this girl

http://cam-hofi.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-heart-two-places.html

I get it. She'll do fine.


Life is hard.  Life is wonderful.  I miss so much.  I have so much.

belated from Australia...and then some

Monday the 17th

We drove allllll the way down to Wellington.  It was a 9 hour drive in an old Church College of NZ bus.  We drove through Rohan (for you LOTR fans).  We stopped and performed in a museum.  We stopped at a gift shop near the hot mud pools in Rotorua.  We made it, finally to Wellington and were welcomed into the only Marae that is headed by an LDS High Priest.   It's the only Marae (ancestral home) that has integrated LDS teachings, celebrating where it overlaps, and ignoring where it doesn't.  The boys were billetted out to members, the girls slept in a hostile that was once an insane asylum.  Appropriate.

Tuesday 18th

We performed in the Te Papa national museum.  It was AWESOME.  We stayed and explored for a little bit, but it would have been easy to stay longer.  We met the US Ambassador.  We performed in the Porirua Stadium to a completely packed, and interactive audience.  It was our best performance yet.

Wednesday 19th

We traveled most of the day today.  We flew to Christchurch and barely made our connection to Brisbane.  The sunset looked like an orange blanket had its corner resting on the horizon.  We landed and went to Institute.  Yeah.  And then they fed us a bit after.  Australia is NOT Polynesia.  You know how I know that?  They don't over feed you.  Well, some of the boys claimed they weren't fed enough, but it's all relative.

Thursday  20th

We had an AWESOME high school meeting/Q&A/performance.  It was fun to get to know these guys more than any of the...6...schools we visited in NZ. 

We went to Griffith University and had a Master Class with a small choir there.  After we were fed, we did a performance at their Multi-faith Center for a Multi-faith Concert, which was (according to the PR people I met later) an outstanding success.  I'm not sure how they measure those things because I was SICK and kinda fell off the stage at one point.  It's okay, landed on my feet.  Like a champ.  <rare occurrence, someone was praying for me>

Friday 21st

This day was awesome.  It was also the coldest day of the year for Brisbane thus far....we were outside all day.  We went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and I held a Koala and fed Kangaroos and Wallabies. Fuzzy, awesome creatures, with claws of death.  We went to the Waikiki of Australia- Surfer's Paradise.  It was beautiful, it was cold, we did a flash mob in the mall and then some of us played Laser Tag.  We then went to the Horse Show- "The Spirit of the Australian Outback"   Half expected a crocodile show...wrong outback.

Saturday the 22nd

Concert day of death!

Not really.  5 hours of singing.  But we made it.  We performed in Brisbane City Hall on the same day as the 2nd State of Origin game.  (SO is a BIG deal for Aussie Rugby).  We did a promo performance in the Brisbane Mall--on a stage, in a mall--a somewhat familiar experience for us.  We had a matinee show, which was new for us, but such a blessing. And then another full performance that evening.  There were LOTS of VIPs at the 7pm show.  The Lord Mayor of Brisbane shook my hand- twice- as did his wife.  There were a handful of Parliament members, all the local stake presidents and lots of board members for different charities.  How do I know this?  I was the first girl fully dressed so I went with some other choir members to make conversation in the VIP pre-show mingle room...thing. 

Sunday 23rd.

We saw a wild kangaroo outside the chapel.  We had a testimony meeting.  We napped from the day before.  We did a fireside that was awesome. 

Monday 24th (the first time)

We went to the Brisbane Temple.  Then we walked around Kangaroo Point.  We took the City Cat.  It IS like the CAT bus....but it's a catamaran. HA!  It was really really cool.  Lots of fun.  I like boats.  Then we went to the Airport, sang 'God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again' to the bus driver, who was a less-active member.  Good things there I tell ya.

We flew out of Brisbane to Aukland at 6pm.  Landed in Aukland at 12:30 on Tuesday.  'Slept' in the airport until 8am.  Flight left from AUK to Honolulu at 11:10am on Tuesday.  We landed in Honolulu at 10ish on Monday. 

Monday 24th (the second time) 

we parted with Kaylee and Jerick who are off to live their lives in China for a while.  And then I parted with Kaytie Swain, who is one of my favorite people.  I dreaded this moment.  I wasn't sad really, but I cried...and cried...and she is going to be a fantastic missionary.  And then we sang all the way to campus.  And then we said goodbye to more people and that was the worst.

25th- attempted to take a picture together
we're soooo good at it  :/

Tuesday 25th (the second time)
I walked home.  And woke up talking to Spencer about 5 hours later.  Rainy day.  Got lots of necessary things done.  Talked, re-packed, laughed, worked a little bit, and then I was back to the airport to go to Las Vegas.

Wednesday 26th (the only time this one happened)

I woke up in Vegas.  I grabbed my luggage and barely missed the 8am shuttle to St George.  So I charged my phone, talked to mom and Spencer and took the 9:30 shuttle and made it to St George for the family reunion.  And then watched Mary Poppins with the family.

Thursday the 27th

I came from Australia and I was still one of the faster hikers on our traditional family reunion hike.  I must really enjoy moving around.

Friday 28th

BOATING DAY.

Got up slalom skiing...for the first time in my life.  After about 14 years of attempting.  My life is complete. I could have died quite content.

Saturday 29th

 I didn't die.  We drove up and went to the Manti Pageant.

Sunday 30th-

Mom and dad anniversary!  Church with Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

Monday 1st-

Water park with great friends.  FHE performance with Grandma.

Tuesday 2nd-

Impromptu gathering with my dad's nieces and nephews and their KIDS.  I love these guys.  My cousin, the newly set apart sister missionary, arrived and we got to be her companions.  Ate Texas Rode House...because she is going to Texas, Houston.

Wednesday 3rd-

Took Alyssa to the MTC.  Visited Kylie at Maui Chill FroYo.

Thursday 4th-

Finally drove home.  God Bless America, and God, THANK YOU for home.

2 days

Yesterday I did get up with my alarm and it was fantastic.
and the reason I'm still writing it here is because I have no idea where Bro Funaki would like me to put this.  We were never clear on the format of this thing so it's going to go here until I can figure out what to do with it.  Also, this is easy because I'll just print it off.

I did.  I got up with my alarm clock.  And then I read a little bit and fell back asleep. 
I have a bit of a sleep debt, I realize that.  I've got a couch, I'll have to go read on that....or run first.  I've liked doing that in the past.
Yesterday Spencer and I spent time with Kaylee and Matt.  We're going to have to do things more often.  We found a swing, Spencer and I fell off the swing (but that was not my fault, no matter what he says;  we would not have fallen backwards if he wasn't tickling me and no, it is not my fault for being ticklish).  Oh heavens that was fun. 

Today I did not set my alarm because it is Saturday and I did not have any particular place to be.  I went to the Hukilau on Hukilau beach....no really.  They pulled in a net of fish and everything.  And I missed calls from people to go paddleboarding and goat's island...because I didn't have my phone.  But it's all good because I was able to meet with Alex, the ICHope presenter for the ENACTUS presentation team.
It sounds all official.  It is.
And this means <drumroll>  that the ICHope blog looks fantastic. 
You should visit it.  And like it.  And read it.  And....if there are things I'm missing let me know :)

I think I'll try and find Spencer now.  Maybe he and the family are back.  I certainly hope so.

stay a while

I haven't been blogging lately.  Out of protocol I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry.

Spencer knows about the blog.  Hi Spencer, how are you?  I hope by now you're feeling better because we have a concert tomorrow.  Hey, pray that it doesn't rain on us okay?  It's an outdoor concert to help promote a charity.
I can't remember what it was that you wanted to hear my opinion about here.  There was something that you said would be fun to read about on the blog....
ah well.

So....let's see.  We fixed the car.  That was nice.  My heart is so happy every time I close that door.  It took forever.  Squatting by the open door, Me, Spencer, and his dad, trying to maneuver the little rods into the little latches when we can't really see them for hours on end. It is so much more like being home with my family than I've ever been here.  Dude I miss that.  Building crawl-ways in the attic around the ducting with dad while we listen to Aida.  Taking off siding, cutting sheetrock-- whatever it was-- just quietly going about whatever task was at hand.

I turned 21.  That was good.  I had friends over and we made pizza.  Much like I did last year.  Actually, exactly what I did last year.
Huh- how very cyclical.

I went sailing with Spencer's family.  Yup. Sailing.  I've never been on a sailboat before.  And it was tons of fun.  We went to the sandbar in the middle of Kaneohe bay.  And what did we do, as we stood on a submerged sandbar, in the middle of the bay?  We played tag.  Mmmhm.  :)

My sister's birthday was a few days after mine and so I skyped the family.  Spencer was here for that. 

And I've been doing midterms and writing papers and trying to stay on top of work and classes, and my attention is getting diffracted.  Also, I came down with strep and a cold.  Yeah.  Not fun.

I went to Spencer's homecoming talk and ran into people I knew in his homeward.  I gave my first talk in my ward a few hours later.  I haven't given a talk in Sacrament meeting since before I graduated High School.  I got another compliment on that today.  I enjoyed getting ready for it so I'm glad people enjoyed hearing it.

I showed up and Spencer's house on Monday.  Somewhat unexpected.  I was supposed to help the HS bro with some Algebra, but I wasn't anticipated.  I like walking into peoples' homes when they're not expecting me.  I'm so glad I live in a place where I can do that.  It says so much about the people I like to be around when I can walk into their private home lives and exist there unannounced.   At one point Spencer turned to me: I bet you never thought you'd see your professor humming in his kitchen.  No, I didn't.  But when I walked into his class- the only non-major and completely unqualified student there- he didn't think he'd be including me as he cooked for his family.  Or that, after dinner and dishes were done, his kids wanted me to stay a while longer for FHE, not just the one I'm dating.

It was Pi day yesterday.  So we went and got pie and brought it back for everybody.  And we sat on the roof and I saw whales!  I've never seen whales before.  Man, I've lived here for a long time and....I fail at living here.  Seriously.  But I'm on the dean's list....  Yeah, but that doesn't get you very many life points.

I'm slightly worried about this.  My blog is going to go the way of all the other blogs in the world that belong to girls who fall head-over-heels, isn't it.  <sigh>  Well, I'll refrain from posting my shopping ventures or my food or craft accomplishments or talking about celebrities and the like.  I hope that my life is never completely consumed with those types little things that don't matter.  I want to write about things that build my soul and add value to life. 

Spencer does that.   That's the way it's going to stay for a while.

it's like a stamp of aproval

Rage, bless her heart, has a broken door.  It won't latch shut, so I tie it shut with a surf-strap or a scarf.

My resident car-guy is missing so yesterday I went up to The Point to have Spencer help me fix it.  Why?  Because a few weeks ago, he offered.  That and it's just going to be fun.
We took apart the door.  It took like 3 hours.  I got there around mid-afternoon and I didn't expect it to take that long.  ha. Well.  I was wrong.

I have tools, Spencer has tools, we called my dad and slowly took the thing apart.  Here is the thing:  everything is connected to the door latch.  It makes sense, but there are just so many connections.  Spencer's hands are bigger than mine and the space is small.  My hands are smaller but I'm not quite as strong.  Still, it was fun.  Spencer's dad came home and he helped us look at it to get the latch out.  Eventually we did.  I'm proud to say that it was my right hand that undid the last connection.  Hehehe.

BUT- before we were able to get it out, there were a few people who came up to the house for choir practice.  Spencer's mom is ward choir director.  So at one point, Mom calls out the door telling Spencer to come inside and sing, and that I was invited as well.   I walk into the front room.
Shall we go around the room a little bit?  9 people.
Spencer.
Spencer's little brother.
A younger lady who shared her music with me.
A Hawaiian Auntie.
Spencer's sister.
The pianist, a fun older lady
Spencer's mom.
And then 2 of my professors:  Spencer's dad, and the Salsa band director.

And we sang.  I sang alto because the altos weren't there.  I was sight-reading and it was fun.  I joked with Dr D about sight-reading in Spanish.
We ran through it twice and then adjourned.  It was raining pellmell so Auntie, young woman, Spencer and I waited under the carport for it to let up a bit.
Laie is a small town.  And that's fine, really.  It was just one of those moments.  Well, the whole Laie # Ward will know.  And then Dr D left. Oh, and if the entire music department didn't already know, they will now. And you know what, I don't think I have a problem with that.  

We got the part out and took it inside, because of the rain, so that we could dismantle it and potentially repair it.  This is something I really like doing.  Spencer and his dad also really like doing this.  And it was a little bit like home doing this on the kitchen counter (after we'd covered it with magazines).  And the resident men are much better at taking things apart than I am, but I follow the conversation really well.
Our tools had gotten wet.  We'd gotten them inside and were in the process of drying them all off so that they wouldn't rust.  It's Hawaii: things rust.  I'm using a rag to dry tools in the home kitchen of the man I'm dating.  I'm just there.  His siblings playing on the computer or the game console, his parents bustling around.  Aware that I was in the kitchen, almost with an air of well, that's where she is supposed to be.
But it's also the home kitchen of my professor.  I hope you caught that.  This is my professor, not even a professor that I know really well.  I'm not even facebook friends with this one like I am with my music professors.  He is a Psych professor, and I'm not a psych major.  It's my minor.   I'm in car-grime, in my professor's house, as he is getting ready-ish to leave with his wife.

Standing. Grime.  Kitchen.  Talking with little brother about smashing the part after we get a working one because it's somewhat beyond repair.

And I get the question: what are you doing tonight?   Not from Spencer.  From his dad.  And then an invitation "You guys can stay here.  That would be nice. <nodding> You can make cookies."  

And I'm standing there.  Grime.  Slightly wet from the rain.  Dirt on my nose.  My tools and his on the table.  My hands busy.  I should probably go study for your mid-term.  Stubborn guck under my fingernails.  A wave of thought drowning me just a little bit.  The invitation, the idea, and the demeanor.

I'm comfortable with you

 being in my house, 

with my son, 

around my children,

while I am gone.  

And you're welcome to make cookies because your cookies are delicious.

There is a lot of weight in that.  Coming from a man whose education and practice makes him seem closer to omniscient than anyone I know, the father of an incredibly perceptive man, whose family means the world to him.  I don't know what I did.  I was there and it was like he expected me to be.  I wasn't looking to be invited into the home, quite frankly I was going to keep a distance from it for a little bit because I've been dating the son for, oh, maybe 3 weeks. 

And they leave.  And I do the dishes, because that's what I do when I don't really know what else to do with myself.  Mom and Dad came back and dropped off pizza to feed the family with, but once that was cooked we left.  I think it would have been fine if we'd stayed, but it was good to go.

If it was my family, my house, my court...I've never brought anyone home.  I've never had anyone TO bring home, even so.  I will bring someone home if I'm keeping them around for a looooong time.   Why?  Because my family would most likely make a huge fuss. <think about it, you know I'm right>

Spencer has been home for a month.  And here I am.  Around.  And for the most part, everyone that matters is okay with this.  It sort of fun reveling in that because it is nothing like I expected.  I'll stay a while.

Valentine's day

So today is new.

For the first time... ever... I spent Valentines with someone.

So that's cool.

Spencer is cool.  We made cookies and then I took them to work and at the end of the day we tracked eachother down and I held his hand again.
and that's new for me.
And then we decided, yeah, we're dating.

the gathering of girls

...but not all of them.

Here we note the absence of Jenna (who saw Les Mis) and Jenni (who we couldn't reach) and Ari (who I think was at work) as well as any others who were not in town or were otherwise detained.

We all went to high school (at least parts of it) together.  We got together last year and went to Olive Garden and played games at Jenna's house.  Since the last time we've seen eachother, this is where we've come.

Last December was the first time Jenna and Auna told us that they had decided to serve missions.
Now look at them, they're leaving for the MTC on January 23rd.  =)  Auna to Hungary, Jenna to Romania. They both have done school as they awaited the time they could turn in their papers.

Jenni and I said that we'd make the final decision on missions this coming February.  And then Jenni started dating Josh, and then they got engaged, then they got married, and now she is pregnant.  Goodness how life takes us on grand adventures.  Jenni isn't going to serve as a missionary right now, she's gonna be a mommy.  =)

Ari came back from Dixie State and worked in Vegas.  She bought her first car.  She spent time with her little siblings.  She works incredible hours with a home help company (kinda) and enjoys that. 

Suzy didn't make it to our meeting last year.  She finished her Associates at LDS Business college.  She taught English in Russia for 4 months.  She works at a law office and will until she can go back to school to be a traveling nurse.

Megan brought her sister Kaylee with her.  Megan's missionary comes home this year.  She bought a car, she continued school at BYUI, she played on their soccer team, she made incredible friends, she spent the summer in North Carolina.
Kaylee moved to Utah and is in hair school.  She'll be done soon.

Tiffany finished her Occupational Therapy Assistant training/schooling.  She has her Bachelors, or its equivalent.  She passed the big OTA test and now works at a hospital.  She has a real job, working with real people.  She is doing what she went to school for and it's something she loves.  How cool is that?

              some things remain                   Suzy, Megan, Kaylee, Auna, Tiffany, me                that's what makes it fun             

And here they were.  All of us in my house.  I made food that I ate in Cambodia, we took goofy pictures, we caught up.

You know, it's the same amount of time.  Each of us has been given the same amount of time but we went different places and were exposed to different things and chose different experiences, so our lives are very different from one another.  Yet we would not trade them because of the things they've taught.  All of us are doing and have done great things in our own rite.  It's incredible to see where a year or so has taken us, where some re-acquainting is needed.   And yet, we stand in a circle by a door and talk before we go our separate ways, just like we did everyday between Seminary and school.

"Oh the places you'll go..." -Dr Seuss

Mayans

So there was this day that the world was supposed to end. 
And so we had a party.  I mean, let's be honest, who wouldn't want to spend their last few moments on earth with friends and/or family making t-shirts, decorating gingerbread men (apocalypse style), and watching a movie about how the world is supposed to end? (2012)

My sister Layn has this screen-printing material.  So she found a Mayan calendar and drew it onto the screen--
just kidding, she printed it off the computer--
and she had us all bring (well, I just bought) plain t-shirts.

I, because I think it's cool, drew an apocalypse scene on the back of my shirt.  I was unsuccessful at getting her to add it to the design, so I did my own.  Earthquake, tsunamis, fires, zombies AND aliens.  mmmHm. 

'

Mostly it was simply a really good time with friends that I haven't seen in quite a while.






















We're totally going to tell our kids that it did end.  Zombies, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, fires, electricity surges.... "I survived that for you."

Children

Today:
20 kids in Connecticut

22 kids in China

34 kids in Cambodia

Can we talk about this for a moment?


I got wonderful warm welcomes from everyone in Hawaii.  I was able to go to The temple at 7am this morning to do baptisms.  It was absolutely wonderful.  I saw my dear friend Matt, whom I didn't expect to see.  I got baptized by Greg whom I hadn't caught up with the day before.  I got to eat breakfast with Liana and lament with her that her mission call wasn't there yet.
And then I went and did businessy things.  I worked.  I did paperwork.  I went to the Health Center. All that jazz.

It was while I was at work that I first heard about the shooting in Connecticut.  And we didn't really take it seriously.  It didn't bring an immediately somber attitude to us because it was so out there, we couldn't fathom that ever happening.
It wasn't until we looked it up and saw footage and articles and news stories-- the media blowing up-- that it sunk in.
Did you know that, on the same day as the shooting, there was a stabbing in China?  Well, technically it was the next day for them, but it happened around the same 24 hour period.  Some will argue that yes, gun control worked in China.  These 22 kids didn't die.  9 were taken to the hospital with sever conditions and 2 were taken to hospitals outside the country to receive better care.   Some will argue that people who are going to be violent will use whatever means available to them.  See, he damaged as many children with a knife as the man in Connecticut did with a gun.

And for me it was a little odd.  I worked- I don't even really remember what I did.  All I remember is that I went home and nobody was there.  I went to my neighbor's house and there was nobody there.  And so I sat down and opened this computer and started surfing facebook and blogger.  I looked at more information from the shooting and the stabbing and it drug me down into the mud.
*WAIT.
I don't have to do this.  Why am I doing this?  This is what I've been doing for the past few months.  I don't need to be on these stupid sites checking up on the lives of the people I love when I'm finally in the same general vicinity. 
It is ridiculous to be on my own right now.  I lived here before.  I'm going to go for a walk. I haven't done that in months.*
And so I called up a friend and left a message.  And then I did. I went for a walk.
I wandered around Laie for about an hour.
It was dead.  Finals were basically over.  The students were out of Laie celebrating, or already on their way home.
I wandered into the Haircut store and found Andrea working and she didn't get off until later.
I headed toward 'The Hawaiian House' in hopes of catching Kylie when I literally ran into her, her mom, and Lance before I'd even left the shopping center.  They were on a schedule, but promised that I'd see them at Commencement the next day.
So I wandered up to The Point.

   It was around here that I received a call from the friend I'd called earlier.  He had been in a final and had some responsibilities to fulfill before commencement, but he talked to me for a little bit.  I promised myself, when I started my wander, that I wouldn't dwell on grief, that I wouldn't cry, and that I'd be pleasant to be around for the remainder of the evening.  I broke every one of those.  Here I was, wandering around, searching for familiar faces because the faces that I had expected to be surrounded with were nowhere to be found.  At the time I didn't know why.  I was sad and that is all I knew.  I had not seen any children in 65 hours and that was something I wasn't accustomed to.  Having my main human interactions come from children and then go days without seeing any is a little hard on it's own.  But consider what had transpired that day. 

My heart hurts for the parents of Connecticut.  Cambodia is a very broken country, and it is healing remarkably well, but traumas on a large scale are part of their daily lives.  Newtown, CT will be a very broken city for a long time.  At least I hope they will be.  They need to struggle through this as a community or they will never get better.  We all do.  This is something that our whole nation needs to struggle with, not because we get any pleasure from tragedies but because it is okay to feel sad.  It is okay to be unsure and sad and overwhelmed and angry.  We need to learn how to deal with how we feel and rise above it.  I never want America to get to the point where we do not mourn and drag ourselves through pits of darkness to overcome it.  When we do not intensely value lives then we will find ourselves in situations like the bloodbath that was Cambodia in the late 1900s.   And my heart hurts for China.  There have been multiple outbursts of violence at their primary schools over the past few years.   China has some of the strictest policies on gun control.  For violence against the innocent to still exist is appalling but enlightening.  I don't want America to get so rigid on controlling weapons that they'll drive criminals to use cruder methods.  Those who choose to be violent, will be violent regardless of their tools.   Those who turn their violence towards children are in dire need of very professional help.  I believe that, unless you are trained to do so, killing anyone is a good indicator that you're mentally messed up.  But one's brain must be all kinds of scrambled for one to be able to kill such innocence.  And I know how innocent kids are.  Had I not just centered my life around specific kids for months on end?  I know what they are capable of.  I know how easily they are influenced for good and for bad.   I was in torment.  I kept thinking of all the terrible life situations that my kids had gone through to get to CICFO.  I dwelt on the joy that they live with because of the sadness that they have known.  In my mind's eye I could see people coming into the orphanage and hurting my kids.  My kids, with their smiles and their scars, and their voices and their little lips that stick out when they're confused. And the fact that America cannot adopt from Cambodia so there is no way for me to keep any of that.  I didn't want to be in there in Hawaii by myself.  I wanted to be back with my kids.  I still do.





I didn't have very many phone numbers anymore because I'd gotten a new phone before I left.  But I have friends that live up there at The Point and I hoped there would be cars in the driveway, when there were I sortof invited myself in.
I'm so grateful that I live in a place that I can just do that.  I can call on a friend unexpectedly (very very unexpectedly because they didn't even know I was back) and be welcomed into their home and become part of whatever it is they are doing.
Seth and Aaron were watching Aladdin.
And then more people came over and we played games.

And we talked a little.  Looking back, I wish we'd talked more, but I wasn't in much of a talkative mood.  We didn't discuss the violence that plagued the earth earlier that day.  We avoided the topic entirely because we don't understand it.
This post isn't going to have a happy ending.  But knowing that children are received directly into the arms of our ever present Heavenly Father can make it a peaceful one.

The Christmas Concert

I met Elder and Sister James at the orphanage.  They had come to teach the kids 'Christmas Bells'.  Botevy told me to go and help them, so I went over to the orphanage on Wednesday night.  It was always Wednesday.
They were supposed to come at 6.  But they didn't.  So the kids and I started singing.  I brought my pennywhistle and so we were playing around a little.  Theary wanted me to sing 'My Heart Will Go On'.  I decided to put the words on the board and then they could sing and I'd be able to play.
The markers were running dry and the power went out soon after that.  But the Missionaries where there then.
It set the stage for the rest of their visits.  The power seemed to always go out right before they came.
I always had my uke with me, and I know just enough to play some sort of accompaniment. 
The first time we just learned the words.  We all stood together and sang under the battery powered light.

The next week they came late again because traffic was bad.  But they brought their pipe chimes.
The Khmer don't keep time very well.  American hymn-styles are very different than Khmer music.  Their own music they do very well, but ours they have a really hard time with.   It's strange. 
We worked the second week for about half an hour before the James' got there.  It was right before Thanksgiving, so they brought their son and daughter in law who were visiting with them.  They brought us icecream and a suitcase full of paper and pens.  They sang with us and then left.

The third time was the first where we actually had power, so Sister James brought out her keyboard.  Her FUNCTIONAL keyboard.  We got to sing with the piano and the chimes and everybody knew the words.  It was great.

After the 2nd week, Elder and Sister James started taking some of the older kids to the Church for the combined choir practice.  The boys would ride their bikes, but the girls rode in the car.  I went with them about 2 weeks before I left and then just kept going.
Elder and Sister James are Public Affairs missionaries.  There is 1 couple assigned to countries where the Church isn't very big.  They meet important people and just make friends with people of influence to give the Church a good rep.
Sister James seems to be a classically trained singer.  It's so funny to watch her conduct the Khmer group.  She beats each beat with so much force, trying to hold them to the beat.  It's quite a feat, what they're doing.  The Church in Cambodia has never done a Christmas Concert before.  Everyone was excited.  They brought in costumes so they could do a little live nativity presentation.  All the members around Phnom Penh were involved.  There was the Vietnamese Branch, the branch in the suburbs, the international branch, all the missionaries.  Most of the music was sung in English at least in part.  I found that to be true in singing with the kids.  They know songs in Khmer, but they love singing the ones they know in English.
They sang Jingle Bells.  I helped pass out little ribbons with bells on them for rehearsal.  Everyone gets all excited and tries so hard to keep their bells from ringing when it's not time.

Botevy had Panith, one of the boys, draw a Nativity scene.  All of the kids were to sign it and they were supposed to put it on the wall for people to see as they came into the chapel for the concert.   After Panith made his drawing, we worked on a little Nativity of our own to put somewhere in CICFO. 
The Church was all decorated with lights.  Mission President Moon wasn't super happy about that, but everyone was really proud of it, so it stayed.  They wound red ribbon up the stair rails.  There were trees outside strung with lights.   There was a Santa cut-out on the door.
The concert was on the 15th, so I wasn't able to go, but it was really fun to watch as a bunch of the members came together, and all of the senior missionary couples worked to make it a success.

Last Rights

I’ve tried not to make a big deal out of me leaving for Cambodia sooner than planned.  The truth, since it’s good for me to say it, is that this freaked me out.  I was beyond frazzled.  There was so much to do, there was a lot anyway, but now it was very very condensed.  From medicines to packing, work to paperwork, singing to emailing, I was ready to leave.  My time, while I was spending it as wisely as I could, was very taxed.  

There were ways around it though.  Greg stepped in, took me out of everything I was doing, and put me in the middle of the ocean with a Wavestorm, where none of it mattered.  Tiffany was here and it made sure that I was spending ‘us’ time and not just ‘get this done’ time.  The first instinct of helpful people is to do something in that person’s stead.  Well that doesn’t always work.  Many times in my life, people have asked ‘What can I do for you?’ and honestly, it is all stuff that only I can do.  Very rarely do I get someone that comes and says ‘Let’s take your brain out of this environment for a bit and we’ll come back when you’re done catching your breath’.  This time I had two.  :)

Friday was incredible.  Most importantly, it was Stef’s surprise going away party.  My dear Canadian beauty is going to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 18 months in the San Francisco, Oakland Temple Visitor’s Center Mission.  Freaking awesome.  So proud of her.  I went to her party thing after work, well, after I tracked down my bike.  I misplaced it.  My mind was a bit….if I was a computer, I would have been overheating.  There was a goodbye wall to Stef.  We had a moment and I almost cried; heck I’m almost crying now.   Stef is amazing and I love her and I have been so very blessed to be her visiting teacher; she taught me what a visiting teacher should be.   When I couldn’t stay at Stef’s party anymore, I went home to pack.

Saturday was my typical run-around day.  Chapel cleaning -> find housing-> house cleaning -> bank -> post office -> pharmacy -> soccer game -> signed a contract-> got cash -> got food ->….but then I had to wait at home and do….nothing.  The sun was down, nobody was home, and I was itching for something to do.  

Abby had the wonderful idea to host a party for all of the holidays that I’m going to miss.  We called it Hallothankmas.  Dressed up in costumes, ate Thanksgiving-similar food, and did White Elephant. 

Under Kylie’s mandate, my friends went around the room and said 1 thing about me that they are thankful for.   It was a lot to take in.

Here are mine for those of you who were there:

KylieMoe- You, my dear, are not afraid of your priorities and that has taught me so much.  I know that being around you has made me realize where mine are and you’ve taught me to be okay with that.  We’re going to surf more.

Adam- Thank you for letting me be blunt.  I don’t have to sugar coat anything, I just talk and we think it’s funny. 

Andrea- I haven’t been a very touchy person.  You are.  I’m so grateful that you are affectionate.  I’m working on it. 

Stef-  I’m grateful that Stef sees humor in everything.  Even your serious conversations are jovial.  I love it.

Savannah- I’m grateful that your weirdness is compatible to ours. 

Toby- I’m grateful that you are working on the piano.  I am always grateful to have friends who seek after music.

Martin- You know I’m stubborn, I think you call it ‘strong minded’ and I appreciate that.  I’m stubborn.  Thank you for sitting with me and loving me when there is nothing else anyone can do. 

Rachy- I love that you make time to do exactly what you want to.  Love it.  You know why?  It means I see you a lot. 

Kylie- I love running in to you.  I thank you for being happy to see me.

Lacey- Thank you for coming back.  Despite all odds, you came back to Hawaii.

Seth- Did you know that you were the first man to tell me that I was pretty?  You were.  You are great and kind, man, I want the world for you.

Abby- You just know everything.  I am so grateful that you are in touch with what is going on in my life. 

Oz- Thanks for being real.  You put on a show for anyone and you don’t hide what you’re thinking.

Aaron- Remember the time some local guy stole your backpack and put a chicken in it? I am so grateful that, in the midst of this major setback, for everything you lost, you realized that it could have been worse.  You were putting the moment behind you before the moment was even done.   Same with this summer; I think it takes a lot of courage to step out when you don’t want to.  I’m always grateful for a courageous friend.

Taylor- I’m grateful that you let us know when something doesn’t sit right with you.  It helps me be more aware. 

Kat- I’m grateful that we don’t have to be doing anything spectacular to have a good time; we’re fun even when we’re left to our own devices.  I’m also grateful that you know your Disney movies.

Ben- Thank you for being worried about me.  I got better advise from you about coming here than anyone else

Greg-  You’re right, for the last few weeks I was in Hawaii, I was losing it.  Thanks for becoming my friend anyway.  I’m on my game now, you’d be impressed.

Mike- Neither you nor I know how cherished this part of Hallothankmas will be.  Thank you for filming it. I am grateful for you as a neighbor, you love being around us and it creates a better sense of community.

Matthew- Thank you for telling me that, yes, this internship was a great opportunity and, yes, I should do it.
Rachel H-  I love it when we're both home.  Thank you for being caring and kind and sensitive to those around you. 

See you guys in December.  Take care of eachother.  Stef, I'll see you in August 2014.  Got it?

A little bit of home

Tiffany came to visit.  This was such a blessing.  It kept me grounded for the week leading up to me taking off.  It helped me to budget my time.  I got to see things on the island that I otherwise would have put off, ‘oh, I’ll do that later’.  False, Aria, you always say that, but you never do.   So yeah, we did stuff.  We went to the Dole Plantation, we ate sandwiches in Haleiwa, we went to the beach, we tried to watch the sunset at Turtle Bay, we went to the PCC and the Night Show, we took pictures with guys in my ward who are in the Night show, we spent a lazy morning watching a movie, we went to Hukilau Café, we went on a hike, drove back from Pearl Harbor, watched the CES fireside, ate Kahuku Grill, we saw the Joseph Smith movie at the temple, we did Baptisms, we had cookie party….there are so many things that I wanted her to do that I could not do with her.  LUCKILY, Tiffany’s uncle lives with his family in TVA.  She was able to stay with them and they were able to spend time doing touristy stuff as well.  This was a huge blessing.  I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to spend the time I would have liked with her, but it was great.  The time we had was well spent.  Tiffany’s tia Claudia is the lady that dyed my hair. 

Tiffany took care of me while she was here.  It was absolutely wonderful to have her.  It has been so nice to have visitors, it gets me out of Laie and gives me a reason to go and do things that I wouldn’t do just by myself.  

Wishing you the best of luck on your exam!  You've got it made hon.  :)

here today, gone tomorrow

I cut my hair.  It's in an envelope that will be mailed to Locks of Love....as soon as I track down the address.

All of my belongings-- okay that's a lie-- a lot of the things I own are in the front room, packed up in boxes and bags.  The rest is in the kitchen, where it will probably stay until I come back.

I seem to be taking more meds to Cambodia than I am clothes.

Still on the search for long, light-weight pants.  Not searching very diligently, I'm busy.

New roommate moved in.  I'm officially on the couch.

TIFFANY IS HERE!!!!!
We've had adventures.  She has the pictures.  My camera needs to be recharged...which means I need to find the charger....somewhere.   Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation, Keiki's beach, all that fun stuff.

Oooh, Chris is finally back.  Annie is now safely in his care.  I changed the oil on her before he got back, so she should be good....just a few, you know, major-ish issues. 

I literally changed Annie's oil right before I went and had Andrea cut my hair.  I was there in the haircut store with oily clothes and nasty oil on my arms....but the best part is that I brushed my hair when I got there and took out a few stickers from the weeds next to my driveway.  <chuckle>  Glad I got those out before I donate it. 

Our departure date got moved up.  I'm leaving on the 17th.  Very excited.  Lots to do before that.  :)

whatchamacallit

Today we had a whatchamacallit.

Around noon we gathered and decided which beach to go to.



 We decided on Turtle Bay.

Why?  Because there was a paddleboard race.

I went out on the rock peninsula to take better pictures

crystallized salt

paddle boarder number 2

This is very very rare.   There were 4 Manta Rays swimming by the rocks.

I got as many pictures as I could....before my camera died.

We left the beach just as it started to rain, went to Kahuku Grill and then had a homework party.  We did homework from about 5pm to around 9pm.   We had a 'bring your own pasta' which I made up on the spot yesterday when we decided on what to do.  I made breadsticks and then we watched a movie.
A very nice, productive day if I do say so myself.

Dude.  I saw GIANT MANTA RAYS.   :)