn.
On Friday nights at Good Works, they have a community meal that is provided and cooked by the volunteers, i.e. us. We had tons of veggies, whole wheat linguine with roasted vegetables, and fresh fruit salad for dessert. The coolest part was that everyone that we served that week was able to come to the dinner, as well as those from the homeless shelter and the youth group GW runs. I met a lady named Cathy and we talked (and by "we", I mean I said like, 5 words the entire time) for the better part of 2 hours. It goes to show that 1) some people really are lonely and just want someone to talk to, and 2) everyone is more interesting than you or I could ever imagine, so it's worthwhile to strike up a conversation with someone you don't know.
I returned to DC on Saturday night, went to church with Steven, my cousin Alison and her fiancé Johan on Sunday, and headed out on Monday. More on that later!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Our life is still an adventure
I'm beginning to think that, no matter where I go or what I do, my life is always going to be an adventure. All things that happen to me will range from peculiar to complete blessings to everything in between, and I hope it never ceases.
When I last signed off, Steven and I were gearing up for our first fourth of July in the DC metro area. On Friday, two of Steven's friends from college, Scardo and Higgins, were flying in so I was just planning on doing all wifely duties (cleaning, primarily) while Steven was at work. All of a sudden, around 12:30, someone shows up on my doorstep, ragged and sweaty with a bike, that looked a bit like my husband. Steven said he got off of work early because of the holiday weekend! And I was thrilled to pieces :) It was definitely the biggest blessing in Arlington thus far.
Around 7, we were heading to Pentagon City to pick up Scardo and Higgins when another culture-shock moment occurred. As we bounded to the car, all happy-go-lucky and smiling and laughing, we saw about 8 to 10 police men in bullet proof vests holding M16s and M8s standing outside of the building across the street. All of a sudden, they charged into the building, there was some shouting, all of our happy-go-luckiness was gone and we stared open mouthed at each other. We can't be sure what happen, but we are sure that things like this don't happen on a regular basis in State College. All-in-all, it was pretty anticlimactic (which is actually good in this case), and we continued on our way.
We successfully picked up Steven's friends, Steven directed Robbie to our apartment, and then we decided to meet up with Steven's old roommate, Sam, who is interning in the Capitol Building for the summer. We went to a part of DC called Adam's Morgan, which is north of Georgetown. We spent the better part of an hour just trying to find parking, so (as I knew would happen) Steven dropped us off and then drove to Timbuktu to park on some random, dark, dingy street that we would have to walk to. This is the night that it occurred to me that DC is the place to be for everything who is 21-27 years old because it is happening. We met up with Sam and his roommates/friends at the only place on the street that was blasting techno music (we should have known) and hung out for a few hours. Sam said that this was a low-key night since everyone left for the 4th, but the place was still completely packed.
The next day, Steven and I woke up early and made the guys pancakes and Robbie helped. And now I kind of want everyone I know to come and stay with us so I can make them tons of food. We went into DC via metro and our first stop was the Smithsonian. We only went to the American History Museum, but we got to see Julia Child's kitchen (I was SUPER geeked out about that), something exhibition about cars or mechanics (I went back to Julia's), and we stopped in the military history wing (of course). The military history wing is actually thoroughly interesting, despite whatever political values you hold. And since the Smithsonian is free, it is well worth the trip.
We then went to dinner at Elephant and Castle, where I had my first deep-fried soft pretzels, which were surprisingly good and not terribly greasy. Then, Sam took us to Georgetown, which is an awesome part of the city. The atmosphere is completely different then at the National Mall or Adams Morgan. It's like you cross into historic Richmond with it's slower, classy Southern feel. All the shops there are quaint, chic, and cost a million dollars for a shirt, but it was so nice to just take a deep breath and enjoy the view for a bit. To relate it more to home, it's like a more Southern and old-school version of State College in the summer.
As evening approached, we were all exhausted so we just went back to Sam's apartment in the Eastern Market, which is about 5 blocks away from the Capitol. It's 2 bedroom, 1 bath in a basement that costs a mere $2400/month. Something like that back home *might* be $1500/month. Maybe. One thing Steven and I may never get used to: the extreme cost of living. The Eastern Market is a quiet side of town that has one main strip of restaurants and the rest is residential, so it was nice to continue the "slow down, step back" theme of the night.
The next morning, we headed off to Gettysburg for their big to-do. Gettysburg is only 90 minutes away, so we thought it was worth the time and money. We went to a church in an old school tent, sat on log benches, sang "Amazing Grace" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", and got a history lesson of Christianity during the Civil War, which was actually quite interesting. It is said that before Gettysburg and the Civil War, Lincoln did not profess to be a Christian and that only 7% of America attended church regularly. Of course, it all depends on whose point of view you're listening to, but it's still an interesting thought. We then walked around the battlefield, saw Lee's statue, and then went up to see the re-enactment of Pickett's Charge. I wasn't all that into it, but I guess I can say I did it so I never have to do it again.
When we got back to the area, we were planning on heading into the city to see the dress rehearsal of the 4th of July concert that is broadcasted every year on PBS. As we were leaving, we were met with the craziest thunderstorm ever, but we didn't think much of it. Apparently most of the damage happened while we were on the metro, but when we got to the National Mall, huge limbs were down, tents were blown over, displays were ruined, and the entire mall was empty. Because of that, we couldn't go to the dress rehearsal and almost everything else was canceled that night, so we were out of luck. We went over to the Eastern Market for an hour or two and then just headed home.
The next day, I had an interview at Starbucks. Steven drove over with me, and that gave me a peace and confidence that I did not expect. The entire thing lasted all of 15 minutes, but since we knew it was in God's hands, there was no reason to fret over the time. We went back, got our friends, and tried to go to Arlington National Cemetery, which is about 5 minutes from our house. We got lost and drove in circles (as usual), and when we got there the entire thing was blocked off! No one could get into the cemetery without parking at the metro and taking that in. Forget that! Who blocks off the National Cemetery on the 4th of July?! How lame. We ended up just dropping off Steven's friends, saying goodbye to Robbie, and hanging out at home for the rest of the night. Steven and I attempted to go see the fireworks, but by the time we got around to it, they were over. Oh well, we have 3 more chances in the future.
Tuesday came, Steven left for work, and I was left to my own devices to entertain myself/keep the place afloat while trying to be productive all day. I had a second interview at Starbucks and was offered a job, which I was very pleased with and felt very blessed because Steven and I had put this into God's hands. I can't help but feel like this is going to be another adventure of sorts :)
I also finalized the plans of me going to Ohio with Penns Valley Community Church next week on a missions trip, and I'm very happy to have an opportunity to serve! I also have an opportunity to go to Germany to help out with English Camp, so I'm praying and hoping and waiting that it works out monetarily! (And that Starbucks will be understanding). So there's a lot of new and exciting on the horizon, and I know that, in the adventure that is my life, I am very, very blessed.
When I last signed off, Steven and I were gearing up for our first fourth of July in the DC metro area. On Friday, two of Steven's friends from college, Scardo and Higgins, were flying in so I was just planning on doing all wifely duties (cleaning, primarily) while Steven was at work. All of a sudden, around 12:30, someone shows up on my doorstep, ragged and sweaty with a bike, that looked a bit like my husband. Steven said he got off of work early because of the holiday weekend! And I was thrilled to pieces :) It was definitely the biggest blessing in Arlington thus far.
Around 7, we were heading to Pentagon City to pick up Scardo and Higgins when another culture-shock moment occurred. As we bounded to the car, all happy-go-lucky and smiling and laughing, we saw about 8 to 10 police men in bullet proof vests holding M16s and M8s standing outside of the building across the street. All of a sudden, they charged into the building, there was some shouting, all of our happy-go-luckiness was gone and we stared open mouthed at each other. We can't be sure what happen, but we are sure that things like this don't happen on a regular basis in State College. All-in-all, it was pretty anticlimactic (which is actually good in this case), and we continued on our way.
We successfully picked up Steven's friends, Steven directed Robbie to our apartment, and then we decided to meet up with Steven's old roommate, Sam, who is interning in the Capitol Building for the summer. We went to a part of DC called Adam's Morgan, which is north of Georgetown. We spent the better part of an hour just trying to find parking, so (as I knew would happen) Steven dropped us off and then drove to Timbuktu to park on some random, dark, dingy street that we would have to walk to. This is the night that it occurred to me that DC is the place to be for everything who is 21-27 years old because it is happening. We met up with Sam and his roommates/friends at the only place on the street that was blasting techno music (we should have known) and hung out for a few hours. Sam said that this was a low-key night since everyone left for the 4th, but the place was still completely packed.
The next day, Steven and I woke up early and made the guys pancakes and Robbie helped. And now I kind of want everyone I know to come and stay with us so I can make them tons of food. We went into DC via metro and our first stop was the Smithsonian. We only went to the American History Museum, but we got to see Julia Child's kitchen (I was SUPER geeked out about that), something exhibition about cars or mechanics (I went back to Julia's), and we stopped in the military history wing (of course). The military history wing is actually thoroughly interesting, despite whatever political values you hold. And since the Smithsonian is free, it is well worth the trip.
We then went to dinner at Elephant and Castle, where I had my first deep-fried soft pretzels, which were surprisingly good and not terribly greasy. Then, Sam took us to Georgetown, which is an awesome part of the city. The atmosphere is completely different then at the National Mall or Adams Morgan. It's like you cross into historic Richmond with it's slower, classy Southern feel. All the shops there are quaint, chic, and cost a million dollars for a shirt, but it was so nice to just take a deep breath and enjoy the view for a bit. To relate it more to home, it's like a more Southern and old-school version of State College in the summer.
As evening approached, we were all exhausted so we just went back to Sam's apartment in the Eastern Market, which is about 5 blocks away from the Capitol. It's 2 bedroom, 1 bath in a basement that costs a mere $2400/month. Something like that back home *might* be $1500/month. Maybe. One thing Steven and I may never get used to: the extreme cost of living. The Eastern Market is a quiet side of town that has one main strip of restaurants and the rest is residential, so it was nice to continue the "slow down, step back" theme of the night.
The next morning, we headed off to Gettysburg for their big to-do. Gettysburg is only 90 minutes away, so we thought it was worth the time and money. We went to a church in an old school tent, sat on log benches, sang "Amazing Grace" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", and got a history lesson of Christianity during the Civil War, which was actually quite interesting. It is said that before Gettysburg and the Civil War, Lincoln did not profess to be a Christian and that only 7% of America attended church regularly. Of course, it all depends on whose point of view you're listening to, but it's still an interesting thought. We then walked around the battlefield, saw Lee's statue, and then went up to see the re-enactment of Pickett's Charge. I wasn't all that into it, but I guess I can say I did it so I never have to do it again.
When we got back to the area, we were planning on heading into the city to see the dress rehearsal of the 4th of July concert that is broadcasted every year on PBS. As we were leaving, we were met with the craziest thunderstorm ever, but we didn't think much of it. Apparently most of the damage happened while we were on the metro, but when we got to the National Mall, huge limbs were down, tents were blown over, displays were ruined, and the entire mall was empty. Because of that, we couldn't go to the dress rehearsal and almost everything else was canceled that night, so we were out of luck. We went over to the Eastern Market for an hour or two and then just headed home.
The next day, I had an interview at Starbucks. Steven drove over with me, and that gave me a peace and confidence that I did not expect. The entire thing lasted all of 15 minutes, but since we knew it was in God's hands, there was no reason to fret over the time. We went back, got our friends, and tried to go to Arlington National Cemetery, which is about 5 minutes from our house. We got lost and drove in circles (as usual), and when we got there the entire thing was blocked off! No one could get into the cemetery without parking at the metro and taking that in. Forget that! Who blocks off the National Cemetery on the 4th of July?! How lame. We ended up just dropping off Steven's friends, saying goodbye to Robbie, and hanging out at home for the rest of the night. Steven and I attempted to go see the fireworks, but by the time we got around to it, they were over. Oh well, we have 3 more chances in the future.
Tuesday came, Steven left for work, and I was left to my own devices to entertain myself/keep the place afloat while trying to be productive all day. I had a second interview at Starbucks and was offered a job, which I was very pleased with and felt very blessed because Steven and I had put this into God's hands. I can't help but feel like this is going to be another adventure of sorts :)
I also finalized the plans of me going to Ohio with Penns Valley Community Church next week on a missions trip, and I'm very happy to have an opportunity to serve! I also have an opportunity to go to Germany to help out with English Camp, so I'm praying and hoping and waiting that it works out monetarily! (And that Starbucks will be understanding). So there's a lot of new and exciting on the horizon, and I know that, in the adventure that is my life, I am very, very blessed.
Friday, July 1, 2011
First week in Arlington
Since I have a slew of "free" time since I'm unemployed, I thought it would be good to update on our first week in Arlington. It was truly quite eventful for me, and I think it's rather funny, so away we go.
We moved on Thursday the 23rd. Steven hitched a U-haul trailer to his 1999 Lexus ES 300 (a sedan), packed up both of our cars, and away we went! I've never lived anywhere else but State College (and I really don't like change), so I knew it would be a little emotionally rough for awhile. It was a tough drive. But we arrived in our little 600 square foot apartment and took the rest of the day to move things in, which was a little tough considering we are both under 5'6" and under 150 pounds. Small people aren't meant to carry queen sized beds and couches without assistance. God knew this, so someone named Christian offered to help Steven carry the queen size mattress. I was a little leery at first, but he didn't linger and made it clear that he wasn't an ex-con or anything, so that's great. Side note: since State College is not ethnically diverse in the least, it is a bit of a culture shock to only have one other Caucasian couple in our building.
Steven started work on Friday the 24th, and it was my job to go buy things for the apartment and unpack. Since we had over $200 to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I went there. I missed the free parking, and thus started my realization that they charge you to park EVERYWHERE here. If you want to go grocery shopping, be prepared to pay because you just may have to. So those of you in State College, be happy. I stopped for a cup of coffee at a gas station, and when I paid they asked for my ID. I should read the signs before I go into places- it was NEX (Navy Exchange), so I needed a military ID to buy a cup of coffee. I wondered why there was so much cheap liquor in there...
That night, Steven's roommate from college, Sam, came over and we went to Gainesville to get a TV stand, long dresser, tall dresser, and nightstand from Steven's relatives. They said it would be heavy, and they probably couldn't have stressed that enough. The TV stand, the biggest piece, is about 500 pounds (no joke!) because everything is made out of real wood. Um, blessings!
The majority of the time that weekend was spent unpacking/getting settled/buying things for the apartment. As we were doing that on Saturday, Steven was standing by the door with an odd look on his face. "Alisha, come here!" he said. So I went over to the door and we both stuck our heads out. We heard lots of clapping and singing from two doors down. "What is going on?", Steven asked. I listened a little more and could make out that it was in Spanish, and that they were worshiping God. They were having church! After that, I've felt a lot more safe and have put more trust in my neighbors. I'm pretty sure that Christian goes there.
Sunday morning we started our home church shopping marathon. We headed to a United Methodist church down the street and suffice it to say that their doctrine was more... emotional, experiential, and free then we were used to. Not to mention that there were only about 15 people in the service, so the pastor said things like, "We are so happy to see some visitors here!" We totally got called out. Onto the next church...
Monday came and went and I just ran a bunch of errands. I once again went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and once again missed the free parking so I had to pay. I really gotta get better at this. At least I didn't purchase coffee without the proper identification this time. I started to feel pretty lonely and started missing all that was familiar (a routine moreso then actually State College. I don't think I'll miss State College for a bit.) I broke down in Steven's arms pretty much as he walked right through the door. Poor guy- he's stressed and exhausted from his new job and his wife is a puddle on the floor when he comes home.
Then Tuesday came. We were going to go to the Navy Yard to get me a dependent ID (which would make shopping at NEX okay.) We left Arlington and drove into DC at 6:30 (am. AM. Driving. In DC.) We missed our turn so we were headed to Anacostia, which is absolutely the WRONG place to be for people like us. We finally made it on base (we had to pay $10 for parking across the street because we forgot the pass), entered, walked for 20 minutes, and ended up where we needed to be by 7:30. When we got called into the office, the guy asked to see our marriage certificate, my driver's license, and my social security card. Well, there's a couple of problems with this. 1) Steven was told we didn't need any of that because the paperwork was cleared, so we didn't bring the marriage certificate. 2) Although my name is legally Alisha Brodie Holdcroft, I have zero pieces of identification with that name on it. So we did it for nothing and had to leave.
So I drove back, took a wrong turn, found a road that could get me where I was going, and turn a wrong turn on the right road. So I went to turn around, but by the time I was in the turning lane I read a sign that said no left hand turns on Monday-Friday from 6 am- 9 am. I was so flustered that I did it anyway, and what do you know? A police officer was sitting right there waiting for me. Nice. I got slapped with a $100 ticket. And when he asked how long I've been in the area, I started bawling, which is slightly embarrassing (and I still got the ticket. Forget that.)
The rest of Tuesday was uneventful because I refused to drive anywhere for the rest of the day. I tried to for the rest of the week, but by the time that Wednesday came, I had to go to Target. Steven and I are very familiar with where Target is, so I felt confident that I could get there. I left at 8:30 and traffic was nuts, so I was a little flustered. When I turned on the road to get to Target, I turned too early and ended up into oncoming traffic. Now, I've seen this happen in State College on College Ave and Beaver, but I never thought I would be the one to do it. That was humiliating.
I got to Target in one piece.... and I forgot my debit card. So I went home and cleaned. I had to go back and the second time was quite successful since I drove on the correct side of the road and had a form of payment- both very handy when going to the store. I also went to Giant, which was successful as well, so I was quite pleased about that. I also put together half the pantry that we got, so I was proud of myself for that as well. I got a postcard from Ashley in the mail, which lifted my spirits more, and for dinner, Ian and Brenda came over which was exactly what I needed. (And they got a place! I'm so excited!)
Thursday came and I was determined not to 1) make any wrong turns, 2) get any traffic tickets, 3) drive into oncoming traffic, or 4) forget any necessary items of payment because I would probably need to go to the store. And I exceeded those goals with flying colors. However, as I was making coffee in my sweet new French press, I stupidly dumped the grounds in the sink without thinking and clogged the garbage disposal. I tried to fix it with Drano, but that didn't work.Another $100 out the window to get it fixed. While baby sitting the garbage disposal, I also wrote and sent out about a million Thank You cards- my arm was sore and I was brain-dead at the end, but I felt accomplished.
It's definitely been an adventure so far, and even though a lot of things have gone wrong, it's been an okay week. I have some exciting things in the future, so hopefully they will pan out. Thank you for all of your prayers! I can definitely tell that they have been working :)
We moved on Thursday the 23rd. Steven hitched a U-haul trailer to his 1999 Lexus ES 300 (a sedan), packed up both of our cars, and away we went! I've never lived anywhere else but State College (and I really don't like change), so I knew it would be a little emotionally rough for awhile. It was a tough drive. But we arrived in our little 600 square foot apartment and took the rest of the day to move things in, which was a little tough considering we are both under 5'6" and under 150 pounds. Small people aren't meant to carry queen sized beds and couches without assistance. God knew this, so someone named Christian offered to help Steven carry the queen size mattress. I was a little leery at first, but he didn't linger and made it clear that he wasn't an ex-con or anything, so that's great. Side note: since State College is not ethnically diverse in the least, it is a bit of a culture shock to only have one other Caucasian couple in our building.
Steven started work on Friday the 24th, and it was my job to go buy things for the apartment and unpack. Since we had over $200 to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I went there. I missed the free parking, and thus started my realization that they charge you to park EVERYWHERE here. If you want to go grocery shopping, be prepared to pay because you just may have to. So those of you in State College, be happy. I stopped for a cup of coffee at a gas station, and when I paid they asked for my ID. I should read the signs before I go into places- it was NEX (Navy Exchange), so I needed a military ID to buy a cup of coffee. I wondered why there was so much cheap liquor in there...
That night, Steven's roommate from college, Sam, came over and we went to Gainesville to get a TV stand, long dresser, tall dresser, and nightstand from Steven's relatives. They said it would be heavy, and they probably couldn't have stressed that enough. The TV stand, the biggest piece, is about 500 pounds (no joke!) because everything is made out of real wood. Um, blessings!
The majority of the time that weekend was spent unpacking/getting settled/buying things for the apartment. As we were doing that on Saturday, Steven was standing by the door with an odd look on his face. "Alisha, come here!" he said. So I went over to the door and we both stuck our heads out. We heard lots of clapping and singing from two doors down. "What is going on?", Steven asked. I listened a little more and could make out that it was in Spanish, and that they were worshiping God. They were having church! After that, I've felt a lot more safe and have put more trust in my neighbors. I'm pretty sure that Christian goes there.
Sunday morning we started our home church shopping marathon. We headed to a United Methodist church down the street and suffice it to say that their doctrine was more... emotional, experiential, and free then we were used to. Not to mention that there were only about 15 people in the service, so the pastor said things like, "We are so happy to see some visitors here!" We totally got called out. Onto the next church...
Monday came and went and I just ran a bunch of errands. I once again went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and once again missed the free parking so I had to pay. I really gotta get better at this. At least I didn't purchase coffee without the proper identification this time. I started to feel pretty lonely and started missing all that was familiar (a routine moreso then actually State College. I don't think I'll miss State College for a bit.) I broke down in Steven's arms pretty much as he walked right through the door. Poor guy- he's stressed and exhausted from his new job and his wife is a puddle on the floor when he comes home.
Then Tuesday came. We were going to go to the Navy Yard to get me a dependent ID (which would make shopping at NEX okay.) We left Arlington and drove into DC at 6:30 (am. AM. Driving. In DC.) We missed our turn so we were headed to Anacostia, which is absolutely the WRONG place to be for people like us. We finally made it on base (we had to pay $10 for parking across the street because we forgot the pass), entered, walked for 20 minutes, and ended up where we needed to be by 7:30. When we got called into the office, the guy asked to see our marriage certificate, my driver's license, and my social security card. Well, there's a couple of problems with this. 1) Steven was told we didn't need any of that because the paperwork was cleared, so we didn't bring the marriage certificate. 2) Although my name is legally Alisha Brodie Holdcroft, I have zero pieces of identification with that name on it. So we did it for nothing and had to leave.
So I drove back, took a wrong turn, found a road that could get me where I was going, and turn a wrong turn on the right road. So I went to turn around, but by the time I was in the turning lane I read a sign that said no left hand turns on Monday-Friday from 6 am- 9 am. I was so flustered that I did it anyway, and what do you know? A police officer was sitting right there waiting for me. Nice. I got slapped with a $100 ticket. And when he asked how long I've been in the area, I started bawling, which is slightly embarrassing (and I still got the ticket. Forget that.)
The rest of Tuesday was uneventful because I refused to drive anywhere for the rest of the day. I tried to for the rest of the week, but by the time that Wednesday came, I had to go to Target. Steven and I are very familiar with where Target is, so I felt confident that I could get there. I left at 8:30 and traffic was nuts, so I was a little flustered. When I turned on the road to get to Target, I turned too early and ended up into oncoming traffic. Now, I've seen this happen in State College on College Ave and Beaver, but I never thought I would be the one to do it. That was humiliating.
I got to Target in one piece.... and I forgot my debit card. So I went home and cleaned. I had to go back and the second time was quite successful since I drove on the correct side of the road and had a form of payment- both very handy when going to the store. I also went to Giant, which was successful as well, so I was quite pleased about that. I also put together half the pantry that we got, so I was proud of myself for that as well. I got a postcard from Ashley in the mail, which lifted my spirits more, and for dinner, Ian and Brenda came over which was exactly what I needed. (And they got a place! I'm so excited!)
Thursday came and I was determined not to 1) make any wrong turns, 2) get any traffic tickets, 3) drive into oncoming traffic, or 4) forget any necessary items of payment because I would probably need to go to the store. And I exceeded those goals with flying colors. However, as I was making coffee in my sweet new French press, I stupidly dumped the grounds in the sink without thinking and clogged the garbage disposal. I tried to fix it with Drano, but that didn't work.Another $100 out the window to get it fixed. While baby sitting the garbage disposal, I also wrote and sent out about a million Thank You cards- my arm was sore and I was brain-dead at the end, but I felt accomplished.
It's definitely been an adventure so far, and even though a lot of things have gone wrong, it's been an okay week. I have some exciting things in the future, so hopefully they will pan out. Thank you for all of your prayers! I can definitely tell that they have been working :)
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