Lots of Updates

Ok. So I have a bunch of stuff to talk about...but I will probably get bored and not write that many details. I don't know yet.

Fiona: I have heard (I'm not the first in the loop, for better info talk to my parents.) that she is doing great. The surgery went fine. As I understood it, there is still a little bit of the tumor there, but they are waiting for the lab results to see what they will do. Fiona is alert and remembering things, which is good because apparently a bad sign is short term memory loss, but she is all good for now. She is moved out of intensive care, but still in the hospital. So that is what I know from my last update.

The itty-bitty skaters that I think are better then me.

Skating: My skating lessons are super awesome amazing fun! I have had two lessons so far. It looks like I will be taking about two lessons a week. So, in my first lesson I learned to not fall, and how to stop. In my second lesson, I did a turn! And not just like 360 degrees, either. It was like 3 turns! Go me. When I finally did it, I got super excited, and then I got laughed at because apparently I'm funny when I'm acting like a 5 year old. Go figure.

Slovak: I am still learning (duh) and I think it is going pretty good.  I can remember a lot more now, and I'm having fun when my friends don't realize I know something, and I just say "I understand." Their faces: priceless.

an elf, me, a butcher, and a pirate

Halloween: So, sadly, there is no trick-or-treating here. But I think I had way more fun then any of my friends in USA. (na-na-nana-na!) So last night ( 10/30) I went out with a few friends from my dance class. We went to 2 places: the first was a bar and there was a band playing like alternative rock. They are friends with a few of the band members. So we listened to them for a while, then went to place number 2, Indians. They had a thing, where if you wore a costume, you got in free. So we were all dressed up, although my costume was a little lacking. I was just wearing a dress and heels, so they were going to make me pay, until we used the "she's an American and we are showing her stuff" excuse. So I got in free, and the guy told me "Welcome to Slovakia." Exchanges rock. So once in, it was a madhouse. We didn't get there until like 10:15, so it was already crowded. Everyone was in costume, and the dance floor was soooo packed. But it was super amazing. We spent the whole time there dancing. At one point, I got my butt grabbed...It turns out it was a guy that was friends with my friend, so she explained the whole "American" thing, and he apologized. But he said that he wouldn't do anything unless I wanted to. hahaha. Relax, nothing happened. =] I had to be home at 12 (boo.) but all my friends were staying until it closed, at like 3 or 4 am. So I left early, but I still had the best Halloween ever. =D

Fiona

My cousin, Fiona, is having surgery Thursday.

She has a brain tumor, but the doctors don't know what it is. They are removing it, and will have it biopsied. She has had 2 seizers because of this. Fiona is 14 months old. Please keep Fiona and her family in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through this time.

Thank you.

Finally =]

So I had my very first ice skating lesson yesterday. I had to be ready to leave a 7am...it was very early. I learned how to stop, which is very important, since my old method was to slow down and run into a wall gently to stop. But now I can stop without looking like I should be in a mental institute. I also learned how to look graceful (ish) when skating forward. And how to go backwards very slowly. My coach tried to teach me how to turn, but I'm failing at that...well, I can turn if I'm going like .0005 mph. But that's about it. I also forget to keep my back straight, and my knees bent, and my arms up...ballet didn't pay off. At all. But it's super fun, my next lesson is Wednesday.

I have a picture, but I'm being too lazy to connect my camera to get the pic, so you don't get to see it. I'll tell you about it, though. It's a pic of a little girl, probably about 3 to 5 years old. She was better at skating then I currently am. Sigh.

=D

I did a little happy dance today...

Because I'm awesome. Well, not really. (Actually, I am awesome, but that's not why I was happy-dancing.) I was happy-dancing because I finally got ice skates!!! Whoot whoot! Meaning, yes, that's right, I start my lessons tomorrow morning! (Yay!) at 8:00 am...but I have to be ready to leave at 7:00 am. (not-so-yay.) But I am super excited, it is going to be so much fun! More on skating later. =]

Not our table, but one like it.

Tonight I went to this really cool tea-shop-ish-place with Olivia. It was sweet. (hahaha, pun not intended, but still funny. =D) We sat on this carpeted elevated floor area that had a bunch of cushions, and we had a little tiona-sized table. (That's a table that is like a foot tall, for those of you that are confused right now.) We had to take off our shoes to sit down. The menu was like and entire book and inch and a half thick! There was tea from China, Japan, Tibet, India, South America...everywhere. Of course, I couldn't read the menu, but still. The tea was really good, and we stayed for like 2 hours. We were mostly gossiping and laughing at everything, but really, we're teenage girls. What else do we ever do? =] So it was a very fun night.

(Just Desserts)

This is gonna be completely random, and not in any order...just to warn you. I'm going to write of things as I think of them, so there might be some pretty odd connections  here...anyways.

School has been pretty normal, aka super boring.  The other day (I think it was yesterday...yea, it was yesterday.) I understood a little bit of what my English teacher was saying when she switched to Slovak. Meaning I understood when she said that what I had just said, after she asked for my opinion, was wrong. And that she was right when it came to British English. Yea, ok, whatever. But other things that happened in school...I have started taking random videos with Olivia between classes...they are quite hilarious. If you want the link, send me an email and I'll try to remember to give you the Youtube link. So that has given me something to do during school.

I am taking Slovak lessons from Babicka (my host grandma) and I think I'm learning more...So far I have learned the months, and days of the week, times of day (morning, noon, night, etc.), and sports stuff...So yea. I'm studying during school. Ish. I feel like I know a lot, until I try to talk in Slovak..then it's all like, "Wait, what's that word? How do I conjugate that?" But oh well.

Before...

My dance class is...AWESOME. We finished learning our tango. Olivia is teaching me the modern dance they have to the song "All The Right Moves". (They already knew it when I joined the class.) And our teacher said if I learn it, I can perform it with them. =] Now we are learning jive! So I had my iPod in class, and I was showing the girls some of my "American Music". They had never heard the song "Magic" (by B.o.B) and so I played that one for the teacher, too. Oh yea, I rock. We are jive-ing to "Magic" hahaha! Go me.

After =D

Rotary meeting are still pretty boring for me since I don't understand any of it. But the food is great. =] The District Governor for District 2240 was there last week. (Ok, technically this week, whatever.) But he was speaking in Czech, not Slovak, so it wasn't a big deal that Ernesto and I couldn't understand him. (Whew.) I was going to add some pics of the food on here, but it's not letting me...I'll add them later if I can.

Ok, so I guess this wasn't as random as I thought it would be (mostly thanks to parenthesis haha). Oh, and about skating: Since I don't have skates, it probably will be awhile before I start. But I have dance class, and I bike to Babicka, and tomorrow Ernesto and I are playing squash with a few Rotarians...so I'm not worried (much) about the "exchange student weight gain" haha.

Oh, and the title: If I could post the pics I wanted to, you would get it. =D ***As you can see, I now uploaded the pictures. These are all from Rotary meetings. Enjoy!***

I Was Right

Today started out ok-ish...but ended awesome.

I had to clean my room, which I don't mind, but I had help...let's just say: if you tell me everything I'm doing is wrong, but you don't tell me how to do it right, you're not helping. But I ended up cleaning alone (long story) so it was ok. Then Gregor and I went to Grandma's house. We had lunch (YUM) and then she taught me some more Slovak. We stayed and played and stuff for awhile.

Then tonight I went out with Ernesto and Barča. (She is one of the Rotarian's daughters.) We walked around downtown. Went to one place for pop, then went to another which was like a chocolate cafe! I got this thing-y that was like melted (still warm) white chocolate, with raspberries and whipped cream. In a word, Heaven. It was amazing. Then we went to Indian's, a bar/disco. It was crazy, and super fun! Barča's dad was there too. He was there with a friend, and we all ended up dancing together. Super crazy. But also very fun. I really want to go back next week, but probably stay later. But tonight I came home at like 11 because I hadn't asked how late I could stay, and I don't want to get in trouble. =] But yes, tonight was awesome-ness.

Oh, and if you want to know what I was right about, email me =]

Day 47

So I just want to say, I'm trying to learn the language. Really, I am.

But I still have to translate things. So when people talk to me, they forget that they have to wait. They don't have to say the words super slow, but they have to give me a minute to go over the sentence and translate it. Which no one does. I'm not at the point where I can think in Slovak yet! I still have to translate! Give me a chance people, I'm not a dumb as I sound. At least, until I got here I didn't think I was.

Dance class is still fun. And my friends are awesome. I'm excited for our movie day, Katka and Olivia! But the adults...I understand that the teachers can't take time to explain to the one exchange in the room. That's fine, I try to at least listen to the language, since I have no idea what the meaning is. But I wish the Rotarians here would try to help more. And by help, I don't mean lecture me on the fact that I'm not a prodigy when it comes to learning a new language. Yea, I can't talk. Yea, I'm trying to learn. Yea, telling me this doesn't help, it makes me want to not learn, so I don't have to understand all the things I'm doing wrong. But everyone: I AM TRYING. I'm doing the best that I can, so get over it.

Je Mi Zima

Today Gregor and I went to this really cool restaurant for lunch. We got pizza. And we each got our own pizza, and they were like 14 inch pizzas...but we both ate all of it! It was super good. I got 4 cheese pizza, and it also had some spices on it, I'm not sure what kind though. Anyways, the point of this...Slovak pizza is really good, and I was stuffed.

Then we all went to Andrea's cousin's house later today. We (Gregor and I) played this odd, and fun game, where you have 9 bowling pin-type-thingys, and there is a ball on a string, and you try to knock over the pins...it's kinda hard to explain...but it was fun. Then we ate soup that had sausage in it (I think...). After that Gregor and I went for a walk up to the "lake". hahaha. More like "oversized-pond", but he argued that it was a lake...ok...anyways. It was freezing, so I learned how to say "I am cold." in Slovak. (After I got corrected...apparently saying "Som zima." means "I'm winter." oops.) I was repeating it a bit (or, ya know, a lot...) so Gregor got mad and kicked me. But it was funny. And I deserved it, I know. When we got back, I found out we had to eat more! We had potato salad, and duck, and kapusta, and something that I don't remember the name of...but it was all really good. So now I don't need to eat for like 3 days...haha.

At home, Gregor and I watched "The Game Plan" in Slovak on tv. I can figure out a lot more. I only had to ask what they said 3 times. The rest of the time, I just guessed what they were saying. Sometimes I actually knew though. Yay me! And right now I found out that I can listen to football games online, thank you ESPN. You're awesome. Go Blue.

Circles =D

I love circles. ( I mean those traffic circles, or rotaries, or whatever they're called, by the way.) There is one (tiny and pointless) circle in Muskegon. Washington DC has some good ones (I'm still annoyed that Dad wouldn't drive around the donut one...grr.), but I don't get to go through those often (duh). Piešťany, however, has like a bazillion. And they aren't the itty-bitty Muskegon kind, either. Today, I was super excited, because I got to go through 2 circles...on a BUS. Oh, yea. It was awesome. =D

My entire grade went to Bratislava today. We had to take 3 buses. We went to this college-thingy. Basically, we were in a large room, with about 50 or 60 colleges in Czech and Slovakia there. People could go and ask questions, and get info, and brochures and stuff. It was like a job fair, only for college. I'm sure you're saying, "You must have been bored, and I bet you didn't talk to any of the colleges." Haha, you're wrong. Well, yes, it was boring. But I did get some info on the University of New York in Prague. It actually looks pretty cool, especially if I want to come back to Europe for college. All of the classes are in English, but I can take a Czech class there, too. (Like as a language course.) It offers an American 4-year Bachelors program, in a few different majors.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do for college, but the colleges I'm sort of interested in right now are: University of NY in Prague, University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University, and University of Notre Dame. But really, I have no clue what I want to study. I also think I'm going to look into some college in Arizona (Phoenix is awesome), and I might take a look at Butler University, just for you, Jack. =]

So, this started out about circles, but I got a little off topic...I just wanted you all to know my plans in the distant-ish future. =]

Cooking

I helped cook today =]

We made: rice, potatoes, carrot salad, cucumber salad, soup, chicken, stuffing, pork, and I think wild pig. Guess how many people we fed. Yupp, that's right. 4. Mhm. Only 4. (There's a bunch of leftovers.)

I made the carrot salad. Recipe: Take like 6 or so carrots. Peel. Use a cheese grater to grate the carrots. Add juice from one lemon. (About 2 Tbs?) Add enough brown sugar till it tastes right. Stir. It's really good, you should all try and make it now =]

I also was helping cut stuff, like the carrots and potatoes. And I tried to help cut the liver...but that didn't happen. The liver then went in the stuffing. I tried it, but I found out that I don't like liver.

So I tried a bit (or, ya know, a lot) of pretty much all of it...And all of it was good, except for the liver-stuffing. So I am now a stuffed chicken myself. This is why exchanges gain weight...we don't eat as unhealthy as I did in America, but I sure eat a lot more, because it's all so good! Thank you, Andrea, for letting me help out today =]

Figure Skating!

So today I got to skip my last class (English...I think I better find out what we did, I really need to pay attention in that class...), to go with Ernesto, Eva, and Monika to Bratislava to watch a figure skating competition. It was so much fun! There were about 15 skaters, all ages 15 to 17, I think. The final places: 1st, a girl from Japan (pictured), 2nd a girl from Italy, and 3rd, a girl from Sweden. It was ahmazing to watch.

After we got back to Piestany, Ernesto and I watched Monika's practice. She is sooooo good!!! I think in the entire practice (it was about 2 hours, I think) she only fell once! At least, only once that I saw. This girl is going to be famous one day.

So, on the subject of skating...I'm going to take lessons! I think I will start a week from tomorrow, depending on when we can find some skates for me to borrow that fit my ginormous feet...I might have to buy my own though. Don't worry, I'm just going to buy the cheap-y fun kind, not the uber-competitive kind. (Difference in price: 20 euros to 500 euros.) But I'm super excited! As some of you may know, I already know how to skate forwards, run into things, and fall. I hope to learn how to stop, turn, and skate backwards, but I'll be happy if I can just learn how to stop gracefully. =]