Vilgailė Striužaitė

It all started when recently graduated young woman decided to spread her wings: “it was a time for me, when I needed to move away.” Vilgailė clearly remembers the very first moments abroad and, even though original plan was to stay in India for a year, a vibrant local life eventually became common for her - not without the help of her husband Johann who she met during the time. “The first years were astonishing – millions of people, huge traffic, people who live in the streets. So much noise, so much motion […] the idea was to stay in India for a year but eventually I stayed for longer. The other thing was that I met my significant other. This added some charm to my life – it was a very good and delightful time with Johann’s family.”

However, eventually Vilgailė decided to move back to Lithuania and now, with a smile on her face, she remembers the happy, but in the same time strange and full of uncertainty feeling, thinking about her new life in the home country.

“I have surely seen many countries and many people, but somehow something deep inside always told me that I will come back to Lithuania. Emigration, those six years that I have spent abroad, strengthened my understanding that it is good to live in Lithuania. This is my home, even if it is not a perfect country, but I can always do something about it, I can contribute to the well-being.”

Learn more about Vilgailė and her experience in the video below.