The Journey Starts!
Exploring the Baltic Captial
My first idea after I stepped out of the airport in Vilnius, Lithuania, used to be, “It’s chilly.” Certainly, no quantity of web analysis and psychological pep talks may have sufficiently ready me for the frigid climate that greeted me. After the surprise of the elements had left my gadget, alternatively, I spotted that my analysis additionally had now not ready me for the pretty town of Vilnius.
White Christmas lighting twinkled from lamp posts like antlers weighted down with snow, bordering streets of historical and trendy structure that melded right into a collage of eras and historical past. Cobblestone pathways resulted in cafes, bookstores, and historical fort towers. For a couple of moments, snow fell and blanketed the town in a serene mist ahead of morphing into an impressive, whitening downfall.
In spite of Vilnius’s inherent attractiveness, there have been additionally darker components to the town that showcased Lithuania’s tough historical past just like the Jewish ghetto, KGB headquarters, and mass graves. Lithuania misplaced roughly 90% of its Jewish population, 7% of the overall inhabitants of Lithuania, and 40% of the inhabitants in Vilnius. This jogged my memory that each and every nation on the planet has a tale — a guiding pressure in the back of one of the customs, traditions, and delicacies that set it aside within the trendy international. It additionally humbled me.
Onto Klaipeda!
After orientation in Vilnius, my team explored the deep historical past of Lithuania with a adventure to Taraki to peer a fort the place the Grand Dukes of Lithuania presided.
One four-hour bus trip later, I arrived in Klaipeda the place LCC Global College is situated. Like the elements right here, my feelings for the primary week got here in waves of hysteria and pleasure.
I were given to learn to navigate grocery shops in a international language, observe for a Visa, be informed a brand new campus, get started categories, find a international town, and meet my roommates. All the way through this time, I discovered what used to be vital to me (iciness equipment) and what mattered to me lower than I believed it might (time distinction from family and friends).
General, I’m nonetheless settling into my lifestyles right here in Lithuania, the day-to-day variations blending with astounding similarities and engaging novelties. I do know that the following 99 days might be each glorious and difficult, and I can’t wait to peer what relationships, lifestyles courses, and self-growth the remainder of the semester will convey!