Day trip to Kaunas, chilling at the sauna, making lots of contacts.

So it's been another few great, and varied days.

My friend Tomas (I will call him Tomas.S, as he is the Slovakian Tomas), called me up yesterday and asked me if I wanted to go to the movies. Thomas. S is actually half Lithuanian, but anyway.We watched Dumb and Dumber 2, which was about as good as I expected it to be. But Tomas was nearly crying with laughter, which made the movie all the more better. Afterwards I got my hair cut at the greatest salon ever; while they cut your hair, you face a giant fish tank. I cannot understand why more hair salons are not like this? We then went to the sauna, and as it was our first time going to this sport club, it was free! We spent 2 hours going in between the spa and the sauna, talking about relationships, work and life in general, invigorating indeed. It is very liberating not having a schedule while traveling.

A woman approached us in the spa, asking where the sauna was. She was so amazed that we were not Lithuanian but could speak the language! She told me that I didn't look like a foreigner either. She told me that she needs to practice her English. I told her that her English was perfect, and asked her is she was dating the guy she was with, because they both were  a little bit like The Barbie and Ken of the fitness world. She told me that they were just friends and for some reason she just likes being on her own. Later in the change room, she approached me again and asked me if I could help her with her English, so I gave her my email.

I'm definately feeling like a bit of a novelty here, I'm not used to it, but it's very enjoyable. As soon as I tell people that I; am Australian,  can speak Lithuanian, say that my name is Rasa and that my family are Lithuanian, I immediately have people asking to exchange details. Most places that I go to now, it seems like I make a contact, which is lovely. For instance, in the shop where I bought my jacket, I took my French friend Coralina there to have a look at the shop with me a second time,  and the shopkeepers have asked us to go out for lunch with them on the weekend. In the restaurant where Coralina and I ate the other night, the waiter did not want to stop talking and asking about Australia, and said 'I hope that you come back again.' :P

So yes, Coralina and I went out for dinner the other night after I had some lessons at the Uni. We ended up talking for hours about life in Lithuania, Australia and France. Coralina is a very bright cookie, she speaks many languages and has taught French around the world for 3 years now. She also has a very big heart. I think again, one of the great things about travel is having the time to have such in depth conversations and bond with different people.

It's going to be really hard to leave Lithuania, to leave the friends that I have made, and go back to a very different, English speaking country. My friends in Lithuania say that I should stay here, and I wish that I could stay, in a lot of ways. But I do love my home, and all my friends and family back home too. If only we could merge countries! Or, perhaps I will go back to Lithuania again and work in an orphanage or something like that.

Today I made a day trip to the city Kaunas, which was just fantastic. My family visited Kaunas in our Lithuania visit in 2000, and it is where my grandfather Algis was born. I met up with Carlos, a friend of Jurate my course convenor. Carlos was brought up in Nicaragua, but moved to Lithuania for a 'change' and now works as an engineer here. It's amazing hearing someone speak Lithuanian with a  Spanish accent. We had a really good day, we ate at his friends restaraunt owned by another 'Rasa'. While at lunch, I received a phone call which I think was from a male journalist or someone from radio? He was asking about my time at Klaipeda University, as Jurate, my course convenor gave him my number, saying that I was a 'good student'.  I fumbled a bit in the conversation; it took me a little while to realise who was actually calling me, I was caught off guard, meanwhile I was in a restaraunt and my phone battery was dying. I really hope that wasn't a recorded conversation! I think I would have done better with interview questions if I had some time to prepare...

After lunch walked about 10kms through all of the City, by the river and we visited Kaunas Castle. It was nice that Carlos also got to see the inside of the castle for the first time, as I think being able to see the inside of the castle has only happened recently.

There were a lot more beggars in Kaunas than anywhere else I have been in Lithuania so far. I remember this all in 2000 as well. Itt still makes me sad, intimidated and torn about how to approach the issue. The welfare system in Lithuania is not very strong, as far as I know. Being winter, you see a lot of homeless people standing in the entrances of bus stations and supermarkets where the heaters are. I give people money when I have coins, and then I feel guilty when I don't give more than that, as I want to keep the rest of my money for travel. and then I feel very greedy.

My friend Annika said to me that there are a lot of gypsies that live in Lithuania, who actually have a lot of money and pretend they are poor. I remember this from 2000 also. However, I cannot assess who is who here; they look cold and poor.

A Muslim Church in Kaunas.

Inside one of the Catholic Churches in Kaunas. Very beautiful.

The river.

Duckies are not scared of the cold.

Surys!

Kaunas Castle. Dad, your taxidermy collection is not yet complete!

View from the top of Kaunas Castle.

A stone work display from a local artwork shown in Kaunas Castle.

Drink Rasa, and all will be good.

Kaunas Castle, so pretty.

I later visited the Devil museum, where my family and I visited in 2000, and I absoloutly loved it the second time around. Time caught up with me a bit though so I was a little rushed. As I was just about to leave, I got caught up chatting to the young man who was taking an exchange student group around the museum. He asked if I wanted to walk around the museum with him some more,  I said that I would have loved to, but that I had to run for the bus, so I gave him my email address, and made my way to the station.

Some of the cuter looking devils in the museum.

When I arrived back home tonight, I decided to try some food from a hot dog type stand. (All dialouge in Lithuanian) 'How beautifully you speak!' said the lady. She said that they only had kebabs available tonight. She asked me what kind of sauce I wanted. I asked if they had tomato sauce. She said that they didn't have tomato sauce but they had some other kind of sauce that sounded like 'shvdkdgsksodd'. Or there was another sauce that was like 'shgcnssgdy'. So I asked, 'what is the first sauce like?' she said it is a bit like 'shvsndgjst'. So I said, I'll take that sauce! The kebab doesn't taste very good but hey, I had to pick a sauce, and that lady was lovely. I do love that about travel; Where am I going? Not sure. What Am I eating? Who knows. What did they say? I think they said....

Viso gero!
Labanakis.



Xo
Rasa