Planned, spontaneous fun

Was it yesterday, or the day before, that I said I didn't anticipate spontaneous fun?  Yesterday morning, I received a call from Dan Button, a friend and one of the American lecturers here, inviting me to the standing hockey game that the ex-patriot families play weekly.  Since it was a holiday, the dads decided to make it a cookout also, so though no one could really go shopping (things were sane in town, but it was generally deemed wise to stay in the safe confines of the campus), he couldn't guarantee what would be served.


It was a wonderful feast, as well as a wonderful time.  I met quite a few new people, connected with some I'd not seen in a while, and got to eat fabulous things I'd not had in a while:  salad (!), potato salad, baked beans, hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, and Kool-Aid.


One of the thoughts that's been forming in my heart and in my head is that as I'm preparing to return as a lecturer (Lord willing and the creek don't rise), the vast majority of my friends won't be here, and the ones who remain won't exactly be my friends anymore, because I'd be staff, and they'd be students.  So this was a sweet introduction to a new group of soon-to-be peers, as well as a chance to unwind outside the dorm, and garner about five new mosquito bites, despite having applied repellent.