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!