mommy + daughter = BFF's

i have the best mom in the entire world. she is so wonderful and i love her so much. she came to visit me this weekend and we had the most fun ever. we stayed at a hotel and got rocky mountain hot stone massages and pedicures. we shopped, had room service, and watched gilmore girls. and we also watched the cu boulder football players that were staying at our hotel. but still it was like the best weekend ever. i miss my mommy very much now. cant wait till christmas!

11/11/11

three years today is supposed to be my potential wedding date. ever since i was young i always wished on the clock at 11:11 and since those days 11/11/11 has always been the planned day of my wedding. back then this year was like ten years away so it seemed like a lifetime but now looking at the date and seeing that it is three years away im not so sure that this will be the planned date anymore... sorry for those of you who had your save the date cards. i mean you can keep hoping but i feel the chances are going to be very slim. sorry..

as for the current life i made it back from vegas. i had the best time ever. i got to hang out with aarons mom and sister and we had so much fun together. we got to watch anne of green gables and anne of avonlea which were both amazing. we also ate lots of food so for the next two weeks (or until i am back there again for thanksgiving) i have moderated my food portions to be a much smaller amount.

my body is still in quite a bit of pain from my accident. my hand is more bruised and swollen since it happened and my body still continues to ache. i cant write for because the brace my hand is in prevents it so i have been typing every single class assignment. i am also on muscle relaxants. at first these made me a little loopy and very relaxed but i think my body has started to adjust to them so i am a little more calm when under the influence.

i also got into the university of colorado at boulder which i am very excited about. my only worry besides packing up and moving to a whole new town meeting new people and starting college all over again is the liberal-ness. the few majors that i am interested in taking from there will all be taught very biased-ly which i am not too comfortable with so i am thinking that maybe i should chose a major which could not be too biased like communication or art history, haha, but this is not what im really interested in. actually boulder doesnt even have my major or global studies, but for the time being i will survive. ok my hand is super sore from typing so im going to goooo.

happy 11/11 and sorry about the future wedding plans!

gonna sell my car and go to vegas

i made it to las vegas and i just had the most wonderful night of sleep. currently i am laying in aarons sisters bed who is away at college, and it is excellent. the eleven hour drive yesterday was long but surprisingly not too uncomfortable. my new muscle relaxing medicine made me sleep most of the way (even with my mouth open and drooling at times) but it helped. i also wore a heating pad that strapped around my lower back which made me feel like i was wearing body shapers and trying to control my chub. we stopped at cracker barrel in st. george where we got a huge and delicious meal of biscuits, gravy, jam, eggs, bacon, and grits for only 13 dollars. it was a winner. we got to his home about an hour or so later. his mom and dad welcomed us. we all talked for a while which was so nice and no where near as awkward as last time. this morning aaron came in and said goodbye at like 650 because he was leaving for his class. that is actually the reason why we are here. he is taking a three day AMGA (american mountain guide association) course on single pitch rock climbing. he has class from 8-5 for the next three days so i am going to be enjoying some lovely time with his family.. his mom has planned for us to watch anne of green gables and avonlea (i dont even know how to spell that one). and sunday is aarons birthday so a bunch of his extended family is going to come for dinner. i dont know what i got myself into! but as for now things are good.

and if obama is elected you will support palin for vp

most of you im sure have already heard about my accident so maybe i will write about it later since i only have the typing use of my left hand currently. so i just wanted to post one last thing about the election.

obama supporters really for mccain

anger

im just going to vent.

scenario: me in bed taking a nap because i got 5 hours of sleep last night

lynsey walks in "hey can i open the blinds to let some light in here?

me: uhhh sure

i fall asleep and have been sleeping for about half an hour

she comes in and leaves our door open to our bedroom where everyone else is out and around our apartment being loud. she sits in bed, opens her computer, turns on the music pretty loud.

i wake up from this, and try and doze back off which i do.

lynsey's friend karen comes in "ohh hey lynsey how are you" clearly i am asleep in my bed they sit down and have a conversation.

karen asks about lynseys paper and lynsey says ohh we can talk later. then a few minutes later she is like ohh well we can just talk about it now.

i lay there for a minute, and ten cant stand it anymore.

i get out of bed grab my computer.

lynsey: "ohh sorry we woke you up" karen "ohh yeah sorry" i walk out

lynsey: "ohh do you think you could shut the door behind you.

i slam it. righteously pissed.

this is not the first time it has happened, this is about the tenth or eleventh, always when im napping or going to sleep. but usually it involves her turning on a light, turning on her music, and having friends over in our tiny bedroom while im sleeping. FREAKING GO IN THE LIVING ROOM. its huge, spacious, be as loud as you want for all i care. leave me alone!

i know i should have probably confronted her the first time. you think shed get the point after i wake up and storm out of our room frustrated ten different times. i just dont care anymore. just a month and then some. i have to survive.

to sit by the hottie or to not sit by the hottie

im in arizona now and it is hot hot hot. the plane ride here was good but i had an interesting thought. it was one of those planes where you get to chose where you sit in order of boarding by letter group. i walked on the plane and most seats full except middle seats. now here is the strangest process. you walk down the aisle evaluating each person you see to decide if they are worthy of sitting next to. are they old and smelly? do they have a crying child? are they a bit overweight? are they middle aged and talkative? are they young and attractive perhaps? and if you think hes attractive does he think that you are attractive? would that just be awkward the whole plane ride. hmmmm and even though you are evaluating people they are evaluating you right back. even as i sat i watched each person hoping that certain people didnt sit next to me.

in the end i sat between an older woman and a sorority girl. it was a silent flight but it went by rather quickly.

The Cup

Im sitting in the only open seat I could find in a crowed coffee shop on Pearl Street in Boulder. The "paradoxical mix of left-leaning politcally-correct environmentalism and yuppiedom" how much do you love that last word? Its the only place I could find with wireless internet so I compromised. Apparently I picked a bad seat. The entire time I have been sitting here I have been dive bombed by dangerous flies. There are about 6 of them that are flying around in circles around this little area and the girl across from me and the man beside me and I have been desperately trying to swat them away. So far, no use. I came here to study for midterms and instead I am being attacked by flies.

But other than that the day has been good. I love having my alone days. I got home this morning and packed up my stuff that I would need to study for the day. I drove over to boulder and went to the campus. I sat in the shade beneath a beautiful big tree but it was windy and millions of leaves kept falling on me so I decided to head for the library. Here I felt like a real student studying at a table, even though I had such a problem trying to find the entrance. But once there I accomplished a lot. Is it strange to go study and hang out by yourself at a university that you dont even go to? Gosh Im such a poser. After that I came over to the cafe where I have been since and am enjoying studying at my leisure. Just because im lacking friends right now doesnt mean its bad to hang out by myself. Im making the most of it. I just wish these flies would go away.

what sound does an elk make?

Yesterday Aaron and I drove up to Longs Peak and Estes Park. They are about an hour north but yesterday was the perfect day for it. The weather warmed up a little and it was a blue sky. We drove up the mountain to the Longs Peak trail head and walked around that area for a bit. It was so full of trees and a beautiful view. From there we drove down a little to get a better view of Longs Peak and the "Diamond" Face as they call it.

After this we drove on to the little mountain town of Estes Park. A complete tourist community but it is still pretty and kind of like downtown Anchorage, lots of t-shirt stores. We wanted to find a local spot to eat. So where else would the locals go in this tiny town. Well McDonalds of course. While leaving here this family came out and started pointing at my license plate and yelling and talking. They looked as if they wanted to ask me questions so we drove away as fast as possible. Why is Alaska still so mysterious to people? We are not a foreign country okay....

So from here we drove a bit and then saw a group of people gathered watching a huge herd of Elk on the golf course. We parked and joined them. Elk make the strangest sound. It sounds like either a bird, a dying cow, or a screaming child. We walked along a pretty trail covered in leaves and then by the reservoir with the bluest water ive seen in a while. On our way back to the car we stopped to watch the elk one more time. Here we learned that it was mating season... The one head hancho elk would spot a fine lady, keep her in sight, slowly sneak along behind her, and then try and mount her before she had time to get away. A few of them bolted but we did have the chance to watch him find his match. I was grossed out as were some of the families around me, so we left and laughed about it all the way back to the car.

So what sound does an ELK really make?

ohh and one more thing

just because i thoroughly enjoy SNL Weekend Updates pre-election

check it out

Blog Makeover

Round three, lets see if I can keep it up this time. I added some different colors so I figured it might help me stay a little bit more interested. So on a blog I suppose I'm allowed to say what I want and comment on what I want and analyze what I want how I want. Well here is an article that I read from the Anchorage Daily News about the target that just opened which I found extremely disturbing and Im sure any of you who live in a state that have target will agree with me that it is slightly disturbing. Im starting to worry about the fate of my fellow alaskans.



Long wait is over for Alaska Target shoppers

After trial opening for VIPs, two stores open today

By JULIA O'MALLEY
jomalley@adn.com

Published: October 7th, 2008 10:39 PM
Last Modified: October 7th, 2008 03:12 PM

What is it about Target, that everyday Outside shopping fixture, with its acres of parking, wide aisles and discount swank, that makes Anchorage people freak out?
Is it the knock-off snakeskin handbags? The Chihuahua-sized Halloween costumes? The mod bottles of environmentally friendly, lavender-scented toilet scrub?

There were no real answers Tuesday night as the first batch of VIP shoppers flooded into the chain's new east-side store, only awe. For the first few minutes most people -- they were a group made up of specially invited community members and relatives of employees -- pushed their apple-red carts empty as Alaska band Pamyua played tribal funk from a spot cleared out near kidswear.

"It was like they were giving it away for free, how excited I was," said Deirdre Cronin, running her hand down the soft cotton of a little girl's shirt. At first she couldn't decide what to buy, there was just too much to take in.

"But I'm over that," she said, gesturing to a blouse and pair of jeans in her cart.

Before 6, as a giant Target-red hot-air balloon inflated in the parking lot, the much anticipated retailer cracked opened its doors to an eager, shivering crowd. The store and its Wasilla counterpart officially opens this morning at 8. Long lines and crowds are expected.
Before the shoppers came inside the perfectly organized, untouched Anchorage store Tuesday night, the "team members," as salespeople are called, did a few warm-up cheers in their red shirts embroidered with Alaska flags and Target bull's-eye logos. A manager yelled, "You want to ask them what?"

In unison, they called back: "Can I help you find something?"

The store is 172,000 square feet (about four acres), parked on what was once woods off the Glenn Highway near Bartlett High School. Between 350 and 400 employees have been hired to work there.

Tuesday's shoppers strolled by little tables stocked with appetizers -- meatballs near the shoes, tiny desserts by the detergent aisle, "Targetinis" (a mix of sparkling cider and pomegranate syrup) by baby accessories. Each would leave with a swag bag decorated with Target-logo salmon and containing a stuffed Target dog wearing a kuspuk. At one point, someone in the band started singing "We be shoppin', we be shoppin,' " to the tune of Bob Marley's "Jammin."

Is it risky to open a new store just as the national economy is sinking, when consumer confidence is down and people seem to be shopping less and saving their cash? No, said Brie Heath, a public relations person in from Minnesota, who surveyed the sea of customers. The store has low prices, making it attractive to shoppers when budgets are tight. Their stylishness helps them draw customers over the competition, she said.

Linda Thompson walked with purpose to frozen foods. She was in the market for beef enchiladas, she said. And kale in a can. You can't get that anywhere.

"We've been waiting forever," she said.

Debbie Boland, a little breathless, stood at the head of a line for a Nintendo Wii, holding a slick "Wii Fit" used for workout video games. It was the newness that people wanted; they wanted different things to buy, she explained.

There was something validating about having another major chain store, many shoppers said. As if a Target made Alaska less remote somehow. As if being able to buy what people Outside could buy shortened the distance between here and there. As if, somehow, access to stylish discount housewares meant the city had arrived.

"It's huge for Alaska," Boland said, just as another shopper, sipping a Targetini, rolled by.



Target has VIP's now? "We be shoppin" Targetini? Come on....

Beautiful View!

Today was my first day of school. I moved into my new apartment on thursday (YES I am no longer homeless!) I am living on campus with some girls I lived near last year. They are all very sweet, very caucasian, and very blonde, so as for now i fit in. there are six of us living here in this little three bedroom, two bathroom apartment, with a large combined living room, kitchen, and patio. But by far we have the best view on campus. This comes from being on the third floor, which moving in was the biggest leg work out of my life, but i think it will help to keep me in shape this year. i am in the small back bedroom, which may sound miserable, but it is the one with the best view. Right now I just woke up and was able to watch the sun set beautifully behind the mountains. I can see over the foothills and even on to some of the snowy peaks. Its great. I live with a girl named lynsey. Initially I was worried about rooming with her, but so far things have been going well. I had four classes today which all went well. Most of my classes are global studies and history. They seem kind of difficult, but ill hope for the best. most of all i am looking forward to my french class. yay. tomorrow i just have one which will be nice. So as for now i have a mandatory floor meeting. now ill get a chance to meet everyone i live around. so hopefully that will be good. more updates later. love love

TOO MUCH

so long without writing, so much to say, so much has happened, so much alaska, so much sun burn, so much tom petty, so many people at school. i dont want to write about it all now. school starts monday. thats all for now. love love

homeless

the last few days have been quite the experience. i moved out of my campus apartment on monday and have been couch hopping for the last two nights. i put most of my stuff in storage and have only what i need, some clothes, two books, and some bathroom stuff, in the back of my car. all of my housing stuff for the fall, all of my options, have fallen through, leaving me homeless the last few nights, and also when i return in the fall unless i work something out asap. nothing seems to be working in my favor though. one night i was able to stay in my friend shannas guest bedroom. that was nice, they served me dinner and were very hospitable. in return i clean more than i left, leave a nice note, and maybe even some flowers, then disappearing before they arrive home from work. it happened today again when i stayed on my friend nicoles futon. they were very nice and even let me go out and use the apartment complex pool. it was very refreshing. the next morning i cleaned and left before they came home. during the day well yesterday i went to school and used the computers in the student union so that i could play spider solitaire. and today i am at the press because they have free wireless which i have not had access to because in the homes i stayed at they didnt have it. so now im just relaxing eating my blueberry bagel and drinking my large iced soy yerba mate and writing about my boring life of couch surfing. one thing im really interested in trying out, just for one night, is the Boulder International Hostel (http://www.boulderhostel.com) ive never stayed in a hostel but after reading about it, it sounds great and a fun community for a night or two. the only thing is that you must be an out of colorado resident which works perfect for me. maybe someday when i have someone who will go with me i will stay there for a night and make up an amazing story of my travels. but as for now im in the coffee shop for the next few hours until aaron will take me to the airport to fly home where i will be homeless no longer!!!!!!!!!!!!

being grown up is hard

living in colorado this summer on my own while not going to school has been difficult yet eye opening. ive learned a lot about living, working, going about ways to find money when you seem to have none, and ive also learned how to cook (i know, cooking is a pretty big deal). i feel that ive come a long way and its forced me to grow up in some ways a little faster.

now with the fall semester just around the corner and trying to decide what to do or where to go with my life, ive learned to make decisions, which is something that im not very good at doing. im working on becoming a part time student, enrolling in the community college as well as ccu, and then trying to decide if i will fully transfer in the spring. along with this change it has brought about the opportunity to live off campus and not have a meal plan which will save me (and by me i mean parents) somewhere around 6,000 dollars im thinking. let me tell you, trying to find an apartment is tricky. im sure most of you know this because you are all older than me, but still. my main goal is to find a place with someone i already know, so we will see if that option goes through or not. as a part time student i can still live on campus and just pay rent month to month, but im not to anxious about staying on campus.

in the fall i hope to learn more about money (and by learn i mean make) and budget more, and be able to spend more of my own money than my parents. i also plan to ride a bike a little bit more than drive until the wretched gas prices go down. so growing up isnt all that enjoyable, but at least im still having fun down here. i guess thats what really matters. i will be home in 13 days and counting.

a sun came

my life is a jumble. i cant wait to come home. only two and a half weeks of work left and then ill be back in the great state i call home. hopefully this trip will be filled with some trail running, nice bike rides, rock climbing, and hopefully a camping trip. after being there a week i will leave with laura and her family for washington where we will see tom petty in concert. yay. then hopefully we will go on a short back packing trip. yay. then a few days later we will see jack johnson in concert. yay. from there i will return back to colorado just a few days before school starts. here is where it becomes messy.

i think i will only be a part time student at ccu and take other classes at red rocks community college. all of this is for the purpose of getting into my dream school in boulder. by being a part time student that gives me the opportunity to live off campus which would save me about a thousand dollars not to mention the fifteen hundred that would normally be spent on a ridiculous meal plan. so it would be the most amazing thing if i could find some girls to share a place with off campus. i can only hope. but as for now i have a lot to do to get this all in place. tomorrow i will go to red rocks and talk with an adviser, then i need to talk with my ccu adviser, and then i also emailed a cu adviser for alaska and hopefully i will meet with her soon. so thats my life for now. hopefully everything will get done soon. thats about it.

aching back and apple cinnamon cheerios

After a fun long weekend with family in colordao and a road trip to utah, i have finally made it to las vegas.

It was nice to have my family visit me in colorado. We spent a few nice days together; we explored golden, bolder, and celebrated the fourth of july with an excellent dinner. we got to do just about everything on my list so i was excited with how that time went.

Then my mom, aaron, and i left to drive to salt lake city. We decided about half an hour before we left for aaron to come along but now i am very glad that he did. We drove 8 hours until we finally arrived in salt lake around 10 at night. The next few days were fun seeing all of my wonderful family. The highlights of the trip: rock climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon, "The Junkyard", and the Salt Lake. Rock climbing was exciting and fun, my first utah climb on a slick, smooth, flat piece of granite crack. It was exciting. The Junkyard was ridiculous. As you can assume it was my mom who really wanted to go but we had fun. It would have been better if it hadnt been 90 degree sun beating down on us. There were literally 60 acres of metal junk. We decided it looked like the end of the world as we were the only ones wandering through this desolate place. As for the Salt Lake, Aaron and I drove out to Antelope Island which is in the middle of the lake. We thought it would be exciting but it was just nasty. There were enormous yellow spiders, miles of foot deep hot sand, crusty salty sand, and once we finally reached the water we were attacked by millions of tiny gnats, which gave us just enough time to snap a picture and race back to the car to get off the island as fast as possible. it was something that everyone needs to experience, but once and only one.

Mom decided to fly back to alaska from salt lake, aaron and i dont have to work for a few more days so we extended our trip and drove to vegas to visit his family. It was about a 5-6 hour drive and when we got here it was 112 degrees. I dont know how i will survive this weekend but lets hope I will. His family is nice but im nervous so you know how it is. We are just hanging out here, no major plans and we will just see how it goes. thats all for now.

the most epic night of summer

It all started when Aaron and I got some matte and decided to go for a drive. I didnt know wher we were headed because I just told him that I wanted to go somewhere pretty. I didnt know the adventure that I was in for.

We drove I-70 West To Everwood (Evergreen?) Here we exited and stated the 36 mile drive up to Echo Lake. We got there early evening and it was so beautiful. It looked exactly like home in Alaska. The lake was glistening and cool and the trees were a shade of beautiful dark green. There were a few people fishing so we decided to get out and walk around the lake. We stepped out of the car and the temperature was at least 20 degrees colder and my original 85 degreen outfit was not suiting the 65 degrees. But the day was beautiful in itself. We walked through the trees and over roots on a worn dirt path. The sun shone down and it was a perfect moment. We made out way around the lake and back to the car.

We drove a little ways to the lodge and got some food before we started our drive up Mt. Evans. We paid ten dollars for our pass and stated the gentle mountain drive. This is the only fourteener in colorado that you can drive to the top of and is also the highest road in north america. The drive had a lot of trees and until we passed the treeline and then there was just dry green grass mixed with rock. On the way up Aaron killed a ground squirrel. My heart broke and I wanted to cry. There it was just sitting all perky in the middle of the road having a pleasant look around. I saw him and just thought to myself how cute he was. Next thing I know it was smashed and flattened beneath the tires of his enormous ford expedition. RIP ground squirrel.

We stopped when we came to a little pull off about half way up. There was another lake and we saw the perfect big wall off in the distance. We got out of the car and walked to the edge to check it out. It was beautiful. The rock around us just looked to solid and pure. We didnt stay long at this point because a fierce thunder storm was rolling in. The sky grew very dark and before even getting back into the car we saw some huge bolts off behind the big wall and listened to the thunder echo among the alpine walls. We raced back to the car and continued our drive up--just getting closer and closer to the angry clouds.

The bolts looked bigger and the thunder sounded closer. My stomach started to become anxious, nervous, and sick. Partly due to the altitude, and partly due to the storm. The view from the drive was indescribable. We have no pictures because we always seem to forget our camera at the most important times. We made it to the summit and parked. There was a shaggy haired mountain goat that looked like it belonged somewhere foreign in the Himalayas but not in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. There were also a couple stone buildings which looked pretty neat. As we stepped out of the car to get a better look with the storm growing to be right over us, these three old men sitting in the truck next to us rolled down there windows and yelled out, "You should probably get back in your car. We have an electrical engineer in the car and he said that our car antenna is ringing and so that is not a good sign." In my mind all I heard was "you are going to get struck by lightening and die so get back in the car ASAP." So we (and by we I mean I) rushed back into the car and shut and locked the door. We sat there for a while watching the enormous lightening storm that was going on directly in front of us and feeling the thunder shake our car. We moved to another spot for a better view just a little ways up the road. The lightening just seemed to grow bigger and closer. It was hitting the ridge directly across from us at our level. One time after it struck I saw a huge red flash at the contact spot and it was incredible.

The storm started to calm down so we pulled out our backgammon board, which was our original purpose of the "short" drive in the first place. We played a quick game just to say that we have played backgammon at 14,000 feet and then started the drive back down the mountain which was just as beautiful as the way up. I didnt enjoy it as much though mainly because I had to pee so badly. The drive was so amazing. We had the perfect music of new coldplay and some sigur ros. It was seriously in the top 5 best drives of my entire life and one of the most epic night of summer hands down.

my new friend

gobbledigook

I think I have not spent quite as much time blogging because the writing in Romania just about wore me out. But with the special request of my family I would love to fill you all in on my life.

So far since I have been home I have just spent most of my time working and not doing much of anything. The first two weeks back I was working 35-40 hour weeks when normally I should have only been working 20 but my boss wanted to "catch me up" so thankfully I am back to my expected 20 hour weeks which is much more relaxing. I also am picking up a second job babysitting a little 6 year old boy named Cap. I got this job from a girl I work with who doesnt have time to work with them anymore. I havent started working yet but I met with the mom and the boy and he is very fun with a huge imagination. I cant wait. This week at work has been busy. I have finally started to figure out what my position is. "Customer Care" --i take care of the people who use our campus for the summer. I help them with their odds and ends. So it hasnt been so bad. But it has definitely been a huge learning experience with the boss I am under....

One recent problem we have had on campus.. Well there are about 12 of us who work for summer conferencing. We live in three apartments on a bottom floor right next to each other. There are two rooms of girls and one room of guys. So one day my friend Adam woke up with about thirty bug bites on his back and legs. Then the next day our friend Tyler woke up with some bites. Adam was lucky enough to grab his camera and snatch a picture of this little creature that turned out to be a...BED BUG. dun dun dun. Im convinced that Adam brought them back from India where he has just been on a trip for the past month. The boys had to move everything out of their rooms and do laundry for every piece of clothing they own. People came and cleaned out the rooms and did inspections and such before the boys could move back in. In the meantime, at our weekly meeting we got to watch an informational video about bed bugs that they would normally show to hotel housekeepers. So we learned that you can spot bed bugs because they hide and dark places on the bed and they can also leave blood stains on the mattress, which lead to the best line in the movie, "Check the mattress for blood stains, but note, this is not always due to bed bugs." That was really the best part... But now the situation is taken care of. The mattresses were thrown away and hopefully things are good.

What else has been going on in my life. I got a library card yesterday! I was pretty excited by that. It makes me feel pretty mature and on my own. There has also been lots of thunder and lightening, which if you dont know, is one of the worst things in the world to me and my biggest fear. I dont know if this is because I grew up without it, but everytime it rolls around (which is quite frequently in colorado) I get very anxious. My breathing gets tense and my heart feels abnormal. So the last few afternoons have been rather rough on me. I have been doing a fair share of rock climbing. I am getting better I know because I have been trying harder routes and really pushing myself. Im tired of being stuck on the same level. So that has been nice. I have also been trying to do a lot of reading in my free time. I dont really have many friends here. I have kaylan and breezy but they are pretty busy with their own lives. So then there is some of the people I live with who are nice but I dont see too often because we have different schedules. So you know how it goes. Therefore, I am having fun with some reading. This afternoon I laid In the grass and read a book in the sun. I just finished. It was called Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and I liked it a lot. I dont know whats next on my list. Im thinking Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, Ive heard some good things so Im rather excited. They clouds are rolling in and the thunder is in the distance so I should probably get off the grass and back inside where it is safe.

xoxoxo

summer

i made it home alive. it was a long trip (a day and a half i think) with lots of delays but we finally made it to denver. the last few days have been crazy. ive been jet lagged, so im only sleeping 4-5 hours a night, and i am also having stomach problems. I cant eat anything without getting a sharp pain. today i went to the doctor and they gave me some medication and so hopefully that will start to cure me and i can eat again soon. i am craving certain foods so badly.

i started working yesterday also for summer conferencing. it has been, lets see, thrilling........ i sit, yesterday i played cards and dominoes, and that was pretty exciting. i guess some days are more busy than others, but it varies. thats about it for now. i really want to eat and thats all i can say.

last night in bucuresti

after a long month this is it. my last day spent with the staff and in the orphanages. i wrote my letters, gave my devotion, and said my goodbyes. leaving one orphanage was so hard because there was a girl there who i became close with who just clung to me and would not let me go. she gave me a handkerchief we had made together so that i would "never forget her" she looked like she was about to cry and she kept asking for just one more hug and one more kiss over and over. i knew i had to be strong and not cry so that she wouldnt. i left her with one kiss and shut the gate behind me. she watched me walk away....

we had out final debriefing with some of the psychologists here. weve have been through a lot and have seen a lot and it can be a dramatic thing. i am fearful of going home and what it will be like. what my life will be like. how i will view things differently. they told us that when we go home we will want to judge the people around us on things we never observed before. we cant do that though. im so fearful of my mental state when returning home. i cant even imagine what it will be like after only a month in this foreign land.

saying goodbye to the staff was so hard. usually they never get attached to teams because people usually only come for a week. we are the longest group they have had stay. so saying goodbye today was not only hard for us but for them as well. a few of them stayed till late tonight just helping us clean and hanging out. saying bye they cried and we cried. i am going to be a deep emotional mess for the next twenty four hours of flying not counting how crazy my life will be for at least the next week. i really feel that i will just want to lock myself in my room and not talk to anyone and not come out and face reality again.

god has used me here. he has used all of us. i have seen images that will forever be burned into my mind and i have heard stories that have already changed my life. i havent yet begun to process any of these thoughts or else i would have been home a long time ago. people say that you wait till you go home to process everything and thats when it will be the hardest.

the images i have seen. the painful crying faces. the sounds of children screaming and the sounds of children laughing. the smell of the orphanage and the kids. the touch of them as they run and jump into their arms. the one little boy begging you to stay and kick the soccer ball with him just one time. these images will never leave me. never.

nuapte buna

multumesc

I will be home in four days. And to close out my fourth to last day here I am sitting at home inside on this beautiful bucharest day sick. just a cold. my throat is swollen and my head hurts and my ears and i have a runny nose. a lot of people here have it so its no surprise i do too. i tried to push it the last few days and go out anyway but this morning i was dying and decided to stay home in bed. and this is a hard thing to do here since there is one person in the house, i have a book, and pen and paper. so ive just been trying to sleep the day away.

mama maria is taking care of me. the most precious woman in the world who doesnt speak a lick of english. she didnt even know i was home till i went down to get some lunch. she grabbed pretty much any left overs we had and more and placed them in front of me and then just started making tea and going off in romanian though i never have any idea what shes saying. so she made me some lunch and some lemon and fruit tea. then she wouldnt let me go back to bed without giving me a back rub first so i sat down and she rubbed my back which was amazing. she had me rub something on my neck and then sent me off to bed. this was the most at home i could possibly feel while sick and it was amazing.

The last few days were difficult besides being sick. i found out something about romanian orphanages which is probably true for all orphanage across the world. i dont want to discuss it on here because it just isnt appropriate and i would probably burst into tears again. so when i get home well talk.

i will be back saturday night at ten. im looking forward to it though i am in no way ready to leave here yet. im going to go and try to nap for another five hours until everyone finally gets home....

the last few days.

hello friends and family,
i have healed from my sickness and am alive and well. ive been too busy to write the last few days but i am doing good. i rested and took medicine and started feeling better a few days later. i think a lot of it had to do with dehydration even though i have been drinking so much water the humidity just sucks it right out of me.

the last few days have been good to me. so much has happened that i cant even remember or know where to start. tuesday maybe? that morning we went back to marion pazon (the rehab orphanage) that i had such a hard time at the first time. this experience was much calmer. there were more staff and fewer kids and the kids were also much more relaxed. i spent time walking around with this girl who just wanted to hold my hand and walk. she had her hands tied back because i guess she would try and hurt herself or pull out her hair so that was kind of sad to see but we had fun together. in the afternoon we went to Sfant Ana, where we hung out with about 10 boys ages 10-15. we had a lots of fun with them. they were pretty well behaved and for the most part acted the same as other teenage boys in america. i played soccer with this one boy daniel and we had so much fun together. a few other boys joined us and it was still good. the hardest part about this time was that they were trying really hard to communicate with me and i couldnt respond. the language barrier hasnt been a huge problem since ive been here but that afternoon was hard. it was nice though because josh hung around and helped translate with us and also helped me to work on my romanian. ill have to tell you later what these boys were saying....

the next day was deadly. a hundred degrees and humid i couldnt handle this. i prepared for the day knowing that i would get sweaty and wet and disgusting so that made it a little easier. the morning was pretty relaxed and we hung out with some kids from sfant ana just inside working on crafts. in the afternoon we went the chatila (the girls orphanage) where we played water games and jumped on the trampoline. we got yelled at in romanian by some of the orphanage staff because the kids were wet and making a mess. shanna replied with "nu vorbesc romaneti" (i dont speak romanian) which only made them even more upset. but we still had fun. this little girl Florica, who is one of the most precious children i have worked with this trip, was there. she is very shy and during the water activities she was scared of everyone so she kept hiding behind me and running all around me just trying to get me to hold and protect her, it was so cute. after this we all went inside and listened to them practice a song they are working on for a project, and then we proceeded to have an all girl dance party to romanian techno whatever you call it, which was the best time EVER. you do know how i love dance parties....

That evening, Kristina, an intern from CTL from wisconsin, took us shopping at a little boutique. when we left it started to rain and storm. the funny thing about romanians is that they would rather wait inside all day then go outside and get a spot of rain on them. as americans, we sprinted down the sidewalk and tried to get to the metro as fast as possible. we stopped under a short ledge for a break when it started to hale inch sized ice balls that were so funny. they started to set off all of the car alarms and as painful as they were all we could do was laugh. it let up and we continued running the rest of the way. we got back to her apartment and she let us relax, watch some tv (in english) and she made us crepes and french fries from scratch which were one of the best things i have ever eaten! it was getting late so we headed home. we walked and made it on the metro and back at night all by ourselves.

today we went to orphanage #5 (a disabilities orphanage) where we held a mini carnival for them. June 1st is The Day of the Child so we helped them celebrate it a little early since some huge elections are being held on June 1st this year. We brought over a trampoline, face paint, cotton candy, and balloons. all of the staff members were there and we had a lot of fun. the kids were a little wild but that was expected. with some of their disabilities a few would often break out into song and i cant tell you how many times i heard the song jingle bells being sung. it was amazing.

we got the rest of the afternoon off which was a nice break. i wrote in my journal and then took a nice long nap. everyone else is still asleep and i think we slept through dinner. time for some cereal- which is what im known for around here. my enjoyment of romanian cereal.

sickness

Alas, I am sick. I knew it would come eventually. But yes it came. We already went through Jamie being sick and then Shanna and now it is my turn. It is a tummy thing and all I wanted to do was throw up all afternoon and all evening. I started to feel it when we got on the metro where it was hot and I felt so dehydrated and I just started to cry. I made it back to the house and just sat in the bathroom. Finally, I got myself up and rinsed myself off with cool water which made me feel a little better but after that I just laid in bed all night wanting to throw up or die. We are pretty sure it is from the water or something that we ate that had used the water. No good but Im sure that I will get over it in a few days. I might stay home tomorrow morning if Im still not doing well but i really hope that things will change...

sinai

Today we went to Sinai. We woke up early and left for the train station. We hopped on and headed for our hour and a half ride to the town. I have forgotten how much I loved trains. I really only remember that one time that my brother and I rode from Virginia to Pennsylvania on the train and it was so great. This was kind of like that. It was rainy outside so since it was so early I just put on my head phones and listened to death cab and watched the rainfall as i slowly dozed off.

The sad part of the train ride is that there was a mentally disabled guy on the train who was being kind of annoying but not really disturbing anyone. There was a British man on the train who was really bothered by him even though they were no where near each other. I guess the mental guy walked by him and he got up and yelled at him to sit down in his seat. He grabbed him and kind of pushed him and he fell to the ground. The guy just started crying and the British guy just went off cussing. Some women got really upset and started yelling at the British guy and a nun and one of our girls Shanna helped the other guy. The situation was so random and really kind of disturbing.

Besides this, the train ride was beautiful. The countryside was amazing all lush and green and pretty. Heading towards the alps looked a lot like driving west towards the rocky mountains. But these mountains looked much different. First of all these ones were much smaller and second they were much more green and less rocky.

When we got there we started on our way towards the castle we were planning to visit. The path was all cobblestone and kind of torn apart and just looked old, rugged, and mystical. We arrived at the castle and it was beautiful. The architecture was amazing and there were so many intricate designs. We went a supposedly "english" tour but i really couldnt understand a word that the tour guide said. But that didnt matter because just looking at everything was so beautiful.

After this we did some some shopping. The best part of this was the lace. There was so much of it and it was so inexpensive. The designs were all unique and so beautiful. Another cool thing we saw there was the boomerang like object. It was really like two popsicle sticks together forming and X with a rubber band. You threw it and it made a 90 degree turn and then another until it formed a perfect square and came back to you. I didnt buy one, but it really was amazing.

After this we walked down and got something to eat and then had some coffee. We were supposed to spend the rest of the afternoon on a gondola that went to the top of the mountain but it was raining so hard that they closed it. I was looking forward to that a lot but i will survive. After this we caught our five o clock train and headed back.

The day was not all that i expected but it was still a lot of fun. Sinai was beautiful and reminded me somewhat of a little mountain town in colorado or even like a combination town of girdwood and seward in alaska. it was mystical. so that was the trip. and thats all i got.

Friday Night in Bucuresti

Friday night and theres really nothing to do. We cant speak the language, we dont have transportation, we have no tv, radio, or any other form of entertainment, so currently we are building and Aladdin puzzle.

The last few days have been pretty good. They were pretty routine. Just going to different orphanages. The best part is that the kids now remember us and we are starting to get to know them better and im really enjoying that.

Sad story of the day. I was at one of the orphanages and there was just this little boy who would cry if you didnt hold him. They said that he had a very sad story. He was only about 3 years old and they said he had been kept in a cage his whole life. When they found him and got him out he was barking like a dog and couldnt speak. This story broke my heart. I held him the entire time. We brought a trampoline and all of the kids loved it but since he wouldnt leave my arms I got on the trampoline and bounced with him in my arms which just made him laugh and laugh. He was so beautiful.

Tomorrow morning at 7 we are going to the alps which i am soooooo excited about. It is going to be one awesome day and i guess we are going to climb one of the mountains there. Thats about it for now. I need to get back to puzzle building. Hope everything is well at home!

zi de zi

today was a much better day. things were more peaceful and calm. the girl that had all the stuff going on ended up leaving to go home to the states today so that was a little hard but i feel that it will make us more focused while here. not too much other stuff going on today though. what is getting me through the rest of the week is knowing that on saturday we are going to sinai in the transylvanian alps which i am more than thrilled about. thats all for now.

pace si dragoste

and i dont want the world to see me cause i dont think that theyd understand

TERRIBLE TUESDAY.

this was and probably will be the worst day of the entire trip. nothing went right today. every bad thing that could happen did. i dont even know how to start. how about the beginning of the day.

one of our team members has been having some problems at home and with being homesick. i am not going to go into details about this terrible thing because some of you know her. i will leave it at that she had a mental breakdown/panic attack while on the metro. it was one of the worst things in the word i have ever witnessed. i guess romanians do not cry or act any way like this in public so many of them kept gathering around and asking what was wrong and even old women were doing hand motion crosses over her. that is the story with no detail. but trust me it was a terrible thing.

because of this we lost three members of our group and this morning we were going to a rehab/disabilities orphanage with mainly with kids with autism. there were only four or five of us going and they in no way properly prepared us for this experience. the first little while there was fine we were working with some of the kids on puzzles and such and then we (jamie and i and a staff member) were sent out into the playground to paint the kids faces. this is the part where we were not prepared... we get out there and there are about 25 kids with autism running around and crazy. we tried to keep them calm. there was just us three, another staff member from CTL and then about three teachers from the orphanage. Jamie and i tried to stay together because everyone else dispersed. One boy started slapping us with a stick very hard. we finally got him away. all of the kids wanted their faces painted and were swarming us and started hitting us because they didnt want to wait. one boy i guess had a fascination with jewelry and i had quite a few bracelets on. he grabbed for my livestrong bracelet and did not let go. he finally pulled so hard that in snapped in half off of my hand. those things are tough and dont break easily so you can only imagine how hard it was. a couple of the kids were spitting on jamie. another one tried to bite both of us. then a girl tried to pull out jamies hair. thats when she said im done. Flourina, one of the staff members saw us wrestling with all of this and told us to go outside of the play ground. mind you all of this was not happening at once but in about a 20 minute period. so its not like it was a mad attack or anything. and these kids were not little. many of them were large in size and much older than us. we finally got outside of the playground and just sat there speechless. we were both frustrated and overwhelmed. i have a strong respect for kids with autism and disabilities but i do not feel at all that it is an area i am called to. this was an experienced that has probably changed and scarred me for life. my viewpoint on what my capabilities are and what i can handle have changed drastically. i dont even know what to think about this situation. we talked with some of the staff and im sure we will talk about it in debriefing tonight and in our meeting tomorrow morning. it was a ridiculous experience.

to build on the day. we all met up for lunch, which made me sick. jamie and i were stressed and crying and just wanted to call it a day but we couldnt. from their we headed to the park. now this bad situation to come did not involve us but miscommunication with the staff. certain kids were supposed to be picked and people were waiting and some were late and people were upset so there was quite a bit of fighting between them today. from there we went to the park which was probably the only positive part of the day. i played soccer with this little boy and we had so much fun together. that was definitely the highlight.

now the bad part after that is we were trying to get home... when the metro broke. home was to far to walk or take any other transportation so we waited for sooooooo long until they finally set up another subway to take the frustrated people home in the other direction.

we walked in the front door and i immediately went upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom where i took a loooong shower and shaved my legs for the first time since ive been here.. haha bet you are all excited for me. it was starting to get a little intense so i thought it was about time. but i used my shower time to relax and not really think about today. all i know is that i want and need the biggest hug in the world and someones lap to lay my head in. where are you mom when i need you!

transatlantic

buna de minatza- that really means good morning, but it is actually night here. we dont know how to say goodnight yet, so for now i will just stick with that. i didnt write yesterday because i was probably overwhelmed and exhausted so tonight is for both days.

sunday as a special day. want to know why? because it was the sabbath duh. and here in romania we like to celebrate that by going to church. just like many of you. we all attended the International Church of Bucharest. This church was very fun because though it was in romanian it was also translated into english. i felt it was so amazing though despite the language barrier that we were all able to praise the same god together. the worship music was amazing both in romanian and english. in the service though, it was funny, they had a guest speaker who was from southern california so actually the service was in english and translated into romanian. silly huh? his message was very powerful though and i enjoyed it a lot.

as for today. i woke up overly excited. this occurred as i was pulling up my blue jeans. i slid my brown leather belt through each individual loop ohh so carefully and as i finally arrived at the buckle not only did it go through the normal notch BUT through the next one smaller.... ohhhhhh yeah. this romanian walking sure has paid off already. today we walked EIGHT MILES but we are averaging about 4 to 6 a day. arent you proud? by the time i get home you wont even be able to recognize me! well hopefully not that intense, but you know it never hurts. i like a good daily eight mile walk... not. my knees are already killing me and i feel like i have arthritis in them and it hurts to sit down and stand up. does anyone have some good advice? id could really use some right about now.

but besides my weight issue... today was a good day. this morning we went to the People's Palace. It is an enormous castle like structure that is said to be the first or second largest in the world next to the Pentagon. It was constructed in 1989 by the communist leader with a C last name that i cant spell. and it only took FIVE years to construct. here we were able to take a tour and it was beautiful. almost everything seemed to be made out of marble and there was huge chandeliers and the most beautiful view of the city. before the tour as we were patiently waiting outside the these three young handsome men came gliding in through the doors. immediately, as we all stared at them, they walked up to us softly questioning, "Do you speak English?" They could obviously tell we were American and we were all thrilled to meet some people from the motherland. All three mormon boys from Salt Lake City. All were very friendly and clung to us for the entire tour making as much conversation as possible. It was so funny to see how instantly all of our personalities changed around guys and especially around American guys. We were all back in our element. Though that only lasted a short while, it was nice for that moment to have the feeling of home.

The rest of the afternoon for my team was spent in the girls orphanage Catilla. There we performed a skit, made bracelets, and played games. It has been so neat since we have been to this orphanage a few times to start establishing relationships with some of the girls. They have started to recognize us when we come in and immediately run up and give us hugs. it is such a joyful feeling. this orphanage has been such a blessing to my time here so far.

thats about it for now.

Nu vorbest romaneshtay (phonetically) - I dont speak romanian. something that ive learned very well over the last few days.

Te ubesk!

Sooo I really want to go rock climbing. No one understands what it is here. The only conversation I get about it is either when I'm reading my climbing magazines or playing with my hand thing and everyone here makes fun of me for "working out my hands" and trying to get "ripped fingers". On the metro and on the bus I practice. I hold on to the rail with one or two or three fingers or just onto the edge of the door or just flat on the wall with pressure. When the transportation is coming to a stop then when I test myself. Hahahaha wow reading over that just made me realize how much of a loser I really am....

On to other things. Today was hot. We were outside the whole day and it was hot. But it was so fun. My team took the girls from the girls orphanage to the park. The park was huge and beautiful and green with an enormous lake in the center. We got to go on a ferry ride for free also. I had my girl from the first day-Catalina- by my side the whole afternoon. She barely ever let go of my my hand. The park was playing european techno music and I had a severe craving for an instant dance party. I didnt do this but Catalina said she loved music and loved to dance so I did dance with her a little. It was a beautiful thing. After this we went to a playground and hung out there. This little girl really wanted me to play soccer with her so I did. She wore me out. After 20 minutes of running around and chasing the ball I was dead. The remaining time I spent blowing bubbles with some of the younger ones.

After this I got to eat my first Romanian fast food at a place called Springtime. It was decent. We had chicken and french fries and pickles and then they serve like a whole loaf of dry bread with your meal. The ketchup was also very tasty here. Romanians eat lots of bread and their bread is very good. I have been eating a lot and the walking is not burning it off. So I've limited myself to one slice of fresh bread a day from my usually five or six haha.

Tonight we are just resting an hanging out. Our free time is kind of spent just hanging around and talking. We dont know where anything is or how to get anywhere so we pretty much just stay at the house. There is no radio or anything so we just spend our evening entertaining ourselves with different stories. It is a nice break from home. Tomorrow is our day off. We are going to church and then im not sure what else though. I'm glad for a day off though. Just to relax and stay out of the humid heat. Despite this, I'm really looking forward to next week and all of the millions of kids and service that I will get to devote myself to.

Se Lest by Sugir Ros. My current favorite and best thing to fall asleep to. Check it out.

Today I also learned how to say I love you in Romanian. I will butcher the spelling but you can assume how it sounds- Te ubesk,

Proverbs 16:3

I feel like where I am at right now is more of a lifestyle. We live in this house/building by ourselves. We cook and clean for ourselves (occasionally). We have scheduled time to be places like work and such. This is not a bad thing by any means, but it is also not at all what I expected, although before I left I didnt really know what to expect.

Today was fruitful. This morning we went to a preschool orphanage that had about 25 kids around ages 4 and 5. We took a long tram ride to get there and then walked a couple miles through what our staff leaders said was the poorest part of Bucuresti. They were trying to reconstruct this area but there was still lots of garbage, dirt, and dust everywhere. When we got there we went in the back and set up the stuff we brought. The grass was tall and the play ground equipment was rundown. Later we came to find out that because there are only two women that work here, the children barely ever get to go outside. After we had gotten ready all 25 kids come bursting out from around the corner and pile into our laps. This little girl named Elena jumped into mine. After doing some of our planned activities we just had free time where the kids got to run around and play outside which they absolutely loved. They had so much energy. This one little boy just wanted to be held and swung around and bounced non stop. It was tiring but so great.

After this we came back and had lunch with the staff. Then some of the apartment kids met up with us over here. We served them lunch and then just hung out and talked even though none of them spoke english. I dont know how this worked but it really did. Then we all walked to the park. Before leaving they told a couple of the little boys that they had to find someone older whose hand to hold on the way over. These two little boys ran up and jumped on me. I guess in Romanian they were both yelling, "I want her, she is beautiful!" So that kind of made my day, haha. We all went to the park and then played games and such. It was a great time.

Tonight, we had some time off and a couple of us walked a few blocks to go to a pastry shop. We ordered and everything with barely knowing any Romanian, but we made it. I've also learned that though I really have no fears for being here, my biggest fear is going home. After being here just these few days I have started to see Americans in a whole new light, and its not a really positive one. Just things about our lifestyle and the way we deal with certain things. So I'm really hoping that when I return home things wont be too difficult. But I really am not ready to think about going home yet. I still have too much going on in my head and in my thoughts to work out and come to conclusions.

Tomorrow is the weekend but still a big day of work for us. Sunday will be rest day.

buna!

I am physically exhausted. I'm starting to get off of the jet lag, but we have been walking so much that I am so sore! I have come to realize how lazy Americans can really be. We complain about the smallest things and feel the need to drive EVERYWHERE. I think its about time that we all get over that. I really understand now how Europeans are so skinny.

This morning our team split up into two different groups. My group went to a day care place for children whose parents cant afford care. There were about 12 children ages 4 and 5. We played some games with them and then made fruit loop necklaces. I worked with this beautiful little girl named Denisa. She was 4 years old and had brown haired pig tails and wide bright marble colored eyes. She say next to me and held my hand as I helped her string the fruit loops on to the yarn. They werent supposed to eat them until they were finished but any ones that didnt fit on the string she would look at me giggle and then shove it into her mouth with a big smile. After this activity we all went outside and played with balls and drew with chalk. The kids had some much energy and were so much fun. They loved to be chased and picked up and just loved. There was this girl Georgiana who had the best smile I have ever seen. It is all she would do, just stand there and smile. When you would smile back at her she would just smile even bigger. These children were amazing.

After lunch today we worked with a group of kids ages 13-17 that live in apartments on there own. They had a school project of taking pictures around Bucuresti so we walked with them downtown and got to see some of the city. Everything looks old and beautiful and you can definitely see the affects that communism has had on this country.

So on to other things. Let see. The food is good. Mama Maria cooks lunch and dinner for us and she is amazing. She speaks no english so we try our best to learn things to say to her. So far our diet has consisted mostly of soup and bread. Though it is tasty I feel that this will start to ware after a while.

Another thing is that now when I hear English words they dont always make sense to me. It sounds like everything is just slurred together and fast. We have only been here three days so I wonder what it will feel like after three weeks of this.

Overall I'm doing very well. I'm learning lots. For one that it sucks to have toilet paper that is pretty much crete paper. Ive learned new ways to take showers and that shaving is overrated and really not all that important for how much work it is here. My bunk bed is hard to get into and that probably wont change but thats okay. My favorite time is morning when I wake up and no one else is up yet and I get to go downstairs look outside and see the sun rising and make myself some breakfast while sitting in the quiet.

Tomorrow is another day.

Buna-Hello
Chei fache?-How are you?
Bine-Fine/Good
Multusc-Thank you
muche ca meh-Bite me
frumos-beautiful
si-and
Dah-Yes
Noo-No
Pah-Bye
Unu doi trie ochii la meh- one two three eyes on me

Day One

A long day here in Bucuresti. It all started at three in the morning where pretty much our entire team was awake but just silent and laying in bed. It took me two hours of listening to Sigur Ros until I finally made the effort to stumble down from my stiff upper bunk. I made my way through the kitchen trying to find something to eat even though I had no idea what anything was. A few other girls made it down and we ended up with some toast and blueberry jam. After this, through a rush of energy and a lack of sleep I started to go crazy releasing my energy. For those of you who really know me, you can only imagine.

We had a morning devotional with our team and the rest of the Romanian staff. We had some time to use until leaving for the orphanage so we went on a walk with Victor and Madalina (two staff members) through a sketchy amusement park that eventually led into a green and lake filled beautiful area. While here we asked them how to say thank you in Romanian so that when we returned we could thank Mama Maria (our cook and house keeper) for making lunch. They proceeded to tell us something that sounded somewhat like- mooska mesha (phonetically spelled). We return home and Dani of course walks up to Mama and puts her arm around her and says this... only to find out that the staff had lied to us and she had really said to Mama "Bite me" haha. Of course she understood this joke as I guess it has happened many times before.

After lunch we left for the girls orphanage. We took a bus and a subway and it was exciting because it was my first time on a subway. It was a different experience but I think very much needed. I did get a little motion sick but I hung in there. The orphanage we went to today had about 20 girls between 1st and 4th grade. Some were also mentally disabled. We came into the room and sat down and right away this little girl named Catalina came and sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. She looked about 9 years old and was mentally disabled. She pulled at my wrist to observe my watch which she spent about 20 minutes amused with. She rubbed it, smelled it, stared at it, and even kissed it. She put her head on my shoulder and you could tell that all she needed was a little bit of love and affection. But it was such a beautiful thing.

I would write more but there isnt much else to say for today and I just got called away to go to a debriefing meeting. I am not feeling so well so hopefully I will get over that soon. Just a bad tummy and head ache. I cant wait to go to sleep tonight...

Hello from Bucuresti!

I made it here alive! It is beautiful and I am jet lagged. It turns out that I will have computers here and easy internet access so I will be writing on here every few days. My friend is also keeping a blog while here and I will post that address as soon as I get that if you guys are interested in reading it. I don't have much time now to write because I have to shower and get down to breakfast but I will in the next few days. Promise.

ROMANIA

I'm leaving this morning and I will be back the night of Saturday June 7th so I will talk to you all when I get back!

D-Group & Stairwell Photos

Baptism, Back of Car, & Brink of Summer

Here is a link to my facebook album of pictures that I just put up that include pretty much what I listed in the heading. For those of you who don't know on Sunday at church I was baptized and it was the most amazing experience of my life. As for back of car, last night my friends jessica, sarah, and i slept in the back of my car in our parking lot. dont ask me why, we just wanted the experience. and brink of summer, well thats pretty self explanatory.

Just kidding, it wont send a link to all of them so ill just post a few on here and if you have facebook (im guessing most of you dont) then check it out.

portaledge

After visiting the American Mountaineering Museum today in Golden, Colorado. I decided what I wanted to make my permanent home. For people exploring the big wall climbing experience, these trips can take many days to weeks of climbing. In this case sleep in necessary. There is this neat contraption called a portaledge. This is something similar to a tent which you hook into the rock with a caribbeaner. Here you can have the opportunity to get a good nights sleep while strapped in to your harness, the tent, and the wall. The idea of sleeping thousands of feet off the ground hanging by a fierce piece of metal inspires me.

leprosy

i have a bad sunburn. it doesnt hurt so much anymore but it looks pretty gross. on saturday i went rock climbing in the hot sun for six hours while none of us brought sun screen. of course i burned the most thanks to my fair alaskan skin. i learned my lesson though. and it will never happen again. my friend gabe sunburned his face too while camping that same day. here is a picture of our disaster. although this does not capture how it really looks.

another sunny day in colorado-ay

Ahhhh life.

My best friend Laura left a couple of days ago but it was amazing to have her here. After just doing YWAM (youth with a mission) in Australia and Indonesia, she finally made it back to America where she traveled from California, to Arizona (with some car trouble), to New Mexico (with some bus trouble), and finally to the fine state of Colorado. Having her here was the biggest joy in my life. Officially the longest we have ever been apart (a whopping 8 months!)it was amazing to see her.

The first time I ever came to Colorado I was with her. It was twice in one summer, the first for a wedding and the second on a road trip tom petty concert with her, her mom, and her sister. Therefore, we have many memories in this great state and it was so nice to relive them.

She was able to stay in my apartment. We had the opportunity to do some fun stuff; meet my friends, travel Lakewood, the Whole Foods experience, go to church, and the best day by far was Boulder.

The day in Boulder started off with us eating breakfast at Burnt Toast, my favorite restaurant in the entire world. The first time I actually found out about it was with her family when her mom pulled the car over and asked some biker where a good place to eat breakfast was. After that we went to Pearl Street where we walked around, we did more admiring of people than actually shopping. It was a beautiful day (beautiful enough to get sunburned) and the live music was exquisite. By far our favorite was this comical older man playing classic rock songs on the piano. After that we drove up near the flat irons and over the mountain for a beautiful view of the grand rocky mountains and the boulder valley. A few days later she left me, but it was really so amazing to have her here. So if any of you get the chance to come this way, I am a great tour guide and can get you to all the hot spots :)

As for everything else. There is only three weeks of school left. My life will be filled by trying to write last minute papers, a power point project, three finals, packing up my room, and squeezing in as much rock climbing possible before I have to take a break from the sport for a full 27 days. I leave for Romania in 22 days. I posted a clock on my blog so that once I finally leave you will be able to assume what I'm doing at the current time, as there is a 9 hour time difference. I finally got my schedule for the trip and it seems as if every minute of every day is planned. I learned that we will not just be working at one orphanage but 5 different ones all run by the same organization. Our team has also split into two teams so that we can spend more time at the different locations. I'm getting nervous and excited. Although many of you wont here from me during that month, I will be keeping a journal over there and will be sure to post some of my entries on here when I return.

Th-th-th-th-th-th-thats all folks.

life as of april 7, 2008

after wednesday i am home free. i will turn in my 15 page research paper and hopefully get the best grade that is possible for me. i dont know exactly what that grade will be, but at least this paper that i have put like 100 hours into will be complete. wednesday at noon will be the best day of my life. well one of many.

i got some climbing gear which i am soooooo excited about and can not wait to try out tonight. of course the weather yesterday was hot sunny bright and 80 degrees and today it was 30 and snowy and rainy and dark so i cant climb outside but hopefully on wednesday.

i also found out that i can live on campus this summer!!! they have housing and i am very excited about it. my plans are slightly changing. i get back from romania june seventh and then i think i will just stay living in colorado at school until the middle of august. then i will be able to get a job for a couple months (hopefully at a coffee shop) and i will still be able to hang out with my friends, do outdoorsy things, and enjoy the hot hot colorado sun. and then in august i will go back to alaska for about a week around the 8th. then i will go to seattle where i will meet up with laura and her family where we will then see tom petty in concert and then a week later jack johnson and then a day or two later i will start school!!!!!!!!!!!! great sounding summer huh?

ALSO: i got all of the money for my trip to ROMANIA. i am even 75 over. how exciting is this. i was also the first person on our team completed with all of our moeny. im working away trying to come up with some fun crafts for the orphans because thats surprisingly what im in charge of- thanks mom for my great crafting ability-not! that didnt come from you, im not that good.

i <3 colorado

i love colorado. but i dont love the people.

i dont really know how else to put it, but ill leave it at that for now.

clear water creek- the water that fuels the nearby coors factory...

yesterday i went rock climbing for my first time ever outside and it was the most amazing thing i have ever done in my life. my friend aaron and i went to clear water creek where we hiked up a little bit. the first route he lead belayed where he climbed up and hooked in carabiners and put the rope through them to make a top rope. i attempted to climb this one when he got back but it was a little difficult for my first beginner time so i came back down. we walked up to a little area and the top of the pitch. here there was not very much room to stand so we locked ourselves into the things on the rock. here we did the same thing again where i belayed him while he hooked in the things. this route was much easier and so much fun. when i got to the top just looking so far down and seeing the road and the river it was so cool. so we both climbed to the top of that pitch and came to an extremely hard route which i belayed aaron on. it was seriously the coolest thing ever. from there we went back down. first he lowered himself and then i got to lower myself which was so amazing. im seriously still on an adrenaline rush from yesterday. i wish i had some pictures to show how cool it was but maybe next time. mom and dad dont freak out, it sounds scary but its not that bad and it is really safe if you do everything right, which i am. we take all of the precautions and do everything in the safest way possible. it is really the most amazing thing ever, and i think you should all give it a try.

spring break alright

it has been quite the week... i dont even know what to say but it feels like it is officially the longest week ever. it started two wednesdays ago where after class i went to the rock gym and was able to go top lining (rock climbing with ropes) for one of my first times. i have been bouldering (climbing with no ropes) the last couple weeks so this was a nice change. i was able to learn a lot from my friend and also get belaying certified, which i was pretty excited about. on thursday i skipped the last day or school before break to go for a nice day of snowboarding. this trip was the most eventful by far because due to traffic and stops i had the ability with a friend to have a dance party (yes a dance party) in the middle of I-70 with some random people from alabama. it was the most amazing experience of my life. it wasnt dirty dancing, dont get me wrong family, but just a little harmless dance moves to some techno coldplay. this event was seen by many cars around us and even by soem guy videoing us on his iphone- that was a little creepy.

friday i left for good old seattle where i would spend the next few days with me mama and my cousin katie. this trip was pretty fun but also had a lot of downtime which was good. we got to eat at a number of delicious restaurants, which i am now thanking myself for at the gym. we also did some fun shopping. my mom and i went to the goodwill outlet (who knew they had them!) here all of the clothes were in giant bins that you had to dig through and was a complete madhouse of people. but the first item i did grab was a polar fleece pink northface jacket, that was in perfect condition. this jacket, normally at 150 dollars, i paid for by the pound which ended up costing me about 88 cents im guessing. the best bargain of my entire life. my other favorite shopping was at rei where i got a sweet sleeping bag (charlotte) which im taking to romania, and also a nice mountaineering backpack, which they molded to my body, also for my trip. and thanks to my new membership and tax exempt, i saved quite a bit of money.

on the trip i also got to see my cousin jason and his two daughters. we drove a hour to get the beautiful town of olympia which was filled with enormous trees and lots of greenery. we went out and had a nice lunch. the girls were so cute and funny it and it was so nice to see them since it has been a number of years.

after the trip i returned back to colorado where i had a nice time. i was alone in my apartment so i got to work on some homework, do some cleaning, get in some nice runs to the park, and also just some down time to watch my new favorite tv show GREEK. it is amazing really. there were some other people im my stairwell so i wasnt completely alone but it was still so refreshing to be back in colorado.

saturday morning, i made the four hour trek west to grand junction to surprise nick for his twentieth birthday. we had a lot of fun and it was so good to see him after a week. the weather was nice the first day so we spent some time outside and with his family. sunday was his birthday so we went out to breakfast with his family and some relatives and then went to his grandmas house to have cake and presents. that night there was an a storm with the most amazingly huge lightening strikes. we were able to watch it from his living room because it has a view of the valley and it was terrifying but beautiful.

this afternoon (monday afternoon) we left to drive back through the pass to denver. after about two hours of driving there were cops lined up blocking of the road. we overheard them saying to someone that there was a bad snow storm and fatal accidents so they had closed off the pass. we called home to see if there was an alternate route but, of course, there was an accident on that road too. so we turned around and drove two hours back to grand junction where we got to at about 7 tonight. we are going to leave around 7 tomorrow morning and hopefully it will be a much easier, and safer, trip.

tonights pretty thrilling though... nick has been writing a paper the last few hours so i have been able to take a nap, watch tv, and get a few other boring tasks out of the way. hahaha..amazing. but despite all of this, it was worth it to come see him. so that was my spring break, and it was extended a few days (which i dont mind) but im still ready to get back home now!

constructive criticism

In high school they taught us that we needed to start adjusting to teachers we didnt like then because in college it would be so much worse. i never believed that they were actually right.

i have been working hard on this paper i have for my research writing class. the whole semester my professor hasnt been the kindest or most respectful towards me i feel. her responses on my papers have not been very constructive and i have been getting let down a lot. every time i leave her class im in the worst mood. so the classes main focus is writing this one long research paper for the whole semester. I changed my topic about two weeks ago and have been working hard researching on it and gathering information. we had a four page rough draft due this week and today we each met with her individually and had meetings about our paper.

i thought that she was finally going to be pleased with me because i had put so much effort into it. She even stated off nice, "I like your new topic" "I was worried about your last one" And then for the remaining 15 minutes of our meeting she ripped my paper and my self-esteem apart. I was actually proud of my rough draft come to find she gave me a 30 out of 40 on it and went off about how my sources werent good enough, my reasoning wasnt good enough. She said she would be shocked if i would be able to pull this off in time. She said that i would "actually" have to put some effort into it. little does she know that i worked my butt off. her only advice for me is to "go to the library" oh thanks, real good advice.

guh, so im spending the day reflecting, trying to tell myself that im not a horrible student, and even if she doenst realize how hard i worked, i still can. and there are going to be a lot worse people i encounter in life so i better get used to it.

You Will All Be Famous One Day

Why will you be famous? Because you are going to know the girl who changed the world. thats right ladies and gentlemen, im going to change the world. i dont know how, i dont know when, but i do know that it will be for the better and that it is going to happen. ill keep you posted on how the progress goes, but just know, that i am in the process of becoming the person, who is going to change the world.

garden state..maybe only mom will understand

im taking a break from editing my ten page paper in the union. im listening to the garden state soundtrack and it made me think of my mama. and then it made me think of the movie and its amazing quotes. so here are some amazing quotes from the movie that, mom, you can reminisce over.


Sam: Hey, I recognize you.
Andrew Largeman: Oh, did you go to Columbia High?
Sam: No, not from high school, from TV. Didn't you play the retarded quarterback?
Andrew Largeman: Yeah.
Sam: Are you really retarded?
Andrew Largeman: No.
Sam: Ooh, great job man! I really thought you were retarded. I mean, you're better than that Corky kid and he's actually retarded. If there was a retarded Oscar you would win, hands down, kick his ass!

Sam: You're in it right now, aren't you?
Andrew Largeman: What?
Sam: My mom always says that, when she can see I'm like working something out in my head, she's like, 'you're in it right now' and I'm looking at you're telling this story, and you're definitely in it.

Olivia: Sam, I thought I told you to take the metal wheel out of the hamster cage.
Sam: Oh! I forgot!
Olivia: [holding up a stiff brown lump] Well, you forgot, and now Jelly's dead.

Andrew Largeman: I think we've corrupted this innocent girl enough for one day!
Sam: I'm not innocent.
Andrew Largeman: Yes, you are! That's what I like about you, okay? And I don't want this guy taking you to some sketchy quarry in the middle of Newark to find crack whores huffing turpentine or pit bulls raping each other or whatever else is down here!
Mark: Man... that's the most worked up I've ever seen you.
Sam: He's protecting me.
Andrew Largeman: So?
Sam: He *likes* me!
Andrew Largeman: Don't be cute.
Sam: He's my knight in shining armor.
Andrew Largeman: Don't talk about knights around Mark, it's a sore subject.

Sam: OK, so... so... sometimes I lie. I mean, I'm weird, man. About random stuff too, I don't even know why I do it. It's like... it's like a tick, I mean sometimes I hear myself say something and think, Wow, that wasn't even remotely true.

Sam: You don't realize, this is good, this doesn't happen often in your life. We can work this stuff out. I want to help you, you know? We need each other...
Andrew Largeman: This isn't a conversation about this being over, it's, it's... I'm not, like, putting a period at the end of this, you know, I'm putting, like, an ellipsis on it, cause I'm- I'm- I'm worried that if I don't figure myself out, if I don't go like land on my own two feet, then I'm just gonna to mess this whole thing up, and this is too important. I gotta go... you changed my life in four days. This is the beginning of something really big. But right now, I gotta go.

Andrew Largeman: I don't want to waste another moment of my life without you in it.

Sam: You gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life I swear.

Sam: This is your one opportunity to do something that no one has ever done before and that no one will copy throughout human existence. And if nothing else, you will be remembered as the one guy who ever did this. This one thing.

Andrew Largeman: Hey Albert
Albert: Yeah?
Andrew Largeman: Good luck exploring the infinite abyss.
Albert: Thank you, and Hey, you too

Sam: If you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a whole lot longer than you'd like.