Spring Break: Russian Style

So I have waited so long to post about my Spring Break trip to Russia because I’m not even sure where to begin, but since I can’t put it off till April, here’s my go at it.
Russia was everything and nothing like I expected. To be honest even though I now live so close I still have not learned a lot. Our SA leaders did a few presentations for us about Moscow and St. Petersburg and taught us at least the few basic phrases, but I still was very unsure about what I was stepping into.
Overnight train:
Amazing experience. It was tons of fun! We walked into the train and there are little sections, no doors or curtains, just walkways. There are four beds nicely bunked and a table on one side and on the other there was a table with bench that folded down into a bed. We had a lot of fun on the 17 hour train: told stories, chatted, played cards, ate, drank tea, napped and went through two border controls.
Moscow:
The city is HUGE! After being in Chicago last summer I was shocked that another city could be 4 times its size. The metro itself was an experience. There were escalators that stretched so long that you could not see the end of it. There were also beautiful mosaics and stained glass pieces around the different stations. Red Square was somewhat like I imagined, red and brick. But in all honesty, it was really pretty. You walk under the arch and you stare at St. Basil’s cathedral. This is truly a work of art. It was beautiful! The colors were so bright and rich! The Kremlin is a large estate that is full of beauty and history! We had a great, long and cold tour through it which was very interesting. We also went to a circus! It was so fun! There were animals doing all these crazy performances. Even monkey riding tricycles (Chunk)! The performers were great as well and it was all around just a really fun experience! Our stay in Moscow was short, but sweet then it was time for our 5 hour train to St. Petersburg!!
St. Petersburg basics:
The city itself is beautiful! It has a very interesting mix of history, while being modern at the same time. All the buildings around the city are different fun colors like pink, green, yellow and orange. It made the city come to life since they only get about 30 days of sun a year (we were blessed to enjoy one of them). Walking is the preferred mode of transportation. We got to the point where walking 30 minutes was an incredibly short walk. There were SO many cafés all around the city! Everywhere you turn and they were all different! It was so fun to go and hangout at these cafes every night pretty much!
Churches:
All around the city there are beautiful historic churches. I felt like we were always walking into or around the churches. We even saw a Mosque and attended a Russian orthodox service. It was quite an experience and I’m really glad that I got to go. St. Isaacs Cathedral was beautiful! We got to climb the 200 steps to the top and look out on all St. Petersburg. It was an amazing experience and so incredible to look around the city from such a different perspective.
Hermitage:
2nd largest art collection to Louvre and we got to spend a few hours exploring it. We did not even begin to see the whole museum in those hours. The art in it was beautiful and you go to see pieces of art that you’d seen in history books. I’m not the biggest art fan, but through Arts in the City (yea, I said it Clairebear :P) I have grown to have a much greater for art and the story behind it.
Food:
The food was great!! Some of the faves were “American-style” pizza (I know, I know), an orange Russian soup, huge pastries type food (one filled with meat and another with cheese), Russian pies (Jenn and I split a lingam berry one), tiny pastry pies and ice cream!
Church of Split Blood:
Ok, we need to just google this to check it out! It is beautiful, my favorite part of the city. From the outside you can see the beauty of it and also a piece of the destruction of it. (Google or ask if you want to know about the history) The story is incredible. Inside the whole church is mosaic, all these tiny little pieces that when put together create a masterpiece. Each piece of art is significant, they all tell a story. As you stand, walk around and turn you are just in sheer awe of what you see. Once we went outside Emas had someone read Psalm 139 and it truly blew me away! God’s presence was just so strong in those few moments, it blew me away!!
Those are the basics…if you want more details just let me know! (There are some that I decided not to post, but may be interesting to some :P )
Happy April Fools 

Please enjoy these pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037339&id=1236840181&l=982f55cf0b
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037316&id=1236840181&l=f30bded177

Joy Rolls On

Here's a little bit about what's been going on at the orphanage!!

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of joy and laughter at the orphanage. We have really been having a good time and enjoying each other! We got a grant to go bowling so Alina invited me to come and help out with the children. We took us bus downtown to the bowling arena. It was really cute and pretty empty which was good because we were very loud. The children had lots of fun bowling. The skill level ranged from managing to get a gutter ball with guardrails to being able to spin to ball and get a strike. It was quite an experience and I found myself somewhere in the middle. We laughed a lot though which was great. When he got back we had a very relaxing rest of the day. We hung out and just chilled which was rather nice.

Friday was movie night! I borrowed Ice Age in Russia and Cars in Lithuanian from one of my friends that lives here. The two older boys figured out how to hook up the DVD player while me and a few girls popped the popcorn. This in itself was quite an experience because many of the children had never had popcorn from a bag before. I’m not sure that the microwave knew how to handle it either because it was struggling to fully pop the bags. Alina brought in the soda and once we had finally popped all the popcorn it was movie time. First we watched Ice Age. Even though some of the children don’t speak Russia they still wanted to watch it. Even though it is a cartoon movie there is a lot of physical comedy and they really enjoyed it. I think we all picked up a little Russian as well. Cars was great as well and it was fun to be able to watch something that they all really understood. It was a very fun and relaxing night.

Over the break I definitely missed the kids and Alina. They are just amazing! I have really grown to love them more and more as time continues. Alina had a birthday over the break and I had talked to Igoris about planning a party for her after I got back. It was so great and definitely an adventure trying to plan a surprise party with our limited language skills. We were able to work together pretty well though. I had prepared a birthday banner for all the children to sign and they were able to stealthily get everyone to sign it without Alina ever seeing it. The cake was interesting because it needed to be in the fridge but we didn’t want Alina to see it so the children told her not to look in the fridge. While she was looking after the other class I was able to set up the kitchen and had Rolandas on door duty. After racing around the house we finally found everyone. They all waited in the kitchen while I ran to ask Alina to come in for a minute. She was shocked and so happy. Sandra handed her the poster and as she opened it she began to cry, tears of joy of course. She was so happy and we sang to her in Lithuanian as well. Then it was time for cake and more fun. Alina was so surprised, but very happy. I think she felt loved and appreciated which is just what she deserves. She does so much for the kids and everyone in the house that she really deserved to be surprised and appreciated. We did some after party clean up and then played a charades type game while Alina did paperwork. It was a great night. I can’t wait to go back on Thursday!

Next post:
Spring Break: Russian Style :)

Sending much love and huge hugs to where ever you may be :)

Lietuviu Kalba

From the curiosity of what Lithuanian actually looks/ sounds like here you are!!
This is a speech I will be giving about my family tomorrow :)
If you are super curious feel free to ask for a translation!

Mano tėvo vardas yra Thony. Jis yra iš Bahamos. Dabar, jis gyvena Bostone. Jis kalba creoliškai ir angliškai. Jis yra stirprus ir triukšmingas. Jis megsta studijuoti. Jis megsta važuoti miestą. Jis yra technikas. Jis dirba biure.

Mano mamas vardas yra Madlyna. Ji yra iš Haitis. Dabar, ji gyvena Bostone. Ji kalba creoliškai ir angliškai. Ji yra maloni ir žema. Ji megsta skaityti. Ji megsta važiuoti į muziejų. Ji yra patarėja. Ji dirba ministerijoje.

Mano sesės vardas yra Elise. Ji yra iš Bostono. Dabar ji gyvena Floridoje. Ji kalba angliškai ir šiek tiek prancūziškai. Elise yra mano drauge. Ji yra laiminga ir įdomi. Ji megsta šokti. Elise megsta eiti prie jūros. Ji yra studentė Floridoje. Jai yra aštuoniolika metų.

Aš turiu du brolis.

Mano brolio vardas yra Julius. Jis yra iš Bostono ir jis gyvena Bostone. Jis kalba angliškai. Julius yra greitas ir aukštas. Jis megsta važuoti į sporto klubą. Jis megsta sportuoti. Julius yra mokinis. Jam yra šešuolyka metų.

Mano brolio vardas yra Antonio. Jis yra iš Bostono ir jis gyvena Bostone. Jis kalba angliškai. Antonio yra mielas ir linksmas. Jis megsta kalbėti. Jis megsta važiuoti bažnyčią. Antonio yra mokinis. Jam yra septine metai.

Mug N Muffin

First of all, it was just a super cute name so I knew that I needed to go, but was very unsure about what to expect. It was actually really awesome. First of all we brought our own mugs and the ladies provided the tea and muffins. We then had a guided discussion about the role of women and the four women on the “panel” basically just shared some of their life stories and the different roles that they have played in them. There was so much that stuck out to be so I’ll just share a little bit.

One was that love is a choice. It is not the fantastical picturesque romantic comedy type of love where all conflicts
perfectly resolve in the end, but rather it is real and takes work. It is not always easy to love people especially when they have hurt you or you just do not feel like loving them anymore, but in that time there is a decision to make. To love, to hate to attempt to become indifferent, but in these times I pray that I am always able to make that sometimes difficult choice to love.

Another was that there are different paths that we can take in life. Sounds simple right, but there are times when even after tons of praying and listening there may be a few paths that feel right and good. So we can make a choice. God will walk with us down which ever path we have chosen and hold us close.

The last and point of the most poignant was a “forcing of your eyes outward”. I think that image of this lady scooping her hands in this motion will be forever ingrained in my mind. As she talked about this she told the story of how her mom died suddenly in a car accident and one of the best and hardest things she did was to force her eyes outward and not look to how it was hurting her and focusing solely on her pain, but rather looking to see how it was affecting the rest of her family and how other people also had tragedies and hardships. This image was so powerful and life applicable. Yes, I may be hurting, sad, confused, upset, but you know so are so many other people in my life. My goal is to “force my eyes outward” and to look beyond myself, not denying what I feel, but rather not making that my focus.

I am so thankful for the openness of these women and their willingness to share such important life principles.

RECAP

RECAP:
Yes, I was home, but now I am back in Lithuania. Sorry it’s been a crazy week and I haven’t posted in a while. I have a lot to fill you in on so feel to scroll through and read what sounds interesting!


FOOD:
I have tried a lot of food since being here. One of my life motto is go big or go home, right?! These are just some of my favorites so far:
Curd cake- curd, flour and sugar. Baked and topped with sour cream.
Kepta duona- rye type bread fried. Mixed with cheese, garlic and mayo.
Potato pancakes- fried potatoes that have been almost mashed with meat inside served with a special white sauce
Cepelinai- potatoes that have gone through a special machine. Mixed with pieces, green color. Inside has meat. It is fried and topped with sour cream.
I have also eaten lots of sausage, potatoes and a dill type spice.


CULTURE SHOCK:
What?! I thought I was pretty fine and didn’t really have culture shock at all. I found this was not the case. We have groups called TriS groups where they break up our Study Abroad group into 3 different groups that go to different North American professor’s houses for Soup, Sustenance and Spirituality. We had tacos and hung out with an awesome family. They were so sweet and have 2 of the cutest little girls. We talked about what culture shock was, symptoms and ways of working through it. Some of the symptoms are boredom, confusion and short attention spans were definitely prevalent. We discussed how the first four weeks are more of a honeymoon phase and just loving everything about it and then the feelings go downhill and start to get better around week 12. Now this makes me a little nervous because, let’s be real, no one really wants to hear that for the next few weeks we’re going to get pretty bad and be more sad and irritable. I’m not sure exactly what to do about it because I feel like some points are more inevitable. I’m trying to stay grounded and just keep going and continuing to enjoy myself and all the amazingness of this country!


LANGUAGE:
I’m not yet fluent in Lithuanian. Now, this may not surprise you, but this fact has become quite frustrating for me. I know that I have been here for 1 ½ months, but in my mind I should be a lot better than I am at Lithuanian. I just want to be able to speak and to know words and vocabulary. It takes so much effort to try and form sentences when I need to figure out verb endings that are not like ar/er/ir verbs, but you just need to memorize them. There is no way to know the endings and all the declensions and how to use them properly. This is especially hard at the orphanage because I have so much I want to say to the kids but it’s so frustrating not to just be able to speak to them. I haven’t lost all hope though. I am beginning to understand some of what the kids say and we are able to communicate some especially when Alina translates for us. It is a hard, but good lesson in patience. I’m generally pretty patient with others but it’s hard to be patient with myself. I’m learning to give myself time and not being frustrated with how I think I should be doing.


WOAH:
I know, that’s what I said too! So, I’m at the orphanage one day and it is dinner time. Alina had offered food to the children who said, “Ne, aciu” So she offered some to me. My initial response (in my mind of course) was oh, please, no, I’ve made it a month and a half without having to eat it. But, my motto is the same as I told my groups last summer “You need to try everything, but you don’t have to like it.” So after this momentary inner debate I said sure, I’ll try some. As I raised my spoon to my mouth I told myself I only had to keep it down, one bite Chrissy, one bite. And you know, I really enjoyed it. And it was…
…soup. For those of you that know me well this is a huge deal! I don’t do the whole soup thing. It’s been years since I have had a bowl of soup. I have grown to realize that it was not that bad. Actually, I really like it, who knew? I don’t know what it was that gave me this strong dislike, but I think it may be because I would usually ate it when I was sick as a small child. So then I decided it was a no go I guess. So now I eat soup! But this got me thinking beyond the soup a little. I started wondering is there were other things that I have been so strongly against that I do not really have a strong base in reality. Are there more important parts of life than open that I am not being open to. Hmm, I don’t know. I’m not sure, but I thinking still thinking about it.


SHMELT:
What are you talking about?! Yea, that’s what I said too! Last weekend we went to the Shmelt Festival in Palanga, LT (it’s just a bus ride from Klaipeda). Shmelt is a pretty small fish and this festival is all about them. It was basically all on one huge street leading down to the beach. We walked around, hung out, looked at all these cute crafts and trinkets that were setup in little tent ordeals. There was also a lot of hot wine and hot beer. It was really interesting and actually a lot fun. I did try a bite of smelt and realized I still don’t like fish, but it’s all an experience right? We spent a while talking along the pier which was also a lot of fun.


LOVE:
I have definitely fallen in love with some of the greatest kids on the planet. They are absolutely amazing! Even though the language barrier has been a little bit rough I would not go back on my decision of doing my practicum here. They are so sweet and precious. I know that we are definitely opening up to each other and getting to know each other better. Each time I walk in the door I get a bunch of hugs which is so happy. We play games, talk (sort of), have dinner, clean up and just chill. I feel so blessed to have to opportunity to just love and hangout with these kids. This week we had a lot of celebrations for Lithuanian Independence Day which was tons of fun! On Tuesday I got to spend most of the day there since we did not have school, it was awesome. We had pancakes and kepta duona, we hung out and made decoration for the celebration on Tuesday. On Thursday was the actual celebration and the kids performed different dances and songs. They were adorable. On Friday they actually had another celebration and I was able to go and hang out. All the kids were dressed up and it was a lot fun. I’m so excited to just keep getting to know these kids and just have tons of fun with them and show them how much Jesus loves them.


Coming soon…
Classes
Weekend
Mug N Muffin

P.S. Ask about an intense cleaning if you want to hear a good story :)

From Malden

I am writing this post, not from Klaipeda, Lithuania but from Malden, Massachusetts. Yes, I am home.

Everyone including me always says God will bring good out of a bad situation. You know, that is awesome and true, but it is a lot easier to see when you are not actually in a hard situation. But I decided to try and find some good. First, Papa is no longer in pain. He’s not suffering, hurt or sad. He does not have to live without his beloved wife any longer. So that is good. He is with Jesus now whom he loved so much. I know that he is glad to be with his Father. He got to be here for 88 years, so Jesus must be really happy to have him back.

But, what about me, what about everyone else that is left behind. What is good for us. To honest, I don’t know. We have amazing memories of Papa and for that I am grateful. But, even in those memories there is still some sadness. For now I’m holding onto the fact that “right now, in the good times and bad He is God alone” I am so thankful that I could be home. I know that’s God’s hand was totally in that and preparing my heart for what happened. As I was leaving on Saturday morning I saw a note outside my door. Jess had written it to me and wrote a verse on that bottom that was actually one of our staff verses last summer. “Whom have I in heaven but you and earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26 I don’t need to be strong, I don’t need to be well because God is the strength of my heart and I’m holding tight to that truth.

Quicky

Actual format for my address:
Chrissy Jonassaint LCC International University, Neumann dorm, campus, W306, Kretingos 36, LT - 92307 Klaipėda, Lithuania

Will post about this week soon!!

Joy & Peace,

~Chrissy