Diving in After Lombok

Our long-weekend vacation to the island of Lombok was so relaxing! It was overcast and rainy, but perfect for some R&R. The water was blue and crashed beautifully on the reef nearby. Here are some pieces of coral I picked up from the shore of Senggigi Beach! While I was gone, our Charis #2 futsal team won the city tournament against 32 schools! As promised, we'll enjoy a Mc Donald's party at my house later this week. Yippiee!!! After returning from a great vacation, I hit a few speed bumps of homesickness. Our grocery trip for cheese, granola bars and cake mix was canceled. Then, there was a demonstration by the mud flood (see "Day 1: Detours to Malang", July 2007), so we took a detour through side streets and paddies. It took twice as long to get home. Even through horrible homesick days, I'm spoiled. K & D let me tag along for some errands and grocery shopping. We found things like Kraft Mac & Cheese Spirals, Cream of Mushroom soup for macaroni tuna casserole, and dried mangoes!!! We found Spinach Fettucini and Alfredo sauce, Chocolate chunk cookie mix and a cold can of green tea, too! Delicious! This afternoon, I taught my closing session for Teachers Training. I was just getting to connect with the teachers. It brightened my day and, in the end, it was the refreshing reminder that I needed, a boost out of homesickness. I do have some amazing, unique opportunities. Hoping to maximize my time here...