I'm currently packing my bags for a road trip to Hungary and it reminded me I actually didn't post anything about my last journey. So here it is. Lithuania in May. Yeah, that's exactly my problem. Not keeping up with my schedule. But better late than never, right?
Our school coordinates a project focused on different aspects of water and since schools from various European countries are involved, we can exchange students for a week. Which means someone has to accompany them.
Two of my colleagues and I were picked for the Lithuanian adventure and before anything starts I have to admit some people should have a break. Like when dealing with teenagers you have to be patient and you have to take into account the fact that even though they act all cool they are just insecure kids inside and especially abroad they may feel homesick or afraid. You just have to put up with their mood swings and not take it personally. You gotta be there for them when they need you. Well, I was but I just don't understand my two much older colleagues who thought our kids were idiots all week long. I had to hear it day and night and just smile and nod because every time I tried to defend the reckless youth I was told to shut up (not this directly but still I got the message) because I was biased or something. I just fucking hated this. Just because I have a different opinion doesn't mean I have to be wrong! I pretty much think I was right all along and as the leader of our group (that's right, I was the only one able to communicate and find the way) I thought my opinion mattered. I guess it didn't. Being young in an old group of people sometimes sucks.
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| I found this cool vampire-looking bar in Klaipeda but I was closed in the wee hours of the morning :-(= |
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I my opinion it's OK to be young and careless or loud or crazy because how else are you going to find out who you are?! (By the way, our kids were the least noisy from all the kids there so what the hell?!) We all did things we are not proud of but it helped us grow. And if someone says otherwise then he/she is too old to remember or a hypocrite. I just wanted to tell you this because every time I recall those days I do not see problems with kids but with adults. It seemed as if I had one big group of kids and the two oldest were the meanest and caused most problems when interacting with the rest. Because the kids were being what they are - kids, while the adults were being pain in the ass. You have no idea how stressful it was for me. I had to make sure we found our way, our hostel, something to eat, buses etc. while not losing any kids and I really wasn't in a mood to be a judge. Especially when no one really bothered to listen to my opinion. RANT OVER.
And now to the beauty of Lithuania which I tried to enjoy despite the constant fights between the said two parties. First of all, let me tell you something. When flying above Europe you can actually tell that you have crossed the borders. While the Czech Republic tends to have big square fields, a little up north in Poland they become long and rectangular and even further up in Lithuania they almost disappear to give way to forests and lakes.
When we were travelling from one city to another, Lithuania indeed looked like one gigantic forest. It seemed as civilization existed only in big cities or in small wooden cottages at some fields and forests where there still is a cow or any farm animal tied to a pole instead of living behind the fence. I must say I found the countryside spectacular. It says more about a country than a city ever could. And I got a very good look at it since the bus driver refused to speed on the deserted highway. I mean, c'mon! The journey would take us half the time if he just his the gas. But as we've learned, the police officers are behind every tree waiting exactly for that. They obviously have nothing better to do than make sure the traffic is ridiculously slow.
We travelled from the forest to the seaside (that's always something for a central Europeans, trust me) by ferry which took about three minutes to cross the water which means if they built a bridge, the traffic wouldn't be that heavy around but who am I to judge. Some of us (OK, all of us) took the challenge to climb up a dune in Nida (they have a very cool story about the whole sand thing in there, google it) where there were warning signs telling us where not to go since we were very close to Russia - and guess what, my colleague actually got that greeting sms from Russia x-D=
The seaside day was really awesome even though we started it in Dolphinarium (these things are very controversial for me since I don't know how I feel about animals who are used to travelling long distances every day being closed in a small space). I could just sit somewhere by the sea and just watch the waves. It was too cold to do anything else anyway. And the villages near the coast were picturesque - I just love the colorful wooden houses.
One day the Lithuanians told us that we'd go to the Hill of Crosses and that it was basically near the botanical garden where we were spending some time. So naturally, we started looking for it right away because if there is a hill then it must be seen from everywhere - Lithuania is a very flat country. And then the bus stopped and we were still looking for the hill. Still saw nothing. Well, if this is a hill then the hill in Vilnius must be a mountain then. I'd call it a heap. But it doesn't change anything about the fact that the place is eerily monstrous. There are crosses onto which people hang other crosses onto which you can add yours. Pilgrims from all over the world come there and even though I am not a religious person, I was affected by the vibe of the place. For Lithuanians (apart from being a part of their every day lives - the parents put crosses there for their christened babies) it's place which symbolizes their religious strength. It was torn to pieces many times during occupation yet the crosses always found their way back.
I spent an amazing week in Lithuania mostly because our partner school took great care of us and prepared very entertaining program (so that those who take care of the kids can have fun, too), heck I even baked traditional Lithuanian rye bread! The people were very nice to us and everything they did seemed to come from the heart - that's a rare thing.
One funny thing - when we first arrived it was almost midnight and our hosts found only one open bar to serve us food. It was a bar with fake mist and a dance pole. And apart from the waitress there were only men sitting around. So I thought we were in a gay bar. I mentioned this to our hostess once in the week and she looked at me shocked. There aren't gay bars in Lithuania. Because of the religion these people tend to hide or something. I was sure it was a gay bar and kept telling her the whole week. On our last day we were passing the bar to get to a different restaurant and there were only men around the entrance, you know talking and stuff. So I pointed out I saw no girls which means it's a gay bar. Our hostess kept saying it wasn't. When we were going back from the restaurant again passing the bar, AGAIN no girls only men around. So I told her again that it was definitely a gay bar. She saw two girls in front of us going in the direction of the bar so we turned and waited if the bar was their destination. Nope, they went into the distance and none of the guys turned his head to look at them. Just saying. So I discovered a gay bar in the middle of a christian community even though everyone says otherwise.
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| This is what kept us entertained while our bread was in the oven :-D= |
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| The Baltic Sea is cold in May but I had to do it! |
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| In Šiauliai they have these - and you just know I will have to post it on Instagram :-D= |
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| Hated by many, the metal Fox became the symbol of Šiauliai (yeah, the golden archer is almost forgotten) |
