more new food!

I've tried lots of new foods in the past few days as well! On Tuesday, I ordered the "Greek salad" at a small cafe called Biskvitas, which is very close to campus. I recognized the words for feta, olives and tomatoes, but not the word for smoked salmon! I was a bit shocked when the plate was set in front of me, but it was all very good! The little swan looking apparatus at the top of the plate is to squeeze lemon juice on the salad - yum!

These are some new friends, John and Bethany, who have been taking me to many of their favorite restaurants around town. I went with them to eat Thai on Sunday, and today we tried to get burgers at lunch time, but the restaurant didn't have beef. John and Bethany think that maybe I jinxed our order by taking pictures beforehand....

So we went to a different restaurant for fajitas, which is an uncommon phenomenon here in Lithuania - not many places have Mexican food. They were messy and juicy but oh so yummy! (And I waited till the food came to take a picture!)

Tonight Alex and I went to Levi's apartment next door for dinner, and I attempted to make bread for the first time since arriving. I made a quick yeast bread (which is kind of an oxymoron), but I've been wanting to try the recipe for a while. It was super easy! Not quite the quality of Rachel's, but not bad either....
 

And lastly, in honor of Rachel's, I had my first chocolate bandele (roll) tonight as well. Again, the rolls here are not like traditional French croissants, but you can't go wrong with chocolate!

Res Life

We're all here!!!! On Monday the rest of my colleagues arrived, and Tuesday we started work! We've been having quite a few meetings so far - I'm kind of on information overload at the moment. But, I'm looking forward to this year - the relationships I'll get to build with students, staff and faculty, and all the things I'm going to experience and learn.

We went to Susie's house for supper on Tuesday night (and had delicious veggie quesadillas and coveted peach pie!) and also took a few pictures. This picture is of the Community Life staff - we're a part of the larger Student Life team.

in the front: me, Olena (Intercultural Education Coordinator) and Alex (RD)
back: Levi (RD) and Susie (Director of Community Life)

The new residence hall on campus is called Enns Hall (ironic, no? it's very close to Entz!) and these are the new chairs waiting to be moved in. So many cool colors!

new foods....

I've tried a few new foods since being here in Lithuania. One is called "Saltibarsciai" which is a cold beet soup with cucumbers, buttermilk, dill, green onions, and a bit of sour cream and hard boiled egg as garnish. It's served with boiled potatoes. It was very delicious!

That night I also had a salad - but instead of lettuce as the base, it was cabbage! Welcome to Lithuania! The other thing I've noticed here is that they display food very beautifully. Everything has a garnish - even in the grocery stores, the deli has things displayed in cool patterns or with a decoration of some kind.

There are lots of great restaurants in Klaipeda - and tonight we went to a Thai place, which was also very good. I had pad thai with chicken. Yum!

I've been told about a lot of other restaurants to try, so I'm sure there will be many more pictures of food to come.... 

the Baltic!

On Friday I went to the Baltic Sea with some fellow LCC-ers. We enjoyed eating at a restaurant outdoors, walking to the sea, and talking and getting to know each other better. It was fun for me to have an outing off campus and make some new friends!

 A view of Klaipeda from the ferry.

A few of my dinner friends - Bethany and Robin.

 Walking towards the sea after dinner. It was a perfect evening! (Notice the bike path on the right side). :)

Our feet in the Baltic Sea!

Me and Susie! I've been so grateful this week for her friendship and knowledge of the city. Thanks Susie!

market, etc

Yesterday I walked to the outdoor market with a co-worker, Olena. We stopped at a pastry shop, and I got a bun w/ cottage cheese and raisins inside - very good! More bread-like than the pastries I'm used to at Rachel's, but still delicious!

"Bandele" means roll, so the shop had a bunch of different rolls, sweets and of course tea and coffee.

Across the street was the market. There was one section for clothing, one building with eggs and meat (including pig's heads and feet, and many other interesting items), and a couple outdoor areas for vegetables and flowers. I bought lots of vegetables b/c they are much cheaper here than in the grocery, and as I've experienced, much better tasting as well!

Right before crossing the bridge into Old Town, there's a monument that reads "One people, one world, one Lithuania". Susie told me that the crooked side of the monument symbolizes a small part of Lithuania that is still controlled by the Russians.

If you look on a map, just to the southwest of Lithuania is a small unlabeled state (Kaliningrad is a city in that region). That part of Lithuania is owned by the Russians so they still have a port on the Baltic Sea.

This weekend is probably going to hold more exploring, including my first trip to the Baltic Sea! I'm very excited about this!!!!! 

I'm still feeling a bit of jet lag - it's been hard for me to get out of bed in the mornings, but other than that I feel like I'm adjusting very well. I'm looking forward to more arrivals next week of the other RD's and new staff/faculty, and to get started on work. I also have a chance to take a class in Lithuanian this fall, which won't start for a few weeks yet - I've been told the language is very hard to learn, but I can't wait to start being able to read signs or order something at a restaurant.

angliskai?

today i did a lot of exploring the town of Klaipeda and have some everyday facts about Lithuania to share (of course w/ pictures!)

Fact 1: Don't walk in the bike lanes! In this picture, the parking lot and one of the LCC buildings are on the right. On the sidewalk, people are waiting for the bus, and the red brick part of the sidewalk is reserved for bikes. I've been told that people get mad if you walk in the bike lane, so it's something I've been trying to remember, although it doesn't come naturally yet. I love that people here walk or bike much more than in America - and here there's bike lanes and sidewalks almost everywhere!!!

Fact 2: This perfect weather won't last long! I walked around the old town part of Klaipeda as well with Susie today, and we saw this beautiful photo opportunity. We sat down for a while at a cafe with outside seating, and enjoyed walking along the cobblestone streets and stopping in the occasional shop. Today was such a beautiful day for a walk! Almost everyone I meet at LCC tells me to ENJOY the weather right now, because the winters are so long. So I'm doing my best to soak in the less humid weather! (Sorry Indiana, I don't miss you right now!) :)

Fact 3: How to ask if someone speaks English and convert Litas to USD. I stopped at these roadside vegetable stands on my way home today, and made my first purchases without an interpreter or someone who knows the ropes. I had to say "Angliskai?" a lot (pronounced "Ahnglishkay"), and the vendors were able to type out my totals on their calculators. I bought 3 tomatoes, 4 mini cucumbers, garlic and onion. Everything cost me about 8 litas, which is about $3.20. (Multiply 8 by 4, and then move the decimal place one to the left).

I'm learning so many new things every day! By next week I'll be working full time, so I'm trying to experience and get oriented as much as I can right now!

my apartment

I'm finally here!!! I got to see my new apartment first thing yesterday afternoon when I arrived from the airport - I think it's very cute! The kitchen is small but open, and there's big windows in the kitchen and living room that I also really love. I had the windows open this morning and it was awesome to have the fresh air and lots of light! I spent some time unpacking last night, and today took some pictures to show you all.

Here's the kitchen - you'll notice a smaller fridge (than what we have in the US) and only one small sink. But, the counter space is definitely enough for what I need, and I can watch students passing by through the windows. :) My apartment is right by the front door, so they'll all be walking right by!

This is the view out my windows - looks like Europe! There's a Catholic church in the background, and also some lady out taking care of her garden.  Can you spy her?

The bathroom includes all the regular things, including a washer! I don't have a dryer, though, so I already have clothes hanging up to dry.

And, I have my own sign! My office is on the fourth floor of the dorm - I've been to see what it looks like, but haven't really needed to do any work yet. It feels very official to have this - and kind of cool. :)

Oh, and here's a picture of me at the grocery store yesterday afternoon w/ Susie. It's been a bit overwhelming to find the things I'm used to, but also exciting to see all the new or different things as well! I'm going to have to take a long trip there to just explore and see what all I can find. 

This week is more relaxed - I'll have some orientation later in the week with Susie and Kim (Vice President for Student Life), next week the other RD's come, and the following week is when students start returning.

It's been overwhelming to learn so many new things, but I'm excited to keep settling in, learn everyone's name, get to know my way around town, and so much more!