Don't You Hate It When

You forget something that would have been perfect, like a killer title for this blog post. Then what happens is you have to come up with a substitute and you're left looking like an idiot. It happens.

I haven't posted hear in almost 10 months I believe. I'm sorry about that. It seems so long ago, but I can remember it like yesterday at the same time. I miss blogging and I miss Lithuania. After finally figuring out my old password that I made up in middle school, I was able to log back into this account and look through this. Looking back on all my old posts, I can remember where I was and how I was feeling when I wrote them. It's the weirdest thing; almost like traveling through time. One thing that I remember exactly was a journal entry I had written in September 2010 (it's already 2012?!) about everything I missed about my life in the States. It went on for a few pages. It was all of the little things such as driving, Boone burgers, inside jokes, my bed, my phone, English, and on. I wrote it at one of those times I was really homesick. I knew that was coming though, so I made sure to wrap it up nicely. I actually don't know where this journal is at the moment but it basically said that I knew I missed those things now, but when I returned to the States, I would be making an even longer list about the things I miss from Lithuania. Boy was I right.

I miss it all. The past few nights, I haven't been able to sleep as well and I just start thinking about my time in Lithuania. Down to every detail. I miss the bus system, black bread, cafes everywhere, kiosks everywhere, Cheetos with ketchup in them (gross as it may sound, they're so good!), Tymbark juice, pop in glass bottles, my host families (SO MUCH!), practicing Lithuanian randomly, thinking the cashier understood my Lithuanian but then replying in broken English, walking down Laisvės Alėja, sushi and lattes, random things at school, walking around Akropolis on my breaks, basketball practice daily all year, meeting up with the other exchange students, public transportation, the Rotaract weekend, Interact events, spending my breaks from classes at Vero Cafe either reading or writing, seeing movies with Lithuanian subtitles, taking the train or bus to other cities for an extremely low price, banana flavored milk, cepelinai, and way more. It's all of these little things that made my exchange the amazing experience that it was.

One of my most favorite memories was almost exactly a year ago. The Interact club in Vilnius invited all four of us exchange students to come for a weekend. (Interact is a Rotary club for kids 18 and under) I stayed with one of the members and it was so much fun. The first night, we only met with our counselor which wasn't as fun. He was one of those people that thought his English was really good, but in reality, it was pretty bad. And he was very controlling and kept telling me to tell the student that wasn't there yet everything she'd missed. I mean every little detail too. And it ended with two exchange students owing me money for my allowance from my Rotary club. That's Rotary in other countries for you! The next day, the four of us wandered around the older part of Vilnius then went to a few malls for some entertainment. We did find an excellent Mexican restaurant and it was the first Mexican food I'd had in over 6 months. Amazing. In the early evening, we went ice skating at a rink that was basically empty except for our group and a few other people. After that, we walked to the tallest building in Vilnius and went to the Sky Bar in the top. After chilling there for awhile, we made our way to a little night club where a Red Hot Chili Pepper cover band was playing. Okay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of my all-time favorite bands and you get an extremely good cover band, exchange students, happiness, and a few other random things and you've got yourself a killer night. The next afternoon, the four of us exchange students met up again and saw a movie (I think it was No Strings Attached. I saw a lot of movies that year and a few multiple times. Hey, it was way cheaper than here.) Then we parted ways and it was all over. There was nothing extraordinary about the weekend, but the people and the simple things we did made it an unforgettable time.

While it would be a flat-out lie to say I'm fluent in Lithuanian, I could hold good conversations in the second half of my year. I was around more people that didn't know English as well so I was forced to communicate in Lithuanian. It helped immensely. I could definitely tell if the people around me were speaking in Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, or another random language. I still end up thinking in Lithuanian some; especially in Spanish class. I've been learning Spanish longer but I have a ton more experience speaking Lithuanian conversationally. When I'm trying to seriously think about something, all three languages get jumbled together and then I get angry. When I get mad, that's when a few choice Russian words come into play! It can be confusing, but it's also a really cool feeling.

While working this summer, at North Country, I overheard a couple speaking in Lithuanian. The first thing I heard was 'Nori sėdėt čia?' which means 'Do you want to sit here?' I dismissed it thinking I was hearing things or it was a similar, more popular language, but after walking by their table a few more times, I picked up on more and more. I finally asked if they were speaking Lithuanian and they were! They had just gotten back from a trip there and the husband was Lithuanian. They've lived in Michigan their whole life but they like practicing Lithuanian.

My exchange has greatly affected my life now that I'm home. Not a day goes by that I don't think of Lithuania. While filling out my many college applications, all of my essays but one had to do with my exchange. I mainly wrote about how it's changed me as a person. It really has. I can't believe what a positive influence it's been. I switched schools after coming back and I'm really happy with the decision. It's something new so I didn't go back to the same thing I had from Kindergarten to 10th grade but it's still really familiar. I never felt like the new kid due to the fact that I've known a lot of my classmates from Suttons Bay for a long time and I've become comfortable with new situations thanks to exchange. It's been fun! I love my classes, my schedule, and basketball of course. It all has come together these past few months. During the summer, I took a film class that was awesome. I know I really want to do something with media/film now. I wish I could have continued the class during the school year, but it didn't fit into my schedule. I'm working on choosing a university or college at the moment. I've heard back from almost all the schools I applied to and I'll be doing visits in the coming weeks. What I'm really excited for on my visit to Columbia College -Chicago is visiting the Lithuanian restaurant near the campus there! May sound dorky, but that may be the highlight. Or maybe not since that school is a top contender; along with MSU, of course. And I'll throw in GVSU, Wayne State, Indiana University, and Michigan (if I get in). I do tend to change my mind a lot but I'm really settling into this and narrowing my choices down to realistic things such as cost and distance. While attending the University of Miami (Florida) would be prime, it's not logical. It's tough to get in to, it's private, and a very long drive or expensive plane ticket away.

I've gone to three more Rotary conferences since I've been back and they've all been so much fun, as usual. I love meeting all the inbounds (no Lithuanians) and watching the outbounds, remembering that I went through the same exact things two years ago. It's also so much fun to talk to the rebounds and rotex about life after exchange and share our experiences with re-assimilation, what we miss from our countries, and other random things. We're the only people that fully understand each other since we've all been through very similar experiences. I've also given two presentations on my exchange to two Rotary clubs. I could talk for hours about everything but I've kept it fairly short. The most fun is the questions part where I'm not talking at people as much as to them. It's fun having gone to a country people don't know as much about because you're now an ambassador for that country. You could get away with telling them absurd things but it has a personal aspect that you want to convey.

I've really missed blogging lately and this was a great outlet for me, but I can only write so much about Lithuania. I do want to keep blogging. I don't know exactly what to write about though. The daily life of a high school student isn't very interesting to most and I can't think of something I'd write about on a weekly basis. Maybe I will update this blog again but I would like to start a new one. I just need some inspiration...

Really, thanks if you took the time to read this.
E