He liked it, so he put a ring on it!

He asked.

I said yes.

:)

I'm a little tardy in my posting of The Story. Please forgive. Today seems to be a particularly timely day to tell the tale, as I indeed have much to be grateful for. And I'm going to bend my rules a little bit for the content of this post - this is a blog for adventures, not the personal stuff. But I can make an exception this once...although this one kind of counts - I still see it as quite the adventure.

Ahem. Just a little background, to get you oriented, and for those who are saying, "You have a boyfriend?" Well, yes. Actually, he's my fiance. I've got to get used to saying that one. I have a Fiance. His name is David.

I met David at the beginning of this year at Institute. (Hooray for Institute!) We had quite a few months of nothing more than chatting for 10 or 15 minutes when we crossed paths, during which time we both started to notice that we had an awful lot in common. One thing led to another, and eventually we moved beyond the once-a-week chats. Since we'd taken our sweet little time letting the interest build, we sort of took off at a sprint once we started dating. We actually figured out very early on where we wanted things to go, which was a blow to my pride because I'd always been of the mindset that some things just take time. But I got over it. When it's right, it's right. I know now.

By the time I left for Africa, we'd built ourselves a nice, solid base. We kept in touch all through Kenya and continued dating once I got back. Things kept going wonderfully well despite our backwards schedules, and so we decided to proceed with what we'd basically already figured out after about one week.

Now. On to the good stuff.

Awhile back, David's cousin had a flight that connected in Dulles. The original connection out of Dulles was cancelled, so he got an overnight stay. He called to see if we could give him the grand tour while he was in town, which sounded like a fun adventure, so we were in. We picked him up that night at 11pm, took him to Ben's Chili Bowl, gave him a whirlwind night tour of the monuments, and got him back to his hotel by about 4am. 'Twas a fun adventure indeed.

Among the stops we made was the Lincoln Memorial, which was mostly deserted. We started chatting with the security guard, and he told us that the best part of his job was that he got to watch the sun come up behind the capitol building every morning. He was so convincing in his description of the sunbeams bouncing off the reflecting pool that we decided we'd have to get around to doing that, sometime, later. Definitely not that day, but sometime.

Fast forward to Saturday night, November 14. Seemingly out of nowhere, David turned to me and said, "Hey! We should go watch that sunrise at the Lincoln tomorrow!" Great idea! I love spontaneity! It had been rainy and gloomy in DC for the past few weeks, and it was finally clearing up (and not too cold yet), so it was an optimal time.

And so we went. I literally rolled out of bed at about 5:55, David came and picked me up at 6:00, and we headed into town. He’d thought ahead about the cold temperature, and he brought some thermoses of hot chocolate, along with some breakfast. Awesome. I love this guy. Not only is he adventurous, he's also always thinking of details to make my life better. And he was right about the weather. It was just a little chilly, and the sky was clear except on the horizon – perfect sunrise conditions. (Have I ever mentioned that one of my favorite things is sunrises and sunsets?) We snapped some photos, talked about his family's "Let the Magic Begin" post-Thanksgiving tradition, and joked about letting our own magic begin. Hello, foreshadowing?



We found our way up to a corner of the memorial, which really gives a grand view of the DC skyline. I did consider the fact that this was a bit of a perfect setting for someone to pop The Question, should they so desire...but I wrote off the possibility of anything happening because, remember, this was a "spontaneous" activity. Which I'm absolutely positive is exactly what David intended to make me think.



Once the sun finally peeked over the horizon, David said, "You know, there's really only one thing that would make this better."

“What?”
“If you said yes.”

Then he got down on one knee, brought out the ring he'd been hiding somewhere, and asked, “Will you marry me?!” (If I remember right, he was sort of giggling when he said it. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was in response to the gasp that I let out when he did it. In any case, it was adorable. I know I'm biased and all, but honestly - how could anyone say no to that?)



I didn’t actually say yes. I think my exact words were, “Of course!”

There were a lot of people passing by because of a race going on across the street. I don't know if anyone actually witnessed the proposal, but I hope someone did. I hope it made their day.

We're going to have a lot of fun. :)

You can see David's version of the story here.

Thanks to all for your support and excitement. It's definitely cause for celebration. I feel like I have already been abundantly blessed with a full and happy life, and things will only get better with David (and his family) in the picture. Now that he's here, I'm not really sure how I ever lived without him.

Voices calling from a yellow rooooooad!

I've realized there are a few common underlying elements to bands that just really impress me. One of them is if they can actually involve instruments above and beyond the guitar/drum combo of typical rock bands (although I do love that stuff, too). It doesn't hurt if they can pull off the falsetto, either. And any band that can involve children gets bonus points.

Guster proved their worth last weekend, and then some, when they performed at my favorite cheap venue, the 9:30 Club. Their concert represented the 10th anniversary since their Lost and Gone Forever tour, so they sang that entire album and then some. It was delightful.

Big weekend event #2: Halloween!!

I LOVE Halloween. It's such a creative time of year. I'll probably be that mom who keeps on dressing up for the holiday long after my kids think it's cool for me to do it.

And just for fun, here's a preview of a new Guster song!

Happy weekend everyone!

I love the fall.

Especially in DC.

It's the perfect time. The weather is cool (but not cold), the humidity is gone, and the fall colors come out in all their glory. I feel like I've said this before. Still true.

David and I took advantage of this optimal combination by taking a leisurely bike ride down by the canal in Georgetown one morning.


This was the same day as the Marine Corps Marathon, so we got to watch and cheer a little.



I love big marathons. They're inspirational. The energy in the air is electrifying. You get to see all sorts of interesting people - the ones juggling, or wearing a grass skirt, or a jack-o-lantern outfit - none of which I got pictures of, because I was too busy cheering them on. Next time I run a long-distance race, I'm wearing something fun. I want to make people smile the way the dude with the kilt and mohawk made me smile.

Since the race is so big, they close all sorts of major roads in and around town...which is why it was perfectly fine for us to ride the middle lane down 110. As you can see, David just won Tour de France. The second-place guy is so far behind, you can't even see him.

I've always been just a little jealous of people who could ride bikes with no hands like that.

In other news, David and I took a trip down to Raleigh to visit Lauren and Yuriy one weekend. Lauren is having her baby soon and I'm excited out of my mind about it! We hit up the NC state fair, where we partook of such delicacies as grilled corn on the cob, ham biscuits, fried macaroni and cheese, and caramel apples. (We stopped short of trying the fried candy bars and fried twinkies. But I was tempted.) And a state fair isn't a state fair without a pig auction and few rickety carnival rides! It was a nice weekend indeed. Especially knowing that we bypassed a weekend of gloomy, overcast raininess in DC.

And in other other news, I would like everyone to meet my new car. Thanks to the DKCs for helping me in my search to make my dream a reality.

David has dubbed him "Vader." I guess it reminds him of someone?

And finally, just to fill in all the other gaps: school. Class at night is hard! But on the plus side, the delightful silver lining is that I have never been so well-rested because I don't have to get up extra-early and rush out the door every day. All of my classes are starting to pick up the pace in a mean way, just like I knew they would this time of year. I had an exam last night and another tonight, and I'm TIRED!

But then I got home, and found this waiting for me:

That's right, it's a card full of Halloween love from Mia! (With an extra helping of love from the rest of the Cleveland Croshaws.)

I went from feeling like this:

To this:

I love my family. :)

And just like that, life picks up again

Muse is my current favorite band.

How does one gain this status, you ask?

Simple. They create incredible musical music with haunting-yet-upbeat sounds and thought-provoking lyrics, and then they put on a show and let me come watch.

Even from the nosebleed section, Muse gave me the adrenaline rush that only a top-notch group of musical performers is capable of. I was feeling it. It takes more than your everyday run-of-the-mill band to pull that off.

U2 also put on a rockin' show. Now that I've seen them, I feel like I can cross an important event off my list of things to do before I die.

However, I have one grievance regarding this show: too much propaganda. Just because you have a captive audience doesn't give you carte blanche to start filling everyone's heads with your ideals. Now, I can respect that Bono feels strongly about whatever given cause or issue, I think it's great that he's using his power for good. But there's a time and a place. People go to U2 concerts to hear Bono sing. With all due respect, when he's putting on a show, that's what he should stick to.

Let's talk about U2's 360-degree stage. I guess it's a big deal because it's the first of its kind or something?

It reminded me of a spider (that's right, a giant 4-legged spider). David thought it looked like a spaceship (which I think is what it's supposed to be), and Marcia was reminded of Invader Zim.

We basically ran all the way to the metro after the show, counting the hours we were saving as we passed by hundreds of people (it was estimated that metro had to cart out about 10,000 people once the show ended). Good thing we both are runners. That marks the 3rd time I've gotten to run in the last two months. Three days later, my legs were still voicing their complaints. It's glorious.

I also have another thing to add to my growing list of why David is cool.

Work sent him to California, then at the end he flew me out to play with him because he found a ridiculously good deal on flights (and also because he missed me). Needless to say, I had a fantastic weekend.

David showed me around the neighborhood he used to live in, and introduced me to some of his old favorites - like Tommy's (the closest California will ever get to Ben's Chili Bowl)...

and Venice Beach (the people-watching possibilities are endless).

I also got to meet some extended family. They're delightful people. One night, some of us had dinner (not so much dessert, not so much spoiling our dinner, just dinner) at Yogurtland. If you don't know what that place is...you should.

Naturally, we paid a visit to Sarah-Dawn. She never fails to fill my soul with joyness. We all went to the beach.

Which, by the way, means David and I made it to both coasts within the month of September - ironically, both were in O.C.

He found some dolphins...right - over - there!

David still wants to hang out with me even after he saw me and S-D in all our uncensored silliness. Isn't that great?

The post you've all been waiting for...

That's right, it's time to see pictures of my 5th (and most likely last) Colonial 2 Retreat Campout Socialfest Party Shindig Gathering Activity Event.

I sort of just coasted through this weekend, which felt a little unusual - I've almost always either been on the planning committee or participating somewhere or other. This time I decided to take it easy and just let other people run the show. (What can I say, school is beating me up, I needed the break.) I met new people, made s'mores, played cards, napped on the grass, and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to remember the Tin Man song from Wizard of Oz. I got so involved in my chilling out that I didn't even take any pictures. So here are a bunch of candids for you, courtesy of random other Colonialites.

A favorite activity. We were playing Hearts. Darren shot the moon. Twice!

We did two service projects: some of us picked up sticks in the park and threw them in the forest (yep), and others colored and cut out rockets for the children. Here we are, anxiously engaged in making our rockets perfect.

We always have church in the forest on Retreat weekend. Look at how good and disciplined I am in wearing kosher footwear. (I'm not yet back to my 100% physically active self, but I did go running once last week!) And it's true that I may or may not also have scrubs on. Don't be fooled by the sunshine - it was cold!

The highlight of the entire weekend: Eyner spontaneously jumping up on the stage during our skit night, stealing the microphone, and saying, "Imma let you finish, but Prince Charming is the best prince of all time!"

It was just his way of giving a shout out to everyone's favorite charming, classy hip-hop star.

And now I'm off to prepare for my next whirlwind weekend adventure. You'll have to visit again for the deets, but know that it involves two of my favorite people. And a coast that isn't the east one.

Awesome times for which I have little to no photo documentation

...at least for the most part. For the sake of getting caught up, I'm just going to give you the basics. If you want the deets on anything, all you have to do is ask.

* While I was still in Idaho, my whole entire family came to visit. That's 14 adults and 12 grandchildren. It was insanity. I loved it. What I didn't love was that my recovering feet kept me from entertaining the children in my normal fashion (fortunately, the kids seemed to understand that it was just my shoes that were making me so boring, not that I had actually become boring myself). David picked up the slack for me with the kids, because he's cool like that.

We also had a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad, and he was actually surprised. I am shocked that he didn't find out. I guess it helped that his birthday is actually in November, so even when certain nameless people did accidentally slip up, he didn't even question it. This party was complete with delicious goodies, friends from all over, and the grandkids singing "Yellow Submarine" inside a giant cardboard yellow submarine. If you want to see more pics, they're scattered all over my family's blog over the past few weeks.

* School started! I am still trying to adjust to my backwards schedule with class at night. This goes against some serious morals of mine - I've always made it a point to get off campus ASAP once it gets dark. Now, that's when class begins. But I'm slowly but surely finding my groove. I'm really enjoying my classes and my two jobs - all of which are forcing me to use completely different parts of my brain. Ahhh, education. How I love thee.

* Marcia, Darren, and I got to see Lord of the Rings with the National Symphony Orchestra and a choir performing the soundtrack music. It was superb. My geeky musical self couldn't stop watching the conductor - he had a screen that was playing the movie. It would flash for every downbeat, and a line would go across the screen to signal when he needed to start up again.

* Jazz from the Navy band on the Capitol steps + warm summer evening - humidity + David + Indian food = I love DC.

* David and I took advantage of the long weekend and went to Ocean City for Labor Day. This is where I ran my marathon three years ago, but I never got to see the beach. It was mental and emotional therapy to get quality time with the sand and the ocean. I was so enthralled that I neglected to snap a single photo. But if I had to pinpoint my favorite moment, I think it would have to be when a plane flew over us with a banner in tow, advertising for a doc who could take care of toenail fungus. Since my mind is easing back into the business school mentality, I had to give the guy credit for marketing to people right at the exact time when they'd all be barefoot and checking out their little tootsies.

We got a chinchilla! His name is Desmond and he lives in our front room. He pretty much has the softest fur ever.
I'm getting a new car. Stella (my trusty Civic) wasn't getting it done for me anymore. And by that, I mean the transmission stopped working once she collided with another car's bumper and State Farm decided she wasn't worth reviving. :( But on the plus side, now I can get that Corolla S I always wanted since before I met Stella. :) To all of you who have been carting me around since I'm not yet able to walk all the way to the bus stop to take the metro to school: you are saints and I love you.

I got to start wearing normal shoes again this week. While I still miss flip flops, it's nice to not have to explain my cute blue velcro open-toed shoes with socks all the time...although now when I park in handicap spots, I feel like I should pretend to walk with a limp, in case anyone is watching and thinks I'm an impostor. My feet are recovering great, but I don't feel like I can start running yet. I've picked up swimming to fill in the gaps, but man do I miss the running. It very well may be the greatest test of patience I've ever had, to learn to bide my time until I can be physically back to normal.

That is all.

Kwaheri, Kenya

Q: Does it really seem like I was living in Kenya for two months, doing what I did and seeing what I saw?
A: No. Not yet. Maybe never.

Q: Do the pictures help to make it more real?
A: Negative.

Q: Even if I'm in it?
A: Nope.

Here is the promised "best of" slideshow of my surreal summer, from the eyes of all my roomies. It's long, so I hope you've got a few minutes. If school doesn't pick up too fast, I'll try to give you an update about the last three weeks back in the homeland soon.



Kwaheri, Kenya. I miss you.

A Sabbath-day treat for your heart

I didn't forget that I promised to share this Mulunguni delight with everyone once I had better bandwidth. Watch, and be happy.

Learning to live with my temporary handicap

So, maybe over time I'll get better at being lazy, but so far I've been a restless recovering patient. Feeling good, though! Here's my track record so far:

Day 1:

I didn't go under the knife until the early afternoon, so I took a nice, long commemorative run around Barts Field before consigning myself to immobility. It was delightful.

I'm always amazed (after the fact, of course) at how fast anesthesia knocks me out (all two times I've experienced it, that is). The anesthesiologist was good to me: after the surgery, my feet were completely numb for the rest of the day. I was in a semi-groggy stupor until bedtime. I'm pretty sure I provided some quality entertainment to anyone and everyone in my vicinity.

Of course, the doc was good to me, too. I asked him how my new and improved feet looked, and he said they were perfect. He's good like that. I'm guessing he took a little extra time to make things just right, since he'll have to look at his handiwork for the rest of his life. And also because he loves me. :) He says they usually try to set records for how fast they perform this particular procedure. In my case, I may have broken the record for the longest ever.

Day 2:

* Woke up at 4:00am to take some pain meds. Dad says this will be the worst day of all. Thank you, modern medicine, for such goodness as Hydrocodone - despite the fun side effects I know are coming.

* Had a lovely conversation with my favorite International Strategic Sourcing Manager.

* Got breakfast in bed because my mom is AWESOME.

* Sewed Kenya and Tanzania patches onto my backpack.

* "Worked out" as best I could with my feet elevated using my blessed borrowed stretchy band

* Had a long chat with a good friend I haven't talked to since before Kenya.

* Took some goofy pics of what it's like to be immobile.

* Took a field trip to Winger's to get out of the house (thanks, mom!).

* Caught up on some school-related emails I've been neglecting all summer.

* Got in touch with some Yehu constituents I've needed to contact post-internship.

* Took some more goofy pics of my awesome half-platform post-op shoes. I think I could start a fad with these hot shoes. Don't you agree?

* Figured out my entire class schedule for this coming Fall and Spring.

* Tried to start a document I promised to create for Yehu after I left...and failed. Better luck tomorrow. Or Monday. Or not.

*Updated my Kogod Yehu blog with an entry that looks a lot like one I already gave you here...just with a little bit more business talk added in for good measure.

*Cleaned out my email box. It's actually empty.

I'm running out of "to do" items, and it's only one day in. Fortunately, I've got some good books to keep boredom from setting in over the next couple weeks. And I guess I could always watch TV...is it odd that I didn't once think to turn on the TV all day?

Pocatello friends: Come visit! Pander to me! Please!

Wapi wewe?

On the count of three, everyone breathe a sigh of relief. 1, 2, 3.....

Ahhhhhhhh, Abby is back in America.

The return trip was a little more eventful than I would have liked, but I'm back safe and sound. Simon says, stop worrying about Abby. You know who you are.

From American soil, I bring you one final installment of life in Kenya...besides my other more differenter "greatest hits" installment that will be coming soon.

This is a big one for me. It's close to my heart. I'm going to tell you about the one thing I felt I needed to do while I was there. If I could go back and do Kenya over again, I would insist upon repeating this experience as much as possible. I wouldn't save it until my last full day in the country.

But I did, and when all is said and done, I still got to do it.

That's enough for me.

I attended some center meetings in Yehu's Kisauni Branch. For those of you that don't speak microfinance (or maybe you just don't speak Yehu), these are the meetings where all the clients gather in their groups to make payments, apply for new loans, or discuss anything of importance to the group. This is the very base level of the organization, where all the most important exchanges take place. This is where the real people are.

These are the frontlines.

Kisauni is a unique branch for Yehu. The bank itself is unique in that it is mostly focused on serving the rural poor, but Kisauni is actually right outside of Mombasa. Most of Kisauni's clients are urban, or as Yehu likes to call it, "peri-urban." It was easier for us, because a few of them spoke English and could keep us up on what was happening.

At Yehu, their ladies organize themselves into groups of five. Once a group is formed, they can apply for loans. If anyone in the group ever misses a payment, the rest of the group is responsible for picking it up. No one in the group can apply for a new loan until all missed payments are taken care of. This has a lot of advantages - it keeps the default rate very low, it is self-reinforcing because the ladies will keep track of each other and will feel the pressure of being responsible for their own payments, and it encourages them to only find responsible people to be in their group. The downside is that this concept probably sounds okay when you're told in the beginning, but when you're waiting several months to apply for a loan because of a delinquent group member and you have to pay off her loan, it can be very frustrating.

At this particular meeting, two groups paid off loans of delinquent group members that had been in arrears since January, so they could finally move forward with their plans. It was an exciting day. I particularly enjoyed seeing these strong women speaking out and voicing their opinions - even if it was in frustration. I could see the progression, from those who were waiting to apply for their first loan to those who were paying off their third loan. They've all been enabled and empowered by the opportunities Yehu has offered them. I imagine most of them were not always so confident as they are now.

We talked to some of the ladies afterward. This is Alice and Purity. Alice sells charcoal, Purity will use her first loan to open a fruit stand.

They expressed a very sincere interest in learning about properly running a business and managing their finances. They know the loan is a blessing and they really want to do everything right. It spoke to a deep desire I've had to conduct training for that very thing. Not only would the ladies benefit, but Yehu as well. I had hoped to do some of this training while I was here, but there is just so much to be done for this bank. It would take a completely separate internship - or more - to reach out to that need.

We also talked to Carol, who has been with Yehu for three years and was about to apply for her third (and biggest yet) loan. She sells secondhand clothing and has high hopes for growing her business. I could see the wisdom and confidence in her persona at having been around the microfinance block and learned some hard lessons along the way. I could see how she has grown.

Some of the ladies also brought children to distract me for just a few minutes. As usual, I was smitten.



Overall, the center meeting was a very powerful experience for me. In one fell swoop, it allowed me to connect everything together and gave my work more meaning and purpose than I could find anywhere else.

On my last day, Aaron asked me what my #1 favorite thing about Kenya was. Hands down, it was getting out to the villages and meeting the people. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything in the world.