From Kaunas, Lithuania

This post isn't really an account of my travel, but the things I learned while travelling.

Kaunas, Lithuania was one of the most impulsive and budgeted trips I decided to hop on to because the flights were so inexpensive and it was one of the chances I would be travelling out of Lund. I had no clue at all where Lithuania was or even of its existence. It was upon seeing the air ticket that I knew "ooo, there's a country called Lithuania." It was like a "oh shit" and "what have I gotten myself into" kind of moment when I bought the ticket. But really, taking some risks in life is what would make life a little more interesting.



Personally, Lithuania had been an eye opening experience for me in terms of self awareness and responsibility. I'm not the most capable or most reliant traveller out there, but it never really hurts to start off somewhere. Here's a series of stuff I learned in the midst of being there:

1. Don't afraid to ask questions and be rejected.

Upon entering university, I always had this inferiority complex that I'll ask something too dumb or be rejected. It makes me feel pretty small when I'm not understood or being judged by my own words. Yet, asking questions never hurt to give rise to many opportunities for answers.

If I had not asked the hotel staff I desperately needed to print the plane tickets within two hours upon the flight, I would have needed to pay an sum of money amounting to the price of the ticket itself. If I didn't ask the people staying in Lithuania, who perhaps didn't understand English at all, I might have not gotten to the place I intended to be in. Even upon rejections and being misunderstood, it moulds you to become a more confident person and pushes you to communicate in a clearer manner.

Better to  have tried asking than to amount to many "should haves" later.

2. Not everyone else where is a bad person and not everywhere else is a bad place.

As of prolonged exposure to media and being a little too sheltered, my mindset towards the world was always that the world has bad people and the world is a bad place. But this kinda changed during the trip - there are bad people out there but there are certainly good ones to, just be aware of yourself, your belongings and surroundings.

I used to be so afraid of people in a foreign land offering me anything, thinking there was a hidden agenda to it. Now I realised, not everyone has that, sometimes it's for light hearted pleasure. Furthermore, it gives you that opportunity to know their culture and learn new things along the way.

Also, walking in midnight on the streets to the airport sounded like a bad idea but it was really fulfilling and enabled me to gain confidence of the place + some health benefits because it was a 14km walk to the airport lol. We were lucky that it was a straight route to the airport and Kaunas was a safe place!

3. Accounting for your own expenditure is not as hard as it looks

To me, having the thought of counting every single item spent sounded to me like a plan and being overly meticulous. But really, what I realised is that it helps you be aware of your financial capabilities and budget your expenditure to be used to the maximum utility. Contrary to my own belief, it really helps you to be accountable to your budget and at the same time enjoy the trip without burning a hole in your pocket - in this context because the food in Lithuania was cheaaap. Here's a list of stuff I spent during the trip. I just learned an even better way to account for my money from the exchange students in SMU, can't wait to try it out!



Overall Lithuania was a pretty relaxing place to be in and I'm glad I went on the trip learning so many things! Special thanks to Tao Oei for settling the flights and accommodation :) On the side note, if you are planning any Kuanas, Lithuania trip, it's a nice place to chill for a day but get out of the town if you want to see more stuff! More to come :)