It's Not Everyday You See Manslaughter

I wonder if it takes seeing a dead guy laying in the middle of the road, with his leg severed and strewn several feet from his body, to remind yourself that life is a gift. No matter how tough or new or uncomfortable a situation gets...it is to be cherished and valued with great vigor and full appreciation. Today I saw the remains of a high speed collision where a car basically demolished a cyclist as he was turning through an intersection. The car was reported to have been going at a good 120 kilometers an hour, and upon impact essentially destroying the unfortunate man out for a day's ride in the brisk, August air. As we were passing by the scene, Beth spotted a man in handcuffs up on top of a hill, with several police men surrounding him. Apparently it was a hit and run. Can you believe that? It was almost sickening to see. My prayer is that the cyclist's family can find peace through this tragic situation. And as messed up and gruesome as the whole thing was, it got me to thinking. Parallel to moving here to a completely new place, efforting getting settled in and whatnot, I've also been struggling with letting go of something that should have been let go of long ago. To me, the investment of over two years of time and effort into something is a difficult thing to just let slip away, even when I'm quite aware it's certainly what's best for both parties. The past several weeks have been exceptionally tough. Just being able to clear my head and find some sort of comfort, has been overly complicating. Those who know me best know all the details of  what I'm talking about and I just want it to be known that I am doing well. Witnessing that scene today in the intersection had the complete opposite effect of desensitization. Rather than numbing me of my grief, it allowed me the opportunity of finding joy in it. Life's too short to dwell on the negative and hopeless situations. Take pride in the lessons you've learned, remember the good times, and progress. I believe I'm well on my way to progressing =]

So, before all that happened today however, I had my first language class with my awesome tutor Sladan (there's supposed to be a line through the "d" ...but I'm not sure how that's done on the computer). He has a degree in English and probably knows the ends and outs of the language far better than I do- so he's quite helpful when it comes to teaching. He's patient, yet straight forward, and knows exactly how far to push you in a two hour session. Today I finally learned the proper way to greet someone, how to introduce yourself, how to ask for someone else's name, age and such...oh and how to count all the way up to 10,001. He said he was only going to teach me up to 20 today, but i was "progressing very well," so we kept going. Sweet. On my walk home across town from his house I spent the entire time trying memorize and practice what I had just been taught. I probably looked like a total moron, strolling through crowds muttering to myself, addressing the occasional person with the passing "Dobar dan" (good day), then immediately referencing my notebook to make sure I'd done it correctly. The language is totally foreign in every aspect to me. It's certainly going to take some time getting used to, but hopefully with enough practice and effort, I'll be able to pick it up somewhat quickly and correctly. Also, I made it all the way back to the Summay's house without getting lost. So Kevin, I think I'm getting better with directions =P

Dude, Beth and Becky made fantastic chili and cornbread today for mealtime. I'm not really sure if it should be referred to as lunch or dinner, because I had it for both ;D ...and both times it was absurdly delicious. In a strange way, eating it made me feel at home. I suppose its just some weird cosmic connection, but every time I eat me some chili and cornbread I'm reminded off good times with family...and football. There wasn't much football action going on at the Summay's house today, but the night was filled with great laughter and some super stupidhead playing (or dickhead as becky so tactfully calls it). I'm glad I introduced them such amazing game, and they seem to enjoy playing it just as much as I do =] Dobro.

Grace and Peace,

Kaleb