10 Very important things I learned abroad

So I decided that instead of putting a play by play of each of my trips I would just give you a few little treasures of knowledge that I picked up on my trips across the world. I was recently blessed to travel to England with my family and to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for a conference called Education Without Borders. What an amazing experience!! I was thrilled to meet new people, see new cultures and amazing sights, and learn so much about leadership and changing the world.


10. If you poke an Indian, they multiply by 12. Thank you Naman for teaching me this little gem of knowledge. He was one of my favorite people that I met at EWB in Dubai.

9. A proper English breakfast is one of the best meals in the world. Nothing better! This picture is of our Alaskan Waffles at the Romley House in York, England. A proper English breakfast is sausage, bacon (fried ham, not American bacon), over easy eggs, beans, tomatoes and hot cocoa. Delicious!

8. The Persian Gulf is the most beautiful place in the world. The water is warm in March, as blue as can be and absolutely stunning. And it has the most gorgeous and full seashells in the world, not like California where the shells are all broken.

7. The Emerati people know how to throw a party. There is no limit to the amount spent on fireworks and anything that can be summed up with the word fabulous will likely be found in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The picture below is the Emirates Palace. It was stunning!

6. I want a castle. Some of these things predated the U.S. by nearly 1000 years. The picture on the left is the Castle Coch and the right is Caerphilly Castle both from Wales.

5. I LOVE CAMELS! Look at that happy face! Mine and the camels!

4. Stonehenge is one of the coolest places in the world! Legend (one of them) has it that Merlin summoned it to England for ritualistic purposes.

3. The Buckingham Palace guards are all nerds. Check it out.

2. I'm not so different from other people all over the world.

1. Traveling is my new favorite past time! My goal is to touch every continent before I die. With the exception of Antarctica, I'd be OK not going there.

World Travels in March 2011

Wow.

March 2011 was in a word, incredible.

I have had some amazing experiences this past month! In mid-March, my family went on a trip to England and Wales. The last week of March I was at a conference in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I learned, saw and experienced so many amazing things!!

First, a brief rundown of my trip to England. I'll post about Dubai later.

On day one we went to Chesterfield and Sheffield England. These were areas where Christopher served his mission. In Chesterfield there was this amazing cathedral and it's spire was twisted. Legend has it that the building was so surprised to have a virgin get married in it that it bent down to watch. Someday when a virgin is married in it again, the steeple will straighten back up.

Chesterfield was a lovely town. Small and sweet. I liked it a lot. It was very picturesque.

On the second day we went to Sherwood Forest! This was Robin Hood's tromping grounds. The infamous thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor used this ancient forest as his hide away, taking many a rich man by surprise as they traveled through. This picture is of the Major Oak. Its the oldest tree in the forest and now has to be supported by beams. It would have been fun to see it with a little more foliage, but it was still a beautiful place.

I will continue posting about my trips but right now I've got to get ready for church.

Polar Plunge

We do weird things in the name of fun. For example, we accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph in six seconds just for an adrenaline rush. We jump from bridges with nothing but a cord holding us up and we scream with delight. Weird, right? Well, I love these weird ways of having fun. In fact, in the name of fun (and a good cause) I jumped into a small reservoir in January. There was ice floating on top, 37 degree water, and snow on the ground and it was a blast. This is the second annual Cedar City Polar Plunge "Freezin' for a Reason." This wonderful event is in support of the Utah Special Olympics. It really is a lot of fun! I would highly recommend it to anyone, unless they have a heart problem.

In preparation for the big event, I pulled on my swimsuit that has been sadly neglected for far too long and contemplated how insane I really am. When we got there, there was a fabulous costume contest in which an avatar, Shakespearean people, and a man in his birthday suit were strutting their fabulous costumes. Needless to say, the birthday suit man was the winner of the contest. Luckily my family was the first to take the plunge. We didn't have to watch concourses of people pour into the bitter water and then emerge screaming. The screaming doesn't really help with reassurance. So when "Team Awesome" was announced my whole family plus a few friends ran into the freezing water and dove in the most uninviting water known to man. The water was almost refreshing until suddenly my entire body clinched in reaction to the cold. All I could think was "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I burst out of the water with lightning speed. Running into the water happened so fast, but running out of the water is another story completely. Time seemed to slow and even worse, my body slowed to an unprecedented speed, 0.0000001 mph. Once out of the water I got a pin that said "I survived the Polar Plunge." Wow, that is a great way to compensate for my few moments of frost bite. Nonetheless, I will wear that pin with great pride. I did indeed survive my second Polar Plunge!

EWB!

Well here we go with another attempt at blogging... I should be better!

I have some amazing news!! I was just accepted to go to a conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is a small country located on the northern tip of Yemen on the edge of the beautiful Persian Gulf. Abu Dhabi is located just south west of Dubai and is the country's capital. I am thrilled to death about it! The conference is called Education Without Borders. About 1,000 college students throughout the world will be coming together to learn about the newest advances in health, government, education and technology and how each of these thing can better the world. We'll learn about various cultures and hear from some of the world's greatest leaders. I will be leaving at the end of March and it will last about a week. I can't wait!

Happiness is...

I have the best life! I am so grateful for everyone and everything that has made my life so fantastic. I just finished up my second year as an EFY counselor. Once again, EFY has changed my life. I'm a better dancer (by better I mean EFY better which actually means crazier), my teaching skills have significantly improved and full of gratitude for all that I've been blessed with. EFY will forever hold a special place in my heart. The kids and friends that I met and love taught me more and effected me more than I could ever teach them.

After enjoying a summer full of EFY, I have been realizing all of the things that make me really happy. Not just the big things, but little things that make me happy from day to day.

I bring this up because of an idea I had during EFY. Some of the weeks (I wish I had done it for all of my weeks) while I was trying to get to know the group of girls that I was over, I would ask them to tell me a few little facts about themselves and ending with one reason why they are awesome, and a happiness is statement. A happiness is statement is simply filling in the blank. Happiness is brushing your teeth at night, or petting a puppy. Obviously, anything that makes you happy is a happiness is statement.

Since asking my girls to do this, I've found that I have started thinking in happiness is statements. What a blessing! It has made me so positive and appreciative of everything around me. For example, my office was a little cold today so during my lunch break I walked out to find a perfect day. There was a light breeze, a beautiful blue sky and a perfect 80 degrees. The second I walked out side, my cold toes warmed right up and the first thing I thought was, "Wow! Happiness is having warm toes."

It may seem simple, but I love it. Besides, happiness, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a feeling of contentment. I must say, I'm content with the little things that make me happy.

Starting up

This is more of a personal blog, you could probably more call it a journal. It will probably just be my little rants and ravings about the going's on of life. Of course, it will be thrilling and exciting!