thought i would do a picture post this time...since a few have accumulated. enjoy :)

it's quite a trek from the trains station in my town to my apartment. i was smart enough to pack a snack before i went to pick sara up! yummy carrot sticks :)

we had a great time, even came across this teletubbies concrete mixer!

okay so here are my biscuits. granted they do look more like the european cookie version, but i tell you they sure taste good.

given that school is pretty much over and lessons are pointless, i gave my students the assignment of drawing a picture that represents america. i was impressed with the turn out.

oh and, today the new group of volunteers got their site placements. super exciting!

it is currently 10 pm and there is still daylight outside! it also lights up way before my alarm in the morning, which is a bit disheartening...i guess i can't complain compared to those winter days of what seems like 5 hours of sunshine. there really is nothing like the spring time. better take time to enjoy it before the misery of summer heat kicks in!

i have been enjoying my newly functioning oven. today i baked my first from scratch batch of biscuits. like real biscuits. not like the european kind that are actually cookies. i wish i had thought to take a picture before i at them all. i can't say they were very beautiful but they sure were tasty, especially accompanied by delicious strawberry jam. it wasn't hard at all, this whole making things that don't come from a "magic box" or "magic bag" as my friend blanka says. i really think that i will take this experience with me wherever i go and take it to heart that things are just so much better when you put a little more effort and one might say, love, into the equation. yeah well good intentions at least...we'll see how long that lasts, but for now handmade goods by moi are my only choice and i'm loving it. i guess i get that from my nana. if i can get my hands on some molasses i think syrup cake is next on my list ;)

school is coming to a close. though the last day isn't until next week, many students have lost interest in attendance and as a result many of my classes have been cancelled. i really will wonder if school will even exist at all next week or if it will just be as insignificant as my students make it out to be. i have to admit i will miss them over the summer. i already miss my time spent with my crazy 12th graders. (i was fortunate enough to be able to attend their graduation, which i might say is sooo different than what we have going on.)

also as school is reaching its end, so is the service of so many volunteers i have come to known during my time here. the group that arrived before mine is preparing for their departures after a successful 27 months here in romania. they will be missed. it's a sad time, but yet a happy one as they move on to the next part of their journeys. on a side note, it's so crazy to think that i will be right there in a year from now! wow too crazy!

i think i will just enjoy the next two weeks and then find so many things to keep me occupied this summer. i am really looking forward to projects and things i will be involved with. seeing some familiar faces and unfamiliar places, i think will add up to be a great time worthy of a lot of photo ops. so don't you worry there is more to come :)

it's hard to believe but i am days away from the one year mark of joining the peace corps. i feel like so much has happened and i have changed so much over the past year. i've seen a lot, experienced even more, and here i am entering into my second year, not really knowing what else is in store for me.

i know i have a bit more traveling ahead...but i am almost over night trains-especially those without beds!

those trips always seem to be worth it though! it only took us one year to find this goodness...but i present to you ben and jerry's cookie dough ice cream right out of the capital city of romania!

i've been a bit busy lately, trying to finish out the school year and make plans for the summer. i will be involved in many things over the next few months that will keep me occupied, to say the least. i am participating in a big habitat for humanity build in a couple of weeks and then before i know it, the year will be over and i will be immersed in camps and such until next school year rolls around. and if i'm lucky, i will get a bit of vacationing somewhere in there. i'm thinking my first trip to the black sea is in order. everyone raves about the romanian sea side. i'm mostly looking forward to being with other volunteers and making the most of the time we have together. but i have had some interesting experiences here at site that are keeping me going!

i do love the beauty of spring here in romania. this is one of my favorite houses in my town.

one of my best students took me down to the river. we sat and listened to the water rushing while taking in some sun and just chatting. it was the most relaxed i've been here in romania. i believe it is my new favorite spot and i plan to take everyone here that comes to visit. it is a bit of a walk outside of town and in the middle of nothing but fields. but totally worth it!

so surprise! this morning i was presented to the congregation of the reformat church here in town (the preacher just so happens to be my landlord). he gave a short introduction and then made me go up and give this speech! setting aside the fact that i don't speak hungarian, it took all i had to even understand the letters because of his illegible handwriting. i was so nervous and afraid that i would totally mess up, but i went up there and gave it my best shot in front of the packed church. all of the older people thought i was the cutest thing, and i got a few sympathy kisses on the way out, but i would say over all success! not that i would ever volunteer to do that again...

well that's all for now :)

spring has finally arrived! i thought, however, that before i started getting into it, i would give you one last snapshot of my first romanian winter :)

here is the celebration of women's day in romania. on march 8, only one week after the official first day of spring here, every woman in the country is drowned with flowers and little gifts. this photo was only taken one hour into the day!

i had the awesome opportunity to visit my new favorite romanian city, cluj napoca! this is the famous st. michael's church which sits in one of the main squares. it was beautiful and i had a great time there but there was a lot of work involved. i attended several meetings over the course of the weekend. one was about the foundation of a new committee here in romania focusing on diversity issues. it's called MAC (multicultural awareness committee). i am fortunate enough to not only be a part of this group, but to be one of the co-chairs. our main focus is to help bridge the gap between the natives and the volunteers, and help better train the volunteers to deal with issues associated with the difference in culture. we have big plans and hopefully we can really make a difference!

how many pieces of dangerously stacked furniture does it take to change a lightbulb!?

so this is about the greatest sight! i now, FINALLY, have a gas tank hooked up to a stove that works! you all know me and know how much i love food and even more, cooking that food. not having a comfortable way to do this for the past 7 months has been very wearing! there are still some kinks to be worked out, like getting a shelf for the oven and a stove top grid, before i can actually start using it. but they set it on fire today and everything worked like a charm so i am very excited about that. i also got lights working in my bathroom and bedroom, my shower drain unclogged, and mold cleaned from the wall. it was a pretty monumental day, and now i can't wait to get visitors, because not only am i more comfortable here, but i can offer guest more comforts as well!

i am off to grade some papers and prepare for classes tomorrow--story of my life ;)

la multi ani! and happy 50th anniversary to peace corps :) it was on this day, in 1961, that PC was signed into existence...since then over 200,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries around the world! i feel very privileged to be a part of that legacy.



so i'm sitting in my apartment with the curtains drawn back eating some yogurt and granola, sipping on herbal tea, peeling fresh orange that i got from the magazin down the street. my school day is done and now i am taking a minute, before i start checking things off of my to-do list, to enjoy the sun trying to peek out from behind the clouds and listen to the birds chirping away. sometimes i forget to just stop and take it all in, especially in the day to day craziness that is my life. well that's what today is about for me.

the sun wants so desperately to come out today. rumor has it we might actually see it before the week is over :)

not quite what i pictured the first day of spring to be!

today, march 1, is also the first day of spring here in romania. there's a very old traditional that comes along with it and though most of my students and people in my community are hungarian, i got to see a little of what all the hype is about. it is popular on this day for the boys and men to give "mărţişor" to the ladies in their lives whether it be family, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc. traveling around the capital city this weekend, there were a number of outdoor markets set up with any gift you could possibly think of for the glorious occasion. usually they resemble the picture below...red and white string and a charm either being a flower, four-leaf clover, or horseshoe, all thought to bring about good luck and fortune in the new year. i was lucky enough to receive two of the three, which i think is a pretty good deal.

my mărţişor for 2011. one from my director and the other from a very talented student of mine

this weekend will be spent with two of my best friends in timisoara that i haven't seen in 3 months (shout out sara and katie)! it's been a bumpy start to the new semester and we are in need of some good down time. in fact, talking about school and work will be strictly prohibited ;) next weekend i have to chance to explore a new place in the country that i've been wanting to spend some time in. CLUJ NAPOCA! for once a peace corps sponsored trip doesn't require me to take a night train and is only about 3.5 hours from me. yay :) i'm excited to see some new things and meet up with other volunteers i don't get to see very often. the three days will be quite action packed though. meeting friday evening, most of saturday, and all day sunday. it's going to be exhausting but i can't wait to get the ball rolling on a few things, namely a new committee that is in the works that i am going to be a large part of. more details to come after we meet and i have more concrete things to say about it.

in the meantime i'm just focusing on school issues and housing issues. i may be moving apartments in the near future. i also have some projects in the planning stage, so i'm working on logistics for those. i'm hoping for things to start happening, but realizing that it's all in good time...

i also thought i'd share one of those moments i had with my students yesterday. upon telling them that it was the birthday of someone very special in my life...they did not hesitate to join in on the celebration. sometimes they just know how to make me smile :)

so i would consider today to be one of those days that makes or breaks you. i got out of bed this morning to walk to the bathroom (through the hallway pictured below) to find a puddle of water in my apartment. the water had leaked from the upstairs down to me and had inundated one side of my apartment. i had water in the hallway, and subsequently in all of my shoes lined against the wall, and also in the bathroom. i won't go into details about how the issue isn't getting resolved or that my landlord thought it more important to question me about unpaid bills than to offer to help me clean up the giant mess. i used my electric heater to dry the swampy area and now i have every shoe that i own sitting on various radiators around my house to dry out. some of them have a really musky smell. thank goodness i was here to catch the water when i did. and luckily i have a support system that helped me get through a really frustrating experience. very much looking forward to tomorrow :)

the lake that was in my hallway

the sources of the issue

water coming down awfully close to my fuse box...not really liking that

oh no! not the new sneaks :'(

so there was water in all of my shoes. it was a nasty yellow color.

just got back from vacation and can i tell you i didn't want to leave. it was an amazing week of fun adventures, sensational food, warm people, beautiful scenery, and much needed relaxation!

nothing like a good road trip on an island

i was in awe of my surroundings

and then i went into relax mode

great food adventures (they needed an expert and survey says...artichoke)

shrimp cocktail stuffed artichoke...yum!

a native cypriot serving us one of the many traditional meals

i almost felt bad walking on something so historical

tombs of the kings

read the sign closely. ADVENTURES

our trip to the mosque. we had to wear head scarves and take our shoes off.

tasted an olive right off the tree. never again!

trip off the rock with the beautiful view.

the sunset on our plane ride back to romania.

so four days wasn't nearly enough time to see all that this paradise had to offer. the island itself can be crossed from side to side in about 2 hours driving so you'd think that it would be nothing to explore the whole island in a short amount of time. but factor in the amount of times we had detours on account of not knowing where the heck we were and the fact that every few kilometers there seems to be something worth seeing, and you'll realize that you just need to put your life on hold for a while and soak this place up.

it was fantastic. we were there during the off season so prices were great. the island was not crowded with people. the weather was a bit chilly but we made it work. there was fresh produce and seafood everywhere and this amazing cheese, "halloumi" (they put it on the grill and serve it with pita and olive oil) that's to die for. the ruins and historical wonders of the place are mind blowing. and the constant view around you is something that never ceases to take your breath away. needless to say, it is back on my list of places to travel and you should definitely put it on yours, especially if you're already in the area :)

many more pictures are up on my picasa site (link to the right)

"firework" by katy perry. i don't know what else to say about it. if you haven't heard it, you should immediately go and give it a listen. oh yeah and look up the lyrics while you're at it. it has been a lifesaver for me and my closest peeps lately. at any moment when one of us is down we just bust it out and it reminds us that we got this. we can handle anything and come out on top. i have learned that one of the most important aspects of this service is making sure that you have a good support system behind you. i don't know what i would do without the amazing ladies in my life that keep me afloat when the storm comes...this is my shout out to them. I LOVE YOU GUYS :) [you know who you are]

so sticking to the topic of fireworks...i specifically ended my trip in the states in time to make it back for my first romanian new years eve. can i tell you that the lack of pyrotechnics was sooo disappointing! needless to say it did not meet my high expectations. there wasn't even a countdown at midnight! talk about a bummer when you look down at your phone and it's 12:02 :( but i did have so much fun hanging out with friends and new people i was fortunate enough to meet so i guess i can't really complain. all i have to say is that i want to do it big next year. it's crazy to think that at that point, i will be only months away from ending my service here. wow! it definitely puts things into perspective and makes me want to live each moment in the now and enjoy every second of it...

chelsea and i at this outdoor concert happening right outside of our hotel

our new romanian friend, mihai

somewhere around 12 [give or take]

so i had a trip back home to the good ole us of a...i realize that the entire time i was gone i was comparing everything back to romania. it's a strange concept. even if it was just in my head, i would be thinking "oh well in romania we don't do it this way" or "you wouldn't find this in romania". i have a feeling i vocalized this a lot, and i hope not too much, but i guess just living a certain way of life for so long makes it mark on you. i tried to share some of romania with my family, like making my very own salata de vinete and it was a hit! i also took the opportunity to soak up as much america as i could while i was there. it was so nice to drive a car and eat all of the foods that just don't exist here. i feel like all i did was eat and sleep. not to mention toting back 50 lbs of stuff, a lot of which was for other people. all in all, it was very tiring but i am so grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with my family, especially for the holidays, although i am looking forward to a traditional experience this year. i can't wait for my family to come here and experience romania in a few short months :)

the fam and myself sitting around the table at cheesecake bistro...yum!

christmas tree cakes [sent from heaven] and some traditional romanian candies that i brought for them :)

i have to say one of the best imports from the states has been my Scrabble game that i got for christmas. i have played it in all my classes this week. since it's the end of the semester and all grades are in, i figured i'd give my students a much deserved break. little do they know they are using their brains and practicing their english skills all in the clever disguise of a fun game. they love it and i love that they love it!

so things are really picking up. peace corps paid me a little visit last week, and now i feel like everyone is on the same page (my school, peace corps staff, and myself) which is a good place to be. i realized how important it was for the expectations to be out on the table for everyone. and communication is key. so there are some much needed changes happening for me in the next few weeks and i am pumped about it. i am also having high expectations that it will make my service more beneficial to not only me, but to my community as well.

i'm off to my friends house tonight to make some cartofi prajiti (fried potatoes) with some tony's no doubt. on thursday i head out for my semester break. nice trip to cyprus! i will be sure to not drag my feet on updating when i get back. i will make sure to take lots of pictures of all of my adventures :) count cyprus as country number 2 visited!!!!!! wooot!

this is the day. and by that i mean, it's the last one where i can sit still and let the world around me move at an explosive pace. classes were cancelled today because the student's have to take some sort of term test. which was a little disappointing because of the time i spent preparing my lesson plans for the week, but nonetheless it was probably just what i needed. starting tomorrow, i will be running fast and furious and undergoing a lot of new changes and experience. so much to do...

last week was both a nice getaway and a huge source of exhaustion. there was little time to rest, and just the travel back home took it out of me in a huge way. so today i rest, then i will be heading out (not to return until after the new year). i'm trying to make the pace of this week a little slower and enjoy it while i'm here, even though there is a lot to get done and a lot of map to cover. it does help to have scenery like this to remind me of how much i will miss this country while i'm away...

after a check-in with good ole dr. dan, i will be preparing myself for quite a long journey. less than a week before i am back in the us of a...bound to be an enjoyable, yet very interesting time i'm sure. my friends were laughing at the potential cross cultural mishaps that are sure to ensure. i.e. here in romania when you go to a restaurant you must pay for water and condiments, whereas in america, they give that out like candy. they joke about getting two cups for water...filling one up to the brim with ketchup and standing at the fountain with the other chugging and refilling as many times as possible. of course i know better than to act like this in public, it's only been 7 months. but there will be smaller things that have probably become so instilled in me that they will come out at unexpected times. i guess we shall see. it'll make for some good laughs i'm sure!

so i'm sitting here in mcdonald's waiting for my train and i have to just throw this out there...romanians love to mop (and sweep) but really mop! i've been here for maybe 20 minutes and the place has been mopped twice already. all the halls in my school get mopped between every class. that's commitment to cleanliness and i am very appreciative of it, although it makes for wild ride with no traction on the bottom of my rain boots :(

anyways...happy december! wow time is just flying. the day after i land in the states will mark our 7th month in country. it feels like just yesterday i was getting ready for this whole journey and now i'm smack dab in the middle of it, planning a trip back to the states. the time that has passed though, has not served to make live any less crazy or adventurous.

thanksgiving was a hit. it was a nice time to get together with other volunteers and romanians as well that came along to experience the holiday with us. it wasn't exactly like turkey day in america, in fact we didn't even celebrate on thursday (seeing as how we didn't have off of school). nonetheless it was a relaxing weekend and i think we all enjoyed ourselves.

clela and i preparing the stuffing (well all i did was dish it in the pan)

my friend, blanka, and i

our buffet style dinner. romanians got to go first!

this is us after the dinner. just hanging out. volunteers and four romanians that stayed the night with us!

the next few weeks are bound to be insane. this weekend i will be hanging out in the mountains, hopefully seeing some cool stuff. and then next week we have our in-service training...yay! so looking forward to seeing everyone, not so much missing the volunteers we've lost thus far, but i am hoping that it will be great fun with everyone together. one more week of school and them i'm leaving on a jet plane ;) it'll be here before we know it! i'll try to bring some goodies with me, but if there are any requests out there let me know!

i also uploaded a lot more pics...and they are being captioned right now so go so click the "picasa" link to the right and check them out!

things have been so on the up and up lately...which a real relief. i knew things were going to start to work themselves out and i would become more comfortable with the adjustments i'm having to make, and i think the beginning of that process is here! finally! and having made the decision to stay at my site for the whole month of november couldn't have been what i needed more right now.

my classes have been going well, and i am actually becoming more motivated with each day to get up at the crack of dawn and do my job :) my community integration is also happening, with regular visits with both of my mentors in which i get laundry service and a free meal. i can't wait until i have the resources (like a functional stove) to return the favor to them real soon. language is one issue that has been more on the rocks, and not really sure when that will be resolved but hopefully before i lose it all!

so thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks and i'm actually kind of excited about what we have planned. an environmental volunteer from the group before us does work in this park that has been made available to us for our big day of feasting. so the volunteers on the west side of the country are having our own dinner the saturday following turkey day. we will all be getting together thursday night, so that we can have all of friday to prepare for the meal. then on saturday, friends and colleagues from our communities will be joining us. i have invited all three of my mentors and their families to come and i am hoping for a big turnout! it will be nice to be with friends and family :)

december has a lot of things going on. to start off with, december 1st is a romanian national holiday, which makes a great segway into a nice long weekend in which we are planning to visit another volunteer who is a knowledgeable snowboarder (that's if it starts to snow asap)! then the week following is our in-service training, ist, where we will spend the week quite like the days of the summer, in language classrooms, and lecture hall. but the bright side is that i'll get to see so many faces that i haven't since august 8th! people that i miss so much! it will be like a giant love fest :) after that, back to school for one more week (which is no brainer christmas lessons, complete with caroling the hour away), then winter holiday!!!! not sure exactly what that will entail but i know it will be a bit of traveling and being with the people i love the most. i may even get to be a part of a traditional hungarian christmas eve! then off to spend new years in brasov, one of my favorite cities in romania.

back to school on january 5th to finish out the semester...then semester break! the week of february 1-5 i will be in beautiful CYPRUS! we are pretty much guaranteed some good skiing up on the mountains, but with gorgeous weather down below! i am pumped about this for sure! it will be the second country stamped in my passport!

i will be getting my camera back (from leaving it at sara's house) for thanksgiving, so i will be sure to update you guys more often with photos from then on...especially with the exciting things i have coming up! until then...

it's been forever since i posted something. truth is i really haven't had much time or energy to sit down and write my thoughts. lately life has just been a rollercoaster of constant ups and downs that have left me pretty exhausted. i feel like i have so much to say and update you on, but all i can really concentrate on are the things that have happened most recently.

i am writing to you now in the dark. since the time change two days ago the sun now goes down ridiculously early and we are at pitch blackness by 5:45. it has also gotten extremely cold here lately which makes evenings at home quite miserable. my heat is sporadic at best and if it wasn't for this little electric unit brought to me by peace corps staff a week ago, i would not be able to write this...seeing as how my entire body would be buried in my subzero sleeping bag. they warned us that the winters would be pretty miserable here and to prepare ourselves. oh so much to look forward to!

on a lighter note, i had a great experience this weekend helping out at this halloween charity ball. it is hosted by an ngo here in romania every year to raise money to promote children in school. it wasn't exactly what i expected but i got to see many volunteers that i haven't seen since leaving targoviste and got to feel like i was working for something that gave me immediate gratification. it's the small things, but hauling boxes and arranging candles on tables was quite a pick-me-up. we also got to explore the parliament building and it's grandeur. not to mention the guest of the evening was nicholas cage! yep totally got to see him and his family, which was pretty cool. here is a link to a video online. kind of crazy because around 0:07, my friend aron totally does a scene steal. you can see another volunteer as well...we just can't hide with those hideous orange tees lol! http://videonews.antena3.ro/action/viewvideo/61564/Nicolas-Cage-a-iesit-cu-familia-la-Balul-de-Caritate-de-Halloween-din-Capitala/

another highlight of the weekend was getting a haircut in the bathroom of the hostel. it was much overdue and a lot of fun...even came out looking pretty good if i do say so myself.

so thanksgiving is coming up which is something i think i'm looking forward to. we are having a dinner on the saturday following (because it's not a romanian national holiday, we do not get the day off from school). we are also encouraged to bring our locals with us and my counterpart is really excited about the whole thing. i'm hoping that being with other volunteers and people in our communities will give us that sense of family that we'll all be missing around the holidays.

life has been hectic for me lately. traveling. change in my school schedule that still hasn't been worked out. housing issues. school issues. i decided that it was just time to take a break from it all. take things one step at a time and do only what i can do. take a little control over the things that i can change and just figure out the rest later. i feel like i've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. so i'll be staying at site for the month of november (aside from thanksgiving dinner)--the longest amount of time i have spent here thus far. it'll be a personal challenge but one i know i'm up for. it's time for some rest and shut the world out for a while. it will give me time to reinvest in the people here that have been so eager to spend time with me, and time for myself to just sit in my apartment (cozied up to the heater) and read a good book. december will be crazy with the traveling and emotional strains of the holiday season. i'm not looking that far ahead yet...

that's about it. i've tried several times to insert some pictures. EPIC FAIL. don't know what's going on...but hopefully next time :)

the past few weeks have been a challenge. things happen so differently in this country than they do back home and i've had to do a lot of adjusting and stretch my patience pretty thin. but i am writing to you today from the comfort of my apartment (well it could be more comfortable *cough, cough HEAT* but it sure beats sitting out on the sidewalk to get the internets)! it took a while to get here but i now have wireless and can get online anytime i want, night or day, rain or shine. i'm loving it.

i am at home right now thinking i would get some things done during my 2 hour break before my next class only to find that for some reason the water is not running. guess those dishes won't get done for a little while longer. hopefully i have better luck when i get home later this afternoon. today was a challenging day, having to fill in for 3 of my counterparts classes because she was out sick today. my first class at 8 am was pretty rough. there was a huge language barrier and they really had no interest in anything i had to say. we ended up playing hangman...and it was in english so i convinced myself i was being productive with them. the other classes weren't bad at all. i actually fell in love with a 9th grade class and i'm hoping that my counterpart will consider letting me in on that one. the kids were amazing. they invited me to go and watch a group of them put on a hip hop dance performance which i am so excited about. and the girls on the handball team asked me to take sara to their game tomorrow! so i am about to make the walk back to school for 2 more hours of classes and then back home to eat something before my plans for the evening.

so today is sara's bday (SHOUT OUT) and i am super excited that her and breanna are coming to my site tomorrow. they are my very first visitors. my apartment doesn't have much to offer yet but we have quite a busy schedule until pretty much bed time to i think we can manage. then on saturday it's off to the city to meet up with clela (another volunteer that lives pretty close to me). it'll be nice to just hang out at her place for the night. cook a good meal. have some good conversation. a relaxing weekend is something i think we all really need right now.

did i mention that i weaseled my way into getting fridays off! i got very lucky and all of the teachers i work with are amazing and sooo helpful. and there is my counterpart and mentor that always welcome me into their homes and feed me, even do my laundry for me. i can't wait to share my life here with other volunteers! each day here is more exhausting than the one before...but far more rewarding. it's the little moments that pull a smile on my face and remind me of why i'm here in the first place. this is one of those moments from my week...

gosh i love my life!!!!!

1. the catholic church is across town from me yet the bells ring in my ears every morning (and yes they are distinctly different from the ones that ring in my front yard)

2. just passed a place that had "xerox" on the window, looked inside, and tgere are coffins standing up along all of the walls. and when i say coffin, i don't mean like caskets. nope...actual coffins!

3. buses and microbuses will stop anywhere, even if that means right at your front door. and i have been on personal trains that drop people off literally in the middle of fields with no station in sight

4. this country has some of the best pizza i've ever eaten, like the one i'm eating right now in this "irish pub", and for the first time i was served sauce without having to order it. (and on a side note...i'm listening to christmas music right now. i love christmas music but it's september! i guess the rule about after thanksgiving day doesn't really apply here though...)

5. went to the supermarket today and there was only one brand of peanut butter and only half jars...oh what i would give for an economy sized jar of natural pb!

6. the romanian word "imediat" kind of sounds like the english word "immediate", so you would think that would mean like "right now!" but oh no...at best it means "oh sometime soon". sometimes i really love this laid back, no rush pace of life. other times i need to get stuff done

7. there never seems to be a lack of the surprise factor when locals find out i speak romanian. and when i pull out all the hungarian i know...i instantly become the cutest thing they've ever seen. i love it!

8. the first week of school where i am supposed to be planning with my teachers and getting ready for the students, i was encouraged to go home and rest one day because i had a little cold (even though it was the meeting with the director and all of the faculty), stay home the next day, go to the city one day and go to the mall (accompanied by my mentor, another teacher at the school). apparently i will get to do some planning on monday and tuesday, and school starts wednesday!

9. it is amazing how much of this country is multilingual. you don't find that so much in america...like the city i'm in right now, you could get away with speaking romanian, hungarian, english, or latin. not to mention large populations that speak spanish, french, german, etc. it's so fascinating to me.

10. i didn't get to choose to come to romania...it was chosen for me but i seem to always get the question, quite connotatively negative i might add, "what would make you want to come here?". most romanians have great pride in their country yet they don't understand why or how an outsider could come in and appreciate the country they love so much.

the truth is i feel very lucky to be here. there are things of course that are so different culturally that i just have to accept them and move on, but for the most part, romania has some of the best traditions and history. i look forward to the 2 years i get to spend getting to know, not only my own community, but the country as a whole. there are absolutely wonderful things to discover and experience along the way...i already call this country my home and i can't wait for the chance to share it with more people and have them fall in love with it as well!

From you have to become what you fancy...

so i've been a little under the weather but i managed to do some things around the house, like put up this impressive clothesline! enjoy and there are more pics up so go and check them out...

so i know i've been really bad about keeping up my blog...i've just been so darn busy. it's kind of crazy to think about things, like the fact that i am here in romania and will be for the next 2 years. i have my own apartment, which can be pretty lonely at times, but it is my own and i love it. i never realized how attached i would become to some of the other volunteers and how hard it would be to venture out here on my own. i have been fortunate enough to see my best friends since i've gone to site, before the first day of work started, but walking into my empty apartment last night made me realize that i am here alone and have to make the best out of making this new place a home. i do wish that my best friend wasn't across the country but i have my people on the west side. the people here at site are pretty great though. so the training part of things is over. i am officially a peace corps volunteer which is something i feel like i've been working so hard toward the past year and a half. it feels really good to get to this point. we had the big swearing-in ceremony with the ambassador and it made it on the romanian news which was cool. then of course it was time for us to pack all of our things and head to site. for the past few weeks, since school didn't start until today, we've just been taking time to integrate into our communities and do a bit of traveling. i had my first experience camping in a tent last week at a music festival. it was so much fun and so exhausting and it left me a little bit cranky because i couldn't get a good, full night of sleep but i would so do it over again (except maybe minus the rain leaving everything wet part). there are already plans in the work for other festivals. it also led to me being able to spend my birthday in the city of targu mures which is gorgeous. i couldn't think of a better way to enter into my 22nd year of life. i've gotten to see a few places so far and every place is so amazing for its own reason (the most important one sometimes being the volunteer who lives there). but the country is beautiful, the people are the friendliest i think you'll ever meet, and there is history wherever you go. i look forward even more traveling i have coming up in the next few months, partly because i'll get to see a familiar face. some of us are meeting in a few weeks on the west side of the country to hang out. we have a conference, supposedly at the end of the month for all of the "wardens" appointed to help carry out the PC emergency action plan. i'm not sure what's happening i'll work it out. there will be something planned for november, whether a bit of traveling or just dinner at the ambassador's house. and then in december we have the biggie...our in-service training...which will be all of the volunteers getting together. so on top of my excitement to finally be starting school, i have a few things to look forward to.i do love spending time with my community mentor here at site. he is very laid back and lets me do my own thing, which is vital for me. i look forward to working with the rest of my colleagues too. i had my first day of school today and minus a rough start (my alarm was set for pm not am which caused me to be 25 mins late and i had no light in my bathroom to get ready in the only mirror i have in my apt) the day went pretty smoothly. i found a little group of teachers romanian/english that also don't speak a lick of hungarian that i kind of banded with for the time being, until i can get acclamated to the language. all of my colleagues seem eager to have me there and they are very welcoming. my adjunct director is more than willing to help me work out any issues i may have, which is a huge support and stress reliever. as of now, no one knows exactly which teachers i will be working with for my time here. i know that this year i will be in 6th, 7th, and 10th grade classrooms for my 16 hours a week. the thing with the romanian education system is that teacher's don't know what schools they will be at because of testing they have to complete every summer. like one teacher who was assigned to be a counterpart of mine, that i spent some time getting to know, won't even be at the school this year and she just found that out last week. it's pretty crazy and definitely makes me feel grateful that i 'm in the position i'm in.there are still a lot of kinks that need to be worked out before i feel completely comfortable here. one major issue being having internet installed in my apartment so i don't have to sit out in the churchyard everytime i need to get stuff done. it'll also make it a lot easier to communicate with people when i have a steady connection, which i haven't been privy to since i've been in country. like right now it is raining outside so i'm stuck inside typing this hoping for the rain to stop sometime soon so i can put it up and do some emailing for official PC business. others are little things like learning how to work the washing machine so i can do laundry more efficiently and getting gas so i can actually use the stove. all in it feels like home. but then again, i go to another volunteer's house and she makes me move some furniture around, clean the kitchen (complete with explosions of water leaving it constantly flooded), and replace a roll of toilet paper and it now feels like home too. i'm definitely giving myself time to adjust and staying positive about things. i am excited to have everything worked out and get into a routine of work and just starting this whole process of becoming a member of the community.so it doesn't sound like the rain is going to stop anytime soon. i will probably tote my computer to school tomorrow and use the internet there since there doesn't seem to be much else to do there.

...it is day 1 of week 7. i feel like so much has been accomplished in the weeks that have passed. i'll start with the little things like the fact that i just talked my mom into letting me change my own bed sheets (which promptly earned me a hug and a kiss). i've cooked more in the past week than i have since i've been here which is amazing. my family is super misto about letting me have whoever i want over, whenever, so i took full advantage of that by having some friends over to cook (shout out sara!!!) not only a meal for ourselves, but for my gazda too. they loved our food and my little brother even said that we made pasta better than my mom! granted i did singe some hairs off of my arm trying to light the oven...but it was an awesome evening nonetheless. i also got my scores back from our first language evaluation which was immediately tacked to the fridge and i came home today to find the words "BRAVO! FELICITARI!" written on the sheet. last but not least we are done with practicum! two weeks of lesson planning, teaching, and pretty much being tired and stressed every day. it was a great experience and i really did love the kids that i was fortunate enough to work with, especially my high schoolers, but in the scheme of where we are in training i'm glad it's one less thing on my plate!

so day after tomorrow (poimaine) is the day we've all been waiting for...the day we find out our permanent sites for our 2 years of service. we are having some kind of special secret ceremony and the ambassador for romania will be there to participate which is a big deal. i am so excited! i'm also kind of nervous about it. i have made such meaningful relationships here...the thought of being placed across the country from the people that i love the most is a bit of a scary thought. but like we were reminded today, i have trusted the process thus far and i have been anything but let down. in fact, amazing, completely unexpected things have happened for me that never would've been possible had i not just let go and trusted that everything would work out. so i am ready for whatever is going to happen.

so hopefully to ease some of the emotions of site announcement day...this weekend i am traveling to brasov, which is out of the county! we have finally reached the point where we can start to travel and i am so pumped about that. one of the current volunteers is hosting a meeting for the 50+ volunteers, but a few of us that don't fit the demographic are still taking advantage of the opportunity. rumor has it that there is even a movie theater and you better believe i won't be passing that up. i'll get to see a part of romania i've never seen before, which just so happens to host a hungarian population, and meet and network with some more peace corps people...not to mention spend some quality time with other trainees (including ones very special to me) which is much needed for me at the moment.

i've seen a lot of the trainees, including myself, hit "the wall" that they talk about in peace corps mental health presentations. we are all pretty drained and overall lacking much motivation and enthusiasm. i'm hoping that after site announcements and a weekend getaway things will get back on track. there is a large chance that starting on thursday i will be placed in hungarian lessons in addition to my romanian so i really need to get back on my game. no worries though! i am still loving every second. in fact with each day comes new things more amazing than the day before...and moments more special with those that mean the most to me. i pretty much love my life!

going into week 4 of training, i'm only loving my life more as time goes on. i can honestly say the past few weeks has been the most amazing time of my life. i never could have guessed just how much i would enjoy myself here...even in the midst of the intense training we have to go through. i am even more amazed at how connected i have become to so many of the people here. there are even those really special people that i would have never expected to get as close as i have. we've only known each other for a few weeks but it definitely doesn't feel like it. i have even developed a bond with my language teacher, who i can talk to about anything. it's uncanny how this whole peace corps process works.

this past weekend we had the opportunity to take a field trip with our language groups which was our first time leaving the city since we arrived. it was beyond amazing. we were in the mountains, which is definitely one of my favorite places to be. everyone welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family from the second we got there. we got to see just how current volunteers live, work, and integrate in their communities, which was a great experience. the guys were very helpful and extremely fun to spend time with and get to know.

we got to walk 1 1/2 up and down a mountain for a bbq, where we were treated like royalty and fed way too much food. there were springs and woods that we got to hike in. we got to visit the school and apartment of our host volunteer and spend time with people in the community. it was a great learning experience. i also got to experience being attacked by swarms of flies for a non-stop hour and having a puddle splashing fight in a hotel parking lot in the middle of a thunderstorm. there was other kinds of fun there...too much to mention but (in a nutshell) this weekend was outrageous and i can't wait for my next overnight adventure away from home!

i make my way to school. it's about 8 am and i am naturally running late to meet my friend on our corner to make the trek together. my day started about 45 min ago. i get out of bed and make my way to the bathroom but must first encounter the family, which is a new concept for me. my dad and brother are usually at the table eating and watching tv, while my mom is at work making my coffee and lunch--begging me to eat something for breakfast--or she is ironing the clothes that she kidnapped from my room the night before and washed while i wasn't home.

somehow i manage to get my stuff together, down my cafeaua, and run out the door between hugs and kisses from my mom and her yelling "have a good day. see you later" down the 4 flights of stairs.

the walk to school is amazing...really just the walk to anywhere here. then i get to see my volunteers, which always makes my day. i make it a point to walk down the hall and address every volunteer by telling them "buna dimineata".

language class is amazing. my teacher is so much fun. she says that "glume" (jokes) are her favorite hobby...which makes it nice because we have 4 hours of lessons. then there's lunch and who knows what's going to happen. afternoon sessions are interesting but by that time

we are all nice and brain dead.

most days after school i hang out with other volunteers rather than going straight home. i do enjoying spending time with my gazda in the evenings when i get back. (they are very laid back as to when i come and go from the house) i usually sit in the kitchen and do my homework while my mom cooks dinner. then after dinner i promptly fac dus and go to bed.

details may very but that's pretty much my daily schedule during the week. weekends are too random to generalize. this weekend we are traveling outside of the county for the first time. i'm more than excited to get out and have some new experiences with my friends and my language teacher. i will be posting as much as i can about it soon, complete with pics.

since arriving in romania i have been so awed by every one of my surroundings. it has been a very overwhelming few days to say the least. yesterday was the day that we met our gazdas (host families) for the first time. i had, up until that day, been most excited by this part. for reasons i could not control friday night i got about 3 hours of sleep. needless to say, come yesterday morning i didn't even want to exist in the world much less have to meet these new people and go home with them right after. it was a hard day...but the moment came and i can't explain how awkward that moment was! we were all sitting at tables with our names in front of us and our family's name on the back. they then let all of the gazdas in at once to play "find the volunteer you've been matched with" while we just sit there...those five or so minutes were awful :( but i was so excited to meet my family and they are beyond awesome. in fact, the one that came in to talk to me was none other than my little brother michael!

you may notice that we are all in socks...this is because in romania shoes cannot be worn in the house

i have a mom, mariana (mari for short) and a dad, eugen (eh-oo-gin). they are so good to me. they have a sense of humor which i love and they are genuinely happy to have me be a part of there family for the next 3 months, especially when i demonstrate some kind of romanian language skill. i get claps and hugs...it's awesome! they don't speak any english but michael does so that makes things a little easier. yesterday was a challenge though. with the lack of sleep and my body not functioning how it should, i went to bed last night a little discouraged and just wanting to get to tomorrow (maine : moo-een-ay). when i woke up this morning, though, i was more than ready for the day and back to myself. good thing because there was a reporter on her way to do a story with me for the local paper. and she said she would be back every sunday to interview me...so looks like i'm a celebrity and get my own column! i will get copies of every one to keep (one day i'll even be able to read what they say :)

my gazda had planned a trip to the countryside, dragaesti (drah-gah-esht) where mari's family lives and where they are currently trying to build a house. i had the most amazing day...including my first experience with an outhouse! yay for me since being here is not really the separation from civilization i had anticipated. i will be posting my pictures from today, and the ones from yesterday, on my picasa (just click the link to the right of my page).

today felt like i was one of the family. everyone was so nice to me, even though i couldn't understand pretty much anything they were saying. i got to help mari cook this placinta cum mere (plah-chin-tah coom mare-eh) which is a traditional romanian cake made with apples...AMAZING! i got to help her pick the lettuce out of the garden to make the salat and washed the dishes which was, of course, by hand. i also experienced having to eat things that are not in my usual, like when meat is cut up for you it's in strips that are to be eaten in one bite (fat and all)! i feel fortunate to have bread (paine : poo-een-ay) to help me swallow some things without appearing rude. i have been using no thank you (nu multumesc : noo moo-tzoo-mesk) A LOT this weekend. the food is a lot better than expected though! i walked through the country side to the magazin (store) with her, which was basically a room attached to the lady's house. michael also took me on a hike up the hill behind his grandparent's house. it was a day of new experiences...one's that i will cherish.

tomorrow is my first day of school (scoala : sho-ah-la) and my whole gazda is supposed to be walking me. eugen offered to drive me every morning, but i think it would be way more fun to walk. mari is also packing my lunch everyday, which is kind of kindergartenish, but somehow it makes me feel warm and fuzzy. i have enjoyed the alone time with my gazda but i have to say i am so ready to see some familiar faces tomorrow, even if it means the beginning of a hardcore, stressful 11 weeks. and eugen told me that i had to study the hardest and be the first one in my class, and that i was not allowed to fall asleep, so i guess that's what i have to do!

dogs are to be avoided at all costs yet cows are chained in the front yard of many of the houses, with the owners seated not too far on park benches up and down the street from bucharest to targoviste. i've seen a few horse and wagons trotting down the interstate (like for real)...i saw a man park his car on the side of a pretty busy highway, i should preface he was right across from a restroom facility, to use it right behind a tree, right on the side of the road. i also found out that americans really are very interesting to romanians after getting many stares and whispers at one of the local markets, which was accurately named the "penny market XXL". i even got to partake in one of my fellow volunteers sharing in a park game of competitive chess with one of the local men. i can absolutely say that despite this initial culture shock and the fact that i haven't slept in over 30 hours but have traveled across the world, i am in love with everything that romania has to offer me. i am excited to actually move in with my family this weekend and start what it is that i came here to do!

despite being tired and hungry pretty much all day...staging was amazing! it was so unreal meeting everyone that i've only seen on facebook these past few weeks. it was almost stalkerish how all of us could point most everyone else out and didn't even need introduction. but everyone that i've met in person is fantastic and i am having soooo much fun. i wish i could write more right now but i am about to crash (long day tomorrow)!

it's so hard to imagine that a week from now i will be laying my head on a pillow that is half way around the world. it's even crazier to think that on saturday i will be saying goodbye to my family for the last time, and one week from then i will be meeting my new one for the first time. it just goes to show just how much can change in such a short amount of time...when i look back even to a year ago when i first was nominated to serve, to now being a less that a week away from it all actually happening, i can hardly recognize myself. i feel that out of all the changes i've had to make in my life in the past year, the most dramatic has been the one that has taken place inside of me.

it's so easy to get caught up in the future to the point where you can't enjoy what's happening right now...and i definitely went through a time (not too long ago) where i was just letting life happen in anticipation for the adventure to start. boy was i wrong...i realize now that the adventure had already started, back before i even applied to the peace corps. i just didn't see it like that. now i'm kind of in beast mode trying to make each second of the day count for something because my time here is fading fast.

this phase right now where i'm treasuring every moment that i have with the people i love is monumental. i have finally found the balance in being content in where i am while still anticipating something more around the corner. i have also found that in order to do that you have to look outside of yourself. i joined the peace corps because that's what i want for my life. i want to always be able to look at the bigger picture and realize that somewhere in every situation or circumstance, there is a blessing in disguise. i refuse to miss out on any more of what this life has to offer me...but more importantly what i have to offer it.

...and i'm not talking about the one i've known my whole life. i'm talking about the one i'll become acquainted with for the first 11 weeks of my peace corps experience. i finally have information about where training is going to be and pretty much what my schedule will look like. having met some of the people in my group through facebook, they all seem like really cool people. i just hope that there are at least a couple that i can have that "at home" feeling with just to make the experience a little less challenging.

first off i will be arriving in bucharest on the 18th, which is the capital city. from there i will have to travel another ~230 miles to the city where the training is going down. activities begin pretty the evening that we arrive and continue through saturday, which is when we get to meet and then go home with our gazda (host family). so after one of the longest and exciting weeks i've ever had...we get all of sunday off to spend with our new families. i'm soooo looking forward to the awkwardness of moving into a home full of people i've only known for a couple of hours (haha!). okay, so maybe not the awkwardness part but definitely building the relationships. i love meeting new people and i know how to make myself at home just about anywhere so it'll be great...i sure hope they have a sense of humor!

monday morning, the 24th, begins the rigorous 8:30 am to 5:30 pm training schedule (not including homework and study time) in the charming city of...

târgovişte ("tur-go-veesh-tay"), which is the capital city of the dâmboviţa ("dum-bo-veet-za") county of romania. this is where i will be living with my gazda during training, until getting placed at my actual service site. in one way i'm super excited to know exactly where i'll be, but on the other hand it's like before it was just a great concept and didn't really have any tangible evidence...somehow names of places make it all too real now!

***linked all that wikipedia has to say about it.

...that would be romanian for "three weeks" (which is, as of today, the amount of time i have left in this stage of my life). aside from the obvious preparations of shopping and packing, there is a large amount of information to be acquired about this new country in which i'm about to embark on. i spent over three hours today exploring this site that was sent to my group courtesy of our country staff. as interesting and enlightening as this info is...it is A LOT to digest. and on top of that i am dedicating time to study my romanian language lessons so that i won't be totally out of sorts when i get there.

i have to admit that i am starting to get into the overwhelmed stage of things. i am pretty good at playing it cool and kind of letting things fly over but this is kind of getting to me. i think it's pretty normal though...the lack of sleep, the butterflies, the wanting to just fast forward to the minute i step on the plane! and i don't think everything has truly hit me yet which is a scary thought.

at this point i'm really starting to think about the relationships that i'm in. i am truly blessed to have all the people in my life that i do. my family could not be more loving and supportive of me and the friends i choose to keep are ones that i can count on in the face of anything. i hope that each and every person knows how special they are to me and that i will miss them very much.

but i'm also really excited to embrace this new adventure with new faces and personalities. i'm looking forward to all of the new people that i will grow to love over the next two years that i can take along with me, whatever my next step may be. i just can't wait to meet them!

well this whole time i've been thinking i was leaving on may 19th. turns out i'm leaving a day earlier than expected. that means i'll have to rearrange my schedule a bit but i'm super excited because i get to go to CHICAGO!!! granted i won't get to see much of it in the time i'll be there...but it's one of my favorite places!

it's going to be a hectic couple of days and i'm sure very tiring as well. here's the itinerary:

May 18

6:15 am. board plane in lafayette

10:25 am. arrive in chicago (after a layover in memphis)

12:30 pm. check into the hotel for staging events

2:00-7:00 pm. seminars

May 19

10:15 am. check out of hotel

10:45 am. bus to o'hare

3:40 pm. board plane in chicago

May 20

6:50 am. after an 8 hr 10 min flight arrive in frankfurt, germany (factor in an initial 7 hour time difference)

10:30 am. board plane in frankfurt

1:45 pm. after a 2 hr 15 min flight arrive in bucharest, romania (factor in another hour difference)

wow...all of that and an 8 hour loss! i really hope there's not much additional transportation to get to the training sight. but i'll have people (my family for the next 27 months) around me so we can keep each other sane. it's going to be a crazy ride but it'll be an amazing start to a great one.

so i haven't posted anything in over a month. truth is...not much significant has happened in that time. i'm just really trying to focus on spending as much time with the important people in my life as i can. i am reminded everyday that i'll be gone soon. today my mom and i were cooking a meal together and she just turned to me and said, "this is what i'm going to miss, us just hanging out together." and it's so true. shoot jackson...i have to make the most of the time i have!

this post is huge but i figured i would give a little recap about what the application process was like for me now that i am done with that part of it all. keep in mind this is not how it happens for everyone...it's just my experience.

1. upon entering my final leg of college and sitting down to plan my future i remembered hearing about the peace corps before and thought it may be something i'd be interested in. i knew i didn't want an office job. i wanted to travel and experience other worlds apart from mine, and more importantly be able to serve people and be a part of something bigger than myself. turns out after minimal research i was sold. step one for me!

2. i happened to mention to my mom that it sounded kind of cool and after telling her a little more in detail about what it would mean...she encouraged me to just go ahead and apply. at that point i was actually up against the deadline to apply for a spring 2010 departure, which was my ideal timeline. they tell you to apply approximately one year before you could possibly leave. it was the end of december 2008 and i knew i'd graduate in december 2009 and that i wouldn't want to leave right away but i didn't want to be in the transition period for too long after graduation either. so i went for it and filled out that application.

3. the initial application part in itself is not difficult. you basically just fill out some information about yourself saying that you are interested in filing an application. i knew that it wasn't a true commitment yet, so i went ahead and filled it out just in case. it only took me a few days to realize that it was just the right choice for me, and i proceeded with the rest of the paperwork. this includes some more detailed questions about you and your abilities. with that you are required to answer two short essays, 1. a cross-cultural experience you've had and 2. a motivation statement about why you came to apply. you have to send a resume and 3 recommendations, complete an aspiration questionnaire about things you hope for during your experience, and other forms based on information they might need from you. the hardest part about this part is just finding the time to do it. it's not rocket science.

4. the interview dun, dun, dunnnn! i have pretty good interview skills and don't feel totally awkward in situations like that but this wasn't my favorite part of it all. it was nice because it was the first face that i was able to see and talk to. but it's so hard to come up with answers to deeply thought out questions on the spot. like come on...it would be nice if they could send you the questions before so you could prepare! but nonetheless, it wasn't terrible. my regional director was really nice and understanding. we were also able to schedule a meeting closer than me having to go all the way to the regional office. the whole thing took maybe an hour and was very relaxed (at least as much as it can be). my advice would be not to stress about it. the hype is on how competitive the application process is. i mean you should put effort into it, but ultimately if it's what you're meant to do...it'll happen for you in time.

5. i was expecting a long wait time. i had waited a few weeks after submitting my application to have my interview and they stress during the whole process that you will learn patience...and trust me YOU WILL! it didn't take that long after my interview that i got the call from my recruiter telling me that he couldn't officially nominate me but that he could in may (i think it was about middle march at this point) because nominations cannot be made sooner than one year from departure.

6. may 4th comes along and the email comes through telling me that i have officially been nominated...i get the following information...may 2010. eastern europe. teaching english. comes as a huge shock for me because i have been taking one semester of spanish after another and thinking my experience would land me in south or central america. but i am so excited to finally have a taste of what's to come that i can't be disappointed! i mean it is europe after all...

7. the nomination packet comes in and this is the big daddy right here. luckily i only had medical, dental, and optical screenings to have done (i did not have any legal or financial situations to tend to) because it took me about 5 months to get all of it completed and sent back to them...which is heartwrenching! it seems like it will never end...the making of dr's appointments and going in and out of offices having this man fill this part out and sign here, and having to leave the forms with this girl to complete this part and stamp here. it was grueling. and then to have my dentist tell me that he was going to recommend on the form that i have my wisdom teeth removed before i left! so of course i had to have them out because i wouldn't be approved without clearance. just one set back after another...this part can get really overwhelming. i almost broke down many times from being stressed out over it. but like my mom told me over and over again, "just take it one form at a time." (this would be the part, if there ever was one where i questioned whether or not it was worth going through the process) in the end looking back it was totally worth it and i'd do it all over...it really wasn't that bad and thank God there was no complications after i sent the forms back.

8. so now comes the real fun waiting part. it takes months for you clearances to go through and you don't receive your official invitation until you are good to go. and you don't hear from anyone for that whole time. don't drive yourself crazy. i am glad i had school to occupy some of my time and be able to focus on something else rather that just sitting around waiting. so i had mailed my forms in around september 2009 and it is now approaching february 2010 and no word from anyone! this is when it gets a little tiring...especially when you are so excited to tell people what you are doing. of course the first two questions out of their mouths are 1. where are you going? 2. when do you leave? and all i could tell them was I THINK eastern europe in may but that COULD CHANGE, because until the official invitation comes it could change from your initial program nomination. they would always look at me funny, like how are you so excited when you don't even know anything? but i was and that was hard...the not knowing part.

9. january 29, 2010 (i blogged that very day about it). i get the greatest news ever. my placement officer calls to tell me that my invitation can be expected in the mail the very next day aka it's all legitimate now...no more guessing. the morning of february 6 my mom sneaks into my bed and whispers "i have something i think you might want." for whatever reason my immediate response is to recluse myself under the covers and hide (like for real!?...i'm 21 and that's the response i have???). but anyway, i finally have specific details about my trip and i couldn't be more thrilled to share that moment with my family, who i have not mentioned before as being just as excited and anxious as i am through this whole process. of course i still don't know where my staging (orientation) will be held the days prior to me leaving the country but i look at that as just need to know when it gets to me.

10. i let the initial freaking out about it pass for a day and monday morning i was back in business. i had to of course officially accept my invitation right away by contacting the placement office. and then i took a look at the packet that was before me. yet, some more forms and things to complete. one of which is a passport application, which should be done as soon as possible. i opted to get a civilian passport, which has already gotten to me by mail, as well as applying for the government issue one required, in case i want to do some independent travel. if you can find a friendly passport associate at your nearest office (which was definitely not my experience) then this part of the process shouldn't be so overwhelming.

11. so i am now at another waiting point in my journey, though there hasn't been much time to wait. this is when you prepare for leaving. past volunteers in your area can help with packing ideas and other information you may need before you go. the country desk will request questionnaires and things to be filled out for placing you with a host family and organizing your training needs, but nothing much more than that. now i feel like i'm coasting until departure day. of course a little stress is there about things that need to get done and the little amount of time but i am getting things taken care of one thing at a time and trying not to wait until the last minute. i am also focussing on spending time with my loved ones as much as possible. that's what this part is most about. i know i will be leaving in 32 days and i plan to make the most out of each one.

so there is still a matter of staging and actually leaving for my country of service that have yet to be fulfilled, but for all intent and purposes i am out of the clear in regards to this thing called the "application process".

***linked the peace corps application page, if you want to check it out!

so i still have a number of weeks to go before i leave but today i got one of my passports in the mail. for peace corps service you are required to apply for a no-fee government issue passport which is only good to travel to and from your country of service. you have the option of applying for an additional civilian passport that can be used for recreational travel. seeing as how travel will be fairly easy to come by in europe, i didn't hesitate to get my very first passport! it is very exciting even though i pretty much just have to lock it up until i leave.

my other passport...the one that will actually officially get me to romania...i won't get until i get to staging (basically a 1-2 day orientation leading up to my departure date). along with the passport i will get a lot of important documentation back and rather than carry that with me in a foreign country, i came up with the idea of bringing a stamped envelope to send them safely back home. i am brilliant!

when i first looked into the peace corps i really didn't know much about it...much less what it would be like to make it a part of my life. i hadn't met anyone who had been through it. there was no peace corps booth at any career fair and trust me, i've attended and even worked my fair share. i only wish that before i began to make a plan for my life that i would have had a blog to read by someone who was actually going through the motions of becoming a peace corps volunteer.

my last year of college was somewhat of a crisis for me. i had always known that i wanted to be a doctor and be in school for 12 years and work and be successful. all of a sudden i didn't have a passion for it anymore. it was so hard to let go of those high expectations that i had for myself and that other people had for me. but my interests and dreams were beginning to change and i couldn't just ignore it. i realized that i didn't want to waste my life away in school forever. it's for some people but definitely wasn't for me anymore. i love to learn but there is more to it than just a classroom for me now. i want to experience life. i want to be able to travel the world and do what i know i was meant to do...serve people.

i didn't want to graduate with the prospect of having to pick a career and commit myself to a 9 to 5 life. yeah i graduated in general studies with really no thought about what that might mean for my future. i'm not looking for success or money. i'm too young to know what i want to do with the rest of my life! what i do know is that for the first time in my life i know that i'm exactly where i belong. a lot of people ask me what made me choose the peace corps and the answer is really simple. why wouldn't i embrace this amazing opportunity that God has given me?

now i can check off one more on my list of things i want to do before i die.

***linked more info on the peace corps so you could understand why i've made this choice, including the many benefits of service outside of just gaining the experience...

so when you get this invitation packet in the mail that you've been waiting for your whole life...you have to call and accept it.

*random fact: 1 out of 5 nominees don't accept their invitations!* i think that is so crazy to go through all of this and then just decide not to do it. i'm sure there are really good reasons so i'll move on.

anyways so i get my packet and immediately after i open it, i'm calling the number. the sooner they know i'm in the sooner i get more information. i'm all about not having to wait so i call. and i call. and i leave a message. and i call again. and i email. for days! i got nothing. i had an epiphany this morning that the placement office is in washington, dc. it just so happens that the week i get my invitation, all of washington, dc is snowed in!

i have to admit i am a little disappointed by these events, but not as much as i thought i would be. each delay is getting easier to handle.

***linked a page just for the family and friends of volunteers. hopefully it will help answer some of your questions about what to expect.

ROMANIA!!!!!!!!!!

so i have to be honest and say that i don't know a huge deal about the place (other than all the vampire folklore) but the important thing is that it finally has a name. you better believe i will know all there is to know before i get there.

i go tomorrow to fill out my passport papers. when they sent my invitation packet, it came with a lot more things to fill out and complete. i wasn't expecting that so it was a bit overwhelming...but i took my mom's advice and took it one form at a time and it really isn't so bad. so tomorrow i have to call and officially accept my invitation and then i get to wait some more. but the relief of knowing makes it bearable.

oh btw...i leave May 19th!

***this is a new segment i'd like to call "click the blog title". (that will be the very light green larger print right below the date and above the blog content) i will periodically be linking sites through the titles of the blog if there is one that applies to the subject of the blog. today's is a link to the information book on romania courtesy of the peace corps. check it out!

today i had what i would consider the most gratifying moment of my peace corps journey to date. i get a call from my placement officer yesterday and of course missed it. i called back later but she didn't answer...the anxiety of what the call could be about of course kept me up all night. when i did talk to her today she began the conversation by saying "there are a few things in your file that concern me". my heart hit the floor because i really don't want any bad news this late in the game especially that would delay me. so we had a talk and by the end of it i had won her over and made her understand that nothing stands in my way of service. she was pleased with my responses and told me she was confident that i would make a successful volunteer. she then precedes to tell me that the next step involves my file being passed on to yet another department. (at this point i can't even count how many hands have been on my file). i was a bit discouraged thinking that there was more processing and yet more time it would take...

when she completely took my breath away. (i will say this to preface: i am in no way an emotional or crying kind of person). but the next ten words out of her mouth unleashed an uncontrollable flood of tears. they were, "i will be putting your invitation in the mail tomorrow"! i never realized just how much it was going to mean until i heard the words out loud. my invitation makes this real. i will know exactly where i'm going and when. the relief of knowing lifts a huge weight off of my shoulders. i wish everyone could feel that feeling. it's the best.

before the journey has even begun it's teaching me important life lessons:

1. how to have patience when you're on the verge of something amazing (it's kind of like knowing what you're present is months in advance but having to wait until Christmas morning to have it...except this is my life)

2. that life really is about the present and you should embrace it

3. everything happens for a reason so you should just go with the flow

4. our mail lady does not know what consistency means