England, Ireland, Lithuania, 24

Mega-post! I just got back from a whirlwind-nearly-three-week-trip to England, Ireland and Lithuania! I got the best birthday present I could have wished for and got to celebrate my "golden" birthday in Lithuania and see many dearly missed faces. It was all completely random and not something I thought I'd be doing if you asked me a month ago, so it made it all the more fun. Photos are here! Now on to the show:

Los Angeles, California, USA: Had to get up ridiculously early in order to make the 4:00 am bus in Santa Barbara down to LAX. I asked "which side will the sunrise be on?" and the bus driver said "...we won't see the sunrise" so hooray for early travel! Thankfully security was a breeze at such an early hour and I got to sit at my gate trying to stay awake...then had a stopover at Newark for a couple hours chatting with Regis on the phone, oddly trying to realize I'd be seeing him in just a few hours...fast forward to Birmingham 7:00 am England time and I have arrived!

Dublin, Republic of Ireland - Regis and I spent 2.5 days in the wonderful Irish city and saw the major sights: St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, Trinity College, Temple Bar, a small seaside suburb called Howth and most importantly - the Guinness factory. Now I don't care for Guinness beer at all, but it was fun to see the seven-story building packed with informative information about how Guinness is made and old advertisements that state "Guinness is good for you, have a Guinness a day!" and learn that the Guinness Book of World Records is in fact related to the Guinness beer! A free pint was included in the admission price, so we got the pints on the seventh floor bar with a panoramic view of Dublin and we were able to take three sips each before deciding we still didn't like Guinness and put the glasses right back on the bar. Sorry Ireland, I know you love your milkshake of a beer, but when given the choice between Guinness in a noisy, overcrowded Dublin Temple Bar or a Beck's beer in a posh hotel piano bar, I'm going to choose the latter...and did. It was lovely! Alas, the Dublin adventure had to end with an Aer Lingus flight back to...

Coventry, England day. Other events of the week included spending hours wandering Ikea coveting furniture and lampshades, discovering what a "chip batch" is from the local fish & chips shop (it's a buttered bun with chips inside...basically a french fry sandwich), eating at aforementioned chip shop several times, watching films whilst eating delicious ice cream, experiencing Curry Night and chicken vindaloo (spicy!) and just generally enjoying myself and ha- Back to England just in time for Regis' birthday, which was celebrated in style with chicken fajitas, lots of Pringles and fancy cheeses. Dancing commenced after some wine and I ended up being a party pooper and falling asleep around midnight, but it was a fun funving fun. England was fun, but I was so looking forward to heading to...

Joniškis & Klaipėda, Lithuania - Oh my beloved Lithuania...how I missed thee! I could not have guessed that I would have found myself in Lithuania so soon after tearfully leaving last summer. Regis and I left from London after a long bus ride and after having a delayed flight due to mechanical problems on our plane, we were told we'd be switching planes, then wait! they fixed it! and we were off. I have never laughed so hard on a plane and I think the woman in front of us hasn't either - various things kept us entertained - our Polish stewardess, tiny bottles of white wine and our iPods. When we arrived in Riga, we were both starving and Regis' mother had an amazing spread of karbonadas, veggies and mashed potatoes. So nice to see that family again! After a day or two, we went to Klaipeda and it was a blast - we went by train in the morning and arrived at LCC early afternoon to hopefully surprise some old friends. Chad happened to be at home in the new dorm and Regis knocked first and Chad answered and said "oh hey, come on in" and I snuck in behind him. Chad sort of glanced behind Regis with a "who's that?" look on his face and when the recognition came, I believe the words were "no....unbelievable! what are you doing here?!" and so on and so forth, with great big hugs and similar sentiments when I stumbled upon Arunas, Rasa, Viktoras, Irma, Giedrė, colleagues and acquaintances on campus. I had lunch at the cafeteria and caught up with friends and then we headed off to Twelfth Floor for capirovkas and an amazing view of sunny Klaipeda before meeting Dovydas at work. After Regina also got off work we piled in the car and went to HBH for a gigantic dinner. Evaldas was on his way from Vilnius and so we met him after dinner and had a blast catching up and bedtime didn't roll around until 5 am. I got up relatively early to go to Akropolis to meet Cathal for lunch and some quick shoe shopping while the rest of the gang went to Chinese and the Dutch Cap...I would have loved to go as well, but unfortunately our time in Klaipeda was short short short and our train was early in the afternoon back to Joniškis. More of Regis' family had arrived for a birthday celebration and much more delicious food was served and I jotted down recipes for various cakes and cookies and hope to be able to duplicate them at home. We went to the newest Joniškis attraction - a brand new movie theatre! There were about 50 seats in a tiny theatre, and even though we were the only ones attending the movie, we were asked where we'd like our assigned seats to be. So Lithuanian! Maybe some day they will get buffets, free refills and general seating in theatres. My birthday was Sunday and I made chocolate chip cookies and enjoyed a lazy day enjoying Lithuanian sandwiches and television. Monday we ran around doing errands and got the special treat of climbing the church bell tower and seeing the town from the windows in the top. We left that evening laden down with chocolates and gifts to arrive back in Coventry at around 4 am. Phew! It was wonderful to have spent even a few days in Lithuania, and I do hope to go back sooner rather than later, but we shall see what fate brings. Back to...

Coventry, Manchester & Littleborough, England - I got to spend time with Stasys finally in Manchester and Littleborough and we saw the QUEEN! of England! We were on a random street in Manchester, took the bus one stop too far and were walking back when a line of police motorcycles and then a car passed us by with a little old lady in a pink hat and jacket that looked an awful lot like the Queen of England! Later we find out that she was in fact in Manchester in a pink outfit! Also lovely to see Stasys' family again, his mother is also an excellent cook and Manchester is such a different city than Coventry or Birmingham - full of old buildings neat alleyways filled with fire escapes and steel tubing. I bought another pair of amazing euro-shoes at the mall and Stas and I ended up eating at the same pub we ate at in November. I had a lot of fun and unfortunately had to head back to Coventry after only a couple days as I was leaving the next day...on a jet plane...don't know when I'll be back again...I packed up at Regis' house in preparation for the early 5 am departure from his house. 5 am rolled around real fast and I got to the airport in plenty of time and said goodbye and a million hours later arrived back home in California.

Take heed, World, 2008 is here!

So clearly I'm back from Hawaii - it was a lot of fun and I'd definitely do it again...maybe a different island next time! Well, definitely a different island next time - why not, right? January 2008 is upon us, World, what will we do with it? Let us hope that most of us put to use our God-given brains and hearts and do things worthwhile that make us and others happy - fulfill our hopes and dreams if you will...or at least pursue them.

My head is full of ideas...my heart yearns for something...and my body is restless...

Visiting Paradise

Yet another beautiful day in Hawaii! I've window shopped at Gucci, Tiffany and other lovely shops in a mall, eaten delicious Polynesian dishes, snorkeled in the ocean, seen whales breaching from the balcony and enjoyed a luau.

Snorkeling was a lot of fun - the ocean water is so warm and clear! We found a spot and parked right on the side of the road and the beach was 10 feet away. The flippers make walking hard, but my dad pointed out the secret - walk backwards! Then you're not kicking up sand and water and don't lose your footing. It was weird at first, because I almost went into panic mode having to breathe through my mouth only and feeling the water right under my nose (the mask leaked a little at first) but it was worth figuring out and I saw lots of coral, urchins, things I think were big sea cucumbers and fish! Even the famed Humuhumunukunukuapuaa fish! Yes, I can pronounce it even! Robert and Alex got bored fast, and Robert freaked out a little right at first, claiming he saw a huge black fish...but we never ventured very far, as the coral got pretty high and would scrape our bellies if we went far enough. It was shallow for ages, and I enjoyed it a lot - we may go again depending on the weather and collective interest. I used one of those underwater cameras, so hopefully a photo or two will turn out!

Listening to the ocean waves is something that makes me realize how much I take living by the ocean for granted - I don't particularly want to swim in the ocean off of Pismo Beach and even Santa Barbara all that often for fear of hypothermia, but being in the bathwater-temperature sea that is blue as can be is breathtaking.

We went to a luau as well, which was very cool - the dancers showcased different Polynesian cultures - Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, etc - all with different costumes and dance moves and songs. The women were amazingly talented and could move their hips like nobody else I've seen! The food was served in courses according to each location, and was very good. Drinks were endless, and I've discovered I'm not a fan of rum or drinks with rum in them. Mai Tais, Pina Coladas, etc were all out - but I love the creamy froo-froo tropical drinks without said rum in them!

I have so enjoyed myself so far and I know I want to come back to Hawaii again!!

Happy New Year!

Ah, to hear the crashing Pacific from the open windows overlooking the beach...Hawaii is wonderful! We're staying on Maui and our condo is directly above the beach, so the lanai (balcony in Hawaiian) has breathtaking views of the sea. We got 'lei-ed' when we got off the plane and welcomed to Hawaii with rain and humid air. After a quick walk around our accommodation complex, I fell asleep on the couch - we had left the previous morning at 3 am and so I was not going to make it to midnight to greet the new year without some Zzz's. As it turns out, I was the only one to make it to midnight - Sara and my mom felt under the weather, the taxi we called to explore downtown didn't show up in a reasonable amount of time, so my dad gave up and he went to bed and my brother and his friend Alex fell asleep just before 12. People were setting off fireworks for hours on the beach below and I mean hours, like since we arrived in the afternoon. Where these people got all these fireworks and why they thought it was a good idea to set them off mere feet from the ocean just proves some people have more money than sense. Plus, we found out today that fireworks are illegal in Hawaii.

Today held some sunbathing and beach exploration, but it was mostly a low-key day and hopefully everyone will feel better and more up to doing something exciting tomorrow. I'll gladly report all the excitement :)

Happy 2008!!

Last Full English Day & Goodbye!

Last full day in England, Wednesday November 28. Shopping, shopping, shopping at the Manchester mall - basically window shopping and having something to do with Stasys without sitting and watching television. I only bought some licorice allsorts napkins for my mom and drooled over a beautiful expensive party dress that I would have nowhere to wear. Mew. Still wet weather, and so stopped for coffee at a cafe called Zinc and Stasys took artsy photos - oh look, the Lithuanian flag colors! Coincidence? I think not...

Back in Littleborough I knew I should go to bed early since I'd have to be up at 6:30, but Stasys and I of course were up until about 3:30 watching the BBC and talking. I set three different alarm times so I wouldn't hit snooze and sleep through my flight and actually woke up before the alarm miraculously. Probably nerves...Took the train to the airport and got there with plenty of time to have a Coke at the little cafe and spent some of my remaining pound coins. Lovely chat with Staska, and then I reluctantly went to my gate...bye England...hopefully see you before too long!

Chipping Campden, Broadway & Machester

Again, I know this is posted late, but better late than never. The Tuesday I was to leave to Manchester was first going to be another out of town adventure - Regis and I were off to Chipping Campden and Broadway, small towns a short TomTom visit away. The weather was overcast, but not rainy and so our journey started after a breakfast of Regis-made porridge, we were off! Chipping Campden is a town known for its sandstone buildings and the huge cemetery and church as we entered town was breathtaking. We found a parking spot and walked back to the field with the church in it and upon setting foot on the grass, my feet were soaked immediately. Worth it! Sheep were in the adjacent green, green fields and everything was so English! It was a perfect setting. We climbed the wall into the cemetery and looked around at the old tombstones, some dating to the 1800s. The sandstone was beautiful, and very different looking than ordinary old red brick or stucco. The town reminded me of Solvang, the Danish village near my house, but on a less kitschy scale. There were antique shops, tea rooms and little inns. There were Toby Jugs and Bunnykins in one antique shop, and the funny pairs of porcelain dogs my mom has in tea room windows. All of it reminded me of the English knick-knacks we have in our home.

There was a hill Regis wanted to find, so we trekked up the narrow streets trying to find it. The cottages all have names - Emily's Cottage, Meadow Manor, Foxenwood House, etc - no numbers, just the names! The new guy at the post office must have his work cut out for him when delivering mail...but they were just darling! There was one for sale on a corner lot with a cemetery attached and so we fantasized about the clearly low price of 100 pounds on account of the location...we both had 50 pounds in our wallets, so clearly it was fate...if it were true. I do wonder how much those cottages are though, as they were so cute and who wouldn't want a cottage in England? We did not find the hill right away, but found a farm trail and a stack of sugar beets and tie-dyed sheep munching on the vegetables. The view was great, but the overcast weather did not lend itself to breathtaking photos. As it was afternoon already, we decided to trek back to the car and head to the other little town of Broadway for lunch.

A short drive later, we arrived in Broadway - a clearly more upscale town with more upscale-looking tea rooms and castle-like inns and boutique shops. We walked around a bit, taking cliche photos in the red telephone boxes and quickly realizing that the restaurants were already closed and wouldn't reopen until dinner time. Lame. We ended up staying about 10 minutes in Broadway and left for Coventry again to find food and get me to the train station. Pub food, repacking and a tearful goodbye and I was on the 2 hour train to Manchester. Poor Stasys was waiting for me for quite a while, and Manchester was wet, wet, wet. Happened to stop at the store to get peanut butter cookie makings and made a better batch to redeem myself for the 'used the wrong brown sugar last time' batch. Yum.

Coventry Cathedral, China Red & McDonald's

Someone posted some advertisement on this blog, so I deleted it and started over since I couldn't edit the comment itself...so, Back to Coventry...thankfully I was able to get 'funfares' for bus trips and save some money, or travel on the British Isle would have proved expensive. Regis met me at the bus station, and we decided to go out to Coventry and see what there was to see. We took a bus downtown and sat on the upper deck to see the city at night. When we reached the city center, we got off and started exploring.

The Coventry Cathedral was one of the first things we saw, and it was breathtaking. I love ruins, and so to see the ruin of the old cathedral next to the rebuilt cathedral was a treat for me. After doing some reading, I found that the original cathedral was bombed in World War II - "On the night of 14 November 1940, the city of Coventry was devastated by bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. The Cathedral burned with the city, having been hit by several incendiary devices" - Unfortunately, it was dark and so my photos of both cathedrals do not do them justice, but the glass wall shown was etched with figures, which I found different than I had seen before because they were not the typical angels and saints one might expect, but stylized so that they looked almost skeletal. The spire is all that remains of the old cathedral - the only thing that survived the bombing. There was also a huge bronze statue of St. Michael on the front of the church, and since I also love statues, I wish I was able to take a better photo of it, but maybe Regis will go there in the day time once and I can steal photos from him.

Continued on to more of the city, passing various pubs and closed shops until we found a little nice-looking Chinese restaurant called China Red. The pricing was fair and there were so many things to choose from, it was hard to narrow down choices, but in order to be adventurous we ordered frog legs as an appetizer and found them to be quite good actually. Sort of a cross between fish and chicken in flavor, and quite spicy. For our main meals, I was boring again and got chicken chow mein and Regis got some kind of garlic sauce beef. Both were outstanding and complimented well by the chinese pints of beer - If I go back to Coventry, I'll want to go back there.More wandering around the closed malls and I was surprised at the lack of people walking about - we were some of the only ones on the street. After goofing off for some time, dessert of McDonald's milkshakes was decided upon and caught the bus home. A fun night on the town!

London Calling...Again

London for the weekend - left Friday afternoon and arrived late because of traffic, so after running to the tube station and being held up by slow French students who couldn't figure out the automated ticket machine, I arrived at a theatre where I was to meet Cambria 5 minutes after 7:00, too late to go into the show. I had to wait another 40 minutes before all the late people were allowed in, when finally I was ushered to my seat to see the last half of a play that I had never heard of. The consolation prize was that Ian McKellan was in the play, as was the British guy in Anaconda and the brunette in Vanity Fair. It was called The Seagull, and the brunette from Vanity Fair was awful. After the play, Cambria and I went to pizza and then to her house via the underground. In the morning I joined her at a rehearsal at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) for one of her group projects and got in touch with Ieva and set up a meeting later in the day. Cambria and some of her friends ended up having tickets to another play called The Arsonists that afternoon, and there was a cheap ticket left for me to attend as well - it was a modern, short play that was interesting enough. Then Cambria and I had dinner at Giraffe, which was delicious and then waited for Ieva in the Waterloo tube station. Ieva met us and Cambria went home and Ieva and I went to London-China-Town for dinner for her. It was a highlight of my London trip to see her, if only for a few hours! Then I went back to Cambria's house for a girly movie and giggling...

Photos posted here!

Stratford-Upon-Avon & Oxford

(I know this isn't on time, but better to document the rest of the trip late rather than never) Stratford-Upon-Avon & Oxford at night! Regis and I drove there after he came home from work and thanks to TomTom, arrived in no time. The drive was beautiful, even at night - we strayed from the freeway and drove the scenic route through the English countryside and tiny towns along the way. Stratford is known for being Shakespeare's birthplace and so there are many statues of characters from his plays and the town is just darling. It was decked out for Christmas, with a Christmas market in the center of town. I ended up buying two pairs of Baltic amber earrings, because as much amber as was in Lithuania, the selection of green amber was limited. We then wandered around taking photos and looking for a restaurant that wasn't going to cost us such a pretty penny. We settled on Usha, an Indian restaurant that was reasonably priced and yet fancy looking. It was delicious! I was boring and ordered chicken tikka masala and Regis was adventurous and got something he'd never had before - chicken pathia - both dishes were wonderful and we then treated ourselves to a coconut ice cream sundae for dessert. More walking around, then headed back to the car to give TomTom a new destination for the evening - Oxford.

Arrived at Oxford and had a quick coffee in an Irish pub and then proceeded to walk around and explore one of the hearts of England's academic world. We saw Oxford castle and walked for some time while Regis tried to remember where one of the university's main buildings was. The streets were full of loud teenagers, most sounding drunk and we walked by a 'let's take this outside' fight between two groups of young men. Heart of England's academic world indeed...but the trip was fun, we ended up finding an ancient library and set of university buildings and then wandered back to the car and headed home. It was late and my knack for falling asleep in the car was not helpful for Regis, who was also tired and so I tried telling stories to keep us both awake, but that proved easily ignorable and so I resorted to a random question game. "Would you rather eat a snake or an eel?" etc...

Coventry & London

He's there, the Phantom of the Opera....at Her Majesty's Theatre! The show was amazing...and though the stage initially looked small, the theatre only presents the one show and so there were little touches that made it a very impressive performance - from the candles rising from the floor of the Phantom's lair to the chandelier falling from the ceiling. It's the 21st Anniversary of the play and just imagine, it's been going on twice a day for that long? That's a long time...

Also saw Cambria before and after the show - had a brunch of cottage pie and dinner of a fancy pizza and a pint in a pub, a lovely day in London, except for the weather. The rain kept us from walking too far, and oddly enough did not see any London-y things like the houses of parliament or the London eye at all...only saw the river on the bus on the way out and Trafalgar square because Cambria was studying near the National Gallery. I also found out I do not like the way the English concoct chai tea lattes...

Before London on Tuesday, I arrived in Coventry on Sunday afternoon via a fairly comfortable train and met Regis and rainy weather. We went to dinner at a American-Italian place that could have been a Marie Callendars or Applebees called Frankie & Benny's. My dollar conversions hurt my little wallet's feelings, though I have been good about money so far. On the drive home, it started snowing! Enough to stick until morning even, but the weather has since been off and on rain. The next day I went with Regis to Warwick University and saw the campus and sat in one of the many cafes on campus and read while he attended a class. That evening we went out for dinner again - this time TGI Friday's and splurged and had filet mignons which were very good - followed by store-bought ice cream with custard on top. Tuesday was London and today was a quieter day with me catching up with photos and bloggie and doing some laundry and baking peanut butter cookies whilst Regis went to work. Tomorrow we're going to Oxford in the evening, so I will have another tale to tell then!

Facebook is hosting my photos as Flickr only allows you to have 200 photos total and I think that's dumb. More photos will be posted as I take them.

Littleborough, Manchester & Hebden Bridge

Ah, England. Gloomy skies, a variety of accents, slang words and road signs one doesn't hear too often in the States, and driving on the other side of the road...but all wonderful! My flights were fine, sort of on time and no lost luggage - plus a fairly delicious bbq beef dinner served on the transatlantic flight.

Some highlights so far:

• Unusual Signs - My favorite sign so far has been one of those 'look out for...children, or elk, or tractors' signs, but with 'Watch for Elderly People' instead, with some silhouettes of little old people with canes and walkers on it.


• Taking the train - so fun to just hop on a train and go somewhere, instead of driving everywhere. It costs £2.90 for a roundtrip ticket to go to Manchester from Littleborough.


• British Telly - better than the small sampling of BBC America, though I see now that BBC America does give quite the variety of normal shows on television here. American shows are on quite regularly as well, I saw Scrubs and CSI shows on the guide...


• Pub food - I had cottage pie in a pub, with peas and chips (thick-cut French fries to the Yanks out there...) with some Heinz mint sauce on the side. It was delicious and fairly inexpensive.


• Exploring Manchester & surrounding areas - I've walked along muddy canals with sheep in the hills, poked around a used book shop, looked at Prada and Dolce & Gabbana attire and seen two museums for free - Natural History and Science and Industry. The tiger I'm high-fiving here is from the Natural History Museum. In the Science & Industry museum, there was a hands-on section for kids, and I was having such fun playing with the bubbles and mirrors and other kid-oriented stations - while Stasys was embarrassed but I'm sure secretly thought it was fun too.

On Saturday, Stasys and I decided to go outside of Littleborough for the day, but since Wales, Scotland and York were all several hours away by car and neither of us are familiar with getting there, etc - we decided to just pick a city that the train from Littleborough went to. Halifax was on the map printed in larger letters and was only a 5 pound trip, so we decided to check it out. The weather was sunny, but quite cold and breezy and Halifax did not hold any cool looking coffee shops or cafes that were screaming 'come on in, Love, and try our Yorkshire pudding!' so we ended up walking around the main promenade of several stores and discovered a market building with a big open courtyard with stall vendors and little peculiar shops tucked in the building surrounding it. There was a glass blower's shop and a weird gothic/fantasy store crammed with more dragon and fairy statues than I've ever seen, and a used bookstore where I bought a delightful hardcover 1953 edition of a book about the nature of boys, "the unfair sex." We then decided Halifax had nothing more to offer, and so we headed back to Littleborough via the train. I was treated to Lithuanian food cooked by his mother, and it was a pleasant surprise to have pancakes with curd and curd dumplings again!

More on the way...going to Coventry tomorrow and Phantom of the Opera in London this week!!

Phoenix, Arizona

I'm in Phoenix! My brother Robert was lonely all the way out here by himself, so my mom and I decided to pack some bags and drive to see him for the weekend! It was a long drive, about 9 hours or so, but it wasn't so bad - I didn't even sleep! We stopped for McDonald's breakfasts and a Palm Springs snack. The weather is not too bad - not even cracking over 100 degrees yet, but it's definitely a desert. Nobody has grass in their front yards, the landscaping is all cactus and scraggly desert plants. The area Robert lives in has everything though - any store, restaurant or convenience you could want is a short drive away! It's a suburb of a larger city, but every restaurant we drove by considering stopping at on Friday night had 30 people waiting outside! Robert said everything is always busy because there are so many people in the surrounding communities. His apartment is very nice and very reasonable (compared to Santa Barbara? Anything is reasonable) and he will finish up school next month and come home.

So far we've enjoyed restaurants we don't have near us and went to Phoenix's World Wildlife Zoo and paid $18 a person to go see their very small collection of animals (Grutas Parkas in LT had a similar collection, with the exception of a few large cats & giraffes) - it was full of children in strollers as most zoos are, but I got to feed a giraffe and we saw several white tigers. Their way of displaying the animals was odd, as the fences were not very impressive and seemed like the waterbuck or warthogs could get out if they really wanted to - we could pet them! I'll post pictures so you can see...but the feeding of the giraffe was fun - it stuck its tongue out and you just piled the food on it! We did not go see the reptiles, as Robert is apparently not a fan of snakes, and when I asked why he said "because they can move, and move fast, without legs and that's weird."

We leave tomorrow morning, for a 9 hour drive home and probably the same stops. More on that and photos later...

And the rockets' red glare...

Happy United States of America's Independence Day! Hooray for the uprising of the colonies against the 'tyranny' of the British empire. I almost wore a Union Jack t-shirt today, but figured the flag flying in my room was good enough. Jokes aside, I am actually proud to be an American and do love my country, and so with that - I'll go listen to the Star Spangled Banner...

(P.S. - That's not to say I don't love my German/English/Italian/Norweigan/Irish/Native American heritage, because anyone who knows me knows I do :)

Back in the USSA

Home sweet home. To quote Laura, I'm back in the USSA and it's good to be home. I immediately did laundry and attempted to unpack some, but I have to go upstairs and fix the disaster that IS my room today. Then I kind of want to visit my friends in Santa Barbara and eat Chipotle again (I had it yesterday and it was delicious. Sorry Lithuania, your food was good, but Chipotle is a kick in the mouth that I missed dearly)

Now I've got some things on my agenda, including figuring out what I'm going to do with my life, starting my mega scrapbook, attempting to make some Lithuanian food and becoming the president of the 'let's figure out what I'm going to do with my life' club.

And with that, off to Home Depot with the parentals. Hooray.

One Last Lithuanian Entry...

So this morning I was greeted with thunder, lightning flashes and rain rain rain. I was worried about my flight, but thankfully it has cleared up since then! I am now writing this quickly before I head up to the front desk and order a taksi :)

I just read all the US safety standards and had to change things, took out Navalis matches I had put in my bag on a fluke, took out a lighter (with no fuel) from my carryon and transfered it to my checked baggage and took out my gel footie inserts from my shoes! Those aren't allowed on US flights, so I figured I should play it safe and just do what it said. I've got my baggie with my liquids, gels and areosols (contact solution and lip gloss), so I'm prepared!

Love you, Lithuania, you've given me a great circle of lovely friends (+ a Latvian or two) and I will miss you! Home, here I come after long last!

Vilnius & Viso Gero Lietuva

I have enjoyed a stress-free day of traveling to Vilnius and have just had dinner and dessert with Ruta. I'm now sitting at my hotel room desk, connected to the internet via 56k dialup modem (I have not heard the 'krrssshhh bing bong bing bing doooooooo' noise in some time) and thinking about tomorrow. I have 20 hours+ of traveling ahead of me and that is actually one of the worst parts of leaving - I'm really looking forward to hanging out in airports in Vilnius, Frankfurt, San Francisco and then finally Los Angeles...

I have said goodbye to officially everyone, turned the apartment keys over, and struggled with my bags over cobblestones...I'm dreading paying over-weight charges because I'm fairly certain they do not weigh 23 kilograms each...but, I am so excited to be home and wish teleportation was invented...

could someone get all over that please? Lietuva, see you sometime in the future for surely and Amerika, see you soon! :)

The Day Approacheth

I heard Hungarian Rhapsody #2 by Liszt being played by the bells in the post office today for the first and last time. The bells play a tune promptly at noon every day and I had only heard them a couple times before - the Household lived right on that street and so heard them nearly everytime. Regis had told me that he had heard this particular song before, and so I'm glad I got to hear it too...it's one of my favorite piano pieces and how fun to wrap up Klaipeda with that. We had also seen a pianist play in the Klaipeda Concert Hall and he played this song. For those not familiar with the title, it is the song in Who Framed Roger Rabbit played by Donald and Daffy on their dueling pianos...

Tomorrow...

US and A, see you soon!

But in my heart you'll always stay...

I leave for home in five days...and it is so weird. I have already said goodbye to Rasa, Chad and Dori a few weeks ago, and only just now said goodbye to Regis. Ruta came in to Klaipeda last night for one last Kurpiai, and it was a lot of fun. Regis, Ruta and I just had a last brunch at Jola and then said our goodbyes - though I may see Ruta in Vilnius on Monday. I will say goodbye to Arunas, Cathal, Dovydas, Regina, Evaldas, Ieva and Renalda before I leave this week...and with Stasys in England, I will just have to talk to him on skype or something.

I have given boxes of stuff away that I can not take with me, like my vacuum and speakers and stuff...and so my house is getting emptier and emptier, and yet things remain that make it feel like it's as if we're all going on Spring Break and everything will go back to 'normal' soon. Then my brain kicks in and says "Sorry Chelsea, that's not the case!" I will be going back to the States to face an uncertain future that may include a 'real' job or grad school...but where, when, how? Some people have it lined up already - Dovydas has a secure job he loves in Klaipeda, Dori is working in Albania, Regis is headed to England for grad school, and my heart is unsure of where it wants to be. I have had such a good year here, and thank everyone for everything - work was worthwhile and a learning experience, I made new friends that I hope to keep in coming years and I have deepened previous friendships so that it is very, very difficult for me to tear myself away from these people. I truly love them and Lithuania itself, and obviously this will not be the last time I come to this wonderful country or (hopefully) see my friends, but the timing is not so sure as it was last year - they won't be conveniently located at LCC for me to pop over and visit - they'll be scattered around the world...though most of them seem to be flocking to England, so if grad school in the UK happens for me, I'll most likely meet them. I have been a pack rat this year, keeping little mementos of events and people so that I can make the ultimate scrapbook when I get home to help me remember my wonderful time here. I have experienced new things and learned a lot about myself and others, and again, truly love those that I have encountered here and will miss them something awful. I intend to be a better letter writer...even if I don't receive tons of mail back, everyone appreciates receiving mail and I tend to pour my heart out more on paper. I can cry without them seeing then, you understand :)

All in all, I'm shedding tears as I write this, but I do miss my family and friends at home, so it will be good to finally set foot on familiar California ground. I look forward to seeing them all again and enjoy my own things that I have been without here, see my friends whom I have not seen for so long and enjoy my family's company again. Yes, that means my talking habits will be back in the house - so be prepared! I would like to maybe spend a weekend in Wisconsin when I get home too, as the forest and lakes of my mini-road trip reminded me so much of Mequon and that area, that I long to go and visit my family there.

Highlights of the year include:

• My family's visit in November - it was a blast to be able to have Sara & Robert come to Lithuania and see everything and meet everyone. It was also cool to have my parents be a little familiar with everyone and the area, so it was a very comfortable visit.
• My apartment - it was perfectly located in the middle of town, not far from my friends and a perfect size to host get-togethers. I was very comfortable and content with my first taste of living on my own.
• Christmas & Easter at Regis' - I felt genuinely welcome in their home and had a wonderful time trying new things and experiencing Lithuanian customs during the holidays. I do hope to one day see his family again, as I had a lot of fun there and they are such wonderful, kind people.
• New Year 2007 in Helsinki - thank you Regis, I had forgotten to include it. Naturally, a highlight as I got to be in 4 countries in one day and got loads of stamps on my passport, while exploring a new city in a new country with my dear friends. It was also really cool to see Senate Square where we welcomed the New Year on television during Eurovision and go "oo! I've been there!!" :)
  
• My birthday - having a cake brought to me with a tea light plopped in the middle of it while being sung to in Lithuanian was such a fun time.
• Other parties - I hosted many different types of parties here, from poker night to fiesta dinner to birthdays to "sophistication" wine and cheese parties :) Getting the city police called on you because a guest taps on the radiator back to the neighbor below was also funny, because the music was not very loud to begin with - so the cops were very nice.
• Weekend excursions - to Liepaja, Palanga many times, Veisiejai, Joniškis, the Spit, Kretinga or just walking around Klaipeda. I have many photos and pleasant memories from these trips that added variety to the typical 'whatcha wanna do, watch a movie?'
• My friends - the new and the old, both will be loved and cherished and missed greatly. I hope they had as good a time as I had, as this has been one of the best times in my life. In my heart you'll always stay! Now they just better reply to emails... ;)
  

One Last Time in Palanga

A fun day trip to Palanga with Regis and Evaldas started out with a great drive through the now green countryside. We parked and walked to the pier and walked along the beach for some time. Very few people were on the beach, but as I understand, the summer time brings thousands of people to Palanga and the town is packed. We found the spot where the river enters the sea, and walked inland from there. We came upon a green spot with many dandelions blooming, and I was taking a photo of them and found myself bombarded with dandelion bombs - the boys were picking them and flicking the blooms from the stems like a flower gun. You learn something new everyday! Apparently you can also make a little trumpet out of the stem, as Regis was able to do so and lo and behold, a duck came out of the woods to investigate the sound. He had called a duck with the dandelion trumpet! I tried to make the sound and was only mildly able to make a peep.

We then walked to Cili Pica and sat outside to enjoy the sunshine. After our food, we had planned to walk in the botanical garden, but we were all pretty tired and content, so we ended up just going home to Klaipeda. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad my last memories of Palanga will be this day spent with my friends enjoying our free time and wonderful weather.

Southern Lithuania

What a trip! Short and sweet and absolutely wonderful! Regis and I went on a mini-road trip to the southern part of Lithuania to visit his cousins that began with an early start Saturday morning. We drove out of Klaipeda and along the Nemunas river for some time, stopped at two castles and a mansion and had lunch at his Auntie's in Marijampole. She had made a curd pie, which I got the recipe for because it was delish! I'll try to make it at home...Anyway, the weather was gorgeous and made for wonderful photographs and driving mood. The chestnut, birch and other trees were fully green and beautiful and there were fields and fields of dandelions in bloom. I have never seen so many of the 'weeds' my dad hates in his front yard, and I think of him every time I see one.

After lunch, we were back on the road and headed to Regis' Uncle's house in a town called Veisiejai. The area was gorgeous, surrounded by lakes and forest. The town was small, and their house was right on the lake - with a little cabin built literally 10 meters from the water. The cabin held an upstairs bedroom with a balcony and downstairs held a sauna and eating area. Regis' cousins heated up the sauna for us and started barbecuing šašlykai (Lithuanian shishkebabs) while Regis and I rowed around the lake in a canoe. There was a swan heading our way and I kind of freaked out cause he was so big and seemed like he was on a mission to 'get us' and Regis wasn't making it any better by saying 'I've heard they can flip boats over, we better get outta here!' After that little adventure, the sauna was ready and it was h.o.t. The ladels of water added to the hot stones only made it hotter and moving the air with your hand or blowing on your skin was almost painful because it was so hot. After a few minutes in the hot box, we all went outside to cool off and the boys jumped in the lake. My understanding from their reactions was that it was pretty cold, so I did not join them or intend to do so. After a few more sessions in and out of the sauna, the last time we went outside Regis convinced me to jump in with him, though he had to half pull me to the water. It certainly was cold, but not as bad as I thought - though with the prospect of leeches in the water, I was out of there quickly. Regis actually found a leech just for me, and was poking it in the water and it just kind of wiggled and then bit his finger! He flung it off and I was thoroughly done with being near the water. After eating, our friend the swan was coming over to the pier and Regis was feeding it bread like a trick dolphin - making it reach for it from the water. It was pretty funny, as it was as if it were a dog begging for a treat. Later he chased it around the lake in the canoe until the swan got tired of being followed without any bread as a reward and flew off a bit.

That night, we went on a walk around the town and saw the sights - a huge white church, the local school, lilac bushes everywhere, a wooden sculpture park, etc. Having woken up early that morning, I was fairly tired and so we headed back to the house and sat on the cabin's balcony for a while enjoying the night and then eventually went to bed. The next morning, Regis, Mantas (his cousin) and I went to Druskininkai, a resort town nearby known for mineral baths and sanatoriums. We headed to "Gruto Parkas," a park founded by a local millionaire who gathered all the Soviet statues from the towns as they took them down following independence and put them all in one spot. There were many many statues of Lenin, Marx and other heroes of the Soviet times, with Soviet songs blaring over the loudspeakers, a Soviet canteen, a library, old flags and art...pretty much all things Soviet could be found here. The park also had a mini-zoo, so we saw ostriches, boars and many kinds of birds. It was interesting to see and it was great to just walk in the woods. We saw two snakes and a deer! Earlier in the week, Regis and I had gone to a cafe out of town and were walking in the woods nearby and saw a snake - which I picked up after he poked it first. It was just a little grass snake, but as I had never done that before and he is scared of snakes, it was an achievement for both of us. Anyway, so after the park we walked around Druskininkai and had lunch. The town was very well kept, with flower beds everywhere and a beautiful church in the center. I have posted photos as always at Yahoo - so feel free to browse!

After lunch we went back to Veisiejai and I played with the family cat and her kittens while Regis helped Mantas translate something and then we packed up and drove back towards Klaipeda. It was originally planned to be a two night trip, but Regis was leaving earlier for England than he thought and so wanted to go back and pack up his stuff. It felt like it was a longer trip because of everything that was packed into two days and it was a lot of fun! Naturally, Regis' family was very accommodating and friendly as always and I'm grateful to him to let me tag along. It was also great to see a part of Lithuania outside of Klaipeda, especially when in such perfect weather!