Lithuania map (+ marks Klaipeda)
We arrived in Klaipeda, Lithuania, sometime between 3 and 4am. I'm sure that everyone was as exhausted -- due to the late hour and the stress of "the accident" -- as I was, but since it had been a while since Flavio, Aushra (Flavio's wife), and their two boys had seen Brian, Clarice, and Dalia, everyone was more interested in talking, catching up, etc. than sleeping. Aushra prepared a nice meal for us -- beef and potatoes with (optional) locally made horseradish for dipping. I enjoyed the meal and participated in a toast with Lithuanian beer but needed to sleep, so at around 5am, I excused myself and went to my assigned bed (in the room with their now-sleeping boys), while the other adults stay up and talked for another hour or so.
On the next day, most of us slept late, and then there wasn't much left of the day. I tagged along with Flavio when he went to the local fish market, so I could get my first daylight glimpses of Klaipeda.
On the next day, most of us slept late, and then there wasn't much left of the day. I tagged along with Flavio when he went to the local fish market, so I could get my first daylight glimpses of Klaipeda.
Klaipeda near Flavio's apartment
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Glimpse of the Baltic Sea from Klaipeda's port
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On Christmas Eve, I went with Clarice and Aushra to the "Akropolis", which is a gigantic American-style mall (including a movie theater, bowling alley, and indoor ice skating rink). It's huge, even by American standards. I was a "mall rat" for a few hours, wandering alone, while Clarice and Aushra did their last-minute Christmas shopping.
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In the evening, we all got gussied up in our best duds (dressed up) to go to Aushra's parents' house for the huge family gathering. This was one of the highlights of my stay in Lithuania -- it was really interesting and enjoyable to participate in the local traditions from within a family. The meal began with a ceremony led by Aushra's father. He passed out communion wafers (the flat disk-shaped, cracker-like things that Christian churches sometimes use for the communion ritual) to each head-of-household (ie. adult male). Then he stood, broke a piece off of his wafer and fed it to his wife, saying approximately: "I hope that you will have a wonderful year, full of happiness, by my side in 2008." Then he went to each of his children and their spouses and wished them individual, wishes of joy and success in the coming year. He also included me in this level of well-wishing, saying (roughly) in English, "I hope you will have a wonderful time in my house tonight and will feel as though this is your home. We all hope that your time in Lithuania will be filled with enjoyment and that you will take with you nice memories of your visit to our home." Each adult then milled around the room giving their children, spouses, and siblings (and me) warm wishes for the coming year (while breaking off and feeding a piece of their wafer to the other person).
Christmas Eve family gathering at Aushra's parents' apartment
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Traditional Lithuanian food (at least in this coastal town) is most composed of fish-related dishes -- pickled herring, caviar, fried fish, salty shrimp jello, fish relishes and casseroles. The other memorable additions to the meal were a thick, red, berry-tasting gelatin-like drink and baked potatoes with -- you won't believe this: cannabis topping. Apparently rope-making (with cannabis) has a long-standing tradition for shipbuilding in Klaipeda... and one day (perhaps hundreds of years ago), someone said: "I wonder what it would taste like if we dry some of this extra cannabis (left over shreds from rope manufacturing) and sprinkle it on our baked potatoes..." And so it became a tradition. Cannabis doesn't have a tremendous amount of taste, but it had a slightly salty, toasted taste that nicely complemented the taters. (And no, I didn't get high as a kite -- or even buzzed -- from eating this delicacy.)
Sample of the spread
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Cannabis is the brown powder in the bowl to the left of the potatoes
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After dinner, we sat around and watched a Lithuanian Christmas mass on the television, while drinking Lithuanian beer. A small group of us -- Flavio, Clarice, Brian, and I discussed various topics related to politics -- comparing and contrasting Lithuanian, Brazilian, German, and American viewpoints on the politicians, the Iraq war, crime, corruption, etc. Then the children of the family gathered the whole family to a back room for a family talent show. Each of the five kids gave four or five performances of some sort -- singing dancing, rhymes, stories (all, of course, in Lithuanian). Occasionally Clarice translated what was being said for me. Lastly, we went back into the dining room and opened presents. I was pleasantly surprised to receive several gifts of locally produced wine and liqueurs.
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On Christmas morning (back at Flavio's and Aushra's apartment), we opened presents again. The children were, of course, wild with excitement of their latest gadget, toy, spiderman-related contraption. And I was again surprised to receive two additional gifts: a calendar/diary book and a Klaipeda T-shirt.
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At around 10am we rushed off to Christmas mass (Lithuanians are mostly Catholics). The service had a somewhat old-world traditional feel to it (from my American perspective) and reminded me of Orthodox Christrian services I've attended in the past, because the priest sang and chanted much of his text. This old-world feel was mixed, however, with the very modern "praise band" type choir, complete with electric guitars and drums. It was also interesting to see the inclusion of a lit and decorated Christmas tree in the front of the sanctuary -- just next to a nativity scene. And even more surprising: Immediately after the service, the priest left the building briefly and then quickly returned dressed as Santa, beckoning the children to join him for presents at the alter.
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Santa's gathering after the service (Santa is bending down to get presents, so he's not visible)
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After the service, we joined an even larger gathering of Aushra's family at her brother's apartment. There was another huge feast prepared, followed by another talent show from the kids (but this time, the adults were convinced to join in), and a final appearance of Santa with candy and small toys for the kiddies.
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Brian & I singing a rousing rendition of PDQ Bach's "Please, Kind Sir"
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On the 26th, Flavio, Brian, and I drove to Kaunas. The main purpose of the trip was to deliver me to the bus station, where I would catch the night bus for Krakow, Poland. Along the way, however, we stopped to see a holocaust-related mass grave memorial, had traditional Lithuanian food in the Kaunas mall, and walked around a fort/castle at dusk. I boarded my bus at around 11pm.
