Long days

I was not here fro the longest day of the year (that was last week), but I am here for some seriously long days!  Sunset was at 10:23 tonight and dusk was at 11:23.  Crazy, right?!

This photo was taken out my front window at 11:15 tonight.  

Mighty bright for that late at night, isn't it?!

And this photo was taken at 4:15 this morning.

Jet-lag gives you some interesting photo opportunities, doesn't it?!

SLMT

SLMT stands for the Student Life Management Team.  The team is made up of the Student Life Vice President, the Chaplain, the Career Development Center Director, the Director of Community Life (me), and our Office Manager.  We make most of the big picture decisions for the Student Life Department.  We have a new VP this year since our former VP, Kim, left and moved back to the US with her family.  Our new VP is someone from within LCC, Margarita Pavlovic.  She was the Career Development Center Director previously and now is our VP.  She called a meeting/coffee date today for those of us from the team who are in town - me and Vaida (our office manager.)  We had coffee and discussed some beginning of the year details.  It was fun to be with these ladies again after 6 1/2 weeks away.  I am blessed to work with such great people!

me, Margarita, and Vaida

Migration

In order to be in Lithuania each year I have to apply for a Temporary Residency Permit (or TRP card).  This means a trip down to the Migration office.  This is one of the more stressful and anxiety inducing things that I have to do while in Lithuania.  The Migration office is located in an old Soviet building on the south end of town.  The halls are dark and narrow.  The people are very serious and aren't usually willing (or possibly able) to speak English to you.  The people there have the power to decide whether or not you get to stay in the country.  If there is a problem with your application and you aren't able to speak the language (which is the case for me), you are up a creek.  When I went last year I went with another expat who had a fair amount of Lithuanian language skill, so I was able to rely on her to communicate with the personnel.  

This year I had to go during the summer, so I went alone to the Migration office.  I was pretty anxious, but knew it was just something that I had to do, so I did.  It actually went very well!  I arrived early and was sitting on the bench outside the office.  A woman walked by and asked me a question in Lithuanian.  I didn't know what she asked and just said, "TRP."  She nodded and walked into another office.  Less than a minute later another woman walked out of the same office, looked at me, motioned at me to follow and walked into another office.  I followed her and gave her the packet that our campus migration office had prepared for me.  She processed the packet in less than 3 minutes.  At one point she needed me to sign somewhere, so she pointed and explained that to me - in English, no less!  I took the rest of my stuff with me and walked out the door feeling like I had accomplished something big.  It really wasn't a big deal, but to small town Susie it sure felt like a big deal!  I hope it goes just as smoothly in August when I go back to pick up my TRP card.

This the outside of the Migration building.

My oh-so lovely solemn looking photo for the TRP card

...a far cry from usual grin, wouldn't you say?!  

Back home in Lithuania!

I made it back to Lithuania yesterday - safe and sound.  It feels great to be back!  Leaving America was quite difficult this time.  I felt extra sad to be leaving my wonderfully supportive and loving network of relationships as things are going to be quite different this year at LCC...several dear friends are no longer here, I'm going to be living on campus, a new Student Life Vice President (my new boss) has been hired...so many changes.  I was pretty worked up before I left, but now that I am here I feel as confident as ever that this is the place God wants me and that everything is going to be OK. 

My joy at being back started before I even arrived in Lithuania.  I met up with the two new RDs at the Copenhagen airport.  It was fun to be beginning their journey with them.  They are a young and fun couple who I think are going to bring wonderful things to our Residence Life program!  The joy continued when my dear friend Rachel showed up to meet me at the airport in Palanga.  She spent most of the rest of the day chatting with me as I began unpacking.  It was good to catch up with her and begin thinking about all the good things God has in store for us this year!  She and I took the new RDs out for dinner at Biskvitas and on their first shopping trip.  

This is the current state of my apartment... 

UGH!