Meet Charles Amyx

When navigating a new city, if you bring a compass make sure it truly points north. So says Charles Amyx, who moved from Winter Park, Florida to Vilnius, Lithuania for three months under the GROW program. "I had brought a cheap button-sized compass with me because I thought it was one of those things I needed," says Amyx. "So, my very first day here I thought I should go to the grocery store for water and other necessities. I searched for one on Google Maps, made a note that it was northeast of my flat, and struck out on my first adventure in a new country. Turns out the compass had somehow reversed its polarity."

Amyx, who works at Bonnier Corporation as a web designer specializing in e-mail design is now working at business daily Verslo Žinios, also as a web designer working with e-mail and e-newsletters. And the jobs are more alike than one might imagine. "As far as work culture, it is not so different as in the U.S.," he says. "Which is to say everyone here works very hard and are very good at it. Every day Verslo Žinios' designers produce a beautifully designed paper which is totally awe-inspiring."

But everything isn't work. "There are at least five pubs and more restaurants all within walking distance from my flat in Old Town Vilnius, which is great," Amyx says. He loves trying traditional Lithuanian food, Lithuanian beer - and Lithuanian basketball: "The entire country loves basketball!"

Amyx also takes every opportunity to check out both the new - art and design in magazines and on the street - and the old - the city's rich history. "I was given a book by my new friend Laurynas called Vilnius by Tomas Venclova, which has a street-by-street history for all of Old Town," he says. "I now know the story of my neighborhood and feel a little bit more connected to it now."

But the question is, how did Amyx get back to his apartment after going 30 minutes in the wrong direction? "I realized I was not where I should be, backtracked and eventually found a grocery store - albeit not the one I was looking for," he says.