My Take on it All, Ej

So, its approaching 3 weeks tomorrow that we got here. It sure doesn't seem like its been three weeks. In some ways it feels longer, and in others it feels shorter.

I think that moving to another country is bizarre, I was just talking to Becky about this yesterday. Hopping in an airplane and being transported within hours to some other country, on the far side of the world, and yet I didn't really experience the distance that I travelled. I mean to look on a map or globe and see Lithuania in comparison to where we were, I just cannot comprehend it. It is probably similar to what getting older feels like. You may not have felt like you lived 60, 70, 80 years to get to the place where you are, but you did. You actually are that old. And no matter what it felt like we are where we are. Its nice to have things make you stop in the present moment and think about what brought you here. And where Becky and I find ourselves is quite enjoyable.

I was righting an email to my friend Erick Briden yesterday and I was telling him about three things that I have truly enjoyed about being here. First, the Baltic Sea. We are about a thirty minute walk from the beach (which upon walking everywhere since being here, it doesn't seem that long now). The beach is so beautiful. I have gone there many days so far and just laid on the beach with a book, or an audio version of one, and just watched the sun and sea. It is good for the my soul to sit and watch that pair.

Secondly, the forest. There is an enormous pristine forest almost right outside our door. The university, where we live, is on the north side of town. Up here there is this huge swath of forest that sits between us and the Sea. I don't really know how big it is, but I will go walking for hours in there and not find the end of it. The trees are huge and there is thick moss on the ground. There is an immense trail system, nothing paved or marked by any signs. It feels like some universalist's dream, cause all these paths are so winding and interwoven it seems like they do lead to the same place. Other than it being flat, it looks similar to the forests in British Columbia, Canada that I was in for a couple of summers.

And finally, the town. Klaipeda is a good sized city, but the down town/old town is pretty quaint and cozy, its easy to feel familiar with it. There are all sorts of old buildings and streets to explore. The restaurants are really great. The prices are good and the food is wonderful. It is just meat and potatoes, but man, do they know how to cook.

Other than those things, I have been playing basketball, recording songs, and getting ready for school. Also, I have been trying to learn the language, and boy is this one a doozy. I learned some french in middle school and high school, and this is considerably more difficult. I heard that since this is arguably one of the, if not the oldest language, instead of simplifying over the centuries they decided to go the other route and just continue to make "exceptions". Which we all know is often not the best approach to take in life or, as it turns out, languages, as the case may be. And I think I like it more for that.

As for the school itself and the community of LCC I have been very encouraged. What struck me about it was the similarity it bares to my favorite communities that I have lived amongst. The staff here are gathered around a purpose to serve people for the sake of love, through their faith in Jesus. We gather as people who believe in God, and we want to better peoples lives with relationships, personal growth, and faith . And this place could use some softening through love.

The culture is one that seems to be about a hardened exterior for protection. Due to their past they have needed to adapt to the realities that they lived in, which sadly is an inability to trust anyone because of the Soviet times. I have heard stories of peoples grandma's getting sent to work camps in Siberia for singing old Lithuanian folk songs and getting told on for it. Folk songs for cryin' out loud. So everyone learned not to trust people who are not their closest family, much less people of different nationalities.

My experience with the people has been mixed. Some people are rude and seem to be angry, trying to keep a tough guy image, while others have been really friendly and helpful. Walking down the street I have experience all sorts of different interactions. Old round women who, upon finding out that I am american, start waving their hands at me like they are trying to swat a fly thats been busing around their head. And old men who, at any time of day, literally bump into me because they are so drunk, at least thats their excuse. The children are great to hang out with (thanks for the advice Dane), and they are really kind and fun. And every age between treats me with kindness and smiles, or acts like I don't exist (and if I am to choose between non-existence, or existing, but only as a fly, I still haven't decided yet).

All these different responses I am getting are probably not much different from what I would experience back home. I am willing to bet these observations of people are brought on due to two reasons: one, I am looking for how people are treating me here (Apparently we have a need to do that when we go to new places and not in the old ones). And secondly, here, I stand out...to say the least. I have a feeling that its about as fair for me to judge Lithuanians based on my experiences of walking around here as it would be if I were to judge minnesotans based on me walked around downtown inside a human-sized plastic hamster ball, dressed in something as culturally out of style as a kilt, trying to hug everyone that makes eye contact with me. Which of course would fail immediately, and would become quite awkward due to the giant plastic ball that I would be sliding down the inside of.

So, I have this to say, I love it here. I am so thankful for everyone of you who is supporting us to be here. You are all so, so great. I love the challenges and the beauty of this place, these people, and the community that I get to be a part of. I know this is a long post, and thanks for reading it. I think there will come a day when life here will become pretty normal and I won't have as much to write about. so until then...

Ej