7/2. "IT'S SOME KIND OF MIRACLE!!!"

Class began at 9 am today. We hurried through some genitive case exercises and then left for the metro at 10:45. We were going to the Balticka Beer Factory today! It took about an hour to get there (we needed to take the metro as north as the metro would take us) and then hopped on a bus to the factory. My mood today was probably as up and down as it’s ever been. I was tired, excited, sad, hyper, giggly, silly, boring… It continued all day, and depending on where we were, what we were learning, and who I was with, I was feeling one of the above emotions full force.

My favorite part of the tour was watching the little forklifts speeding around the giant storage space, beeping at each other and picking up boxes of beer. They looked like little bugs with headlights. This is when I was struck by a fit of laughter. There was something about it that reminded me of my best friend Jess, and knew she would be giggling just as uncontrollably as I was.

After the tour we were brought into a large restaurant space where we were treated to little meat and cheese sandwiches and a ton of beer. I sat at the table dubbed “LATIN AMERICA” and observed at least 15 toasts to various countries and people. As Max’s level of crudeness increased, I knew the time was approaching when our little party would be over. As we waited for the bus to get us at the factory, Max and I used the free Internet on my laptop. This was so convenient actually because I had some important emails to send and since Thursday was packed with activities and was really my only day to send them, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to. Everything worked out just fine as it always does in the end.

I finished my day at a McDonalds skyping with my Dad, Aunt El, and Meemaw. That was the most wonderful skype session. My Meemaw kept telling me how great I looked and that this Internet phone call was “some kind of miracle!!!” Ah how I miss home. I really am happy with the way my trip has turned out, but I still look forward to home as much as ever, even while I’m living in the moment and enjoying life here.