Birthday Week

The past week or so felt a little bit like driving on the good ol' Vermont roads, bumpy with a lot of ups and downs! 

At the beginning of the week Olivia and I decided it was time to join the gym. I had tried out a couple in the city and we found a really great one that was just a couple minutes from our school. It has been really nice to go after school when I don't have running, it gives me an extra boost! 

Last Wednesday was my birthday and I would like to thank all of you for all the warm wishes! I was thinking of all of you :) The day started out pretty good, in my first class the students sang happy birthday to me and they also gave me chocolate! The rest of the school day was pretty normal but I was excited and happy that it was my birthday. After school I went home like normal and just kind of hung out. I was still having a pretty good day but part of me was starting to think that my host family didn't know that it was my birthday. Finally after we had eaten and the three of them still hadn't said happy birthday that they didn't know. I was definitely bummed but it had still been a pretty good day. Around 7:30 my host mom called me down stairs. I came down to find some of our neighbors and Olivia with her host family! There was cake and Olivia had flower from me from on of the other exchange student who was in a different city! It was so sweet, we did cake and presents and then the kids went down to the basement to play ping pong. We also played a game of Monopoly. It was a really fantastic birthday and it was my first surprise party! 

Friday night Olivia and I went out with one of her friends and some other people that he invited. We went into Old town and got some food and we ended up going to a karaoke bar! It was so fun to meet more people and it was my first time singing karaoke :) Olivia’s friend Maciek was so nice! And he loves Canada!! We had fun talking about hockey and all the places I have been. He told me about his plans to live in Canada with his girlfriend for a couple years after they graduate. We are planning a hockey night sometimes soon!

Last Sunday my host family and I went to Mareks’ mothers to celebrate her Name day. Everybody has a name day, they are more popularly celebrated by the older generation. The day represents the feast day of a Catholic saint. It was a really fun day, celebrated much like a birthday. There was lots of cake and I got to meet more of the family. 

This week hasn’t been very eventful but I’ve been going to the gym and running and working on all the polish I can! The polish classes have been going really well, we’re learning new vocabulary and the (many) rules that polish has. I have been able to practice speaking more and remember what the different words sound like. 

As I am getting busier it's been harder to post but I will continue to keep all of you posted!