Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Update on Guatemala . . .



This is a photo of Guatemala City, Guatemala - the capital of Guatemala. Can you believe that in just 3 weeks or so I'll be heading back to this beautiful country? It's been a year now since I was last there - and what a year it has been!!! As I think back over this past year I'm not sure how God pulled me through each day and how I could be so blessed to be at the point that I'm currently at. It's been a year of change (which isnt' stopping anytime soon!), growth, and lots and lots of homework!!!
The hugest answer to prayer came the other day when I heard from the mission board that all the money that I needed for the cost of the trip had been donated . . . wow, that was an overwhelming blessing to have been supported financially by dear friends and family!
Another exciting thing that happened was the chance to present my trip to the Hispanic Congregation at my church. I've been going to the spanish services this past year and on and off for the year or so before that. I was so nervous about the presentation since I had to do it in spanish, but it went better that I expected - and people said that they could understood me! I met some more Guatemalans - and they were so excited to see photos of their country!
I don't let myself stop to think too much about Guatemala these days because it's hard to stop thinking about it once I start!!! I'm excited for the things that God has in store for me during my time there this summer. It will be completely different than any other time that I've ever been in Guatemala. I still don't know a lot of details . . . I do know that I'll be doing medical work and staying with a host family. I will be spending more time in the capital city which will be good because I think it's time that I get to know new places in Guatemala!
However, before I leave I have to finish up my two summer classes which means continued weekly readings and assignments along with finishing up a group project and paper for one class as well as a 15 page paper for the other class. Along with that I'm working a couple more days between now and the time I leave. I have to pack, go to the dentist, and get things prepared for fall classes which will start 4 days after I return in August. I will also be working on saying good-byes - I will stop by Pacific Garden Mission to see my past
co-workers again as well as make a very quick trip to Wisconsin to visit a college friend I haven't seen in years. There are a few things that I would like to do around Chicago before I leave, but it's looking like i'm running out of time, guess I'll just have to save those things for when I come back to visit!!!
There is a wedding around Indianapolis the weekend before I leave so I'll probably go to that since I would like to stop by the campus because it could potentially save me lots of money to check into used books (one class alone is requiring 9 books) that are available on campus instead of buying all brand new ones.
I've had a hard time making commitment and decisions these last few weeks (months?), maybe this helps you understand why. I feel like there are so many things swimming around in my head and finally in these last few days I'm starting to feel like things are getting planned and finalized.
I've been working so hard on my class work, but now that it's getting close to the trip I'm finding it harder and harder to keep focused!
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Monday, June 23, 2008

Movie Shoot

So, one night I met some friends for dinner near Children's Memorial Hospital (that's where I use to work!!!). Afterwards I was driving down Fullerton and at the intersection of Fullerton/Lincoln/Halsted there was extra crazy traffic and confusion and Lincoln was blocked off. My friend told me it was because they were filming for the Dillinger movie with Johnny Depp. I remembered coming upon an internet article that talked about the filming of this movie on Lincoln Ave. and how they had changed many of the store fronts and store windows to reflect the time period of the movie. I had thought it was interesting when I read the article, but now even more interested since it was right near where I use to work - I knew that block well! The other interesting thing about the filming of the movie was that part of it was also filmed at the old Court House in Crown Point, IN - that's about 10 min. from where I grew up. I dropped my friend off at the Red Line and then I was debating on whether or not to try and get a closer look at the action and what they had done on the street. I turned onto Sheffield still wondering if it was worth the time since I have to constantly consider the fact that homework always is waiting for me! As I was driving I passed by a horse and buggy taxi thing, definately not one that is usually around Chicago . . . my curiosity got the best of me and I found a place to park and walked down to the block. As I was walking this is what I see . . . there was a huge line of these old cars! This was as close as I could get from this end, so no fun store fronts here.



I walked around to the other end of the block - this being closest to the hospital, and it looked so neat! The cobblestone in the middle of the road is for the trolley - just a rubber sheet of cobblestone that got rolled out! The stores all had new signs and awnings hanging over the existing ones. Johnny wasn't here at the time, but it was fun to see actors arriving in period dress and the drivers of the cars as well!


These first two pictures were actually taken with my phone. Remeber, I wasn't planning on being here so I didn't have my camera. Although I was quite impressed with my camera phone! But what I really wanted was to see these storefronts that they re-did for the movie. There was no way anybody could get close enough while the filming was going on. So, I decided that a quick trip down the next day would be worthwhile! And that's what I did! I actually met a friend working at Children's for lunch while she was on her lunch break then took some photos on the block where they were filming the night before. They weren't filming that next day, although there were crew people everywhere - it actually looked like they might have been starting to take down some signs and stuff.

This is a complete false front. If you look closely at the second story windows you can see brick through them =)


This is right outside the CVS . . . perfect for a pharmacy! Some of the others were hat stores, bakeries, clothing stores and a barber shop . . .

And of course the movie theater . . . I heard it's a big part of the story - so you might see this if you see the movie!
And then as I was leaving I saw this taxi . . . definitely not the going rate for a taxi in Chicago!

What would have been ideal is to get a photo of the storefronts with the old cars and people in time period dress, however that was impossible . . . guess i'll just have to wait and see the movie to have it all put together! Regardless it was a lot of fun to stumble upon this. Actually the night of the filming it was fun to wander around - people were so friendly and chatty since everybody was just standing around waiting for something - maybe to see johnny??? There were families, people with their dogs, people just walking by who stopped by and had to find out what was going on.
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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Homework by candle light!!!

So, lately pretty much i've been doing homework in almost every spare moment. Last week was great as I got to spend some time with family and help mom pack and get her off to Africa. But, I was so behind on homework by the time I dropped her off saturday at the airport that I had to make up for lost time. Then, of course Sunday was my birthday - 30 years old, can you believe it? Well, it was a great day(more photos to come), but needless to say I didn't get much homework done! Then Monday I had to work, and Tuesday assignments, group project, reading, and work on research paper still needed to be done and were due that day. I ended up getting permission to finish up one project the next day. So I was working hard all day to get everything done, still one more posting to get online before the 11pm deadline, and would you believe that around 9:30p the lights go off. No storm, just off goes the electricity. So, I figured if it was because of an accident or some other rare cause and it would take awhile to come back on. I make my rounds through the house lighting candles, and normally would love the excuse to go to bed early, but not that night! I still had to finish reading some articles and summarize them. So, I continue reading by candle light until the lights came back on around 11pm or 12am, I don't remember. My assignment was a few hours late since I couldn't get online without electricity, but the professor had mercy and there was no penalty =) So, with tuesdays due date past I have a whole new set of deadlines for this next tuesday . . . and much work to be done on the group project, and well, the 15 page research paper - let's just say I better get started soon!!!



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