Louvre is in the Air (Entree Day #2)

Keep good company - that is, go to the Louvre.

Paul Cezanne

Bonjour my sweet petites!  Can you believe that I haven't blogged since August?!? I sincerely apologize for the delay in writing.  Between a 2 week bout of the flu in September, Annual Meeting in October, working at Bethel as a tour guide, and life in general, I have fallen way behind. It's high time to catch up on the Europe blog. Grab a blanket, francophiles, it's story time!

Day 2 in Paris had a FANTASTIC itinerary in store. The opening quote of this post was quite an obvious hint: visiting the Louvre. This national treasure is the world's largest art museum,  with a highly celebrated collection of beloved pieces. Believe me when I say that excitement did not even scratch the surface of how I felt to be there.

Bonjour à tout le monde!!!

Sarah and I, after a light breakfast of brioche and coffee, met up with another friend named Armelle in front of the Louvre in order to meet up with the guys. The whole courtyard was flooded with people, families travelling together and hecklers selling cheap Parisian fares. The focal point naturally was the pristine pyramid in the center, dazzling radiantly against the historic backdrop of the surrounding buildings. Despite the high volume of visitors, there was still a sense of respectful awe encasing the vicinity.

But where were the boys?!? No international phone service, no Wi-Fi, so no means of communication. We attempted to call Alain (the brother they were staying with, coincidentally also Armelle's brother), but he was already at work and did not know their whereabouts. Naturally, we were concerned but hopeful that they'd arrive in due time. In the interim, we were joined by yet another friend named Brian.

(Side note: If you ever need a really good Paris tour guide, Brian is your man. People that enamored by their city make me ashamed that I do not speak glowingly of NYC. He spoke of the City of Lights with resounding passion, it was really quite beautiful. End of side note.)

An important detail I've forgotten to include: our trip to Paris coincided with the French Independence Day, or Bastille Day. ON TOP OF THAT, the President of the United States also paid Paris a visit at the same time as us. Needless to say, the security pretty much everywhere was extremely high, but as a bonus, there were terrific air shows performing above the museum (which made for good entertainment), as well as the well-known exhibits having free admission. The planes zoomed and flew in perfectly choreographed routines above our little quartet as we bought coffee and waited for JJ and Ribz.

After about an hour or so, they finally appeared! The presidential traffic had delayed them immensely, but somehow they managed to find their way (alone, I might add) to the museum. Reunited as a group, we stood in line and thus began our tour of The Louvre. I can wax poetic about all the beauties that resided in that gorgeous building,  but I will allow the photos to speak for themselves. 

Le  Dream Team

I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried when I saw Mona Lisa in person

The Tetragrammaton on the real Moabite Stone!! Bible history right there

We were only able to explore about two wings of the museum, since time was needed for the rest of our day's activities. After the Louvre, we traversed the streets of Paris by foot, absorbing the delicious sights and sounds without the first day's jetlagged cloudiness. The brilliance of the Parisian day scene shimmered like the river Seine, different languages and scents blending together in a melodic symphony of senses. It was already well established in our minds: Paris stole our hearts. And it had barely been a full 24 hours!!!

One of our major must see tourist attractions was Notre Dame, and if you're a fan of Disney musical cartoons, you can imagine why Ribz and I were so excited to see this building in person. It is one of the few Gothic style buildings surviving in that part of Paris; it's been preserved so well that you can almost see Quasimodo hanging off the side. We were so swept away by the street performers and general atmosphere that we completely fell for a pretty typical hustler ploy. Don't worry, readers, I'll share funny anecdotes such as this one in upcoming blog nuggets.

After a delicious lunch comprised of shwarma and gelato, we continued on towards Luxembourg Gardens. The second-largest park in Paris, its sheer size only emphasizes the lush landscaping and the many detailed sculptures inhabiting it. If it is art that you seek, you need not look any further than this area of Paris; it is as Hemingway described, "a moveable feast."

SPEAKING OF FEASTS.

What would be the perfect end to an exciting day like this one? Food and fireworks of course! Unbeknownst to us,  Sarah had made reservations at this fine French restaurant called Le Jeroboam with a whole group of other local brothers and sisters. Très délicieux! We were treated to a 3-course meal that was positively ravishing and mouthwatering. In the Nom-Noms of Paris, we will be going through a beautifully detailed post of all the yumminess we experienced.

After dinner, we emerged into the crowded street towards a central courtyard, throngs of people congregating. Down one of the avenues was a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, its lights already beginning to shimmer and dance in sync. Not even our pictures or videos can do justice to how breathtakingly astounding the displays and fireworks were. My recollections of the EPCOT fireworks show from a Disney trip a decade ago faded away in the vivid splendour of Bastille Day. Stillness intermingled with delighted shrieks with every boom colouring the night sky. It was and will be unforgettable. With lifted hearts and ringing ears, we returned to our abode via train, satisfied with our second day's adventures and eager for the next.

Literally Midnight in Paris *Woody Allen fangirl moment*

After this writing hiatus,  I hope that this latest post is to your collective satisfaction! I had missed penning my adventures; here's hoping that I get to speed with the rest of my Euro trip. Have a lovely evening and stay tuned for the next post!

Louvre,

The Adventurous A.

Bienvenue à Paris! (Entree Day #1)

 Wednesday, July 12, 2017. We are about to time-travel. There's an alarm on my phone,  with the perfect display:

If you have been reading this little blog of mine for some time, you will already guess that I, like some particularly well-known movies and shows, will employ the flashback scene to drag the audience into the story.

SURPRISE PEOPLES IT'S STORY-TIME.

Back to July 12th.

Ribz and I were taken to Newark, where we'd meet with Capt. JJ and then catch our flight to Paris. Needless to say, it was an emotionally charged ride down to the airport (not in crying, but more for the palpable energy in the car). We had an evening flight, which was definitely a bonus for sleeping and not having too much jet-lag upon arrival.

HAH. Sleeping?!? No jet-lag?? Remember the above statement, we'll get back to it soon.

After a relaxing 7ish hour flight filled with endless Ipad movies and handsome French flight attendants, we landed in Paris at 10 am Thursday. Bear in mind, there is a 6 hour time difference between NY and Paris.  Our lovely friend and Paris contact Sarah picked us up from the airport and after sorting out exchange rates and whatnot, we made our way out to a full day of activities.

Oh you know, just casually passing by THE EIFFEL TOWER while riding through town... #wheninfrance

On the agenda: walking Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, and meeting up with friends for dinner.

Our first stop was at an apartment managed by a sweet Indian sister named Indira. She and her grandson Roman gave us a grand tour of the 200 year old building they reside in. It was truly like stepping back in time, into an era of plush leisure, pristine furnishings and golden elegance. As we gazed through the incredibly tall windows to the courtyard below us, there was no denying that we were definitely not stateside anymore. We explored the buildings and, after making arrangements to return that night for dinner, set out to peruse the streets of the City of Lights.

Very Great Gatsby-ish

If you have not ventured into this part of Europe, you will be pleased to find that cities such as Paris and Rome are just as easily traversed by foot as by public transportation. The charm of the environ is in the old-world feel, which is best appreciated (in my humble opinion) up close in person. You need to breath in the antiqueness, taste the history, and absorb the lights with eyes wide open.

A packed Arc de Triomphe

I have to apologize; for this first day in Paris, I was more involved with taking it all in rather than taking pictures. Paris is well-known for taking your breath and BELIEVE ME, this is not fictional. It is every bit as enchanting as Woody Allen would convince you it'd be.

(If you get that reference, we can be friends.)

At this point, walking the length of Champs-Elysées, we were STARVING, so we began searching for a place to have lunch. After plenty of deliberation, we agreed (upon Sarah's suggestion)  on Le Paradis du Fruit (here is the link should you decide to go and test it for yourself http://www.leparadisdufruit.fr/ ). It's quite healthy, promoting dishes with fresh veggies, naturally raised chicken and organic fare like that. We took our seats and began digging in.

I ordered all my food in French. Je suis heureux!

CHOCOLAAAATE

Remember the whole "not sleeping on the plane because we're too pumped up" bit? 

SO.

Right in the restaurant, almost as if on cue, us 3 New Yorkers basically blacked out briefly. Nodding heads, little streams of drool, the whole enchilada. I have never felt that intensely exhausted so quickly in public. To give you an idea of how bad this was: I TOOK A 3 SECOND VIDEO OF A PIECE OF BROWN BREAD FOR NO GOOD REASON. LITERALLY JUST LOOKING AT THIS BREAD.

(NO YOU MAY NOT SEE THIS VIDEO.)

JET-LAG, GOTTA LOVE IT.

We finally finished our meals and, in order to banish away the tiredness, set to walking more before we had to return to Indira's for dinner. Sarah and I made it a point to visit as many of the Sephoras on the main street as possible, much to the chagrin of our male companions.

"The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy."- Yves Saint-Laurent

As the twilight descended and the city lights turned on, we returned to Indira's to a full feast of food. This was just the first of many occurrences throughout France and Italy where we were completely astounded by the sheer amount of food presented.

Never fear, I will be detailing more of the food in an upcoming Nom-Noms of Paris blog!

Travel is beautiful. Cats are beautiful. Travel+cats: PURRFECT #puntastic

It's a beautiful thing, really, to be welcomed as if you're already family. Indira and all the friends at the house did just that, filling our evening with plenty of laughs and embraces. Mind you, this was just at day 1! The 3 of us tried our best to be as engaging as possible despite the jetlag and language barrier. Finally, the boys went to their accommodations with a brother named Alain while I went back home with Sarah, who would be my gracious hostess the rest of our days in Paris.

That is all for Day 1! I hope you have enjoyed it so far, there's plenty ahead! Stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

I'm-a Back!!!

If you have ever had the culinary privilege of eating real French or Italian food at either an authentic restaurant or with friends, you would more than likely have a traditional 3 course meal, which is as follows:

(1) Entree (Primo Piatto)
(2) Le plat (Secondo Piatto)
(3) Dessert (Dolce)

This Europe trip has been just like that. Our journey through Paris, Milan, Genova, Cinque Terre and Rome has been truly unforgettable. Each section, like a delicious dish, has brought its own flavour and texture to the past few weeks. You enjoy the portions for what they have to offer, expanding your stomach and mental capacities to a new stretched level. Even after the onslaught of savory goodness has finished, it lingers in your palate, staining your memories and making your heart ache in the best way possible.

Now that Ribz and I have safely returned stateside, this metaphor has been very appropriate. We have been dazzled and enchanted, so it's finally storytime! I have the next few days off before returning to my usual life routine, so I'll be writing and writing and writing. I'm determined to share this experience with fuller detail rather than waiting too long. I haven't quite worked out a posting schedule of yet (it IS 5 am at the time of writing this, but alas jetlag!!), but I'm thinking of maybe a post or two per week. It will be split into 3 sections:

Paris (Primo Piatto, our fantastic pre-convention vacation)
Milan (Secondo Piatto, the real meat and reason of this trip)
Genova, Cinque Terre and Rome (Dolce, the sweet after-convention recreation)

Besides straightforward storytelling of each day, expect a few Nom-Nom and Blog Nuggets in there! These 3 weeks have been nothing but lifechanging and joyous, and I cannot wait to share!!

I should attempt sleep now...*dramatic sigh*
Pasta la vista and stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A

Farewell to France

I'm listening to Sous Le Ciel de Paris by ZAZ as the sun rises in fair France. It's incredible to me how quickly these 5 days have FLOWN. Wasn't I just walking off the plane awestruck, in jetlagged disbelief of actually being there in person? Didn't I breathe in the city until my lungs filled with the perpetual air of je ne sais pas?

Travel is robbery. It takes whatever 4 walls of familiarity surround you and breaks them mercilessly if allowed. Beyond the physical aspect of leaving home, it's the fact that we are cradled within the arms of our worldwide brotherhood that makes it truly unforgettable. Ribz and I (along with JJ) have been accepted as family with the friends we've made this week. The nearly 800 pictures and videos testify to that affection bridging past language barriers and time differences.

The next few posts will be dedicated to our time spent within Paris, while we gear ourselves for the intensely exciting week ahead of us for Special Convention in Milan. It's finally here!!! Incroyable!!!

Short post, I know. Pardon moi. I haven't had much time to just sit and write; been too busy absorbing this experience! Much love to you all and stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

Squad-Ala! We're Off!

My lovely readers!!!

We are now officially at the airport awaiting our flight. It's amazing how the time from hearing about getting accepted as delegates has absolutely FLOWN. The three of us (Ribz, team captain JJ and yours truly) are situated right by our gate awaiting patiently.  My mind is spinning and my heart is racing; IT'S HERE IT'S REALLY REALLY HERE!!!

Travel buddies!! KC the Koala and MEPS

Three amigos back at it!

The anticipation is streaming through my veins as I attempt to chow down my jalapeno- flavoured popcorn. I had been planning a far more eloquent pre-flight post but alas, you'll have to deal with the excited travel-buzzed giddy A. CAN'T BELIEVE IT WHOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

Ok, I'm going to finish this off here, they're about to call our plane soonish. If this is my last post ever,  I am sorry/not sorry that it was oozing with unbridled joy and enthusiastic energy. On a less macabre note, I'll talk to you all overseas!

SQUADALA OUT! Toodles and stay tuned for the next post!

Louvre, (ba dum tss)

The Adventurous A.

P.S. if you understood the squadala reference, THOU ART A GIANT NERD

*Mr. Popo voice* byyyyyyyyyyyyYYYYYYYYyyyeeee...

TRIP REVEAL!

Hello fellow Adventurers!

If you follow my travel Instagram (@the_adventurous_a), you would have noticed a few posts recently that look like this.

*cue IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN*

Today marked the last of said posts. The reason? Welllllll, it is an exact month before my next trip! For the big reveal...

Ribz and I were accepted to be delegates for the Special Convention in Milan!! This is a first for us both and we are excited beyond description. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I can finally tell you all how this good news came to be.

Now, you may recall from the last blog post that I mentioned a potential trip to Nicaragua. Last July 4th weekend,  I took a girls road trip up to Toronto to visit the Canada Bethel Branch. While up there, we befriended a troupe of very friendly Canadian friends and hit it off immediately. Upon our return, we began planning a needgreating trip for the following March, having about 8 people total planning on going to Nicaragua from New York, Canada and Texas.

During the late summer/early autumn harvest at Wallkill in October, the opportunity to apply for this year's Special Conventions came up. I had applied some years ago for the Convention in London, but my friend and I were not among the chosen delegates at that time. 5 of us got together and decided to apply for the 2017 Convention series. Our applications were submitted, and then the waiting began.

Now, I can be patient if need be, but it's definitely a quality that I'm working on personally. When it comes to waiting for news, any kind of news, I have to actively just keep praying to Jehovah to help me stay patient. I had not asked for the time off from work for the Nicaragua trip, and quite a few friends who had applied for other Special Conventions had already gotten confirmation. The cutoff time was fast approaching, but we strove to apply the wise words at Proverbs 3:5 to "trust in Jehovah with all of your heart."  Waiting is TOUGH, I will be the first to admit it. What I do notice, interestingly, is that when it's least expected and you leave things in Jehovah's hands, you will find the BEST surprises.

Skip forward to December 17th (YES I know the exact date). Ribz and I had finished a long day out in service and were finishing up some chores before finally relaxing. I was folding clothing when I heard my email alert go off. Not thinking much about it, I opened my phone to check. LO AND BEHOLD! I could hear Ribz gasping in shock as he received the same message: a confirmation to go to the Special Convention! We ran out of our rooms jumping with delight, unbridled joy and utter shock. It had been two months since we had applied, but that mattered not as we began contacting our other travel mates. After sharing the good news with our nearest and dearest, we had to say goodbye to our Nica plans and set our focus on this trip to Italy.

Here we are, a month away from this trip, and the fact that we are attending is still surreal to me. The inevitable Cloud 9 sensation has trickled in as we organize our packing, spend long hours with our mom in front of the computer doing research and making reservations, and figure out what to give as gifts to the friends over there. I thank Jehovah on a daily basis for this exciting privilege!

We will be gone a total of 3 weeks, starting from North to South. I will not be spoiling our route just yet, since I will be updating the blog as we go along. The poll that is still up (for now) on here is to figure out my posting schedule whilst we are out there, but more than likely I will be posting with more regularity when we return. I cannot wait to tell the incredible experiences that I'm sure will take place!!

Well, that's it for today! I appreciate all the love you readers have given the blog; it really has been fun and a real pleasure being able to write and share these theocratic travels of mine. Have an adventurously adventurous day and stay tuned for the next post! Ciao, famiglia!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

I ALMOST LOST MARK!!!

DRAMATIC TITLE FOR GRABBING ATTENTION!!

Hello beloved readers!!!

I apologize for the long absence. I've been obviously inactive on this blog, not having left on any other adventurous adventures in a while. I actually had plans to travel internationally this month to Nicaragua with some friends for about a month's time, but other travel plans came in the way.

NO DETAILS! At least not yet. You will all find out soon enough.

To start this post, some of you may know that since the summer of 2012, I've had the privilege of being able to assist at the Watchtower Farms in Wallkill, NY for the past 5 summers/autumns with the Farm Department. My assignment in particular has been the harvesting of blueberries, peaches, apples and grapes. It's one of my favorite crews and a real privilege to work side by side with some pretty incredible people.

It's this very harvest that sets the stage for this near-traumatic experience from this past summer.

It was a crisp, warm Thursday morning in September. I arrived at the A residential building along with another sister from my congregation in order to enjoy Morning Worship and breakfast with friends. We had a jolly old time prior to the day's work, and each headed to their appointed work spots. Every harvest season, Mark accompanies me at some point for photo opps.

Bearing Good Fruit

The day went as it normally would,  filled with laughter,  sunshine and good times. The REAL dilemma occurred once I came back home from work. I stumbled sleepily back into my bedroom, ready to drop.  I casually glanced to the spot Mark usually sits, only to suddenly notice his absence. A quick look around proved futile, and panic replaced my tiredness. I attempted remembering where he was, but to no avail. I asked Ribz and my family,  but they hadn't recalled seeing him at home either. This began a few terrible days.

You may ask yourself, why all the fuss? What kind of (then) 24-year-old woman gets distraught over losing/misplacing a stuffed animal? To paraphrase.... I'll leave the link to the "Introduction to MEPS" blog post I did last March. http://welcometotheadventurousadventure.blogspot.com/2016/03/an-introduction-to-meps.html?m=0


I kid you not,  I had full teams of friends on the lookout for the fuzzball at Wallkill.  I appreciate that no one made light of it or thought it weird to be on a wild goose chase for a toy. In the meantime, my family was kind and proactive in the most comforting ways.

Now fast forward to the following Tuesday.

I was at work at the time, at the point of trying to accept that my beloved tiny travel companion was possibly gone forever. Going through the motions of my job,  I almost ignored the text message from one of my breakfast buddies "Steve",  with only this caption: "We came across someone you know. " attached to this picture.

Faces covered to protect the not-so-innocent.  Just kidding, you know who you are.  #bluesushitrio

I will not deny that tears started to flow copiously on sight. My Mark was in safe hands!!!! I was hungry for details, and "Steve" was more than happy to fill me in.

Apparently, i HAD  brought him to breakfast, only to have let him slip out of my little harvest backpack right outside of our car. We'd left him behind in the pavement, all alone.  He was subjected to the rain and summer nights, until some unknown kind soul lovingly placed him on a nearby sign. Fortunately, he did not submit to the elements,  staying the strong little guy he is.


I mean,  come on,  he survived Canada AND  Guyana,  no way a little NY weather would bring him down, right?

The next day after my midweek meeting , I picked him up at Wallkill, ready for him to come home.

A sopping wet Mark posing with "Steve"'s ...whatever that thing is

Poor thing needed a MAJOR shower

He's on the table in front of me, his calm mouthless face staring back at me.  I know not to get overly attached to material things,  but still I am beyond relieved that he's safe and sound.  Call me ridiculous, but I love him. We have waaaaay too many adventures to go on, neither of us can afford to get lost now!!!

In all his fluffy , bowtied goodness

We shall bid you a goodnight, and stay tuned for the next post!!!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

Surprise Blog Nugget

This post is completely unplanned.

I'm sitting in a warm Starbucks keeping my ears from freezing off. Taking full advantage of the free WiFi, I decided to upload this amazing piece of art.

Isn't this neat?!? I had wanted to have a caricature of "The Adventurous A." It even includes Mark the Travelling Bear!!!! If you are on Instagram, please check out the artist's work at @say_geronimo11. She did a phenomenal job with the drawing, I'm very pleased with it!

Heading back outside now, stay warm and have an adventurously adventurous day!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

The Wet Hammock

To kick-start this post, a HUGE thank you to  my awesome Instagram followers at @the_adventurous_a for voting on the last poll I put up. Because of you who voted, here is the lineup for the next several posts:

Wet hammock
Travel tips
Collab blog

I have not figured out a time schedule for all of them yet (since some do involve legwork eg rounding up fellow bloggers, research, etc.), but fear not! They will be up eventually.

Onto the story!

This may be one of my favorite Guyana stories to tell, probably because it did not happen to me. The protagonist of this adventurous adventure is no other but fellow Guyana travel buddy Ribz, aka the World's Worst Anchorman!

*virtual applause*

Legend has it that every long trip has at least one bad day. I was not inclined to believe this traveler's folklore, not having had much experience travelling myself. I figured that hey, as long as you plan accordingly, even spontaneous incidents would not dampen the experiences or be considered "bad."

I was wrong.

Let's take this opportunity to travel back in time to November 26th, 2015. This was our last day living in Orealla. We busied ourselves that whole day saying goodbye to our new-found friends, visiting family after family before our boat back to Skeldon left that very evening. It was most definitely bittersweet; when you travel and get to know the friends of any area and congregation, you can't help but become attached to them.

Last day in Orealla. Danced in the rain. One for the bucket list

Ribz and the munchkins

My beautiful babies!!

Now that you have the background setting, fast forward to about 8 pm. All tearful goodbyes said to Tete, Josh and Charlie on the stelling (dock), we boarded our boat, hammocks already strung up for the night ride.

Fortunately, we had a few from the congregation also heading to the city on the same boat, so we felt less lonely. Ribz settled in for the night fairly quickly, while I stayed on the roof with my wonderful hostess Sherine.  It was a cooler night than expected, so by around 10 ish we both went down into our hammocks.

This is where it gets better.

Or worse. Depends on who you ask.

At approximately 1 am, I woke up to the startling feeling of being watched. In the dark, I struggled to adjust my vision, only to find Ribz sitting on a nearby rafter, hovering above me. He seemed fidgety and upset, mumbling incoherently to himself. I shrugged it off and fell back asleep.

2 am. The boat jarred rudely.

"Attention, passengers," alerted the captain in his creole-inflected accent. "The tide is too low to keep going, so we will be stopping at this harbor until 7 am. Then we'll continue to the main dock at Skeldon."

Oooooookaaaay, we were not expecting this in the least bit. I was fully awake at this point, and I could tell immediately that Ribz was VERY agitated. This is where his story came out. Enter the Wet Hammock.

There's a rule on these boats that STRICTLY says that NO DRUNK PEOPLE ALLOWED ON DECK. It's painted throughout the rafters and ceiling. However, one inebriated fellow snuck on board and inconveniently set up camp right above my brother's hammock.

IT GETS BETTER/WORSE.

Ribz had wrapped himself partly with the hammock fabric and topped off with his mini travel pillow. Thank goodness he did, because right afterwards, he felt a piddling sensation on top of the pillow. "Must be raining" was his first thought. If only. He woke to find his drunken upstairs neighbor completely emptying his bladder right atop of him and his bedding.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!! WE ARE NOT DONE YET!!!

He is telling me his experience as he's getting off the boat, blindly walking in the general direction of the city. Here we are, dark o clock in the wrong part of town, with a (literally) pissed off brother, no luggage and nowhere to go. I attempted to get him to pause and think about what we should do, but he was understandably in no mood to chitchat. The other friends who were on the boat disembarked at the same time as us, and pulled us from the direction we were heading in. "Don't go there! That's where the drug dealers hang out! Come with us and we'll take you to the hostel instead." I do not want to think about what would have happened had we kept going...

We walked a good half hour or so with the group (at this point, it was Sherine, another sister named Anita, Ribz and myself) to the Amer-Indian hostel, where we had to wait outside for another half hour for a couple of rooms. When we go inside, we see that NONE of the beds have sheets. The landlady proceeds to procure some damp fitted sheets for each bed and nothing else. The three of us ladies spent the next 3 hours or so fending off the giant bloodthirsty city mosquitoes that were buzzing about. Only Ribz, urine soaked, stinky and sleep-deprived, was offensive enough to the pests that they avoided him entirely.

STILL NOT DONE.

Did I mention that we had a very important mission to take care of? Our beloved Josh (http://nutso42.blogspot.com/) needed his passport and fee to be delivered to the capital via taxi by 6:30 sharp in order to make it to the Georgetown Visa office on time. His extended stay in Guyana depended on it, so it was paramount that my brother and I made it on time to the Skeldon Kingdom Hall to meet up with the taxi driver. The two of us left the hostel and walked about 40 minutes to reach the Hall.

He was late.

Sleepy, peed on, restless, upset, hungry. I can think of a few adjectives we felt at the moment. After some time, he did show up, and the passport was delivered safely and on time.

When we met up with the rest of the group and Ribz had shared his terrible night story with them, he vowed to chuck that hammock in the trash and NEVER use it again. Br. Chacon, a sweet married brother, gently reassured him that the hammock would be usable after a good wash. He then thoroughly cleansed the foul article twice with bleach, all signs of the odorous mess finally gone.

It now swings peacefully in the front of my house, a silent reminder of that night.

Urine it to win it (badumtss). Hap-pee nonetheless (BADUMTSS)

It was perhaps our legendary "bad day,", but what a story came out of it! We both laugh heartily in retelling it, and it has served as hilarious conversation fodder in group settings. Like the other adventures we had on that trip, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Well, I hope you guys got a laugh out of this as much as I did writing it. Thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

It Takes A Village (Tenisha and the Tablet Part 2)

"Coming together is the beginning.
 Keeping together is progress.
 Working together is success."
                       -Henry Ford

Within Jehovah's wonderful organization, we are able to witness regularly the tight-knit unity, even among friends you previously had never met before. There are very few events that bring as much joy to us as seeing those who have come to love Jehovah symbolize their dedication by baptism, thus joining the great and united spiritual family.

If you've been following this blog since its humble beginnings last year, you may remember an iconic blog post entitled Tenisha and the Tablet (if you haven't read it, I would HIGHLY suggest that you do and then return to this post, because spoilers... http://welcometotheadventurousadventure.blogspot.com/2015/11/tenisha-and-tablet-blog-nibblet-1.html?m=0 ).

That post involved the very moving story of a young Guyanese girl who struggled against parental opposition to keep on studying faithfully. At the time that I met her last year, she was a newly appointed unbaptized publisher, armed with the zeal of someone discovering Jehovah. Sweet and quiet, she immediately won me over. To think of this young woman standing for what was right despite her circumstances filled me with admiration.

Well, it is with the greatest of pleasures to present Tenisha, one year later, as our BAPTIZED Christian sister!!

Happy day, indeed!!!

I found out the afternoon of Sunday, October 9th when her previous Bible teacher (Michelle Sanches, Guyana needgreater extraordinaire) posted the above photo on Instagram. Happiness is an understatement for the emotions that welled up in me. The feeling of pure satisfaction, in tandem with pride and soaring joy, filled my heart and tear ducts.

Tenisha, congratulations and welcome to the best life ever, my dear dear sister. Jehovah saw your fine fight, your unadulterated love, your endurance and perseverance and He has certainly blessed you for it! Your decision has brought praise to His mighty name and happiness to a slew of your fellow brothers, even those you have not even met yet. Your example has been shared for the last year since we came back home, a real highlight of our time spent down there. I pray for your continued efforts and progress to all your goals as you grow more and more. I love you so much!

Thank you for reading and joining in this special event. Your support of such ones like Tenisha is one of the uniquely beautiful things that bring us together as a theocratic family. May you all have a great day (or night depending on where you are) and stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A