Blog 9

This is probably the weirdest month of my life. Small decisions had a bigger influence then I thought they possibly could have. I realize I become more independent, what was one of my goals for my exchange. In my city in The Netherlands I never drive by bus, only by bike or car. In Lithuania I go everyday by bus. But what makes me realize most that I become more and more independent is that I went alone by airplane. But these are things you do not realize yourself.

If you know me a little bit you know I am someone who can go a little too far with things. This time it was basketball, so this weird month start at the day before my first game: January 17^th. I walked back home after my shooting practice and I felt pain in my leg, I was kind of stressed about this because the next day I would have my official first game. The day of the game I stayed home from school so I could take my rest, I played that evening without any pain. It was a terrible game, but I finally can say I made my debut in the Lithuanian basketball competition. Monday January 22^nd when I walked home from school I felt again this pain, at that moment I realized something was wrong. Then we had a period with less practices because my coach was ill and we didn’t have any games. Tuesday January 30^rd we trained with another team, because there were some games coming soon. After that practice I walked home and felt pain again.

Wednesday January 31^st I decided to see first a sport physiotherapist. It was terrible busy there and it was hard to made an appointment, also it was a problem that I wasn’t Lithuanian so I had no rights to go see here a doctor. After this mess I went to see a “normal” doctor she asked me some questions and the first conclusion was: it is possible because you were sick that you have an infection/inflammation in your blood/leg? So Thursday I went back to the doctor for a blood test, after this we went to the hospital because the doctor recommended that. In the hospital 4 different kinds of doctors saw me. The last one told me that I had to stay overnight so they could do some more checks/tests. That day I was kind of in shock and Jasmin and Romanna came to visit me, which made me happy.

Friday February 2^nd we would go to Vilnius for YFU seminars and this would last till Sunday. So my host mom said to the doctor that I really wanted to go there. The test results didn’t show an infection in my leg/blood. So I went to YFU weekend, 4 hours in the bus to Vilnius, we went to a jumping park but I couldn’t join because of my leg, then we went to eat at a burger place. We went to our hostel, the YFU volunteers slept on the 1^st floor and we, the exchange students, slept on 2^nd floor. We learned on this weekend: our influence upon others and how Lithuania has influenced us, warning letters, dialog and role plays showing us how to clear up arguments (In Lithuanian), renewing our goals and wishes and recounting our biggest stepping stones and achievements so far. Other great things we did is spending a lot time with all the exchange students and share our experiences from our exchange year.

Then Monday February 5^th I went back to the hospital because my leg was still aching. They did some more tests: X-ray, blood, urine etc. but still they couldn’t find anything serious so Wednesday February 7^th I went out of the hospital, with medication and not allowed to play basketball for a month. I didn’t felt well with this idea of people giving me medication without really knowing what the problem is. So Monday February 12^th I planned to visit some kind of sport medical centrum, but first I picked 2 presents up on from the bus station on Sunday: Famke (my sister) and Kira (my friend) from the Netherlands. I showed them some “special” things in Klaipeda and I hoped they had a good time. They were surprised how well my Lithuanian already is.

Wednesday February 14^th we brought Famke and Kira to the train station and I went horse riding with Romanna, but I felt it was really too cold. After that I went to the sport medical centrum again, since last Monday they did some small checks and today they would test my heart. Everything was all right and she allowed me to sport…. In the evening we went with a small group to eat pizza which was fun. My classmates, Alyssa, Jasmin, Natan (My host brother) and our neighbor Valdas were there. On Thursday February 15^th after practice I walked home with pain and then I thought Lithuania you can’t help me anymore, I have to go back to the Netherlands. So that evening I booked my flight to The Netherlands.

Friday February 16^th Lithuania celebrated 100 birthday. I went with Saule to a concert from a Lithuanian artist, which was fun. We also went to a lightshow in the old town; Saules’ cousin and her boyfriend showed me some special places in Klaipeda, which I haven’t seen before. It was sadly too dark to make photos but it I will definitely go there again when it will be lighter. It was a cliff with spectacular view over the sea and it was a place at the sea that I don’t know how to describe so I will put a photo.

Saturday February 17^th, I left with my host dad to Vilnius as he was going with his colleagues to Austria. My flight was at Sunday at 7:10, so I had a hotel next to the airport. This day I spend with Indre (a German girl); we ate something in a café. We had a lot to talk about. In the evening I tried to sleep but my alarm was already at 3:00, breakfast at 3:30. In the airplane I was sleeping within 5 minutes and Sunday at 8:15 I was at Eindhoven airport.

For the people who I didn’t see or didn’t know that I was coming to the Netherlands, sorry if I you missed me. I was until Friday February 23^rd in the Netherlands. Spending time with friends, training at my old club, doing an interview, and seeing all the new changes in Tilburg and also in my own house. But the main thing I did was to see different kind of medics: Sport Medical Centrum and a podotherapist. At the SMC they found my problem and a solution, which was great. They told me that one of my legs is longer and my soles are not good anymore. My soles correct my knees and hips. But also my SI-joint was ‘stuck’. So they massaged this and cracked it, as this joint is the connection between a muscle in the middle of my leg and my hip/stomach. The podotherapist made new soles and I also got new stretching exercises to stretch up this muscle in my leg.

Friday February 23^rd I flew back from Eindhoven to Kaunas, where I arrived at 13:30. Then I had to go home by bus which takes around 2,5 hours. Then walking home for 30 minutes with a suitcase through the snow. I was dead when I arrived. Like how I started this blog “Small decisions had a bigger influence then I thought they possibly could have.” The decision to go to the Netherlands was probably one of these, it looked small, but at the end probably the most important one I made this year. Happily I can say now I am healthy I guess and hopefully fast can play some games soon and as a normal as I did back home.