18 travnja 2011

Dear Family,
HOW IS EVERYONE DOING! I love you all so much. It's so funny how every week I can read your emails and I think, wow, I really love my family. Except for Michael, he never writes so I can't read his email and think that. Haha, just kidding. He wrote last week. Just so everyone knows. And the REST of you wrote THIS week! Wooohooo! It's so great hearing from you, this really is the best time of any week, no matter how much you love missionary work or how many great teaching experiences you have, Monday, Pday, internet cafe. 100% the best.
First to answer questions: MASH, for Mom, is a teeny-bopper game, which stands for Mansion, Apartment, Shack, and House. That starts you off on your future, followed by who you're going to marry, where you'll live, how many kids you'll have, etc. You pick at least four options of each category, then the person figuring out your future, in my case Sister Dillender, starts making dashes, you tell her when to stop, so lets say she drew three dashes. And then she counts out starting at "M" and for every third thing she crosses off something, until all you have left is one thing in each category, and that becomes your DESTINY. :) So that is MASH. Not the TV show, not a card game, nothing like that. Just a couple of really bored games giggling over old crushes and which profession their husband is going to be. If my future followed the MASH game that we played that day, I would end up marrying one of the member's sons here. Yikes! That's the fun part, because the person doing it for you can throw in whoever and whatever they want! Dash you fate! I won't marry a Croat!
Ballet? AMAZING! It was in the local basketball arena, which we call "the Krešo dom" because there's a giant statue of Krešimir Čosić outside of it, he's the famous basketball player that I told you all about who brought the gospel to Croatia! Anyway, it was a kinda cheap set-up, the stage looked like it was covered with camouflage, but it fulfilled its purpose! And that is the point! We enjoyed it! The seats, impossibly uncomfortable! They were so small. It was weird. But we got there maybe an hour early, and got good seats, and watched as everyone filed in and took less-than-great seats. And we chatted. And there were a couple of Russian ballerinas walking around selling DVDs, one of the Elders bought one, and Sister Dillender was sitting on the end, so she ended up talking to the ballerina, and the ballerina only spoke Russian! And Sister Dillender could totally understand her! So that was really cool. It wasn't even a ten-minute conversation or anything, but still very cool. And THEN the ballet started. Man, they were amazing. Two of the best were these two "court jester"-ish characters, the characters weren't important to the plot but they came on for comic relief etc. And there was one point where they were both jumping, like one first and then the other etc. And they were getting SO high and they did it for SO long it was unbelievable! And the ladies were all so graceful and they seemed like birds. Oh, and I had no idea that the cartoon, Swan Princess, follows the plot of Swan Lake! It was so helpful to know what the plot was! That made it much more enjoyable. My favorite part was towards the end, Odette dies, and the wicked magician (he was a really good performer, too) is like, triumphing over the prince. And then she comes back and the magician is defeated and it was so intense and exciting! I had no idea that it would be exciting. It was really cool. The princess, Odette, was good, like it totally seemed like she was a swan, but she also was a little too energetic and frenzied. It was a little weird. But other than that, everything was really really great and exciting. And the costumes? Good, classic ballet outfits. Halfway through the ballerinas all changed into white, and the tutu was big and, I really don't know how to describe it. So good. Everything was good.
Jude's bday sounded AMAZING. I can't believe my sister has been a mommy for a whole year! And I've never witnessed it! THANK YOU for all the pictures and descriptions. It sounded like a really hopping party. That would have been fun to be there.
As for our week? well, I'm feeling better. Not sick anymore, eating normal foods, enjoying cereal again, (we cut down on dairy) and everything is all good with that. The bug has been processed and has made its exit. Or whatever.
OH last week I totally meant to mention that on our route home from church there's a house that has a bajillion lilacs! And we were walking by one night and it was so fragrant that we could smell it and it was so good smelling. It is the season, I guess. It makes me want to have a garden.
Other stuff, there's a newer bakery opened up, also on the route from church to home, and we stopped by a couple times this last week. That has been really fine. They're nice people and always give us something free, and every night on our way home we wave to the girl who works there, so this time we asked if she's in school, etc. And that was fun. Too bad there won't be pekarnas in America. And by "pekarna" I mean bakeries. That's what that word means.
Yesterday President and Sister Hill visited us in Zadar, and came to church. It was nice to see them and the members always love when they come. They only have one more transfer left of their mission, I don't know if I ever mentioned that, so my last transfer will be with a new mission president. Kinda crazy!
And that concludes anything exciting about my week. Not much that was interesting.
Mom, good luck with your talk this Sunday! I have no input. There's a little article in this months Ensign (well, it's in our Croatian liahona, so I'm guessing it's in your ensign) about the Savior's last week. That might be helpful. I haven't read it, but my companion liked it and we're using it tonight in a family home evening lesson. President Hill said yesterday at church "I'm really glad to be in a church that celebrates Easter every Sunday" and I am too! We really do spend a lot of focus on the Savior and on the Atonement. Which is the only way to go.
Amelia, I can't believe that your new baby is already a month old! What?? That's crazy!
LOVE YOU ALL BUNCHES AND BUNCHES
Sister Laws