Thursday, June 30, 2011

Friends!

The crazy people with whom I live: Chris & Dawn
and their friend Saska (in blue)
Since the last post, I made friends!  I'm still not exactly sure what God has in mind for me while I am here in Portland, but part of it seems to be connecting to people I meet and sharing in their lives.   And my path has crossed with quite the handful of people in the last week and a half!
 
On thursday, I was standing by the side of the road (reading a sign about bioretention swales, if you must know), when an ordinary looking male approached me and said something along the lines of "I was just dropping my lady friend off at the bus stop and we saw you walking past and thought you were very cute, so she told me to come talk to you."
"..."
Understandably, it was a slightly awkward conversation, but before long we had found common ground--he was moving to Ecuador-- and after running into each other again half an hour later, we ended up taking a bike ride along the esplanade and conversing quite sociably about food, transportation, and our lives in general.  A friend made!

Opal Creek
On Saturday, I went on a hike to Opal Creek with the Outdoors Connection group from Imago Dei (the church I have been attending), and met no fewer than 23 people with whom I had a lot in common.  There were travelers, spanish-speakers, musicians, lovers of nature, poets, philosophers, artists, goofballs, explorers, bakers, dreamers, Michiganders... Not only was the hike itself lovely, it was beyond beautiful to encounter such a wonderful group of potential friends! 



Martha and me at Opal Creek
 Having gone to church with some of the people I met on the hike, I invited two of the girls over for dinner and a walk through Powell Butte on monday, which turned out to be a fantastic experience.  Cally and Martha and I put together a scrumptious spread which included oatmeal-battered pollock, stuffed mushrooms, delicious homemade bread, cantaloupe, and homemade ice cream.  Afterwards, we played a little made-up-word scrabble, which included such gems as "wifeth" (when your birdie gets caught in the net while playing badmitton), "fatiew" (when your birdie gets caught in the trees), "queming" (that cute little shuffle a guy does while trying to get up the courage to kiss a girl), and "os" (the plastic thing on the end of your shoelace).  All in all, a highly entertaining night.


Me, Cally, and Martha in Powell Butte
I will never consider myself an outgoing, extroverted, bubbly person.  However, I am beginning to realize that while a propensity to initiate conversation with strangers certainly leads to the formation of many a new friendship, the willingness to continue a conversation--to meet someone's eyes and listen to what they have to say-- may just as often result in a new connection.  
Addison, me and Cally at Opal Creek



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