Two more days and then vacation here I come!

So I am coming up to my last week of school before vacation starts, Yippee! I have a lot of things that I need to get done over vacation, including but not limited to grad school applications and secondary project work. I have been slacking in both, so I really need to get them accomplished. Keep your fingers crossed on the grad school apps, I sure hope that I get into at least one!

So Christmas is less than a week away, it seems like just yesterday it was Halloween! The good thing is however my school always keeps me busy with things. They do tons of stuff for Christmas. One of the things that they do is individual parties for the little kids, one for each class. So the 3rd and 4th graders with intensive English (English 3 times a week) each put on a short play. The 4th graders did one that was pre-written, and my counterpart and I wrote one for the 3rd graders. I was so proud of them, they learned their lines so well and they really got into it. Then at the end they sang a song and they all did such a good job. I was so proud of them! It was so fun to be a part of it. Also each of the classes gave me a present, which I was not expecting in the least. I was so surprised to receive one, but pleasantly so. The 4th grade class gave me a nice brown purse that can double as a school bag, it feels like it is made out of fake leather and it is super cute and simple, just like I like it! The 3rd graders gave me a box of candy and a candle holder that has butterflies and little glittery balls on it. Again it is super simple and super cute, I have it under my tree now, it feels so nice to have a tree in my apartment and it is super pretty when it is all lit up at night!

So talking about my Christmas tree, I think that serves as a good segway to a story that I want to tell. So on December 15th I put up my tree as this is the day that my family and I always put up the Christmas tree when I was younger. So while I was decorating the tree I started out with the lights, as usual. They were a little tangled so I thought I would plug them in first to make sure they worked and to help me untangle them. When I plugged them in, the began to emit the most horrible sound that I had ever heard. I was convinced they were going to blow up, but just before I unplugged them, I noticed that the sound was changing in pitch and it had a rhythm to it, it was playing Jingle Bells! Well at least it was trying to play Jingle Bells, but the batteries or sound in it was not as good as it used to be so it sounded like a dieing cat squealing Jingle Bells. Thankfully I figured out how to turn the sound off because the lights are very pretty on the tree. This tree is super tiny, but super cute as it is just the right size for my apartment, it is not to big yet not to small, it is a nice addition for the holiday season.

So this week at school we finish up on Tuesday, when some of my students will be performing in the school Christmas extravaganza where there will be at least 15 acts and it will be about a 3 hour long ordeal. I am looking forward to it however and the kids are going to do great, I have every confidence in them. I will post pictures no worries! It is nice that I have so much to do as it makes it a little bit easier to be away from home. I still have been feeling a little sad lately as it has been hard to be away from my family, especially at Christmas. I will get to talk to them tonight however as it is the annual Busse/Sebo Christmas and this year it is being held at my parents house. It will be nice to see some family that I have not talked to in awhile. I am looking forward to being home next year for Christmas, no matter where I am or where I am working or going to school I am going to make sure that I make it home in time for Christmas to spend it with my family and to see Blair perform in church as Josee will not quite be old enough to do the Christmas Eve service. I miss seeing their faces and how they look when they open presents. Josee wasn't old enough to care what she got for Christmas when I left, but now she is, so I can't wait to see her face next year. I will be spending Christmas with my second family that I have made here in Romania, but that will never replace the awesome family that I have back home! Just think we will be together again before you know it! I can't wait!

Alright enough of the sad stuff, I have to figure out what I am going to do with my optional classes this week and plan for the few classes that I have to do this week, only 2 days of classes, most of which are going to be reserved for rehearsal which makes my job a lot easier! Here's hoping that it is a quick and painless week! I love and miss you all every single day and I can't wait to see you in a little over a half years time. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that the good Lord continues to bless you over this holiday season. Have safe travels and enjoy the company of family, you never know how much you miss it until you do not have it for one or two holiday seasons. Take care and I send my love to you. Merry Christmas!

St. Nick's Day

So I wanted to start out and wish a happy birthday to my friend Sarah. Sarah and I have been friends for about 19 years and I am so thankful that she is a part of my life. On Thursday she welcomed in another bundle of joy, Alyssa Russel, and I wish I could have been there to visit her and meet her. Sarah I miss you like crazy and I am so grateful you are in my life. I also am so happy that you have such a wonderful husband and two beautiful little girls, you deserve every happiness in life. I love you and miss you and can't wait to meet little Alyssa when I come home this summer.

So tomorrow is St. Nick's Day. I am always brought back to my childhood on this day. I always was so anxious to wake up on Dec. 6th to see what St. Nick had brought me the night before. Sometimes he would come early, but Fred and I weren't allowed to look in our stockings until the day of, so we would feel the outside to try and figure out what was in there. I remember one year I got a giga pet. Those were those crazy electronic toys that were supposed to represent pets, you had to feed it and walk it and clean up after it. I was so excited that there was a giga pet in my stocking, that I didn't sleep hardly at all that night. Then when I opened it the next morning I was so excited it was a dalmatian. I started taking care of it right away. I actually remember at one point I had two, because I was "babysitting" one of my friends pets. Oh the things that we get excited about when we are kids is just hilarious.

I also remember that every year, St. Nick would bring us a Christmas movie. We got movies like The Santa Claus 1,2 and 3, Jingle All the Way, Elf and Fred Claus to name a few. We always could guess which one we were going to get that year, but it was still fun to see what was there in the morning. St. Nick even came to me at college. I would get care packages filled with candy and lottery tickets and little trinkets to decorate my room.

Another fond memory I have from St. Nick's Day is from my roommate Sarah (yes I know a lot of Sarahs) She loves Christmas and everything to do with Christmas, so she crocheted a stocking for my roommate and me. I woke up Dec. 6th to find a stocking filled with treats hanging on my bedroom door. It was such a sweet surprise, she has always been such a thoughtful person.

This year I am not doing anything special for St. Nick's Day, just going to tutor and enjoying a walk outside. I can finally get outside because today is the first day in about four days that it hasn't been pouring rain. I am getting a little antsy to get outside and I am grateful that I will be able to do so today. Even though I am not doing anything special, it is sure fun to reminisce about the traditions that I had in my household. I look forward to rejoining those and starting new ones when I have my own family.

With the holiday season fast approaching it is easy to feel a little homesick. I am however very lucky that I have found a second family here within the Peace Corps. We really come together when it is most needed and support each other in every way possible. It is a great experience and I am very blessed. I hope that everyone at home has a Happy st. Nick's Day and that you are able to enjoy the candy that he brings. I think the candy I miss the most would have to be the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, those were always my favorite and are ridiculously tasty! Well enjoy your candies and your families. I miss and love you and look forward to being together again in the future.

Mi-a dor de voi
Va pup
Va iubesc

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B

A Day of Thanks

So with Thanksgiving approaching, I thought I would dedicate this blog to all of the things that I am thankful for starting with the obvious

1.) Family -- I am so blessed to have an extremely supportive and wonderful family. No matter what I do, or what adventure I want to pursue next they are always supportive of me. They have always loved me and always will. I am very lucky to have such a special bond with my parents and brother, and to have a wonderful sister-in-law, two fabulous nieces and an adorable nephew who I cannot wait to meet.

2.) Faith -- My faith in God has helped me so much throughout my life. I am so thankful that it is a part of my life and that it has never left me, even in my darkest hour. I am very lucky to have something so supportive and strong in my life that will always comfort me and provide me with hope for the future.

3.) Education -- I am so grateful that I have been able to have had such a blessed education. Working here in Romania, the school systems are good, but sometimes are not super supportive. Again this depends on the area that you are in. My current school is very supportive, but I have seen schools that just don't have the means to be as supportive as they want. I not only was able to get tutoring outside of school if I wanted to, but my school had books in good condition for everyone, computers for use when necessary, reliable heating in the winter, and special education classrooms for those who needed it. Even though I might feel animosity towards my education at times, it still was good and I am very lucky to have it. I am also very lucky that I was able to pursue a college degree and will soon start my adventure of a masters degree.

4.) Kindness and Support -- I feel these to things are intertwined as one leads to the other. I not only have support from my family, but from my friends, colleagues, the Peace Corps, and my community. People who know nothing about me here in Romania, are willing to support and help me when necessary, that kindness baffles and awes me. I am so grateful that these people are willing to provide me with such kindness without expecting anything in return and without asking. It makes being far away from home and all things so much easier when complete strangers are willing to provide you with such kindness just to make you feel welcome in their community. I also experience a feeling of warmth whenever I am able to spread that kindness to others. To make someone else feel happy just by being kind is a feeling that I cannot express through words it is so wonderful.

5.) Love -- Without love I do not think the world could go round. I have so much love in my heart for my family and friends and I know that that love is extended back to me. Without it I would feel empty, and sad, but I never have to feel that way knowing that there is love out there for me to receive and I have lots of love to give back.


6.) A home -- I am so grateful that every night, I have a roof over my head and heat to keep me warm. There are so many people in this world who do not have this blessing, and I am so grateful to be this fortunate.

7.) Food -- Everyday I am able to go to the store and buy what I need to keep me healthy and well-fed. Again there are so many people who do not have these blessings and I only hope that this blessing will find them soon and remain with them through the help of kind and generous souls.

8.) Clean running water -- As a Peace Corp Volunteer, I never dreamed that I would be living in an apartment or that I would have constant access to clean running water. I always imagined myself in a small village in Africa and having to wash my clothes in the river and sleep on a mat in a small hut. I am so fortunate to have this blessing, and it is not just running water, but hat running water. I am also grateful for this, because I do not have to worry about disease being in my water. I see the poor souls in Haiti, who have already been through so much suffering and yet it continues as they do not have something as basic and necessary as access to clean drinking water.

9.) Electricity -- Without the gift of electricity and Internet here in Romania it would be much more difficult to communicate with my family. While we could do so via letters, I would have not had the opportunity to see pictures of my newborn nephew, or to see how my nieces have grown. In addition to this I would not be able to share all of my pictures of my experiences with my family. I am grateful for this invention and grateful that I can share this experience with my family.

These are just a few of the things I am thankful for in my life. Without these things I would not be able to be the person I am, working here in Romania. I am so grateful for this opportunity to give to another country. I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving and never forget the things in life that you have to be grateful for. I love you so much and Happy Thanksgiving!

Mi-a dor de voi
Va pup
Va iubesc

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

The Beauty of Fall

Oh it was a beautiful week here in Romania. Today we saw temperatures in the high 60s. Yet if I was still in college I would have been experiencing the first snowfall of the year, and it would have been a doozey of a storm. Ironically however, I am missing the cool weather that typically is experienced during November. I am even anxious for a little bit of snow. I didn't think that was going to be possible, considering the dislike I developed for snow two Decembers ago when we had a snowstorm every other day and had a slight accident involving my parents vehicle. Yeah that's right mom and dad, still never going to drive the truck again :) I am sure the snow will be here soon enough and then I will be praying for the sunshine and beautiful weather again.

This week was a very nice week, I started to watch a new movie with my film club. I decided upon Remember the Titans because I figured that most of them would have never seen the film, and it teaches a lot of great things. For example, acceptance of others regardless of appearance. This is something that I think we all need to learn, because in general we all have some prejudices towards others, even if we don't want it. I do however truly believe that everyone is capable of goodness and we can fight these feelings and discover new and interesting things about people and form new friendships where we least expect it if we just let our guard down and get to know people we wouldn't normally talk to. So far the kids are really into the movie, and I hope they enjoy it as it is one of my favorite movies of all time. No matter how many times I see it, it never gets old and I always enjoy it and discover new things about it.

We also started to write the plays in my 6th grade optional theater class. These kids have an enormous amount of creativity and I think that we are going to have some pretty good plays to present at my towns annual Special English Evening. The kids are working hard, and I love that they are able to express themselves through their creativity, but it is also very interesting at the same time. Watching several of the plays and certain things they have incorporated into them gives me a different idea of what they have seen growing up than what I saw growing up. For example, several of the kids had scenes where they portrayed someone smoking (which we instantly discouraged and would not allow), but this is something that they see everyday. Smoking is extremely prevalent in Romania, and it is likely that a majority of their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and maybe even older siblings participate in the habit. While it was something that I saw on the street growing up, it was always something that was avidly discouraged, and that is just not the norm here. Also there were certain students who choose to portray drunk individuals. Granted these were not included in any of the written versions, but were done in some of the impromptu things we asked them to perform. These kids are only 12 or 13 years old and they have been in contact with people who were excessively drunk, when I was that age I don't even think I knew what it meant to be drunk. They are just more exposed to this and it is something that you can see on the streets. Not all the time, but it does happen. I do have to say though that Romania has an excellent policy regarding driving and alcohol, it is one chance and you are done, whether it is 10 drinks or 1 drink, your license is gone. Maybe if we enabled that law in Wisconsin there would be less of a problem. I do want any of these comments to be see as the norm in the entire country, or the norm for Romania. I do not think that this country sets bad examples for its children, it was just an interesting observation that I made. It also shows just how attent children are and how much faster they are growing through each and every generation.

School was great this week as well. My classes went well, the kids paid attention for the most part. I did not need to yell too much, they did their homework. It was a good week. I am looking forward to this week because I feel that I have some pretty interesting lesson plans to offer my students. I hope they like them as I put a great deal of thought into each one of them.

This weekend was also lovely. I started writing my rough draft or my career goals statement for my primary choice for graduate school, UW Stout. They have a great Marriage and Family Therapy Program, and I hope that I will be lucky enough to be accepted into it. I do however have other schools that I am applying too, including Edgewood College in Madison, Kansas State University, and North Dakota State University. I hope that I am lucky enough to be accepted into at least one of them, so I can pursue my desire of becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Only time will tell.

My Sunday was extremely filled as I joined my counterpart in a neighboring village to meet her in-laws and have a nice lunch. We had delicious chicken grilled over a fire, mashed potatoes, and a delicious meatball soup. There were also tasty apple bars to enjoy for desert. After that I went to another neighboring village where I tutor a boy from another school. He has learned so much since I started working with him, and I hope he can continue to learn and catch up in his class. He is still at a beginning stage, but he definitely has improved. For tutoring him they tend to give me homemade things such as zacusca (a stewed vegetable spread that is put on bread and is just about the most delicious thing I have ever had) as a thank you. I can tell you it sure makes me happy because they are tasty and I do not know how to make that deliciousness. I also enjoy going out there because they are an extremely kind and generous family.

Well that is all that I have for this week. I hope that you are all doing well, and if it snowed by you I hope that it did hinder your day at all. If you were snowed in I hope you enjoyed it with a nice mug of hot cocoa and maybe that you made some delicious homemade cookies to warm up the house. I love you all very much and miss you as well. Everyday is a day closer to me coming home, but everyday here is such a wonderful experience so it makes the time go by much quicker. I hope you are all healthy and happy and I look forward to seeing you this summer!! Wish me luck during my application phase, lets hope at least one school is kind enough to take me!! ;)

Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Va pup

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Happy Fall

The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler....well maybe not yet. In some parts of the world the weather may be getting cooler, but not here where I am. It has been so wonderful at my site all week. I cannot believe that it is November, it feels like September. I remember times when I was growing up and it would be snowing and cold on Halloween. Fred and I would be all bundled up Trick-or-treating and mom and dad would take us door to door in the car so we wouldn't get to cold. That surely is not the case here, I think that if they did trick or treating here, they could go without a jacket!

The trees however are changing, and I love to look out my window at the hills that are across the street. They are covered with trees that are gold, orange and red and are a true beauty to behold. It will be hard when they barren and brown for a few weeks, but then will be a little better once they are white. The only down side will be that it will then be cold. Good thing I live on the 5th floor, heat rises, and I only have a 5 minute walk to school!

Ah school, this week I had an easy week, I was down from my normal 21 hour class load to just 14 hours. I had so much extra time, I did not know what to do with myself! Now why did I have this extra free time you may ask? Well this week the little ones (1-4th grade) had the week off, so that took away 7 of my classes. That however gave me time to go into Targoviste to do some shopping and to pick up my package that had been waiting for me from my parents. I scored big time however in Targoviste as I found Taco seasoning, whole grain pasta, and brown rice! I haven't tried any of these things just yet to see if they are in fact the real deal, but I am looking forward to doing so.

This week did not bring anything out of the ordinary. I taught, I walked around town and enjoyed the weather, I spent some time with my landlord, and I took some time to relax, since I will be back at 21 hours this next week and will be exhausted. Now I know you don't think that 21 hours sounds like a lot, but when you are teaching a language in a foreign language and you have to grade papers and tests and prepare for class, it really turns out to be a lot more than that. I am so exhausted by the time I get home, I now have a completely different respect for teachers and realize that coming up with and executing ideas is extremely difficult and draining.

This weekend I was able to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the weather. I read outside in the park and took a nice long walk to the neighboring town as I tutor a boy in the 6th grade from another school. It was about 2 miles each way, but the weather was so nice I arrived there in no time. The last time I went there it took me 45 minutes and this time it only took me 30 minutes. It is amazing what good health, beautiful weather, and music can do to put some speed in your step. I hope to be able to take many more long walks outside before the weather gets too cold and I can only take short walks. I am hoping since I am further south now, I will have weather that is just a little bit warmer, but who knows we shall see.

Well that is all that I have to say today, just a short little post, but I hope that it is enough :)

I miss and love you all so very much and I think about you every day. Just think 9 more months from now and I will be home, we are less than a year away from it! I have already been in Romania for 18 months! I am 2/3 of the way done, crazy huh!

Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi!

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat! Money or Eat! Give me something good to eat! If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear! Oh to be young again, I wish that I could be carefree and go trick-or-treating once again. Hopefully I will be able to go with my nieces and nephew sometime in the near future, if I am not away at grad school that is, which I hope to be at this time next year! We shall see!

So this post is going to be much shorter than last weeks, I don't know if I can ever top that one, but I did have an awful lot to say, as it was an experience filled week! This week was a lot quieter but still busy. I was helping my school prepare for their Halloween party that they had today. It went really well, they made a lot of money and the kids had a lot of fun, so that is the important thing. There were lots of great costumes and lots of great prizes and games. They even had pumpkin bowling, which was slightly adapted. it was more like regular bowling, because there were no pumpkins. Lets hope that next year they can get some pumpkins!

Yesterday proved to be more exhausting than today. While today was long, yesterday I spent 5 hours at school helping the kids set up the haunted house. It was an extremely long process involving a lot of cutting, taping, and some collapsing. It turned out well though in time, and the kids really liked to play in it. It was amazing, something that took 5 hours to build only took 30 minutes to take down. It is funny how things work that way sometimes.

Anyway I treated the kids yesterday since they had worked really hard for several hours, so I decided to make them some goodies. I made them some apple pie bars and lemon poppy seed bars. They went absolutely crazy over them! One of my students actually told me they tasted better than anything their mom ever made! Now that is a high complement! I am just glad that they enjoyed them and it gave them a little bit of energy, because they sure worked hard for them.

Lets see other than that this week was pretty uneventful, this next week will bring more classes, but I will have a few less since the little ones have the week off, so hopefully I will make myself useful during my free mornings! Lets hope!

Alright well that is all for today, I am not super talkative today and want to get back to watching my Packers play! Let's hope they win!! Go Pack Go!!!!

I miss and love you all and can't wait to see you again and give you a big hug!

Va iubesc!
Mi-a dor de voi!
Va pup!

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Paris Paris Paris!

So I just had a very exciting week. I was able to go somewhere that I never dreamed I would be able to go and that would be to Paris! I bet you never would have guessed that from the title of this blog ;) I went there with my good friend Carly, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, to celebrate her birthday. Needless to say it was a great trip, in an amazing city with a great friend.

So as they say in the sound of music, let's start at the very beginning as it is a very good place to start.

So we left for Paris on October 18th, early in the morning. We ended up taking a night train into Cluj as we did not see the point in paying for a place to sleep since we would be getting up at 3 AM to leave anyway. It may have been a good idea though, since our flight was delayed for an hour when we arrived. So our trip started with waiting. Good thing we have been living in Romania for a year, we are very accustomed to waiting for transportation ;) Things seemed to be going pretty quickly and I was able to catch a couple of cat naps along the way, nothing substantial, but it was worth a try anyway. So then we took off for our adventure. It was a good smooth flight and we arrived in a timely manor (other than the hour that we were delayed -- side not it was lucky we were not going into England as their flight was delayed for 4 hours! Yikes!). Once we got there we had to catch a bus into the city, as the airport to which we arrived was 80 km outside of the city. We arrived and had to find the subway, once we found it we had to figure out how to buy tickets, but we were unaware that our cards would not work in the machine nor did the machine take bills only coin. Neither of us had the proper coin so we were a little worried, but we found a booth to buy them from, so it was all good.

The subway in Paris was really actually quite easy to figure out, but it was a long ride as we had to go from one side of the city to the other, with one change along the way. Thankfully the subway is much faster than the street traffic, because the streets of Paris are absolutely crammed full with cars at all points of the day. So we finally arrived, got a little bit lost because the street signs were difficult to find, but eventually found the place that we were staying. We made our booking through the website Air B&B which basically is a person who rents out a room in their house and it is cheaper than a hotel and quieter than a hostel. It was kind of far out, but with the metro it was really easy to get around everywhere.

So we put our things down, settled in a little bit and then decided to go and grab something to eat. We saw lots of places along the way so we figured we would find one. Carly loves sushi so I thought I would give it a try, so we tried a Japanese restaurant. I was very intimidated by the sushi and Carly had to teach me how to order, but I eventually decided on dumplings (because they don't contain fish!! :) and it was an excellent choice. They were some of the most delicious things I have ever had! I even tried one of Carly's sushi, I was not crazy about it, but I ate it nonetheless. It was different, but I am glad that I tried it. We actually ended up eating Japanese food 3 times throughout the trip and I can now say that I have tried sushi and don't really like it, but I tried it. I even tried some with raw fish! Granted when I got to the fish part I spit it out because the texture was to much for me, but I can't say that I didn't try it! :)

After that we just went exploring the street that we lived on, walked around some stores, looked at a beautiful view of the city, and saw an old church. It was a nice first day. After that it was back to the apartment as we were both completely exhausted from traveling and little to no sleep. So it was an early bedtime for us, so we could explore Paris the next day.

The second day in Paris, Carly and I split up. There was an art museum that she wanted to go to and I wanted to go to the Palace of Versailles. So I took the train out of the city headed to the palace for what I hoped to be a great day. Needless to say it was not the greatest day that I had in Paris. It was recommended to show up early to beat the crowds, so I arrived about an hour after it opened, and discovered that the opening was delayed due to workers strikes. It did not say how long it was delayed, but I decided to hang around. So I went out back and explore the gardens. While I enjoyed the gardens I think that I would have enjoyed them more if it wasn't raining out. It was so big that I was able to walk around for 3 hours until the palace actually opened and I still did not see anything. It amazes me how someone can envision something that is so big to be so beautiful and creative. Words can't due justice to the talent that is behind this vision. So once I bought my ticket into the palace, I quickly wished that I hadn't. It is not that it was not beautiful, but there were so many people in there pushing and shoving to get into every room that I could not just stand and enjoy the room, as I would have gotten shoved out of the way. Every room was beautiful and was exquisitely decorated, I just wish fewer people would have been filling the rooms so I could have enjoyed it a little bit more.

After that it was back to meet up with Carly at the Arch de Triumph, which was a spectacular creation. I couldn't believe the roundabout that it was in the middle of however, I don't think that the traffic ever stopped there. Cars were coming constantly and I was sitting on one side of the road wondering how I could get across. I saw people in the middle and wondered how they arrived there....hmmm. No I did not run across (but Carly saw some guys who did) but instead took the easy way out and found a passage that led under the street. It was so interesting to stand next to something so magnificent and look out at the traffic going around you.

Then we walked down the Champs Elysees a little bit and looked at a lot of things that we could not afford (including jewelery exceeding 25000 Euros) and made our way closer to the Eiffel Tower. It was approaching sunset so we wanted to hang around there until nightfall. We enjoyed a glass of wine, watched some American football, found an Irish pub and had a Guinness and randomly found the Romanian Embassy on a side street leading to the Tower. Then it was to the tower, at night. Spectacular is the only word I can use to describe it. The way it looks when it is lit up is to beautiful for words, and we even were able to see a light show, as occasionally thousands of lights twinkle on the tower. We did not go up the tower, because we wanted to see the view of Paris from Montmartre, but we did see lots of military men at the base of the tower...which was interesting to say the least. So after enjoying these sights of Paris, it was time to turn in.

Day 3 took us to more new adventures. I wanted to try and find a flea market as I read they were really cool, but it turns out the one did not exist. I was really bummed about this, but things turned brighter quickly, while walking towards the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame, I ran across a shop that contained the perfect present for my mom. It was affordable, and unique, so not a typical souvenir, but that is what made it so perfect. Then we arrived at Notre Dame and I waled around inside. It was a very interesting church, very dark and unlike any other I have ever seen before, but I still liked it. Again I did not go up this one either, because you had to pay, and the very top was closed. So I was not going to pay to go partially up the tower, it just didn't seem worth it to me. Next it was to the Latin Quarter, where I spent yet more money on things, and looked longingly at things that I could not afford and finally found the Pantheon. Yet another magnificent building. The pillars and the openness of the building were my favorite parts. Its size was unbelievable, but I appreciated its beauty so much. This one was probably my favorite, as there were not that many people there, it was open and uncrowded inside, and it had a pendulum on the inside that demonstrated the earth's rotation. I thought this was so cool! The pendulum itself was tied to the very top of the church, at the peak of the dome, and ran all the way down. I was actually able to see it shift just the tiniest bit, during the time that I was in there, which I thought was great. They also had a crypt in there and it was interesting to look at the plainness and the extravagance that existed in the same place.

Then we did some more shopping and walking, stopped for lunch, more shopping and walking, found a couple of parks, and then decided on getting dinner. The place where we went for dinner is something that I would never have imagined that I would have found in Paris or in Europe for that matter. We were having difficulty finding something open, so kept walking and then came across a diner that we spotted across the street. Now when I first saw this, I thought, "Well maybe it will be like an American Diner" but then quickly dismissed this as I thought it was a ridiculous thought and we were in Paris, why would they have a diner like that. I discovered upon arrival that my first intuition was in fact correct. It was like stepping into the Twilight Zone, we went from Paris to the United States just by crossing the threshold. They had American food, American drinks, music, posters, everything. I order a real A&W root beer, had the most amazing mushroom and swiss burger that I have ever had and enjoyed the taste of home. It was so awesome, I loved it! So after that little gemstone, we were exhausted from the long day and extremely filling meal that we had just consumed.

Day 4, we thought it would be good to just relax and enjoy the city. Which it turned out to be the perfect day for as it was beautiful outside. so we walked down by the Louvre, took pictures in front of the glass pyramid, walked through the park in leading to the Louvre and some of the interesting exhibits that were displayed there. Went to the obelisk, which was a really cool monument, and while there we saw someone arrive in a motorcade. Someone near the area said that it was the president of Chile, but we were never able to clarify this fact. Then we enjoyed a hot dog/Panini lunch in the park, Carly nearly got attacked by the birds because of the bread that she was giving to them and caught a metro to Montmartre.

At Montmartre we went up to Sacre Couer to start and saw the most amazing view of Paris. then we entered into the church and saw the beautiful paintings and alter which were truly magnificent. My favorite part about this place were the performers. We were able to sit on the steps in front of Montemarte and look out at Paris, while listening to live music being performed and watch the illegal vendors run from the police from time to time. (It was hilarious as you see these guys running through the crowd of people trying to get their things picked up while trying to be the first one away from the police I couldn't help but laugh.) The guy we stayed to listen to had a great stage presence, a good voice, and he even picked people out of the crowd from around the world to sing songs with him.

After listening to him we watched a soccer player do some tricks, which were unreal. he was standing on this platform about 4x4 or 5x5 feet and doing tricks and dribbling the ball then he decides to really wow us. He gets off of the platform, balances on the fence, jumps down and climbs up the light post that is at least 20 feet high and does not have anyplace to grip on as you are climbing up it, all while balancing the soccer ball on his head! I was astounded! Then he holds the ball on his foot and hangs on the light post with one and and swings around it. The strength and balance that were required for this task were unbelievable.

After this show we enjoyed some wine, went to the Moulin Rouge to take pictures. I was amazed by the line that was already there at least 2 hours before the show, after all these years, they still draw a line on a daily basis for their shows, which just amazes me. We then found an Australian Bar had a drink, then headed back to rest a little before our flight. However we were worried we weren't going to get back, because we didn't think we could fit on the subway! It was so packed there were people in every direction, we could hardly find a bar to hold onto and I swore if there were anymore people on there it wouldn't have mattered if there was a bar or not, because you wouldn't have moved anyway as we were sardines in there! This was a long journey which took me over 30 hours to get home and involved a lot of waiting, but it was okay, it could have been worse that is for sure! I did get to spoil myself when we arrived in Cluj, as I had to wait for my train because the only decent one was an overnight train. I was able to get a sleeper car though and rest, and while in Cluj I treated myself to a Starbucks and went to see a movie, which was really good and I really liked it. It was a good source of time killing. Then I went back to the station to wait and actually ran into someone from my old site who was heading back there. It was so random and I could not believe that I ran into her. So that was a big surprise. Then it was onto the train, and one more switch until I arrived back at my site. It was so good to finely be back here, where I understand the language and can sleep in my own bed. Now it is back to reality though, which is entirely alright, because it was a wonderful. This trip gave me experiences that I will never forget and created lifelong memories. I had so much fun and saw so many things and had so many experiences that can never be taken away from me. I am so thankful I had this opportunity and I look forward to creating more memories in the remainder of my service that I have left with the Peace Corps.

Well that should keep you all busy for a while, it sure took me a good chunk of time to write it!! I hope you are all doing well and having some adventures of your own. I miss you all very much and send you my love each and every day :)

Oh and if you have my current address, that is great but you no longer need to put my landlords name on the letter just my name and the address. It will find me just fine that way

Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Pana mai tarziu

~Sarah B.

Whoops, I forgot to update!

So looks like my goal to get back into the swing of things is not working as well as I had hoped. I almost forgot again today, but remembered, so no worries.

Things have not been too interesting around here, just school mainly. We did have a pretty big project that was going on at school though, I was not a major part of it, but I was able to help out a bit. My school is involved in a bigger project through the European Union in which they are partnered with one school from Portugal, Spain, and Poland. Through this project they talk about implementing and sustaining project at their own respective schools. They check in with one another, and they help each other to succeed. So since they work together, they occasionally get together, which means that 8 representatives from these three schools came to our school. Since English is the common language, our language teachers and others who are proficient in English were busy translating everything. I was able to help with the fine tuning of the translations and to put little corrections to help the flow which was a really nice opportunity. In addition to this I was able to get to know the women that were here. I presented a little bit about the Peace Corps and what we do, the ladies were all very interested in Peace Corps and I think they were a little jealous for my school. Unfortunately for them, Peace Corps is not currently in service in any of the countries and out of the three PC has only been in Poland. From what it sounds like though, there English programs would really benefit from a volunteer, any native speaker not necessarily an American, and they are also open to new ideas. I hope that they can find a program that would allow them to have a volunteer of some sorts.

I was also able to take a trip into the mountains with them. We went to visit Peles castle and Bran, both of which I had been to in the past, but it was still nice to go again. I was actually able to help translate for them, so that was pretty neat. It was difficult as I am not fluent in Romanian but I get my point across so that is all that matters. They also had a goodbye dinner planned for them, which I was invited to, but unfortunately due to my outstanding ability to get colds, I had to stay home sick. So that is why this past week was not very exciting, as I spent most of it asleep or resting and trying to get over a cold. However I was introduced to a Romanian remedy that is very useful in getting rid of colds. My counterpart gave me some tuica (Plum brandy which is distilled and made entirely at home) which I then boiled with pepper and sugar. It was absolutely disgusting, but I slept great after that and my throat felt ten times better the next day. So now I am almost completely healthy, which makes me happy as next week I will be in Paris!

I can't believe that I am finally going to have the opportunity to go to Paris! I am so excited! I have always wanted to go to Paris, my entire life and now I finally have the chance. I will be there for 5 glorious days. I hope the weather is kind to us and I also hope that the leaves will be changing. I think that autumn in Paris would be spectacular to see. The colors of Autumn are truly a beautiful gift of nature. I am so thankful to see such beauty in this world.

Well that is about all that happened this week. There truly were no exciting experiences that happened over the last few weeks. I have just been getting adjusted to school and learning the students. I have some truly amazing students and in general they are really well behaved. Discipline is a big thing in the school and the kids are consistently reminded to adhere to this. The teachers are consistent and they do not let the kids rule them, it is the other way around at this school and I have to say that I like it. It is nice to see kids with respect, because when they respect me I have a great deal of respect for them and for their families as well.

Well I am off to do some projects and work on some information and plan for Paris! I hope you are all doing well and I miss you all very much. Take care and as always I send my love.

Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi

~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.

A successful first week

So I made it through my first week at school alive! Yay! I think that overall it was a good week to. I was able to meet most of my new students and see where their classrooms are and who they are. Of course I really don't remember a whole lot about them right now, or very many of their names, but I am confident that by the end of the year I will know them. I will work very hard to get to know all of their names to. That is what attendance is for :)

So the school year started out just like any other year with an opening ceremony. The principle and vice principle gave a speech, as well as the parent's board, the police captain and the priest gave a blessing to the school. Oh and did I forget to mention, I had to make a short speech. I had known this ahead of time and prepared some things but I was still nervous. I decided not to read from the card that I had written and that turned out okay, but by the time I had finished my 15 seconds of speaking I was shaking from head to toe! Everyone is really friendly and all, but it is terrifying getting up in front of a large group of people, all who are looking at you funny because they know your the new American. Oh well it was just another experience and I lived through it.

This opening ceremony also involved some things that I had never seen before. First off I should explain that the school that I am teaching at requires uniforms. It is not a private school they just like the way the students look when they are all dressed in nice uniforms and look more respectable. So since they have uniforms they had a little "fashion show" for the kids. It was a really cute idea and the kids had a lot of fun with it and some of them did some really cute little "routines" on the "cat walk" :) Also this year they brought in some doves to release at the end of the ceremony. They had 10 in total which represents the highest grade that you can get, which I thought was a really cool idea. So other than that the first day was pretty uneventful and involved a lot of sitting around in school and chatting with my new colleagues.

So thus started the start of the school year, I met my classes and they asked me tons of questions about who I am and where I am from and what I like to do. So many questions and so difficult to answer the "What is your favorite_____?" questions when you don't have a lot of favorites. Oh well I guess that is good practice to get me to start thinking on the spot :) The kids are really advanced though, so I am looking forward to challenging them this year and seeing just how far they can go.

I am also going to be team teaching with some optional classes. Students are offered an optional class at my school and one of those is an optional English. We have 2 types of optional English, one of the 5th and 6th graders is a drama club. So we will learn the basics of acting together and at the end of the semester they will perform a play. The second optional English class for 7th and 8th graders is a movie club, they will learn about the basics of film making and we will watch and analyze movies together. We are not sure what we want to do for a presentation yet, but there has been talk of creating an alternate ending for a movie or creating their very own academy awards ceremony.

So also this week, in addition to meeting all my classes, I have been able to make some time for the kitchen. I have so far made a rice and vegetable casserole, a celery and bean soup, carrot cake and bagels. Yes that's right I said bagels from scratch. It took me an insanely long amount of time to make them and I am not sure if I will ever do it again, but the end result is pretty tasty. So I can say that I did make bagels from scratch at least once in my lifetime and it is nice to have the taste of bagels again after a very long break from them.

So that was my first week, eventful and relaxing and so far a great start to a new adventure. I am really liking it here so far and I hope that it stays that way, and with the support and great colleagues I have here I don't see that as a problem. Well as always I miss you very much and I hope you are all well. Take care of yourselves and keep me in your thoughts and prayers as you are always in mine :) Love you!!!!

Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi

~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.

A new start

So I am finally able to sit down and get back into the swing of things. This summer did not provide me a lot of opportunity to sit and write blogs. Believe me I have wanted to, but I have been on the run all summer long. In addition to this I did not have steady access to the Internet, or to a computer as my laptop did not get back to me until my parents came to visit me. However that was alright as I saved a lot of money on shipping! Yay to that!

So let's see, since my last entry I participated in my 3rd and 4th of 4 camps this summer. Each one was different from the rest, which made it very interesting. My 3rd camp was held in the city of Onesti. It was a nice city and fun to see a different part of Romania, that was also in the Moldovan region. This camp I think was my favorite. The students were of high school age and had just about perfect English. It did not matter what task was given to them, they put a lot of energy and creativity into it which made it a great experience. We also had a barbecue at the end of the camp and we put an American spin on it. While it was traditional Romanian food (chicken, mici, tomato and cucumber salad, french fries, and fruit), I thought it would be fun to have a little contest. So we had some games that are traditionally played at barbecues in the United States. We had a 3-legged race, water-balloon toss, leap-frog race, scavenger hunt, potato sack race, and several more. The kids had a great time with it, and the prize was a homemade trophy filled with candy, which they thought was super cool :)

The forth camp was interesting and different as it was held at a cabin of sorts. The students were from a wide range of ages (1st-7th grades) and the surroundings provided interesting challenges. I was outside all the time and it was usually chilly and I was supposed to teach them English. I was not expecting these surroundings, but it ended up alright. We had fun and learned some new games and I think it was good in essence.

It was also interesting at the camp because it was in the mountains. So we would take hikes in the afternoon and we went to a couple of towns nearby. We went to a fortress and also to a waterfall, both of these provided quite a hike, but it was a fun time. Since it was in the mountains, it also happened to be very cold. Every night they started the heaters, thats right the heat was on in August! I couldn't believe how cold it was.

After that camp I went straight to my mid-service training in Sibiu. It was nice to be with friends again, and to see some of the other volunteers who I had not seen for a while. Then I visited with some friends and stayed in the Transylvanian region for a few days, from where I headed down to Bucuresti to meet my parents! That started the next adventure through Romania and Italy. I was able to take my parents to see 2 castles in Sinai and Bran, to see the older and traditional parts of Brasov and Sighisoara and to see some of the squares in Cluj. My favorite part however was our trip to Rome. We were able to see so many things there, including the Vatican and St. Peters, the National Museum and Forum, the Colloseum, The Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain. the Pantheon, St. Angelos Castle, and so many more things. We were able to go to some markets to do tourist shopping, and ate lots of pasta, pizza and gelato, and drank delicious Italian wine. While it was extremely hot, I feel it was better to be hot than rainy because at least we could go outside in the heat, whereas if it had been raining we wouldn't have been able to see as much. We were there for 5 days then came back to Romania for a few more and then sadly I had to say goodbye to me folks. While we fought like a typical family when they were here, it was still nice to be with them and extremely hard to say goodbye.

After I said goodbye I had to hurry my way back up north to pack my things up and move down south. That is right I was granted a sight change, and this year I am in a small city in southern Romania. The population is about 15,000 and is on the outskirts of the mountains, so it has some nice scenery. I am looking forward to starting a new and fresh year, and to meet new and interesting people. So far things are going really well and I have met a lot of great new people. I am very spoiled here so far, and have a very nice apartment. My favorite part however is the washing machine. At my last site I did not have one, and let me tell you washing clothes by hand is very tough, especially in the winter! I am more excited however by the school. The teachers are all so active within the school and I am looking forward to working with them and doing projects with them this year. I think I will be kept very busy, but I think it will be good, I work better under a little bit of pressure and if I always have something to do, I will get things done and I think that it will be a very productive and good year :)

So I think that is about all for now. I have given you all a good chunk to read. I will not get back into a schedule and will post every Sunday like I used to do. I felt bad not reporting all of the things that happened this summer, but circumstances prevented me from doing so. Now however I have my computer and steady access to the Internet so I no longer have an excuse not to update! I hope that everyone is happy and healthy and there are only good things to report. I miss and love all of you very much and will be home before you know it.

Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Busy Busy Busy

So I think it has been about 3 months since my last blog entry, well that would be because I have been super busy. So my last entry was a little bit whiney because of a bad week, so this one is going to be happier.

I have been super occupied all summer, but it has been in a good way not a bad way. I have so far worked at 3 camps, 2 with elementery aged children and one with high schoolers, I have visited 15 cities and I have a few more to go yet this summer. I have seen beautiful things, castels old churches, beautiful outlooks over the city, towers, museums, and much more. I have met interesting people from places including England, New Zealand and China. I have worked with new and interesting people with the camps. I have met children that are nothing but excited to learn from the strange but cool Americans :) It has been a very interesting summer so far and I am thouroughly enjoying every minute of it.

In these adventures I have been able to stay and see friends that I had not seen for a while, so in addition to seeing the sights, I was able to hang out with friends once again which is always nice. I have had some delicious home cooked meals, including ostrich and rabbit (that was only once), and was able to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer here and there with friends. It has really been great.

Also along the way I was blessed with the birth of my nephew, Fredrick Robert Henry Busse II, thankfully he is healthy and mom is doing well to. I can't wait until I will be able to hold him next year when I come home, but he won't be so little then!! My other two nieces are growing like weeds, everytime I see pictures or talk with them on Skype I can't believe how big that they are getting, they are just growing like weeds! Especially Josee, she is so tall now and has changed so much. Blair is also growing and is turning into quite the little swimmer from what I understand, I am so proud of everything that she has accomplished so far.

Let's see what else can I ramble on about. I will be going back to my site in a few days, just to leave yet again. I will prepare for another camp which will last a week, then go onto my mid service training, then hang around in the south for a few days and finally go to the airport to pick up my parents! I am so excited for them to come and visit me!!! I miss them so much. We are going to do some traveling around Romania, see the sites in Transylvania and then go to Rome for a few days. I am very excited to go to Italy, but more excited to see my parents and spend some much needed time with them. I am sure that once they get back they will have many stories to tell everyone and many adventures to share that were experienced along the way.

Well I think that is all for now, I know it was rather broad and vague, but the whole story would be way to long to write and could probably fill a book. I am looking forward to the rest of my summer and the experiences I have yet to have, it will surely be more of an adventure! :) I hope you are all doing well and I miss you all dearly. Less than a year and I will be home, hard to believe I have already been here for a whole year! I am sending you hugs and kisses!

Va iubesc!
Mi-e dor de voi!
Va pup!

~Until later
Sarah B.

1 year ago I began my adventure

Today I realized that exactly 1 year ago I began my adventure here to Romania. We left D.C. on the 28th of May and arrived about 30 hours later, on May 30th in Romania. We had an extremely long trip, full of jigs and jags, but if it would have been easy that would not have been any fun. Well needless to say this week matched and exceeded my difficult and long journey here. I don't like to complain, but I have had one heck of a week.

It all started on Monday, when I went to turn on my computer and it did nothing but beep at me with a black screen. So I took it into Botosani to get it looked at and they said that they could not look at it today, even though they said they were open, they failed to mention that there was no one there who could look at it when I called. So I left it there and then wondered around Botosani for a while. The day did turn out better however as I was able to see 2 of the other volunteers there and was able to spend time and talk with them, which is always something I like to do.

So this is how my week began, and let's just say it did not get better for a while. Tuesday came and I went to school and had 2 very bad classes. I then was finished and was able to go to my adult language class that I teach. I had some free time, so I was sitting on a bench and talking with a friend and a bird pooped on my head. So far not a good day! Now people say that a bird pooping on your head is good luck...well it did not bring good luck my way that day. So then I went inside and got cleaned up and decided to call and ask about my laptop. They told me they could not fix it because it was a problem with the keyboard and it is still under warrantee, so they promptly charged me 25 RON for doing absolutely nothing. So then I was so upset I went and bought minutes to call my family which did help me feel better, as it always does, but I did not end up teaching my class. The ladies that I teach were very understanding however and helped me immensely. I think I became a lot closer to one of them throughout this experience which is a blessing because I really enjoy talking to her. So I am still searching on how to get my computer back to either the US or to England or Turkey as there is a Best Buy store there as well. We shall see what we end up doing, I am sure it will work out it is just frustrating.

So just as you think the day could not get any worse, it finds a way. I came home to try to calm down and relax and figure out what to do exactly and I make myself some supper. About 3 hours later I become extremely sick, oh yes a case of food poisoning. I was up all night long, sick as a dog, and spent a majority of Wednesday lieing in bed and trying to regain some strength. Thankfully I am feeling 100% today, but Tuesday night I felt like I was going to be sick forever, and I hope that nobody ever feels like that. A little rest and water the next day did the trick and now I am back to resolving my problems.

So thus far the week has been better, I was able to borrow a computer from the school and I have connected the Internet as well. It took a while and 2 computers to get the Internet to work, but we got it to work. So now I can at least put up Yahoo messenger or Skype and talk to my family. So I am just glad that the week is over and I am hoping that next week brings more pleasant experiences. We shall see!

Let's see enough with the complaining. I came to an interesting realization today. I was helping some of my students today with an application they are filling out for a camp in Hungary, and was translating everything that they were saying with little difficulties. If someone were to say to me, "Sarah by this time next year, you are going to be advanced in Romanian and you are going to be able to translate simple to average texts from Romanian to English" I would have looked at them and said "You are absolutely crazy. Now, however, it is true. There are times when the language frustrates me, but I have learned how to communicate with indivduals, on a rather high proficiency level, in a year. Now I think that is something to be proud of! I am feeling a little nostalgic today, so we will also revisit the past a little. One year ago at this time I was in a hotel waiting to begin my adventure. I had no idea how close I would become to the people that I was going to spend the next 3 months with. I had no idea how strong and how quickly these relationships would form. I have formed an extremely close relationship with an indivudual whom I never would have befriended in the states, she is a great person, but I am pretty sure we would have never crossed each others paths, because we are both so extremely different. How was I to know that this person, who I did not even talk to in Washington D.C. would become one of my greatest friends. Here we however and I am very thankful to have her as a friend.

I remember when we were in Washington, and we all had a mixture of emotions. It was so great to finally meet people who were feeling the exact same things that I was. We were nervous, excited, anxious, emotional, concerned about communication, worried about the dogs, curious about the culture, and every other emotion you can put in there was most likely experienced by someone. When we finally did leave these emotions intensified, but did not become a reality for several more days as we were still kept together in a hotel. When we were separated however, things became real. Some of us faced problems, others did not, but one thing we had in common is that we all stayed strong and leaned on each other for support. This support was established so quickly, and so strongly and is very difficult to break and that feeling is something that I cannot explain in words. It is a bond that I have never felt before, but I am thankful for that bond and for having the opportunity to develop this unique connection.

Now here we are, 1 year later at our sites, preparing to end our first year of school. We endured the first few months at site, struggling with the language and different cultures. We trudged through the first school, some of us were experienced teachers, others of us (i.e. me) had to learn to teach in addition to learning how to communicate with the children. We endured a cold, cold winter, experienced the different ways of celebrating holidays, created our own Thanksgiving (thanks to the very hard work and hospitality of David and Veronica, and to Veronica's amazing cooking!) We have enjoyed the Romanian transportation system, sometimes it was pleasant, other times not so much. Most importantly we have learned the value of other cultures not by simply reading a book, but by living in the culture, which is an experience that is truly to be valued. This is something I have to tell myself often as it is very difficult to stay. I do love the Peace Corps and Romania, but there are times when I would rather be in the comfort of my parents home, living in a country where I know the language perfectly and can solve any problem at the drop of a hat without having to constantly seek assistance from others. Then again I know that if I left I would be extremely disappointed in myself and I know that some of my students would also be disappointed, so I will stay even though things are sometimes difficult, I know that it will be worth it in the end, because the influence I have and the things I will learn cannot be learned from a book and they will be lost if I do not complete this journey.

Well as you can see I am at the 1 year point when home-sickness is in full swing, I don't think the computer problems or food sickness helped either, but what are you to do. In a few weeks time I will be off traveling and in a few months time I will be seeing my parents and for that I cannot wait! Well I think that is about all for now, and my fingers are extremely tired, so I am going to do some other work that doesn't require so much typing. I hope I didn't bore you and I want to reassure you that I am fine, just had a tough week, but oh well that happens right. I am sure that it will all be resolved and it is not as bad as I think that it is. I hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and that the end of the school year is good for all of you with kids. I am sending you all love, hugs and kisses!

Mi-a dor de voi!
Va iubesc!
Va pup!

~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.

Splish Splash I'm Takin' a Bath

Well not me per say, but all of the birds are having fun splishing and splashing in the puddles that are everywhere. Apparently May in Romanian means rain, rain and more rain. It is not April showers here, it is May showers bring June Flowers. It has rained everyday this week I believe and not just little sprinkles either. Today is particularly interesting. It will rain for an hour and then be sunny. Then rain for 15 minutes and then be sunny for 15 minutes, and the cycle continues. Oh well what are you going to do I guess.

So this week did not bring to many interesting things other than rain. The kids are all extremely anxious to get their vacation started, as are all of the teachers. The good thing is, I am basically done with the book, which makes me happy because now I can do whatever I want. The only problem is, I am so exhausted from the year, that I can't find the energy to come up with any good ideas. So if any of you have any good themed ideas let me know!! :)

The 8th graders at my school had their second exam this week - Math - yuck! It was never my strong subject, but I am sure that they all did well and I do know that it is an important subject. So that led me to have 2 fewer hours than normal, which was very much so alright with me, and ascension was also celebrated this week on Thursday. So the kids went to a celebration which also resulted in 2 less hours for me, which I was also alright with :) So I had yet another lazy week, which doesn't help my Spring Fever. Oh well just 4 more weeks and then freedom. I think I am going to take a nice little trip and hopefully see some friendly faces that I have not seen for a while :)

Oh I am also going to be helping out at a summer camp this year in Timisoara, I just found out my responsibilities. I have to come up with 4 70 minute sessions to entertain and educate the kids with. Two for younger kids and two for older kids. I am a little nervous as they are long time slots and a wide range of students. I am sure it will be fine, just coming up with the ideas might prove to be a bit of a challenge. At least I will get to see some more of Romania, which is always a plus! :)

My energy level for writing is very low today. Sorry folks, but one more thing, yesterday was my counterpart (Mona's) birthday and I never realized how many people I know born on May 15th. The count is now up to 5, 2 from college, 1 from a former work place, 1 PC volunteer friend, and my counterpart. The middle of may must be pretty awesome, so kudos to you all for having an awesome birthday.

That is about it for today, nothing much exciting happened this week. I hope that you are all doing well and that the end of Spring is bringing you joy and making you anxious for summer. I miss you all and am sending you hugs from across the ocean. Take care and I hope you have a great week!

Mi-a dor de voi!
Va pup!
Va iubesc!

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Happy Mother's Day!

So I would like to start off this blog to say Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there, not just to my wonderful mother. Without you we would not be where we are today and we are all so thankful that you are in out lives. Even though sometimes it may not seem that way, we truly are thankful. Now a shout out to my Mom. I love you so much, you have supported me my whole life and I am so thankful for you each and every day. You have been my rock for so long, along with Dad, and I am so thankful to have you as a part of my life. Without you I would have never been able to go to college, study something that I love, travel to Romania, or be a kind person. You have shaped me to be who I am and I am so grateful everyday. Thank you for always sticking by my side and never ever giving up on me, even though I wanted to give up on myself. You are amazing and I want you to know that not just today but everyday.

Alright now that we are all a little misty eyed, let's talk about my week. It was a fairly uneventful week, just the normal school. The week was a little bit shorter, I was freed from 3 classes because the 8th graders had to take a big test in Romanian. So the 8th graders from the surrounding villages came to our town, because it is the easiest to get to and has the biggest school. The test consisted of a 2 hour written test in Romanian, so they commandeered the school for that time frame. This test is very important for the kids because it says whether they will pass or not, and can influence their chances of getting into a decent high school. I cannot imagine being put under that kind of pressure. I mean we had standardized test when I was in grade school, but it was never the type that decided whether you would pass or fail the last 8 years of your education. I know that they have been trying to institute a high school graduation test in my state for a while and thankfully in my time it was not instituted as I am not a fan in the least of tests. I hope that all of the students did well, and with all of their preparation for Romanian throughout the year I am sure that they did fine. Next week they have another test, this one in Math. So it is not just one big test and your done, they have to take 2 big tests. After that it will be a little bit more relaxed for them. So I am sure that will help.

This week was a little bit difficult. It is so hard to keep the kids interested in what is going on inside, because the weather is really nice, so they just want to be outside the whole time. I am so happy that I am almost through the books, so then we can just have a little bit of fun in the last few weeks. Or so I hope we shall see.

I am also running into a problem with some of my students. They see me as more as a friend than a figure of authority. While this is not a problem with my 7th and 8th graders as they know better, it is a problem amongst the smaller kids. While some of the smaller kids can balance the two, those are few and far between. They always want me to come outside and play with them, but I notice that if I do so, the respect in the classroom is reduced greatly. While I want to encourage to my kids that I am an approachable person, I don't want them to think that they can do whatever they want in the classroom whenever they want to do so. It is a very fine line, and it breaks my heart to see how sad some of them are when I tell them that I can't come out and play with them, but at the same time I know that if I do there will be problems with some of the other kids in the classroom. This will not only make it difficult for me, but also for the kids who want to learn in school. I will take this one bridge at a time and we shall see how everything works out.

So I think that is about it. I don't really have any interesting or fun stories to tell this week, it was a little bit dull I guess. Oh well, not every week can be exciting right :) Well I hope that everyone is doing well and that you are having beautiful weather. I here that there was a possibility of snow in Wisconsin, after the Tornado touched down in Appleton. You just have to love how much the weather changes for us there. Only in Wisconsin can it be above 70 and snow all in the same week! Well at least we are rarely bored with the weather! I love you all and I miss you everyday. I wish you nothing but happiness and health this week and send you tons of hugs and kisses! Take care this week!

Va iubesc
Va pup
Mi-a dor de voi

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Happy May!

I cannot believe it is already May! Last year at this time, I was freaking out because I knew I would be leaving for Romania in less than 4 weeks, and now I am here and I can't believe it has been a year since I felt that way. In 25 days I will have been in Romania for exactly one year. This past year has brought many ups and downs, I have met many interesting people and I have experienced many interesting things. Needless to say it has been an abnormal year, just because if I was still in the States, I would guess that I would probably still be were I was, but hopefully on a track towards graduate school. I am still looking into graduate school and have 3 schools on my list and should probably find a 4th just to be safe. None of these schools require the GRE so I am probably not going to take it. This could come back to cause a problem, but I do not have the time or energy to study for this standardized test, at least not now. Maybe I will change my mind in a month or so, or if enough people tell me it is silly not to take it, but as for now my decision is to shy away from it. We will see how that pans out for me.

So while I should be preparing things for school, I cannot concentrate and since I am a day late on my posting I figured I would do this instead. I did not get a chance to update yesterday because I spent the entire afternoon at the "forest" i.e. the woods with some friends. It was so lovely, the weather was beautiful, the scenery was beautiful and I just enjoyed the fresh air. I was exhausted however when I got home so I pretty much just went straight to bed! I slept really well though with all of that fresh air. I also went to the woods on Saturday with some other friends, each day we had a delicious barbecue! I love food cooked over an open flame and hopefully we will go for another barbecue next week as well. We played some cards when we were there, the guys played backgammon, and we even played a little soccer. I am terrible at soccer but it was fun to play.

So in terms of our transportation out there, it was normal transport on Sunday, but Saturday left something to laugh at. There were 6 of us going out there and we needed a car to go in. So one of my friends called someone in town, and he came to pick us up, not in a van, but in a car with a covered cab in back. So therefore if you don't have seats in the car, you make them in the cab from blankets and tires. Seeing as I was the oldest in the particular group and the American, they let me ride up front in the regular seat. I tried to get a picture of it, but they all jumped out to fast and I didn't get a chance to get any good ones. I couldn't believe it when I saw it and it still makes me smile when I think about it! :) Then on the way back I again got the front and the youngins piled 5 people into the back of a Dacia, needless to say there is not much room in the back of a Dacia!

So that was basically my weekend, relaxing outside and going for long walks, and enjoying the beautiful weather. My week at school was not too exciting. I taught, the kids were rambunctious, I came home to chill, and I prepared for class. We did a lesson on fairy tales for the English club that I started and that turned out pretty well and next week we are going to write our own fairy tale. I hope that the kids come with their creative juices because I know that they have them! We shall see. I think that this next week will begin the start of practicing our English play that we will put on at the end of the semester. It might turn into something pretty big...or so I hope because these kids are crazy talented in many things, they just don't always know it :)

Well I think that is all that I have for today, I better start preparing for school and thinking about what I am going to do with the kids later this week. Oh the fun of lesson planning, it just never ever stops! Hopefully next year it will be a little bit easier. Who knows! :)

I miss you all like crazy and think about you all the time. I hope that the weather is being friendly to you and that you are all happy and healthy! Just think in about 15 months I will be coming home, every 4 posts we lose a month! Just wait before you know it I will be saying that I will be home in 6 months! Stay happy and healthy everyone! Love you!

Va iubesc!
Mi-a dor de voi!
Va pup!

~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.

Another short week :)

So this week was another short one, which is always nice for me :) We did not have school on Thursday because the teachers were on strike again, because of the problems with the pay and the insurance of a job for next year. I feel so bad for the teachers because they are having so many problems with salaries and whatnot, I am very fortunate to not be feeling these effects because I cannot imagine what I would do in their situation. However that did lead to another shortened week for me :) The strike was on Thursday and I do not have classes on Fridays so I only had three days this week. I don't know what I am going to do next week, I have a full schedule, which has not happened for the past three weeks! Oh well, I need more to keep me busy and motivated, it is good for me :)

So I have officially started a project. It is going to be long and difficult, but I think that it will be good for the community as does the community. We are going to be putting on a play for the community. So far this includes 4 short Romanian plays and 1 short English play. I will be going to the students on Monday and picking them out for their parts. I will be picking the most advanced students in English, but I am also hoping to pick a few that try really hard for some of the smaller parts. It is going to be hard to decided, because I think that all of the kids have potential. So we are going to put this play on and then charge people that enter a small entrance fee of 1 or 2 lei. This money will then go to the 25% that is needed for a grant that we will apply for. In addition to this hopefully we will be receiving some money from the mayor's office to fully meet this percentage. This money will then be used to purchase and install an asphalt soccer/play area for the kids. Here for physical education and for soccer at the elementary level they play it on a hard surface. While this still is a foreign concept to me, and I myself cannot do it because it kills my legs, they really do need it for their school to make the physical education program better for the kids. Maybe I can even teach them games like Hop scotch and 4-square when it is finally installed. This is the initial idea and I know with hard work and perseverance it can be obtained. The students also seem to be really excited about the play, so hopefully that energy continues until the end of the semester.

Let's see what else did this week bring. Oh I went into Botosani to go to a festival there. This weekend was a big holiday you might say, it was sfantal gheorge (Saint George) which is an important day for the Romanian Orthodoxes (the biggest religion here) and it was also Botosani's birthday for lack of a better word. So they had lots of stands available to buy things, tons of food, traditional dances (which I actually did not get a chance to see :( and live music. I stayed with another volunteer there and we went to see Bad Boys Blue. It was a band I have never heard of, but they were apparently popular in the early 80s (before me time!) and they actually did have a lot of good music. So it was fun to listen and dance and hang out with friends. I had a nice time there :) Apparently the festival was all weekend, so I am sure that Botosani was a happening place all weekend!

Now however I am back to the grindstone, lesson planning, studying Romanian, cooking, picking out students for the English play and I will probably be starting the SPA grant work next week. So I will hopefully be a busy bee, and hopefully the Internet will not be too much of a distraction for me! I love having the Internet here it is fabulous, but it sure sucks me in really quickly. It is a good source of distraction when I am trying to avoid doing an undesirable task. That should be a new resolution for me, more productive work and less play!

On a positive note, I have been doing better with getting more exercise. I try to walk about 4 kilometers a day, and I have been succeeding with that. I took a break yesterday, but I will be back to work today with the walking. I have already had a fairly productive morning with lesson planning, and will be doing my Romanian lesson shortly. I was slacking on the Romanian for a while but am now teaming up with my neighbor. We are hard at work on grammar, which is my week spot. I never know how to end the words, because that is where they but the ownership, plural and the words. Oh and they are normally irregular, so it is just memorization for me! Yipee! Oh well if I keep working hard I will eventually get there, and in time it will just start to click...or so I hope!

So I think that is about it for the week. I wish I had something else interesting to say, but due to a short week, with little excitement I think that is about it. I hope that the weather is treating you well and that you are all able to enjoy Spring. It is warmer here, but so dusty and when it is windy it makes it very difficult to be outside! However I am happy that the snow is gone! I miss you all a lot, and always feel free to send me an e-mail if you want to talk more or tell me some exciting news, I love hearing from you and I promise I will respond! Or you can always get Skype and we can schedule a time to chat :) I always like that! Alright well Happy Sunday everyone and I hope that this week brings you smiles and cheer!

Va iubesc
Va pup
Mi-a dor de voi!

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.

Back to Work

So after a long and nice 2 week vacation I have to go back to work tomorrow. I suppose it is about time, I mean that is why I am here in the Peace Corps, to teach English, but it is sure nice as it is in any job to have a little break from time to time. It wasn't all fun and games the whole time though. I did have a week of pure relaxation, but last week I was at a conference in Sibiu. The conference really did have a lot of interesting and useful information. It was about encouraging healthy behaviors in youth, but it wasn't just limited to eating healthy, it also focused on pollution, vandalism, reducing your risk for HIV/AIDS and basically anything that would gear to helping a youth grow up to be a better person. One thing that we would like to focus on here at my site is encouraging the youth to spend less time on the computer and more time playing outside, spending time with friends and reading and doing homework. So I guess that means we should lead by example and I don't even want to tell you how much time I spend on the computer each day. All I know is that it is way to much, and it is not always for communication and researching...all too often it is for entertainment purposes. I would like to start a once a week activity with my students where we all get together and play a game for about an hour, maybe on Saturdays. I think it would be cool to have a cross cultural exchange, one week they can teach me a game that they play here and then the next I can teach them a game that I used to play in the states when I was little. So if you all have any suggestions for fun phy ed type games I am all ears!

So there is not to much to say about the conference, it was a lot of sessions and then afterwards we were able to spend time with one another. Which was really nice because I don't always get to see people from my group. My site is a little hard to get in and out of, and if I go anywhere it has to be for a weekend and generally on the weekends I am lesson planning and I have an adult English class, but from time to time I make up for it during the week and we skip the adult lessons or change the date. So it was nice to see some of the people, especially those who are really far away from me, for example in the southern part of the country or in the far northwestern part, because we have this little thing called the Carpathians separating us :)

Also I received some potentially good news this weekend! I am trying really hard to instill the idea of fundraising in my community. They want to put some asphalt behind the school so that the kids have a soccer/handball court to play on and so that it is just something better than dust to have their phy ed on. So my idea is to have a play at the end of the semester, but not just one big play, but rather several small plays so that everyone in the school can participate. Then the parents and other relatives can come to see the play if they want, and either they can give a donation or we can charge 2 or 3 lei for a ticket. This way I can show them that when a lot of people work together and they give a small amount it really does have the potential to go a long way. So I brought this idea up in my student council, and it did not go so well. We have some money left over from the Halloween party and they said we will just offer that to the mayor and then he can cover the rest. I also should add that we are applying for a SPA grant and in order to be accepted we have to prove that we have 25% of the funds first. This is really hard for me to accept because I feel like I am not doing my job here. Maybe I am being a little stubborn and selfish, but my idea of the Peace Corps purpose is that we are supposed to provide and instill ideas that will continue on after we leave. If we just ask the mayor to cover the rest, and receive the SPA grant, they will have the opportunity to apply for a SPA grant after I leave, because it is something generally found through the Peace Corps. I just want to encourage them that if their community works together they can achieve things, and they don't have to wait for someone to hand things to them, they can go and get it themselves and I think that is more satisfying in the end. I did find someone who agrees with what I want to do, and she happens to be the directors wife. She really seems to like my idea and seems to want to work with me, so we will see what happens. So please keep your fingers crossed, and hopefully I am not posting this prematurely! We shall see and only time will tell and I will let you know how things evolve. So with that I would like to end on a happy not and share with you some of my favorite stories that have happened here at Peace Corps, that I myself have experienced, or have heard through the grapevine.

1.) This actually happened this week at the training. There was a bit of miscommunication over dinner and I ended up missing everybody by a little bit for dinner, so I had nobody to eat with. Not a big deal or anything so I just went to the store and bought some bread and cheese and a few veggies to eat on a park bench. So I found a place to sit, and once I was finished I was going to call some friends and meet them somewhere. However my plan did not work out quite as I planned, because these friends ran into me eating my bread and cheese on a park bench as they say like a homeless woman. Needless to say I was rather embarrassed, but picturing me on that bench I am sure it was a site to see. I endured some ridicule, but it was all in good fun, and just another story to remember here.

2.) My second story is from my very first day at my site. So I arrived at around 8:30 in the morning after a night train, in which I did not sleep well, and I had not slept well the night before either. So I was going on about 8-10 hours of sleep covered over the past 2 or 3 days. My friend Ionut picked me up from the train station and then informed me that we were going to be going on a picnic a little bit later. I thought okay, a picnic in the afternoon I will rest for a little bit then I can handle a few hours outside on a picnic...or so I thought! Well we left early in the afternoon, and 6 hours later we were still there, at one point I actually fell asleep on the grass and woke up with a bunch of cows surrounding me! I laughed to myself because of my exhaustion, but then after about 8 hours on the picnic we went home. So I was introduced to the Romanian concept of a picnic, all in good fun though.

3.) This one has to deal with a case of mis-speaking, and before you assume no it was not me! So we had been in Romania for about 2 or 3 weeks at this time. We still did not know much about anything especially the language, but we all liked to go to the terraces after school and have a beer or two. So one of our volunteers was trying to be nice and let someone else out from the table, but he tripped over a backpack, feel into a fence and broke it! The staff saw this and came over to ask what was happened. So the waiter says to the volunteer in English "What happened?" and our volunteer responds with "Imi pare bine" which means "Nice to meet you" instead of "Imi pare rau" which means I'm sorry. We still do not let him forget about this event and it makes me giggle still!

4.) I have a student who is in the 4th grade, he is ridiculously adorable and sometimes quite the little troublemaker, but I have a hard time being angry with him. A few weeks ago he asked me for a book in English, I told him I would look when I had the time, and see what I could find. About a week later he asked me if I had looked, and I had accidentally forgotten, so I told him, "You know Daniel, I am old and sometimes old people forget things, but I will write it down and I will look for you this week." He accepted that and then when we were walking into the school after our lesson outside, he proceeded to hook his arm around mine as we were walking into the school, so I said "Daniel, what are you doing?" and he responded with "Your old I am helping you." I struggled greatly to hold back the laughs and couldn't help but think, man this is a smart kid. Sometimes these kids just make me smile, and on down days I just need to think of them!

5.) Finally a short one I heard through the grapevine. I have some friends who smoke here and one of my friends shared his story with my about mis-speaking. So we have to words here that for us can be a little bit easier to mix up as we are not native Romanian speakers, tigare - cigarette and tigan - gypsy (but it is not a very nice word). So my friend was buying cigarettes one day and accidentally asked for tigan, while the cashier didn't think it was so funny it made me and him laugh because he had asked to buy a gypsy essentially instead of a pack of cigarettes, oh the things that we say sometimes that are completely wrong, just make me smile!

So those are my 5 fun stories after what I realized is a ridiculously long post, sorry if I have bored you. However, know that I love and miss you all and think of you everyday! I hope you are all doing well and that mother nature is being nice to you and allowing Spring to grace you with her presence! I think of you all everyday and I am sending you all hugs and kisses!

Va iubesc!
Va pup!
Mi-a dor de voi!

~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.

Hristos a inviat!! Paste fericit!!!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Easter and were able to spend it with family and friends and didn't forget the true meaning of Easter :) My first Easter in Romania was wonderful! Easter is even bigger than Christmas, and like Christmas they have celebrations and traditions that are different and fabulous. To start out there is a mass cleaning, it is basically Spring cleaning. People in Romania clean their houses from top to bottom until they are spotless. Now you have to remember that the houses here are already very clean, but they do a super clean before Easter. I asked why this is so right around Easter and the explanation that I received was that if you greet Easter with a clean house then a nice Easter will ensue. I thought that was really beautiful and interesting.

So to go along with the tradition I decided to clean my apartment. While it wasn't as well cleaned as other places I was pretty proud of myself, and it took my quite some time. As many of you may know, I hate cleaning, I do not like to do it at all! If I am at a place of work I don't mind cleaning because I am getting paid for it, but at home I do not like it at all. So even though my place is still small, it took me about 4 hours to clean, not fun, but the end product was really nice :)

So the festivities begin here before Easter actually. It was raining unfortunately so it wasn't as interesting as it normally is I guess but I still thought that it was really interesting. For one thing they have a sort of bonfire in the fields. There are usually many of them, upwards to 20 or 30 I guess that you can see from the bridge in the center of town. These bonfires are started from tires. Yes you read it right tires, while the smell is not so pleasant and it is dark so you can't see the insane amount of black smoke. The really interesting part, and not so safe I am sure is the spinning of the tires. So some of the guys take a cable and tie it around a tire, then they stick this tire into the fire and wait for it to catch on fire, they usually wait until it is going really good. Then the proceed to drag it outside of the circle of people and spin the cable around their heads so that the flaming tire is flying in a circle around them. It is a super cool thing to see and I was very impressed by it and I am looking forward to seeing it again next year!!!

So then after the bonfires we headed to the church. There is like a midnight mass that happens and it is really quite beautiful. Everyone is gathered with candles in which they receive the light from inside the church, the priest comes out and does the blessing, then everyone proceeds to the cemetery to put their candles by their family plots. The really challenge is getting there without having your candle go out...needless to say I did not make it all the way there with a flame...I tried but it was still interesting to be part of that cultural experience and very beautiful as well.

So that brought us to Easter Sunday. I have to admit it was a little odd not to be getting up at 5 AM and heading to the Sunrise service at my church and seeing my Dad and sometimes brother off to help with the Easter breakfast and then going to the school gym to enjoy a nice breakfast with family and friends of my congregation but I had a nice substitute. I did not go to any church services as they were all held the night before, and I could not make it up that late. Some people stay up until around 4 in the morning...and I just could not do that. I went over to a family's house that I greatly enjoy spending time with and we had a lovely dinner along with Tory, the former volunteer that was here before me. We had lamb, sarmale, salata beof, beets with horseraddish, garlic, eggs, mamaliga, I tried racitor and delicious deserts along with wine, coffee, and of course tuica! So this racitor that I mentioned is something that I am not a fan of in the least but it is a traditional dish here especially for holidays. What it consists of is basically meat in a gelatin and I tried it and hated it the texture was terrible and it was extremely salty and I could not handle it. Fortunately since Tory was here before me there was not to much hope that I would like it because it is not a dish that Americans generally like because it is so different than anything that we have in the states. The salat beof is actually quite delicious though, it consists of mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, eggs, mayonnaise, mustard and garlic all combined together and it is very tasty! Also I had lamb for the first time, and it is yummy! I was a fan, it is sad that it has to be a little baby that we are consuming, but it may be even more sad that it is so tasty...not sure but I enjoyed it, especially with the garlic.

So they also have a game with the Easter eggs. You have to knock the Easter Eggs together and whoever has the uncracked egg wins and it is supposed to be good luck...sort of like the wishbone that we have. It was interesting and I won one side and lost the other side. I am hoping to win more next year! We shall see what happens!

So then I decided to go see some friends in Suceava yesterday, which was really nice and I actually witnessed another really interesting Easter tradition which is the bringing of the food to the cemetery the day after Easter. What it basically was, was that people would bring a picnic lunch to the cemetery and eat it there and I think that they may also leave some food there for the individuals that have passed. It is part of the Orthodox tradition and I wish I could have went into the cemetery to see it, but I was on a bus. It was very interesting to see the scores of people that were in the cemetery and all of the cars, it almost looked like it could have a been a funeral, but there were people at just about every plot, as a part of the Easter tradition.

So that brings me to the close of my first Easter in Romania. I may be a little bit late on my next post as well, as I am not sure how exciting this week is going to be as I am on vacation and I will be going out of town next week as well to a conference in Sibiu, a very beautiful and historical city in Romania. So it may be a bit, but don't worry I will post!! :)

I hope you all are doing well and that the Lord brought you a pleasant Easter and you were reminded of all the good things that are in your life. I am thankful everyday for all the blessings that I have, but more than anything I am thankful for the wonderful people that I have been blessed with (hint this is especially for you reading this blog!) I have so many wonderful friends and family and I am thankful for you each and everyday! I hope that Spring is coming to you as well, and that the sun is shining more and bringing pleasant weather. Take care and remember to smile today!! :)

Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi!

Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.