The Staff Retreat Edition of a Dear ____ Post

Once upon a time, my co-workers and I went on this weekend long getaway known as Staff Retreat. This edition of the Dear ____ Posts is written with that experience in mind. Enjoy my loyal blog readers. Enjoy. :)

Dear Blessing, You are what I'd consider this past weekend. I enjoyed it all. Seriously, this whole weekend was amazing!

Dear Neptune Hotel, You are so nice and beautiful. You really do feel like a resort.

Dear Delicious, You are how I'd describe pretty much all of the food I ate this weekend. I left every single meal feeling full and satisfied (and happy). :)

Dear Sleep, You were pretty awesome on this trip. I was telling someone yesterday that I slept better during this weekend getaway than I have in a long, long time. What's the difference? 1) I was on vacation. 2) There's just something about falling asleep, bundled up under the covers, and being in a room where the A/C is bottomed out. :)

Dear Blueberries, Who would've ever thought that you could be so funny?

Dear Air Conditioning, I love you so much. You make me cold, which is a feeling I love. You make me sleep better. You allow me the joy of bundling up under covers without making me sweat. I guess it's like the old saying goes... Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well Air Conditioning, I do appreciate you so much more now than I ever did before :)

Dear Swimming Pool, You were a nice, cool break in my hot days. It was nice and refreshing to use you to cool off. And it was also nice to just lounge around on the chairs surrounding you, reading a book, playing a game, or talking with friends.

Dear Staying up to Midnight Playing Games with Friends, You're what I did the past 2 nights. Anyone that knows me knows that's hard for me. I'm soooo not a night person and really start to lose brain function past a certain time of night. Of course that may be why I lost all games I played late at night :)

Dear Retreat Roomie, I had fun getting to know you a little more friend, chatting and laughing with you, discussing the deep philosophical points of life, enjoying the right to turn our air conditioner down as low as we wanted ( 16C or about 60F ), sharing quotes from the books we were reading, and just having fun in general.

The 32nd Dear ___ Post ...posted a day early since we're leaving later today for Staff Retreat

Dear Internet at Home, You are FINALLY, after 6 1/2 weeks, working! This makes me a very happy lady :)

Dear Guava, You are my new favorite flavor of juice. You're tasty, exotic, and refreshing. Thanks for being you Guava :)

Dear Battery Inverter, I got to use you for the first time earlier this week. Thank you for allowing me the chance to finish my grad school assignment and also allowing my fan to keep running and prevent me from melting from the heat when the electricity went out. You rock inverter. You definitely do! :)

Dear Headache, I've had you off and on all week. Feel free to leave.

Dear German Boxed Milk, This is the second week in a row in which you have been mentioned in my "Dear ____" posts. That's pretty impressive. But Milk, that's because you are quite impressive. Thanks for being sold here in Dakar. Thanks for not being too terribly expensive. And most of all, thanks for tasting delicious.

Dear People that Overuse the "Like" Button on Facebook, Do you actually read the statuses (sp?) before you click the "like" button? I sometimes wonder if some people just click "like" automatically because they know the person. But you know, sometimes that's just not appropriate. For example, what if someone's status says... "Bob's sad because his grandma died." You probably shouldn't "like" this status. Or what if someone's status says... "Anna has had a migraine all day and it won't go away." You probably shouldn't "like" this one either. Be careful what you "like" Facebook peeps. Just sayin' :)

Dear iTunes Gift Cards, Thanks to you I was able to buy a few episodes of a really funny show and 3 books.

Dear Headphones, You went missing about 3 weeks ago. This made me sad, especially because I wanted to use you while at my mini vacation to paradise on Staff Retreat this weekend. BUT I found you yesterday. And where were you? You were in a drawer in my bathroom that holds toilet paper and other random bathroom stuff? Why were you there? Seriously... how many people keep their headphones in the bathroom?

Dear Worship Music, I've started playing you when my students are working independently. They love you! They request you often. And I can see them moving their lips, trying to sing along. And they still are doing their assignments...and doing them well. It's so fun :)

Dear 3:45 a.m., You're what time I woke up this morning thanks to 1) the power going off (...i.e. my fans going off and the sweat starting to pour) and 2) crazy loud claps of thunder and huge bright flashes of lightning.

Dear Staff Retreat, My fellow DA Staff Members and myself are leaving for you after lunch today. I can't wait. A whole weekend at a beautiful hotel with a gorgeous swimming pool, delicious food, times of prayer and fellowship with co-workers and friends, and (speaking honestly) best of all air conditioned hotel rooms.

And speaking of which...

Dear Air Conditioned Rooms, I just want to say that you are going to be so amazing. You are. After living for the past 3 years without you, going to these retreats and feeling your coolness is pretty awesome.

Dear Friends and Family, Anyone want to come to Senegal for a visit? It'd be pretty awesome. ...just sayin' :)

The 31st Dear _____ Post

Dear Freezer Pops, I already love you, but thanks to a cold/sore throat earlier this week, I consumed way too many a healthy amount of you. Thanks for being there for me when I needed you Freezer Pops. As long as you exist here, I'll keep purchasing you.

Dear Soulprint by Mark Batterson, You are the book I'm currently reading. I'm learning a lot from you. It seems like every time I pick you up to read more, I think once again, that you were written just for me.


Dear People in Western Countries Making Facebook Comments about all Muslims being terrorists or extremists, Do you realize that 1) This isn't true. All are not evil. 2) This is like saying all Westerners are Christian. 3) By calling people ugly derogatory and hateful names, you're so not showing a Christian witness. 4) The Crusades were done in the name of Christianity and lasted for a long time so there were bad people associated with Christianity too. 5) Many Americans (including myself) live in foreign countries where we live near, work with, and are friends with Muslims who are kind, respectful, and good people. 6) If you're a Christian, you can love someone while still hating their sin. You shouldn't hate someone because of their choice of religion OR because some people (not all) that practice their religion have chosen to commit horrible acts of violence and hate.

Dear Meatball Sliders, I found a recipe for you earlier this week. You look like you'll be easy to make and will taste amazing. And since a store in town now carries frozen meatballs, you'll be even easier to make. I'm going to be making you tomorrow night for our monthly A/G fellowship dinner. ...can't wait to try you out!

Dear Voting Overseas, In a few days I'll be able to register to do you. I've been told it's a fairly easy process. Now if choosing who (whom?) to vote for was that easy this year... :)

Dear Worn Pot Holder, I should have thrown you away a long time ago. But no, I decided to keep you. How did you repay me? With 4 small burns on my hand. Thanks for that. ...not!

Dear Storage in my Classroom, I have been in major need of you for a while. I was just telling God about this the other day, praying for an answer, and wouldn't you know it? He came through. I love that God loves me so much that He answers even the little, not terribly important requests I have, such as this one.

Dear Meningitis Vaccine, I received you yesterday. Don't worry Dad. It was given by a well trained and certified nurse from Canada that works at our school. For anyone that knows me well, you know I don't really care for doctors, dentists, nurses, etc. Let me just be honest. When it comes to stuff like this, I'm just a big scaredy cat. :) Anywho - This vaccine was necessary since I'll be traveling within Africa soon and the nice people at the airport like to see this vaccine is one I've had. So, alas, I did it (here where it's like a gazillion times cheaper than in the USA). And oh my word - it hurt like something awful was just fine.

Dear Milk, After 3 years of living here, I FINALLY have found milk that I can drink. Due to not liking the taste of basically all milk here, I've refrained from drinking it. But all that's changed, thanks to the arrival of this German-made boxed goodness.

The 30th Dear ______ Post

Dear Entertaining, I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I so love being able to entertain people so much. I love having people in my home, cooking them a meal, and getting to chat with them, get to know them a little better, and just have a good time fellowshipping with them.

Dear Internet at Home, You've made my "Dear _____" posts 3 weeks in a row now. I'm still a little frustrated that you're STILL not working. Major sadness for sure... :( BUT I do have neighbors that are being incredibly awesome and letting me use theirs temporarily so that's been much nicer than staying at school 'til it's late, finishing everything up, and then dreading having to walk home in the dark. :)

Dear 14, You're how many weeks (minus 2 days) that are left until I get to meet my niece :)

Dear Who to Vote for, I wish you were an easier decision. Elections are in November and while I will definitely use my privilege and responsibility as an American to vote, I'm not necessarily thrilled about it at the moment. I'm not 100% sold on either one. My ideal candidate...a Christian that actually supports all that a true biblical Christian belief stands for. ...not one that picks and chooses which parts of the Bible he'll support and which he'll "throw out." ...because that is exactly what both candidates are doing. It makes me sad :(

Dear 2, You're the number of times I've slid & fallen and hit on the SAME knee in the past 3 weeks. My poor knee looks like a rainbow with so many different shades of bruises. Boo to that :(

Dear Rug, I bought you this week to be placed in my classroom. I've been wanting one ever since I started teaching 1st grade. You're the perfect location for cute kids to sit during morning/circle time, storytelling, and center activities. And now that they've realized all of the geometric patterns on you, you've turned into a fun Math activity when there's a couple minutes to kill. So not only are you cute and awesome,you're also educational. Go you! :)

Dear 100% Humidity, You're not cool at all. And I mean that in terms of temperature and in the popularity. Oh and your friend known as Sweating Buckets can leave too. Thanks. :)

Dear Full House, You're what I had last night. My tiny apartment was full of co-workers and friends welcoming two new ladies to our DA community. But even though it was a little cramped and hot (since my living room feels like a sauna) at times, it was a lot of fun. I haven't laughed that much in a long time :)

Dear "May I go to the bathroom?" You were the first full sentence that my Bambara-only speaking (male) student said on Tuesday. Any time he's had to go before I've made him repeat that sentence after me, to give him practice saying it. But today he said it all by himself! He was so proud of himself. And of course his teacher was very proud of him too. Yay for progress! :)

Dear Application for Graduation, I turned you in this past Wednesday. Can I just say how happy that makes me?! I'm that much closer to being done. P.S. to people in Dakar...I'm planning on throwing myself a party in May since I'll be missing my graduation. Feel free to come to my party. It'll be awesome! Ha :)

The 29th Dear _____ Post

Dear A/C in My Classroom, I just want to thank you for being awesome. Since I don't have one of you in my home, it's pretty nice to come to school and hang out in your coolness for most of the day :)

Dear Tooth Fairy 2 and The Lorax, You're the last 2 movies I rented on iTunes. Is it sad that you're both kid movies?

Dear Dessert on the Roof, My fellow apartment building dwellers, and myself, had you this past Sunday night. It's always nice to get together with co-workers, outside of the work setting, even if we did talk about business related stuff. You were a fun time of fellowship with delicious treats too :)

Dear Team USA Travel Mug, You're my new favorite cup. You keep my cold drinks cold and my hot drinks hot. And you're a great conversation starter too. :)

Dear Kenya, I know we seem to be going back and forth, but I might (just might) be able to come visit you in March for the ACSI Conference (a school conference). If the timing and money situation works out, that is...

Dear Internet at Home, You still don't work, which equals major sad face making by me :( Honestly, at this point, I'm starting to think that maybe it's a sign from God that I don't really need internet at home after all...

Dear Rain, While I love you and the fact that you cool things off a bit, I'm not a big fan of flooding. And it seems like you're coming more and more here in Dakar and near my home in Alabama. So I think you need to lighten up a bit. ...no more flooding, please? Thanks.

Dear Shady Shack, You have the most amazing hummus ever. I have tried and tried to recreate this deliciousness, but just can't seem to do so. Thanks for being a tasty and inexpensive lunch option two days a week when you deliver to our school. 

Dear Texas, It looks like I'm going to be visiting you for a few days in December while attending a missions event. I've heard so much about you. Now let's see if you'll live up to all the hype :)

Dear Memories, You came flooding back yesterday. One of our elementary students found out, rather unexpectedly, that she's moving away, prompting her and her whole class to be in tears over their friend leaving so suddenly. All I could picture was myself at her age and hearing that once again, we'd be moving. Then I'd have to tell my friends. Then I'd have to pack up all my stuff yet again. Then we'd have to leave another home yet again. This happened repeatedly, so most people assume that I "got used" to it. Yeah, not so much... And while I do appreciate the childhood I had. I really did have an AWESOME childhood. But this one small part of my childhood was hard. ...really hard :(