Subscribe

RSS Feed (xml)

Powered By

Skin Design:
Free Blogger Skins

Powered by Blogger

9.20.2011

Books!!!!

Hello everyone! Just wanted to update all of our followers. We are so very close to reaching our Book goal. We had total (for all PCVS) about $3500 USD to raise and just finished with that! Our part was about $550 USD for this project. So that project is completely finished and the books are being shipped as we speak!!!!! Yay. That’s wonderful news. From that shipment we’re receiving about 500+ books for our village.

 

Also, we are working with a second organization called International Book Project. Jarod and I have almost met our goal and currently have raised $1520 USD. We need approximately $785 USD to complete the project! We definitely want to see this happen in the next month. I know we can do it!!! If everyone just donated $20-30 USD we can do it so quickly. We will get about 1500 books from this shipment and have officially started an incredible library for our village. Please help us to reach these goals! It’s just a few dollars if everyone contributes.

 

If you want to donate online, go to https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1002441, You should click the radial button under Dedication for “on behalf of” and type “Sarah Ring, PCV – Rwanda” in the field.

 

Blessed to be a blessing,

 

Sarah Ring

 

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

 - MLK Jr.

 

9.14.2011

Nanny and Papaw

Today I want to write about my nanny and papaw. They have been on my mind and heart so much lately! I just wanted to tell the world how I have the BEST grandparents in the WHOLE entire world. They are so loving and supporting of everything I have ever done.

When I was a child, I looked forward to seeing them every time we headed that way because I knew they would hug me, kiss me and listen to EVERYTHING I had to say. Even the boring elementary and high school stuff that no one cares about! They listened and laughed. They came to every single ballgame they could drive 3 hours one way to get too. They were at every birthday and my nanny baked me the best cakes ever! My nanny  baked my wedding cake. They bought me gifts. They wrote cards. And more recently send the best packages anyone could ask for. Every time we open a package from nanny and papaw we're giddy like kids because it literally feels as if we're with my grandparents for a short time. They somehow put all the amazingness that is "grandparents" into every single box!

They pray for us, they miss us and are SOOOO happy every time we call. I can't even begin to describe how much they mean to me. I miss my nanny's beautiful smile and laugh and cooking! Oh tuna sandwiches and cake scraps with icing!!!! I miss my papaws amazing hugs and never ending questions about life and his advice he loves to give. The way they were so supportive of Peace Corps knowing and trusting that God knew what he was doing sending us here and why we have to do this (not just because we felt it was God's will but also because it will be placing in the right place for the next step).

In short, I miss you guys so much! You are the most wonderful people I know and you mean more than I could ever describe with such a small vocabulary! No words describe your wonderfulness and I can't believe God has given you two to me. I love you more and more everyday and appreciate all the things you've taught me through my life!

I love you guys and just wanted the world to know how amazing the two of you are and make em all a little jealous my grandparents are the best ever. :)

Ps....I'll update more about my Thailand trip soon. Promise!

I love you two. More than you know.
Sarah

9.01.2011

Thai massage...

It's me again. Just writing to update you all. So I went yesterday to get my 5 dollar massage. It was well interesting to say the least.  At one point she was on top of me and at another I was on top of her. It is a "Thai" massage for a reason. Not to be confused with the relaxing Swedish massage. Instead this combines flexibility and sheer power. I kept thinking to myself 'I wonder if Jarod would like this' and then my leg would be above my head and I would reassure myself that answer to that would be no.

First of all, you are on the floor on a mat. Then, you put on pajamas and she enters. Oh boy...she doesn't stop till 60 minutes have flown by. She started with my feet and not just massaging but shoving her thumbs into your nerves in your foot and then slowly presses as hard as she can up the sciatic nerve to her groin area. Mostly as far as she can possibly go. Then she starts bending your legs all over the place and putting you into positions I didn't know were possible! At one point she was super quiet and stopped moving so I peeked my eyes open and she was holding the curtain open to the next massage room, where my friend is laying naked getting massaged, talking to the lady! It's funny because Thai people are super quiet and very respectful, but apparently talking in a massage is not bad. Then, she flipped me over and this is where it got crazy. I thought surely I'd wake up in another room but no, she didn't throw me anywhere it just felt like it. So, she starts crawling, that's right crawling up your calves to your hamstring. Then, once shes worked her entire way up to your butt, while sitting on your legs with all her weight she gave me a very thorough butt massage. Then, she stood, yes stood upon my hams. Grabbed my arms and yanked. Pretty sure my spine cracked about a billion times. I was just thinking over and over, 'lady don't know if you know about that thing that holds the back up but my doesn't go any farther than that.' Then, she pinned my arms behind my head and was laying on top of me while I was in a seated position. Then, she took my arms and counted to 3 slowly while barely swinging me to the side and then all of a sudden, 3 meant go and she slung me to the side so that my side and back cracked like an old can. After this, she somehow worked me up and under her until I was dangling in the air while her knees pinned my arms behind my back my head was basically laying on her chest. Then, the best part of all as she was working me back down with her feet, her toes caught my pants and pulled them down. That's right, totally bare butt sitting on her feet. It was so funny. I tried not to bust out laughing because all around me people were less than 2 feet away being massaged in a relaxing way while I was being contorted like a tortilla! Finally, I gave a little giggle and she did too so I felt a little more normal.

It was truly one of the oddest experiences of my life. I didn't know that at the same time 2 of the other girls on the trip were getting the same massage on the other side of town so we can came back laughing and totally enveloped in this whole 'what the heck just happened to me' bubble.

To make my massage even better, when me and the other 2 girls (there are 5 of us total) that were in the room with me got through, they explained how their "relaxing" normal massages went. Here in Thailand, apparently nothing is too discrete and they pull the sheet ALL the way down and massage your breast and the butt. It was all in all a really funny and interesting day.

Then we watched another movie. :) Yay!! Tomorrow we're off to elephant riding and river rafting. I'm attaching some very very basic pictures I found of a Thai massage. Keep in mind it is MUCH MUCH more extensive than this, but this is an example!

These are pictures I found on the web and are not anyone I know. And aren't nearly as extensive as what me and the other 2 girls got yesterday!