February Update

Hello! It has been a month since my last post, so I have now been in Finland for about a month and a half. It is really starting to feel like my new home, and I really love it.

The most exciting thing that has happened in the last month was my trip to Lithuania! I was invited by three of my friends to go for a week, and it was such an incredible experience. Two of the girl on my trip are French, and the other is Italian, so it was really cool to talk about how growing up and living in different countries has shaped our lives.

We flew into the city of Kaunas and spent two nights there. We really only had one full day, but that ended up being enough, as the city isn't very big. We stayed at a nice Airbnb, and spent our day exploring the churches, castles, and street art in the city. We also visited the Devil Museum which showcases how the devil is depicted in different cultures. Definitely the most unique museum I have ever been to.

On our third day of the trip, we travelled about an hour and a half to the capital city of Vilnius, and I was so pleasantly surprised with our experience there. I had never even heard of the city before going, so I really had no expectations before we arrived. Our hostel was right outside the Gate of Dawn (the blue arch in my pictures), and we were in walking distance of pretty much everything we wanted to see. We spent about five days there and we able to see all of the historical and artistic attractions. One of my favorite parts of Vilnius was Užupis, which is a Republic within the city with its own government and constitution (picture also included). We also took a day trip to Trakai, where a castle sits on an island next to the town. Apart from the sites that we saw, we ate a lot of really good vegan food!

Other than my amazing trip, I have continued to enjoy my time in Finland, have made a good group of friends, and am enjoying my classes. I am going to Italy next week, Stockholm in April, and my mom and grandma are coming to visit in a couple of months!

I am so grateful for my trip to Lithuania, and very glad that we went when we did. I am very aware of the situation with Ukraine, and am really devastated about Putin's actions. I am very safe in Finland right now, and will make adjustments if I need to.

Much love,

Hannah