I got really confused this morning writing my blog because I thought I wrote a blog more recently than May 26th. I still feel like I did but maybe I didn’t. Come to think of it, I don’t think I did. Crap.
Well, last weekend, I was supposed to go on the teacher retreat with my teachers. I went over to Varton’s house the night before and asked him if he was coming. He said yes. I told him that i would be over at his house at 7:00am to get him. He said that was fine. The next morning came and he said his back hurt and decided that he didn’t want to go. So I went with my other neighbors to the school to get ready to go. They said they were leaving at 7:30. They didn’t leave until 9. As I was sitting on the bus, I realized that I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I didn’t want to be a burden to the other teachers, worrying about me having fun nor did I want to be a burden to Arpine and her husband both of whom speak English. Arpine is my Armenian tutor. So when we got to the end of the village, I stood up and said that I wanted to get off. I made a speech about how I wanted to go but didn’t feel right; that I felt bad and that I hope they understood. Looking back, Im glad I made that decision. Maybe next year I will go with them.
So Instead, I came back home, ate with Grandma and my sister and then made my way to Solak. I went to go see my original host family. They were doing well. Mom, Dad, they say hi. I spent the day and night with them. They said they weren’t getting a new person this year. I was a little offended by that. Don’t really know why but that is a failed opportunity for someone to have a great first two and a half months in another country. I mean my Solak family is great. They are really great and it is a shame they didn’t get a family. Eh. Anyway, they said it was better for them because then I would feel free to come and go and stay with them when I needed to. They added that this year they won’t have to have that awkward phase at first. By the time you feel comfortable with the new volunteer, they have to leave, so they said it was good that I was going to be there because we are both comfortable with each other. Awesome.
The following day, my group and the A-16 group met at a cafe and caught up for a while and then we all went to Bdjni to meet the new trainees who had just arrived twelve hours prior. After 36 hours, they seemed to be completely out of it, but it was a nice meeting. Actually, it was really awkward. I mean here are about 60 volunteers that have been in country for at least a year, so excited that there is new blood being added to the mix, and then you get these super tired, scared people and that interaction is sometimes a bit overwhelming. I really enjoyed it last year... I don’t think they shared the same sentiment. I am, however, excited to get to know them this year.
Afterwards, I came back to the village. Now that I don’t have to worry about my grant, life has been a little better. I don’t remember if I mentioned it last time, but I dropped my grant project because wasn’t onboard with things, so I said when they were ready, they could come and find me. So, we will see if we meet the Sept.1st deadline.
I went to the beach on tuesday with Vincent and Pat. I fell asleep, I got burned but just on my stomach and chest and the fronts of my legs. I look like a completely different person from the back because my whole backside is still rather white. Well done Danny... Tomorrow Ill go back to the Lake and make sure to lay on my stomach. Great.
This week, I have been hanging out with Grandma and my sister. I think my sister trusts me more because she will say that she is tired of her son and just give him to me. He is 11 months old now but can’t walk on his own yet. I usually just carry him around the garden for about half an hour. So far he hasn’t cried while I have been holding him and hope it stays that way. Cute kid though.
Yesterday, Ashley came to my village. She wanted to do a slideshow documentary of my life here. It was really interesting. I was a little concerned as to how the people in the village would respond to her coming to the village and staying with my and Grandma, but we walked around the village at night and we talked to a whole bunch of people who didn’t ask any questions. Just wanted to talk. It was really nice. The day was really nice so she came at a good time. We went over to Varton’s house and hung out there. His family is so nice. Since Ashley only has two weeks left, (she is a fullbright scholar) they wanted to take her somewhere so we went to a church by the side of the river. It was really nice and fun to go there. Then we went to another church located in Pat’s village. We got back around 10:30 and then talked with Grandma for a while. Ashley got the pleasure to sleep on the couch in the living room with Grandma. ha.
She left this morning saying she had a good time. I hope she did.
I wanted to send a huge thank you to Laura B. HUGE THANK YOU. She sent me a package in the mail for my birthday. It was awesome. She sent all kinds of things; a shirt, candies, and a plate. To give you a reference of how long I have been here, she packed all the stuff in a large Hefty zip-bag. when I opened the box, I saw that bag and got really excited. I am going to put that to good use. She also included a plate. It said Freedom, Liberty, things like that all over it. My first thought was, “what the hell?” but then I saw the back and all her friends wrote stuff on it. Some of the stuff more inappropriate than others, but awesome nonetheless. It was great. So so great, so many thank yous to Laura B for being awesome. She also sent a beanie baby. Laura, seriously?
This next week I will be in Charentsavan training the new group. It will be a busy week. This is the beginning to a really hectic summer. Oh geez.
Finally got all my plans set for my Balkans trip. I am going to stay at Marco’s house in Venice, Italy for a night. It has been three years since I last saw him. I met Marco when I was studying in Sweden and am really excited about hanging out with him, so thanks to him for letting me crash at his place. 16 years of pure mayhem.
Ok, so that’s about all that’s going on here. The weather here is great now, a bit on the warmer side, but that is welcomed after the long, cold winter.
Awesome.
Until next time...
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