My Deserted Island (Three Books version).....

Since I haven't been feeling well for the past couple of days, I've been able to watch a lot of TV from the comfy confines of my couch. While watching an episode of The Office (which I've come to really enjoy) I saw the gang from Dunder Mifflin playing Deserted Island while waiting for the firemen to clear their office. The topic was, "What three books would you like to have with you on a deserted island".

This question made me think a bit. What three books would I want? I've always wanted to read The Idiot by Dostoevsky, but I haven't had the chance. I've also wanted to finish Don Quixote by Cervantes, but I got bored 200 pages in and just couldn't finish it. There are many others that I would like to read, but what if I didn't like them and became bored with them? Then I would have wasted one of my three choices on what would soon become firewood (and in the immortal words of Dwight, "....keep myself warm for like seven seconds."

I've decided upon these three:

1. The Bible (maybe I can finally get to some of those Old Test. books I've been meaning to read....)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: I really liked this series, except for The Horse and His Boy, which I didn't think really fit in with the rest of the series. Possibly a few months on the island will help me get a better feeling for it (or remove it from my copy of the book entirely and use as tinder).

3. The Lord of the Rings series, by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really enjoyed the movies and when I started reading the books, it actually helped me get interested in reading again (a part of me that Middle School, High School and some of College destroyed).

Those are my three, take it or leave it. Feel free to post your three choices!

God Bless

My First Washboard Solo (intro....)

So this weekend we had our first Bible Study Fellowship (or as I refer to it, the Fellowship Jamboree). I was chatting with my friend Emily and she suggested a tambourine for the Jamboree. I thought, why stop there? Lets add a woodblock, triangle and a washboard. I played a mean triangle in high school and since then I've really been improving on my washboard skills and I'm not going to lie....I'm probably the best washboarder in Venezuela. Probably.

So Emily thought it would be fun for me to post a video of my rockin' solo from Sunday (It was around 10 minutes long, but I was just feelin' it). Unfortunately, we can't go back in time, so last night the Jamboree crew and I got together outside the school and had a bit of a concert. You'll see me, looking a bit different here (I have on a cowboy hat and a wig) but it was a lot of fun. The video is right below here....enjoy.

My First Washboard Solo (video)....

My First Washboard Solo (the truth).....

(Okay, so truth be told, this is a band called Rocking Dopsie performing at the Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, MS back in April. It was the best washboard video I could find. I was really hoping to find some old bald man with a long beard playing the washboard, but no luck...)

My Entertainment.....

It's funny sometimes living down here. I spoke with Agnes (my mom) not three hours ago and told her how it hasn't rained for the past three days or so, which is rare at this time of year. However I told her not to worry, I'm sure it would all be resolved soon enough.

Now I'm sitting in my classroom, soaking wet because I had to sprint outside to save our class tortoises, Jennifer and Ariana, from nearly drowning (again). I had accidentally left them outside one day and as it poured for a couple of hours, I was just happy to be inside. Then I realized they were still out there, sprinted up to where I keep them and sadly found them wading in a few inches of water with their little heads barely above it. Luckily they were still alive so I took them home, dried them off and let them sleep inside for the night.

But I continue on to the real purpose of this fun-filled post. One of the best parts of living abroad is all the amazing television shows and movies that we get. Last year in Egypt, we were able to watch some fantastic movies, like The Castle, which is one of my personal Australian favorites. We were also blessed with such sitcoms as Sister, Sister (possibly popular in the early 90s, but that's questionable), Reba and many British shows that I had never heard of.

I thought with the addition of direcTV, the entertainment would be a bit of an upgrade from last year and while yes, there is an improvement (Scrubs, Seinfeld and The Simpsons on almost nightly) there are still some awesome additions to our entertainment package.

For example, this evening I noticed one of my favorite movies from 1987, Harry and the Hendersons! Add to this spectacular movie, Vice Versa, Too Wong Foo (on VH1?) and, dare I say it.....nightly episodes of Quantum Leap (!!!) and you have an entertainment package that is second to none.

Honestly, who wouldn't want to watch this hilarious adventure?

However, I truly can't complain. There have been some absolutely amazing things on lately. I recently caught Bon Jovi Unplugged (awesome). I have also become addicted to La Prueba de Todo, or better know to you as the Discovery show Man vs. Wild. While the translation isn't anywhere close to the American name, usually most shows are. However there are some titles that are just hilarious because of the translation. For example: Brokeback Mountain, or which has been translated to something like: The Incident in the Mountains. Seriously, I sometimes crack up just checking the TV Guide. I hope things are as entertaining where ever you are.....

God Bless

My Bday pics.....

Okay, so I borrowed some pics from my Director's flickr page. Here are some pics from my bday picnic for you to see.

Here is a pic of me and the yummy chocolate cake that Alejandra made.

Here I'm reading a card from Sherri.....

And finally a nice group pic!

It was a lot of fun and big thanks to all the staff for throwing it and bringing some tasty food (including the 2 liter of Coke...they know me so well!).

My Second Birthday Abroad......

So birthday number two abroad has come and gone and I am officially 27 now. The staff here had a nice little picnic for me on Sunday night and then we just sat around and talked for a while. It was very low key (much like myself) and a lot of fun.

The next day (Monday) was great. All of the teachers said cumpleanos feliz (happy bday) and my 6th graders even sang to me, although that was probably just to waste some time in Math!!

I was talking with Gary, one of the other ex-pats here, and came to a funny realization. When you're young, birthdays are great and you get so excited because of the cake, the party and most importantly.....the presents!!! But as I've become older, I don't really look forward to a party or even gifts (cake however, is always great), but it's more of hearing from people that I haven't talked to in a while. I had a lot of messages on Facebook, and even a few on the blog, which was great. It's very humbling to know that there are people out there that want to wish you a happy bday, even though you may be on another continent and haven't been able to connect with them for a while.

I hope your day goes well,

God Bless

My Address and Adjustment.....

I've been here for roughly one month now and sadly the adjustment period continues! I've been up for part of the night twice this week due to something that I ate. Sadly I didn't actually get sick (which would have made me feel better), I just didn't feel well at all. So the adjustment to the different foods and ingredients continues.

I'm also still attempting to adjust to the mosquitoes. They still have a taste for my new flesh and blood and they continue to leave spots all over me. Sadly, one of my students thought they had the dengue earlier this week, which is a pretty serious fever. It is passed by mosquitoes and if left untreated can eventually lead to death. Fortunately, my student is on antibiotics and he's doing fine now. For more info on dengue, here's a link to the Center for Disease Control's page on the fever:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/facts.htm

On to other news: I finally have an address!! We only get mail once a week, on Thursdays, but if you would like to send anything down here, this is the address:

William Flinn

Escuala Anaco

c/o Jet Cargo International

H & P de Venezuela

PO Box 020010, M-42

Miami, FL 33102-0010 USA

I know that will result in many, many questions, but that's the address. More info on a cell phone number to come soon (hopefully...I have it, but I need to get it activated).

I hope to hear from you soon!

God Bless