5 days in chambersburg, pennsylvania

i'm not freezing my arse off and i get to walk around the house with a shirt, a sweatshirt and jeans on without shivering like mad! ah hah! then again, i've had my feet covered everyday cos my host family who lives in liberal america [sometimes i just love that] wears shoes in the house. its probably every teens dream to walk right in the house without bothering to take out their shoes but THIS teen is living it.

so last night i followed my mum [crystal] to her work place to see what she does. we got there about 8 pm and met her patients. in malaysian terms my mum is actually a private nurse. you know those who take care of patients back home? yeah those nurses but she does it at a home specially for the mentally challenged. i met hazel, glenda, mary and tommy and i tell you it was really touching to see mum taking care of them. they practically glowed when she walked in the room to greet them. considering my mums really amazing background of careers - bartender and personal shopper [this was a real shocker] she got more satisfaction and happiness doing this current job then any others. seeing what she does and watching the faces of the patients really gave me an understanding of the impact she has on their lives and why she finds comfort in doing it. i [of course] couldnt stand staying awake the whole night [cut me some slack aite? i was awake since 8 am!] so i jumped into bed around 12 am but mum kept awake the whole night. that and the fact that she is a light sleeper makes her the perfect person for her job.

later we reached home about 10 am and i remembered [like a bludgeon to my head] that i had to confirm my selection of subjects for school. yay. school. *snorts* i had to choose 5 academic subjects and how many electives i want. so i got american history [this was compulsory damnit so dont stare at me funny! i'm gonna take the 10th grade class for that!], english 12, sociology, geometry and cultural studies. 5 academics down, more electives to go - dramatics, fashion merchandising [yeaaah! they have this! *wide grin*] and photography. so if any of my electives arent approve i'm gonna have less than 8 subjects to take which is A-W-E-S-O-M-E! then, i had breakfast around 11.30 am [more like brunch] and watched 2 movies til the evening and decided to go for a walk which was about 2 miles [according to my host mom] from the house just to get chocolate ice cream which tastes funny and weird. you are probably wondering - what the hell is this gurl doing walking around in winter to get ice cream??? i'm asking myself the same question and guess what? i dont have the answer either. maybe winter is messing my head up. i dont know. couldnt be bothered. anyways, the walk was good cos i actually sweat a lil in like 0 degrees. yeah baby! i'm adapting and i'm getting better.

the family has been a total sweetie. my host parents [crystal and larry] are really nice people who argues a lot but love each other to bits and are helluva funny. i cant remember a day [its only been 5 mind you] that i have not laughed at all. then there's also the girls [sierra, kenzie and lily] who are really cute and adorable but [ironically there's always a but] very slick and quick-witted. go do your math and get this - crystal [whom i call mum obviously] shares everything with her kids and me. waddya think of it now? *gluttonic smile*

on the very first day i reached here [with carrie in tow] i climbed trees with sierra. CLIMBED TREES. if i could do that back in malaysia you'd find me up in some tree all the time. they have an apple tree and strawberry trees [or shrubs] which bloom in spring [duh] in their backyard. no joke! we chose the trees we wanted to climb and spent almost 2 hours walking around, picking trees out and wondering if mum would flip if we walked longer [which didnt happen!]. after that day, it was just too damned cold to go out and mum wouldnt let any of us out anyways. so being stuck in the house i made myself busy by cooking and washing the dishes. i'm not joking guys. i REALLY helped my mum cook and wash dishes everyday even though dad, mum, tyler [thats the son] and sierra told me to use the dishwasher - in that same order too. the only reason why kenzie and lily hasnt told me that is cos they're only 5 and 4 so they dont give 2 hoots about how the dishes are done. that aside, i've been having the time of my life having really hot water running through my hands in every 2-3 hours here. water from the pipes in malaysia at 12-2 pm there is [heck!] soothing over here.

oh, and if you're wondering, i DO bathe everyday. my mum has a thing against germs so i can bathe everyday or twice a day if i want to, wash my towel after 3 days [no arguements about that] and sanitise sanitise sanitise. the whole house is carpeted and its not so big but its not so small either - it has an attic, 3 rooms, a closet, a toilet/bathroom and a porch upstairs, the ground level and a basement with a fireplace. its really awesome but dont get me wrong, i dont have a sudden passion for old houses but what i do have is a genuine liking for this place. dont even get me started on the food. *sigh* its really tasty and finger liking good [aint talking about fast food you doink] but you dont see them using much salt but there is taste in the food. my mum has this thing for spices so i'm lucky to get those tastes in my food. back to the not much salt usage, i had leg cramps for 2 nights now BUT i took quite a lot of salt today so i dont think i'm gonna have anymore cramps. take a breath.

i've met my dads parents and i'm gonna meet my mums mother and her 21-year-old sister soon. i met mums sisters boyfriend this morning cos the van had a flat tire. anyways, not everyone here is like 6 feet tall k? there are short people here too [like me]! i'll be having a welcoming party this weekend at west virginia [dont ask me, i didnt pick the venue] which i am looking forward to unless it snows and we'll be stuck in penn state. then only will i be able to meet laura puckett my local coordinator which stays in the next county [malaysian vocabulary : district]. if i miss that..who knows when will i be able to see her. plus i'll be starting school on tuesday cos the school gets monday off for martin luther kings day. thats awesome isnt it? a day to commemorate heroes of the country. how i wish malaysia had those AND our festival holidays too. then and only then will we enter the book of guiness for the most public holidays in a year. oh yeah!

before i end this [very long and draggy but informative] post, just wanna let everyone know that i'm doing alright now. i'm not moping about being sad cos i'm parted from so many people that i'm missing. the church is right in front of the house [literally] and i've been having a ball using the piano. i missed out todays visit cos i was tired. in just these 5 days also i've enrolled in the choir for the upcoming easter celebrations and pianist for the youth service. surprise surprise. hard to believe its only 5 days now. i've yet to see what'll happen in the next 6 months. kenzie's jumping on my chair @ my cue to leave the computer. i'll upload pictures pretty soon cos mum and dad are getting me a cellphone so that in case of emergencies bla bla bla... gotta go play tag now.

ending note [or a holler in this case]
me : oh damn.
kenzie : thats a bad word! why'd you say that? why'd you say that? lets play tag!!