As I have 2 weeks before I leave Lithuania I thought I would share a few more tidbits of what I have learned during my time here....
1. I still get in trouble for laughing too loudly…
2. I need to hold tightly to God no matter what
3. Bulgaria is a beautiful country
4. Mug N Muffin
5. It’s ok to keep my options open and not only focus on one thing
6. Changing plans is ok…
7. Other countries have disparity just like the US. It is not that some countries have all poor people and are in deep need of our help. There are economic differences everywhere though some countries may have greater disparity than others.
8. Many people have had very limited access to computer until they came to college.
9. To play Texas Hold Em
10. Life in Bulgaria is pretty sweet
11. Celebrating a birthday before the birthday is a no-go
12. You can really touch people through the simple things
13. Changing flights is wicked expensive
14. Lithuanian weather and Boston weather are both highly temperamental
15. Be quick to apologize and slow to get angry
16. Small celebrations can bring much joy
17. No matter how much I plan, I still mess up
18. Egg decorating consists of lightly carving with a knife, wrapping in leaves, herbs then boiled leaves
19. Target moccasins are not seen as an acceptable form of outdoor footwear
20. People in ministry can fall just as hard as anyone else
21. Portion control is something that many Americans, including me, need to become a lot better at.
22. Only using ½ bag of rice makes for more servings
23. There is so much joy being able to laugh at yourself
24. Ecuadorians use USD
25. Luxembourgian is a language
26. There is an actual paved path to go to the orphanage
27. Klaipeda is like a new world without snow
28. Healthcare reform is a hard and complex issue
29. No equivalent of “One Mississippi, two Mississippi…” in Lithuania
30. Dina is another word for Duvet
31. The world is much bigger than just the US
32. Not everyone wants to live in the US
33. It is not the country or people group that is evil and horrible, but rather specific people doing that
34. People on both sides of war experience pain, hurt and devastation and also strive for healing and restoration
35. Once again, my life plan never works
36. You need to make sacrifices in order to care for others
37. St. Petersburg is full of color
38. Language Joke:
What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American.
39. Changes in prayer- Enough of the typical “American prayer”- Giglio
40. God allowed his son to suffer so why wouldn’t he allow us to suffer.
41. All the “good guys” in the NT lose
42. Lithuanian reminds me of Latin
43. Low interest banking for those in need, by those in need really works. Gamean Bank.
44. I have SO much that I take for granted
45. My love for children continues to grow as I spend time with them
46. Sometimes, a slap in the face is very necessary to remind me to do the right thing.
47. I am truly thankful for people that hold me accountable
48. Dr. Usrey used to work at Jess’ college
49. I can’t change everyone’s opinions but I can do my best to make an impact in the lives of those with whom I have relationships.
Thanks for all the love and prayers :)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Weekends Away
The last two weekends I spent time gallivanting around the Baltic states with great joy!!
For Easter weekend I went to a church camp in a small countryside called šilalė! It was the most decommericialized Easter I have ever had. It was a family retreat with the church that I go to here in Klaipeda. There were churches from šilute, Kaunas and Vilnius there as well started by the same pastor! Almost everyone spoke Lithuanian and I just chuckled to myself about what I had gotten myself into, but it got tons better very quickly! The speaker was from one of their supporting churches in Florida so he spoke English and everything was translated to Lithuanian. (Which was pretty sweet b/c Laura didn't have to translate for me which she so graciously does every Sunday)
The people there were wicked sweet and super gracious especially with my limited Lithuanian skills and my issues with endings :) The ones that spoke English were also willing to practice with me which was so sweet! I had such a good time there and had so much fun getting to know some of the people :) The messages were great as well and were challenging to me and made me think a lot about what I doing now and what I am supposed to do in the future! I will miss everyone a lot!
This past weekend we went to Tallin, Estonia and Riga, Latvia (the other 2 countries on top of Lithuania) it was a great trip. It was a lot more relaxing and chill then the last adventure I wrote about. This weekend was warm, sunny and super relaxing. We rented bikes for a few hours in Tallin and rode along the coast and around the city which was SO much fun!! I forgot how much I loved bike riding :) Both cities were very beautiful in there own way, but as always, I was glad to come home to Klaipeda!
Pics are soon to come :)
Sending huge hugs and lots of smiles
~Chrissy
For Easter weekend I went to a church camp in a small countryside called šilalė! It was the most decommericialized Easter I have ever had. It was a family retreat with the church that I go to here in Klaipeda. There were churches from šilute, Kaunas and Vilnius there as well started by the same pastor! Almost everyone spoke Lithuanian and I just chuckled to myself about what I had gotten myself into, but it got tons better very quickly! The speaker was from one of their supporting churches in Florida so he spoke English and everything was translated to Lithuanian. (Which was pretty sweet b/c Laura didn't have to translate for me which she so graciously does every Sunday)
The people there were wicked sweet and super gracious especially with my limited Lithuanian skills and my issues with endings :) The ones that spoke English were also willing to practice with me which was so sweet! I had such a good time there and had so much fun getting to know some of the people :) The messages were great as well and were challenging to me and made me think a lot about what I doing now and what I am supposed to do in the future! I will miss everyone a lot!
This past weekend we went to Tallin, Estonia and Riga, Latvia (the other 2 countries on top of Lithuania) it was a great trip. It was a lot more relaxing and chill then the last adventure I wrote about. This weekend was warm, sunny and super relaxing. We rented bikes for a few hours in Tallin and rode along the coast and around the city which was SO much fun!! I forgot how much I loved bike riding :) Both cities were very beautiful in there own way, but as always, I was glad to come home to Klaipeda!
Pics are soon to come :)
Sending huge hugs and lots of smiles
~Chrissy
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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 :)
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 :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
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 :)
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 :)
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