Slovenija~Dobrodosli! (Welcome)

I’m sitting here at the DFW airport just waiting for my flight to Frankfurt. Hepi (Mou’s sister in law) checked me in and my carry on was too heavy (who knew they weighed carry ons???) and she was so nice and waited while I moved a bunch of stuff over to my suitcase. She also made sure I got an aisle seat…sweet! I usually like a window seat so I can lean against the side of the plane and sleep not to mention look out the window. However, since this is a 10 hour flight, I wanted an aisle seat so I can get up and go to the bathroom without having to climb over someone.

This day has seemed so far away and now it’s finally here and it still hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’m leaving the country. It hit me a little bit this morning when I dropped Autumn off at daycare. I set my alarm clock for 30 minutes earlier than usual so I could spend more time snuggling with her. I took her to class and bent down to give her a hug & kiss & to tell her I love her. I started crying and she just gave me a hug & headed off to play with her friends. She has no idea how much her little routine is going to be changed, but I guess it’s better that way. I’ve never been away from her overnight or longer than a day. This is going to be hard on her and on me, too.

I’m bummed that I tired to put some new songs on my ipod shuffle for this trip & I thought it worked but I just got it out and am listening to it and there are no new songs, just the ones I usually listen to when I go on walks around the duck ponds (which I haven’t done in forever). Hopefully I’ll be so busy that I won’t have time to listen to it at all.

A funny thing happened in the airport after I had checked in. Mom & I were walking arm in arm to the security point and some guy walking by said, “Good for you! You make a great looking couple!” Mom & I both looked at each other and started laughing. Maybe it was b/c she was wearing a purple shirt?

There is a senior couple on the other side of the waiting area and I want to go over and say hi, but want to wait until 30 minutes before we take off (instead of an hour) so I won’t feel obligated to sit and talk for a long time in case they aren’t super friendly and we don’t hit it off, b/c then it’s awkward. But, my face lit up as soon as I saw them. It makes me so happy to see that very recognizable name tag.

Well, it’s good I didn’t go talk to them until 30 min before the flight boarded, b/c they weren’t very talkative. I asked them where they were going and they said Portugal but that was it. They didn’t ask my name, where I was going, etc. I told them that I was going back to visit my mission from 7 years ago and they just looked at me like, “and….?” So, I just told them good luck and went and sat where they couldn’t see me. Awkward!

This is HB. We were walking down the gang plank at the same time and he was behind me and asked me where I was going and we started talking for a little bit. I told him I loved his accent and asked him where he was from. He said Lebanon, and we couldn’t talk more after that b/c we had to go find our seats on the plane. I sat next to a guy from Ethiopia who was going back to visit his family there for a month. I really like Lufthansa, b/c they had good airline food, and they had all sorts of movies you could pick to watch. They didn’t just show one movie that everyone had to watch. I was watching Grown Ups (the one w/ Adam Sandler and Kevin James), when HB came over and asked me if I wanted to come sit with him for a little while and talk. He was sitting in the front row and had lots of leg room, so I was all about that. We just hit it off and talked the whole rest of the flight (about 7 hours). He was super nice and and friendly and outgoing. I am glad I met him, b/c you can never have enough friends (plus he’s a private investigator).

We finally got to Germany and I had one hour to get from one terminal to another, get through customs, and get to my plane to Slovenija. It all worked out perfect and I had just enough time without feeling rushed. We took a bus out to the plane b/c it was just a little puddle jumper plane! It was kind of fun to get to walk out on the tarmac and climb up the stairs that fold down like in the olden days of planes.

Stanka came and picked me up at the airport b/c Majda had to watch some sports tournament as the medical person. I just love Stanka and she drove me to Ljub the back way through all the gorgeous countryside. This is the first picture I took in Slovenija and I just can’t help but be in love with this place b/c of all the old world charm. A quaint little church in the middle of some farming fields with a traditional Slovene hay drying rack off in the distance. So picturesque!

We stopped at Stanka’s village where she grew up so she could get some winter clothes she had stored at her parent’s house. While she went inside to get her stuff, I just walked around their yard a little bit. She told me to take some of these grapes that they just had growing wild all over. They are really good, but have this weird loogie type thing in the middle with seeds. I had a few, but wanted to keep walking around and taking pictures.

After she got her stuff, we stopped at the grocery store so she could get a few things she needed. I was so excited to see the rolls of Poli! It’s kind of like bologna, and I would get Poli sandwiches all the time as a missionary b/c it’s cheap and I liked it.

I was also happy to see that they had Cokolino. It’s kind of like chocolate flavored grits. It was so good to have that as a missionary on a cold winter morning. It was weird to have everything be in Euros now, b/c when I was there as a missionary 7 years ago, everything was still in tolars b/c they hadn’t joined the European Union yet.

After grocery shopping, we drove past the new church and just saw the outside of it (it’s yellow) and then went back to Stanka & Davor’s apartment. While we waited for Majda to come pick me up, they let me use their internet to send Mom and email to let her know I had gotten there safe and sound. They also showed me a bunch of pictures and videos from their wedding. They are SO STINKIN’ CUTE together and I am so happy they are married (they got married in April).

Majda finished her sports thing and came and got me. It was SO GOOD to see her again. Parking near the bloks (pronounced blokes) is hard to find, so she parked on the other side of the park. Davor & Stanka were so nice and took my suitcases to Majda’s car while I took pictures of everything in site.

Majda took me to center (well, as close as you can get b/c they don’t let cars or buses drive through there anymore) and we walked across the cobblestone w/ my suitcases to the hotel I was staying at. When I saw this view, I almost started crying b/c of all the memories I have of walking up and down these streets everyday for the 8 months I served in Ljub. I was surprised how I still knew where everything was and how to get there. It was like I had never left.

I got checked into my hotel, and the room was simple but nice and I’m glad I will be staying there. It is $64 Euros a night but I think it will be well worth it. Majda wanted to show me a new bridge that had been built down by the trznica (market). It’s cool b/c part of it is clear so you can see the river below you when you walk.

We were both hungry by this point in the day, so we drove to this little gostilna (restaurant/bar) out in the country. It was called Bormes and was so quaint and cute. We sat outside b/c I wanted to enjoy the cool fall weather. Majda kept asking me if I was cold and wanted to put on a jacket and I told her no, I liked the cold b/c we don’t really have much of a fall season in Texas so I wanted to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather while I could. I forgot just how much I love Slovene soup. It was super good.

The wait for our food was about an hour, but we didn’t mind and just sat and talked and caught up on the last 7 years. When our food did finally come, it was HUGE portions and also came with this good salad. I love how Slovenes put good oil and vinegar dressing on their salads. I wasn’t able to finish all my food b/c I was so full.

This is the view as we were driving up to the gostilna. I love that there were a group of boys playing soccer in the field on the right hand side of the picture. It made me realize that even though I am thousands of miles away from home in a foreign land, we are all so much alike as humans. Kids will always be kids and want to play and have fun. And people just want what’s best for themselves and their families. We like to think we are all so different, but we are much more alike than we are different. It just made me happy to realize that.

After we ate, we drove around for a little bit and then I asked Majda if she had seen the new church. I remembered that Stanka had told me there was going to be a baptism tonight at 6:00, and it was 5:45, so we drove over, but got lost a little bit. We got there late and they had already started, so we didn’t go into the meeting. But, when everyone came out we watched the baptism and then went into the meeting room when everyone else did.

The baptism was nice and was for a Mom & her daughter. It was so wonderful to see some of the members that I knew, and that there were no empty chairs in the room! For the closing song we sang, “I stand all amazed” and we got to the chorus and I couldn’t sing anymore b/c I was crying. Especially when we sang, “o cudovito je” b/c it’s cudovito that I’m in Slovenija at a baptism where they have a real baptismal font with so many members singing out of a bound hmyn book. It just hit me how blessed beyond measure that I am. I’m so thankful that I got to serve a mission & especially in Slovenija b/c of the incredible pioneers of the Church and the wonderful missionaries I got to serve with. Serving a mission is definitely one of the highlights of my life.

After the baptism, we stayed and talked for a while and then Majda dropped me off near center and I walked straight to Kebapcis on Trubarjeva cesta. I didn’t have any Euros yet, just USD so I didn’t buy one, but I showed the guy working at the counter some pictures I had brought from when I was a missionary and asked him if he knew Ali & Hussein & Ahmed. He said he knew them but none of them worked there anymore! :( He then started hitting on me and asking if I was married or had a boyfriend! Being back in Slovenija is so good for my ego! LOL!

I walked back to my hotel and surprisingly wasn’t tired due to jet lag and the fact that I didn’t sleep at all on the plane. So, I unpacked all of my stuff and then made myself lay down on the bed, and I was out like a light before I knew it. What a great first day back in Slovenija!!!