Viskas

I can’t believe it. I’ve been back for a couple of weeks now, and have found myself falling into a very slow routine. No more long walks through the snow to get to campus. No more shopping and cooking for myself. No more lacking of all types of technology (it’s very weird getting used to having a cell phone again). And most of all, no more Europeans :(.. I miss my friends greatly, but luckily through Facebook and Skype I can still talk with them pretty often, though this 7 hour difference makes that a bit difficult sometimes. My sleeping pattern continues to not make any sense, that no matter what time I go to sleep: 10pm, 12am, 2 am, I will always wake up around 7 or 8am. That should not happen, and I hope I can figure out how to fix that. I sure miss sleeping in.

I got back in the swing of things when I went to work for a few days before Christmas, all the while unpacking and wrapping my Christmas presents in the middle of the living room while watching Spongebob. The tree was all set up, but not fully decorated as I quickly got to work on making the tree look a little bit prettier. And as usual, another Christmas morning was spent wrapping presents for other people, and waiting until 12:30 to start opening presents. Then my family celebrated another Christmas with my aunt, uncle and cousins this past Thursday. My goal for the rest of my break? Re-read all the Harry Potters.

Through all the family get togethers, I’ve realized that I miss the quieter tone that I had gotten used to for so long. I also realized that I still have small amounts of patience, and it’s the stupid things that aren’t worth getting upset over that get me the most annoyed. Another thing is that while shopping I still catch myself converting the money into litai to determine whether something is worth buying or not. Perhaps the most aggravating thing is not having transportation when I want it. Since my car died a few months ago, and the lack of public transportation, I have been reduced to asking my brothers or parents to borrow their car or have friends pick me up. I really really miss the bus.

Well, I don’t really know what else to say. I’ve grown so much through this experience, and there are things that I definitely want to hang on to. I’ll be thrilled to share more stories with you if you ask, and I’ll even speak some Lithuanian if you’d like. But I really had the time of my life, and I will never ever forget this semester. After this semester, I have changed my answer the most frequently asked question, "Who goes to Lithuania?” A person goes to Lithuania to step outside of their comfort zone. I was challenged to grow, to learn a new language and to learn how to cook. I have accomplished all of them, but I couldn’t have done so on my own. I learned to ask people for help, and to be humble enough to accept it. I learned to laugh at myself, with much help with that from Mārtiņš, Ieva, Aurelia, and a lot more friends. But most importantly, I learned to love what I had and to make the best of what was available for me. Lithuania, I thank you for helping me grow up (contrary to what many people believe).

As it is New Year’s Eve, I wish all of you a very happy and healthy 2011. I have a feeling this is going to be a good year :). Thank you for following me in this wonderful adventure. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.