violent thunderstorms and the need for speed

If any of you people who have never been to the midwest need additional convincing that a visit to this region of the country would fill that little empty place in you that is as of yet unfilled, I only need to describe for you the weather we've been having lately. Glorious thunder and lightening, torrential rain, and even a tornado or two thrown in there. Need I say more? I stood under the overhang of a house yesterday evening with a bunch of my friends, wondering at the magnificent show God gives us at least five out of seven days of almost every week of the summer here in Iowa. Hard to believe that so much rain can come down at once. I mean, I was soaked running from the car to my house. So much fun!

I spent about an hour today playing need for speed with my little brother. (When I say little, I mean he's younger than me, not that he's really littler than me--he passed me up about three years ago.) I'll warn any of you who plan to race me anytime in the future: watch out--I'm a bad video game driver! I like my brother. He's growing up to be a pretty cool kid.

Things have been going . . . okay. Liz, I was glad when you wrote your last post because I've been feeling and thinking some of the same things lately. At first when I came home, I was a little overwhelmed with seeing people and sharing pictures and stories. It's only in the last week or so that I've realized that I'm here in America for good--at least for now. And so what now? I've been doing my best to answer peoples' questions with honesty, but Dr. Holt was right when he told us that we're going to be mini-experts. I sometimes feel like I must not have been paying attention those months in Cairo because I don't know the answers to so many questions. One of the questions people ask me the most is if I was ever afraid. What should I say? What was there to be afraid of?

So right now my life is normal--routine. I like it, but don't feel content. I feel like there must be something more. Thankfully many of my friends are sticking around Sioux Center this summer, so there are people to hang out with, but I'm afraid that someday they're going to be sick of hearing about Egypt. Because really, everything applies to Egypt and the Middle East, right?

Anyway, thought I'd update you all on how my life is going. I hope to see the rest of you Midwesterners this coming weekend in Minneapolis. And the rest of you, if you ever feel like you need to see a good thunderstorm, you are more than welcome to come stay with my sister and I in our little house facing main street where the townies cruise every Sunday night in Sioux Center, Iowa.

I love you all and miss you a lot (a lot was always the bonus word on our spelling tests in grade six--it's two words, you know) and hope you're doing well.

Margaret