Punta Cana Honeymoon Part Two

 

a few wedding snapshots!

Sorry blogging world... I have done a terrible job of keeping in touch..

I'm married! Here are a couple photos to prove it ;) ~

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 STILL IN SHOCK AND SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY.

Campfire adventures in Idaho

with the boyfriend

I have a boyfriend...

What? Who? Me?

His name is Max and I really like him!

Mini Love Lock Bridge in Russia

There is a small bridge

in Lipetsk, Russia

with a sweet tradition...

A newlywed couple writes their initials on a lock..

and places it on the bridge to hold fast

for all the world to see

for its paint to fade

rust to creep itself around

for the weather to test its strength

but to always remain strong and holding fast to that bridge, through all of it.

my worst breakup, as told in music & Disney Princess GIFs

In honor of Valentine's Day next week.....

My longest lasting relationship depicted in music video and Disney Princess memes...




year one
(Vanilla Twilight, Owl City)

year two
(Stay, Stay, Stay, Taylor Swift)

year three
(Try, Pink)

missions & boys.

From Humans of New York:

"When I was 19, my girlfriend and I were going to study in Paris. Our boyfriends came to the docks to see us off. Right as we were getting on the ship, my friend’s boyfriend said to her: ‘If you go, I won’t wait for you.’ So she turned around and decided to stay. My fiance saw this and told me: ‘I won’t wait for you either.’

I said: ‘Don’t!’”

This just makes me laugh, and maybe it's the answer for some of us missionaries and maybe it's not.

Middle-to-Upper Class Guilt

I am not wealthy.

I am far from being wealthy.

Yet I am actually pretty wealthy.

Sometimes I wait a few seconds for the tap water to get cold before filling my glass, and I don't think much about the clean water going down the drain.

I drive a car. I own a car. I can pay for gas to fuel my car.

I have a job. 

I had the chance to graduate high school.

I go to college.

I have free time.

I am not wealthy.

I am far from being wealthy.

Yet I am actually pretty wealthy.

Should I feel guilty?

I lived in Ecuador for a year. I lived with a host family, worked in a local clinic and tried my hardest to immerse myself into the Ecuadorian way of life.

I felt many emotions when I was leaving Ecuador to come back to the United States. I wondered how I could possibly mix my new simplified way of life with my old, energy-inefficient American lifestyle.

I had a dream a few weeks before I left:

I dreamt that I was walking through my town in Puerto Quito. It was a normal day, except for some reason I was in a hurry. That was odd, as I was hardly ever in a hurry; rushing just doesn't mesh with the relaxed Puerto Quito lifestyle.

Some boy was whistling at me.

I kept walking.

Men whistle at women all the time in Ecuador and it annoys me more than anything.

I assumed this boy wanted my attention and I was in a hurry. I never gave him a second glance.

..but this boy was very persistent. He was abnormally persistent; he was annoyingly persistent.

As I sped-walk to the bus station, he kept trying to get my attention. I continued to ignore him. Can't he take a hint?

Finally, I turned toward him to yell at him to stop.

I was shocked by what I saw.

This boy was not begging for my attention to tell me I was guapa or su reina. No. There was something wrong with this boy.

His entire face was gone. Just gone. It was morphed into a black hole of nothing. It appalled me. It scared me. He didn't want to annoy me; he wanted my help.

The guilt I felt in that moment was real and pure guilt, stronger than I had ever felt in my life. I could not believe that I ignored this hurting young boy for such silly reasons -- being in such a rush and immediately stereotyping this person I didn't know before I even took a moment to look at him.

I woke up to the intense guilty feeling. My heart was beating a million miles a  minute and I was sweating. Even though it was a dream, I could not forgive myself for being foolish and ignorant.

From that moment forward, I decided I would try my hardest to never ignore someone in need. Even though my life would become busier and less energy-efficient and totally different, I would always remember the lesson that dream taught me.

In America, I can waste water to my pleasing. I can drive a car. I can go to college.

The fact is that I can enjoy these things while many of my sisters and brothers throughout my country and my world cannot. Should I feel guilty because of this blatant inequality? Is there anything I can do to ease the guilt I sometimes feel due to it?

I am still figuring out the answer to those questions for myself. I honestly don't know if feeling guilty is an appropriate response to the obvious injustice I see everywhere. I honestly don't know if feeling guilty leads to any improvement of anyone's situation. I honestly don't know what I can do to better this inequality yet.

But, for now, I do know that I can open my eyes and stop ignoring the people around me in need. While I may not have a big picture solution to the unfairness yet, I can make a difference to one person for one moment and it does make a difference. I can buy a meal for the homeless person I see on my drive to work. I can offer a kind word to a stranger who seems to be having a bad day. I can offer a helping hand and a willing heart to a friend in need. I can offer my time and talents to a local charity. There are a lot of things I can do to make the world a better place today, and the first step is opening my eyes to the boy with no face who is asking for my help.

edit: "Not All Passports are Created Equal"

something new.

I am learning how to knit!

I’m working on my first piece, una bufanda. Though it is far from perfect (notice how it gets really big in the middle there), I am indeed very proud of it. 

Looking at something that you made with your own hands is a really happy feeling (no matter how ugly it is).

WHICH IS [PARTIALLY] WHY I’m starting a new apprenticeship! The lack of patients in the clinic means a lot more time and I have decided to learn something new with this newfound free time.  In the mornings I will be continuing my work as a Nursing Assistant in Patronato Municipal (http://astorybysydni.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-short-preview-of-my-apprenticeship.html) and in the afternoons I will be …..

learning how to sew from a very talented costurera named Neli in a small sewing shop in Puerto Quito, Ecuador.

 

& I am unbelievably excited for this opportunity!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!

I´m sorry I can´t get you anything cool.. or really anything at all.

BUT.

I can write you a blog post.

TWENTY things that I love about you on your TWENTIETH birthday:

I love..

1. that I´ve know you for so long. You´re my best friend! (Also, because I´ve known you for so long, I have plenty of blackmail.)

2. your creativity

3. that you´re willing to do crazy things with me

4. along with that, you have the craziest ideas for things we can do..

5. your talents

5. that you´re good with kids

6. that you know how to make a girl feel special

7. the fact that you´re scared of sharks. (I feel like it makes my life more entertaining.. just kidding! sort of..okay, I´m not kidding at all)

8. that you´re a hard worker. Specifically, you´re a hard-working missionary

9. that you always act like you love the presents I give you (even if we both know they´re on the lame side)

10. knowing that you would do anything for me 

11. that you make THE BEST chicken -- which I miss a ton! (& you´re a good cook in general)

12. that you´re not very good at board game type games (which I love because I can always win)

13. that you can do a backhand spring

14. that you will always take a picture with me, even if it´s the millionth one

 

15. that my family loves you too

16. that you´re willing to try new things

 

17. that I can talk to you for hours and it fews like only a few minutes

18. that you have a lot of supporters

19. that you do the sweetest things for me

20. & I love dating you!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVEY!