returning to life in the house

the following are just some random glimpses into returning to life back in Amsterdam.

nationalities of the people that i currently live with:
- in the main house: Dutch, German, Hungarian, Canadian (that's me), Columbian, Bosnian, Israeli (originally Dutch, though), and Armenian.
- in the apartments: Dutch, Surinamese, Indonesian, Brazilian, and Ghanese.
it's no wonder when my friend from University said i should move into the student housing so that i could experience diversity, i looked at him funny. his understanding of diversity was meeting several different nationalities in the elevator. my understanding has become trying to communicate about cleaning the bathroom, switching languages at breakfast (when some people don't function that well), and regularly worshipping and coffee-drinking with different nationalities.

number of people who currently share my/the bathroom: 4 (which is down from the 5 before i left on vacation and up from the 3 that were there in the fall).

frequency with which i have problems taking a shower when i want to (i.e. before breakfast): almost never. i'm not sure what that means - i'm pretty sure everyone else showers, i just have no idea when.

number of times the game, Risk, was played this weekend: 3 or 4 (and it's not a short game). i only joined once and was horribly annihilated so that someone else could win.

number of people who told me that i was missed while i was on vacation: about 10, i think. it makes me feel loved.

main activity of my life: writing my theses!!!! My progress is now listed on my blog (on the right). it's progressing okay, even though writing is not really my favourite scholarly activity.

stupid question of the week: why do people make (and buy) garbage pails with ridges where who knows what garbage (dirt, food related stuff, leftovers) gets semi-permanently stuck in the ridges? (the question is a reoccurring one that i experience as i clean the garbage pail weekly.)

current state of feeling: contentment. things have settled/adjusted to being calmer in the house, and i, having missed my 'crazy family,' am once again glad to be part of the community. and i can't help but be amazed that i have been given the opportunity to learn how to love. in a lot of Christian circles, we talk about unconditional love, but it's mostly theory as we only spend time with people like us. here, however, i am placed in a position where i don't get to choose who i live with or who shares my space, and it is these people who i am asked and called to love. some days and with some people, this is easier. but that doesn't really matter - i am learning more and more that love isn't about easy or comfortable but about living out of the love and grace that God has given me.

attitude towards Valentine's Day: more positive than in a long while (i've been single way too long). it helps that the house is a celebrating a birthday today of someone well-liked and wonderfully tease-able. and it helps even more that this year, i'm not celebrating the consumer holiday - instead i'm remembering Saint Valentine and giving thanksgiving to God for how much He has taught me about love this year.