So I hear some of you were concerned for my well being because of my last post. For that I apologize. I don't mean to worry any of you, it's just that I like to share my feelings. For those of you who know me well, you know I can't keep anything in and that I tend to be full of emotion (even when I'm home in canada living my typical life). So NO WORRIES. I'm not about to jump off a cliff and I'm not wallowing in the depths of despair. I just spoke the truth because I don't want everyone to be thinking exchange is a walk in the park. I want to express both sides of the story, because I think they are equally important and both deserved to be recognized.

I've been here eight weeks now and I feel as though I'm one step closer to being settled in (if there is such a thing...). My metality has changed yet again. I'm still sad from time to time; missing my family and friends, but it's not quite as intense as it once was. This is a nice relief! But it's not to say those intense feelings won't return. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to them so we'll just have to see.
I can't quite seem to decide whether the 8 weeks have been long or short. It's by far the longest I've ever been away from home and so I'm proud that I've made it this far, but then I remember I'm going to be here 8 and a half more months! This is when it seems like such a small piece of a much bigger puzzle. And then the tables turn again and I think holy smokes! I'm almost two tenths done what I've started! It's a nice feeling. A feeling of accomplishment.

This past weekend I had a good time. I went to Bratislava to see the zoo which was fun but not as good as it could have been as it was raining. I loved seeing all the animals though. They have a lot there! I saw a bear, rhino, hippo, giraffe, monkey, and then all the other typical zoo animals you can think of. There was also this Dinopark which was these giant plastic models of Dinosaurs set up in a forested area. You got to walk through and look at them and they had sound effects all set up so it was actually kind of convincing. I felt like I was in the dino ages for a split second. I got lots of fun pics though so I'll put them up on facebook for all to see.
My Sunday was fantastic! I got out of bed at a decent time (in the moring instead of the afternoon like I usually do on a sunday) and went to church. It was really nice because I was feeling a little sad about missing Thanksgiving and all. The church service was really interesting. It was quite different than the services I'm used to back home. A lot more ritualistic. The church itself was beautiful but packed to the rafters with people! I ended up having to stand at the back but I enjoyed myself all the same. I couldn't understand really anything that was said but the music really moved me. Anyone can feel the power of music, especially when everyone is singing together. And there were a couple of songs I knew because they are the same in all languages like Hallelujah (sorry for the spelling!). It felt really good to go and I really felt as though I was a part of something bigger which was nice. I think I will go back. Maybe not every Sunday but every so often.
Sunday afternoon I had no plans so I decided to bake something. Now for those of you who don't know, I'm not really a baker. I once put two cups of salt in a pound cake and fed it to my parents. It's not one of my talents. But I was in the thanks-giving spirit and my host family had been asking me if I could bake a 'canadian' something for them so I did. I made Apple Crisp. I was going to make apple pie but I figured I best start out with something simple. Baking was much more of an adventure than I thought it would be. First I had to translate all the ingredients I would need, to show my parents so I could find out if we had them in the house or if I needed to go and buy them. This was hilarious. I needed rolled oats, which of course isn't in the slovak english dictionary so I had to look up oats. Apparently they don't cook with oats very often because I got a very funny look from my parents and my dad said "that's going to be a problem. You do know oats are for cattle right?" After I was finished laughing I attempted to explain the difference but it failed miserably. My host dad ended up calling a friend who speaks very good english and I told them what I needed and they translated it for me.
The next issue I encountered was the measuring system. Everything here is metric so they use mL instead of cups. I was asking my parents for measuring cups and my mom just kept giving me a normal cup. Eventually I figured out that they only use mL and then I went to my trusty friend mr Google for some answers. SO I finally got the crisp prepared and it was all ready to go in the oven but for fear of breaking something I figured it was best to ask how to use it first. Also because their oven only has two large buttons on it and I had no idea how to use it. Logically I went to my dad first because he speaks much more english than my mom. I pointed to the oven and asked in slovak if he could help. Then, get this, he just stared at me blankly and shook his head. He said "no no no, not me only Dusana". He doesn' t even know how to work his own oven! Well there's a perfect example of the gender difference here. Let me tell you, my future husband, whoever he may be, will know how to use the oven whether he wants to or not.
Finally (several hours later) my apple crisp was finished and turned out to be absolutely delicious! What a nice treat! I think I'm going to make Sundays my baking days.

I'm absolutely loving having the time to do things I never could have done in Canada (baking being one of them). I mean I have time to read too! I hadn't picked up a book (other than the mandatory reading for english class) since the tenth grade. I never used to read, mostly because I felt like it was a giant waste of time and I couldn't stop thinking of all the better things I could be doing with my time, but now I have nothing better to do! It's wonderful! I've read three 600 page novels already, which is quite a feat for me.

This week was rather uneventful which was kind of nice. You need a slow week every once and a while. Nothing exciting happened excpet that it's been snowing for the past three days! Apparently this kind of weather is quite rare here. My teacher said she's never seen snow in October in the 18 years she's lived in slovakia. Of course, the snow has to come early the year I'm here. yuck! Mariely was beside herself the first day though. She's seen snow before but only on top of moutnains. She's never experienced it falling all around her and she thought it was quite magical. That is until she realized it doesn't stop falling and how darn cold it has to be for the snow to stick around. Now she goes around looking like a marshmallow in all her layers. I feel for the poor girl! It's only minus two! Just wait until it dips to minus 15 (which I might add is wonderful weather for me, apparently this is as cold as it gets here). She's really cute. She asked me today when I think the sun will come out again, and I said (and I wasn't lying) "oh probably not until March or so...". They really do have a rainy season here. It hasn't stopped raining or slushing for that matter for the past two weeks I would say. The slovaks say this is typical autumn weather. I don't mind it, but it doesn't make waiting for the bus all that pleasant.

Now it's Thursday and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I have no plans but that's really alright with me. I'll find something to do I'm sure.

But I'll shut up now because my blog post is looking more like a novel. Enjoy!

luv p