The Year of 2009

For Emily and Nils Bergeson, 2009 provided one of the most adventuresome and fulfilling years in living memory. Moving across an ocean, beginning a new career, learning of a new addition to their family, and several other adventures all over the world add up to an entertaining 2009. Read on to learn more about how the Bergeson family spent their last year in this exhaustive recap of the 2009:

As 2008 came to a close, Emily and Nils found themselves spending Christmas high in the Carpathian mountain resort town of Predeal. Christmas day was spent giving skiing instruction to Romanian children who had come from all over the country to spend their holiday on the slopes. At this time, the Bergesons had been living in Romania for nearly 10 months, having completed nearly half of their period of service as volunteers with the United States Peace Corps.

As the new year approached and the ski camp ended, Nils and Emily headed for Bucharest to catch a train to Istanbul, where they planned to welcome the new year after the manner of the Turks. As they approached the ticket window to secure their passage, they were dismayed to learn that a number of mis-communications from earlier ticket agents meant that they would be unable to travel to Turkey. Not to be disheartened by the need for flexibility, Nils and Emily improvised. They visited the beautiful Romanian cities of Sibiu and Brasov, then returned to Bucharest where they officially rang in 2009.

Returning to their host city of Bralia, Nils and Emily got back to work. Nils' primary project, a youth extra-curricular civic education group, aptly named “The Youth Vision for Democracy,” was well underway. Every other week, youth from the city would gather and be trained on how to be more active and contributive participants in their community. Together they planned service projects, held trainings, and enjoyed many other fun activities together.

Emily not only helped Nils in his work with the youth, she had her own projects with her assigned organization, the Center for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development. Emily helped in revamping their website, hosted a number of trainings and assessments, and helped in any other way she could. In addition, Emily worked hard in putting together a book, “Romengleaza,” which was a Romanian/English dictionary and phrasebook. Not only did she write, design, and organize the nearly 300-page-book and it's cover, she recorded and edited an audio version of the book as well. All proceeds from the sale of the books and CDs went to fund the Youth Vision for Democracy. Not many Peace Corps volunteers end up becoming a published author in their time of service.

In late January, Nils was fortunate enough to enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC. Along the way, he had a stop-over in Madrid, and was able to visit Spain's capital for the first time. The purpose of his trip was for a job interview with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Nils had long been eying a career in the Foreign Service, specifically with USAID, and was surprised to be invited for an interview months earlier than he expected. During his trip, he was able to find a few days to sneak over to Utah and visit his family, as well as spending time with his brother- and sister-in-law and their three children in DC. The interview was a success, and in February he was given a conditional offer. Thus began the long wait for medical and security clearances to come through.

Knowing their time in Romania was limited, Nils and Emily sought to complete as many projects as they could. One project was done in conjunction with the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Romania Bucharest Mission covers all of Romania and Moldova, with over 100 full-time missionaries, mostly from the United States and Canada, spread throughout the two countries. Calling on his experience as a missionary in Russia, Nils helped design and organize a mission-wide English teaching program. Emily contributed to the project as well, which ended up providing a number of trainings, as well as a manual for use throughout the mission. They were able to travel to Arad, Brasov, Bucharest, and Chisinau, Moldova to help present the project to the missionaries. Nils and Emily felt privileged to be part of a project which not only helped provide a service to the Romanian people, but helped support the small Mormon community in Romania as well.

In addition to completing as many projects as possible, Nils and Emily tried to take advantage of the relatively cheap travel in the region to visit places they hadn't before. In April, they were visited by Peter, Nils' youngest brother, who had been studying abroad for a year in Germany. After a few days in Sinaia, a quaint Carpathian village, they finally took the long-anticipated train south to Turkey.

Nils, Emily, Pete, and fellow Peace Corps volunteer Cynthia Yeh, spent the next four days in Istanbul. The ancient and historically relevant city was full of endless excitement for the travelers. Of course, the famous sights, such as the massive Hagia Sofia mosque, and the Sultan's Palace, were wonderful to visit. They also enjoyed traveling across the Bosporus to Asian Turkey, walking along the boardwalks of Istanbul, and eating plenty of inexpensive and abundant kebab.

Continuing their journey, the group hopped a train for Thessaloniki, Greece. Another beautiful historic city on the Aegean, the Greek city was well worth the visit. Besides being caught in a massive downpour, their time in Thessaloniki was fascinating, and the Greek food, carefully selected thanks to Nils' Greco-expert of a cousin Tyler, was well worth the price.

For the travelers' final day in Greece, they rented a car to drive south to the monasteries of Meteora. These amazing structures, perched high atop rock outcroppings in central Greece, provided fantastic views and a chance to really ponder the significance of life. Staring out across the panorama, Nils and Pete discussed how they could think of no better place for one who has dedicated their life to exploring the mysteries of Godliness to live in pensive solitude. They were also able to hike along a portion of Mount Olympus, and enjoyed a crowing Greek experience as they were forced to wait for several minutes as a shepherd led an enormous flock of goats across the road.

The four wanders left Greece and arrived early the next morning in Sophia, Bulgaria. By now they were very weary from their travels, and spent a good portion of the day sleeping in a park. Nevertheless, Sophia provided a number of historically significant points of interest. They also saw the government buildings situated in Bulgaria's capital. Leaving that evening for Bucharest, the companions arrived in Romania the next morning. They were able to enjoy a decent a night's sleep after negotiating with the conductor for discounted couchettes.

As if Nils and Emily hadn't traveled enough, they decided that May's arrival of Emily's younger sister, Ellen, provided the perfect excuse to see more in the region. Thanks to the budget airlines of Europe, they flew from Bucharest to Venice, Italy. A few days in the city famous for romance was wonderful indeed. One can truly wander the streets of Venice for hours and find something of interest around every corner without needing to spend a cent.

Continuing through Italy, the three traveled by train to Rome, with a stop over for a few hours in Bologna. In Rome, they were happy to again be joined by Nils' brother Pete, who celebrated his birthday in Italy's capital. Each of their three days spent in Rome had a different “theme.” The first day was spent seeing the archaeologically preserved sites of ancient Rome, including the Colosseum. The second day was dedicated to Catholic Rome, and was spent primarily in the Vatican. Sites included St. Peter's Basilica, the Tombs of the Popes, and the Sistine Chapel. The final day was spent visiting modern Rome, including the government buildings, as well as catching up on other sites we hadn't seen in the days prior. We arrived in Rome just as the movie “Angels and Demons” was released, and were able to see all of the significant sculptures which played a part in the story's plot.

After Rome, Nils and Pete returned to their respective European nations, but Emily and Ellen hadn't had enough. The sisters traveled on to Florence and Pisa, where they stayed near the world-renowned leaning tower. They then flew on to Paris, where they spent the next few days visiting the sites around the French capital. It was the first time either had been to Paris, or France for that matter. They both returned to Romania tired from their journey, but satisfied at having seen so much.

After returning from Italy and France, Nils and Emily received wonderful news. It began as Nils got the sneaking suspicion that something had changed about Emily. He suggested that she might be pregnant, but she was unsure. Determined to know if his hunch was correct, Nils stopped at a local pharmacy, and purchased a pregnancy test. It came out positive! Nils and Emily were going to have a baby!

Ellen remained with the Bergesons in Romania until early June. Before she left, they were able to throw in a few quick day-trips in Romania, including a Saturday spent in the Black Sea port of Constanta, and another weekend in the Medieval Carpathian village of Sigisoara. They hiked through the hills overlooking the ancient castles of the city, and again were caught in a summer rain, this time complete with lighting. It was a memorable experience however, and Nils and Emily were sad to see Ellen leave.

After seeing her off in Bucharest, the Bergesons returned to Braila only to immediately turn around and go back to Brasov, to host a training camp which concluded the Youth Vision of Democracy program for 2008-2009. About 10 youth from Braila spent two days hiking in the mountains (carefully avoiding bears) and being trained in leadership skills.

As they were returning back to Braila to get things organized for the summer, Nils received an e-mail he had been waiting for. He was to report to Washington, DC by July 20th for work. This left the Bergesons with less than a month to finish up their projects, pack up all of their belongings, say goodbye to friends, fly to the United States (specifically to Utah, where all of their stuff was), arrange the move to DC, drive across the United States, and get settled in.

Nils and Emily said goodbye to their Romanian friends, sad to be leaving a few months earlier than they had previously expected, but excited to begin their new adventures. They successfully managed the move, even having a few days to stay with Nils' family in Utah, and being able to stop and visit Emily's family in Kansas for a few more. They arrived in Vienna, Virginia, their new home town, on July 16th.

Nils spent his first five weeks of work in orientation. He was sworn-in as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer on his first day, then had to wait five full weeks to learn where their first country of assignment would be. Just before leaving Romania, Emily had shared an impression with him. “I think we're going to move to South America next.” It was an interesting thought, but there was really no way to say where they might end up in the year to come.

As the orientation ended, they were happy to learn that they would indeed be headed to South America for the next two years. More specifically, Nils would be working from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. In November, he began six months of intensive Spanish language training. The Bergesons expect to depart for Bogota sometime in the summer of 2010.

In September, Nils and Emily learned that their growing baby is a girl! For now, they plan to name her Jane Vera. She is expected to come on or around February 18th. As the time grows ever nearer, Nils and Emily are becoming more and more excited for their baby to come.

The last few months of 2009 were enjoyable, yet busy. Nils stays occupied with work and Spanish everyday, and Emily has worked most days as a sign-language interpreter. They managed to find time to make a few quick getaways to South Carolina, Shenandoah National Park, Harper's Ferry, and New York City. Emily was able to get back to Kansas for a couple of weeks in November to spend time with her family as well.

All and all, 2009 has been an adventurous and full year for Nils and Emily. If you successfully made it to the conclusion of this recap, then you are commended for your stamina. They wish you and yours all the best in this New Year!

Here's looking forward to the adventures 2010 will bring, including a baby girl and yet another intercontinental move! Start planning your trips to South America now, as the Bergesons hope to see you all in Bogota!