Visiting Minnesota

Quite a bit has happened since the last time I blogged therefore I will try to fill all of you in.

I ended up spending my 4th of July at the dentist in Sofia since I had chipped my tooth over the weekend and it needed a bit of fixing. Four and a half hours on the train there, a 10 minute cab ride, lunch with a few other PCVs, four and a half hours on the train again, and I was back in Sliven (I was out of town for almost exactly 12 hours). I wish I had a good story for it but I unfortunately do not. I was just eating and bit down wrong.

Then July 5th I traveled to Tryavna where my fellow B26ers and I had our mid-service conference. The conference went well, some of the highlights were:

• Meeting our new country director, Mikel Herrington. You can read a bit more information about him by clicking on his name. 
• Participating in a brief flash mob to Shakira's song "Waka Waka" during the first session of the day on Wednesday. 
• Hanging out with my fellow volunteers in the evenings. 
• Walking around Tryavna, it is one beautiful Bulgarian city made even better by being among good friends. 

I left the conference Thursday afternoon for Sofia as I had an early morning flight the next day headed back to the good old US of A. I stayed at a hostel in Sofia for the night, though my excitement got the best of me which led to little sleep.

Friday, July 8th I flew from Sofia, Bulgaria to Paris, France. Then from Paris, France to Minneapolis, MN. Both of my flights were great and I even slept most of the way on my second flight (thanks to allergy pills with side affects of drowsiness). My lovely parents were at the airport waiting for me to arrive. It was great to see them in person after not seeing them for a little over 14 months. We all left the airport, made a quick stop at Caribou coffee for a delicious blended camfire mocha and headed for Rochester, Minnesota where we went to Target and then ate delicious Mexican food. That evening I headed out to an old friend's parents' farm where the groom's dinner/party was being held for the wedding the next day. It was both strange and wonderful to see all those familiar faces and sit down for a homemade meal. 

Saturday, July 9th was my friend's wedding day. I ended up doing her hair for the wedding and videotaping for her and the groom. Their wedding was held at Mayowood Farms which was a great location. It was a beautiful day and things at the wedding went very smoothly. Plus, the gift from me and three friends turned out beautifully (it's below). 

I stayed the night at the lovely Mrs. Amanda Pfeilsticker's home where all of her guests from the wedding and myself stayed up talking late into the night.

Sunday came and I went to meet my lovely friend Krista Ryan (Her Amazingness) for some coffee, a quick hair cut from her mom, and a short game of Tanks on Wii. Oh, how I love you Krista. After spending some time with her I was off to have a late breakfast/early lunch with a Miss Andrea Corson, Miss Kelsey Underdahl, and the adorable Keeleigh Caldwell (I sure hope I spelled your name correctly). Kelsey, Keeleigh, and I then had a picnic lunch out at a park near where I grew up. We had a lovely day together and it was great to spend some time together.

Sunday night I also spent the night at Amanda's house where I was able to see all of her beautiful wedding photos from May (a wedding I was unfortunately unable to attend).

Monday morning I left for Minneapolis where I spent time reading at the Walker Sculpture Garden, then had a delicious lunch at Erbert and Gerberts, drove through the University of MN campus, stopped at Caribou Coffee, and headed to a friend's house to hang out and spend the night. We had a lovely evening and I truly enjoyed being at her place.

Tuesday morning I had a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. I hung out for a bit before heading for a late lunch at Panera. I then picked up the lovely Mrs. Keegan Korthauer from her bus to head to Plymouth to meet up with the beautiful Mrs. Sonya Giridhar. We had dinner together and then sat outside in the screened-in porch while drinking some delicious wine. It was great to see good friends and spend time together.

Wednesday, July 13th I headed to Colossal Cafe in Minneapolis to have lunch with some University friends. It was great to catch up and see what they're up to these days as we were all in the same Elementary Education program together. Then I headed to Mankato, MN to visit with my grandparents. We spent some time relaxing and then had a lovely dinner together. I spent the night at their house before leaving the next day for Fairmont (where my parents live). We spent some time just hanging out and helping a friend get ready for her daughter's upcoming wedding on Saturday.

Saturday, July 16th meant it was time for my 2nd wedding of my trip home. My parents' friends' daughter got married. I had helped arrange the flowers for the wedding, tie bows where they were needed, and did both the bride's and her daughter's hair. Here are a few photos from the day...

Sunday, July 17th I headed "Up North" to our family cabin in Northern Minnesota with my mom and aunt. We spent the night at my cousins house, it was great to catch up, have a glass of wine, and be together. We also stopped at Barnes and Noble that day.

Monday, July 18th we went the rest of the way to the cabin but not before stopping in Park Rapids to do a little shopping and have a delicious lunch at the Minnesoda Fountain.

Tuesday, July 19th my mom, my aunt, and I went to Bemidji to have dinner at my cousins house. I spent the night and they went back to the cabin. Then on Wednesday I hung out with my cousin and her kids and then  we all met at the Headwaters of the Mississippi at Itasca State Park. The state may have been shutdown but they left one entrance to the park open with just enough road to get to Lake Itasca. It was a beautiful day.

At the bank

 Picnic Lunch

Pop Rocks

Thursday - Saturday was spent with my family at our cabin, plus an aunt and a few cousins. We had a great time boating, swimming, being outside, playing scrabble, eating good food, and chatting. I love Minnesota summers.

On the way back to Fairmont Saturday my mom and I stopped at Millner Heritage Winery which was nice. They had a nice selection of wines and we enjoyed the two bottles we bought later on in the evening with friends.

Sunday was a relaxing day in Fairmont. My mom and I saw the latest Harry Potter movie. I greatly enjoyed it, especially the special effects. Monday followed Sunday with a relaxing day alongside packing to come back to Bulgaria and having dinner with some friends.

Tuesday, July 26th it was time to head up to Minneapolis for my flight back though since I didn't fly out until the afternoon we had time to have lunch with some friends and a bit of time to chat.

Then I flew out of Minneapolis, had one short stop in Paris, and was back in Sofia! That about sums up my trip to catch all of you up. A HUGE thank you to everyone I saw at home. I'm so happy I have such great friends and family. I love you!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.

Wow, it's July!

I can hardly believe it's already July 1st as I sit down to write this post. I've been here in Bulgaria for about 14 months and by the end of the month I will have lived here in Sliven for a year. It's strange to think how long I've been away because on the one hand it seems like just a few weeks have passed yet on the other it seems like I've been gone forever. Exactly one week from today I will be headed back to the good old US of A to visit my family and friends. I can't describe how excited I am to spend time with them all. 

When I was first leaving for Bulgaria you couldn't have told me that I would be visiting MN in just over a year because I figured two years would be no problem. It turns out, I really miss seeing people back home and am so happy I have the vacation days available to make the trip. I feel like this is the perfect time to visit because I'm about halfway through my service and I feel like I will look forward to my 2nd year here in Bulgaria that much more by visiting home again. Email, letters, and skype are great and all but it's SO much better seeing people in person.

Getting away from my excitement to visit home I thought I'd focus on all things American since Monday marks Independence Day. I will be spending the 4th of July in a city nearby Sliven with a group of volunteers and local high schoolers, We will be hiking, doing a scavenger hunt, playing American jeopardy, and making our own soda just to name a few of the activities of the day. But to get back to things American again, my time here as a Peace Corps Volunteer has really made me appreciate being American. I feel that it's harder to figure out what "American" means while living in the United States since it's just a part of everyday life and we are an incredibly young nation. However, since I'm living here in Bulgaria things "American" have stood out in my mind more. I could go on and on with all things that are "American" to me however I felt it best to focus on one of our best qualities as a group of people.

We as Americans are truly diverse. We are filled with people of a different background, ethnicity, religion, native language, sexual orientation, and the list goes on and on. I truly appreciate this because I feel it leads us as citizens to be open to new ideas, ways of thinking, and possibilities. This of course is not true for every citizen however I come in contact with more diversity living in Minneapolis, Minnesota than here in Sliven, Bulgaria. I also feel this diversity helps allow people to dream and be creative because of the exposure to people different than themselves. Americans have no specific physical appearance which to me lends itself to being more of an inclusive community. Again, this is not true for everyone but I feel this is an incredible asset in working together toward a common goal. To me:

An American is someone like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Someone who stands for his beliefs and believes in peace. 

An American is someone like Rachel Carson. Someone who works to make our world healthy and speaks out for the environment. 

An American is someone like Howard Zinn. Someone who works to tell the stories of everyone involved in an event and not just those who have power or money. 

An American is someone like Lady Gaga. Someone who strives to create original performances and fashion. 

An American is someone like Dolly Parton. Someone who uses her fame, artistry, and resources to promote literacy.

 

An American is someone like Gloria Steinum. Someone who stands for equality between the sexes. 

An American is someone like Oprah. Someone who proves you can be anything you want to be.

I could keep going with my list of people to exemplify being American; however, my questions to all of you Americans reading this post are:

How are you American?

and

Who do you think exemplifies the traits of an American and why?

Feel free to comment with your answer to this question and I wish you all an amazing Independence Day!

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.