Little Fish is BACK!

Hello Everyone! It's nice to know that so many people are enjoying reading the anecdotes of my life. The past couple of days have been filled with activity, so I will start with Monday.

After work I went back to the dorm for some reading and dinner. I finished the book "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain (it was amazing, I recommend it), and now I am reading Shantaram, something that was recommended to me when there was a possibility that I would end up in India. I was waiting for Vaida to get back so we could go SWIMMING!!!!! I miss being in the pool everyday, and have felt quite lazy in my inactivity. Mattia and Sarp go every week, and invited me to join them. Mattia and I were actually supposed to race :). I told him I would make him cry when he ate my bubbles. I was only kidding though, because I know my skills are NOT at their peak at the moment.

I can't even describe to you how good it felt to take that first stroke. It's like going home for me. I almost feel more comfortable submerged than I do on land. The pool was 50meters, so that was something I had to get used to. We used to train that way in the summer, but after being out of the pool so long, it takes a toll on you. After awhile I felt like a brick! "Help me! I'm drowning!" It's so embarrassing, because swimming was such a dominant part of my life for so long, but I just tried to focus as much as I could on my technique and not the feeling of sinking. We swam for about an hour, trying to weave in and out of the people who were slower. There is no real order to the pool, people just jump in where they want to, regardless of intent or ability. I'm used to this however, and just tried to use good passing etiquette.

Mattia and I did some intervals together (including some IM!! I was so proud of myself!), but didn't end up racing. He said it wouldn't have been fair because I am so out of shape, haha. He's right, I admit it. It's nice to find someone who shares the same passion for a sport though. I want to go every week, but it will depend on finances and such, since you have to pay 100SKK each time, but in the end I think it will be worth it. I have to do something to offset my intake of potatoes and cheese!!

After that we all went to dinner at their house. Pasta Carbonara!! I love cooking, so I offered to help. They let me sauté. It's so nice having people around that I can hang out with outside of the dorm, especially because I get to experience some cultural diversity. For example, I tried Turkish coffee for the first time. It is delicious, and I'm not really a coffee person. Then Sarp read our fortunes in the seeds.

The pictures here are the view outside of their apartment. It's beautiful what you can see from so high up...kind of like my apartment back in Ithaca (which I miss so much!!! Roof party anyone?)




Tuesday was filled with business. I was researching flights and hotels for Livia and her trip to London for a conference, taking messages from people who were stopping by to inquire about membership, talking on Skype with those of you who have found me (yay!), having a SPECTACULAR lunch with the crew (pizza...again...what did I tell you?) and registering people for the event we having coming up on the 30th. In the mean time I was catching up on email from people from Cornell. I miss them so much! My time at Cornell was such an influential period in my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The girls of Kappa Delta had their recruitment period, and did very well! I looked at pictures from Bid Night, and the new class looks fantastic. Maybe someday I'll be able to join the recruitment process as an alum.

I also got another job! I will be teaching English to a group of adults through a grammar school here in Bratislava. It's supplemental income, so I'm not complaining, and it will give me a chance to really interact with the natives here. It's held once a week for 60 minutes, and the focus is on conversation. I know my mom will be proud of me :).

After work I went to the AIESEC offices to help them with trainee interviews. They needed a native English speaker to evaluate the candidates use of the language from a grammatical and vocabulary standpoint. It was a lot of fun. I liked hearing their stories and trying to open up their stream of consciousness. When I got back to the dorm the girls were already home, so we hung out and talked. Paulina and I bonded over our love of opera music. Music is such a good way to connect to people, because it a universal expression of emotion. No matter what language its in, if someone plays music for me, I understand what they feel.

This morning (Wednesday) it was particularly cold. It even started to snow a little bit! I'm not complaining, because its still sunny out. Besides, I like bundling up in layers. The only issue is that it gets REALLY windy here, so this is what I usually look like:



Amusing isn't it? I certainly think so. Thank goodness for Grammy and Grampy, who got me that coat for Christmas! (and for Bunny, who sewed the buttons I picked out onto it)

As for today, just doing the usual grind, and then we have our first Board meeting of the year. I am being introduced, so its very important. After that, who knows! There are so many things that I still need to explore.