AROUND THE WORLD IN KATIE DAYS

Oh boy. I’ve started this blog post five times over and now it’s February and life is in full swing. All my days have completely run together, so it honestly does not surprise me that I can’t remember when I left or when I returned home. In any case, here’s the recap of my last … Continue reading “departures and returns.”

Apparently this terminology isn’t really used anymore, but it sounds poetic, so I’m going to use it. In two weeks, I’ll be back in Oregon. This seems unbelievable as this has been the fastest six months of my life. I can’t believe that six months ago, I was writing about the stress of getting my … Continue reading “in a fortnight.”

I love to travel. By now, that should be fairly obvious, however, it’s become a bit of an obsession of mine ever since I returned from France in 2011. Traveling to France kickstarted my love for new places, different foods, and interesting people, which was the majority of the reason I applied to go to … Continue reading “going places and doing things.”

Yes, the title is also the title from the movie/musical Anastasia, but it seems the most fitting considering the fact that we went to Russia two weeks ago! When I was looking through study abroad programs this time last year (wow how time flies), one of the main reasons I chose Lithuania was the week long … Continue reading “journey to the past.”

So I’ve realized that I have really only described my travels and the fun stuff I’ve done without talking exactly about my life here in Klaipėda. I’ve mentioned coffee and the SALTy gang, but not actual cultural experiences which I should probably start doing. So here we go! During SLI in the summer, I hardly learned any … Continue reading “aš kalbu lietuviškai.”

It’s Friday, meaning this time two weeks ago, the SALT group went on a weekend adventure to Tallinn, Estonia and Rīga, Latvia! All twenty-four students, four interns, and one of the recruiters, Jennie, boarded a bus on Thursday and drove through the night to Tallinn. This is the second overnight bus I’ve done (with still … Continue reading “baltic breaks.”

As mentioned in my previous post, classes have begun which means my study abroad group is getting acquainted with Lithuania and the wonderful goodness of kepta duona! Here are some highlights of what’s been happening these past three weeks. Day 1: I flew into Vilnius late afternoon and found myself back in a country where … Continue reading “Welcome Abroad.”

Hello hello! It’s been over month and boy do I have news! First of all, I’ve just spent the past thirty days traversing across Europe with my friend, Ashley, and am about to collapse out of sheer exhaustion. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Am I ready to get settled into a routine back in Klaipeda … Continue reading “KASH in Europe”

How has a month passed so quickly? It felt like just yesterday I began orientation and now I’m sitting in a coffee shop reminiscing about my students who all left yesterday. I can’t believe it’s already been four weeks and what a busy four weeks it has been! Since I last posted, SLI was crammed with … Continue reading “Onwards.”

Living in the USA, weekends to me usually meant two things: work on Saturday and church on Sunday. Because of this demanding schedule, going anywhere on a weekend was typically a difficult feat and in most cases it was to the beach (an hour away) or maybe Seattle if we had a full day or … Continue reading “European Weekends.”

Well, it’s been over a week since I left Portland and seven days exactly since I arrived in Klaipeda. So I have a lot to fill in. The last week in Oregon was hectic. Not only did I have to pack, but I had to run a bunch of errands, quit my job, and … Continue reading “Labas!”

I have twelve more days in Oregon and then I’m on a plane to Lithuania! So you can imagine that I’m spending every spare second either working, planning my trip and sister’s bridal shower, or meeting up with friends for coffee. Needless to say, there’s still lots more to be done. Two weeks ago, … Continue reading “Twelve Days of Stress-mas”

School has been out for two weeks and I’m settling into a new rhythm of work, plan, sleep, repeat. What I’ve learned from this is that exhaustion can settle in quickly after being at work all day dealing with unpleasant customers and then coming home trying to find a cheap Airbnb that’s decently close to the … Continue reading “Preparations.”

Flying has always been something I’ve enjoyed. I love the feeling of packing my bags and driving to the airport, I feel giddy when my passport earns another stamp, and I adore the whoosh feeling of the plane taking off and suddenly, you’re sailing through the clouds towards a sometimes new, distant place. Okay, so sometimes that … Continue reading “Fly With Me”

Hello and welcome! I’m so excited to be officially starting this blog to document my study abroad to Klaipeda, Lithuania! Although it seems like a long ways away, I know it’ll approach quickly and I’ll be there and back again before I know it. Now, if you’re new to my old blogging lifestyle, here are a … Continue reading “Beginnings.”