palanga

The four hours between 3:30 and 7:30 is the slowest, and fastest chunk of my day. I honestly never want to begin teaching, because the kids are exhausting and just full of so much energy. I mean, they have already been at school all day so I really can understand their struggle. But anyways, no matter how frustrating lessons are or how crazy the kids get, I am always in the best mood come 7:30. Obviously a lot of that has to do with being done teaching, but I also just feel so accomplished. I guess it's true that helping others really does make you happy. As far as the kids go, they are really quite hilarious, and so adorable. As I'm getting to know them better, I'm also developing my favorite students. (Since I'm not an actual professional teacher, I don't even feel bad saying that.) My favorite day so far was when we played musical chairs. Class started with a conversation about music. I cannot even explain how much every kid loves Gangnam Style and Lady Gaga. I'm like, what?? I'm always throwing Rihanna's name at them, just to give them a good influence. The rules of our game were, no pushing, no crying, and you must DANCE. Duhhhh! It was hilarious and brilliant. These kids are the epitome of joy. I love it.

BFFs -- My girl Toma

This Saturday we went to the sea! The Baltic Sea of course. Unreal. It was about a 5 hour drive to the coastal city of Palanga. We rented a van and were joined by Dima, our coordinator, and his family. First things first, we went to the pier. It was full of the coolest human beings, and the most ideal view of the sea. We went down to the shore to enjoy the softest of sand and to stick our feet in the cold water. Main street Palanga was full of delicious food and cool shops. We stumbled upon what looked like a Lithuanian Great Gatsby reenactment. For real, the movie soundtrack was playing in front of this huge abandoned house and people outside were dressed up in old costumes. Turns out it was the home of a very wealthy, Lithuanian family, and they were trying to replicate what it was like back in the day. They clearly lived a life of luxury.We strolled through Birute's Park, and then back to the beach of course. It was a lovely day.

Please don't judge my video editing. Just some clips of my day thrown together, so that a little bit of what I experienced can be felt by all.

On Sunday I turned 21. I still feel like I'm lying when I say that, because I feel like I'm 19. (and I look 16) The plan was to just treat it as any other day, but the other teachers got me a cake and the best chocolate. So before church I enjoyed cake for breakfast! Then at church we made our first real life Lithuanian friends. We even have tentative plans to hang out! Church was also just so great. Not because anything life changing was said, it just really made a difference in my day/mood/etc. After church I came home to balloons, and a lil present from my sweet host family. I realized my host mom figured out it was my birthday a few weeks ago when she was trying to figure out what my sign was. She's big into horoscopes and such. Anyways, they took me to Old Town, to a food festival, to an awesome park, and to wander the city. (Wandering is one of my favorite pastimes.) I couldn't help but play on the toys with my Lithuanian sisters. My host parents made the comment that even though I'm a year older, I still am a child on the inside. That was actually a very comforting thought. We went and watched the a basketball game and ate ice cream at an outdoor cafe, and then came home to a delicious dinner and cake! My Lithuanian family spoiled me for sure. It was honestly the perfect 21st Birthday. I'm so blessed.

I am always cold here. And it's getting colder so that means more and more spiders are moving in. On Sunday I learned that not only do I have spiders for roommates...but apparently there are rats too. NOT OK. The little cat was so kind to kill this rat for me on my bday. Even the host mom was freaked out by it. She was like, "it's a rat, usually they are small mice." NASTY.

 

Lithuanian is quickly becoming home. I am already stressed about having to say goodbye to this beautiful country and the incredible people in it. But I am trying not to think about that and to just enjoy every bit of it. Including my new favorite drank.

Nectar of the Gods

 I live with Spider man

cats, crosses, and crazy

I’m not really sure where or how to begin. It’s hard to believe I have been here for two weeks, because it feels more like 2 days!  Four months here already doesn’t seem like enough.  I am finally starting to develop more of a schedule here. Monday through Friday is devoted to teaching. We teach from 3:30 to 7:30 every day and when we aren’t teaching we are spending a solid amount of time preparing and planning for our next lesson. Hopefully, as I get better at teaching, I spend less time with all the preparations and such. Teaching is actually pretty difficult, and more than that it’s exhausting. I guess you can expect that with 5 and 6 year olds, but it’s like crazy town times 10 working with 5 and 6 year olds who can’t understand you. They really are so great though.

The weekends are my absolute favorite, duh. That when we get to EXPLORE! Last Friday night we bussed on down to old town for dinner, and for Vilnius Music Festival 2013! I’m just gonna say, I killed it on the dance floor. Haha. But it was so fun. The music was great and all the people there were so cool and hip. I love.  I also ate the best Hawaiian pizza that night. There wasn’t really anything special except that it really tasted like pizza. I don’t really know if I can explain, but everything that I have eaten here, even McDonalds, has just been a little off, like with a little different (but consistently different) flavor. I have just resorted to saying that everything tastes like Lithuania. That’s not a bad thing, but I guess I feel like I’m eating pretend food a lot. It’s just gonna take some more adjusting I’m sure. 

https://vine.co/v/hJjLOpTLAm0

Dancing in the streets^

Saturday we rented a van and went on a little roadtrip with our Head Coordinator, Dima, his wife, and his two daughters Nikole and Sofia. First let me just say that Dima is the coolest and kindest in all of Lithuania. I got to sit nest to him in the front and since everyone else passed out, we just had some great conversations. We talked about his grandmother who was a prisoner for 12 years during Soviet times, about communism, about the concept of freedom, and he even taught me some more Russian. He grew up in Russia and I loved listening to him tell me what it was like for him growing up under such a controlled environment. Like I seriously couldn’t get enough of it. I have learned all about these crazy dictators and historical events in school, but listening to him, it was like I really knew nothing. Hearing about life through the perspective of someone who was actually there was just so awesome. People have the capability to be so happy despite any circumstance. I think there are definitely circumstances that we just can’t really be happy during, (we are only human after all) but just because one bad thing happens to us doesn’t mean we are destined to be miserable for the rest of our dayz!

Alright, so we actually got to stop and visit Dima’s grandmother in a quaint little village called Ukmerge. She basically had a grill with all her blangin gold teeth. I only say that because she was literally smiling the whole time we were there. Then we went to The Hill of Crosses. UNREAL. I don’t know who counted, but apparently this little hill has over 100,000 crosses, and when they say over, I think they mean they stopped counting after 100,000 because there was millions. The hill had such a presence of history. While walking through all the crosses, you couldn’t help but feel apart of something big. The hill was destroyed by the Russians several times, but was built up by the people almost the day after each time it happened. A physical testament of faith, and as my host dad said, a symbol of freedom.  

After the hill of crosses, we went to St. Peter and Paul’s cathedral, which was beautiful for real. And then, if you can believe it, we went to a cat museum. Now how many people can say they’ve been to a cat museum, and then say they’ve been to a cat museum in Europe? It was hilarious. After the cat museum, we visited Chaim Frenkel’s Country House, which is now a museum. This guy was loaded out of his mind. The massive building was used as a house, a hospital, and a gymnasium at different period of time. I was full of all sorts of treasure. We grabbed some lunch at classic McDonalds, and then headed home.

Sunday we had Church at 2. The missionaries translate for us, and sacrament meeting was so good. The people at church were so friendly and it was nice being able to talk to the missionaries who can speak and understand English. Sunday school was just hilarious.

So yes, I cannot believe it has already been two weeks, but I also feel right at home. All I can say is I am already trying to think of where I want to travel next. I just need to see as much of the world as I can and talk to everyone in it!  

Bonus clip: I taught Davidas how to say Crazy this week.

labas

Sometimes you do things and you just know that that thing you are doing is something you have been waiting to do your entire life. I have felt that in a big way several times so far on my adventure here. And it has only been one week, can you believe it?
I really love it here, and I think I've already become addicted to travel. Sitting on the airplane, reading my favorite book, and realizing that I was on my way to Europe was just a first experience where I realized that I am actually doing things that I have always dreamed about doing. I never knew it would be Lithuania, or that I would be teaching 6 year olds English, but I guess it makes sense that this has always been in store for me.
Anyways, this is the land of gray apartment buildings for real. Everyone lives in an apartment. Some are bigger than others, but houses just don't really exist. It is a pretty poor country, and the area I live is very dirty and graffiti is everywhere. The people are so resourceful and grateful for what they have. It is a beautiful thing to see. Old Town Vilnius is a 20 minute bus ride and it has easily become one of my favorite places in the world. It's name is fitting, because really it's old. Many buildings date back to the early 1500's, and they are all beautiful. Even more beautiful than the buildings though are the people. Everyone looks so unique and cool and I want to be apart of it all.

I have lots more to say about the crazy awesome architecture and all, but I'll save that for later.
Being placed in this host family was the best thing that could have ever happened. I live about a 15 minute walk from the school, and from any bus stop with a fellow teacher, and the sweetest girl, Shelbi. (It's a real hoot to introduce ourselves at the same time, everyone thinks it's a joke. Kelby and Shelbi.) They take care of us very well, and are probably the kindest people in all of Lithuania. But seriously. The people here always look so angry. I guess you could say smiling is frowned upon? ha. But really, they are quickly becoming my Lithuanian family.
There was a terrifying incident with a spider on day three. Remember how I said killing spiders was a no in the house hold? Well, Shelbi and I have no problem with breaking that rule and killing them on the spot, but the killing them ourselves thing became an issue when the biggest spider of my life showed up on the wall! It was about three inches, MINIMUM. I will just say it took us an entire hour to work up the bravery to kill it. We couldn't ask anyone for help because in this house, you don't kill spiders. (they bring happiness...ya right!) Shelbi was a brave brave soul and she smashed that spider to bits with an old mop we found. We aren't here to mess around. Tell your friends spider!
But anyways, our family consists of three girls and one boy, ages ranging from 15 to 3. I help them learn English and they help me learn Lithuanian.I've been learning some Lithuanian and Russian, but for some reason I keep wanting to speak Spanish.

 Madeina, Amanda, and I

Davidas, Arturas, me, Shelbi, and Jolita

On Sunday, after we attended church at a tiny little Russian branch, we took a family outing to an old city called Trakai, about 30 minutes outside Vilnius. That's where the pictures above were taken. If you didn't notice, that's an ancient castle in the background. Not impressive enough? We took a paddle boat all around the lake, and went and explored the castle ourselves! Talk about living the dream. I can also honestly say I am getting a very authentic Lithuanian experience when it comes to food. I have decided that Lithuanian food is probably never something I will crave, and there is a reason you never hear anyone say, "man, I could really go for some soggy, raw, meat stuffed potatoes" (it's even weirder than it sounds) We had a very traditional meal called kibini on Sunday, served with chicken broth, the main event, a drink called Gira.

Gira is a very old drink made of fermented rye bread. It tastes like bread, dirt, and sourness...so I loved it obviously... It was not good. But my host mother told us it was so good for hair and skin, and the kids were guzzling it down like water, so I drank every bit of that sludge. That was a moment where I really felt immersed in the culture, and just so happy to be apart of it, drinking bread juice like a true Lithuanian. 
Ok, the most important part for last. The teaching! Like I was saying the culture here is so unfriendly. It is just so different, but I have been trying to find connections in humanity. The easiest way to do that is through the kids I teach. First of all Lithuanian children are adorable, but just because their parents look stern, doesn't mean they are all well behaved. We teach 4 hours a day, non-stop and by the end I am exhausted. I teach kids who are about 5 and 6. Some older, some younger. It all depends on skill level. The kids are so happy and they love to learn. They soak everything in like sponges, and have so much energy for any little task you throw at them. Planning lessons is an incredibly long process, but it really helps when teaching time comes. I get to play games and do different activities with the kids, all to try and get them talking, in English only of course. (rule number 1) Today we jump roped, built a catapult, etc, etc. It's hard, I won't lie, but I really already love these kids and I want to help them create a good life in every way that I can. I'm really not trying to say that in cheesy save the world type of way. I just think that everyone deserves some help along the way.