Randomness

I'm just recording random things on my phone as they happen/come to mind until I have wifi and can upload this...

Light switches are outside the rooms, next to the doorway - both in Estonia and Latvia.

In Latvia, you have to wear a type of reflector at night. You can get a ticket if you don't. I still feel like this is just a rumor though.

To flush a toilet, you pull up on a knob on top of the toilet. You also throw TP in the trash in Latvia.

Conversation between me, Kate, and Katrina:
Me (to Kate): "that would be like a forever blunder..."
Katrina (overhearing us): "since when did we start speaking pirate?"
Me: "...that's plunder..."

Waking up to Kaley falling thru the bunk in Estonia will forever bring me laughter. She literally fell thru from the top to the bottom. I look over and she's sitting on the bottom bunk and her head's sticking thru the top. This was like 2 weeks ago and I'm laughing so hard I'm crying as I write this...

On Jan 1, 2011 Estonia switched currency to the Euro. It was the Krown (I know I probably spelt that wrong).

My brain is so confused. Yes, more than normal. Trying to learn/speak Estonian in Estonia. Trying to learn/speak Latvian in Latvia. Meanwhile, trying to learn more/speak Spanish with Angel (he's on our team and his family's from Mexico - he's from WA). I sometimes get tongue tied just saying hi to people in Latvia because I want to say "Tere", which is Estonian, "Ciao", which is the easiest way in Latvian, "Hi" or "Hola". Yesterday I was praying (not out loud) and I started in Spanish! The other day, a little girl at the camp was sad and I couldn't speak Latvian so I started consoling her in Spanish...because obviously she must know any language but Spanish...(?? Sarcastic. I don't know how my mind works sometimes - haha). Next up, Norway. Let's throw one more language into the mix! :) I find that when I talk with Americans now, I speak slower and am constantly trying to think of simple, common words to use because I have gotten so used to speaking with people who's 1st (or even 2nd) language isn't English. It'll take a little while to break that when I get home. :)

In Latvia, it is very common for guy's names to end in "s". Like Edgars. Bobs. Tims. Maris. Dad- your name would be Chucks! Or probably your real name would be used (Charles) since it already ends in an "s". And girl's names often end in "a" or "e". Anda. Liga. Amanda. Esthere. Elizabite. Often times my name is translated to "Jenna" here.

On New Year's Eve night on the city streets of Tallinn, Estonia, I was talking to a guy from Sweden (I don't think he was drunk yet, but he had a beer in his hand). I'm talking about God's goodness and he puts his hand up to ask me to wait, leans closer to me and says, "I appreciate what you are saying, but I must say - you have a really good American accent!" ...to which i respond, "...thanks...I'm from America...". :) I think he was surprised by my great American accent because he had been talking with another guy with us from South Africa who definitely had a non-American accent. It made me laugh :)

1/10/10 1pm I just saw (Boone - here is the rest of it!!) the sun!!! (later) and tonight i saw the moon!!! just for a few seconds. but i saw it!! first time seeing the moon since starting outreach! before coming on outreach, we heard it was going to be dark for the majority of the day. since coming, i can clarify what its like. we usually have daylight from like 9:30am-4pm or something. but its almost always overcast. i never really saw the sun in Estonia - i saw it behind some clouds (see photo on facebook).





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