my new friend :)

thanks halle virzi :)

The circle of life.. and some muffins!

So there has been a very pregnant cat walking around my house for the last few weeks and about a week and a half ago i noticed she was looking less plump.. I was curious as to where she hid the little ones but wasnt able to find them.. Today while making some muffins (yum!) i heard some crying and lo and behold i found the kittens.. the momma cat let me look at them without attacking me.. i cant wait till they get a little older.. i want one! i dont really like cats but they are just so adorable!

thats all :)

love you all!

Life and all its meanings..

I have to say that I am thankful that I am an American.. How easy it could have been for me to be born some where else in this gigantic world.. I have never been prouder to be what I am. This experience has given me the appreciation for my country that I never knew I could have.. That being said I want to take a moment to talk about September 11th and what it means to me, my life and the future..

10 years ago I was in 7th grade.. Its hard to believe it was really that long ago.. I can remember leaving math class when the teacher turned on the tv and I saw some buildings in some city with smoke.. I walked back to my classroom not really thinking about what I saw.. On the p.a. system they only announced that something was wrong after the second building was hit.. And of course what they told us was extremely vague.. Who wants to frighten an elementary school? Some parents pulled their children out of school but other wise the day continued as normal. When my sister and I got off the bus we saw that our dad was home which was weird. Our mom and dad gave us big hugs and we moved to the family room to watch what had happened while we were at school.. Its amazing what a sight like that does.. Its so hard to believe that someone out there hated America so much that he could cause all this damage and destruction.. When your young you like to believe that nothing scary exists and nothing like this could happen.. But it did.. and it changed everything.. We found out later on that one of the flights turned around really close to Cleveland and that they evacuated the city shortly after.. This hit home because my dad was still working in Cleveland at the time and really.. anything could have happened..

As things unfolded and we learned more I think out nation grew together a little bit.. It was nice to see the red, white and blue out at a time when it normally wasnt so prevelant.. and then shortly after we went to war.. Its weird that the wars we have been fighting have stemmed from this conflict but I can remember hearing the report of the first troops entering Afghanistan and every night dedicated to what was happening overseas.. While war is not spectacular and is not something that any generation should be happy about it made me proud of all the men and women who were fighting for their country and those who died on 9/11.. While things may have changed over the last 10 years I believe that the war, while drawn out, has had its positives.. But enough about war and politics..

And now 10 years later..

So much has changed and yet at the same time.. Nothing has.. Sometimes I feel like we dont pride ourselves in being American anymore.. Coming to a country in which people are so proud to be who they are has really opened my eyes.. I think too many people concentrate on the bad things so often that they forget what the country was built on and what America stands for.. Thus far in my experience I have not had a negative comment said to me when I say that I am an American.. If anything people are happy to see me and make comments about how they would love to go to America.. America, with all its faults and flaws, still holds appeals for those in other countries.. We are still the famous melting pot.. we are still something to be proud about.. we are still America no matter what the world looks like..I think more people need to remember and know what it is to be American..

and I cant say that I dont forget time to time where I am and where Im from.. It took me coming to another country to live to realize how much I love my country.. and for all its faults and politics that drive me crazy! I wouldnt want to live anywhere else..

All n all.. Im proud to be an American.. Let us never forget what happened but lets not dwell on the negatives.. It pulled us together, albeit for a short period of time, but if we could just remember the feeling and pride of who we are.. I think our country could pull together and become strong again..

I am a patriot and I love my country no matter its flaws.. I am proud to be an American.

Love you all so very much :)

today i made salsa

and it was wonderful

mangoes and tomatoes are a really good combo..

:)

First Vacation!

so its been awhile again.. time seems to be flying.. yet at the same time.. its sooooo slow..

anyways this past week was the end of Ramahdan.. it was crazy loud here from tuesday on until i left for Malang.. all these kids came to the house to get money.. something that they do here for idul fitri.. and every night there are a ton of fireworks and noise and yeah.. it was fine for one night but.. it seems it never ends.. i can only hope that tonight is quiet again..

anyways so on Friday i went to Malang to visit my first host family.. man.. the way to Malang was horrible.. i left my house around 7:30/8 and went down the road to meet Krystal, who i was traveling with.. we went down to the station and all the buses heading to Jombang were PACKEDDDDDDD.. we couldnt get on anything so we decided to walk down the road to see if maybe we could walk into Jombang and then find a ride to the station there.. but no such luck.. we ended up stopping at the traffic police station where we originally started out at and after like an hour one of the police men finally got a bus/car thing for us.. The ride only ended up being like 15 minutes but it felt so much longer because we were waiting for maybe two hours for a ride to the station..

NOTE TO SELF: never travel again when its a holiday..

At Jombang station they they kept trying to get us to get on this bus that was standing room only and we kept saying no no no we want to sit.. we will wait.. they kept pulling me towards the bus.. sometimes they can be so pushy! but about five minutes after the first bus left another one came and we got on.. we had to sit in the back with three other people but luckily we got to sit.. sadly it was by some guys who chatted to us the entire way to Malang which ended up being like 3 hours.. i just wanted to sleep but i had to concentrate so hard because i could barely hear what they were saying and then i had to translate everything.. made for a longgggg bus ride.. near the end of the ride we came to the mountains surrounding Malang and Batu.. THAT was crazy.. at times we were literally a foot away from dropping off the side of the cliff.. i wish i had brought my camera to document it.. but sadly the camera would not fit in my backpack filled with mangoes.. needless to say it was a thrilling ride..

finally we get to Malang and right before we get into the city we hit a ton of traffic.. the bus decides to go off roading.. this is a regular sized road.. but he decides to bypass maybe 6 cars by driving on the side of the road.. we almost hit two trees and a sign.. crazy the way they drive here.. once we got to the station though everything was good.. went and got something to drink and eat and then it was off to the fam!

i never thought i could miss this family that much.. but i was so glad to finally seem them again.. it was also nice that i could understand 90% of what they said to me.. so much different then when i was dropped off at their doorstep 5 months ago.. crazy.. but it was good to see them all again..

anyways while there we just went shopping and hung out and it was good to just relax and not worry about school or issues here.. went out on saturday night with the family while they went around to their friends houses and said hello.. i got to see Daniels host mother and Mary Ellens fam.. it was nice.. woulda been better if the whole gang coulda been there.. felt a little empty without them..

but whatever it was a good weekend.. and now im back here.. the ride back was fairly uneventful.. got a package from my grandparents! so im happy.. for now.. school starts on thursday so i gotta get prepared for that..

wellll thats it! i miss everyone so much! hope everything is going well with everyone..

LOVE YOU ALL :)