Our New (good thing it's temporary )Home

So here are some pictures of our apartment. Each building (called a Quad) has four apartments that are all attached to a Common Room. We have a one bedroom apartment and the neighbors have a 3 bedroom (they've got 4 girls!). It's really not so bad. We don't eat any meals except breakfast there and we're hardly there during the day so it doesn't feel as cramped as it looks.



This is the entrance to our apartment from the Common Room.




Just inside the door is our "kitchen". On the left is the table.



Straight ahead is our bedroom. Yes, you're seeing things correctly, it's twin beds pushed together! At the foot of the bed is a dresser and a wardrobe to hang our clothes (they actually all fit!).



And on the right side is our kitchenette. There's a mini fridge, a microwave and a mini stove and oven (not in the picture). Down the hall is the washer and dryer on the left and the bathroom on the left. The door that you see down at the end of the hall connects to the neighbors apartment. It would be our second bedroom if we needed one.



And here's some random pictures of Matt playing ultimate frisbee. It was really cold and I didn't feel like letting a hard piece of plastic hit my cold fingers.




Just after the throw!



Another great catch!!




He's not really doing anything here, I just though he looked cute.



And this is what Matt does about 7 times a day. He's trying to pick up the internet signal with the range expander. I swear the thing is possessed. Notice the new hair cut (I did it myself).

FPO Life

So we've been here for almost 3 weeks now. I thought it would be nice to map out a typical day here. So here goes...We wake up at about 6:15 and Matt goes to work out (at least he does most mornings). It's his goal to get in shape while we're here so he doesn't die with all the walking overseas. I lay in bed until about 6:30 or 6:45 when I finally decide to get up and get in the shower. Matt usually stops by the dining hall (all meals are cafeteria style) to grab some breakfast and some fruit for me. By that time I'm almost ready and we eat some breakfast together and head out to our sessions, which start at 8 a.m. Lately, though, we've had a small group Bible study in our Quad until 9 so I haven't had to go anywhere until then. We're usually in sessions until about 3, with an hour break for lunch. From then until dinner, we hang out and I've taken to short jogs down the road (about 2 miles), which is much more hilly than anything in Texas (super tough!). Dinner is from 5 to 6, and you'd better be out by 6 because they start putting food up and vacuuming. Then we have the evening to work on stuff or hang out with friends. Saturdays we usually have off except the past two we've had ESL training all day long...9 to 5. Pretty rough. Sundays, we do "house church" with our small groups and then have the rest of the day to ourselves. And then it starts all over again. Sometimes I feel like I haven't seen Matt all day, even though I've been sitting right next to him all day. I'm finding myself missing our old life of Friday nights watching a RedBox movie, eating popcorn, and laying on the couch together. I'm sure we'll find a new thing that's "our thing" soon enough. Most people say FPO is harder than being on the field at first. Believe it or not, it's pretty tiring sitting and listening all day long. We just go from one session to the next all day. I can feel myself slipping into a coma at about 2:30 and it's so hard to stay awake! Most of the classes have been pretty good. Like anything, though, some of the classes are pretty hard to sit through. Overall it's okay, though, and we're learning a lot. The more we learn, though, the more eager we are to get to Prague and get to work. I guess it'll come soon enough, though. Anyway, that's our life right now! I'll try to get some pics of our apartment so you can see our new home. I've got to clean up, first!

Eight Whole Years!!

So today, February 20, Matt and I have been together for 8 years! Isn't that crazy? We started dating back in February of 2000. I can't believe it's been that long. It feels like we just met (well, most days it does). Equally crazy, though: I ran into an old friend from high school today here at FPO who just finished her Journeyman term (kind of like what we're doing). It was so good to see her and crazy (my word of the day) that we were here at the same time. Anyway, I just though that was...well...crazy. FPO is going pretty good. We get our first round of shots on Friday (eek!). Who ever heard of Japanese encephalitis? Anyway, there's a shot for that as well as the flu that's been going around here and many other gross diseases we could get overseas. Thankfully, Matt and I are still healthy (and sleeping better). We just found out today we'll be getting an International Driver's License! ...not such a big deal to anyone here, but I thought it was really cool. I'm not so good with the long posts yet. I just run out of things to say so fast. Hopefully I'll get better over time. Until then...

Valentine's in Richmond, VA

We celebrated our first Valentine's ever outside of Texas last week. We went out with 2 other couples who we met at our interviews back in October. God has really blessed us with some great friends here. It would be a lot harder without them. Of course, we forgot our camera but everyone else had theirs so we have some fun pictures to share...

There were 3 couples in a Jeep, so someone had to sit in the back. Of course, Matt (the biggest person) volunteered. I think the other guys are bringing out the inner 5-year-old in him.

Like I said, he's becoming more ridiculous every day...Notice the attempt of a quasi-beard on his chin. He's jealous of the mountain man.

The girls...

The guys...(one of them is a strange mountain man-can you guess which one?)

We have arrived!

We arrived last Monday here in Richmond, VA for FPO (Field Personnel Orientation). Needless to say, we've already found Walmart, Target, and Starbucks in a little town called Short Pump. It's actually not the small, backwoods town I was expecting. It's really nice, almost hoity-toity even, with a nice mall with Neiman's, Crate & Barrell, and Pottery Barn. So I'm impressed. Our internet connection here is not the greatest so we haven't been able to keep in touch or keep this thing updated as well as we had hoped. Our phones work great, though! Anyway, our days are pretty full here. Everything starts around 8 a.m. and doesn't end until 3 or 4...or 5 sometimes. It makes for a long day but we're learning a lot. Hopefully we'll have some pictures to upload this weekend so you can see where we're living for the next couple of months. Until then, we miss you all!