Home for the Holidays

Ok, do I really even need to write a blog entry about how amazing it was to be home for a 12 day break?! Unless you’ve been through a similar situation, there’s no way to put into words how comforting it was to be back to my familiar surroundings and more importantly, back to being around all the people that I love most in the world. I’d ideally like to ramble on and give a recap of every single day at home (since every single day was so precious to me) but it can basically be summed up with: 3 Christmas parties with the best family in the world; some great welcome home surprises (Linz and Mal!); some shopping; practicing with my SLU girls and also road tripping to one of their games; getting my first haircut in 4 months!; some more shopping; a million hugs; some quality cousin time including a movie night at the Wambolds; kissing Dalton every chance I got; a fun New Years with my sister; oh and did I mention that we shopped….a lot. These are just a few of the random things that occurred, but more important than what I was actually doing, was just how great it was to be home. I know that word gets thrown around a lot but this whole experience has really made me appreciate it that much more. The simple comforts of being home and around the people you love is indescribable. Although it seemed like time flew by and was stretched thin over everything that I wanted to do and people I wanted to see, I’m so glad that I was able to make the most of the time I had and enjoy every minute of it (except for the 2 days I was sick- apparently my body has gotten too used to Lithuanian food….). So yes, the big 4 month anticipation of returning home was everything I’d hoped it to be!

Also, in looking back at my last post, I can happily say that I enjoyed all those amenities that I had missed so much. Case in point:

·         I had Chipotle/Qdoba 3 times, including on the way home from the airport (thanks for making my dreams come true Mom and Dad! :) )

·         I did alllll my laundry when I got home (or at least my Mom did) and put every last thing into the dryer- no “lay flat to dry” here! Also, I think Mom wrapped me up in hot-out-of-the-dryer-clothes at least 4 times. I swear, I will NEVER take advantage of a clothes dryer again!

·         I took nice long showers every chance I got, including one on my last day that was about 20 minutes long. Sorry environment, but I needed it!

·         After our long 30 second hug when Mal surprised me at my house, I immediately had her crack my back! And you can ask anyone in the room- my back cracked the entireeee way up. Best. Back. Crack. EVER!

·         Finally got my BLT (no mayo obvi) on honey oat!

·         Although my illness kept me from making it to Tony’s for some bread, all of the bread in America was so much better.

·         I used up napkins like they were going out of style. And, I even have a few “exclusive” Florida Bueno napkins from Linz and Murph’s wedding that they sent back with me!

·         I think I refilled my drink at Qdoba/Chipotle 5 times. Amazing.

·         Although my body pillow was originally MIA (Kate!!), I got it back in time to snuggle up with it most nights.

·         Ummm I dropped $250 at Target one day...and that wasn’t my only trip. Enough said.

·         Well seeing that most of you reading this probably got a text from me while I was home, yeah I utilized that too.

·         Thick crust Pizza Hut pizza one night and my favorite Imo’s pizza another. Both with mushroom and (normal) pepperoni! Perfection.

So obviously, my time home was amazing and just enough to recharge me for 4 more months “across the pond”. :)

Just a few of the million pictures i took while home--

My welcome home gang at the airport!

So happy to be reunited!!! :)



One of the many from our photo shoot!

Me and the SLU girls after their game at Ball State

Some things never change :)

Kemezys Fam Christmas 2010 <3



Home Tomorrow!!!!

The countdown is now down to the hours people!!  It’s hard to say the exact number of hours because of the time change and all that jazz, but basically as I’m writing this, my first plane leaves in just 15 hours!! There is absolutely no way that words can describe the excitement that I’m feeling right now. So instead of rambling on about that, I’ll ramble about something that I’ve been meaning to blog about for awhile…the things I miss from home the most and that I can’t wait to have in just a few more hours!! This list of course doesn’t include people since that would be too long, and yes a lot of it has to do with food, but it at least gives you an idea of the things I stay up at night dreaming about…Lol.

·         Qdoba/Chipotle. Hi my name’s Amanda Kemezys and I’m addicted to Qdoba/Chipotle. There, I said it. I absolutely love both of these places and ate at one of them at least once if not twice (if not thrice…yeah I said thrice) a week before I left home. Of course I made friends with the workers at the ones  by SLU and by my house and when I went there for my “last meal” the day before I left the states, my buddies even gave me my meal free since I told them my sitch and had been such a loyal customer. :) So yeah, I hope that paints a picture of my love/obsession/addiction. And seeing that there is no real equivalent to this here (or any Mexican food for that matter), I have been craving this since the day I left! But no worries, my loving family is obligingly helping me out and having my standard Burrito Bowl order waiting for me at home tomorrow night when I get in. So. Freaking. Excited!

·         Clothes Dryer. After devouring my Burrito Bowl the next thing I plan to do is to wash every single item of clothing I brought home and then….wait for it….put it in the DRYER!!! I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on here or not, but Lithuanians, and I believe Europeans in general, are not big fans of clothes dryers so I literally have not been able to dry my clothes in months. I’ve gotten used to the drying rack process and I love “going green” but oh my gosh it will be so nice to have clothes, especially socks, that are fluffy and not crusty.

·         Shower. Ok that sounds bad…I have in fact been showering here. Lol. BUT these showers consist of either a) showering at the gym where our “showers” in the locker room are two shower heads in a little area that would be considered small for a walk-in closet. It obviously gets the job done, but with 11 girls all vying for shower time, you usually gotta go as quick as possible. Showering option b) here is my shower at home which has no shower curtain. Apparently this is not a big deal here but it is a lot harder than you would think to enjoy taking a long, hot shower while having to worry about splashing water everywhere around your bathroom. So, needless to say I am PUMPED to get home and take a 20 minute shower where I don’t have to worry about creating a big puddle!

·         Back Crack. Although my mom cringes at it, I love a good back crack- most notably by Mal, Kate or Linz. I don’t know what it is, but these girls are like my own personal chiropractors and I can’t wait to get home and get “re-adjusted”!

·         Subway. Although Courtnay and I have found an awesome sandwich place here that we frequent at least once a week (and yes we’ve made friends with the workers there too), nothing compares to the awesomeness that is Subway. Give me either a BLT (no mayo obvi) or grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato sandwich on honey oat bread and call it a day! You can never go wrong with Subway and it is another food high on my priority list.

·         Bread. Similar to the excitement that will come from Subway’s honey oat bread, is just any bread in general. The majority of the bread I’ve had here is always pretty hard or dry so I look forward to normal, warm and soft bread back home. Anyone looking for a last minute Christmas idea for me could get me 5 loaves of bread from Tony’s in Mascoutah and I would be ecstatic! Haha.

·         Napkins. Some of you know my strange napkin fetish. I don’t know why, but whenever I’m eating anything, I like to have a good napkin on hand and I gotta say, the Lithuanian equivalent of a “napkin” is little more than a rough piece of paper.  I know, a weird request, but just one of those things…

·         Fountain soda/free refills/Ice in your drink in general. If you know my fam, you know that we are all pretty serious beverage consumers. No matter what it is- water, soda, tea, adult beverages too- we are all about the drinks. Anytime there’s a long car ride or even if we’ve been out and about all day, we’ll stop somewhere to get a refreshing drink and we are always heavy on the refills when eating out. Here- if you ask for a Coke you get just that- A Coke. Brought to you in a glass bottle with a cup. The bottle’s been in the fridge so it’s semi cold, but there is never any ice to be found. Even places like the movies or McDonald’s that actually have fountain soda sometimes don’t use ice or if they do it’s like legit 2 cubes. There are no free refills to be heard of and pet peeve #1 about beverages here is that water is NOT free!  Again, I know it’s something small and I’m sorry for the rant, but holy cow, someone take me to 7-11 when I’m home so I can get a Big Gulp!! :)

·         Body Pillow. I am a hugeee body pillow user and have always had one since I can remember. I love snuggling up with it when I sleep and am real excited to get home to mine!

·         Target/Walmart. Yes, there are stores similar to them here too, but just the familiarity of those 2 stores is what I miss. There’s just something about Target’s $1 section, 5 for $20 undies and $5 movies that says “home” to me I guess. Lol.

·         Texting. I do have a European phone here that I use with my team and I also have 50 international texts a month on my American phone that are used sparingly usually just to communicate with my Mom while travelling without internet (or to notify people immediately after our big Euroleague wins! :) ), but I miss just texting in general. Once my Dad finally realized how vital this mode of communication is for me and got me unlimited texting, I definitely use it to the max! I’m not as bad as some people of my generation and I don’t stay on my phone at all times, but I love and miss the convenience of just being able to text randomly with people when I see something that reminds me of them or that I think they will enjoy. Again, I know it’s weird, but just another comfort of home. So if you’re in my phone book, probably expect a text during the 2 weeks I’m home. :)

·         Pizza. Pizza is actually one of the things here that is pretty normal and the I enjoy often, but alllll pizza here is thin crust and since the “pepperoni” is like some other kind of weird sausage, I’m getting a little tired of thin crust cheese pizza. I’m dying for a pepperoni and mushroom pizza that is either a) not thin crust or b) from one of my fave pizza places- Imo’s or Dewey’s.

Well, I could keep going on with random things, but this at least gives you an idea of some of the crazy things I’ve missed while being away. I can’t wait to indulge in all of them, but of course I mostly can’t wait to see all my family and friends!! I really can’t imagine the emotions that are going to go through me when I finally land in St. Louis and am walking to the gate. When times were tough here in the beginning and I really missed home, I literally used to picture what the scene at the airport would be like the day I got back and that helped me get through things. I joke with my sister about having a big banner waiting there for me and I’m probably playing things up too much, imagining that it’s gonna be really dramatic like the last scenes in Love Actually, but regardless I cannot wait for the moment to run into my parents' arms and hug them. I forgot to add this to the list, but in reality, THAT would be my #1 thing I miss most- hugs from my parents. Both of my parents have those types of hugs where you never want to let go because while you're hugging it seems like all is right in the world. Anyone who has ever played on a team with me has usually gotten a warm Jean hug or a big Ray squeeze after a game and you know how special they are. So THAT is what I am now counting down the hours to. WATCH OUT AMERICA, HERE I COMEEEE!!!! :)

*Also- thinking that this may be my last blog entry til I get back to Lithuania (on January 3^rd), Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy spending it with family, counting your blessings like I will be! God has truly blessed me so much! :)

Life is Good… :)

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a look at how happy I've been lately--

LOVING LIFE!!

The last week or so here has been so crazy so let me try catching you up…

Merry Christmas from Vici!

Once again we got videoed passing out flyers to people advertising our game. And once again, it was awkward seeing that it mostly consisted of me saying “laba diena” (“good day”) to people and then pointing at the flyer as I hand it to them. Haha. As much as I enjoy PR stuff like this, and always ate that kind of stuff up at SLU, its definitely a little harder here with the language barrier but still fun. The cool thing about this shoot though was that it was in the old town center which has turned into a big Christmas area. There are little hot chocolate booths set up, a small ice rink and of course a huge Christmas tree in the middle. And the coolest part about this tree is the bottom portion. It’s hollow, just covered by netting, and is a place where kids come to leave all their letters to Santa. I really wish I could read Lithuanian because they all seemed so cute, but nonetheless it was adorable (see photos). The video did turn out cool though because Courtnay, Giedre and I got to ride in a little horse drawn carriage handing out flyers down the main street. Anyways, here’s a link to pictures and the video even though you can’t understand much. Oh except for a quality shot of me looking at the camera saying “I don’t know”. Haha. Yep, pretty standard. :)

http://www.basketnews.lt/news-35156-vici-aistes-kelyje-i-pergale-pasikinke-arkli-video-foto.html

I’ll have another steak dinner please!!

Yep, that’s right- ANOTHER EUROLEAGUE WIN!!!! This time against the Turkey team, Galatasaray- who beat us 82-58 at their place when we first played. Right ouch… I don’t know what it is, but home court advantage seems to be a big deal for us. This game was even more home-y for us because it was in the gym we practice in every day, not the big Kaunas Sports Hall. We were joking before the game- saying that these big-time, big-money players would be laughing at our tiny little gym in our tiny little country. But I guess we can now say that we got the last laugh! For those of you keeping track of my name-dropping, this is the team with Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles on it. I got 11 minutes this game and my stats (in ascending order) were 2 rebounds, 3 points and 4 fouls. I know, i know- it’s not good to have your fouls be your biggest stat, but for this game that was kind of part of my role. Ha. And although she still had 19 points, we kept Fowles to only 4 rebounds which is a pretty big feat itself. And again, it was pretty cool playing against such a high profile player. Anddd of course even better beating them! Also, you gotta love a halftime speech that ends with- “we all want more money for Christmas right?! So let’s win!” Hahaha.

I actually got some pretty good action pics from this game, most notably the one at the beginning of this blog. I usually never like any pictures of me playing because I always have a nasty look on my face, but this picture will probably be my all-time favorite. I just think it’s so cool that they captured the emotion perfectly and shows how happy I am, surrounded by my teammates after a big win. Here are a few other good shots from the game…

Here's that nasty in-game face I was talking about...haha.

Me and Big Syl

 Also, here's the video link from the game. And yes, that's me dancing around like a fool at the end with Natalia, the little (hilarious) old lady who does our team finances. Awkward but awesome. Haha. http://www.basketnews.lt/video/ziureti/vici-aisciu-tritaskiai-padejo-iskovoti-pergale-kaune.html 

Christmas Party

To top off the excitement of the big win, that night was also our team Christmas party! The cool part too is that it was at the Hotel Daniela, the place that I had stayed for my first couple weeks here. So it was kind of neat that the week before heading home I would return to my first Lithuanian “home”- kind of making my whole experience come full-circle. Anyways, the party was a total blast, as expected. It seems like no matter what we all do, this group is always up for a good time. It was a semi-fancy party too so it was fun seeing everyone all done up in their dresses. The night consisted of:

-Having some food and drinks. Although I steered clear of the egg salad concoction (yes, it still haunts me from my first day), there were some other good Lithuanian snacks to try and you can never go wrong with champagne and boxed wine. Lol. 

-Secret Santa gift exchange. Jurga, our assistant coach had me and got me a book on Lithuania (go figure. Lol). I had Vita’s name which I was pretty excited about. She’s definitely like the standard older, hilarious, surprisingly-inappropriate-at-times teammate so I got her a few gag gifts that were a hit and definitely caused her face to turn red. Haha. Also, at the grocery stores here they give out little stamps at the checkout, similar to like Tom’s in Mascoutah. Vita is a huge collector of these and about once a week she’ll ask if anyone has them to give her. So ever since I picked her name a few weeks ago Courtnay and I have been saving all of ours and I ended up with around 35 stamps to give her in her gift that she was extremely excited about! Ha. And in case you’re wondering family, yes I pulled the whole “walk around the room to try and fake out who you think my gift is going to” move that we enjoy so much! Lol.

-Flattery game. Migle had a bag of acorns/nuts that she went around the room and had everyone take a handful of. Little did we know that this would turn into a game. However many nuts you took, you had to say that many good qualities about yourself and then say that many good qualities about the person sitting to your left. It was fun to hear what people came up with, even though I only understood bits and pieces that were translated for me by the girls around me. I personally hate this kind of stuff because I don’t like talking about myself at all, but since I had only picked 6 nuts (not 19 like Lina!) it was ok. Rima talked about me and said some nice things and then I had to talk about Marina which was fun and easy. So overall it was a fun team experience.

-Dancing. Finally, after all that stuff, we got to the real party which involved us making a big dance circle like it was either a club or an 8^th grade dance, all taking turns to dance in the middle. With the drinks pouring, this turned into a pretty hilarious event, especially since the best dancer BY FAR was Mantas- yep, our head coach. Haha. I’m not sure where he learned his moves (we’re guessing youtube) but I definitely have to give him some props. This video doesn't even do him justice but gives you a little taste of the festivities. 

Him and Migle were a hit!!

Lithuanian North Americans!

Giedre and I traded smiles- my Lithuanian, her American :)

Kristina, Indre, Milda and Marina with the Hotel Daniela owner

Lina, Migle, Marina and Courtnay



Group at the end of the night- great times!!



Overall it was such a fun night and the perfect way to wrap up the first half of our season and get us ready for Christmas!! A Euroleague win and a great team party- yep, Merry Christmas to Vici! :)


Oh and of course to top it all off I will now (God-willing) be home in just THREE DAYS!!!! No worries, I've got one more blog in me before I leave that will fully detail my excitement! :) But it's not too soon to start saying prayers for safe (and ON TIME!!) travels!



Winner, winner, STEAK dinner

So since my last post we have had 2 Euroleague games. And basically they couldn’t have had 2 more different results (wow, is “more different” even correct English?? I swear, my English has become terrible here and I’m going to get my Language Arts teaching certificate revoked….). Two weeks ago we travelled to Russia to take on Spartak for the 2nd time (we play each team in our pool twice). And you know how I said I would NEVER forget that Spartak win?? Welllll, I guess they didn’t forget about it either because they put a pretty good whooping on us, winning 85-52 (go ahead and cringe with me). It can basically be summed up with us playing poorly, out of sync and not being able to hit a shot while they were shooting the ball like it was warm-ups. Also, that one girl, Lauren Jackson, you know, who’s considered one of, if not THE best player in the world, has now joined back with her team and had a solid 28 points for them. So yeah, it was pretty ugly. On the personal side, although I had a whopping 2 points, I played 11 solid minutes and gave some good time beating up on Jackson…except for the play when she steam-rolled me en route to an and-1. Buuuut other than that I did ok. :) I have to say, although I’m not a huge fan of Jackson’s, especially after witnessing her on-court demeanor first-hand, it is pretty cool to say I played against her and here are some pics to prove it!! (And YES Coach Gray, I will continue to be a shameless name-dropper! :) )

Me, Noelle Quinn and Lauren Jackson

A little perimeter D for the big girl :)

Making sure not to foul. :)

Me about to block Lauren Jackson! Or her hitting a J in my face...lol. But since you can't tell from the pic I'm gonna say it's the first description!

Now, turning the tables, this past week we were back in the friendly confines of the Kaunas Sports Hall to take on the Spanish team who had beat us by 20 when we played there with all their crazy fans. Well I guess the home court advantage was the key to our win! Oh and the fact that we went 15-30 from 3-pt might have helped us just a little too. ;) Similar to the first Spartak game, we were up by about 10 for the majority of it but let them get back in it towards the end, with them tying it at the 12 second mark. Our final winning attempt was off the mark so we headed in to overtime where we were able to hang on for the win! This was again a huge shocker for all of Euroleague as Spain was at the top of our pool and of course a heavy favorite. After having some rough beat downs the past few weeks in Euroleague it sure was nice to get a big win and see the team so happy again! But unfortunately we can’t be too happy because towards the end of regulation Ausra (probably our best all-around player) hurt her knee on a play and had to come out of the game. There wasn’t any big, dramatic collision, but seeing Ausra hobble off the court, holding her knee with the look of pain on her face- you could tell it wasn’t good. It turns out that it was something with her meniscus and after having surgery this Tuesday she’ll be out about 3-4 weeks. Which yes, is about the remainder of the Euroleague season. :( It’s definitely going to be even tougher to get anymore Euro wins without Ausra, but luckily its nothing worse for her and we’ll obviously try our best to fill her place til she gets back. As for me in the Spain game, I got 13 minutes of time, with again just 2 points, but also some solid D against their two star post players, Sancho Lyttle and Erika DeSouza (again, name dropping :) ). There was even one play where I blocked Lyttle so bad that she fell to the ground and as we were going down the other end with the ball the refs had to stop the play because she was still laying on the court writhing in pain. Ok, maybe it could have been a foul but since the refs didn’t call it, I gotta admit that I was pretty darn impressed with myself. That’ll teach her not to bring that stuff in my house again!! I know, I know, I’m just as bad at trash talking in my writing as I am in real life…I guess I’m just too pure of heart, right Livie?? :)

But anyways, overall I’m starting to get more playing time as my Euro adjustment’s getting better and my confidence is growing. Both Euroleague wins have been  huge but it’s nice to know that I actually physically contributed to this one. Oh and in all the excitement of my blog about our Spartak win I forgot to mention something else pretty cool- apparently we get a bonus for every Euroleague game that we win too! I know, I know, I LOVE MY JOB. Ha. And there’s nothing quite like a coach ending a post-game talk with “and now we get more money too!” Haha. So yes, that’s why I said it- winner, winner, STEAK dinner!! :)

Thanksgiving Rewind (LT version)

[SN: If you didn't figure it out, there's also a US version that I posted first]

A few weeks back, while complaining, agonizing, discussing how we were gonna miss Thanksgiving at home, Courtnay and I decided that we wanted to throw a “Canadian/American Thanksgiving party” here to make us feel more at home. Apparently those weird Canadians actually celebrate Thanksgiving on the 2^nd Monday in October, but Courtnay was willing to make our celebration closer to the US one. Since we usually have Sundays off we made plans to have it the Sunday following Thanksgiving. We would have liked to obviously have the whole team over, but with small apartments and limited cooking skills, we decided to just invite a few of the girls we’re closest to, Giedre, Marina and Lina (even though Lina had to bail on us last minute). After inviting the girls and explaining what the night would entail- basically lots of eating- Courtnay and I got to major planning. And as we all know, my motto for holidays (and life) is go big or go home so you best believe we did it up right! We ended up getting a whole formal seating arrangement of a card table, chairs, table cloth etc.  and after consulting some family members, came up with a menu of the following:

-appetizers of deviled eggs, nuts and cashews, and cheese and crackers (which btw apparently Lithuanians don’t do appetizers- we never see them on any menus at restaurants and it was a strange concept for the girls to eat the food before the actual meal was ready);

- twice baked potatoes

-rolls

-green bean casserole

-corn

-a carrot dish

-cranberry sauce

- TURKEY (obvi)

-and some famous Jean Kemezys recipe (the Betty Crocker box mix) brownies for dessert

The party was planned to be at Courtnay’s since she has the bigger apartment but since her oven went out the day before, most of the cooking was done at my place and then transported over. The oven malfunction ended up not being a big deal, but I have to admit that 2 people cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for 5 is pretty stressful! I definitely have a new found respect for all of my aunts who cook all our big holiday meals! :) I gotta say that my twice baked potatoes were no where near that of Aunt Cheryl’s and my green bean casserole can’t compare to my Mom’s, but most of the food turned out pretty good (well, except for the cranberries that didn’t quit make the cut…).

It was pretty funny seeing Giedre and Marina get so excited to try all the different food, lifting all the foil off stuff and asking what it was. We finally filled our plates, sat down to eat and I continued holiday tradition with having us join hands as I led us in a traditional Thanksgiving-style prayer, thanking God for all his blessings and the “family” that He has provided us to share our meal with. :) Besides having to re-heat a few things, the food was all well-received and since then no one has gotten sick of food poisoning. A.k.a it was a success! After clearing the plates we busted out some cards and that’s when the real madness began. We showed the girls how to play the game SPOONS, and let’s just say that they LOVED IT! I’ve been in some pretty heated games of SPOONS in my day with my fam and the SLU girls, but this was definitely a contender for the most intense SPOONS group I’ve been a part of. Every hand we were all literally on the edge of our seats waiting to grab a spoon and as soon as one was taken mass chaos broke out that usually included screaming at the top of our lungs. Although this video gets a PG-13 rating (sorry Mom), it at least gives you an idea of how exciting things got…

So all in all, it was a pretty solid evening. Good food, great friends and fun times- definitely says the holidays to me! :)

Pics from the day/night...

Started cooking bright and early!

Lovely table setting

Giedre ready to chow down!

It took 5 stores to scrounge up 4 Buds but we did it! Had to have American beer at Thanksgiving! (And yes, my Juicy Peanut coolie made it to Lithuania with me!!)

Digging in!!

Lithuanian family Thanksgiving :)





Thanksgiving Rewind (US version)

So obviously the 4th Thursday in November doesn’t mean the same thing here in Lithuania as it does in America. In fact, I was even taken aback when I was asked what the holiday is actually for. Trying to explain this literally to people from a different country was a lot harder than expected. My 5^th grade Social Studies answer ended up coming out as something along the lines of “when English people first came to America they sat down and had a big meal with the Indians who were already there to celebrate coming together”. Yeah, I know, I would lose on “Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?” but at least it got the point across. Haha.

Thanksgiving Day 2010 for me was spent mostly in airports. We were travelling back from our game in France and didn’t get home to Kaunas til the evening. So my big Thanksgiving Day meal was a bowl of Mac and Cheese (at least it was a little American right?). This day definitely reminded me of one thing that I am so thankful for- technology. Through the glorious ways of Skype I was able to still be a part of my family Thanksgivings at home. The way the Kemezys fam gets down for Turkey Day is church in the morning (which no, unfortunately, I was not able to Skype in for :) ), Dad’s side of the family for lunch and then Mom’s side of the fam for dinner. And at both places I was able to see almost every family member possible. In 3 words- It. Was. AWESOME!!! Since Dad’s side is a smaller crowd they mainly all huddled around the computer at once, with Mociute front and center of course. This skype session consisted of—Maria playing a song she wrote on her guitar (so impressive!), me telling all my Lithuanian stories and Uncle Arvid making fun of my attempts to actually speak Lithuanian. Oh and how could I forget some amazing cameo appearances by Mrs. Weston, Uncle Jim’s mom- she definitely always livens up a family party! :) I stayed on with them for about an hour and we all shared in our usual banter back and forth, making me feel like I was actually there.

Next, I moved on with the family to the Lockwood’s house for the Klingelhoefer fam’s gathering. There were some technical difficulties here, in that apparently I was only a small, dark picture to them, but I could see everyone perfectly so it worked out well for me! Since there were quite a few more people at this shindig, there was more of a procession here, where people took turns filing in and out to catch up. As much as I talk to a few of my cousins regularly, it was great to see all the extended family members that I miss so much. Also, this was the first time I skyped with my Grams, and although she seemed a little leery about talking through a computer, it still warmed my heart to see her. And no offense to anyone else, but the other most exciting part was to see my baby boy Dalton! Ok, he’s actually my cousins Em and Matt’s baby boy, but I sure do miss him the most from home. After being there from the minute he was born, it’s so hard being away now and missing him grow up! I can’t believe how big he looked on camera and how big he is gonna be when I get home to see him at Christmas. And yes family, I get all-time dibs on holding him! :) So although it was a little bittersweet actually seeing him, it also absolutely made my day anddd I’m pretty sure I heard him say “Manda.” ;)

So even though I had to stay up til 3 am my time, it was well worth it to get to semi spend the day with all my family. Like I said, I really am so thankful for technology allowing me to do this. And at the same time, this Thanksgiving, I of course did some cheesy reflecting on the things I am most thankful for (come on, it’s me, queen of cheesiness). Basically, I just cannot get over how much God has blessed me with such a wonderful life. For starters, I am taking part in an amazing opportunity right now- being able to play professional basketball in the country of my ancestors. Growing up with my Dad’s side of the fam so proud of our heritage, it is so special to be able to experience it all first hand and then to share all of that with my relatives back home. It also makes it that much more special that I am surrounded by such a great group of people here. It’s hard going through the holiday season wanting to be home with family, but at the same time, (as cliché as it sounds) my team here really is like my family. I’ve made great friends that I know care so much for me and I am making great friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

Along the same giving-thanks trend, I just have to say THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me a card, package, email, message or whatever wishing me luck on this adventure. I had told my mom awhile back about how I don’t think I ever felt so loved by so many people until I left the country! Haha. It sounds weird, but seriously the outpouring of well wishes I’ve received so far is just unbelievable to me. Including all you blog readers, I just can’t believe how many people care so much about the experiences I’m going through. It is so awesome and just re-iterates to me how much God has blessed me to be surrounded by such caring, loving people in my life. For that, I can never be thankful enough. :)

And here are a few pics I snapped during the Skype experiences....



Most of Dad's side of the fam

Mrs. Weston giving Mociute some love :)

What a cutie!! And you're lookin good too Emmy! :)

Blowing me a kiss! <3

The most family members we could fit in the pic. Can't wait to see you all soon!! :)



The team that prays together, stays together

Yes, this might be a record for the most recent blog I've done in awhile! We just returned from our game in France, where we unfortunately suffered another Euroleague loss. This time it was only by 4 and we were in the game most of the time, but a lousy first half and poor execution down the stretch killed our chances. This was the most I’ve gotten to play in a Euroleague game though, and although my stats once again aren’t great, I held my own (yes I know, I need to work on that stats part so I can stop just saying “I held my own”).

Anyways, I’ll spare all the basketball details because quite frankly it’s a loss that’s still stinging and I’d rather not relive it. But besides the game, France was a great experience itself. If you noticed in the name of my blog, I’m kind of obsessed with the book (and movie) Eat Pray Love. And although the Pray part was tweeked a little for the sole purpose of a fun play on words, this trip was definitely the Pray leg of my journey. Our game itself was in Tarbes, France but the hotel we stayed at was actually in a small town called Lourdes that basically sits in the middle of the Pyrenees Mountains (hence the gorgeous mountain pics!). Some of the girls told me about the religious significance of the town, and after doing a little Google-ing of my own I discovered that Lourdes is considered one of the most sacred places in all of Europe and the most visited pilgrimage shrine in the Christian world. People come from all over the world every year to visit the sacred church and grotto of Lourdes, believing that it has special healing powers (For some more info on Lourdes, click here- http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/france/interesting_lourdes_facts.html).

Although I am Lutheran, not Catholic, and am not sure if I felt any true “healing powers,” I do know that being in such a spiritual place was an incredibly moving experience for me. We had free time before our game Wednesday and the whole team walked about 2 blocks to the church/grotto area. You’ll be able to see in the following pictures that there is basically a large church in the middle of a town square and then if you go around the side, that is where the grotto is in the side of the mountain/church. We all went through the grotto, each having some time to take in the moment, and then we walked over to an area that was a huge alley of booths where you could light sacred candles for people who have passed away. Although I didn’t light a candle, I did have an opportunity to have a moment of prayer and reflection with God. Most of you know that I’ve had a few loved ones pass away while I’ve been here and the grieving process from half a world away has been hard to go through to say the least. Even though I didn’t let myself get completely overwhelmed in this moment, I really did feel more at peace being in such a sacred place. So yeah, I think that Aunt Jan, Bonnie and my Louisburg Grams (Liv’s grandma) were all there looking down on me in France. :)

Walking back towards the church from the grotto, we also had another pretty cool experience where we were able to partake in the holy water there (I know Kate, “partake” is a big vocab word, but it’s the most fitting :) ). Some of the girls had brought their own water bottles to fill up and take back with them, but the rest of us simply washed our hands and faces with the water. Also, Migle had brought an extra-large bottle that she filled and then we all passed around and took a drink from. Ok, let me get my random, immature thoughts out before I get back to being serious. I thought of 2 things while drinking- 1) Either we’re all going to be blessed with good health or we’re all going to get swine flu, and 2) when it was my turn to drink I kept thinking of myself as Sean Connery’s character in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when he drinks out of the Holy Grail. Too bad I didn’t have any bullet holes in me to see if it worked…

Anyways, joking aside, the whole experience was pretty cool and definitely another one to add to my collection. Not only was it neat for me personally, but it was pretty special to share that experience with my team. Most Lithuanians are very devout Catholics and although I’m not for sure that all the girls on the team are, you could tell that they were all just as moved by the whole experience. Like I said, the team that prays together, stays together. :)


View out of our hotel window

Awesome snow-covered mountains

Walking the streets of France, no big deal :)

St. Louis of France? Perfect!

Gorgeous Church

Sacred grotto

Alley of sacred candles

Getting our holy water

View looking out from the top

Blessed team :)