Agua... Nước...Acqua... Voda... 水

Water... It is said differently in every language but every country has it. However not every country has access to clean water at all times. This is something that I definitely took for granted.

Here we can use the water from the faucet to wash dishes but it is not good for you to drink. You will be sick for a couple of days if you do. It isn't as bad as some countries but it's not like America. So for drinking water you have to order the 5 gallon water bottles (19L). This means that all the water you consume should come from these bottles or you can buy the 1 liter bottles from the convenience stores. Water bottles are actually pretty cheap here. A 5 gallon water bottle is $3.50 and a refill is $1.25 or the 1L bottles are $.30. So pretty inexpensive.

The problem (that we run into) is when you run out of water. To get a refill for a 5gal bottle we have to call our "water guy" (the guy who brings us the refill). Our water guy is often unreliable. He will say he will be over at a certain time and then he never shows up. Or we call and he is out of town and won't be back that day.

Today we emptied our 2 5 gallon water bottles and called our guy (we order 2 so that we don't run out as fast). He said he would bring over 2 bottles at 6:30. But he didn't show up at 6:30. Then he said 7:30. He didn't show up at 7:30. Then at 9:30 he confirmed that he wasn't coming (Shocker!). We usually have extra water in pitchers in our fridge in case this happens. However tonight we had friends over and we exhausted all of our water and we were in desperate need for a drink!

So I decided to go to one of the 4 convenience stores around our apartment to buy some 1L bottles to last us the night. So I walk downstairs and across the street only to realize that it is 10:05pm and the store closed at 10pm. I missed it by 5 minutes!!!

Water is a necessity for life and it stills baffles me that I can't get water whenever I want. If you run out of water and wait too long, then you're out of luck!

Only when this happens do I realize that I took for granted the luxury of having access to clean drinking water at all times. Oh how blessed we are in America to have access to clean water!

Cooking--- success or fail???

​My roommate and I cook a lot of food at home. It is usually the same meals every week. She cooks red meat and I cook the white meat. This usually means she does beef and I do chicken. It is a pretty nice arrangement. Let me tell you she makes some pretty delicious burgers and fries! I usually made chicken wraps and have recently started to attempt fried chicken since moving here.

The first time I made fried chicken the batter I used was from a bag and it was local. It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't bad. Then I made it again and made my own batter. Better! Then we invited our friends over for our own MKR (My Kitchen Rules) night (if you don't know MKR, it is a cooking show we got hooked on from Australia).

For MKR night my roommate and I made Parmesan roasted potatoes, a coleslaw salad, and fried chicken schnitzel. Oh My Goodness! It was all delicious! Seriously the potatoes were cooked to perfection, the salad was perfectly zesty, and the chicken was crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The fried chicken is just getting better and better!

Well then this week I made fried chicken after school. I decided to mix some ranch powder into the batter and some Parmesan cheese. I didn't know how it was going to turn out. I was a little nervous but I was determined to try it. My roommate came home from running and I was almost done. The first piece had cooked and I took it out of the pan. I decided we should try it before I made all of it.

OH

MY

GOODNESS!

Heaven on a plate! It was some of the best fried chicken I have ever tasted let alone made! I swear it just keeps getting better and better! God has blessed me with an awesome kitchen to cook in, the ability to experiment and make good food, and a roommate who is willing to be a Guinea pig ;).

I put some of the fried chicken into a tortilla to make a wrap. Delicious but the chicken could also stand on its own!!! Yummy!!! 

**I have also made brownies. These are also delicious but evil. They usually don't last more than a day! LOL.**

SUCCESS!!!! 

My First Asian Wedding

​Today I went to my first wedding here in Southeast Asia. One of our coworkers came back from the holiday and told us she was getting married this Sunday. We were shocked that it was so soon, but that was the date the fortune teller said was a good day to get married.

So today our staff met at school at 7:30am to take a school van to the wedding. It was an hour and a half drive away. On the drive we played truth or dare. I learned that our staff loves to sing, they are ruthless with dares, and they ask some really personal question. It was a hard game to play with them. LOL. I was scared of the questions they would ask for truth and the dares they would choose, but I ended up sticking with truth. My questions all had to deal with my (nonexistent) love life. They are very interested in knowing how many people I have dated and if there is a special someone back home.

The wedding began at 9am with a "party" at the bride's family home. We were fed "lunch" at 9am and had a drink with the family. At 10:30 we went to a Karaoke place down the street to wait till the groom comes to take the bride to his family's house.

I finally got to do Karaoke in Southeast Asia. It's not really like the states where you sing in front of everyone on a stage. Here you rent a room and you just sing with your friends. It was a lot of fun. I only wish there was more English song options :). At 12 we headed back to the bride's house to wait for the groom.

The groom came at 1:30pm. The bride and groom go to the family's alter to pray to the ancestors. Then they go to each guest to thank them for coming. At 2:30 we were supposed to all caravan to the groom's house. This signifies the bride leaving her family and joining the groom's family. Our group however bailed out and decided to head back home.

On the car ride many people fell asleep. My co-homeroom teacher and I practiced some English and she helped me with my language learning. I also braided her hair (which is difficult to do on a moving bus). I really enjoyed spending time with my coworkers. I really love them. I pray God continues to build these relationships and plant a seed to be watered and cultivated into a relationship with Him!