Snowboarding in Macedonia!

Well, I'm still alive! I made it back from Macedonia, and had a great time! I went with Louise, Tim, and Helen, all British, and work with BMS World Missions. Louise teaches at school with me, and through Susan and Louise I met Helen and Tim. As usual, I do have some stories, so I thought that I would share a little bit.

First of all, after being on the slope for 5 minutes I realized that snowboarding is not a genetic trait! The first day was definitely not easy, and the weather didn't help. There was a white out (basically everything is white and you can't see anything), and it was so bad that when we were on the lift we couldn't see the platform to get off ahead of time, just heard the screams and knew it was coming! When we did get off the lift we didn't even know which way the slope was! Once we found the slope it was difficult to tell how fast you were going because you couldn't see around you, but my main problem at the beginning wasn't going too fast, it was standing up after I'd fallen down! Seriously, I mean both of your legs are attached to the board, so you can't use them to lift yourself up. That might not sound difficult, but it takes getting used to! I finally got that downand was able to work on my edging, and actually go down the slope! It was a lot of fun, and I was definitely sore, but I would do again for sure!

We had to get in a true snowball fight and build a snowman while we were gone, just because we could! While I was rolling the head of the snowman, a dog came and "relieved" himself on it! Well, we all thought it was hilarious, but I figured, I'll just keep rolling it and it will all be covered up. Tim couldn't believe it, but no one else seemed to have a problem with it. Funnily enough, when Tim was sculpting an ear, some of the snow came off, and fell into his mouth; snow that he claimed was yellow! He was completely grossed out, and we all fell over laughing!!! Classic.

Kudos to those of you that snowboard, and for everyone else, give it a shot!!!

Karaoke Fun!

Hello! Last weekend some friends and I went to a place with karoake, and it was a blast! I definitely sang my fair amount of songs...and by the end strangers were pulling me up there to sing with them! One of my Albanian friends wanted to sing a duet with me, and picked a traditional Albanian song! Needless to say I didn't know it, but it was really fun, and by the end I go the jist of it! Here are some pics for you to enjoy. Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to put video on as well....maybe you should be thankful I can't :).

Take care, and I'll write an update when I get back from Macedonia! I'm off to snowboard (hopefully)! Oh, and the other picture is of Susan, Louise, and I at the park!

Pictures, finally!!

Hello! Wow, I actually figured out how to fix my picture problem and can now post pictures! To celebrate, here's a few to look at from when I was back in the States as well one from Albania. Hope you are doing well!

Here is a pic of my sister and I (I'm on the left) from when I was home.

This is a pic of some of the friends that I was over to see while I was in Texas.

On January 25, I went to a Ceildh (a Scottish dance). This is a picture of me dancing (or trying to!) with one of the students at my school.

February Already!!

Hello everyone! Can you believe it’s February already?? Time is going by so quickly! I wanted to write and catch everyone up on what’s been going on!

The first term of school finished very well. We had a Christmas play to close things off, and the kids all did really well! And so began my vacation! As always, there are a few stories, but I’ll just share one for the sake of space.

My flight to the States included an overnight in London due to the flight schedule. Some people had this same flight schedule, and because it wasn’t a planned overnight, but that was just the way the flights worked, the airline paid for a hotel room for them. Susan called the airline about something else and asked about the hotel info, and the woman with the airline confirmed that they would pay for a hotel room for me. My flight ended up being delayed leaving Tirana because of the fog in London, so instead of landing at 9pm, I landed a little after midnight! Of course the airport was pretty much abandoned at that point, but I followed the instructions of the woman on the phone, but came to find out that the woman had given me wrong information; the airline had NO intention of giving mea free hotel room! At that point I headed to the free hotel phone and proceeded to call every hotel on the list…but to no avail, there were no openings because of the cancellations due to the fog. A couple people (not together) came to look at the shuttle schedule that was on the same board as the hotel phone numbers and were complaining that their shuttle didn’t come until 3:15 am. I couldn’t help but say that they should be thankful to have a hotel to go to, that I couldn’t find any with rooms available! The guy (about my age) said that I could stay with him, but I politely declined. The girl (who looked about college age) and I started talking, and it turned that she was an American that was doing an internship in Ireland with Focus on the Family, was from Abilene, Texas, and was flying to Dallas! She too invited me to stay with her, and looking at my options, although she was a stranger, that looked like the best option! I did ask her if she was going to kill me when we got back to the hotel, and after saying no, asked me the same question! We got to the hotel about 4am to find a double bed, but at that point I didn’t care! It was fabulous to have a place to stay, and she wouldn’t let me pay, so I did get my free hotel room after all!

After all the excitement of getting back to the States, I had a GREAT time! I spent all but a couple days with my family, and we had a really good time together. Not only did I get to see my immediate family, but also a lot of my extended family! It was a busy time, but really enjoyable. I spent Christmas with my friend Mary and her family. I am so thankful that they opened their home again to me…it was a really special Christmas! The last night I was able to spend in Texas with my friends there. It was SO nice seeing everyone and just catching up! I was able to go back to the school where I taught and have lunch with my friends there! I saw a lot of people in a very short time! I wish I could have had more time, but I am very thankful for the time I did have!

I had such a great time back in the States, but coming back to Albania, I have even more assurance that this is where God has me right now, and want to stay for another year. I am just now really getting established as far as teaching, ministry, and language. Although teaching many subjects is still a challenge, I am feeling a lot more comfortable with it, and I am learning a lot! I am also part of the school’s crisis team, and am helping to create and implement a plan for different types of crisis situations. I am attending the same church regularly and am beginning to be involved in teaching the children. I am starting to meet with an Albanian girl and teaching her Titus 2 in Albanian! Crazy, huh? I am having a grammar lesson once a week and meeting with my conversation partner 3 times a week. My schedule is becoming much more set, and it’s been very helpful! I am playing football (soccer) once a week, meeting with a group of single woman for prayer and dinner once a week, going to Christar’s women’s bible study once a week, and a friend comes over once a week to watch Alias! My schedule is full, but it is very good!

Time has gone by very quickly, and it’s going to be half term in less than 2 weeks! I am going to go to Macedonia to go snowboarding with a teacher, Louise, from school, and a couple that has just arrived in Albania a couple weeks ago. They are all English, so looks like I’ll be the token American! Those of you that don’t know, I have never skied or snowboarded before, so it should be an interesting trip!!

Thank you for all your support and encouragement! Please let me know how you are doing and what you are up to! I’m sorry that I haven’t been communicating as well as I hoped to. In the words Susan would say, I’ve been “rubbish” about my updates. Now that my schedule is set, I’ve allotted time just to communicate with people outside Albania, so I hope to improve!

I will leave you with some praises and prayer requests. Take care and I hope to hear from you soon!

Praises:
- Great trip to the States over Christmas
- Susan and I continue to be getting along well/good living situation
- Have a set, consistent schedule
- For all of you, friends and family!

Requests:
- Support, both financial and prayer to stay another year
- Wisdom in teaching at the GDQ as well as the bible study
- I grow closer to God every day
- Safety while in Macedonia
- Continued safety on my bike