Monday was the first day of our two day fall holiday. I was starting to feel better, so I made plans to go see Ana for the holiday since my host parents had to work. I was supposed to wake up at 8:15 so that I would have time to gather all of my stuff before catching the bus into the city. I ended up getting up at 8:55, so I had roughly 5 minutes to pack everything. I ran out the door with a backpack, a bag to spend the night, and my dress for dancing class on a hanger in a bag. I made it to the bus just in time and made it to the city by 10:30. I took the tram to Ana's to finally have breakfast. We ate some, and hung out at her house until we felt like doing something with our day.
First we went to H&M and bought some matching Christmas cactus onesie pajamas.
We were having fun shopping, so we decided to make the short bus trip to the big shopping mall. We were the last people to get on the bus and it was quite packed. We ended up squished in the middle where there was absolutely nothing to hold on to within our reach. People were kind of mad that we were falling everywhere on the big corners, but we were on an adventure, so we just laughed it off.
First we went to a bunch of sporty stores and searched for the cheapest price on a pair of shoes I really wanted. Then we looked at some of our favorite shops before grabbing lunch. We both didn't really want to spend much more money by the time we got to lunch. So we got some cheap food that really wasn't good, but we were having fun still so we just laughed about it.
I realized what time it was, and how long it would take to get back so we had to rush back to her house. I still had my dancing class even though it was holiday break. So I got dressed as fast as possible and ended up running in heels to catch my tram. Then I continued to run to the dancing school and I made it!
At my dancing class I danced with three different people. They were all nice and all spoke English. I am starting to feel better about my dancing abilities, but still not great. After class I met a girl who loves learning English. She was so extremely excited to meet me and talk fast English with me. Sometimes I thought her English was better and faster than mine!
After talking to her for a little bit, I got on the tram back to Ana's house for dinner. We ate for an hour because we distract each other so much and can't ever stop laughing. After our long dinner, we took showers and attempted to braid each other's hair. We danced and hung out in our new pajamas and stayed up too late.
Tuesday was the beginning of a big adventure to Vienna! We woke up at 6am to go get my passport from my host dad, since this was a last minute trip. Then we slowly got ready and had breakfast. We had to rush the last few minutes and run out the door to make it to the bus on time. We were going with Ana's host mom and her coworkers to see some art and the city. The bus ride was a little more than 2 hours, but Ana and I listened to music and ate snacks to pass the time.
When we got to Vienna we walked with the group to an art museum. We saw two different art exhibitions before moving on to exploring the city. The first stop was ice cream, then the Cathedral. Next we wandered around for awhile looking for a cool place to eat. We decided to go to a Japanese restaurant. We had a full feast, we got spring rolls, sushi, and full entrees. We were both so full, and laughing so hard that everyone was looking at us, but we had fun and it was delicious.
After lunch we went to meet up with Gretchen, another exchange student from Ohio who is living in Slovakia. She had come to Vienna with her host family, and they happened to be right where we were. We went to another art place before going to the Hard Rock Cafe to say goodbye. Ana and I made our way back to the bus taking pictures of everything along the way. We took a lot of pictures all day long.
On the drive back we were both very tired so we slept and listened to our music. Robert picked us up from the bus station and took us to Ana's house. I grabbed my stuff and then we went home. I was still full from our huge lunch, but I still hung out with everyone while they ate.
Wednesday, aka halloween and Shri's (from India) first day of school. Since it was Wednesday, that meant that school started at 7 for me so we had to leave a couple minutes after 6 to make it on time. My host mom got halloween cupcakes for breakfast! We left a little late and got stuck in some traffic, so I was a little late. Shri and I had some miscommunications and got very confused about where everyone was and when I was meeting her. I ended up going to one class and partway through the next one, before Filip and I went to the principal's office to translate and take Shri to class.
After school, Robert took me home and I hung out. We had some dinner and they wished me a happy name day.
Name day is a special thing celebrated in a few different countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia being two of them. Basically for every day of the year except special holidays, there are one or more names on the calendar. People with the name of that day get presents from people and it's kind of like a second birthday. I am lucky to get to celebrate this one unlike most exchange students because of my unusual name. Technically my name is only on the Slovak calendar, but we still celebrated.
Thursday, I woke up at the usual time and went to school. After two classes our class went to a German film. I decided not to go, and to study Czech instead. Then I got lunch by myself, and waited for everyone to get back. We finished our school day with PE. We did gymnastics, and I kind of hurt my back doing a ton of somersaults.
After school I took the bus home and took a shower. I had dinner with the family in the evening and then stayed up kind of late to straighten my hair.
Friday morning I got up a little extra early to fix my hair and make it perfect. I went to my Czech lesson in the morning before school. We have gotten to a part of the learning that I am finding quite difficult and I am having to work a bit harder on. Then when I got to school everyone was so excited to see the new hair style since I always wear it in braids, a bun, or down with the waves from braids.
After school I met up with Ana to get a snack and then buy more snacks to bring to her house. We hung out and did face masks and ate food for awhile. Then in the evening when our friend Klara got off work, we went and met up with her. We went and hung out on the roof of a building in the middle of the city where there are benches and a great view. I took a later bus home and got home at 10.
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