Oh Shit....

One of the teachers at my school invited me to a performance. I was excited cuz I BARELY get asked to do anything with any of the other teachers outside of the school. and frankly watching TV every second of the day after work is gettin pretty boring, so this gave me something to do.

now let me just say that I still have NO IDEA what was going on at the performance, but it seemed cute because of the performances. It started with some girls sitting down on chairs reading from a book while some lady was playing the piano. They could have been tellin short stories or reciting poems, or each tellin one part of the same story. I dont know. But in the midst of the story telling, two cute lil girls did a dance performance and one extra cute girl sang a Rihanna song. Check it:

Again, I highly doubt that this lil girl knows what "I dont want to be a murderer" really is. But she does sound pretty good!

How CREATIVE am I?!?!

Well what do we have here?!? I always think its good if students can have fun when they are learning. It helps them to feel more relaxed and encourages them to want to learn. So I decided since the students were havin a hard time with some of the new vocab words we were learning, that I would make some games to help them. I slaved until 2AM makin these damn games. I did a "Chutes and ladders" game (pictured below). I even got all creative and made the pieces from Bulgarian change. Then I created a "Vocab Dominoes" game. Like dominoes but instead og matching the same number, you had to match the word by its Definition, Antonym, or the part of speech that it was (verb, adjective, etc).

The second half of the the 10g class seemed to like it somewhat. I played the Dominoes game cuz it was the hardest. You really had to study to play the game. But the first half of the class just got on my nerves. They were totally unappreciative of the games, and seemed bored to death. Now granted, these were learning games, probably less fun than playing one of their many wack ass card games, BUT this is still school. And the point was to help them learn the new vocab. The first half of the 10g class is so much worse than the second half. They get on my nerves for real, but not more than the entire 9g class, they really make me sick!

I love you Jojo!

So after about 3 longs weeks without my main girl, I FINALLY spoke to Jojo! It was AMAZING! We caught up on a few things, and had some laughs. And jsut for the record, I will publicly COMMEND her on her cooking. While here, it seemed she couldnt even boil hot water. But if you look on her blog, she has posted some really deliciously lookin dishes. Now is she cooked them herself with no help from anyone else OR if the food actually tasted good is beside the issue. Whats most important is that she TOOK SOME REALLY NICE PICS OF DELICIOUS LOOKIN FOOD!

Kudos to you Jojo! hahahahaha (you know I gotta hate somehow!)

Book Report

So I pretty much have a lot of freedom with my 9G class. I have a short list of compulsory things to do with them, but when those are completely I find myself having a lot of free classes with no idea what to teach these heathens. SO I started lookin at other text books to see what 9g should be learning and found some good exercises in this one textbook. So since my 9g always give me hell and are so lazy, I am making them write a BOOK REPORT!

Hahahahahaha

Lets face it, the students practically learn nothing that has to do with writing. they dont learn about the mechanics of a report or essay, let alone good writing techniques. I had to go over how to write an essay with my 10g and 9g. We went over what goes in the introductuon, the body, the conclusion, and good ways to start your introduction. The 9g generally seemed bored, which they are all the damn time. But seriously I have to teach them next year as 10g, so I figured this would be a good way to get them used to writing, cuz they will have several writing assignements when they become 10g.

So I raided my school library and found a very healthy collection of Goosebumps books. you remember those dont you? They even had a TV show based on the books. I remember in elementary school as a matter of fact how we had book fairs. You could go to the school library and it had books on every table that you could by. And if you couldnt afford any of the books, you could get colorful erasers, or pencils, or stickers, or cute lil bookmarks. We also used to get those lil BookFair catalog things so you could order the books and they were sent to the school (damn American schools are so diff than here).

So anyway, some of the students seem to really like the books. Others were more concerned with how long the book was so they wouldnt have to read so many pages. And some students were concerned with the difficulty of the books. And rightfully so. There are a few kids I can think of who can barely say anything other than their names let alone read something like a Goosebumps book (how they made it to the 9g I have NO idea!). So I went over with the class how to write the book report and they even have to turn it in with a cover page and everything. This is so LEGIT!

Please, somebody pray for these kids, cuz I KNOW someone is gonna fuck up and fail!

Let's Just Burn those....

So this has been buggin me for a while. I just want to put this out there that BODYSUITS, uumm ot poppin at all. You wouldnt catch me dead in a bodysuit. I think they look so wack, not to mention all the work that goes into them. You have to button them at your coochy and depending on what you wear, you have your work cut out for you when going to the bathroom.

Apparently Bulgarians dont care about that. Cuz them MOFO's wear bodysuits like they underwear or socks. I cant tell you how many girls in my class wear these damn things. And it wouldnt be AS bad if I didnt know they were wearing them. When they bend down, or even turn around to talk to someone behind them, I can see the top line of their underwear and basically their asses (or lack thereof). It really is disgusting!

And seriously, I thought bodysuits were created so that wouldnt happen. Most of the time when you tuck your shirt in, it rides up or comes out of your pants. So the bodysuit was created so you wouldnt have that problem (or at least I hope thats why it was made). BUT yet and still, I have lil 14 year olds walkin around thinkin they cute, with their skin and fat all hangin out the bodysuit. That just may be becuase they wear their pants EXTREMELY low on their waists. I just can't.......

Funny...

I told my students to give a recap of a text they read for homework. While reading it aloud, one student wrote "bullshit" in his answer. I told him not to use that word cuz it was a curse. But as a side note I explained to him and the class that most people use 'BS' cuz its not as vulgar as using the full word, but everyone understands it to mean the same thing. Moving on......

So the next activity involved Homonyms, you know words that sound the same but have different spelling like, write and right. So I split the kids into groups and as a quick competition, asked which group could come up with the most Homonyms. Now of course things got off to a slow start, but eventually the groups actually wrote some down. Much to my surprise, the kid that wrote bullshit before listed 'BS' and 'be ass' as Homonyms.....hahahahaha

Interesting day...

My work week finished pretty well. The next day after I posted about my 10g not doing their homework, they ALL came prepared with it. Of course I was furious they hadnt done it in the first place, so I assigned them extra HW for the next day, and they rose to the occasion. When I asked them to take it out, I was so very excited that it was done, and the class flowed so smoothly.

In fact I have a funny story.....So one of the new vocab words we went over in class was LEAN, the adjective that means thin. So one student, who is obseesed with rap and hip-hop (and asks me frequently the meaning of slang terms used in rap songs) asked me if this is the same LEAN as in Fat Joe's song "Lean Back" All I could do is last initially. I explained what that Lean meant, and proceeded to do the motion, and eventually do the dance. I thought it would be fun for everyone to do it also, so I told them I would teach them to "Lean Back" So I asked them all to stand up, and one girl asked me to sing the melody. So I start singing the song and we all start to LEAN BACK. And some of them got it pretty well, while others...uumm NOT so much. But it was fun!

Moving on to the next activity in class, which required the students to take a few minutes and find vocab words in the text we were reading. So the Lean Back kid isnt doing his work. So I say to him, What are you doin? This fool sayd to mean "Im patiently waiting and taking my time" and at first I didnt get it. But then he said it again and I realized that it was from that Nelly and Fergie song "Party People" So this MOFO think he a rapper now huh? So he asks me if he could rap the song in class (the really fast part of the song). And of course all the little girls in class is cosignin talkin bout yeah, please let him do it. He is the best at it and he says it really fast. So he plays the song on his phone and indeed, he said the fast part as good as Nelly himself. But when I asked if he UNDERSTOOD what he was sayin, that was a diff story......

Oh and the same kid randomly asked me if I knew how many times a heart beat in a day. I said no, but what does that have to do with the work from the textbook. He says nothin I was just wonderin cuz I need a dollar for everytime my heart beats. So then like 2 seconds lata he busts out this 50 Cent song "I need a dollar everytime my heart beats, uh uh now how much is that" He needs to really stop with his Banksta foolishness!

Scavenger Hunt

I had my students do a 'Cell Phone Scavenger Hunt.' I thought it would be a nice and fun activity for them. I gave them a list of things to find. They worked in groups and had to take a pic of the stuff they found on the list. Some things on the list included something American, a horse, and a gun. I told the students to be as creative as possible. Here are some pics from the assignment. I was really happy with the pics the class took and excited!

Weekend Fun

Video Bar

So for those of you that DONT know, I am in love with the Kings of Leon. Its some cool ass rock group that I came across watchin MTV. The newest jam that Im up on is "use somebody" Check video to your left........

And the lead singer is Hot!

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD go check out they other joint that I like "Your Sex is on FIRE" hahahaha

Update

So my wishlist is updated as follows:

Oreo's
Kool-Aid

Again, if anyone has a good heart, Ill send you my address and you can send me any one of the things from my wishlist!

I "heart" you all! *kisses*

Don't be scared

So I changed the look of the blog. I want yall to know I'm serious about this BLOG thing. And if PC wasnt sooooooooooo wack, I'd put some ads on here so I could make a few dollars. But anyway, I've added some news links, a slideshow, and some other gadgets. And of course, the format of my entire blog is different too. Its brighter and has my favorite color for the text RED.

Enjoy

Semi-Fun Weekend

On Saturday there was a party for some other volunteers. I went to chill with Amanda and some of them. We ended up at a pub with a table full of volunteers that I had never met nor even seen before. I told Amanda I would chill with her, but after a while I started to get irritated. Everyone was drinkin beer, and socializing and honestly, I just wasnt feelin the scene. Lincoln came thru and we talked for a bit. My site mate (the guy that lives in the same city as me....oh and I find it quite funny that I hung out with him in Sofia but never actually in the town we live in together) was there too. But again, it just wasnt my thing. Geeyah (my Bulgarian friend) came thru and we bounced. We hit up a bar, then some hip-hop clubs. I was again surprised with how many black people I saw.

Ive come to realize that maybe Im puttin too much emphasis on me being black here. Granted I grew up in Harlem with mad black folks, then went to a predominately white shcool. And most of the programs I have done, I have .been the ONLY if not one of the few people in the mix. So naturally I get excited when I see someone that looks like me. But I dont think others see it that way. I generally try to be nice when Im in the club and see other black people. I try to say hello or ask where they are from. But most of the guys are only interested in gettin ass (and you KNOW thats not happenin) from me or every other Bulgarian chick in the club.

I tried to have this convo with Geeyah who tried to check me and say that it shouldnt matter. I should try to make friends with everyone not just black people. And while that has some truth to it, lets be honest, unless Bulgarians are really adventurous, can speak english, or just plain nosey/curious about me, they can be quite rude to me and no one can tell me its NOT cuz im black. Why the hell would I want to socialize with people like that. And as I tried to explain to her, there is nothing like being able to talk to someone who knows how you feel or has experienced what you have. It makes you feel like its not just you, and you can take comfort in the fact that someone can relate to you. And frankly thats the only reason why I like to meet other black people here. Thats just how I feel about it and no one can tell me different.

Anyway, ill post some pics from this weekend. It was pretty fun (except all the people who were all hugged up and lovey dovey with each other) and I took some good pics!

I almost lost a limb

I dont know if I wrote abouth this, but Jojo left me a lot of school material when she left. Printing paper, pens, BINGO cards, markers, stickers etc. I wasnt gonna use all that stuff and wanted to share with the other teachers so I brought in a box filled with all the extra stuff. I announced that the teachers could look in the box and take what they wanted.

When I say I almost lost a LIMB! These mofo's attacked the box like they was roaches! They were everywhere! So Irina (who I am slowly starting to strongly dislike to put it nicely) decides that she is gonna try to facilitate who gets what. Handing out shit like she paid for it. Then one of the other English teachers came to the teachers room late and wanted to know what was goin on. You know, where the box came from, what was in it, if she could take something. She asked Irina about it and of course she played DUMB. Straight Pretended she didnt know what was goin on!

Oh yeah, and she took the ENTIRE book of stickers after I specifically told her to take SOME and share the rest! Damn her ass.....

Shut the *Bleep* Up

You see how that works? The *bleep* in the title of this post is blocking out the bad word (fuck for all the slow bunnies). That is what the *bleep* is for. So we dont hear any bad words, even tho we know what they are.

So everyone who knows me knows that I watch TV from sun up til sun down. At this point I would be totally out of my mind if I didnt watch tv (altho its gettin a bit redundant now). And I watch music videos like its no ones business. So naturally I found it quite funny when I heard several songs where the *bleep* is in the most ridiculous places. For example in the song "Pop Champagne" the third verse by that guy from Dipset (cant think of his name) goes "I wanna see you move, I wanna see you dance. Without that shirt, without those pants" You wanna knwo what the *bleep* was covering

SHIRT and PANTS!

In another song (I forgot to write the title cuz I was laughin so damn hard) the line was something about "sex in the city* and the *bleep* covered....you guessed it, the WORD CITY!

Now this is completely hilarious seeing as how they ferociously play Game's "My Life" and he says nigga in that song about 6-7 times (I counted) with no damn *bleeps* AT ALL (I turn when the song comes on now cuz I dont condone that language).

FOOLISHNESS INDEED!

Alex my little doll.....

I guess you were semi-right. I had one of the English teachers speak to some of the science teachers about a possible science fair. NOTHING. No one has said anything to me about it. Im gonna try to ask myself (once I identify who the hell teaches science here) and see where that takes me.

I would just like to add at this point, that I think the teachers at my shcool are all BS. A lot of them are so unimaginative, and have no afinity for creating things, or doing projects (something learned as a result of when they were students). When I come up with ideas and tell them, they all nod in agreement, and say "yeah, thats a great idea" But when it comes to actually gettin stuff off the ground, NOTHING. No one is available.

And I think its quite funny that PC wants us to do skill transfers and help the teachers learn about projects, and good teaching activities etc. The last volunteer did at least 2 projects for the school, the radio/loud speaker system and the whiteboards. Where the hell were the other teachers when that shit happened? Why didnt they learn anything at that time? When I asked where the last volunteer got the funding for the project he did: "I dont know" I asked if anyone helped him with the project: "I dont know" (altho all the teachers were here when he was here). Well what about project design, did he tell you anything about that: "I dont know anything about it"

Im just about ready to fly solo on this..........

And the Cheese Stands Alone....

I meant to post this last week......

I really have been feelin so drained from everything. I really can't wait for the school year to be over! I need a damn long vacation.

That being said, I'll explain why.....I feel like I'm at a crossroads. I'm in between what I think I should do as a PC volunteer here, and what the school wants me to do. Two conflictin things which is really buggin the shit out of me! The school really wants this "mobile computer lab" (just say laptops damnit) but I dont see anyway we can get them. But I decided to put my thoughts about it aside and just try to get the shit done. All last week I tried to get up with the Bulgarian lady helpin me (Irina) but she was blowin me off. She was supposed to meet with my principal to talk to her about a program with the town that gave away laptops to teachers. I wanted to know if the program was still goin on and if we could apply. If not, maybe we could ask if the town could give us a small donation or grant. She made a big deal about having to speak with the principal to get this info, and told me she would do it. You think that happened? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I waited a week and finally asked her if she spoke to the principal. She tells me no. I say well can we meet with her today? Irina: Well Im busy but you can talk to her if you want. Here go the BS. If that was the case I would have BEEN done that. So anyway, I TRY to talk to her, and honestly I thought I was doin a good job, til she SHUT ME DOWN. She told me after like 5 minutes to come back and talk to her when Irina is with me so she can translate!

So this week yesterday I finally got Irina to sit down with the 2 of us so I could ask them some questions about the project (which at this point I am doin alone). At no point in time did she offer to help with anything as I was detailing what I wanted to do and how I was gonna go about it. I have to write a project proposal, go to the PC office to ask for help, shop around on the net for suitable grants, apply for the grants, and I was thinkin that I could try to get some American companies to give grants too. AGAIN, at no point in this whole explanation did Irina offer a single shred of help or even regard for the magnitude of the project.

I almost feel like having a volunteer for the school means they need something physical to show for it. The last volunteer that was here got them white boards for each classroom, and a radio/loud speaker system (which they use to play bad Bulgarian music and hip-hop with curse words during the breaks between class). So they want me to I suppose have something to show for my service at their school. I offered to to a life skills course since the kids dont learn about sex-ed, finances, manners (which these little critters need), leadership skills etc. But NO, the school was against me doing that. Then I wanted to do a class on gender issues in Bulgaria, and leadership courses for the girls. I was thinkin we could do a sweet 16 or something cute like that. AGAIN, SHOT DOWN. Whatevs.......

But on a good note, the second half of my 10G class came with their homework. I was VERY happy and this class was so much better than the first. I put stickers on their homework (eat your hearts out first group) and we did a fun activity at the end of class. Those little angels......

It's Way too early...

So I KNEW with everything in me that my students didnt do their homework. I assigned it last weekend and they had the weekend to do it, but of course only 2 students did it. I honestly was ROYALLY PISSED OFF. But what was I REALLY expecting?

It just sucks cuz I really have been plannin out lessons, and tryint to include fun activities for them. Those lazy bitches!

I just assigned more homework for them tonight, and if they know whats good for them, that shit will get DONE!

Lightbulb flashing....

So amidst the snow fallin to the ground and it being fairly cold yesterday and today, my brain was still workin at its normal high speed capacity! I came up with the VERY BRIGHT idea of possibly doing a SCIENCE FAIR!

I know you all remember having a science fair at your school. Making a replica volcano and making it erupt by mixing baking soda and ....well anyway, you know what I mean. I figured it would be so cute to do something like that. I want to colaborate with the science teachers and hopefully we could make it happen.

I think its a marvelous idea! Lets see if I can manuever this.....

Take 2

The second 1/2 of the 9g class was much better. BINGO went well and the students really liked the pixy sticks. Everyone won at BINGO except one kid. Altho I usually hate his guts and would really like to take him behind the school and slap him around for a bit, this time I felt sorry for him and just gave him some candy.

I'm such a SWEETHEART! hahahahahaha

Startin early

My students behaved pretty well yesterday, and asked if they could play a game today. I was wit it! So I came in today prepared with BINGO. They dont have it here and they didnt know how to play the game. I explained it to them, and after we started they seemed to really get into it. So Jojo gave me some pixy sticks (those little colored sugar things that come in packets that look like sticks.). I gave them out as prizes and of course the students started throwin them at each other (the boys) .

And of course my personal favorite, 2 kids put the sugar on the desk and proceeded to "cut" it up like it was crack or something. They seriously looked like they just cooked up a batch, or were about to snort either way, The FUTURE of bulgaria, what can I say?......

And it continues....

So apparently this new hair cut is a hit. One of my 10G tried to damn near CARESS my hair. After class usually a few boys in the class line up at my desk to ask me questions, and just talk to me in general. The girls really could give 2 shits. When thebell rings they start primpin, or playing cards.

So this one boy who annoys the hell out of me came over while I was talkin to one student about a project. He tried to touch my hair. I told him not to be touchin on me or my hair, and that I am his teacher and not his friend or his girl. Of course he continues to try and touch my hair and I had to hit this lil kid and scream on homeboy.

Then the 9G kept blowing kisses at me. I feel like this is on "on the job sexual harrassment" type stuff. I told Poppa and he said he might have to come thru and let these lil kids know whats really good.

I was talkin to Tiffy last night and I just know when she comes to visit all these lil boys gon lose they minds cuz my lil sis is the truth. She real cute and damn near on model status. But yall already know, thats how we do......LOL

But seriously, the harrassment HAS to stop!

Kudos

And just when it seems someone takes one step backwards, someone has the courage to take a BIG step forward. Shout outs to Norah al-Faiz (like I know her personally...) for being appointed by the king as the new deputy minister for womens education. This is a huge step for the people (esp the women) of saudi arabia.

Women there have any rights at all. On CNN they were sayin that in Saudi Arabia women need permission from their husband or a male relative to leave they house, they cant walk outside often without a male with them, they are not allowed to drive and we all know how they must be covered from head to toe. But the younger population that has access to internet and know about other cultures want a change. And rightfully so!

Im not gonna pretent to be a huge history buff cuz I dont follwo what goes on in the middle east at all. But I have heard of the way the women are treated there, so this def is a good look!

WTF?!?!

So anyone who knows me knows that I love to watch tennis (on certain I could swearI play better than Serena....). Anyway, the WTA World Championships are upon us and they are held in Dubai. Well low and behold, 48th ranked tennis player Shahar Peer has been DENIED a visa to the United Arab Emirates. Why you ask? Because homegirl is from ISREAL!!!!

Now I dont know who the hell this chick is, never heard of her AT ALL, and lets be serious, she is ranked number 48, she wasnt gonna win the championship (esp if Serena had anything to do with it). But all that aside, shouldnt she at least get the chance to try (and lose)? It isnt fair that simply because she is Isreali that she should be denied a visa, resultin in her not bein able to compete for the 2 MILLION DOLLAR prize money. This is some bullshit!

This is a testimony to the fact that injustices happen everywhere in the world, and religion, gender, and race STILL play a part in what people do!

Say it with me now, FOOL-ISH-NESS!

saw this on CNN and was very disgusted. Ill cross Dubai off my list of places to see!

Please Stop

So I walked into school today and showed off my new hair cut. Of course all of the teachers were like "Chestita Pricheska" (happy hair cut). They were all excited and congratulated me on how great I looked. And me LOVING to be the talk of the town, I didnt mind it at all.

So I had class today at 7:30, then again at about 9 (both 9G classes). All of the students noticed my hair cut as well and said there peace. So of course there has to be at least ONE fresh pot out the bunch. I go to the second 9g grade class and this one kid immediately says "you look so beautiful" I day thanks and keep it moving. So he isnt doin his work, and when I ask why, he says cuz you are so beautiful I cant focus. Then during the classwork he asked for a hug, then he asked for a pic with me. When class was over, as im leaving he yells out "goodbye sweetie."

Now ive had a crush on teachers before too. In high school I remember very fondly having the hugest crush on Mr. Rascoe (I think he taught social studies and then his cousin was a sub and he was GORGEOUS). Anyway I understand that it happens. But this kid was kinda out of control with all his comments. I was scared to death to take off my damn coat. I had some tight jeans on cuz I havent done laundry and didnt have any dress pants to wear and I swear had I taken my coat off this lil boy wouldve got a hard on! I can just see his lil peewee at attention now.

FOOLISHNESS!

This is why I'M hot....

So lookey what we have here. Just when I thought I hated working here, wanted to beat my students down, talked shit about the bulgarians, cursed my town, and swore Id never return after my service was up, I get this email from my director:

"Actually I wanted to have a chat with you at some point but unfortunately I was facilitating the training in hall Europa, which was in the other building and it interfered with my plan. I hope you were able to work well with your colleague during the workshop. I had a chance to hear from her at the focus group session with Bg partners on Friday. On behalf of your school she spoke highly appreciative of you highlighting your positive attitude and natural way of interaction with students and colleagues. She mentioned the positive influence you have over students and colleagues in terms of using cretivity in your teaching."

Now aint this something?!?! When I saw this part of the email you know I almost started dancing the jig! What wonderful things she MUST have said about me. Im truly touched. This jsut makes me actually want to do more for the school (like get them new laptops for a portable computer lab).

Eat your hearts out!

So you got JOKES huh?

So I am kinda excited to be postin this. Its a joke that one of my 10G students told me. Thursday was a chill day so I brought in Monopoly for them to play, while others played cards. I dont know how we started tellin jokes, but by the end of the class I was thoroughly impressed cuz 1. several of the students had the CAPACITY to tell a joke in ENG, and 2. several of them had the capacity to tell a GOOD joke in ENG. So here is one of the jokes (with my spin on it of course), ENJOY....

A blonde chick walks into a sex shop and proceeds to glance over the merchandise. She sees a red dildo (I gave them that word....hahaha) and asks that saleswoman how much it costs. The lady looks at her and says its not for sale. Disappointed she leaves. She comes back the next day and after browsing sees the red dildo again. She asks nicely, how much for the red dildo. The lady says again, its not for sale. The blonde is kinda upset and leaves. She comes back again and after a while sees the red dildo is still there. She says to the lady, wht cant I buy the red dildo? The salewoman says for the last time lady, the fire extinguisher is not for sale!

good times......

Who's that Girl????

I was tryna take some pics of myself, and of course I found some way to f*ck it up! But at least my body looks good (hey Gym ball that I never use just chillin in the background!)

Valentine's Day Post

So for all the lovers out there and people who actually celebrated Vday, I hope you all had a good day. For those of you who know that Vday is just something created by the man for people to sepnd more money, I wish you all a great day also. But I hope everyone didnt forget that Vday is just one day, and that if you truly love someone, you should show it everyday and in every way possible. So Id like to give a special Vday shout out to all my BLOG readers including my bestie Qi, Jojo (twin), Amanda, Mere, Matt, Delly, Alex, Big, and Amel. So all my fam, my mom, Ferg boogie, Tiffy, Ray, and Mike. And of course a VERY SPECIAL shout out to Poppa AND to the number 1 love of my life, TRENT (hahahaha).

Speaking of Poppa, since we cant be together, I thought of something I could do to still celebrate it with him and show him that I was thinkin of him. So I BAKED him cake. Now granted, Ive been meanin to bake the cake for a while now, and I know he cant eat any of it, but its the thought that counts!

I hope you all can see that the cake looks absolutely scrumptious, but more importantly it says "S ♥ J" and you know what that stands for.......

And just in case you missed it, I took the braids out and cut my hair into a bob. Cant really say Im feelin it, but hey its a new look! Anyway thats for you Poppa......and oh yeah.......
As cheesy as this sounds, My heart is MISSING without You! (hahahaha cuz I ate that piece of the cake! lmao!)

What a wonderful....

WORD! So my new favorite word ive been toting around is FOOLISHNESS. It really has come to emcompass all that is Bulgaria, and how I feel about almost everything and everybody. And variations of the word are also awesome: TOMFOOLERY, FOOLIRIFIC, FOOLISH etc.



So today I walked into work in the midst of FOOLISHNESS! It just seems to be all around me! So the second semester has begun and I have a new work schedule. They printed out copies of the schedule and distributed them to everyone prior to the semester beginning. So I copied it down and was quite disappointed cuz I had the first period everyday, which on the first shift begins at 7:30 AM.



I planned on giving my students a test today, so I came in early ready to ruin these kids lives cuz I can almost guarantee that they didnt study.



The bell rings



I get myself together



Walk to the class



And to my surprise, there is already a teacher there checking attendance. Im utterly confuse at this point. I walk back to the teachers room, look in the Dnevnik (which is a huge book where teachers have to record what there lesson for each day is) and LOW AND BEHOLD, I dont even have the first period. When am I suppose to teach you ask? From the 4th period!

I couldve been gettin extra sleep! FOOLISHNESS. So now Im sitting in the teachers room waitint for the 4th period to just roll around. I went to a lil shop just outside the school and got some breakfast. The lady workin there asked me if I was a student! Imagine that. I look so young that I could be a Bulgarian student. I told her I actually taught at the school, and she said I looked so young.

That kinda made my day! hahahaha I was seriously thinkin of beginning to use anti-age age cream now, so that when I actually hit my mid/late thirties, Ill look like I just graduated college. A Pretty Young Thang if you will.....lol

Have a Great Day Folks!

One Year Anniversary....

yes ladies and gentlemen the time had come to commemorate the one year anniversary of: *DRUM ROLL PLEASE*


NO SEX!

Yes you read that correctly. In just about 2 short weeks, I will have NOT had sex in a year! What an amazing feat to have accomplished. And just incase you were bad at math i've been here 11 months so that leaves a month unaccounted for. Well the actually 6 weeks before I left I stopped all activity altogether. And just for the record, please believe that I could have BEEN jumped in the bed with someone, cuz Im that SHIT!

Dont feel sorry for me please. I really aint missin out on anything. Most of these folks out here cant even work it in the bedroom.....hahahahahaha

*hand claps all around*

Now to CONTINUE with our REGULARLY scheduled program....

Ok, now its back to the juicy, funny stuff......SOOOOOOO one of my students invited me to a basketball game sunday at 9AM. And yes, that is against everything I stand for, to wake up THAT early on a weekend, but I was actually kinda honored he invited me, so I decided to go. Now, I was cranky as all hell, but thats neither here nor there......

So i really want yall to understand how BOOTLEG this game was. I mean the most bootlegest (if thats a word) game Ive ever seen in my life. I had to sit there and take notes on my phone JUST so I wouldnt forgot all the funny stuff that occurred during this "GAME."

so most of you who watch sports do it for the excitement of the game. In basketball you want to see the players working hard, setting plays, making baskets, and some type of element to keep you entertained for the most part. A real competition if you will.....Think thats what I saw on SUNDAY? Ding ding ding we have a winner....HELL NO thats not what happened.......

First of all lets talk about how the players looked? WAHT PLAYERS? these kids looked like they camein off the street 15 minutes before the game started. I mean some of them had different colored jerseys on (from the same team), some dude had on a pair of tight ass jeans, folks were wearing VANS (sneakers), low cut adidas, and what appeared to be dress shoes. I really kept praying someone fucked up their ankles......

DEFENSE/OFFENSE. Nonsense. There was none. they werent running any visible plays, there was no team work, no one yellin to anyone else, no communication what so ever. I mean the passes were horrible, mad turnovers, and the game went by so fast that no one had time to even set up a play.

For REAL? so now lets talk about the game and how OUT OF SHAPE these kids looked. I mean wheezing like they were gonna hack up a lung, not even jogging. They were walking from one end to the other. They looked so tired by the end of the first damn quarter. Folks kept making air balls (2 feet away from the basket) missing layp-ups, and lets not even talk about free throws.

And just to be fair, I did see ONE kids set a pick and attempt a pick and roll. I also saw a full court press (altho honestly I dont even think THEY knew they were doin that). Jeez, laughs up and down the damn court! I will also say that the best player on the team (for my school) was the 9th grader who invited me (on a team of mixed students from 9-12 grade). They just need to stick to soccer, oops my bad, FOOTBALL!

Dare I Say it.....

Today was a GOOD day! Now I know I usually post my frustrations and a lot of harsh criticisms of bulgarians. Ive too often found myself using my blog to diss/make fun of the things that I dislike about where I am. But hey, that just makes for GOOD HUMOR! lol and you enjoy to read about those things. but I would be remiss if I didnt say AT LEAST one good thing from time to time, cuz clearly that is how frequently they occur......lol

I had my tenth grade class today and I love them to death. Alto they frustrate me from time to time, they are the closest that come to a real high school class in the states. I had the 9th graders today too. I decided to do a fun debate activity to practice vocabulary that they learned in class. You think this worked at all? NO. But at the end one girl debated against me, and she did a really good job!

I had my extracurricular activity class with 3 (count em 3) 9th graders and that was actually fun. Then I chit-chatted it up with some colleagues. I proceeded to the yarn store when I purchased some new yarn for a new scarf (and NO i have not finished the first one). The lady there was just the cutest thing, and I enjoyed trying to understand what she was saying (ive decided at this point to not even try to study bulgarian).

the sun is out, im done with work, and I actually left smiling! so, yes I dare say it, I had a very GOOD day!

Seriously?!?

So after this project planning seminar, Im fresh with ideas and energized to get something off the ground. Since Jojo left and gave me so much school material I decided to do a resource fair for the English teachers at my school. I discussed this with one of them (who I am really cool) and she says to me, "oh that is great I really could use this. The other volunteer before you gave me these things and I ran out of them" And you know immediately waht I thought right???? Go out and buy them damnit!

So anyway I had to meet with the same lady to talk about our project idea, obtaining laptops for the school. She wants to get like 20, and I think thats a bit much. Seeing as how we already have a computer lab AND 2 laptops AND 2 multi-media systems. But anyway, we decided to meet at 11:50. And do you know what homegirl was doing at that time? EATING! I had to wait a half hour for her to finish eating and run an errand before we could meet and talk about the project.

So we meet and I told her that i dont know where we can get the funding for these laptops from, but we can search online, plan events to raise money and so on. Now she agreed that "everything we need is online we just need to look" But then in the sam breath said she didnt know how to do that. I mentioned that all you have to do is do a Google search for "free laptops, project funding, EU funding" and so on until you find something. But of course she pretended she couldnt even do that. Then when I talked about the events to raise money, she again pretended she didnt know what I meant. I said we could put on shows, have the students produce art works and sell them, have a bake sale, and so on. I felt like I was talkin to a BRICK WALL! Again, just totally clueless. And before you even fix your mouth to say maybe the teachers are inexperienced in this sort of thing, IM NOT BUYING IT. For an international festival we have in our town, some teachers just organized a group of Italians students to come visit our school and the festival. They are also coordinating a trip for our students to go visit the Italians. Another teacher just had the bright idea to contact a local TV so our students could be guest on the show.
Anyway, I see already that if I dont delegate any responsibility, things either wont get done, or ill have to do them myself. Sucks a whole bunch.....
Oh and my favorite of all....I said maybe we could just raise money and buy several laptops. She says No, we need at least 14 so the students can use them in pairs. So I said that is gonna be expensive and if we cant find funding, maybe a lower amount would be more feasible. She says at 500 bucks/laptop, 15 would only 7500, which she doesnt think is a lot of money. FUNNY SINCE YOU DONT EVEN HAVE HALF THAT, NOT IS IT YOUR MONEY BEING SPENT!
the foolishness never ceases to amaze me!

Congrats

I just quickly wanna shout out my girl Serena Williams for winning the Australian Open. Along with all that prize money (can I get a dollar) she also gets the #1 ranking. Thats how we do it.....

Excuse Me?!?!?

So I just caught wind of a possible DOMESTIC VIOLENCE charge against Chris Breezy *confused* Apparently this is big news cuz they both were supposed to perform at the Grammy's but their reps called and both confirmed that neither of them would be in attendance. Aparently from numerous gossip websites I frequent, Breezy and an unidentified woman (presumably Rihanna) got into a physical altercation in his limo and he punched said female in the face. she was let out of the lime when she called 911 and confrimed it was CB who assaulted her. It is reported that she is in the hospital with a black eye. He turned himself in and posted a 50,000 bail.

Ok so first of all how homeboy only 19 and tryna get buck wild on some chick? Dont he still go breast milk on his top lip? These lil boy need to stop it NOW. Second, I hope Rihanna got "Tina Turner (Angela Bassett)" on his ass. I know yall remember the movie. they were in the limo and after he hit her, she BEAT HIS ASS. Then walked out the limo and into the hotel like yeah so what, he hit me but I got my LICK IN TOO! And if I remember correctly, Angela Bassett (who played Tina Turner really gave him the business! Now altho I dont think that happened at all, Im just sayin, I hope it did....and Third of all in the reports I read the limo driver simply dropped said female off at some park them booked it. Now I know he gotta make his money, but I wonder if he jumped in the situation at all, or said anything. Can I atleast get a "excuse me mister brown, but thats enough" Again, I dont think that happened at all, but it would have been nice if the other MAN in the car did/said something......and lastly, I am very interested to see how his reps spin this shit. If it indeed was Rihanna who got fucked up by chris Brown than aint nothing nobody can say to be to make me like this kid anymore. Hittinon females is wack PERIOD. And all yall lil girls out there that like Mr. Breezy need to let him know (IF he is guilty of this) that his actions were wrong.

And just another side note, Breezy aint too old to get an ASS WHOOPIN. Ima need someone in Rihanna camp, a damn groupie, Jigga Man, her brother, manager, daddy SOMEBODY out this bitch to holla at Chris Brown......Im just saying!

Package

So it has finally happened. After patiently waiting, and getting more and more jealous of Jordan receiving a package every 2 weeks from her loving mother, SOMEONE FINALLY SENT ME A PACKAGE! I got a relaxer for my hair (so I can take these damn braids out), a big bottle of perfect for perms, cocoa butter, and a pair of shoes.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

and if anyone was wondering if I needed anything, or just wanted my address, I can DEFINATELY get you that information ASAP. And here is a list of the things that I wouldnt mind receiving......

Maderma (for scars)

Syrup (cant have enought of that)

M&Ms (preferably the ones with peanuts or peanut butter)

any pair of shoes that I have in storage

any bag that I have in storage (including but not limited to my brown Fendi bag and vintage Gucci bag)

my white coat

peanut butter and jelly (in separate containers)

Marshmellows

hair grease

hair conditioner

good lotion

uggs (size 11)

there are always more but thats all i can think of

Other shit that urks me.....

For the record, this is OFFICIALLY what a dictionary looks like. There are even pocket-sized electronic versions for your convenience. I really do get tired of people asking me the definition, pronunciation, Latin origin, spelling, cross refernce with another language etc of a word. I DONT KNOW EVERYTHING. I am smart as hell dont get me wrong. But also dont get mad at me if you ask me something and I say I dont know it. Cuz unlike Bulgarians, who cant just say "I dont know" I would rather tell you that than WRONG INFORMATION. I am not a dictionary and its impossible for me to know every owrd ever made! Just wanna put that out there......

Also, this is just a general question: Can I ever say no once?!?! Just once would be nice. Let me practice with you guys.....

Blog Reader: Hey Shaun, you want an alcoholic beverage of some sort?

Shaun: No thanks

Blog Reader: Ok cool

OR

Blog Reader: Shaun they are serving ice cream for desert tonight, you wanna go get some?

Shaun: Nah im ok thanks tho.

Blog Reader: ok cool

See how that works? Clearly I need to write a damn MEMO for these bulgarians, cuz I swear they just try to pressure you into doing all types of shit. For instance, we were at the seminar at dinner and ate too much. So before the next session started, I wanted to check my email. I saw that ice cream was being served for desert, but I didnt want any so I left. My counterpart later on said there was ice cream for desert and when I said I knew that, she asked why I didnt eat any. I said I just didnt want to. So of course she says, well I know you like ice cream so I figured you would want some. And I really wanted to say damn bitch be easy. I dont have to eat ice cream all the time, but I settled for just saying that my stomach hurt and I didnt want to upset it further.

For dinner I went out with her again and we met up with some Bulgarians. Immediately they offered me some Rakia (which is really strong alcohol) I politely declined. Well the guy makes it his business to ask why dont I want any,, and proceeded to order me a glass to he could fill it with Rakia. I again politely declined and damn near had to put my hand over the glass for him to get the point that I didnt want any.

Ive said before that I love to Horo, which is a type of traditional line dancing that Bulgarians do here. I love it so much and I am really good at it. So at a dinner we had at the hotel, music was playing and people started to do the horo. And granted I was in a very shitty mood and really didnt want to be there. But they were also doing a very easy (the easiest one possible) horo and I just didnt want to do it. So my counterpart starts bragging to the table how good I am, and how famous I am in my town (shit im a foreigner of cousre everyone knows me). So she starts pushin me to do the horo. I said I didnt feel like it. So here go the ensuing questions: Why not? I thought you liked Horo? Why dont you want to do it? Are you tired? Are you sure you dont want to do it? I really would like to see you do it. Are you ok? OMFG can you stop? DAMN. For just once can I say NO or decline and that be the end of it. Do I really have to offer a book as a reason why I dont want to do something. Can I not just NOT WANT TO DO IT? Can I not just be tired? MUST I have a reason for eveything? Jeez..........Talk about peer pressure. If these people were doing drugs I would have been tried every drug under the sun, tried to quit, went to rehab, relapsed, then died of a drug overdose fucking with them....

Bulgarians

So what does this look like to you? I hope most of you said a box, cuz thats what it is. And we know this. How? Cuz as a society, we have named it such and recognize it as a box no matter what shape/size/color it is. It simply is a box.

BUT metaphorically what is it? Ill tell you what is so you can follow where I am about to go with this post. It is a way of thinking. Inside the box is the regular stuff that we think of together with others. So for example how to make a hamburger. The "in the box" way woudl be to say to shape beef into a round ball then cook it in a pan in oil, put it between two buns along with tomotoes, pickles and ketchup. BUT for those chefs who put a spin on the classic idea of the hamburger and thought "OUTSIDE THE BOX" may not use beef. They may use chicken. What if you put mustard and pickles on the hamburger. What if its a Veggie burger. What if its not between 2 buns and so on and so on.

The reason I am writing this is to point of those Bulgarians and others for that matter who do no "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX." And while this does not pertain to all Bulgarians, if damn sure speaks to the majority of the ones I have met. They just CANT seem to think outside of the box and it really bothers me!

So a few examples of this are last weekend. I went with one of the English teachers at my school to a seminar onplanning projects in the community. On the invitation, it said we should be at the hotel after 2 PM. Other than that there ws no DEFINITE time we had to be there. So my counterparts husband drove us to the seminar which was 3 hours away from where I lived. We got to the hotel about 1:45 no lie. So we are in the car and she seriously turns to me and says what should we do? We are 15 minutes early, do you think we can go in? So Im thinkin to myself is she joking? What does she mean we cant go in. So we decide to see if we can check in now, and walk inside. We see some PC staff members and ask them can we check in some other small talk. So they say of course yall can check in. So as we are walkin back to the car, my counterpart says, Im gald we can check in now cuz if not we would've had to wait in the car becuz we were 15 minutes early.

Ok, so then we were in one of the sessions and we were split up in groups. So write down some things that we hoped to learn from the seminar (after the facilitators had already introduced what the seminar was for and what we would be doing). So my counterpart turns to me and says can she copy what I wrote cuz she has NO IDEA what to write. *blank stare* Before the seminar even began we had to turn in project ideas and when I asked her if she had any ideas, she flat out told me she had none and that basically I had to come up with my own idea.

And granted the seminar example might be different, but I swear Bulgarians are just so linear. They never can think big, or "OUTSIDE THE BOX" or be creative. And I suppose I could use my students as an example to further this notion of mine. They are so friggin stupid! They are so UN-CREATIVE and lazy and usually cant think for themselves. They have been learning english longer than I have been learning bulgarian, so its a mystery to me that most of them cant communicate with me or even understand what the hell im saying. If I wanted to say something but couldnt think of the word for exactly what I was thinkin, I would try to use others words that I know to describe what I tryin to say or get them to understand my point using the words that I do know. You think Bulgarian students do that. NO! Oh and my favorite. They will say an English word incorrectly, but through the context I pretty much understand what they are saying. You think that happens with me. NO! Ill say a word and becuz the pronunciation is a bit off they cant understand SHIT that im saying. I mean come on folks, can we use some sense?!?!

How you teach someone to be creative? Its damn near impossible. But I try all the time. Ill have them do different assignments and tell them "use your imagination" and ill give more points to the project that is more creative.....damn these dumb asses (not you Alex)!

Fun

Just to put an interesting spin on things, Ive decided to make up this skit that presents the Istanbul scandal in another way. Keep in mind that this is merely a figment of my imagination, and none of the words, terms, language presented below are true or were ever said by anyone....enjoy! *The names, and places have been changed to protect the innocent*

BIO: Ivanka, Yordanka and Simeona are all very excited about London. They have planned a great trip to the city to excape the stresses and problems at work. It has been a very interesting time teaching English in Somalia. What the 2 teachers assumed would be farely easy work and rewarding was not at all what they planned. They were duped, tricked, bamboozled, weaseled, HOAXED if you will. The kids were nothing but little terrors, and didnt want to learn at all. This trip was to give them a small vacation from the work place and the energy to recoop and stay on taks until the next small vacation.

Scene 1: The Director gets wind that one of the volunteers who does not have permission to go is actually in London.

Secretary: Im sorry to bother you Ms. Director, but we RANDOMLY and for no reason at all tried to call Yordanka. She didnt pick up her phone. We waited for about a minute and called her counterpart to confirm our suspicions that she went to London without permission. Her counterpart indeed said she did go.

Director: That little heifer! I cant believe she went to London without my permission. Doesnt she know that I am the Boss? Doesnt she know that I have her life in my hands? I wonder what they are all doing right now? Probably shakin their asses at some random club called RIDDIM. Un huh. Ima fix her ass.......

Secretary: What are you going to do:

Director: Well I just want to be absolutely sure that she is there. Call her again andleave a message taht she should call me back ASAP. Also call the hotel in London they are staying at and ask if she is there.

Secretary: Will do chief....

Scene 2: The 3 teachers just arrive back to the hostel to have a nice relaxing night in.

Ivanka: Wasnt today a nice day. Everywhere we went everyone was so nice and they mostly spoke in English.

Yordanka: Yeah. A very nice change from where we live. all they know how to say there is HEXLO (hello)

Simeona: Yeah and wasnt the food delicious. I was also amazed at how clean everything was!

Bartender: Hey sexy ladies, did you all receive your message?

3 teachers: (in unison) What message?

Bartender: Some lady called for you and asked to speak with yordanka. I said you werent here.

Ivanka: WHATTTTTTT?!? Well did she leave a name? Say anything else

Bartender: Uumm no. She did sound kinda upset tho. She was screamin her lungs off and was very nasty.

Yordanka: OMG I wonder if that was the Director? Damnit.....

Simeona: Well why would she call?

Yordanka: (checking email) OMG they sent me a message. "We tried calling you on the phone. Please be in the office first thing on Tuesday by 6AM"

Ivanka: 6AM got damn. Thats too early. Them Mutha Fuckas is playin right?

Yordanka: No guys. I think they are serious.

Scene 3: The Director plans her next move.

Director: So now that I know where she is, what shall I do next? I cant just let her do what she wants. rules have to be followed! Well Ill just have to make an example out of her lil ass! hahahahaha Ill have a nice lil surprise waitin for here when she finally gets back!

Scene 4: the 3 teachers return to Somalia

Ivanka: OMG what a great trip. It was so relaxing. London was so beautiful. Now I am fully prepared for work tomorrow. That is exactly what I needed

Yordanka: Yeah I know. But I am worried about what the Director will say to me. I think I am in serious trouble guys.

Simeona: Oh dont worry, its not that serious. Just call now if you are so worried.

*Yordanka calls the office*

Mary: (in the nice voice) Hello this is Mary how may I help you

Yordanka: Hello Mary this is Yordanka, I received a message from the office saying I should call and meet with the Director tomorrow

Mary: (in the stink voice) OH its Yordanka huh? Well where have you been?

Yordanka: Well I was in London. didnt the office call there lookin for me?

Mary: Oh yeah, we knew you were there....Well Im gonna call the Director and have her call you back. Dont go anywhere!

*Director calls Yordanka*

Yordanka: Hello Ms. Director

Director: Hello Yordanka, this the Ms. Director, the Director of the program.

Yordanka: I know who this is. I just called you by your name.

Director: Oh, well I just want you to know who you talkin to. Anyway there really is no need for small talk, your ass is OUT. I cant believe you had the audacity to just leave without permission. What do you have to say for yourself missy?

Yordanka: Well I just was so streesed from work and I really needed the small vacation. I figured the office would work with me on this but everyone just said no and wouldnt listen. It was wrong of me I know, but I really needed the time off.

Director: (also in the stink voice screamin through the phone) Well miss thang, like I said, your ass is out. I dont even want to hear what you have to say. This aint the Yordanka show. You play by my rules and when I say jump you say in what language! You have 2 days to pack your stuff and get the hell out of my program.

Yordanka: ok *hangs up the phone*. Its over guys, im out!

My Twin is GONE!

And I am sad to report to yall that my sister from another mister (her words not mine...hahahaha) is GONe. Yes, my Jojo is already back in the states as I sit here and write this blog! She did not have permission to go to Istanbul and PC somehow found out and sent her home. Its really fucked up that it had to end like this. But whats done is done and we cant reverse time. I was thinkin about how different my time would be in Bulgaria without my BF.

We really did become so cool. Jojo is down to earth, fashionable, smart, funny, such a sweet heart and most of all as big a bitch as I am. We would just have fun laughin at so many different things and different people. If I had a problem she was always there to listen, and vice versa and we talked very often about numerous things. And what sucks the most is that I generally feel so lonely without her. I recently went to a seminar to learn how to do a program at my site and i'll be damned if I didnt feel like the TOKEN BLACK GIRL all the time. While everyone was chattin and cathcing up with friends and going to the pool, and laughing and drinkin together I was in my room or on the laptop or with my Bulgarian counterpart. And its not that no one likes me, its that I dont really like the others. And dont get me wrong, they are all nice people, and I talk with some of them. But there really isnt anyone else who I feel is compatible with my personality. No one likes to go to hip-hop clubs, everyone else like to smoke cigarettes and drink beer, they understand the slang I use, and I just dont click with anyone else the way I did with Jordan (hey Amanda!). We even like to drink green apple vodka ad cherry juice when we went out!

So for the seminar I felt like I was walkin around with Space Cadet Syndrome. I was so out of it all the time. I kept the convo with other volunteers very short if I spoke to anyone at all. I didnt hang out with anyone after the sessions and when it came time to eat dinner outside of the hotel, my counterpart went to meet up with other Bulgarians and I was the only American at the table. It was very frustrating becuase I felt so alone. But hey, thats how it is.

It will definately be rough without my right hand man so to speak, but I know she is in a better place and that makes me happy. She can now send me packages full of wonderful things that I cant buy in Bulgaria!

Turkey

The below pics are just a few from my turkish adventure. you can check the full album on facebook. But of course pics cant really capture what Turkey was all about. So if you ever wanted to visit Turkey or wondered what it was about this blog is for you....

Turkey was FAMAZING (fucking amazing)! The trip was very long but went by rather quickly. 8-9 hours by bus (better than to Athens). Jojo and I finally recooperated from the annoying Chlaga clips that were being BLASTED on the flip down screens on the bus. What people like about Chalga I have no idea, but hey whatevs.......So anyway we arrive at our hostel by the help of some nice gentleman on the street who spoke decent english. The Antique hostel was so cute and we were happy to be there.

Not before long Jordan and I went out to get a small bite to eat and stopped at this cute restaurant. The waiter apparently had a very unhealthy dose of love at first site cuz I couldnt eat a damn thing without feelin his eyes burnina whole thru my soul! lol He did give us some free apple tea (delicious) and gave me a scented rose he made from a napkin. Of course as we are leaving, he asks if we can hang out together that night. And like every other normal person, I LIED and said sure, we would come back. We met up with Amanda soon after.

While waiting for her at the hostel, we started talkin to 2 guys. One sexy Argentinian and a guy from Manchester. We kicked it for a while before deciding to head out to dinner and a bar. We went to this nice lil place for drink and I got a yummy salad, and drank wine. Next was the tattoo spot! The guy from Manchester was gettin a tat, and you know I was tryin be down and said I woud get one too along with Amanda. But when we got to the tattoo spot, it looked so random I quickly was against it. Amanda however got a sexy lil tat on her ribs, just under the breast and the guy got something on his wrist.

We found some random rock bar. Shots of Tequila, pics and booze! Next was some club that played hip-hop and rock music. We all got down on the floor and took more shots of tequila. Some lesbian chick was all on me and when I went to the bathroom she molested me altho I cant say I was totally against (hahahaha just jokin) (ok no I wasnt....) she wasnt very attractive! hahahaha we left there about 4-4:30 and dropped dead when we got back to the hostel......

On Friday we attempted to sightsee and go shopping. We hit up the Grand Bazaar which was just an open market for everything: clothes, scarfs, shoes, fake name-brand bags/shoes, small trinkets, hookahs, you name it. The bazaar was so big too it was ridiculous. Compared to the US dollar I was happy to be there (I took out 100 lira and that was only about 60 US dollars). There were so many things to buy but so little time. I did see some fake NIKE's that looked passable and considered getting them. I did buy some gloves and these really cute shoe boots.

What did get annoying however was how agressive the men on the street and people at the bazaar were. They try very hard to get your attention so they kept shouting things like Obama Obama, and asked if I was Beyonce, or Ms. Obama. When all three of us were together they shouting Spice Girls. It really got very annoying. Then one night when we went to dinner, some random guy on the street said "Excuse me can you help me. Im gay and I want to be normal again" That shit was not funny at all nor was it appropriate. I wanted to slap homeboy.....Then we were waiting to meet with Jojo's friend who plays basketball there and some guy tried to sell us doners. But we said we were waiting for someone else and he kept tryna talk to us. So he walks away and then comes back and says Im here, you were waiting for me right, lets go. So Im like no. Then he said again, come on lets go. So I said where are we supposed to be goin and this bastard says to go have sex. At that point I was so done. Aaron came quickly after and I was glad.....

Saturday was fun. We went on a bus tour to see the Dolmabache Palace and some other stuff. One of the most expensive hotels in the world are in Turkey. It costs upwards of like 10 thousand to stay for one night (breakfast included...hahaha) We also visited the Asian side for like a minute. Turkey literally sits between the Asian and European continents. There is a strait that goes through it and it is literally separated into the Asian side and the European side. Istanbul is on the European side but the Asian side houses about 60% of Turkeys population. It was very interesting to see the effects of Asia there. We met up the Jojo's friend again after dinner and headed to a bar then a hip-hop club. There were MAD black people there. Some basketball players and of course random African folks (cuz them MOFO's is everywhere). There were even several black females there (none cuter than me tho). I was so surprised. We partied for a while but the music was mediocre and it started to get very crowded. I was excited to meet a Kappa there. He had a frat sweater on and we started talkin immediately after I told him I was a Delta (oooo-oop) We got back late again after partyin and left early Sunday morning. I cant explain ever detail that happened on the trip, but trust and believe Istanbul was a great city and I enjoyed myself.

Oh and the apple tea there, its poppin!

Turkey