Oh, the happiness of drinking...

What better to do when you're busy with your thesis than to spend a Tuesday night with two Danish KFOR soldiers (who you thought were never going to call because you made a perfect arse of yourself when you met them) in the tempting bars of Salonika? My two new friends respectively from the South of Denmark and the East had a couple of hours off when they came here to pick up cleaning stuff for their Danish friends in Kosovo, and they decided to invite me out. First though, they followed me to watch my woman, Yasemin, do her much talked about Afro-Brazilian dance performance which we all enjoyed. A perfect sunny eve to watch Brazilian lovelies capoeira away and Yasemin and her friends shake their thang to the sound of drums.

I have been blessed with encounters these past months; I have been given the opportunity to make unlikely friends and meet remarkable people. These two Danes are no exception. Even though I was close to dying yesterday from the hangover this night incurred, I had a warm and fuzzy feelings about being in this place and having these rendez-vous with people I would never have befriended under 'normal' circumstances. Again, I feel thankful.

What is more, I have the unbelievable joy of welcoming my mother to Salonika next weekend! She is arriving the day after I have to submit the first draft of my thesis to my supervisor, and I'm counting on a few days total relaxation and coffee drinking while soaking up some gentle mamma-love. Who is luckier than me?!