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 twelve days in Klaipeda and my first few weeks back in Oregon!
On December 13th, all of SALT (staff and interns included) gathered together for one last hurrah at HBH. The whole evening was full of sentimentality and remembering all the fun times we had together. We organized a Secret Santa for everyone during our Thanksgiving dinner and I’d say it turned out to be a full success! It proved difficult to stay under the 5 euro limit, but we all managed (especially with the wonderful Flying Tiger store which is a glorious mix of Target, various craft stores, and the Dollar Tree). Eventually we all piled back into the bus for the ride home.
Then came the last week of classes and living in Klaipeda as a whole. We went to Star Wars, I had coffee with every single person I could possibly think of, I had dinner with my four crazy, wonderful, Ukrainian roommates, and I wandered my cute little Klaipeda alone, just soaking in every second I had. We managed to squeeze in one last family dinner before the first group headed off to the airports and, needless to say, we were all in a bit of a daze as we realized this would be our last time together for at least a very long time.
And then suddenly, it was over. Before we knew it, our bags were packed up and our rooms were emptied, our roommates had left for their own homes, and 20 of us SALTy kids were on a midnight bus to Vilnius. We arrived at the airport at 3:30am and almost immediately, four people were headed through security to catch their early flights. The rest of us set up camp in a little corner and napped until it was time for our own flights.
Here’s where my 36 hours of insanity began. Eventually, one of my friends woke me up, saying she overheard someone saying that their flight was delayed and it was the same flight as mine and Jess’. Sure enough, I check my e-mail and my first flight was to be delayed six hours. So I get the information, get my mom to call the help desk, and my flight is re-routed, forcing all my layovers to go from an hour and a half to forty-five minutes. Okay, okay, it’ll be fine. I can make it.
Ha. The eventual flight took off late due to ice and when it landed, Jess and I had to run across Helsinki airport to our gates. I reached mine first and we gave a hastened goodbye before immediately boarding my flight. Thankfully, the lady who switched my flight upgraded me to business class, so I got a comfy seat and unlimited refreshments for the four hour flight to Iceland. Needless to say, I had the best nap before I yet again had to run for my next flight. By the time I reached my flight to Seattle, I was wheezing and sweaty and probably not my flight buddy’s favorite person to sit next to. Yet, eight hours later, we made our descent into Seattle.
And lo and behold, my luggage didn’t make it. So I sighed, reported the lost bag, and went on my way to the very last flight, which was thankfully only twenty minutes. By the time I was in Portland, I was booking it towards the exit and nearly fell asleep on the car ride home.
Since my arrival in Portland, it was nonstop activity. It was Christmas, then my sister got married, and then school started! My final semester before I graduate in April! It’s been interesting being back, for the sole purpose that it doesn’t fully feel like I left – which was similar to how I felt when I arrived in Klaipeda. I never had culture shock going into Lithuania and I have yet to have reverse culture shock coming back to Oregon. Yet, there’s always that bit of disorientation as you start crossing streets without really caring about oncoming traffic and you belatedly realize that it’s not Lithuania and people will be a lot more worried about your well-being if you just start jay-walking.
All-in-all, those six months were nothing like I expected them to be, yet I wouldn’t change a thing. I made friendships I definitely want to continue and formed connections to every country I could. I dearly hope that I can return to Lithuania and Europe as a whole. I’ve been back once, surely I can get back again. These past six months were incredibly fun and there’s nothing I want more than to jet across the Atlantic and see more of that area that I love. But, maybe I should go somewhere new for a change… I’m thinking Morocco.
But this is the end! I can’t believe it’s already February and I’ve been home six weeks, but here we are. Ačiū labai visi (thank you everyone) for keeping up with me and my life Klaipėdoje (in Klaipeda).
Anyway, I better go do my homework that’s due tomorrow.
Until my next adventure ir iki pasymatymo,
– Kate
Comments