Do I Get a Name Day Too?

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans!

So as I was walking to dance today, I was thinking. Whenever I hear a little kid talking in Slovak, I always feel like they are really smart at first. Like, "Wow, they can already speak a foreign language." And then I remember...no they can't. They can only speak their language. It is still a funny feeling though, having 4 years olds use words that I don't know. I can honestly say that is a first.

School today was boring as usual. But it was slightly worse, knowing all my friends in Michigan had the day off...and have been (slightly) rubbing my face in that...thanks, guys. haha, I'm kidding. I'm only complaining because everyone has something to do with Thanksgiving on their Facebook...but it's ok.

Tonight I got to see Lucnica, only the most awesome thing ever! It is a Slovak Folk dance group. And it was amazing. Seriously, if you ever get the chance to see this, do it. It was sooo cool. But I couldn't take pictures, so too bad for you all. (:

So Predictable

Last night I went to see the Russian National Ballet (or something like that. I'm not really sure.) with Andrea, Gregor, and Babicka. It was really fun.

We didn't see any specific ballet, it was a gala thingy, or something like that. (As you notice, I'm not so good with the details. I do have a lot of pictures, though.) We saw parts from The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, (I think) Giselle, and a few others that I don't know.

I was very happy with what they showed from the Nutcracker, namely the Russian dance. If you aren't familiar with it, it is the part in the Nutcracker where they are in the Land of Sweets. There are 4 dances, the Chinese Tea, Spanish Chocolate, Arabian Coffee, and Russian Candy Canes. (I have also seen it with French something, but I don't remember what it was. All I remember is that they started playing the wrong music for the Frenchies, so after their dance, we think they got mad because we didn't see the French when the rest of the dancers had a dance together. [This was a few years ago when I saw the Moscow Ballet.] But I digress.) Anyways, I love the Russian dance because the male part has these amazing jumps that he does for almost the entire dance. It's really cool to watch. And amazing to see how high they can jump! Also, I remember thinking as the male dancer came onstage, "Finally, he has on proper trousers." I think the British English-English class is getting to me. Although I do still giggle when someone calls them "trousers", so I don't know what the voice in my head was thinking (maybe it wanted me to laugh? I try not to listen to its suggestions, the last time I did, I ended up naming my penguin Carlos.) But I know that I was glad he was wearing real pants and a shirt, not the white tights and midriff shirts the other male dancers were wearing...I will never understand why they don't wear longer shirts. The current "male ballerina" (male ballet dancer?) look is not a good look. It's just not.

Swan Lake-The Swan That Refuses to Die for At
Least 27 Minutes(Or So it Seems)

I have a lot of pictures, but they are really blurry because I didn't set my camera on "sport" or whatever to take motion pictures. But I have a video of most of the finale, it's pretty sweet. If you want the link, comment for it, because I don't want this to just turn into a video diary, and I'm not sure if you are all interested in watching the ballet(:

After the performance, when we were walking out, I saw two little girls in the lobby. They were about 7 years old, and as I watched, one started running, with an almost comically intent expression on her face. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, "I bet she's gonna jump." And lo and behold, she did her version of a grand jeté. It was quite funny, in they way she executed it, and in the fact that it was completely predictable. I mean, really, after a ballet, you see a kid running intently through the lobby while another kid watches, obviously they are trying what they just saw. Still very amusing.

17

So I'm sure most of you know that my birthday was last Thursday. I'm 17 now. Yay me.

Like a week ago I got my birthday box from my parents, but I was a good kid and didn't open my present. Then. I did, however, freak out about my football that I got. Yea, I know what you are probably thinking...yes, I know there isn't "American Football" here. Yes, I know I'm a girl. But no, I don't throw like a girl, so there. And I took my football to school and my friend liked it, she can actually throw pretty well. So I had fun with that.

Then the day before my birthday, I was on Skype with my parents so I opened my present from them so they could watch me open it. I have a lovely nook from them. My nook's name is Margret. (If you don't know, a nook is like a Kindle, basically an electronic book-thingy. It's awesome.) So far, I have had my nook for 4.5 days, and I have read 5 books. Yay, I'm back to being my geeky self(:

My new art stuff(:

Then on my actual birthday...a bunch of people told me happy birthday at school, which was nice. At first it surprised me, though. Mostly because for my past birthdays, I have seen my friends, who then tackle me with hugs to say happy birthday. This year, all of the people that told me happy birthday did so with a handshake, and a kiss on each cheek. Very different. (The first time scared the crap out of me, though.) After my dance class that night, my host family had an amazing dinner for me. Plus I got presents, which I wasn't expecting at all. They included chocolate, an angel figurine, and pastels with paper. (Not all, but I don't feel the need to list everything I got.) I tried my pastels today, but I need to watch more tutorials on Youtube before I show my pics to anyone, haha. Oh, also, before my dance class I got a box from Aunt Gen...she is without a doubt the very best aunt ever. In the box: 84 packages of Starburst. Amazing. (Starburst is my favorite non-chocolate candy, for those of you who were wondering. Also, no Starburst in Slovakia.) I'm pretty much set for life, Starburst-wise. (Actually, at this rate, more like 2 months...but oh well.)

Friday night I went with some friends to a bar here. We mostly gossiped and danced. It was pretty fun, but I didn't know that many people, and my friends introduced me to this semi-creepy guy, because he spoke English. But it all turned out fine.

Anyways, that's what I did for my birthday here. Questions, or for more details, feel free to email me(:

What to Say?

So walking home today, I realized a few things.

1. Life here is normal to me now. Meaning I'm probably not writing stuff that people are interested. But it is all so normal for me now. So I don't know what you want to hear about, bringing me to my next point...
2. I don't hear from you people! I want to keep this interesting for you. But you gotta help me out a little here...So just leave a comment telling what you want to hear about, or you can email me (kathleen.buckley18@gmail.com). But I like feedback.
3. My birthday is Thursday! I will be 17, and I'm really excited. I'll tell you all about what I did after the fact. =P

So that's pretty much my update. I don't know what to write about unless you all ask.

I'm so Lazy

Ok, so it's not that I haven't been doing stuff, I'm just too lazy to blog about it all. =]

This picture is from today...see below for details, cuz I don't want to bother reformatting all of this, haha.

On a side note, because this is a really random post...check out my dance class, I taught them some cheerleading. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3yLH7GIY-I

So, what's new...hmm. Skating and dance are still good. I'm still learning Slovak. Same old, same old.

Also, Ernesto is teaching me a few words in Spanish, fun times. He's mostly teaching me compliments, aka how to flirt...hahaha. And then he laughs, because apparently I have an accent...who knew?

Yesterday I went to a benefit concert that the Rotary Club here sponsored. It was piano, cello, and opera-ish music. I liked it. =]

Today Ernesto and I went with most of the Club to this wine tasting, no, we didn't taste the wine. But I took pics. After that we went to this ceramic place, it was totally awesome. I can't really describe it, so here are some pictures. =] (Also, you can check it out on this website: http://www.slovakia.cdfoto.net/keramikaen.htm)
oh, and yea, i got to try making a bowl/vase-thingy =]