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!

Seeing is Believing?

So I've been trying to upload some pictures, but it's not working out very well. For those of you who don't have Facebook, here's a link to my album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2093766&id=1268370066&l=2d7f398b35 You don't need an account to view the pictures.
I'm sorry I can't post them here, but I'm a little frustrated with my computer at the moment so I don't have the energy to work it out!
I'll get a post of real content up after the weekend!

A Day in the Life of This Exchange Student*

I thought it might be interesting for people to read what a random day is like for me. Here goes:
5:12 Wake up with those leg cramps. Can't remember if you're supposed to point your foot down, or if you're supposed to point it towards you.
6:08 Wake up with more leg cramps. Still can't remember.
6:42 Yet again woken up by those gosh darn leg cramps.
6:45 First alarm goes off. I turn it off right away.
7:02 Second alarm goes off. I turn it off, but turn the lamp on next to my bed and try not to fall back asleep.
7:03-7:16 Do my best not to fall back asleep, but border that line until I realize I have to get out of bed!
7:17 Jump out of bed and get dressed. I wore jeans and a red sweater if anyone is curious.
7:19-7:28 Go downstairs and eat breakfast. Breakfast was cereal and a few pieces of an orange. After I finished breakfast, I put my contacts in, brushed my teeth, did my makeup and my hair. All that good stuff.
7:29 Go back upstaris and get my purse (that has my books), my phone, my dark green blazer I have to wear, and my basketball bag since I had basketball after school.
7:31 Go back downstairs and get ready to leave.
7:34 Leave with my host mom.
7:51 Get to school. Traffic was busy this morning. I swear it's never the same! Ever.
7:56 Arrive at the biology room since it's my first lesson.
8:00-8:45 Have my biology module lesson. I have a biology book in English so I just read and take notes from that.
8:55-9:40 Have my second biology lesson. More of the same.
9:50-10:35 Go to math class. I don't understand anything! I just copy down what the teacher has on the board, and write a problem down from my book and stare at it. I'm two years behind my class here.
10:36 Class ends. I go to make copies of Justina's (my friend) English workbook since I don't have one.
10:41-10:55 Wait outside the English room and help Justina with her English homework.
10:56-11:40 English lesson. Boring for me. I don't really like it. I also gave Justina the wrong answer on a quesion or two. Whoops!
11:42 Go to the Ethic's room since it's my next class, and see a note that the teacher is gone and we're supposed to go to the religion room.
11:44 Decide not to go to Ethics so Justina and I go to Akropolis (that big mall) with our friend Greta.
11:52-12:46 Hang out at Akropolis. I got a liter of orange juice (it's very common to carry one around and drink from the carton here) and a package of M&Ms and we sat near Vero Cafe. It's like their Starbucks, but it's not everywhere.
12:47 Go back to school.
12:55 I go to my dance lesson.
12:55-1:40 I sit in the dance lesson. It's supposed to be a double lesson, so for the first part, we learn about different dances and their history. Most of it gets translated into English for me.
13:40 Class ends. The girls in the class talk our way out of having the acutal dance lesson. Woohoo! All my lessons are over!
13:46 Meet back up with Justina (who was in Chemistry) and tell her there's no second lesson. We try to think of what to do because the sixth lesson just ended and there is a meeting in the student council thing we joined after the seventh lesson.
13:49 Go to talk to the vice principal who is the head of the student council to see if we need to wait around for the meeting. Yes, we do.
13:51-14:35 (seventh lesson) We designed the papers that say what activities are on which day next week. Our school's birthday is next week, so that's pretty exciting. Kind of.
14:37 Other kids in on student council arrive. It's not really a meeting, but we just showed up to get information on things we should do next week.
15:04 I leave because I had to get soemthing to eat before I had to go to basketball. I went back to Akropolis and got something from the bakery in Maxima, the supermarket. It was just bread with melted cheese. So good.
15:28 Get to the bus stop to wait for trolley 7 or 13 that will take me to baksetball.
15:31 Trolley 13 arrives and I get on.
15:53 Get off the trolley and walk to the school were basketball training is.
16:01 Am in the locker room when I'm told there's no practice since the school is under construction and we can't use the gym.
16:09 Talk with a few of the girls that were there and see if we want to do something like go to Akropolis. We decide to go home.
16:10-16:24 Wait for bus 36 to take me home.
16:24 Get on the bus.
16:57 Arrive back at home. Come upstairs and check my email and finsih my orange juice.
17:04 I finished my orange juice and everything on the computer. Decide to read a little more of Mockingjay. I'm reading it yet again! I think the books in the Hunger Games series are some of the best books ever written. At least equal to Harry Potter in my eyes, though you can't really compare them. They're too different.
17:33 Go back downstaris to make hot chocolate. I talk a little with my host mom while she makes dinner. Mostly I watched a TV show that was filmed in Spanish, so you can hear it in the background. There is a voiceover in Lithuanian though. It's confusing for me because I'm learning both of those languages!
18:12 Eat a very good dinner of mashed potatoes and some fresh meat and carrots. Extremely good.
18:38 Do the dishes. Yes, I do the dishes here, but I'm not going to do them at home mom!
19:04 (there were a lot of dishes) Come back upstairs and write my weekly email to my mother.
19:43 Start a blog post about 'A Day in the Life of This Exchange Student'
20:16 Publish Post

*Every exchange student's 'life' is different. Also, every day is different for me. I've been here two and a half months and not one day has been the same. I just thought this might be interesting. Also, the day isn't finished at the time of publishing this, but there's nothing interesting I'm going to do.

Also, I promise I'll put some pictures up soon! Hopefully that will be my next post.

And They'll Call Me Freedom, Just Like a Wavin' Flag

Wavin' Flag by K'naan, without a doubt, is a great song. No, not a song; an anthem. It is an anthem for all exchange students all over the world. At this past summer's Rotary conference at Calvin College, I was in a group of about 500 15-19 year-old students from all of the world, singing this song, and watching many country's flags be represented. It was unbelievable. It is definitely enough to make a chill run down your spine; at least once. Each student singing that song believed that they can be freedom, like a waving flag. The energy. The hope. The dreams. The love. Those are just a few of the emotions you could feel. (I'm getting those chills writing this) Each time I hear this song, I get those chills. I have the song on my iPod, but I don't hear it very often since I have a lot of music. It's more special when you hear it randomly. After the conference, my brother Scout, kept playing this song on YouTube because he was present for this miracle, but hearing it played so often, it almost lost some of it's meaning for awhile. I heard it for the first time in a while yesterday. I was in a restaurant and I heard this song playing. I was eating/drinking very hot soup and eating a very hot dish of some sort and I was getting chills. It was special. I think (and hope) everyone has something that makes them feel this indescribable emotion. If you don't know this song, or just want to listen, here is a video!


As for my adventures here, things are pretty normal. I'm just living a life. Of course I miss everyone terribly. It would be hard not to, with all the wonderful people in my life. School here is extremely boring for me. I don't have to do much. Basketball is going well though. I like having something so familiar. As for the language; it is difficult, but I am trying to learn. I can understand bits and pieces of dialogues and such, but I really can't speak much. It's a slow process I'd say. Peace!

My Broken Umbrella

For those of you who are fans of the TV show Scrubs, this may sound like a title of an episode. But, to the best of my knowledge, it isn't. My umbrella is just broken, thats it.
Sadly, my week and a half long holiday is over. What a holiday it was though! I already wrote about the first part, but now that I've experienced the second part, I can blog about it!
So I mentioned that I was going on a youth tourist trip to a city named Klaipeda or something of the sort. It was really fun! It started Wednesday morning when I got on a charter bus. I was introduced to the girls that would be in my group, and they were really nice! They asked a few questions about America and we were able to just talk. In English of course. Also, on the bus ride, we played Uno. It seems to be popular here! First we went to a city north of Klaipeda called Palanga. We went to an amber museam and then walked through the woods until we emerged on the shore of none other than the Baltic Sea!
It was b-e-a-utiful (yes, I was going for the Jim Carrey refrence)! We walked along the shore and then out on a pier. It was the perfect day too! It was sunny and not too cold. After we were done viewing the Baltic, we walked around the town of Palanga. Its a small resort town. Since its autumn, there weren't many people at all. It's kind of like Suttons Bay! While walking down the main street, we saw this stand selling waffles. Dipped in chocolate. And then sprinkles. I HAD to buy one! It was delicious!! The waffle was just off the waffle iron, the chocolate was melted and warm, and the sprinkles had just been delivered by a fairy. Eh, I'm not positive a fairy delivered the sprinkles, but you get my point. After we were done in Palanga, we drove back to Klaipeda and went to the youth hostel we were staying in. While it wasn't the nicest of places, it worked for us. We hung out there that night and then the next day, we went to some museums. That was pretty borring. Especially because I didn't understand anything. To go to the museums, we had to walk, and it was raining. That brings me to my broken umbrella. I didn't even bother bringing it because it was broken, so I just wrapped my scarf around my head and neck. I probably looked like an old lady! But I stayed pretty dry. After the museums, we went back to the hostel for the evening. It was the same as the night before, where we just hung out. It was fun though! The next day we were very tired because we stayed up pretty late. We got on the bus to go home. We drove through this town where we stopped for lunch in a greenhouse. It was nice in there. It was a good end to the trip.
Now Saturday was another excellent day! The night before when I got home, I got a note saying that I had a package at the post office. My host mom said we'd go the next day before it closed. I wasn't sure who it was going to be from, but I had a few guesses. It was from the Amalfitanos! I love them. :) It had some cool stuff in it, including Sweedish Fish, makeup, a nice letter with pictures, and bubble wrap! Even though I'm 16, I love my bubble wrap. It was just after 12:00 and my day was already made. After I opened my package, I went to the huge mall, Akropolis, to meet up with one of the other exchange students here (Natalie) and her host brother who were in Kaunas for the weekend. We had a lot of fun! We went with the intention of shopping, but we didn't do much shopping at all. We walked around Akropolis and walked in three stores before deciding to leave. We were just enjoying talking in English! We talked about everything. High school, funny things here, and world domination. You know, the usual teenage girl stuff! While walking, her host brother saw a Chineese restaurant. I had Chineese food for the first time in a long time. It was really good! I got sweet and sour chicken. After we ate, we walked down Laisves Aleja, the pedestrian street in Kaunas and talked some more. (Laisves Aleja means Freedom Avenue in English) We hung out until Natalie and her host brother had to leave. Then I just went back home and hung out for the evening.
The next day (Sunday) I went with my host mom, grandma, and brother to a cemetary where they have relatives. On or near November 1st, people decorate their loved one's graves with flowers and candles. It was really pretty! After we had placed our flowers and candles, we went to my host mom's cousin's village. Village here is what someone might call a farm in the States. They have cows, pigs, dogs, crops, and a young elk! We did what most people do on a holiday, we ate! And we ate some more! It was fun.
Monday was mainly a day for relaxing. In the afternoon, I went with my host dad and his friends to walk around what is left of Kaunas Castle and we went for pizza. The pizza (spelled pica) is extremely good here! I got a seafood pica. Even though I crave Roman Wheel pizza right now, I know I will miss this pizza when I go back. Later in the evening, my host brother invited me to go skating with some of his friends. Yeah, you can do that at Akropolis. Sadly, the rink was booked for a hockey team to use, so we went bowling instead. I did terribly! But oh well. It was fun. While leaving we walked by the ice rink and I got to watch the hockey team practice. Thats when I realized how much I miss hockey. Hands down, it is my favorite sport to watch. I don't know why, I just really like it. I miss watching the Red Wings!
Now I'm back in school. I'm not very happy about it, but its good to have a normal routine again. This week, my class has to monitor the halls during the breaks. Its kind of boring because you can't leave your hallway, but I'm allowed to be five minutes late to class and I can leave five minutes early because I'm one of the people that can ring the bell to signal the start or end of class! I never got to do that at St. Marys. Take that! I was also supposed to have basketball today, but that was cancelled. It did show me how I'm feeling better when I found out it was cancelled. I had missed the first bus, so I was on the second. A week ago, I would have been really mad I missed the fist bus and may have possibly shed a tear. (I'm fragile like that right now) but I just sighed and thought 'whatever'. While on the bus, I got a text message that practice was cancelled, and I just got off the bus and crossed the street to go back! It was no big deal. Maybe I'm getting used to things.
I know this was a long post, but I want to thank you for reading this. Last I checked, this blog has almost 1800 views! So thank YOU for taking the time to read this. I'll do my best to keep you entertained!

This means "We are one people, one earth, one Lithuania".

Amongst the Waves

The title is two things. One-the name of a song by Pearl Jam. Two-a description of the following:
Some things can keep you going during your exchange year. Since you will only be in your country for a year, people want you to experience a lot! While I'm on holiday from school, I'm even busier. This past Saturday, my host dad took me to the northern part of the country and we went horseback riding! It was just like the tours on Mackinac Island where you just sit on a horse and are guided through an area, but it was still fun. The whole 'ride' lasted about 45 minutes. It was just through the woods. It looked very similar to Michigan.
Now I'm losing track of days here since its a vacation, but Monday I went to a city called Ukmergė to visit a girl who was in Minnesota last year, Kristina. Its a very nice city, about the size of Traverse City I think. Its nice, but there isn't much to do. I did get to talk to another exchange student who also knows English very well so that was nice! I met one of her friends too. We also watched The Hangover. I love that movie. I spent the night at her house and the next day (today actually) we went to Vilnius, the capitol, for a Rotary event. I wasn't sure what it was, all I knew is that there was bowling and it was the induction of an Interact Rotary Club. All of this didn't start until six, so we walked around the city. John (another exchange student here) joined us in Ukmergė and we met up with Natalie (also and exchange student) and one of her friends. We just wandered around the city, soaking up being able to speak fluently in English. We did go to McDonalds too! Now I don't really like fast food. I went almost all summer without eating it! But I looked at the menu and decided to get some french fries and a milkshake (vanilla). I don't know if this is what you do, but I dip my french fries in the milkshake. Its just so good! It was nice to eat and experience something similar like that. When we finally went to the Rotary thing, it wasn't much more that I heard. There were some speeches (in Lithuanian but translated to English), some food, and some people. It all took place in a bowling alley too! It was a very small ally, I think only eight lanes, but it was cool. I got to talk to some memebers of the club and we met the other exchange student here from Taiwan, Yu-Shan. I never got around to bowling since there were quite a few people and not many lanes, but it was nice.
I'm looking forward to the next few days now. Tomorrow morning I'll go to Klaipėda with a youth tourist group or something. Its a group of kids from Kaunas that travel during the holidays from school. We'll stay there for three days and two nights. I think we'll also go to another city closeby called Palanga. That should be a good time. I hope to have some good things to tell when I get back! I'll also post some pictures after this too. I have some on my camera, but I don't feel like putting them on my computer yet. I'll get to it eventually!

Pomegranates and Tortilla Chips Remind Me of Spanish Class

Those are two things I've had recently, pomegranates and tortilla chips. It made me think of Spanish Class! We had a lot of those days where we would spend the first half of class eating food, then the second half procrastinating. *insert sigh* Those were the days.
Anyway, to be honest, its rough here. Before this, I had never been homesick. I would even cry when I had to go home sometimes! I didn't know what it was or what it felt like, but now I do, and do I ever! At the conferences, the Rebounds and Rotex (past exchange students) talked about how everyone will get homesick, everyone will go through these phases, and on. I listened, but thought "I'll be fine. I can handle it.". Now, I might be able to handle it. It is, hands down, the most difficult thing I've ever done, but I'm working through it. Honestly, I would love to go home and start again, but I have a huge support team who is helping me through this. I also recieved a letter in the mail that really helped from my cousin Corey. If you're reading this: Thank you a ton! I got it on one of my worst days, so it really helped.
Moving on to some lighter notes:
Starting today is my Autumn holiday! I won't go back to school until Tuesday, November 2. Honestly, while I'm pumped to not have to go to school (its even more boring for me here. I barely understand anything!), I will have a lot of time free, and I have to try and avoid thinking of home. Being off Facebook helps. But I've found some things to do! I will be going to at least three different places in the country! Granted, the country is smaller than lower Michigan (I think), but its still something new and exciting.
Some interesting things I've done while here.
I have gone to the movies a few times. They're always in Engilsh! They just have Lithuanian subtitles at the bottom. The last movie I saw was Buried. I wasn't sure what to expect becasue I had only seen one trailer, but it was good. It was starring Ryan Reynolds (one of my most favorite actors), who was buried alive, in an old coffin in a desert in Iraq. He has a cell phone which the kidnapers gave him, and a few other things. The whole movie takes place in the coffin. It was interesting to see Ryan Reynolds in a more serious role, especially because the last movie I had seen him in was Van Wilder. But there were still a few funny parts. While on the phone with someone, He said that the kidnapper wanted $5,000,000 or else... When the person on the phone asked "Or else... what?" He said "or he'll take me to Sea World. What do you think?". Something only Ryan Reynolds can do. In general, the movies are about the same. The tickets are maybe a tiny bit cheaper than in America, but not much. When you buy the tickets though, you have to choose where you want to sit. On your ticket will be your row and seat number. You can't just walk into the theatre and sit wherever you want, unless the movie has started and there are empty seats. They have the same consessions as we do, popcorn, pop, candy, and such. Those are a little bit cheaper I think.
Another possible point of interest would be the public transportation. In the mornings, my host mom will drive me to school since it is close to where she works, but to get home and to go to basketball practices, I will take a bus or trolleybus. The trolleybuses run on electricity instead of gas! But to get the electricity, there need to be wires running above all the streets that they go on. Its not very appealing, but you get used to it and barely notice them after a few days. There are these two poles or something on the roof of the trolley that attach to the wires. I was on my way to basketball practice on one of these busses and the poles got detached! The trolley just stopped and everything was silent. That was until someone started blasting a Linkin Park song from their cell phone. It was no big deal though, the driver got out, reattached the poles, and we were on our merry way.
Well, this has been a pretty long post, but I want to share things with people. Also, I love writing, and writing these posts help me focus on the positive things. There will be more to come!
Peace!

Like a Rollercoaster Ride, Holdin on White Knuckles Like Woah, Woah

For those of you that have played Disney Sing It at the Amalfitano's house, this title should sound familiar. (Like Woah by Ali & AJ) This year, like I have been hearing since November, will be one of ups and downs. Each day has ups and downs. I'm getting through it though. I am changing too. I can feel it. I'm doing things the 'old Elsa' wouldn't normally do. Two come to mind right away. One: I'm filing my nails! I used to keep them painted all the time, I still am, but I would just cut them when they got too long. Now I am actually putting time into taking care of them. Two: I like shopping, it cheers me up! I used to hate shopping! You wander around stores, rarely finding anything, and the mall makes you thirsty. Now, I shop to cheer me up. There is a huge difference between shopping and buying though. I like wandering through stores, looking at clothes, but I don't buy things very often. I still buy something when I really know I want it. I don't think I'm changing drasticaly though, I still look the same, I still am messy and cluttered, I still can be pissy and irratable, but I am the Elsa of right now. I might not be able to define her, she is very different from the person who I though I would be eight years ago, and different from that person and the one I though I would be two years ago. It keeps changing, but nothing is going wrong.
This past weekend, my host dad took me to the seaside! We drove to Klaipeda, about two hours from Kaunas, then we took a ferry to the island of Neringa. Once on Neringa, we drove to the very small town of Nida. We brought our car on the ferry. It was very nice. On the island are dunes, very similar to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in good-old Michigan. This trip felt like I was in Michigan. We stoped to walk up a dune and we had to walk through the woods to get there. The woods smelled exactly like my dad's property in Cedar! I can't describe, but the smell is captured in our golden sleeping bags too! Nida was a mix of a few places. It was like Fishtown in Leland, a little of Glen Arbor, and a tiny bit like where I spent spring break in Florida, Sarasota. It was very nice and relaxing. I was also extremely close to Russia! Not the huge part of the country, just the small port on the sea, Kaliningrad. I had a good time.
Now this week has been interesting, and its not even half over (or half begun; trying to see the glass half full and empty...)! Monday, I woke up late and missed the ride from my host mom to school, so I got ready quickly and caught the bus and got to school about 20 minutes late. It was an off day for me. Then Tuesday, I was feeling sick, so I only went to two lessons, then just chilled at home. Around 18:00 (6 p.m.), I was getting really bored, so I decided to go shopping! I took the bus to a shoping center near my house, Mega. I wandered around for about an hour and a half. I bought a t-shirt that is pretty awesome! Its long, and it has random things from The Beatles on it! I haven't gotten to the best part though, it has pockets! Elsa loves her pockets! I also walked through the supermarket. I love the bakery section, there are these really good spinach bread things that I buy often. By the time I got home, I was feeling better, but wait! There's more! I was taking my coat off in the front hall, and something orange caught my eye. There were two orange things; letters! From Auntine! They were very nice. If you're reading this: Thank You! I'll try and write back, but I'm busy! Oh, and there will be fall colours, they're just starting!
In conclusion, things are going fairly well. I'm slowly learning the language from a book I bought. It is really helpful, despite the fact that it was made by someone who doesn't know english well. In one part, they say to work in 'pears' instead of 'pairs'. Whoops! But it really will help. Also, I think I'm going to take a dance class or two! So those of you who made fun of Taylor for taking hip-hop last year, I'm taking it this year! What now? I'm going to try and do that, along with basketball, which is also going well. Now, I leave you with a picture from my Lithuanian book: Thats right! Calvin!

Where Does the Time Go?

I still can't believe I'm here. It seems like five days ago, I was freshly a sophomore, and making plans to take over student council with Joe. He would be president, I would be vice. A day or so later, my dad had an eye doctor appointment and he asked Mrs. Seeley about the exchange program. She gave him an application even though it was due the next day. We quickly filled it out, and it was turned in a day late, but it still went through. I secured an interview that Sunday, and later that evening I got the call saying I was going to be an exchange student. I can remember walking into school the next day, late because of an appointment, and as soon as I opened the door to the math room, I was greated by everyone yelling "¡Hola!" because I had told a few people the previous night, but at St. Marys, if one person knows, everyone knows. I don't know how time between then and now passed so quickly. This all was over a year ago! Random moments from the past year keep replaying in my head. Whenever I hear Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons, I flashback to the road trip to Mackinac Island on one of my last days in the States. I will randomly remember things also, like how much I hated being on crutches. I think time slowed down for those 6 weeks. I was sick during part of that, and I remember laying on the couch, with a fever of 104, and waking up and seeing math equations. I can't explain, but I have a vivid memory of that. I can also remember things said that are still quoted randomly such as "Elsa! You crimped your hair??! Why didn't you curl it?" or "If we all don't do it, they can't fail us all". This whole year has been a blur, and after all that hard work, I'm here. The 18 page application that could only be filled out in BLUE INK, the constant trips to Meijer for a passport picture, than another, and maybe a third, and the checking and rechecking of the application. I was looking at a few pages of it that I have here with me, and I realized there was a huge mistake on it though! We typed my cell phone number wrong. The last four digits are listed as 3137, not 3731 like its supposed to be.
I am enjoying my time here, and its hard to believe how long I've been here. I'm still getting used to things. I'm still tyring to make friends, pick up the language, and get used to 'city life'. I think Kaunas is very similar to Leelanau County, in the way that everyone knows each other. I could go anywhere in the city right now, and I would probably run into someone I know within an hour. Its crazy, but true. Sleeping has been a weird thing for me. The past week or so, I would wake up with a start at 3 in the morning. I have no idea why, it happened at least 5 nights in a row. I could fall back asleep after (of course), but it was odd. I also dream of being with my friends in the States. Last night, my dream consisted of a small group of friends at a bonfire, but we left the fire and were laying near a road, just looking at the stars, when a school bus drove by and took off, like a plane does, flew around, and then landed again. I have NO idea why I drempt this, but the main point is I was with my friends. Its tough, I don't really want to go home, but I want to see everyone! Weekends can be rough for me because I don't have much to do, but I try and keep busy. I'm reading Mockingjay yet again, and writing. Tonight, my host mom and I are going to see Going the Distance at the cinema. It takes time, but I know I will be making a post similar to this in June, saying how this year flew by even quicker than the last. It just needs to take off, like the bus in my dream!

Broken Escalators Are Simply Stairs

Well this has been quite the week! Earlier this week, I was really considering flying home. I just didn't feel like myself. Its rough being shy and being in a new culture where people aren't extremely outgoing, but I'm managing. I talked to many people, and we decided I would stay, obviously. I think I decided this when I was thinking 'If someone walked up to me, right now, and handed me a plane ticket to Traverse City, would I take it?'. I never could bring myself to think I would say "Yes" right away. As a result from this, it has been noticed that I have been spending too much time on Facebook and emailing. I am now taking a break from talking to people over a few hours away from me on Facebook, and drasticaly slowing my Facebook messaging and emails. Hopefully this will lead to more blog posts! I did have a lot to talk about, but I'm too tired so I'll just explain the title of this post. About one block away from my school, there is the second biggest mall in Lithuania, first in Kaunas! Its called Akropolis. When I have a free lesson I'll go there and go to Vero Cafe (pretty much Starbucks) or wander around. Twice now, I was going to go back down to the first floor, and I realized the escalators were 'broken' and I had to walk down them like they were actual stairs. Not many people do that in their lifetime! Its just something I had to share. More soon!

FAQ

Lucky you guys! You get two posts in one day!
I thought a Frequently Asked Questions page might be entertaining, and maybe also informational! The following are mostly questions that I have recieved here, not the ones that I got in America like "Now where the hell is Lithuania?" or "What language do they speak there?" or "Is that in Africa?".
Why Lithuania? On my first post I answered this, but I'll answer again. I met a girl from Lithuania through my exchange program. She made it sound interesting and it was different so I put it 4th on my list of 40. People normally get into their top 5.
Do you like the food? Yes. I love the food! I've tried a lot, and I've liked everything I've tried. From the national dish of Cepelinai, to the beetroot soup, to the pancakes that are at least ten times better than the ones in America.
Do you have a boyfriend? I have to keep from laughing at this one, just simply no.
(sometimes this follows the previoius question) Why not? Well, I can't explain it, I just don't!
So do you like American guys or Lithuanian guys better? I can't choose. I think there's the same ratio of good looking ones to not so good looking in both locations. They guys in Lithuania do dress differently, but that doesn't influence me much.
Do you live in an flat or a house (directed for here and America)? In both, a house.
Do you know any Lithuanian yet? Just a little bit, or 'mažas'.
What words? Random ones, obuolys (apple), šalta (cold), nesepratu (I don't understand), ir (and) iš Amerikos (from America). Those come to mind first. I also know numbers 0-11, and yes Rachel Amalfitano, they have the same numbers here. :)
Where do you live (here)? Vilijampolė. It is a suburb, for lack of better word, north of the city center. A lot of people make a face or comment on how its a bad neighborhood, but I haven't seen anything and I live close to a main road.
In America, do you have four seasons? Yes, I am used to the snow, to get to the point of the question. Apparently it gets really cold here, but I'm not sure how cold. I'll have to find out!
What do you do during school? Mainly I just sit there, and try to pick out words I know. I don't understand much!
Thats all I can think of now, but feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

Labai gerai (Very well/good)

I'm sorry it has taken so long to make another post! Thankfully, I've been busy! Where I left off however long ago, I said that I was kind of homesick still, and I didn't know much of the language. I still am kind of homesick, but its getting a lot better! The thing I miss most is just talking to people that I'm close with. It doesn't help that I keep seeing people that look familiar too! Out of the corner of my eye, I'll think I see someone I know, but when I look it's not them; of course. I am picking up more of the language, but I don't know what kind of conversation I could have. Not one of good quality that's for sure. It will take time, but I'll get it.
Some points of interest from the last few weeks:
I went to the Rotary Olympics here in Lithuania. It was pretty fun. Two of the other exchange students were there. We wanted to watch some of the games, but we couldn't find where at leas 150 Rotarians disappeared to! We ended up wandering around the town which was very nice. Druskininkai, a resort town very close to Poland.
I also watched the Lithuania vs. U.S.A. basketball game! That was quite the experience! I also watched the next game against Serbia where Lithuania won 3rd place! After Lithuania beat Serbia, my host dad took me to the city center and we were caught up in traffic where there were people yelling out of their cars and horns honking like crazy. On the sidewalks, people were everywhere. They were yelling and running. It was awesome to watch.
I have been sick for a few days. It started with headaches and now it turned into a cold. I'm feeling better each day though. Nothing sleep and a little ancient Chineese medecine can't fix!
School has been going well also. I still don't do much in most classes. I just sit there and listen to the language. The classes where I'm 'active' are English, duh, and math. A lot of the math we're doing is either something we did last year in geometry, or based on it where its easy to figure out. Today, it was one kid's birthday, so some of us put on party hats and gave him a sparkling juice and I think it was a cupcake. It was really fun! He ended up passing the juice around for everyone to drink, our teacher had to smell it to make sure it wasn't alcohol!
Right now, I'm done with school for the day, and I'm at home until I go to basketball training (practice). Currently, I'm eating chocolate, something that is AMAZING here! I love it, probably too much. I also am drinking chocolate milk! Its called Miau, like Meow. I was drinking it at the bus stop on the way home from school and some little kid that passed me, meow-ed at me! I wasn't sure what to do. Being here, it is really difficult to think that if I were in America, at St. Marys, I would be in Stratford, Canada right now. I can't even picture myself there! On Thursday, I will have been gone one month. Time is flying!
With love,
Elsa

Pictures

I've been meaning to upload some pictures, and now I have a chance! Here are some:


A church in Old Town Kaunas


A castle in the countryside


I don't remember what/where it is, but its pretty


My room!


My mom thinks this is a classic Rotary Exchange Student picture... blazer and airport.

Things are going better here, I'm a lot less homesick, I'm settling into a routine, and I'm picking up occasional Lithuanian words once in awhile!

Click; Starring Adam Sandler

So many people have seen the movie Click with Adam Sandler; the 'comedy' about one guy who gets a universal remote that "remote controls his universe". It surprised a lot of people that the ending was a tear jerker, for most. At one point in the movie, during a meeting at his work, Michael (Sandler), changes the language on the remote. Everyone is speaking speaking Spanish, even him. I wish I had something like that for Lithuanian. It would make things a lot easier. Lithuanian is an extremely difficult langage to learn, I think I'm doing decent. I still don't think I could have a legitamite conversation with someone other than "Hello. I'm good. No, I don't understand you. Bye!" but, I'm recoginizing words in conversation. When I try and think in another language (kind of weird, I know), I automaticaly think in Spanish, but lately a few Lithuanian words have been popping in. Such as taip (yes), ne (no), gerai (good), and such.
On another note, I've been pretty homesick. It was really bad when I woke up on both Saturday and Sunday. I've been having very realistic dreams about doing random stuff with my friends at home, and one vivid dream that I should be in Spain instead (?). It sucks that I love everyone at home so much! I've been keeping in touch with a lot of people but everyone is at least 24 hrs by plane away. It also doesn't help that I haven't really made any good friends at school either. Everyone is pretty nice there, but the class I joined is probably similar to mine in St. Marys. In which everyone is so close and have known each other for years, I'm just the new kid who doesn't speak the same language. I'm really glad I'm playing basketball every day though! The girls are nicer and talk to me in English more. Also, its something normal for me. The practices are very similar to what I'm used to which is nice. I love that I'm not trying to make varsity, play against my friends, or play against someone I don't like. I don't know any of these girls yet. I did my best not to judge their playing ability on the first day, and I think I did well. Another familiar thing is math. I am liking math here. I know how to do most of the problems so far and its easier to understand things because a lot of words are similar. Plus and minus are the same, just pronounced a little differently. Its comforting.
I know my homesickness won't go away in one day, and I won't make awesome friends in one day. I have to make this happen over a peroid of time. Thats part of what exchange is about; see what you are capable of. I miss home a lot but I'm glad that I am here.

School is School, Unless it's School.

A few days ago, I was excited for school. September 1st, the first day of school, I was extremely nervous. Now, I'm almost overwhelmed. The first day of school here is awesome. I went to school at ten, after eating minimal breakfast because I was too nervous, and stood outside with my 'group'. In each grade, there are different groups. I ended up talking to a few girls who knew a fair amount of English, that was nice. I think there was a ceremony up by the entrance but I couldn't see anything or understand what I could hear. There was a marching band though! That was cool. Then, when whoever was done talking, we all went into the school and to our class' classroom. While we were walking in, they were playing music, not just any music though. They were playing the theme from Indiana Jones first, then the Mission Impossible theme! It was, well, epic. After we got to our classrooms, the teacher went and talked a little, then we went to the audotorium so last year's students coud get their diplomas or something. After that, we got our schedules and left! This took about two hours at the most. I liked it. Some girls invited me to lunch with them which was cool. We went to Pizza Jazz (there are pizzerias EVERYWHERE) but only one girl got actual pizza. I got Makaroni su vištiena, pasta with chicken. It was very good. The restaurant was on the Laisvės alėja, freedom avenue, a very long pedestrian mall in the center of the city. It's two or three blocks from my school! One block away is a huge mall, Akropolis! Its pretty awesome. Today was the actual 'start' of school. I went to four of my classes, but there were no lessons, teachers and students are still trying to figure out who is in what class and such. Since it was the second day of school, there were only a few classes. It was nice. The only one I understood a fair amount in was English, of course. Since English was my fourth class, I was able to leave right after! I like this set up. It eases you into school instead of what its like in America. The first day, you just might have actual homework! Especialy if its a block class. Now about my uniforms, I really don't know! There are green blazers that I think you're supposed to wear, but only a handful of students were actually wearing them. I just wore jeans and a flannel looking shirt. And back to the school part, I think it will really help me learn the language. I'll get to hear it all day, every day, and I'll have homework in it, so I can translate words and remember! I really hope this works out. I don't see why it won't!
Well, thats it for now, if you have any questions or anything, just email me or something!
<3 Elsa

Onions and Mineral Water

So the langage camp is done, and I just moved into my host family's house. Its very nice. It feels old, and almost like a cottage. They have two cats, one tiny kitten and it's mom. They're Russian Bleu and very cute. The langage camp is over, it was actually very helpful. I know have a small knowledge of the basics of the language; pronunciation, conjugations, and cases. You know how in spanish there are different endings for verbs? Well here, there's different endings for verbs and nouns And there's a lot more endings. Listening to conversations, I can actually understand a little bit know. I couldn't necessarily tell you what the conversation is about but I can pick out some words and guess on a few others. I had lunch with my host mom and one of her friends today. We had a soup, I think it was pumpkin, which I really liked. There was also a salad, with tomatos, cucumber, shrimp, and onions. There was an oily dressing poured over it. I don't know how you think it sounds but I didn't mind it, except for the onions. I HATE onions! They are disgusting. But, being a good exchange student, I ate them. I tried to mask them by eating a small piece with a lot of other stuff but, its an onion! You really can't cover up the taste. With lunch, I had a glass of mineral water. I don't really like it either. Its just bubbly water, very odd tastig. I can't describe it. I think I'll get used to it, I drank the whole glass, again to be a good exchange student. I also unpacked everything. It wasn't as much as I thought but it did take awhile. Its nice to have my own place for everything, not just a suitcase. I start school in four days... I can't wait actually! I don't like not knowing anyone, the other exchange students are in different cities so I can't meet up with them. Well, there will be more to come later, including pictures! Bye for now...

First Full Day

So I tried to post an update yesterday but the wifi crashed and I lost all I wrote. I got reconnected but it didn't save so I decided not to try at all. In a nutshell, there were no problems with my flights, at all. I slept through most of them. My luggage arrived fine. I was in Vilnius for a little while, and in listening to the radio, I heard a ton of familiar songs like Not Afraid, California Girls, and Alejandro. I was really homesick at first though. I had thoughts of leaving, and I cried a fair bit. I'm getting much better now. I'm staying at a Rotarians house, Vygintas Grinis, while we are at the language and culture camp. I met my mom yesterday though. She is really nice but doesn't know much english. I hope this will help me learn Lithuanian! Today, I slept in for awhile and then the other exchange students arrived. Natalie, from Minnesota, John, from Michigan, and Yu Shan from Taiwan. We went to a language camp and then a Rotary meeting. The language camp will be helpful I think. The Rotary meeting was fine but I couldn't understand anything. After the meeting, we walked back to Vygintas' house. It was great to see the city on foot. It looks amazing. It helped cure homesickness. Well, thats it for now. I miss and love you all!

Under 24 Hours

The past couple days have been great, but stressful. I got as far as I could on cleaning out my rooms. I packed, very efficiently might I add. And I spent a lot of time with friends. Now it's time to leave. It kept getting harder and harder to say goodbye to my friends, even though I'll be back, I'm going to miss out on making so many memories with them. During my last day in Suttons Bay, I didn't cry! I was proud of myself. But then the morning I was to head downstate (today actually; phew, long day) it was really hard to say goodbye to some people. The closer it got to me leaving, the closer of friends I was with. I loved being able to see mostly everyone. I'm bummed I didn't see everyone I wanted to, but it was close. Now its time for me to move on, for now.
About the flying to Europe, living in another country, and speaking another language thing... I'm pretty numb. I pretty much have no idea what to expect. I know the gist of it, but not enough to even create a picture in my head. I know it's going to be the best year of my life (but only so far I hope). Some things I do know; it will be amazing, different, and life changing. Some things I don't know; what school will be like, if/how much I'll play basketball, what type of friends I'll make, and what all I'll learn about myself, along with another culture. Well, I need to get some sleep because tomorrow will be an even longer day than the past two, probably combined.
LOVE YOU ALL!

Last Few Days

I'm leaving in four days!! I have so much to do still. I'm still in the process of cleaning out both my rooms at my parents' houses so they can move while I'm gone. :( I have a ton of stuff. Then I need to decide what clothes to take with me, then what other stuff, then I need to make sure, when it's packed, that each suitcase weighs under 50 lbs. AND I need to spend as much time as I can with friends and family! I'm so excited to go, I just want to be there and not worry about what needs to be done here. Sadly, what needs to be done here is what will make me get there. Ah, tis a twisted world. Well, I'm just trying my best to keep this updated for all. Later!

Supposedly Quick Intro

I'm Elsa, I'm 16, and I'm going to be a junior in high school. The funny thing about my junior year is, I will be spending it abroad! I am a Rotary International Youth Exchange student from district 6290 (the best district. 62!-90!). I will be hosted by district 1460 which happens to be in Lithuania! I will be spending my year abroad in Kaunas, Lithuania. Lithuania was 4th on my list out of 40-some countries.
To answer the question of many; "Now why Lithuania?", at the first Rotary conference, one of my roommates was the inbound from Lithuania. She made the country sound really interesting and so I put it higher up on my selection list. When I found out I was going, I wasn't sure what to think. Giedre, my roommate/friend, said it is an amazing country. I began to research it and I fell in love. I can't imagine going anywhere else now.
Now up to this moment; I leave two weeks from today. I'm leaving on August 23rd. I want to hurry up and leave! Not that where I live. In fact, it's not bad at all. I love this place. Leelanau County has been my home for eleven years and I will always consider it my hometown. I want to leave this place, not to put it behind me and move on, but to go on adventures and explore. This place holds many memories, friends, and beautiful things. The hardest part about leaving will be saying goodbye to all my friends. I love you all! But I will be back for my senior year. I've come to the decision that the reason this is so hard for me is that I have so many memories with these people that I can't believe that I'm passing up the chance to make one more year of them. But things and people change. I hope to keep this blog to keep you all updated on my year so you can hear what I'm doing but so I don't have to individually tell everyone everything. Doing that would take a lot of time, energy, and it would not let me fully experience my year away from what I know and am used to.

With love,
-Elsa