AGM 2008

AGM stands for Annual General Meetings, a time when the folks from the surrounding countries get together to talk, train, and relax. We stayed about an hour and a half outside of Budapest, Hungary, really in the country. All in all, it was pretty relaxing. Between meetings, we talked with new friends, played cards, and I even got in a couple of jogs (between rain storms) down the country roads. Talk about a view!



We had a great volunteer team from the states come in to serve us. I got to talk to an American doctor who has checked out my Czech doctor and the hospital about my knee and I even got a hair cut (finally!)! We also got to experience our first Lottie Moon auction. Different items are brought from surrounding countries and the US and we bid on them, much more than we would consider paying for them normally. For instance, Matt and two guys on our team "won" a 12 pack of A&W Rootbeer for exactly $450. Yep, you heard me, $450. I'm pretty sure that's, like, 200 times what it would cost at Walmart. It's okay, though, cause it's a fun way to give your offering to Lottie Moon.



The happy boy...

I also had a fierce bidding war in the silent auction for a baking basket, complete with chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and muffin mix. I lost in the end, but the gracious winner gave me the basket anyway. How sweet!





The of opening the "Mystery Box". It went for $3000 (an entire team pitched in) and was filled with a ridiculous amount of sweets and snacks from the US.

I also attended a fun cake decorating class and Matt received the fruit of my creative labor (not before I ate my fair share of icing, though.)





We didn't get a chance to see much of Budapest, as we were only in the city for a couple of hours before our train left, but we plan to return equipped our camera and a sight seeing plan. The trip was a day-long event. The ride there (to Hungary) was pretty good. The ride home (to Prague) was not so great. We woke up yesterday morning to find there was absolutely no water coming from the pipes. It turns out a pipe had burst in the small town where our water supply came from. No water = no shower. I decided I couldn't just do nothing so I put on my bathing suit and jumped in the *freezing* pool. (The temperature had only risen above 70 a couple of times last week and it had rained the night before.) It helped, but after seven hours on a train with no A/C, Matt and I were in desperate need of a shower when we arrived home late last night. In fact, I took a long shower last night and another one this morning for good measure. A picture will be coming soon of my new haircut, but only after I decide to put on some makeup... More to come!