Getting Ready for the New Year

Today was a wonderful Christmas filled with surprises, wonderful gifts, and a sense of gratitude I have never felt before. I told Tony that all day long I could hear Mimi's voice from the night we helped the kids hang Christmas decorations in the orphanage saying "Vecela Koleda!" in a Tiny Tim sort of voice. It was a very happy, relaxing day, and I'm grateful for that.

Don't get jealous, I won't be relaxed for long! Tomorrow is an exciting, yet admittedly stressful, day. We found an apartment to live in (hallelujah) and we are moving into it TOMORROW! It's so beautiful on the inside. I'll have to post pictures after we get our stuff all settled in. I'm really excited for this new change in our lives. I am so anxious to get back to what I remember as "normal life"--Tony and I just chillin' out in the apartment while Tony watches a Jazz game and I either take a nap or study for some exam I procrastinated studying for. Ahh, the good ol' days :). So, yeah, I'm definitely excited for that event.

I am also excited/stressed about the upcoming semester at BYU! Hooray! The more school I go to, the more I like it. Weird, I know. I'm really excited for my new, interesting schedule. I'm NOT excited about the stinky generals I have to take because I put them off, but it's okay. I'll learn a lot of interesting things. If you are curious as to what I am taking this semester, take a look at THIS:

• American Heritage (a class I chickened out of my freshman year)
• Jogging
• Exercise Sciences
• The Living Prophets
• Adolescent Development in Society and Family (sooooooo pumped for this class)
• Parenting & Child Guidance

Sounds like a pretty fun-filled semester, eh?

I'm also job-hunting. This passtime is probably the one I'm the least talented at. I could go to 20 interviews in one day and not get a single offer. Maybe I need to change deodorant or something.... I am NOT happy about having to look for a job. Once I get one I'll be fine, it's the hunting part that stinks.

Tony and I have a lot of interesting challenges/changes/adjustments ahead of us this coming New Year. We are ready for them and we're excited to take new steps in different directions!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Have fun taking back your unwanted gifts :)

Christmas

This past week I've been filled with most of the feelings of Christmas. Tony and I did our shopping and I love buying presents for people! I finished up buy presents for my sisters and Caity (whose name I have in the name drawing), and I've just felt so wonderful all week long. I really felt like I was finally getting that taste of the Christmas spirit.

However, on Sunday there was a Christmas program and naturally most of the lessons were Christmas-based. Sometime during Sacrament I starting thinking about all of the kids in Bulgaria I worked with. What are they doing for Christmas? How many presents do they get? Will they get to see any of their family? Do they even look forward to Christmas like I do?

I slowly began to change my Christmas feelings. My heart was breaking all during church and I was ready to let loose the tears at any moment. I wish that I could send all of them gifts, I wish that I could give them the Christmas I'm so used to having and probably take for granted. I claim not to have money to send to the orphans in Bulgaria, but I just spent quite a bit of it for Christmas here.

Some of you probably wish I would just "get over it", but I can't. I miss Bulgaria. I miss my kids. I wish that I could give them the things I have, the things I've had for years. I pray for them everyday, especially when I miss them. It's even difficult for me to finish up my homework because everytime I do, I begin to get sad and teary-eyed.

I want to encourage everyone to think about someone else this Christmas. Someone who doesn't have millions of gifts to open, or a huge Christmas dinner. I think this Christmas I won't take things for granted like I have my whole life. I am so grateful for everything I have, and I only wish I could share it!

Answers!

Thanks everyone for asking such interesting questions!! I thought four days was a long enough waiting period, so here are your answers!

From Jeff
1. What was your favorite part of living in Bulgaria? (not
including the
orphans)

2. What was your favorite part of
working with the orphans?

3. What was your least favorite part of
both of those.

1. My favorite part of living in Bulgaria was the simple life. I especially love and miss this now that I am back in America. Everyone in the town I lived in was so laid-back and friendly, and we didn't have a lot of stress to deal with. It was almost like a vacation! I really loved how relaxed everyone was, and especially how friendly they were despite the fact that we were Americans.

2. My favorite part of working with the orphans was having those small moments of "connection." Every once in a while as I would be talking with or playing with one of the kids, they would look up and give me this look. They all did it the same way, too! This huge grin with big, wide, sparkling eyes that spoke thousands of words they could never describe. That's when I knew that they loved me, that I was in the right place, and that I was with Heavenly Father's children. I don't think anything could ever replace that feeling.

3. My least favorite part of living in Bulgaria would have to be the language barrier. Obvious, I know, but not all of you realize how incredibly frustrating it is to have so many thoughts in your mind and no way to express them! I could have really taught some of these kids more, but because I didn't speak fluent Bulgarian, it was difficult.

My least favorite part about working with the orphans was seeing some of the workers treat the children badly. One experience that I still have nightmares about (and still breaks my heart) is the night we went a visited and played with Unii (I'm not sure how to spell it, I think she has a Turkish name).

I guess she had done some pretty bad things like stealing, and using the bathroom in the sink, which are things she should be punished for, I agree. But when we were there and Tony was holding her, one of the workers came over and was telling Tony all of the bad things Unii had done. She then began yelling at this poor little girl saying, "no one loves you when you do things like that. No one loves you!" Unii began crying her eyes out and the other kids began making fun of her telling her no one loved her.

Tony, being the handsome, sweet guy he is, told everyone that he still loved Unii even though she did bad things. He said "I know that I make mistakes all the time and I hope that people still love me when I do, because I'm trying to be better. I think Unii is trying to be better too, aren't you Unii?" Tony made this little girl so happy, and I really think he taught the kids something in that moment.

From Susan
How did your stomach adjust to eating new foods?

My stomach had a pretty difficult time adjusting to the new foods. I had stomach issues for the first couple of weeks there and it gradually got better. Sometime in our Bratsigovo stay I declared myself a Bulgaria Vegetarian. I couldn't stand the meat there, but I eventually got used to it. They don't have beef in Bulgaria, only mincedmeat. Their chicken is also very different, I'm not sure how to describe it, but I don't like it!

From Janet
1) Did your experience in Bulgaria change you in any way, and if so, how?

2) What does the air feel and smell like in Bulgaria? (I know this is a strange questions, but it's one of the things I notice about different places)

1. My experience DID change me, quite a bit. One strange way it's changed me is that now I don't use as much toilet paper. They don't really use a lot there, and it's kind of pricey to buy, so I somehow picked up this little habit.

ANOTHER way it's changed me is that it's given me an amazing perspective on differences in people. When I first arrived in Bulgaria, I felt like I was on Mars with a bunch of aliens who spoke some odd alien language. I was constantly in a daze and thought everyone was rude. As I lived in the country, I grew to love these once strange people. I've always said and believed the phrase "we're all God's children" but never before had it held so much meaning as it does now. I love the people of Bulgaria. They are my brothers and sisters. I've been able to take off my red, white, and blue USA goggles and look at these people for what they are....people! They're just like you and me. They love to laugh, hate to cry, have friends, family, fun. It helped me build a stronger testimony of the fact that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, and that he loves EACH of us.

I think I'm also more culturally aware and more accepting. I feel that I'm a more well-rounded person because of this experience. I don't regret going, not the least little bit.

2. This is kind of funny question. The air in Bulgaria STINKS! In Bratsigovo it smelled like manure and burning trash all the time, in Plovdiv it smelled of exhaust. The people there also have their own unique scent, very different from our heavily-purfumed USA scent. They contributed to the smell of the air as well.

As far as feel goes, it actually felt a lot like Indiana, humid. My hair was always frizzy and my lips never chapped (something I'm struggling with now that I'm back in the desert).

From Shannon
Did anything make you laugh so hard you almost cried? (I'm just thinking of some of the antics of our rest-home ladies in Mexico :)

Did anything just make you cry?

The only time I can think of where I laughed so hard I almost cried was when I was teaching some of the girls the Thriller dance. I told them one of the moves was called "Booty Bounce" and when I showed it to them, they all fell to the floor laughing (it's a little pelvic thrust). I began laughing with them and we couldn't stop for at least 5 minutes.

Yes, several things made me cry. I think the day I cried the hardest was when we moved into the orphanage. That was quite a shocker for me to live in the boys hallway of an orphanage. I was fine, though, just a little tired and shocked.

From Amy
What was something that you were not prepared for? How did it turn out?

I wasn't prepared to talk as much as I had to at the second home. When I taught Thriller, I did it all by my lonesome with no translators. Holy cow that was hard! I wasn't prepared to actually say much and I had to. It turned out wonderfully! As you can see here.

From Kimi
I heard that while Tony was gone he became $10,000 in debt and is in trouble for not paying child support...What can/are you guys doing about his identity being stolen? What are you most looking forward to about being home, in america, around family again?

*SIIIGGHHHH* It's true, it's all true. Word sure gets around fast! Let me explain: when we came home, both of our cars were looking death straight in the eyes so we decided to look for a new (used) car. We found a cute little Honda that we fell in love with so we skipped over to Zion's bank for some financing fun. Everything was going our way until the Loan Officer told us that Tony had a $10,000 judgement against him with Child Protective Services. ...Long Story Short....we went to the court and they actually had changed it last year when Tony called about a mysterious child support letter he got in the mail. They just never told us it was on his credit. We got enough proof to show the loan officer it wasn't Tony and we now have the Honda! Woo! We still have to call the credit agencies and get all of it cleared off. NO FUN.

Well, I was looking forward to settling in and relaxing but that sure hasn't happened. The floor has kind of fallen from beneath us with all of this credit stuff. Our apartment manager is kind of...excuse my tone...ignorant, and so we don't really have a place yet, but that's okay! We have two new (used) cars now!!!!

From BookLoss
What are your plans now? And what is this about identity theft?

My plans are to go back to BYU in January and begin another fun-filled semester. I keep leaning more and more towards being a social worker for my career, especially since the director at the orphanage said I'd be the best one, haha.

See above for answers on identity theft.

So, there you have it. I hope I answered your questions to your liking. If you have more questions, I suppose you can always ask me by leaving a comment or something.

I just want to say that I DO miss Bulgaria. I've been sitting here all day trying to finish up some homework for my internship and everytime I get into it begin to get teary-eyed. Everything was wonderful there, and with the luck we've been having lately....I REALLY miss that place!

чао за сега

Q&A with Hollie

So I know that I've been home for almost a week and haven't posted anything about my travels/Bulgaria/adjusting/sadness/happiness, etc. The cold, hard truth is: I'M TIRED! Man Jet Lag stinks! So, I've decided to make it a little easier on everyone (mostly me) and just do this:

You guys can ask me ANYTHING you want about my recent Bulgarian experience and I'll answer them all in one giant post. There are no question limits so if you think of a juicy one after you already posted, that's OKAY!

So, have at it. Pick my brain.


GO!

Hey

We were stuck in the Paris airport for 19 hours.

We're not stuck anymore.

See you later tonight.

We're Famous! Well, Sorta...

Check us out in One Heart Bulgaria's recent newsletter! (Pg 6)

Things That Make Me Laugh

Being in a grumpy mood, I went searching for a video my infant development professor sent me a while back. I found it and it made me laugh SO HARD! I then found another favorite funny video.

I put them here for all of you grumpy pants like me.

Healthy Series Part 3

Weight Watchers


The Weight Watchers Flex Plan is the more commonly known plan offered by Weight Watchers. Point values are given to each individual based on gender, height, current weight, and physical activity. The point (no pun intended) of this plan, and the Core Plan—Weight Watchers’ other plan option that focuses on whole foods from a “core group” and less on Points values—is to give the individual more freedom with what they eat, realizing that restricting foods altogether can sometimes cause utter diet failure when temptation becomes too much to bear.


You can eat what you want, when you want, as long as you stay within your allotted Points. Different foods obviously have different Points values. A carrot is nearly zero points while a 3” piece of chocolate cake is somewhere near thirteen. The Points values don’t necessarily have anything to do with calories; their purpose is to teach individuals what foods are most beneficial to their health. Their motto is, “It’s not a diet, it’s a way of life.” They are cutting back calories while teaching members what foods are actually GOOD for you. Simply reducing calories isn’t enough if you only reduce the calories of your chips and soda diet.


If you include exercise, you can earn more Points to “spend” on foods. Members of Weight Watchers that follow the Flex plan are also given 35 extra points each week that they can save use on special occasions, an evening out, or to redeem when they’ve slipped up and taken a second helping of the birthday cake in the office.



PROS:

• Allows the individual to choose what foods he/she eats-Encourages a healthy lifestyle, not just a calorie cut back-Encourages exercise (always good!)
• Gives room for slip-ups and special occasions like Thanksgiving/Christmas-Offers weekly support group & weigh-in to help you reach your goals
  

CONS:

• Keeping track of every single point. While this in the end is very beneficial, it can seem quite burdensome to those who work, go to school, etc. Several people I’ve talked to have not considered weight watchers because of this aspect of their program. There is, however, the new Core Plan that eliminates the point counting to some extent.
• Doesn’t necessarily encourage a good balance of the food groups. You could munch on beef jerky and carrots all day and fulfill all of the weight watchers requirements, but you’re missing out on your fruits and grains!

Cost: $39.99/month for meetings, internet member access, tools for counting Points, etc.
Long-Term Effectiveness*:
Your Doc would Recommend it:
Easy to Follow:
Universality :
*In 1993, Weight Watchers International conducted a survey of its Lifetime Members to ascertain maintenance of weight loss after 1-to-12 years. The survey was conducted by telephone with a random national sample of 1200 people and relied on self-reported weights. Among Lifetime Members, the average weight loss achieved to become Lifetime Members was 28.8 pounds; two-thirds (67%) reported continued maintenance of their original weight loss within 5 pounds. The percent of Lifetime Members maintaining their weight loss ranged from 97% for those who had achieved the loss one year prior to 37% for those who had completed the weight loss 5-12 years prior to the survey. This data challenged the often-cited statistic of a “95% failure rate” for weight loss programs

TOTAL: 4.0 OUT OF 5

I'm Such a Sucker

I keep stumbling upon all of these darn giveaways and do I learn from my losses? NO! I keep trying, like maybe some day I'll win.

Someday?

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

Maybe I should just steer clear of Pink Flowers Pretty from now on. There's too much temptation there! :)

Dash it All!

Two giveways in a row...and I was shafted both times.

That outta learn me.

Healthy Series Part 2

The Atkin’s Diet
The Atkins Diet involves restriction of carbohydrates to more frequently switch the body's metabolism from burning glucose as fuel to burning stored body fat.

The diet consists of four phases: Induction, Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL), Pre-maintenance, and lifetime maintenance.

The Induction phase is the first, and most restrictive, phase of the Atkins Nutritional Approach. It is intended to cause the body to quickly enter a state of ketosis. Carbohydrate intake is limited to 20 net grams per day The allowed foods include a liberal amount of all meats, fish, shellfish, fowl, and eggs; up to 4 ounces (113 g) of soft or semi-soft cheese; salad vegetables; other low carbohydrate vegetables; and butter and vegetable oils. Drinking eight glasses of water per day is a must during this phase. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed during this phase. Caffeine is allowed in moderation so long as it does not cause cravings or low blood sugar. A daily multivitamin with minerals is also recommended to boost energy levels. The Induction Phase is usually when many see the most significant weight loss — reports of losses of 5 to 10 pounds per week are not uncommon when Induction is combined with daily exercise.

The Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase of Atkins consists of a small increase in carbohydrate intake, but remaining at levels where weight loss occurs.

Pre-maintenance. Carbohydrates intake is increased again this time and the key goal in this phase is to find the "Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance."

Lifetime maintenance. This phase is intended to carry on the habits acquired in the previous phases, and avoid the common end-of-diet mindset that can return people to their previous habits and previous weight.

How long you stay in each of these phases isn’t set. According to the Atkin’s professionals, if you have 40 pounds to lose, you stay in the induction phase until you’ve lost 20-30 of those pounds. Then you move on to the next phases. If you have less or more weight to lose, it’s different. It’s a personal decision and depends on what you want to get out of the diet.



PROS:

• Rapid weight loss. As mentioned above, you can shed 5 to 10 pounds a week.
• Simple and easy to follow. Since your food choices are very limited, it’s easy to know exactly what to eat.
• You decide when to move from one phase to the next. There’s no pressure to move on to the more difficult OWL stage if you’re not ready. You can stay in the induction stage for as long as you feel you need to.

CONS:

• Rapid weight loss does not allow you to easily KEEP the weight off. A healthy rate of weight loss is .5 to 2 pounds a week. This rate is the best to go with if you want to easily maintain your new weight.
• The diet doesn’t worry about overall health, just how much weight the dieter can lose.
• Loss of energy and slow metabolism. Carbohydrates are the body’s source of energy, and the Atkin’s diet deprives the body of most of the carbs it needs to keep chugging along. The Atkin’s diet recommends taking a multivitamin to compensate for this lack of energy that your body naturally gets from foods like carbohydrates.
• Lose muscles quickly causing loose skin. When your body loses weight at a rate of 5 to 10 pounds a week, you lose a lot of muscle very quickly, not giving your skin enough time to respond to the shrinkage going on everywhere else. You can prevent this somewhat with exercise, but how are you expected to exercise with only 20g of carbs a day?
• Lack of support system. Unlike Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, followers of the Atkin’s diet must seek their own support system. Sometimes this can be very difficult.

Cost: While there is no monthly registration fee like other programs, buying all of that red meat can be pretty pricey.

Long-Term Effectiveness*:
Your Doc would Recommend it:
Easy to Follow:
Universality :
*http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1192092.htm




TOTAL: 2.75 OUT OF 5

Healthy Series Diet Comparisons

The topic of dieting has been on my mind lately. With the holidays here it seems like all anyone is talking about is the latest "diet" they are trying out. Family all around me is constantly delving into new diet fads, gym memberships, Weight Watchers meetings, etc. I have been wondering for a while which diet is "the best". Which one is healthiest and which one gives what everyone wants most--RESULTS?

Since Tony works for a magazine called Healthy Utah, I am constantly learning new things about health and fitness, and I really like learning about them! So, I did some homework and I have created my own little evaluation of four of today's popular weight loss programs. I don't want to have a post that takes four hours to read, so I'm splitting them up posting one diet evaluation every day or so, and then a big conclusion at the end.

Please remember these are MY opinions based on research I did on each diet.

My first diet evaluation is Jenny Craig.

Jenny’s plan is a tri-level program consisting of food, mind, and body.

For the first level—food—Jenny Craig offers pre-packaged meals. These meals have the intention of teaching dieters portion size, how many calories to consume (based on height, weight, age, gender, etc.), and that there are a variety of foods that can be eaten while on a “diet”. The frozen entrees reflect the USDA food pyramid guidelines containing 50% to 60% carbohydrate, 20% to 25% protein, and 20% to 25% fat. The dieters are to supplement each of these meals with fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and reduced fat dairy products. Like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig proudly states that there is no food you cannot eat. As long as you eat in moderation, you can have all types of foods. Jenny and her counselors just want their clients to realize what they are doing when they have that second brownie.

The second level is body. The counselors at Jenny Craig believe that if you want to have long lasting results with your weight loss, the key is physical activity. They help clients determine their physical activity and then help them get to a place where calories are being burned.

The third level is mind. The folks at Jenny Craig do not want their clients to stay on the Jenny diet forever. The idea is to wean them off of the frozen meals with the idea that they will be able to cook/eat foods with similar caloric value and portion size to their frozen foods on their own. They also believe that surrounding yourself with support and affirmations plays a key role in creating the right weight loss mindset. Jenny Craig offers meetings, a 24/7 hotline for its clients to get around-the-clock information, as well as a website that provides them with tools for dieting.

PROS:
-You can eat what you want; there are no restrictions other than sticking to the frozen meals. But, there appears to be quite a selection of frozen meals offered by Jenny Craig.

-There is constant support. The 24/7 hotline and internet tools can really be helpful when you need some extra help.

-This program encourages exercise! They realize and teach their clients that for long-lasting weight loss results, exercise is key.

CONS:
-If you live with a family, and they don’t want to do Jenny Craig, you have to buy separate food for yourself and the family. You also have to cook yummy foods you can’t have, which could make the dieting process very difficult. This is only a problem in the first few months, however.

-Frozen meals, every meal. It kind of sounds like a diet astronauts would eat on their way to the moon. Frozen meals all the time could get pretty boring, pretty fast. Once you get out of the frozen meals stage, though, it seems to get easier.

-Convenience is a big issue. When you have frozen meals you are assigned to eat it makes dinner parties, date nights, and other food situations very difficult.

Cost: It is $199 to register for the Jenny Craig program, and buying the frozen meals averages about $1,470 for 15 weeks.
Long-Term Effectiveness*:
Your Doc would Recommend it:
Easy to Follow:
Universality :

* About one-third of original participants remained in the program at six months, and these individuals had an average weight loss of 15.0 pounds. Participants who remained in the program at one year had an average of 22.0 pounds weight loss.

TOTAL: 3.5 OUT OF 5

Good Times in Bratsigovo

I found some random pictures from our time here in Bratsigovo, and I thought I would post them for all to see. Hope you enjoy! (I've put them in a slide show format to avoid a HUGE post) THere are captions if you mouse over the pics.

Crazy Eights

I know I just posted, but I just saw that I was 'tagged' and figured I would do it before I forget!



8 Shows I watch (when not in Bulgaria):
*The Office
*Rachael Ray
*Ace of Cakes (can you tell I like food?)
*American Idol
*What Not to Wear
*Everybody Loves Raymond
*Jay Leno, if I'm up late enough
*Studio 5 - it's this random, cheaply made show that comes on right after Rachael Ray on the weekdays. They always have fun, crafty things on and it sucks me right in!

8 Things I did in the last 24 hrs
*Went to the orphanage
*Set up cute little cookies and gingerale for our book club...that no one showed up to!
*Did some homework
*Made a whole chicken in the oven. I loved it. I always like the dinners you can just put in the oven for an hour and when you pull it out...it's done!
*Watched last week's Office episode
*Entered a jewelry contest
*Talked to my sista Morgan
*Set my alarm to wake up for Bulgarian Orthodox church in the morning. Oh yeah, there's a church holiday and we're SO there! (...because the kids from the orphanage are participating in some ritual or service or something. It will be interesting)

8 Places I like to Eat
*Texas Roadhouse
*Cafe Rio
*Paradise Bakery
*Fro-Yo
*Jamba Juice
*Outback Steakhouse
*Olive Garden
*Zupas

8 Things on my Wishlist
* Highlights (I'm dreaming of a blonder Christmas....)
*That cute jewelry set from Silver Treats
*A new purse
*Sewing machine
* A queen size bed. Tony and I have slept in separate beds for two months now.
* A great, big salad of Romaine lettuce topped with craisins (and possibly other berries) with poppyseed dressing and some of those sugary almonds. Maybe some grilled chicken. I miss lettuce!
*To go sledding
*A nice, new...apartment when we get home

Eight Tags: (oh geez, it seems like everyone I know has been tagged already...)
*Susan
*Tiffanie
*Dad
*Shannon
*Kimi (I know you've been tagged...I'm running out of people!)
*Melanie
*Carissa
*Leslee

Cross My Fingers and Squeeze Your Thumbs!

For the first time ever....

I've entered a give-away! I saw this on Janet's blog (maybe the shout out will boost her chances) for a give-away on silvertreats.com. I went on the site to look around and the jewelry--SO CUTE!

I am trying to win this lovely set on Day 3 of their 12 Days of Silver Give-Away (no worries, Janet, I signed up for a different day!):





Cute. I know. If I happen to be so lucky to win, I'm totally wearing these babies to all of my Holiday gatherings! I absolutely love the ring, too. I don't have many rings but I would love to add this one to my collection!

I dare you to sign up...but not for day 3....or day 6.....those two are taken :D.

Sign Up!

Lost in Translation

Sometimes the things I hear translated into English here make me chuckle, but this one tops them all.

I bought a pair of boots around my birthday, and they included this nice little tag for me regarding return policies and such. It is even written in English, how nice! :)

In case you can't read from the picture, it says:

"1. Within one month from the purchasing day if the shoes line,glue,sole or buckle go wrong, we are responsible for making repairs

2. If the size of the shoes doesn't match of the shoes have been seriously damaged you can exchange your shoes in terms of you haven't used them at all.

[this next one is my favorite one.....]

3. If the shoes have been damaged by yourself and also you have no 'credit card' and our company 'invoice' ,we will have no responsibility for repairing or exchanging.Anyway, if you'd like to repair or exchange, please connect with the company."

Luckily my buckle hasn't "gone wrong" yet.....

If You're Happy & You Know It

I've seen several people writing blogs about things that make them happy, and I thought I would do the same thing since we're getting close to Thanksgiving and all. Plus, I'm pretty sick right now so thinking happy thoughts is making me feel a little bit better :).

I'm going to copy David Letterman here and do a top ten list of things that make me happy.
*drumroll*

[just so ya know, Tony ALWAYS makes me happy. He isn't on the list NOT because he doesn't make me happy, I was just kind of dedicating this to things in Bulgaria that make me happy. I know, I know, Tony IS in Bulgaria....but you know what I mean!]

10. Vafli Borovets! While I'm trying to cut back on these, I can't help but want them for every meal. Chocolatey, nutty, wafery goodness! This is something I will most definitley miss when we leave Bulgaria.

9. Mimi's lisp. There is the cutest little girl at the lower home and she loves seeing us. She always runs up and gives me a hug as soon as she spots me coming. She has the cutest little lisp and the most adorable laugh. It can make my day!

8. Diuners in the Plovdiv train station underground thingy. Tony had talked up diuners before we left and I had one in Sofia, and one in Russe, and wasn't impressed. One day when we arrived in Plovdiv we headed underground to get to the other side of the street and Tony suggested we get a diuner from a stand down there. They are delicious. I love them and we get them anytime we can when we are in Plovdiv. I don't think my mother (or Tony's mother) would want us eating there, but we do, and it rocks. I'm going to take pictures of them next time we head to Plovdiv. Mmmmm...

7. Kids in the home who go to school and have big plans for themselves. I was talking to Pepa, a girl in my dance club, the other day and she was talking about how she's going to keep going to school and not skip like others. Here if you finish 8th grade, that is like the equivalent of a high school diploma for people in the states. She said even if she doesn't go to a university, it would still be worth it to try. I really loved it. This Pepa girl is just one cool chica!

6. Taking the little kids to the magazine after they get their allowance. One of my favorite memories is walking with Jackson and Naska to the store. Jackson slapped his money down on the countner, (which was only like 60 stotinki) and said "I'll take the nicest bon bon for me and give me a job (a pocket/sandwich thing) for the lady!" (me) He's six. HOW CUTE! Of course, he didn't have enough for my sandwich but promised me next time he would get me one, haha!

5. Dance club has become my new favorite. While I have to admit I like it at the lower home a little better, it's still fun at both orphanages! The lower home is just a smaller, older, not so hyped-up group. :) But the little tykes at the upper home are super cute and I love them, too.

4. The Damova Kushta. This is my favorite restaurant in Bulgaria! A while back I declared myself a "Bulgaria vegetarian" and decided that I was giving up on meat. However, when we went here I had some grilled chicken and pork and oh, man, am I sorry I ever said I didn't want to eat meat! -AND- they have amazing Baklava.

3. The store we discovered that lets you pick your own stuff out. All of the stores here are so old school, like, pioneer old school, in that you have to tell the lady behind the counter what you want and she fetches it from shelves behind her. Because we weren't used to this, it was always awkward because we took so much time to decide. We finally found a store that we can just browse around in and buy our food at our own pace. It's about the size of a good-sized gas station convenience store, but it has everything we need. Plus, if you spend 10 levs or more, you get a free bonus! An item from the bonus list. We usually get Vafli Borovets...

2. The mountains! Living around mountains for three years has really made me a mountain lovin' girl! Both locations we've been have had BEAUTIFUL mountains. I especially love them right now, when the leaves are starting to change. Our balcony faces a gorgeous, multi-colored mountain that is just calling for me to hike it. Once I get over this illness, I'm going!

1. Everyone who has shown me support during my time in Bulgaria! All you One Heart employees who magically found my blog, all of my friends who make encouraging comments CONSTANTLY, family members, and everyone who is just so darn happy for me that I'm here. Thanks, guys!

Here Goes Nothin'

Okay, so after hours of searching and pondering, I've put together a playlist of songs for line dances and other stuff.



Let's see what you think:

1. Cupid Shuffle - this is apparently pretty new, I've never done it except in aerobics and I didn't even realize I was doing a line dance while I was doing it. I must admit it's pretty fun! I plan on teaching this today.
2. Cha-Cha Slide - this is from my era of church dances. I know it well and think it's just okay on the fun level. Maybe because I've done it hundreds of times? I also got a lame version of the song, so we'll even see if I teach it. :)
3. The Virginia Reel - This was inspired from you hoedown lovers. I learned this dance in 5th grade at Bradford Woods camp. We're doing it to the song "Turkey in the Straw". How corny of me!!!! Yeehaw!
4. Boot Scootin' Boogie - Oh. Yeah. This song brings back fond memories of my mom and I driving to the local country bar with her friend Becky for line dancin' Thursdays. How could I NOT teach this song?? It's classic American line dance! Can I get another Yeehaw?!
5. Cleveland Shuffle - Hmmm, I read that this was pretty popular nowadays. It looks fun, and I always have an enjoyable time trying to dance like a black girl. :)
6. Cotton Eye Joe - Classic Hollie church dance. I was never complete without doing this dance at a church dance, and I even made everyone do it at BOTH of my wedding receptions.
7. The Bunny Hop - while I don't plan on teaching this unless I have a class full of little kids, it's still a class line dance, right? I learned in gym class in 2nd grade and that has to mean it has some importance in the dance world.
8. Crazy - I think we'll skip the belly shirts and the chairs, but everyone has to admit that at one point in their lives they've learned this (or at least WANTED to), whether it was from the MTV Grind workout videos in Gym class, or because of the pure pressure put on you because everyone else knew it. I'm taming this classic middle school hit down and we're going to do some Britney moves! (Don't worry, I won't make them shave their heads)
9. Come on Ride That Train - Another church dance classic. I never actually learned this line dance in my church dance years, but it looks easy and fun enough.
10. Men in Black - Yet again, another new one, and I'm so pumped to learn it. Man, I'm totally going to be called as a Young Women leader when I get home JUST so I can chaperone the dances! I'll have all the moves!!! hahaha
11. Booty Bounce - This dance, simply because of the name, has a special place in the hearts of all my girls at the lower home. One of the moves in Thriller was called "booty bounce" and they giggled for at least 10 minutes when I showed them how to do it. Now every time they see me they say "booty bounce and booty bounce!" (and of course shake their tushies in the appropriate manner).
12. NJ Strut (fast forward to the end of this video)- We'll be bustin the moves from this dance to Will Smith's Wild Wild West.
13. Thriller - ohhh yes, the kids at the other home may want to try this one out so I've got it on my playlist. I kind of hope not, though. I'm kind of going crazy because of this dance!!

So? Do I have a good mix or what? I'll let you know how the first "class" goes. I'm pretty stoked to teach it! Maybe if you're good boys and girls I'll have Tony video the first class so you can see :).

You Should Be Dancin'...Yeah!

As of yesterday, I am now offically the leader of TWO dance groups. One in the home we usually work in, and one in another home here in Bratsigovo. What am I going to do....what have I gotten myself into??????

Remember, I'm not a dancer. My dance moves usually look something like this:

...so needless, to say, I'm a little nervous!

Does anyone know any super-cool dances we could learn? I've got some ideas, but I want to hear what you guys do when you shake it on the dance floor!

Keepin' it Real Part Two

Okay, okay...I'll admit it.




I'm a little homesick.

I was REFUSING to admit to this to protect myself from criticism and non-supportive people ragging me about how great the USA is and how dumb I am for going to a place like Bulgaria. I was trying to make everyone think that everyday here was nothing short of perfection, and that I didn't ever miss home. While I miss home a lot LESS than I thought I would, I've had 3 or 4 days during my time here where I just wish I was back in Utah having a "normal" BYU semester, having all of the things I'm so used to having (i.e. a toilet that flushes without me having to pour a bucket of water into it) :)

My professor, Dr. Magarrell, informed me that in my final weeks I would have lots of mixed feelings and lots of emotions to deal with as I leave. It's true! As much as I miss things like oh, ground beef, I hate thinking of leaving. Even thinking of the day when we say good-bye to the kids at the home literally hurts my heart. I don't want to leave them! It's so strange for us (yes, Tony is a litle homesick, too!) to be excited to go back to normal life and at the same time dread the day we get to.

So, there. I said it.

In other news.....

• After Thriller, the girls who performed it with me BEGGED for more dances. We now have a "Dance Club" started three times a week for one hour. Who would have ever thought I would be the leader of a dance club. Haha
• *Tony bought a basketball. He can now truly ball it up with his new, bright yellow, Miami Heat ball (it was the cheapest one we could find...). Needless to say, he's been excited to play with it since he bought it on Thursday. Unfortunatley for him, the gym is only open M-Th so he'll have to wait until Monday.
• We shopped at Billa. Billa is a huge hypermarket that is as close to Wal*Mart as you get over here. It was fantastic. We bought some beef steaks and frozen pizzas! It's been a great past couple of nights for dinner!
• I got a new coat. It's wonderfully cute and Tony bought it for me out of true love and devotion. What a guy.

So, there you have it. A confession and newsflash all in one blog. Could you ask for more? ...Probably not.

More survey game things....

I got this from Melanie's blog and thought it was kind of fun. Just bold the things you've done!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (I haven't yet...but we're going in December!)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (sometimes I've got to take care of Tony!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (I'm going on one...and soon! ..when we get the money, haha)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Ами, да! Аз уча Български!)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing ---no, but I want to SOO bad! Tony and I are planning on going to some rock climbing places when we get back.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (in vegas)
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (well, we've gotten some guy a loaf of bread from a store here.)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (not a real one, at least)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (I'm planning on helping start one when I get home from BG!)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia (I'm close!)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies ohhh yeah, I was top-seller in 3rd grade, baby!
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (it was an accident, and I've only done it once! [..and it was paying tithing lol])
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Received a speeding ticket
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (this just recently happened because we're starting a book club at the orphanage, haha)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Lived in three or more states (if you count living in Bulgaria....)


My score: 36/100. Hopefully I'll take care of some of the ones that aren't bold soon!

Happy...Halloween?

We recently hosted our Halloween party for the home and after a weekend of recovering, I'm ready to post the pictures. Friday was very stressful for me as I made over a hundred donuts and prepared my little dance group for the perfomance of Thriller. I was so stressed I was dizzy!

We had our "little kid" party first. This party was for ages 12 and younger, and it was a blast! We started off with the performance of Thriller. The kids loved it even though we messed up a little. :) They seemed actually a little scared of us! We then had our donut eating game (where you have to eat a donut with no hands off of a string) and played Graveyard (similar to musical chairs but instead, when the music stops, you drop "dead" on the floor. Last person to drop is out!) and then danced. They loved our games and had a great time dancing.

I have to show you this video of this kid, Velo--he was awesome! A lot of other kids joined in after him and it's pretty entertaining until they start getting up in the camera...oh well, watch it anyway! It will make you chuckle.

The DONUT Game!

Haha, she was trying so hard to win!

Daniel won! :)

For some reason, Nasko wanted a picture of me trying to "get him". Maybe it was the zombie/mummy costume?

Tony and I both agree that the little kid party was more sucessful. They really seemed to enjoy it and everyone had a good time. The older kids party was more of a 'we provided donuts for a discoteca party' feel. After the donut game, most of them left to go to a disco a couple cities away, and the ones that stayed took out our cool Halloween music and pumped the Chalga. We did, after a while, sit in the dark and tell scary stories and that was fun. (It wasn't too scary for me, haha) One thing that really bugged me at the older kids' party was when we did the Thriller dance and all of the boys laughed so loudly! It was really fake, rude laughter at that. I realize that it was probably humorous for them to see us all dressed up like zombies and attempting to do a Michael Jackson dance, but they way they were laughing wasn't your typical "oh wow, that's funny" laugh. It was if they were mocking and taunting us. I felt so bad for the girls who were dancing with me because they got really embarassed, and I was quite embarassed myself.

I didn't want to put up this video, but Tony is making me. Just realize that we were all embarassed and that's why it isn't very good :(.

(Also, just so you know, this is in the middle of the dance..Tony forgot to start filming. We starting on the floor and when the music started began "rising from the dead" and making zombie noises. Fun stuff!)

Tony and I got a little scarier for the older kids' party.

I'm all ready for Thriller!

That's a whole lot of cheesecloth. I'm sure the lady at our local store thinks I'm nuts for buying 6 meters of it.

Skeletor!

*I made all of our face makeup. Because they don't have Halloween here, there's no face paint to buy! If you're ever in a pinch for some face paint, just mix one part cold cream and two parts baby powder and add water until it's the consistency you like. Works like a charm!*

All in all it was an okay Halloween. Tony and I aren't party people to begin with, so for us to host a party of 70 kids was quite the feat. We needed the whole weekend to recover! I think the kids really liked it, though. So that made it all worth it even if my forearms are still sore from rolling out donut dough. :)

Shake the Sugar Tree

I thought this would be fun...try it out!

RULES:
1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 Player, or whatever on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say? Anywhere But Here - Stephanie Smith

How would you describe yourself? Summer Girls - LFO [yeah...right lol]

What do you like in a guy/girl? Message in a Bottle- Sting

How do you feel today? Praise to the Lord Almighty - BYU Combined Choirs [:)]

What is your life’s purpose? What if Jesus Comes Back Like That - Collin Raye [HAHAHA!]

What is your motto? Waiting for Tonight - Jennifer Lopez

What do your friends think of you? Much Too Young - Garth Brooks [What's that supposed to mean???]

What do you think of your parents? Step By Step [yes, from the Sitcom]

What do you think about very often? Just to See You Smile - Tim McGraw [aww]

What is 2 + 2? I'll Be - Edwin McCain [that one doesn't make sense]

What do you think of your best friend? Wild Wild West - Will Smith

What do you think of the person you like? Perfect - Alanis Morisette

What is your life story? Yellow - Coldplay [I guess.... Yellow IS my favorite color]

What do you want to be when you grow up? Belief - John Mayer

What do you think of when you see the person you like? Abide with Me 'Tis Eventide [hahaha]

What will you dance to at your wedding? Always On My Mind - Michael Buble

What will they play at your funeral? AM Radio - Everclear

What is your hobby/interest? Love Today - Mika

What is your biggest fear? Breathless - Corinne Bailey Rae [that is true, I never want to run out of breath!]

What is your biggest secret? Hotel California - The Eagles [yeah, that's right ;) ;)]

What do you think of your friends? Beverly Hills - Weezer

What will you post this as? Shake the Sugar Tree

Busy Week

Let me just start off by apologizing for the music that comes on when you look at our blog. I liked the song for the picture show below at the time, but now it is driving me nuts. You can mute it by clicking on the little speaker. I'll try to post a lot so that we can get that off of there!

This week is going to be a very busy one for us. The whole weekend I was kind of dreading the upcoming week, because I knew that we had so much to do. We are hosting our Halloween party this Friday and we've got lots of decorations and food to prepare. Oh, yeah, and I'm teaching a bunch of kids the Thriller dance. I'm not really sure why I decided I wanted to do it, but I figured it was an American Halloween classic. I spent the whole weekend learning and I taught my first "dance class" today by myself. I was terrified but I think I did pretty well seeing as how I'm neither a dancer nor a speaker of the Bulgarian language.

I was fearing that the kids would not really get into the dance and I would have wasted all of this time learning it and thinking of creative ways to teach it. When I went today, however, it was a different story. I told them (in Bulgarian) that we are going to practice every day at 2pm and if they didn't want to, it's better that they not participate because I don't want to waste everyone's time. They all responded with an enthusiastic "oh no way, we're doing this!" Then I told them I wanted them to take it seriously so it could be fun for everyone and they promised me that they would be serious :). Cute kids! AND they're fantastic dancers! We learned over half the dance in 1.5 hours and they want me to come back at 6:30 tonight to teach them the rest. One girl, Pepa, said that it was best to just learn the whole dance and then keep repeating it and the others agreed. So, I suppose that's what we'll do. We're all planning on dressing up for the dance and the kids are so excited to perform it for the party. We'll definitley put up the video of that. After all, I'm sure you're all dying to see me shake it on the dance floor, nali?

So, as we assemble our trash bag tarantulas and experiment with cider recipies, we'll be thinking of you in the US and feeling sorry that you couldn't come to the biggest, baddest, Bulgarian Halloween party ever.

Muahahahaha....

Hmmm...

Recently I've been brainstorming different activities I can do with the kids at the orphanage. It seems like we do the same boring things every day and I want to have more fun with them! One thing I thought would be fun was making bracelets (the girls here like to do that) while Tony plays basketball with some of the boys (they usually play every other day). So, I pulled the bracelet making skills out of the Girl's Camp archive in my brain and made a couple of examples! Tony thinks they're pretty cool. You know, I WAS in the Friendship Bracelet club at school when I was in 1st grade so, I'm basically a professional. The only hard part about this fun little activity...I need to know lots of weird Bulgarian to teach them how to make them.

Do you guys have any fun ideas for activities? The kids range in age from 7-18 years. There are a lot of first graders and then the kids are pretty scattered as far as age goes from there. I've got some games in mind to teach them. I'm kind of stuck, though, because they are games I played at House of Hope and I want them to be fun for everyone, not just the little kids (that's what happens when you work in a preschool environment for almsot a year!). So, gimmie some ideas you smart people, you! (please)

Finally found an apartment...and some surprises

Hey, guys. This is Tony, here. So, we finally found an apartment to stay in. It was the former apartment of a Peace Corps volunteer who just left for the States.

It is just a five-minute walk from the orphanage, which is nice. We had three of the more trustworthy kids from the orphanage help us drag our suitcases over to the place, and hoist them up to the third floor.

Upon arriving at the place, we discovered one basic fact: The previous owner, was a big fan of booze. He had somewhere near a hundred empty liquor bottles in and around his family room cabinet! It was insane. Here are a few pictures to document it:

Otherwise, the place we are in now is great. We got it cleaned up and feel quite at home. I recorded a video of a tour, but it was on full-screen mode, so it was too big of a file to upload. I'll try to record a lower-resolution size for the blog.

I even got us hooked up with an internet connection! Woo hoo!


Just so you know, we talked to the kids about how bad drinking is. These picture are just supposed to be silly, and they know that drinking is bad for you. :)

Keepin' It Real

I've been looking through my recent blog posts and I've realized that all of them are so...positive. Yes, I realize that being positive a good thing, but you can't possibly believe that in all my time in a strange country working with orphans in orphanages that are still quite far behind most modern-day establishments that it's been all sunshine and rainbows. So, I'm posting a blog that is going to reveal some of the behind the scenes "real" stuff that goes on.

*Just so you know before I begin, I consider all of these experiences blessings in disguise and no one can say to me "I told you so" about "bad" experiences in Bulgaria. I don't want to come home, I love this place and I will seriously miss it when we have to leave. I just thought it would be more interesting for you guys to read some stories about little hard times I've had that make the easy times well, easier! :)*

Experience #1

Upon arriving in Bratsigovo our supervisor, Nickolai, drove us to the orphanage where we would be living. For some reason, I was picturing a separate building where we would stay complete with our own little kitchen. Wrong. So wrong. We made our way down a hallway that smelled like rotten teenage boys and the worker opened the door to our new living quarters for the next two months. A room that was scarily familiar, looking almost exactly like my room I lived in while I was in Deseret Towers at BYU. I really wasn't sure what to think, because I was in so much shock. Seriously, we're living in the boys hallway..with the boys...with the orphans...IN THE ORPHANAGE.

After three friendly kids showed us around the town, I came back home and sobbed as I wrote in my journal. We had been promised our own apartment while in Bulgaria and hadn't seen any signs of of that yet. I couldn't believe that we had to live, breathe, eat, sleep, and shower in the orphanage. The first couple of days were extremely hard for me. The lack of privacy was too much for me to handle (it would be for you too if boys were trying to force their way into the room where you were showering!) and I didn't know how long I could take the kids always knocking on our door asking us for things until late hours of the night.

Now that we've lived here almost two weeks, I love it! It's fun to talk with the kids and have little hangouts at night. I'm learning so much Bulgarian from them and I really feel like I'm making an influence in their lives. We're also moving into our new aparment tomorrow morning! I am kind of embarassed that I cried about the living situation, I thought I was so tough. I'm grateful that we're getting our own place, but a little part of me will miss being with the kids so much.

Experience #2

Ugh, today was so hard. It started off at the store where Tony and I were buying our breakfast. I could see that something was bothering Tony, and I knew what it was before he even told me. He's mentioned to me before the burden he feels having to represent both of us, and translate the things I don't understand. It's really annoying to repeat things over and over. I just felt bad that I couldn't help him more and understand more. I would hate to have to talk for both of us and translate, it would drive me nuts. I began getting down on myself because of how little I practice and do lesson work. I felt like I could do so much more here and make it so much easier for Tony if I would just work harder! Tony has been really great while we've been here and I just wish I could take the language load for a couple of days. Plus, I was feeling kind of stupid before the store because of some comments people I know made about my Bulgarian, so that didn't help me at all.

I know, this sounds like SUCH a dumb thing to be so stressed about! But this is my internship for school and sometimes I feel so worthless because I can't communicate the way I want to with the kids. I was beginning to feel better about myself after lunch and then Tony told me he was going to play basketball with some of the kids. Usually at this time of the day I work on my homework for school, but everyone wanted me to play cards with them (Uno). Yeah, I was scared out of my mind. I had to go and play cards with all of these kids and I don't speak well.

So, I go into the classroom where everyone is waiting for me. Three teenagers sit down with me at a table and we begin our Uno fest. I felt like I was doing really well! I was congegating correctly, using the right genders, and I even somehow managed to explain the rule about the draw two and draw four cards! In Bulgarian! There was one kid, though, who made fun of me everytime I said a word, making fun of the way I say it. I realize that I probably sound funny to these kids and that they've never heard an American speak Bulgarian before and that I'm just learning so I say lots of things wrong, but after 45 minutes of non-stop teasing for EVERY word I said I couldn't take it anymore. I put my cards down on the table and with tears in my eyes told them that I didn't want to play anymore. Luckily my good pal Monica realized that I was upset and said to him, "you do realize she understands everything you say, right?" She then took me outside and we played badminton until Tony got back. I can honestly say that today I wanted nothing to do with Bulgarian language. It was too hard, and I didn't feel like trying anymore. But after a nice, long talk with Tony I feel much better about myself and I'm not longer afraid of trying again tomorrow. Tony always helps me talk through things, he's the best!

As strange as it may sound, I love having experiences like these. They make me stronger and they help me grow close to the things I want to be close to. Every time I have a hard time I say a small prayer in my mind and every time I do, something turns around to make me feel better about the situation. I love Bulgaria and I love these kids we are working with. They're really special and I can really see the difference I'm making by just being here for them.

Great Saturday!

Man, we are having a pretty good day today. I really didn't think that it would go as well as it has, but hey--I'll take it! Our day began with a Service Project we planned for the kids. We put up flyers all around the home (well, just two flyers) advertising the project to clean up trash around the orphanage and the only incentive we had was that there would be treats afterwards. I was expecting two, maybe three kids because the kids here are pretty lazy and the trash situation was really bad. It was pretty disgusting. We had about ten kids show up! They did a really great job and we all had a lot of fun cleaning up trash! Can you imagine? We had cookies afterwards (red box cookies for anyone who knows what those are) and we took lots of good pictures. I'll put those up later.

We also painted some ping pong tables today. They have these metal tables outside for ping pong that were completely rusted over so we attempted to sand them down, and we painted them green. The one we finished looks really nice. I really like doing things that make the orphanage look like a nicer place to be. I kind of want the kids to take pride in where they live and who they are instead of being ashamed of it. I know that's a hard goal to accomplish, but even if I instill a little bit in them I'll feel good. We are planning a service project for every Saturday while we are here and hopefully it will make the kids feel better by forgetting themselves and thinking of others.

We are also holding our very first "Клуб English" [club English] meeting tonight. We're going to learn the alphabet, play Around the World, and play Uno. The kids love to play Uno here, it's really fun. Next meeting we're going to learn colors and numbers and play Uno only speaking English. Hopefully this Club English will help me learn some Bulgarian as well. There's a girl who is a senior in high school that Tony and I are going to tutor privately. She already speaks English really well, but she wants to learn more because she plans on being a lawyer when she's older. It will be lots of fun, and she can teach me lots of Bulgarian, too!

Hope all is well wherever you are! :)

сърдечни поэдрави от България!

My Bulgar-Cut

Hey, I just got my hair whacked off royally in BG. I guess the numbers on their clippers were different than in the US, although that wasn't my experience in the larger cities. Anyway, for some reason I thought it was worth documenting.

Alive & Well

Happy October 8th! I'd give you some chocolates if you were here!

Did we scare ya? It seems like everyone thought we were dead since we haven't been on internet in almost a week. No worries, we're okay. We made it to Bratsigovo on Sunday after staying a night in the city of Plovdiv. We got to Plovdiv on Saturday and had a great time! Nickolai picked us up at the avtogara and took us to our hotel that he had booked for us. He decided it would be easier for us to get to church that way. Later that day, he picked us up and showed us the sights of Plovdiv. What a unique, wonderful place! We saw statues of Russian soldiers that helped win the Turkish war and liberated Bulgaria from the Turkish rule, we saw ancient Roman ampitheaters and staidums that were just found under the ground one day, we saw a concert, a wedding, the malls on main street, and even some Mafia members! There is so much history and culture there and I would love to back several times again before we leave.

After all of the sightseeing, Nickolai took us back to his place where his awesome wife (I love this lady, she's so funny) had made chicken soup--which was better than any chicken soup I've ever had in America--and chicken with rice. YUM! It was so good. They reminded me a lot of my Grandma Grey/Wilmoth though, because if you cleared your plate that meant you wanted a another heapin' helpin', even if you pleaded with them not to give you more food in fear that you would literally explode. They had Coke Light to drink (shout out to the mommas) and they also served us some coffee cake-ish stuff for dessert. It was really nice of them to cook such good food for us. They seemed SO rich to me because we had been living with people who complained about how expensive everything was. They are pretty well off people, but I was just in awe of how much food they were sharing with us...they even had a 2 liter of COKE!

We didn't end up going to Church on Sunday because Tony was really sick. He had a really bad headcold and we decided that it would be better to stay in our nice, warm hotel room (it was pouring rain) . They watched the Saturday session of conference because we are so ahead here Sunday hadn't come yet. Nickolai said it was really awesome and we're sad we missed it, but we're planning on watching it online soon. After church Nickolai took us to his place for lunch where they served some yummy salad made from peppers, onions, and some other veggies, and eggs. A whole lotta eggs just for Tony. They also served us these things that looked like crab pinchers but Nickolai's wife said it was just fish processed and colored to look like a crab pincher, gross. I didn't eat that one, haha.

After lunch Nickolai drove us to Bratsigovo (about a 40 min drive). He drove us around the town and then dropped us off at the home. When they told us we would be staying in the orphanage, I was picturing a little side house where we would have all of the privacy in the world, our own kitchen, a big bed, etc. PSSHH! We walked in to what looked like a DT dorm room. Two, small, again seperate beds and two wardrobe closets for us. We've been placed in the lovely hallway where the boys live. I don't mind sharing a bathroom, but sharing a bathroom with boys is a different story. The day after we got here, I was taking a shower and several boys just happened to stumble into the room where the shower was. Couldn't they hear the water running? There was a lock on the door, but it didn't work. After walking in on me, they proceeded to stand in front of the door giggling. How disrespectful. We talked to the director about it and now I have my own secret little bathroom where no one can find me (and I can lock it). We did, however, find an American working with the Peace Corps (Eric) who rents out an apartment here for 100 levs a month. That's like 80 American dollars. We're trying really hard to get that apartment and we think it will work out. No one is offended that we want to leave, so that is nice.

They let us eat the food here at the orphanage, too. It's actually not that bad. They serve a lot of soupy kind of things because they have to feed so many people but they are always really good soups. They served Musaka for dinner the other night and I finally got to try real Bulgarian Musaka. It doesn't really taste like how I make it, oh well.

As far as the kids go, they are awesome. When we first got here three of them showed us around the town and the orphanage and then treated us to some soda (how grown-up of them). We showed them some pictures of us on our laptop and they loved it. One girl, Monica, noticed a hair style that I had in one of my pictures and asked me if I could do her hair that way. I agreed to, and now she loves me! I've done her hair twice now, and she always asks me to straighten it or borrow my straightener. They always come into our room and hang out with us and we really like them. We even taught them how to play Uno yesterday. Shhh--don't tell, but I got Monica some makeup for her birthday which happens to be TODAY just like mine! She was telling me last night how much she likes makeup and how someone stole hers. She told me she really likes brown and black so I bought her some gold and brown eyeshadow and some black mascara. I'm really excited to give it to her. Last night she gave me some chocolates to hand out today (they do that on their birthdays here. The birthday boy/girl treats everyone to celebrate) and she made me a little bracelet. They call it Scooby Doo (?) and it's some kind of braid/weave thing with the plastic tube kind of string stuff. It was even yellow, my favorite color! She is so sweet.

Not all of the kids here are super-dee-duper cool. One kid at dinner after telling his friend "watch I'm going to be best friends with these guys" came and sat with us. He seemed like a genuinely nice kid, and Tony let him put some songs from our computer onto his phone. He stayed and talked with us for a while, but the longer he was there the more uncomfortable I got. He kept asking us how much we paid for things, how much money we had, etc. After a while Tony told them we were going to bed so they left, and not even 5 minutes later this kid and his buddy come to our door and ask Tony if he can talk for a moment. Tony goes out into the hall for a little bit while I did some homework, and when he came back in he told me that these two boys told him that they were so hungry that they couldn't sleep and that they wanted 4 levs from us. Tony was a good husband and told them he needed to talk to me, but one of the kids was like, "we can just keep it between the three of us, she doesn't need to know." UGH! Luckily, we had some apples so I told Tony to tell them we could offer them apples but we couldn't spare any money right now. Funny, because when Tony told them they could each have five apples, they didn't want them. So hungry you can't sleep, eh? They probably wanted to go buy beer or cigarettes or something. It was really frustrating and it made me want to move into our own place even more.

I'm writing too much! Hope you enjoyed this post. There will be more because we found internet in the actual orphanage that we can use whenever we want. It's nice, fast internet, too!

Ciao for now!