Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Hum the Tango (Seriously. Do it. Because that's the title of this post. I'm thinking like "do. da do. do. do. da da d-da, duh da da dada, hmm hmm hmm hmmmmmdo do do, da do." Or maybe with "bum"s [bum. ba bum. bum. bum. etc.] But not "la"s. I'm not feeling "la"s here.)

I had my first dance class today. There were four of us there, but there are normally 9. One of my friends from school invited me. It's technically a modern dance class, but tonight we learned how to tango! We are going to do a dance that is a tango with a modern twist. It should be a lot of fun. I really like the dance class =]

I think my title is almost as long as this post...haha too bad. =P

Oh, and I wanna give a shout out to my awesome AUNT GEN!!! Thanks so much for commenting on all of my posts, it means a lot. You're the best, Aunt Gen! =]

Friday, September 24, 2010

I Got a Package! & Gym Class

I Got a Package!:

I got a package, I got a package, I got a package, hey hey hey hey. =D
(Yes, I was actually singing. Be glad no one heard.)
I'm super excited! This package had good timing. =] I got: a sweatshirt from home (it smells like my house, so I probably look really weird right now, I'm sniffing it like I'm addicted to something...but I digress), little American flags, my nail stuff, chapstick, my favorite kind of tea, cornbread mix, and RAMEN NOODLES!!! I am a happy camper. =] Oh, and a note from Mom. Thank you =]

Gym Class:

Today it was awesome! Steer clear! It's a rollerblading American! And she can't steer! (hahaha) We went rollerblading, and since there were only four of us, we stopped and out teacher bought us pop. =] I had to borrow some, and the ones I was wearing didn't have a brake-thingy, so um...I'm sure I looked...interesting. It was really funny. But after a little while, I had to switch with our teacher, and she bladed while I rode her bike, because the rollerblades were a little to thin for my ginormously wide feet. But later we switched back and it was all good. It was a very fun gym class, Mrs. Rizley should let us do this sometime. =]

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Serious Post, For Once

For those of you that don't know, my dad has prostate cancer.

Yesterday he had surgery to have his prostate removed. Everything is looking good, he's doing fine. The doctors sent in lymph nodes for testing, just to make sure they got it all. But Dad looks good.

His surgery took place at around 8 am eastern time, so 2 pm for me. I found out the time of his surgery at about...1 pm here. I found out by reading my brother's Facebook status. Yes, my mom forgot to tell me. She claims it was to keep me from worrying, but really, she just forgot. (Ok, so that was probably the original plan, to keep me from worrying, but in that plan, I still have to be told eventually...) Anyways. My dad is doing fine, and I've finally stopped freaking out about it. (About the surgery, and the fact that I didn't know about the surgery, that is.)

But please keep my dad in your thoughts. Thanks

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

It Smells Like Home

Yes, for those of you who think like I do...I was in a McDonald's today. =D
Back up. I went with Ernesto, Monika and Roman (My second host family) to Bratislava this afternoon. Monika had to be there for a press conference, because she's an amazingly good ice skater. After it, we went to the mall (I only got shoes and jeans for me, and a gift for a friend). Then we went to Micky D's! I got laughed at. A lot. By everyone. Even the staff laughed at me. I don't care. It was fun. And yes, all McDonald's smell and taste the same. =] It was sooooo good. Especially since I knew what exactly I was eating without having to ask.
And yes, I have pics. But I'm too lazy to upload them right now =P

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

This is Quality Spinach

Today I had to walk to my Rotary meeting. I wasn't quite sure of the way, but Andrea gave me directions, and she said it would take about 20 minutes to get there. So I left early, giving myself 35 minutes to get there.
40 minutes later...I arrived =] So I was only a little late. Because I only got a little lost. Her directions were to take all roads, but somehow I ended up in the park...It all worked out in the end. =]
Ernesto and I talked the whole meeting. We were comparing pins on our jackets, and talking about other random stuff. For dinner we had chicken and spinach and potatoes. The potatoes were good. Do you know those frozen dinners that are like chicken cordon bleu? And they have like ham and cheese in chicken? It was like that, except this wasn't a cheap frozen dinner. So it was chicken filled with blue cheese. I didn't realize that until about bite number three, and then I decided I wasn't very hungry. Until I realized what it was, I just thought it was some funky chicken. No, it was nasty cheese. Anyways. I ate the potatoes and spinach, so I'm not hungry or anything.
Note on the title of this: Yes, I actually thought that. When I tried the spinach, the little voice in my head told me, "This is quality spinach." I have no clue why I thought that, but I found it funny so I'm sharing it with you. =]

Monday, September 20, 2010

Strecno!

So yesterday I got back from an awesome weekend in Strecno, Slovakia. It is a city in the north-ish, near Zilina.

On Friday, Karol Ambra drove Ernesto and I to Martin (a city near Strecno.) Ernesto is the other exchange in Piestany, if I haven't mentioned that before. Anyway. We had to go to get a medical check-up type thingy. Basically, they drew blood and got chest x-rays from both of us. This is for our visas, so we didn't really have a choice. It was super nasty outside (aka it was raining), so we couldn't do much. We had planned on going to an outdoor museum thingy, but we couldn't because of the weather. Instead, we went to an indoor museum. It had an exhibit about Slovakia during ancient times, and there was an exhibit on the different traditional clothes from different areas in Slovakia.

We met up with 3 inbounds from Bratislava, who were also getting the medical thingy. We all went to lunch together, and I think it took about 2 hours, because we were messing around so much. We ordered ice cream that came in little plastic animals. I got a penguin that had a toupee, so I named him Donald =] The other animals were: a bear, a cow, and an elephant. (Pedobear, Old Spice Guy, and the Grapeist, respectively.)

After lunch, we all drove to Strecno, but we were there super early. So early that our rooms weren't ready. So we went on a hike around the town, and to a memorial for something. I don't remember exactly what, but something to do with a group of French soldiers helping Slovakia somehow. I don't know the specifics. It was really pretty, we could see the entire town =]

Then when we got back, we met with the other inbounds. There are about 50 of us, from all over. There are 18 Americans, like 12 Brasilians, and 7 Mexicans. There were also a few kids from Canada, Thiland, Taiwan...maybe other countries, but I don't know which. We all talked and compared experiences. We listened to a few presentations. When we were all in our rooms that night, they taped the doors shut so they would know if we left our room. My roommate was from Flordia, and she is staying in the Czech Republic, but I don't know which city.

Saturday morning, we had to listen to more presentations. I had heard most of them before at 6290 conferences. We had lunch, then hiked up to Strecno Castle. It was ahmazing. First, on the walk there, the Brasilians and Mexicans were singing quite loudly. All the songs were in Spanish or Portuguese, so I have no idea what they were singing about, but they were definitely enthused. When we finally got up to the castle, we all took a bunch of pictures. Then we went on a tour of the castle. Strecno Castle is one of the very few castles in Slovakia that has been restored, so that made it even more gorgeous. The tour took most of the afternoon.

When we got back, we had more presentations to listen to. Then we were divided into small groups. In my group, 2 Rotarians and 2 Rotex talked to us individually. They asked us a bunch of questions, about how we were adjusting and such. Then they asked if we had any questions, and the only thing I asked was why they don't use textbooks in school. (Answer: It's too expensive to buy them, and the teachers can just as easily teach without them.)

Then all us kids were talking in the main room, and someone turned on music, so it morphed into a dance. It was super fun, I learned a Mexican line dance =] We were all having a super fun time (I really need some new adjectives, don't I? Too bad.), so curfew was extended from 11:00 to 12:00. Once again, we were taped in our rooms. (About the picture: Yes, that is from the dance. Yes, we were doing the Macarena. Yes, I'm the one on the right derp-ing. Sigh.)

Sunday morning, we had breakfast and then a little good-bye, thanks for coming and following the rules, good luck speech. After that everyone went home. I slept about half of the way home (it was an hour and a half drive, I think), and then when I got back, I unpacked and took a 4 hour nap.

I made a bunch of new friends. Facebook is a wonderful thing. =]  So, in all ways, this weekend was a success.

I want to say thanks to Teague and Jenn, you helped make this weekend great for me. And yes, I will eventually watch The Hangover with you both. =]

Thursday, September 16, 2010

2 posts, 1 day

Yea. Second post of the day. I'm just awesome like that. ;]
Or, ya know, I have more crap to talk about...
I went to the movies with some of my new friends (go me!). We saw Step Up 3, and I got laughed at cuz I did a little happy dance when it started...in English!!! Weeeeew! Anyways...I thought it was a good movie, cheesy, but I expected it to be. On the way home (walking, of course) we were dancing and laughing and it was fun. I showed my dance to "Evacuate the Dancefloor" and one of my friends did a dance to "All the Right Moves". Good times...she invited me to go to dance class with her. I'm excited! I still have to ask, which I will do once all the angst about the conference is done.
Oh, yea. My first inbound conference is starting tomorrow. I will write more after it, but I'm not taking my laptop. I will keep awesome notes in my journal, though. =] Cuz I know how much my writing interests you all...hmm, I'm guessing not much. Haha, just kidding. Check back Monday or Tuesday, I'll try to write then. =]

Mail Time

So, I'm just gonna say...I love getting mail. It makes me feel important. (I was gonna say special, but I really don't wanna give people even more reason to make "special" jokes about me...)
So far, I have received 3 letters. Ish. One from my dad, but it was only documents that I needed, and he didn't even write me a note...tsk tsk. (I love you, Daddy =] ) The second was more documents I needed from my dad, but this time he took and extra 30 seconds to write a note....that it took me 5 minutes to decipher...hahaha. And today I got a letter from my Grandmother. Thank you, Gram. Although now I'm thinking I should start wearing my glasses when I open mail...
That's all, folks!

P.S. Ok, thank you. Yes, you do have peanut butter in Slovakia. I get it. I was wrong. But it is not common, and my host family hadn't tried it, so I (wrongly, apparently) assumed that there wasn't peanut butter here. Also, because several people who went to Slovakia on exchange said there was no PB...anyways. Ok, there is PB. I'm sorry that I was wrongly informed about that, but I got it now. =] No need to keep bringing that up...Byes!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Best Friday Ever!

Holy wow. Yesterday was awesome.
So I meant to post this last night, but I was really tired, and, let's face it, lazy, so I didn't. Anyways...
Yesterday, school was good. More people talked to me, and I had two English classes. They are super-duper hilarious! It's so funny, the fact that they learn British English here. So I laugh at some of the terms (hoover = vacuum LOL) and I laugh at some of the accents...so it's a very good class for me. After school, one of my new friends invited me to a concert that night.
I only had to walk for 15 minutes to go to a concert! My mind was blown by this fact. There were 6 of us together. We went to a rock concert. The first band we saw, was a Slovak rock band. I liked them, but I don't know their name. We ended up working our way to about the 4th row in front of the stage. It was so cool.
The next band was a Slovak ska band. They were ah-mazing. I was laughing to myself, remembering the time Mr. H told us about his band, and how they picked the wrong genre of music to make it big. Apparently they picked the right genre, just the wrong country. The ska band, Polamy (I think that was the name...) is hugely popular here. We worked our way to the very front! We rocked out right in front of the trombone, sax, and trumpet players. It was like the funnest thing I've done here yet. (I used some great grammer there, huh?)

This morning, I was ecstatic to find out my laptop's fixed!!! ( Did you notice all of the wondiferous apostrophes?) My laptop, it turns out, had my anti-virus, Kaspersky, making it very slow, and also it had a virus. So we ditched the Kaspersky and fixed the virus, and now I'm all set! Whoot whoot!!! I have a few new thingys to work out with my laptop right now, though, so if I don't reply to emails or comments or stuff right away, I'm sorry. But I'll try =]

Thursday, September 9, 2010

OMG

Holy wow. Gym is...a different experience.
So far I have had two gym classes. After the first, I thought "Ok, I am a little sore, but I will be fine. Even though we spent the whole 45 minutes running in the park, and stretching in between different kinds of running, I will be fine. My friends said that today was an unusual class, usually we just warm up and then play games, like volleyball. I can handle that. No problem." Ha. How wrong I was...
That was two days ago. Yesterday, I walked to school (for my three classes of the day, Wednesdays rock!) and I felt a little sore. Then I got to school. And walked to my classroom. On the third floor. All stairs. My legs felt like jelly. If that was not bad enough, I was then told that our class was on the second floor. So back down we went. Ugh. I almost died. At least I was only at school for a few hours, then I came home and lounged about all day. Ahhh...so lovely.
You know how they say when you are sore, the second day is worse? So, very sadly, true. Made worse by the fact that I had gym first thing this morning. At least we were in the actual gym today, as it was raining. But we did more running. Then we messed around with volleyball, and I am happy to report that I did not forget all my volleyball training, so I was not the worst one. I think I was one of the better ones, but hard to say.

Oh, that is another thing about gym class. Boys and girls are seperated. So while we were running, the boys got to play soccer. And most of the girls have "conditions" that make them unable to participate in gym class. Right, I am sure they do. So, we should have about 20 or 25 girls in my class. Today, we had eight. The first day, there were four of us. It is crazy. Although I am happy to report that I do not think I have gained any weight...yet. And if gym keeps being this crazy running torture, I might actually lose weight. Which would be a plus. Because the food here is so delicious, if I did not do any kind of workout, I would come back to America weighing close to 400 pounds. At least, that is what I guesstimate it would be...hahaha.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Rotary!

I went to my first Rotary meeting in Piešťany today. It was very different.
There were thirteen people there, including me. I was the only kid, and also the only girl. We were in a small conference room at a hotel. The meeting started at 7:00 pm. When I got there, I was introduced, and then Karol Ambra talked a little about Ernesto, the other inbound who is not here yet. (He should be here soon, I am very excited to meet him!) Then we had soup. I think it was some form of cabbage and lettuce, but I am not totally sure...It was good though. Then more things were discussed. I have no idea what they were talking about. Then we had the main meal, fish and potato salad, maybe? Then more talking. Then dessert, mmmmm. Chocolate cake. Yum. Then even more talking, and that was it.

It was way different than Fremont Rotary. There was no singing, no socializing, no funny fines, no presentation...so no whispering during the presentation (ahem, Dad. hahaha). Not only did we eat three seperate courses for dinner, they were served to us. Yes, we actually had a waitress. It seemed like guests were not allowed, so maybe you have to be a Rotarian to go to Rotary meetings here? I am not quite sure, but if that is the case, I do not agree with that policy. I believe that anyone should be allowed to go to Rotary, is not the whole point of Rotary to get people more involved with other people and the world around them? If all Rotary meetings were closed meetings, Rotary would not be able to get nearly as much done in the world as it does. I could be wrong about the Rotary Club of Piešťany, but I still stand by the fact that guests should be allowed to attend Rotary meetings.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Walking is Tiring

School is better. I have made some friends. Today we were fundraising around the city for cancer research. At least, I think that is what it was for...anyways. I was with two girls from my class, and we walked all over Piešťany. It was fun, but we probably walked a little over 10 miles.
At home, I had to walk to the store with Gregor to get shoes for the house. I need lots and lots of shoes here...I like it. =] Then Gregor and I walked to Babička house. (Babička is grandma.) It was about a mile and a half or two miles. I had my Slovak lesson for the day. So far she has taught me: things in the kitchen, veggies, fruits, chess, body parts (eyes, nose, hands, etc.). I might be forgetting stuff, but that is all I remember off the top of my head.
Then we went to the gorcery store. Ok, before I tell you this little story, I have to give some background info. Here, when shopping, you have to pay for a cart. The carts have a chain-thingy connecting them, and you put a euro in, which releases a cart. Ok. So Gregor asked if I knew what to do with the euro, and I said yes, but that we did not pay for carts in America. He was blown away. He did not believe me at first, and it was hilarious. Just thought people would find that amusing. =]

Thursday, September 2, 2010

School

Today was my first day of school. It turns out my class is going to Italy for a few days, so tomorrow until Tuesday I have to go to a different class, but I do not know which one. There are about 20 kids in my class. Only 4 girls said hi to me. 2 of them showed me around a little, but everyone else, including the girl who sat right next to me, ignored me. I could not understand a thing the teacher was saying. There were some announcements, I could not understand those either. The other kids do not speak very good English. I do not like school.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Say What???

Whoops, I forgot to mention this.
They do not have PEANUT BUTTER in Slovakia. OMG.
So, I brought some. And last night, I made PB and banana sandwiches for myself and Gregor. He loved it. (How can he not? Its peanut butter. Haha.) So he made me make PB and banana sandwiches for his parents for breakfast this morning. Andrea said it was too sweet. I am not really clear on if Peter liked it or not (minor language barrier, being that he does not speak English and I do not speak Slovak. Yet.), but I think he did...
But I digress. My point here: I did not realize that peanut butter is an "American food". I thought America did not really have its own food, just McDonalds. But hey, we do! Go us. =)

Lalala.

Ok, just a really quick update:
Everything is going good. I miss people from home, but that is to be expected. I am still not using my laptop, hence no contractions, because I do not know where the apostrophe key is...anyways.
The family went to the mall in Bratislava today. It was fun. I got my "school shoes". (Do not ask...)
Tomorrow is my first day of school! Eeek! Haha. Andrea and Karol Ambra are going with me. I think. I do not know how long they are staying at school though.
I do not know when I will next be able to post, but I hope my next post will be from my laptop, I really miss apostrophes...haha.
Thanks to everyone that is reading this. I really love my 15 followers, thanks for taking the time to let me know you are reading. =)