Missing the 'Burgh

       The last few days of work for both of us have been a little rough, and I know for myself I occasionally wonder why in the world I am doing this. Today we had a mini discussion about future plans even though we are only a month into this. This past month has flown by and I know the next 4 will go even faster with the holidays coming and everyone being busy. Anyway, we have to start to think about things sooner or later, and although our plan is to travel for at least a year, who knows what will change or how! We started to talk about where we might like to go after March 19th, or if we decide that traveling isn't for us, then what happens next? There are many times that we find ourselves missing Pittsburgh and our friends and family, and I always find myself comparing little things here with the familiar things back in the burgh.
       After reading a comment from my friend Bethany and sharing with her the things we miss most about Pittsburgh, I started to tear up a bit as I recalled part of that long list. It is always nice to bring these things back into memory when times here get a little more challenging and we start to miss our friends and family back home. So for the heck of it, and as sort of a catharsis for Mike and I, we decided to reminisce, build this list together, and share it with all of you!!
    

 What we miss most about Pittsburgh:

Skyline at the Pirates game this summer before we left

Spending time with our friends. The Steeler's. Steeler's parties. Our 40 inch HDTV (especially for the Steeler's parties). Having friends on holidays like Halloween. Mike's old comic book store, Phantom of the Attic, and discounted comic books. Bellefield.  Riverview park. The strip. Our favorite restaurant, Girasole. Having sharp knives. Seeing Harry Potter every year on opening night with the Lubinskis. Gas cooking. The skyline. Fall leaves. The LIVING ministry. Being part of ALIVE (the ministries biggest yearly event). The Children's Home (this job gives me a new appreciation for my old job). Pumpkin patches. One lane streets. Giant Eagle. Qdoba. A backyard. Video games. My collection of  books. Dinners at Aunt Jane's. All of the new babies. Having a hair salon. Small groups. Quinn and Rose on the radio. Light up Night with friends. The old Honda Civic. The farmers markets. Mike preaching Wednesday mornings at Light of Life. Pot holes (oh wait, just kidding). Clover's favorite kennel. My painting class. Charles' awesome surprise parties. $5/free popcorn Monday's at South Side Works theater. Working with friends. Going to lunch with friends. Taking walks with friends. Having face to face conversations with friends. Pretty much all of our awesome Pittsburgh friends :)

Mike's 28th birthday surprise and his friends who made his cake :)

        Now clearly, we could continue that list forever, but those are some of the highlights. And, there could also be a list of what we DON'T miss about Pittsburgh, but those would be mundane things like rush hour bridge traffic, trash on the sidewalks, and owning a home that won't sell...but those things just depress everyone, and what we need now is to smile as we remember all of the good things about the place we love and miss...Pittsburgh!

Light up Night 2006 - Charity, Jess, me and Beth

ALIVE 2008 - Liz, me and Kelly!

Puedo Ir Al Bano?

           San Antonio is filled with so many different cultures! Obviously, one of the main languages here is Spanish, and I have already had several Spanish speaking families and patients that I have cared for at my new job. Since I haven’t really brushed up on my Spanish since my one mission trip years ago to Mexico, and prior to that my Spanish classes in high school, I think it’s about time I learn a little more than hola, me llamo Katy. Quieres agua? Que es la hora? Yo tengo mucho hambre! Chicle en la basura. And, Puedo ir al bano? I mean, when am I going to ask my patient’s Spanish speaking mother if I can go to the bathroom? And why would I be telling someone to throw their gum in the trash can? The only reason I remember that is from my 8^th grade Spanish teacher repeatedly yelling this at kids like Steven McDowell.

            So to start off on the right foot, I frantically researched events going on this weekend since I have 5 nights off, and after a couple hours of Googling Mike and I were off to embrace the diverse cultural heritage in our new city! Here’s a few pictures of each event to help you share our experiences with us. 

Friday night: Lebanese Festival

Me drinking some Lebanese coffee out of my dainty little cup

Yum! Baclowa!

Watching Lebanese folk dancing called Dabke

Capturing a little "Texan Lebanese" culture :)

 Saturday afternoon: Primaro Sabado en El Marcado

Mexican dance performers at El Mercado. Lovin' the Mariachi!

Inside the market - tons of fun stuff!

The shirt says it all :)

Mike's dream of becoming Nacho Libre is almost complete

We saw a bunch of Quinceineras on Saturday! So cute!

Saturday evening/night: Diwali Festival of Lights

When we got to the event, people were still preparing for the upcoming performances. Here, an Indaian woman is drawing a mandala in front of the "stage".

For the performances they had groups representing each state in India and showed how they dress and their dance styles. This woman was one of our favorites. She is representing Orissa.

Another group representing Maharashtra. They were amazing!

Floating my diya into the fountain.

A picture of the floating diyas.  I'm not sure if this is 100% accurate, but what they taught us is that Diwali (The Festival of Lights) is a holiday where they celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and lighting the diya's is a way to honor knowledge over ignorance, or to bring light where there is darkness. They say this is to bring hope and prosperity to all mankind.

Here you can see all of the lit diyas around the edge of the fountain.

Mike floating his diya

Sunday: Mission Trail

Mission Concepcion - built in 1740 and apparently the oldest stone church in the US. There are 5 missions total along the trail. The Alamo is one of them, and we decided to bike to two of the other 4 on Sunday.

Inside the sanctuary at Mission Concepcion. They still hold masses in this church.

Mission San Jose. My favorite so far! It was huge and had some awesome architecture.  For anyone who read Pillars of the Earth, you felt like you were there with Tom the builder :)

Cool little view through a few doorway arches at San Jose.

Watch out for the cactus roof!

Mike being nice and carrying my camelbak :)

The main doors leading into the sanctuary.

Getting ready to ride back to the beginning of the trail!

Our New Life

Mike and I at the Lebanese festival last night!

Our nephew Calvin!

            Where to begin. A lot has changed since the last time I posted…We drove through 7 states,  temporarily “lived” in 6 different locations, were blessed with our first nephew, enjoyed summer weather in Texas then fall in PA then summer in Texas then fall in VA then summer in Texas then fall in Texas all in 2 weeks, had a huge scare within my family, discovered the riverwalk, started new jobs, left all of our old friends, made a couple new friends, left a church we love and found a new church we love, saw the Alamo, bought our first book/comic book in 2 months, watched Dabke dancers and ate authentic Lebanese food, wiped out our finances, celebrated our first paycheck in over a month, got hooked on Twilight, learned to live life without cable and DVR, rediscovered how crazy being a nurse can be and how frustrating being a waiter can be, felt completely displaced, and finally, after all of this, began to feel a little more at home.

            So to sum it up, we’ve been through a lot. To go into detail about these things and more would leave you all putting saline drops in your dry tired eyes and wishing you hadn’t kept asking me to update our blog :) It has been an eventful couple months, with ups and downs (more than we had anticipated and a couple that we could definitely have done without), but it is all part of the experience and the adventure, and in the end these things have already made us stronger. My new friend and fellow traveler Lauren already has one previous assignment under her belt, and her advice is always helpful when I start flipping out. There are days that she reminds me, “this isn’t forever”, when one of us is having a crazy night at work. She also said that although it might not feel like it now, there will be a day when these 5 months are over and regardless of what happens next, you look back on the experience and you realize how you have grown as a nurse and a person. She said that though she did not see this at the time, she realizes now that she’s become more confident with all that she has done and learned, and overall has become a stronger person.

Enjoying the pool while we can

Me and Lauren, my fellow traveler!

It is good to know that someone else felt the way that I am feeling now. I know that in a few short months I will probably look back on this and be so grateful for all of the good and the bad, not only with my job but with life. Though I am frustrated beyond end regarding the difficult bumps in our road, I also feel blessed (when I really take the time to analyze things) by all that we have been through and how we have had to rely on God during the good times and the crappy times. I also saw how family comes together in those crappy times, and in the long run, no matter where we are, how much money we have, what exciting adventures we undertake, the most important thing is that family loves each other and supports each other in every way possible. I know that we couldn’t have made it home to be with my parents if it weren’t for Keri and Angus, and I know (although I am a pain in the butt nurse-daughter) that my parents were grateful for our support while we were there and for my sister’s support and guidance from far away. I know this sounds cheesy, but it all kind of ended up as a big “circle of love” and it brought us all that much closer.

Me and Mike going to an auction...just kidding:)

Now that I said this would be short and it ended up being a rambling novel, I will close this blog entry by thanking you all for your thoughts and prayers, and by inviting you all to come visit, any day or any time – as long as you let us know ahead of time so we can buy an air mattress. If you can’t visit, care packages are always welcome or at least a card or letter or even just a picture! I guess I didn’t mention how our mailbox is always empty, and that we currently have only 3 pictures and 1 card to remind us of home and those we love :)  We miss you all more than you can imagine, but we wanted to let you know we are doing well, we’re enjoying Texas, and we will try to be better about keeping you posted as we learn more about this new city!

Our address for those who are interested:

5600 Babcock Rd.

Unit # 8307

San Antonio, TX 78240