Being a part of Christmas in Bethlehem this year has been fascinating. The holiday season here is much different from home, and honestly, it didn't quite feel like Christmas for me, even though I'm in the Christmassy-est place on the planet! There was so much to see and do here this past week, but unfortunately, I've had the flu since Christmas day, so I've spent most of my vacation asleep. Luckily though, we still have Armenian Christmas and Orthodox Christmas to celebrate, which are both in January, so I'm expecting to be healthy for rounds 2 and 3 of celebration! I'll definitely be filling you in on my interesting Christmas experiences once I'm feeling up to par.
I hope that you have a wonderful time celebrating the New Year!
I hope that you have a wonderful time celebrating the New Year!
Meredith!
ReplyDeleteYou, my friend, have an INCREDIBLE knack for writing, and I have been laughing away as I have been getting caught up on your blog posts. My feelings over third-world hospitals were so similar to yours, until I visited a friend staying in the one here in Semarang- that hospital puts every Canadian hospital I've seen to shame!! Nonetheless, I hold a similar view to the whole hospital thing. People here are eager to go to the hospital over the smallest thing. It would take a dire situation (like the one you were in) for me to allow myself to be hauled off to the "rumah sakit."
I so appreciated your comment on my blog! Sometimes I feel like I'm completely alone in my struggles, and it's a relief to know that that is not the case. That darn food situation is a pesky, relentless one, and I laughed at your comment about the "not-so-polite" refusals. It often turns into the same thing for me, and I feel this surge of anger rising up in me that takes all of my "ok, this is the culture, they're trying to make me feel good, not miserable" mentality to not completely have a meltdown.
One thing that struck me about your pictures is that everything looks so CLEAN! Is this true? Or are you laughing and thinking, "oh, if she were only here, she would see..." (as I would do if someone ever made the same comment on my pictures.)
Ok, well I will let you go before this comment turns into a little blogette! I am thinking about you, and eagerly anticipating more blog posts!
Have an awesome day!
It is definitely the same way here about going to the hospital for everything. It's so strange, because I avoid hospitals at all cost. But if someone has a cough, or a fever, or a hangnail, in they go to see the doctor!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you should say everything is clean, because things are SO dirty here. There is trash everywhere, all the time. I looked back through my pictures and realized that I almost never captured any of that reality, though. Maybe I subconsciously avoid photographing the garbage. Or maybe I just need to be more intentional about photographing the day to day things that are around me, as opposed to just the unique things. I'm glad you pointed it out... and gave me a chance to clarify!!