The Republic of Lithuania is a small country:- Only slightly larger than West Virginia
- 90 km (about 55 miles) of coastline
- Population of 3,585,906 people
- I've met the USA ambassador to Lithuania at LCC
- It takes about 7 hours to drive from one side to the other
- Žilvinas Žvagulis lives next door. For those not in the know, he's a famous singer. Next time he's home I'm considering going and asking for an autograph
- The local jazz club hosts live music, and one particular musician and singer who frequents the place is also a member of parliament, and I just watched him participate in a musical reality show on television. I've also just been informed that my friend is hanging out with him this evening by personal invitation
More general facts:- According to a friend, a major reason Lithuania is in the EU is because of Maxima...a Wal-Mart type store. Let me explain: Apparantly voting polls were bleak as far as percentages of Lithuanians voting to be in the EU and showed that the only people interested in voting were those who were against joining. Maxima came to the rescue by offering a free product to those who brought in their 'I voted' sticker, either a box of washing powder (laundry detergent), chocolates or beer. Three highly persuasive things when thinking of the target markets being women, young people and men! When confirming the story with another Lithuanian, he told me that he remembers how people were standing in lines for hours and that there was an actual injury when someone got trampled to get the free items.
- The movie The Hunt for Red October was inspired by real incidents. In 1961, Soviet Navy submarine captain Jonas Pleškys, a Lithuanian, sailed his vessel from Klaipėda to Gotland in Sweden, not the planned destination of Tallinn. The Soviet authorities sentenced him in his absence to death by firing squad, but the CIA hid him, first in Guatemala and later in the United States. A huge cross commemorating his life is in a park on my street. I will take a photo later and post it.
- Lithuanians get to celebrate two independence days - both from Russia. On February 16, 1918, Lithuania proclaimed the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania. After being occupied after a short period of independence, on March 11, 1990, they proclaimed the restitution of Lithuanian independence, becoming the first of the Soviet republics to declare national rights.
- Švyturys is a Klaipėda-made beer and is one of the best I've ever tasted. The name means lighthouse and it was established by merchant J.W.Reincke in Klaipėda in 1784.
- Kepta duona (affectionately called Captain Iguana after how my dad pronounces it) is a national snack consisting of fried strips of rye bread smothered in a melted white cheese, mayonaise and garlic mixture.
- Lithuanians need to have more babies! Their population growth rate is -0.3%!
I love Lithuania. I'll add more facts as they come up - but thought I'd share these for the moment :)
Well, maybe not woe, but definitely weariness. In case you're wondering, the title is from a poem I found while reading random stuff on Wikipedia about the Addams family - a 'fortune-telling poem' from the 1800's, indicating a child's disposition based on what day of the week they were born on. I was able to find out what day I came into the world based on a handy calendar online and depending on the version of the poem you reference, Friday's child is loving and giving or full of woe. Friday and Wednesday switch roles based upon which of the two versions you read. Anyway, if you are interested in what your day says about you - here's the link!
Anyway, I'm tired. For some reason, just beat! I'm trying not to nap in the afternoons so that I sleep better at night and don't stay up until forever and the cycle begins again...I don't think I'll hit the gym today, based upon said tiredness and my sore muscles. I lifted more weights than usual on Monday, and so my arms are a tad achey. Not that I'm complaining, because that means it's working, right?! :)
I got my hair cut and colored! I've already forgotten I look different, so when I wave to people who haven't seen it yet, they have that 'is that really her?' expression on their faces. I love it - and may cut it shorter depending on how I feel after living with it for a while. It's dark brown with some dark red chunks for variety.
This week is board meetings, so tomorrow my day is booked and on Friday there is a big staff/faculty dinner with LCC choir and bell choir for entertainment ;) I had hoped to see that 300 movie (Spartans, hotness, fighting, cool effects, etc) that day, but the supper is more important, and so I'll have to wait. And it's Wednesday already! It feels like the days are flying by! I'll be home before I know it! Well, I will enjoy the time I have left here, but it does seem like May 29 is getting closer and closer...
The weather is beautiful! It is sunny and clear, though still a little chilly, it is feeling a lot like spring. I no longer need the heavy down coat to just step outside anymore, and am able to wear a lighter coat or none at all in the afternoon. So nice!
K, I thought I would have more to say. Apparently not so much? Laura is after me to write more regularly, so I'll do my best! :D
Well folks - the weather was beautiful today. Not a cloud in the sky and warm enough to go out without a jacket! Chad, Cathal and I went to lunch and walked around old town Klaipeda taking photos and enjoying being outside without scarves, hats, gloves and winter coats! I have posted some new photos in the Yahoo album that you may check out at your leisure. To the left is the drama theatre square with glorious sunshine and air temperature above 2 degrees! It's finally spring break until next Monday, so I have another few days off from work. I have been enjoying my sleep and chatting with friends and trying to catch up with my website by giving it a design overhaul.
Sunday was the Restoration of Statehood holiday, which meant that there were flags on every building's corner and again, it was nice to see. I thought of the monument in the middle of Klaipeda with the inscription "We are one nation, one land, one Lithuania," and we visted it today and I got a great shot of the monument from behind with the K and D building in the background.
Oh, and I know people like Laura are going to love this exciting bit of news: I bought a squeegee and was able to clean my windows today. It cost me a whole US dollar and wow, the feeling I got from looking out of that clean class was worth it! I'll write more when I have more to report...hopefully this week so my loyal fans won't be disappointed!
I am now twenty-three years old...weirder to think about before actually turning said number of years, but I'm pretty much okay with it now. Plus, my birthday party was a success! I had around twelve guests, a larger group than usual, and it was great fun. According to Lithuanian tradition, the party is not thrown for the birthday person, but by the birthday person. That means that everything is taken 
care of by the birthday holder, so I went to the store and got tons of food to prepare chicken and veggie fajitas, made chip dips and baked the cake the night before. The cake was a betty crocker devil's food chocolate cake (thanks Peggy!) with made-from-scratch-by-me cream cheese frosting and cherries in the middle. It was served with ice cream and I kept hearing 'oh my gosh Chelsea, this food is so good!' - so it was a cooking confidence builder :)My friends plopped a tea-light candle on the top of the cake because I forgot to buy proper candles, and sang to me in Lithuanian. It was so much fun! I received very nice gifts from everyone, including fun patterned tights, wonderful smelling bath products, a gift certificate and a big stack of bus tickets for my rides to work and back. A good time was had by all, and I had a great time preparing everything and playing hostess. Today is the Lithuanian decreed first day of Spring, and it's very wet out. Snow is still predicted sometime this week, but all that means is that we will get a few inches of beautiful snow, then it will rain the next day because the temperatures have climbed up a degree or two, so it will mutate into muddy slush. I've worn a skirt all week so I can trek around in boots and not worry about ruining my pants. I want a blizzard!
I love Lithuania. I'll add more facts as they come up - but thought I'd share these for the moment :)
