Sicilia has arrived!

Well it finally has come! My camera is here!! It's a headache and a half to try to figure out how to take remotely decent pictures (I really suck), but we'll get there. She's beautiful! I've decided to do a project 365 in photography. I figure I'm going to have a pretty interesting year so might as well try to document it pretty consistently. I am SO excited! Once I upload the software onto my computer I'll post some photos I've taken so far. Life has been so crazy busy I haven't had time to do anything! I'm scrabbling to get everything together for Mexico. I can not believe I will be in a different country in a little more than two weeks!

So on top of working 40 hours a week, I have to try to find time to pack up my room, house-sit for a friend in Denver (who has two of the FATTEST cats I have ever seen, pictures to come) and do the actual work for the Leadership class. Also, I am by far too social and can't say no to anyone. This translates to me staying out every night until at least 11 and then dragging my butt back to Denver and passing out the second I stumble into the door. The alarm goes off at 6:00 am and if I am lucky I don't sleep through it and head out the door to go back to Greeley. It's been nuts!

BUT, recently I've been going through a rather unhealthy binge on etsy bying things for "traveling" (that's how I justifying buying a $30 address book). I'm avoiding that site like the plague, because I know the second I get on it I will end up buying another journal or cute bag for $80. Ugh. Stop buying shit Sarah Hanselin. Seriosuly! But since I have bought some of the stuff already, wanna see?? It's travel related (some of it), I promise.

Here's the camera bag I bought. Yeah, clearly you know why I am in trouble at Etsy



Here's my new planner for the year...hope it gets here fast I need it bad!



I can't show you a picture of my address book because she took the item down, but it's green and blue and kinda awesome.

And a pointless passport cover. Don't judge me. I had the hardest time deciding which one I should get! FINALLY concluded on this one...it only took 18 years.



And if you are really interested in the meaningless purchases I am making in my life (bless those of you who have continued reading this), know that I also purchased two books I hope to read before Lithuania: "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller and "In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio" by Philippe Bourgois. I've had both of these highly recommended and considered to be life changing. I'll let you know how they are! Well that is all! Love you all and hope to post pictures soon!

 

Pretending I know what I am doing.

Have you ever moved internationally for a year? People make it look so easy.

I have failed to realize the amount of work that goes into packing up all that you own into one suitcase and bidding adieu to home. I also failed to think of how emotionally draining it is as well. Saying goodbye to friends and family are no easy task. And the thing is, I'm really not going to be gone that long! Not even a whole year. I get all teary-eyed whenever this scenario plays out...and it happens a lot:

Non-descript friend: "Ohmygawd! I can't wait to move in with you other Non-descript friend!"
Non-descript friend 2: "Me neither! Ohmygawd Sarah! You should in with us, we would...be...aw. Nevermind. You are going to Lithuania."
Me:  :(

Up and down.  All in the same day I could be peeing my pants in excitement at a sculpture I am really going to see and then five minutes later I am getting a call from the cranky Consulate dragon telling me to stay the eff away from Lithuania (you stinky fat American was probably thrown in there too).

I just have to smile in the end, as I stumble through it all. Hopefully it all works out in the end. There really needs to be an International Travel for Dumbies out there. Kthxbai

Not gonna lie

Alright, freaking out.

I feel really dumb to do it, but I am suddenly very afraid. I said that I am going without expectations, but in my heart of hearts I am.

I am afraid that I am not a strong enough person, that I don't know myself enough to get through this. I'm worried that I will be too concerned about some unspoken competition to make deep connections with people. What if I don't make any friends? What if no one loves me? How do I stay true to myself? What if it's not what I expect? What if it turns out to be a terrible experience?

I can be so incredibly self-concious sometimes...I'm worried. I need your prayers friends, I need to figure something out before I go. I hope that I figure something out.

We have a lot to learn!

Aš nusprendžiau, kad aš norėjau rašyti į Lietuvos paštu. Jis tiesiog per "Google Translate", todėl tikriausiai apgaubta gramatinių klaidų. Tačiau, aš noriu, kad tai bus tikslas. Ateities Sarah Hanselin, jums turi būti suteikta galimybė rašyti į Lietuvos pranešimas apie šį nuotykį pabaigos! Arba bent jau galės perskaityti šį ... tai visiškai valdomas.

Artimesni

Kad svajonė,
Vienas turi nuspręsti, kas yra verta siekti.
Ir tai yra siekti iki žemės pakraščių.
Tai ieškau iki galutinio atodūsio.
Tai aukojant savo kūną ir gyvenimą.
Tai tikėti šią svajonę net tada, kai niekas nėra.
Ji pasitiki savimi sužinoti turite worht pakankamai šią svajonę.
Tai suprasti, kad sapnas trunka darbo ir šiek tiek širdies pertraukos kartais.
Mano viltis yra, kad jūs visada siekti savo svajonių visada.

 

 

Just turned in my visa today!!! Hopefully I get this right the first time!

 

Sudie! (That means goodbye!)

Tay...say!

This sounds like the coolest place ever! We are SOOOOOooooooo going here while we stop by in France.

It's the Taize Monastery (there should be an accent over the e, but I'm the worst blogger ever and can't figure that one out). Here they welcome all denominations, people, cultures, colors and lives. It's about bringing the world together to worship the same God. It's about providing a place where all kinds of people can feel connected and discover. I think it will be one of the most beautiful things I will experience in Europe.

Check the link!
http://www.taize.fr/en

And here are some pics:




Cool right?

Also...I BOUGHT A SUPER LEGIT CAMERA!

Here it is  :)  Soon these pictures will be my own!



Isn't she just beautiful?? No name yet (I know I know...nerdy) but we'll figure that out soon! Now I know Canon's lenses are SUPER expensive, but the body isn't at all. So I figure that I would just get this because I'm never going to be spending a fortune on lenses anyway. Good for a beginner too, a category which I so painfully fulfill.

I feel like you readers need a good song to listen to as well. Here's Adele...you're welcome and enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBcMKwbMEcQ

Love you all and talk to you soon!  <3

Big Stuff!!

Guess what blogging friends....I JUST BOOKED MY FLIGHT TO LITHUANIA!!!

It's a big deal, because I made sure they were non-refundable. Oh snap. That means this is happening. Thank GOD Kim and I made sure to check the flight dates and times over and over again. I almost booked my flight for a day earlier. Haha sorry Kim...

So want to know the dets?

Our flight from Denver leaves at 12:50 pm from DIA. (2 hour flight...eating peanuts!)
From there we will be traveling to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago....and guess who's in Chicago? None other than the gorgeous Arri Cinocco. I rigged it so that we have a delay for 5 hours in Chicago, so we're planning that she'll stop by the airport to visit us before we are off! Super excited that she'll be one of the last people I see before I leave for another country! And a whole other life basically.
Board a plan at 9:50 pm from Chicago tooooooo WARSAW POLAND! It's a freaking 9 and half hour flight!! Gah...
We're going to be arriving at 2:15 pm (whoa trippy time zones, slow your roll) and have an 8 hour time delay. Therefore, I propose that we spend a little time exploring Warsaw. It's gonna happen.
Then we board our final flight at 10:35 pm in Warsaw to fly to Vilnius. It's only an hour and a half, but it's probably going to be the longest hour and a half of my life.
THEN! We finally arrive in Lithuania! We get there at 1:00 in the morning (can anyone say sketch?) From there I have no idea what we are doing, maybe a friend Kim knows will pick us up...or maybe we'll be trying to just find a hotel. Oh the adventures we'll have!

BTW...
I bought some legit luggage.  :)  Observe



Super cute right? 

Ah this is surreal!!

The next steps are filling out my visa, hoping that goes through and then figuring out my financial situation. I'm kind of lost on what to do about making sure I have and can use money over there. Should I just take a credit card and continually transfer funds? Would my bank let me do that?

Anyway! Thanks for reading, love you all! Super excited about these big things happening!

Hill of Crosses

So you're just chilling in Lithuania and want to get more of a taste for authentic "Lithuanian" stuff. What better way to experience this than heading to the Hill of Crosses?

This Hill has literally thousands of crosses on it from the Lithuanian citizens. People come everyday to lay a cross down to remind them of their Catholic heritage and to contribute to one of the greatest monuments of Lithuanian culture. Once I get one of these...

...totally going to make my ways towards this. AND it's in Siauliai...well now ain't that just oh so convenient! Just wanted to share some of the plans with y'all! Bye for now!

Getting Excited!!

Alright, to say the least, I'm bad at this blog. But I'll get better, I promise!

It's surreal to think that in less than 3 months I'm going to be in ANOTHER CONTINENT. Can you believe that? I sure can't.

BUT...if you are super committed to understanding what this whole Lithuania thing is about I would like to direct yo attencion to dis pagey: http://www.travel.lt/index.php?lang=2. Super helpful resource for learning some of the basics from Lithuania.

We'll chat more later!