Barfing in Baja

A couple of weeks ago I got to accompany my father on one of his business trips. I know that volunteering to go on a business trip isn't a typical choice for one's summer break, but this one was a week-long off-road racing expedition through the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Seriously, the ability to buy fresh tortillas was persuasion enough for me to go, let alone that I would get to do some hard-core off-roading and spend quality time with the papa.

Needless to say, I was totally out of my element. My knowledge of cars extends to shifting gears and changing tires. My knowledge of racing...well... Luckily I didn't have to say much. Most of the time I just stood silently next to my dad while he talked about cars for hours. and hours. The whole ordeal was rather enjoyable. I like learning new languages, so I spent a significant time in immersion training learning how to speak Truck and Racing. Still, I comprehend better than I speak it. And when I was tired of immersion training I would go take pictures of the ocean. It was a win-win vacae.

The most colorful part of the trip was on our first day of pre-running. We drove over the entire ~440 miles of the course to make note of rough spots and danger zones. My dad warned me that I may want to take some preventative motion-sickness medicine before we hit the trails, but in stubborn self-sufficiency I insisted that I'd be fine. I mean, I've always prided myself on my tough stomach. I can eat anything (esp. inordinate amounts of sugar) without breaking a sweat, and I don't get motion-sick. I spent three months living on a ship and was fine. Some bumps and turns in a Hummer would be no problem. Yeah. I barfed 4 times before 9:30am. Seriously, it was pathetic. My dad, who was driving, eventually stopped pulling over for me. We got into a routine where I, limply belted to my seat with garbage bag in hand, would just hold the bag up to my face and heave. Dad would slow down so that the bumps in the road wouldn't send my bag contents flying, and I would reproduce my granola bar, my water, my water, and finally my nothing. Then he would stop so I could swish out my mouth, spit out the open passenger door, and reposition myself for the next gastrointestinal show.

Finally we stopped to refuel in Independencia, a barely-town that sold gasoline out of Sunny-D containers. In broken Spanish and hand motions I explained to the Sunny-D lady my pressing need for car-sickness medication, and she directed me to a small convenience store where she bought some earlier that week. Well, apparently she bought all of it earlier that week, because tienda #1 was out of stock. Providentially, the other store in town had some dramamine. The clerk opened up the package and counted out 8 tablets (waste not, want not) and consequently saved my life. I downed a double-dose and promptly passed out for the next two hours on the trail. Well, the phrase"passed out" might not properly illustrate the scene; "unconsciously flailed about wildly and uncontrollably restrained only by my belt for the next two hours" might me a more accurate depiction. After I rejoined the land of the living, I was FINE. Like, no more tossing cookies, totally enjoyed the ride. Which means that dramamine is my new favorite miracle drug. Placebo or not, that stuff kept my stomach contents locked away where they belong.

Even though the whole puking ordeal only took about 2.5 hours, various members of the racing team made sure to make fun of me for the rest of the week. But at least that gave us something to talk about.

Here are some pictures from Baja (barfing pictures not included):

Baja 500

London

...and here are some of my London pictures. again, about 2 months overdue.

London

I decided to extent my stopover in London to 3 days, since I'd never been to England before and don't know when my next opportunity will be. Tim, the boyfriend of my dear friend Ruth, very kindly picked me up from the Airport at 1:30am and let me crash at his flat in Roehampton. Outfitted with Tim's extra mobile and a map of London, I set off into the city the next morning. I did a lot of wandering, a favorite pastime of mine, and I was able to meet up with a few friends in the city. The trip was a great time of relaxation and introspection, and I think it helped ease my adjustment back into life in the good ol' USofA.

Bangalore, India

Aug 5th - Aug 17th: two weeks in India!

Bangalore is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka and is known as the hub of India's IT industry. Bangalore has an estimated metropolitan population of 6.5 people, making it India's third-most populous city. The local native language is Kannada, though many educated residents of Bangalore also speak English and Hindi. Home to prestigious colleges and research institutions, the city has the second-highest literacy rate among the metropolitan cities in the nation. However, as a large and growing metropolis in the developing world, Bangalore continues to struggle with problems such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and crime.*
*thank you, Wikipedia

Photos:
As could have been expected in the age of digital cameras, the team collectively took hundreds of photos on this trip. I've selected some of my faves and put them in this album:
Bangalore, India

The purpose:
A missions trip with several members from my house church in Cambridge. We went to team up with two ministries in Bangalore: ACTS and PATH

The team:

From left: Khan, Matt, Robin, Preeti, me and Karen. Okay, so Khan wasn't officially part of the team. He was our driver. But since we spent apx 3-6 hours with him each day, we'll call him an honorary member.

The scenery:
Was diverse, to say the least. We visited bustling markets and remote school campuses, marble-lined palaces and garbage-lined slums.



A market on Hosur Road. These flower vendors were everywhere.





ACTS Main Campus. South of the city, about an hour from where we were staying. To get here required driving for about 20 minutes over an indescribably bumpy dirt road.





Tipu Sultan's palace in Mysore, Karnataka. Ridiculously posh.






This photo was taken in one of the slums that we visited. Because of the lack of plumbing here, these people depend on this truck to get their water supply each day. Inclement weather can be devastating.



Some reflections:

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them."
Revelation 12:11-12

Despite being overstimulating and exhausting on every level, the trip was phenomenal. Praise the Lord, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I left Bangalore with lots to think about, and I'll share just a few reflections here:

I was overjoyed by the faith of the people we met with. So many are turning from empty idols to earnestly seek and serve the Living God, and I am humbled and thankful that the Lord would ordain that I worship Him alongside so many that embrace Him with a pure and stark reliance that I have never known. I am also broken and brought to my knees by the seemingly hopeless enslavement of so many other women, children and men who were made in the image of God and are precious in His sight. Praise the Lord, He has given us hope even in such devastating situations and reassures us by saying "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

The trip was full of memorable moments, but I'll share two of the scenarios that are the most vivid in my mind. We spent most evenings attending meetings at different ACTS churches in the slums. For me these times of the trip were the most encouraging and re-energizing. My favorite church meeting was our second one of the trip on our first Thursday evening in Bangalore. The group was made of Kannada-speaking women, most of whom had come from a Hindu background and had faced/still face severe persecution at home for their decision to follow Christ. At the end of the meeting the women came up to us one by one to greet us and at times ask us to pray over them. I was moved to tears by the sweet faith of these women and the sense of how dearly loved they each are by the Lord. I felt totally unworthy to be the one praying for them, these women who live with faith and conviction amidst a world of trial I have never experienced and can barely imagine.

My second experience to share is from our evening at the Bangalore railway station with the folks from PATH. PATH provides a shelter and community for boys working as porters at the railway station, most of whom are runaways whose families can't support them. When we went to the station I was prepared to spend time with the boys and encourage them to go to the PATH shelter. I was not expecting to see the groups of women loitering with them. The women were not porters, they were prostitutes. Like the young men, these women were also victims to circumstance and caught in a devastating, inexorable cycle. Only there is not yet a PATH shelter equivalent for these girls. I was particularly drawn to one woman who was carrying her small son on her hip. I wanted so badly to tell her that she was loved and valued by God Almighty. That Christ willingly died with her salvation in mind. I wanted to take her with me, out of the train station and into a safe place where she and her son could escape the enslavement of poverty. I felt helpless, crippled by language barriers and lacking time and resources. I could only hold her hand, pat her son, look into her eyes and smile with sincerity. And pray. I was reminded as I left that petitioning on her behalf is a profound way to help and probably the most practical way for me under current circumstances. I was also reminded that the Lord hears the cries of the oppressed, and he cares more deeply than I can fathom. I am encouraged by the words of Psalm 10:

Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account?"
But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you,
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evil man,
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.
The LORD is king for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth,
may terrify no more.
Psalm 10:13-18

Ra Ra Road Trip!

I spent July 24th - August 2nd on a cross-country road trip with my mom and 2 sisters, Laura and Natalie. The purpose of the trip was to move all of my worldly possessions back to The Tree House and, while doing so, spend QT with the fam and see the South. In 10 days we covered 16 states, 3900 miles, and about 2 dozen cycles through Natalie's ipod. My mom, in typical supermom fashion, drove the entire way. Here is a rundown of our points of interest as well as some photo highlights:

Points of Interest:
1. Juniata County, PA. The birthplace of both Ma and Pa Stump and the residence of a majority of the Stump/Simonton ancestry. We spent a day and a half with my grandparents (Mom's side).
2. Philadelphia, PA. We spent an evening chillin with Ethan, our favorite brother.
3. Shenandoah National Park, VA. The scenery was beautiful, and Mom drove on those winding, narrow, cliff-roads with an alacrity that would have made Engineer Thad Stump proud.
4. Myrtle Beach, SC. Though we only stopped for a couple of hours, we enjoyed a much needed nap on the beach, and we got to dip our feet in the Atlantic Ocean.
5. Charlestown, SC. This town was one of our favorite stops. Admittedly, we may have been heavily influenced by the fact that we were given free pralines nearly every time we walked into a store. Beyond the free-flowing pralines, we were impressed by the well-preserved buildings and rich history of the small Southern town.
6. Savannah, GA. Savannah was also really cool, though we didn't get to spend as much time there as in Charlestown. It also had interesting, well-preserved buildings and tons of beautiful parks.
7. Montgomery, AL. Said to be the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. We stopped in Montgomery to visit the Civil Rights Museum. The museum is small but powerfully moving and definitely worth the trip. It portrays the heart-breaking, mind-numbing nature of hate crimes and propels the stories of courageous individuals who have stood against such senseless violence. In front of the museum is a waterfall displaying Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote from Amos: "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:24)
8. New Orleans, LA. We spent a morning wandering the streets of the French Quarter. Really, to me the place seemed a little depressing. Bourbon Street was dead, and sadly it didn't seem like the place would have had been any more alive had the street been filled with people. The touristy part was a bit more welcoming, but still there seemed to be this underlying cry of confusion and emptiness. I'm sure there is plenty of vibrant, beautiful life in New Orleans. I just wish we had more time there so that we could have found it.
9. Longview, TX. We made a stop to visit my very dear friend, Michelle, and her very dear husband of 8 months, Jim. While at Michelle's we crossed paths with my very dear Kate Mills and her very dear husband Justin Mills! It was super fun to catch up with them.
10. Stephenville, TX. We stopped here to visit the farm that my grandpa owns and used to travel to frequently. I would also like to point out that Stephenville is Jewel's current place of residence. Unfortunately, we didn't see her. But I think my cousin may have been in her house once.
11. The Catfish Cafe, Odessa, TX. While this was not originally intended to be a point of interest, it warrants kudos for being our only dinner option in Odessa, Texas. Due to location, I'm not sure where exactly the establishment found a lake in which to fish for catfish, but they did have a rather large and foreboding catfish statue at the restaurant entrance. And they boasted a very eclectic menu. I had hush puppies and an egg-beater omelet.
12. El Paso, TX. Really, we just slept here. But we saw Juarez, Mexico!
13. The Tree House, Gilbert, AZ. Home sweet home! We arrived at around 4:30 on August 2nd, giving me about 28 hours to unload and temporarily stash all of my worldly possessions and then pack and prepare to fly back to Boston for my friend Kristina's wedding and then to Bangalore, India!

Photo Highlights:

Natalie, Mom, Ethan, Laura and City Hall in Philly


Like all good older sisters should, Laura and I spent a significant amount of time trying to embarrass Natalie. This photo was masterfully staged. I asked Natalie to pose with me for a picture, and then on cue as Laura snapped it I dropped to one knee to propose. Nat was mortified.


In the Shenandoah Valley. Sisterly love at its finest. Nat's sign says "Virginia is for lovers."


Nat agreed to pose for the stupid-hat photo in the VA Cracker Barrel with the stipulation that she be allowed to look thoroughly disenchanted.


Some buildings in Charlestown:












The little knobby bits on the building below are "hurricane bolts." After a hurricane's high winds would disrupt the frame of the house, these tension bolts would be tightened to sort of pull the house back together again.














Mom and me in Charlestown.

Some cool bridges in the South:

At a military fort outside of Savannah. What good little soldiers.


Savannah skyline.


Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Quote from the book of Amos and subsequently MLK's speech, "I Have a Dream."