The Last Week of June = The Last Week of Lithuania

Last picture taken in Lithuania ... of course, the sun comes out when I leave! ;)

Well, the end has come. This will be the final blog post for 'Life in Lithuania', as tomorrow I will catch my flight to Switzerland. The guest entry posted earlier this week had some teething problems with the pictures, but that should now be resolved. It has been said that it's an even funnier post with the pictures, so it might be worth a second look, or a first if you haven't already. :)

Before I break down my experience in Lithuania, I'll first report about the rest of my trip in Sweden. Atchy has already given an insight into some of the bad luck we had, and concluded that I was the reason for the bad weather, because after I left the sunshine returned. This may well be true considering Riga and Lithuania were also experiencing torrential downpours upon my return after a gruelling 21 hour journey. But I have to consider myself lucky that I'm not caught up in the horrible flash floods that have been happening at home in Northern Ireland. I hope the sun shows its face back there sometime soon!

Speaking of my homeland, apparently it was noticeable that my accent was creeping back after spending some time with quite a few Northern Irish natives. It doesn't take much before the old banter returns! But put a non-native Irish in front of me and I'll resort back to my "international" accent, just for the sake of being understood (though I still don't lose those vital giveaways of my native land, such as 'how', 'now', 'brown', 'cow').

The only form of transport on the archipelago island.

There were surprisingly many people from Northern Ireland in Gothenburg, and the city itself was clearly more multicultural than the likes of Klaipeda or Turku. I was particularly impressed by the amazing transport system in Gothenburg; always a tram, bus or boat around to take you where you need to go. And the best part is that the travel cards cover all forms of transport so it's very convenient to interchange between them as needed. 


That's enough about Sweden really - it's always an impressive place. Back to Lithuania. It may not be expected that Lithuania would have quite the same impact as the Scandinavian countries (understandable since it has less money), but it is catching up. Those EU funding signs are everywhere, bascially labelling the whole country as under construction, but some of it could rival its more advanced counterparts. For example, the beaches along the Curonian Spit are second-to-none, and Vilnius is a rising, cosmopolitan, European city full of vibrance and acceptance.

My life, once again, all packed up & ready to go.

Perhaps spending months in Lithuania can be too much in a quiet place like Klaipeda, where tolerance and acceptance of foreigners is yet to be really evident, besides in those who are connected with international relations. The people whom I met in connection with my Erasmus experience were fantastic, and I am immensely grateful for all their help. 

There were others though, the locals mainly, who pleaded ignorance when hearing the English language. In Klaipeda, such people are much more manageable with Russian language, in general. Unfortunately, I didn't have this asset. This proved a difficulty when I couldn't understand the warning I was receiving for returning home too late to my dormitory on a number of occasions. This was the most difficult thing to get used to - the midnight curfew. I don't feel it's a reasonable restriction to have on adults in their 20s. It made me question the level of independence that young people can have in Lithuania, especially when I compare with the stark contrast shown in highly independent Finnish people from a very young age.  


Despite the issues with rules and language barriers, I can look back at my time in Lithuania and say that I learned A LOT. It was a brave move in terms of my career, as it was something outside of my comfort zone, but this was part of my reasoning to challenge myself. I'm glad I did because it was the first time that I have been given so much autonomy to teach, and I enjoyed this level of responsibility. I don't know what the future has in store for me, where I will end up and what I'll be doing, but I hope that this will prove to be a major contribution to my career path.

For the purpose of this blog, I have censored some of the lonely and isolated times I have had in Lithuania, in order to reflect in an overall positive sense, and hopefully promote the country as a place to visit. It is really an ideal holiday destination, with everything one could possibly want in terms of beaches and vibrant cities. Best of all, it is so cheap and underrated! Ergo, the touristic ego hasn't quite consumed the country or its people yet, and you see the real side of Lithuanian life (with the possible exception of Palanga - it has those tacky stalls selling flimsy, plastic beach toys, but for me it was a nice reminder of childhood family holidays). 



There is one thing that I have learned above all in Lithuania...want to know what it is? It might seem obvious to some, but I had to figure this out myself. The biggest lesson I learned was that the place doesn't matter, it's the people that make it. It has taken me until now to make this realisation. Before now, I had been quite happy travelling alone, and discovering more about myself. I don't know why I didn't realise this before, but it hit me like a ton of bricks in Lithuania, when the people I really care about were elsewhere and I was all alone and rather isolated. It was only when I met a great bunch of people at a study conference in Kretinga that my life in Lithuania really came alive. It is the time that I spent with people that have shaped the good memories that I will take away with me. 


I'm now looking forward to re-connecting with all those whom I've missed during my second Erasmus, and maybe even sharing some of the stories that were deliberately excluded from the blog! If you're an avid blog reader, but never really talk to me, then you will forever remain in suspense. I have to save something for those who are really interested enough to ask. ;)

THE END