November 13, 2007

Well folks-

After this, there’ll only be one more update. Its hard to believe that the 6 months are nearly over. I think that it’ll be years before I’m able to understand all that this semester has meant to me; how it has changed me.

So much has happened since my last update that the best way to let everyone know what’s going on is to work my way backwards.

I’m in Vilnius. It is the capital of Lithuania. Vilnius is so beautiful. Kris and I have spent the past couple of days walking the city, exploring. The city is set on low rolling hills. The roads curve, rise and fall with the land. It can be a bit confusing but wonderfully so. It's old too. The people here have a different countenance than Latvians and Estonians. They seem a bit brighter and more jovial.

Kris and I ate at a restaurant tonight. (I had meat dumpling in sour cream and bacon sauce.) It was karaoke night. Despite my cajoling, Kris never took the stage. It was humorous to sit back and watch Lithuanians murder classic American songs. And by classic I mean “I will always love you”- Whitney Houston, “I just called to say I love you”- Stevie Wonder. These were mixed with a couple of folk songs and some tiresome dance remixes. It was an entertaining night.

We’re staying at a hostel. In our room there are 4 Aussies, 2 Brits, Kris and myself. We’ve spent the past 3 days with a Spanish guy named Victor. He moved to a private room today so we haven’t seen much of him. I like Victor. He’s been traveling eastern Europe, working along the way to pay for his traveling. He left Spain knowing little English but has picked it up pretty quickly. He has a firm grasp on English expletives. Its been exciting. I’ve also had the chance to practice my rusty Spanish.

The past 2 weeks, before Vilnius, were spent at a hostel in Riga. The move from the cabin to the city was so wonderful. The past two weeks we’ve met more people than our entire time at the cabin. We’ve also been able to have more conversations. English is the trade language at the hostel. There I have had the chance to meet people from these countries: Britain, Australia, Japan, Austria, Germany, Poland, USA, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal… that’s all I remember right now. As cool as it has been to meet all these people, the best part has been becoming good friends with many staff members.

The manager, Adam, gave us a sizable discount because we were staying for so long. We had the chance to eat, walk the city, and sit in the lounge talking with him. I spent the majority of my first day in the hostel talking with him while watching Scarface. James is another worker. He came to Latvia from Britain. He would be the closest friend Kris and I made in Riga. Almost every day we spent time hanging out and talking with him. He showed us some of his favorite places in Riga.

We went by the foundations of an old synagogue. In 1941 several Jews were locked inside as Nazi forces burned it to the ground. Sometimes it is really difficult for me to believe people are that bad- that humanity has been (or is) that screwed up, that evil.

Right next door to these old foundations was a ‘black market’. The wares for sale here were pretty questionable: car stereos, speakers, bikes, a sea turtle (killed and stuffed), USSR/Nazi coats, coins, badges, hats, and more. It still is odd to see the hammer and sickle or the Nazi swastika on clothing and coins everywhere you turn.

That’s a very light helping of the last two and half weeks.

Let’s talk about me  Its been a long while since my last update. The time when I should have opened up to everyone back home, I didn’t. I don’t understand why but upon moving into Riga praying became really difficult. Everyday I would close my eyes to pray and my mind would just go crazy. We talked last year in World Religions about ‘the monkey mind’. “The monkey mind” has to do with the inability to still the mind, focus, and control thoughts. We learned about it in the context of Hinduism, but being disciplined mentally would have been a big benefit.

I was struggling though. Everyday I was trying to pray and I couldn’t. I would sit there as my thoughts spun out of my control. I’ve never gone through anything like that. I wonder if it was at least partially spiritual warfare. As soon as I got to Vilnius that problem was gone. It hasn’t been back since.

I’ve also been blessed by some messages from friends back home. It's impossible to say how much a message means when you’re half way around the world. Its hard to believe that in a little less than 3 weeks I’ll be back in America. It's almost over. I know I’ve changed. I’ve learned. I’ve grown.

There’s a lot on my mind, a lot more worth telling, but this is already long enough.

If you guys have questions or want to know more, email me or get a hold of me through facebook.

Love you guys-

Chris