Montenegro Journal
A lot has happened since I came to Montenegro. Too much to write about. But here are some of the basics.
I have started a hostel
I have found some high school and university students to work for me.
I have had a Couchsurfing ambassador and his sister staying with me.
I have started a tourism website.
I have had two hostel guests here, both from Japan but one went to uni in the States.
Here are some "insights" and other thoughts
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Feelings can predict behavior. I thought of this when thinking about Checky who you can see in this video
Checky is working for me part-time and he sent me an email saying basically that he was feeling a little bored and unuseful one day at work. So I realized if he feels this way too much he will quit. So I thanked him for writing me and took his feelings seriuosly. I value him and I want to make sure he feels valued, as well as useful, helpful. And I will say that he also feels a little undeserving of the money I have paid him so far. To me he does definitely deserve it but because of his own self-esteem he feels a bit deserving and wants/needs to feel more deserving. So I will do what I can to help fill or meet this unmet emotional need..
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I have suffered from feeling alone for much of the past few years, but last night I literally had a house full of people here. Taylor helped me organize a Couchsurfing get together and about 15 people came. I felt very satisfied about how it went. Checky needed to talk to me alone for a while so I listened to him. Igor didn't come because of a family drama involving his cousin and an Iphone. This was a bit of a problem for me because Yumi from Japan gave him some money for a place to stay and she couldn't find it and everything was closed in the village so she came back here. Now at this moment I am worried that he might still be asleep when she wants to leave. But all in all things are going well here. Maya, a high school student who is working for me part-time, came over with her father who brought me a rolled up foam mattress and a folding army cot. I offered to pay them and they wouldn't accept anything. Igor also brought me some clothes the other day and a mouse for my laptop. Now I am adding lots of little details which I didn't intend to! ha ha. Thanks for reading. And for those of you who have cared about me or do care about me, thanks also. And for those of you who kept believing in me when I was going through very tough times, thank you too.
S. November 30, 2008
Podgorica, Montenegro
People here last night..
Checky, Brian, Marina, Maya, Ivana, Ivana, Jelena, Taylor, Megan, Mladen, his friend, Nicola, Vaso, Hannah from Australia, Andrew
(I might put links into all their Couchsurfing profiles if they have one after I ask them if it is ok.)
Igor is an 18 year old who lived most of his live in Canada, but his family is from Serbia/Montengro. He has been helping me with many things, like getting my heart checked out, and we spend a lot of time together. He is a lot like a male version of one of my best young friend ever, the famous or infamous Sarah.Sarah used to call me her hero and Igor now says he wants to get a t-shirt that says "WWSD", in other words, What would Steve do. ha ha. He is a good talker, like Sarah! But I also think there is a lot of truth in what he says in the sense that he does truly respect and admire me for how I live. I believe he is re-assessing his values and priorities. He has a very good heart and an almost limitless potential.