reunited

what a blessing the last two weeks have been!

to begin with, sarah came to louisiana for a visit.
















we met up down in new orleans and had some good eats!

after a day down south we headed up and spent some time in my new town.
















yep, we like to eat!

then after a week here, we flew up to virginia to meet up with lots of cool folks. that's where we met up with rachel. the three of us got to spend lots of time together reminiscing about the good times in niger.
















one afternoon we ventured down by the creek in the woods until...(it's a secret!)

and then one night melissa drove over to go to dinner with us. what a great reunion - the four of us altogether on this side of the ocean.
















sarah, me, melissa, and rachel after finally deciding on what to order - thanks to the help of our wonderful server!

pounded! and parade

louisiana is different. no worries, i'm in north louisiana...nonetheless it is different here. different from the other places i've lived - georgia, alabama, and well most definitely niger!

mardi gras. students got a mardi gras break. seemed crazy to me.
i experienced my first mardi gras parade - it was clean. well except for that one grandma's shirt. crazy lady!
















a mardi gras parade in shreveport


the church i am with now came to me to talk about my "pounding." i asked, "my what?"
i had never heard of a pounding. after a quick explanation, i thought this is great!

so members of the church brought me various goods to welcome me. how great.
evidently, the term "pounding" comes from back in the day....when new people moved to town, neighbors would give them a pound of something - sugar, flour, etc.

so last sunday night i got "pounded!"
















all the stuff, not including the gift cards!
















and look at all these paper products. oh my.

a lot for a girl recently returned from niger. thanks so much, temple!