Life is Lifey...

Well hello everyone. It seems lately that I can't be bothered to update this blog, and I apologize for leaving most of you hanging in limbo with how I've been feeling lately.

Things have been kind of busy at the center, but not enough to justify not blogging. We're open twice as long during the midwinter holidays, but there seems to be the same number of kids. That's not a bad thing of course, some days I just don't feel like following around trouble kids that come in, making sure they're not trying to steal anything.

Well things have been pretty uneventful, I guess. I have been setting a schedule into motion so I can learn how to better manage my time - separate work time from free time. It's hard to do that when my only source of outside communication is located at the youth center. But anyways, things are going well and I've been trying to turn my energy towards positive and productive activities like exercising and reading.

So I guess things are best described as "meh". I'm not feeling overly upset or sad or homesick, but mostly because I'm trying to distract myself from those feelings. It's really hard being away from home, and I've said it before, but I'll say it again: God has really been teaching me that I'm more of a homebody than I ever could have imagined. But I'm trying to make the most of my time here.

I think it's really hard being the first youth pastor or youth worker in a situation, because most people's mentors are youth pastors (in my situation) who know what they're doing and can tell the intern what to do. I'm sort of left hanging, trying to feel my way around and see what works and what doesn't. It's hard, but I guess it's a good opportunity. But it's also easily discouraging.

Anyways, there really isn't much to say these days. The holidays are proving to be less exciting than I had hoped they would be. I have to work longer hours at the centre and therefore can't really take holidays of my own - there is enough time left to get bored, but not enough time left to take off for a few days and do things for myself. But the evenings are fun - as I've been spending a lot of time hanging out with Donald, who is the son part of my host family. He's 16 and has finally warmed up to me enough that we can be total goofs and have fun without him thinking I'm weird. In fact, he's a little weirder than I am, I think. You wouldn't think it, though, from his intial quiet disposition.

So we've been watching a lot of movies, staying up late and I'm helping him learn how to play the guitar. It took him less than 20 minutes to memorize the finger positioning for 4 chords, and now he's just got to work on quicker chord changes, but he's doing very well and insists on practicing a LOT...so he's prettymuch always playing when he's not out with friends or watching tv. It's encouraging to see someone who can pick up music so quickly, because I'm not a music teacher type of person. Well, I used to want to be a music teacher but I never learned how to teach. And I never really had to try hard to pick up on music, so I never learned how to learn, either. I just sort of picked it up and taught myself, I guess.

So that makes it difficult for me to teach someone who doesn't have the same talent coming naturally - it frustrates me. But I like Donald as a student. He is doing very well.

So that's it I guess. Have spent a lot of time with some friends from small group (when I say friends, I mean people who could mostly be my parents, with the exception of three or four, who could only be my much older siblings or young uncles/aunts...ha), and all of a sudden people are inviting me to meals left right and centre. I got two lunch invitations yesterday from two different families from church. How fun is that?

Alright well, it's good to be popular. Ha. Kidding.

I should be going. Gotta pick up some games and put the big movie screen back up on the wall (it fell down during a movie the other night).

Note to self: don't use stick-on hooks to hang a 30+ pound retractable screen on the wall. Screen go boom.