Following the Leader

That song from Peter Pan popped into my head today on the way home from church. ~ I’m following the leader wherever she may go. The only thing I know is the destination is church or home. La la la ~ I’m sure it would be even better if you sang it out loud instead of reading silently :)

Going to church takes quite a chunk of time here. I left my apartment at 7:20 this morning and then walked back in at 1:10. Okay, we did stay after church to practice a song. I can now sing the EFY Medley in Chinese! Well, sorta. A sister Romanized it so I did my best. And I listened to the sisters around me (logically). I’m just glad I know the tune or I would have had issues. Next week is ward conference and we’re singing it then. Speaking of ward conference, the 6th ward is the biggest in the stake and will be divided next week. I’m pretty sure that is the ward I’ll stick with. They have a YSA Sunday school and program. I agreed to attend the activity this Saturday: a movie at the church. Later I thought, hm, wonder if it will be in Chinese. Ah well. One more thing to tell you about!

Here are a few things I experienced during my scooter drives today: a car driving down the wrong side of the road. It was so completely the wrong side of the road! There was even a canal or something in the middle separating the 2 directions of traffic. And of course I saw a few scooters driving down the wrong side of the road (see that before, no biggie). A not-so-lovely animal/farm smell. Oh man, it was ripe. I was ready to get out of that area! No skirt troubles, phew. I wore a longer skirt and the wind blew it around but I stayed covered. Possibly more coloring on my arms. I put sunscreen on this morning but don’t think it worked for the drive home. I saw 3 teenage girls on a bicycle. Wow. Wish I had my camera in my hand. I need a ‘head-cam’ so I can just video as I walk around here. Then you might understand what it’s like.

Today I met some more people. Marie rode to church on the back of Sophia’s bike. That was interesting to me. Side saddle on a scooter. Has to be a bit scary. Oh, and Sophia is the helpful girl whose name I thought was Charlene. No idea how I got those 2 names mixed up. I had 2 translators today. One was Lisa who translated for my pops and I that first week. The other one I don’t know the name of, but she was nice and helpful. I first met her Saturday at that YSA activity (remember that adventure?!)

Lately, I’ve had a crazy craving to play the piano. I took my Hymns Made Easy book to church. But we didn’t have any free time. We arrived late (15 mins) and went directly to Relief Society. Sophia said she would arrive at 7:30. At 7:40 I called her and she didn’t answer. I couldn’t even leave a message since I couldn’t understand the recording (another chuckle). I was about to ask the guard to call a taxi when she called and said she would be there at 8:00. Good thing! I wanted to drive my scooter today not fork out money for a taxi. About 8:05 she arrives and we leave. Then we had to pick Marie up and I think that made the trip longer.

So church was a good experience. I was happy to be among members and young single adults. I have added 2 things to my ‘to buy’ list: a light jacket (I give up on the sunscreen) and some driving gloves. My hands get dirty from the handles, and I don’t like it.

P.S. I still don’t think I could get myself to church. Maybe just a few more trips and I’ll be ready for that.

It’s now 4:20 p.m. and I’ve been playing games since I finished my posts. 3 hours! My new laptop has some cool games. Mahjong, which I’ve loved for years. And this inkball game that has sucked me in. Anyway, someone is cooking something and it made me want Mac ‘n’ Cheese. Every now and again I get cravings for random foods. Mom, want to mail me some? JK

I still crave graham crackers a lot. Does that say anything about my body? I’ve heard if you crave certain things it can mean something. Here’s my favorite one: if you crave ice cream then you have too much stress in your life. That explains the college years! Anyway, I haven’t found graham crackers yet so the fried cookies are the replacement. They work sort of, okay not really. But it’s what I’ve got.