Category: Essays

Queen Charlotte’s Artistic Awakening

There are ducks in New Zealand that mate for life. I don't remember their name. The female has a white head, and the male a black one and we first saw them while kayaking in Milford Sound. In Christchurch, they stroll through the Botanic Gardens in pairs, resting in the sun on the banks of the Avon River.

Christchurch has been accused of being "too English"... but that is precisely what I like about it. A European city of turn-of-the-century stone buildings with cozy sidewalk cafes and quaint English punts taking tourists along the river, situated on the shore of the South Pacific and protected on the west by the Southern Alps.

It’s Blue As, Bro!

I spent the 2009 Southern Hemisphere winter coaching young ski racers at Turoa Ski Area on the south side of Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand.

Mt. Ruapehu is famous for its crazy, nasty weather and I got a taste of it last Friday. At the base of the ski area, it was raining, but at the top of the first lift, it was snowing with visibility limited to about fifty meters. We'd already missed two days that week due to bad weather, so we had to take what we could get. At least it wasn't windy.

Iki Pasimatymo, Lietuva!*

After more than five years of living, working, and enjoying life in Vilnius, it is time for me to move on. By the time this magazine goes to press, I’ll already be in New Zealand, where I will spend the “summer” coaching a local ski club. I do intend to return next winter to Lithuania to coach the Kalnų Ereliai ski team and hopefully to resume writing this column, but for the moment, it’s time for this little lietuvaitė to pack her bags and learn to speak Kiwi.

Trys Milijonai*

Since much of my winter is spent out of Lithuania, I spend spring getting in touch with friends and catching up on all the activities I’ve missed.

As long as I can remember, on April 1st the weather is always warm and what better way to start the spring than by celebrating Užupio Independence Day. On the bridge, we were greeted by “immigration agents” dressed in white jumpsuits and 3D glasses waiting to stamp our passports. Yes, that’s right, you can get an authentic Užupis visa, good for a one day visit! The atmosphere was festive on the patio of Užupio Kavinė where residents and visitors mingled with plastic cups of “imported” Švyturys. Live music went on long into the evening. We clutched our beers and sang along with the rag-tag group of “jazz” musicians playing Lucky Man.

Užupis Independence Day

It's not an April Fool's joke: Residents of the tiny Republic of Užupis, which lays just beyond the River Vilnelė, take their Independence Day very seriously. It all starts with the border patrol on the Užupis Bridge. Dressed in white jumpsuits and 3D glasses, "immigration agents" wait to stamp your passport. Yes, that's right, you can get an authentic Užupis visa, good for a one day visit!

Lithuanian for Beginners

When I was hired at Cosmopolitan magazine a week after arriving in Lithuania in December 2003, I told the editor-in-chief, "Don't worry, my Lithuanian is a little rusty, but I'll be back to speaking fluently in a few weeks." That, at best, was wishful thinking.

Visi į Rinkimus!*

The parliamentary and presidential elections in Lithuania are far less colorful affairs then they are in the United States. There are no primaries, presidential debates, national conventions, or celebrity endorsements. In the weeks up to the parliamentary election this year, posters appeared on empty walls, and occasionally an interview would be given by one of the candidates on Lithuanian National Television (LTV). I didn’t even realize it was an election year until the magazine I work for did a parody of some of the popular parties and their posters.

My Very Own Olympics

As a ski racer, it was not uncommon to meet Olympians. It's just that kind of sport, easy access to the athletes. I raced against Olympic team members, American and otherwise, as a junior. I even rode up the chair lift with Kjetil Andre Aamodt (a skiing legend from Norway) in Aspen—and spoke to him in Norwegian! It's something different entirely though when you get the chance to not only meet but hang out with an Olympic star from another sport. So, while it was incredibly exciting to have dinner with the entire Austrian men's ski team in Vail, that was nothing compared to the honor of being accompanied by Gintas Umaras during a road ride just a few days before the Olympic torch reached Beijing.

A Photo Essay from Kaziuko Mugė

Kaziuko Mugė, the centuries old St. Casimir’s Fair, stretches along Gedimino prospektas and throughout the senamiestes (old town) with stalls selling baronkos (hard bagels on a string), verbos (dried feathers and flowers on a stick—the Lithuanian version of palms used on Palm Sunday), handmade meats, cheeses and honey, textiles, crafts and sweets for the children.

A One-Way Ticket

When I convinced my parents to buy me a one-way plane ticket to Lithuania in December 2003, I expected to stay six months to two years. Now, four years on, I'm still in Vilnius, going to work every day, making new friends, and complaining about the customer service.