Lithuania: Day15

The date is April 23rd 2010. We were scheduled to head home on April 19th. Due to a volcanic ash cloud we have been detained for several days. Right now we have booked tickets to go home on April 27th, but everyday we hope to get a call for a standby flight so we can get home earlier. I almost don’t know what to say besides that. I know. I know we are lucky to be stuck in hotel and not in an airport, but now that planes are flying again it seems MORE unfair that we can’t go home yet.

AND we’re tired. Do you know that extremely exhausted feeling you have at the end of vacation when all your clothes are dirty and all you want is to eat a home cooked meal and sleep in your own bed. Now imagine that feeling but then you have to stay for 8 more days. Lithuania is a nice country. The people are great. Vilnius is a very cool city, but it isn’t home. We’ve seen almost all we can see, we’ve definitely shopped all we can shopped, we’ve walked the streets everyday, we‘re sick, we‘re run down, many of us are out of money and we all have school and work to get home too. So were ready. We keep saying to each other “Do you remember cell phones?” “How about reality TV?” “Do you remember Starbucks?” “Oh! And white bread and not having pasta for breakfast” “Pizza and hamburgers and taco bell” and “Target”. *sigh*

Our Lithuanian has gotten better….a little. I’ve at least learned how to ask someone if they speak English and I know how to say coffee which is key for me. I can also say please and good instead of just thank you all the time. Thank you is Achoo and for the first week all I would say is Achoo Achoo Achoo. If someone brought me my food I’d say Achoo, if I bumped into someone I would say Achoo. If I met someone new I would say Achoo. People were beginning to look at me funny..

We’ve all grown much closer. We have grown to be almost like siblings. Lots of inside jokes and lots of laughing and hugging and trying to take care of each other. But also, like siblings, there has been lots of little bickering and some short tempers…we’re all a little on edge I think.

We watch a lot of youtube and check our facebook a lot. Skype is our new friend and is helping with the longing we have to see our friends and family. We sing a lot of little songs as we walk (which we do a lot of). Also here in Lithuania they seem to LOVE American pop music circa 2000. It is a relief for us I think. But sometimes the music makes me laugh. I’ve never heard so much Backstreet Boys in my life. I was grooving to some Outkast at the Kebab-o-bell yesterday.

Today one of the local universities hosted a pantomime and movement workshop for us. I went to the Pantomime one and it was a lot of fun. We did lots of isolations and some traditional mime work. We taught them some Boal games and got mixed up in the most impossible knot ever. They were very kind and there was talk of getting beers with them tonight which I think would break up the monotony that has become our everyday life.

Otherwise we are kinda sad. We miss our friends, family, boyfriends, and girlfriends. We are worried about our jobs and schoolwork. We want to drive our cars and text our friends. We REALLY want to see our friends in The Fantasticks! perform. We wanna get home, but right now all we can do is wait. If the airline says there is a chance to fly standby we have to be ready at a moments notice. Who knows what the odds are of that, but everyday we hope for good news. If not, we will head home on the 27th. 4 days from now.

Meanwhile if you read this…Send us a facebook message, email, skype…money. Anything helps.