Lessons learned in Lithuania
Students share stories from semester long travel study
April 7, 2007
Courtney Jones
Courtney Jones
The moment I heard about the Lithuanian Study Abroad program, I knew that it would become a part of my journey. But when it came time to pack my bags, I realized I would be traveling across the world by myself, not knowing anyone on the other side. I felt strongly that this was where God wanted me, but I was completely scared out of my comfort zone. It turns out that is actually one of best places to be – I learned who I really am, apart from all of my support systems. I think that if I had gone with people I knew, I wouldn’t have connected as much with the international students I was surrounded by.
I want to share some of the lessons that I learned during my time in Lithuania. This is an excerpt from my journal that I wrote on one of my last days there.
People are more important than schedules. People here seem to manufacture time for others, even if it does not exist. I want to be that kind of person no matter how busy I am.
Goodbyes are a part of life. Realize that the important relationships will keep pushing their way back into your life. I have realized that God places each person in my life for a reason and it is worthwhile to invest in people, even when it feels like I just say goodbye.
Slow down! When life moves at a slower pace, you have time to enjoy the little things and you feel a lot less crazy. Things that used to annoy me, like walking everywhere, are now some of the things I cherish most about life here. It forces me to slow down and gives me time to think and process things.
Take every opportunity you can to get to know people from other cultures – they have so many rich things to offer you. I have learned the importance of being open-minded and of trying to learn from other people who are very different from me. I have also come to realize how integral culture is in the development of self and values. People here are not just different on the surface, but at their core. This has caused me to really look at why I hold certain values and to realize that there are other valid ways to approach life.
Leah Johnson
A few words come to me as I reflect on my experience in Lithuania: simplicity, peace, time, language, and history.
Lithuania fit my personality and made me feel at home. In Europe, I found a culture that matched my simple lifestyle. I was excited to walk to school everyday, to walk to the store to get groceries, and to walk to the beach to watch the sun set over the water. God used the time spent walking to speak to me and to help me know the people I was walking with. In the slowness and stillness of a culture designed around walking, I found peace.
As a science student, I have never had a lot of free time. As my plane landed in Lithuania, I felt the clocks slow, giving me time to spend with people untainted by the stress of my workload. I was able to spend this extra time volunteering. I played piano in a church band, taught line dancing and Christmas carols to grade eight students, sang in a choir, and tutored English.
The hardest and most enriching part of my experience in Lithuania was the language barrier. I woke up every morning with the language differences on my mind and prayers for patience on my heart. I will never forget how it felt to be in a group of friends who all spoke Russian and to feel as though I was a burden to the conversation. My experience in Europe helped me to appreciate the beauty of language and to develop a humble attitude towards language differences.
As well, the history of Eastern Europe made a big impact on me. I was astounded by the heaviness of war and the Soviet occupation still found on the faces of the people and on the streets and buildings where it all took place. In a history class I took, one of my assignments was to interview a family member about war. My classmates told me stories of parents and grandparents who were taken as prisoners and who watched tanks roll by their windows and bombs destroy their homes.
My experience in Lithuania was hard, incredible, and life changing. I was so blessed to experience a different culture by living in it, not merely by observing it as a tourist. I am counting the days until I can go back and once again walk to the Baltic Sea.
Now you go...
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