Delayed Scraps

Well, I must confess. I am officially not consistant at blogging. But I will try to whip up a few interesting facts and anecdotes about my past few weeks, as well as try to explain why there were Australian words for things in my last post.

Three weekends ago the study abroad group took a trip to Tallin, the capital of Estonia, and Riga, Lativia's capital. It was a great weekend. It was eventful and yet relaxing, and was the perfect get away to recoup from the first month of school and Lithuanian Life. In Tallin, my friends Hannah and Hannah (both adorable, short brunettes from Gordon college who are both English majors and both like to cook -- have fun telling them apart!) and Paige (from Azusa Pacific in CA, who is an art major, emphasizing on ceramics) and I rented bikes and rode around the city. We were trying to get to the Singing Grounds where they hold their anual singing festival, and that is the token sight of what is now called the "Singing Revolution." We didn't get that far, though, because we found a beautiful park and also, the Google/Mapquest "A"!! How bizarre!

In Riga, we went to lots of cafes, parks, and a famous monument which was guarded. We went to some street vendors. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. We went to the most beautiful Italian restaurant which gave fresh bread with olive oil and butter. I had the most divine tomato soup. (Ironically, I am making tomato soup for dinner tonight!)

Then two weekends ago, I went to Stockholm with my roommate. A few other study abroad students went as well, but I spent most of my time with Aurelija, and a lady named Michelle, who we met at our hostel, who was from... Australia! (Hence, the Australian vocabulary.) It was really neat to get to know her and spend time with her around the city. She had these little Australia pins that she had to give to people she met on her travels, so now I have a pin on my jacket! The city was beautiful, and I loved how water is an inescapable part of getting from one place to another. We visited this hotel that used to be a prison. It was really neat. Mostly, we walked a lot. It's a big city, and the public transportation was not an option because it was so expensive. Luckily, we brought our own food with us so we didn't have to buy any while we were there. Although the supermarket had half-priced daily bread after 9pm! We definitely did partake of that :)

And last weekend, I recouped by not traveling anywhere! This Sunday, I am going to Vilnius for the day to celebrate my friend Hannah's birthday!

I will try to post again soon about the more minute things of my life.