On a much lighter note, after that last post, here are some photos
of some incredible and recently enjoyed American food delights. Not going to
lie, America lives up to its big-portioned, fat-laden, mouth-wateringly
wonderful reputation when it comes to food. And cue the salivation.
this is $1 cookies and ice cream from the cafe at the bottom of my dorm. don't be deceived, that bowl is bigger then my head.
the greatest french toast imaginable. / my mum thinks it looks like steak.
home made. from scratch. human hair included.
is it chocolate? is it ice cream? is it fudge? it is AMAZING?! just yes.
home made mint oreo marshmellows.
an elephant ear. aka: dough and sugar in mammoth proportions.
memorial day corn on the wood fire. nothing better!
actually the worlds best kept secret. foil and meat and vegetables and fire. is the most delicious thing possibly imaginable ever bar none with no exceptions.
home made (not by me) guac' & tomatoes.
steak taco.
tastes just like i remember. like medicine. delicious, delicious medicine.
Canada again. dumplings & corn. Chinese markets. the best.
These past two weeks have been tough. Tough for me, personally,
tough for the University of Washington – secondly, and tough for the city of
Seattle, and this is why. I’ve been sick. Sicker then I’ve ever been and I
spent every second of last week alone and in my room, coughing and sleeping and feeling sorry for myself.
I cried when checking into Hall Health, and then again in front of the doctor,
and then again in the pharmacy. Pretty sure I had whooping cough, and malaria,
and the flu, and the plague (just my guess). On the plus side, I missed a week
of classes, the week before finals, so it’s not that awesome at all.
And then on Tuesday, in the dorm next to mine, a student committed
suicide. He jumped off the top balcony, and was found outside. This is where I
live and it was way too close to home. I walk past and in and through and eat
at that dormitory every day. I’m not sure why this is affecting me so much, but
I’m having trouble sleeping. It makes death very plausible, very close. On
Wednesday they locked all the balconies for the rest of quarter.
Then yesterday, I was sitting in a café studying and we heard the news,
that 5 people had been shot in another café a few streets down from campus.
That the gunman was on the loose. That three were already dead. We got emails
from the police urging us to look for the man, and as the day progressed – as
sirens blazed, and helicopters craned the skies, things developed. He shot and
killed another woman down town. And then finally, when approached- he shot and killed himself. Six
people died yesterday this way. They died. Facebook has been filled with death
and grieving, of people asking for prayer and students hardly believing the
fact that there are SWAT teams searching for gunmen round their houses. At
church last night, there was a sheriff present.
And now I’m in finals week, I take my last class today and I have one
paper, one exam and one screen play left to hand in. Then I’m ready to post a
box back home, pack up my room, sell my textbooks, say my goodbyes here and
start my way to Africa.
I’m feeling weird. Life is weird right now. Campus has a weird vibe, I’m
not really ready to move on, and yet not strangely, in light of the past two
weeks – I kind of am.
God has been present, and in many
more ways then possibly ever before I’m taking great comfort in Philippians
1:21, because “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”.
I don't need to fear. I have nothing to fear. No fear.
Human life is precious, and human
sin is rampant. Two good lessons to learn in preparation for Africa.
This isn’t a very happy post. Nine
days out from leaving Seattle, and that’s just the way it is.
If you haven’t, you
should really see the Princess Diaries. It’s a great one. And this whole entire
weekend, for those of you who have seen the masterpiece, the Genovian National
Anthem has been in my head.
I went to Canada, and
strolling through the beautiful, breath-taking Stanley Park, all I could do was
sing the anthem of a country which doesn’t exist, replacing the word Genovia
with ‘Canada’, as the real Canadian anthem, apparently, doesn’t exist in my
brain.
bordering.
Orange HOPE yeah!
It was marvellous
though. No dramas getting in or out of the country. Didn’t know whether to
laugh or cry at the Canadian border guard who asked me, straight faced and
angry eyed, if I had any weapons, drugs or kangaroos in my car. He asked me why
I was entering the country, what I was studying in the US, and if I knew what a
boomerang which didn’t come back was called (a stick). I laughed nervously.
Stanley.
Park.
Vancouver.
Canada!
Spent a full day in
the great land, feeding my addiction (Dill Pickle Pringles), eating and eating,
hiking and eating, being pet by a Canadian man (long story), looking for bears,
taking photos of myself and trying to take in the best of it all.
moose. meese? the plural of moose.
hugging and loving.
sunshine!
I named him Kylie.
spiders and tree bugs settling in my hair.
told you about the selifes! this is one of about a trillion. seriously, I'm super vain.
My friend Jess and I,
who I went with (she’s wonderful), had this conversation about how when things
are just too beautiful or adorable – babies, puppies, scenery etc – humans
(maybe girls more specifically) have this inability to deal with it, and I was
like that the whole entire time.
what I managed to call this throughout the day: poutine. putin. rasputin. puthin. pukin. fries and cheese curd and gravy. amazing!
hears a who.
I completely failed at opening the lid. but it was still delicious. (as it came out too fast dripped down my face)
thanking God for GPS's!
being bear aware.
i may have purposely done all these things in the hopes of attracting a bear friend. thus far unsuccessful.
grouse mountain.
I think I yelled, no
joke – yelled -“IT’S JUST SO
BEAUTIFUL!” at least a hundred billion times, and resorted eventually to just
making whimpering style noises, as I couldn’t handle what I was seeing and
experiencing around me. I just wanted the whole thing (I’m weird I know, that’s
not news to me) to be a part of me, and I just wanted to squeeze it (that is,
the entire country of Canada) and to, as Jess put it, “rip it’s face off”. Do
you know what I mean or does that make no sense at all?
found this one by accident. pretty average. (at this point I was rolling on the ground unable to deal with the beauty)
Lynn Canyon.
life is about suspension bridges. and free parking. and old women who try to push prams along this thing. and friendly Canadians.
the most addictive thing I've ever consumed.
for dinner & strolls.
the only way.
home again home again.
Anyway, it was great,
exciting, I’m a fan.
Canada.
Caaaannnaaaaddddddaaaaa. Forever, will your banner wave!
Listening to country and cruising down the Washington and then Oregon
coast, this past 5 day 'weekend' was for sure, one of the best ever. It was a
week of firsts. For one, first time in Oregon – I’m a major fan. Portland, for
the whole hour I spent there, is by far one of my favourite favourites. I had a
doughnut, covered in oreo’s and peanut butter, because I’m American, and
strolled the beautiful night-light shores. Portland has character, and I’m
a little bit smitten.
late night best.
because 24 doughnuts are amaze!
pretty no?!
Had my first real Mexican food, and my first fake Mexican food (aka:
taco bell, where – Australians – I had a taco wrapped in a Doritos shell. Genius).
And whilst I’m on a food roll I also tried frozen custard, and fried asparagus,
and Chipotle, and salt water taffy, and Tillamook cheese, and a latte, and a
frappachino, and whipped cream vodka, and my personal favourite; chocolate
covered bacon, all for the first time. Needless to say this week is all about
detox for me. But my stomach loved it, not going to lie.
the real stuff.
the fake (& yet amazing) stuff.
frozen custard: still not really sure what this is.
mmmm mornings.
whipped cream. bizzare!
bacon on the inside, chocolate on the outside.
deep fried asparagus.
oh boy.
taffy. again, still not really sure what it is. and oh, this is Chris.
Went to Vancouver (not Canada) for two days, went on two amazing hikes.
They were stunningly perfect, with rainbow bellied forrest views, chipmunks,
waterfalls a plenty and heaps and heaps of wild flowers; making for some pretty
perfect photo opportunities. Tried my hand at pottery. Like most
creative arts, I wasn’t very good at it. Still though, super fun.
outstanding Oregon.
weather perfections!!
!!
maybe moss?
non Australian trees.
forrest.
there she is.
ten trillionth waterfall.
0% talent, 100% enthusiasm.
Sort out Washington and Oregon signs, to pose with my Orange HOPE
beanie. Where have you beanie?! Grab one of these bright Orange babies and take
it on your next trip! You could win the prize. The prize of winning.
represent!
not going to lie. I look hairless.
Then on to Seaside Oregon! Two wonderful, legitimately warm days of
beach fires, camp potatoes, sleeping in, salt water taffy trips, tourist times,
sunsets, starbucks, starbucks, starbucks, sourdough pancakes, driving, and my
absolute personal favourite; not doing school work, and enjoying that fact on
the beach.
colder then cold.
just keep looking.
it's a good one.
so, so, so, so, soooo surreal.
!!
Came home Sunday, saw my first raccoon (it was dead on the side of the
road. Not sure how I feel about that), explored a town I can never remember the
name of, hugged a big fat tree and fell in love with this song:
It was great, so great. And I am happy, real happy.
towny town.
road tripping, one of my many happy places.
fattie.
Vancouver.
yelling & nearly killing us.
Now back to school for my final few weeks, time is flying. Too, too
fast.
