Day 4: What I Read

Today some friends and I traveled south to Saida (Sidon) and Sur (Tyre), two of my favorite places in Lebanon.  We stopped in at a local church for the Sunday morning service, and although my Arabic is very poor, I attempted to follow along in the hymnal.  "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" was particularly fun because it I know the words in English and the music is exactly the same for the Arabic version.  The words, however, are still mush.  

"Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;/Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man."

24 hours- Getting to Panama City Beach

Or, something to do when you are driving all day and there's nothing else to do.


Friday, March 2nd
5:45pm- While Christi is cooking dinner, the sink clogs.  #beginbattle
5:50pm- 1/2 Bottle of Liquid Plumber
6:20pm- Another Half Bottle of Liquid Plumber
7:00pm- Linds goes to Target. Returns home with more Liquid Plumber and rubber gloves

Saturday, March 3rd
12:30am-  Lindsay finally defeats the sink as we take off the trap.  It took 2 bottles of Liquid Plumber, a grilling utensil, plastic gloves, and a bucket.  #singleladiesvictory
1:15am- Go to bed
5:45am- Get tornado warning text forwarded from student.  "Are we still going?"  You bet we are.
7:15am- Linds and Christi leave house
7:30am- Meet students
7:40am- Stop at Chick-fil-a
8:00am- Get on road
8:06am- White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" plays on radio; ushers in first, second-wind
8:30am- Pass sign that says "Mass SunJOam."  After a little decoding, we realize it was supposed to say Mass, Sun. 10am.
9:25am- Christi accidentally uses the Men's Restroom in a Walmart.  #oops #disgusting
10:15am- Cross into GA
10:58am- A person in the car in front of us is beating a kid in the back seat.  As Christi is reenacting it for Lindsay, who didn't see it, the students in the car behind us text us:  "Stop beating Lindsay."
11:36am- Stop at Cracker Barrel.  This Cracker Barrel had the worst water ever.  It tasted smokey/chemically.  We all got new drinks, except Grant, who thought it was fine.  #chemistrymajor
11:41am- Elliott, a guy,  goes to the bathroom and comes back and says, "You know how I've been following Christi in everything she does lately?  I just walked into the Men's Restroom too."
12:45pm- Back in action.
12:47-pm- Pass bubble-gum pink fire truck.
12:57pm- Cross into FL.  There was a notice under the "Welcome to Florida" sign:  "Not a Photo Opportunity" We wanted to get a picture, but...  #googleimagesfailedme
12:58pm- Begin incessant rain.
1:47pm- Pass yellow sign that says "Fog Smoke." Don't know what that means.
2:34pm- Pass a slew of police doing a man-hunt on the interstate outside of Live Oak, FL. #cantfindinthenews
2:41pm- Enter into what can only be described as "Fog Smoke."  We decided this is where they make the Cracker Barrel water.
3:00pm- Still waiting on our second, second-wind.  #nevercomes
3:46pm- Home stretch.  Christi takes the wheel, empowered by Diet Dr. Pepper and Sour Patch Kids.
4:10pm/3:10pm- Cross time zone line
4:53pm:  Begin speed limit kaleidoscope:  65, 55, 45, 35, 45, 55, 65, 55, 45, 35, 45, 55, 65, etc.  On and on for 45 miles.
5:37pm:  Arrive at the Edgewater in PCB!  Incessant rain intensifies for the rest of the night. #cold #wet #whydidwedrivealldayitwasnicerincolumbia

Ten on Tuesdays, the Thursday Edition

So, I forgot Ten-on-Tuesdays and World-Wide Wednesdays this week, so you're getting a Ten-on-International-Thursday tonight. :o)

10 Pictures Taken Abroad

Adigbo Tourno, Ghana

Vulcuno Masaya, Nicaragua

Outside of Košice, Slovakia

اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّة اَللُّبْنَانِيَّة ,صُوْر 

Tyre, Republic of Lebanon

Potwabin, Ghana

اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّة اَللُّبْنَانِيَّة ,صُوْر 

Tyre, Republic of Lebanon

Logba Tota, Ghana

Auschwitz Birkenau

near Kraków, Polska (Poland)

اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّة اَللُّبْنَانِيَّة بيروت, 

View from Harissa, Outside of Beirut, Lebanon

Frankfurt, Deutschland (Germany)

Lebanon- Sidon

I've spent 2 summers in Lebanon, the second of which was the focus of its very own blog.  Instead of reinvent the wheel, I thought I would share some posts about my favorite places.

Sidon

Sidon is known for it's fishing industry.  Long before Lebanon was a country, Sidon was called Saidoon by the Phonecians (the people who invented the first alphabet).  It now also goes by Saida, it's Arabic name.  Sidon used to be independent, and in constant competition with Tyre, it's neighbor to the south.  Today however they both reside in the bounds of Lebanon.  One of the biggest differences between them is that Sidon is predominately Sunni Muslim and Tyre is Shiiate Muslim.    

The Port of Sidon

Sidon is home to many leftovers of antiquity, from almost every culture that settled it over thousands of years.  The Temple of Asherah and Altar of Baal are there.  

There are Roman Roads:

There is a Crusaders' Castle:

The Castle on the Water

 

 

There is a soap factory.  Soap was discoverd/invented in the Middle East.  It was a part of daily life here centuries before other culutres.

Soap waiting to harden to be cut into bars.

Cut bars that have already dried
(Soap takes 45 days-1 year to dry completely.)



Old Sidon is a beautiful part of town, and wisely it's mostly in the shade. 

However, you have to be careful because as you're wandering and admiring the scenery you'll run across a lot of this:

I really loved my time in Sidon!  I hope I get to go back one day and see some more of it.   

Nicaragua

In the summer of 2008 I got to spend a week in Managua, Nicaragua.  It made me realize how much of my college Spanish I had forgotten, but luckily a lot of it flooded back throughout the week.  *Note to self, use Spanish more often or you will forget it.

Got these great shots from the plane:

The wonderful group I traveled with :o)

Some of the housing in Managua:

This is the beast-of-a-truck that our whole team traveled in.

Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy...

Some of the sweet kids we got to love on.

The seminary where we stayed.

We helped build some new spaces for the seminary.

The Pacific!  My first time at the Pacific!

So, the pastors-in-training had to cut the grass.  With machetes.  That's holistic training right there.

A cute dog.  He was my friend.
All of the dogs there have really big ears.  

A heart-shaped lake in the
 crater from a dormant volcano.  

Sometime I'll do a separate post about the active volcano we visited while we were there.  It's the coolest thing I've ever seen (oh the irony in that statement). 

Slovakia

I feel very privileged to have visited a few countries in my time, and thought I might occasionally write about them.

When I was 19 I boarded a plane for the first time and headed to Slovakia.  Four flights later I landed in Eastern Europe, expecting to experience 'culture shock' and have my expectations shattered.

One thing that makes me laugh the most as I look back is how over-prepared I might have been.  I had heard to expect a new world to be stressful at times and that scales would be pulled off my eyes to my American ways.

I buffered myself for the shock, the rub, the friction... and it never really came.

I loved Slovakia. In fact, I love almost everywhere I am.  Maybe a life time of books and media have taught me to see through someone else's eyes.  Maybe I'm just extremely pragmatic, and when someone says, "It'll be different"  I think, "Okay.  It'll be different.  Expectations, done and done."  I jumped right in to Slovak culture and learned one valuable lesson in the mean time:  just because something could be a problem, doesn't mean it has to be.

Back to Slovakia.  I spent most of my time in Kosice, but did spend a weekend each in Bratislava; Krakow, Poland; and Prague, Czech Republic.  

I made some great friends, none of which I keep in touch with (where was Facebook in 2005? Not on my radar!), but I think about them from time to time.  I ate some great steak, boy did I eat some great steak.  I saw what God was doing in the hearts of the Slovak people, and I got to be a part of it.  I prayed for them while on their soil and I came back passionate about giving each person in every nation the opportunity to hear the gospel.

Some of the lasting remnants of my time in Slovakia are friendships of the people I traveled with: Amber, Lynn, Stacy, Meg, and others. Amber is actually moving back to Slovakia next year, and you can follow her and her husband's (and baby's) journey here.

Instead of prattling on and on about Slovakia (maybe too late for that), I'll let you enjoy some pics.

Me outside of a hot dog stand.
 I've actually made this face/expression/gesture on 3 continents.
Not on purpose. 

Some of the people (American and Slovak) I got to spend the summer with

A few people I spent a lot of time with in Slovakia:  Hunter, Rado, and Dara.
O, 19-year-old Christi.  I have so many things to tell you...
Starting with, don't wear your hair like that and get rid of those shorts.  

An actual defenestration took place here.  And it
involved manure.  Awesome.  You can read
about the Defenestration of Prague here.  

Elton John was in Slovakia at the same time as me!
Didn't get to go to the concert though, but did get to see these adds
all summer!

And then I started to imitate his signs...

Which led to all of us imitating a lot of signs.  Miss you Holly!

I also decided to dye my hair bright red in Slovakia
(the first and last time I dyed my hair to date).

Ronald McDonald hair (and the sun in my eyes apparently.)
When in Rome...

This picture comes with a special challenge:
Can you pick the buildings built after communism came in?
(Hint:  There's a clear dividing line.)