Happy Easter!

Mark bought some flowers for this very special holiday, and we wanted to share them with you. We hope you also had a blessed and joyous Easter!!

Have you had a good laugh this week?

Today as I sat in a second floor coffee shop downtown I began to look out over the street. There were a few things that caught my attention, which led me to think back over the week as a whole and remember a few other random things I found interesting. I hope you enjoy my recollections!

We've had lots of spring showers this week and a few downpours. On one such day, as we were coming out a restaurant (after waiting 10 minutes for a downpour to finish), I opened my umbrella just before I spotted a lady who had quite an ingenious idea. She didn't have an umbrella so to protect herself from the rain she had placed a plastic stepstool (with holes in the seat) over her head. She was wearing it like a hat and didn't care who saw her - oh, to be so clever and confident when my solutions seem a bit unconventional!

Wednesday night was supposed to be my bi-weekly bingo night. However, I had felt bad all day and decided that I would not go so I could go to bed early. I waited until 9:00 pm to put my PJ's on, thinking a neighbor would stop by like usual to see if I'm ready, so I could explain to them why I would not be attending. No one came. We went to bed early, hoping to go right to sleep, but for whatever reason both of us struggled to get to sleep. I lay there wondering why no one came to my door. (My neighbor that makes sure I know what's scheduled for when has been on vacation for a couple of weeks - I'm ready for her to get back to help keep me straight - I seem to be easily confused by dates/times!!) I decided that later in the week I would pay a visit to a neighbor to find out what happened. Well, fast forward to Thursday night. Again, we were both really tired from a long day and thought it would be a great idea to go to bed early again. We were both in our PJ's and in the bed by 9:00. About 9:30 the phone rang. Mark answered and passed it to me because it was a neighbor. She was calling to ask me if I forgot that we had bingo!! I was so confused (and still am) because it's ALWAYS on Wed.! I was too chicken to tell her I was already in the bed and that I, at that very moment, realized that when the doorbell had rung 2 hours before (and we didn't answer it) it was probably a neighbor coming to tell me it was bingo night. I was so discombobulated by this phone call that I couldn't even think how to answer her when she asked if i had known about the plans for that night. I had to ask her to wait a minute while I asked Mark what I needed to say!! I finally got my thoughts together enough to tell her that I wasn't coming. I still don't know what brought about the change, and I may never know either!!! I just know that if those women knew I was in bed instead of hanging out with them they would think I'm crazy. In their opinion, what could be more relaxing than playing bingo with them?! I mean, does it matter that I don't understand half of what they say since they all talk at the same time or that I end up drinking enough tea to keep me up half the night?! Ahhhh . . . the differences in perspectives that keep me on my toes!!!

So that brings me to today . . . I had been e-mailing with a local friend about meeting this morning (12:30 here is still considered morning - interesting, huh?!). But it was up in the air about where we were going to meet. I sent a message to her explaining that we should just meet at her house and walk together downtown from there because it's closer from her house. I didn't get a reply, but I assumed that it would be OK. I walked the 10 minutes to her house, rang her doorbell twice - no answer. I called her on her cell phone - no answer. I left a message apologizing for not meeting her where she thought we were meeting and telling her that I was on the way, knowing it would take me another 15 minutes or so to walk there. About halfway there, I opened my cell phone and saw that I had a text message from her - she was sick and at the hospital having some tests run so she wouldn't be able to come - she was sorry that I hadn't received her e-mail message before I left from my house. I continued on to the place we were going to have coffee and sent a text message back expressing my well wishes. It was at that particular place that I noticed the next few things . . .

Spiderman and Batman were standing on the street corners passing out flyers about something. I heard the squeals of children and looked down onto the street to see a handful of teachers with at least 5o primary school aged children crossing a busy intersection. Following that group was another group (a little older) running across as well, although not in quite the same organized fashion as the younger group! Have I mentioned that while observing these things I was waiting for a hot chocolate - it took 30 minutes to make, but it would rival Starbucks!!! YUMMY! Batman and Spidey finally disappeared, and as I continued to look out over the street, drinking my delicious hot chocolate, I was overcome by a sense of cheerfulness that had been lacking in my life over the past few days. I found that I was chuckling to myself and saying hmmmm hmmmm out loud as I enjoyed my hot chocolate. Thankfully, the music was loud enough that no one heard me!!

Well, later Mark joined my downtown, and we went to visit some friends at their shop. It was a really great visit filled with lots of laughter! When we left their shop, we headed to the seamstress (a man, by the way - here, men and women have their clothes altered at different places) to pick up Mark's pants. Then we headed to the "nice" public bathrooms downtown. It's really interesting when "nice" means they don't smell bad!! They're still squatties, there is still no toilet paper or paper towels for drying your hands, and you still have to pay 50 cents to use them. But, hey, they don't smell bad!!! This leads me to the next thing today that made us both laugh . . . When we reached the "nice" bathrooms, Mark entered the men's and I climbed my way upstairs to the women's. Without going into much detail, I've learned a trick or two about using squatties from my local friends. One of those tricks is to roll up your pant legs so they don't get wet from where your feet go when you squat. I finished in the bathroom, washed my hands, shook them as dry as possible (oh yeah, this bathroom actually had an automatic soap dispenser, too!), and headed downstairs. I walked up to Mark and he said "Was it a squatty?" I answered "Yes, why?" He then pointed out that my pant legs were still rolled up about halfway up my calves!! (With boots on, it's kind of hard to tell when they're up or down!!) As gracefully and quickly as possible I unrolled them, hoping no one saw me. Maybe one day I'll learn to check before leaving the bathroom as this is the second time in the past couple of weeks I've done that!

So, although my day turned out way differently than I had anticipated, it was a great day! I don't know if these little anecdotes made you chuckle as much as they did me, but maybe they'll at least cause you to pause and look for a few things around you (or about you) to chuckle over. And don't forget . . . if you find yourself in a rainstorm without an umbrella, grab the closest footstool!!

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!!

Cooking Lesson

Today I had my first cooking lesson. My neighbor came over to teach me how to make a local dish. It's a pastry kind of thing - and oh so yummy!! She cooked, and I watched and took notes.

It's made using thin sheets of dough, layered with different combinations of cheese, potatoes, meat, spinach, etc. I chose potatoes and cheese.

Here's how it's made (for all of you kitchen pros):
1. Boil 2-3 potatoes, whole and unpeeled
2. Mix together 3 eggs, half a container of yogurt, and about a cup of sunflower oil.
3. When almost done, remove potatoes from the pot. Peel and grate.
4. Mix potatoes with a block of cheese, crumbled. (I can't think of an Am. equivalent for the type of cheese I used.)
5. Brush oil on bottom of large round metal baking dish.
6. Lay one sheet of dough open on a flat surface and brush with the egg mixture.
7. Crumble potato and cheese mixture on top.
8. Cut the dough into 3 parts, and fold each one.
9. Place the rolled sheets of dough into the pan in a circular pattern.
10. Continue until 3 sheets of dough have been prepared.
11. Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes.

And VOILA . . . bon appetite!!!

Bumps in the Road

As many of you may know, we had to travel to a nearby city last week to take Mark to see an orthopedic doctor because of a shoulder injury caused by a skiing accident. The hospital experience was a great one, and Mark is on the road to recovery.

This blog is devoted to driving in the country in which we live. You must understand that while there are traffic laws here, they are very loosely enforced. Driving is really a defensive sport! There is always road construction going on between here and wherever "there" may be. Sometimes there is heavy fog. Sometimes there are road signs that don't make sense to us, so we have to guess at what they mean. Often there are quite impatient drivers who pass on blind curves or just "make a lane for themselves" if there's no other way around. And there are ALWAYS bumps, bumps, and more bumps in the road!!!!

Before heading out to the hospital, I remembered to get the camera. I planned to take a picture of one specific place on the trip there. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I've wanted a picture since the first time we drove past it. We finally arrived at THE place. I got the camera turned on and zoomed in. And wouldn't you know - the bumps in the road got worse at that very moment!!! Keep in mind that I was aiming for a place of worship that sits on the hill in the middle of the village, with the village that surrounds it. Also remember that I was sitting in the passenger's seat taking the picture through the windshield on the other side of the road. The following pictures show what I ended up with after focusing in very carefully on the previously mentioned target.

my first attempt

my second attempt

my third attempt - close but not exactly what I was going for

We realized that we were about to miss our opportunity, so Mark took the camera, rolled down his window, zoomed, focused, and snapped a picture himself. This is what we got after several more bumps on the road!!!

nice looking bright blue apartment building, huh?

On the way home, as we approached the village, I decided to give it one more try. I rolled down my window despite the freezing cold wind and just started snapping pictures as fast as I could. Finally, I got what I was looking for.

Ahhhh . . . isn't that beautiful?!

I've found myself really missing the wide, open spaces and peace and quiet of our most recent home. I used to sit on the back porch and read often, even when the air smelled of turkeys and cows! Here, we get wide, open spaces only when we travel from city to city. And this picture is only a glimpse of the views those trips provide. It's more and more beautiful to me each time we drive through the country. It reminds me so much of home, yet it's still so different. I'm grateful that my Father uses the beauty of His creation to renew my spirits and gives me the opportunity to breathe clean, fresh air every now and then!!

Valentine's Day

We are now residing in a place far away from home, but even here there is a day set aside for honoring the one you love. It is called "Beloved's Day" or something like that, and it is celebrated on Feb. 14, just like we do. Jewelers advertise sales on diamonds, men buy beautiful jewelry or flowers for their special ones, and things with hearts are sold all over the place. The thing about this Valentine's Day for us that made it so different is that we celebrated it with about 12 of our neighbors. Instead of a quiet "just the two of us" dinner, we went to a restaurant with our neighbors for 6 hours of food, music, and lots of laughter.

There's nothing quite like looking at a plate of foreign food in candle light and trying to figure out what it's made of, especially when your neighbors who grew up in this country don't know what it is!! We only ended up eating one strange thing - the rest of it was delicious!! The strange thing we ate seemed normal to us until the following day when an English-speaking friend described a few details that our neighbors failed to mention. We were told in the restaurant that it was something made with meat and spicy spices. It's rolled into little finger shaped pieces and served rolled up in a leaf of romaine lettuce. That seems harmless, right?! Well, what we found out the next day from our friend is that the meat is raw!!! YUCK!!! Apparently people believe that the spiciness of the spices actually cooks the meat - go figure! Needless to say, we'll be avoiding that food from now on.

We also tried our arms, hands, and legs at a couple of traditional dances. It was kind of like being the kid in high school who sees everyone else doing the electric slide but doesn't have a clue how to do it him/herself. These people learn to "play" these group dances from very young ages, so the movements for them are as natural as walking and running. For us, not so, my friends! Melissa did manage to catch on to a few steps after being practically dragged around by a couple of the women. Mark . . . well, the men's movements are a bit more complicated and rather comical (kind of a mixture between a rooster strutting and karate kid) . . . for him, it didn't come so easliy. Can you picture any of this??? I wish we could have captured it on film!!!

It was kind of strange to celebrate Valentine's Day with almost complete strangers, but, all in all, it was a really great night of getting "inside" the culture here.

Help Wanted!

Well, just when it seems things are going along quite smoothly with the crazy desktop ornaments we call computers . . . things stop going along quite so smoothly! We had such a moment this past weekend. While trying to update some things related to our e-mail program, we lost quite a bit of important contact information. For those of you who regularly receive messages from us, please just send a quick email message to us so we can re-enter the correct information. That will help us greatly!! It might be a while before we send out any more mass messages because it's going to take some time to get things organized again . . . so don't worry if you don't hear from us as quickly as you'd like.

Thanks so much for your help with this and your patience as we get reorganized!!