Don't You Hate It When

You forget something that would have been perfect, like a killer title for this blog post. Then what happens is you have to come up with a substitute and you're left looking like an idiot. It happens.

I haven't posted hear in almost 10 months I believe. I'm sorry about that. It seems so long ago, but I can remember it like yesterday at the same time. I miss blogging and I miss Lithuania. After finally figuring out my old password that I made up in middle school, I was able to log back into this account and look through this. Looking back on all my old posts, I can remember where I was and how I was feeling when I wrote them. It's the weirdest thing; almost like traveling through time. One thing that I remember exactly was a journal entry I had written in September 2010 (it's already 2012?!) about everything I missed about my life in the States. It went on for a few pages. It was all of the little things such as driving, Boone burgers, inside jokes, my bed, my phone, English, and on. I wrote it at one of those times I was really homesick. I knew that was coming though, so I made sure to wrap it up nicely. I actually don't know where this journal is at the moment but it basically said that I knew I missed those things now, but when I returned to the States, I would be making an even longer list about the things I miss from Lithuania. Boy was I right.

I miss it all. The past few nights, I haven't been able to sleep as well and I just start thinking about my time in Lithuania. Down to every detail. I miss the bus system, black bread, cafes everywhere, kiosks everywhere, Cheetos with ketchup in them (gross as it may sound, they're so good!), Tymbark juice, pop in glass bottles, my host families (SO MUCH!), practicing Lithuanian randomly, thinking the cashier understood my Lithuanian but then replying in broken English, walking down Laisvės Alėja, sushi and lattes, random things at school, walking around Akropolis on my breaks, basketball practice daily all year, meeting up with the other exchange students, public transportation, the Rotaract weekend, Interact events, spending my breaks from classes at Vero Cafe either reading or writing, seeing movies with Lithuanian subtitles, taking the train or bus to other cities for an extremely low price, banana flavored milk, cepelinai, and way more. It's all of these little things that made my exchange the amazing experience that it was.

One of my most favorite memories was almost exactly a year ago. The Interact club in Vilnius invited all four of us exchange students to come for a weekend. (Interact is a Rotary club for kids 18 and under) I stayed with one of the members and it was so much fun. The first night, we only met with our counselor which wasn't as fun. He was one of those people that thought his English was really good, but in reality, it was pretty bad. And he was very controlling and kept telling me to tell the student that wasn't there yet everything she'd missed. I mean every little detail too. And it ended with two exchange students owing me money for my allowance from my Rotary club. That's Rotary in other countries for you! The next day, the four of us wandered around the older part of Vilnius then went to a few malls for some entertainment. We did find an excellent Mexican restaurant and it was the first Mexican food I'd had in over 6 months. Amazing. In the early evening, we went ice skating at a rink that was basically empty except for our group and a few other people. After that, we walked to the tallest building in Vilnius and went to the Sky Bar in the top. After chilling there for awhile, we made our way to a little night club where a Red Hot Chili Pepper cover band was playing. Okay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of my all-time favorite bands and you get an extremely good cover band, exchange students, happiness, and a few other random things and you've got yourself a killer night. The next afternoon, the four of us exchange students met up again and saw a movie (I think it was No Strings Attached. I saw a lot of movies that year and a few multiple times. Hey, it was way cheaper than here.) Then we parted ways and it was all over. There was nothing extraordinary about the weekend, but the people and the simple things we did made it an unforgettable time.

While it would be a flat-out lie to say I'm fluent in Lithuanian, I could hold good conversations in the second half of my year. I was around more people that didn't know English as well so I was forced to communicate in Lithuanian. It helped immensely. I could definitely tell if the people around me were speaking in Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, or another random language. I still end up thinking in Lithuanian some; especially in Spanish class. I've been learning Spanish longer but I have a ton more experience speaking Lithuanian conversationally. When I'm trying to seriously think about something, all three languages get jumbled together and then I get angry. When I get mad, that's when a few choice Russian words come into play! It can be confusing, but it's also a really cool feeling.

While working this summer, at North Country, I overheard a couple speaking in Lithuanian. The first thing I heard was 'Nori sėdėt čia?' which means 'Do you want to sit here?' I dismissed it thinking I was hearing things or it was a similar, more popular language, but after walking by their table a few more times, I picked up on more and more. I finally asked if they were speaking Lithuanian and they were! They had just gotten back from a trip there and the husband was Lithuanian. They've lived in Michigan their whole life but they like practicing Lithuanian.

My exchange has greatly affected my life now that I'm home. Not a day goes by that I don't think of Lithuania. While filling out my many college applications, all of my essays but one had to do with my exchange. I mainly wrote about how it's changed me as a person. It really has. I can't believe what a positive influence it's been. I switched schools after coming back and I'm really happy with the decision. It's something new so I didn't go back to the same thing I had from Kindergarten to 10th grade but it's still really familiar. I never felt like the new kid due to the fact that I've known a lot of my classmates from Suttons Bay for a long time and I've become comfortable with new situations thanks to exchange. It's been fun! I love my classes, my schedule, and basketball of course. It all has come together these past few months. During the summer, I took a film class that was awesome. I know I really want to do something with media/film now. I wish I could have continued the class during the school year, but it didn't fit into my schedule. I'm working on choosing a university or college at the moment. I've heard back from almost all the schools I applied to and I'll be doing visits in the coming weeks. What I'm really excited for on my visit to Columbia College -Chicago is visiting the Lithuanian restaurant near the campus there! May sound dorky, but that may be the highlight. Or maybe not since that school is a top contender; along with MSU, of course. And I'll throw in GVSU, Wayne State, Indiana University, and Michigan (if I get in). I do tend to change my mind a lot but I'm really settling into this and narrowing my choices down to realistic things such as cost and distance. While attending the University of Miami (Florida) would be prime, it's not logical. It's tough to get in to, it's private, and a very long drive or expensive plane ticket away.

I've gone to three more Rotary conferences since I've been back and they've all been so much fun, as usual. I love meeting all the inbounds (no Lithuanians) and watching the outbounds, remembering that I went through the same exact things two years ago. It's also so much fun to talk to the rebounds and rotex about life after exchange and share our experiences with re-assimilation, what we miss from our countries, and other random things. We're the only people that fully understand each other since we've all been through very similar experiences. I've also given two presentations on my exchange to two Rotary clubs. I could talk for hours about everything but I've kept it fairly short. The most fun is the questions part where I'm not talking at people as much as to them. It's fun having gone to a country people don't know as much about because you're now an ambassador for that country. You could get away with telling them absurd things but it has a personal aspect that you want to convey.

I've really missed blogging lately and this was a great outlet for me, but I can only write so much about Lithuania. I do want to keep blogging. I don't know exactly what to write about though. The daily life of a high school student isn't very interesting to most and I can't think of something I'd write about on a weekly basis. Maybe I will update this blog again but I would like to start a new one. I just need some inspiration...

Really, thanks if you took the time to read this.
E

Multi-Lingual Dreams

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post. I actually have a few things to talk about too. There's no excuses. I'm just lazy.

A few weeks ago, there was an exchange student 'gathering' I'd call it. With there only being four exchange students in the country, we don't have conferences. We just have some meetings. Our last one was organized by the Rotary Interact Club in Vilnius. Interact is a Rotary club for members under 18 years of age if I'm not mistaken. It was fun. The exchange students met up and Natalie and Yu-Shan, who live in Vilnius, were to show us, John and I, around the city. It was actually freezing out so we didn't spend much time outside. We found a Mexican restaurant which made me extremely happy. The menu was in Lithuanian, English, and Spanish! I annoyed the others reading in Spanish. I love how the language sounds, but they didn't like how I sounded. But I got a beef burrito which was amazing. It had been over six months (!) since I've had Mexican food. Then we went to a mall called Ozas and walked around, then to another mall, Akropolis, and then met up with some members of Interact. After meeting with them, we went ice skating! That was really fun. The rink where we were wasn't crowded so we didn't have to worry much about other people. I'm not extremely good at ice skating, but I love it. After, we took a bus into the center of the city (I think, I don't know Vilnius well at all) and went to a SkyBar. It's in the Radisson. It was dark by that point so we could look out over the city and see all the lights. It was beautiful! We ordered some (non-alcoholic) drinks and talked for awhile. Then the best part of the night: We went to a club and saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers Project. You might have guessed they are a cover band for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. You are correct. And they were good! The next day us exchange students went to see a movie and then hung out in the food court of Ozas. That is the only food court I've seen since being here! They aren't common in malls. In the Akropolis in Kaunas, there is only sit-down restaurants which I suppose is better, but it's different.

And now on to my multi-lingual dreams. I've heard that the sign you really know a language is when you start dreaming and thinking in that language. I'm definitely not there. I almost always speak in English, but I can actually communicate in Lithuanian fairly well. I actually have been told I have good Lithuanian twice. I still have my American accent, but it's a little less of my Michigander accent. I say 'for' instead of the northern Michigan 'fir' now. But I'm best with one-on-one conversations, but still not great. In my dreams, it depends on who I'm talking to or where I am which language is being spoken. If a random person comes up to me, the dream is in Lithuanian. If I'm talking with someone I know, it's in English unless I only talk to that person in Lithuanian. And then the random Spanish is thrown in. I thing I might be being redundant since I keep talking about Spanish, but just ignore it if it bothers you. Not my fault.

Tomorrow I'm moving to my third host family. I have mixed feelings about it. I feel extremely comfortable with this family and I don't want to leave them but I've heard my next family is great and something new is always nice. Right now, I can't sleep so I'm blogging. I'm stalling with my packing too. I have so much stuff now. I have two suitcases, a backpack, a (Northern Lumber) duffle bag, and my purse. I have to magically fit all my clothes, school books, shoes, non-consumable Christmas presents, and loads more. I cannot remember how I got it here. Right now, all my clothes are on my floor, folded, but not in the suitcases. My cupboards and drawers are empty but most things aren't in my suitcase. I'm doing one of the things I do best: Procrastinating and waiting until the last minute. It works for me though. So I'm just blogging, listening to XM Radio online switching between Alternative Nation (my personal favourite) and Spectrum for those of you who know the XM/Sirius Radio stations.

Also, my return date is now finalized. I have my itinerary and everything. It's crazy how fast time is going now. I've been here over six months! If everything goes smoothly, I'll be in the Detroit airport at 11:27 PM on June 14th. But there's Murphy's Law to contend with, and the TSA and customs, so we'll see.

Now I have to get back to attempting to pack but I'll probably just lay on my bed with my big headphones on and listen to Oasis. So now I bid you farewell and stay classy San Diego.

All the Small Things

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I'm not sure what all to write about, but I figured I could make a semi-interesting post about the little things!
So a few weekends ago, I went to visit with Giedre, she was the exchange student who stayed in Kalkaska, MI last year. It was nice. We didn't do much, we went bowling, watched movies, and talked. We also saw a little bit of a badminton tournament. Now I didn't like that sport in gym class, but it gets extremely competitive! That birdie or whatever you call it doesn't just go any-which-way. I can tell you need a lot of practice! I have respect for people that have taken the time to get good at their sport of choice. Until you get to the NBA, that's just an entertainment industry. I won't go into it now, but feel free to ask me about it! It could pass quite a few minutes.
Last weekend, Natalie (the other exchange student) came to spend the weekend with me. Now that was fun. We walked around Akropolis and talked. Got some coffee at a cafe, went to another mall and ate pizza (or pica in Lithuanian), then came back to my house and hung out. It had been a very, very long time since I've done something like that. We watched Edward Scissorhands, crept on our friends (and other people) from home on Facebook, talked (in English!), stayed up late. It was normal. Being an exchange student, I haven't had anything like that in a very long time.
A few days ago at my school was a speech competition. Now that may sound boring, especially since every other class is boring, but here's the catch: The speeches were in English! It's something that the English Speaking Union does each year. There were only three contestants and they were all good. I'm throughly impressed with everyone's English here. I'd say my Spanish is good, but then I talk to people here and I could only carry on half the conversation in Spanish which is my second language (not fully...). Most people are taking at least two other languages in high school. Normally English then Russian or German. They stress language much more here. Most of my English class is conducted in English, and they're working on grammar that I've never heard of. Not everyone knows English though or is very good at it, but I'm impressed. But back to the speeches! The topic was something to do with the future world or bettering the world or something. I can't remember, but one speech was about how the educational system is bogus (my word, not the speaker's, but the same point), another was about global warming, and the last was about ending negative thinking. Everyone had great points and interesting speeches. Now I don't know if I could have entered in the competition, being a native English speaker and I found out only the day before, but it doesn't matter.
Overall, everything is pretty good. I'm well over halfway through my year which is crazy to think about. Just over one year ago, I found out I was going to Lithuania (February 11th, 2010 to be exact). It's crazy. I can still remember that like it was last week. I'm working on my return dates. I'll be back around June 16th I think since my residence permit expires the 17th. It's so weird to think about. I know what my 'last hurrah' will be here though. Euro Tour! I'm officially signed up for it! For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a trip Rotary provides for exchange students at the end of their year around where they're staying. In the States, it's either an East or West Coast trip, in Brasil they just travel around the country, but in Europe, we travel Europe! It depends on the district, but I share a district with part of Denmark so that's where I'll start. I'll be on a charter bus with a ton of other exchange students and travel from Denmark, to Germany, to the Czech Republic, to Austria, to Italy, to Monaco, to France, to Belgium, to the Netherlands, then back to Denmark. The whole thing will take about 20 days. I am extremely excited for it! It will start in mid-May, then I'll come back to Lithuania when it's over for roughly a week, then fly home. I'll be sure to take pictures and blog about it. Not many people get this opportunity. One of the many reasons why I love Rotary!
Thanks for reading!

Skiing, New Year's, and Rest

Unless you happen to be in the Southern Hemisphere, you're back in school after Christmas break. Then you're just on summer vacation. But my break ended Thursday. Why school resumed on a Thursday? I have no idea. But I had a good break. After Christmas, I went to Latvia to stay with my host dad's parents for a few days. We ended up skiing for four straight days. While my knees and the rest of the muscles in my body didn't like me after that, I had fun. There are no mountains in Lithuania or Latvia though, so we went to some hills. I have grown up skiing at the Homestead in northern Michigan. It's a tiny place that doesn't have very good hills, but it's decent and fun. Now these hills didn't compare to the Homestead! The first hill I went to was called Cat's Hill (in Latvian though). There was a bunny hill and an extremely steep one. Now I haven't been skiing since our class trip to Boyne Mountains almost two years ago, but I skied every weekend during the winter at the Homestead for five or six years when I was younger. It took me about two runs on the bunny hill to get back into skiing. Muscle memory. But when I attempted to tackle the cliff, I rolled part-way down. Needless to say, I chilled in the cafe for the rest of the day. We were there two more days, but I didn't ever feel like venturing to the big hill again. What matters was I had fun. The third day, we went to another hill. This was only one hill, but a nice one. Maybe a blue hill? I don't really know. But I liked that day the best. I got a few pictures of the town I stayed in and to see them on Facebook, click here
Now the rest of my break was pretty good. I didn't do much, I just hung out at my house, watched movies, wrote, read, and that good stuff. I did go to the movies once to see Little Fockers. It was OK, not as funny as I thought it would be. I also went to get some amazing sushi with my host mom! And while out with my host mom, we went into a store to look and see if they had any magazines in English. They did but they were only business magazines so we didn't get them. But what else was in this store? Silly Bandz. Yes, Silly Bandz. They took over every person under the age of 25 (and my mom) this past summer in America and now they're here. The infestation is spreading!

C is for Cookie (and Christmas)

That was one of my favorite songs growing up, C is for Cookie sung by Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. Those were the days. The days when Oscar lived in a trash can, not a recycling bin and Cookie Monster scarfed down cookies instead of vegetables. I love my cookies too! I have one recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I've been using as long as I can remember. I have the whole thing memorized. It's quite excellent. Well, it had been awhile since I've made my cookies so my host mom let me make them! It was great. They turned out just fine. They were a little different, but still amazing! At the bottom of this post is a picture of them. I can say they didn't last long, maybe 18 hours! They were just too good.
That now brings me to Christmas. You know how Christmas is a great time to be with family and friends? Now imagine yourself away from them, in a foreign country, not being able to wake up Christmas morning and be with some of your most favorite people on this Earth. Doesn't sound very fun now does it. Well, it was certainly different. I woke up Christmas morning pretty sad. I wanted to wake up in my mom's new house and have cinnamon rolls and go through stockings and presents and have that feeling. I didn't get that this year, but I ended up having a good Christmas anyway. I woke up and my host family had already opened all their presents (mind you this was by 7:30 in the morning. Way too early for me.) but I went downstairs and found I had three presents! One was a sweatshirt, one was a PJ set with monsters on the shorts, and I got some blank certificates. I had asked for stationary, but apparently that's not common here so these certificates will do. If you think you finally got your bachelor's degree in the mail, it's more than likely a letter from me! It was great. I didn't get my cinnamon rolls, but I got Cinnamon Toast Crunch which is pretty dang good. It was nice to be with a family. I got to watch my host siblings play with their new toys while I was warm in my new sweatshirt. Later, there was a party with more relatives. This was really great for me since my host cousin is my age, really nice, and good in English. We did the same thing cousins do at most parties, hang out and do our own thing. We watched some videos, played some games, and ate. It was really nice. Now this sounds like a normal American Christmas party, but wait! Santa made an appearance! And he brought more presents! We all danced the Chicken Dance with Santa and then he handed out presents. I got a Lithuanian language CD with basic phrases for getting around. I know some of them, but it's really helpful! I also got tights (yes tights!), a bath set, a book in Lithuanian and English, some warm socks, nice earrings, and a ton of candy. It was a great Christmas and I got to video chat with my mom, brother, and uncle and voice chat with my dad and Laura!
So that was Christmas. Christmas Eve is also a celebration. For Christmas Eve I was at my host grandma's flat and Indre (my host cousin) was there with her family. The tradition is you can't eat meat on Christmas Eve and there are twelve dishes on the table and you have to try everything. I didn't try everything, but I had a lot. My favorite was the mushroom caldoons. Caldoons are like ravioli. There was also a very nice tradition where each person got a wafer that was exactly like the host at church and you had to go to each person in the room and wish them a great new year or just say something nice about them and take a piece of their wafer and they did the same to you. It is a great tradition.
Now as for me: I'm just getting over being sick. The week leading up to Christmas, I didn't go to school because I had the worst headache I've ever had, the flu, and a cough/cold. It wasn't fun but I'm almost completely healed now! I'm extremely glad to be on break. For the first part of this upcoming week, I'll be in Latvia skiing! I don't know how many days we'll be gone, but I'm excited to travel more and go skiing. I'll do my best to take more pictures. I'm terrible at getting out and using my camera most of the time, but I'll do my best! I'm also becoming happier and happier for some reason. I am definitely more relaxed than ever. It's a great feeling. I'm getting back into writing more often too. It can help clear my head. In a nutshell, I'm great. I do wonder why I got this country sometimes (mostly with the weather. Lithuania was, by far, the coldest country in my top 7 or so...) but I'm having a good time, living a life, and being myself.
Below are my scrumdiddlyumptious cookies!

Latvian Hockey and an Old Lady's Life Story

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I've been meaning to post for awhile, but I either am too busy or get sidetracked.
So, two weeks ago I switched host families. With the Rotary Youth Exchange program you will live with three families during your exchange. You'll spend about three months with each family. I'm now with my second one. It was hard to leave my first host family. I had been there since the beginning, but it is nice to have something new. This family has three kids all younger than me. There is a girl, Ana, who just turned one yesterday. There are two boys, Lukas who is 4 and Valteeris who is 9. I've never exactly had younger siblings. I do have a 13-year-old brother, Scout, but we get along fairly well and he's not high-maintenance. Here, there's always something going on. My host parents are extremely nice and welcoming. My host grandma is also around a lot, helping take care of the younger kids. She barely knows English so I get to practice my Lithuanian. It's actually not too bad! I can understand a lot more than I thought, and I can say what I need to. It's great! Also, the past two weekends and this weekend, my host dad's friend has been staying with us. My host mom is having seminars with her work and he is part of it. Here's the thing though: My host dad is actually Latvian, but he knows Lithuanian. His friend is also Latvian, but he doesn't know Lithuanian. So they will speak in Latvian. When he talks to my host mom or host grandma, they will speak in Russian, and when people talk to me, they speak in English. It can get pretty confusing, but it's really fun too.
That brings me to Latvian hockey. Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in many European countries, but not Lithuania and Latvia. In Lithuania, it's basketball; in Latvia, it's hockey. On my first weekend with this family, I got to watch a Latvian hockey game online. The Latvian team is part of the KHL, the Russian hockey league. I got my hockey fix! While it wasn't enough to make up for watching the Red Wings at least once a week, it was nice to watch good hockey.
Since I switched houses, I now have to take a different bus to get home from school. It's a long ride, so most of the time I will take my old bus and walk a little farther. When I did ride the long bus one day, an old lady sat next to me and started talking to me. I did say I can speak some Lithuanian, I didn't really know what she was talking about. I picked up a few things, she's lived in Kaunas for eight years, something wasn't working for 15 days, and she likes chocolate. This lasted about ten minutes. During that, I just smiled, nodded, and made sounds of agreement. I was determined to not let her know I was foreign, and it worked! To quote a famous penguin, "Just smile and wave...". That's what I did, and it worked!
We're getting really close to Christmas now. And yes, they do celebrate it here. It is a Roman Catholic country. We have a Christmas tree at my house, all you hear is Christmas music, the malls are packed with people buying gifts, and each kid has a Christmas concert with their school. I went to both of my host brothers' concerts yesterday. It was definitely better than the St. Mary's concerts. Each class just had their own concert. Lukas' class just sang songs and was visited by Santa. They were dressed up in costumes too. He was Eyore! Very cute. Valteeris' concert was a play of an old Russian fairy tale. So in a nutshell, at each concert, the kids performed then they got to eat cookies, cake, and pizza. Pretty normal. Santa visited each kids' concerts too. In Lukas' class, each boy got a Lego race car and each girl got a mixer. Yeah, a mixer. The thing that has two whisks and is used to make brownies or cake, in the kitchen. How very stereotypical! Come on, at least go with a Barbie or something. I just found that a little funny.
Well, to wrap up before this gets too long, I'm excellent. It's snowing, the holidays are very close, and I'm just doing well overall. I would like to take this moment, while I have your attention, to say something though. I may have talked to you about where I'm going to school next year. Please disregard anything I've said. I have NO idea where I'm going. There are pro's and con's of wherever I choose and I'm going to wait until the summer to make my decision. Also, if I start to get bothered or influenced by people, I'll go to an all-girls boarding school in Idaho where we only learn about things that have to do with potatoes! Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.
-I'm Elsa Finch and I approve this message.-

P.o.I. Points of Interest

So lately, my posts have been roughly the same length as a romance novel. I had an idea where I could just post some random things and follow up with a sentence or two for easier reading. Enjoy!
-Today is my 100th day here. One third of my year here gone already! It's so hard to imagine.
-Exchange students love letters! Especially ones with robots on the envelopes and with drawings of tigers, pickles, and whales on a sheet of paper on the inside. Thanks Char and Julia!
-In Lithuania, people drink coffee and tea a ton! Also, the coffee isn't filtered. The grounds are scooped into a mug and you add water. Of course you don't drink the grounds, filters were a considered a luxury.
-Sandwiches are open-faced. There's only one piece of bread so it's not technically a sandwich by my 'American standards'.
-I haven't seen a squirrel here! I've been told they have them, but they're in the countryside, not in the city.
-Looks are much more important here. Outfits and everyday clothes are more put together and nicer than what I'm used to in the States. People aren't superficial though. It's just the way the lifestyle is.
-Jewelry (Corey, this is for you!) is also nicer. There are no Sillybandz, friendship bracelets, or Brasilian wish bracelets. It's nicer, simpler jewelry like a ring with one stone or pearl-like earrings or a nice necklace. People don't wear the same necklace every day too. I still wear one of mine almost ever day, it's from my mommy!
-School is much more advanced. It seems like they learn a lot more before university here. In biology for example, they seem to learn much more about the structure of cells. We learn the basics and if we want to study more, we can take an advanced class or learn more once in college.
-Its cold. It's about the same as Michigan winters though.
-There are no snow days. There are 'cold days' though. If it's -25 C, there's no school.
-Public transportation. I miss driving so much, but having public transportation is really nice. The busses can be extremely crowded in the morning and smelly people like to ride the bus, but it's definitely nice to have.

And to keep this short and simple, I'm going to end it. I tried changing the comments section so anyone can comment, but I don't think it worked, so you can send me an email at browneyedgirl.ekf@gmail.com if you wish!

Best Part About This Weekend:

It was a normal weekend! It felt like the first normal one I've had while here. A lot of the weekends, I'm being driven around and/or shown different places or doing nothing at all. This weekend was a happy medium.
It started Saturday when I woke up around 11:15. I went downstairs and my host mom was making breakfast (Lithuanian pancakes, one of my favorites!) unlike my actual mom who is done with breakfast by 9 on the weekends. So I ate my pancakes with apple and cream and sipped my coffee. (Yes, I drink it sometimes now) I don't know what it was, but it just had an amazing weekend feel. I knew it was below freezing outside and there was a light dusting of snow. I felt cozy. I didn't have any plans, so I made my own. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It was awesome. Movie ticket prices here are equal to movie ticket prices in the States, but concessions are cheaper. And the popcorn isn't as fattening or buttery! It's still good though. The movie started at 5 and since it's a long movie, I left the theatre/mall around 7:30. While waiting at the bus stop, I overheard two people speaking in English! It was like music to my ears. To me, he had no accent too! I haven't heard that in a long time. I ended up talking to him. His name was Austin. He's from California and he's here with a friend he met while studying in Hungary last spring while in University. Being from Southern California, I wasn't surprised to hear him say "This cold weather is kicking my ass.". I'm used to it since I'm from Michigan, but I sure know what he means. We weren't able to talk long because his bus came, but it was nice to talk! I got home around 8:15 and settled in for the night.
Today (Sunday) I did almost nothing. It kept up with the real/normal weekend feel. I woke up around 11:15 again, and have chilled all day. The only productive thing I did was a few lessons for my online Algebra II class. That's not fun, but it needs to happen.
Well, this wasn't an exciting blog post, but it's a glimpse into the life I'm living in Kaunas, Lithuania. Being an exchange student isn't always an adventure like one would picture an adventure. You know, all fun, new and exciting? Well, I'm doing all that, but in a different sense. It's fun, new, and it can be exciting, but it's a life. A life that I'm getting used to and liking.

Tis the Season

As many people know, yesterday was Thanksgiving in the States. That means today is the official start of the Christmas season. Yes sir. It's time for Christmas specials on TV, outrageous sales at stores, and Christmas music everywhere. Of the most annoying, I'd go with the music. I'm fairly certain there's about eleven Christmas songs, and every artist covers at least one of them. Yes, I was sitting in Akropolis (that big mall) today and all that was playing was Christmas music. In the half hour of being there, I heard Last Christmas twice. You know, the one that goes "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away..." I think all but one band/singer has covered that particular song. Some things don't change no matter where you are on the globe!
Also, almost right on cue, there is snow! I'm not a huge fan of the snow and the cold, but I'm kind of liking it for some reason. Maybe because it's something new. It started snowing yesterday, and while it didn't stick, it didn't melt into a sloppy mess. Now I think it's starting to stick to rooftops and other things that are closer to the same temperature as the air. It's really pretty.
As usual, things are normal. I'm just about over whatever sickness I had at the start of this week. It's mainly tiredness I think. Accompanied by a headache or sore throat sometimes. The cure is something I am good at: sleep! School is also typical. I don't really like it. It's so boring for me! I don't even like English class that much. I don't know what past simple perfect tense or confusative form is! (I'm pretty sure I'm not making those up too! There are confusing things with either those names, or similar and equally confusing) I also got a Chemistry textbook from the States. It's like a regular textbook for my school, but they don't have those here. The books are small, paperback ones. You don't write in most of them though. You do have to give them back at the end of the year like we do. Everyone is fascinated by it too! It's just different. And expensive!
Well that's about it for now. Iki! (Bye/until in Lithuanian)

I Like Rotary

Not all of you may know, but I'm on exchange through Rotary International. It is, hands down, the best exchange organization out there. No, I haven't been on exchange through another program, but Rotary is amazing. It starts with the conferences before you leave. You get to meet kids from all over the world that will try to influence you to go to their country. You also get to meet kids that are in the same position as you, leaving next year, and you meet kids that just got back from their year on exchange. Then, once you're abroad, you have support everywhere. You have your Rotary club in your city, your sponsor club from your hometown, and every single Rotary club in between.
This past weekend I, with the other exchange students here, went to a Rotary conference! It was in Šiauliai, a city in the northern part of the country. It was a conference for Rotaract members. Rotaract is a 'branch' of Rotary, but for younger members. I think from ages 18-30. I didn't know what all the weekend would include going into it. The main things I knew is that there would be bowling, a party, and every Rotary exchange student in the country. Yup, all four of us! I got to Šiauliai and there was an actual conference that we started with. It was really boring because I couldn't understand anything. Parts got translated for me though. After all that was over, we got to go bowling! Us four exchange students and one other Rotaract member made up the World Junior Team! We were terrible. Yes, I am pro on Wii bowling, but I couldn't channel my inner Wii. I don't think I scored over 60 in either of the two games. It was fun though. After the bowling festivities were over, we all went to a guest house in the countryside to spend the rest of the evening. There, we started with dinner. It was really good! Have I mentioned I love the food here? I think it was chicken with some type of rice with some veggies in it. Very good. After dinner, was a presentation of the team that won the bowling tournament. No, we didn't win. We did get a special mention though! We each got a box of chocolate and a plaque for being the exchange students. Then the night continued with a fund raiser. I didn't really understand what they were saying, but it was pretty easy to figure out. I think they somehow picked names of random members. That member had no choice but to participate. Participate in what? They were going to have a pie/cake thrown at them. The money part was other members could bid on who got to throw the pie/cake. I think the highest one was 420 Litas! (That should be about $165) After that was all over and the pie/cake was cleaned up, there was a dance! I didn't dance much. Two reasons for that: 1) I can't really dance. 2) I was tired! Natalie, John, and I (the other exchange students) ended up playing cards. We taught a few people ERS (Egyptian Rat Screw) and Speed. We ended up finally going to bed around 3:30 in the morning! I was extremely tired, but it was really fun. I slept in the next day, ate breakfast, then came back home to Kaunas.
It was an excellent weekend, but now I'm a little sick. Mostly a sore throat and a headache. Nothing serious. The good part about it is one of the sickness isn't homesickness! Yay for that! This is nothing a little of my mom's ancient Chinese Cold Quell can't cure. I'm not convinced that it isn't just dirt in those capsules, but they seem to work for the most part.
Thanks for stopping by!