I kept myself busy during weekends and didn't stop travelling yet. I went some more times to Vilnius for IT conferences and other events, then to Salakas, for Olesya's birthday, once again to Kaunas, to meet one last time with the Coordinating Organization and the other volunteers, for final evaluations and goodbyes.
On Halloween holidays, I went visiting Warsaw. I was supposed to go with Giovanni, but he had to postpone it for some problem so I ended up going alone.
I really enjoyed walking around the old town while listening to Chopin's compositions in my earphones. He is one of my favorite classic music composers, and listening to his music while discovering his hometown was a great experience. I visited his museum, the church where his heart is buried and a beautiful park dedicated to him, full of wild squirrels, peacocks, ducks, swans and little birds which I could handfeed.
In November, I went visiting Tilda and the children house near Biržai again. I was missing them and I wanted to say goodbye, so I spent a couple of days there and they were very happy to see me!
My EVS ended in the best way possible: a road trip with my Italian friends, who came to visit me on the last week to then go back together. I went picking them up in Vilnius, where we rented a car, and we used Coachsurfing, a hosting network, to find accomodations around the Baltics.
On the first day, I showed them the Lithuanian capital and, since it was a Saturday, we hanged out with Marius, our host, till late in the night. We delighted him with Italian food (one of my friends is a professional chef) and some Italian folklore. Especially with one particular tradition of ours to cook, when we went back home in the night, some "aglio e olio" (garlic and oil) spaghetti at 4 'o clock in the night!
Next morning, we went back to my home in Ignalina, but only after detouring for a visit to Trakai. Weather was terrible, but we still enjoyed the view and the local food.
On the next day, we left early for Riga. The weather got better, so we enjoyed the trip, with some stops along the way.
We had another Couchsurfing host waiting for us there, who showed us the city, and whom we cooked for again, of course!
Then, the day after, it was time to head for Tallinn, in Estonia. We left late in the morning and had some stops to look at the coastline on the way, so we arrived there quite late, and only had time to have dinner out with our next host, and we left the visiting for next day.
In the morning, we went to the TV tower nearby. We went to the top to see the view, but unfortunately it was very foggy and not much could be seen.
Then we went to the old town and had lunch there. I have to say, among the Baltic capitals, this one was my favorite. The Christmas mood helped for sure, as the central square filled with market stalls, decorations and lights was very cozy.
We spent the whole afternoon around, then took some foolish decision: to go back right away to Ignalina without other stops. It was around 20 in the evening when we left, and almost 600 km ahead. We figured out it was a bad idea when we stumbled across black iced roads, fog, a snow blizzard and engine faults, which slowed us down a lot.
At 7 in the morning, after 11 hours straight on the road and my friends fallen asleep, I barely managed to drive back home. One would go straight to bed after such adventure you would say, but.. we're Italians, remember? So we just decided it was time for spaghetti aglio e olio before going to sleep! We spent the rest of the day at home, sleeping, cooking and eating, to recover our energies.
Next day was our last one, as we would have then left early in the morning. We went visiting the park, and I stopped to say goodbye to everyone. Luckily there was some event in the Visitor Centre, so almost all my collegues were there that day. I hate farewells but, after all, it was just a goodbye, as I'm sure I'll go back to Lithuania for a visit someday.
While running to the airport to catch the flight, very late on our schedule (did I mention we're Italians?), and having to pick up my bike first, which I had already boxed and sent to Vilnius some weeks earlier, and to refuel and deliver back the car, I had different feelings in me. On one side, it was nice to go back home to my old life and get some rest from travelling and adventures. Also I felt like it was just the right time to go, as I didn't have reasons to stay there any longer. Yet, the future was still unclear, with some hopes and ideas around but no clear paths to follow. Also, I knew it would have been ok to stay at home for a while, but within a few months I would have needed to move forward again and to do something new. Also, I knew that I would have missed Lithuania, and I started thinking back to the EVS months I just spent here.
Since Blagovesta left in late October, I was on my own again and, with temperatures dropping, it was like I was going back to the beginning and a circle was closing, but so much was different now. I was now somehow feeling at home in Ignalina, I had made many new friends, and hopes and expectations were now replaced by good memories.
While going for long walks in the forests around, enjoying the enchanting brownish landscapes and fresh air, those memories of the months spent there were passing through my mind.
I remembered about the first month, when I was feeling so lonely and out of place, then slowly getting used to the new life. Then meeting my new roommate and fellow volunteer Blagovesta, who arrived a month later, showing her around and starting working and spending free time together. Our long wait for a kitchen, which was being fixed in the first months, finally being able to cook in our flat, and going from a sandwitch maker noob to the best pizza chef in Lithuania! I had never cooked anything before the EVS and I would have never guessed there would have been people asking me for recipes in a few months… I guess it's in the Italian blood!
I remembered nature surprising me in ways I hadn't experienced before. To begin with the snowy landscapes, frozen lakes and the enchanting snowfalls I enjoyed from my house, sit by the window with relaxing music in my headphones and radiators warming up the room.
Last spring was the first one I could really enjoy. Being alergic to some plant very common around my hometown, its flowering period, for me, equals to constant running nose and sneezes. Looks like that plant is not present at this latitudes, as I didn't experience any hay fever this year!
When flowers started blossoming, I got another surprise: my favorite flower, the forget-me-not, is very common in Lithuania and growing everywhere. It's not present in my place so it was the first time I could see it. Same with the beautiful storks, who started appearing around. Later in spring, wild strawberries began popping out, filling the woods with their delicious scent, and then faded out, while tasty blueberries kicked in.
In summer I discovered the "neverending days". It was so weird for me to still have a bright sky at midnight, and almost no night at all! I also found out that it's not too cold to swim in lakes and rivers, and somewhere the water was much warmer than I expected, like near Ginučiai Watermill.
By the end of the season, berries disappeared to leave space to delicious mushrooms. There weren't too many in our region this year, but I still managed to find a few, and got some from Astra's family from time to time.
Autumn arrived with its falling leaves, variegated colors, and chilly weather. Too bad I couldn't stay long enough for seeing the lakes froze again, but luckily enough I got the chance to see the first snowfalls.
And now, while winter was kicking in, I was running away to a warmer place. We barely managed to get to the airport on time, and got scolded by the hostesses for being so late.
While gaining altitude, I said my last goodbye to those beautiful green and white lands. Once in Italy, my russian style hat, which saved me from freezing in Lithuania, was now almost melting my head, as I suddenly jumped to almost estival temperatures. I realized that my EVS was over, but it had not disappeared, as it was now part of me in form of memories and life experience.
I'm already looking forward to go back in Lithuania someday. And for my next adventure. But now, I'm leaving this space for next year's volunteers, wishing them luck and to have at least as much fun as I had, and enjoy Lithuania as much as possible.
Thanks for following my tales, and I hope you'll look forward to read the next volunteers' ones as much as I do! Iki!
Thanks for following my tales, and I hope you'll look forward to read the next volunteers' ones as much as I do! Iki!
