Extract from interview with Sarah Hanselin, Erasmus student from Colorado (the United States), sharing her experience in Lithuania.
I came to Lithuania because of my Erasmus studies, I had to choose country and I choose Lithuania. I did it for a lot of reasons, but the biggest ones probably would be that Lithuania is such a unique place to go. A lot of American students when they choose to student abroad to go to places like France, the UK, Germany, Italy. And I just felt that I needed to go someplace different. Not many Americans would choose Lithuania, I would say, but I think they make a big mistake. And then I am also studying history and anthropology and more specifically Eastern European history, so Lithuania was a perfect decision for me. I have learned so much about Eastern European history and it’s even better because I can say that I lived in an Eastern European culture and environment for a year. I think from life here, I have more about Eastern European culture than a book has been able to teach me.
What was the first impression of Lithuania? At first, the environment was clearly different for me. The buildings are clearly Soviet style and I honestly never have seen that in my whole life, so it was a little shocking to me. And I think I noticed how the people interacted with each other; I thought everyone was very distant or afraid of me. But soon I started meeting extremely kind and helpful people. The first Lithuanian I met was a friend in Vilnius who was kind enough to open up her home to me, a complete stranger. I quickly learned that even though Lithuania and Lithuanians seem really cold and suspicious, there is a warmth and kindness within the people that I have never experienced before.
I absolutely love Lithuania. I feel like Lithuania is my second home and whenever I got travel around to other parts of Europe I am always excited to return back to Lithuania. I don’t think I can really describe how much I adopted Lithuanian as my home. I love the culture, the people, the food (especially!) and I love living my life here. Every day is a new adventure but I am happy to be here.
Sometimes I do end up feeling rather lonely or set apart here. It is obvious I speak English and that I am from somewhere else, so there are times when I find myself absolutely fed up with being stared at because I am different. I feel like some Lithuanians are really closed-minded and afraid. But I know that come from a history that is deeper than I can realize. And there are times when I feel stuck because there are so many barriers in my way from getting something done. I really wish I could speak Lithuanian better, because I really feel like that would still greatly help me.
I think the main difference between Lithuanians and Americans is just how we handle our emotions in public. Though Americans may be extremely their happiness sometimes, it is really nice to see a smile on a person’s face from time to time. Lithuanians are really well trained in not showing any of their emotions to other people and for me it almost makes me feel like a constant drunk. Other than that, the differences I have noticed between Americans and Lithuanians are not exclusively for Lithuania, many of the things that make us “different” are differences between Americans and Lithuanians. So like driving habits, etiquette, shopping, food; they are different for me everywhere in Europe, not just Lithuania.
In the end I can say that I love Lithuania, and I am suggesting to come here for everybody.
