Brenda

It is about that time of the year, spring tournaments are about to start and I couldn't be more excited. All this hard work that my team put throughout this semester will finally be shown off. We are going to Kingsville and we will play two games there. It's been awhile since we played last time so I am curious to see how things will work now, since we changed some things compared to last season. This is our first tournament, after this we have two more. I am the most excited for the last one, because we will play at home and it's just always special to play in front of your friends, family and professors. Also they always broadcast our home games for free, so my family gets to see me play as well. My mom can't wait, she gets excited. The home tournament will be special because Brenda and her girls are coming as well. Brenda is a lady that helps with the club I work for. One of her daughters is on the 14s team and the other one is on the 12s team. They are the cutest kids ever and I look at them as my younger sisters. Brenda is a very special person, if the was more people like her in the world it would be a better place! She is always smiling and glows with positive energy. For some reason she found me interesting when she met me and we started talking. I feel so safe around her and she is definitely someone I can rely on whatever and whenever I need something. I am so happy to have her! She is a short, blonde hair, pretty lady with the biggest heart and the nicest soul I've ever seen and I couldn’t be happier to have her as a part of my life. I see her as a friend and as a role model. It was just amazing to me how she accepted me from the beginning. She is so easy to talk to and just seeing her puts me in a good mood. I have only known her for a very short period, but I feel like I know her all my life. I see her as my family and she will always have special spot in my heart. Her kids are just adorable and I am so happy to have a chance to be around them. Being away from my family is very hard but spending a day with Brenda makes me feel like I have family here as well. Last time when I was with her I asked her to walk with me on my senior day. The last home game of the season is also known as senior day and seniors bring their families and they walk through the court together and receive some gifts that school is giving out for senior athletes. There is a very small possibility that my family comes for that day, maybe my mom, but even then I want Brenda by my side as well. I am so happy and thankful to have this amazing woman in my life, I love the way I feel around her it feels like I am home. I hope one day my parents will get to know her, I know my mom will be thrilled and excited.

Musaka and Novi Sad

Well, spring break is over friends, wish it was a little bit longer but you take what you get. My favorite part was the fact that I didn’t have to set up my alarm and that there was nothing to worry about. I even loved Monday it was just amazing. I woke up, made my coffee and breakfast, and started new TV shows. I just love TV shows but I don’t have time for them during the week. I watched a few episodes and headed to the beach with my teammates and few other friends. We came back the same day and spent the rest of the week being lazy by the pool. I wished the weather was nicer, but I still enjoyed it. It was so nice not having anything on my mind and just rest. I’ve been working out a little bit just so I would not feel bad about being lazy. Since I had plenty of time I was cooking plenty of Serbian food. It was about time, I missed it. I was checking recipes with my mom. I made Musaka, which is one of my favorite meals from back home. It is made out of potatoes and ground beef. Once you make a bottom from potatoes you cover it with ground beef and then cover it with potatoes again. Bake it in the oven for 45 min. Once it’s ready you mix two eggs and sour cream and cheese, pour it over and put back in the oven for few more minutes. My moms Musaka is the best and it’s the first meal she makes for me when I go home. Spring semester is going so fast to me and I will be going home soon. I am excited to finally see my family, friends, enjoy my town and eat some good Serbian food.

I really miss my hometown and I figured that I haven’t told you guys anything about it. It is called Novi Sad and it is second biggest town in Serbia also the capital of the province of Vojvodina and the administrative seat of the South Backa District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Backa and Srem regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruska Gora mountain.  Atop a riverside bluff stands Petrovaradin Fortress, much of it dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, with an iconic clock tower and a network of tunnels. Across the river is the old quarter, Stari Grad, site of the Gothic Revival Name of Mary Church and Neo-Renaissance City Hall. I just love this town and its gorgeous places. Everytime I go back there I have this flashback when I pass through certain places and streets.  

The fortress is one of my favorite places to go to just sit and think. It is so peaceful looking at Danube river and shiny bridge that connects old and new part of the city. 

One of the most beautiful parts of my town is its downtown. What makes it so pretty is the architecture and I will not even try to explain the beauty with words let me just show you some pictures.  

I am going to see this gorgeous city in fifty-three days and I couldn't be more excited. There is so many places that will bring back memories.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

Friend for Life

Living in another country teaches you so much and makes you realize different things.You learn about other peoples culture, food, music,art and just life in general. While going throughout this process you find out so many new things for example, at the beginning all you do is compare and a lot of situations and conversations that would end up shocking and render you speechless. Some of these aspects will eventually become normal and you will find yourself doing them however, the other ones will just never be a part of you and your life.

Being part of different cultures and going through the whole process of learning and adjusting actually teaches you so much more. I learned a lot about the Mexican culture as well as the American culture, ooh yes I did. It is just amazing how the lifestyle is different. But...this life journey I embarked on taught me so much more about myself, my priorities and the people that were part of me and my everyday life. Being away from family will never make them forget you and not care about you, but being away from people that you are not blood related surely will. I am 3481 miles / 5602.13 km / 3024.91 nautical miles far away from my hometown. Also, time difference between Serbia and the United States is 7 hours which makes communicating difficult sometimes.

I am a very extroverted,outgoing person which helps me make friends easily. So, when I came here it was not hard for me to adjust and find people to hang out with. Even though I now have a lot of friends here and they are part of my daily life, certain people from back home will never be replaced or forgotten no matter of how many times per year I see them. I have a lot of friends but not a lot of friendships. Friendship is such a huge word for me!! Friendship equals with family. I remember being a kid and my mom saying how it is better to have that one true and special friend than ten fake ones. Back then, I didn’t understand her point, but today I surely do! My blog today will be about my best friend forever. She is my other half. You know how best friends look alike, well we don’t. We are literally black and white, two worlds...She is short,skinny, long hair girl, quiet and shy. I am on the other side tall, not so skinny haha, short hair girl that never shuts up. We met through volleyball of course. She was the setter for the team that I was recruited for when I was about to join during my high school years. I remember my first practice, she was the first girl I talked to. I was all scared and lost and she found me weird and was not mistaken haha. Since day one, we were hanging out and people always found it weird because we were different. She is always by my side no matter what it is about, my partner in crime as well as my to-go-to person for advice. Even though she is shy and quiet, she is very outgoing and adventurous. We have been friends for seven years already and I am so proud of how far we came. It is very hard for me to open up to somebody and completely trust in them but she has proven to me so many times how special and honest she is. It’s been two years since I am in  the States and there was not a single day that we didn’t at least exchange a message. She is “my person” and I can’t wait to see her soon and dance it out listening to our jams! I know that the moment I meet her it will be like I never left and we will just continue where we last left of.I am so thankful to have her in my life and extremely proud of the unbreakable relationship and bond we have built. Distance,new entertainment and new people can’t break something true, honest and real. Now I definitely understand my mom's message that making a million friends is not a miracle. The miracle is to make a friend that will be there when no one is and stand right there next to you. In our case, we might not be able to stand next to each other when we need to, but I know she will always be there for me!!!