SERENDIPITOUS WANDERINGS

~this is my blog. i originally created it as a way for friends and family to follow my travels. now it's just a way to keep in touch. i'm sure it'll mostly be about baby now! enjoy!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

audio is the way to go

.....at least it is for me when i'm on the bus or subway. teddy sometimes downloads me audio books and this is the most recent one. i highly recommend reading it.

here is a synopsis from the washington post that i took from amazon.com, if you want to see what the book is about.

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Sybil Steinberg

Southern whites' guilt for not expressing gratitude to the black maids who raised them threatens to become a familiar refrain. But don't tell Kathryn Stockett because her first novel is a nuanced variation on the theme that strikes every note with authenticity. In a page-turner that brings new resonance to the moral issues involved, she spins a story of social awakening as seen from both sides of the American racial divide.

Newly graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in English but neither an engagement ring nor a steady boyfriend, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan returns to her parents' cotton farm in Jackson. Although it's 1962, during the early years of the civil rights movement, she is largely unaware of the tensions gathering around her town.

Skeeter is in some ways an outsider. Her friends, bridge partners and fellow members of the Junior League are married. Most subscribe to the racist attitudes of the era, mistreating and despising the black maids whom they count on to raise their children. Skeeter is not racist, but she is naive and unwittingly patronizing. When her best friend makes a political issue of not allowing the "help" to use the toilets in their employers' houses, she decides to write a book in which the community's maids -- their names disguised -- talk about their experiences.

Fear of discovery and retribution at first keep the maids from complying, but a stalwart woman named Aibileen, who has raised and nurtured 17 white children, and her friend Minny, who keeps losing jobs because she talks back when insulted and abused, sign on with Skeeter's risky project, and eventually 10 others follow.

Aibileen and Minny share the narration with Skeeter, and one of Stockett's accomplishments is reproducing African American vernacular and racy humor without resorting to stilted dialogue. She unsparingly delineates the conditions of black servitude a century after the Civil War.

The murders of Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. are seen through African American eyes, but go largely unobserved by the white community. Meanwhile, a room "full of cake-eating, Tab-drinking, cigarette-smoking women" pretentiously plan a fundraiser for the "Poor Starving Children of Africa." In general, Stockett doesn't sledgehammer her ironies, though she skirts caricature with a "white trash" woman who has married into an old Jackson family. Yet even this character is portrayed with the compassion and humor that keep the novel levitating above its serious theme.
with the book being set in mississippi, it is neat to hear (sice i am listening to it!) parts of town, street names, hospital names, etc. and know where they are talking about. thanks teddy!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

fire! fire!


teddy sent me this photo as i was on the bus going to justin and rachel's last weekend. apparently a model house building errupted into a huge fire as he and friends were sitting outside, last friday afternoon. korea being korea.......you can see tons of traffic.....no one bothers to move for emergency vehicles. needless to say, the trucks couldn't get to this fire to try to put it out and surrounding buildings were damaged because of this problem. the newspapers didn't write much about the fire itself, but how new legislation is being drawn up to fine vehicles that don't get out of the way of emergency vehicles. it's about time! i have been remarking ever since i got here about how i hope i'm never in an emergency situation here, 'cause i'd never make it to a hospital in the kind of traffic they have here---without anyone caring to move outta the way.

Monday, May 17, 2010

a day with harrison

last month when we visited the kroekers, rachel mentioned about presentating her research at an english teacher's conference. i offered that if her and justin both wanted to attend the conference, i would babysit harrison for them. they took me up on the offer and i went to their place this past weekend. harrison and i spent all day saturday together. we had a great time doing the following:


we played with his toys....


read some books (he loves books!).....


he had some lunch after a bottle.....


then a nap.......

we also went for a walk and a bit of shopping. wow! harrison loves being out and about! we were out for 3 hours and he was content the whole time. rachel and justin came back late saturday night and then we spent some time together sunday before i went back home. it was fun to spend a day with harrison and i'm glad i stayed most of sunday and hung out.

this was my thank you present from them:

they know me all to well! glad they took advantage of my offer and that i could help them out. by-the-way, i've already used both mugs! i love them! thanks rachel and justin!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

florida 02/2010

a while back i promised you photos from our trip to florida so here they are.....

we stayed at the:
here are some photos of the inside: and the outside.....with the animals......
we could actually see these giraffes from our balcony!we went to epcot: universal studios.....

animal kingdom....... here are some of the animals we saw there:and magic kingdom..... we took a day for shopping and downtown disney.......

WHEW!!! there has got to be an easier way! it just took me 3 hours to get the photos in order.....but it's done. needless to say.....we had a great time. it was a pleasure to have amy join us as well.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

amazing andrea!

Here are some photos from the concert. We had a great time and it was amazing to hear a voice so beautiful and powerful. My only complaint is that hearing him on my ipod just isn't the same now!


the tickets.....


me just outside the venue....


the stage is ready.....

the orchestra and choir in the back.....

teddy and i.....

Monday, May 03, 2010

best sound in the world!

isn't this the best sound you have ever heard?! thank you mallory mae for being so awesome! i can't wait to see you this summer! thanks to your daddy for sharing and your momma for making you laugh!