Updated on August 2, 2011
This is Chiang Mai
I finally got around to editing and posting most of my pictures from Chiang Mai last night. In the process, I came across the following photo, taken from the back of a red truck (basically a truck with an enclosed bed with benches people can sit on).
I love the picture, less for its aesthetic qualities, and more for the fact that it captures so much of what I’ve come to associate with Chiang Mai in the 6+ total months I’ve spent there over the past few years. Those of you who have strolled the streets of the city should instantly recognize all of the following components found on just about any side street in this Thai tourist hot spot/backpackers’ haven.
Updated on August 2, 2011
A Friday List
Some random tidbits from my side of the world:
I have a friend visiting from out of town this weekend. In preparation for her visit, last night I was throwing together a few things for my favorite salad. I may or may not have eaten an embarrassingly large amount of the almonds I caramelized for the salad. Almonds + sugar = major weakness.
It’s actually quite warm today. I’d be doing a happy dance, except for the fact that the rise in temperatures has been accompanied by gale force winds that literally force you to eat dirt if you dare venture outside. Gotta love the feel of the grit of the Gobe desert on your teeth.
We go out to lunch as a team every Friday. Of our three team meals this semester, two of them have been at Pizza Hut. The other was at KFC. We do like Chinese food. I promise!
We have now entered the season of March Madness (and no, I’m not referring to the dust storms that visit these parts this time of year). I’ve put all my hopes in the Buckeyes…this could be their year! I’m hoping they’ll carry me all the way to my first team bracket victory.
I love this girl. And not just because she does my grocery shopping in the big city and carries back pounds of butter on the train for me.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Comfort food
This photo was not taken recently. It was taken in the sunny, warm, beautiful land of Thailand, where signs of life and growth abounded. There is no sign of life round these parts yet. In fact, it snowed this week. Let’s just say the first words uttered when I woke up to the sight of the ground covered again just after all previous snow and ice had melted were not happy words. Nor were they words of appreciation at the beauty and hushed tranquility of freshly fallen snow. In my book, snow just isn’t beautiful in March.
But I digress. In light of the stubbornly lingering winter, and the fact that about half of the team here has come down with “the crud,” we decided to do a soup themed night at our team dinner this week. This occasion was calling for some good old comfort food, so I whipped up a big pot of chicken and dumpling soup. By the time I finished it, since it was dark and food photos never look great with artificial light, I decided to wait to take a picture. I figured I could photograph a bowl of leftovers the next day to post with the recipe. Only problem is, there were no leftovers. Not a drop. Turns out chicken and dumplings was just what the doctor ordered for a group of cold and sick people. And hence, the totally unrelated photograph of a rose and my attempt to somehow make it related. Did it work?
If winter is also lingering longer than desired in your part of the world, check out the recipe here and make up a pot today. If spring has already arrived on your doorstep and you’re looking for cool and refreshing recipes, please do not tell me.
Updated on August 2, 2011
And the word became flesh
I sit, pouring over maps, figures, timelines. Over the snaking lines of thousands of miles of webbed roads. Over names, cities long forgotten. Over people, people who once laughed and smiled and wept and walked those roads. People who so easily become names quickly skimmed over. I close my eyes and try to go there, try to stoke the fires of my sanctified imagination. Try to imagine cities where worlds and cultures collide, where prostitutes and priests hover in corners trying to sell assurance for tomorrow. Back to the maps, tracing the spread of hope, marveling at the circumstances that sent good news flying along roads built by an empire that tried to make itself god, and eventually, like all false ones do, fell. The word begins to live and breathe and take on color and depth, and this is what I want others to see. To see that it’s not just ancient, dead, two dimensional words. But word become flesh.
As embodied people, we struggle to understand, we struggle to grasp unless we can see, touch, taste, feel. He knows. He made us this way. And so the Word, the Truth took on flesh. Look at the words He has given us…the great majority of it narrative, truth being fleshed out until it all culminates in the one Word taking on flesh, becoming narrative. Instead of a thought, an idea, He is living, breathing truth. He becomes narrative–word breathed and word lived. Teaching by enfleshing truth. And then, the great miracle, inviting others into the story. Inviting others to enflesh the truths of who we are and who our creator is. Is it not within the narrative, within the story of our lives, that we get the clearest glimpses of glory? Momentary sightings of the Word still made flesh, come to dwell in our midst?
What is a word? Without the flesh that brings it to life? Words swirl…empty…without meaning Until birthed into matter Father you utter, you speak And it is so…creation clothed So speak into my life, breathe into my life In the brokenness, in the cracks In this weak earthen vessel Make your word become flesh Though it may break, even shatter me May your story be written Breathed On the pages of my life Enflesh, Father, continue to enflesh Speak so that it may be so For the glory and to the testimony of your great name.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Sunday Snapshot: Adventures in Dining
Last night, a group of students came over to cook for me. Having students cook is always a bit frightening, as there’s no telling what might appear on the table. There is also no telling what state my kitchen will be in afterwards.
The first thing to appear on the table were sushi-esque rolls.
Sticky rice? Chinese hot dogs? Kimchee? Cucumber? Carrots? All wrapped in seaweed? Not exactly my favorite combination of flavors. But I ate ’em. With a smile on my face…and a drink in hand.
The girls were so proud of their handiwork that they had to document it with their cell phones.
In addition to the sushi rolls, we also had coca cola chicken and a couple vegetable dishes.
Have you ever eaten garlic shoots in the States? It’s a veggie I had never seen before moving to China, but is now one of my favorite dishes.
There was also the Chinese version of salad–cold noodles, dry tofu, carrots and cucumbers.
I’ll be honest, I’d much rather be eating something like pizza. And my house still smells like kimchee today. But the company? Made it quite the wonderful meal.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Before & After
I’m going to let you all in on a couple secrets. #1: Editing photos is my procrastination technique of choice. For example, right now I have a stack of thesis statements I should be grading and correcting. Instead, I’ve been toying around in photoshop. Secret #2: Pretty much every photo I post here is edited. Trust me, it makes me look like a MUCH better photographer than I actually am. Secret #3: I don’t have full fledged photoshop. I have the baby version elements. I dream of the day when I’ll be willing to fork over the cash for the real deal, but in the meantime, you can actually do quite a bit in elements.
Some of you have been bugging me awhile (I’m looking in your direction Stefanie) to give some photography tips, so today I’m going to pass along some of my favorite tips: Take a lot of pictures. Trash the ones that are bad. But don’t be too quick to trash them. Now in a bit here I’m going to get a little technical with editing, so those of you with no interest in photography may want to skip away now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I take A LOT of pictures. Especially when it comes to kids, the key for me is to shoot constantly in the hopes that 1 out of 10…or 50…will capture that perfect emotion. When I dump pictures on my computer, or flip through them on the camera, I end up deleting a large majority. However, today I want to tell you…don’t be too eager with the trash button! And here’s the reason, some pretty shabby looking SOOC (straight out of camera) shots can actually become quite special when edited right. Editing will not fix all pictures, but it can do a lot.
Case in point: take a look at this SOOC shot of a rose from Thailand.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Communication
I’ve lived in China for six years. I’m almost finished with an entire master’s degree about communicating across cultures. I should be pretty good at cross-cultural communication by now, right? If anything, the only thing this experience and all of those classes has taught me is how common miscommunication is. Simply setting up a time to get together with a group of students–figuring out when and where and for what–involves a circular process of indirectness and many text messages. And along that very circular path, there is likely to be at least one instance of misinterpretation or miscommunication. One thing six years in China has taught me is to recognize the warning flags that I and the other party just might not be on the same page. So when a student, with whom I thought we’d established that we’re just getting together for games, sends a text saying…
I remember you don’t like to eat tofu? And you don’t eat pig’s foot?
…I realize that perhaps there is a plan to cook, and I may just need to clean my kitchen before the students arrive. However, at least one important piece of information has already been communicated: Miss Katherine is not a fan of gnawing on the foot of a pig. In addition, while tofu in China is just as common as and has as many varieties as cheese in America, you can safely say none are considered particularly delectable by Miss Katherine. Tofu makes its way into my introductory speech on the first day of class every semester when it’s appropriate to directly say I do not enjoy it. That way, come mealtime with students, when the direct communication of that preference is not nearly as appropriate, students already know not to order a big plate of steaming hot tofu. I guess I have learned a thing or two after all…
Updated on August 2, 2011
Food for thought
A generation of Followers reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with the Father. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gathering or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow philosophies, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-fellowship, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the spirit: these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.
To put it differently, we have accepted one another’s notions, copied one another’s lives and made one another’s experiences the model for our own. And for a generation the trend has been downward. Now we have reached a low place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the word of truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed.
Taken from A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God
Updated on August 2, 2011
Sunday Snapshot: No newness yet
You are the one who makes all things new.
We gladly raise our voices and move our lips to acknowledge, celebrate, and proclaim your staggering newness.
As we do so, we hold in our hearts deep awareness of all the places where your newness is not visible, and has not come.
Our hearts link to many places of wretchedness short of your newness.
We know up close the deep wretchedness of poverty, of homelessness, of hunger and no newness yet.
Move our hearts closer to the passion of our lips.
Move our lips closer to your own newness.
Work your newness in hidden, cunning ways among us.
Move us closer to your bodied newness in the Son, newness of strength come in weakness, newness of wisdom come in foolishness.
Draw us from the wretchedness we know to his scarred, bloody wretchedness that is your odd entry of newness into our life.
We ask in the name of his suffering newness. Amen.
Words taken from Walter Brueggemann’s Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Croutons
After a long, unexplained bout of silence, I bet you expected me to return with something a bit more profound than glorified toasted bread bits. And indeed, there has been a lot going on with the start of the semester and general life processing. But none of it is quite ready to be shared with the whole wide world (or the three people still actually checking in here…thanks mom).
And so, instead, I’m going to bring you something that will rock your world. OK, if you live in America within the vicinity of any sort of grocery store with aisles and aisles of promise, this likely will not change your life. However, if you happen to live in some foreign country where croutons, or for that matter, bread products, are rarely found, this just might dramatically improve your life…or at least your salads. It turns out croutons are super easy to make, especially if you have one of these bad boys.
Simply take a loaf of bread, and chop it up into small squares. Please don’t be overly concerned about the uniformity of the squares. Speaking of uniformity, my beautiful sister, during a late night cooking session of the Pioneer Woman’s famous cinnamon rolls, actually got out a ruler to assist in the cutting of said rolls. An action for which I mocked her mercilessly. Thank goodness she doesn’t read the blog…but if you are, I love you Elizabeth!
After dumping your bread in a large bowl, empty the packet of salad dressing mix on top of the bread, and toss it around so it all gets mixed up.
At this point, you can also add a bit more of other seasonings as well. This time around I added more garlic powder and onion powder. If you don’t have an italian dressing mix, you can use your own mix of seasonings instead to suit whatever type of salad you’re making.
Then simply pour in some olive oil. Probably around a quarter cup; I think I might have added a little more than that. Sorry, I’m not the one cutting rolls with a ruler…I don’t always do exact measurements.
Once again, toss the bread around as you pour in the oil. Don’t be afraid of getting your hands dirty.
Then simply spread the bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and throw it near the top of the oven at about 400 degrees.
Keep a vigilant watch, stirring the croutons every few minutes and removing once brown and nice and toasted.
And there you have it: simple, easy to make, delicious croutons. For those of you spoiled Americans, the next time you’re snowed in, have run out of croutons, and absolutely MUST have a salad, you can give it a try as well.
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