Google for Good Information

As my trip quickly approaches, I am here waiting patiently at my computer for my flight. Yes, I still have a few days, but I am getting so excited.

Many of you may know that Kiwi's (name for people of New Zealand) speak with a different accent and often times use different words. So, I have taken the liberty to look up some New Zealand slag.

This here website was quite educational. I am laughing as I read most of these. I thought about practicing some of them, but I just laughed thinking of what to type. Here is another funny website.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do. I'm learning a lot already. Not all too clean though.

Also I heard there are more sheep than people in New Zealand. True? I'm not sure. Guess I will have to do some research while I am there.

I did some online searching. Know that if you google "New Zealand sheep population," many worried blogs and news reports come up speaking of the dwindling sheep population. Oh no!

"From the early 1980s, when NZ was home to over 70 million sheep, the population has declined to around 39 million in 2008. This means the oft-quoted statistic, that NZ has 20 sheep for each human, is wrong! Nowadays it's only about 9 to 1. This decline hasn't stopped NZ from cornering 50% of all international trade in sheepmeat. " - http://www.emigratenz.org/ReallyAndTruly.html

Thank you internet for always educating me.

Unfortunately, I did do some research about NZ and come to find out the weather is not too hot right now. Literally. It is about fifty-sixty, which is not too bad. However, it is rainy and 80% chance it will be raining my first three days that I am there. That is unfortunate. Let's hope the weather clears up soon or at least doesn't rain all day.

NEW UPDATE: Tsunami warning in New Zealand because of an earthquake in the ocean. Dear Lord, please keep New Zealand save for my travels and the safety of everyone, Amen.

If you didn't receive the E-mail

Hello everyone!

This is a little hello from your long lost friend. I am still alive and well. And for those of you who have been keeping up with my summer through my European travels and cross-country road trips, I am still on the move.

I want to take this time to thank each and everyone of you for being a part of my life. For me, life has been a non-stop adventure, and I've been embarking on many journeys lately. Thankfully, I have people like you to share my life with. Unfortunately, I have not been able to see or speak with many of you in a long time. Thanks to technology and it now being 2009, we have group e-mails, blogs, photo importing and much much more. Now, I'm not the best at keeping up with everything and everyone, but I wanted to do my best with a big e-mail.

This very moment, I am at my parent's house in Overland Park, Kansas. However, I leave again soon. This week, I will fly all across the country and the world! On Wednesday, I fly to Los Angeles to visit my friend Kailey VanderBaan and see her new home in Santa Barbara. On Friday, I fly to Auckland, New Zealand, where I will be for the next few months.

Starting October 12th, I will be participating in a six-week Adventure Bible School (ABS) program through Capernwray Bible School. To learn more about it, feel free to visit their website: http://www.capernwray.org.nz/page/capernwray_5.php. Click on the ABS link to learn about my specific program. I will be traveling after the program ends and even making my way over to the "Western Island," (a.k.a. Australia). I'll be gone a total of 75 days or so. I have a return flight to LAX on December 12. What adventures are to follow that date are still up in the air.

So, yes, I am taking a semester off from KU. I miss the University of Kansas and the lovely town of Lawrence, as well as, all my beloved friends there. If things go as planned, I will return to my studies and being a Jayhawk in January with the start of the spring semester.

I attempt to blog about my travels and such at my blog: http://sarahdweaver.blogspot.com. Click Here to visit it and feel free to comment often. I appreciate all the responses I receive.

My hope is that all of you are doing well. Feel free to e-mail me any time. I would love to hear about your lives and adventures. To the families I miss babysitting for, please send pictures of your little ones. I am sure they are all so grown up since I have seen you last.

I look forward to being back in the spring and seeing all of you. Now, as winter comes your way think of me basking in the sun in the Southern Hemisphere. Oh, I am just teasing, but in all reality, I am entering spring time and summer soon after as I travel Down Under, which I am truly excited about.

Write often and I will do my best to reply even more. Now, if e-mail is too high-tech for you, here is a physical address where I can receive good old snail mail until Thanksgiving:

Capernwray Bible School

P.O. Box 702
3450
Cambridge
NEW ZEALAND

Thank you all again for being so wonderful to me. I hope to hear from you all. Let me know if you want to be subscribed to my blog. I can put your e-mail on a list, so that you don't even have to visit my blog to read my entries. However, the blog is pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Also, there is a link on my blog connecting you to my facebook albums (even if you aren't hip enough to have a facebook or cool enough to be my fb friend), where you can see some beautiful pictures from my exciting summer.

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and I hope to hear from you all soon.

Sarah Weaver
sarahdweaver@gmail.com

Pray for the Philippines

Video of News Report

Pray for the rain to stop and the help to come. Over one hundred and forty people are dead and shelters are full with over one hundred thousand needing help.

Do what you can to help as September continues to bring the States beautiful weather all around. Send food, money and lots of Prayers.

Anxious

I am getting super anxious to go to New Zealand. I packed tonight and put it all in my pack to make sure I did a good job. It’s not too heavy! I’m sure after lugging it around New Zealand, I will disagree with that comment. However, I have been really proud of my ability to say, “Sarah, you do not need this,” and I listen and put it away. So, I will most likely be looking quite frumpy and not so fabulous, but that’s okay.

Last week, I spent some time in the Barnes and Noble looking at New Zealand guide books trying to plan some super sweet stuff to do and see while I am there. Fortunately, I have eight days before I have to be back at the airport in Auckland to be shuttled over to the Capernwray cabins or whatnot. Eight days may sound like a lot, but I am sure they will fly by before I know what I even did.

Some things on my list are wild and adventurous while over are things like sit on the coastline. It is spring in New Zealand, but I doubt it will be bikini weather, but you never know.

I’m in Lawrence now visiting some of my friends. Tonight I hung out with some Young Life leaders and had a blast being girly: gossiping and giggling. It is great to be reminded what fun being in one place is like. I miss my friends and living a normal life (one not consumed by jet setting and craziness, even though that is some of the most fun things to do). What I am trying to say is: I am so anxious to go to New Zealand and happy to have a wonderful home to return to. Life is wonderful.

Yum

Must visit Denver for a Gelitini, a martini with gelato, at Gelazzi or someplace. I saw it on the Food Channel and I must have one. What a great idea for someone of legal drinking age.

Check it Out

Capernwray Address

Send Mail to:

Capernwray Bible School
P.O. Box 702
3450
Cambridge
NEW ZEALAND

I will be there Oct 12-Nov 20th. Man, I can not wait. Sitting around my parent's house in Kansas waiting for my flight to LA has been pretty rough. Haha. I am only kidding. I have just been catching up on sleep and gathering the last of my supplies. Life is wonderful.

Chicago Video

Click Here to hear about my time in Chicago.

I had a wonderful stay thanks to some dear friends, Bray, Marsh and Lauren.

"What are you doing??"

Speaking of, everyone is asking “What are you doing?” Meaning, “Sarah Weaver, what the heck are you doing with your life? Why aren’t you at KU this year? Why are your facebook statues full of things like.. ‘on the beach in Southern California,’ ‘eating crab chowder in San Fransico,’ ‘float trip in Phoenix, AZ,’ WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE???”

What I Am Doing With My Life (as of now): Right now I am in what I call transition meaning I am able to pick up with the phone at three in the morning and then pack up my car to Chicago at a drop of a hat. This transition period means I am waiting until I leave for my next BIG trip.

Earlier this year, I applied for an Adventure Bible School in New Zealand through a school called Capernwray. So, I fly to Auckland, New Zealand on Oct 2 for a six week program. Before leaving for Capernwray, I will be visiting Kailey in Santa Barbara for a week.

So, to answer the famous question, “What about college?” The plan is to return to the University of Kansas in the spring. Meaning, January 14, 2010, I should be moving into Lawrence for good to have another go at getting that valued piece of paper, also known as a degree. Because of some community college I have under my belt, I will still be on track to graduate in four years just like society pressures us to do. Happy? I sure am! Know that plans can always change, but I am excited about this plan.

The last four months, I have been to over forty-five cities, fourteen states, nine countries, and two continents. So, you could say I have done some traveling. Thankfully, the traveling is not going to end soon either. I reckon I will be non-stop until my birthday, January 13^th. The only reason I will be stopping then is because KU classes stop the next day.

This is an amazing time in my life and I will never forget all the things I have seen, all the things I have done, and all the wonderful people I have met. I definitely feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to do all that I am doing. My hope is to never forget how wonderful the world really is. I will continue to embark on adventures everyday of my life regardless if I am studying in Kansas or jumping out of planes in Spain. It doesn’t matter if you are on-the-go or in a time of stationary life. What matters is how you treat everyday and what you create with the time you are given.

Meeting People

Yesterday I met a boy by the name of Nick. He owns a Yo-Yo and can do tricks. His girlfriend however cannot use a Yo-Yo. She does know how to ride a unicycle. Her parents met in the circus.

Meeting people is the best part of traveling. You would not believe some of the stories I have heard. I have met people from over fifteen countries, who speak over twenty languages (I am making up these number, but I bet if I took the time to think about it; they’d be close to true).

This entry could be full of stories of the people I have met. Life has been so good to me.

Islam Demopgraphics

I am not sure what to think of this, but I thought everyone should at least view it to see what they think of it. Think for yourself and don't let media influence you, but also learn to be an enlightened witness, so that you too can be educated. Try to educate yourself everyday about the world around you because like it or not everything affects you. Everything.

Click Here to view a clip on YouTube concerning the rise in Islamic religion and culture in America and Europe.

Please comment on my blog or contact me in some way to start a vital discussion about our future. I think it is so interesting to consider what our futures may hold with the influences of immigration. I would love to know more, so help me educate myself and together we can embark on a wonderful journey of education and adventures.

Full of Surprises

I successfully surprised Lauren Callison for the second time this year. The first time was when I flew to Spokane, Washington in April this year unannounced. That was an amazing trip.

I love surprises. And I really love surprising Lauren. This trip was super spontaneous and random. Yesterday Marsh and I hopped on the train from Naperville and caught the L with the brown line. Yup, I felt really cool using public transportation in Chicago. I love public transportation. Heck, that could be its own blog entry. Maybe someday it will be...

Back to surprising Lauren. I called her cute roommate Carly. I think being cute is one of Lauren's requirements for her friends because look at all her friends... Jenn and Megan from high school are gorgeous. Then here at Moody Bible School you have Braylen, who is hot, let's be honest. Then there's all the girls she lived with in Spokane; they are all beautiful. Dang it. I do not what to say about Lauren's friend picking other than - dang girl. Haha.

So, we call Carly and not only is she cute but very courteous. She met us outside the train stop, walked us up to Lauren who was a tad stressed out by the sound of it. Lauren questioned what Carly was doing and Carly told her she had a surprise for her. From the staircase, Marsh and I could hear the conversation. I hear Lauren say, "I don't want a surprise. I don't like surprises."

I laugh and enter the room by saying, "I hope you like this surprise." She was all up in arms. "You guys..." She was so shocked and hopefully, super excited. I know she is excited that we surprised her. Braylen was just as shocked when Marsh and I walked up to his dorm room. It is wonderful to see him.

Today was a really good day and there is so much to share, but Lauren and I have to go to bed early tonight because we have class and chapel in the morning. I am excited to check out the school a bit more and see what Lauren's life is like here.

My trip to Chicago

Yesterday started off sad, but ended joyfully. Unfortunately, I was up at the crack of dawn because Kailey had an eight a.m. flight. It was not a tearful goodbye at KCI because I myself will be flying from KCI to LAX in less than two weeks to stay with Kailey for a week before I ship off to New Zealand. So, thankfully, this was yet another “see you later,” for Kailey and I.

I left the airport with an empty car, well not exactly empty. “My bags were packed, and I was ready to go…” [insert song lyrics]. Surprisingly, I was off for another adventure myself. Why did I insert the word "surprisingly"? Is it a surprise to anyone these days that I am off to yet another place or embarking on some random spontaneous road trip. I just couldn’t let Kailey go home and actually head back to my house, too.

I was off to St. Louis. “Meet me in St Louie…” [insert sappy old movie title].

A mere few days before, I get a three a.m. phone call from a man by the name of Bryan Marsh. I met him this previous winter break through a friend. His adventurous spirit and outrageous humor has kept me in contact with him for the last nine months. Also, his best friend, Braylen Chandler, is dating my best friend, Lauren Callison, so, as long as the two love birds keep it going, Marsh and I are forever bonded. His adventurous spirit and outrageous humor has kept me in contact with him for the last nine months.

The Three A.M. Phone Call: It went a little something like this…

“Wanna go to Chicago?”

“I am going this coming Monday.”

“You… What?”

“Yup, let’s meet and go together.”

“Okay.”

That may be a bit brief, but that’s how it went down. “Meet in St. Louis on Sunday.” Deal.

The drive from the airport to St. Louis was pretty minor. I was a little bored and sleepy, but managed to entertain myself with some tunes and a few phone calls. Before I knew it, I saw the arch!

Marsh and I met up outside of St. Louis to continue the journey to Chicago together in my car. The drive to Chi town is notably one of the most boring drives through Illinois, but Marsh had me laughing the whole way. Our conversations were blessed with interesting insight and lots of laughter.

Marsh and I have quite similar stories, which didn’t seem to amaze us as we drove across the plains of Illinois. He just finished his freshman year at Northern Kentucky, but already is taking some off to country hop a bit. Sound familiar? Oh, wait, it gets better. He is headed to Mexico for two months and then Africa for six months with an organization called “Adventures in Missions.”

Hmmm. And Hmmm is right. Marsh and I are both finding ourselves called to leave college and abandon everything familiar for something new and challenging. It was really comforting to talk to someone who is doing something similar to what I am doing.

Yesterday, we met in St. Louis and drove to Naperville, IL to pick up my dear friend Susheel from work. I saw his wonderful family for the third time this summer, which is almost as much as I have seen my own family. His dad drove Marsh and I to the train station, so that I could save a few bucks by not paying for parking. What an amazing guy.

Truly, the Kumar's are amazing. When their boys walk in the door, they drop everything they are doing to ask them about their day and really care to listen. Also, they love the Lord with all their hearts. When I walk into their home, they want to cater to any need they can. They offer all kinds of food or beverages. I truly feel welcomed in their home. Their sons are so lucky to have parents like them. I am blessed to have them in my life.

I am blessed to have a lot of people in my life. I am happy.

Last Night at Kailey's

Friday, August 28: Leaving Berkeley was harder than I thought it would be. The town had so much to offer and there were a lot of great people to surround ourselves with. It was wonderful to see A.Jay and her cool pad. It was also great to meet Davis. He was quite the guy.

Smart Alec’s provided quite the delicious avocado burger. It was yummy and different. I am really trying to order things that I normally wouldn’t. How will I ever know what is good if I don’t order it? So, I am proud to say in the past few months I have tried a number of outrageous foods— some good, some bad and some things were the best I had ever had.

The drive down California wasn’t anything too exciting, but it really wasn’t too treacherous. I5 isn’t anything too great, but I saw some neat things and some not so neat things.

Arriving to Pacific Coast Highway (PCH, Highway 1) was the best part of the day. Seeing Huntington Beach is always a wonderful view. Finally, we made it to Steven Clark’s family vacation home. It was so close to the beach. I was taken back by it. I can’t believe his family gets to spend a vacation there every summer. I felt super blessed to be able to hang out there.

Aug 29: I woke up around noon in a beach house in Newport. Could life be much better? We got a late start, but finally made it to the beach after a shopping spree at Jack’s. The day was really hot but perfect weather to play in the freezing water. Jake, Steven, Jess and I played in the waves for a while, and the waves were big this time of year. I ate it twice, which was not a highlight of my day, yet still fun. After some intense body surfing, I dried off on the beach.

I bid my farewells to the interns and headed back North to Kailey’s. Kacie, Kailey and I watched some quality TV and bonded. It was really nice to see familiar faces and good friends.

Aug 30: Church with the VanderBaan’s is a guaranteed good time. I love hearing Tim preach. It was a fun way to start the day. Then we made a fatal mistake and paid actual money to see Post Grad, one of the worst movies I have seen in years. I did not enjoy one moment of this film. What a disappointment.

Today, Aug 31: I really cannot believe my own eyes. August is over. My summer is continuing until December to be completely honest. Try not to be too jealous, I know. But I hear the weather in Kansas is already turning to fall, which is weird, but knowing Kansas weather it will be 98 and humid by next Wednesday.

This morning Kailey and I woke up at 5:45AM and headed to Huntington Beach, one of my favorites. Something about the beach that early is so peaceful. All the surfers were out catching the morning waves while Kailey and I sat on the beach talking. Before I knew it, I was asleep. We both were passed out for a good two hours. Although, my back and neck were yelling at me for lying awkwardly on the sand, the rest of me was so happy to be sleeping on the beach.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around with an evening spent baking goodies for our trip.
Here in Southern California there is a mad heat wave. Doesn’t help that some of SoCal is on fire, literally. It’s hot here. Good thing we are on the road again soon. Oh wait, we headed even closer to the equator then over to the hottest state I have ever been to: Arizona.