Discover, Lithuania, Weird facts

Second religion of Lithuania: Basketball

I had already noticed that the Catholic religion occupies an important place in Lithuania (about 79% of the population is catholic). Much more than in France for exemple. But speaking about the “religion of basketball”, no other country can compete. Basketball in Lithuania is somehow equivalent to tango in Argentina, cricket in England or cheese in France!

the heterogeneous supporters

So when we had had the opportunity to go to see a match in Kaunas, it was an occasion to discover why this sport is so important here. This game was between Kaunas (LT) and Barcelona (ES). My Catalan roomate, of course, really wanted to go and support her team. That is how she brang me there, and how I came to support happily the Kaunas team. With a Barcelona’s and a Kaunas’ flags on our cheeks, we are ready to go to listen the big wave of the Lithuanian supporters. We do not know any song that they are singing but fortunately, we reconize something like “LIE-TU-VA! LIE-TU-VA! ” and so we can reach the movement for one moment.

The game is starting and we can enjoy the mood and learn the rules that we don’t even know … We see the game at about 1 km far away from us because we bought the last seats, and the cheapest ones. The Barcelona’s team takes the advantage. Lithuanian whistle more and more, while my Catalan neighbor is shouting in Spanish to encourage her team (so bad that she was almost alone, I think the players did not hear her). Her applause also is not in the same time as all the stadium wich make laugh our Lithuanian neighbors supporting Kaunas.

At the end, Barcelona wins 78-85, and all Kaunas is crying except us, the heterogeneous supporters.

Video of the match:

EVS, Lithuania, Video

New video – EVS volunteers speak about their experience

During my “middle-training”, I interviewed other volunteers about their experience in Lithuania.

Discover, Lithuania

Galapagai – Music festival in Zarasai

Since one week, I am living in a new city, in northeast of Lithuania, Zarasai.

8,000 inhabitants, 7 lakes, more than 300 lakes in all the region!

The first weekend after I came, there was already a festival: Galapagai. My host organization was involved in this festival, for another project than Social Taxi. They came for the project “Human Library” and they offered me to join them.

The event happened on the island of the largest lake of Zarasai.

EVS, Lithuania

Mid-term training

During the EVS, two trainings are organized. The arrival training and the midterm training. So we are 20 volunteers from all over Lithuania and we meet to talk about our experience in EVS. We are Spanish, Italian, French, Romanian, Portuguese, Greek and Armenian. For this training, we spend few days in a natural park, near to the longest lake of Lithuania (22 km).

The schedule is about: first, some “bla-bla”, and then a boat trip on the lake, midnight baths, sauna, songs around the fire, with a battalion of mosquitoes ready to eat the few humans came to enjoy their lake!

For the last dinner, everyone is cooking a specialty of his country: Andalusian Salmolejo, tortilla de patatas, Italian tiramisu and bruschetta, and … French Gratin-Dauphinois!

: Jordi (Catalan) and Clément (French)

: Jordi (Catalan) and Alexandre (French)

: The “moussaillons” are ready

: Waiting for the wave (waiting in vain)

: Pontoon on the Asveja Lake

: Yaiza (Spanish) cooking Salmorejo, an Andalusian cold soup

: Italian bruschetta

: Marco (Italian) and Alexandre (French)

: our houses

: bread in the barbecue

: bread in the barbecue

: Rocio (Spanish), Alice (Italian) and Clément (French)

EVS, Lithuania, Video

Interview of Oriana, my Italian flatemate

She speaks about her EVS and her experience in Vilnius :

Discover, Food, Lithuania

Lithuanian cuisine!

Since one month and a half, I do not miss an opportunity to taste the Lithuanian cuisine.

CEPELINAI

recipe : http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/lithuaniannoodles/r/zeppelins.htm

ŠALTIBARŠČIAI

recipe : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/215037/lithuanian-saltibarsciai-cold-beet-soup/

KIBINAI

recipe : http://lithuanian-recipes.com/kuldunai-lithuanian-meat-dumplings

Sūrio piršteliai or cheese fingers

The most popular Lithuanian beer is Švyturys wich means “lighthouse”.

Lithuania does not produce wine. At least not grape wine (what’s that? ..). The country grows mainly red fruit (strawberry, blackcurrant, raspberry) wich is the basis of this wine.

SKANAUS! (bon appétit !)

Discover, EVS, Language, Lithuania

How to improve your english during EVS

Some tips (to myself) to improve my English during my EVS.

1. Stop to invent words! .. It is not because English and French are sometimes similar that you can take a smart face and an English accent (impossible accent) to say “supposably”. No, “supposably” is not an English word …

2. Improve your accent! You live and speak all day long with Spanish, Italian and Lithuanian people, so, be CARRRREFUL with your accent, wich is already not English at all, but not even French anymore …

3. Extend your vocabulary: When you desperately looking for an English word that you do not know the solution is not: to simply say it in French! Of course, you have 9 chances out of 10 that your Spanish and Italian flatemates understand you perfectly, because this is probably the same word in their language, but that does not help you to know the word in English.

4. Knowing your interlocutor: practical example – if you arrive in the train station in Vilnius speaking in English to the lady who sell the tickets and who is actually Russian, you will quickly understand that speaking in English with her it is like to speak Russian in America … Her reaction will like:

< “Я не понимаю…”

Language, Lithuania, Weird facts

They rename our cities!

This weekend, a huge map of Europe was put on one of the largest squares of Vilnius. The opportunity to see how Lithuanian people call our French cities:

: La Rosele (La Rochelle) / Bordo (Bordeaux) / Po (Pau) / Puatje (Poitiers)

: Perpinjanas (Perpignan) / Barselona (Barcelona)

Another strange thing that I‘ve learned, all Lithuanian male names ends by -as. So, the first names but also the family names! It means that in the same family, men have names ending by -as, and women, have the same name but with a different ending, -a or -e.