Summer!

As promised, here's a recollection of what I've been doing this summer. Again, it comes in the form of an email that I just fished to my best friend, Stacy. She's about to give birth (ok, so she has a few months, but I'm SO tired of waiting!) and we've both been so busy. So I get to kill the proverbial 2 birds with 1 stone. Enjoy!

Hey- I've been busy! hahahh. but seriously, I've been traveling and doing kid stuff.

And missing you too of course!

I finished the school year with a 2 week summer school/camp for my 4-6th graders. We practiced spelling, learned about foods/food groups, animals, habitats, and did lots of arts, crafts and activities. Those summers in Bloomington really paid off. We ended the summer with 2 Mickey Mouse Pin

atas that I made on my balcony. I had so many people come and yell up to me, "Hey, American (or Krisi if they knew me) what are you making?" "Why?" It was hard to tell them in Bulgarian what it was. They have no idea

what a pinata is. Oh well. The kids loved it. Umm.... and I did too. Probably more.

Then we had a meeting for all of the Peace Corps volunteers in our group. Since coming to Bulgaria, we've lost a total of 8 volunteers so far. PC says it's estimated that each group looses about 10% of their members, so...... We all meet in a quaint village in the middle of the country. It looked very Bavarian (if you can picture what that might look like. not sure if I c

an, but it's the word that came to mind.) or maybe Classic German. White

buildings with painted brown trim. The town is known for their wood working. We had a blast.

Lots of meeting during the day, but then off to the restaurants to eat and drink beer. It was fun to see some friend whom I haven't seen since October.

When I got home, I only had time to do some laundry and it was off again to the Rhodope mountains to help with Spelling Bee Camp. Peace Corps joined with an NGO to raise hold it's first Bulgarian English Spelling Bee. The top 3 kids from regionals went to Sofia for nationals and then they all got to attend this camp (given by PC) for free. So 21 students, their english teachers, 9 PC volunteers, and lots of NGO people and their families got to spend 4/5 days in a resort in the

mountains teaching creative learning/writing to some of the best students in Bulg

aria. Talk about inspirational.

I spent 2 hours with a group of kids making cards discussing what they thought the problems were in Bulgaria and their villages/towns and how they could change things. These kids cared! They didn't just want to leave their country and make money somewhere else. They were impassioned and frustrated, just like we are. That's why I love this aged kids. They are idealistic, passionate and sometimes have the most ins

ightful things to add. I'm so glad I was a part this experience. It refreshed me for the upcoming school year.

Ok, on to other things. I'm home now and

planning my next trip: Serbia and Bosnia. Not

sure what that will entail, but I'm excited. I'll keep you posted!

ing. It's been challenging to keep to any schedule because I've been gone so much. And being gone also challenges my

eating habits. I still have about 10 more pounds to loose until I'm at my "happy" weight. Currently I'm a size 8. I haven't been in the single digits for

a long time. I like it! I'd like to come home next year a size 6. But I'd be happy too to just stay like this too.

Ok on to you! I'm glad the pregnancy is going well. Just remember to breathe. Not just during delivery, but in all things. Stay strong and don't compromise. This is too important to let someone else dictate for you.

Miss you and love you so much!

Kristin