My travels from Lithuania to Paris, France, took me first to Dublin, Ireland. Our departure from Lithuania really felt like a 'big' departure, given that Viktorija would not return until after our trip to South Africa, and I would be back only for a few weeks to play baseball, only to leave again for three months in South Africa. We flew from Lithuania on Wednesday but not before a quick visit to the vaccination clinic for Viktorija to get her final Hepatitis vaccination before heading for the airport. Viktorija does not like getting shots; the first time we went to the clinic for her to have her shot, I went into the nurses' office with her. She was nervous. But this time she bravely went in by herself, got the shot, and came out unscathed. On ... read more

Just a couple of snapshots from two other weekend excursions: the first to Juodkrante, a small fisherman's village on the Curonian Spit, and the second to Birstonas, a town not far from Prienei that, in Soviet Times and still today, was and is known for its hotel spas. It is right on the Nemunas River, the largest river in Lithuania. ... read more

I am writing this latest blog from Montpellier, France, having arrived here several days ago from Kaunas, Lithuania via Dublin and then Paris. It has been over a month since I wrote and there is much to write about. My six weeks with Viktorija’s family was wonderful. Since I was not working, I spent most of my time staying at home—helping out around the house, sometimes helping with/learning how to make Lithuanian cuisine, going on runs or doing yoga……I learned how to make Cepeliniai, a traditional Lithuanian dish made from potatoes through a long process of mashing the potatoes, putting them through a juicer to extract the starch, recombining with the potatoes (two different kinds), carefully forming them into small football-shaped dumplings around prepared ground meat (pork/beef) and then put into boiling water to cook. Served ... read more