Week seven
Week number seven flew by awfully fast. It felt like just a second. On Saturday, I woke up at my friend’s house and then accompanied her to her two-and-a-half-hour-long hair appointment; I just sat there, talking to her and watching the Huskers lose another football game while she was getting her hair done. I could’ve gone home or done something more engaging, but I enjoyed spending this, even seemingly endless, time with a person I feel comfortable around. After she took me home, I wasn’t idle for too long, thanks to a group of my friends picking me up to come and get ice cream with them. I had a lovely evening spent with dear people.
On Sunday morning, we agreed on a call with one of my fellow exchange buddies. However, we didn’t realize how far from each other we were and set up a. early morning time, not considering the time difference. He turned out to be waiting for my call for an hour; meanwhile, I was still peacefully sleeping. 😀 Ultimately, my alarm rang, and we agreed to catch up with each other some other time since he was no longer unoccupied. So I called my family instead. I told them everything I’d been doing and heard about their lives back home. Seeing my loved ones’ joyful faces, although only through a screen, always gives me a feeling of safety and comfort, and their support helps me keep going.
The school days weren’t too interesting, yet still, for the most part, delightful. I kept my grades up, talked to new people, and tried to step out of my comfort zone at least a little every day. What I consider worth mentioning is the C-team volleyball game on Tuesday which we didn’t know about beforehand, so it caught us off guard and unprepared. However, I got to play for longer than just a few minutes, and I don’t think I did that horrific though it was my second time on the court. We were far from winning, but at least we had fun! 😀 It felt good, standing there, seeing the energy of all the people around cheering for us, knowing they came there to support our team.
In contrast to the day before, when the whole team enjoyed playing volleyball, our Wednesday practice got canceled. We were missing coaches and, honestly, even motivation to do anything.
“We don’t have a game until next Tuesday, and the varsity girls are just going to watch the film from yesterday,” they said. So we went home instead. It was my first free afternoon since school started, and it simply felt strange not to do anything, so I decided to bake while I was home alone. I made gingerbread cake, a Czech dessert, for my host family to try. And they loved it. And I loved making it for them, showing them a bit of my culture because they’ve been teaching me about theirs since we met.
The team’s laziness lasted til the next day, and we had no volleyball practice on Thursday either. I went on a walk around Doniphan, communicating with people on the other side of the ocean, and then spent the rest of the day working on homework until my host family came home.
We finally had practice on Friday, and after the two days off, it felt much longer than it was. But we made it through. There was a football game in the evening, and though it was an away game, it wasn’t too far away, so I was thinking about going. I decided to go for sure when a friend and his family offered me a ride without me having to mention I didn’t have one. It’s the little things. The little things that make me feel welcome and want to go. Also, I’m following the rule never to say no to any plans. They took me to try Subway’s cookies on the way to Wood River, where we watched our team lose once more and then went back home. It was the first time I experienced a football game at a different school’s field, but, to be honest, it was not too different from the home games. There may not have been as many people in the student section, but the spirit was the same, and I loved it.
