I am done, here.

This is the first time I have been able to acces my blog here in Pula, Croatia.

Things are going well and yet they are going very slowly. We are staying at a very nice hotel--nonetheless we have run out of things to do.

The hotel dining staff made us a Thanksgiving dinner...or they tried to--they got the turkey part right and then they made rum cake for dessert. This hotel doesn't waste a thing. Perhaps we should invite them to the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change so they can talk about reducing, reusing and recyclying. We have the same things for lunch, dinner and breakfast everyday. It was amusing at first but now I am getting tired of eating it.

Each week day, I have to attend 4-6 presentations of my colleagues at 9h15 and then after lunch I am free to busy myself in this ghost townish resort. I have started running a lot more and started looking for near by races to compete in once I return to New Mexico for break. I found one in Phoenix, a half-marathon, if anyone wants to run it with me. I have started reading, watching Grey's Anatomy with my roommate Chelsey and finally I have started celebrating the Advent season with three kids in my program.

I haven't ever been so eager to celebrate Advent because this year, I feel quite far away from Jesus and so I need to consciously make space in my life for him. We are reading the verses from the Episcopalian Lectionary. You are most welcome to join in!

I feel so much excitement when I think about coming home. Occassionally, I think of meeting one of you at the Blue House or Cortez for a delicious meal or going running through town. I can't even wait to do those things. However I have 9 flights and two weeks and a delightful visit to see Cammy in Cork, Ireland before I make it home.

Here are some photos of Jami and I in Portugal. While we had some ups and downs, overall it was a fun time--and it was wonderful to see Jami!