“Having a bushy moustache has always been something of an obstacle to refined dining  -  particularly when it came to mulligatawny soup. The answer was to use a moustache protector, spoon or cup  -  designed with a hole for the mustachioed man to sip through.”

SWEEEEET. Moustache protector. Exactly what I need.

Gadgets That Never Quite Took Off

Haha. Kevjumba’s most recent video totally made my day. So hilarious.

It’s 5 o’clock in the morning and I am up eating sliced hot dog pieces and drinking mango juice. Awkward combo, eh? Normally I’d be sleeping like a little baby around this hour however, I’m currently wide awake at this very moment. Is it the many hot dogs pieces keeping me up? The mango juice? Facebook? Gmail?

Nah.

It’s the fact that I am three weeks away from being out of the country for nine whole months (well, technically eight months and eight days according to my overseas medical insurance coverage plan). Of course, I am very excited for this missions trip, but at the same time I am scared. FREAKING SCARED. My heart is even pounding vigorously this very moment from thinking about it. Oh, I’m not scared because of the culture shock I’ll experience or the living standards I will be living in. I’m not scared that I’ll be a minority or that I’ll have to talk to many, many, many strangers about the Gospel.

I’m scared of being away from all the loved ones that I care for dearly. Family and friends, the number one category I am constantly thinking about (besides God, being number zero). My comfort zone. After celebrating at Phoebe’s for her mom’s birthday and chitchatting with Emily at her cute, new house, I realize I really cherish the relationships that I have. I enjoy coming home after a long day of errands and spending the rest of the night with my family watching the Beijing Olympics and cheering for Michael Phelps to win another gold medal and mark another world record. I laugh and smile at the many IOUs I owe my dad for always borrowing money and never paying him back. He remembers every IOU yet still loves me and forgives me (but this time, I promise to pay him back for my overseas insurance. Promise!). I absolutely love seeing old faces and just catching up on each other’s lives. I always end up being very blessed by the conversation because I am constantly learning something that will either open my eyes to see another perspective or change my perspective (and to help others see a different perspective as well). I love how it only takes an email or phone call to schedule a place and time to meet up. I also love hugging. Nothing feels more heart-warming than a big ol’ hug from a friend. I love hugs. I love family. I love friends.

And while I’m in Africa, I’ll be away from all of them. For the first time in twenty years, I won’t have easy, 24-hour access to my friends any family. I may be over-exaggerating this a bit because I’ll still be able to communicate through email and/or Skype, but you know what I mean. It just won’t be the same.

(Click to enlarge)

So my plan to come back for 2 weeks during Christmas time FAILED. These tickets are too darn expensive! The cheapest flight from Johannesburg to LAX is $2028. The duration of the flight is also roughly 26 hours. TWENTY-SIX HOURS? Of course there are multiple stops in between (thank goodness), but just being on a plane or waiting for another one for a total of 26 hours is sort of ridiculous. I don’t even know how it feels to take a 13 hour flight to Taiwan, so I can’t even begin to imagine a 26 hour flight.

I guess this means I’ll be spending my “money-that-I-normally-save-to-get-people-presents” at a cafe for internet access to wish a Merry Christmas or happy holidays to all my lovely lovelies through Skype. Speaking of Skype, I should download the program soon to figure everything out …and buy a webcam. Oh, darn.

By the way, you should get Skype so I can have video calls with you over Christmas break! : )

3 1/2 more weeks! Eeeee!