I love lists!

Labas friends! Oh my, so much has happened since I last spoke with you! I have this long exhaustive list of things I wanted to blog about to you but as it’s getting longer and longer, the less and less I wanted to write all of it. So I am going to do a condensed version in the form of a list! Pictures to follow!

·         Finally arrived to Lithuania, it was 1 am, we were exhausted, and our friend Renata is fabulous.

·         First meal in Lithuania- Italian?

·         Explored the city ALLLLL by ourselves!

·       Saw a museum without even realizing it, a Defense Tower

·         Bought a scarf (…I NEEDED it!)

·         Had some very traditional food- cepelinis and gira, both are very good! Don’t know what that is? Think potatoes, potatoes, potatoes.

·         Also, our friend Radvile is also very, very fabulous!

·         Went to see a castle on a lake!

·         Met a very brave Canadian.

·         Found out that banana and Nutella is a favorite Lithuanian dessert combo.

·         Did a little sight-seeing tour in Vilnius

·         Went to the National Art Gallery- saw work by Blatas and many other Lithuanian artists. I loved this so much I still might devote another blog post on it.

·         Attend a church service that was in Lithuanian, some of it was translated.

·         Had my first Lithuanian beer- Svytury’s Baltas- it was delicious. (Oh! This reminds me, Lithuanians do their quotations so weird! ,,I’m Lithuanian!” First time I saw this I thought it was a mistake on a sign)

·         Ate LOTS of crepes- Ham and cheese, Apple and of course Banana and Nutella!

·         Rode on a train with a crazy Ukrainian who asked- “Can I have your number??”

·         Arrived in Siauliai!!

·         Went shopping almost immediately and found out that Lithuanian stores are very different (they don’t have brown sugar?!)

·         Met a lot of Erasmus kids! They represent tons of different countries, let me break it down for you- 4 Italians, 2 Hungarians, 3 Germans, 3 Frenchmen, 5 Turks, 3 Koreans, 1 Spaniard, 1 Czech, 1 Slovak, tons of Latvians (I’ve lost count of them!) and 2 Americans! And there are more to come!

·         Joined in on a world record! We had to bounce a basketball for 5 minutes, and people from all over Lithuanian were doing it too at the same time. Got a free basketball out of it! Even though it was pouring freezing rain we all had fun.

·         Found a second-hand (or thrift store- no one in Europe calls them that) shop!

·         Went to a huge mall called the Akropolis (twice in one day) to go to the Lithuanian equivalent of Wal-Mart, Maxima (XXX!! How many Xs are in the name tell you how big it is, this Maxima is the biggest one) and to go ice-skating. I was attached to the side of the wall and freaking out. Ugh.

·         Pizza here just ain’t right.

·         Discovered that European clothes are depressingly different sizes. It should not take a person THREE hours to find a bra that fits!!! (sorry if that was TMI) But come ON!

·         Did I mention how much Lithuanians are into basketball? Something called the Eurobasket is going on right now and people are going NUTS! Lithuania has a really good team and I’ve watched so much basketball now my eyes are bleeding. Google it, silly Americans, Google Eurobasket and you will see.

·         Danced the night away! Americans grind, Europeans like their personal space. It’s hilarious!

·         Had a fun impromptu game day in our room!

·         Coffee just ain’t right here either! I cried a little over this. But I just found a coffee shop that has a pretty decent Almond Latte. Margie’s, I took advantage of you and now I want you back…please??

·         Walked around a market on the Pedestrian Street. Found lots and lots of souvenirs!  J

·         Had a much better clothes shopping experience!

 

·         Was in a parade! Woohoo!

·         Danced the night away again (I’m not going out tonight, my feet are going to fall off! How do Europeans do that everynight??)

So that’s just a little bit of all the things that have been going on! It’s been incredible here and I am having so much fun! Miss everyone so very much though. Today’s goal is to find the post office, send off a few postcards, find out my address, drink more coffee, and hold a game night in our room! Classes start soon, Monday I think! I’ll have more adventures to tell you soon!

"The glow of inspiration warms us; it is a holy rapture."--Ovid

A song which I think is perfect for this adventure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w

Also, they don't have dryers here...I think I miss that the most out of everything!!

Chicago!

What says Chicago better than yummy cheesecake?? Kim and I are currently trying to blog like mad-women (we only have 20 minutes free) and upload pictures for you guys to see! We stopped at a cheese-cake place and treated ourselves to the last "American Meal". So, our next stop is Warsaw! It's a nine hour flight, so wish us luck! The flight to Chicago went great. It was fun being able to sit and talk to the people around me. The woman on my right was flying for business and we got to talking about life decisions. The man on my right was flying home from a interview, wish him all the luck in the world! Hope he gets the job. And I hope I can switch my seat from a middle one to a window one on this upcoming flight! Wish me luck!

Kim and I very excited in DIA!

White Chocolate Raspberry and Sea-Salted Caramel Cheesecake!

Sorry, you can't pack your chainsaw on the plane. Bummer, I know.

Go Now

This is one of the final moments I have before I go. It is the last moment I have to catch my breath and contemplate the chances that lay before me. It's surreal to think that in less than 12 hours I am going to be on a plane heading for half-way around the world. And this isn't just a visit, this is for 10 months of my life. I know that is only a second in the grand scheme of things, but it has become such a reality that I can't help but go breathless for a moment. I have no idea what this journey is going to become. It's an exciting and overwhelming dive into the world. I can't believe that this moment I have been working for over a year now has finally come. Tomorrow, a dream is coming true.

I want to make it clear to all my friends and family a few goals and aspirations that I have for this trip, just to make sure that I carry it with me always.

I want this to become a journey marked with love. I want it to be a time where I discover what it looks like to love the world, love it's people, and love myself in it. I want to see the cultures we create with each other. I want to experience trust towards people I don't know and show trust to those who do not know me. I want it to be a time where I try to live a life more intentional and thoughtful. I want to see beauty and be bold. I want to take a moment to reach beyond a comfort zone I have created in the bubble of a previous life and go beyond myself. I want to see art and learn new things. I know this is the chance of a lifetime. I want to embrace every single second and devour it.

My heart is pounding because all I have left to do now is go. I'm afraid, I'm sad, but I am also excited beyond all I have ever known. The next time you will hear from me, I will be in Lithuania!

Well. This is Actually Happening

A few things to get caught up on....

Curious about my trip to Mexico? Just DYING to know the details on this supposed "Life Changing" experience I had? Well...here's a video that my friends Mike Kimball and Chris Schmidt produced to advertise for the class in the coming year. All of the scenes you see, I was there!! It's pretty cool. I'm interviewed as well, but that part is dumb. Skip it.

http://vimeo.com/27879850

I technically have a journal documenting everyday (with pictures!) and I have an immense amount of laziness, so try this link. Hopefully it works for you on Google docs:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.3&thid=131af82dc934945e&mt=application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Da910ca6d52%26view%3Datt%26th%3D131af82dc934945e%26attid%3D0.3%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gr52d4i03%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQMU78RFhTSRttuaGfgqXEh-roOwg

I know ridiculous. If I could just cut and paste the journal on, I would, trust me.

Now for other Lithuanian talk. So I leave in only FIVE days. You know, no big deal. I'm not concerned (Maddie and Nick that was for you!).

But seriously. It's surreal, I really cannot believe that in the number of fingers on my one hand I will be moving to another country. I feel a lot of things. Prepared, unprepared, excited, scared, uncomfortable, adventurous, bold...the list could go on. And no matter what, I think I am always going to feel like I am forgetting something. But I've decided to embrace it and be bold. I'm not going to hold back. These days are days of a once in a lifetime thing. I'm going to take my love and let it guide me through a daring and grand adventure. I'm going to take my love and shower the world with it, it is my dream come true.

I can only dive feet first and hold my breath and hope for the best. I have to remember what makes me a worthwhile person. I have to remember what makes me beautiful. I have to remember the origins of my love.

I have only a few things left to do, a tattoo may be one of those things. Going away party on Sunday! Glenmere park, 2 pm! Be there to wish me off!

Mexico!

Just got back from Mexico! I have so much to tell you about I don't even know where to begin. So I'll just make it short and sweet, Mexico was everything I could have asked for. I am so blessed to say that I got to see Mexico as it really is. I got to meet true Mexican people, hear their voices, get close to their hearts. I got to hold their children, dance with them, laugh with them, learn with them. It was rich in culture, alive in history, sticky with heat, spicy in flavor, bright in color, and warm in family. I am going to go back one day, take my brother and nephew snorkeling (they would love it so so much!), take Arri to the Indian Mexican fushion restuarant, and go back to Yuncu to see all my friends. I already miss it so much. Pictures to come soon!

Day 2

Painting Day! It was sad to see my green room go, but it won't be the last one. I'm also moving onto bigger more exciting things! This is just the start!

Project 365!

I think I am going to have a pretty interesting year coming up. So on this day, July 2nd 2011 I have decided to start my project 365!

Here's the first photo:

I am standing with Phil Hansen who is an amazing artist doing contemporary/performance art! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! We got to talk a little bit (he and I have the same shocking moment!) and contributed to his work. My sentence is on Van Gogh's ear! It was such an amazing day! And Phil is such a nice guy! Please check out his work!