April

Prom
Povedala by som, že prom je najväčšia školská udalosť roka. Na prom môžu ísť iba juniori a seniori (tretiaci a štvrtáci). Aj preto sa to chápe ako niečo výnimočné. Všetci sa pripravujú v predstihu. Dievčatá si niekoľko mesiacov pred promom kupujú krásne šaty. Všetci sú vyobliekaní, akoby išli na ples. Chlapci v oblekoch a dievčatá v šatoch a opätkoch. Aj napriek tomu však ide o školskú diskotéku. Mne sa táto kombinácia modernej hudby a formálneho oblečenia zdala celkom čudná. Zvykom je pripraviť sa na prom (make-up) spolu s kamarátmi a ísť na večeru. Samotný tanec trvá od 8 do 11 večer.

Prom is the biggest social event at our school, probably in most American high schools. It is something special because it is just for seniors and juniors. Everybody is preparing for it in advance. Girls are looking for a nice dress... Everyone looks fancy. Boys wear suits and girls fancy dresses and high heels. Although everyone looks super formal, it is just another school dance. To me the combination of formal clothes and modern music was kind of funny. Before the dance students get together with their friends, get ready for the dance and have dinner. The dance is then from 8 to 11.  

First time at a baseball game

My Birthday, Slovak dinner and Easter

Surprise Birthday Party
Deň sa začal hrôzostrašne. Do školy som musela ísť na bicykli, čo by nebol žiadny problém, keby nelialo ako z krhly. Kým som teda prišla do školy bola som úplne premočená. Na hodine IOP sme bicyklovali, preto som ráno musela svoj bicykel dopraviť do školy. (IOP je dvojhodinovka kombinujúca hodinu angličtiny a športu, príspevok o škole bude čoskoro...) Po dvoch hodinách na bicykli som bola absolútne vyčerpaná a to ma ešte čakal dvojhodinový frisbee tréning. Po tréningu sme s Linou bicyklovali ku mne domov. Kým som prišla domov bola som na konci so silami. Keď som vkročila dnu privítali ma kamošky so slovami "Happy Birthday". Moja najlepšia kamoška Lina mi tajne zorganizovala narodeninovú oslavu!  Bola som naozaj prekvapená, ani vo sne by mi nenapadlo, že sa na mňa niečo chystá. Prekvapenie bolo o to väčšie, že som sa už celkom zmierila s tým, že tohtoročné narodeniny veľmi neoslávim. Oslava bola super!

The day didn’t start very well. I had to ride a bike to school. I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t raining so hard. By the time I got to school I was soaking wet. In IOP (2 period long English and sport class, I’ll post about school soon) we were riding our bikes, that’s why I had to bring the bike to school. After two hours of bike riding I was completely exhausted but I still had Frisbee practice to go to. Afterwards Lina and I biked to my house. By the time we got there I was at the end of my tether. As I walked in my friends greeted me with the words “Happy Birthday”. My best friend, Lina, organized a surprise birthday party for me! I was really surprised, I thought it is gonna be just a regular day. The surprise was even bigger as I was already reconciled that this year I am not really celebrating my birthday. The party was great!

Easter in the US
Veľká Noc v Amerike nie je veľkým sviatkom, žiadne Veľkonočné reklamy, žiadna záplava zajacov v supermarketoch, dokonca ani v škole sme nedostali jediný deň voľna. Možno aj preto, že niektorí ľudia tu oslavujú židovský sviatok Passover. Ale aj tak si myslím, že by tu mali zaviesť Veľkonočné prázdniny. V podstate tu Veľká Noc znamená len Veľkonočnú nedeľu. Vtedy deti hľadajú vajíčka, ktoré v noci schoval "Veľkonočný zajac". Namiesto Veľkonočnej večere sa tu skôr uprednostňuje obed, my sme však mali brunch. Prišlo aj zopár rodinných kamarátov. Potom sme všetci hľadali vajíčka (na moje želanie).

Easter in the US is not a big deal. I didn’t see any Easter commercials, any huge department in the grocery store devoted to Easter goods, as I am used to. We didn’t even get a single day off in school. In Slovakia we get a whole week off! Maybe it‘s because America wants to be different and not focus on Christians, as some people celebrate Jewish celebration called Passover. But I wish we have had the holidays anyway. Basically Easter is here just the Easter Sunday, when family gets together for a lunch rather than for dinner as it is in Slovakia. Famous tradition over here is Easter egg hunt, that Easter bunny hid at night. I was also looking for eggs with my host family. I know one could say that I am too old for that but well I wanted to experience it. If you want to see how the Easter in Slovakia is like click here.

Slovak dinners

Na konci júna pôjdeme spolu všetci výmenní študenti na koncoročný výlet po západnom pobreží. Keďže tento výlet je celkom drahý rozhodla som sa zorganizovať Slovenskú večeru (pre Rotariánov z môjho klubu). Najskôr som sa toho celkom bála, variť pre viac ľudí? kde sa všetci pomestia? No nakoniec všetko dobre dopadlo. Moji hostrodičia mi pomohli s organizáciou a kamošky s varením. Môj Rotary klub ma naozaj veľmi podporil, záujem o večeru bol taký veľký, že nakoniec boli dve večere po asi 20 hostí. Podávala som pagáčiky, ako predjedlo, guláš, ako hlavný chod, a ako dezert burizonový koláč a perník. Akcia bola naozaj úspešná, nielenže všetkým veľmi chutilo a pýtali si recepty, ale vyzbierala som aj dostatok peňazí na výlet. 

Pagáčiky-appetizer

Guláš-Slovak pork stew

Desserts

At the end on July all the exchange students are going together on West Coast trip. As it is pretty expensive I decided to do a fundraiser, cooking Slovak dinner for Rotarians from my club. At first I was concerned how is it all gonna work, cooking for many people, fitting in our house. Everything turned out well after all. My host parents helped me with organization and my friends with cooking. My Rotary club really supported me, the demand was so big that instead of having one dinner, we had two. About 20 guests each time. The event was very succesful, not only did everybody like the food and they asked for recipes, but I also raised enough money to go on the trip.