Lithuania

Looking to find a wonderful European country on the Baltic Sea? Then search no further; Lithuania is a great place for your exchange year! Lithuania has many beautiful beaches, both on the Baltic coastline and by numerous lakes and rivers. You can experience all four diverse seasons in Lithuania; a hot and sunny summer, a multicolor fall, a snowy, chilly winter and a green spring.
Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, is one of the largest and prettiest in Eastern and Central Europe and is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Vilnius has always been a multinational, multilingual, and multicultural European city, thus making it a European Capital of Culture. While the majority of YFU Lithuanian host families reside in apartment buildings or private houses in cities, students may have a chance to be placed with a host family that lives in a small town or village, a more traditional setting.

The education you will receive in Lithuania is among the best in Europe; the country has twice as many people with advanced education as the average of the European Union.

It's no exaggeration to say that basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuania -- natives joke that basketball is the country's second religion. YFU offers a year exchange program to Lithuania that focuses on team basketball. You will train and play competitive team basketball three to five times per week after your classes. Students on this program will be required to pay an additional basketball school fee (maximum €100 per month).

Language

Lithuanian. Previous language study is not required, but motivation to learn the Lithuanian language is expected.

Host Family

May be placed throughout the country in cities such as Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda.

School

Begins in September and ends in mid-June. There are fall, Christmas and Easter vacations.

Trips

A four-day YFU Road Trip trip is offered during the fall at no cost to all students. There will also be an optional Baltic trip around the "Three Sisters" of Eastern Europe: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Pastimes

Basketball, soccer, hiking, water sports, cross-country skiing.

Program	Departure	Cost (CAD)
Year Basketball Year Semester	Mid-August Mid-August Mid-August	$8,995 $8,995 $6,780