things got interesting.

It's really weird to think that I've only spent one full week here. It feels like I have been here so much longer. That's not a bad thing either. I am really loving this country and I am completely comfortable in it. I only know the buses to get to Old Town and to church, but that's all I really need, right? 

Last week was a pretty good one. Since I am the head teacher, I am always bouncing from class to class while the girls are teaching. I am continually helping to teach, evaluating, controlling kids, and busying myself with the little things that need to be done. It gets pretty stressful, but it's nothing a Lion bar or Bounty can't fix. 

On Friday after teaching we went to Old Town for dinner. Luckily for us, there were also some concerts that were happening. And as an added bonus, they were free! We heard the beat of the music before we saw where it. That got us all hyped up! When we saw the little stage and the crowds of people were hurried over to jump right in and join the party. The band was from Latvia and the songs they were singing were in English. So that was great for us. We sang along to the chorus and it was a great time! But by then we were starving, so we headed to find some food.

Originally, we wanted to eat at Charlie's Pizza, but on the way to find it we saw Cili Picca. So we decided to eat there instead. We got a nice little table outside and people watched the whole time. That might have been the best part. We all got pizza, and let me tell you, it was fabulous. I ate a whole medium pizza by myself. It's okay. You can call me fat if you want. I'll own up to it. (Plus I made a commitment to get fat with my little sister and her best friend...) Anyway, the food was amazing and we enjoyed every bite. But of course, like every sit down restaurant in Europe, it takes about two hours for the whole order your food, wait for your food, eat your food, and pay process to occur. 

By the time we had paid it was about 10:45 PM and we knew we had to go back to our bust stop soon, but there was another band playing down the street that we wanted to see really quick. So we made our way down to the big square to where the big stage was and saw the other band. We spent a few minutes there dancing and singing then it ended at !! so we headed to our trolley bus stop.

That is when things got interesting. 

We got to the stop at 11:10. The little time table on the post said that the trolley would come again a few more times. Well, by 11:50 our trolley bus still hadn't come. But Thomas had. As we were sitting on the bench, worrying a little about the trolley, a guy had heard us talking and asked where we were from. At first i was a little weirded out because he was randomly talking to us and it didn't seem like he was the sharpest tool in the shed. Plus it was almost midnight and I was worrying how we would be getting home and how I would tell the taxi driver our address if that's what we would be doing. Well, now I am convinced that Thomas was sent to us to help us get home. He had been talking to us for a little while and finally we asked if he could help us get a taxi. He was more than willing to help us find one. He even went and talked to the driver without us to make sure that the driver wouldn't over charge us. The taxi we found was parked at the end of the street we were walking down, just waiting for someone who needed a ride. I'm convinced that this happened for a reason, too. The taxi driver was a really, really nice guy too. If it wasn't for Thomas hearing us speak English and have the urge to talk to us, he never would have. And we never would have made it home so easily. I am so so thankful for both Thomas and the taxi driver.

And the taxi driver...well, for those who have been to Europe know that the people here drive crazy! I had never been in the front seat with a crazy driver though. But Mr. Driver was a crazy driver. And I was in the front. It was like a roller coaster. Seriously. I could not stop laughing. We were all having a good time talking and making funny comments, all the while thinking that Driver didn't speak English. Turns out we were wrong. When we got to where he was dropping us off, I said thank you and he said you're welcome back to me. I was just a little shocked. I asked if he spoke English and he said that he did. Driver had sat there the whole time listening to our conversation. Trying not to laugh. I was just a little embarrassed because some things had been said that probably should not have been said...but oh well! It was all part of the experience, for both us and him.


Saturday we went down to Siauliai to see the Hill of Crosses. We made a few pit stops on the way, including a place where a castle used to be. It was beautiful! We went to some other places in Siauliai including a cathedral, a cat museum, and a park with a giant sun dial. It was all so neat and it was a gorgeous day! It was a long car ride, but it was worth it. 

Sunday we all went to church at the Lithuanian Branch and it was such a great experience. Everyone was so friendly! We made quesadillas for dinner. I almost burned down the kitchen. No big deal. It's all part of the process of me becoming domestic.