september favs

how is september over? this month flew by. but i'm ready for october because that means it's my birthday month! and birthday week starts tomorrow. so pretty much it's the best time of the year. but i thought i would share with you some of my favorite things from this month!

pringles: so far, this is the only american brand that we have found that tastes the same here as it does in the states.

madi: i don't even really know what to say about her. ya know how people say that heavenly father puts people in your life that he knows you need? yeah this was madi. i'm so happy and forever thankful she's in my life. we're literally the same person.

i mean honestly, she's perfect

the girl on the train: i read the best book this month!! it's called "The Girl On The Train". i finished it a couple weeks ago, but still am thinking about it. it was so well written and it had such a good story. and they're making a movie that comes out a little after i get home and i'm so excited!!!! i totally recommend it.

peanut butter: my mom and family was nice enough to send me a package all the way here. i waited almost 3 weeks for it but it was so worth it. it had things like mac n cheese, swedish fish, protein bars and PEANUT BUTTER. they don't have peanut butter here so to pull out a jar of peanut butter and just eat a huge spoonful was pretty much like eating a spoonful of happiness.

#soblessed

ooh x jon bellion: this has been on repeat for the past 2 weeks.

Vakaris: this little boy has completely stolen my heart. i love him so much! he's one of my best speakers and has the sweetest personality. i love seeing him everyday. hearing his little voice say my name just melts my heart.

facetime: i've been missing home a little more than normal lately so it has been so nice to be able to just call my family. it's so nice to just hear their voices and see their faces. and i always get to see naulie so that always makes everything better

rain: it rains here a lot! and i love it a lot. but everytime it rains i secretly wish it would be raining in st. george instead of here so that st. george could have the water. oops i'm a desert girl

family: i've loved and missed my family a little extra this month. s/o to you guys for being homies

p o l a n d

sooooo, we had our first 4 day vacation! we get two 4 days and one 10 day. we get school off according to the schedule that the local school here has. so we spent this one in poland!

so we got out of school on thursday, and we were taking a night bus to warsaw. the bus left at 10:30 and we got there around 5 the next morning. we pulled up to the bus station and the first thing madi says is, "wait, is this a joke?" it literally was nothing. it looked like just a city bus stop. and we still had to wait like another hour for our next bus and it was 5 in the morning and cold and there was nowhere to sit. so we went and sat in the closest metro station. the sweetest metro cop kept coming up trying to talk to us in polish even though we didn't understand. it was so funny!

so we got to krakow around 11, but it took us awhile to get to our hostel. we stopped to get something to eat and then we all had to exchange money because they don't use euros. it was a pain, but their money was sooo pretty so it was okay! it was about a 10 minute walk from the bus station to our hostel. poland is such a change of scenery from lithuania. i thought vilnius was green, but then we got to krakow and it changed my mind of green. trees EVERYWHERE. it was so pretty! we got checked in to our hostel and then went out. we walked around their old town for awhile and they had a local market going on so that was fun to see. it was kind of like a flea market. after that we walked up to a castle that overlook the whole town. it was so pretty!! after the castle, we split up. the other girls went to see some churches and we went to the mall. madi got some hunter boots for like $60. everything in poland was ridiculously cheap. after that we all met back up at the hostel and went for dinner. we went to this traditional polish place. they called it a salad bar, but it's not like what you're thinking. so you paid like 13 zlotys (like $4) and got 4 different items. and you got to choose 4 items from the salad bar. i had roasted potatoes, pumpkin soup that was to die for, pasta salad, and a cous cous salad. after dinner we went back to the hostel and we were all asleep before 10. it was a long day.

saturday morning we had a tour scheduled for Auschwitz. it is about an hour and a half bus ride from krakow. it was a rainy and gloomy day. we pulled up and the feeling was just indescribable. it's not what i expected. i was expecting concrete barracks, but instead they were pretty nice red buildings. i hate to say nice, but they were better than what i expected. we toured the gas chambers, torture rooms, and prisoners barracks. we toured where criminal medical experiments were practiced on women and children. we saw where innocent prisoners were lined up and killed. it's a hard feeling to describe. you learn about Auschwitz all through school and hear of all the terrible stories and experiences, but actually seeing it was a whole different thing. being there was a life changing experience. i don't even really know what else to say about it. it was a very surreal feeling. once we got back from Auschwitz, we hung out in the hostel for awhile and then we went in to the Jewish Quarters. it was a cool part of town and i was excited to go. we didn't spend nearly as much time there as i wanted. but while we were there we went to a place called Bagel Mama and oh my gosh. i got a bagel with hummus and it literally was so good. best hummus i've ever had. and i don't know if it was the best hummus i've ever had because it's been over a month since i've had hummus or if it really was that good. but i seriously was so happy. after that we headed back in to old town and we all split up. madi, mccall, and i went and got donuts and hot chocolate at a cute donut shop we found. it was raining outside and we sat and talked for quite some time in the shop. it was so fun. after sitting there for awhile we decide we were kinda hungry and we didn't really wanna go back to the hostel. we found a 24hr pierogi restaurant and decided to stop there. we got meat filled and spinach filled and shared the two big plates. they were so yummy! after that we headed back to the hostel and went to bed.

the next day we headed to zakopane. the bus ride was about two and a half hours. the polish country side was seriously so beautiful. we pulled in to zakopane and my heart almost exploded with joy. we were in a town that was completely surrounded by mountains. it reminded me A LOT of park city or springdale. i miss the mountains so terribly much. we went and checked in to our hostel and we were going to go on a hike before it got dark. it gets dark there around 6:30 so we were trying to hurry. the town was located right by a local national park. it was quite a far walk to the trailhead but so worth it. it wasn't much of a hike, but more like a nature walk. but it was so beautiful. it was raining the whole time which made it really foggy and pretty. we were surrounded by huge trees and pretty rivers. i loved it so much. i ALMOST felt at home. minus the red rocks. and their were too many trees and it was too green to be St. George. but hey, at least i was in the mountains. after the hike we split up. madi, mccall, and i went to find dinner. we ended up at a kebab place that literally was so cheap and had huge kebabs that were way good. after dinner we wanted a treat so we went to the mcdonalds across the street and got fries and a mcflurry. and let me tell you, you guys are missing out. they have a lion mcflurry here that they obvi don't have in the states because we don't have the lion candy bar. but WOW it is so delicious and so happy and i'm gonna miss it so much. and also, mcdonalds here are way nice?? it's super weird.

next day, was mostly a travel day. but we woke up in the morning and went to the park and then walked around town for a little bit. and then.. it was time to get on the bus. monday was miserable. we got on the bus in zakopane around 1 pm and got off in warsaw around 9. once we got to warsaw we had to wait 2 hours for our next bus back home to vilnius. so our bus back to vilnius left around 11 and we got home at 8:45 on tuesday morning. it was the worst thing ever. travelling on buses like that is not okay. madi and i got home and fell asleep for 4 straight hours. and i don't even remember falling asleep. it was an exhausting few days. but it was so fun!

xoxo,
ann

krakow

bff

street art in the jewish quarters

reflection in an espresso machine

kebab

sheep dog

 for red

 candy shop on the side of the road in zakopane

famous zakopane cheese stand

weekend 5

wowow hi! i'm so sorry i haven't posted for awhile. i'm still alive, i swear. a lot has happened since i posted last so i'm kinda just gonna try to sum it all up real quick.

september 11-13
we had a way long week at school, so friday night we just went straight to Pizza Express and picked up dinner. my love for Pizza Express is a little much. it's kind of like our equivalent to Little Caesars. but 4975945 times better. you can get a HUGE pizza for 6 euros. and then they give you this garlic sauce to go with it that is ah-mazing. at first, it was super weird. but now thinking about coming back to the states and eating pizza without it, makes me way sad. anyways, so friday night we just had a pizza night and it was so good.

saturday we slept in and then went on a picnic to the park. it was kind of a rainy, gloomy day. but it was nice. it felt really good outside. we stopped at the maxima and everyone got whatever they wanted for lunch and then we went in to town to the park. the park is SO nice. it is huge and has a river that goes through it. we saw 10+ brides that day. it was so much fun! after we went to the park, we walked up to the Gediminas Tower. it overlooks the whole city. it's so pretty to just sit up there because you can see everything. since we were up on a hill, it was kinda windy and pretty chilly. so we decided to head home. later that night we met up with Edgar and Greta and just went in to old town. it was a good weekend!

teaching
teaching has seemed to get a lot easier for me. our kids are behaving better, with the occasional bad days. the best feeling about this, is seeing all of the progress my kids are making. it is such a good feeling to see them smile when they pronounce something right or are able to easily answer your question. my love for these kids is insane. my heart already hurts having to think about leaving them.

i'm gonna be better about posting, i swear. sorry grandma and mama! i love you all

xoxo,
ann

i'm lucky enough to live here

madi wore her hunters, and i took advantage of the last

time i had to wear my birkis before it gets too cold

week from hell

let's be real here. of course i'm living in europe, but i'm here to teach english. i spend 4 hours a day in a classroom with my kids. i love them with all my heart, but wowowow can it be extremely challenging. this week especially. every single one of our teachers struggled this week. we struggled with disrespect, little voices speaking russian/lithuanian over us, and kids telling us they didn't have to do what we were asking. one thing that is so frustrating about it all, is that i want these kids to learn and pay attention SO bad. i want them to come to class and get something out of it. i want it to be as beneficial as possible for my kids. one thing that made the week a little bit okay, was that tuesday was national learning day, so all of our kids were giving us flowers and hugs.

by the end of the week we were so exhausted. friday night we all just came home and laid in bed and watched movies. saturday we slept in and then went to lunch at a brazilian buffet with Dima and his family. it is mccall's birthday today, so we celebrated it yesterday! she hates her birthday and i can't really relate because my birthday is my FAVORITE day of the year. but i love her so much and i'm so excited it's her birthday. then saturday night there was kind of like a festival going on in old town. edgar and his friend richard took us. edgar kept calling it capitol days. so i think it was kinda like their fourth of july. there was tons of vendors, artists, and live music. it was really fun. but it was pouring all night! i loved it so much. i wished the whole time that it could have been st. george getting the rain and not vilnius :) oh!! and yesterday we bought bus tickets and hostels for our trip to poland in two weeks!!!!!!! i'm so excited!

i thought about home a lot this week, maybe cause it was so hard. i miss the food. all i want right now is a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie from harmons and a salad from durangos. i miss football. my heart hurts that i'm missing a whole season. i miss my family and my puppy. i miss the mountains SO MUCH. it's so weird to go from being surrounded by the mountains, to absolutely nothing. i miss people being nice (for the most part) everywhere you go. I MISS UTAH.

despite everything you just read, i really am so happy where i'm at right now and i know this was one of the best decisions i've ever made to come here. here's to a better week!

xoxo,
ann eliza

 these 4 photos describe my week and olivia perfectly

 edgar was so sweet and bought madi and i flowers!

and we're bffs

 this is edgar

i literally love shelbi so much