it's real.

After a year of mostly grey skies, I now appreciate the beauty of things like this much more.


The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ~Psalm 19:1

what have I been doing since I came home?

buying produce at Kroger and not off the street...


making jiaozi with my Dad... mmm


and brownies of course... in an American oven! glorious


hanging out with the dog while I apply for jobs...


Holly came to visit : )


taking goofy pictures (as always) with Brittany...


Highlights have also included (in no particular order but I love them all) hanging out with more of my wonnnderfullll ladies at home, dinner at the Norris', running (I know I posted on this, but it is SO much better to run in America), missing good Asian food and trying to replicate it, speaking English and being understood, sandwiches, hanging out with my grandmother in the hospital, going to the library, Chick-fil-A, applying for jobs, going to the dentist, driving, and soft mattresses. There is much to embrace.
However, I miss EA and it feels so far away. It is amazing how much of a "bubble" I feel in while in America. There are so many places I want to see and return to now. :)

homecoming

How could I really describe my re-entry into the United States? Although it had been only 10.5 months since I had set foot on American soil, it seems long, especially coming from a place so different and being fairly immersed in it.

I'll start with the day I left... We had an awesome (and extremely hot) morning. We all got dan bing from "Debbie." What a sweetheart. I told Rob NOT to tell her it was my last day or I'd end up with 25 wafers (she's a generous gal), but he did anyways and I only ended up with two.



We ate it in the park. I left my bottle of water in my bike basket and it was stolen (surprise).

After that, Peter helped me close my suitcase while he helped Lisa move out.

Tebie (aka Georgia) and Rob took me to the aiport. Thanks guys!!

I found out at the airport that Tebie had stolen the suitcase picture, so I beat her up a little with my neck pillow. Yeah, she definitely deserved all those doorbell rings this past year. ;-)

The flight was interesting. I saw the most beautiful sunset over what I *think* was Japan.

After that we had two hours of turbulence and we all had to remain seated with the lights off but we couldn't sleep or do anything for that matter. Winds over the Pacific ocean, I suppose.
I slept 2 hours (not consecutive) out of the total 15.5 hours of plane time to get to Richmond, but that was good because I was able to wreck my sleep schedule. I read for about two hours, ate whenever they fed us, and did nothing else except listen to music and think for the rest of the time.
I was greeted by amazing family & friends at the Richmond airport with flowers, USA things, and my sister drove two hours just to see me!!!

My bags didn't make it. Somehow, our family doesn't seem to often fly into Richmond on the same plane as our bags. But, the Richmond airport has delivered many of our suitcases and they came the next morning. It was probably easier than us lugging them out to the car anyways. :)

I got home around midnight and ate a turkey sandwich and fresh blueberries. I was looking pretty rough by this point, so I won't post that picture.

So now I'm in America re-adjusting, waking up early from jetlag, and enjoying the conveniences of this country. EA is so far away now, and that is also very weird and sometimes sad. I miss it.

More to come...

My new favorite video... awesome.

Kroger of the East

wontons

Here is my tribute to wontons post. Wonton soup is my favorite meal here.
If you have never had a real Asian wonton, you are missing out. They are (if you order right) awesome.
I like to believe that I kept our local shop in business this year... they did in fact know my order every time I came in.
mmmmmm.
Asia wontons, I will miss you.

oh biker, where art thou?

Although I didn't capture the moment in its entirety because I had to find my camera when I was waiting to cross the road this past weekend, I thought I would post this picture.

Everything truly is transported by bicycle here.

I promise there IS a person behind all those boxes. : )

things that would never fly in America . . .

Here is my own personal view of things that would never fly in America... I wish I had more things captured on camera, like the entire families that ride on one motorcycle (baby in front, of course), or the bamboo scaffolding that goes up entire buildings... but these pictures will have to do.


We'll start small. Who would like to eat this meal for lunch?! yikes.

Next we have the national park scene...Nice ledge.

Sometimes transportation is carts behind motorcycles.


Transportation is a big deal here. Note amount of motorcycles, children, and helmets.

Note "driver." Note people on top. Ridiculous.

Fifty bucks says there would not be enough life vests if this boat sank. If you took a picture of the boat I was on at the time, it would basically be a mirror image of this boat, but without so much railing on top.

Apparently you get good luck for kissing the boa constrictor. I don't necessarily agree, but I did it anyways because I know I wouldn't be able to in the states. (Do they even have "snake shows" in the states?!)

Oh Asia! I have two more weeks to get more of these ridiculous pictures.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to the BEST father in the entire world!I love you, Dad!

Language Blunder #42,746

Tonight I messed up the words for "mushroom" and "Satan."
[in this language, they sound quite similar]
Needless to say, the girl who I was talking to was extremely confused.

Do not make this mistake.

blending right in

I have recently perfected the Asian squat.

Now I blend in, right?

I love living here.

you had to be there...

We celebrated my birthday a day early, and it was a great/ridiculous time.
With a little southern touch, we ate some amazing bbq and had icecream sundaes afterwards (the first sundae I've had in over 9 months)!
Thanks to those of y'all who came ...you are truly such a blessing to me.

The highlight of the evening was Rob's song predicting what is to come for this Byrne gal:
"He thinks my maroon minivan and 4 kids are sexy" [a love song from her Hokie husband]
...for the record I have no clue who he's talking about.

and while we're on the theme of country songs, another highlight was "Ain't Got No Rabies"...anyways...

We also had an appearance from "Bobby" ...thanks for making the evening complete.
Some more photos from the evening...

the two Hokies (sort of): "Bobby" wore a Hokie shirt! what a feat for a UVA alum. Thanks for the tribute to the best university around. He can be an honorary Hokie for the evening.
Georgia (who refused to wear orange & maroon) and Sarah:

I might have to un-post this picture because they might hurt me for putting it on the internet (the most northern-loving couple, bless their hearts, didn't know what hush puppies were)... they were good sports for me and embraced the south for 2 hours:

all of the girls... And the next birthday to come will be... (check out the shirt)

Rood, we wish you could have been there with us to celebrate!! We miss you!

pink

Pink is, in my opinion, the best color (you probably feel differently if you are a guy).
I love most things pink.
A good exception is that my neighbors dyed their poodle pink and I don't love that... that is called dog abuse.
Three summers ago, I got the nickname "Pinky" from my roommate.
For self-protection, if you have been so privileged to see the pink luggage picture, it will *not* be posted below.

pray for...

Pray that the children affected by the earthquake in China will be adopted. The death toll from this earthquake has risen to over 51,000 and there are at least 4000 known orphans right now.

Jesus called the children to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Luke 18:13

the turkey sandwich

The turkey sandwich, I am convinced, is a gift from God.

I promise to not make most of my posts on food (there IS more to my life, seriously), but I did study nutrition (aka food) for five years...

Anyways, a turkey sandwich is my favorite lunch... in America.

But here, I can count on one hand the number of turkey sandwiches I have consumed this year (I've had four I think), because this country doesn't "do" turkey. Come to think of it, they don't really "do" sandwiches, either...

I can't wait to eat lots of turkey on whole wheat bread in July.

The following are Asian equivalents for my American favorite foods:

• Kroger brand yogurt --> Asia yogurt, which is half as creamy but still tastes good.
• cereal --> cereal, because people mail it to me/bring it to me, not becuase you can buy good cereal here. they're workin on it though
• fresh blueberries --> frozen blueberries, which I buy every week at the American grocery store and pay about $8.50 for a bag. People here have never eaten blueberries. they are missing out big time.
• milk --> milk with an off-taste. you adjust.
• turkey sandwich --> wontons
• wraps --> dan bing
• baked beans --> rice
• bread --> rice
• grilled chicken --> rice
• spaghetti --> spicy rice noodles, which I try to avoid as much as possible
• mashed potatoes --> rice
• sweet potatoes --> sweet potatoes, they do have those here
• salmon --> fish with bones, which I am incapable of eating, so rice.

Another thing that I would like to clarify is the concept of "Chinese chicken salad." That does not exist here. Whoever thought that a bed of greens, almonds, fried noodles, green onions, and mandarin oranges was Asian? No, the one time I ordered "salad" here, it was a mixture of corn and cucumber doused in mayonnaise. Yes, you heard it right. Mayonnaise. They have a long way to go.

I thought I'd include a picture of the last meal that I ate in America last August and probably the last time I had grilled chicken with a dinner roll.

So, if you're in a country that has turkey sandwiches, eat one for me now. Enjoy.

dessert

I LOVE dessert.

...which is kind of ironic, because I'm a dietitian and I'm supposed to tell people to stop pigging out on dessert.

One night when we were in Cambodia, Kelly & I made the guys wander around for 45 minutes because we were trying to find a place that sold brownies. Surprise, there was nowhere. You are probably thinking, helloooo... you were in Cambodia. I think that now but at the time, there was no rational thinking. Come on... it's DESSERT. The guys wanted to kill us, and it put a damper on the night. But, everyone moved on and they like us again. We found dessert a few days later, pictured below (or not pictured below, because we had already eaten it).
My favorite dessert is probably brownies, but icecream is a close second/tie. I also love fruit desserts, for example any and every cobbler. My sister and I used to eat apple cobbler at the dining hall at Tech until we wanted to burst. All you can eat cobbler... a little slice of heaven.
Last year, we would have icecream brownie nights as often as possible. Sometimes my roommates and I would have so much icecream in the freezer that we would have to have an icecream party to get help eating it... mmm.
Ok, I'm going to stop rambling about dessert before I lose my credentials as an RD. But, if you ever want to go out for dessert with me, I'm in.
Eat up, y'all.

Asia

I live in East Asia and I've had a taste of several different countries while I've lived here.

My favorite place that I've been so far was Siem Reap, Cambodia. I absolutely fell in love with the Cambodians and that place. I have a huge heart for the impovershed. There is plenty of that in Cambodia. I wonder how much they know of the outside world.

Living in Asia has been an amazing experience because I'm learning to think less about my personal comforts and more about God's heart for the world. I see poverty on a daily basis, which is something that I don't regularly see in America.

You can pray for Asia right now because they're going through a lot with the recent natural disasters. Thousands of people have lost their lives, lost their children, or lost their parents.

Living overseas breaks you of a lot of fear. It also breaks you away from a lot of ideas about a "right" way to live. I think that living overseas makes the Lord's presence even more evident, because it reveals that we are ALL in dire need of a Savior. Every created human being needs Him and is able to reflect His glory. Sometimes things look worse before they look better, but I have learned SO much dependency on the Lord through being here. I think everyone should go overseas at some point. Try Asia. From huge wealthy cities to small impovershed villages, Asia has it all. It's an amazing place and has absolutely won my heart.

Virginia Tech

I LOVE Virginia Tech.

It was the perfect fit for me.

I can't really put my college experience into words, so I won't try. But know that this place and my years there impacted my life in an amazing way.

I will forever be a Hokie.

Nothing can compare to fall in Blacksburg, Hokie football, campus in the spring, driving on 460, hiking in the mountains, the first snowfall in the burg, or the thousands of memories I have with the amazing people there.

As for the orange & maroon... I can't explain it. I just love it.

running

The below picture is when I ran the country music 1/2 marathon in Nashville in 2005. Don't we look like we're enjoying ourselves? Although it looks like it is nighttime, this picture was taken before the race at 4:30 in the morning.

Runners do crazy things, like pay lots of money and get up at 4:30 in the morning to run extremely long distances, all for a t-shirt.

I've never run a marathon, but probably one day I will get talked into it.

I like running alone. It's a great time to think about life and talk to God and relax. People run for all different reasons, but I honestly just love it. I live in a big city this year, and I hate running in the city. Blacksburg's Huckleberry trail was my favorite place to run, until it got sketchy. But I have run many a mile there and have had great revelations during my runs. My mom said I should publish a book entitled While I Was Running.

I'll probably keep running until I can't anymore.

I would like to credit my love of running to my father, who inspired me to run my first race with him (5 miles) when I was in 10 years old. Thanks, Dad... I owe this lifelong hobby to you.

dogs

I LOVE dogs. Who could resist these precious furry balls of joy?

I got bitten by an unidentifiable dog outside last fall and had to get rabies shots for a month. But I still love dogs. They can be such a picture of the Lord... they are so faithful and always excited to see you no matter how long you have been gone.

Of course, there are some down sides to owning a dog such as walking them in the snow/rain, having them poop in the house, and being awoken by barking at all hours of the night.

But let's be honest, they're such companions. Love them.

Family

I have an amazing family. Seriously, my life is so blessed. I am sooo excited to have another family in the future, too. I LOVE family.

On May 8, my grandfather "Pop-Pop" passed away at the age of 82. He was a wonderful & loving grandfather. Here's a picture of my grandmom & grandfather and all their grandchildren at Christmastime last year:


Some of the special things I remember about Pop-Pop were the days when we would go to the beach when I was growing up and he would teach me how to hold a live crab without it pinching me (before it met its fate by being steamed in Old Bay and devoured, of course). Pop-Pop loved puzzles, and we would always do puzzles together. My mom didn't really keep much candy around the house, but Pop-Pop always had "the stash" of goodies in his house which we would raid whenever we visited. His recliner was sacred, but we would curl up in it with him until we got too big. Pop-Pop had this crazy orange hat that he wore for years. I think people tried to get him to wear another one, but he loved that orange hat. Pop-Pop loved cheesecake and weird ice cream flavors. I love ice cream, and would bring me such joy to see "chocolate chip blueberry pie crust caramel twist" ice cream in his freezer. My own claim to fame in this part of the family is being his first granddaughter.
The memories could go on & on.
I have the most amazing parents and sister too, but I wanted to make a post for Pop-Pop because he's such a special man to me. Hopefully you'll get to know my parents & sister in later posts.
How do you end a blog post? I don't know yet. Well, this is my love #2: family.
Go hug your family. I'm really far away from mine right now, so do it for me.

Love #1

In order to get more than four blogs (see previous post), I figured I'd make my first ten posts about things that I love. I love more than ten things and maybe I'll blog more about those things, but I figured I'd start there.
So today I will talk about the most important love in my life : The Lord.
It's not about emotional love, although He did create that kind of love. The God that I love is bigger than just a good feeling. He is the One who created the skies and makes the sun shine. He is the One who gives us the stars at night and makes the waves crash. He is the One who created the mountains and the rivers and the deserts and the rainforest in Africa. He is the One who makes our heart beat and our eyes see and our ears hear and our skin feel. He is the only One who creates and sustains life, and He calls us to the end of the earth to share this promise of eternal life with others.
He is the ONLY one who gives eternal life. "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." [John 17:3] Who is praying this? Jesus Christ, when He was on earth. He prayed these words for you and me. He so deeply desires for us to know Him. He knows that God is the only true God. Jesus came to the earth about 2000 years ago. He didn't come to hang out with sheep all day, like many people think. He didn't come just to be a nice man and good teacher and perform miracles, although He did do that. He came to die, and He came to die young. He is the only One who lived a perfect life, ever. Who would be LESS deserving to die? He was innocent. But He had to be. Becuase God knew that only Someone innocent could die to take the sins of the world.
I have and will fall short of perfection every day of my life. But it's all going to be ok becuase I'm trusting Jesus, the ONLY way to eternal life, to have taken away my sins when He died on that cross 2000 years ago. He suffered the worst death imaginable so that I could be in Heaven with Him one day. He loves us that much. So if you haven't trusted Him to take your sins, let Him. He already died for them, and He desires to spend eternity with you if you will trust Him alone. There's not another way to Heaven. He tells us that, and His Word proves itself true in countless ways. We can't save ourselves, but Jesus can.
I will spend eternity with the Lord not because I have been a good person and not because of anything that I have done, but because Jesus died for me 2000 years ago and I am trusting Him to take away my sins as the perfect sacrifice.
And because of this, what I do for Him is only because I love Him. I certainly can't earn my way into Heaven. We don't build "brownie points" with God. I mean... let's be honest, He created the sunrise. He's NOT impressed with what I can do.
This is the most important thing that you could ever do with your life, I promise.
And then you can find joy in the rest of life, and hopefully you will see that in the rest of my posts.
:)

Blogging

I tried to blog about 2 years ago.
It wasn't a disaster at first, but after about four posts, I gave up and decided to boycott blogging for the rest of my life (perhaps a drastic decision).
However, at lunch today I was encouraged to blog and thought about the idea more seriously. Isn't blogging something that moms with cute kids do, though? Those are the blogs that I read/am slightly obsessed with. But, I figured I'd give it a try and see how it goes.
Also I would like to give all credit to Sarah for the name of my blog.
Welcome to my life.
love,
Meredith