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!