Krispy Letter Center [it's the KLC]

[oldish pic of epic proportions]

I got a letter from my sister.
I am happy.
She said they have snow gear for me.
That saves me in the packing process.
And they go to church.
And I can go Blauring[!]

Yesterday, I went to Echo Glen.

There were quite a few of us [?] including....

Me, my dad, Bill, Emily, Nate, Bethany, Isaic, Nathan, Steven, Aaron, Hannah, Steve, DeAnn, and Kirsten.

For those of you not with CCB, Echo Glen is a youth detention center.

Anyways, the kids were pretty responsive which is snazzy.

And one of the guys who works there, Greg, gave Nate, Kirsten, and I a campus tour on a golf cart!

It was quite amazing.

And on the way home, we stopped for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts... which always seems to make me happy.

Wake Up Call

[My father and I
in our snazzy coat
or blazer thingy]
Click a pic to make it bigger.

Today was hectic. Today was busy.





But it ended fantastically.

[I love the word fantastic, it sounds crisp in the mouth and explains exactly what I want to say]

Anyways....

My day went something like this:

Prepare Breakfast and Lunch for 24 people --> Orthodontest --> Dentist --> Orthodontest --> Rotary Picnic!

Anyways.... I could go on and on about how my mouth is crazy now. Been open for hours.

But that's not what about this blog is about.

Wait a minute?

Oh my goodness... this entire blog.

Have you yet looked at the URL? Zahnpaste.

Zahnpaste ist "toothpaste" aus Deutsch.

So I guess I have the right to ramble on about my toothly matters.

but would that interest you?

Will any of my day interest you?

Well, the blog is to document my life for me.. and I just give you guys a look at it to amuse yourselfs. That's why I don't care about boring you all to death with my droning blocks and walls of text.

We were about to leave for the park when we got a call from Gabby.

Gabby: a ninja who is going to Ecuador for her exchange.

Anyways, she needed a ride. So we picked her up. And off we went to Lincoln Park.

It was beautiful there! Seriously. I never lie. Ever. You have to trust me here. Ok? Babysteps. Just believe me. It was beautiful.

It's a bit of an eye opener.

There were some rebounds there who had just gotten back from their excahnge.

(Before you leave for your exchange, your and inbound. While you're on it you're an outbound. And after you come back home you get the term rebound. If it's your second exchange your a yo-yo)

Anyways, we were able to ask them variosu questions.

Later it came to "advice time." Essentially, they told us stuff that we may have heard before but never listened to. And just coming from them, I took it more seriously :P It was so much more real coming from them. Or perhaps it's just that I'm leaving in 18 days.

18 days?

Whoa.

That's soon.

Anyways, there's just a few general things that I need to remember in Switzerland to maintain my sanity.

I don't know why any of you would care? But I'm putting them here so when I'm getting all sad and emo on myself in my bedroom in Switzerland, I can look back, read this, and shape up.

• Be open. Be open to their culture. Be prepared to change. Be prepared to be laughed at as you goof up the language... and be ready to laugh with them and try again.
• Keep busy. Get a hobby. Stay active. Empty time leaves time for time to miss home. But if you're busy, it's not so hard. (Note: I've taken care of this already by getting myself into a drama and music program in my town... but who knows what else I might do. Yodeling?)
• Make connections. Make relationships. This includes friends, family, and Rotarians. Let them know your needs. Be prepared to throw yourself out there and be the first to talk.
  
• Accept invitations. How else do you get to know someone?
• Keep moving. Don't get stuck on the little things.

It all may seem simple... yet I'm guessing that after days of constant German, simple things like that may be forgotten. And it's while I'm still sane (that may be debateable however) that I need to go over these things.

Be prepared!

Hey! I could be one good boy scout... er, or girl scout.

I got to say my good byes today as well.

Good bye to Kenzie, Hilary, Jacob, Andrew, Kelsey, Taylor, and Lillian.

I'll maybe see Gabby tomarrow.

I'll see Nelly at the airport.

Thank goodness.

And Nelly - you'll probably be reading this. Maybe not.

But anyways.

I'm so glad to have someone like Nelly going on this adventure "with" me. Sure we won't get to talk as much in Switzerland.. but knwoing that there's someone else who knows what I'm going through will be great.

Plus... it could makes those long airplane flights a bit more enjoyable.

Until another snazzy day...

-Maggie-

[I love Seattle skies..]

One Would Think...

One would think...

That as time goes by, I get more and more nervous about Switzerland.

And... they're, well, not entirely right.

It's one of the hardest emotions or feelings to convey. Okay.. not the hardest, but it's difficult to explain.

I have moments every once in a while, where I think, "Oh interjection, Maggie, what have you gotten yourself into?"

but mostly I just want to go.

Now.

Leave.

Yes. It's true.

Why?

I don't want to say good bye. Those words will be so hard for me. Why do you think I didn't go to school that last day? I didn't want to go through that. I just avoided it. So to all of you who I missed... well, good bye.

July 31 - it's supposed to be a grand old happy day.. but it's going to be pretty sad. So you all need to come and cheer me up eh? Yes. You do.

It stilll seem surreal.

Am I really leaving my mother? father? brother? church family? friends?

all.of.it

Behind.

I'll come back, sure I will.

And I'll grow, and, um, mature? But I will change. Undergo an adventure many people can't even imagine. Hopefully most of you reading this can.

Anyways, while I'm learning to live in a new way, being stretched in all directions...

You'll be at home. With the same poeple. Just furthering the development and depth of your relationships with each other.

Getting to know each other.

And while I will think of you each day, not a day will go by without me thinking of you.

You won't miss me.

Sure, you'll have dates or moments when you'll think of me... but each day? Of course not. You'll get used to it. You're in your safe little home. Safe little school. Safe circle of friends.

But.

I'm not.

New food, new culture, new language, new people, new family, new friends, new church, new school, new traditions.

I'm not complaining, I assure you I'm not.

I brought this upon myself.

And I'm excited.

I feel so privliged.

I feel so blessed.

Ready to jump in, experience life, live life.

Not just think about it.

Here I go, like when you get strapped into a rollar coaster.

I always have that moment of dread and I realize I'm in for the full ride, no turning back.

22 more days till I'm gone for 340.

Summer Beverage Guide

Just telling you what I've been consuming lately during the hottest days of the year...

Pay attention.

Heed my advice.

Head out.

Treat yourself right.

You deserve it.

It's a good thing.

---

First, I love Jamba Juice. It's like a lifeline. Couldn't live without that stuff and don't know how I'll survive without it next year.

Today me and mi madre went out to Jamba Juice.

What to get?

I like Tea so I got the....



I don't know how to describe it. It's amazing with so many flavours in one large cup. I guess they say it best.

Dazzle your palette and fuel your active body with this zesty blend of red tea, raspberry juice, strawberries, sorbet, frozen yogurt, soymilk, raspberries and ice. The only thing you have to lose with this energizing mix of fresh berries and rich source of vitamin C is your mid-day doldrums.

So true.

My pallette has been dazzled :P

---

And what's Seattle famous for?

What can be found multipul times in every city in the area.

You gotta love that place. Seriously. If you don't like it. Get away from my blog. Right now. Shoo! Yes. I mean it. You don't even have to like coffee to like Starbucks.

I myself am not a huge coffee fan... but I love mostly everything else that place serves.

Such as the drink I got the other day when it was very hot and I was tired in Seattle.

The perfect pick-me-up.

Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino® Blended Coffee



There it is. Packed with flavour. A subtle but very noticeable (if that's possible) taste of raspberry in each sip.

And raspberries are refreshing.

So this is refreshing.

A delicious combination of juicy raspberries,

chocolate and the finest Latin American coffees,

blended with ice, topped with whipped cream and raspberry drizzle.

As it said. It is delicious. So I advise heading out to your local Starbucks and grab one of these. It really is good.

---

Annie Waits

And so

Annie waits, annie waits, annie waits

For a call

From a friend

The same

Its the same

Was it always the same?

Annie waits for the last time

The clock never stops, never stops, never waits

Shes growing old

Its getting late

And so he forgot, he forgot

Maybe not

Maybe hes been seriously hurt

Would that be worse?

New hair cut + Messy Room = My Life Right Now

[this pictures is in black and white as that is how we do pictures at my church when we get our hair cut :P]

A Day Away

I had just gotten back from camp and was a wee bit exhausted.. but more than anythingI just wanted to see the kids aagain. They were so sweet and life just felt incomplete with out a hand to hold all the time or someone to sing with me. I just wanted to be there for them. It was hard to release them into the care of their guardians... until you realize that you can hand them into God's hands. Now I feel a little bit better. God's up there watching over them and he was smiling down on us that entire week of camp. I know already some campers from last year have gone to heaven, but at least they heard the message of Jesus and recieved his love before he went up there. Now we have his sweet little sister to care for as she makes her way through life and it just breaks my heart to hear what all these kids have gone through.

So Emily and Hannah planned out a "weekend" of action. On Sunday, we were picked up without any knowledge of where we were going. We refers to Jenny, Caitie and I. Well.. I did know a bit only because I wasn't sure about going. We were whisked away to Seattle to stay in a snazzy hotel.. wow. I was so happy. Thrilled. Excited. Joyful.

This is what I need. An older "sister" to get me through things. Emily watches over me. Takes care of me. She makes sure that I'm okay. Megan does that too which is such a blessing. With both of them there for me ready to listen or answer questions with me, I feel a lot more prepared for life. They are both Godly women and by watching their lives line up with the Bible's teachings, I know that their advice will help me live a life like God would want for me. And I'm encouraged to check what they say in the Bible... and it does line up.

So anyways, Emily was loaded, loaded with food. It was insane. And she even brought pickles and snap peas just for me. Yum. I love those things. But also there were cookies and dove chocolate and lots of fruit. Ahh! I love dove. So I melted the dove and dipped strawberries in it. That was quite lovely.

We headed out pretty soon to walk around town... and eat. We had a couple choices on where to eat but naturally the Old Spaghetti Factory was the chosen place. Who could not love spaghetti? The wait was around 15 minutes outside.. but they give you this snazzy buzzer/beeper that tells you when it's your turn. It was in my lap and it went off and I screamed and jumped and I started the group.

Waiting outside for the spaghetti.

It wasn't a long wait and as usual, I made a friend.Little Miss Scarlet was an adorable little 2 year old who gave us the biggest smiles. We headed in to a room that looked like something of a pirate.

Each of us ordered a bottomless strawberry lemonade, which means we had free refills through the night. Our servers were Kirsten and some other person. It was her first day ever and she was really sweet. Since she wasn't bored of her job yet, she was really fresh and enjoyable. I wish all servers were like that. But I guess eventually they just get sick of the job and it's not as exciting.

For the meal, most people got the managers favourite, which is spaghetti noodles with two different types of sauce on two sides. But I got my favourite, the Spaghetti with Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese. It leaves little to be desired. This was a commen way for the Italians to eat their pasta. Not to heavy or anything. If you haven't tried Mizithra Cheese, you haven't lived. It's like mozzerella but entirely new demensions are added in flavour. It's a lot more strong and it's a hard cheese. It's flakey and has so much flavour. Mmmm. I love it and order it every time I go to the Factory.

Bathroom break at the Factory always involves a stop at the phone booth.

The Factory is great in their prices. It looks expensive at first, $9.25 for my meal, but then you look at what you get. First you get a soup or salad. My salad was amazing with pesto sauce. I've never had pesto sauce before so it was love after first bite... not that unsimilar to the love of a vampire. Okay. Bad joke if that even was one. Anyways, it was really refreshing. And you get loaves of sour dough bread to share with fresh, creamy, whipped butter. It's really satisfying.

Troy Bolton: Oh What's that?
Zeke: Oh, it's a creamy custard like filling with a caramelized surface, it's really satisfying

Hhaha.. sorry, couldn't help that. My blog though and I can quote High School Musical if it seems to fit the blog. Anyways, after the salad, the bread, and the noodles you get one more treat. Spumoni ice cream. We even got an extra one cause they had one melting that they needed to serve. Wow. I love that stuff. Jenny and Caitie got vanilla ice cream which I couldn't even comprehend. It's like Neopolitan on steroids. It's got pistachio, chocolate, and cherry. Now I hate pistachios and any sort of nut thing... but I love this. It's one of my favourite types of ice cream. All those flavours together in one bowl ready to be mixed at the command of my spoon. Such harmony. Such beautiful. Spumoni. It's also a fun word to say. Scarlet the baby stopped by our table as she left. There were plenty of left overs that we took home to eat at midnight later that night.



We headed out towards the waterfront to the new Olympic Sculpture Park. The Olympic Sculpture Park is a new park that was opened by SAM (Seattle Art Museum) that is pretty snazzy. I guess it's pretty self explanatory. But it's fun to just hang out there. You've got a perfect view of the water front and it's pretty peaceful... until the train comes. Anyways, we had a seat in the eye benches, benches shaped as eyes, to get a lovely, er, view of "Father and Son." A scultupre of a father and son.. lacking clothing. Whatever. It's art.

Poor Emily... I seema bit too excited about the statue.

Jenny and the lovely statue right on the waterfront.

Then there were some Puzzel Men I chatted with. I don't know who they were. But they were playing Sudoku and Scrabble at the same time.. the epitome of nerd-dom. And they were my heroes. We talked only a little. I learned what a spat is. And after one person finished his turn on the Scrabble, they'd switch game to book. It seems a good way to live life as an adult. They were about 25 years old.

We headed up the steps behind the eyes and men to the terrace, deck, raised level overlooking the waterfront and the view was amazing. God is so good.

Pic by Caitie. You can't tell, but there are some snazzy mountains in the distance.

I took this pic, I guess. I thought the color scheme was snazzy. But if I had done it again, I would have straightened out the horizen.

Jenny, Emily, Caitie, Hannah, and I.



Some more sculptures.

After all that, we headed home. Even with six of us, Seattle isn't the safest place in the world.

We got to the hotel, went swimming, talked, ate, talked, ate, talked, slept, got a bloody nose, slept, got up, got dressed, got in the shower.

Then we went to the Science Center and met Dr. Sean who was amazing.

Butterflies at the PSC.

And then of course, what do you need to do when you're at the Seattle Center? The fountain of course. We came prepared in with swimsuits and food and headed to the fountain. I love that fountain. It's an icon of Seattle and really represents it well. It's the International Fountain... built for the world's fair. There's usually music playing. The water is clean, you can tell because of the chlorine, and there are kids, teens, and adults running around everywhere. It was the perfect ending for our trip. Really wonderful. And the perfect way to cool off. Not as many kids this day as it wasn't as hot, but stay tuned for the next entry where there were a whole lot more kids.













And that was pretty much my day. Afterwards, me and Jenny hung out a bit at her house. Went to the park. Kicked around a socker ball. Played on the play ground. Played catch with a tennis ball. Just all easy stuff... the way summer is supposed to be.


Life is good.