Rainy Days = Nostalgia

There is something about rainy days that always makes me nostalgic.

Nostalgia. noun : a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

Maybe because soft rainy days were such rare gifts in Ouagadougou that now I always treasure them. (In Ouaga, it was usually either torrents or drought.) Here are a few of the nostalgic things that a beautiful rainy day calls to mind:
- tin roofs: I miss being able to hear the rain.
- cinnamon toast with hot chocolate: Rainy days were some of the few days where it got mildly cool enough in Ouaga for hot chocolate. Thus, on rainy days now, I crave hot chocolate!
- romping up and down the red-flooded roads and chasing my flip-flops when they got "washed down stream"
- cuddling under blankets: again, one of the few times blankets were desired.
- reading a delicious book or playing a board game with the siblings
- the electricity going out
- yelling "Mom! It's leaking!" when noticing yet another place in the house where the water was coming through and then putting out pans/bowls to catch the water
- unplugging everything: which, btw, I still do!

Needless to say, there's a direct correlation between rain in Kansas and my emotional state of mind! Wednesday, was one of those days. The rain was simply beautiful! I decided it was the perfect day to camp out at a coffee shop. So, I packed up my things and headed off--rainboots and umbrella in hand. (Well, technically, the rainboots were in foot! ha. ha.)

Just in case you forgot what my stellar rainboots look like, here's a refresher:



Here's Mom's umbrella that I borrowed last September and still need to return. (No, I do not usually hold it so close to my head, but the wind was ferocious and I didn't want it to blow away while I took the picture.)



It was not hard for me to choose which coffee shop to frequent. Granada Coffee Company is small, quaint, and has big soft chairs by a large front window. P-E-R-F-E-C-T !!! It's right next door to a remodeled 1929 movie palace. Legit. Here are a few pictures. The coffee shop is on the right and the chocolate company on the left! (I had a gift certificate for the chocolate company so I had to stop there first!)




Here is a picture of the view from the big front window.



The place is great! I love it. Here are a few pictures I snapped when the barista was in the bathroom! :)




Unfortunately, the rain stopped when I got there, so I couldn't enjoy the noise of it pelting against the window. Regardless, I enjoyed some Pride and Prejudice in French along with some Bible reading and journaling.

what an AWESOME GOD i serve

I, personally, think Kansas is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! It reflects an A-W-E-S-O-M-E Creator who (whom?) I have the privilege to serve.

I've made several trips through the Flint Hills recently on my way to and from home. One trip, the sky was cloudy, there was mist and some light rain here and there. On either side of the interstate the hills were super green and I felt like Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility with the urge to roam the country and chase a bit of sunshine. The whole scenery felt so English-y that I was thrilled and couldn't get enough of it! I should have pulled over and taken a picture. On a second trip, the sun was setting on my right sending rays of oranges, yellows, reds, pinks, and purples all over the hills while on my left the twilight was creeping up. Absolutely breath-taking. I cannot justly describe it. You must put on your to-do list: "Drive through the Flint Hills at sunset." Seriously Unbelievable.

At home, I was finally able to capture some of the famous Kansas big sky and gorgeous sunsets.












Don't you agree? Isn't Kansas positively stunning?

... the end ... came and went ...

Dear friends, followers, and family,

I am so sorry that it has been about a month since my last post. The end of the school year was incredibly busy, overwhelming, and emotional, and I did not have time to post. However, I did have time to take pictures, so keep checking back for fun posts about what has happened over the past few weeks.

I cannot believe that I am done with classes at Emporia State University. No, I did not graduate, but next semester I will be all over the globe (quite literally) student teaching and will not be in regular classes. I graduate in December. (Just hold onto all your gifts until then!)

Just for fun, here's a little glimpse of what late night studying looks like for me during dead week (the penultimate week) and finals week.

This is Doh. I've already introduced her in previous blogs. We often enjoyed late-night coffee and studying together. The coffee had two purposes: wake us up for homework and give us energy for a midnight workout that we postponed all day!




We (Sherlynn, Gowoon, Doh, and I) often went to the library to study until about midnight. Gowoon was our faithful supplier of snacks--usually boiled celery, but this time she bought rice cakes! yay!



Gowoon does not like her picture being taken. She's in the corner covering her face.



I, on the other hand, thought it a welcome distraction!



Doh, was another welcome distraction!




Look at those great doodles! (I can only claim the elephant and snail.)



We decided to make a midnight run to Taco Bel! yummh!





I'm proud to say I've survived the last few weeks. There were times I was not entirely sure. I owe it to these lovely ladies. They kept me "sane". (I put it in quotes because I'm sure they questioned and continue to question my sanity!) We had a TON of laughs and made a lot of memories! They are some of the funniest people I know!