This has definitely been an exciting week. All day Sunday, I was in the kitchen preparing everything for Little Man's birthday party. I don't know if I've EVER cooked that much in one day. I also don't think I've ever yarped that much over the food I was preparing. Not only was I asking that it turn out okay, I was also asking that it wouldn't make anyone sick after they ate it! Some of the things I made, I had never..ever..made before. The last thing I made was the one I was most fearful about...the cake from scratch. The closer I got to having to make it, the more nervous I got. I mean, it was the birthday cake....that's like the turkey for thanksgiving. But everything was a success, so ptL! There were still times that I coveted a box of cake mix or break-and-bake cookies...




On Monday and Tuesday, D and I had language class as usual, but on Wednesday (Little Man's birthday!) we packed up and headed out with some friends for a retreat! This was my first road trip in country. It's quite a bit different than the road trips that I love so much in the States. It's two-lane traffic most of the way, which means you have to pass people a lot. There are no rules with that either. You play chicken a lot and sometimes most of the time I found myself holding my breath. When we stopped for lunch, I went into one of the nastiest restrooms ever. No picture of that...sorry. I was too busy using a squatty potty while also having to hold the door closed. I was also trying to block my mind from letting myself realize the incredibly unsanitary situation I got myself into. At least I still had my shoes on, unlike this time.

Update: I started typing this post before we headed back home. I guess I spoke too soon concerning the barefoot bathroom experience. Here is a restroom I found myself using in someone's home (which meant I didn't have shoes on). I made sure to take pictures and then run out as fast as I could because I heard squeaking sounds similar to that of a rat.

Famous last words of my friend B, "This house looks nice, I'm sure the bathroom is clean."

We also got stopped by cops twice. The first time was humorous. It was only one cop and we didn't end up having to pay a bribe. The rule of thumb is to only use English when stopped by the cops. Then we were stopped my a road block of sorts. The only reason the road was blocked was because cars were just stopping wherever the cop told them to. The way we were stopped was by a cop slapping the side of our car. At this point, we really did think we were going to get a ticket. But this situation ended with the cops wanting pictures with our friend.

Disclaimer #1: He is not getting a ticket..the cop is giving him  his phone number. Disclaimer #2: He is not running from the cops while their backs are turned.

Six hours later, we finally got to our destination...the LAKE. It was beautiful. We were surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenes. It took my breath away every time I looked around me. We enjoyed our few days of shopping at local shops and eating some local cuisine (they even had pork...shhhh).

So, for the rest of this post, it will probably be easier for me to just post some pictures and add a caption to explain...lest I get go off on rabbit trails trying to sum up our trip. I'll save those thousand words and let the pictures do most of the talking...

Breathtaking.

"Hey, nice to meet you." "That's a pretty cool looking ride." "What's this button here do?" "Oh, my bad...you're one of those no-touchy types..."

We learned a lot of neat cultural things.

And of course, we had to take some silly pictures.