Stories of Success... and the Kindness of a Stranger

Živijo prijateljiv,

I found my plants today! After four days of nothing, finally I found my plant while hiking here. That means that I get an excuse to take a nice hike almost every day for the rest of the week. Excited? Seveda. They call this mountain "mala gora" which means "small mountain". Kind of puts Mt. Oread to shame, no?

Also, I did not get mauled by a bear, so that was really exciting!

Other small achievements include:
1. Finding the ' on the keyboard
2. Being able to communicate with the lady at the grocery store and ask for directions
3. Going on a 3 hour hike after eating a milka bar for lunch

I was also touched by a stranger today (not inappropriately, do not worry, Tyler and Nick)... touched emotionally... he gave me directions on the way to Sveta Ana, and on the way back asked where I was from and told me to hold on... he then ran inside and brought me a gift. A souvineer from Ribnica. It's a little wooden trinket replica of the wood things that people carried on their backs (sorry, I know I should look up more information here, but I really want to take a shower). Ribnicia is known for their wooden objects, and men from Ribnicia used to travel and sell the bowls and things that they made. When my grantfather was separated from his family during WWII, he found his father again doing this!

Not all strangers have been so kind, unfortunately. It is obvious that I am new in town. EVERYONE stares at me when I walk past, and some little kids even said something in Slovene, and then in English yelled "Who the Fuck is that!" (Kind of rude, but still impressed with his English).

Shower time. Love from Slovenia.