Goodbyes Are Hard

I don't know what to say for my last post. 

I've been trying for days to type something out that would clearly express all of the emotions I'm feeling or sum up my experience, but I'm incapable of doing so. 

All I know is that good-byes are hard and this week is full of them- some of these people I will never see again. And that makes me sad. 

I also know that I will always carry a piece of Lietuva within my heart.

 In times of reminiscence, I will hear the whispers of the Baltic Sea, the laughter of the LCC hallways, the quiet of the snowcapped, frozen pond, the humble voice of the old women who tell me it's too cold out for me to be dressed without a scarf. I will recall the long walks through the city, the cobblestone streets of Old Town, the faces of people who have shared their cultures with me with generosity and genuineness. 

If I find myself in difficult times, I will remind myself of the time I walked for an hour with my giant backpack, small backpack and camera bag in the snow in Russia with non-waterproof shoes, and I will know I am capable. I will think of the countless times we almost missed or did miss a bus/plane/train and realize that things have a way of working out even if it means crashing in a hotel restaurant in the middle of a sign language convention. 

When I'm feeling misunderstood, I will remember that language is not the only way to communicate. 

And I will always look back fondly on the people who have made this experience what it was. 

Brady, Buddy, Christ and Adam for being the best North American friends I could ask for in another country- for accepting me as I am and letting me be an introvert when I need to be. 

Naamdi for his willingness to share his culinary expertise and always make sure I eat enough. 

Ania for her kind spirit and her whole-hearted cheerfulness that never failed to make me see the beauty in humanity. 

Allison, Emas, Kristen, Iveta, Aurelija, Edvardas and Ira for guiding us through this overwhelming process of transformation

Radvyda for patiently teaching me her native tongue, and Franklin for challenging me to study it harder because I, too, wanted to be a language genius. 

Martynas for making potatoes everyday and letting me ask him countless questions. 

Paulius for his kindess and gentle spirit. 

I will miss each of these people with my whole heart- but I also know that life will continue on. 

In less than a month, I will be back at Fox with my roommates, boyfriend, and friends and things will be back to "normal".

But I hope to retain the sense of adventure I had here. I hope to carry that with me where ever I go. 

"here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)"

-e.e. cummings

3 days in Europe

I really like board games. Like, I find them to be an essential part of any friendship because they allow for healthy and good-spirited competition, but they don't require me to do any sort of running (usually). So I was really excited when I learned a new board game in Germany called 10 days in Europe, courtesy of the wonderful family Christy and I stayed with in Germany. Christy knew the Wollers from church and when she told them we were visiting Germany, they offered to let us stay in their house.

And let me tell you, Christy and I were so ready for some family atmosphere. They had four boys who were only too excited to wrestle with me and give me goodnight hugs. And Mr. and Mrs. Woller were so incredibly hospitable. They drove us to the train station each morning, made us breakfast and dinner, and even treated us to a traditional German schnitzel! So even though I got to visit three countries in three days (which I will tell you all about soon), staying with a family was the best part and it made me even more excited to be home in just a few weeks!

So, about Germany, France and Luxembourg. Remember those Eurail passes I talked about way back when before I even arrived in Lithuania? Christy and I got some 5 days passes that were good for Germany, France and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg). So we could basically take any train we wanted in any of those countries. And we did.

Our first day, we went to Heidelberg, which is like your traditional German town complete with castle and Christmas markets. When we got to the train station, we headed to the tourist center to find out how to get to the castle. It was an hour walk so she recommended taking a bus to the castle and then walking back, which we agreed to. "Take Bus Number 33, it takes you straight there."

Outside the tourist office, I spotted bus 33 and Christy and I climbed on. After an hour we realized we were going the wrong direction and the bus was coming to the end of its line... we would have to ride back the way we came and then continue on to our actual destination! So that severely limited our time, but the castle was still beautiful. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, with its semi-gothic architecture and sprawling gardens. We had a blast walking around and then walking back through the center of town to the station.

Day 2

The next day we hit up a small French town called Metz, but stopped at the largest war memorial on the way. Mrs. Woller actually drove us to Metz, and her husband works at the air force base not far from where their house is located. So it was a place they had visited a few times and she was able to share some more info with us. A lot of the men that died there died just a few days or weeks before the end of the war. That is a real tragedy. There were so many crosses commemorating the lives of soldiers who had died it's kind of completely indescribable. The site was eerily quiet, but the grounds were pristine. It's good to see that even in death we honor our soldiers.

After that, we took off for Metz, which was easily my favorite city of the trip. I was able to speak French again which was so much fun. And I felt completely at ease in France. Their lifestyle is just so much more laid back than most other places we have visited, which fits right along with my personality. I ate a traditional french crepe and it was delicious! France is definitely a place I'd like to go back to, especially knowing I was only a few hours from Paris!

Day 3

On our third day, we went to Luxembourg. To be honest, it wasn't all that exciting, but at least I can say I crossed it off my list now! We left Luxembourg pretty quickly for Trier, a German city not far away famous for its Christmas markets.

Christy loves shopping and she loves Christmas, so it was mostly for her benefit. I have a hard time buying souvenirs unless they're going to serve me an actual purpose. I'm not sure what that says about me but I've only bought a handful of things so far. Don't worry, though, I plan on bringing home lots of chocolate!

That evening, Mrs. Woller took us and her kids to the base... which meant we go to use USD and eat American food. It was the most wonderful thing being surrounded by Americans again.

I guess I never recognized how uncertain I feel in Lithuania sometimes until we were around Americans and I knew exactly what the social norms were. I didn't once feel out of place. It was a nice taste of home to get me through the last few weeks.

So that was my trip to Germany. I'll write another post about our trip home (which was quite the adventure) tomorrow or maybe Thursday depending on my homework schedule. 

A Lithuania Thanksgiving

I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my family in three years now. It's really not worth it for me to fly home for only four days, right before the end of the semester, as much as I love and miss my family. So I guess I'm used to celebrating holidays on my own, though I'm often invited to someone's house to celebrate with them because lonely college students are pretty much the most pathetic looking people in the world.

Thanksgiving in Lithuania kind of snuck up on me. There are only a handful of Americans on campus and since Thanksgiving is an America-only holiday, there wasn't the usual build-up of excitement for Thanksgiving that I've felt back at Fox each year.

But Christy loves the holidays and convinced me to help her make Thanksgiving dinner for 15+ people. It sounded fun, I thought. I like to cook, I'm done with class on Thursdays at 10 so I would have plenty of time, and I would love to share a small piece of my culture with the European and African friends I have made here.

Only problem: Neither of us had ever actually helped in the cooking of a turkey and we had no idea what we would need to do.

Bigger problem: Turkeys in Lithuania are hard to come by, and even if you do find one, they're ridiculously expensive.

Solution: Spend 4 hours in the Hyper Maxima searching for wi-fi so we could look up a new Thanksgiving recipe that involved ducks instead of turkey.

BIGGEST problem: Christy and I have never cooked duck, seen anyone cook duck, and in my case, I've never even eaten duck.

We found a recipe with a video that showed us how to do the recipe, which involved quartering the duck, marinading it, steaming it and roasting it.

Thursday morning arrived and we got to work. Let me tell you something about duck- unless you've got the appropriate cooking utensils (aka scissors meant to cut through meat), you're going to struggle for 2 hours to quarter two ducks. It took the guy about 5 minutes in the video. It was the grossest thing I have ever done and I almost threw up a few times in the process. Christy actually took over on my duck at one point because I was struggling so much.

Nevertheless, we got the ducks quartered (a little worse for wear, but still) and in the fridge to marinate. Later, we got to work on the potatoes, and I ended up buying a few chicken breasts to supplement our two ducks. Reasoning: After seeing the raw duck and handling it for such a long time, there was no way I was going to eat it and we also needed more food because we had such an extensive guest list!

We didn't ask any of our LCC friends to bring food, only the Americans. Buddy made stuffing from scratch and Hannah Morgan brought a green bean casserole. Brady brought bread (surprise, surprise) and Christy and I did the duck, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy (which I way over-peppered on accident).

When everyone arrived, we prayed for our meal and then I forced everyone to say one thing they were thankful for. It was so cool to see our non-American friends take part in a tradition that is so valued in the states.

And then we feasted.

I never did try the duck, but I'm told it was good :)

Christy handling our ducks

The unprepared duck

Attempting to hide my disgust

The stuffing Buddy made and an apple crisp Christy baked

All the food is prepared! 

The finished duck! 

Buddy slicing the duck like a pro

Aurelija waiting to get food

I love Thanksgiving! 

In the very back: Naamdi (Nigeria)
Back Row (Left to Right): Me (US), Edwardas (Lithuania), Aurelija (Lithuania), Adam (US), Paulius (Lithuania), Buddy (US), Hannah (US), Liz (US)
Front Row: Promise (Ghana), Ira (Ukraine), Christy (US), Brady (US), Kenneth (Ghana)

a few people had to leave before the group picture, too. 

Barcelona

Okay, so we've talked about Russia and how awesome that is. I got back from Russia on a Sunday afternoon and took off for Barcelona two days later... an incredibly quick turnaround made easier by the fact that I was packing for sun and not snow.

Barcelona was the perfect mixture of relaxation and culture. It's a big tourist city, but there's this sense that it's more a vacation spot than a "let's go see all the tourist-y things ever" vibe. Barcelona is about walking barefoot on the beach and taking in how clear the Mediterranean Sea is. It's seeing La Sagrada Familia and sitting in the park across the street eating gelato. And it's strolling through Guell Park on a sunny afternoon, listening to street artists play their music and seeing the city from the top of a mountain.

In short, I really liked Barcelona. It's got the same climate as San Diego, so the greenery looked familiar and reminded me of days I've spent wandering Balboa Park. The sky was blue and oh so sunny which meant I could wear sandals for the first time all semester. I went with Brady, Buddy, Adam and Christy who are probably the best people you could ever travel with. We rented an apartment right in the heart of the city, directly off the main thoroughfare, Las Ramblas. On Las Ramblas, there are street vendors everywhere, selling souvenirs and gadgets. There's also La Boqueria, the huge market where Christy and I bought fresh ingredients for our breakfasts. We also made chicken fajitas one night in the apartment.

We slept in late and took each day as it came. It was a major contrast to Russia where we felt like we were doing something from about 8am-10pm. It really was the most relaxing and stress-free trip I've taken in Europe and I'd do it again. I loved the energy of Barcelona, probably because it reminded me so much of San Diego with its Spanish architecture and influences. It was just what I needed- a little taste of home. 

Russia Re-Cap

I've been meaning to write this blog post for a month now, but between all the trips I've taken and the pile of homework that keeps figuratively culminating inside my brain, it's taken me much longer than intended.

Russia was incredible. I'll start with that. I had a decent amount of fears and reservations going into the trip, because Russia just isn't a country you hear about a lot of Americans traveling to. It doesn't help that most of our history books growing up talk about Russia as if it were the ultimate evil empire. But I think the most significant thing I learned while I was in Russia is that people are people, everywhere you go.

The Russian people I encountered weren't terrifying witches who were going to turn me into a mouse and leave me in the snow. They didn't berate me for being American, though they could certainly tell just by looking at me that I was. I got a few stares, but no glares. I'm sort of ashamed to say this, but I was a little bit shocked at how ordinary everything was. Yes, their culture is vastly different from my own, but no, they aren't so different that I can't relate to them in any sense. If anything, I am impressed by that country's ability to overcome the worst of circumstances. They've been through a lot as a country, but they have never let that defeat them and that is admirable.

That being said, you're probably wondering what exactly I did in Russia. Let me tell you about it.

Over the course of 8 days, I did the following things:

• Took two overnight trains- one from Riga to Moscow and the other from St. Petersburg back to Vilnius
• Ate at KFC in Moscow
• Wandered through Red Square, both during the day and at night
• Navigated my way through the Moscow metro
• Entered the Kremlin and took a tour of a fabulous museum where I saw dresses that Catherine the Great wore for her coronation and carriages she rode in on
• Went to a Russian circus
• Took a 4 hour walking tour of St. Petersburg
• Attended the Russian ballet
• Watched a Russian folk show called "Feel Yourself Russian", which included fabulous dancing
• Climbed to the top of St. Isaac's cathedral 
• Admired the Hermitage for a few hours on two different days (once with a group and once on my own)
• Saw the Church of Spilled Blood
• Took a ridiculous amount of pictures

Of all those wonderful events, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. The Russian circus was fantastic, but it was a bit disheartening to see how poorly they treated the animals. They had polar bears, cheetahs, a kangaroo and camels in the show and I couldn't help wishing I could take them all back to the San Diego Zoo where they might have lived a happier life. 

The Moscow metro is definitely something to write home about. It's the third most used metro system in the entire world. Picture that for a moment. Moscow is by far the biggest and most complicated city I've ever had the pleasure of being in. It's a sprawling mixture of industrialism and tourist attractions, none of which are really within walking distance. Which means we took the metro everywhere we went. Even the descent down to the metro was a fairly long distance, easily the longest escalator I've seen and steeper than I cared to think about as we ascended back up to civilization each time. We quickly learned the delicate steps needed to board the wagon, exit the wagon and weave in and out amongst the masses of people (sometimes with all of our luggage, too). I became pretty good at metro surfing and after the third metro ride I could stand without holding on to something. There are seats on the metro, but good luck finding one that's available. And good luck figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. If you ever travel to Russia, learn the Russian alphabet or you could find yourself lost in the depths of the Moscow metro forever. Really though, the stations were immaculately clean and alarmingly beautiful. 

Moscow's massiveness is probably the reason I preferred St. Petersburg over Moscow. St. Petersburg was beautiful- it snowed while we were there so everything was lightly dusted with fresh snowflakes that makes for some easy photography. We took a ridiculously long walking tour to help orient ourselves with the city, but I also really liked learning about the history of St. Petersburg. There are more canals there than there are in Venice, which means you couldn't walk 5 minutes in any direction without seeing or crossing some sort of bridge. I also loved how much culture existed in St. Petersburg. We saw the ballet there and I was so excited to dress up fancy and sit in the balcony and watch ballet, even if it was an hour walk to the theatre. Also, there were gorgeous churches around every corner and The Hermitage was the most wonderful place I've ever been in. The first day we  visited The Hermitage, we were all so tired that it was hard to take in what we were seeing. We had free time another day so I went back to really enjoy and relish in the fact that I was looking at actual paintings by Monet, Van Gogh and my favorite artist, Kandinsky. They also had a really interesting section on palace interiors and the library made my heart just melt. I wanted to spend hours in the library perusing through books and curled up in an armchair. 

Those are some of the highlights from the trip. Thankfully I didn't get lost and it's still hard to believe I was actually in Russia a month ago. What a cool experience! 

My next post (hopefully I'll get it done today) will be about my trip to Barcelona, so keep a look out! 

Calm Before the Storm

It's the end of October and apparently it snowed this morning. Today marks exactly 2 months since my arrival in Lithuania and all I can say is that I simultaneously feel as if I have been here for much longer than that and that I also just stepped off the plane yesterday. A paradox.

It's been a while since I've posted, but you should take that as a good sign. True to form, I've been keeping myself busy with extracurricular activities and adventures.

My internship has definitely picked up in the last few weeks, which means I've spent copious hours hunched over my laptop as I meddle with Adobe InDesign trying to get the English Participant's Manual ready for the Lithuanian Global Leadership Summit. What that really means is that we have the Global Leadership Summit DVD from the states translated into Lithuanian and then host a massive viewing of it. It's been interesting to see little cultural differences emerge throughout this process. Example: Agustin (another Study Abroad) has been working with volunteers and it wasn't until last week that Sharon let us know that Lithuanians will never say "no" to you outright. They will say "yes" and then continuously avoid getting back to you with anything concrete. So Agustin was still trying to get a few people lined up as volunteers because they had originally said "yes", but what they really meant was "I don't want to say no to your face."

I've also started tutoring a 14 year old girl named Jelena (pronounced "Yelena") in English. She speaks enough English that I can have a conversation with her, but I'm still getting the hang of this whole TESOL thing. During each 1 hour tutoring session, we do grammar worksheets and I struggle to explain why exactly the past participle of "forget" is "forgotten" and then I force her to speak English for the rest of the time. Sometimes I have her read short stories out loud to help expand her vocabulary, so trying to explain what certain verbs mean involves me doing some pretty embarrassing miming to get the meaning across. I also ask her lots and lots of questions about her life in Lithuania and even when she struggles to find the right word in english (which is when Google translate comes in handy), I have so enjoyed learning from her.

And then there's school. I'm getting better and better at Lithuanian, which still remains my favorite class. Just last week I gave a five minute presentation about my family and I was amazed I actually learned enough Lithuanian to say "Mano tėvas dirba gaisrinėje" (My dad works at a fire station) and "Mano tėvas labai mėgsta skambinti mano mama kiekvieną dieną" (My dad likes to call my mom every day). I think my section on Salsa (our cat) stole the show though, as I talked about what she likes to do each day and how "graži" (beautiful) she is.

With all of this going on, though, I can still feel a storm coming in. Not in a bad way, by any means. My life is just going to get tossed around for a bit as I maneuver through the month of November. Tomorrow we leave for a 9 day trip to Russia (eek!). We get back on November 4th, and on November 7th I leave for Barcelona. November 15th-17th is the Global Leadership Summit and November 27th, I head off to Germany. Not to mention the two papers and a few tests I've got thrown in there.

It will be go, go go for the next month. I'm excited, nervous, anxious and ready for it all at the same time. Another paradox, I suppose.

Look for another post in a week or so covering Russia!

Visada,

Rebecca

Going, going, going

It's been a little over a month since I took my first step on Lithuanian soil. I'd like to compare myself to the Little Engine that Could for a few moments. As a child, I used to read this book in my room and could never imagine what climbing a steep hill might feel like metaphorically. There were times in high school and times in my first two years of college that I thought I was tired. But let me tell you something- Spending 18 hours straight in a yearbook room is NOTHING compared to spending a semester abroad. I have pushed myself about as far as I can go at this point.

The word I have heard and probably used most often is "go" or some variation of it.

"Let's go to Viva La Vita."
"Let's go to Old Town."
"Let's go to Barcelona."
"Let's go to Germany."
"Let's go to the market."

This weekend the phrase, filled with a feeling far more grand than anticipation, was "WE'RE GOING TO ESTONIA AND LATVIA!"

And go we did.

We left Thursday evening around 10pm. Why did we leave in the middle of the night, you ask? Well, Tallinn is about 10 hours away so we rode the bus through the night to get there. We were supposed to sleep on the bus but I'm convinced that busses are about as impossible to sleep on as it is for snow to fall in San Diego on Christmas day. Especially when our adrenaline was through the roof as we eagerly awaited our weekend in two new and "exotic" countries. Which is to say that some people (such as Brady) were perfectly capable of at least getting a few hours in while most of us (such as Christy, Adam and me) managed only a few 15 minute sleep sessions throughout the night. Adam slept on the floor, curled up like a cat beneath my feet. Christy and I were what we like to call "European close" and I don't think either of us slept for more than 20 full minutes at a time. Needless to say, it was a night of constant adjusting and being careful not to wake anyone else up. All while Brady looked peaceful in the corner.

Upon arriving to Tallinn around 8am with disheveled hair and the look of sleeplessness written on most of our faces, we snagged breakfast in a hotel and then headed to our hostel. The hostel wasn't ready yet, so all 30 of us had to put our stuff in one room and of course we wanted to look somewhat cute for the day which lead to a good half hour of chaos and confusion as we tried to change into non-hobo looking outfits and fix the damage a night on the bus had done to our hair.

We then had all day to roam around Tallinn and explore. Christy and I set off with Ania, Ina and Missy and ended up in a beautiful church right off the bat. It was full of natural light and it was the first church I didn't get frustrated trying to photograph. There are pictures on Facebook, but here's a sneak peek.

After this church, we headed in the direction of the highest tower in Tallinn at St.Olaf's church. We paid 2 euros to walk to the top of the tower and ran into a few other study abroads on the way up and at the top. The journey was terrifying for someone as wobbly and unstable as I am. The steps curved incessantly for the entire 20 minute climb, making me both dizzy and a bit claustrophobic. I made it, though, and it was well worth the breathlessness I was feeling by the time my weary thighs climbed the last step. The view was one I can not put into words or ever capture adequately in a photograph. My attempts are below, but really, it's so much better in real life.

You can see the towers that lined all of Old Town. Pretty cool, huh? 

This is Logan and Brady at the top of the tower. 

Another view of the city, with the Baltic in the background.

At this point, we headed to a different part of the city, looking for a free tour of the city that was to begin at noon. On the tour, we ran into Buddy and Franklin, so I took off with them for an adventure that was more suited to my taste. We walked around the city and grabbed coffee (a smoothie for me) at a cafe down the street from our hostel.

My favorite thing about Tallinn was that walking around literally felt like you were walking in ancient times. If you took away the cars and occasional traffic light, it felt just like midieval town might have. There was even a well in the middle of town (wish I had snapped a picture!) I was particularly fond of the squares in both Tallinn and Riga and wish we had more like them in America. They are beautiful and breathe nostalgia.

Towers were all throughout Old Town

I love the winding alleys and cobblestone streets. Virtually all streets lead toward the city center eventually, which made getting around fairly easy. 

Here's a photo of one of the squares. The world seems so much more wonderful when you stand in the middle of one. 

After we moved all of our stuff into our separate rooms in the hostel, the sky had filled with rain clouds that were threatening to pour rain down on the so-far beautiful today. Taking this into account, a few of us decided to hit up the local water park in Tallinn. Best decision ever. For only 7 Euros, Christy and I got 1 and a half hours of pure fun and relaxation. There were water slides, a lap pool, a shallower one with bubbles and water fountains, and saunas. After acting like little kids and enjoying the slides multiple times, we tried a sauna for the first time.

If you've never been in a sauna but plan to at some point in the future, there are a few things you should know:
1. Prepare yourself now. You're going to walk in and immediately feel like you can't breathe. Don't panic like I did! Just breathe slowly and deeply. You're getting oxygen. It's just a little bit moist.
2. Stay for as long as you feel comfortable, but try to stay as long as possible. It's worth the moderate discomfort of feeling somewhat smothered.
3. After a while, you can start scrubbing all the dead skin of your body and face. It sounds gross, I know. But it will make your skin soooo smooth that it's totally worth it.
4. After you leave, shower. Rinse off all the dead skin and admire your totally freshly smooth skin. Then jump back in the pool to cool off!

Needless to say, the water park was enjoyable and a much needed time of relaxation after our exhausting bus ride and touristy morning. I didn't take any pictures because cameras and water don't mix very well.

That evening, the entire study abroad group went to dinner at Olde Hansa's, a midieval style restaurant, complete with someone who pours water over your hands as you enter so you can wash your hands. While the food was good for most people, my picky self and sensitive stomach (especially when travelling) only let me eat a few of the courses that appeared before us. The Arabian beef was delicious, as was the baked cheese, and apple dessert. Before the meal, we all nominated Brady to be the master of the table and he had to break the bread, dip it in salt and eat it to test for poison. It was fun to see all the traditional events and we even had a musician and singer in the restaurant.

Dinner was followed by more exploration of the city at night. Walking around under a full moon in a city filled with cobblestone streets and spooky towers, is something you'll have to experience for yourself. Walking on a dirt pathway right next to the ancient city wall is something I still can't believe you can just do in Europe, but I am so appreciative of the fact that we can. Sometimes as we're walking around all these wonderful cities, I have to remind myself to soak it all in. I get caught up in having fun with my friends, and forget that what I am doing is absolutely INCREDIBLE. Tallinn at night was gorgeous and here are some shots from the evening.

On our way to the top of a hill in Old Town

My friend Christy walking along the city wall

A spooky tower. 

The following morning was filled with more tourist activities, like a Marzipan museum and hanging out at a coffee shop before we boarded the bus for our ride down to Riga. We all managed to nap a bit, and arrived to Riga feeling more refreshed than we had upon arrival to Tallinn.

It was already evening when we checked into the hostel, so we took off right away to explore the city by night. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to charge my batteries the night before, so I have no pictures. Which is terribly sad because there was a beautiful bridge that we walked to. The whole time we stood there, I kept saying "Wow, this is incredible. This is just woah. Wow." It helped that I was with three of my best friends here in Lithuania (Adam, Christy and Brady) and we got to take cool pictures in front of the bridge (none of which have been posted yet but I'll post them when they are).

Yesterday morning (Sunday), we had only 3 hours to explore Riga by day. Usually Adam makes all the decisions because we're all pretty indecisive, but we let Brady take the lead yesterday and thank goodness we did. We got these neat guidebooks that list different areas of interest in Riga and one of them was a donut shop. Brady lead us in that direction and as soon as we were getting close, he realized that the book said the store was closed on Sundays. We could do nothing but laugh.

Part of the reason I'm friends with those specific people is because we CAN laugh about things like walking all over Riga looking for a closed donut shop. 9 times out of 10, we make up our plans as we go along. It's a nice way to travel, not having to think about it. We just walk and eventually we find something interesting. There was a moment yesterday when we were walking towards a castle, but we all saw something that made us gasp at the exact same time so we changed routes and headed there instead. I'm incredibly thankful for the friends I have made here, specifically the friendships I have with Adam, Brady, Buddy and Christy.

After that sappy moment, let us return to the donut shop adventure. We decided to at least find the donut shop because we'd gone on this grand journey to get there. And surprise, surprise- it was open! Of course, we went inside and indulged our sweet teeth with donuts like "Crazy Day" which tasted like  toothpaste in donut form and Mango Tango donuts. I grabbed a few to bring home for my roommates as well.

Upon leaving, we wandered back towards Old Town. Christy and I both decided that we like Riga better than Tallinn. Riga felt a bit more modern and was definitely a city I could see myself living in for while. Riga also had the feeling of fall in the air. It was crisp and the leaves were just beginning to turn colors. There were also parks everywhere, which made for some beautiful scenery among the bustle of city life.

A park in Riga

Proof that the donut shop was open on Sunday! 

Donuts donuts! 

A glimpse into Brady's personality

Adam hanging out on a bridge in Riga

Family Photo (Christy, Brady, Me, Adam)

Christy and I in front of a church in Riga

We left Riga and arrived back to the dorms yesterday. All I can say is that I am exhausted. This going, going, going attitude has been wonderful, but I think I'm about to become the Little Engine that Could. I'm going to need to push through my exhaustion because like it or not, I've still got classes to attend and homework today. I've also got friendships to cultivate and things to learn about this culture.

Coming back to Lithuania yesterday finally felt like coming home. I knew the words for please, thank you and excuse me. I knew the currency and the conversion rate. And I knew the familiarity of my bed.  Wonderful things.

On a another note, I am officially going to Barcelona with Christy, Adam, Brady and Buddy. Christy and I are also going to Germany. And of course, our study abroad Russia trip is coming up in just 27 days!

Thanks for reading!

Visada,

Rebecca