Party!

I "attended" my brother Ean's graduation party last night via Skype. I basically sat in a corner and creeped on people for a while, but it was really nice. I found out a few things about myself:

1. I am craving traditional American breakfast food more than I realized. I'm really glad that so many people showed up at the party... but my mom promised me some leftover bacon. Tragic.

2. You can tell who just about everyone is by their hind end. Sorry, hope that doesn't make anyone uncomfortable... it did me for a while.

3. I miss "home" people more than I realized.

Congrats Ean.

Commencement

The Sablich family is approaching the end of an era.

When you look at a family history within a community, the arc often covers a considerable span of time. I started school at the Blissfield Community School district in the fall of 1993, and my youngest brother in graduating in the spring of 2011. My family has been involved in this school system for 18 years... and I sometimes wonder why my parents are sad about the end of this age. Think about it- the majority of their MARRIAGE has been spent in some sort of affiliation with BCS.

Regardless, it is striking to consider the changes that have taken place in the world while our family grew up. When I started school President Clinton was still in his first year. Welfare reform hadn't even appeared yet and the majority of households did not have personal computers. President Bush the second had not even appeared on the horizon as a national game-changer and policy maker (ugh...) and we lived in the security of a pre-September 11th world. The war and the other war and the other war hadn't started and the global economy hadn't tanked. This country had not yet elected a biracial (and possibly Socialist :) president. Things have certainly changed in the last eighteen years.

And in my family... things have changed. We have gone through recreational league soccer and volleyball and softball and swimming and volleyball and baseball and basketball. We have traveled the country together and conquered the I-80 stretch from Ohio to Chicago- so many times. We have made good friends and said goodbye to dear family members. We have spent 18 years doing homework and attending parent-teacher conferences and fighting about bedtimes. We have attended spring recitals and band concerts and festivals and parades. We have watched endless baseball games and football games and basketball games and volleyball games. We have gone to church and on weekend retreats and attended revitalizing conferences. We have argued and struggled with the changing and fluid family dynamic as we grew together. We have become independent and dependent on stability at the same time, and we have watched our members come and go. We have changed.

It's an interesting vantage point, from this side of 18 years. And if you know my mom, give her a hug and tell her it's okay to cry. Pat my dad on the back, and watch him smile with pride. And then find my baby brother and give him your best wishes on his incredible journey and his incredibly bright future. I am ridiculously proud.

One Recollection- A Royal Visit

Written by Mike:

Once upon a time there was a little princess in a small part of Romania. Her father the King was in a distant land. When he came back his daughter the princess had gathered all the peasants. They had a huge celebration. And the King declared that he and his daughter the princess would travel the countryside. And thus it began.

They left the King’s fortress in the largest town (Bucuresti) and traveled early in the morning to a very old area of the countryside so the King could show his princess their history. They passed beautiful countryside of rolling hills and jagged mountains covered with ice. When they reached the town (Brasov) the King left his daughter the princess to go out amongst the villagers whilst she recovered from her journey. The King enjoyed his time with his subjects enough that he returned to his daughter to bring her out with him the following day. Together they traveled the local countryside to ancient ruins, and the King told his daughter the history of their heritage. That night, they snuck away so as not to be noticed by the adoring subjects, for the King did not want a big fanfare. They journeyed to another town in the northern cold land and arrived at dawn in the city of Cluj-Napoca. The princess awakened at the beauty and magnificence of the city and the King was elated. Weary as they were from a night of travel, they took rest. In the early afternoon the King brought his princess to his magical garden, which appeared to be a winter wonderland. The princess was in awe. After meeting a charming dignitary for an evening meal, she proposed that the King and princess travel to a foreign land as a diplomatic act. And thus, they made ready to leave on their journey on the morrow.

Traveling to a neighboring kingdom, the King and his princess were met by wonderful fanfare and they were housed in the kingdom’s finest palace available. The King and his princess were in awe of the beauty and splendor of the sights of the village and the furnishings of the palace. The following day the King and his princess were escorted as diplomats to tour the village and see all that it had to offer. Upon awakening the King and his weary princess disguised themselves as commoners so as not to be recognized as diplomats to go amongst the people. They traveled to the thermal baths and to the Central Market Place, where they dined on the local fare and marveled at the hand crafts of the local people. Still in disguise the King suggested that they sneak away back to their kingdom during the night, and this pleased the princess. They arrived after a painful journey to Timisoara, where they had a late-night stroll through the town squares before retiring for the night.

Upon awakening and eating a breakfast feast fit for the King and his princess (complete with Nutella), they again proceeded into the square where subjects were happy to see them. Happy to be amongst his loyal subjects the King and princess met and talked with several of their countrymen, and even dined with one man. However, all good stories must come to an end, and it was time for the King and his princess to return to the fortress far far away. They left, heading east in the daylight, and it would be late in the night before they returned to the town they left a short 6 days previous.

Unashamed

I had the opportunity to talk with my mom today after quite a while. I'm feeling rather badly about the situation she is finding herself in. To begin, both myself and my younger brother C~ left home in the same week in August. I have not really been "home" in about four years, but I was still around for every holiday and lots of visits. C~ left for college at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, and I flew to Bucureşti. She had my youngest brother E~ left, but he is a senior in high school. He really isn't there, to be honest.


With the wrap-up of the football season, she is essentially saying goodbye to a fall tradition she has enjoyed for 13 years, since the boys were just little guys. Every day that passes is one less day she has to be a mother with kids in the house. She lives halfway between being an empty-nester and a nurturing mother. Additionally, E~ recently made the decision to repeat his senior year of high school and study abroad for a year, probably in Croatia. This means that if I stay in Europe, the child closest to home will be C~ at a 10 hour car ride away.


If you happen to know my mom, be extra nice to her, okay? She seems to be managing quite well, but I'm still sad for her. Maybe send her an encouragement card or take her out for lunch or just give her a hug. She will be needing lots of that in the next few months. I told her today that she raised exactly the kind of children one wants- strong, independent people. Her reply: "And they all want to leave me."


Regardless, this post really isn't about my poor mother. It is about something we talked about that makes me laugh and horrifies me at the same time.


She was recently at a gathering and someone made a comment that was just downright rude about the physical appearance of an employee at a local store. She didn't really know this particular person, but she made fun of them good-naturedly by referring to a book that I'm quite sure the person had not read, considering the fact that they didn't understand the reference at all. (T~ does this a lot, getting a lot of pleasure from being smarter than people without them even knowing it.) She told me the whole story, and after I reigned in my laughter, I just sat here. This woman who said this terrible thing didn't know many people at this gathering. First of all- she wouldn't have said it if she didn't think people were going to agree with her, right? Secondly- what the hell is she thinking that she WON'T tell people?


In other news, I got a wonderful surprise in the mail today. I had a package notice and didn't know who it could be from- it was an amazing gift from my cousins Mary and Brian. It is so sweet to feel the support and love from the States. I am often struck by just how lucky I am, to be living in this place, with the opportunity to travel and develop my teaching skills and meet new people. But I am constantly reminded- whether by emails or Skype dates or Facebook posts or packages- that I am not alone.


And I now have 176 Crystal Light packets, in addition to slippers, candy, gum, chapstick, a generous gift card, and hand sanitizer. Booyah.

I'll Be Home For...

I'm dreamin' tonight, of a place I love (okay, not really... but the people I love)
Even more than I usually do (because it's been two months...)
And although I know it's a long road back (really long- 20-ish hours long)
I promise you (to the best of my ability)

I'll be home for Christmas (SING it!)
You can count on me (but TAROM airlines, not so much...)
Please have snow and mistletoe (skip the mistletoe- we'd BETTER have snow)
And presents under the tree (not too many- I have to get back to Bucharest)
Christmas Eve will find me (I think I'll find it, rather)
Where the love light beams (hahahahaha- have you MET our family?)
I'll be home for Christmas (again- SING it!)
If only in my dreams (nope- it's official)

Friends, I'm coming home for Christmas! I'll be leaving Bucharest on December 23 and returning on January 3. I'm rather excited.

International Travel (2)

With little else to occupy my time (okay, little else I am motivated with to occupy my time), I have come to my last international travel experience.

In August of 2009, my mom and I went to Europe for two weeks. We had a (ridiculously) ambitious agenda- 6 countries in 12 days. In hindsight, this was pretty stupid, because we barely had the energy to enjoy some of them. Regardless, it made for some fantastic memories and wonderful stories.

One such wonderful story is a travel debacle of nearly-epic proportions. I want you to picture a situation, movie-like, growing from slightly problematic to terribly exhausting. And despite it being the most stressed I had EVER been in a lifetime of stress, (for recent update on stressful scenarios, see my post titled Tumultuous-ness) it is my favorite tale of the trip. Allow me a brief screenplay.

Scene: Airport, 45 minutes outside of Athens, Greece.
Time: 15:35.

Destination: Vienna, Austria

Two females sit on the floor outside the terminal at the airport. The floor is coolly tiled and a welcome respite from the HEAT of their time spent in Athens. Without a scrap of dignity the women (clearly a mother and a daughter) talk and laugh, and the younger one checks the departure screens they are sitting next to every few minutes. Everything appears to be normal and relaxed until the younger woman seems to make some kind of terrible mental connection. With a look of frantic alarm once more at her watch and the departure screens, she jumps up with a shriek. After a few more glances at both screens, she hastily grabs up the luggage around her, screaming for the older woman to get up and join her.

Stephanie:

"Oh my GOD! I totally misread the time! We are supposed to leave in twenty minutes! Twenty minutes! Get up! Grab the stuff! Come on- GET UP!"

Theresa:

"I don't appreciate you talking to me that way. What do you mean?"

Stephanie:

"GET UP!!! We have to go to the counter and check in!"

The women run across the airport terminal to the airline counter, where they are met by a very peaceful ticket agent.

Stephanie:

(Breathing heavily) "We need to check in for our flight to Vienna! Do we have enough time?"

Peaceful Perfect Ticket Agent:

"May I please see your passports?" (REALLY LONG Pause) "It appears that your flight to Vienna has been rerouted."

Stephanie:

"Rerouted to where?? And can we get on it in time? And why?"

Peaceful Perfect Ticket Agent:

"Bratislava. And yes, you should be fine if you hurry. And honestly, I have no idea."

Theresa:

(Whispering in Stephanie's ear) "Where the h- is Bratislava?"

Stephanie:

"Um, Slovakia?"

Theresa:

"Behind the IRON CURTAIN?"

Peaceful Perfect Ticket Agent:

"Take your bags over there to be checked through to your flight. And hurry."

The women gather their luggage and run to the machine where a man is waiting to scan the bags and put them on a conveyor belt. Panic ensues when the older woman realizes she doesn't have her suitcase.

Theresa:

"I just had it. I JUST had it. Where is my suitcase?"

Stephanie:

"Mom. Seriously? You don't have it? I'll go back and grab it."

(As one could probably have guessed... ) The suitcase is not to be found. It isn't at the ticket counter, isn't amongst the masses of people waiting in line, and isn't where the women had earlier set up camp on the floor. This is all known because the younger woman ran from place to place, with a look of growing desperation on her face.

Stephanie:

"It's not over there. It's not anywhere! We have to go. We have to go now."

Theresa:

"Stephanie, we have to tell someone about this! We have to report it!"

Stephanie:

"Mom, we have approximately 15 minutes to be on a plane headed towards Austria. Or, in this case, Slovakia. Oh my word. What is going to happen to us? We have to GO!"

Theresa:

"Fine. Let's go. Let's just GO. NOT REPORT IT. JUST GO."

Much chaos ensues as the women run as quickly as possible through the crowded airport toward security. They are relatively lucky that the Grecian border guards are so lackadaisical in their efforts to stop terrorism (or they just anticipated the drama involved with stopping two harried and frantic women), and make it to the gate with approximately 5 minutes remaining before takeoff.

Stephanie:
(Running to Peaceful Perfect Ticket Agent #2) "Is there still time to get on the plane?"

Peaceful Perfect Ticket Agent #2:

"Ma'am, there is no plane."

Stephanie:

"The plane for Bratislava is supposed to leave from here in 5 minutes!"

Peaceful Perfect Ticket Agent #2:

"Ma'am, that plane has been delayed."

Stephanie:

"..."

The women move to a corner of the waiting room to gather themselves. They begin to make a recording of all that was in the stolen luggage (a desperately small and quite depressing list), and the younger woman walks to a payphone to call the States and check in with her father. The woman tries to call with a calling card, but after three tries puts it away with some frustration. Drawing out her debit card, her thoughts of the ridiculous expense of her forthcoming call seem to drift visibly out of her head. Nevertheless, she dials about four hundred numbers, and then puts the phone back on the cradle with some hesitation. She picks up the phone again, and breathing deeply in an effort to calm herself, repeats the dialing of the numbers in a more slow and deliberate manner. Again, she puts the phone back in the cradle, and begins to cry. Walking slowly back over to the older woman, she reports her findings.

Stephanie:

"My credit card has been cut off. For illicit activity. In Europe."

Theresa:

"Didn't you report it? Didn't you tell them we would be here?"

Stephanie:

(Crying AND *itching) "OF COURSE I DID!"

Theresa:

"Well, try mine. Here is my... Oh my God. My purse is gone. My purse. Are you sitting on it? Where is my purse? Are you KIDDING ME?"

Stephanie:

(Cries loudly)

Theresa:

"Stop crying! That is NOT helping!"

Camera follows the older woman to the bathroom, where she begins to cry. Pan out to the two women getting onto a tiny little airplane nearly 4 hours later, staffed by perfect peaceful women wearing pink polo shirts, short black shorts, and hot pink pageboy hats. The women are barely phased. The older woman has her purse, someone having turned it is to the gate check-in. They look hot and hassled and completely un-confident in their ability to travel, and wondering how they are going to find the hostel in Vienna when they are landing in Bratislava.

Theresa:

(After walking into the baggage claim in Bratislava) "Is that my suitcase?"

Stephanie:

"Um, yes."

The women grab the previously stolen and assumed-lost forever suitcase, and open the zippers. The inside is in disarray, but they discover that nothing is missing. Amazed, the women are slightly dejected and disappointed that the would-be thief found nothing of value to take, and they board a bus that will take them to the airport in Vienna.

Cut to scene of women walking through the dark streets of Vienna at approximately 1:00 am, with a clear sense of growing terror.

Theresa:

"I don't think we are going the right way. I think we need to ask for help."

Stephanie:

(Still *itchy) "And who exactly are we going to ask?"

Theresa:

"Well I just don't know! But we need to ask someone. What is your PROBLEM?"

Insert Karen, Angel of Mercy, riding a bicycle. Clearly recognizing the plight the two stupid and exhausted American women found themselves in, she offers to walk them back to the hostel. The women check in, lug baggage up just ONE MORE flight of stairs, and find themselves not in the private room they had reserved, but in an 8 bed dorm. 6 of the beds are occupied with naked young adults, not all of whom are female. With no regard to the wellness of others (due in part to a lack of sleep, a draining of adrenaline, and relief at the final arrival), the younger woman makes an enormous amount of noise. The older woman yells at her one last time. They both take out their sleeping bags and crawl into bed and ponder silently the day they had experienced.

Theresa:

"Goodnight, Stephanie."

Stephanie:

"...goodnight, Mom."

And thus, we made it to Vienna. It really was a fantastic trip.

I just want to say that I made it through that ENTIRE posting without a spelling error. Booyah.