The Ups and Downs of Our Lives

For those of you who might have been tempted to think we had forgotten about the blog . . . we haven't! Please forgive the very long time between posts!!

There have only been a couple of really major happenings since our last post.

The first major thing that happened is our "up." We were able to spend a few nights with some friends in another city. We had a great time! No language homework or class!! Our friends live in a much larger city, where public transportation is a bit different than the public transportation in our city. With their help, we were able to learn how to get around in no time. And off we went to explore! Wish there was time to describe all that we did, but instead here's a few highlights . . .

• ate at McDonald's (My BigMac was delicious and the fries were perfect!)
  
• ate Italian ice cream on the street in somewhat flavorful waffle cones
  
• took a boat ride and laughed as the birds flew right along with the boat the whole time as people threw pieces of bread to them
• toured a couple of historical sites/museums
• tried to shop while shopkeepers practically followed us trying (in English) to get us to shop at their shops and spend our money with them - it was both a fun and frustrating experience
• bought 100 grams of Melissa tea - yes, it's really made from a plant called Melissa something - check it out!
• bought bread dough and made homemade supreme pizzas with our friends (fake pepperoni included)
• ate hamburgers, french fries, and onion rings (all homemade) after the frustrating realization that the fire in the grill wouldn't start on the 5th floor balcony while the wind was blowing - a truly all Am. meal!
  
• walked up and down hills and up and down some more
• attended an international gathering of like-minded individuals on Sunday morning

So, there you have it! Our time away in a nutshell. Here's a picture of one of the birds following the boat and a picture of a place we ran across while walking down a quiet street one day. It had affectionately been named the "ideal" hotel. Anybody want reservations for their next vacation???



The second major thing that happened is our "down." One of our computers crashed. Before heading overseas we were able to purchase 2 computers to bring with us. What a blessing!! Well, one night last week while we were in language class, Mark left his computer running so he could download some things for us to view when we got home. When we got home, the computer locked up and then went dead. He got on the phone with the tech support guys at home and they were able to get the problem fixed. That same night Mark decided he should back everything up since it had been a couple of weeks since he had last done so, just in case! Two nights later, Mark tried to start up his computer and nothing happened except some beeping and a few messages telling us something was wrong - no kidding, right?! He called the tech support guys again, and they told him that this time it was dead.

As sad as that was (and still is) we are so thankful that he backed up everything just two nights before!! In addition to that, we have some friends coming to visit soon and they are going to help us get the new hard drive and return the old one. So for now, we are using this one computer, and you'll be happy to know that we are taking turns nicely!!

Hope you all have a wonderful day today! We'd love to hear about your ups and downs, too. Keep in touch! Love to you all!!