Thursday, February 4, 2010

Wroclaw, Poland



Here in Poland...

Having lots of fun!

More to come soon...

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Customer Service

I've often heard that if you have a bad experience with someone, you are likely to tell ELEVEN people. On the contrary, if you have a good experience with someone, you are likely to only tell TWO people. How odd that seems -

Well... Since this month was the month of giving. I truly was given some exceptional customer service.

1. Red Lobster
At the beginning of this month, Michal was in the mood for Red Lobster. I love their special Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. I went to order it, but it had been removed from the menu... so I asked my waiter what had happened to this item. He said that it is no longer a special, but he would see if the Chef could make one for me that night. He returned shortly to tell me that the Chef would make it but instead of it taking about 15 minutes to get our food - it would take about 30. Michal and I didn't mind, so we waited... and 15 minutes later both of our meals came out to us! I was so happy that I got my favorite meal, and it really meant a lot to me that Red Lobster went the extra mile. I had such a good experience there with our waiter taking care of us, that I will definitely return there!

2. Les Schwab Tires
On the way to work one morning, I went around a corner and hit a patch of black ice. I slid right into a huge snowbank and had to put my car in to 4-wheel drive to get it out. Several cars slowed down to make sure I was okay. But as I left and got on the freeway, if my car went over 55 mph, it would shake uncontrollably. Michal dropped off my car at Les Schwab (which was a 5 min walk from work) and it was ready in 20 minutes. I went to go and pick it up and pay for the damage - and they didn't charge me for the re-alignment that they had done. I thought it was very exceptional of them and you better believe that the next time I have a car problem, I am going there for service!

3. NuSkin Enterprises
Most of you know that I have worked at Nuskin this year. I have been treated really well there! Not only do I get about a lot of retail product a month, but this year for Christmas Nuskin really spoiled its employees!
We got our annual Christmas bonus, Christmas gift, Costco special + games, and package of products. But they surprised every employee with a second bonus - and a very, very, very generous one too! I started to get all teary eyed because it really meant a lot to me. We really needed that extra bonus and it helped us in numerous ways. Nuskin has shown me generous customer service since working there and I'm grateful that God helped me find this phenomenal job.

4. Gold's Gym
Okay, okay - I know that when hearing this Gym's name EVERYONE has a bad story about how they got ripped off or scammed big time. I was a victim of this too. I signed up for an hour of personal training for 6 months - and 4 months into my training (since I got a new trainer) I found out that it said I only had 30 minutes once a week. I wasn't furious, I was hurt. I tried to be so careful to sign up for what I wanted and Michal read the fine print to EVERYTHING so that we didn't become Gold's Gym victims. However, we ended up victims. My new personal trainer was super nice about things and kindly explained that she would only get paid for 30 minutes, so she didn't want me to be screwed, but she didn't want to get screwed either. So I called corporate. It was a pleasant experience. I didn't have to wait on hold forever and I explained my situation to the person on the other end of the phone. She said that my contract did say 30 minutes, but that she would see what she could do and ask me if she could call me back before they closed in about 20 minutes. I got a call 15 minutes after they closed and she said that she got the approval to change my contract to 60 minutes for the remainder of time remaining. She thanked me for being kind and patient with her on the phone. This really made an impact on me as it meant a lot to me that she was willing to change it based on my word alone.
Not only was Corporate extremely nice to me on the phone, but my new personal trainer has been amazing. She puts so much energy into helping me and making sure that I am getting the correct information and work-outs that I need. She is very enthusiastic and does a superb job. She goes above and beyond the call of duty and it has made a difference to me! Because of her, I would be willing to renew my contract once it expires.

5. Travel Agent & Delta
We recently went to a travel agent to book tickets to Poland. Michal's mom had a voucher for us to use (since her flight got bumped on her way home from our wedding)... and it was extremely kind of her to let us use this voucher. Usually when any flight is giving away a cheap international flight, they aren't too happy about it, but they were extremely kind and gave us any deal they could. Our travel agent was also so patient with us and got us SUPER good tickets for a STEAL. Plus she went out of her way to make sure that we had the non-stop flight from SLC to Paris going out and returning home so that customs wouldn't be horrific when we returned to the States. Not only did she really help us out and get us a deal for almost nothing, but she fed us lunch while we waited for her to do her magic, and she gave us really cool pencils that smell like grapes/oranges when you write with them. It was quite a great deal and I am so grateful that she really went out of her way to make this affordable for us to purchase.

6. My brother
Sam fixes phones. He is really good at it too. This month my phone broke, and he spent 2 days trying to fix it. After exhausting his resources, I figured I'd have to pay at least $100 for a new phone... but he gave it to me for free. It was extremely kind of him. Also, Sam got me a 3G 8GB iphone for Michal for about 1/3 of the price that a brand new one costs! I don't know how he does it - but not spending very much on this (could be) Christmas gift - it made me a very happy girl and it was really nice of him to help me get a steal of a deal! Thanks Sam!

Overall, I feel like all of these experiences expressed the Christmas spirit and I just wanted to thank each one of them for helping me feel special or saving me money in some way or another. I really appreciate it! Thank you!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Michal the Marathon Runner

Lately Michal & I have been really busy... I mean - who hasn't been? It's the Holiday season with Thanksgiving and then Christmas right around the corner...

Well, with all that we've been doing, we had someone at Church ask us if we were going inactive and why we haven't been lately. Michal jokingly said, "Oh, we've been trying out the other Churches in the area, so far we really like the Catholic church." And they believed him! Their mouth dropped open and they blinked their eyes (as if to make sure we were still standing in front of them)... and they were speechless, didn't know what to say or do. Told us that maybe they should get our home-teachers to stop by and make sure everything was okay. I think that we were justified in not being around the last two weekends because here is what we've been up to:

For Thanksgiving we went home to Layton to spend the time with my family. It was extremely nice to have 4 days off of work and just lounge around and spend all of your time with family. Michal had this crazy idea, it was partly my idea too, to get up early the day after Thanksgiving and go shopping. It was the first time that Michal has ever experienced Black Friday. We ended up getting OUT of the house around 5:10 am. I assumed that after Michal experienced the crazy shoppers of this day, he would not want to return. I was wrong. Michal loved it! We got all of our shopping done and spent hardly any money! We got such GREAT deals. Michal got himself a really nice coat from EXPRESS. It was normally $278.00 but we only paid $59.40. I got a coat too, for about 65% off from Banana Republic. We got steals at Wal-mart, and the best part about all of it was that we had a blast. Michal couldn't believe that people camped out in their trailers overnight. He couldn't get over how people were in Pajamas at Wal-mart and people were dressed up (or at least in Jeans) at Target. All-in-all we had fun and Michal couldn't believe how much money that we saved and he is now converted to black friday. He wants us to do all of our shopping on that day from now on. He is a smart man.

When we returned home from our Thanksgiving break, Michal got a surprise in the mail. His OFFICIAL green card came in the mail. He was so excited! I believe that for the next two days every time I saw him he was looking at his green card. And I do have to admit, it is interesting... they have made this card so hard to get a "fake" one. There are so many minute details, for example, all the pictures of the presidents of the United States are on the back of a size of a credit-card, but you can only tell that they are the Presidents when you tilt it in the light at a certain angle. I am really excited for him. The instant we got his Green Card meant that we can legally leave the country now. So he asks me, "Where do you want to go now....?" (More details to come soon!)

Last week Michal accomplished an even greater feat. He ran the ROCK AND ROLL LAS VEGAS MARATHON.

Yes he did it!

5 hours!













I got really nervous because I went outside to wait for him after 4 hours, and I didn't see him until like 6 hours. I knew that he would never take that long, but apparently because there was over 30,000 people who run this marathon they let about 1,000 people go in increments of 5 minutes. So he had to wait a little over an hour before he actually started running. While I was waiting for him, I was listening to the announcers comment... and I learned some pretty interesting facts about this marathon. There is a band who plays for you at about every mile marker. They had contestants from over 33 different countries and almost every state in the US. They had over 300 Elvis' who ran this race, numerous Santa-Claus', Mrs. Claus', Elves, Cavemen, and they even had a few dozen (yes dozen) couples who got married the night before and then ran the race together in wedding attire. Here are a few pictures of people that I caught running like this.

Here are the Elvis runners:




Here is the Caveman


Here are some married couples:



I was so proud of Michal for running this race! He did such a good job. Including the face and everything else we did, we had a blast in Vegas. We ate at some really awesome places, and we just shopped. It was such a fun trip - but don't even get me started on the LUXOR hotel. One piece of advice: If you want to stay there - DONT!





Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Fun Theory

I saw one of these videos on a friends blog and thought that they were so clever.







This is why I love Sweden!


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Sunday, November 15, 2009

2012

Last night Michal & I went to the movies. A very rare occasion. I don't usually like to go to the movies, but this movie was worth it. We went and saw 2012. It was such a good movie. (However, they did get some of the Mayan facts wrong... After taking an Art History class on Mayan civilization, it was easy to see where they were mistaken in the movie). Other than that, the action-packed film was awesome! Two hours and 40 minutes worth my time to see this movie.


Call me crazy, but I love "end of the world movies" or "disaster movies" like:

The Day After Tomorrow


Knowing


Deep Impact


Dante's Peak
Volcano

Just to name a few...

Lately, Michal & I have even been watching a TV series called "FLASH FORWARD" which is a plot where the whole world blacked out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and saw a glimpse of their future. The TV series revolves around trying to figure out what caused the blackout while relating and incorporating personal stories along the way. I love watching it! It is so dramatic.

I was so excited when I found out that next year they are going to release ANOTHER TV series which is a sequel to the movie 2012. It revolves around the SURVIVORS and how they begin their new life on the planet. It will be interesting...

P.S. If you know of any other good movies (that relate) which I'm missing out on, be sure to let me know!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Jazz vs. Trailblazers

Two weeks ago, Michal and I got to go to the Jazz game.  It was my surprise for him. 
Nuskin surprised us with two club 100 tickets to the Jazz game.  Michal had the time of his life. 

We arrived and we were fed this super yummy dinner in the "Energy Solutions Arena" (I still have a hard time saying that since I am so used to saying the "Delta Center").  And we had snacks during half-time... I was full for about 2 days after from eating so much food there...

But the best part about the whole game was that we got to sit DIRECTLY behind the opposing team, so every once in a while when they would sit down and shake their head, their sweat would drop on us... or we were so close that we could hear the coach and his game plans for the team.  It was quite interesting.   

Michal was even excited to see someone from the Trailblazers that had a Polish last name, so of course, we had to take a picture of it!

Above: PRZYBILLA (his name means arrive)
Below: These are some of my action shots from the game...


We had a lot of fun and it was so nice of my boss to choose me to go to the Jazz game.  He really is a great guy!  I really love who I work for, and I love that my husband had so much fun at this game.  

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Another Oops Moment...

My husband is so sweet to me!

Yesterday I went to work at 8 AM, I came home at 10 PM. I worked a full 8 hours and then headed straight off to tutor two different people in Math 110.

I love tutoring and I love helping people to understand Math better. I especially love it even more when people WANT to learn more and actually understand it. Last night, really was enjoyable, but it was hard coming home so late.

I was hungry.
I was tired.
I was ornery.
I was cold.
I was sore.

All of those together are not a good combination for me.

When I came home, my husband ran outside to immediately meet me and help me carry all of my junk back into the house. He asked how I was, and I said I was hungry. He said that he had a surprise for me. So as I followed him through the house, I realized that he spent all day cleaning, and all the laundry was on the bed, all folded ready to be put away.

And then I went into the bathroom. My husband cleaned the whole bathroom, filled up a bubble bath with rose petals on the water. Candles all around the tub, the space heater was going, and there was some soothing jazz music in the background. Best of all, he had prepared a plate full of snack food (apples, crackers, cheese, grapes, etc.) food for me to eat.

So I decided to get into the tub, and he asked me if I would like a meal. And he brought me a really Yummy Cabbage Crunch Salad. I was eating it in the tub and I noticed that a glass plate was sliding and going to hit the floor, so I hurried and grabbed it (just in time to keep it from hitting the floor)... but in the process, i spilled my Salad in the tub. So now in addition to rose petals, I had lettuce, onions, grapes, and salad dressing in my nice warm bath. I felt so stupid. It really is funny, and if I could have taken a picture, I would have... but for obvious reasons, I didn't.

Then Michal does it again, he runs in and helps me fish it all out and creates a whole new bath for me to relax. He didn't even ask what happened, he just started laughing. It made me feel a lot better.

Needless to say, this definitely would make a spot in my "Oops Journal." But it was still a great surprise and made me really appreciate my husband for how much he loves me and takes care of me when he knows that I've had a hard day.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

What a Weekend

Michal & I had quite a weekend.  We played HARD!

First it started out with us going to Lagoon Friday night.  I work at Nuskin and they had a company party there so the park was only open to Nuskin employees and their families.  It was pretty sweet because there were NO LINES!!! The longest we probably had to wait in line was 5-10 minutes.  It wasn't bad at all.  Infact, I was able to go on the ride "Wicked" 3 times in a row in a matter of 15 minutes.  However, Michal won't go on rides with me so... we had to find someone else to join us.  Michal and I both agreed that my cousin Natalie and her husband Kevin would be the perfect addition.  I'm glad they were so eager to come and join us.  It was nice to talk to someone in line while Michal waited for us at the exit of each ride.  They were the perfect people to bring along.  However, we did convince Michal to go on "the Bat" and "JetStar", the log ride,  and the swinging boat and the scary haunted house rides.  He was such a trooper... in return for being such a good sport and taking our pictures we went on his favorite ride... the CAROUSEL...  Overall, it was a lot of fun... I hadn't been there since 9th grade Lagoon day (that's 10 years ago).   So I was shocked to see the ferris wheel had taken its seats down and that the Magic Carpet was no longer there. 

Anyways - here is my favorite picture that Michal took of us... It's on the ROCKET!


And here is proof that Michal went on some rides with me...


And of course - we have to put pictures up of Michal on his favorite ride!




Saturday was another Fun Filled day!  My companion on my mission got married in the Salt Lake Temple.  

Michal & I arrived early (meaning 10:10 when she said the sealing would start at 11:10) to see if she needed any help at all.  FINALLY - at 11:05 she shows up - apparently the sealing started at 11:40 and she told people 11:10 so all the Tongan's would arrive on time.  Nia asked me to be her Escort through the temple that day and it was really special for me and quite an experience.   By being her escort, I was really able to feel the spirit and help her have a special day.  We got to the Bride's Room in the temple and we went to go change her from her street clothes to her wedding dress.  When we pulled the dress out of the bag Nia said to me, "sister, I hope that this dress fits."  FITS????  I was so confused, I asked her where she bought it, and she replied "Online, so I haven't had the chance to try it on yet... and it's a size smaller than I normally wear so I REAAAAALLLLY hope it fits."  I couldn't believe it, did she know that wedding dresses ALWAYS run small?  Anyways, I thought that it was so brave of her, I could NEVER do something like that.  We put the dress on and what do you know - it worked!  However, the shoulders were too big (like all wedding dresses you try on)... so we had to attack that problem with safety pins.  I did a HORRIBLE job, so after the sealing, my mom came down and fixed it and you couldn't even tell that it didn't fit in the shoulders!  That's what Moms are for - right?

So after we get her all ready for her sealing, dressed and everything, I head upstairs to wait for her there.  Since they were so late...  they ended up moving her sealing room like 3 times.  Finally at 12:00 she comes into the sealing room.  I had the priviledge of sitting next to Nia and her Aunt at her sealing.  I felt the spirit so strong.  The sealer was very acquainted with Polynesian culture since he served a mission in Tonga and also was the president of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii.   He was very cute with Nia and Richard.  However, I don't think that he knew that her parents had passed away recently because he kept referring to her Auntie (sitting in the mother chair next to Nia) as her Mom.  That made everyone cry really hard.  As well, he kept on talking about how those that had passed on before us were also present at this wedding.  That again made everyone cry - but it was also special for Nia to know that her parents were at her wedding looking down upon her and very proud of what she had done.  Also something interesting that I learned was that in Tongan culture it is not appropriate to show PDA in front of other family members.  So after they were married instead of the sealer saying "you may now kiss the bride"  he said "you may come this way and hug each other."  But... I guess that's how they do it, and it was totally acceptable for the family!  It was really neat to sit there and see how much support they each had from family and friends even though neither of their parents were there!  Richard served in the Utah Ogden Mission so several people that he baptized were able to attend the ceremony as well.  It was really special and quite a privilege to sit there next to her and just soak it all in.  My parents were also able to attend, and I even caught my mom crying.  I just hope that it was all she ever hoped for.

So the sealing went SUPER long - normally it's 20 minutes or so...  but he went for like 35 minutes so by the time they got out of the temple it was 1:15.  Next thing that shocked me was that nia didn't get a photographer.  Man, I would have been freaking out at this point, but she was so laid back and didn't care.  She was just happy to be married.  So my mom, michal, & I played photographer at her wedding!  Here are some of our favorite pictures of them...


I love this picture because it shows her personality!

I had to include a picture of me!
This is Nia's neice who was named after her and plays a very special role in her life.
Her Auntie (her mother's sister)



However, the wedding wasn't the end, there was still the reception.  Nia told me to arrive an hour late (tongan style)... so we did - and it still didn't begin until 5:45 (45 minutes later)...  It was a huge party and festival - a DJ - food to feed a whole Stake (but there were only about 50-75 people there)... and so many interesting dishes that I have NEVER tried before.  Let me TRY to explain the food...

This is Nia & Richard at the Head Table.  Nia tried to get me to sit up there on her side, but I wanted to sit with my family... plus, I don't know how much of the food that I could have actually eaten.  Below is a picture that EVERYONE on the head table (6 people) are supposed to eat...



This was the food - for about 15-20 people - and there were 2 tables of food.  They just kept on bringing more and more and more out.  Seriously it could have fed a whole stake (of white people of course)...

Here is my before and after picture plate:  
BEFORE:

You can see chop sui, lu pulu, tarot, oyster, lobster, potato salad, pork, and all sorts of tongan fruit.
AFTER:

The Lobster/crab salad was good - I just couldn't finish it.  The Tarot is the same consistency as a potato, but it is SO heavy, so I only had about 3 bites.  I obviously ate the roll.  Had a hard time even trying the oyster.  Didn't even think about touching a shrimp with eyes on it.  LOVED the lui pulu (meat wrapped in tarot leaves) and the purple punch tasted like an easter egg (brach's easter eggs) so I favored the red punch instead.  Michal on the other hand had THREE plates full of food and loved all of it.  He wished that we could have taken some home (which was offered to us)... but we didn't have anywhere to keep it cool overnight, so Michal was sad for about 2 minutes.

The Shrimp still have it's eyes!
This is someone that Nia taught in Pennsylvania that was baptized a few years after originally meeting Sister Sapoi.  It was super sweet of her to come out to the wedding reception!

I was just grateful that her friends that she went to High School with were sitting across the table from us, they were able to explain all the cool traditions and customs (and translate it all for us too) that occurred throughout the night.  It was quite a new experience!

All in all - I learned SO MANY VALUABLE things that day.
* I learned how important family is.  Family is the most important unit and without Nia's family none of this would have been possible.  The whole reception was a surprise for her, and that's what family is for to make you feel like a princess on your wedding day!
* I gained SUCH a stronger testimony about the Plan of Salvation and I am so grateful that I am sealed to my family so that I can be with them forever.  I'm glad that I married Michal for time AND eternity.  
* I learned that bad things happen to good people, but what determines your true character is how you react to these situations happening to you.  I mean this in two ways.  1) Nia was so kind and so sincere about all that had been given to here and it was so hard for her to lose both of her parents before her wedding, but she really had a testimony - and so great blessings followed.  2)  I had a horrible week.  Work was tough with trying to get so many things done in such a short amount of time (since we only worked 3 1/2 days this week)... and I received this AWFUL phone call about "he said, she said" that just broke my heart and put me in tears for a long time afterwards.  And things weren't going my way.  I learned this weekend, that this is sometimes the refiners fire and how we are tested.  If we can make it through hard times, and keep our cool and our chins high... the Lord in the end - ALWAYS blesses us.  He lets us know that he is well pleased and happy with all the decisions we have made and accomplishments in our life.  He knows the truth - he knows who is right and who is wrong... and he loves them both!  Even when we are right and no one else believes us - He is there and he believes us... and even when someone makes a wrong offense towards us - he loves them too and we should as well otherwise we are held accountable for it.  The only thing that HE wants for us is to make us happy and he always, always is able to accomplish that!  And, that is what I am truly grateful for!
* I learned how important it is to have good friends...
* and lastly, I learned, that sometimes no matter how much you diet... sometimes it's just hard to keep it - especially at a TONGAN feast!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Our Trip to Pennsylvania!

On the 7,8, & 9 of August, Michal and I went out to Pennsylvania for a nice short trip. Jeff Gochoco (who was the last person I saw baptized on my mission) got married in the Washington DC temple so we went out for that! It was so much fun. I have so much to say about it!

Our first day there, I made sure that Michal tried one of the greatest Ice-cream places EVER... it is called "RITA's." It is DIVINE... It is a refine balanced ice cream between custard and Italian Ice. The blend couldn't be better!
Michal really liked it too and ever since I had him try Rita's he's been asking if there are any in Utah. Sadly no, but if I was rich enough to open up a franchise... I would, because this place rocks! Michal was even a little heartbroken that we weren't able to go on Saturday and Sunday because we had so much to do.

Later that night - Michal and I went to an open house, casual dinner for Jeff's family and friends that had traveled a long ways out to see him. It was a blast. Sister (Katie) Bastian and Sister (Eleanor) Clark were there! They were two of my companions that were also a part of Jeff's conversion process. It was so fun to see them again. They are just great. I LOVED being both of their companions and was so grateful that they were able to come out for Jeff's sealing. They had the funniest stories to talk about and it was so good to catch up with them. Also, Dave Vagnoni was there. He is a good friend of Jeff's and was also the one who baptized him when Jeff joined the Church. Dave was a good sport. We all teased him and drilled him about Dating, but he gave some pretty darn good answers. I think so highly of Dave and I really admire his values and his friendship. Michal said that if we ever move to Pennsylvania, he'd like to hang out with Dave and he can be one of his "buddies".

Also, at the Luncheon, I was able to meet Missy's family. Her mom came up to me and said, "I know that this sounds really ignorant, but I feel like I know you and that I've met you before." So I asked her what her name was and when she said "LEEDOM" I asked her if she lived in the Lebanon ward. Once I had said that she instantly remembered that I served as a missionary in her ward for 6 months. Then she was confused at why I was here at the lunch. So after I explained that I taught Jeff and they came out for my wedding, everything seemed to click for her. She said "Oh you're THAT Katie that they talk about." I hope that is a good thing... but it was fun to see people from the Palmyra/Lebanon area come as well. Pennsylvania is my home away from home, and it always feels good to return home.
I was pretty bummed that I forgot to bring my camera to the temple for when Jeff & Missy walked out, but Bishop Wilson & his wife were kind enough to let me go back to their house and pick it up before heading to his reception. The reception was so much fun, mostly the company. Michal was so funny... and once again, Dave got harassed about being single. Then they had dancing, which no one danced except the DJ himself... and that was about it. Saturday was such a busy day for us that we were beat by the end of the day and crashed when we returned to Bishop Wilson's home.

On Sunday, Michal & I went to the Lebanon Ward. It was SO good to see so many familiar friendly faces. The ward there has since been added on to and attendance has doubled. Also, less-active or part-member families that we were working really hard with were sitting there in Sacrament meeting. I almost cried when I found out that they were there... it made me feel like all of my hard work had paid off! It was so good to see them. After sacrament, I wanted to visit some investigators that I had worked really closely with, so we snuck out to visit them. Unfortunately, none of them were home, so we went to Hershey's Chocolate Factory and rode the Chocolate World ride. At the conclusion of the ride they give you chocolate from the factory. During the Winter, they would give out regular sized candy bars, sometimes even 2 or 3 (if you asked nice)... so that's why Michal wanted to go. I felt really bad because he must have been disappointed when he saw that they were only giving us a single hershey kiss. I think that he enjoyed the ride though. Here are some pictures from Hershey.





After our experience at Hershey, we were able to visit a few more families, including the Robinson Family, Holland Family, Winters Family, Miller Family, and Mastracola family. Michal LOVED all the families that we visited. Espcially, he loved talking to Bob (brother Holland about the car's and "cash for clunkers." He also LOVED the Mastracola's farm. They showed us their Cow, Horse, chieckens, roosters, and we got to eat a yummy cafe-rio style meal there! Michal said that he can't wait until he can go back and visit them on their farm again! I think it reminded him of the farms he used to work on in Poland.

Anyways - here are some pictures from the Mastracola's (or as Michal says: "the Coca-Cola's") farm:




Overall, it was a really fun trip and Michal is excited to go back so that I can show him Penn State. He is really wanting to check it out! It was worth it to see the families that I love so much, see Jeff get married, and show Michal my mission.