Sherry Dickinson

new blog.

2009-09-11T14:24:00.001-07:00

so... i have a new blog! here is the link:

Jeffandsherryellsworth.blogspot.com

Vote for my brothers!!!

2009-07-03T00:01:00.001-07:00

Vote for my brothers as they represent the US in Egypt at the Microsoft Imagine Cup. Just click on the link and vote for team USA- Multipoint. It's a program to help international under funded schools.peopleschoice.imaginecup.com

Birthday in Prison

2009-06-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

My birthday yesterday was great! Jeff made dinner for some friends and I, Jill made me a cake, and Eliz gave me a new Stapler ( sweet!!!)! It was a great day all around with phone calls from home and sweet poem from mom.

However...

The most unique part of my birthday was today when someone found out that my birthday was yesterday and got a big group of inmates to sing me Happy Birthday. Wow, i think I'll always remember the year when I was sung to in Prison. Oh, how I am blessed! And to think that i didn't feel like getting up and coming to prison this morning. What was i thinking!?

A few engagement pictures...enjoy

2009-05-31T10:39:00.001-07:00

7.25.09- Portland Oregon Temple

2009-05-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering.

The Valley of the Sun- Arizona 2009

2009-05-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

This last week I went down to Arizona to play with Jeff and his family. We had a blast!

(disclaimer... Jeff wrote the captions)

Look dad! I'm now a real cowgirl.
Horseback riding in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona at Jeff's grandpa's cabin.

Watch out ya'll. I now know how to use a shotgun.
(I already knew how but I wanted to pretend I didn't so Jeff would put his arms around me)

Major League baseball game in Phoenix.

I am now a true Arizona sports fan. Go D-Backs and for all you all in Portland, GO SUNS!!!

Kayaking the Salt River in the Phoenix valley. Arizona has the most beautiful desert landscape.

(You'll have to ask about my cactus story)

Picture speaks for itself. Yeah, Jeff is the luckiest guy in the world!

Off-roading in Jeff's uncle's Bronco.
(Sorry, no cute caption. And no, don't worry, I did not drive)

AND THE BIGGEST NEWS...

WE'RE NOW ENGAGED!!!

This last Monday night, after we had already gotten back to Provo, Jeff took me hiking on top of the mountain in Provo Canyon and Jeff got to one knee and asked me marry him.

Yeah, The best week ever!

family in town!

2009-03-01T09:29:00.001-08:00

So, we've been playing alot... skiing...untimate, board games, disco skating and we still have another day to go... wahoo! it's nice to
have family around!

random pics.

2009-02-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

okay.... so here are some random pics from the last few months.... ummm... yeah. enjoy! i had to include a few of Heidi and i being twins....

changes

2009-02-07T08:11:00.001-08:00

so, lately I've been feeling really overbooked, but didn't really know how to simplify things in my life as I've really loved the different things I've been involved in. Anyway, the economy seems to out of control lately and yesterday a bunch of positions at my work were eliminated, including mine. They let me know that as soon as the number of kids at the treatment center raises again, I'm the first that they'll hire back, so that was nice to hear, but for now i think I'm going to take this as a much needed break and and try and play... i mean study... a little more. Luckily, I had two jobs. yep.

25 random things... i give in...

2009-02-01T19:15:00.001-08:00

25 Random things

1. I have traveled to more countries than states.
2. I get really frustrated with fashion, and don’t like things that are too trendy… and tend to wear way too many monotone colors.
3. I don’t like having too many articles of clothes, whenever I get something new I try to get rid of something.
4. I am the extreme of middle children; there are 6 older and 6 younger.
5. I struggle to be myself around people who I don’t think are sincere.
6. I sleep with LOTS of blankets and seem to never be able to really warm up.
7. My favorite things to do are to Ski (water and snow), and be active doing whatever with family or close friends.
8. As I get older I like big groups less and less. Unless it’s family of course.
9. I tend to overbook myself a lot, and am trying to figure out how to change this about myself.
10. I am pretty oblivious when it comes to most media, especially music, TV, and who actors are.
11. I love to take walks and just think, especially in the mountains. Only I finally decided that I probably shouldn’t do it alone anymore.
12. I tend to go in 2-3 month cycles of eating the same foods over and over because I don’t like having to think about what I should eat.
13. I really don’t like painting my nails because I never get around to taking it off before it starts chipping and looking tacky.
14. I can’t stand uncomfortable shoes, no matter how cute or inexpensive they are.
15. I get really frustrated when things are not organized or don’t have a place where they belong… although that doesn’t mean they are always in the correct place.
16. Although I used to be able to stay up late a lot and didn’t need a lot of sleep, this is not longer the case… and I’ve rarely been able to nap.
17. I’m embarrassed how much I have to rely on a planner…I never wanted my life to be this complicated. But it is, and my memory is terrible… so the planner is necessary.
18. I am an awful speller. If I didn’t live in the world of spell check, I don’t know how I would get through school.
19. I sometimes think that I should be Brazilian.
20. My favorite color is green.
21. I once took a sailing class, it was one of my favorite classes ever, I managed to flip the boat over, and back over again right side up without getting wet. I was avoiding cold water .
22. I have managed to go a semester without eating sugar, twice.
23. I have been skydiving
24. I don’t eat fast food… I have never really liked it and the smell makes me feel ill.
25. I collect jewelry and maps from around the world.

finals are done!

2008-12-18T16:39:00.001-08:00

what more can i say!?

yea!!!

2008-12-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

okay, here i go again. um...i got my cast off today! yea!!! and I found out that three of my finals are open note/open book!!!! yea again! and I get to work tonight.. yea i think..... and all of my papers are in!!! yea!!! and yesterday was my last day of my four months that I couldn't have sugar for my substance abuse class. Yea! bring on the ice cream! Anyway, my life is feeling much calmer... which is interesting for the day before my finals start... weird.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T14:03:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

updates

2008-11-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

Update: My cast is green. I had a blue one. yep.

Also, i found out about my spring/summer and fall/ winter internships..... in will be interning with the State Prison (doing therapy on the mental health unit.. i think.) during the summer, and at the Family Support and treatment center during the school year (doing family therapy). It'll be interesting and I imagine that I'll learn a lot. so, yea! I'm excited. So, when the kids at work complain that they fell like they are in Prison I'll be able to confirm or deny the reality of their statements.

hmm.. i think the rest of my life is the same.

Minneapolis

2008-10-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

well, I'm in Minneapolis for a GSS conference so.. i thought I'd blog a bit. Um the conference has been fine... we've met some neat people.... and last night the presidency ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, and tonight we went to the Mall of America... which really is huge and really does have an amusement park in the center.... and we ate at the Rain forest cafe. umm.. lots of good food, and I think I'll be full for the next week at least. hmmm...anyway, here are a few pictures.

2008-10-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Update. Well, no new pics due to a broken laptop ( Don't ask). but the latest update on me is that i broke my wrist about 5 weeks ago, but now have it confirmed. So I'll find out on Tuesday if i'll need surgery for sure. The doctor was pretty sure i will though. merr. Anyway, schools going well and life is otherwise good.

hmmm...

2008-08-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, i've had a few adventures this month and will post a few pics... Also, I am anxious to see how my first few weeks of school go. Well....here it goes.

Proud Aunt!

2008-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm an Aunt again!

This is Madison Rose Sharp!

Silver Lake- American Fork Canyon

2008-07-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures took this weekend at the Silver Lake area for your viewing pleasure.

Colorado Trip

2008-06-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend I went on a trip with some new friends to Colorado to raft and such. We rafted on the Arkansas River, which was a blast, went on an amazing hike, ate good food, and drove through some of the most beautiful mountains. I would recommend this trip to all ya'll. Oh, and yes, I stold the pics of Zions from Andrea, give her credit for the pics....but these ones are mine.

ZION!

2008-06-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went with some friends to Zion National Park... um... it's amazing... go there! We hiked through part of the narrows, and hiked on Angels landing which is very very high and a crazy hike up the side of a mountain where you have to hold on to chains to avoid falling off of the cliffs...so, enjoy.

This tall cliff if the view from the top of Angels Landing.. yikes!

hmmm...

2008-06-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

let's see... for my update, I work a lot, yep. I'm really enjoying my job at Provo Canyon School, and am excited that I get paid to go camping and hiking in escalante for a few days this week. Hopefully the kids will be a little bit better behaved this time. Last time they caught and ate a lizard.. yum. I'm still living with Tammy, which has been alot of fun as we get to do a lot more together. Even if it's sitting around scanning pictures and eating popcicles. Yesterday we went and volunteered with a friend of mine at the Special Olympics, and some lady gave Tammy and extra large volunteer shirt claiming that it was the only one that would fit her. That was pretty funny to hear. Well, that's it for now.

Dickinson Look-alike Meter

2008-05-23T18:56:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Árvores genealógicas - Genealogia - Celebridades - Collage - Morph

Dickinson Look-alike Meter

2008-05-23T18:55:00.001-07:00

changes

2008-04-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been told that it's time to post again, so here it goes. I am quitting my job with Recreation Therapy on the Alzheimer's unit at Heritage Care Center, i really enjoyed it, but it was getting repetitive, and the drive was using a lot of gas every day, still I'm really going to miss the place. There are some really fun people that I've had the privilege of working with.

Friday will be my last and Monday I will start at Provo Canyon School again doing Recreation Therapy, only, with Youth-at-risk. So these next few weeks will be full of trainings and getting some certifications.

Also, i just found out that i got a job with BYU Graduate Student Society (GSS). I am on the GSS presidency. My exact position is the executive assistant, pretty much I'll help plan events, do the news letters, help run Graduate Student Council, go to conferences, do budgeting, etc. So I'm excited about that. so i'll start the planning portion of the job this summer.

And ... this weekend i get to move in with Tammy! yea!

Well, that's the update for now.

Grad School

2008-02-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

yea! I got into BYU's Social Work Grad program!

Snowler Bear

2008-01-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

A work in progress...

snowler bears are snow made polar bears, take a look. be amazed.

should I fret?

2008-01-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

Funny day at work.... I got some fashion advice..... An elderly lady at work today told me that my face was pretty, but that then there was the rest of me. She expalined that my clothes were dumb and thus i must be a stupid person. I guess that at least she didn't say that my face was the problem. hmm... should I worry? Anyway, It was really funny so i thought I'd share it.

new job and stuff

2008-01-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I'd write and let ya all know what I'm up to... I am working with the recreation therapy dept. at Heritage Care Center, specifically on the Alzheimer's unit. It's really a challenge, and I'm learning a lot! This residents are teaching me a lot of patience and a lot about people in general... again, a challenge, but fun. so, there is my update.

the rest of the trip

2007-12-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

so.... the rest of my trip was a blast! I went to my mission and visited some people who are very important to me. I then took an amazon tour outside of Manus and camped in the rain forest, fished for piranha, saw white and pink dolphins, jumping fish and crocodiles and lots of cool birds, and and we caught a jacare.

After this we went to the capital, Brasilia, visited a good mission friend of mine, and saw a lot of the national government buildings. Next was foz de Igussu, and then Sao Paulo. In Sao Paulo we went to an island called Ilha Bela, which means beautiful island. Yep,it was really cool. We hiked and went to some natural water slides, much fun. Before returning to Rio, i spent 2 more days visiting old mission friends who live in Sao Paulo. On my last day in Rio, i just hung out at the Employment center, we had a little party and i wanted to spend all the time i could with my friends there. I'll really miss our classes that we gave and especially the people at the center. After all is said and done, i love Brazil, but it's good to be home. I'm excited to see everyone at Christmas!

bye bye Miss American Pie

2007-11-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

so.. I thought the name was perfect! I made 6 Thanksgiving pies last night and today along with a lot of other yummy food. We had an amazing last party with our favorite people from the employment center, man i'm really gunna miss these people... anyway, tomorrow we will take off for two weeks of travel around Brasil. You know, i'm excited to travel, but sad to leave. Anywho, see you all at Christmas!

yea!

2007-11-27T15:48:00.000-08:00

Sherry is superly duperly excited as she just finished all of her homework for the semester, well, she hopes....

Chagas!

2007-11-26T03:04:00.000-08:00

Chirlenie Chagas, a really good mission friend, came to visit this weekend, we had a ball! Here are a few pics at the opera Carman. It was great, yet not as great when you're tired. but still great.

Happy Turkey day!

2007-11-22T12:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Turkey Day!

Today has been a great Turkey day thus far! We taught our early morning English class to make turkeys by tracing their hands and writing what they are thankful for on the fingers/ feathers. In our Employment course we had the class go around the room and talk about what is important in their lives and then we ate yummy grub. We actually went to a really old restaurant (built in 1894) in the historical district downtown and I had a turkey, pineapple, cream cheese and lettuce Sandwich. It was tasty and big. It was almost appropriate for the holiday as the restaurant was called Columbo, after Christopher Columbus. Although he really had nothing to do with Thanksgiving, he was a pioneer/ pilgrim, and therefore counts.
Oh, and next Thursday we will have a big Thanksgiving feast with the people we work with at the Employment Center. Yea!

On a completely unrelated topic, I have found a way for you to visit me without having to buy a plane ticket if you like. Google maps is amazing. I really recommend you checking out this link and reading the written driving directions. Oh, and you can take simple detours on the way to visit John in MO, Jimmy in GA, You'll enjoy it. Happy Turkey day!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=tigard+Oregon&daddr=Copacabana,+Rio+de+Janeiro+-+RJ,+Brazil&sll=4.915833,-74.53125&sspn=91.446534,191.601563&ie=UTF8&ll=11.350797,-77.34375&spn=90.526044,191.601563&z=3&om=1

another update... yep.

2007-11-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been mucho productive! I pretty much locked myself in for 2 days and managed to finish all of my courses, except for 2 final exams (one of which I think I’ll have to end up taking in Provo) and 6-ish papers on cultural experiences... I still have to stay on it enough, but I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted! Wahoo! Anyway, tomorrow we have a day off so we're going to sight see a bit, hopefully go to the beach and I’ll do my final. Yes, I’m excited. It really is crazy how quickly time is passing; we only have 2 more weeks in Rio, and then about 2 weeks to Travel around the country. I'm excited to travel and then come home for Christmas, but at the same time, really don't want to leave this place behind. I really do love it here. Everything seems so simple here. Life really is good. Yesterday my friend Kali and I had the chance to attend and sing at the baptism of a friend at the center. It has been a huge blessing to see how much this course has been a doorway for people to not only learn about how to recognize their talents and gifts and how to apply them in the professional world, but also has been effective in helping myself and the students learn about the spiritual blessings that Heavily Father wants to pour upon us is as well. Although this baptism was of a volunteer at the center, we have seen many of our students accept the invitation to hear about the gospel and grow spiritually as well. Again, I really love this program, the people here in Brazil and the place. I'm not sure what it is about this place, but i really do love it.

Traventure v. the combined acts of adventure and travel.

2007-11-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

This weekend on the road we had a traventure. And it was good. I had the privilege of being ripped off by an anti-american bus station ticket agent, just in time for the opportunity of a lifetime of waiting for my night bus back to Rio for an extra few hours as the original bus got in an accident and another needed to be sent in our direction. During this time a kind, and very talkative elderly man decided that he really wanted to tell me all of the childrens stories that he had written, and even gave me a four page hand written story about an elephant and monkey with lice that couldn't go to the party because they refused to wear fancy clothes. I'm sure it would have been oh so much more interesting if i wasn't struggling to stay awake. When the bus finally arrived, i decided to use the genetic super power reserved for Dickinsons to sleep on one of the winding-est roads ever. (or at least between Ouro Preto and Rio de Janeiro) because of this unfortunate delay, we hit trafic in the wee hours of the morn and barely made it to work on time to throw on some semi-clean wrinkled clothing from our backpacks to teach. Yes our return home was surely a traventure.

Belo Horizante e Ouro Preto

2007-11-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

Well, we took a weekend trip to Belo Horizante and Ouro Preto, Both really neat places. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics.

Jardim Botanico do Rio

2007-11-07T12:03:00.001-08:00

Cristo Redentor

2007-11-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

we went to the 'Cristo Redentor' statue. It is one of the 7 modern wonders of the world and really is amazing! If you're ever passing through Rio, it's worth the train ride up. It's got a cool history and is fun to see all over the city. Up close it's even better. Anyway, it's a great reminder to me, and for the city that Christs arms are always open for us. I'll really miss this statue when I return.

guess what!!!

2007-11-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today is better than my birthday because i finnished my Statistics class!!! I now have 2 classes down and only 3 to go, but 2 of them are nearing complete, and ther other i left for last as it is much more fun! yea!!! I'm very excited about not sitting inside doing math when it's hot outside. anywya, i just thought i'd share my excitement!

more adventures! yea!

2007-10-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

Note how I don't look super short. Have I mentioned that I love brazil!?

So, monday we had a day off and explored rio a bit. We went on a hike and wandered, and such... much fun. We saw monkeys and lizards and an octopus that a crazy guy caught snorkling in filthy water. oh, and today we carved a pumpkin in our english class.. yea again.

weekly update

2007-10-29T03:34:00.000-07:00

so, this is the weekly report that we sent to BYU, um, it's a little weird, but hey, i thought i'd post it anyway. Enjoy!

We got back from Sao Paulo on Tuesday morning just in time to sleep for an hour before we taught our class. Our class this week was fun, we had a good group. On Saturday we taught a class in Campo Grande, which is about 1.5 hours away from us. That class was fun too, since it was all members so we could talk about some things that we usually don't bring into our class (like how to use callings in power statements).Today when we went to church two of our non-member students were there visiting the ward, since they have started investigating the church as a result of the class. We are happy about this.Sherry thinks Kali has dengue fever. Kali continues kexplaining to her that part of dengue fever is 'fever' which she does not have. Kali came back from SP with a pretty bad cold, but it is slowly getting better. Today she can talk, which is a good thing since it makes Sherry's life easier when we are teaching. Kali bought a thermometer (to make sure Kali does not have dengue), but Sherry broke it after Kali took took her temperature twice. Okay, sherry didn't really break it, it fell on the floor. Apparently Brazilian mercury is not dangerous. Sherry doesn't really think Kali has dengue, but she tells Kali that she has dengue 20 times a day. Kali thinks it's funny. Kali laughs, but then she coughs. Sherry had a really good experience today. A kid she taught on her mission lives in Rio now, and he came to church with us today. We're going to work on reactivating him. He now has a goal to read 7 chapters in the scriptures this week, and we'll follow up next sunday and see if he did it or not. And we know some people who we think live in his ward, so we're going to make him be friends with them.We also made brownies and banana bread this week. It was very exciting. And Sherry went to the beach. And finished a class. Kali just wasted time being sick. Oh, and she got a sunburn. And lots of borrachulo bites. Burrachudos do not carry dengue. But that was last week. This week Kali is feeling the effects of the sunburn and bugbites. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!We hope your week was exciting as well.

Weekend trip to Sao Paulo!

2007-10-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is Rocha, me, and Chagas at the Sao Paulo Temple! A great reunion!

This is Rocha and I near her place of living, and below is Chagas near hers.

This here is sunday dinner with Chagas, her fiance, her mom, another missionary from our mission who happens to be in her ward, the missionaries and some members of the ward. A good ol' fashoned Brazilian feast! yum!

Well, this weekend I went to Sao Paulo to Visit a few mission friends... and some of my favorite people in the whole wide world , Rocha and Chagas (well, as they were called in the mission). It was a blast! It's always good to see old friends. We went to the Sao Paulo temple, and explored the city a bit. Mostly it was just fun to see them and get to know their families. Anyway, we took the night bus back and got back home (?) to Rio this morning just in time to sleep for a half hour more and get ready to go teach a new set of students. I think our class today was a lot of fun, but that may be because we were kind of out of it as we taught. meh, mer. oh, and with the help of Rocha, I was able to get in touch with a boy we taught in Joao Pessoa who has since moved to Rio. I'm very excited to see if i can't help re-activate him while i'm here! Anyway, life is good!

yea for Brasil!

2007-10-11T14:22:00.001-07:00

By popular demand (blame Elizabeth) i have posted a picture of my iron wounds. Just be glad i'm not posting the close up picture. Again, please don't try this at home.

The time is flying way, way, way too fast!!! What are they to do? Work harder, and play harder.
As for Kali and Sherry, they started teaching a very fun English class called Super Rad English, notice the S.R.E. (initials for Employment Recourse Services in Portuguese) yep. It's pretty cool. The class is for the employees and volunteers at the center to get them to arrive on time, well the volunteers, at 8:00. We do lots of activities, are learning useful skills, a hymn and are focusing on a scripture that our manager wants us all to memorize in English, D&C 4:2.
We absolutely love the manager, Saul, the assistant manager, Carlos, and all around amazing other employee, Maria Jose, who pretty much does everything at the center. Without any of these people our experience would just not be the same. We are already dreading leaving them at the end.
As for our experiences of late, Kali has found much joy in the National Museum. She's pretty much enthralled with everything, literally, very much an anthropologic nerd. it was quite funny.
Sherry, on the other hand, had fun ironing her foot. Don't try this at home, it is painful. Third degree burns hurt.
Together they enjoyed being denied entrance to the national library as apparently you aren’t allowed to bring your own books. Who would have guessed?
Together they learned to do contacts with the help of the great Carlos. Now they "confidently" are able to look for job opportunities to post at the center.
An example of one of these such contacts was today at lunch, when they mistakenly thought the restaurant accepted credit cards, when in fact it only accepted debit. With their wit, beauty, and loose change they managed to talk to the manager and avoid doing dished to pay for their meal.
Kali had an interesting experience as a transvestite commented on her pretty eyes in an enclosed elevator. mrr?
Fortunately both have recovered from their recent unrelated illness are feeling on top of the weather.
On the extra positive side, their current favorite student rang the victory bell this week! The victory bell is a bell with a pleasant chime. As pleasant as the chime is, even more pleasant is the meaning behind it. One of their students from the previous week applied their wise teachings to his job hunt and found work. yea! (Sherry)Woot!( Kali)
As for now, the adventure of Kali and Sherry will continue. What will happen next? Stay tuned.

group 2

2007-10-04T13:05:00.001-07:00

Our second group was a blast! Very energetic, yep, what can I say more. They were a whole lot of fun. And... i think they think we're psycho. They wanted to know if all Americans are
like us... how do you respond to that? until next time- Sherry

2007-09-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Week one.. and two.. and maybe a little bit more

2007-09-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

My Adventures in Brazil
By. Sherry Dickinson
September 23, 2007
Training and first week of internship
The fun all started as the interns gathered at the University Hotel in Salt Lake City to begin our training. There we spent 5 days learning the course that we would be teaching in our various locations. We studied, practiced and bonded. We were lucky enough to have some great instructors, who brought us to tour Welfare Square and the Humanitarian Center to see an overview of the various services the church offers.
After all of the preparation and waiting, the day to go finally arrived! On Sept 17 My partner Kali and began to get nervous as we entered the plane from Atlanta to Rio where everyone was speaking in Portuguese. Soon…ish, we arrived in Brazil and managed to make it through customs and meet our Office Manager Saul Duarte. Who for the record is great!
I think the next interesting topic thus far is our apartment. Granted it really is great and we are lucky to have it, let me tell you of its fun quirks and perks. First it’s in a great location, a block and a half from the beach, on the 9th of 12 floors, and in a very touristy area. It’s a little out of control on the streets, but fun none the less. The sad part is that since I’ve gotten here, in any free time available, I’ve been buried in my books and haven’t yet been able to swim. Where in the world are my priorities?! It’s close to the subway which we take to the center where the office its, which his nice too.

The funny things are that we have one regular bed and one makeshift coach bed with several old crib mattresses (I think) which are less than an inch thick each. You know. We have an infestation of little cockroaches. And yes, we are grateful that even though there are tons, they are small. We have since taken up roach hunting as a sport. Past the coach roaches, some of our neighbors are also interesting, making us glad that the place appears to be secure as it has four locks in the door (one with a 4 sided key), and 3 peep holes and is on the 9th floor, making climbing through the window out of the question. I think.

The Employment center is very busy with so many non-members coming that there are now specific hours that they are allowed to center to make it available more for the members. They teach three CASP courses (to teach self reliance and employment) per day (morning, afternoon and night). Each course lasts 3 days. Kali and I will be responsible for teaching the morning courses and helping out in the center from 8:00-2:00 from Monday to Thursday each week, as well as doing some weekend travel to other areas to teach the course, train local leaders to teach it, and to teach another course to help people start their own small businesses. This week we made lots of phone calls to businesses that we have contracts with to verify openings that they have. I was nervous to make the calls as communication in another language is always more difficult by phone, but it was actually a lot of fun. We are also being taught to go around to businesses to talk with the managers and try to set up contracts with them to help fill their employment openings in the future. So, summed up, there is a lot of work to do.
While in the office for my first day, 2 different people recognized me from my mission that I never even knew. The world is very small. It’s interesting how we stand out sometimes… for good or bad… and people remember us even after more than a year and a half later. One was a boy in a neighboring ward who in one of my areas who is now a missionary in Rio, and the other is a sister from Rio that served in my mission after I left who apparently saw pictures and heard stories about me from other sisters and families in the wards that we both passed through. Even though I didn’t know either of them personally, the fact that they recognized me and that we have mutual acquaintances, made me feel at home. Apparently someone that I taught who was baptized ended up becoming the missionary’s best friend and I trained the sister who was “killed” by ( finished her mission as comps with) the girl. Kinda fun.
Today I had the chance to go to our ward for the first time. We met lots of fun people and will go to a fireside tonight that the mission president will give. Hopefully I will be able to find time between my volunteer work and my school work to go on splits and help the sisters out. On Wednesday after work, we are planning on accompanying the sisters to go to the “Christo Redentor” statue; you know the famous one in all of the pictures of Rio. Yea!!!

Okay, today is the 27th of sept and we finished teaching our first set of classes! It was quite the adventure. We learned alot and hope that the students did too. Either way it was fun. You know, life's good. We now have internet, which is a huge blessing, and i set up a (801) area code phone line through Skype, so it shouldn't cost anything to call me through the computer if you so desire. you can get the number from mom or dad or Elizabeth. okay dokie. Take care, be good, have fun. –Sherry

oh, last night we were walking through some markets by the coast and talked to this crazy guy who travels around the world painting by day and selling this work by night. There are some really fun people in this world!

alive and well

2007-09-21T12:20:00.001-07:00

well, i~m in Brasil, have been for a few days now, and am upto my chin in homework. SO, the goal is to do as much as possible, as fast as possible, before i go crazy. Slowly but surely it~s progressing... as i~m sure you wanted to know. The center here is great, we couldn~t travel this weekend after all, so, it~s back to the books. our Apartemnt is... interesting, great location, interesting apartment... with interesting neighbors. yeah. Well, the goal is to have internet set up in the apartment with a phone line and everything! How exciting... and i~ll set up a skype number so i can call the states and recieve calls from there easily. Crossing my fingers that all works out well. Any way, hope all is well wiht all. Be good, have fun. enjoy life.

2007-09-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

Peace??
Black hole

smileish

mrr ...... hey look i found a gnome!!!

ummm... so we took pictures, what do you think???

my new apt....

2007-09-14T17:17:00.001-07:00

Check out the link, and you'll see where i'm gunna live....
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=dell-usuk&channel=us&tab=wl

add this address in and you'll see my apt.

Av. Ns. de Copacabana 1032, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, 22060-002, Brazil

ERS Training

2007-09-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

well, as you may know i've been doing some training this week... yea, and will start my internship with the Church Employment Service on Monday. I will try to keep my blog updated with my adventures. I have included a link to a group internship blog, feel freee to check it out... (when people start adding things that is, right now it's pretty much the same pics that i have included here). Well, here are a few photos of our week long training.

oregon visit

2007-09-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

I had a fun visit home, got to see some friends and spend time with the family. Grandpa D's 90th Birthday party was defiantly a highlight.

2007-09-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

sorry. I have not put any pictures on my computer recently, so i have not updated the blog. I'm still in Oregon ... i decided to lengthen my stay. Be back in Provo tuesday night. Monday is grandpa D's 90th b-day party... yea!!! All in all, life is good... oh, i made a new quilt... it's pretty. I was thinking that i need more blankets. mwa ha ha ...

simpsonized

2007-08-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

well...it's a good thing i'm not a simpson.

Climbing kings Peak.

2007-08-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry i don't have any pics yet from this trip.... but i thought i'd write a little about it. I went with work to climb Kings Peak, the hightest piont in Utah. It was really fun, but after 6 days in the winderness with about 20 something "at-risk" boys, i'm glad to be back in Provo and to be clean. The weather wasn't too bad considering. We were rained on alot, had a few lightning and thunder storms, but are all safe. We did get lost a few times, but always found our way. The other half of us, however (we had to divide into 2 groups for the permits) got lost for a few days, but we eventauly found them. Good thing for maps. the hike was challanging enough, I had to literally push a few of the boys as we hiked up hills, but alot of fun. We went the longest most round about way, that we hear is the prettiest, bringing us to around 76 or some odd miles total.
The oddest story is that one night after setting up camp, the boys saw all of the squarels and decided to try and catch one. Being that i didn't actually believe that they would, and that they were working together and entertaining themselves, i just told them that if they kill it, they'd have to eat it. To my suprize, about 4 hours later they come around with a squeral on a nuce. That was about the grossest thing i'd ever seen. They then told us that it didn't have a name because that would be cruel. odd. They set up a trap with a huge rock held up by a stick with a string tied to it with food under it. Apparently it tasted good because all of the boys involved got together and cooked and ate the poor thing. After this, there was a ban on killing. All i could think of during the whole thing was the book, " Lord of the Flies". Well, that was the most interesting part of my week.

Climbing Timp.

2007-07-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

the 3 amigos before starting

the sun rise from the top of Mt. Timp
the group at the top
One of the moose on the trail
me and my roomates Elizabeth and Liberty

Elizabeth and I.... awww.. arn't we cute?

2007-07-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

TAG..um I'm it... -Sherry
TagI got tagged...and now....TAG, you are it!
4 jobs I have had: 1. Rec therapy intern- WestRidge Acadamy 2. mentor, Telos Residential Treatment, 3. mentor- State of Utah Early Intervention- JJS , Lifeguard- BYU
4 movies I could watch over and over again: 1. most any action movie, 2. Newsies and such. 3. Family home videos... does this count???, My little Ponies.... well, i used to.
4 places I have lived: 1. Tigard Or. 2. Provo, UT. 3. Invercargil, New Zealand. 4. Joao Pessoa, Brazil.
favorite tv shows: Don't really ever watch TV.. sorry
4 of my favorite places I have been: 1. Brazil, New Zealand, Switzerland, Costa Rica
4 favorite foods: 1. Ice Cream, 2. Tropical Fruits.... like mango and guava and pineapple. 3.Rice and Beans, 4. Mexican food... and steamed veggies
3 websites I check daily: 1. g-mail, 2. yahoo mail, 3. blogs
4 places I would rather be: 1. brazil, 2. Africa, 3. Exploring in some un charted wilderness, and 4. in a forest by a river with and hammock and a good book.

camping pics

2007-07-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is my rope burn that i got the other day. ouch.

so, i went camping/ backpacking with the kids at work for 4 days and had a blast. I think it was my favortie work trip yet. We went repelling, rock climbing and jumped into the best natural waterslide that i've seen yet. Only, i can't really take pics of the people for legal reasons, so here are my navorite nature pictures that i took. yes, it may be boring to you, but i enjoy them.

more stuff

2007-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Roomates for rent... anyone interested?

Our latest and greatest Cracker-dile cake... don't ask...
My feet after hiking one day, or maybe just after work, can't remember.

fourth of july shoes
... Jill and Elizabeth writing "cool" with their heads... i think they were hinting at something... not sure.

Fourth of july Princesses amd the freakish one... again don't ask.

Camping

Water mellon eating/ seed spitting contest on the fourth.

The fourth of July

2007-07-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is a cool weed that i took a picture of while watching the parade.

This is the biggest truck i ever saw. It was in the parade in Salina, UT.
This is Elizabeth doing homework on a holiday. Calculas to say the least.

This is Jill in her 4th of july outfit on a very hot summer day. I wonder who put her upto this?

This is an even that may have Chnaged lives. It's the annual Salina greased pole contest. You have to try ot get all of the greasy money off of it nad touch the top of the greased pole.

Jill and i at the parade, and fireworks after the rodeo.

These are old shoes that we painted. it was fun.

disney land!

2007-06-22T21:36:00.001-07:00

family Vacation!

camping with the Releif Society

2007-06-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

We had a fun RS camping trip. yea!

trip down south...ish

2007-05-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

we went down to Jimmy and Lisa's reception. Good southern food, a ride on the mississippi, a trolly in New Orleans.... we even saw an alligator! oh, and the reception was nice too.

just so you know

2007-05-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

the newer pictures are actually on the next page labled older blogs... the link is at the bottom of the page... i'm still trying to figure this thing out. thanks!

2007-05-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

2007-05-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

2007-05-15T23:06:00.002-07:00

2007-05-15T23:06:00.001-07:00

2007-05-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

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2007-05-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

latvia

2007-05-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

the cello cake!

2007-05-15T22:52:00.002-07:00

we gradumatated!

2007-05-15T22:52:00.001-07:00

2007-05-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

2007-05-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

2007-05-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

2007-05-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

wrestling this giant lizard down was quite tiring.