Is the world getting smaller?

I don't mean literally of course. But, I begun to question this common phrase many of us have echoed at different times over the years. I understand the sentiment - the world is most certainly more accessible than ever. This blog post proves that - I am in Spain, most of the readers of this blog are in the US, and I'm posting a video about Lagos that is being spread via the internet. It is easier to travel and communicate than at any other point in history. By far.

But the truth is that the earth is still physically as large as it ever was. In fact, more people are alive right now than ever before (duh). A friend posted this video about Lagos that really captured my attention. It was educational - I got to learn a bit more about a place I know very little about. But it also got me thinking. When I think of Lagos, I think of internet scammers and unlawfulness. Not much of a snapshot, is it? The sheer number of people who are (possibly?) living in this one city gave me pause to think. There are tons of these huge cities "popping up" around the globe that I know so little about. I know their names, where they are located (usually), and know when really bad things happen there.

I'm not convinced the world really is smaller - I wonder if we just delude ourselves into thinking that because we have the means to travel anywhere we want to. Plus, somehow it makes it not as important for us to stop and learn a little bit more about other places if we truly are all that much more connected - it minimizes the vast differences we have with others around the globe. IF the world really is getting smaller, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed by how the problems seem to grow larger as the earth seemingly shrinks like my wool sweater in the wash.

At any rate - if you've made it this far, you will be rewarded by a lengthy (by internet standards anyhow), but quality and informative video about Lagos.

Moist and Merry

We have had a good Christmas so far in our new home. Christmas Day was grey and rainy - see the pic above. This is how I always imagined winter in Galicia to be - but it has been the exception rather than the rule for us. Regardless, it was a fun morning to be inside and to open presents as we gathered around our new Christmas tree. We are building new traditions, so it is fun. The boys have been having a good time all around. We have a two-plus week Christmas break from schools - both the boys and I. It feels like the first extended time we've had as a family to simply exhale. While the pace of life never slows - it is nice to take a moment to pause and feel more 'settled' than we have for quite some time.

The Lord is good - in this season of celebration, we are grateful that he has provided a community here that we are connecting with. We shared meals with someone on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. We are of course missing home some, but feel that the Lord has blessed us in our first Christmas in Spain. It's nice that the holidays here give us reason to consider the Christmas story for a longer period of time. At home it is very easy for the real reason for Christmas to be forgotten outside of the 36 hours that encompasses Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Here they celebrate the arrival of the Magi on 1/6.

Merry Christmas to everyone! May you all experience the joys of Christmas, and have time to reflect on the birth of our savior!

Too late for Christmas Music?

I'm not sure if it's too late already to talk about Christmas music, but I thought I'd share three good finds from this year. If you shop on iTunes, all are economical buys: one is an EP, and the other two are currently available for eight bucks.


Bebo Norman: Christmas... From the Realms of Glory.
Bebo is not exactly a find that no one has heard of. He's been making quality CCM music for years. This is a quality album. The traditional tunes are unique enough in their arrangements, and I really like most of the original material. It definitely strikes me as a more worshipful Christmas album than I've heard in a while. (Why is it I feel compelled to describe it this way? That description is a sad commentary all on it's own).


Mindy Smith: My Holiday
This is one of my more pleasant finds. I've been reading good things about this artists music for a couple of years. She has two other albums out. This Christmas album was reviewed well, and I was looking for some new holiday music - at eight bucks, I took a chance, and have been pleasantly surprised. I think you'll like it too.


Hem: Peace at Last
This is a three song EP that I found on iTunes, and cannot find an image of it online anywhere else. Since I have not figured out how to get my iTunes album covers into this blog, you'll have to go to iTunes if you want to see the cover. Hem has been one of the bands I have been telling people about for several years now. I love their music, and their short 3-song EP was a nice addition to my Christmas music selection.

Merry Christmas and happy listening!

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas to all! I am so sorry it has been SO long since I blogged last. My unfamiliar path was a bit busy and crowded this month. It was hard to come by time to blog. Faith just posted tonight (again - she's been much more consistent about blogging over the last month - if you havn't checked her blog out lately, click here.)

At any rate, the entire family enjoyed a bit of Christmas Spanish style on Friday. First, Brennan had a teatro Friday morning. Faith and I crammed ourselves into a small hot auditorium to watch each class from Brennan's school contribute to a show. I fully intended to film Brennan's class and post it here for all to enjoy - but my camerawork was so awful, I will not impose it on anyone. Brennan, as always, was very cute about it all. He had to memorize four lines in Spanish that he recited with a group from his class. He is doing very well now learning Spanish.

On Friday afternoon Ryan's school had a Christmas party complete with lots of candy, presents, and a short kid-friendly program. Head to Faith's blogs to see pictures of the candy. While they do have "Papa Noel" here (Santa Clause) he is really no big deal. The guys that the kids in Spain get pumped about are the Reyes Magos - The guys we call 'The Three Kings' back home. Most presents here are exchanged on January 6 - The day of the Kings (Dia de Reyes). This is the day they celebrate the Magi coming to bring their gifts to the baby Jesus. Turns out it is pretty efficient - at least it was at Ryan's party. With three guys all dressed up handing out gifts, Ryan's entire school had received their gifts in a manner of minutes. All in all, it was a fun experience. I've included two photos of Ryan with 'his' king.

Human Tetris

Every day, at least one time, Ryan asks "Watch Jap-o-nese please?" By which he means he wants to watch this video.



After much prodding by my wife to post this funny clip, I have finally given in. The boys first got attached to this particular video when their Jio-jio (uncle) Clement e-mailed us a link to the video.

The funny part about Ryan asking to watch "Japonese" is that at first we didn't know which Japanese video he wanted to watch. Was it the silly engineering-type video that I can only describe as being "kind of like those big domino things, but not really because it's with marbles"? Or was it the traditional Japanese drummer video that came in a Paste Magazine DVD Sampler that Ryan inexplicably got attached to? Or was he asking about one of our favorite Strongbad e-mails where he talks about being a Japanese cartoon? So - as if those three were not enough to be confused by, he now has three more of these Human Tetris videos available on YouTube, as well as my personal favorite 'Jap-o-nese' (sorry Strongbad). Once again, words really can't explain this, but I'm sure you'll at least smile, if not laugh if you choose to watch.



Finally, since I'm on a roll, I thought I'd add one last laugh. This one is courtesy of our friend Jung who recently finished a round the world trip. It doesn't fit neatly into the Japanese groupings above, but the picture was taken in China, so, being on the same massive continent is close enough for me. I can't think of a better caption than his own caption from facebook.

can I get a "joss-stick hot nature roast chicken fortress"?

He had a number of pictures of funny translations into English. A close second in my book was the "Green grass is afraid of your trample." sign.