Lithuania. 03.22-27.2016
Although I had been going to Lithuania since the age of 4, practically every summer. I hadn't been there for over 2 years and a lot had changed since I last left. I found out I had relatives I never knew existed from my father's side. The people who I admired as a little girl shattered my heart and I felt anger towards them now. The people who I once called family now felt like strangers. I stopped telling them about my life, each year less and less. They still see me as a little girl who doesn't know much about the world. They are wrong in so many ways but also right. The last few weeks had been hard and I just wanted to be surrounded by familiar faces, so I jumped at the chance to see my family even for a couple of days.
As I landed in Vilnius, I was greeted by my grandmother. She is probably one of the most strongest and caring persons I know. Not only did she raise me and always brought me to Lithuania as a child but also she always tried to help people in need, wherever she went. Although one thing we do not seem to get along about is God. Being raised by her meant going to a Catholic school, attending daily masses and catholic classes on weekends. As I got older and moved out I realised I never forged my own idea of how I felt on religion. Did I believe? Was there a God? I started to question it all and I realized I never had a an opinion. And as teen years rolled in, I became stubborn and never wanted to go to masses anymore. I felt forced and still am whenever I go to visit her. This time I decided to go along with it and to stop fighting with her. After arriving we went to go see some relatives and then visit the farm I spent most of my childhood summers on. Being surrounded by nothing but acres of forest and land with neighbours nowhere in sight and the smell of pine trees and fresh air was the best way to get away from all the hustle and bustle in my daily life.
The next few days me and my grandmother drove over 500 km and visited family and friends in different towns and cities across Lithuania.
As we headed back I stopped to see a friend I met a few summers back at camp. Even being thousands of kilometres away we managed to stay friends and continued to meet up each time I came to Lithuania. Even though we only had a couple of hours to catch up we made the most of it. One of the best things in life I find is having friends from all over the world. You are exposed to different cultures, languages, traditions and different ways of communicating. I didn't have a chance to see some of my other close friends but I would be back in the summer once more.
The last 2 days before leaving I spent with my other grandmother. Communicating with her is quite difficult. I for example know Lithuanian and she knows very little. Her main languages are Russian and Polish. Although I do understand bits and pieces of both those languages I can't communicate back to her. So having a full conversation is hard but we make it work. After visiting her I spent the full day on the farm with my cousins and great aunts. These people are my second family and never judged me or questioned my life choices and always encouraged me, and for that I love them. The farm has no running water, toilet or shower. True rustic life. Making breakfast and you need eggs to make pancakes or an omelette? you just go to the barn and collect some eggs from the chickens. Need some milk? go to the neighbours 2 kms away and buy some milk from them. We used to have cows but there hard work and as my relatives are in their late 60's and 70's it's a lot for them. In the summer we grow all kinds of vegetables and fruits. We live off the land. And you're probably guessing how do you shower when you have no running water. We have saunas and in Lithuania we call them "pirtis", which refers to bathing or a very hot bathhouse. You have a room that is very hot and moist with steam, accompanied by stones that are heated and water is poured over them to create humidity in the room. You also have one large bucket of cold water and another bucket of water heated over a fire to create warm water for use. The sauna has many health benefits, opening up your pores and raising your blood pressure. There's also own activity where you beat the body with a "birch broom" which is believed to make the body stronger and help blood circulate quicker. It's something I've grown accustomed to and something that truly helps to relax and you feel much better after. As night approached I headed back to the city to pack and get a couple of hours of sleep before my 6am flight back to London.
It was refreshing and nice break from my chaotic life in London. After 5 days, 2 flights, 1 bus, over 500 kms by car, 2 cities, 2 towns, over 15 relatives it had come to an end of my trip.
