2nd Annual Ugly Duckling Cup

Did I mention that Erik and I have a lake in our backyard? We probably would have said, "No, there's no way that can be called a lake...that's a pond," at the start of being at LCC. Now my perspective has changed and I sometimes catch myself calling it Neumann Lake. Well, today a few of our students floated and paddled their way across Neumann Lake through the wind and rain in hopes of becoming the victorious team to take home the Ugly Duckling Cup trophy. I'll let the video I have attached explain the rest. Notice you don't see the end of the race. That's because our team's (East Crew) raft sunk in the 2nd attempt to cross the lake. It was still good fun to watch. The other 2 rafts did surprisingly well, in spite of the fact that they all looked like a pile of trash crossing the water. Oh well, there's always hopes of taking home the trophy next year.

ps-Yes, if you pay attention to the video closely, you'll be able to see the Johnstrand's 3 Rubbermaid bins under our team's raft. They seemed like a good idea during the brainstorming last night, but the submerging began once all the bins had filled up with water. It's good to know that our Rubbermaid bins can serve a purpose here other than carrying our belongings from the States all the way to Lithuania.

pps-Pay attention even more closely, and you'll see a brief appearance of the Johnstrand-duo as well. :)

The family increases

Well, Erik and I have some news. Our family has grown and we have decided to adopt a little girl born in Lithuania who goes by the name of Ieva! What do you think about that? As you can see from the photo, she and Erik get along quite well and spend their time running around together being each others' best playmate. :)

Actually, the true story is that the the adoption is NOT official. Our family has not actually increased in size since our arrival in Klaipeda. It IS true that Erik's best friend here is a 4-year old charming girl named Ieva.

Ieva (pronounced Ye-va) is the daughter of Kim and Andrew Stave, who have both worked at LCC for the last 7 years. Ieva is their oldest child and their son, Isak, was born in the middle of this last June. The Stave's have welcomed us to the LCC community here by offering a home off-campus to visit, where we have made meals together and shared our weekends exploring the city. We appreciate this friendship that has developed so quickly and naturally. It's fun for us to spend time with a couple that brings their kids into the fun that is already happening and are still able to be present with others too. The feelings between Ieva and Erik are mutual and there is nobody that can capture Ieva's attention the way Erik can. I know that Erik is used to being "Mr. Fun" and/or a mobile jungle gym when my cousins are around, so this is helping him stay in practice while we are away from close family for now. We miss you, Wees'.

Yesterday we explored south of the downtown area with the Stave's for a couple of hours. We bought a week's worth of fresh fruit and vegetables from a variety of stands at the local market. Then Kim and Andrew drove us out of town and we headed to Palanga, which is a city on the coast 25 km north of us. Kim's parents are in town visiting for the month and volunteered to babysit the kids. The four of us stopped in a linen store before strolling the boardwalk out to the beach to take in the sea view out on the pier. The night ended with dinner at HBH, which kind of reminded us of a Chucky Cheese meets Disney World, complete with rope courses and a full outdoor basketball court in the middle of the restaurant complex. Well, I wanted to make sure we were introducing some of our new friends. We hope you get to meet them yourself when you come visit us!

bandele's & breakdowns

Erik and I started off our day today with an authentic Lithuanian breakfast. We discovered that we can walk down to the best-tasting bandele shop in town and all the way back to campus in less than an hour. Good to know for those days we wake up to blue-sky mornings. Bandele's are a delicious treat that we discovered a couple of weeks ago. A bandele is essentially a warm, airy, flaky sweet bread roll with different fillings tucked away inside. The best part about them are the endless filling options. You can find chocolate, whole pieces of fruit, cheese and even hotdogs stashed away inside. Erik and I each decided to get 1 cheese and 1 chocolate for our visit today. We grabbed 'em and cruised back before Erik's class began.

I think the beginning and end of the day were the best parts. The middle was not as delightful as the filling I found in my bandele. It was one of those days where I felt overwhelmed with the tasks and conversations before me.

My role as Resident Director in Neumann Hall is to provide security for all the residents, which means I (together with Steve) am supervisor to our Resident Assistants, as well as the receptionists and night guards who sit by the front doors during the day and through the night. Our campus is situated in the middle of the city and it is common for us to have many locals wandering through our property on their way to somewhere else. We also seem to have our share of strange personalities who have nothing better to do than hang around the buildings on campus. I have found it challenging to keep the receptionists at the desk, monitoring who is coming in and out of the building. It is a frustration that seems to come up time and time again. Last night I was coming back from a late afternoon meeting and walked into our apartment as Erik was escorting one of the strange local men out of our apartment. Apparently he walked into the building, past the vacant receptionist desk and then into our place where Erik was doing homework. Well, we were able to persuade our unwelcome visitor to leave the building, but it definitely took some coaxing to get him to leave the property. I don't know if the Lithuanian students were much help in translating, as this man wasn't making much sense in any language - it seemed due to some degree of mental illness combined with alcohol. The more frustrating part about the incident to me was how difficult it was to find the receptionist on-duty and coax her to call the police. I was surprised by her lack of concern to be a part of any solution to our problem. Ah, the joy of supervision. I'll spare you the details about my follow-up as it doesn't really matter to you.

I am finding myself in a culture that seems to have little regard for procedures and policies that keep order and make sense, yet I am responsible to maintain a safe and secure place for students. I am coming from a culture that is so dependent on carrying out the correct steps of action when responding to any type of crisis that I almost feel lost when I haven't been briefed for any and every possible problem. What? I need to think on my feet and make decisions in the moment? On the other hand, should I even expect anyone here to follow my requests, especially when it seems to be a part of their job description?

I definitely think I am overreacting. It isn't as bad as I am making it to sound. But it's different, that's for sure. I will adapt and find balance. I have been told many times by Lithuanians and students here that the police can't do anything if no one was hurt. Well, for now, I'll keep plugging along. Finding the holes and trying to come up with ways (and of course, procedures) to bring helpful change. Taking myself less seriously and realizing that life keeps rolling along... like they tell me, "Nobody got hurt this time."

So even though the middle of my day was all about discipline and other frustrating moments, the end wrapped up as well as the morning. My first staff meeting of the school year with the Neumann East RAs. We met tonight from 8-10 and had a great time. It felt good to laugh. It was good to hear each of them share about themselves. We worked on creating a staff mission statement together before getting down to business. I am really looking forward to the year with this group of student leaders. They are terrific. I consider it an honor to be working so closely with each of them. You can see their beautiful faces in the picture below we took during RA training week.

Tonight I look back and decide I am thankful for the gifts and the challenges that are here before me.

41 Moons Given

Last night Erik and I celebrated our 41st full moon together. What, one might ask, does that even mean? Let me explain. The first walk Erik and I took together just four summers ago up in northern Minnesota happened under a full moon sky...which was shining beautifully on one of the lakes near us. That was the start of us. It wasn't that that we officially started dating or had any monumental conversation during our full moon stroll, but something was started in each of our hearts that would begin to align the direction of our lives. Since that first moon, we have paid attention to the phases of the moon more closely. The waxing and waning that happens in the sky provides a more understandable timetable for our life together. 41 moons makes sense in my head and heart better than if I were to tell someone that I met Erik the summer of 2006 and that we have been married for two years.

The way you celebrate a moon is quite simple. All you need to do is get out under the dark night sky and look up at the moon in all its fullness. You soak its beauty in with your eyes. You notice the way it lights up the night around you as it reflects the light of the sun back onto the earth. Ha! I am laughing at my description because I have never thought of teaching someone how to do this. It's sounding like some ancient pagan practice by some more serious lunar followers. Well, Erik and I have celebrated some of our moons next to each other and some of them in separate states. I always liked thinking that we could see the same moon even if I was at Grandpa's house in Washington and he was out in the field with students in the Utah wilderness. The moon is a piece of Creation that we pay attention to more closely as it symbolizes our love for each other. I am thankful for 41 moons given.

We watched the full moon last night from the roof of our house, which happens to be a university dormitory with six floors. It was fun to listen to the night sounds of our new city on a rather calm Friday night. Our watching almost always brings us back to talking about our first moon and all the life that has happened since then. We have full hearts as we look back.

Our first month spent living in eastern Europe has increased our interest in the people and culture around us. We are excitedly trying to progress in the language and I was even able to sign up for the same class as Erik for Lithuanian 101. Erik has jumped in with both feet as he completed his first week of the fall semester as a student registered for 8 classes! (It appears as if all of his semesters at LCC will be quite full if he is wanting to be able to graduate within 2 years.) I find myself in one of my dream jobs as a Resident Director here at LCC. The challenges and demands of the job are sometimes consuming, but I know that learning the ropes is taking a lot of my energy and attention right now. I enjoy this beginning and am looking forward to a more balanced pace of life once I figure out how to live and work and socialize all in one place.

I am really eager to invest in these students. I know I have much to learn from them and their stories. There are over 21 countries represented in the LCC student body this year. It makes for quite an interesting mix of people. The other day I answered the phone in the lobby and I could tell that the caller was speaking Lithuanian. I tried to find someone in the crowd in the lobby that could help me out with translation. You would be surprised at how long it took me to find a Lithuanian speaker in that busy lobby. I was struck with the diversity that is in this place. The stories will continue to happen and I will continue to share them with you.