Rain Clouds?

We all have moods.  This is a subject that some, including myself, are more qualified to relate to than others, but none-the-less, let's face it.  To some degree, we all have some days that are better than others.  

So, it struck me by surprise when I realized that my environment had not had a mood swing since I've been here.  I live in Austin, TX.  And in Austin, TX, it hardly ever rains.  In fact, I've seen it rain once in the past month.  And that rainstorm was so wimpy that the ground hardly got wet due to evaporation of the precipitation before it hit the ground.  In the shade, there was evidence to damp concrete.  In the sun, no chance.  Every day is pretty much sunny.  It's really almost like the paradise weather you'd find on a beach, with the exception of  20-30 degrees added to it.  The lack of weather changes has actually been starting to get to me.  I've had several up and down days myself and gosh darn it, I want the weather to reflect that in some way.  

But today felt different.  There was a breeze in the air and the sky had a dark blue to it... the fancy clothes magazines would probably call it 'Steel'.  It's definitely still very hot, but the air has the energy feel to it that usually means it's about to storm.   Yayyyy :D  From my laptop, the weather report quotes a 30% chance of t-storms.  Yayyy :D  Even with the 30%, I get hopeful.   Because believe me, this is one mood swing that I, and the rest of the state of Texas, am definitely ready for.

Video shot from the IF route bus stop on Speedway at 7pm on 9/27

................................................................27................................................................

Today, bridesmaids dresses, a child in need of love and sponsorship in Ethiopia, and a random comment at a church group tonight hit me in the face with LOVE.  And it came in the form of the number 27.

~

Love to live and Live to love

~

Have you ever seen 27 Dresses?  A girlfriend of mine and I both have.  Over a dinner conversation one night the topic came up of dresses and the movie.  It just so happened to come up around the time I'd told my friends about the idea to financially sponsor an Ethiopian child in need of love and support.  Through a friend's suggestion and encouragement, I'd decided to invest in an organization founded by a Georgia Tech professor and his wife that were doing mission work in Africa.  The decision to sponsor was easy ... the decision on which one to sponsor was the hard part.  There were close to 40 children that still needed sponsorship.   And so, in a very random way, we decided why not the 27th child on the list?  I'm sure there was more to the decision behind 27 (maybe .. ?)  But, in the end, it made it easy to select the 27th child on the website's list and go with that child, whoever it may be.  It would save me the heart wrenching decision of picking a child myself.  Sooooo.... that is how 27 entered my life:

TSEGAYE MEKONEN MEGERSA

'27' as we lovingly refer to him is a 5 year old boy who does not attend school for financial reasons.  Until now.  He lives with his natural mother and runs errands for the family.  And now, he has an extended family of American 20-something's who will send him love and support from the States in the hopes that our sponsorship will have a positive impact on his life and future.  Maybe, just maybe, the love and pictures we send him of our smiling faces will put a smile on his.

Because of Kennedy, the organization that we're sponsoring 27 through, is a Christian based group that shares Christian teachings with the kids.  Tonight, in the midst of studying and work and research and other of life's craziness, 27 was far from my mind.  I was sitting with a group from a local church talking about 'Walls' that we put up inside ourselves and between others around us.  Someone randomly brings up a stat he'd heard about it taking someone hearing about Jesus 27 times before they start to  respond to the Church and to Jesus.  Yep - 27 times.

It takes three seconds for me to make the connection to 'my' 27 and the dinner conversation about 27 Dresses I'd had several weeks before.  It's a weird coincidence that a chick flick movie about a gal after true love leads to the decision on which child to sponsor that leads to a stat I hear tonight about it taking 27 times for a person to truly start to respond to talk about  Jesus.  However random it all may be, my heart swells when I think of the ONE thing they all have in common.

Love.  Love in marriage and between friends.  Love of children and the future.  And love in your faith.  

~

"If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing".  

My Own Little World by Matthew West

Challenge yourself to think outside your world.  Would you be satisfied with your impact?

Conversation Partner Intro

She was saying things like "it doesn't have to be anything glamorous" and throwing out ideas like "take your student on the bus ride, to the grocery store, to the gym, out to eat at a restaurant, or to a sporting event".

And I sat in that nothing-fancy conference room around a table with about 15 other volunteers focusing on the projector slides and I knew - I knew - exactly what kind of experiences I wanted to share with my students.  Because, just this past summer, I had been in the same cultural standpoint these students are in right now.

I was attending the short intro/training course at the Texas Intensive English Center for their first ever conversation partner program.  A volunteer conversation program that allows students at the school, most of whom are here with the sole purpose of becoming fluent enough to enroll in college, to interact with native English speakers.  The other volunteers and I were learning the history and demographics of the school.  We were talking about the intricacies of the relationships we are about to form with the students we get paired with.  For the next semester, our focus will be on forming friendships and developing into mentors as these students adopt American lifestyles.  And that's when she starts talking about things to do beyond simply sitting in a coffee shop and chatting about American culture and customs.  Why sit there and chat when you can get up and Go??

An overwhelming majority of the kids in the English School are from the single country of Saudi Arabia.  The Saudi government is heavily promoting their students to learn English by sponsoring scholarships for them to come to the US.  The next largest bucket of nationalities represented in the school are Asians, followed by a few South Americans and a scatter of students from other countries.

While in the 30 minute long presentation by the program director, I hardly chatted with the other volunteers.  I had yet to lay an eye on a student wandering the halls.  But, I felt qualified to introduce these students to my culture.  Having been submersed in European and Chinese cultures for over a month this summer, I started craving the simple adventures.  Only after about a month walking around cities seeing all the 'must sees' can you appreciate the desire to see the 'must goes' - like grocery stores, shopping malls, the doctor office, etc.

I remember being held back from fully experiencing a culture due to my language barrier and also the intimidation of foreign systems.  On Monday, I'll get to meet the student(s) I am paired up with in the program.  As you can probably tell, I am totally pumped.  This comes at a time when I've just gotten several writing assignments for the campus magazine to report on Austin weirdness... food, shops, activities.  It also comes at a time when my interest in other foreign cultures is peaking.  I can't help but be totally psyched.  For once, I feel like I'm qualified to do a good job.  And, I can't help but  wonder how my own personal discovery of Austin will influence my student's impression of American culture.  I wonder... will they come away thinking Americans are even remotely... weird?

There's only one way to find out :D  Stay tuned.

Travel Decisions by the Numbers

A friend's wedding and my mom's birthday gave me more than enough reason to book a flight home to Nashville, TN for this coming weekend.  I'm flying Southwest out of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) and was wondering earlier today how I'm going to get my little toosh to the airport tomorrow.  Hmmm... typical and instantaneous response:  Drive.  Duh.  I'm independent, I love my Explorer, and I will be able to travel to and from the airport as I please (or as my flight schedule coming back permits).

Walking through campus yesterday headed to where most of the buses stop I see an Airport Flyer bus at one of the stops...So...Stretch idea... how about the Bus?  Yeah!!... the buses in Austin are pretty awesome.  "They go everywhere" is the impression most Austinites have of the system.

Being ADD about planning (especially new ideas), I have to know when, where, ... and how.  I look up the bus schedule and map (http://www.capmetro.org/riding/routes_100.asp) for the 'Airport Flyer' (aka Route 100).  Going to ABIA on Friday I'm plenty good on time between my last class and my departure time and have several bus times I can take.  Coming back Sunday will be tight.  I get in at 10:25pm and the last bus leaves from ABIA at 11.  As long as my plane is not delayed, I'll be fine.

But, what if I am delayed?

I'll have to take a cab.  After 11pm, I'd hate to make a friend come and get me.   I call Lonestar Cab Company to get an estimated price(http://www.lonestarcabaustin.com/).  After getting my home address, the woman on the phone quotes me 29 bucks.  And, before I finish my question, she answers "Yes, we always have tons of cabs at the airport". (Again, duh).

29 bucks IF I have to take a cab.  Well... I could always drive like I had planned in the first place.  I check the airport satellite parking lot: (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/lots.htm) for the cheapest parking rates.  7 bucks a day x 3 days = 21 bucks.

This means I could possibly have to pay 8 dollars more IF my flight is delayed.

I'm taking the Bus.  A combination of the bus system having a great reputation and being easily accessible gets me to consider taking the bus.  The hope of my return flight not getting delayed and having to pay the 8 extra dollars heavily outweighs the alternative of driving my car (where I would be guaranteed a 21 dollar fee for parking).   And, the bus ride would be a new exciting adventure, whereas I would hope a trip in my car would be 'uneventful'.  And, even if I do have to end up taking a taxi, I'll at least have company on the way home late Sunday night :D

So, Momma's bday and Prisca's Wedding, here I come!! Via foot, BUS, and plane!  :))

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Airport Flyer Shuttle at stop near UT campus on Dean Keaton Blvd.

Austin Pictures

At the request of  Mary Elizabeth, I'm posting some pictures of around town and my new place.   Mary Elizabeth was my roomy back in Greenville, SC when we both interned at Fluor.  We had a hella good time after work hiking mountains and jogging trails downtown.  And one thing about Mary Elizabeth that's worth remembering.  She knows how to shoot a gun, and she just got her licensee.  Imma listen to this girl :P  .. Enjoy:)

View of the State Capital from the Tower Lawn.  Looking South towards downtown from the heart of UT's campus.

The Tower - the most iconic building on campus.  Lights up orange at night when there is cause to celebrate after athletic events, etc.

View of Sunset from South Congress Bridge.  Looking West (for thoroughness).  At this snapshot in time, there were thousands of bats flying east from underneath the South Congress Bridge.

They say you should never forget where you come from.  My response: a mini shrine :P  At the prime time spot is my awesome Ramblin Wreck model from my awesome Uncle Phil.  The two flags attached to the car are pretty fragile.  If ever a small fix is needed, white out does a surprisingly great job at holding things together :P

LivingRoom!  The more I use it, the more I appreciate the airy windows, large space, and 'hardwood' floors.  Rachel's table in the middle of the room holds everything together.

WorkStation.  My window to the world... my NatGeo map and my laptop.  And... all my papers in organize chaos.  Currently, I'm trying the manilla folder system to keep my life organized.  It's working out so far...   

A picture of my peeps!  A collection of my favorite pictures and frames from over the years.  And, relevant knick knacks like the shells from Flordia (pic of Western FL beach), the baseball from the Greenville Drive game (pic of Mary Elizabeth and I hiking on Paris Mountain in Greenville, SC), and the pinecone and chopsticks from China.

My new bed - So fancy it's gotta a pilla' on top.  Translation: deep fitting sheets needed - no biggie.  It's nice, but I still don't complain when I'm tucked away in a bag on the ground camping (or swinging in my tent hammock :)

Bike Sharing Systems Around the World

http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20110909-travelwise-bike-sharing-around-the-world

A published BBC article from September 9th that highlights bike sharing systems around the world.

• There is one featured bike sharing system in the US - In Washington, DC.
• I have seen the BSS in London and Paris.  I was more hesitant to ride in Paris and London due to the amount of traffic and lack of bike lanes on busy streets.
• I have used the BSS in Hangzhou to much satisfaction.  Super cheap for Americans with the exchange rate in our favor and very user friendly with lots of bike stations around town.  Even with signs in different languages, there were designated bike lanes on the very busy streets to make bikers feel comfortable.
• Chinese would use these bikes to get to work or around town.  Notice the everyday clothing you see them wearing as opposed to workout gear you often seen in typical American cyclists (with the exception of Austin, TX :P)
• There are enough bikes at each station for biking to be a reliable means of transportation to and from work.  I never noticed any of the bike stations being completely empty.  In fact, there was one case where the 3 of us could not find a place for all of our bikes at the same station, and had to walk a couple of blocks to the next station to return a bike.
• It seemed like if you were to have your own bike, you would have an electric bike or motorcycle/moped instead of a 'normal' human powered bike.

Biking around town - Baskets make it easy to carry goods/run errands

Bike Station 

Infrastructure for Bikers on the Road

Separate Bike and Car Lanes

PS - that look was common in China... female caucasian tourist!!

Video of Bike Riding... After the initial deposit to rent the bike, the bike rental was free for the first hour.  You can hear Luke refer to switching the bikes out every hour and our scheme to get away with a very, very inexpensive form of entertainment for the day.