Ibra, a Turkish “influencer” who settled in Lithuania – about the success and biggest challenge of his visit here | Names

“It would seem that I am still young, but during my life, I managed to live in 40 countries, more or less. While looking for the best place to settle down, I discovered Lithuania – for me it is the best country to work, create projects, and a new life. I like that Lithuania is very green, the population density, if we were to speak the official language, is not high, but if it is between us, it simply means less chaos”, smiles the interviewer.

While changing places of life, Ibra claims to have overcome a number of obstacles. Among the biggest, he mentions the language barrier and cultural differences, which he managed to overcome after finding Lithuanian friends.

Ibra talks a lot about Lithuania in his blog, but he admits that he managed to make the closest acquaintances precisely by finding friends with whom he shares common interests.

Jūratė Plungytė, the co-founder of the app that helped Ibra socialize, reveals the secret of how the foreigner managed to find friends in Lithuania, according to a press release.

Found the app

“Especially newcomers tend to look for acquaintances in our country with the help of the phone. But what if you don’t want to use romantic dating apps or observe local life as if you were a stranger at the table? That’s how the idea to create the Joiner App came about – it’s an app that helps even the biggest introverts take the first step in creating their own communication circle,” J. Plungytė is convinced.

According to her, creating a new circle of acquaintances, especially in a new space, is too important a process to be left alone.

“It’s great to hope to find friends at work or at an academic institution, but why not do it yourself when you can build a whole company that likes painting, morning jogging, or anime movies, just like you?” Society is an incredibly important thing for a person, we are extremely happy to receive feedback from newcomers who say that we helped them integrate and find like-minded people. And it doesn’t matter if those connections are only for a short run in the morning or will remain for a lifetime, every person deserves to have friends”, says J. Plungytė.

Considerable numbers and sympathy for Lithuania

According to the Migration Department, more than 145 thousand people live in Lithuania. foreigners. Foreigners from more distant countries – India, USA, Turkey – are choosing our country more and more often.

According to Ibra, this is because Lithuanians admire their authenticity, and our country is attracted not only by nature, but also by growth prospects.

“I won’t hide it, your weather is really disgusting, especially in autumn. But I could not say the same about the people of the country. Yes, at first it is difficult for them to start making contact, but after getting to know each other a little closer, you can easily notice that Lithuanians are very warm, helpful and friendly”, the foreigner is happy.

The interviewer notices another feature of Lithuanian residents – they are genuine and sincere.

“That’s really amazing. When Lithuanians are angry, they are angry, when they are happy, they are happy. They don’t hide their emotions, they don’t try to look different from what they are,” he is happy about the people of our country.

Ibra says that he strives not to be a recluse, after coming to Lithuania he strives to integrate. But it doesn’t always work out smoothly, it takes a lot of persistence.

“In the shopping center near my house, I kept saying hello to the seller in Lithuanian, but she just raised an eyebrow in return. But after about the fifth time, they started to smile at my “hello” and even praised my knowledge of the Lithuanian language,” the newcomer shares memorable moments in our country.

According to him, the biggest challenges for foreigners in Lithuania arise when trying to find their circle of communication.

“It’s very different things, it depends on what you’re looking for. Or closer communication, best friend, or like-minded people. However, the biggest problem is the same for all purposes – it is very difficult to find an opportunity, a way to create connections. When you’re a foreigner, it all starts with a greeting at the store, and what’s next? How do you find people with whom you are truly on your way? How to discover groups of common interests, clubs, master classes? When you want to not only be a foreigner, but to get to know the country’s culture, to integrate, you need tools for that. I’m very happy that there are apps that help to do that,” the interviewer smiles.