Subsistence Farming - Raising Your Own Meat

I posted some pictures a few weeks ago of my visit to a student's house (the one with all the kittens!). Her rabbit recently had babies so she invited me over to see them and take more pictures.

Visiting her house is an interesting mix of emotions. I absolutely love animals so I enjoyed being there and seeing all the animals - especially cuddling the kittens! I also absolutely adore my student and loved spending time with her. On the other hand, it's hard to think that all the animals, excluding the cats and dogs, are raised for meat. Even the baby bunnies will eventually be turned into meat.

Subsistence farming, whether animals or crops, is a large part of life in Padina. People cannot afford to go to a grocery store and buy meat. If they want meat, they need to raise it. Pigs are bought when they are very young. Baby chickens, ducks, and turkeys can all be bought at the local market, usually for less than a dollar. I couldn't imagine raising an animal and then killing it for food, but that is how life is in many countries around the world. Although this concept is foreign to us, it's actually much more environmentally friendly than how we get our meat. Think of all the resources that go into producing the meat that you eat. From the farm to the factory to the packaging and then to the store, a lot of resources are consumed. Even though most of us might have a hard time raising our own meat, subsistence farming sure is a better environmental option.

I would consider having chickens one day - but just for eggs. I saw one chicken laying awkwardly against a wall. I asked her what the chicken was doing. She said it was probably laying an egg. Sure enough, when she picked up the chicken, there was an egg underneath! Many people also used fresh cows milk and homemade cheese. not everyone has a cow, but there is usually at least one person in the extended family that can supply the others with milk.

The last few pictures are from a visit to a church member's house. Her grandchildren had two adorable kittens. The black and white kitten cuddled in my arms for about a half hour. He would meow in protest every time that I stopped petting him. Enjoy the pictures!

Time to Say Goodbye

The last week was a strange mix of emotions. On one hand, I was really sad to be leaving. I felt like I finally got the hang of teaching. English is such a difficult language, there was too much left to cover! On the other hand, I am so excited to be going home! The two emotional extremes basically canceled each other out and I really didn't feel much of anything when I left.

My long round of goodbyes started on my last Sunday in Padina. I attended my last service in Kovacica. That "goodbye" was the easiest because I hardly spent any time there and didn't know any of the adults at the church. I feel really awkward being recognized in public. I am happier just doing my work and not attracting any attention. But since my host viewed my work as sharing God's love, I was factored into the sermon. While he was thanking me for my work, one cute little old lady said, "What about her husband? We need to thank him to!" so for about 5 minutes, Tom was the topic of conversation in a small church in rural Serbia. They said they appreciated the sacrifice Tom made by letting me come here and the support he has given me. So Tom, the congregation of Kovacica thanks you! I got plenty of goodbye hugs and kisses from the members. I think the older people just liked having someone young at their church. The ladies will come up to you, pinch your checks, and give you a big hug and a kiss simply for being there.

Even though I would attend church with them on my last Wednesday, my official goodbye to the church in Padina was later that afternoon. Janko went through the same goodbye/thank you speech as in Kovacica, but this time he also brought up Tom. Padina thanks you as well, Tom! I received a few more hand made goodbye gifts to add to my already bursting suitcase.

The most difficult goodbyes were with the adults students. I enjoyed working with them the most so I will definitely miss them the most. I really hope I can come back in a few years and visit everyone.

Goodbye Serbia, Hello Home!!!

Market in Kovacica

On my last Saturday in Serbia, Liljana took me to the market in the neighboring town of Kovacica. This market was bigger than the one in Padina and had a slightly different atmosphere. Enjoy the pictures!

Italy!

Sorry I haven't posted anything in about a week. My last few days in Serbia were too busy and I didn't have internet here in Italy for a few days. Please continue to check back over the next two weeks. I still have plenty of things to post!

Playing Dress-Up and a Priceless Gift

About a month ago, one of the petite little old ladies from the Church offered to dress me in her traditional Slovak clothes since we are around the same size. I happily took her up on the offer this week! Traditional Slovak clothing is very neat and always very colorful.

After visited the Ethno House, it was really neat to see her house. I have visited a few houses here in Padina, but because most of my students are younger (under 50), their houses are more modern. Her wardrobe looked like it could have been in the ethno-house! She also had the traditional mattress on her bed as well as the typical painted and colorful walls. Both of the outfits that I am wearing in the Pictures were hand made by her around 30 years ago. She still wears the outfits I had on today, but only for very formal occasions.

First, you have to put on the blouse and button it all the way up to your neck. This would not be bad in the winter, but I don't know how they survived the summers. Next, you put on up to three slips that have been treated in starch. I luckily only had one on in this picture. After that, you put on the skirt. Formal skirts, like the ones in these pictures, are heavy because of the amount of material used. The, you put on the apron. The skirts are made with adjustable waste bands so that they can be worn as you get older and bigger. The apron covers the opening in the front of the skirt. After you are dressed, you put on the cap or bonnet. The cap reminds me of wearing a baseball hat backwards. You can see the cap in the second picture. And finally, if you want, you can tie a scarf around your head. It seems like so much effort just to get dressed, but it was a lot of fun!

I think the lady, who is probably one of the cutest little old ladies in all of Padina, had fun dressing me up. We even convinced Liljana to dress up in traditional Slovak clothes. Liljana is Macedonian so she doesn't wear clothes like this. It was really fun seeing her dressed up as well and was definitely entertaining for Janko. He called me "Zuska" whenever I had on one of the outfits.

After dressing up, we had hot cappuccinos in the 90 degree weather. The lady said something to my hosts and then went back inside. They told me that the lady wanted to give me a skirt! The people here are too generous and I was so afraid she would try to give me one of the beautiful skirts that I had on. To my relief, she came back out with a less formal skirt. They have light weight, simple, inexpensive skirts that they wear on a daily basis. The ones I had on were expensive, heavy, and very formal. The skirt she brought out was somewhere in the middle. It is too nice to wear on a daily basis, but definitely not as formal as the ones I had on. I was so honored and grateful that she wanted to give me something so nice and personal, but I felt a little guilty accepting it. I think she made it about 30 years ago. I really don't think it's possible for the people here to be more generous! Hopefully I can find the perfect occasion to wear the skirt at home!

Padina's Ethno-House

Many villages in this area have an Ethno-House. The Ethno-House is a house that is set up to show how people used to live back in the 1800's and early 1900's. My hosts and I finally got to see Padina's ethno-house just last week. The house was very neat to see and was a great example of what the inside of houses used to look like in Slovak villages like this.

You will notice that the walls are very colorful. Walls with painted designs were very common. You can still see some walls like that today, but as time has changed, the walls are becoming much plainer.

The lady who runs the house was very friendly. She even let me dress up in a traditional, formal Slovak outfit. Enjoy the pictures!

More Adorable Kittens . . . and some other animals too

My student, Zuska, that took me to and from Belgrade for the concert invited me to her house because she knows how much I love animals. I had been wanting to see her kittens for awhile so I was very excited to go. Like many families here, they raise their own pigs, rabbits, chickens, etc because meat is too expensive. I took a few pictures of the chickens, ducks, and geese, but I spent most of the time with the adorable kittens. I saw one little kitten swaying back and forth because she was about to fall asleep sitting up. I picked her up and she instantly fell asleep upside down in my arms. Too cute! She slept happily in my arms until her son knocked over a dirt bike. So what could possibly make me happier than holding a precious sleeping kitten? Holding 5 precious kittens at one time! These kittens were so cute! They reminded me of little bobcats.This slideshow is longer than the others, but who can get tired of kitten pictures?


On a side note, the weather here has been brutal the past few days. It has been around 95 degrees and humid for about a week now. Interestingly, Liljana said that summers never used to be this hot. The hot weather only started after they were bombed by Nato so that is an interesting coincidence.

Ethnic Museum

Earlier this week, my hosts, a student and her son, and I went to the ethnic museum in Padina. My hosts did not know about the museum before this, so this was their first time there too! The museum is free to the public and is run by a local couple. The museum included a very large collection of objects from Padina's 200+ year Slovak history. Because Padina was founded by settlers from Slovakia, the items are much closer to what you would see in Slovakia compared to the rest of Serbia. I was really surprised to see how colorful everything was. I was also surprised at how much this one couple had collected over the years! He even has some of the wicker suitcases that were brought over by the original settlers from Slovakia over 200 years ago. There is a picture of them below. You can see everything from traditional dishes to linens to outfits and more in the pictures below. The pictures outside the house show farming equipment, washboards, and other larger household items. Let me know if you have any questions!

I will be posting multiple times a day during my last week here, so make you sure scroll past this post to see all the pictures!

Thursday Market in Padina

Yesterday was my last market day in Padina. :( Although my family at home might not agree, time has gone by so fast! I would have loved to take more pictures at the market but even without my camera, I stand out in this town. People know almost as soon as they see me that I am not from around here. It was just too awkward taking such public pictures in a place that never sees tourists. I saw the brother and sister-in-law of one of my students at the market. (It is impossible to go there without seeing someone you know!) I said hi to them and continued walking through the market. They told me later that day that a stranger came up to them and asked them who I was because they could tell I wasn't from around here. So you can see why I didn't take too many pics!

My first stop at the market was to buy a few things from my favorite vendor. He sells the best tomatoes from Macedonia. Who knew Macedonia produced such great tomatoes? I always go to him because I can trust that he will give me a fair price on everything, plus he is really nice. He is my favorite because he has such a vibrant personality. The people here are wonderful, but they are quiet. This man is definitely an extrovert. He happily shouts out the prices to his customers with a big smile on his face as he weighs their selections. The first time I bought something from him, he proudly said "thank you!" He knows enough English to say the price and thank you, always with a smile of course. I told him I was leaving next week and then said "bye bye Padina" so he would understand.

Liljana went to the market later that day to buy things from the same man. He told her he was sad this interesting period in his life was over. I never thought selling fruit and veggies to an American once a week would be so interesting! He then gave Liljana a "special" price on whatever she bought from him because she is my host. There is one picture of him in the slide show below.

I always love to see the baby chicks and ducks at the market. They are too cute - especially the ducks! I would buy one as a pet, but there people here buy them to raise them for food. People only buy special processed meat at the stores. The majority of people here raise their own chickens or even pigs. You can see two pics below of the boxes of chicks. They are 35 dinar, or about 45 cents.

I have so many pictures to post, so there will likely be multiple posts per day over the next week. Make sure you scroll down so you don't miss anything!

Welcome to Kovacica!

Once a week, I teach an English class in the neighboring town of Kovacica. This towns seems a little bigger than Padina. Kovacica has bigger stores than Padina as well as a few cafes. Unfortunately, I only spend about two hours a week here between the English class and Liljana's Sunday school class, so I haven't really been able to explore the town. The few kids that come to English class/Sunday school are really great kids. I wish I was able to spend more time with them instead of some of the little terrors here in Padina.

The first picture of the blue building is the Methodist Church in Kovacica. The rest of the pictures are from the main square. I also took some pictures of the frogs and snails in the rain ditch/gutter alongside the road in front of the Church. the frogs were so loud! If you look closely, you can see how their cheeks puff out when they croak. My favorite picture is the one of the snail walking into the red pole. He was moving so slow, I don't understand how he still managed to walk into it!

Adventures in Belgrade Day 2

After an amazing concert, my Serbian friend and I headed back to her apartment. Both exhausted, we were asleep shortly after getting back. She was kind enough to feed me breakfast for the second time. We had the same Serbian specialty as the day before. I am so glad I was able to go with her instead of the other girl. The other girl only wanted to go to the concert. This girl feed me breakfast twice, dinner, and let me stay at her house. I cannot wait until she comes to Baltimore later this month. Hopefully many of you will be able to meet her!

We headed back into Belgrade together. She offered to spend the day with me again, but I felt bad taking up more of her time so we parted ways at a bus stop. She gave me another big hug and sent me off in the direction of the Cathedral of St. Sava. This is one of Belgrade's most famous sites as well as one of the largest domes in Europe. The cathedral was very impressive from the outside and was surrounded by a nice park filled with school children on a field trip.

After visiting the Cathedral, I intended to try to find the bus stop where I was to meet my student to go back to Belgrade. I walked past some of the buildings that were bombed by NATO years ago. I was surprised that the bombed remains of the buildings are still standing there today as if they are frozen in time. I wonder what it must be like to live in Belgrade and pass those buildings every day. Are they immune to seeing such destruction? Or, is it a constant reminder of their country's violent past? Or maybe it is a reminder that the tensions with Kosovo still haven't settled?

After I graduated college, I was offered a position with a government intelligence agency. (I didn't receive actual placement information until almost 1.5 years later). I was recruited by a self-serving recruiter who only wanted to rack up enough well qualifying college recruits to get a promotion. At first I was told I would get to work on geospatial mapping issues with West Africa. I was told there would even be a chance to do mapping for humanitarian aid issues. With the thought of combining GIS technology with humanitarian aid, I accepted. As I learned more, I began to question my decision. There was maybe a 1% chance I could do what I wanted. Most likely, I would have ended up monitoring nuclear warfare or doing other military support.

The part I could not handle was the potential of being part of a team that decided which locations to bomb in other countries. I understand that sometimes drastic measures must be taken to stop violence such as the violence experienced here, but I didn't want to be a part of something like that. If I want the world to be a better place, why would I fight violence with violence and fuel the fire? I certainly don't know the solution for world peace, but I am pretty sure resorting to violence is not the answer.

Also, it is impossible to just bomb a government and punish those who are guilty of the violence. When you bomb a city, you bomb the CITY. Yes, terrible things happened here but now the people in Belgrade have to live with a daily reminder. Children who were born after the war are reminded every day of what happened before their time. These building are on a main street so there are not easy to miss on your daily commute. I would not want to be part of a team that causes a lasting impact on a city like this. So for those reasons, and some others, I turned down the position when they were finally ready to have me start. The building to the right is the American Embassy. After the US publicy announced its support for Kosovo, there were riots in the streets and all the windows had to be permanently boarded up for security reasons.

I hopped on a tram and headed to where I saw a cross on the map. I was hoping to see a nice church and I was not disappointed. This post is getting long so to sum up the rest of my day, I was eventually able to find my student with the help of a very nice bank manager who was willing to call her. We picked an impossible place to meet - people and bus stops everywhere! Luckily the bank manager was the perfect example of the generous Serbian personality who said he was happy to help.

My Adventures in Belgrade Day 1

My adventure to Belgrade started when I woke up at 4:30 in the morning. One of my adult students offered to take me on the bus with her to Belgrade on her way to work. We met at the bus stop at 5:15am and hopped on the bus with all the other house cleaners heading to Belgrade from work. She took me on a short down one of the main streets before leaving me at a bus stop where I had to catch a bus out to meet my new, mysterious couch-surfing friend, Ana. I nervously boarded the bus not sure how this adventure was going to turn out. Ana said the bus ride would take about 30 min, so 20 min into the ride I showed a note written in Serbian to some man that describe the stop I needed. Turns out, we had just past the stop! I got of at the next one and walked back to the last stop.

I anxiously waited a few minutes hoping I was really at the right spot. A short time later, a girl appeared across the street waving her hand and shouting hello. I walked over to meet her and she greeted me with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. We walked back to her apartment where she immediately offered me something to eat. When she said "you have to try this, it's a Serbian specialty," my heart sank. Anytime I hear "Serbian/Slovak specialty" its usually some type of sausage or other nasty meat. I told her I was vegetarian, and she replied with a surprised face, "So am I!" I can't remember the name, but it was a breakfast cake with cornflour, eggs, cheese, and spinach. After breakfast, I took a nap before we headed into the city. In the meantime, my student had nervously texted Ana to make sure that I had arrived safely. She said she just couldn't relax not knowing if I was ok. She is just the nicest person, I wish you all could meet her!

As we walked to the bus stop, I asked where I could by a ticket. She told me we would be ok and she never buys bus tickets in the city. I was a bit nervous riding the bus without a ticket, but I had no choice so I followed her onto the bus. First, we stopped by her school so that she could talk to a professor. We walked into the school and were greeted by the security guard who checks students' IDs. She said, you can stay here with him and then went up to talk to a professor.

I ended up having a great time with the security guard as well as another man who came over to talk because he had heard us speaking English. Other than at the Pastors' meetings, this is the first time I actually got to talk to Serbians on this trip. (Everyone in Padina identifies themselves as Slovak). Both men were extremely outgoing and friendly - the perfect examples of the warm and open Serbian personality. We talked a little bit about everything before the guard finally asked, "What did you think about Serbians before you came? did you hear that we were all terrorists?" He was afraid the media had ruined the image of the Serbian people. I said I never base my opinions on what the media says about people because the people are not the government. Just because a country may have or have had a bad government, doesn't mean that the people are also bad. Serbians are some of the most wonderful and generous people you will ever meet.

Ana came back down and said she was still waiting for her professor so she suggested that I go on a walk. I walked around the nearby park and then down a street. It actually felt a little liberating to finally be in a city after being in rural Padina for so long. I was able to walk around as a tourist without having to worry about my classes. I'm not a city person, but it was great seeing so many shops, outdoor cafes, and people everywhere. I walked back to the school about 30 seconds before Ana excitedly came walking outside. She had convinced her professor to give her a passing grade!

We hopped on another bus and headed into the main part of the city. She showed me the main pedestrian street in the city which has nice shops and of course, souvenir stands. We passed a really interesting display of about 20 signs showing pollution throughout Belgrade. It was a great display and we can only hope that it helps people understand this serious problem. But unfortunately, there are too many people out there that just do not care about the environment and no matter how hard you try to get them to see the importance of protecting the environment, they will just continue with their selfish ways. So, not only is Ana a vegetarian, she is also passionate about the environment and hates how people use so many plastic bags! It's so crazy how you can meet a complete stranger on the internet and end up having so much in common! (The majority of people on CouchSurfing.com are great, but she is probably one of the nicest!)

We hopped on yet another bus and headed out to the stadium to get the tickets. After picking up the tickets, we headed back to a small lake where we sat for about a half hour and talked about traveling, culture, and her upcoming internship in Baltimore. (I can't believe I met someone here who is coming to Baltimore this summer!). At one point, she told me I wasn't the typical American because I know so much about other cultures and just the fact that I know where Serbia is on a map makes me different. In one way, it's a compliment, but in another way, its sad how Americans have such a bad reputation over seas. While many Americans do know a lot about the world, we unfortunately have many people that are very uneducated about the world around them and the beauty of other cultures.

The best part about my day with Ana was being around someone my age with similar interests. Being able to talk with someone about things you are interested in or life in general is a great thing. Only two of my students are my age. The rest are older women or young kids, so I unfortunately do not have any friends my age here in Padina that I can just hang out with. (I am going to a singing again at the Nazarene Church tonight with the girl my age, but it's not the same). It's nice being part of a Church community here because everyone is so wonderful, but it is also a bit isolating. Because I am so busy, my only opportunities to meet people are in Church or during class. There is no one even close to my age at church. Also, here, the church comes first for everything which is great for them, but not ideal for me because I want to experience Padina beyond the walls of the church. I wish I knew when there was going to be a high school soccer match in town, but since soccer isn't important to them, no ones knows when they are. I would love to go to the local pub at night just to see what it is like, but I don't have anyone to go with and I am not sure how that would be viewed. Oh well, this has still been a great expereince so far. I'll write more about my second day in Belgrade later.

Most Amazing Concert Ever!

The concert was absolutely amazing! It was better than I could have ever imagined. I'll write more details about the trip later, so I will stick with the fun details for now. We walked into the arena just as the concert was starting, so I yelled to my friend, "enjoy the show" and then ran to my seat in the front row. I was at the far right of the stage so I didn't have the best view of Elton John. However, I had a great view of the percussionist and main guitarist. Honestly, I am glad I had a good view of them because they were much more entertaining to watch. Every once in a while the percussionist would playfully throw instruments in the air. For most of the concert everyone sat in their seats and enjoyed the show.

About two thirds of the way through the show, the security guards pushed back the rope that had been standing about six feet away from the stage. They motioned for the people in the front row to come up to the stage. People seemed confused at first, but not me! I knew what was happening and ran to the stage. (The whole front section is roped off so only people in the front rows can get close) For about 5 of his greatest hits, I was only a little more than 6 feet from Elton John!!! Being that close was so amazing! I could never have gotten a ticket like that here. Just like at PSU when you have a front row ticket to the game, nothing can compare to having nothing between you and the action. The main guitarist came up to the crowd and gave a guitar pick to the people on either side of me. I wish I had gotten the pick! Oh well.

I was waiting (and hoping) that he would come right up to the crowd to touch everyone's hand and he did! I can't believe that I got to touch/shake Elton John's hand! How awesome is that?! I never dreamed that I would be that close to the stage. Everything was so surreal because a minute after he touched my hand, he made an announcement that he had a special request for a song. I couldn't believe my ears, he played the Circle of Life - my favorite song! This is the song where I got the title of my blog from. So here I am in Serbia, hearing the song that I named my blog after and having just touched his hand. It was unbelievable experience.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Third Conditional

Today I practiced the third conditional with my advanced adult group and teens. To form the third conditional, you use If + past perfect, would + have + past participle. For example: If I had been able to plan everything for this concert myself, there would not have been this many problems! Today's lesson tied in perfectly with tomorrow's concert.

I am no longer going with the person that was supposed to take me. She went from being able to host me over night, to not even wanting to take me to the train station in a taxi because she lives on the other side of a city. I also found out that she would only be able to pick me up about an hour before the concert starts which means I would have to pay for the taxi and hope to get to our seats just in time. So basically, she was getting a free concert ticket for hailing me a cab. I expressed my concerns to Liljana and lucky she was very understanding, especially when I said I could easily do this myself. I can hail a cab myself, the tricky part is not getting ripped off when you have to pay them at the end - that is when you need a native! I was afraid my hosts would be really offended when I told them how I felt. They were very understanding and were also disappointed in how much her availability kept decreasing.

So who am I going with? A complete stranger I just met on the internet! Yep, I'm serious and I am really looking forward to it. There is a website called www.couchsurfing.com. It's like a facebook for people all over the world who are willing to let complete strangers sleep on their couches. I know this may sound really shady, but it's actually a lot of fun and a great way to meet people because 99% of the people on this site are just great people that like meeting others from around the world. I first couch surfed in Beauvais, France and then again with Tom in the Czech Republic. I did a search for women my age with their identity confirmed (meaning they have hosted people before). I emailed a few, and one emailed me back within minutes.

I am going with a woman named Ana. The best part is that she is coming to Baltimore in 2 weeks and staying for 6 months so our paths will definitely cross again! The first thing she wrote was that whether or not a concert ticket was involved, I was welcome to stay with her. She offered to come to the city and then take me back to her place so I can rest before the concert and leave my stuff there. She also said she can show me around the city a little. She is even looking up the bus schedules back to Padina as I am typing! Such a difference from the other girl who only wanted to meet minutes before the concert and put me in a taxi afterwards. I think I can finally look forward to the concert with confidence!

'We watch a lot of TV'

For the past few weeks, a new group of twelve year old boys have been coming to my teenager class. Their knowledge of and confidence with English never ceases to amaze me. They have a greater vocabulary than the other teenage girls that are 2-3 years older than them. Although their grammar is not better, their vocabulary is also greater than my advanced adult group. I finally asked them how they no so many words. Their answer was, "We watch a lot of TV." Usually the TV distracts kids from their school work, but in this case, watching lots of English movies and TV shows has really helped them! I wish I had these boys from the beginning, but at least we are trying to make the best of our month together!

Wow and Wow!

Wow. Next week is my last full week of classes. It's hard to believe that time has gone by so fast. I still have so much to teach; I feel like I need to stay another two months. Less and less time means fuller and fuller days. Tomorrow I will have eight hours worth of classes! I have easily put in at least 40-50 hours of work in each week between teaching and preparation work. The adults and I are starting to panic a bit because there is just too much to learn in too little time. I will have my one group from 8-9 tomorrow night just to cram in as much as we can before I leave. The next two weeks will be busy!

Another Wow! I have a front row seat at the Elton John concert! How unbelievable is that? A seat opened up just minutes before I was about to book one in another section. A front row seat here only cost a few more dollars then the seats in the back of most American arenas. I am so excited - this will be so amazing!

My friend from Padina cannot come to the concert so it will be just me and this girl that I haven't met yet. I still wish I could take another student, but I can't pay for 3 tickets. When I said I would pay for someone's ticket if they took me to the concert, I meant help me get from Padina to Belgrade to the concert and back. The girl I am going with is taking me from a meeting point in the city and back to a train station. I have to ride the bus to Belgrade in the morning with one of my students and walk 2.5 miles out to the arena and back to get the tickets before the box office closes. So for only having to take me to a train station in the city after the concert, this is a pretty good deal for an Elton John fan! Since she was 'promised' a ticket to the concert before I had the chance to invite my students or a Belgrade Rotaract member, I ended up telling them she could pay the $20 difference in the ticket prices to sit with me in a better section, or I would get her a cheaper ticket in another section. She said she was ok sitting by herself, so we won't even be sitting together.

In honor of the Elton John concert, here is a song lyric for Tom:
"I want love, won't break me down, Won't brick me up, won't fence me in"
Thank you for loving me enough to allow me to spend 2.5 wonderful months in Serbia and for not 'fencing' me in! See you soon!

Elton John Concert!

Elton John has been one of my favorite singers for as long as I can remember so occasionally I checked his concert tour page. You can imagine how excited I was when I found out he would be having his first ever concert in Belgrade while I am here! Going to an Elton John concert while serving as a volunteer through a church doesn't exactly fit in with what is expected of a volunteer. I debated for a while whether or not to even asks my hosts if I could go because I wasn't sure how attending a concert in Belgrade would be viewed. But, I figured it never hurts to ask, so I did.

Luckily, they said they didn't mind. I had two ideas on how to attend the concert without being a burden two my hosts. #1 - Ask my adult students if any of them wanted to go. If they got me there and back, I would pay for their ticket. #2 - Contact the 2 Rotaract Clubs in Belgrade. If someone could pick me up at a train station and then get me on a bus back to Padina, I would pay for their ticket. I thought my options sounded pretty good. I asked my hosts a few times to ask the women in my classes because its just easier if they hear it in Slovak. Instead of asking any of my students, it was "arranged" for me to go to the concert with a family friend in Belgrade. Turns out, my hosts would have to drive down to Belgrade and pick me up because I can't stay at this person's house as originally planned. This person works until 7:00 the night of the concert and wouldn't even be able to get me to the arena in time to pick up the tickets, meaning I have to navigate the outskirts of Belgrade myself. Yet, since she was "promised" a ticket to the concert I am still expected to take her. It's just really frustrating because I was looking forward to the concert so much and had so many different options that would make this easy. The concert is this Thursday, and I'm still not even 100% sure I can go. I decided to email a in my class to see if she is interested in the concert because I want to make sure I can go incse this other person's plans change again. I am very impatiently awaiting her response as I type this post. Keep your fingers crossed she wants to go!

Of course they had the best intentions in mind when doing this, it's just not what I expected. I've learned that this is one of the biggest cultural differences here. People, with only the best intentions, will do what they think is best for you even if it's not what you ask for. They only do it because they care, so I have been trying to accept it as much as possible. Once at a person's house, they offered me water or blueberry juice (which doesn't sit well with my stomach.) I asked for water and was given the blueberry juice anyway. At a restaurant during one of the pastors meeting, the same thing happened. Someone asked me what I wanted so I said orange juice. She spoke to the waiter in Serbian and then said, "I got you something better." It was blueberry juice again. :)

PS. Here is one of the reasons my house is so creepy. This sucker was like 3 inches long!

Mommy, where are you?

The littlest one

Saturday Night Singing

Two of my adult students from the Nazarene church invited me to the Saturday singing at their church. They said it was a special gathering because people were coming from other churches in Serbia as well as Hungary. They are such wonderful people so I accepted their invitation. I must admit, I was skeptical at first. Singing really isn't my thing, especially a 2.5 hour long singing at a church.

Liljana reminded me earlier in the day that I should cover my hair for the service. The Nazarene women wear scarves or lace on their heads similar to what a Mennonite would wear. The first few inches of their hair is exposed, while the remainder is covered. I took her advice and wore a small scarf to cover my ponytail. When I got to Liljana's house wearing my skirt and scarf, she started to giggle and said I looked like a Nazarene girl and then gave me a hug for being "cute." My student/friend met me at their house and we walked to the church together.

Their singing blew me away. It was nothing like what I had expected. The songs that are sung in the Methodist church here sound heavy and traditional. Singing loud seams to be more important than singing in key. The songs in the Nazarene church were completely different. They were light, airy, and sounded very uplifting. I honestly felt like I was at a concert, but instead of sitting in the audience, I was sitting with the choir singers.

The men sat one one side of the church and the women on the other. The two sides faced each other. Each side was divided into two sections. The people sat according to whether they were a bass, tenor, alto, or soprano. There was no piano or any other accompanying instruments. Their voices were the music and sounded more beautiful than a piano would have. The songs were not sung just for the sake of singing. They were sung to perfection with everyone using their well trained voices to reach each note in unison. I was amazed at how they were able to sing sixteenth note runs with ease. Depending on the notes, the different sections would sing at different times creating the most beautiful music. The part that amazed me the most was that these were just the congregation members that have carefully honed their voices over the years. This wasn't a professionally trained accapella group, just people that loved to sing.

Hopefully I will have the chance to go again before I leave! This is probably my favorite memory of my time here in Serbia, except for my surprise party of course.

Kittens!

I forgot to post a kitten picture yesterday, so here are two!

This was my attempt to do some work outside with the kittens. They had fun attacking each other under my laptop!

A Wonderful Birthday Surprise

Yesterday started out like any other day. Right before my first class, my hosts gave me some birthday gifts. At first I was surprised, but they are such wonderful people so I should have known they would do something like that. I was surprised to get a Padina t-shirt! town is so small so I had no idea they sold Padina shirts. Liljana even knitted me two beautiful fish.

I was surprised again when one of the teen boys gave me a big chocolate bar and said happy birthday. His mother is in my adult class so I thought she must have remembered when we did a lesson on the months of the year and birthdays. The rest of the day continued as usual.

Usually, when my first adult class is over, they leave right away because most of them have kids at home. I was wondering why no one was in a hurry to leave. Then, I noticed the students from the second group were all waiting in the lobby area of the church. They all started to bring in gifts! Next thing I knew, my hosts were walking in with a birthday cake! I had absolutely no idea that they had planned a surprise party for me! I was so touched by their generosity and kindness. The women in my class are all so wonderful - I really wish you could meet them!

I couldn't believe how many gifts I got. I got way too much chocolate, three bottles of body spray/perfume, 4 shirts, some little decorations, 5 hand-made corn husk dolls, and a basil plant! I mentioned one time that I loved basil and that I grew it at home. One of the ladies that work in Belgrade found a basil plant at a market, and basil is not easy to find here! The gifts were very sweet, but the best part was just seeing how much they care. I know I'm not the best teacher, so I sometimes think that I am getting more out off this experience than they are. I'm putting so much time into the classes - I am so much busier than I ever imagined I would be. I am trying my best so I am just so grateful that they keep coming to class.

The only thing that bothered me about the night was that my one host mentioned to to women that I quit my job to be here and that I even paid for my plane ticket and all other expenses related to this trip. They didn't need to know those details because it makes this sound like a really big deal and that I am making a huge sacrifice for them. I don't want them to feel bad that I gave up a lot to be here - those details are not important. I am here because I chose to be here and that's what should matter.

Here are some pictures from the party and of my gifts! I didn't include individual pictures of the people because I don't want to put their pictures on the internet without asking.

We can run!

The kittens' first time running in the yard! They were just too cute when they first started to run. They would run until they fell over or ran into something.

Native Art Gallery

Today, Liljana took me to the Native Art Gallery in Kovacica (the other city where I have English classes). The gallery was fairly small, but they even had an English speaking tour guide! The gallery featured local artists. The style here is very unique, but very fun and colorful. Next to the public gallery, there are smaller private galleries. I bought some really beautiful hand-painted eggs from a women. I really hope I can get them home without them breaking!

This painting was really interesting (and really big!!). The building in the upper left corner represents Bratislava Slovakia. The castle on the top middle represents the Spis region of Slovakia. There are 200 people in the picture to represent the 200 years of Kovacica. Both Padina and Kovacica were settled by Slovaks about 200 years ago.

My Little Angels

I am so lucky that I have been able to watch these three adorable little kittens grow up. They mean the world to me. I think I normally handle homesickness pretty well, but these kittens have definitely made it easier to be away from home. I still miss my babies at home, but I look forward to seeing the kittens every day. As soon as I get to my hosts' house, I go up to the attic where their mom keeps them and bring them outside to play. They are finally getting to the playful stage. It's almost as though they learned to play over night. The runt of the litter is still a little weak, but the other two are always fighting, attacking their patient mother, or running around. They really like to be held now, and will come running up to you as soon as they see you. Tom even got to meet all of them today via skype! I will try to post a kitten picture every day since I have such a short time left. This will definitely be a hard goodbye!

To go or not to go?

My time here in Padina is quickly coming to an end. I need to figure out my travel plans for the next few weeks. I was thinking about going to Timisoara, Romania for a few days and then flying to Italy. WizzAir, a budget airline, has very cheap flights out of Timisoara. Plus, Timisoara looks like a beautiful city! So, to go or not to go?

My other option is to fly directly to Italy from Belgrade. As of now. I am leaning towards this option. I would absolutely love to visit Romania, but traveling just isn't as much fun when you are alone. For me, going to Italy is almost like going home. Italy, specifically Tuscany, has the most beautiful little old cities surrounded by picture perfect rolling green hills. I will be spending the weekend with some friends in Siena. I can speak enough Italian to get by so I am really looking forward to being somewhere where I at least have a slight idea as to what is happening. And best of all, I LOVE Italian food! I haven't had pizza, mozzarella, fresh Parmesan, or fresh basil since I have been in Serbia. The food here in Serbia is not bad, but I really miss mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I cannot wait to take my first bite of yummy Italian pizza, or even better, gelato! My stomach may be deciding this one for me . . . .

Novi Sad!

I finally got to see the beautiful city of Novi Sad over the weekend! There was another pastors meeting and luckily they decided to have it a the church about 5 minutes from downtown Novi Sad! This was a special meeting because the Methodist Bishop of this region was here for the weekend. He was a very nice man and very down-to-earth. He is from Switzerland and is fluent in German, English, and French. I enjoyed hearing the Bishop speak because it was fun hearing a language other than Serbian or Slovak. With how German is pronounced, it is also a very fun language to listen to! I felt a bit "lost in translation" at times because he addressed the pastors in German. One of the other pastors was translating that into Serbian which Liljana then translated into English for me!

Lunch was nice. The secretary of the Church here is very sweet. She remembered that I am vegetarian so she made fried zucchini for me. yummy! After lunch, I went out to explore the town. Novi Sad has a very pleasant historical center. The buildings were very nice and many of them were different colors. It is a very nice city - just the right amount of charm. There was a really nice park and of course great views of the fort. Even though this is the second largest city in Serbia, I felt like there were hardly any non-Serbian tourists. I couldn't even find postcards! It is nice to be in a city that seems untouched by outside tourism.

I also found a nice outdoor market that sold fresh produce and clothing. I wanted to take pictures, but I decided not to. The rows were very narrow and it didn't look like there were any tourists there. When you are walking around a foreign city alone, its nice to to dry to much attention to yourself and taking pictured definitely would have made me stand out. A beautiful tabby cat was walking through the market and seemed completely unfazed by all the activity around him. He came up to me, got a little back scratch, and then was on his way.

The best thing about the day was just being in a city! There were cafes, restaurants, and real shops! Padina is a nice little town, but it sure does make you miss being near a real city!

I hope you enjoy the slideshow below!

Thank you for the Birthday Cards!

I got more birthday cards in the mail last week! Thank you so much for all the cards! I haven't got this many in a long time!
Thank you . . . . Aunt Blanche, Grandma & Grandpa, Dennis & Diane & Family, Dorothy Byard, Humma Family, Bev & John, and Mom & Dad!

Thursday Lunch

I was planning on Thursday being a relaxing afternoon where I could sit in my kitchen and work on lesson plans. A few minutes after I sat down, one of my adult students (who is learning English for the first time) came to my house. She said something about her husband's cousins from Denmark were here in Padina and they spoke English. She said "come," so I followed. She took me down the street to another house, which happened to be the house of one of my other students. My two students are not related, but their husbands are both cousins with the people from Denmark.

Anyway, I got to talk to a woman from Denmark for about three hours. Her husband's parents were from Padina, so they were just here visiting family. She was a really nice lady. Neither of us spoke any Serbian or Slovak, so it was nice being able to speak in English. I saw that they were getting ready to have lunch, so I tried to excuse myself, but my students really wanted me to say. I just couldn't say no, so I had a quick lunch with them. (I had to leave early because of classes). My students know that I am vegetarian, so she told me the soup was vegetarian. I tried to ask if it was cooked in chicken broth but she said again that there was no meat in the soup. As soon as I tasted the soup, I knew something was different. I didn't want o be rude so I didn't ask again and just ate it. The next day when I came into class, she asked me right away if I felt sick. I said no and asked why. She told me that she forgot she had cooked chicken bones and skin in the soup for flavoring. (She took them out before it was served) She felt really bad, but I told her it was OK and not to worry. If this is the first time in like 14 years I had some type of chicken product, I guess that's not too bad. I'm just glad I have been able to avoid almost everything else so far! Luckily Liljana makes wonderful vegetarian soups!

My Generous Students

It is easy to forget that I am here as a volunteer and not getting paid - this really does feel like a real job. Time has gone by so fast, I just never really think about it. Over the last few days, I have received so many things as thank yous from my students. They may not pay anything for the classes, but they show their appreciate by giving what they can. Here is what I received in the past few days: a gallon of milk (straight from the cow and still a little warm), a huge block of homemade cheese, homemade apricot jam, a jar of canned cherries, a pot of sweet pepper mashed potatoes, rice with pickled cabbage, three squash, "vegetarian" ramen noodles because someone saw some in a shop when they were in Belgrade, and a small table runner for my birthday. I think that's all this week. I usually don't get that many things - this week was just special. I feel a little awkward when people give me things because I don't expect anything from them. This may be a quite little town, but the people here are some of the nicest you will ever meet!

Create your own travel map!

There is a fun website where you can keep track of your international travels. My goal is to travel to 50% of the countries in the world. It is a big goal, but something to look forward to trying! I am really looking forward to experiencing the Middle East or Asia! Tom has been lucky enough to go to China with some friends, but I have not been anywhere in Asia or the Middle East yet.

Interesting Articles - Ecological Corridors and Gabon

If you read either of the articles in this post, read this one about creating corridors for jaguars in Costa Rica. This is why I loved studying biogeography and have such a hard time deciding on a career in geography versus a career in the medical field - I just love this stuff! According to the article, "scientists have realized that connecting corridors are needed because many species rely for survival on the migration of a few animals from one region to another, to intermix gene pools and to repopulate areas devastated by natural disasters or disease. Placing animals in isolated preserves, studies have found, decreases diversity and risks dulling down a species." We need to do everything we can to save these species. By clearing land, we are destroying THEIR HOMES to build ours so we need to take responsibility for our actions. I get really frustrated when people complain about wild animals coming into urban areas or farms. Where else are they supposed to go when we took their land from them? Animals cannot speak for themselves when their homes are cleared for human benefit. I wish we could all learn to coexist with our fellow creatures on Earth. These beautiful, amazing animals need to be cherished and recognized for their value, otherwise we will lose them before we know it.

Too often when we think of Africa, the first things that come to mind are all the negative stereotypes of poverty, famine, and war. It is easy to look past the cultural and environmental treasures throughout Africa. This is a nice article about Gabon and their attempts to preserve their land. conservation efforts unfortunately sometimes conflict with local interests, but hopefully Gabon will be able to find a balance between the two. If they do develop an ecotourism industry,, I'm sure I will go there some day!

Typical day with my host

Janko was fixing the washing machine and decided to take some pictures. He claims it is our "secret" as to how we got inside the washing machine. This picture pretty much sums up life here with my hosts.

Also, I changed the blog settings so you should all be able to leave comments now.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!

Saturday Conversation Class

I had an optional conversation class for my adult students and it went really well. There were even two new women that came to the class! I really wish the adult classes had been advertised before I came here so I could have had more time with the women. At first we only did easy questions. But since some of the women already spoke English before my class, we switched to more difficult question. They had a lot of fun with "What would you do if" questions like "what would you do if you won the lottery." From now on, I am going to start or end each class with 15 minutes of conversation practice. The beginners know enough English now to be able to form basic sentences. I can't say I'll miss the kids, but it will be really hard to say goodbye to the women here! They have just been so wonderful to work with.

The weather the past few days has been terrible. It is really cold, windy, and rainy. None of the older kids or younger kids came to class today because it's so bad. I am glad they didn't come because they all walk or ride bike here and they shouldn't be out in this weather.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday! I couldn't resist putting this up, at least for a few days. :)

Novi Sad

Ever since I found out I was coming to Serbia, I was really excited to see the city of Novi Sad because it looked so nice in all the pictures. I have been able to kind of see the city twice and wanted to share the pictures with you. The first time was after that youth retreat. We passed through the city on our way home and stopped for about a half hour at the fort that over looks the city. The fort is located on a hill across the river from the center of the city. The sun was shinning down on the city and everything looked so nice - it made me ever more excited to see the city itself. I was really excited when my hosts said that we would go back to Novi Sad the next day to taker their son back to his church. I thought we would have time to visit the historic center, but instead we went to lunch with the secretary and pastor of the church in Novi Sad. Then, they had a meeting with the Superintendent of the Church here in Serbia in a suburb of Novi Sad. I enjoyed meeting the pastors again, but we unfortunately ran out of time to see any of the city. Hopefully I will get to go there again and see the city before I leave!

Sr. Dorothy Stang

On Tuesday, I posted about a documentary I saw on the Amazon. I left out one very important person in my posting. For my former job, I worked with the Sisters of Notre Dame. Sr. Dorothy Stang, a Sister of Notre Dame, served in the Amazon for almost 40 years trying to help the locals live sustainably in the forest. She ultimately sacrificed her life for the land and the people that she came to love. Here is a quote from her website:
"Sister Dorothy Stang. She was Dot to her friends and family and Irma (Sister) Doroteia to the people in Brazil who took to calling her the "Angel of the Amazon" because of her passionate support of poor farmers' rights to the land and her protectiveness of the rainforest. Dorothy, a Sister of Notre Dame, devoted almost 40 years of her life to the people and land of Brazil. On February 12, 2005, two hired gunmen shot her six times thinking they had finally silenced this gentle, tenacious crusader for the poor."
If you are interested in reading more, you can go to this website, check out this BBC article, or simply google her name.

Thanks for the reminder Sr. Barbara Jean!

Updates

Class attendance this week has definitely improved from the past three weeks. Luckily, one of my adult students didn't know that I had classes for teens and brought her son to one of the adult classes for extra English practice. I told him to come to my teen classes and bring friends. He came and brought three friends! Wow - there is such a difference between 9-10 year old boys and 12 year old boys. The 9-10 year old kids are difficult to work with at times. These four twelve-year-old boys could not be sweeter. They listen and try so hard. I really hope they keep coming back and bring more friends that are just like them!

Donation update:
About a month ago, I told you a story about a family here in Padina who lost their barn and supplies to fix their house in a fire. Thanks to very generous donations from my family, we were able to raise about $470 for the family! They were very appreciative that people that don't even know them were willing to help them. I got more good news this week. The two original volunteers here in Padina were about to raise about $300 through their church. This will be a tremendous help for this wonderful family! Thank you!

My new job

In addition to teaching English, I now get to take care of two pigs! Well, at least for a few days. Most of the houses here have a small farm/courtyard. Because the yard at my hosts house is used for a Church, it's not a good place to raise pigs. So, they are raising two pigs here at my house. The pigs will eventually be dinner at festivities later this summer, but I don't want to think about that.

Normally, my host's 85 year old father takes care of the pigs. He will be out of town for a few days, so I offered to take care of the pigs while he is gone. It is a smelly job, but they are really cute animals. They remind me alot of my parents' dog Oliver: friendly, a little smelly, naughty, and they like to wipe their cold wet noses on you just like he does! I cleaned their pen for the first time yesterday and it was a funny experience. I decided to wear my flip flops into their pen because I figured they would be easier to clean than my sneakers. Well, the pigs never saw toes before, especially toes with purple nail polish. The female pig was so fascinated with my toes. She kept trying to sniff them so I ended up hoping around then pig pen trying not to get my toes nibbled. After I put on sneakers and came back, it was time to shovel the manure. It only would have taken a minute or two, but the pigs were in a playful mood and kept trying to play tug or war with the shovel and broom. It may be a smelly job, but I love animals so I don't mind.

Most of my adult students clean houses in Belgrade for work, so naturally, I taught them the verb "to clean." They really thought it was funny when I told them I cleaned the pigs' pen. At least me taking care of the pigs is making my students laugh!

Documentary on the Amazon

Often, when I am planning my lessons, I listen to American TV shows through a website called Hulu. I just listened to/watched a really good documentary on the tribes of the Amazon. Although the beginning was the typical history of all the explorers that tried to find the lost cities, the last 10 minutes were the best. The devastating effects from the rapid deforestation in the Amazon are too great to even really be counted. A football field is lot every 10 seconds to unsustainable agricultural fields. Not only does this have dire consequences for the surrounding biodiveristy, but it also threatens to erase remote Amazon tribes from existence. When fields that cannot possibly be sustained due to such low soil quality replace the forests, farmers are forced to use fertilizers and chemicals. These chemicals then seep into the rivers where they change the balance of that delicate ecosystem and poison the fish. Less fish means less food for these tribes that have learned to coexist with nature for thousands of years. This is one of those things where you wish you could stop it, but unless all the loggers, large agricultural producers, and governments felt the same way, you are pretty much helpless. Click here if you want to watch the documentary.

This a picture from our honeymoon to the Peruvian Amazon. You can't possibly capture the beauty of the Amazon in pictures.

A Nice Surprise!

After I finished my lesson with the little kids, Liljana told me I got some letters in the mail. I was only expecting something from my mom, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Four of my grandma's friends sent me birthday cards! That was so sweet of them to send me cards all the way over here in Serbia! Thank you so much Fran, Gloria, Patti, and Sharon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the other mother's reading this!


How could you not love a face this precious!

Chuch in Jabuka

This morning, Liljana took me to a church service at the Methodist Church in Jabuka instead of going to the morning prayer service here in Padina. Jabuka is about a half an hour away in the direction of Belgrade. The church services in Padina are very traditional and use slower hymns. The average age of the congregation here is probably around 65. The church in Jabuka is bigger and with all the children, the average age is probably around 35. Because the majority of the congregation comes from Roma/gypsy decent, their music was much more lively and fun. It was a really enjoyable service. I was just surprised that there were probably about 20 people there under the age of 20. Except for Easter, kids and youth never seem to come to Church in Padina. Gotta go. Time for the second church service here in Padina.

5 Weeks Down, 5 More Weeks to Go!

Wow! I can't believe I am half way through with my time here in Serbia! I wish I could say that class attendance was as high as it was in the beginning, but it's not. Class attendance is actually my biggest frustration right now. I used to have about 6 young kids, now I am down to one. About 6 older kids used to come, now only 2-3 come each class. My teen class has gone from a high of 10-12 down to 4 regulars with sometimes a fifth if I am lucky.

This is just really frustrating because I really thought I would be teaching more kids. I know kids are unpredictable and you can't expect them to attend an English class three times a week in addition to school, but you think there would be more than a handful of kids in this town that want English lessons. It's just hard knowing that I had to quit my job to come here and have such small classes.

Luckily, the teens are really great to work with and really want to learn. I especially love the adults - they are making this trip totally worth it. I don't know what I would do if it wasn't for them. The adult classes are also really small, but they are just such a joy to work with.

I have talked to Liljana about the small class size. She talked to the kids to see if it would be better to have the classes on the weekends, but they said during the week is still the best. She even made the comment tonight that the adult classes seem like the only thing that is worth being here for. I suggest that we put a sign in front of the Church advertising free English classes. I don't know if that will help. I tell the kids everyday that they can bring friends and kids from school, but no one knew has come yet. Keep your fingers crossed that next week will be better! At least we know now that an English teacher is probably really only needed in the summer.

He reads . . . . . toilet paper!

The women in my second adult class make me laugh. Not just a little smile and laugh, but to the point where class has to stop so we can all regain our composure. First, there was the lady that said "Bread Pitt!" when I showed a picture of bread. Then, today in class I introduced the word "read." I asked the class for examples with read. One lady said, "He reads . . . toilet paper!" I don't have the slightest clue what made her say that, but it was hilarious. It took us a few minutes before we could get back to work. :)

Letters from Sierra Leone!

I am so excited! Tom told me this morning that I got a package of letters from Sierra Leone, West Africa. My great aunt was a Methodist missionary in Sierra Leone many years ago. Although I never met her, I feel a special connection to the schools where she served. I got to meet the headmistress, Jane, of the June Hartranft Memorial School for Girls last summer. We exchanged contact information and earlier this year, I sent a letter to the girls at the school. I told Jane that I would write to any of the girls that wanted an American penpal. I wasn't even sure if they received my letter until Tom told me I got a huge stack of about 20 letters in the mail. I cannot wait the 48 more days until I can go back and read each letter. He said they even sent pictures! I am just so touched that so many of the girls took the time to write to me. I intend on responding personally to each letter as soon as I get home. I can only dream of the day i will get to go to Sierra Leone to visit them.

Jane had sent me a CD with video clips from the school over Christmas. It was so wonderful to see some of the girls and to hear them sing. I am always so amazed by their spirits and how they can find ways to be happy despite living in a country with such a difficult past. With the recent economic crisis in the US, you may think you know what its like to have your country go through tough times. Our worst can even begin to compare to their worst. Our country has money problems. Big deal. Make cutbacks and learn to deal with it. It may be tough and hard but it cannot compare to the unimaginable terror and violence that Sierra Leone faced during their civil war. These people lived through years of a cruel and torturous civil war where amputations were a form of punishment, children were forced into rebel armies, and women and girls were raped so badly that to describe what happened to them is to hard to put into words. Despite these hardships, these beautiful little girls are able to carry on with their lives, and although the scars of the war are still visible today, their spirits remain so strong. With countries like Sierra Leone, it is important to not forget the past, but even more important to focus on how far them have come. I may be volunteering in Serbia, but my heart is in Sierra Leone.