SURPRISE your 28! YOU'RE OLD!

So, every year I try to make Jerods birthday special because he ALWAYS makes mine over the top. The problem with Jerod is that he has everything and he is hard to surprise. Well I go down to Kansas City every weekend to spend time at our new house and hang out with him. I decided that I would throw a little surprise party at our house on the Monday night of the championship basketball game. (Because we have BIG TVs in our house, we have no furniture but we made sure to have TVs!) I had Cory (Jerods Brother) call Jerod and invite himself over the watch the game, that way I knew Jerod would be at the house. Then I emailed some of his friends to show up at the house at 7 pm. Jerods whole family was in on the surprise as well. So my normal routine is to go down to KC on Thursday then leave Monday morning at 6 am to get back to class. Well I get up on Monday at 6 am and act like I am going back to Columbia for class, but I really go to the dealership to get my oil changed. Jerod made me feel guilty for leaving him on his last birthday before he leaves for Iraq. But I was thinking man is he going to feel like a jerk once he finds out what I was doing! Well for some reason we could not get Jerod to leave the freakin house this day. So I am running all the errands, Jerods Mom goes to pick up Jerod birthday cake an hour away (THIS CAKE LADY IS AWESOME! Cherry has convinced her to make the trip to Dallas do our wedding cake, YAY!) Anyway, we finally get him out of the house to set up the surprise, and was he super surprised to come home and see me? Well kind of, I had left my FREAKING email open on a message I sent to our best friend Kayrin, and the title said, Jerods Surprise Party…So once again, he knew! But he still played along, and the fam came over and some of our friends and it was a ton of fun, and the first official thing we have had at our house. We had to have Kent and Cherry (Jerods Parents) bring chairs from the Auction building so people could sit somewhere, cause we still have no furniture. But the funniest part of this story is I bought Jerod a stand to go under the TV down by the bar, but I made him buy it back from me because I needed the money for other things. Therefore, he bought his own birthday present! Haha!

AWESOME 3D Scooby Cake!

My Sweet Boy!
Singing Happy Birthday!

Mi casa Su casa

We are setting here in our hotel room in the Dominican Republic because it is pouring down rain, so we thought we would let everyone know that we have officially closed on our house.
We were originally looking for a nice starter home, but I think this has turned into a little more than that. For those of you that do not know where or what Creekmoor is, it is a golf course located in Raymore, Mo and is at this point a semi-private golf course community. That house we live in is located in the Westbrook Villas. We figure since I was going to be gone for a year this would be the best location for a few different reasons. First, Jess won’t have to mow that lawn. Second, Jess won’t have to water the lawn. Third, Jess won’t have to shovel snow, basically she can be lazy. These are all amenities that come along with our HOA. Also, along with those amenities comes my favorite part, GOLF!!!! Because, I am trying to get on the PGA tour, living here will help my chances, ok maybe not but I still love golf. The area has its own elementary school. The club house has tennis courts, a weight room and a pool, Jess swears she will be swimming every day.

It' Officially OUR House!

So the first night we spent in our house want Friday, we have only a bed, a TV and couch. We eat our meals on the floor, which is a great bonding experience. However it is the coolest feeling knowing that all of this is yours!

Welcome Video from Taiwan

Taiwan...FINALLY!! :)

As many of you know I went to Taiwan over Christmas break...I thought I should post some of my favorite pictures and I also including the blog I wrote for the Graduate School while we were there...

Since we have arrived in Taiwan, the people here have been very welcoming and gracious. The communal culture has been very rich and apparent in everything they do. We have experienced multiple professional classes and my favorite was on Solution-Focused Brief Taiwan. This class was very interesting because even though the goal is the same as in America, the approach is very different. Because it is a communal society, everything is collaborative effort between student, teacher, parent and counselor. They believe that everything they are doing is for the benefit of the child and that is why it is important to work together. Even when discussing family matters they highlight that it is important for the child to have a balanced home. The approach describes what the community can do to improve the person in needs well being. Students welcoming us...

Since I am a first generation American who parents both come from a collectivist culture, I understand this approach. What I have realized is that many of the experiences in Taiwan are similar to family’s culture. However, I find myself flustered and anxious in different settings. What I realized during our group process time is that even though the culture is very similar to mine, I do not connect Taiwanese people to me because they do not look or sound like my family. Thus, even though I understand the culture I still may feel lost because I am not used to experiencing it with them.

Some of my classmates at the Ministry of Education

Along with attending professional classes, we have visited counseling psychology training centers and museums. Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the Native Taiwanese Museum. Where we learned about the 14 tribes in Taiwan that are remaining, they are also known as Aboriginals. We learned aboriginals have occupied the island for almost 8000 years because the Han Chinese immigrants came to Taiwan in the 17th century. The Taiwanese Aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. There were over 26 different languages, but now many are extinct and some of the smaller tribes’ languages are in danger of becoming extinct.
My Host Family

After going through the museum, I began to see many parallels between the aboriginal culture and history to our American Indian culture and history. I found it fascinating that two different areas in the world can have almost the same experience. The museum was a great learning experience about the history of Taiwan and its people. They welcomed our group with an amazing aboriginal ceremonial welcome dance. Where they pulled all of us to join in and dance with them. This is another display of how welcoming and warm the culture is here.
However, the greatest experience for me has been the reaffirmation in my beliefs is that the relationships we build are the most important thing in life. We sometimes become so wrapped up in life that we forget why we are working so hard, we lose sight of our original goal. The warmth and graciousness that the Taiwanese people have shown our group is astounding. It warms my heart to have built so many friendships in such a short time. Connections such as this will continue to shrink the bridge between the east and west and one day we will make the world a better place by working together.

National Taiwan Normal University and University of Missouri Students

The Coast, It was awesome! :)

Memoirs of a Boy Soilder

I read the most amazing book this past week (I know you are thinking, how do I have time to read). Anyway, it is a memoir of Ishmael Beah who was a child solider during the civil war in Sierra Leone. This book drew me in and I could not stop reading it! There are many parts of the book that are just heart breaking and you cannot believe this happened to a real person. Actually, the whole reason I read the book was after I went to meet him and hear him speak. I went into my boss’s office and she said she was going to see a speaker tonight. I saw the pamphlet and I told her that I had bought that book about 6 months ago and had yet to read it. She invited me along and I ended up staying for 2 hours because I am just fascinated by him! His story was truly amazing, heartbreaking and just makes you want to get involved and help the children who suffer from the effects of a civil war. It makes you count your blessings and realize how lucky we really are.

VAGINA!!!!!!!!!!

It is over! I performed in my very last Vagina Monologues this past weekend and it was bittersweet. I was lucky enough to have Jerods’ whole family and mine in attendance (even though Oni and Jerods dad were thoroughly embarrassed by the entire play being about Vaginas). I love the Vagina Monologues for so many reasons. Not only because I love the stories that are told, but because it is truly a bonding experience with the cast. We met every Sunday for about three months. You really get used to seeing these wonderful women every Sunday and then you feel a little lost when it’s done. The Vagina Monologues is very close to my heart this year as the spotlight issue was to Stop Rape in the Congo to young girls and women. Civil war is something that no one in our generation or even our grandparents’ generation has experienced in America. However, my parents have both experienced the effects of a civil war and what it can do to a country. This year the new monologue hit me the hardest. It spoke about how we as Americans perpetuate civil wars in other countries. How in America we do not care about where the goods we buy come from, we just care if it works properly or looks nice. Like most countries in Africa, natural resources are in abundance. In the Congo, one of their major natural resources is rubber and the materials needed for cell phones and game machines like play station three. Which we do not realize that over here because many times we do not care to know. However if you have a minute take some time and explore the website below and read up on the aftermath of this civil war in the Congo. Moreover, the next time you look at your diamond, your cell phone, pump your gas, or play basketball stop and think where these items may be coming from.

Peace, Self Love and Vagina.

http://newsite.vday.org/drcongo