Okay, soo first off...that last blog...ohhh..yeah...ok maybe a little rough.
I was obviously very upset and felt like blogging. It's kind of crazy and angry and weird, I know. So...just kind of ignore it, if you can.

Anyways
I LOVE BRITNEY!

As is that's news. But her new album came out this last week. But Croatia likes to be behind on a lot of things, such as getting Femme Fatale. So I'll have to wait until Croatia gets it. But goodness gracious. Do not tell me her songs suck. They are good. Every album is a little different than the last. Some people might not like it, but it shows that she's progressing and moving with the times instead of trying to hangout to the past. If people want to dance to songs about dancing till the world ends, she'll have it for you. She's fabulous!

This last weekend, I was in Osijek, Vinkovci, and Vukovar. These are some towns in like the Eastern area of Croatia. I liked Osijek because it's this smaller, but kind of big town. It's smaller than Zagreb, like Madison maybe...or a little smaller. But I liked it because I feel like things would feel so much different going to school as an exchange student in a little city like that compared to a freaking capital with one million people in it. My croatian would probably have progressed a whole lot more and my weekend plans would be so much different and I would be friends with more Croatians, especially because it would be doubtful that another exchange student would be in Osijek with me. I'd be even more independent and I don't know...the differences in lifestyles would be soo different for me. And Vinkovci was this really tiny town. I guess there wasn't anything to special about it, but it was this cute little town. Like Waunakee. Hah! It was fun though because we went out clubbing with some cool croatians from there. They were all so nice and friendly and it was fun to go out clubbing somewhere new and make new friends. I think it was really surprising for people there to meet an American. Which is so interesting because I mean I expected from the beginning people would be excited to meet a foriegner, but in Zagreb, they have plenty of tourist that it's a little interesting to them but not mind blowing. I was making friends with some random people in Vinkovci because they heard me speaking English, and they did NOT believe that I was American. They thought I was pretending or something. They were drunk as well, but still! I had to show my drivers license to prove it, but they would not believe it because what the hell would any tourist be doing in a small tiny little town. It was fun. Then we walked around Vukovar and got a nice little tour and some learned about the history and stuff. Vukovar, though, is a very sad place. It's right by the border to Serbia. And it was a huge battlefield during the war. This town is basically known for the destruction and bloodbath it faced during the war. There are so many buildings that are half gone, burned up, falling apart, and covered in bullet holes. There are warning signs around to not walk where people don't normally walk in case of mines since there are still mines around. I mean Serbia destroyed this town. So we got a history of the murders and battles and everything. It was depressing. But I love history and I like to learn this stuff. It's just sad to think about. Then we took a train home and here I am.

I didn't spend much time sleeping, which is a pointless hobby to take up. I like to stay up late. So this weekend I got about 7-8 hours of sleep.

I came home and instead of passing out like any normal human being, I went on skype and talked with my family. It's always something I look forward to of course. I talked with moj tata (my dad) and moja mama (my mom) and moja mlada sestra (little sister). I started talking about packing stuff up, I don't know why. And there is no way in hell that I will be able to pack it all up and take it all back. So I'll have to give up some of my old stuff and send some of it and hopefully pack it all up with no problems. But I'm a pack rack. I suck at throwing stuff away. So we shall see how that one goes.
My mom told me about Ava (my niece). I love seeing Ava on skype. I miss her to death and she's so adorable I can't help myself. But seeing her on skype only makes me miss her so much more that it hurts. And so it's a bittersweet kind of thing.
My mom then started talking to me about how she can't wait for me to come home. And if you know me well enough, you know I'm not very emotional. I don't cry much and if I do, then it sure as hell means something. But I don't know what came over me, my mom started talking about it and saying how she can't wait to hug me and all and it made me cry. Goodness gracious I miss home. I'm not homesick. I mean I guess that looks like it doesn't make sense. But to me, there's a difference between missing home and being homesick. Of course I miss it, it's my home and it's where I've been. But homesickness to me is something more like it's killing you how much  you miss home and you don't really feel up for anything other than going home. I mean I miss my family and my friends. But I'm past being homesick.
 I will be excited to go home. But I will be soo sad to leave this all. I created a life here. I've created this girl who can survive in a foreign country. I've been drinking coffee as a recreational sport everyday since being here. I've had big ass lunches and barely there dinners. I've figured out how to get somewhere in Zagreb and which tram or bus to take (for the most part at least). I know how to order things in Croatian and how to deal with rude people on the street (ignore them). There is a life here. Not a touristic adventure. A life. My life. And I'll be leaving it in a few months.

But let's not focus on that.
Imma go to them clubs and imma dance and imma take advantage of all the goods i got me here.

I also realized I'm the worst out of all of us kids in Croatia at Croatian. I suck. Suckity suck suck. A few months ago I might have been upset. But like I said, I only have a few months, and no matter how hard I try to push myself, it's always in my mind that I'll be leaving soon, and I'll have no more use of this language. So whatevers.

My grandpa sent me this lovely email and it just made me smile. He sent his usual love and encouragement and sweetness and all. And then at the end he said something that hit me.

"You will always cherish the good and the not so good of Youth Exchange"


I mean duh. There have been some pretty good parts to this exchange that I cherish and will hold onto for the rest of my life, or as long as my memory works (let's be honest, my memory hasn't exactly been the strongest either). But he also said not so good. The not so goods! I will cherish those. They were and are and will be apart of my exchange. And I cherish every moment I have here because it's something that should be and deserves to be cherished.
 I love you Opa. You're crazy, but I love you, nonetheless.


I feel like there's never anything too exciting going on with me. But I felt the need to of course apologize for my last blog and to update everyone on my weekend.


Also my weekend was super awesome because Rotary paid for it all. It's about time! It was nice for them to let us go on this expense free weekend and shower us with gifts and hospitality. 
I have pictures to upload, college applications to start, notifications to look at, and a bed to sleep in. Busy night for me.