I've been here for a month now!

Monthly anniversary. Time flies by, doesn't it?

I am aware that I haven't written anything for a while on this blog. It's just that I've been having a very good time in America, and I haven't really had a moment to sit down and write. Anyway, here comes your new blog post.

This week, on Friday, to be more exact, one month has passed since I came here. It was 4 weeks of incredible discoveries about the American people, their foods, and culture. And it is a little said to me that time passes so quickly. But still, I have no regrets, as my time here has been very well spent!

Plenty of things have happened in the last few weeks. Firstly, I had my birthday on the 8th of September! That's why we went sailing on the same day. When we ventured out onto the sea, I was very afraid of falling out of the boat. And I did. TWO TIMES! The first time, we flipped over because the rope got stuck in the boat's rudder. The other time was just my fault because I lost balance and tripped into the water, which was quite cold, by the way. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed the sailing experience.

BBQ ribs with Mac'n cheese, pepper, and pickles

Afterwards, we went to get some dinner at a local BBQ place. And it was great! The one thing I very much liked about the place was that they served fresh bread with their meals. Finally, I could try the all-American dinner! 

This week, I had my first JROTC drill. And I enjoyed it very much. There are a lot of new moves that I didn't really know about back when I was a Boy Scout in Poland (for example, there are two separate commands for changing direction while marching), but that is okay, as it keeps the whole experience from getting boring. As for JROTC news, I can also say that I've been handed a very cool polo T-shirt for FREE (which is a very nice memoir)! Major Hawn said that they weren't worn by anybody anymore, and it would be a shame for them to waste, so he handed them out to the people in my flight (I am in the Echo flight). I've also been made an element leader, which means I have to report on the beginning of every new period. And the COOLEST of things — I got to try on a helicopter pilot's helmet! It was very interesting, as the helmet itself was quite light, contrary to my expectations.  When speaking, you could hear an echo of your voice ringing through it, which then made sense since the helicopter's propeller is very loud, so you need to have something to strengthen your hearing, when you're communicating through the headset.

The polo shirt pre-laundry

I also went to the first club meetings of this month: the Dulles Red Cross and the Dulles Green Club. It turns out that the meetings were both held on the same day, so I had to choose which I should go to first. The Red Cross was my priority since it helps with volunteering opportunities. On the meeting, we talked about blood cancer, since on that day it was the International Day of Blood Cancer Awareness (or something like that…). Then we were tasked with creating a Fire Safety Poster, and in my opinion, we did pretty well! Then, after the meeting, I ran to the Dulles Green meeting, only to find people there creating collages. To be fair, I was quite surprised since I've been told this club is all about recycling (when I'm writing this, I've already been assigned to recycle in B-Hall), and people there were just painting and sticking pieces of newspapers and magazines onto paper. After a brief moment of doubt, I joined in with the others to make my own collage. It's a shame I didn't get the chance to complete it, though...

Our Fire Safety poster

"Unfinished" paper collage

esterday I went to volunteer in the swimming championships for disabled people at Don Cook's Nanatorium in Sugar Land. And I must say that it has opened my eyes in many aspects. Before this, I had a little fear of people with special needs. It is just that, for some reason, contact with them gave me goosebumps, and I genuinely felt a bit uncomfortable in their company. But yesterday, after seeing them so happy with what they were doing, after talking to them and helping them to fulfill their dreams, I realized that my fears were irrational. The swimmers from yesterday were amazing, and I wish them more success in the future.

I also went to another thrift store. This one, however, was different, as instead of clothing being hanged on hangers, they were all thrown into huge bins, filled to the top with various types of clothing. What surprised me, though, was that there was a lot more quality clothing in this shop than you could find back in Poland. There were a lot of jackets, jeans, pants, T-shirts, sweaters… Basically all types of clothing except for underwear and shoes. It took a long while to find what I was looking for — a T-shirt and bell-bottom jeans.  

The bins

Today, I went to a Polish food store to buy some cooking materials and to make some pierogi with my host dad. And, to my surprise, I met my fellow Polish countrymen working there! We had a short chat with each other and then parted ways, but the positive notion remained. The shop was very well supplied with lots of delicacies from my home country — there's no doubt that I'll visit it again!

Overall, these last two weeks have been very good to me, and I am grateful to be given the chance to experience them. This only leaves me hungry for new adventures, eager to try even more of what America has to offer. But now I can only appreciate what I've got. Thank you for visiting this blog and following me through my journey in America. I wish y'all a great evening! Cheers!

PS: I forgot to mention that I've finally tried Tex-Mex; I ate a chimichanga, which has to be the one of the most caloric foods I've tried in America. I could still feel it in my gut the day after I ate it...