oh the places you will go.

it is almost over.

i am so torn. part of me loves the fact that i will be home at the end of this week, the other part of me is so sad that this time is over. i anticipated being here for so long and now the time has come and gone.

9 countries in one year.
russia twice. (past spring break and this fall break)
lithuania for 4 months.
a weekend in latvia and estonia.
a weekend in sweden.
a weekend in scotland.
a night in england.
a long two days in poland.
a week in italy.

klaipeda has been a good home for this time in my life. a small enough city to have time to explore. rainy and cold but when the sun comes out we all rejoice.
lithuanian is a hard language, but it was so worth learning.
kepta duona is delicious.

i have learned so much from living with 3 girls that are very different from me, but once we got on a somewhat deeper level i realized we don't have too much that is different. it has given me a new perspective.

i wouldn't change this experience for the world.

but.

i am ready to come home.


p.s. i would have pictures... but i may or may not have lost my camera in scotland. bummer. i know.

Sweden.

In the words of Theresa... "Sweden Rocked"

The ferry took 14 hours. It was cold and long, but totally worth it. We had some really funny experiences. Nothing like trying to play cards while you rock back and forth unable to sit still... due to the waves.

Karlshamn is a quaint resort town. Resort is totally a guess. We are assuming that it is popular in the summers and kind of low key in the winters. Everything was within walking distance and the people were very friendly. We got smiles from complete strangers which was one of the first times since being in the states. We happened upon a grocery store and spent a good 30 minutes browsing the aisles. It was awesome to see brand names we haven't seen in so long and to get fresh baked goods. I think we were all taken off guard about how much we have missed certain things back home.
It was like a breath of fresh air.

Grocery store.
We may or may have not watched pretty much all of the 3rd season of the Office...

Menu at a Cafe we spent a lot of time at.Sunday the ferry was supposed to leave at 4, yet due to weather back in Klaipeda we didn't leave until midnight. Instead of staying in the pullman lounge again without sleep, we decided to "upgrade" and got a room for the four of us. It was one of the best decisions for our trip. Plenty of sleep that night.

Em and I on the ferry.

All in all Sweden was great!

I am ready.

i am ready for a lot of things, but for now i am ready to go to Sweden.

tomorrow could not come any sooner.

4 of us are going to Karlshamn for a quick weekend.

and i honestly can't wait.

Russia.

How do I possibly sum up a week in Russia in one post and only a few pictures.
It was just as wonderful as the first time. It all started with a 5 hour bus ride to Riga, but before arriving in Riga we stopped at the Hill of Crosses.
Then the trip began with a 17 hour train ride to Moscow.
The first day was spent touring Red Square and a 3 hour walking tour of the Kremlin. Putin was so close... yet so far. The Armory in the Kremlin is honestly amazing. There are coronation dresses worn by Catherine the Great, carriages from the time of the royal family, and gold is everywhere. Literally.
We ended our first night at the circus which was a lot of fun.
We had comrade groups for the week and had to name them. The group I was in was called Battlesheep due to one of the interns accidentally mispronouncing battleship which gave everyone a good laugh and us a name for our group. Our group toured the metro the first day. Sadly I have no pictures because it is illegal, but if you ever go to Moscow take your time in the metro. They have taken great pride in this form of transportation and each station is an absolute beautiful work of art. We ran to Old Arbat street and had Starbucks for the first time since leaving the states, and went to a Symphony Orchestra to end the evening.
The last day in Moscow was my favorite. We were able to go see Lenin in his tomb which is definitely a crazy experience. I was also able to see Nastja my interpreter from the first time I went to Russia. She took the train in and spent the last few hours we had in Moscow with us. After a quick last day in Moscow our group and another raced to our train to St. Petersburg with only a few minutes to spare. Thankfully we made it and took a relaxing 6 hour train ride to St. Pete.
Our first day in St. Petersburg involved a 4 hour walking tour, lunch at a pie shop, and a fun evening event at a show called Feel yourself Russian. The show involved Russian folk dance and beautiful singing. Some of the guys from our group were pulled up on stage to dance at one point which gave us all a great laugh.

Day two in St. Pete involved a 2 hour trip to the closed Political Museum, a 1/2 an hour on a battleship, and sadly only 45 minutes in the Hermitage. I wish I had had more time in the Hermitage because it was breathtaking and I appreciated the art so much, but it was a short lived. That night we went to Swan Lake. Words can not describe how beautiful the ballet was. I just loved it.
Day three in St. Petersburg involved a more relaxed day of going all the way up to St. Issac's Cathedral's colonnade and seeing a bird's eye view of the city, sitting in cafes, and painting faces for halloween.
Day four was another quick day at Spilt Blood cathedral, the Abnormal museum, experiencing an Orthodox service at Kazan catherdral and a late night 12 hour train ride back to Riga.
The trip was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to go with and to experience it all once again. Out of the two cities I definitely love Moscow better. It feels much less touristy and there is a special place in my heart for that city. St. Petersburg was lovely, but it rained everyday and there is construction everywhere, but the richness of the history is still so alive.

Hope you were able to enjoy it through my words and hopefully the few pictures did the trip justice.

Recent happenings.

Zane and I at Emily's birthday dinner.
9 of us girls ate a great dinner at a Lithuanian restaurant.
Late night kebabas... the right way. Kebabas are open 24/7 and usually best eaten after midnight...

Parents came to visit!

We went to the Baltic, Akropolis, had tea with my roommates. I practiced Lithuanian and even had them come in for my Lithuanian speech about my family, took them to miesta baznycia (city church), took lots of pictures and geniunly enjoyed some quality time together.

The Study Abroads leave for Russia in 2 days. It is crazy to think that it has already arrived. It will be a trip full of activities, museums, and cultural experiences... such as a Russian ballet.

I also have the opportunity to meet up with my interpreter from my Spring break trip. I guess you could say I am excited!

More to come after Russia!

skype.

thank you to all who have taken time out of your day to talk with me on skype. each one of you has made my day a little bit more special. each day is different and i am constantly learning new things. thank you for your prayers.
this is a line of pictures of some of the people i have had the opportunity to talk with on skype... sorry if you don't like the picture of you. i kind of caught some of you off guard huh?

a few who aren't pictured:
g&g rowland
amy, ruth, maggie (spoke with via voice)
kyle lantz
dave downey (through em's comp)

updated version... some people weren't viewable. no longer a collage but a thank you nonetheless. love to all that are pictured and to those who aren't.thank you for the snail mail as well!
viso gero

Tallinn and Riga.

Last weekend the study abroads took a 3 day trip to the capitals of Estonia and Latvia.

Probably the worst part of the trip was the 10 hour overnight trip to arrive in Estonia in the morning... but thankfully I caught up on sleep the other two nights. (my only complaint)


Tallinn was probably the favorite for all of us, but only because we spent the majority of our time there. We went on a tour of the old town, shopped all around in the souvenir shops and ate at a medieval restaurant. Wool products are the major souvenir such as hats, sweaters and mittens.

After wandering the streets of Tallinn on Friday we all met up to eat at the medieval restaurant. It was "family style" with large dishes passed around the whole table. The dishes consisted of radish in spices, wild boar sausage, and fried cheese. Random but good none the less. Also, that evening after dinner four of us ran to a hotel that had a "water park" inside of it. The so called water park had 3 different slides, a competitive swimming pool, and tons of hot tubs. It was a fun and relaxing time.

Saturday we headed to Riga and ended up getting there in the late evening. We all split up and went to different restaurants. A group of us ate at a local food chain here in the Baltic States called Cili Pica (Chili Pizza). It is super good. They have tons of pizzas to choose from and they all are very different since the cultural tastes are different here.

Sunday morning there were three options for church. An Orthodox, Lutheran, or Anglican English speaking church. I ended up going to the Anglican and wished I had tried out the Orthodox to see the differences. Thankfully we will have an opportunity to go to a Russian Orthodox church in Russia.

After church we raced over to an Occupation Museum where we got a tour of it. Honestly, I had no idea that the Baltic States went through so much oppression. Either the Russians were controlling the countries or others. During WWII either the Russians were deporting and killing people or the Nazis were wiping out their Jewish population. Not once did the United States intervene, and sometimes I wonder what it would have done...
Learning about this specific part of their history shows me that their is a reason behind some of our drastic differences.

We ended up eating at a place called Lido for our lunch/dinner. It was a grab all kind of grub. We were able to choose from more than a dozen different stations. It was delicious and all of us were stuffed after filling our tummies. A really neat fact: the owner of Lido is a Christian and after they close up at night any of the food not eaten that day by guests is donated to the local soup kitchens to feed those in need.


Overall it was a really great weekend and a lot of fun memories were developed. Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my weekend.

Some pics from the weekend

A beautiful cathedral in Tallinn

Zane and I at an overlook of Tallinn

A propaganda poster in the Occupation Museum in Riga