Return From Sabbatical

Hello everybody. I took a blogging sabbatical because I was so frustrated with how slow and often unpredictable blog posting can be. Sometimes, I would labor over an entry, finally be ready to post it, and it would never make it to the blog, but would exit my screen. Where those lost blogs go? I have no idea, but it was enough to force me to take a break. Now, after a few months, I'm back!! And hopefully I'll have better luck this time around! The only problem is that due to the fact that I took such a long sabbatical, I now have a ton to catch you all up on, which means more typing, and maybe more lost blogs, which might then, in turn, cause me to get re-frustrated, and have to take ANOTHER sabbatical!! It's a vicious cycle, it really is! :) OK. Here's my first attempt at catching you up. Ready? Here goes! Some of our favorite Peace Corps volunteers, Nic and Bridgett, are heading back to the States early to start grad school. They both live in the city closest to me, and Adam, Nic, Bridgett and I get together quite frequently for great food (they're both amazing cooks), hukas, and fun games (blokus being at the top of that list. If you've never heard of it, check it out!! You'll get hooked!). So, Adam and I came to the realization that we had better spend as much time with them as possible since we would be missing them so much when they left. Hence, lots of fun times in Balti, hanging out. These first two pictures are from a get-together we all had before heading to another volunteer's village for an AIDS benefit concert that she was putting on. Becca, another northern volunteer was also able to join us for the fun! And oh the fun and food! Sigh! The following two pictures are from the AIDS benefit concert that Jessica Ginger put on in her village. If you recall, Jess is the one I went to Zimbabwe with. She organized an amazing concert in her village, with tons of traditional dancing, songs, poems, even an eating contest, and all the proceeds went to benefit a group of kids at an AIDS home in the city of Balti. It was a great eye opener for her community as well, as they learned about the AIDS virus and the importance of being aware of it, and precautions that must be taken to avoid it. All in all, it was a lot of fun. Now I'm going to try and post this. If it works, then I'll post more updates. If not, I GIVE UP!! kids in Jess' school dressed in traditional Moldovan outfits, and getting ready to dance.