back from the jungles of mekong...

it's been a while, but here i am again to give y'all a brief scoop on my latest adventures...

first off, i think the locals are now going to have a hard time determining what nationality i am, because at this point i could be anything from cambodian to african... yep, methinks i spent a little too much time in the sun in the mekong delta... :oP

hmmm. well, the jungles of the mekong were simply fabulous (pictures to be posted up soon... hopefully *cross fingers*)... and the tour that we took was pretty sweet. but to keep it short, everything about that weekend was just wonderful, and the vacation much needed... i've come to the realization that i'm SO ready for the next one! btw, fyi: during our trip i encountered a 6' boa constrictor of which we named "python joe", and took pictures with it - i got a little pannicky when it started to wrap around my waist, but it was good times :oP... so after that experience, i have been labelled as the "jungle queen" hehe. and yes the floating markets and monkey bridges look EXACTLY like the postcards i've sent some of you... :o) some things words just cannot describe. it was indeed a surreal experience...

hmm... and then there's the nostalgia. as christmas is vastly approaching, i miss all of you guys back home more and more... i think that for this past week, the homesickness really kicked in (perhaps delayed culture shock?). i really appreciate all of the emails, phone calls, and snail mail that i've been receiving from you guys, and it helps me to feel not so out of the loop :o) i've been trying to find things to do that are similar to what i would have been doing back home around this time of year, and so i've decided to help out with the children's christmas program at the church i go to here. our first practice was yesterday, and it felt really good to be singing christmas songs with the little kiddies ;o) cristina and mama esta have informed me that ontario was blessed with the first flurry of the winter season not too long ago. *sigh* as crazy as it sounds, what wouldn't i give to see one snowflake fall over here... hmm. well, maybe not so much ;oP but hopefully you get what i mean :oP

so now i must return to my regular busy teaching schedule and all the other fun stuff that goes with it. while i was marking the tests of all my students, i did the math, and apparently i'm teaching about 330 students a week... my goodness! however, all the busy-ness from the crazy class sizes and endless hours of planning, to certain young adolescent boys professing their love for me in class (man, remind me to tell you stories when i get back, folks!) life has been treating me so kind here, and as i've told some of you, despite all the chaos, i have been able to find a sense of peace amidst it all :o) ... what else is there to say, but God is good :oD

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another..." John 1:15