Negarbingi Sunsnukiai

Yesterday I went out with two of my flat mates to see the Quentin Tarantino film "Inglorious Basterds" here in Vilnius, at a small art cinema called Pasaka. I had no particular desire to see it back in the states, but I've been itching to go to the movies recently, so this is what came to mind.

I am so glad that I went. The film was very well done, one of the few World War II films that I think I would actually enjoy seeing again, mostly because of the dark comedy that Tarantino successfully executes. I feel like a disgusting person laughing at Hitler, outside of the context of "The Producers," and so much blood normally makes me a bit gross feeling, but I found myself laughing a ton.

More importantly, though, I found was the use of language in the film, and was very proud of myself for seeing the film not with English subtitles, but with Lithuanian. One of the biggest jokes in the film was America's inability to speak other languages, and I felt a small personal victory in not being one of those Americans. It was such a collage of comedy, gore, history, and lingual art that I might call it one of my favorite movies... maybe... I'm not sure yet. I do know, though, that I'm definitely a fan of Quentin Tarantino now more than I was yesterday afternoon.

Marine Ballin' - Happy 234th Birthday United States Marine Corps

Pardon my lack of updating! I'm not going to lie to you all, after my last update, in which I made the announcement that I'm staying here until June, I was struck with a very overwhelming case of homesickness. Friday night, after updating, I had a very restless night's sleep which included one of the most ridiculous nightmares I've ever had, involving representatives from all my groups of friends and relations at home (WHSTE, my entire extended family on my mom's side, CCM, and an assortment of other W&M folk), television lawyers, driving a car while playing with black bear cubs, and the launch and explosion of the first Estonian Space Shuttle (trivia: the population of Estonia is approximately four times the number of people that NASA employs [including private government contractors]... i.e. in accordance with today's technology, they do not have the means to launch a space shuttle). The cool thing about the dream? Part of it was in Lithuanian. Of course, that was not what I was thinking about when I woke up at four in the morning, missing everybody from home.

Although that night of sleep was oddly organized, I had the whole day to recover before Saturday evening's Marine Ball! I was invited, as you may recall, to attend the ball as one of the Marines' dates. Also, one of the Marines offered to buy tickets for a couple of my flat mates, so there would be more young people at the ball. So at 6:00 Audrey and I headed over to the Reval Hotel, followed soon thereafter by Maria and her boyfriend, Silvio. I was so excited to get all dolled up and be at a classy, diplomatic event, and I was not disappointed.

Upon arrival was the cocktail hour - bunches of fancily dressed people milling around with glasses of sparkling wine chatting with each other and taking photos. Upon entering, we were ushered through the Marine's receiving line, where each of the ladies, according to tradition, was offered a red rose. Audrey and I found my aunt and uncle and my grandparents, all of whom looked lovely, and a bunch of new people, like the new American Ambassador to Lithuania, Anne Derse, who served as the guest of honor for the night!

The program started at 7:00 and involved a presentation of the colors, a couple of fancy speeches made by marines and the Ambassador, and, most importantly, the cutting of the cake. It's a very cool tradition, in which the cake is cut with a sword, then served to the guest of honor, then to the oldest Marine, and then to the youngest Marine (my date, Ronnal). We (my flat mates particularly) enjoyed this tradition so much that we performed a reenactment at dinner on Monday night at home... with a plastic sword and a half-solidified tiramisu. After the ceremony, the dinner began.

Like most fancy events, we ordered our meals when we bought our tickets, and I was very much looking forward to having some tasty salmon (it was sufficiently tasty). Dinner was a great opportunity to talk with the other people at our table. At my table sat ten people - to my left was Ronnal, and to my right was Andy, a Fulbright scholar from Michigan, who was on the Riga trip with me. With us were also sitting another Fulbright, two teachers from the American International School of Vilnius, the cook from the Marine House, and a Lithuanian diplomat's family of three. It made for a lot of very interesting conversation, especially once people started making their second and third trips to the 3000 LTL tab bar.

After dinner the dancing began. The music selection was interesting, to say the least. I have been describing it as "inter-generation wedding music" in that there was some modern dance music, some awkward remix music of dance songs from the past 30 years, as well as some songs that are straight up wedding songs... such as the YMCA. The best part of the dancing for me was watching some of the international diplomats watch in confusion the Americans doing the YMCA, because they neither know what the YMCA is, nor what the dance is.

At some point, Dede Tomas, Teta B, and I were able to escape from the hectic crowd of inter-generational dancing and up to their hotel room to listen to the last five minutes of the William and Mary football game. Go Tribe! It's a beautiful season, but I guess that's not what this entry is about.

The ball officially ended at 2:00 AM, but 1:00 was the time at which I went upstairs to the Sky Bar with Dede Tomas and Teta B. The Sky Bar has a beautiful nighttime view of Vilnius and it was there where most of the diplomats went to get their last drink (of many) for the night. I found myself hanging out with the British Defense Attache and his wife, and a couple embassy officials. I was invited to go out clubbing (in a limo!) with the Marines, but declined out of exhaustion. At around 3:00 I headed home, sharing a taxi with the British.

It was, all in all, a deliciously classy taste of diplomatic lifestyle. It was sufficiently awkward at times, but I'm really glad I had the experience, and I would not be unhappy to someday attend another Marine Ball.

I'd like to answer your question with another question:

Your question: So, are you coming home after this semester or staying for the whole year?

My question: Did you really think I could leave this country after only one semester?

Yes, my friends, it is time for me to make the official announcement: I am staying in Vilnius for the whole academic year, and returning to study at William and Mary in the fall of 2010. There are several reasons for this, but most of them can be gathered by the content of this blog.

1. [cliche] I'm having the time of my life and learning so much about myself and the world.
2. Lithuania still holds a good deal of its pagan history with the changing of the seasons. Nothing happens in the fall, everything happens in the spring.
3. I've been studying only Lithuanian language, and I want the chance to branch out from that and study in other faculties.
4. I am saving so much money by studying here, it's absurd.
5. I'm currently living in my favorite country at the best time to be doing so in my life. I have so many opportunities that I've barely begun to take advantage of. I'm not ready to cut this experience short.

I hope that I haven't shocked anybody too much, here. If you want to talk to me (and, believe me, I want to talk to you) you can facebook, e-mail, or skype me. Or... come visit me? You know it's a good opportunity to come, because as long as I'm here I can pretty much show you everything important and amazing in Vilnius, and there is a lot of important amazingness. I miss you all a lot, and I send all of my best wishes until I see you all in the flesh again. Our reunion will be spectacular.

Keep following my blog! The exciting content will be doubled! Much love!

I see a Christmas Tree... and hear Christmas songs... and I'm feeling a bit weird about it.

Yesterday I went shoe shopping at one of the local malls called Gedimino 9 (I'm still looking for shoes for the Marine Ball, which is in two days!) Upon arriving, I noticed no lack in Christmas spirit. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, I love Christmas, but the fact is that it's not Thanksgiving yet.

And then I caught myself with this thought. There is no Thanksgiving here (duh) so what do they use to mark the beginning of the holiday season? Yesterday was St. Martin's day, but it has no real significance in Lithuania (compared to other European countries, like Estonia, where I went to the St. Martin's day fair). Whatever it is that sparks the holiday season, it apparently happened this weekend and this disturbs me a bit. I don't remember when the holiday season theoretically starts in the US, and I'm just not ready for it yet.

Is it Christmas in the United States yet?

Having officially visited the capitols of all the Baltic States...

I wish I could write for you a concrete narrative of all the amazing things I did this weekend, but it would be impossible for me to write concisely and clearly while still making sense of all the amazing-ness of the adventure. Or, it may be possible, but I have NaNoWriMo to think about (I was doing well before I left, but I have some catching up to do!) So, I give unto you, not a narrative, but a list of amazing things, which may at some point be expanded upon to a narrative of gloriousity.

• Nine Hour Bus Ride from Vilnius to Tallinn. We (Audrey, Maria, Tina and myself) took an overnight bus to Tallinn on Thursday night, leaving Vilnius at 9:00 PM. Although it was a bit uncomfortable, we managed to get a little bit of sleep along the way. It went a lot faster than I thought it would.
• Hostel: Anu Budget Housing. Ridiculous? Yes. Cheap? You bet. Comfortable? Thank goodness. It was approximately $13 per night, breakfast included. This young couple decided to buy an apartment and open it up to travelers. Sure, it wasn't the cleanest or quietest place, but it was exactly what we needed for spending most of our time exploring. The people were nice and easy going, it was tidy, and there was always music playing.
• Snow: It began snowing in Vilnius on Wednesday night, through Thursday and the snow followed us along the journey to Tallinn, where it snowed all day on Friday. It was like a Christmas Village. I don't generally like snow, but it made the city that much more beautiful.
• Crafts: I know it sounds broad, but there were so many beautiful handicrafts in Tallinn - knit things, wooden things, beautiful glass, and so much scandinavian-influenced design. We visited the St. Martin's Craft fair and, had the cash machine not been broken, I probably would have come home with a much emptier bank account. I did not, however, manage to find the perfect woolen sweater that I was looking for, but it might be for the better. Someday I will have it.
• Olde Hansa: Possibly my new favorite restaurant ever. Although most of Tallinn seems relatively cheap, we were situated in the town center where, of course, most things are expensively touristy. Looking for dinner on Friday evening we attempted to find a good, cheap restaurant, but, upon finding nothing cheap, decided that we'd spend money to go to a quality restaurant. Thus we ended up at Olde Hansa. It was amazing. Our waiter was a beautiful curly-blonde-haired tall hobbit (shhh... I know that doesn't make sense). The food was delicious - I had wild boar, bear, and elk sausages, which were tasty and ridiculous. The drinks, even more so. I had CINNAMON BEER. I like beer, I love cinnamon, the combination sounds weird, but it was, in fact, amazing. Our waiter forgot to bring the bread we ordered, so as an apology brought us free schnapps. Pepper Schnapps. It was like drinking pepper and, upon first taste, it was horrid, but in hindsight I want more. Sad story: It costs 490 kroons (about $49) for a liter. I wasn't about to pay so much.
• Ferry to Helsinki. 8 o'clock AM. 2 Hour Ferry. It wasn't very exciting, although I enjoyed crossing the Baltic Sea for the first time ever. It was a grand adventure to go to Helsinki for the day, though. The 9:30 ferry home was worse: filled with scantily clad Finnish under 18s going to party cheaply in Tallinn. They were singing karaoke on the ferry, while we tried to sleep.
• Market: There was this sea-side indoor market in Helsinki. I swear I was in Boston's Quincy Market for about 15 minutes. Little shops, gifts, food, all very expensive. The streets were very much like Boston, actually, over-all. Everything in Helsinki was far more expensive than we could afford, which was why we could not stay the night.
• Picasso: There was an exhibit of Picasso's work at the national gallery that would have cost 14 Euro for us to visit, even with the student discount. Disappointed, we wandered looking for other galleries to go to, and stumbled upon another gallery on the main esplanade, for which entrance was free and on display were a bunch of Picasso's sketches. Talk about a surprise victory.
• Post Office: I was really disappointed to not get my passport stamped upon arriving in Helsinki (nor Latvia nor Estonia for that matter) so I decided to go to the post office to get it done. I met a Russian/Estonian named Nikolai who was in such a rush to send out some packages that he decided he needed to be my friend. It was very sketchy, he kissed me on the cheek and wanted my contact information. He didn't get it. The woman stamping my passport thought I was crazy, and I thought Nikolai was crazy, so it was really just a party of craziness.
• Helsinki 1952: We took the tram out across the city to see the Olympic stadium built for the 1952 summer olympics! It was remarkably small for an Olympic stadium, but a cool site to see. I wish we could have gone inside, though.
• Indoor Flea Market?: So, we tried to find this giant indoor flea market, and finally found it two hours after it closed. Much to our dismay, most shops and museums in Helsinki close at 5:00 PM. Our ferry back to Tallinn was at 9:30, so we were left with several hours to wander around the city, yet we still managed to get distracted enough that we were rushing back to the terminal.
• Art Nouveau: There's the really rich (Beacon-Hill-Esque) neighborhood in Helsinki with a ton of Art-Nouveau-style houses. Everything was beautifully designed and brightly colored. There's one trolley that drives around the whole city in a figure-eight along which most of this architecture is. It was a cool ride to take.
• Tallinn City Tour: We woke up fairly early on Sunday so we could go for a free city tour. The guide was an 18 year old film student who was absolutely ridiculous and so excited to show us everything. I didn't get so much history, but I learned a lot of random, quasi-historical facts while seeing a lot of the city. Thoroughly enjoyable, but very cold.
• Pancakes: The National Food of Estonia? I don't know, but they were warm and delicious. Enjoyed lunch at a pancake house with the single other person who went on the tour with us: a single guy from LA who, since his business went under earlier this year, has been traveling the world.
• Nine Hour Bus Ride: I didn't think I would be able to sleep so well on the bus - it was crowded and pretty uncomfortable. However, we spent the entire weekend going everywhere and doing everything. There were so few empty moments that I learned how to sleep almost anywhere. So, I ended up sleeping for most of the bus ride and it was amazing. Arriving in Vilnius at 6:00 AM left me with several hours to sleep before class, too.

I don't think this entry even begins to describe all the amazing impressions I got from the trip. I can't imagine an adventure more packed with random and ridiculous things. I love my flat mates now even more than before - they were amazing travel companions and we made a great team, wandering on these planned and unplanned excursions. All these things put together have made Tallinn one of my favorite cities. Helsinki, not so much, but at least I'm on my way to seeing more of the world.

Creepily Non-existent: Halloween in Lithuania

I've already written about the significance of Velines in Lithuania, which, in the United States, is not the most important holiday. On the flip side, Halloween, which is widely celebrated in the US as a commercial holiday, in Lithuania has only recently been tapped. I was lucky, again, having a connection to the United States Embassy, and was able to celebrate in a familiar way, but on the whole the holiday was a lot different.

We celebrated Halloween at the US Embassy and at the American International School of Vilnius on October 23rd, because the kids at the AISV were on break the week of Halloween. On Friday afternoon, I joined Teta B in helping out at the school, running around playing halloween games and seeing the kids in their costumes. It was fun to be around the halloween spirit, and very much like being in the US at an elementary school for the celebration.

That evening was the Embassy Halloween Party, and I was asked to invite some of my friends, so my flatmates from Germany and France joined in the festivities. On Thursday afternoon we went shopping at a thrift shop for costumes, and I ended up settling on my own flapper dress, which I brought from home. Joining me, was a housewife, a crazy princess, a chinese girl (yes, a bit racist, I know), and some character from "Dallas." The marine house was well decorated for the holiday, but really, it wasn't all too exciting, as far as halloween parties go. I was at least able to meet some new people (including a marine, who is now taking me as his date to the Marine Ball!)

What's funny is that I invited my Lithuanian flat mates to come to the Embassy party, and they refused on the basis that Halloween is a cheap imitation of Uzgavenes, or Mardi Gras. The holiday is celebrated in a similar way, and if you ask me, it's a lot more logical to celebrate then. Dressing up and gorging yourself on candy seems like something more appropriate before a period of fasting, rather than before honoring all the hallows, all the dead, and the saints.

Halloween itself wasn't much of a holiday here, but I got some help from Teta Laura, who sent me a wonderful care package that was pretty much Halloween in a Box. It included candy corn, punch mix, a toy skeleton, gummy worms, pumpkin lights, glow sticks, knee socks, a t-shirt, and a CD of Halloween music among other lovely things. So, on Saturday night, the night of Halloween, I celebrated a bit with my flat mates, again, before going out to a favorite bar of ours. We decided to go out as normal people, but upon arrival, we found that many people were, in fact dressed up. This was partially because there was an international service group having a halloween party there, but it was a ton of fun to see some of the lacking-in-effort costumes. Like any other day in Vilnius, Halloween is mostly an excuse to party. I was absolutely thrilled, though, to meet a boy dressed as Jim from The Office.

I think the highlight of my halloween was definitely on Saturday evening, when we had two trick or treaters (our Russian landlady's children) come visit us. They knocked at the door and actually put a great deal of effort into a little song and dance number, for which I rewarded them with american candy: nerds ropes! I was so excited to see them, and they were pretty excited, too, to get candy from America.

but for candles it is shorter - Velines 2009

In observation of Velines, or the Feast of All Souls, Lithuanians gather with their family and go to the kapines, or cemeteries, to pay their respects to those that they have lost - family, friends, coworkers, national heroes, and those who have nobody left to care for them. I observed Velines in the most authentic way I could, which is why Mociute and Senelis picked me up bright and early on Sunday morning to drive to Kaunas to visit Stasiukynai.

When we arrived, it was much like any other family gathering. There were hugs, long conversations about life and what's happening in our parts of the world, and lots of food (a beautiful pancake breakfast, fresh food from the garden, and coffee). A little after noon we all piled into the car to head to the largest main kapines for the Kaunas region (unfortunately I don't remember the name of it).

There were thousands of graves lined up all over this otherwise bare hill. As we were driving up, it seemed like it could have been a giant construction site, but it was much more sacred than that. It was so crowded on the roads around the cemetery that there were police keeping the peace. It was uncanny how many people they were, everyone flocking to their family's graves. The graves are beautiful - each one a small plot of well-landscaped land, maybe about ten feet by ten feet, covered in assortments of flowers, stones, granite, ivies, astroturf, and candles - tons and tons of candles. Headstones are mostly simple, but generally a lot bigger than those in America.

It is our duty to go around to pay our respects to our dead by tidying up the grave, fixing up any loose stones, cleaning up any plants, and leaving flowers and candles to show our respect. We said a prayer, and left. It's amazing that the reason for Velines is not necessarily to mourn the dead, but more to remember that they lived. We light candles to acknowledge that life is short, or, as Senelis so eloquently put it, "for us, life is short, but for candles it is shorter."

After visiting these kapines, we returned back to the house to watch mass on television. I know it sounds obscure and ridiculous, but mass was being celebrated and broadcast from the Vilnius Antakalnio Kapines, and we were in Kaunas, not Vilnius. They celebrated right in the center of the Kapines, where there is a beautiful memorial and burial site to those who died fighting for independence from the USSR, as the USSR fell.

We then ate a delicious supper before heading to the Petrosiunai Kapines, another large cemetery in Kaunas. This one was located and built into a forest, so in the quickly falling night it was a gloriously spooky place full of trees and candlelight. We visited several more graves of family, and some national heroes. It was beautiful to see so many people paying their respects by candlelight in the night. We went straight back to Vilnius after this visit, because we had more plans for the next morning.

On Monday morning we went to pick up Birute Igniene from her home to take her to visit her husband's grave at the Antakalnio Kapines, very close to the Vilnius Old Town. It is in this cemetery where many of Lithuania's national heroes from independence and war are buried, as well as many icons in art and music - in a section called dailininku kalnas (artist's hill), which is where Vytautas Ignas is buried. (For those who don't know, Vytautas Ignas is a fairly well-known Lithuanian-American artist. He and his wife Birute lived in a house in Giraite, the community where my summer cottage is in CT)

Dailininku Kalnas is a really beautiful place, because, as you can imagine, the art of these people is somehow conveyed on their grave sites. For example, on Igno grave is a stone-cut of his original work, "Tree of Life" or "Gyvybes Medis." Others included plenty of sculpture and poetry. It's also interesting that his neighbors are such well-known people as Vytautas Kernagis, who was an incredibly popular musician and actor who died in 2008. On the whole, I found Antakalnio Kapines to be particularly gorgeous because there were so many beautifully done graves, memorials, and the landscape over the hills was so peaceful.

By chance, we were visiting the kapines at the same time as former President Valdas Adamkus, who only finished his presidency about three months ago. We arrived at the cemetery as he, his wife, and a procession of several secret service agents, and a number of soldiers marched to the center memorial to those who died during the independence movements of the late 80s and early 90s. Around the site there were several soldiers even standing guard, and it was a very beautiful thing to watch. It was my first time seeing Adamkus, and I was just a little bit disappointed that I didn't get to meet him, because Mociute and Senelis had met him before. Alas, it was a very solemn moment to run into him, so I suppose it is better that I didn't get my picture with him or something.

Velines is a wonderful holiday to observe and take part in. I thought it would be a lot more morose, but to some degree, it is much more of a celebration of life than a mourning of death. What I was most impressed with was the way that everybody participated, everybody paid their respects, and no grave was left without a candle (as far as I could see). It wasn't like memorial day, where people in the US go to their local cemetery to watch their kids march in the marching band and hear a war veteran talk for five minutes. Velines honors everybody, which is a really moving thing to see, and a great reminder that life really is short, so we should always celebrate rather than mourn.