Vilnius, Lithuania

I have been in Lithuania for 3 days now, having settled into my flat, taught my first lesson, and gone to a restaurant, bar, and club in the old town. It’s actually pretty nice in Lithuania. OK, it’s not Italy, and definitely still on a lower economic scale than western Europe.

But then again it’s not like everyone is walking around in rags, driving beat up old Russian mini-cars, and lacking in amenities and supplies; the country *is* poorer overall than Italy, but there are plenty of people in newer cars, restaurants, hotels, markets, nightclubs, a university, argentine tango lessons (I’m working on the lindy lessons), internet cafes, Starbucks (just kidding), cinemas (they subtitle! they subtitle! woo-hoo!), video rental shops, gas stations, shops, etc.

The main differences? The houses and apartments, especially outside of the old town) can be ugly as hell (but are pretty nice inside, as is my apartment), a lot of the apartments have older pipes so the water looks a little off-colored at first from the pipes and minerals (but it gets pleasantly scalding hot, and you can drink it if your vitamin pills dont supply enough minerals), people cant afford to dress as nicely/stylishly as in Italy (but younger people still wear typical younger-people fashions, and there are the usual number of suits walking around town).

And it gets damn cold in the winter. Damn cold. But I can’t really complain about the lviving conditions here, the ugly-ass houses (many Soviet block buildings around), and other such things. After all. for most Lithuanians, such conditions are a fact of life.


Overall I think life here will be pleasant enough, and definitely a good experience. Lithuanians are quite friendly, the school is everything I wanted it to be, I don’t have to worry if I will have enough $$ to pay the rent, and things are cheap. Damn cheap.

For a meal in the cafeteria I pay about $1.50 US. For a pizza, less than 3 USD. Beer? About 75 cents US a pint. A 15 minute taxi ride? 2.25 USD, including tip. A liter box of orange juice, 1 USD. Like I said, really cheap. I went to a popular lithuanian cellar restuarant the other day (in the cellar of a building, with many different cave-like rooms); nothing on the menu was more than $8, most were about $4 US.

Anyways, after this gig I will have experience and can, if I like, try to find a better job at a better school in Italy next year. So for anyone who wanted to visit me in Italy, well, sorry! Next year, perhaps. If you’re the adventurous type, come see me in the Baltics, but perhaps not in the winter.

(By the way, Lithuania is located above Poland, to the left of Russia, and east of the bottom right corner of Sweden).

Hope you’re all well. I’m off to the center for dinner and drinks with some of the other teachers.

Mike

So, after many sleepless nights and much deliberation, I've decided to leave Italy altogether; time was running out to find another job, as were my funds. :)

As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room in Vienna, Austria, waiting to catch a flight tomorrow to Vilnius, Lithuania! I found a job at an International House school there, pretty much the same deal as in Tallinn—free apartment, permits and visas taken care of, salary about 400 USD after taxes, 25 contract hours per week, flight paid for, etc. Completely differet than anything I found in Padova. I don't know too much about Lithuania outside of what I read in Lonely Planet, but I figure it will be something like Estonia in terms of culture,climate, economy, etc.

Why am I in Austria, then? Because my connecting flight from Venice to Vienna (then to Vilnius) was late, so I missed the Vilnius connection and the airline put me up in a hotel for the night. Not a bad deal, the hotels nice, near the center, the taxi's paid for, and I even get dinner and breakfast! If only every visit to a new city could be so easy. :)

But Italy was a hard place to leave, and I've definitely had second thoughts. In fact, I probably should have given it more time. But Italy will always be there, and I am already planning to return next year. A friend is trying to get a codice fiscale for me, so I can be better prepared next time.

Which leaves me headed for Vilnius tomorrow at 1PM. I think it is already damn cold there. The weather will be a new thing for me, as I've never lived anywhere that gets regular snow. I figure if I hate it, I can always leave after Christmas when the new sessions start up. I don’t think it will be a bad experience at all, just different.