Arrival in Greece... to Thessoloniki!

so, i arrived in athens, greece, superpumped to see my friends! suz met katy and i at the airport, and when we got to suz's apt, katy gave us a present from nigeria: cool african pants made by widows! we LOVED them! (note pic above) thank you, katy! the next morning, we headed to the airport (it was my 4th morning that week to see 430 am... YIKES!) to pick up amanda! it was so great to see her face! then, we hopped a cab to the train station to head to thessaloniki.
we ended up not having seats, since it was a heavily traveled weekend. SO, we found ourselves being the first-class stowaways. (that's us chilling in the hallway). the commander or whatever you call him was very nice to us and didn't kick us out. he just asked us the normal question that all of us run into in our respective parts of the world: 'Obama or McCain?', and as we, also usually do, we shrugged our shoulders, smiled, and said, 'we don't know. it will be a surprise.'
we arrived in thessaloniki at 3 pm that afternoon, and met our sweet friends who live there. they showed us around their city, and though it was quite chilly, we truly enjoyed our day! the other pics above are of: the White something... it's a major landmark there. you can tell i remember details like that... woops! sorry! :) ; me and the sea; apt buildings ( i LOVE all the balconies!); a church; another church; and the three of us in front of another church.
we had a great day!

i have a problem... of which there is no cure.

the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem, right? well, folks, i gotta tell ya... i laugh at the wrong times, and often, i cannot stop! 

anyone who knows me knows that i love to laugh! i love humor. i love to make people laugh. if i can make a smile come across your face, or hear a chuckle escape your mouth, i feel as if i have succeeded! SO, this laughing thing should NOT be a surprise!

in the past few weeks, i have come across moments, that wouldn't ordinarily be funny, or in the case of louise-estelle, it would be HILARIOUS!, but these moments should not make me laugh as hard as they do! it's just, well, inappropriate!

for instance, on the train from meteora to athens a few weeks ago, this man stole my seat. ordinarily, i would clear my throat and politely say, 'excuse me. this is my seat.' but that particular night, i began laughing and couldn't stop. then my two friends with me (in whose laps i was sitting in, b/c my seat was STOLEN!) started laughing, and it took us all through forever to stop and to gather our composure so as to not draw attention to our american selves.

i wish that i could continue to tell stories, but unfortunately i can't... there are many reasons why, but just take my word for it: this uncontrollable moment always occurs at the MOST inappropriate moments...

i am pretty sure i inherited this from my mom. but... i kind of like it. is that ok?

below: in the midst of laughter after my seat was stolen...

when in riga...

here are a few pics of this beautiful city. it has been great preserved, with cobblestone streets and old buildings. reminded me a lot of prague. hmmm... beauty.

the souvenir street. several vendors lined up waiting for tourists. there aren't a lot in this city, or rather there aren't a lot of americans. but most everyone speaks english. it was nice. truly a place to think about visiting. really.

this park was amazing. simply beautiful! i love LOVE bridges.

gotta love fountains.

i know that this pic is a little blurry, but i just like it. it's, obviously, a church steeple. this church is in the city of the old town.

a weekend with friends... in riga.

so, a bunch of us decided to meet up. in riga, latvia. who knew that place existed?! it was a great time of laughter and encouragement. a meeting of old friends and new. what a blessing it truly was! here are a few pics...

they decided to drink latvian kvas. not at ALL like russian kvas, which tastes like malt vinegar! YUCK! this one tasted like coke... i even liked it! DEFINITION: kvas. n. a popular drink in Russia, esp during the summertime. made like beer, but not fermented as long. tastes like malt vinegar. (definition not websters. it's by alys. famous dictionary.)

then we decided to play the funniest game known to man: ipod karaoke. choose a song, turn up the volume as loud as it will go, put in your earbuds, and sing like there's no tomorrow! pictured above: mariah carey and boyz2men with 'one sweet day'... oh hold me! hilar!

these are my precious girls. i love you. 'nuf said.

then i have to put this one here. i must continue to give them a hard time. they took about 1,000 pics of this astin martin. seriously. can we walk now? i need some coffee. :)

thank you all for making it as great as it was! PTL! truly.

sarah and katya have a birthday!

sarah and katya celebrated their birthdays together this year. we had the big celebration at katya's home, and it was SO fun! i wish that i had a pic of the wonderful and AMAZING eclairs that her Baba Lela made, but unfortunately, i don't... i probably ate the pic... in hopes that it would TASTE like the wonderful, light, puffy, eclairs... mmmmm.... our good friend, Zhenya (in the pic with me and sarah) was able to attend. she moved to moscow... and we miss her :( ... i am pretending to eat the kabob, known in russia as 'shashlik'... it was quite tasty! :) then, the cute, sassy girl with the coffee cup is our precious kat... what will i do without her? great celebration girls!

summer came... eventually.

Summer eventually came this year. We thought that it wouldn't, but, it did! Several days, we headed to our favorite park, which is almost right next door. It has a lake/river/creek/ocean (well, not really an ocean!). We love to grab our ipods, towels, and head down there... and pick up some ice-cream on the way. And, usually, our best Russian galpal, Katya... she and I love to take funny pics together!

a somewhat normal pic... minus my mile-long arms!

and now, of course, a funny one... SEE, i DID get somewhat of a tan this summer! :)

it's been a while...

wow, i didn't realize how long it had been since i updated my blog! it has been crazy busy here! after the student group left here in july, i felt as if my whole team and i were on a roller coaster! so much happened, from illnesses to emotional breakdowns and then the sad news of the death of a fellow colleague. we had our yearly meeting at a campground place south of moscow. it was a great time of renewal and rejuvenation with close friends! we were able to worship in our heart language and be encouraged by the Word and by each other. 

i returned from that meeting feeling refreshed and rejuvenated! i was ready for university to start so that we could meet new students! i even began a jogging routine, which i am still remaining faithful to! ask my family... THAT is an accomplishment! :)

so grab a cup of coffee... or juice... maybe some water, or even a coke... enjoy the next several posts b/c i have got some fun pics to show! and maybe a fun story or two :)