happy february!

Well, I guess I have forgotten about this blog for a sufficient amount of time. :( (woops) This week has just flown by. It pretty much seems like this entire adventure has gone by so fast. I have almost been here a month already and I seem to still be figuring out my place here. (Flashback memories to freshman year)

This week was wonderful starting with Sunday, which I posted pictures from. A few girls from my from my floor decided that they wanted to walk with me to the market. Because we are girls, we definitely took a lot of photos. But when we arrived at the market, I was so excited. Fresh fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, eggs, and flowers were everywhere and a ton of people were there as well to buy. These are the experiences that I came for; being involved in the everyday lives of Lithuanians. Then, we came back and the girls made me pig kidney and mashed potatoes with ketchup of course. (They definitely put ketchup on everything, which is fine with me!) It was delicious! Then, we sat with some tea and talked together, while we looked at the pictures we took of course. (There are some things that do not differ from America..) Then, I said goodbye and went back to my room to get ready for church. Church started at 5 and I decided to try out an English-speaking church. The pastor is my Theology professor and the congregation is about 30 members of LCC faculty and staff. It was a fine protestant service with singing from the hymnal and a message on John 3, but definitely not a cultural experience.

Monday, I obviously went to school and attended by cross-cultural class, which is required for all study abroads. We watched The Singing Revolution, which I highly recommend to anyone because it's all about the singing tradition in Estonia and how their singing helped them to reclaim their freedom.

Tuesday, I went to my one class and then came home and slept because I didn't feel well.

Wednesday continued on the very relaxing week with a little bit of homework and a movie after classes. My roommates and I all felt a little under the weather and Friends (the tv show) was the best medicine and definitely bonding time for us all.

Thursday, I slept in and went to my class. Afterwards, I ventured out into the city to go shopping for some new clothes. I discovered that I had holes in a few pairs of pants and that is just unexceptable. So I went to the big shopping mall downtown that looks so much like a normal American mall that it's scary. I bought pants, shirts, and a bag for 120 dollars. Brilliant sales were everywhere! On the way home, I had to take the bus because it was night time and far away, so I got on a bus. I was definitely not sure if it was the right one, but it sounded right so I got on. However, it turned too early and I got off as quickly as possible and walked back to the bus stop to catch a different one. I got on the right one this time and made it home safely. (Definitely not the smartest idea to go by myself at night without knowing the right bus number.. woops.. sorry mom and dad!)

Friday, I went to classes and then came home and cooked with my roommate. We ate together, drank tea, and watched some Friends(funny in every culture). Very relaxing friday and no homework was done!

Saturday, I woke up to something strange.. it was the sun!!! :) oh my goodness, I have been missing it! So I made my roommates get ready and we went on a walk through old town where i took some pictures of the grafitti that i like. I know that sounds wierd, but there is so much of it and it's actually quite beautiful. Then, we had a pot luck saturday night where many people came and brought food from all over the continent! delicious. i brought a jello salad because what pot luck is complete without it? :) After eating, it was followed by dancing. They tried to teach the Americans a traditional Ukrainian folk dance.( so fun!)

Sunday, again, I woke up to a sunny day with no clouds in the sky. I spent my time studying and standing by the window as much as possible. What a beautiful day. Isn't it funny how something as simple as sunlight can change your entire outlook on a day and affect your mood? Thank you God for sun!!