Unexpected

Every week looks different for us here. Monotony is not something I have to grow accustom to. I should be thankful for that, right?! Well this week has fit in that unpredictable category quite nicely.

I started back with the English story hour this week, with a twist. I decided that it would be better to change locations for a couple of reasons. So, we held it at a local Igroteka (play place for kids) in the center of town. We passed out fliers to 3 of the 4 preschools in town plus sent about 25 text messages to moms who have come in the past at one time or another. The past few months we have only averaged 5-6 kids and winter (all 5 months of it) is typically a down period.

BUT....25 kids and their moms came! Whoa, it was a little crazy, but good. Unexpected. I think we'll continue it this way for a few months to see how it goes.
After that I started planning the next event- -the monthly cooking class. This usually draws the most people of anything we do at our club. I mean, who doesn't love to eat? The question should be....who doesn't like to try new things? The answer would be....most Macedonians. We had our first Chinese cooking night with chicken stir fry and almond cookies (sounded good to me). BUT....we only had 10 people show up (granted, it was snowing). I had planned for at least 30. Ha! Unexpected.

So...this week I started to have some tooth pain along with the cold and ear infections I already had. I hadn't been to a dentist in a while (I'm not going to tell you how long). I went last night to a clinic I knew was clean and respected. I didn't know it when I made the appointment, but it turns out one of my good friends is good friends with the dentist. Verski....(relationships) are so important here. Ha! But even that couldn't have helped me to avoid the unexpected turn of events that unfolded in that dentist chair. It did however help me at the end when I paid (about 6 dollars).

So, I had learned all the Macedonian dental words (at least most of them) earlier that day. Though I was pretty scared (ok, really scared), I was ready to face the fear to get rid of the pain and a visit was just LONG overdue. Well, she quickly looked at all of my teeth and just as quickly told me what were my 2 problem areas (I already knew). Without pausing or asking questions, she started working (with drills and without anesthesia)....Long story a little shorter....a crazy amount of pain and 10 minutes which seemed like an eternity later and she was sending me on my way.

I understood all the words she said, but I still wasn't quite sure what procedure had just taken place. She kept saying we needed to kill the tooth. By the pain I had just gone through, I was pretty sure she had accomplished her goal. I went home and googled it and sure enough it looks like it was a root canal. HA! This dentist doesn't think you need to use anesthesia for reasons she explained that made sense in my head, but tell that to my nerves! I have to go back on Monday to fill that tooth and get a filling in the other one. I'm still debating whether I'll go to Skopje to a dentist I know will use the drugs...

I just keep thinking, life in a different country is for sure never dull and always full of the unexpected...