Weekly Series

A Week in Greece #1: Everything is New

Trish2 Comments

It’s been a week!  Well, it’s been a week since I left the United States, though tomorrow will be my official in-country anniversary.  But soon it will have been so long that those differentiations will be meaningless, which is one of the weirdest things I’m going through right now: constantly re-configuring my brain so that I remember this is not a week-long trip.  I live here.  One week down, fifty-ish more to go.

That doesn’t make me scared or anything, it’s just weird.  After all, I’ve never really been one to get homesick (although I have stared sullenly into the darkness at night, wishing Rory’s tiny paws would push my arm around for optimal snuggling).  I feel okay about this being more than a vacation, it’s just….weird!   Continue reading →

Oh Hey, Friday! 5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GREEK AND US CULTURE

Trish1 Comment

Oh Hey Friday & 5 on Friday

My first Oh Hey, Friday! in Greece.  This is a link-up from September Farm and 5 on Friday from A. Liz Adventures, and I figured a listicle was a great way to address some of the differences I’ve noticed about daily life since moving to Greece.  I’ll probably do this again on another Friday, because Lord knows there are more than five differences.

5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GREEK AND US CULTURE

1|  Where the Toilet Paper Goes

As a U.S. citizen, I was raised with relatively recent plumbing and could therefore flush toilet paper without a second thought.  Not so in Greece, whose sewer pipes are 2 inches in diameter (as opposed to 4 inches in the U.S) and were created centuries before the invention of toilet paper.  So in Greece, every toilet has a little wastebin next to it.  You wipe, then throw it away.

Some people on trips to Greece (or Turkey, or Mongolia, or anywhere with a culture older than ours) freak out about this.  It doesn’t really bother me, since traveling inspires in me an “oh well” attitude toward unusual bathroom habits (see my story about going to the bathroom in Mongolia: Tricia Accepts the Inevitability of Peeing in Public).  After all, the wastebins have lids, so you’re not looking at used toilet paper while you brush your teeth.  And I have a room to myself, so it’s only my own filth, and I can throw out the bag any time I want.

For me, the problem is in remembering to toss the TP in the wastebin.  But it’s been five days now, and I’m nearly at a 100% success rate. Continue reading →

Workout Week #6

Trish1 Comment

This Week’s Goal:  15 minutes at least 5 times a week.  

GOAL MET

Workout Notes

Can I just stop to bask in the pride of doing this workout thing for SIX WEEKS?  That’s incredible.  I guess making my goals public really was helpful in keeping me accountable!  Thank you to everyone who has commented and kept me excited.

Over the last six weeks, I’ve realized that boredom is my biggest struggle.  I hate doing the same thing day in and day out.  I’ve found a lot of different apps and YouTube videos to keep me interested, and this week I found something else:  30-Day Challenges!   Continue reading →

Letters Between Friends: A NEW PHASE

TrishLeave a comment

LettersBtwnFriends

Tricia:  Thursday is universally recognized as Lindsay/Tricia Day, and since this is the last Thursday we can spend together in person for a whole year, we spent today at Panera eating, talking, and blogging!

Lindsay: Initially we planned to start this whole blog today! Like the first Thursday before Tricia leaves, but we both got WAY too excited and had to start earlier.  I mean we HAD to.

Tricia:  As fun as it has been to write to each other while living in the same city, I’m really excited about this new phase of Letters Between Friends.  I am always desperate for attention, and I am super excited about knowing that every two weeks, Lindsay HAS to write to me.  It’s a guaranteed way to avoid at least a little bit of loneliness.

Lindsay: And I can’t wait for her to go!  Now Lindsay….that’s a little rude. But we all know I live vicariously through Tricia and I need some adventure even if it’s vicarious.  I’m also super thrilled to see God do crazy things in the lives of people I love, so you know I’m sad but happy to see you go.

Tricia:  I wish I could shrink you and put you in my suitcase!  I’m glad you’re going to keep me accountable, because now I’ll think, “Is my life exciting enough for Lindsay?  No??  I better go jump off a cliff (into water).”  Just kidding, I’ll never do that, that sounds terrifying.

Lindsay: Funny you’re not the first person to say that!  AND if there is a cliff {with water underneath} I’m jumping and taking you with me.

As you can all see we are ready for new adventures in both Peoria and Athens. One of the best parts of our friendship is how we can go our own ways for a while, keep each other encouraged, and then come back together no matter what’s happened.  (Lindsay: And I get to visit you someplace CRAZY!  Tricia:  You’d better.)

So here’s to the next phase of LBF (that means Letters Between Friends).  May you all enjoy our victories and sadnesses, our new crushes and annoying people, our adventures and our couches.  Because honestly we are not even doing this for you… We just hope you are entertained.  (Lindsay: we mean that in the nicest way possible. Tricia: Yea. Tricia: THAT WAS YOU LINDSAY STOP SPEAKING FOR ME….but yeah.)

Happy Thursday!

Love,

Tricia & Lindsay

IMG_8670

Sunday Summary #13: What’s on the Internet

TrishLeave a comment

Articles

1|  More people crying over how Rey in The Force Awakens is their girlhood dreams come true!

2|  The World of Wanderlust girls have made a great list of mistakes solo travelers too often make.  While they unfortunately (and necessarily) include far too many female-safety tips (WHY CAN’T MEN JUST RESPECT WOMEN’S AUTONOMY AND NOT BE POTENTIAL RAPISTS) there’s a lot here that’s really useful!

3|  The Mary Sue wrote a phenomenal article about accusations that Marvel’s Jessica Jones is sexist toward men by focusing too much on women…when actually there is an exactly equal ratio of female/male characters.  Hm.

4|  WOW.  Derek Webb, one of my favorite singers in high school, wrote a strong, hard, beautiful confession of his adultery and responsibility in breaking up his marriage.  His faith is everything mine is: doubtful and hopeful.  I’m so glad he is continuing to share his soul with us so that we can grow from his example.

Videos

1|  This tiny girl is every Star Wars nerd.

2|  Hahahaha, this video is GOLD.

3|  WOW.  I don’t know why this exists or what Gypsy of the Year 2015 is, but some people performed Hamilton’s “Wait For It” with a background of news headlines from 2015: discrimination, hate crimes, terrorism…culminating in “Forgiveness – can you imagine?”

Workout Week #5

TrishLeave a comment

Progress Report

By the Number

I met my goal of doing more than one workout more often than not!  There wasn’t a lot of consistency, but that’s for next week.

By My Feelings

It was SO HARD to get started after taking off last week for Christmas.  I skipped Saturday because “Well, it won’t be on the calendar week,” and then I skipped Sunday because, “I kind of tend to skip Sundays.”

But once I gave in on Monday and got back to eating smaller portions and remembering how short a 7 Minute Workout actually is….and happily realizing I didn’t lose my pushup progress…I was back!  (Except for Thursday, which was New Year’s Eve and another gimme).

Continue reading →

Oh Hey, Friday! 5 RESOLUTIONS FOR 2016

Trish3 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Oh Hey, Friday! link-up from September Farm and 5 on Friday from A. Liz Adventures, but when’s a better time to start than the first of the year?  However, committing to doing one of these every Friday is NOT one of my resolutions.

5 RESOLUTIONS FOR 2016

1|  Say yes to more things that scare me.  

Moving to another country is bound to create more opportunities to step outside of my comfort zone.  I’m not crazy enough to commit to saying yes to everything, all the time.  An introvert needs to reserve the right to say “I’m staying home, thanks!”  But I don’t want to let the chance to expand my comfort zone pass me by, so whether it’s hanging out with new people past midnight, jumping into the ocean, or giving up my weekend for an adventure, I want to say yes.   Continue reading →

Letters Between Friends: A CHALLENGE IS EXTENDED

Trish4 Comments

Man, even when Lindsay is “off” her blogging game, she still comes up with awesome letters.  I’m super excited to print this one off and tape it to my Greek bedroom wall as inspiration to live a little bolder…and weirder.

LettersBtwnFriends

Dear Tricia,

First can we please take a look at this picture today on my Timehop?!

1933744_515466339537_3953_n

This was EIGHT years ago!  Like almost TEN, but not!

I had such high hopes for this letter!  It was going to be something awesome, like “5 Things You MUST Pack to Greece.”  But all I could come up with was scotch tape and chapstick.  Then, I was going to do pictures from our last few New Years Parties.  NOPE scratch that…Christmas Breaks…cope.  Not cool enough.

So, now here I am at 4p in the afternoon frantically trying to put this letter together, and I got nothing…Ok…I do best in lists, so let’s make a list of all the things you should do in Greece.   Continue reading →

Ten Years Ago…2005 HIGHLIGHTS

TrishLeave a comment

TEN YEARS AGO

Saturday, December 31, 2005

2005 Highlights

  1. I started my second semester of my junior year, which included some of my favorite classes:  0 hour PE, with lots of slacker friends, (!) psychology (!), AP US History with Holmes, AP English with Kahn (and dropping gum with Jill), and band in between Liz and Hope.
  2. Dare2Share was amazing as always, only this time I shared the wonderful experience with Michelle and Lacie.
  3. I rocked the AP tests and the ACT.
  4. I actually enjoyed VBS.
  5. I made a whole new set of friends on the New York trip in the form of the younger youth group.  As a part of that, I sang, rang, and HOPEd by way through IN, OH, and PA to end up in NY painting and learning how to play (!) euchre (!)
  6. I went to World Changers for the first time against my will and had an AMAZING time.  I met wonderful new people, climbed a ladder (and scaffold), learned Marvelous Light, and wrote and received lovely Encouragrams.
  7. I started my senior year and found it delightful in the nearly absolute nothing I had to do.  Photography became a fast favorite, and I actually found myself enjoying English with crazy Mrs. Wood and making new (or better) friends with Mercedes and Allison during Resource.
  8. I got accepted to Union University and then got some scholarship stuff that I have yet to fill out…oops.
  9. I met Carrie, Roy’s girlfriend, and loved and hated her equally.  Nothing’s really changed there.
  10. I lost some close friends and gained some new friends, sometimes at the cost of many tearful nights.  But in the end (of the year) I’m rather pleased.

TODAY

Yeah, 2005 was a pretty good year.

I do want to clarify, however, that I never really hated Carrie.  I just didn’t know that what I was feeling was jealousy.