Being hungover does not make Lithuanian any easier

Yesterday my friends Sonja and I went to a Sauna in a sports club in the old town of Klaipeda. Sonja was very keen to go, as she said it is German culture to go to the sauna regularly for relaxation (not for weight loss, thank goodness).

A lovely run through the park on my morning jog (yesterday) in Klaipeda. An older man walking his dog starting lecturing me, saying that my shoes were not sufficiant for the weather. He said that my shoes getting wet would make my feet hurt. I said that my feet didn't hurt. He said that they would hurt later.

I had nothing planned for the day and do enjoy sauna's, so off we went. I had a funny experience navigating my way there. One Lithuanian woman asked if I was Russian. I had a variety of people telling me to go in different directions but I made it! The sport club (gymnasium) was quite high tech;hair dryers in the bathroom, which I have not seen before in any gyms in Australia. The Lithuanian girls are so damn attractive, I find myself staring at them all the time, which I really shouldn't get in to habits with in a change room.

Seeing the sun coming out in Klaipeda for one of the first times yesterday.

I have never stayed in a sauna for such long period of time with intense heat, but it really was great, like a natural drug. The funny thing was that the 'disco' like music that was playing in the gym, was also playing in the sauna. There was a also a flashing light that would turn on and off within the sauna. We told the lady at the desk that we thought the light was broken. She said that it was not broken. Apparently the flashing light makes it a 'traditional' Finnish sauna. Sonja and I felt as though it would induce and epileptic fit for us and anyone else who entered the sauna.

So there is a group of Lithuanian videos in our classroom. You can see from how afar, I had to look a second time at the title to be sure that this DVD was in the right place.

Sonja and I had dinner in a bar nearby where I had ginger liquer and western food while watching the local baketbal compettion on TV. Sonja found the basketball to be a bit too noisy so we headed off to a quite cafe nearby. I ordered a hot chocolate which was literally, thick melted chocolate in a cup with no milk!

This little girl kept waving to us in the University, so I had to ask to photograph her!

And then this fella wanted a photo too!

I then headed out with Gvidas. We started off with a second dinner at Gvidas' friends house 'Ju' and 'Audreas'. They are so lovely, and have the most beautiful apartment, accompanied by 2 whippets. So I did not feel far from home. We drank beer and headed to a nearby bar where I had the Klaipeda special; tequila with a Bloody Mary chaser. That drink is not special, no matter what country you are in!

Only 16 different ways to make an ending for 'to cook' depending on who you are, and whether it is past present or future tense. That is why Lithuanian is just so easy.

It was a fantastic night and I didn't think that I was very drunk, but this morning I felt awful. I did not wake up for a run, and class was especially difficult for me today.

Watching a photographer conduct a photo shoot with models in a nearby cafe in the old town in Klaipeda.

Ju ir Audrus' Christmas tree in their apartment. I love this. They collected old sticks from the beach and having this hanging on their wall; to save space and to stop the whippets from intruding!

Ju, Audrus ir Gvidas. At Ju ir Audrus' apartment in Klaipeda, for a delicious dinner and drinks.

Tilly and April have someone to compete with on the 'sooky' scale.

Oh my goodness. How can you kick a whippet of a bed when they look at you like that?

We attended a presentation after school today about the history of Lithuania. It turns out that in a tourism point of view, Lithuania  is considered a Nordic country, not an Eastern European country.

My body must rest now, too much beer and too many conjunctions, but all wonderful of course.

Labanaktis.

Xo

Rasa