she grew up good she grew up slow like american honey

It seems a good time to update the journal a whole new year and a whole new month of new experiences some good some bad but mostly new and exciting.

December passed in a haze of craziness: First, my aunt Teri came to visit. Easily the best week of my life in Ukraine to date. It felt almost like a different Ukraine then the one I had been living in and i was able to experience things with new eyes and felt the love that only comes with family.

Second, a week of quarantine where I was able to just do whatever I wanted. Then came my birthday party and the event of the season when in the middle of the nite 3 guys broke into my house punched me in the face and broke my nose and hit my friend over the head with a metal toy gun before the men could push them out of my apartment and made things safe again. Following the event, I was taken to Kyiv for medical and emotional watch. The week in Kyiv was unreal. I spent the day of my birthday in the car on the way to Kyiv and enjoying a Chinese dinner with Blythe who accompanied me there. I spent Christmas with our Programming and Training Director and his family which was really really really fun! And then when I returned to Lviv I had two days to move out of my apartment into a new one and then head to Egypt.

The week in Egypt was exactly the recharge I needed. Tanning relaxing and being with some of my best friends in an environment I never really thought that I'd experience in my life. I was able to do so much including riding a camel (easily one of teh highlights).

now I'm back in Lviv and back to teaching. Looking out into the calendar realising that I can't say I'm leaving next year but THIS year kind of scares me/excites me etc. The best part is is that my calendar is filled with things to look forward to. I've only just arrived back at school and I have only a few weeks of teaching left in the month of January partly due to the fact that I'll miss three days to do my mid-service medical exam in Kyiv next week. After that it's one short month of February and then my parents may/may not come. April may have a visit and May I'm headed to Italy to be with the family all together! I can hardly believe after that I've finished my last full semester in Ukraine and I'm into summer where I'll be loving every single minute of knowing that I'm headed home in fall. . . it's crazy to know how fast this is all going and exciting to think of home even if I am happy to be here. . . wow 2011 I feel like a lot is going to change and be in store for me.

love and hugs to you all