Weekly Series

Sunday Summary #36: What’s on the Internet

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The Stephen Colbert Edition, apparently

The only way I can stand to keep up with American politics (and I am SO thankful that I’m not living in the US right now and having to hear all this nonsense on a daily basis) is through late night talk shows hosts.  So imagine my UTTER DELIGHT when Stephen Colbert went to Jon Stewart for help in this time of political crisis (their spit takes of surprise when hearing that Donald Trump is the Republican nominee are WONDERFUL) and came back with “Stephen Colbert” the most egotistic conservative until, well, Trump. MY SOUL IS SO HAPPY, even if our nation is not.  But that’s what the Internet is for, right?

Of course “Stephen Colbert” would return in a chariot pulled by topless Uncle Sams, omg, I love him (which is why, like, I GET why people are all about Donald Trump, because spectacle is entertaining, but only for TELEVISION, people, NOT THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN OUR COUNTRY).

And here, one more!  Stephen Colbert singing is always great, and this one is particularly absurd and delightful.

 

A Week in Greece #28: I Slept A lot

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There is very little to say about this week, because I basically went from work to my bed.

No, I am not suffering from depression (I don’t think).  I got my first Greek cold.  Waa waa.  It wasn’t all that bad, since I just…slept constantly, but it does mean that I have very little to talk about here!

Let’s see.  I publicly announced that I will be staying in Athens for another year, which is pretty exciting!  I thought I would stay more than a year before I even came here, and by March I knew I wanted to extend at least through December 2017.  Granted, there was a month or so where I was super homesick and culture shock-y and I just wanted to go home nooooow, but that was expected.  Anyway, it feels good!  I’ve been here seven months now, and it still feels so much like I’m settling in.  There’s so much more I have to do to make this place my home, and I don’t want to leave before I get to experience that.

Plus my work at HD just keeps growing and growing, and new challenges pop up literally every other day.  It’s a perfect job for me: enough routine to make me feel safe, and enough fires to put out that I feel animated and challenged.  It’s so fun to be a part of a new organization where everyone is doing three jobs at once.

But…I’m super not a workaholic, no matter how that last bit sounded.   Continue reading →

Letters Between Friends: GREEK “CULTURE”

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Last week, Lindsay asked me four questions:

1|  If you were to go get a cup of coffee, where would you go?
2|  Diet wise, what’s the biggest difference?
3|  What habit or norm of the Greeks most fascinated you?
4|  What does fashion look like in Greece?

Check out my answers over on her blog, Wild Ginger!

Lindsay's Blog Logo

Sunday Summary #36: What’s on the Internet

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Just some videos this week, but BOY are they great videos spanning my range of interests.

First we’ve got a beautifully created video about Learning a New Language.  This girl is a powerhouse creator, and I LOVE how she captures the struggle of learning a language that is not your own – not so much the mental struggle, but the emotional struggle of not being able to express yourself or even BE yourself in another language.

Then we’ve got Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about his last performance as Alexander Hamilton, and AGH, the end of an era.

Finally, we have the Buzzfeed Try Guys getting photoshopped again, but this time according to female photoshop standards.  I LIVE for their cultural awareness and female positivity while also being absolutely hilarious.

Letters Between Friends: HOMETOWN

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Last week in my vlog I asked Lindsay to show me Peoria in summer!  She delivered with some BEAUTIFUL pictures that make me feel a bit more connected to my Midwest roots.

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Dear Tricia,

I’m scared showing you all these pictures of Peoria.  I don’t want you to get sad or start crying.  BUT you told me to so I have to.

OK!  Top 4 things I bet you’re missing about Home/Peoria/USA…

1.     This week was the Heart of Illinois Fair.  All the local fairs are happening right now…Now I’m sure you miss those creepy carneys who always seem to have extra long butt cracks.  But what’s more American then EVERYTHING fried??  Bet they don’t do that in Athens!

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2.     Country Living at it’s finest…  Continue reading →

#womenaremorethan | MICHAL ANN

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Screen Shot 2016-07-11 at 4.18.38 PMMichal Ann is the woman who started #womenaremorethan, which should be enough to put her in this series (she’s thoughtful, innovative, and good with words).  But she’s so much more than that.  She’s a world traveler who has participated in archeological digs in Alaska, Greece, Dubai, and Ireland.  She’s a blogger who writes passionately and articulately about theological feminism.  She’s a survivor – she has the confidence of a woman who has never experienced hardship, but she’s honest about the ways life has gone very hard for her.  She’s written a children’s book, she’s spent a month driving around Iceland, and she is so damn cool.

She’s one of my best friends.  I admire her drive and ambition, her ferocious beliefs, and the way that she lets herself fall apart when necessary.  She is my favorite person to travel with, she encourages my creativity and inspires me to do more, and she lets me be as awful as I need to be without ever condemning me.

Michal Ann is a powerhouse of a woman, and I am grateful to know her.  She’s already changing the world, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like when she’s done.

Sunday Summary #35: What’s on the Internet

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Articles

1|  A title like “Misogyny in Missions” is guaranteed to get my attention, and it lived up to my high expectations!  There is an idea running through Christian circles that in order to be “above reproach” men and women cannot be alone together, and this article makes a very compelling case against it.  YAY!

Videos

1|  This is beautifully made…guess I better leave the internet and go outside!

Sunday Summary #34: What’s on the Internet

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ARTICLES

1| The Toast (may it rest in peace) knocks it out of the park with their list “How to Tell If You Are In A J.R.R. Tolkien Book.”

“You’ve come into possession of a magical object of world-imperiling demonic power, which you use primarily to avoid awkward small talk with your neighbors.”

2|  I love the Marvel movies for their humor, but especially because they manage to make movies with humor AND serious investigations of trauma via the characters of Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Tony Stark.  Check out “I Can’t Trust My Own Mind”: How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Engages with Trauma if you also find this interesting!

3|  Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau are the CUTEST BFFS on the planet.

4|  Hilary Clinton recognized the closing of The Toast with this amazing piece about women’s spaces and AHHHH I already supported her, but this solidifies it.

VIDEOS

1|  This is such a beautiful story of a Syrian family moving to the

A Week in Greece #25: I HAVE A CAT

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On Monday, I had the world’s longest layover in Istanbul (five hours!) on my way back from Cappadocia (check out a video of my weekend here).  Of course, if you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ll know that on Tuesday, there was a bombing in the Ataturk airport where 40+ people were killed and 200+ people were injured.

I feel…weird about this?  I was one day off and one airport away, but it still feels really close.  I don’t know what the appropriate emotional response to this is, probably because there isn’t one.  I do want to take the time to say, however, that in light of this terrorist attack, PLEASE don’t hate on Muslims as a whole.  Just like there are terrible Christians who use violent Bible passages to murder African Americans or trans-people, there are terrible Muslims who use violent Kuran passages to instill terror in people’s lives. But they are SO not the norm!  The entire weekend in Cappadocia, Muslim men and women who were fasting for Ramadan were so hospitable and kind to us.  Just…don’t let the fear win, yeah?

But back to that title:  I HAVE A CAT!

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Continue reading →

Letters Between Friends: AT THE STORE

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LettersBtwnFriends

It’s been three weeks since Lindsay wrote me a letter, but she MORE than makes up for it with this video tour of her new store (and for promising to give my Peoria cat Rory some food).  

Lindsay, here are my reactions, please leave a comment answering the questions.

  1. You are so cute being all nervous about small-town shame-glances!  Princeville peeps could only dream of being cool enough to vlog (maybe you will start a trend).
  2. WINEINGER TRUCK.  Here come the feels.
  3. Your store is so cool, and it’s YOURS, and I definitely thought there was a live horse standing by the doorway when you walked past.
  4. Forest!  I love that your college cat has a new place to live and explore, and honestly, I am 400% more likely to frequent a store with a resident cat, so GOOD JOB.
  5. Why can’t you kiss the baby chickens!?  
  6. What in the world is Mint Udder Cream?  Is it…milk-based shampoo?  Is it a soothing cream to rub on cow’s udders?  Is it a food!?
  7. You look exactly like Ruthie when you are apologizing, and it made me laugh out loud.

Thank for the vlog, Friend!  I loved getting a glimpse of your new life, and I can’t wait to buy (not the expensive gluten-free organic) animal food from you when I’m home for the holidays!


!!   UPDATE  !!
Lindsay responded to my responses
with a SECOND VIDEO that you can see over at Wild Ginger!  
“So you thought the horse was real…”