Lithuania... But where is that?

My first story, would be how i ended up in Lithuania as an Erasmus student. The thing is i can't tell for sure. My friend Carolina from Portugal, says everything happens for a reason. I kinda believe that it was some kind of destiny that brought me there.

To start with, Lithuania, is a Baltic country situated in the North & East of Europe. Official language is Lithuanian and official currency is litas. And that was all i knew about the country before i landed there. Oh wait! I forgot basketball! Lithuania is very known for their successful route at the top basketball teams in Europe. Yei, i am a basketball fan so i knew that =)

When starting thinking about going abroad with Erasmus, my first thinking was The Netherlands. But then somehow, i realized it was a too mainstream destination for me. Then, when i started talking to my Erasmus coordinator in school, i insisted in two choices: Finland or Belgium. I know -  quite different countries but i had my reasons: a friend of mine was an Erasmus student in Tampere, Finland and had had the time of her life there, and as for Belgium - well, country of beer - da!-  and i actually wanted to improve my french level. But my teacher had a different answer: for some reasons i couldn't go to any of these. The thing is that i decided to participate in the programme at the very last minute. Therefore, when she suggested Lithuania to me, i was more than happy to go!

Concerning family: my family had seen it coming. Since i was living on my own in a different city, plus my love for travelling, they were not at all surprised. I still remember the reaction of my mum when the name of the country i was going, came up: ''Lithuania? Seriously? You're gonna freeze to death up there!'' hahah. She had a point though =p 
Next days, i got sick of explaining my relatives, where Lithuania is. 'It's a BALTIC country! NOT POLAND, NOT RUSSIA, IT'S LITHUANIA'
Funny thing: my grandma had kept asking me about the name of the country almost everyday. One day she admitted to me: 'I can't remember the name of the country you are going to. So, when people ask me i just say you're going to Russia!'' hahaha. Maybe in a way, i was.

Rachel