Sister Countries

Saturday did not get off to the most auspicious of starts. When I awoke, I was curled into painful, little wad, on a tour bus, in Estonia. After an unremarkable breakfast and an unremarkable walk, we met our unremarkable tour guide. What was remarkable was the Old Town itself. Someone described it as "Beauty and the Beast-like" and they were dead on. With spires and steeples that pierced the sky, elaborate iron-wrought gates, and whimsically painted doors, I felt like I was in a fairy tale. We stopped at a little courtyard and I was thrilled by the sight of color splashing against the blue backdrop. I hadn't realized how much I missed autumn colors.

After awhile, we checked into a hostel and I had been expecting one similarly questionable to the one we had stayed in the first night. I was happily incorrect. This room looked like one Harry Potter would sleep in, with its fifteen foot ceilings, expansive drapes, and intricate woodwork. For the next outing we split into groups. The group I was in first went to a tv tower the Russians had built to celebrate the Bolshevik revolution. The closer we got to the tower, the less impressive it was (probably not unlike communism.) Though very tall, the sides had green slime dribbled down them, the entrance was barred for no apparent reason, and the would-be pool was reflection-less. It felt as though something had died.

In sharp contrast, was the botanical garden we visited next, as it teemed with life. As we walked, Hannah took out a package of gummy bears and started maliciously biting off their heads and limbs with great relish. "You know," I said, "that's probably how Hitler ate his gummy bears." "Nope," she answered confidently, "Hitler didn't have gummy bears." For dinner we went to a medieval meal at Old Haus complete with candlelight, costumed musicians, and sausages made of bear meat. After dinner, we leisurely strolled the streets. We heard music and after seeking out the source discovered a fashion show! The perfectly elegant clothes on the perfectly coiffed models were amazing, as were the cellist and drum player who accompanied them.

Some of the highlights of Latvia include a warm, Bocelli-blasting Italian restaurant, a traditional church with a sermon in English (where we met the Canadian ambassador to the Baltic States and ate peanut M&Ms), and a tour of the Museum of Occupation (where we learned more about the Nazis and Soviets and had a delightfully awkward tour guide.)

Aerobics

Today I went to the City Church which meets at school and is conducted entirely in Lithuanian. They have translation headsets you can use which is nice. The woman whispering in our ears sounds like water with her long, soft, liquid intonations.

Tonight, I joined the some of the girls in the dorm for aerobics. This wasn't the cute, fun, American aerobics I had been originally expecting, this was sadistic Eastern European military training- leaping lunges, and high knees with arms perpendicular to the body. My shoulders to my knees already ached from aerobics on Friday night and then volleyball with Jessy on Saturday. I was only there today because Jessy coerced me. Tanya thinks that when I get home and my mother sees me, she will ask if my roommates stole all my food...

Hill of Witches

(The picture below is an unexpected moment captured while we were waiting for the ferry.)

Her name is Egle Songailine. She is taller than most of the boys in our class, her blonde hair is cut at a sharp angle, she accepts no excuses and isn’t afraid of a fight. And it is because of her, that for the first time, I am excited about my major. In the back of my mind, I had always wondered if marketing wasn’t just about manipulating people, if it was just about finding new ways to sell people old garbage. But now, I know better. A marketeer is really a professional promise maker, and as such has great potential for either good or evil, but they still have a choice. I’ve also started to question some of my own thought processes, my own motivations…I feel such an immense sense of relief right now.

Switching gears…Yesterday, Altynai, Hannah, and I went to the Hill of Witches. I’m going to be super lame and put a brief description from visitneringa.com. “Since the ancient times, Festival of St. John was celebrated at the Hill of Witches, formerly called Jonas’ and Ieva’s Hill. Nowadays, walking along path of the hill, you can see the unique exposition in the open air. 71 sculptures out of oak tree were gouged during summers of 1979 – 1981 by Lithuanian (mostly Lowland) folk artists. The theme of the hill sculptures is the world where witches, demons, and characters of Neringa legends live.” The sculptures were often startling as one second I would be looking at a beautiful maiden with flowing hair, and a moment later I would see a grotesque (yet strangely hypnotic) monster. There was also a great wooden teeter-totter which reduced Hannah and I to about the age of five. Altynai mounted a great wooden horse and looked as though she perfectly belonged there (perhaps a testament to her Mongol ancestors.) The only slight downside to an otherwise perfect outing was the frigid wind that insisted on making it's presence felt. To combat the cold, we stopped at a lovely cafe decorated with all warm colors of a hug. As I was downing some spicy soup, I had the feeling that this was how life was meant to be lived, good food with good friends, in a beautiful place.

The Bad and the Good

It would seem that the food situation is now critical. Those you of who know me well, or for that matter, those who know me at all, know that I'm not the most open-minded eater. Actually so far, I've ended up pawning off half of the things I've tried. And ready-made foods are practically non-existent here. Friday night, I attempted to make French toast. While I had never made French toast before, due mostly to my aversion to raw animal products, I courageously gave it a go. An hour and a half later, I was left with the most pathetic looking French toast I had ever seen, (see picture) having been cooked on an oven the probably predated the Soviet occupation. And yet, because I did not want to relive the experience of cooking again I ate that toast not only Friday night, but twice Saturday, and today. I know I could do the co-op thing, gather in the kitchen with some other girls, laughing and talking, the savory smell of spices wafting up from various pots and pans. But that does not appeal to me at all. By the end of the day, having gone to class, talked to so many new people, walked all the way back to the dorm and up five flights of steps, I just need to be alone and immobile for awhile. And if that means disturbing my roommates by eating cold, breaded chicken patties and Nutella for the next three months, so be it.

With the exception of eating, I had a very nice weekend. Yesterday, Jessy and I went to the market and I was stunned by the vast array of goods. To me, market meant about three farmers in a parking lot selling corn out of the back of their pick up trucks. Here, people were selling a multitude of fruits and vegetables, jewelry, underwear, etc. I came away with some apples, peaches, and a pair of shoes. Next I went to Akropolis, the huge shopping mall with a couple of my roommates. The food court (which looks more like a theme park) is set up around an ice skating rink which I can't wait to visit.

Today after church I was faced with a very difficult decison. Do I complete my business finance homework or do I go swim in the Baltic sea on an incredibly beautiful day? Jessy finally convinced me (I get the feeling she's going to be doing a lot of that) to go to the beach. We ran to catch the bus and then were packed in so tightly that an elderly lady was practically sitting on top of me and several random elbows were dangerously close to my face. I was sweating so copiously that it actually wasn't unpleasant, kind of like talking a shower. Once we got to the beach, we charged/tiptoed into the salty, frigid sea. After taking several pictures and making ourselves into human knot and then untangling, we dispersed to do our own thing, whether it was swimming, talking in small groups, searching the seashore for bits of amber, or a reading questionable, semi-historical novel (guess who.) A few hours later, we ran to catch the bus back and sat there contented, toasty, and very much relaxed.

Ukrainian Challenge

Today after class, Jessy, Hannah, and I went to celebrate Ukraine's independence. Jessy exerted a fair amount of energy trying to get me to taste something square and white on a toothpick. When she refused to answer any of my inquiries, I refused to try it. Later I found out that it was salted, solid lard. Hmm...

The program started and there was a kind of "Come to Ukraine" sideshow followed by some singing. Then they decided to show us some traditional games. The first game needed two boys and two girls. The girls were then blindfolded and had locate ten clothes pins on the boys which resulted in a fair degree of hilarity. I whispered to Hannah, "I almost volunteered and I am so glad I didn't." But then the host called for three more volunteers, and as I had kind of stuck my foot in my mouth, Jessy and Hannah were able to force me on stage. Looking back, I honestly believe I had an out of body experience. The whole world tilted and I said to myself, "I'm standing in front of all these people I don't know, going to do who knows what, and oh yeah, I'm in Lithuania. Okay, I'm ready to wake up now..."

The host laid out a ribbon and told us the rules which pretty much amounted to Simon Says, but with three commands, in Ukrainian. Jump to one side of the ribbon, the other, or straddle it. Finally I took a deep breath, focused my mad DDR skills, and began. A few short minutes later I had hopped my flip-flops to victory! (My roommate actually filmed it without my knowledge or consent, but it will not be posted at this time- sorry.) Then Hannah, Altunai, and I escaped before the folk dancing started and made a brief stop at Iki to buy bags of milk and yogurt. And yes, I said bags...

First Day of Class!

On this most momentous day, I decided that I would sleep in as long as my schedule would allow even if I had to walk to school by myself. Given my notorious sense of misdirection this was rank insanity. I did at least ask the girl at the dorm's desk for directions and off I went. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, I was surrounded by people who couldn't give me directions if my life depended on it. And for some reason I couldn't get that song from the Sound of Music out of my head (you know the one.) After zigzagging up and down the streets I did try to ask a couple girls for directions (my roomate is currently listening to White Chirstmas-sorry) and it was as I feared, they spoke about three words of English and right, left, and feet were not the words. (Brief aside, I have come to the conclusion that the US needs to get on board with the metric system. I feel like I spend a fair amount of time each day feebly trying to do conversions in my head. That, combined with trying to remember conversions of military time does nothing to ease the transition here.) Anyway, I thanked the girls for their time and after a few wrong turns I noticed the directions I was given and the things I was seeing were the same thing! This was something I had very rarely experienced. And when I found the bridge that goes over the railroad tracks I was ecstatic. I knew the rest of the way and I knew that I had done it. Granted, it took me forty-five minutes for a walk that was supposed to be twenty-five, but even that didn't quell my pride.

Once I got to the actual school and found my class by navigating the MC Escher-like stairs (as one study abroad student so aptly put it) I was very pleased with what I found. The class was Introduction to Theology, the professor was from Indiana, and about ten study abroad students were in the class. Our professor told us that he welcomes questions and challenges and if we did well then at the end he would give us Jr. Theologian certificates. I'm beginning to get really excited about taking a Bible class away from Taylor. Rather than arguing about speaking in tongues, women in the church, and whether Patriotism goes hand in hand with Christianity, (again) some of the members of my class may not agree with some of the more basic tenants of the Christian faith and it will be very interesting to see how everything plays out.

Next I had business finance where things were a bit less comfortable. For starters, it's business finance. Also, I was the only study abroad student in the class so I was back to doodling on my notebook while everyone else was speaking a different language. And lastly, my professor is Lithuanian and while his accent is very pleasant to listen to, I can also see how it might be very soothing. I've decided to put forth effort in this class.

After class I hung out with Jessey and Theresa, who was kind enough to share some of her food and we talked about how it's difficult not just to transfer to Lithuania, but to go from a very conservative Christina college to a much more liberal one. Then we went to a small gathering to celebrate Kurgistan Independence. Altunai, our resident Kurgistani, told us interesting things about the culture like how whenever they watch Mulan they root for the bad guys since those are their ancestors. She also spoke of some of their sports such as when a guy on a horse chases down a girl and marries her if he catches her. There is also a version of keep away played on horses with wrapped up goat intestines. It was all very informative. Ukraine celebrates independence on Wednesday, at which time I will get the chance to learn about my roommates' homeland.