fish

Over the past couple weeks, the spa has become a frequent in my life. When I say spa, facials and massages might first come to mind, but what I am actually referring to is the classic European spa. (Remember the big outdoor spa I went to in Budapest? They are like that but smaller and indoor.) They consist of steam saunas, dry saunas, a large hot pool, and hot tubs galore. My host family knows how to make the most of cold weather days and has taken us to two different spas the past two weekends. I could go everyday, it's just the best.

 

all snug in the van on our way to the spa!

Some other simply significant moment were:

Pazookie night. You know, a pazookie..half baked chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on top..more deliciousness then anything you'll ever eat...Well, one night I made a giant Pazookie for the family and I don't think I will ever forget their reaction. Chocolate chip cookies aren't really a thing here, so I am pretty sure their minds were literally blown when they tried this sweet combination. They loved it. (and that might be an understatement) Since then we have made it once again and I'm sure there will be many times to come.

The fish frenzy. I haven't eaten a single bite of seafood the entire time I have been here up until two weeks ago.
The first helping of fish happened when helping with dinner one night, my host mom pulled out some raw, salted, fish that I really didn't want to eat. It started out as bread with butter and a little bit of fish on top. I told myself it was like eating sushi, (which I am not a fan of) and it honestly wasn't half bad. Almost good. Then we began to make the casserole of all casseroles. The first layer was the fish, second was beets..a lot of beets, third was mayonnaise, and fourth was hard boiled egg. (Who comes up with this stuff?)  It is not a meal I would ever request for anyone..but I figured this is why I came to Lithuania. I wanted to have a new experience, in a new culture, and do things outside my comfort zone. Besides, they eat it and are alive and happy and I'm in no ways better then them... so I had even had seconds! With the potatoes on the side, it honestly was pretty good.

The event above is nothing compared to this next dinner. Their Grandmother's birthday was on Sunday, so we celebrated at our house. It was a very fun time full of lots of food, magic tricks, and some live entertainment. But what started this night off was something no one could have prepared me for. I knew that someone was bringing fish..but I had no idea that it was a monster fish, straight from the lake, with eyes, and teeth and everything still in tact. It was all a blur. We sat down, they started cutting away at the fish, and before I knew it, a big slice was sitting on my plate in front of me. I didn't even have the opportunity to say no, but like I said before, it was a moment where I thought, I'm here, this is happening, might as well embrace it. This time the fish had been cooked. It was quite tasty really. It had been gutted, cooked, made into a casserole of sorts and re stuffed. I will say I didn't eat the skin, but I reached a whole new level of brave that night. I guess you could say that eating that monster fish made me a whole new person. I never thought I'd be eating anything like that. But, life is all about the experiences we have, and that was definitely one to add to the list.

this guy is always making me laugh

my sistas...cup song practice

So there really aren't many dull moments here. Teaching has become harder to make myself do each day, but at the same time, I've grown a lot more attached to the kids. They really can drive me crazy, but they are also hilarious. Toma and Maya always make me feel like an artist when they ask if they can take my crafts home. Nikita is impossible and runs out of the class at least 3 times every 25 minute rotation, but he makes the funniest faces. Artiom is the biggest jokester I have ever encountered and his laugh kills me. Nikole loves Kung Fu and could tell you stories for days and days... I wish I could fast forward to the future and see what happens in all of their lives, but I'm grateful that I get to be apart of it for the small time that I am.

Only one month left and time is, for the most part, flying. I am excited to be back with friends and family for the holiday's but I sure will miss Europe and my family here.
Eat something weird this week! I love you all.

backpacking

Warning: This post is probably cheesy and cliche. Sorry.

I just got home from backpacking central Europe.
Words I always hoped I would say.
And when I say home, I'm referring to Vilnius, Lithuania.
Words I never thought I would say.

The past 10 days have been full of walking, bus rides, walking, hostels, making friends, exploring, and then some walking. We finished teaching Friday night, loaded our backpacks and so it began. First stop was Warsaw, Poland which was just a necessary stop we made in order to catch a bus to Prague, in the Czech Republic...

Prague was what I was most excited to see, and it really was a magical place. Every building looked like a little Christmas town collectible. Our hostel was located on the perfect street, (despite the slight incline, that was not actually very slight after a full day of walking) and there was so much to explore. Prague was super cool, but also full of a million tourists. Obviously I was one of those tourists, but I could've done without the rest of them. ha.
Highlights of Prague include, eating delicious goulash, a ferry ride through the nicknamed Venice of Prague, the Lennon Wall, and the St. Charles Bridge. But seriously, I could live on that bridge. There is not a single direction you could look that would provide you with a less than mind blowing view. It's full of cool vendors selling cool homemade crafts, and street performers, and perfection.

Next stop was Budapest, Hungary. Talk about big city livin'. We did some serious walking here. The Danube River runs right through the city, separating the Buda side, and the Pest side. No joke. The Pest side is where it is at. One of my favorite days on the trip was our spa day in Budapest. When I say spa, I mean thermal waters, public baths, real deal old school European living. There were giant outdoor pools, indoor tubs, saunas, a lazy river! All full of the natural, hot, healing waters of Budapest. St. Stephen's Basilica was another must see in Budapest along with classy parks, and castles. I am a big fan of Budapest.

 

 

 

Third stop was Vienna, Austria. Although completely unexpected, it was my absolute favorite. The weather was beautiful, there was the coolest outdoor market right outside our hostel door, the buildings were all so classy, the chocolate was unreal...I can't really do it justice, it was perfection. We spent halloween night wandering the streets looking for a party. (we found the best one) We saw lots of people dressed up and the whole town was full of energy and excitement. At one point on day two, we stopped to take a classic leaf throwing picture because the conditions were so prime, it would have been wrong to not. While I was throwing leaves a huge group of tourists stopped and started taking pictures of me. They were all Asian and spoke little English, but one word they knew was..again, again. It was hilarious. Now we're just waiting for our model shots to show up somewhere. I think I left a little piece of my heart in Vienna.

 

 

 

Despite the lack of sleep, the bus rides that totaled to 50 hours, a sore back, and raw feet I have to say travel is the dream life... I am currently living the dream life. I love Europe, and I already cannot wait to return to all of these amazing places. The world is huge, but I had no idea that it could be full of so much awesomeness

puppy love

First things first, meet my new best friend.

Real time. He's sitting with me now as I write this blog post.

We got a dog! Meet Pinkis. Also known as, pinky. (Sometimes we just get stuck with awful names I guess) This Wednesday I found out my host family was taking in a dog for a couple of months, and I just knew my life was changed forever. Pinky is such a chill dog, with the cutest ears and most hilarious teeth. We're already the best of friends, so really now how am I ever supposed to leave Lithuania?

the two cutest things you'll ever see

It was a slower week than usual which was a nice little break from all the adventuring. The weather was also pretty nice, a solid 55 sometimes close to 60 F. I spent one afternoon reading a book by this beautiful lake behind our apartment. I just have to recommend this book to everyone real quick. It's called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer. I have already read all of the books that I brought out here, but one of the previous teachers left it here so I thought I'd give it a look. Seriously, haven't been able to put it down. There's a movie too that I have yet to watch, but the book is written so beautifully and has some rad thought. Check it out. Anyways, this lake is full of swans and lily pads and it is also the lake that I run around every morning with my host sister, host dad, and the newest runner, Pinky! Beautiful for real.

 

Teaching's been alright. Some kids drive me crazy, but they also make me laugh a lot. They love listening to music on my phone, and every time we do an activity involving food. so I guess you could say we all relate quite easily.

Yes, that IS a mop on her head

Helping me with lesson plans

This weekend we went to The Republic of Uzupis with our Lithuanian friend Luiza. Uzupis is a tiny Republic within Vilnius. It is the coolest little artsy, bohemian, area with sculptures and street art all around, complete with it's very own constitution. The constitution says things like, "Everyone has the right to love and take care of a cat." "Everyone has the right to realize his negligibility and magnificence." "Everyone has the right to cry." "Everyone has the right to understand." "Everyone has the right to understand nothing." (If you want to read the whole thing click here http://www.vug.lt/comenius-projektas/99-uupis-is-republic-in-republic- ) It's just all too great. We also climbed Gediminas tower, which is the last remaining part of the upper tower in Vilnius. It is basically the trademark of Vilnius, and at the top you can see all of Old Town on one side, and all of New Town on the other. So pretty, especially with the all of the changing trees.

My future home

Fall is pretty pretty

I live here.

So all is well in good old Lith. I'll leave you with the most prime picture of Pinkis' face, which also just about sums up how I constantly feel about my European life.