Blogs from Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe - page 8

Things have not gone as expected and hoped for here in the Lithuanian Championship for the Kaunas Lituanica squad. Just a little background; in 2006 (last year), Lituanica won the championship easily losing only three games all season and winning the final series 3 games to 1. At this point last season, the team was 6 and 0. Right now our record stands at 2 and 4. True—we are not the same team as we were last year. Three of our best players are not playing, others are injured and only half-strength. In addition it appears that the other teams in the championship have improved. Also, more than half of our team are hitting with wooden bats to prepare for the European Championship; Utena and other teams in Lithuania all hit with metal. All that ... read more

First, let me explain the title of this entry. 'Krepsinis' is the Lithuanian word for basketball. In Lithuanian, baseball is 'beisbolas', soccer is 'footbolas' (like english 'football), table tennis translates directly as do most other sports.....but basketball is 'krepsinis,' pronounced 'Crap-Sheen-is.' Back in March Donatas and I made a deal that I would buy him a pair of new Easton batting gloves in exchange for tickets to the Lithuanian Basketball Championship between Lietuvos Rytas of Vilnius and Kaunas Zalgiris. I came through on my end of the bargain, and so did Donatas….he got tickets for game five of the series in Kaunas. The tickets for the game cost 45 Litas, which is less than 20 dollars. Can you imagine? Twenty bucks for tickets to the NBA finals?? And needless to say this was just as ... read more

I am sitting in the lobby of a rehabilitation center just outside of Elektrenei, near Kaunas. Viktorija is here working as an apprentice and her mother is here for one week getting physical therapy for her back. Tonight we will stay here, hang out some, but for now I am sitting and writing. This waiting room is very funny. To me it feels very Russian. The outside of the building is grey brick, similar to many of the apartment buildings I saw in Moscow and to many buildings in Kaunas, including Birute and Juozas’ home. There is an old couple standing in front of me, waiting for the elevator to arrive. The woman is very close to the door, almost like she is hiding or something. And the man is tensely pressing on the orange elevator ... read more

It was another magical week of baseball in Lithuania. I played in four games while I was there, part of a best of five series, we won 3 games to 1. The first game we lost; it was probably our most poorly played match all summer. I struck out in my first at bat, I wasn’t even close to touching the ball with the bat. Striking out is probably one of the most singled-out moments there are in sports. When you strike out, the strike three is called and there is a good sixty seconds before the next batter steps in to hit. And that whole time, there is little else for anyone else, and yourself, to talk about or think about than YOUR strikeout. I hate striking out. Probably the only think I hate more ... read more

So I finally figured it out, why my host brothers' room smells so familiar. It smells like Adam! Yep, that sweet-smelling boy that many of you know, and that I got the privilege of smelling on a daily basis for two out of my four years in college. It was really getting on my nerves not being able to figure it out.... and it is actually kind of comforting getting a wiff of Adam Hetland. every time I walk through Mendaugas' (host brother) room. You smell great, Adam.... read more