Kaunas Krew is Starving

I figured I should maybe mention the girls that I'm in Lithuania with!

I am pretty sure these are the best girls to be with in the whole world. They are so nice, funny, and chill! Our head teacher, Paris, is so nice! And she's already doing so much for us. The other teachers are Kenon, Desteny, and Cameron and I love them already! We are all so excited to be here and we're all on the same level of wanderlust.

Cameron came up with our hashtag, #kaunaskrew. So if any of y'all want to follow all of our posts, just go there!

Our local coordinator, Mama Rasa, is sick, so she couldn't help us today. Unfortunately we didn't get food last night so there was no breakfast. We went to the store around mid-afternoon (I need to check the time more lol). Ok, Europeans really, truly, have NO personal space!!! Even driving! The three feet pedestrian law thing in America does not exist in Lithuania. We were in a parking lot and Kenon almost got hit with a side view mirror because they just cruised on by. It wasn't that bad, though. In the store, you have to pay a euro to get a shopping cart, and then when you put the cart back, you get your euro back!
Their food is so cheap. The famous "Dadus" that I've been reading about (they're cheesecake bars covered in chocolate) are less than a dollar! Woohoo!! We got 16 euros worth of stuff that would've been closer to $30 in Moab. While we were in the produce section, a bunch of people started crowding and they just kept getting closer and closer, and I was just scooting further and further around the island of fruit. Also, I've concluded that I need to learn some Lithuanian because we were told that it's polite to say hello to people (neighbors, store clerks, etc.) but we did not know how today! It was awkward when the lady was checking our food and we just stood there silently. Kenon and I got on the elevator in our apartment building, and then a man got in too. It was the most silent ride in my entire life! And the whole time I'm thinking, "I know NOTHING in Lithuanian! This is not polite!".

We finally got to eat dinner, and lucky my head teacher has a culinary major!! So, dinner was rice, meat, and lettuce.. But it was really good.

We watched She's the Man tonight, and then discussed vacation possibilities! I am so so SO excited about all the places we're going to go! Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get our bus passes and then go explore Kaunas a little more. I will try and upload pictures soon!

First Impressions

First of all, on the overnight flight to Brussels, I could not sleep! Who called it? I did. Finally, at the end of the flight, I managed to rest for an hour. When I woke up, they were cleaning up from breakfast. I was so excited though, breakfast was not on my mind. Since I had an aisle seat in the middle section, I had to sneak to the back of the plane to see out a window. I checked just in time to watch England pass under and then we crossed over France!

Brussels was exciting. As soon as I stepped off the plane, my first thought was: "It's cold". The airport was huge and the second thing that I noticed was the lack of polite smiles. They don't smile! Nobody smiles.... That's going to take some getting used to. Third, everyone looks nice. I don't recall seeing anyone majorly overweight either. There were some chargers that you had to pedal a bike to make them work! The bathrooms were strange. Each stall is more like a room, and the handle to flush is actually a giant button on the wall, and the toilet paper comes out like tissues, it's not on a roll.

Eventually, we boarded our last flight. There was a little girl behind me who was screaming and kicking my seat the entire flight! Luckily I was so tired I slept through it all. My luggage made it, so did I, and we FINALLY (how many days has it been? It feels like foreva) arrived in Lithuania!! My first thought after getting off the plane was, "It's even colder here?!". I might be buying that winter coat sooner than expected! We sat in McDonald's for 2+ hours waiting for the Vilnius girls to get to their apartment, and then we started the drive to Kaunas! I'm mostly surprised at how obvious the soviet influence is. All the buildings are gray and square. But it's actually really cool! I fell asleep on the way there, but it was dark by then so I couldn't see anyways.

Our apartment building is super fun! The elevator is too small to comfortably fit five girls.. And it was a little ghetto. If you've seen Saratov Approach, that's what the building reminded me of! We are in our apartment, and after about five seconds of confusion and slight homesickness, I am so excited!

Also, jet lag is so real.

On My Way!!!

I'm currently on my way to Brussels! We're about halfway... Kinda. I'd say two fifth's, but that's just getting crazy with my fractions! Haha my first flight was great; besides it being incredibly cramped. But that's ok! It was only three hours and the couple next to me were nice and quiet.. But maybe that's because they're french lol. Our layover in Chicago was short and sweet. The size difference between the first airplane and the one I'm on now is crazy! There's so much more room and the seats are 3x more comfortable. I'm not sure I'll get much sleep though. Part of that because I can't sleep sitting up and the other part because my body doesn't think it's really night!

I think I was really nervous this morning because I didn't eat until dinner time! As soon as I boarded the second flight, I realized how starving I was. Luckily, the lasagna dinner was actually pretty good- AND I ate the salad (bowing to Mom). We hit a ton of turbulence right after dinner, which was right after I chugged a can of apple juice and a cup of water just so I could throw away the trash. BIG MISTAKE. We were in turbulence for half an hour, and as soon as the seat belt sign turned off, the population of New York City got up to use the bathroom. (Ok, maybe not THAT much haha.. But it felt like it). Eventually I made it to the porcelain throne, except in this case it's the steel throne. Anyways, We have about 3:45 until Brussels, and then we are going to explore during our loooong layover!

Also, I bought a travel pillow in Salt Lake and hooked it to my backpack. Unfortunately the aisle in the first plane was ridiculously narrow, so as I was turning back and forth trying to find a compartment for my carry on, I was slapping this guy in the face with my pillow. Finally, this guy behind me (who was laughing beyond politeness) alerted me. I turned and apologized, but the guy just stared at me like I was holding his children hostage or something. Geez! But I'm actually trying not to laugh as I think back on it.

Next stop, Europe! I can't wait for the slap in the face they call "culture shock". ;) Love you all!

27 Days Left!

I finally got my departure date- August 16, and it is coming fast! For a while now I've been past the excited-giddy phase and sitting in the holy-crap-what-am-I-doing phase. It comes and goes, so "emotional rollercoaster" has a new meaning for me! Haha seriously though... One minute I'll start making squealy noises because I'm going to EUROPE!! And then 10 minutes later I'm overthinking everything and tears are streaming down my cheeks. (Not exaggerating at all lol).

27 DAYS...... WHAT. I definitely don't feel prepared.. Mostly because I'm not prepared! I've still got a ton of supplies to get together, but I think I'll be able to do it. I really need to start gathering all the stuff I need, because if I do what I usually do, I'll be scrambling around the night before trying to pack, and that would be pretty bad in this situation!

The hardest part for me right now is trying to comprehend what little time I have left at home. I'll miss Moab, but I really am ready to go. What I'm NOT ready for is all the goodbye's. Of course, my family will be here when I get home, but I've never been away from home for more than a week, so we'll see how that goes! I think I'm more nervous about saying goodbye to my friends though. I feel like I'm kissing my childhood goodbye (which is actually pretty true).. I don't know what I'm trying to say except that I know I'll be an emotional mess! Haha what's a girl to do without her best friend by her side? I wish I could bring a friend so I can maintain a little piece of my comfort zone, but it's probably better that I'm not. It's weird that all the guys will be gone when I get home! And that is going to be the hardest goodbye for me, I think. I know my family will always be there, and Sym will always be just a text away, but I don't know where I'm going to be in two years, and before I get melodramatic I'll just say that I really love all my friends and parting ways will be hard!

On a brighter side, the independent, ambitious, travel-hungry woman in me is jumping for joy! I don't know how long I've been dreaming to travel the world, but I do know it's been a long time. I remember being scared at one point that I would never be able travel because I don't have the money... But here I am! (Hey now, hey now- this is what dreamssss are made of!) I really think it was heaven-sent that I heard about ILP. So grateful for my life! I'm going to Europe!!!

Hey, I Graduated!

I always tell myself I'm only going to post special things that happen, because this isn't really my main journal. And today I realized that graduating high school is pretty significant!

Let's be real though, seminary graduation was a lot more emotional and meaningful. I got to bear my testimony, which I was really grateful for (even if I bawled through it). Seminary is where I gained the bulk of my testimony. I love it so much!!! And Bro. Jackman is pretty much the best seminary teacher ever.

High school graduation was a lot more light and chill. We went to Fiesta Mexicana right before for dinner, and I'm really glad I didn't far- I mean.... break wind the entire ceremony. My walking partner and I kept joking that we were gonna slip and roll down the hill, which could've been funny, but it's better that we didn't. The program was short and sweet! I wasn't sure if I would cry or not, but I found out that I was way too happy to cry! Woohoo!

Also, I went to the bowling alley party afterwards with all my friends. Sadly, we're "too old" for bumpers, so the first game my score was something like 36.. Or less. Hahaha it was a humbling experience ;). I tried to play bingo for money but I don't have the patience for that at 2 in the morning.

I have a summer job now! It's a cute little shop on Main St. called Moab Made. Although it could very well be the least exciting job I've ever had, I like it a lot. I'm also weeding for the school district, but I really need to find time at the right time for that. This summer is pretty much going to be work and ILP prep (hopefully). I go to Lithuania in 2 months!!!!!!

Senior PROM

Ok I definitely should've written about this a month ago, but better now than later... Or never haha.

So I didn't really know what we were going to do until Neal picked me up.. I did know that we would be hiking but not where. When we were driving to meet up with everyone else, I kept thinking, When can I ask where we're going?? and eventually I figured it couldn't be a secret forever! He told me we were going to hike to the G, and I've never done that so part of me was excited and a little part of me was nervous. We got there and for the first part I was feeling pretty good about everything, and then we turned and corner and a little part of me started screaming. That hill is STEEP! Forget looking good, my main focus was to survive the hike. Fortunately, I was not the only one who took a slow pace. It also helped that Neal offered water at regular intervals, and all the boys were super sweet and patiently waited as we took breaks to catch our breath. Despite what has been said so far, it was actually fun and the view was pretty cool too!

After that we had a nerf gun war!! Haha I loved that idea. Kenzie and I basically shot at each other down a hallway as we hid behind doors. The guys to us to lunch at the Diner, and before we got ready we played a game. I'm not sure how to explain it but basically we were asked questions about each other (i.e. if he had one super power what would it be), and if our answers matched up we got a point. Some of the questions were crazy! I've never considered what I would do on a Friday night in New York City.

Getting ready wasn't too bad this year!! Wonderful Becca did my makeup and she did so amazing! Kenzie also did my hair, which meant a lot to me even though she had to get ready herself. But it worked out! I felt so elegant, and Neal looked dapper. ;) I had the hardest time getting the stinking boutonniere on his suit though! Eventually my dad tried to help, and then my mom finally stepped in.. And I couldn't stop laughing because I was so nervous! Chalk that up for an awkward situation, but after we left it was good! We took pictures and ate dinner at the Stucki's B&B. Our whole group looked so great!

I think my favorite part about promenade every year is seeing all the different dresses. Kenzie, Jalysa, Ariahna, River, and all the other Junior girls looked so BEAUTIFUL!! Their dance was incredible as well. Of course the actual dance was my favorite part of the day. ;) I wish we could have more dances like Prom (minus trying to find a dress). I loved being dressed up like that! Also, I'm grateful my date can actually dance haha. We left a little early and played werewolf with a bunch of other couples.

We decided to go to Neal's ward so we didn't have to get up by 9:00. It was fast Sunday too! At first I was not planning on getting up, mostly because it's not my ward, and I knew I would cry. A lot of other Prom-goers were getting up though.. So that ruled out my first excuse. I decided I would impress Neal a little (shame on me lol) and bear my testimony.. But he beat me to it! I still bore my testimony though, and yes I did cry. But that's ok.

Anyways, it was an awesome date! I'm really glad I got to spend it with some of my favorite people.

Snow, and No More Math!!!!

My super duper awesome, sweet, loving parents allowed me and Sym to drive to Salina to meet Asia and Bonnie so we could tour Snow College together! Woohoo! We left around 5 am, which I was worried about because I'm not very good at getting up in the morning, but everything went perfectly. I feel like a real adult now, driving without my parents. (Haha). Anyways, it was so fun to see Asia and Bonnie!! It feels like they never left because I felt so comfortable, but then again it does feel like they left because I missed them so much!
Snow College was amazing. Asia nailed her theatre auditions, and then I found out that even if I didn't audition, I could still audition for their plays! We got a tour of their art department. Sym and Asia love it! I'm not going into art, but it was still a great tour. The campus is great! The more we looked around the more excited I got, so hopefully that's a good sign.


When we were about to part ways, Bonnie suddenly brought up that she'd be coming to Moab the next day. She literally said, "Go with them!", threw Asia's stuff out the window at her, and when Asia protested that she didn't have everything she needed, Bonnie said, "Love is all you need!" I LOVE Bonnie!! I had a mini excitement attack in the parking lot, and then Asia, Sym, and I drove home!! Girls' trips are so much fun. I'm looking forward to college with those two. We also decided to have a game night so everyone else could see Asia, and their reactions were so sweet (we didn't tell them Asia would be there)! That was such a fun weekend.


Today, I took the first part of my Math 1050 final. I don't really have high hopes for a good grade, and I'm also bidding my GPA a farewell... BUT, I realized that after tomorrow, I'm done with math!! Forever and ever and EVER.
Ok well, maybe not forever, but at least a year! Boom baby!