No Nonsense

I love Dutch Bros. I spend way too much money there, and have ended up making quite a few friends. However, there is one girl who will be glad to never see me again, I am sure.
The school year was beginning again, and I just moved all of my things from my little car into my dorm room. My friends Izzie and Bridget decided they wanted to tag along on a Dutch Bros run. They were INSANE!
"TOOTH BRUSH!!!" Bridget proclaimed, as she held up the tooth brush she discovered in my back seat. From that moment on, she could not stop laughing.
We get to Dutch Bros, and both are still going a little crazy. "I'm sorry. My friends are insane...." The worker looks at me as though I were the insane one for taking these two out in public. I finally got them to order their drinks, and things calmed down for a half of a second. The girl was busy making our drinks, when Bridget held up the tooth brush again, and the two went into a fit of hysteria once again.
I whipped myself around to face the two of them, and shouted, "THIS IS A NO NONSENSE CAR!!!" as I pounded the center console to add emphasis. They knew that out of the three of us, I am the most nonsense filled. I am the craziest. I will do the weirdest just to get a laugh. However, the girl who held my coffee in her hand with a terrified look on her face has no clue of my crazy behavior. "Ummmm.... yeah.... I am kidding. I am the craziest of all of us." She still looked terrified. We payed and sped off quickly. She wanted us gone, and I can see why. I was embarrassed because I do not want to look like a psycho. I still feel bad for her. She looked completely terrified!
Lesson learned? Simple. Do not pretend to be a jerk to your friends in a public place. Even if they know you are kidding. The rest of the world does not understand. End of story!

A Bugger of a Memory.

As a child, the discovery of a caterpillar brings such lighthearted joy! As he tickles the back of your hand, he also tickles the innermost being. Thousands of giggles can be spent on watching this creature use his hind legs to scrunch up his body, as his front legs stretch him back out. As the springtime sun beats down on your little face, you ponder the way this little critter will soon be flapping his beautiful wings in the summer sun. Caterpillars were always such a great childhood memory for me. However, April 2013 will be the date that forever changes the way I think of caterpillars.

I have been attending New Heart for almost three years now. This is the church many call, “The African Church.” However, I prefer to call them “Family.” Pastor Donald and his wife Mama Julienne are from the Congo, and as many Congolese refugees come to Boise, they are teaching people ways they can help these refugees as they adjust to America. I decided to attend the culture orientation night with my best friend, Kelly. Mama let us in on a little secret about the night: an opportunity to eat some genuine African food. Now, that was nothing new to me. I spent a month in Uganda, and have been to some killer meals with the people at New Heart where I have enjoyed some awesome food. Then Mama takes it a step further. She informs us that she will be bringing caterpillars. The only other bugs I ate was a moth when I was two, and an ant when I was in the fifth grade (What? For some reason that was the cool thing to do).

I wasn't nervous. I knew these little critters would not become my favorite snack, but I would be able to get one down without any serious issues. I also knew it would not be the last bug I ate. I want to be a missionary in Uganda. A few different Ugandans have informed me they want to make me crickets the next time I go. If I actually want to do this, then I must be willing to eat this little bug now. Kelly on the other hand was not as calm. She has a queasy stomach, and she is a little more picky than I am. She informed me on our way to this meeting that she almost did not come, because she was too nervous about these caterpillars.

We arrived, and right away Kelly noticed two pots at the front of the church. Our fate was sealed. We were eating caterpillars that night. The time finally came, and we marched on forward. No more trying to hide. We grabbed one each, and then we grabbed an African doughnut (a personal favorite of mine). As we found our way back to our seats, Kelly tried to back out. Everyone else ate in ignorance to the little critter they ate... don't they say, “ignorance is bliss”? However, we already knew what was going down our throats. Mama gave us the chance to ponder it for a few days! I held mine in my hand. Kelly pointed out the eyes, the legs, and every little detail of the shriveled up creature. She tried to say she couldn't do it. She stared at me with nervous eyes, as I popped the entire thing into my mouth like I have been doing it for years! Her face went from nervous to horrified in a split of a second. I found it tasting a little fishy, but not horrible. I could easily eat one again in the same manner. Finally, Kelly got the little guy in her mouth, and slowly began to chew.

“IT JUST SQUIRTED IN MY MOUTH!!!” As you bite down into these little guys, they do burst a little, and it freaked Kelly out! “I don't know if I can swallow this.”

“Dude. Kelly. You ate a dog cookie for a free coffee with less complaining than this! Once you down that, eat the doughnut. Those are seriously fantastic.” Laughing at one of our best memories, she got the little guy down.

After the meeting, Kelly pulls her pointer finger up into the air. She then starts motioning the way a caterpillar crawls across a surface. She pulls the tip of her finger in, and as though it were walking, she stretches it back out. She then states, “My stomach is doing this.” I burst out in laughter as I imagine a caterpillar crawling inside our stomachs.

We decided to reward ourselves with a coffee from our favorite Dutch Bros. We pull up to the window to find our friend Zack working. As usual, he asks with great enthusiasm, “Whats up guys?!” As we proudly proclaim that we ate caterpillars, his face drops from a huge smile down to pure shock. The enthusiasm in his voice turned to worry, as he proclaims, “Why would you DO THAT?!?” Only for my love of Africa, my friend!

As I think of this event, I see so many things I learned. One: I was made for Africa. My African sister Christine confirmed this. She stated, “You were meant to be an African, sis!” Indeed I am. God made me with the intentions of me working in Uganda. It took me a long time to figure it out, but things like this always prove to me that I should be there. If I can just down a caterpillar without trouble, I think I can handle any weird thing that comes my way. Two: I have a pretty awesome best friend! She will manage to swallow a caterpillar because of some crazy event I drag her to. She probably already knows these caterpillars will not be the craziest thing I get her to do! Three: The world is a beautifully diverse place. I am so thankful that God has given me an appreciation for culture. Life would be so boring without these cultural explorations I am apart of all the time. I praise Him for those things, and I praise Him for caterpillars!

Reproduce One

I had just graduated High School and spent a month in Uganda. The month changed my life, but it also came with some unexpected moments that I will never forget! Almost every day, our bus would be stuck in traffic. One particular day, we were stuck right next to a market. I loved sitting by an open window and observe Uganda passing by me. This was the wrong day to do this!

As I watched the people work the market, a woman came running up to my window. It HAD to be my window!! She waved baby clothes above her head so they would be right in my face. “You buy! You buy!” she yelled to me.

“No thank you.” I hoped my polite rejection would satisfy her, but I knew how markets worked. They do not take “No” for an answer.

“Yes. Your babies need this!”

“I don't have any kids.”

“Then go and reproduce! Reproduce one so you can buy this!” This was only the tenth time the subject of me not having kids came up, and I was rather sick of feeling like such an old maid right after high school, but I was never told to go and reproduce right then and there!

She continued to go on and on about my reproduction when my friend Diego got into the scene, “What is she going on about?”

“She wants me to have a baby so I can buy her stuff.”

I was never more happy to be sitting by a guy than I was at this point! Diego leans in front of me, and in the sternest voice I have heard come out of him states, “Ma'am! We do not need it. And we do not want it! Please leave us alone.” Then he shut my window, points his finger in my face, and says, “Don't open that window again, and stop sitting by the window!” I listened for the rest of that bus ride, but went back to sitting by the opened window.

Even though this was awkward for me, I can see how desperate this woman was for money. She was telling a seventeen year old to go and get pregnant, simply to buy some clothes. I am so blessed to be from America where I do not need to worry to such extremes about anything. Of course worry happens, but I do not need to be so forceful in selling something to get a few more dollars.

The Kiss.

I love reading, and my brother and I use to go to our library all the time. Once, my brother was on the computers and I was waiting for him in a chair that was against the wall that separates the computer area from the rest of the library. This little old lady came from behind the wall and she was being escorted by another woman. By looking at the elderly woman, I could tell she was not all there anymore.

As they came walking past me, I smiled. The old lady stopped directly in front of me. Her eyes grew so large that I thought they would pop out of her face. She glanced up to the quilt the hung above my head.

Then to me.

Then to the chair next to me.

Me.

Chair.

Me.

Quilt.

Me.

Quilt.

Chair.

By now, I am beginning to feel awkward. I began to say, “Oh, did I take your spot?” but before I could even get that out of my mouth, the other woman starts guiding her out of the area.

“WAIT!” The old lady refuses to go any farther. She had another idea of what to do, “I have to kiss her!!!” As she pointed to me, I realized that I was the one she needed to kiss! A sudden shock ran through my body. No way was I going to let this lady kiss me!

As the shock ran through me, I believe another shock ran through the other woman. She instantly turned forty shades of red in five seconds. She lost her patience and hurried the older woman out of the library. All I could do was laugh, but I did not want to make the embarrassed woman feel any worse than she already did. I am sure she thought I was going to freak out, but there was obviously more to this story than an old lady wanting to kiss me. I could not blame anyone for a form of dementia.

Although I found the situation humorous, I could not help but think of the two other women in my story. The embarrassed woman must go through this kind of thing all of the time. She must have a great deal of patience. If I ever need to go through that, I hope I have the patience she has.

To always be in such a state of confusion as the elderly lady would be difficult. No one else sees what she sees, and she does not understand why she cannot do things like kiss a stranger in the library. This was a reminder to thank God for giving me a sound mind. I am able to see reality as it is, and comprehend what surrounds me. God has blessed me in this situation to remind me of how blessed I am.