Off the Top of my Head, Drunk . . .
The title of this blog is Vai's response to my request for a translation of 'New Adventures'. She is strong enough to hold any conversation in Lithuanian, but sometimes struggles for words that have synonyms that could, in conversation, be used instead.
It is nearly 5am here. And the sun is rising. And I have had a couple too many Svyturys.
Can someone please e-mail me? As much as has happened here, a lot has happened at work as well. Is my assistant the best, the worst, or somewhere in between? I'm hoping for the best or in between.
This vacation would necesitate a journal and a strict devotion to it to accurately describe my experiences. Simply too much has gone on. Even though I've spent nearly the entirety of the daylight hours in bed today with an illness.
Yesterday, apart from other minor things, was spent at a July 4th Lithuanian American festival at the American Chamber of Commerce where InCulto performed, as well as the head man's wife from Skamp. There performance was absolutely of studio quality. I honestly believe that his look and his act could make it100% in the States. The performance itself was sharp, and as an added bonus, they had a Bull Mastif puppy that was as friendly as can be.
Celebrity is a very odd thing here. As a politician, Vaiva's mother is in full page spreads in things such as 'People' magazine here. They don't have anything congruent to Hollywood. These musical performers are 'celebrities' in Lithuania, but completely approachable and gregarious. I had conversations with both of them as they sat with their dog. They had been signing autographs previously. Simply amazing.
Today I experienced fatigue most likely brought upon by the cold and the rain in Preila a couple of days ago. I slept until 2p, and as I was about to travel, the skies opened up and it started raining heavily. Vaiva went off to practice a dance for the wedding at 330, and I was stuck in the apartment building.
I flipped on the TV and it was among the most surreal experiences that I have had since being here. They don't use sub-titles here, but a dubbing system that is entirely awful. There is one translator (for both men and women) that is purely monotonous. It rendered any programming for me, and anyone, entirely unwatchable.
When Vai returned from her dance practice, that went extremely well despite the fact that several participants had never danced before (the groom to be is a native Bostonian), me, her, and her mother went out to dinner at a place whose name I will not attempt to spell. However, there was a live, three man band composed of a violinist, an accordian player, and some sort of wind instrument reminicent of a recorder that played lively music as we ate and drank. We ordered 'the pitchfork', which was literally a pitchfork's head with huge portions of meat and tiny portions of fruits and vegetables attached to the 3 prongs (although this is supposed to feed 4-6 hungry people, I don't doubt that Robins could have cleared all three skewers and been looking for more). The experience was surreal, completely fulfilling, and entirely decadent. I left with a full belly, several liters of beer in my stomach, and a ridiculous amount of all brands of livestock digesting deep inside me. This is not a country for those who turn their noses at eating previously living creatures.
At night we went to Pubas (translation, Pub) where we drank heartily and listened (and danced poorly) to songs that were never exactly popular in America but played at loud volumes there. I'm not kidding when I say that the song 'What Is Love' was not met with Will Ferrell head bopping, but attractive Lithuanian girls shaking their assets on the undersized dance floor. I unenergetically tapped my feet and was ridiculed. By the time I had a sufficient amount of beer in me to shake my moneymaker, the music had stopped and we decided to head home for the evening as opposed to going to a club that would be open until 6a.
The sun is bright in the sky now, and I must rest my weary head. I hope the 4th found everyone in good spirits and, although I am having a ridiculous blast here, I also long for the company of people who will address me in English before they realize that I am foreign and strange. I hope this finds all of you in good spirits and I will see you shortly.
It is nearly 5am here. And the sun is rising. And I have had a couple too many Svyturys.
Can someone please e-mail me? As much as has happened here, a lot has happened at work as well. Is my assistant the best, the worst, or somewhere in between? I'm hoping for the best or in between.
This vacation would necesitate a journal and a strict devotion to it to accurately describe my experiences. Simply too much has gone on. Even though I've spent nearly the entirety of the daylight hours in bed today with an illness.
Yesterday, apart from other minor things, was spent at a July 4th Lithuanian American festival at the American Chamber of Commerce where InCulto performed, as well as the head man's wife from Skamp. There performance was absolutely of studio quality. I honestly believe that his look and his act could make it100% in the States. The performance itself was sharp, and as an added bonus, they had a Bull Mastif puppy that was as friendly as can be.
Celebrity is a very odd thing here. As a politician, Vaiva's mother is in full page spreads in things such as 'People' magazine here. They don't have anything congruent to Hollywood. These musical performers are 'celebrities' in Lithuania, but completely approachable and gregarious. I had conversations with both of them as they sat with their dog. They had been signing autographs previously. Simply amazing.
Today I experienced fatigue most likely brought upon by the cold and the rain in Preila a couple of days ago. I slept until 2p, and as I was about to travel, the skies opened up and it started raining heavily. Vaiva went off to practice a dance for the wedding at 330, and I was stuck in the apartment building.
I flipped on the TV and it was among the most surreal experiences that I have had since being here. They don't use sub-titles here, but a dubbing system that is entirely awful. There is one translator (for both men and women) that is purely monotonous. It rendered any programming for me, and anyone, entirely unwatchable.
When Vai returned from her dance practice, that went extremely well despite the fact that several participants had never danced before (the groom to be is a native Bostonian), me, her, and her mother went out to dinner at a place whose name I will not attempt to spell. However, there was a live, three man band composed of a violinist, an accordian player, and some sort of wind instrument reminicent of a recorder that played lively music as we ate and drank. We ordered 'the pitchfork', which was literally a pitchfork's head with huge portions of meat and tiny portions of fruits and vegetables attached to the 3 prongs (although this is supposed to feed 4-6 hungry people, I don't doubt that Robins could have cleared all three skewers and been looking for more). The experience was surreal, completely fulfilling, and entirely decadent. I left with a full belly, several liters of beer in my stomach, and a ridiculous amount of all brands of livestock digesting deep inside me. This is not a country for those who turn their noses at eating previously living creatures.
At night we went to Pubas (translation, Pub) where we drank heartily and listened (and danced poorly) to songs that were never exactly popular in America but played at loud volumes there. I'm not kidding when I say that the song 'What Is Love' was not met with Will Ferrell head bopping, but attractive Lithuanian girls shaking their assets on the undersized dance floor. I unenergetically tapped my feet and was ridiculed. By the time I had a sufficient amount of beer in me to shake my moneymaker, the music had stopped and we decided to head home for the evening as opposed to going to a club that would be open until 6a.
The sun is bright in the sky now, and I must rest my weary head. I hope the 4th found everyone in good spirits and, although I am having a ridiculous blast here, I also long for the company of people who will address me in English before they realize that I am foreign and strange. I hope this finds all of you in good spirits and I will see you shortly.
posted by Jamson at 6:34 PM
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