I went skiing last weekend, but I'm not counting that in this week since, well, it was last week.
1. Danielle turning 23. That is 23 years old, not turning 23 pancakes or slices of french toast on an electric griddle. I got her this great gift from Amazon that I ordered in what I thought was plenty of time. Of course, it still hasn't arrived. Fortunately I planned for this and because of the late package was able to give her a great bathrobe. Maybe you have read her journal, but we went out to this cool irish pub place and had a decent Macedonian version of some good american food. And then we went out for dessert and had a few things, one of which was called ?Nests with Fruit and Cream.? Titles like that happen when places attempt to translate their menu into English. A better translation would have been ?Space Ice Cream with Canned Peaches.? It was really good!
2. Valentine's Day. Danielle and I have had very successful valentine days. Two years ago we got engaged (although that was supposed to happen on her birthday, the day after, but I couldn't wait). Last year we had good steak and this year we had a relaxing dinner in the apartment. I wanted to buy a really nice, decently priced sparkling wine since it was the special day and everything, and I think the final choice bottle cost $3.50, about as expensive as a bottle gets here.
3. Bus accident. I was on a bus and it ran into the back of a taxi. I wasn't paying much attention and then suddenly I heard, *SMACK* followed by ?lei lei lei lei!? (translation: whoa whoa whoa whoa!) by a group of Macedonians on board. After this, the bus driver opened his door only to be yelled at by the taxi driver waiting outside. Things died down then and I took the next bus that went by.
4. Buying a sleeping bag. We bought one from a girl who had been here for two years and was going home but didn't have room for her bag. It is one of those fancy-shmancy expensive sleeping bags with all sorts of features and as it turns out, we really really like it. Unfortunately, it is about six inches to short for me, plus that whole thing where only one person can sleep in a sleeping bag. We want to do some small backpacking / camping trips with friends this spring, so I thought it would make sense to get a bag. Plus, every PC volunteer has one but me. So today I researched and researched and researched and just when I thought I had to spend a ton of money on a good sleeping bag I found this one: Sierra Designs Wild Bill. It is exactly what I need, has gotten great reviews, and is a good price. The next trick is to get it to Macedonia.
translation? 
translation? really hot. the most annoying part is that during the day there isn't much relief from the heat. get up, walk to the bus stop, get on a non-airconditioned bus full of equally hot people, often standing too close together, and then go to work in a non-airconditioed office. the good part? we have air-conditioning in our living room, so at least our home is safe! the exact opposite applied in the winter, so i'm really starting to have a passion for spring and fall. final translation? whine, whine, whine
