Back from Bangkok and Blogging
Mom: Aww, you're welcome. And I'm glad Mimi thinks I did something really cool. ;-)
Kristen: Ah, thanks. I knew that sounded familiar.
Well, I thought about going to the free concert Sanctus Real was giving at Lambuth tonight, but I didn't have a definite ride as of this afternoon, so rather than trouble somebody, I figured it would probably be better to stay home and rest anyway (I got a lot of sleep yesterday, but I'm still pretty tired). Yay for staying in.
Okay, so I'm back from Thailand, and all settled into my dorm room again. I loved Bangkok, but, I must say, it's nice to be home.
Of course, the entire team isn't back yet. When the rest of us went home, Chris Clermont flew to Chiang Mai and is returning to the states next week. The rest of us, though, are back in America, catching up on sleep before classes start on Wednesday.
Reflections on International Travel...
Crossing the International Date Line really messes up your sense of reason. Last Wednesday, between 6 am and noon, I got seven and a half hours of sleep. Crazy? Perhaps, but apparently possible, letting me end up with a thirty-seven-hour day. I think that, given all the time-zone jumping we did, I got a twenty-four-hour morning (we gained another hour in the afternoon going from Detroit to Memphis). Between six am and noon, not only did I sleep that much, I also watched two movies, ate two meals, and played five games of mafia and a hand of "scum" (a card game unbeknownst to me until this trip).
Crazy, crazy traveling.
When I called Mom, I know she wanted to make sure I was feeling all right. Don't worry, though, Mom! The Thai food was all really good, and there was American stuff at the Big C (the big supermarket/mall thing where we got groceries), so food was never a problem. Actually, I felt great the entire time! (Well, with the exception of a nosebleed one night, but it wasn't bad, and I've had one of those every time I've been overseas. I think the high altitude on the plane dries out my sinuses. Anyway, enough complaining. I felt great.)
Reflections on the Mission...
The trip was amazingly wonderful. Aside from all the cultural/historical fun we got on the weekends (and the few awesome souvenirs I bought), we had a great time with the students of Suan Sunandha Rajabaht.
As a mission trip, it was fairly successful. We were able to do Bible studies with some of the Thai Christians there, and the students we worked with in the English Club were pretty willing to go wherever the conversation took them. There was a lot of homework help and many, many games of Uno, but there were also several long discussions about faith, as well as Bible studies with three girls who had just become Christians.
A lot of the students really want to be able to stay in contact with all of us, so it seems we planted some great seeds.
Reflections on the Team...
Okay, I might as well face it. Our team was really, really strange.
One of the girls who was set to go on the trip was advised by her doctor not to, so our team ended up being evenly divided: four girls and four guys; four freshmen and four juniors (plus Julie, the team leader, an alumna).
Now, you really couldn't get a more diverse group than the nine of us. Julie herself commented on the fact that it was strange to see the mix we had in Katie, the jock; Jessica, the tomboy; Kat, the artist; Lauren, the shy but responsible one; Chris, the steadfast and fairly stoic MK; Jeremy, the MK with a lot of stuff of his own to work through; Andrew, the goofy but good-natured frat guy; and me, the supportive guy with the laugh. And most of us didn't even really know each other prior to the trip. Somehow, we worked together really well.
It really was surprising. With only nine people, you have enough people that you don't form your own little clique (and people are going to start getting on your nerves), and you have few enough that you really get to know everybody (and they're going to start getting on your nerves). But none of us (at least, I hope I can include myself in it) was ever horribly irritating. We all played off of each other really well, and we all had a lot of fun. I know everybody enjoyed our team time, and no matter how we were divided for any given thing, we all got along. It was really kind of remarkable.
I like the way Julie put it: "Only God could have put this team together; I know I wouldn't have. That's why I'm glad He's in control."
Reflections on Less Important Stuff
Oh, yes, and since I typically review the movies I see, here's a quick rundown on stuff I watched on planes...
Little Black Book
Surprisingly good for a movie starring the likes of Brittany Murphy. It was sweet without being sappy, since it had a harsher conclusion than the conventional chick-flick, but still ended happily. Casting was done really well (the smaller roles, in particular, like Sharon Lawrence as Murphy's mother), and it seemed really well-written (though I missed some of the dialogue in the tinny headphones). Definitely worth the watching.
Vanity Fair
A strange movie, to be sure, that didn't seem to know exactly where it wanted to end up. Admittedly, I'd have to ready Thackeray's book to know exactly what to think there, so I won't go bashing it, though it seemed to take a very long time to get to the point of the plot that would have made the climax its dramatic turnaround. As it was, the ending seemed a little rushed and confused. Reese Witherspoon did a fairly good job, though the characterizations seemed almost to jump, changing in between scenes so that we can see the different circumstances but not the characters growing into them. Odd, but not bad.
The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement
Well, it was a pretty good movie in its own right. Parts of it were really cute, and there were some hysterical one-liners (I was so glad Julie thought it funny when one of the characters referred to the incessant background-character maids as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" and I didn't have to laugh alone). The climax of it, however, was entirely too feminist for my taste (Mia giving a big speech about how she shouldn't be required to marry to take the crown because after her grandfather's death, her grandmother did a wonderful job governing without a man at her side), and the plot was not nearly as nicely-developed as that of the first movie. And while some of the gags of the first movie (the string-cheese on the statue or the "Order of the Rose") came naturally, since the movie was its own original story, those in the second seemed forced (besides, all the high-class charm Julie Andrews' character had in not knowing what to do with a hot dog in the first movie was lost in the second when she literally surfed a mattress down a staircase. It really didn't hold up that well). Cute, but not very good as a follow-up to the first.
The Bourne Supremacy
Finally, I can comment on a guy-movie!!
In contrast to the previous movie, I think I actually liked this sequel better than the first movie. Of course, Robert Ludlum wrote three Bourne books, so the whole movie series could be planned out from the start of production and the moviemakers don't have to worry about living up to the earlier ones, since the earlier ones can be made with the later ones already in mind. One of the things that really bugged me in The Bourne Identity was the fact that Franka Potente's character could never settle on an accent. Sometimes, she spoke like a Brit, sometimes like an American, and occasionally like a Frenchwoman, even though she specifically said "my French sucks." Not so much a problem in Supremacy, since Potente's character, Marie, was killed seven minutes into the film. Supremacy also made greater use of Julia Stiles, giving her an actual chunk of the plot (apparently, Bourne knew her character from the first movie as "the girl who was in Paris," but that led her into an actual confrontation with him). Then, of course, there's a scene at the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, which I think is just cool since I've been there. Anyway, the plot developed pretty nicely, and ended well. It's pretty hard to tell what, exactly, they plan to do with The Bourne Ultimatum, but, then, I guess that's kind of the point. I guess those who have read the book should have some vague idea. ;-)
Catwoman, Shark Tale, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
I have no idea about these. I slept through them.
Okay, that's it for now. Some good stuff, some random stuff. Time to rest some more. G'night.
Kristen: Ah, thanks. I knew that sounded familiar.
Well, I thought about going to the free concert Sanctus Real was giving at Lambuth tonight, but I didn't have a definite ride as of this afternoon, so rather than trouble somebody, I figured it would probably be better to stay home and rest anyway (I got a lot of sleep yesterday, but I'm still pretty tired). Yay for staying in.
Okay, so I'm back from Thailand, and all settled into my dorm room again. I loved Bangkok, but, I must say, it's nice to be home.
Of course, the entire team isn't back yet. When the rest of us went home, Chris Clermont flew to Chiang Mai and is returning to the states next week. The rest of us, though, are back in America, catching up on sleep before classes start on Wednesday.
Reflections on International Travel...
Crossing the International Date Line really messes up your sense of reason. Last Wednesday, between 6 am and noon, I got seven and a half hours of sleep. Crazy? Perhaps, but apparently possible, letting me end up with a thirty-seven-hour day. I think that, given all the time-zone jumping we did, I got a twenty-four-hour morning (we gained another hour in the afternoon going from Detroit to Memphis). Between six am and noon, not only did I sleep that much, I also watched two movies, ate two meals, and played five games of mafia and a hand of "scum" (a card game unbeknownst to me until this trip).
Crazy, crazy traveling.
When I called Mom, I know she wanted to make sure I was feeling all right. Don't worry, though, Mom! The Thai food was all really good, and there was American stuff at the Big C (the big supermarket/mall thing where we got groceries), so food was never a problem. Actually, I felt great the entire time! (Well, with the exception of a nosebleed one night, but it wasn't bad, and I've had one of those every time I've been overseas. I think the high altitude on the plane dries out my sinuses. Anyway, enough complaining. I felt great.)
Reflections on the Mission...
The trip was amazingly wonderful. Aside from all the cultural/historical fun we got on the weekends (and the few awesome souvenirs I bought), we had a great time with the students of Suan Sunandha Rajabaht.
As a mission trip, it was fairly successful. We were able to do Bible studies with some of the Thai Christians there, and the students we worked with in the English Club were pretty willing to go wherever the conversation took them. There was a lot of homework help and many, many games of Uno, but there were also several long discussions about faith, as well as Bible studies with three girls who had just become Christians.
A lot of the students really want to be able to stay in contact with all of us, so it seems we planted some great seeds.
Reflections on the Team...
Okay, I might as well face it. Our team was really, really strange.
One of the girls who was set to go on the trip was advised by her doctor not to, so our team ended up being evenly divided: four girls and four guys; four freshmen and four juniors (plus Julie, the team leader, an alumna).
Now, you really couldn't get a more diverse group than the nine of us. Julie herself commented on the fact that it was strange to see the mix we had in Katie, the jock; Jessica, the tomboy; Kat, the artist; Lauren, the shy but responsible one; Chris, the steadfast and fairly stoic MK; Jeremy, the MK with a lot of stuff of his own to work through; Andrew, the goofy but good-natured frat guy; and me, the supportive guy with the laugh. And most of us didn't even really know each other prior to the trip. Somehow, we worked together really well.
It really was surprising. With only nine people, you have enough people that you don't form your own little clique (and people are going to start getting on your nerves), and you have few enough that you really get to know everybody (and they're going to start getting on your nerves). But none of us (at least, I hope I can include myself in it) was ever horribly irritating. We all played off of each other really well, and we all had a lot of fun. I know everybody enjoyed our team time, and no matter how we were divided for any given thing, we all got along. It was really kind of remarkable.
I like the way Julie put it: "Only God could have put this team together; I know I wouldn't have. That's why I'm glad He's in control."
Reflections on Less Important Stuff
Oh, yes, and since I typically review the movies I see, here's a quick rundown on stuff I watched on planes...
Little Black Book
Surprisingly good for a movie starring the likes of Brittany Murphy. It was sweet without being sappy, since it had a harsher conclusion than the conventional chick-flick, but still ended happily. Casting was done really well (the smaller roles, in particular, like Sharon Lawrence as Murphy's mother), and it seemed really well-written (though I missed some of the dialogue in the tinny headphones). Definitely worth the watching.
Vanity Fair
A strange movie, to be sure, that didn't seem to know exactly where it wanted to end up. Admittedly, I'd have to ready Thackeray's book to know exactly what to think there, so I won't go bashing it, though it seemed to take a very long time to get to the point of the plot that would have made the climax its dramatic turnaround. As it was, the ending seemed a little rushed and confused. Reese Witherspoon did a fairly good job, though the characterizations seemed almost to jump, changing in between scenes so that we can see the different circumstances but not the characters growing into them. Odd, but not bad.
The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement
Well, it was a pretty good movie in its own right. Parts of it were really cute, and there were some hysterical one-liners (I was so glad Julie thought it funny when one of the characters referred to the incessant background-character maids as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" and I didn't have to laugh alone). The climax of it, however, was entirely too feminist for my taste (Mia giving a big speech about how she shouldn't be required to marry to take the crown because after her grandfather's death, her grandmother did a wonderful job governing without a man at her side), and the plot was not nearly as nicely-developed as that of the first movie. And while some of the gags of the first movie (the string-cheese on the statue or the "Order of the Rose") came naturally, since the movie was its own original story, those in the second seemed forced (besides, all the high-class charm Julie Andrews' character had in not knowing what to do with a hot dog in the first movie was lost in the second when she literally surfed a mattress down a staircase. It really didn't hold up that well). Cute, but not very good as a follow-up to the first.
The Bourne Supremacy
Finally, I can comment on a guy-movie!!
In contrast to the previous movie, I think I actually liked this sequel better than the first movie. Of course, Robert Ludlum wrote three Bourne books, so the whole movie series could be planned out from the start of production and the moviemakers don't have to worry about living up to the earlier ones, since the earlier ones can be made with the later ones already in mind. One of the things that really bugged me in The Bourne Identity was the fact that Franka Potente's character could never settle on an accent. Sometimes, she spoke like a Brit, sometimes like an American, and occasionally like a Frenchwoman, even though she specifically said "my French sucks." Not so much a problem in Supremacy, since Potente's character, Marie, was killed seven minutes into the film. Supremacy also made greater use of Julia Stiles, giving her an actual chunk of the plot (apparently, Bourne knew her character from the first movie as "the girl who was in Paris," but that led her into an actual confrontation with him). Then, of course, there's a scene at the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, which I think is just cool since I've been there. Anyway, the plot developed pretty nicely, and ended well. It's pretty hard to tell what, exactly, they plan to do with The Bourne Ultimatum, but, then, I guess that's kind of the point. I guess those who have read the book should have some vague idea. ;-)
Catwoman, Shark Tale, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
I have no idea about these. I slept through them.
Okay, that's it for now. Some good stuff, some random stuff. Time to rest some more. G'night.
