My heart is in Africa

Ya know, for as long as I can remember, my heart has been in Africa. Long before I ever went the first time, it held a special place in my heart. I can't explain where it came from, but I think it began sometime around 5th grade. I knew that God had a special plan for my life. I knew it involved Swahili :-) I love the language, I love the people. After spending two years in Eastern Africa, it wasn't just in my heart, it was a part of who I am. Now, here I sit longing to be back there. I think about it all the time. I talk about it with virtually everyone that I meet. People ask me if I grew up in Africa all the time. I want to say yes, but truth be told, I did not. When can I go home? Soon and very soon....

and these are my states...

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Why do I do the things I do?

My friend, Ashlee and I, well.... we are dorks. That's the only real explanation for it. We are students at... well, let's just say it's an institution where we are expected to be honest and forthcoming in all aspects of our life from plagiarism to parking permits. The first we don't have a real problem with, I mean who wants to take someone elses words as your own. If their thoughts are stupid, then you look dumb yourself. If they have an amazing mind and articulate well, then suddenly the expectations that others have for you drastically increase. Not for me.

The parking permit thing is a problem though. Not only is it "slightly unethical," but I am down right dumb about it. I have a commuter permit, which unfortunately means that I have to park 2 miles past the Great Commission when I go to school. I am usually running late or not staying long, or staying for a REALLY long time (or some other rediculous reason), so when I get to school, the first thing I do is remove our parking permits from my rearview mirror and stuff it in the pocket on my door so no one can see it. The whole purpose of having one is to park, yet when I park, I take it off.... weird, eh? I was thinking about just how rediculous this is a few days ago, when my dear Ashlee pointed out to me that she does the same thing. That makes me feel better :-) Thanks Ash!

Where my body had traveled... with or without my mind.

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