Okay well first things first, I think I had THE best sleep ever last night! I dont know why, it wasn't even very long, but I actually felt somewhat refreshed after it! So that was a good start to the day.
Next on the agenda was breakfast..... Last night, on our way to a surprise Rotary meeting which I will talk about later, my family and I stopped at the grocery store. I thought we were just picking up some things but NO, it was a special stop for Paige! I think they think I'm not eating or something because they wouldn't let us leave until I had picked out some things for breakfast. I honestly don't have a very large appetite in the morning and have been just fine eating my single cup of yogurt but I guess they took that as I don't like anything in the fridge..... So I had to come up with something. So today for breakfast I had some dinner rolls and meat and cheese which was good, it was however no match to my usual canadian grilled cheese sandwich or tuna on toast but it will have to do until they let me (and I figure out how) to use the stove here.
After breakfast it was off to school. I'm liking having somewhat of a routine now. Its nice and makes the day go by much more smoothly. School was rather uneventful and a painful repeat of yesterday but the teacher assured me that lessons should start sometime next week (or whenever the time tables are made). So we will see I guess. I have to say I am definately getting better at going with the flow because here I have pretty much no other option.

Oh but let me talk about the JOLLY FESTIVAL!!!!! It was sooooooo super cool and amazing and it made me so unbelievably happy. I think we could learn a thing or two from these europeans! So this festival happens every year in my city, Zilina, and is famous across the entire country of Slovakia. It runs from wednesday all the way through until Friday night and the whole time there are different workshops running, acts, plays, activities, and so much more. Different youth and adults from around Zilina come together for weeks before hand to plan all these workshops and pull off the festival. Its coordinated by an organization called Harmony (which I want to find more about!). So all over the town square they had stuff going on that was completely adapted for people with disablities. There was painting, a hippie section with tie dye and acting, dancing, chanting, singing, and silent acts just to name a few of the activities. But my personal favorite was in the center of the square, where there was a fashion show going on. The people with disabilities could pick any outfit creation they wanted from these giant boxes of costumes and clothes and then strut their stuff on a runway they had set up. It was the sweetest thing ever, and those of you who know people with disabilities, know how much fun they can be when the spotlight is on them! I just imagined Jane up there singing into the microphone and showing everyone her beautiful princess dress! The best part was that a huge part of the community was there to show support, there were people clapping and cheering for them, egging them on. It was really cool to see and I can only imagine the awareness it brings. I'm not gonna lie though, it did make me more than a tad bit homesick but I think the happiness and excitement balanced it out. Also on Wed night there was this really great concert and all kinds of people showed up to dance and celebrate. It was really cool to be a part of it!

I am also happy to report that I had my first meeting with some Rotarians last night. This was very nice! they are all such kind people! We met in the city square (this seems to be where everyone goes for everything) and had ice cream and chit chatted. I met my councillor and she is quite possibly one of THE nicest and understanding people I have ever met. She has never been a councillor before but she has hosted many exchange students with Rotary and both her sons have been out on the exchange before so she knows alot about the experience. It is nice to know that I have yet another contact if ever i need to talk or help or whatever. We found out we will be attending a Rotary club meeting on Monday so I am very excited for this! I hope that we will be able to attend the meetings weekly, partly because I like to know whats going on and also because I am in desperate need of some things to fill my time with. I am also very curious to see the differences between the operation of the club in sherwood park and here. My next major exciting thing that is going to be happening is my orientation weekend (this weekend) at strecno. I am so excited! There are 56 other exchange students I think in the czech and slovakia and I will get to meet them all! and they are from all over the world so that makes it even cooler!

Some other things that made me really happy in the past 24 hours are: I learned how to take the bus from my house to school and from my house to the city centre and back again! You have no idea how AMAZING this is though! I had forgotten how much I love my independence! It has been (and will continue to be I'm sure) such a humbling experience to be so reliant on others for everything. I am also going to work with my host dad to find some slovak lessons for me to take. This will help me with the language I think and also with meeting some people and getting me out of the house! I cant wait! WOW I always sit down and think, hmmmmm it will be a shorter post today but then I start writing and its like it all falls out... and there's no holding it back!

bye bye
P