Dim sum today never tasted so good. Of course, the fact that I was starving and had lost a lot of blood along the way could've had something to do with it. So just about 20 minutes before we're going to leave, I see a car pull in the driveway, and its Sue's (my boss) sister Di and her daughter Kasey (10). They decided at the last minute to join us, which made me sooooo happy b/c then Lily would bother Kasey in the car, not me, lol. Anyway, we all pile in Sue's car, and Acura MDX SUV. I get stuck in the way back, alone, which is fine with me. Well, on the way to Philly (about a 50 min drive normally) there was TONS of traffic, roadwork, and just plain retards driving. So it ended up taking us well over 1 1/2 hrs to get there. We were all tired of being ina the car and starving by that point. And to top it off, I get a nose bleed out of nowhere, incredibly embarrassing and gross. I had to use about 15 babywipes to get it under control (it reminded me of that time in Bangladesh in the rice patties--remember Kel?--and that guy tried to run me over on his bike). Anyway, that got under control and we made it. So at this dim sum are quite the cast of characters (aka Sue's family). Her parents, great-aunts, cousins (2 of which are mentally disabled), an adopted Vietenamese boy August, several other adopted Asian children that are now adults, and 2 gay male couples. They are so nice and a lot of fun though, so all was well. I ate lots of mystery food that I didn't even bother to find out what it was, I was too hungry to care. So we gobbled down the dumplings, noodles, and rice, then headed over to the super huge Asian grocery store. I wandered around, just amazed at all the crazy things. They even had live frogs that you buy by the pound! And tons of fish in huge tanks, just waiting for their impending death. After lunch, we went to Mary Alice's house, where we had a HUGE dessert spread--chocolate cake w/strawberries, chocolate cheesecake, pecan pies, some Jewish cookies, Halloween oreas, etc...so much yummy stuff. I also had some amazing apricot ginger tea. Anyway, once we left there we headed to a very ghetto part of Philly, aka Germantown, where Matt (aka The Golden Boy--the family's son) was working on a mural. He works for City Year, which is an Americorps program. He was in charge of painting murals on a beat up rec center in a very shady neighborhood. We were quite the bunch, all piling out of the SUV in our name brand clothes and fancy hair and nails (yes, I even dressed up for the occasion). I was just hoping I wasn't going to get shot in a driveby. I wouldn't let Lily play on the playground b/c the kids were throwing ROCKS at each other, as a game. Anyway, the Golden Boy actually did an amazing job at painting the area, very creative ideas. We dropped him off at his train and we headed back home. The drive wasn't as long this time, although we did have to make a McDonald's break for the kids. I got another nose bleed on the way home, so that was sucky. Not as bad though. When we got home I put Baylor's costume on him to show Kasey and Di, then I ended up hanging out with Sue and Jim the rest of the night. We just had a very yummy dinner of mussels with a basil sauce, a zucchini dish, and salad. So fancy and so good. I finished watching Alladin with Lily, then came back home. Its now 10pm and time for me to get to bed. I have to get up at 7am for soccer in the morning--in Staten Island. Wish me luck and pray for my safety! I'm sure I'll have more to say tomorrow after the game. Nite all!

Ten Things Going On 1. I'm obsessed with Gilmore Girls. I rent the dvd's and watch them every free moment I have...its getting kind of ridiculous. 2. I'm reading the Book "A Million Little Pieces" which is so far, amazing. Its Oprah's latest book club book, and although I'm not a loyal follower of the BC, she said it is a GREAT book that will keep you up at night--and she was right. Its about an addict in recovery, and its incredibly intense. I recommend it. 3. I want to buy The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, but I'm too embarrassed to go to the teen section in Borders or B&N...so I think I'm gonna have to order them online. Ya, I'm a dork. 4. Francesca and I got into an argument tonight about who's hooking up with who on Laguna Beach. Ya, I have no life of my own, so I have to live through wealthy spoiled Cali teens. She says Jason and LC, but I say no way! And Jason is such a player...those girls are dumb for even wanting him! 5. My dog is crazy. He hates when I'm on the phone so he bites and barks at me until I put the phone down. Now I have to put the speaker phone on and put the phone out of his site just to talk to people. Ridiculous! He passed the beginner class and I got guilted into signing him up for intermediate--even though he should probably have to repeat the beginner class. I think they pass all dogs who make it to the end. His class started with 9 and there were 3 by the end. Thats about the turnover rate of PC Bangladesh. 6. I bought Halloween cards today, something I've never done before. I got them to send to my friends left in the Desh...and maybe a few lucky others, we'll see. If you want one, send me an email with you address and you might just get a nice Halloween surprise ;o) Also, Baylor is going to be a penguin for Halloween and will go trick or treating with Lily--as a mermaid. I think her mermaid costume is a little risque for a 5 yr old, but hey, who am I? I just take care her 11 hrs/day. 7. I had to watch Lily 2 full days in a row! Yesterday her school was canceled b/c of flooding. Like I said before, monsoon season has hit NJ and I'm pretty sure a Higher Power is trying to drag it out into the ocean. Its been raining for 8 days now...I feel like I'm in the Desh again, except here its cold...and its not sewage. Thats a plus at least. Today is Yom Kippur, so Happy YK to any Jews out there--of course, we know there aren't any on pleo. Too bad, we could use some more diversity on here. Thats the other reason why Lily didn't have school today. We did make some yummy sugar cookies decorated like pumpkins. 8. Today is the one year anniversary of the day I got my nose pierced in Bangladesh. I will never forget that day! My friend Maria's host mom was supposed to do it (she's a beautician), but then 2 ladies showed up at her apartment with a piercing gun and they did it...by candelight (the power was cut off by then)...unsterilized...no cleaning of the area...on a balcony...just a quick POW and it was in. My heart stopped beating for 2 seconds but then after I took some advil I was ok. Funny thing is, I didn't get an infection, but my friend Kel, who had it done under the most sanitary conditions possible, got a BAAAAAD infection (thought her nose was gonna fall off). She had to take her's out. 9. Martha Stewart and Oprah are my favorite people right now. Oprah is so cool b/c she's catching child molesters and giving people rewards, and building home for Katrina victims (along with the million other great things she does). I'd totally vote for her to be president, but then I was thinking she shouldn't run b/c I think all the great things she does now would suffer. Martha Stewart is awesome b/c she has a very witty show--she rapped with P Diddy on her first one--and I love her Apprentice. I think she needs to be meaner on it though...more like The Donald. I watched the Martha Behind Bars movie the other day and Cybil Shephard just doesn't do Martha justice. 10. I have a soccer game in Staten Island this weekend, and I'm a tad worried about that. I got lost there twice and it wasn't pretty. Quite scary actually. I plan on taking some mace or something with me...and I can't even imagine what the team we're playing is gonna be like! Ok, thats about all for now. This has been a longer post than I thought...so I hope I didn't bore you with my life!

ok, i never post on here, but at least i can use this name to post on other people's blogs, lol. if you want to see my real blog, go to www.pleonast.com/thepolishwonder. i update on there more regularly and sometimes even have interesting things to say!

Wow, so the newbies are leaving today and tomorrow for staging, how exciting! I wish you all the best of luck! Seriously, its going to be an amazing experience, in any case. Even if you have a horrible time, its an experience. I had pretty much the worst experience one could have short of dying, and I can still think about it in positive ways. I even miss the 'desh at times. Just remember to laugh a lot, but never let your guard all the way down. Trust no one, not even in your host family. If you ever have any incidents--report them! And keep track of everything on your own--things you report, incidents, even illnesses. Don't trust the office to do it accurately.
Ok, enough of the serious stuff, just try to have some fun. You are going to meet some of the most amazing people in your group--you all have such interesting and varied backgrounds. Your training group becomes your family-be good to each other. And have fun w/the B7's, they are all really cool and will help you out a lot! Email or post anytime!

So I created this blog like over 2 months ago, and have yet to post for a 2nd time. Lovely. I've been slacking on my other blog too though. Not this bad, but still.
Anyway, the new B8 trainees leave in a week, less than a week actually. How crazy is that??? I remember how I felt this time last year. I was a wreck, trying to say all my goodbyes. I remember crying at the momest random times, and getting sad or upset over the silliest things (like not wearing my fav shorts for 2 yrs)! Plus trying to figure out what to pack, and then figure out how to jam it all in the alloted bags. Trust me, once you're on that 1st plane to staging though, a big relief is lifted--and it only gets better from there. Staging is a fun time to get to know each other. You do the silly ice breakers, fill out forms, watch some videos, but mostly, just learn more about each other. EAT LOTS OF YUMMY FOOD (esp dairy)! Have your drinks, wear your American clothes...enjoy every minute of it. Cause once you step off that plane in Dhaka...whoosh...you are in another universe! You will quickly realize what you are truly greatful for, as well as how much you can live without.
Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have, and basically just check back for more random bits of advice I'll be tossing out.

Ok, so I have a blog on pleonast, but I kind of wanted to join another blogging group...maybe something thats not quite so right-wing? I found this site with the help and inspiration of my good buds Hannah and Rachel...so now I can post on you girls too!
Anyway, right now I am just hanging out and watching Lifetime movies...what a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! My BFF from home, Kristin, just left, and we had a great weekend together. We ate way too much food (after I tried ordering chicken parmasen w/o the chicken...the waitress could not understand what I wanted!!!! I finally said SPAGHETTI, I just want spaghetti)! I bought some cute new shoes for Paris, which is in like 3 weeks. I feel like I have to be all cute and trendy there, and I so don't have the apparel to do that, nor the budget to improve it. I got some cute black ballerina-inspired shoes from $18, so I'm happy. Although I found my perfect shoes at a store in downtown Princeton--for a mere $120. HaHa! I've decided there are 2 kinds of people here, those who LIVE in Princeton, and those who WORK in Princeton...I'm the latter. Oh well. It was neat to walk around the campus yesterday and pretend I was student...if only I were smart enough and rich enough to go there! But alas, I'm a BC alumni--just a poor mountain youth. The NY Times did an article on a BC alumni the other day, and she talked about how as soon as you say you went to Berea, people assume you're poor. Which is somewhat true, but it doesnt make us any less worthy. I've gotten to see a whole new social class since I moved here, and its quite interesting. I could totally write an awesome soc paper on it!
Ok, I think thats enough for now. Time to get back to the movie. Or maybe I'll watch the rest of Wimbledon since I fell asleep during it last night. All I know is, no work tomorrow, woo hoo!!!!