After months of dreaming and planning, the time has come for me and my dad to board our flight(s). We’re first headed to Addis Abba, Ethiopia for a few days with dear friends and then off to Malawi to spend a few weeks with the various activities of UrbanPromise International in Malawi.

There will be lots of visiting with friends and making new ones. Lots of observing and questioning. And lots of adventures that are still to be seen.

I’ll be updating as often as I can – but I cannot promise that it will be often at all. In lieu of that, I’m posting our itinerary here.

July 11 – Fly from Philadelphia to Dulles to Addis Abba
July 12 – Land in Addis
July 13 – 15 – Spend time in Addis and with Corinne and Eric
July 15 – Fly to Lilongwe, Malawi and meet up with Lindsey and Andy
July 15 – July 19 – Spend time with YouthCare
July 19 – Travel to Dowa region of Malawi
July 20 – 23 – Spend time with RiseMalawi
July 24 – Travel to African Bible College for UPI Fellows Orientation
July 24 – July 25 – UPI Fellows Orientation
July 26 – Day Off
July 27 – Travel to Kambiri Lodge on Lake Malawi for Leadership Retreat
July 27 – July 29 – Leadership Retreat
July 30 – Fly from Lilongwe to Addis Abba
July 31 – Fly from Dulles to Philadelphia

Well, friends, that’s all. Whether you’re reading this on my blog, on your RSS feed or on Facebook, I hope that the next few weeks of your life is peaceful and productive. I’ll see you in August.

If you’ve never watched the wonder that is SYTYCD, know that it is far better enjoyed in a group. I, personally, recommend my group. We shriek and cheer and act as though we are in the studio audience and not an apartment in Waco, Texas. There’s also usually food. It’s pretty freaking fantastic.

But on to the dances …

One of the dances this week may rank as my favorite of all time – a profound and beautiful and haunting contemporary by Mia Michaels. There were a few other great ones, but I’m still tearing up at the one embedded directly below.

Kupono and Kayla – Contemporary – “Gravity” by Sara Barrielles

Randi and Evan – Hip-Hop – “Halo” by Beyonce

Janette and Brandon – Argentine Tango – “Libertango” from Forever Tango

(This was legit the best ballroom routine I’ve ever seen. When I talked about our group shrieking? Much of it was over this routine.)

Phillip and Jeanine – Jive – “Stuff Like That There” by Bette Middler

Janette and Brandon – Jazz – “Ruby Blue” by Roisin Murphy

(I’m calling it now – if someone other than Janette or Brandon win this thing, I’ll be shocked)

Have you heard of these kids? If not, settle in for a treat:

While on the aforementioned journey through Kentucky, etc, I missed two weeks of So You Think You Can Dance. Therefore, I binged on the DVR on Friday.

So, from the past two weeks of the show, here are my favorite routines.

Brandon and Janette – Cha Cha – Hush Hush; Hush Hush by the Pussycat Dolls

Kupono and Kayla – Contemporary – Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation

Phillip and Janine – Hip-Hop – Love Lockdown by Kanye West

Melissa and Ade – Ballet – Romeo & Juliet Prokofiev’s Suite No. 1 Op. 64b, 6th Movement

Janette and Brandon – Hip-Hop – What A World

Randi and Evan – Contemporary – Koop Island Blues

***

I really think that Ade and Melissa are going to continue to surprise us all and be in the top five. Right now – I think joining them will be Janette, Janine, and Brandon.

I just returned from a two-week tour through my Asbury self and her memories. I had a lot of excellent conversations, lots of rest and a lot of time for laughter. Amidst those things, I also had a lot of time to read. As I prepare to head back to Africa this week, I wanted to share a few of my recomendations for you – things that I have loved this summer.

Television Shows

If you haven’t ever watched How I Met Your Mother, do so immediately. Not kidding. Also, Burn Notice and Royal Pains. And clearly, if you’re not watching So You Think You Can Dance, you have no idea what you’re missing.

Movies

As far as those playing in theaters, I’d heartily recommend Star Trek, The Proposal and Away We Go. I’m also positive that the newest journey to Hogwarts will blow us all away. Thanks to various blogs, I’ve stumbled upon a few gems that I think you should watch as well. Pheobe in Wonderland, Kids in America and Driving Lessons are three of my favorite independents. Felicity Huffman and Patricia Clarkson are revelations in Pheobe in Wonderland and the ways in which we discover Pheobe’s compulsions and how her brain compensates for them are truly interesting.

Books

I brought a few books with me for the journey as I am a compulsive literary overpacker – Walking on Water by Madeline L’Engle, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon, The Handmaiden’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and From Outrage to Courage by Anne Firth Murray. Of those, I ended up reading two and starting in on a third – but I read three other books that I borrowed from Bethany or bought in Lousiville – Enna Burning and The Goose Girl both by Shannon Hale and then The Book Theif by Markus Slezak.

I wasn’t prepared to find as much truth and beauty in young adult fiction as I have. The Goose Girl and Book Theif were both creative and intense. The Book Theif – a story of a German family in the Holocaust told from Death’s perspective – was one that I read at Bethany’s insistence. She told me that I would learn things and be caught up in the language and she was correct. I have given my copy to Mama J, so I cannot quote it here – but know that the author forms words in ways that I have never seen another author do. Trust me when I tell you that it’s a read that’s worth your time.

Any recomendations for me?

I really love to support independent, locally owned businesses. (There are some exceptions to this – I’m looking at you, Common Grounds.) One of my least favorite things about Waco is the abundance of chains that I am forced to shop at. However, on vacation in Lousiville this week, I was able to head to a locally owned bookstore called Carmichael’s, which was attached to a local coffee shop – Heine Bros.

It made me happy and I bought a few things. (For the record, I bought Food, Inc. and The Book Thief and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and a pouch of organic coffee) I bought things to say “Thank you so much for not being large and impersonal. Thank you for playing NPR as I shopped. Thank you for having an excellent children’s book section that Bethany and I could look through. Thanks for having local recommendations and a really rad sustainable living section. Thanks for keeping it classy in Louisville. Well done.”

I didn’t really understand the differences between local vs. national business until I was in college as I listened to people from small towns talk about WalMart and how it was killing their local businesses. As much of a fan I am of convienience at times, I wish it wasn’t always at the expense of something. I’m not saying that national chains are always horrible for the community (WaWa, Target and some others are known for their local participation) – but the sociological landscape of the current world is littered with corporations who are not kind to their surroundings. I wish we- as a people – were better at this balance.

I wish that we were better at acknowledging that no one exists in a vacuum. That the ways that I behave and the products that I buy and the ideas that I support affect persons in countries that I can’t find easily upon a map. I wish that togetherness and global community were not just topics for cheesetastic songs from Disney Channel movies, but were acutally driving concepts of society.

*sigh*

All of that to say – I like local businesses. I wish that someone would open an independent bookshop in Waco and I especially wish that that person would call it “Shop Around the Corner”.

Top 18 dances were pretty diverse. I didn’t love the hip-hop routines as much as I normally do and – as much as I love Phillip – that tango was a hot mess. Also, I still think that it should have been Ashuka and Vitolio who were booted this week because I am dramatically over them. But there are some real gems this week that I had a great time watching.

Brandon and Janette – “Love is Really My Game” – Disco

Jonathan and Carla – “Falling Slowly” – Contemporary

Evan and Randi – “Shake Your Tailfeather” – Jive

So, I didn’t fall completely in love with any of the Top 20 dances. I liked a few of the contemporaries, and the first hip-hop routine. But of all the performances this week, my favorite was the group dance for the results show. It doesn’t hurt that “Boom Boom Pow” is my favorite summer song so far. I’ve watched this routine a few times and it never fails to impress me.

Last night, bookending our night of Jazz and Desert at Diamondback’s, a few of us gathered in the Toczyski’s apartment to play RISK. For the record, all of us are graduates or current students in the missions concentration at Truett. We’ve spent time studying colonialism and it’s ramifications and how damaging it has been on the peoples of the world.

So it was fairly entertaining to watch all of us turn into fictional King Leopold’s and attempt to dominate entire continents.

However, as I lay in bed last night, attempting to fall asleep, I was thinking about the various ways that world leaders have carved up the world. It seems to me that it has rarely been in the best interest of the people of the nations in question and often at the best interest of the carvers. And, honestly, the way that Africa was haphazardly sectioned off into countries, it would not have shocked me if they viewed it as a glorified game of RISK.

Sometimes, I wish I didn’t fall asleep stressing out about the world. It would make things easier.

For the 3 of you who care – here’s what I’m up to between now and the start of classes in the Fall.

Now – June 21: In Waco. Plans include sitting by the pool, reading books and having meals with friends

June 22- July 2: Tour through Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio to see Asburians and have some sweet rest for my soul

July 2- July 9: In Waco. Plans include “Peace is Patriotic” party and more poolside reading

July 9- July 31: In Ethiopia and Malawi with UrbanPromise

August 1- August 23: In Yardley. Plans include Nanny’s 90th Birthday, Sarah and Mike at the Shore and escaping the Texas heat.