Welcome back! I am finally all caught up with emails. I hope everyone had a wonderful week filled with wonderful experiences. This week was really interesting, haha. We did a LOT of stuff.
Monday 7/4:
Happy fourth of July to my friends and family in America!!! Today was a chill Monday. We walked all over Celje and took pictures of the scenery. It was so cool and beautiful.
Beautiful sunset over Celje
Tuesday 7/5:
Okay so today was soooo fun. We went with the Maribor elders and taught an English camp today. It was so funny. Literally the oldest kid was 8 with the youngest being 4 so not much english conversation haha rip. It was still fun though. There were 9 kids there let me see if I can remember their names
Emma - african american girl super adorable - she was 8 or 7 - she liked to dance - she also really like Sestra Chandler
Emma - adorable 4 or 5 year old - she kept stealing my name tag - she wore it for a good solid hour - I am pretty sure she asked to take it home haha - she also kept trying to sit on my lap
Gregor - adorable 4 year old boy - I probably hung out with him the most - he didn’t want to play any of the games so I hung out with him and checked out his tiger backpack - it was really cool because it had a tongue on it that you could pull out and have a secret pocket - he was hilarious - if he did join in on the game, he would get mad if he wasn’t sitting by me - he and I hung out under the table with Deja
Marko - one of the 8 year olds - he was the more shy one but still funny - he asked us if we have a lot of McDonald’s in America
Niko - I didn’t interact with him that much maybe 6 or 7
Lucas - I also didn’t interact with him that much - I am pretty sure he was maybe 6
Vito - I also didn’t interact with him that much - he might have been 4 or 5
Bor - he was the most hyper and talkative haha - he would ask us all of these funny questions - I am pretty sure he was 8
Deja - the other cutie that I hung out with under the table - she was adorable - she said her and Gregor were going to get married
The kids I was closest to were Deja, Gregor, and Emma - literally the youngest kids there haha. It was so fun. I had next to no clue what they were saying the whole time and you know what, sometimes you just have to go with the classic vauuuu (wow)!! a res (really)?! super!! and boom you’re good. For the actual interaction we started with our fun little presentation about us and America, then they asked us a bunch of questions like what scary animals were in America, what our favorite colors are, what our favorite car is, etc. then we played some games. These are the ones I remember and are probably not in order: simon says (the older kids joined us for this one), duck duck goose, down by the banks, heads up 7s up, hangman, etc. We had lunch after which was this really fire soup made with beans, meat, rice but it wasn’t rice haha, really good and then palačinke with nutella so good. Also at the end there was one part where I sat down and all of the kids started attacking me with stuffed animals and toy chainsaws. Marko came after me with the plastic saw and literally sawed my arms so hard that it cut me (not enough to draw blood but it hurt haha) - I’ve got battlescars now haha. While waiting for the Barrus’ to pick us up we went and saw the infamous beer fountain in Žalec. And no the beer fountain is not an actual fountain with beer flowing out of it. It is like those water fountains in the school where you have to buy a specific cup and then you can fill up your cup. The rest of the day was pretty much just our studies.
Okay so today was soooo fun. We went with the Maribor elders and taught an English camp today. It was so funny. Literally the oldest kid was 8 with the youngest being 4 so not much english conversation haha rip. It was still fun though. There were 9 kids there let me see if I can remember their names
Emma - african american girl super adorable - she was 8 or 7 - she liked to dance - she also really like Sestra Chandler
Emma - adorable 4 or 5 year old - she kept stealing my name tag - she wore it for a good solid hour - I am pretty sure she asked to take it home haha - she also kept trying to sit on my lap
Gregor - adorable 4 year old boy - I probably hung out with him the most - he didn’t want to play any of the games so I hung out with him and checked out his tiger backpack - it was really cool because it had a tongue on it that you could pull out and have a secret pocket - he was hilarious - if he did join in on the game, he would get mad if he wasn’t sitting by me - he and I hung out under the table with Deja
Marko - one of the 8 year olds - he was the more shy one but still funny - he asked us if we have a lot of McDonald’s in America
Niko - I didn’t interact with him that much maybe 6 or 7
Lucas - I also didn’t interact with him that much - I am pretty sure he was maybe 6
Vito - I also didn’t interact with him that much - he might have been 4 or 5
Bor - he was the most hyper and talkative haha - he would ask us all of these funny questions - I am pretty sure he was 8
Deja - the other cutie that I hung out with under the table - she was adorable - she said her and Gregor were going to get married
The kids I was closest to were Deja, Gregor, and Emma - literally the youngest kids there haha. It was so fun. I had next to no clue what they were saying the whole time and you know what, sometimes you just have to go with the classic vauuuu (wow)!! a res (really)?! super!! and boom you’re good. For the actual interaction we started with our fun little presentation about us and America, then they asked us a bunch of questions like what scary animals were in America, what our favorite colors are, what our favorite car is, etc. then we played some games. These are the ones I remember and are probably not in order: simon says (the older kids joined us for this one), duck duck goose, down by the banks, heads up 7s up, hangman, etc. We had lunch after which was this really fire soup made with beans, meat, rice but it wasn’t rice haha, really good and then palačinke with nutella so good. Also at the end there was one part where I sat down and all of the kids started attacking me with stuffed animals and toy chainsaws. Marko came after me with the plastic saw and literally sawed my arms so hard that it cut me (not enough to draw blood but it hurt haha) - I’ve got battlescars now haha. While waiting for the Barrus’ to pick us up we went and saw the infamous beer fountain in Žalec. And no the beer fountain is not an actual fountain with beer flowing out of it. It is like those water fountains in the school where you have to buy a specific cup and then you can fill up your cup. The rest of the day was pretty much just our studies.
I was in my tiptoes for this
Wednesday 7/6:
Today we had another english camp but this time with a different group. It was really fun! There were a lot more kids this time and they all were older. I don’t remember exactly how old but the youngest was probably five or six and the oldest was 15. The camp had an Egypt theme so we all went on a fun treasure hunt around a nearby lake. Afterwards we came back and then all got together and played games. At another time we got leaves from the maple tree and painted them as well as rocks. I befriended an adorable little boy - he kept taking pictures of whatever I drew or painted on a digital camera - it was so funny. The lunch they provided was also really good - it was this potato, peas, beans, and asparagus soup that was all mushed and mixed together. It was so good because then they put some bread crumbs on top and wow heaven. They also had the typical slovene salad with pumpkin oil and then chicken wings, roasted potatoes, and vegetables. Overall, it was really good and they gave us ice cream afterwards. One of the cute younger girls asked me to play the "I Am a Gummybear" song on my phone. Hahahahah she knew nearly all of the lyrics it was so funny. We got asked a bunch of questions about America which was funny. We also did the same fun little presentation. And!!!!! At the end we got cute little bookmarks of hieroglyphs saying hvala. Then we got charted home in a van with all of the other kids who live in Celje. The rest of the day was essentially studies and media. We did go on a cute little walk to the stairs which was cool because of the sunset and the air was nice and fresh. An overall vibe. Oh I totally forgot to mention, I was called Lola all day today haha. Londyn is a bit hard for Slovene kids to say so today I was known as Lola. Very interesting haha.
Thursday 7/7:
Today was another fun day. We had district council in Maribor and before we had district council it was a nice sunny day and then afterwards when we left it was downpouring. But we were all hungry so we got soaked haha. But for anyone that knows me, I love rain so I was having a blast. We ate at the pizza scissor place (the place where you cut your own pizza with these massive scissors). So yummy.
The massive scissors
The scissor pizza place!
Then we got soaked again on the way back to the car. Later we practiced a musical number with one of our members which was fun. He is really cool. For english class, only one kid showed up but he is super chill. We introduced him to the black and blue vs white and gold dress. We had a fun little debate about the true color (black and blue ofc). Overall a great day.
Friday 7/8:
Friday 7/8:
Today was pretty interesting. Earlier in the week we got a call from a woman who used to be a member saying hey this other lady needs your help go help her. Well we planned a meetup for today in the market but when we got there at the designated time, the woman was nowhere to be seen. We called her a couple other times and it was just confusing so we ended up saying we would meet up another day. We later walked to Milka’s house with another one of our members and just had a really good chat with them. Milka is the precious serbian grandma that is teaching me how to crochette. The rest of the day was chill.
Saturday 7/9:
Today was an absolute adventure!!! So one really cool thing about Sestra Chandler is that she has family here! She is actually half Slovene! Her great grandparents immigrated to America in the 1900s but a good amount stayed here in Slovenia. Today we got the opportunity to meet them! Her cousin Matic and his girlfriend Anja came to pick us up and then took us to where they all lived in Ljubno. Before they arrived, we were just waiting by the train station and there was this whole band that came out of nowhere and started parading through the streets and playing on their drums. So cool haha. The drive over was nice - Matic and his girlfriend Anja both spoke really good english. We showed up to the house and it was so cool - they had a whole farm essentially on it. They had greenhouses, two cows, a whole bunch of pigs, chickens, ducks, baby ducklings, a cat, and I think more horses and cows but I didn’t see them. Sestra Chandler’s family is literally the sweetest ever. It was the grandparents, Matic’s mom, Anja, Matic and his step brother. We spoke mainly in Slovene and I was so surprised at how much I was able to understand. WOOOO!!! They fed us some bread, a whole bunch of meat that was from their animals on the farm, cheese, bezeg (so freaking good - one of them was a mint vibe and the other was fresh apple juice), and crackers. We hung out and talked to them all for quite a bit and then checked out the rest of the farm where we saw all of the animals. Then we went with Matic and Anja to……….logarska dolina!!! Which I didn’t really know anything about this place but it is literally like the coolest place ever - apparently very few missionaries have been able to go so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. You are in a valley and are completely surrounded and encased by mountains. So cool.
Saturday 7/9:
Today was an absolute adventure!!! So one really cool thing about Sestra Chandler is that she has family here! She is actually half Slovene! Her great grandparents immigrated to America in the 1900s but a good amount stayed here in Slovenia. Today we got the opportunity to meet them! Her cousin Matic and his girlfriend Anja came to pick us up and then took us to where they all lived in Ljubno. Before they arrived, we were just waiting by the train station and there was this whole band that came out of nowhere and started parading through the streets and playing on their drums. So cool haha. The drive over was nice - Matic and his girlfriend Anja both spoke really good english. We showed up to the house and it was so cool - they had a whole farm essentially on it. They had greenhouses, two cows, a whole bunch of pigs, chickens, ducks, baby ducklings, a cat, and I think more horses and cows but I didn’t see them. Sestra Chandler’s family is literally the sweetest ever. It was the grandparents, Matic’s mom, Anja, Matic and his step brother. We spoke mainly in Slovene and I was so surprised at how much I was able to understand. WOOOO!!! They fed us some bread, a whole bunch of meat that was from their animals on the farm, cheese, bezeg (so freaking good - one of them was a mint vibe and the other was fresh apple juice), and crackers. We hung out and talked to them all for quite a bit and then checked out the rest of the farm where we saw all of the animals. Then we went with Matic and Anja to……….logarska dolina!!! Which I didn’t really know anything about this place but it is literally like the coolest place ever - apparently very few missionaries have been able to go so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. You are in a valley and are completely surrounded and encased by mountains. So cool.
Logarska dolina še en krat
Logarska dolina
Even the drive there was gorgeous! My favorite part though was when we heading on over and then pulled over at this one place. I get out and it is the NEEDLE!!! Aka one of the main things that I have wanted to see in Slovenia. The needle is based off of a Slovene legend where essentially a giant was sewing and then got mad and threw their needle on the ground. This needle then formed this specific rock formation and it is super cool because there is a gorgeous river and bridge right next to it.
THE NEEDLE
We got out and took some pictures and man wow this place was gorgeous. I felt like I was on cloud nine. After taking a bunch of pictures we went down and dipped our toes in the river and man the river was FREEZING but it was so fun.
Me on a bridge 
Beautiful river
We got back on the road and headed to logarska dolina and passed so many beautiful things on the way. And then when we got there man wow. It felt unreal. Seriously surreal. We ran out and took pictures real fast and then parked the car somewhere for a quick walk through the woods. It was really cool to talk to Matic and Anja. They are really really cool and chill people. We spent a good amount of time there and then headed back for lunch that the grandmother had made for us with Metic’s mom and it was so good. We also ate some super fresh fruit and wow so good. Lunch included a traditional slovene salad with vinegar, pumpkin oil, and garlic as the dressing and noodles with a yummy sauce and chicken and zucchini pieces. They also made us raisin potica which was yummy. We came home and then immediately had a lesson with Luigi and it went really well. I would rate this day a solid 12/10.
Ice cream count: 2
Highlights:
- Sestra Chandler and I did a fun clay mask
- Marko brought us some bezeg that his grandma made and it was soooooo freaking good
- we have a crabapple tree right outside of our apartment so we have free snacks at any point of the day wooooo!! crabapples are actually fire over here - they aren’t that sour
- I saw a dog that looks fake haha - there is a picture below
- I ate mountain goat !!! we potentially have a whole slab of mountain goat meat in our fridge right now haha
- we also got to drink fresh fresh water from the springs
- I actually love zucchini now
- two of the days were SYL days (Speak Your Language) where we ONLY speak in Slovene for the whole day
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