the wedding is over.....

 

 

my friends had a lovely farewell party for me at the lake

complete with lots of yummy food:

[Tim Hortons coffee, amazing peanut butter brownie cake, cute drinks, butterfly gummies, chocolate]

 

 

the sunset was beautiful that night! :)

 

the goodbyes were said....

 

the bags were packed

and re-packed

 

and prayed over {that they would lose some weight! ;-) haha}

 

{Story about my bags.....most of you know how I have a hard time packing lightly.....well, my bags were overweight but I couldn't decide what to leave behind, so I just decided to go to the airport and see what would happen. The lady (nicely) said my bags were overweight and if I took out a few pounds that would be okay. So I took out my jacket (to carry--as she recommended), and took out a pair of sandals. Then another official came by and wanted to keep the line moving. So I zipped my bags shut again and the lady tagged them without another word. So all I left behind was a pair of sandals that I wasn't 100% sure I wanted anyway. :-) Thank you, Jesus!}

 

My panda bear story

[the bear pictured above]

My nephew was at the dump and brought home lots of treasures. And, being the sweetheart that he is, he wanted to give me one of his treasures. It was a great big teddy. And I had to tell him that I didn't have room in my bags to take it to Cambodia. :-(  But, bless his heart.......a few minutes later he gave me his prized treasure---a panda bear teddy that turns into a pillow. I told him that this teddy could ride on my carryon bag....and it would be my sweet reminder of him. <3

In the chaos of getting on the plane leaving Chicago somehow panda came off my bag. I was very disappointed. I even went to the bother of retracing my steps to look for him, but couldn't find him. 13 hours later as we were leaving the plane Gloria saw panda sitting on a ledge!!

Panda and I are now happily re-united! :-)

 

As we were flying the pilot came over the PA system and told us to look out the windows as it was an exceptionally clear day and you could see Dubai and the deserts of Omen. It was a beautiful sight, thousands and thousands of miles were between us but yet you could see clearly!!

 

Later you could faintly see Thailand. :) I wished so much that I could stop in there to see some friends!! ...That place definitely still has piece of my heart....

We had an overnight stay in Qatar. It was great! :) They took us across the city to a beautiful hotel...and expensive hotel--paid for by the airline. :) It was so nice to sleep on a comfy king-sized bed rather than a tiny airplane seat. And it was a great change for the kids. 

 

And then,

 

we arrived in this LOVELY place!!!! :)

 

It's good to be back. :)

 

 

It's so good to see familiar sights. The city hasn't completely changed in the time I was gone. Tuk tuk rides are still great! :) The food is just as good as I remember! :) I recognize streets and shops and can still kinda know where I am [kinda!]. 

 

Last night I got to see some dear friends that I had worked with last time I was in the city.

 Good times!

 

Memories of NYC....

I never hated cities.
But I never thought I would L.O.V.E. living in a city.
But I did.

I thought: "It's not going to be that hard leaving NYC. I was only there 6 weeks. Sure, I got close to people there, but I won't sink into some major depression because I'm leaving or anything."
Haha.
Good joke. :)

As I sat in my plane on the tarmac taking in the sights of NYC for the last time [for awhile], I realized I really did fall in love with the city! And I couldn't deceive myself any longer, I was going to miss living in the city.
But that wasn't all,
I was going to miss the people that I had spent the last 6 weeks with, WAY more than I thought!

There is something about connecting with people who have a similar vision and passion in life. Something about having been in the same places, met the same people, seen the same kinds of poverties as you, sat through the same classes as you......something about it makes you connect in way you can't with the person who hasn't been there before.

Some of the things I miss about NYC:
~the people I met there
~our discussions
~the times we would sing together....esp. the times we would go to Roosevelt Island and sing on the top of the hill---or take photos of the lovely city! ;-)
~walking everywhere
Yes, this was also one of the hardest things for me due to some annoying health issues. But some of my greatest memories were made while walking thru the city.....oh, the conversations the sidewalks could share! ;)
~ my daily evening entertainment
Pinterest. Lame jokes. Loud bursts of laughter. Interesting conversations.
Oh, I miss my dear roommates!!! :-(
~riding the subway
~sitting in classes
~Hallal carts....it's been about a week since I ate rice! I need to eat some rice again!!
~the spring flowers
.....and much more!

I've missed just living in a city.

But
good news......
in 1 day, 17 hours and 36 minutes I step on the airplane that will take me to my new 'home'
....another city!!! :)
Slightly [okay, ALOT!] different than NYC!
 But still a city!! :)