I will survive!!!

Okay. Got a little dramatic with the title, I'll admit. As I generously hinted at in my previous post, today we will be talking about Valentines Day, winter in Klaipeda, and maintaing perspective! So, boys and girls, let us begin.

Valentines Day. Oh dear. So the above image is of my friend Kirill and I. Here at LCC, we have the great and beloved tradition of hosting Blind Date. As an eager and excited study abroad student prepared to get super duper involved, I said an enthusiastic yes to participating (that was sarcasm...). Essentially, the evening began with four different rounds of interviews, just like the game shows on TV. Lucky me, I was chosen to continue on the the rest of the competition out of the three girls in my draft. A total of four couples then proceeded to dance for two WHOLE minutes to various pop songs of our generation. Of course (because I have just such mad sick awesome dancing skillz) Kirill and I won that round. All four couples then did voice-overs for about three minutes of a cheesy teen chick flick. Again, Kirill and I remained the superior couple. Finally, we were asked questions about our partner. The above image is of one of the few times Kirill or I was wrong (probably me actually... ). Nevertheless, we won! That meant that Kirill and I were treated to a lovely traditional Lithuanian meal downtown.

No, mom and dad, I will not be coming home with a husband. But I did step out of my comfort zone a bit. And isn't that was studying abroad is about? I was shockingly reminiscent of Elaine (from Seinfeld... duh) during our dancing, spoke like a stuffy-nosed nerd during the interviews, and made a general fool of myself the entire night. All that being said, I made more friends and memories through that night. Although saying no would have been easier, little opportunities such as this are good for me. So I've decided that I need to be much more willing to say yes. Yes yes yes!

MOVING ON!!!

Winter in Lithuania is just cold, okay. Snow, wind, rain, ice, hail (I think)- we got it all. So surviving the winter was a challenge for me. From January until March, it's generally very dark and snowy. Many of us study abroad students would consistently diagnose ourselves with seasonal affective disorder. We felt lonely at times, a little depressed, and lacking in motivation. This happens at Taylor as well sometimes. I'll admit, I really struggled for about a month and a half there. It was as if the Lord was giving me a break though. Time to forget distractions, remove myself from the hustle and bustle of college life, and return back to Him. I had time to think, pray, plan, and reflect on many things that had previously been clouding my thoughts. I realize now what a blessing that time was. In evaluating our experience in cross-cultural class yesterday, I mentioned how I recognize more clarity in what I desire to do with my life post-graduation. Of course, I'm not positive. Can you really ever be positive? I'm pretty sure that's God's job. I am, however, more excited about the future than I have been in a long time. Maintaing a positive perspective and searching for the Lord during a time of (literal) darkness was not easy, nor would I say that I was completely successful. My God, however, came to me. And I know that He always will.

Has it been this long?!

Wow. No excuses for my behavior. My sincerest apologies for not keeping you all informed!!! We have a lot of catching up to do, and I vow to do my best to update my blog as accurately and efficiently as possible  :)

For starters, I figured I would give a little preview as to some of the exciting news to come:
- Paris in 2 days
- Valentines Day
- Surviving the Eastern European winter
- Russia
- SPRING!
- Running
- London

Okay, let us focus this blog post on Paris. What. An. Adventure.

Myself and tow of my great friends that I've made here (Erick and Alicia) made our way to Paris, France on February 4th. The goal: see AS MUCH as we can in just a day and a half. And what did we see? Well let me tell you :) 

1. The Eiffel Tower

2. Notre Dame 

3. The Louvre 

4. The Arc de Triomphe

In addition, we tackled the Paris metro system, enjoyed practicing our butchered french while navigating our way to the hostel our first night, one of us MIGHT have gotten their iPhone stolen (ehem... not me), enjoyed some Parisian hospitality, explored the city at night with baguette in hand (NOT overrated- they are delicious), and remained in a general state of awe at the sheer romantic nature of the city as a whole. 

A direct quote from my journal after arriving back to Klaipeda: "To be honest, it all still feels like a dream! That's why I want to journal right now, because I'm afraid I will forget. As soon as we landed in Paris (technically Beauvais) I think we all could feel the magic. I mean, we were traveling from a country drenched in cold weather and darkness to the city of romance. And it's crazy how visible this change is. The sun is warmer, people are happy, the buildings are artwork in and of themselves. And then we see it in the distance- the Eiffel Tower. That's when it truly hit me- we were in Paris!" 

Truly, I cannot wait to go back. This weekend was spent as a tourist. We saw everything we had set out to see. However, there were plenty of things I wish I could have experienced. Needless to say, the Lord's hand was on this entire adventure. Every step of the way, He guided us in a safe path. I know that the three of us could not be more grateful for the opportunity to see another part of the beautiful world that our Lord created for us. 

Stay tuned for a fun little story about Valentines Day, surviving the winter, and maintaining perspective :) 

Psalm 62:8 

Life at LCC

It's been two weeks now that we've been students at LCC. What a transition it has been. For those of you who are close to me, you know what a comfort creature I am. So you can imagine how desperately I've been wanting to find my rhythm here. What I'm coming to realize, however, is how to balance adjusting to a new culture and maintaining the things that I value. Nevertheless, I'm beginning to find my niche here. One of my favorite pastimes right now is exploring the city. I think the rest of the study abroad students would agree with me when I say that the city is just beautiful. There is so much to see! My favorite place to visit is a little bakery in Klaipeda where they sell THE BEST pastries for 1 lita each! (thats about 45 cents) Yeah. You can imagine the will power it takes to practice moderation there. 

Us Americans are also taking full advantage of cheap plane tickets in Europe. A huge group is already booked to go to Rome for 4 days! Myself and a couple of friends will be in London that same weekend (I'll get to see Hillary!). Sometimes I have to stop myself and really take in the moments- who just decides to go to London or Paris for the weekend? Like last night- I went out to watch a friends dance performance in old town. Afterwards, we watched a dance battle (is that what it's called?). After that I spent some time getting to know new friends and then walked back to LCC. But before making it to campus, a friend and I stopped to get kebabas (like gyros) at 12:00 at night. We sat in a courtyard and ate our Lithuanian fast food and shared about our experiences here. I mean. Come on! It's moments like this that are so easy to overlook, but I just have to realize how AWESOME God is to give me this time. 

Anyways. Needless to say, Lithuania is treating me and my friends well. Please continue to ask questions! I'm still not quite sure what to write about. I love you all and miss you SO much :) 

This is the bridge we cross pretty much anytime we want to go anywhere (other than Iki for groceries) 

This is the courtyard I was talking about. Pretty huh? 

Adult Decisions

I'M BACK!

So. Things have been pretty crazy over here- in a good way (don't worry mom and dad). Since arriving in Klaipeda, my home for the semester, we've seen a lot and done a lot. For instance, we've been walking around Klaipeda almost every chance we get. This city is quaint, but larger than I would have expected. Everything is very clean and well established. Us study abroads have been taught the in's and out's of how LCC operates, we've been introduced to some fabulous volunteer opportunities off-campus, and we've been given the infamous roommate lecture. That being said, although our study abroad life coaches have done their best, we are now trying to flap our wings like the little birdies that we are in this mysterious land of Lithuania (which, by the way, is not in Africa, for those of you still wondering).

We have cooked. We have cleaned. We have gone shopping. And then gone again. And again. We've butchered our Lithuanian. We've tried NOT to look American- turns out that one is inevitable. All in all, I think I speak for the group when I say that we are making decisions that we have never had to consider before. Personally, I am adjusting to new friendships, new routine, new culture and habits, and trying to figure out how to maintain the core of who I am in a vastly different environment than I've every experienced.

But what is so cool about this whole hooplah of change, is that my God never does. I know that I can find solace and comfort in His word and the steadfast love He has for me even in the most uncomfortable moments. Cliche as it may sound, it comforts me knowing this fact. And it excites me to think of the ways that each of us here will be stretched and molded in different ways so as to better understand our relationship with Christ and how we maintain that stability through adversity and temptation.

That being said! I'm tempted to just stop trying to take pictures because I'm so poopy at it. ALAS. I will keep trying. Below are just a couple of cook images for your personal enjoyment.

This here is a street in Vilnius. As you can see, all the roads are cobblestone, which I kind of love. As we walked through the city, almost every building had some kind of art attached to it- statues embedded in the walls, paintings, or even the architecture itself. Pretty incredible. 

This is some footage of the city from a restored castle that we climbed a few times. The view is just breathtaking. In this image, you will notice that all of the roofs are in fact red, apart from the president's house, which is green. 

Fun little tid-bit. Couples throughout Lithuania have a tradition that they place a lock on a bridge once they are engaged to symbolize the sureness in their decision to do so. My favorite part about the tradition is that they then throw the key in the water. Lots of these locks are also very detailed and personalized- they take this tradition very seriously! 

The lonesome picture

Okay. So I'm using my iPhone as my camera this semester. It takes great pictures, but I have no idea how to most efficiently upload pictures, especially with half the page in Lithuanian. So, here is the one picture that I have managed to resurrect so far. This is the main square in Vilnius. To the right of this tree is the largest Catholic church in Europe. Little tid bit- rather than topping the tree with a star, they top it with a sun here. This is kind of symbolic of the fusion of culture and religion in Lithuania. 

Oh what up Europe!

Okay you guys. This is my first post- obviously. So. I'm not really sure how to tackle this. I guess I'll start but saying I MADE IT!!! Man. I don't want to sound too american, but Europe is AWESOME! We are spending the first week in Vilnius, Lithuania. The city is mainly a bunch of baroque buildings, mostly churches. There is actually a law here that all buildings must have red roofs. Cool right?! The city itself is so interesting because it not really very organized. Especially in Upland, we are so used to organized roads and blocks of land. Navigation is pretty straight forward at home. Here, the city appears to have been pieced together like a mosaic. It makes for some really fun exploring :) Tonight we hiked up the mountain to Three Crosses, and the view was extraordinary. The city was all lit and we could see the TV tower in the distance decorated as the largest Christmas tree in Europe.
So far, everything has almost felt like a dream. It's a little crazy to think that we are all finally here. Tomorrow we head to Klaipeda, where I will be living for the next four months :) I cannot wait to get settled and begin life in Lithuania. Continued prayers for safe travel and boldness in my relationships would be great. ALSO, I would LOVE it if you would ask questions. I'm not really sure what to write, and I don't want to end up telling stories or sharing things that aren't interesting to anyone else. Awkwarrrd. So. ask questions. Leave comments. Write me a poem. Whatever speaks to your heart.

I love you. I miss you. And I'm happy you are in my life even as I am galavanting through Europe.