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! =]

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. =]

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

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

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. =]

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. =]

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. =]