Los Andželo gitarų kvartetas pakerėjo Vilnių - Los Angeles Guitar Quartet Enchants Audiences in Vilnius

Kultūros reikalų asistentės Jūratės Kirvaitienės pasakojimas apie vieną iš JAV kultūros programų, vykusių Lietuvoje, kurias remia JAV ambasada. 

Vilniaus klasikinės gitaros muzikos gerbėjai galėjo pasidžiaugti reta dovana – neseniai įvykusiu „Grammy“ apdovanojimo laureatų bei JAV instrumentinės muzikos žvaigždžių - Los Andželo gitarų kvarteto, koncertu.  Ansamblio pirmąsias gastroles Lietuvoje organizavo Baltijos gitarų kvartetas, Vilniuje susikūrusi jaunų gitaros talentų grupė, įkvėpimo kūrybai besisemianti iš atvykusių svečių. Amerikiečių virtuozų vizitą Vilniuje rėmė JAV ambasada.

Los Andželo gitarų kvarteto nariai William Kanengiser, Matthew Greif, John Dearman ir Scott Tennant klausosi jauno gitaristo iš Lietuvos - Tado Umbraso

Gruodžio 15 d. Lietuvos nacionalinės filharmonijos didžiojoje salėje gausiai susirinkę klausytojai ovacijomis įvertino Amerikos gitarų muzikos virtuozus. Subtiliai bei įkvepiančiai charizmatiškųjų muzikantų pristatyta koncerto programa, atskleidė plačią žanrinę plejadą bei neįtikėtinai aukštą gitaros meistrų muzikinį lygį.  Magiško garso istorijos viena po kitos liejosi it tobulai išbaigti vaizdiniai dailininko drobėje: nuo šiuolaikinių renesanso epochos muzikos interpretacijų, meditacinio skambesio Tilmano Hoppstocko „Transcendentinės siuitos“ iki vitališkos ispaniškos pjesės, kurios aranžuotę parengė pasaulinis gitaros muzikos meistras Pepė Romero. Koncerto metu nuskambėjo ne tik nepriekaištingai sugroti kūriniai, bet ir puiki lietuvių kalba svečių lūpose.

Los Andželo gitarų kvartetas Lietuvos nacionalinės filharmonijos didžiojoje salėje Vilniuje
 (Nuotrauka: Delfi) 

Tą pačią dieną mažojoje Filharmonijos salėje kvarteto nariai susitiko su jaunais Lietuvos atlikėjais ir gitaros muzikos studentais, mokytojais bei žurnalistais, rašančiais muzikos temomis. Chris Ruebens,  Baltijos gitarų kvarteto narys, moderavo pokalbį su svečiais iš Amerikos, kurie noriai ir atvirai pasidalino savo didžiule patirtimi, įgyta per daugiau nei tris dešimtmečius įvairiose koncertinėse salėse, kaip Čikagos Orkestro salėje, Tokijo Opera City salėje, Londono Wigmore Hall salėje bei Niujorko Lincoln Center ir Carnegie Hall salėse.

Ansamblio kūrybinio kelio vingiai ne vienam susitikimo dalyviui pasirodė įkvepiantys bei užburiantys, kaip ir jų kuriama muzika.

(Iš kairės į dešinę: John Dearman, Chris Ruebens iš Baltijos gitarų kvarteto, William Kanengiser ir Matthew Greif)

***

Cultural Assistant Jurate Kirvaitiene explores one of the American cultural programs the U.S. Embassy recently supported with a small grant.

Recently, appreciative audiences in Vilnius enjoyed a rare musical gift – a chance to hear the exquisite sound of an American Grammy Award-winning, premier instrumental ensemble, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. The quartet made its first ever visit to Lithuania at the invitation and organization of the Baltic Guitar Quartet, an international group of guitar music talents, who drew inspiration from their American peers. The U.S. Embassy was happy to award a small grant to help bring the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet to Vilnius.

William Kanengiser, Matthew Greif, John Dearman and Scott Tennant of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet listen to Lithuanian guitar students, Tadas Umbrasas, perform

On December 15, the great hall of the National Philharmonic attracted a full house of 500 patrons, who delighted in the performance by the American guitar virtuosi, popularly known as “LAGQ.” The program presented by the charismatic and distinctive musicians transported music lovers on a magical journey through a myriad of genres and concert masterworks. It was a tapestry of the sublime: from a modern interpretation of the music of the Renaissance to the other-worldly sound of contemporary “Transcendental Suite” by Tilman Hoppstock to a buoyant rendition of a Spanish play arranged by the grand master Pepe Romero. The American guitarists also won the hearts of the audience with a perfect Lithuanian address.

LA Guitar Quartet at National Philharmonic in Vilnius (Photo: Delfi) 

Earlier that day, the Quartet also shared its mastery with Lithuanian guitar students, music teachers and journalists at the Philharmonic’s small hall. Chris Ruebens, a member of the Baltic Guitar Quartet, interviewed the four American guests – who have performed together for more than three decades in venues from Chicago’s Orchestra Hall to Tokyo’s Opera City and London’s Wigmore Hall to New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

The story of the group’s creative genesis proved to be as inspiring and enchanting as its music.

(L to R: John Dearman, Chris Ruebens of the Baltic Guitar Quartet, William Kanengiser and Matthew Greif)

New Fulbright Grant for Art Historians

Today, we're pleased to report that Terra Foundation for American Art has just subsidized a new Fulbright grant for U.S. scholars interested in teaching American Art history in EU countries.

The Fulbright-Terra Foundation Award in the History of American Art offers two grants per year at any university in a European Union country (except France, Germany, and the UK, where the Foundation already has established teaching fellowships).  The grants are for undergraduate and/or graduate teaching in history of American art prior to 1980 and for research.  Scholars will be expected to aid host institutions in developing, modeling and adapting American art history curriculum.  They can also give seminars, workshops, and public lecturers, as well as advise graduate students on theses.  The award is for early career scholars up to the Associate Professor level, for one semester grants starting fall 2015.  A letter of invitation from a prospective host institution is required with the application.

Picturesque city of Telsiai

The grant amounts for stipend, housing, living costs and international transportation will correspond to your country benefit levels. Funds for books and for guest lecturing at other institutions in the host country will be included, as these are important to the foundation. Dependent allowances, including tuition reimbursement, will be available, if applicable.  Details can be seen here. 

We most certainly hope you can help us spread the word for this new program and encourage art historians you know to apply for a grant to Lithuania.  Vilnius Academy of Art and its campus in Telšiai offer great opportunities for art historians. 

Vilnius Cathedral Square

American Embassy Raises Funds to Stock Food Bank

On February 5th, the Embassy community organized a bake sale to raise funds for a local food bank. We're thrilled to report we were able to raise enough money for  220 pounds of rice, 200 pounds of barley, 80 pounds of chicken, 110 pounds of potatoes, 50 pounds of carrots and 50 pounds of onions!  The food went straight to the kitchen because there was a very large group waiting to eat and all they had to serve was

some cold cuts and bread. 

What's in a name? Lithuanian names may be the most original in Europe.

            Without a doubt, Lithuania is a country that is proud of its heritage. Vilnius boasts the largest Old Town in Europe, and the area is sprinkled with reminders of the city’s medieval beginnings. From the last remaining tower of Gedimino Castle to Vilnius Cathedral supposedly built on the site of a pagan temple, symbols of Lithuania’s unique heritage are always close by—and this is most apparent when one looks at Lithuanian names.

            Lithuanian names are a blend of the old and the new. Names such as Aleksandras, Monika, and Arturas look familiar to most foreigners as they are Lithuanianized versions of names found across multiple cultures. Biblical names, like Jonas, Lukas, and Marija, have also enjoyed popularity over the centuries into the present day. Some names have a more general meaning—such as Dalia, meaning “fate” (which happens to be the name of Lithuania’s current president, Dalia Grybauskaite). Other names are uniquely Lithuanian. At the beginning of the twentieth century, after gaining independence from a century of Russian occupation, Lithuania experienced a revival of names that beckoned to its rich past. These names span mythology, nature, and history. One very popular name is Vytautas, or Vytas for short. Vytautas was one of the most famous Grand Dukes in Lithuanian medieval history, and to this day the name connotes power, strength, and patriotism. 

Grand Duke Vytautas. See credits for all images below.

          Another historical name is Gediminas, the knight who founded Vilnius (along with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in the early 14^th century. Besides the medieval tower that overlooks the city, and the statue of him and his horse near Cathedral Square, the main avenue of Vilnius also bears his name.

Gedimino Prospekt with Vilnius Cathedral at the end. 

        Other names reflect Lithuania’s natural environment; for example, the feminine name Eglė, which means “spruce” or “pine tree.” The name Gintaras (masculine) or Gintare (feminine) means “amber”, a naturally occurring stone that is a popular Baltic souvenir when set in jewelry. The feminine name “Rūta” is also the name of Lithuania’s national plant. 

A rue plant.

         This is just a brief overview of the multitude of names that exist throughout Lithuania. Looking at the meanings of these names gives a tantalizing glimpse of this country’s heritage—and these names ensure that that heritage is preserved and passed on through generations.

The following articles were used as references.

Tracevskis, Rokas M. “The Changing Fashions of Lithuanian Names.” The Baltic Times 21 Feb. 2002. http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/6062/

Schmalstieg, William R. “Lithuanian Names.” Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences 28.3 (1982). http://www.lituanus.org/1982_3/82_3_01.htm

“Lithuanian Names.” Behind the Name: The Etymology and History of First Names. Mike Campbell, 1996-2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/lithuanian

Image credits

Picture of Grand Duke Vytautas courtesy of Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vytautas_the_great.jpg.

Picture of Gedimino Prospekt is author's own.

Picture of rue flowers courtesy of Pantry Garden Herbs at http://pantrygardenherbs.com/?attachment_id=11973.

Lithuania's Honorary Consuls: Heinz Otto Veinsreideris

This is another installment in our continuing series profiling Lithuania's Honorary Consuls in the United States. Thanks to Aiste Zalepuga who conducted the interviews with each Consul and collected additional materials.

Heinz Otto Veinsreideris was born in Gotha, Germany to Lithuanian parents, and relocated to the United States six years later. He received his B.S. in Engineering and his MBA in Management and Finance from St. Cloud State University. He then began work with the 3M Company, from which he retired as Business Director in 2004 after a 37-year career.

Minnesota has a population of 5.3 million. It is home to the headquarters of a number of international corporations, including United Health, General Mills, Target, and Best Buy among others. It is also, according to the most recently reported census information, home to more than four thousand  Lithuanian-Americans and Americans with Lithuanian heritage.

The Lithuanian-American Community of Minnesota (LACMN) has about 200 regular members, and is the preeminent force of promotion for Lithuania and Lithuanian culture in the state. It sponsors activities like the Martyno Mazvydo School, designed to teach children from ages three to eleven to speak, read, and write Lithuanian, in addition to the country's history and traditions. LACM also sponsors a choir, a sports club, and a folk dance group. Annually, it holds a mid-February celebration of the original Lithuanian Independence Day of 16 February 1918, as well the second Independence Day on 11 March 1990. Celebrants partake in authentic Lithuanian food, and learn about Lithuanian history and independence through films, stories, and songs. At the May Festival of Nations in St. Paul, the LACMN hosts a Lithuanian cultural booth. In the summer, it holds the St. John's Day Festival, or Jonines Celebration. Then, in the fall, the community celebrates the completion of harvest time with genuine Lithuanian cuisine, the LACMN Lithuanian dance group, Vejava, and a children's show.

For Heinz Otto Veinsreideris, the Lithuanian culture is something imbedded within him. Following the end of World War II, he and his family immigrated to the United States with the assistance of the International Refugee Committee. They reached the U.S. in March 1949 aboard the USS General Sturgis and later settled in Long Prairie, Minnesota where his father worked for a large printing company. Although German by birth, Mr. Veinsreideris has always considered himself Lithuanian. "We only spoke Lithuanian at home," he told us, "and my sister and I still speak to each other in the language."

As Lithuania's Honorary Consul to Minnesota, Veinsreideris is in charge of Lithuanian affairs for the state, a task, he says, is composed of three parts: diplomatic, economic, and cultural. "In terms of diplomatic activities, these are largely the result of receiving requests for assistance by either individuals or various organizations," he explained. He is required to research and understand the Consulate's Lithuanian passport and visa requirements, length of stay restrictions, and visa issuance locations. If a Lithuanian citizen enters the U.S. illegally, specifically Minnesota, then Border Patrol notifies Mr. Veinsreideris. He then provides the necessary translation services, and any additional contact or general information that he/she might require.

Economic duties include membership on the American Lithuanian Economic Development Advisory Council, and ameliorating any further economic issues that arise at the Honorary Consul meetings in Washington, DC. As a member of the Consular Corps of Minnesota, he also meets six times each year with Minnesota business and political leaders, including Governor Dayton, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Senate Majority Leader. Their most recent topic of discussion was the possibility of an expansion of trade betweeen Minnesota and the international market.

To support Lithuanian culture in the United States, Veinsreideris has aligned himself with the LACMN (noted above). In addition, he is a Patron of the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, a contributor to the Lithuanian Fund, and a participant in the Global Honorary Consul meeting in Vilnius. His involvement with Lithuanian-Americans spans more than fifty years. He even attended the very first Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival in Chicago. His goals as Consul are to nurture the United States' already strong ties with Lithuania, and to further strengthen them through consular and economic negotiations in partnership with cultural awareness programs. 

Happy Halloween!

It’s that time of year—fall in all its golden-leafed glory has settled into Vilnius and Halloween is just around the corner! On Saturday, October 26^th, the Embassy ushered in the spooky holiday almost a week early with the second annual “Monster Mash” 5k family run in Vingis Park. Employees, their families, and furry canine friends all braved the nippy autumn air to run (or stroll) through Vingis Park decked in an assortment of costumes and warm running clothes.

Everyone assembled at the starting line--on your marks, get set, go!

A view of the forest and river from the bridge in the park.

Some of the costumes were really creative! I know it was difficult for me to come up with my costume, so I was impressed with what others put together. I was particularly impressed with the Whitney family--they all coordinated as the Incredibles:

Cool costumes!

Danielle (our Presidential Management Fellow), Matt (the Political and Economic section intern), and I all improvised with what we had and this was our result:

 A pumpkin, Miley Cyrus, and Minnie Mouse.

The race was scenic and enjoyable. Vingis Park has paved running and cycling paths, and we weren’t the only ones out enjoying the crisp fall weather. In our bright orange t-shirts and interesting costume ensembles, we turned quite a few heads as we all circled around the running route! The race finished with the presentation of pumpkins to the first- and second-place winners, as well as the consumption of some delicious cake brought by the Deputy Chief of Mission and his wife.

 The winners with their pumpkin prizes--Jonathan Silberstein (R) and Drew Brown (L).

This race is just one of several great examples of how hard overseas posts work to coordinate family activities. Events like this are a nice way to get acquainted with the embassy community outside of the office—and for interns, that is definitely something to take advantage of.

Lithuania's Honorary Consuls: Dennis Garrison

Another installment in our series profiling Lithuania's Honorary Consuls in the United States. Thanks to Aiste Zalepuga who conducted the interviews with each Consul and collected additional materials. 

Dennis Garrison is Lithuania's Honorary Consul in San Francisco. He received his undergraduate education from Illinois Wesleyan University and his graduate degree in business from Illinois State University. Formerly a Certified Public Accountant and college professor, he has worked in the  Sports Club business for the past 33 years.

San Francisco, California is the fourth most populous city in the state and the fourteenth most populous in the United States. Today, it ranks within the top 35 tourist destinations in the world. The large area around San Francisco is also the center of technological innovation and venture capital, including Silicon Valley, home to the world's largest technology companies and thousands of small startups. It is the leader in high-tech innovation and development, responsible for thirty-three percent of venture capital investment in the United States. Moreover, the surrounding area includes some of the world's most highly regarded universities, including Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley, both of which are renowned research centers, which produce highly qualified graduates in technology, medicine, law and business.

A moderately sized Lithuanian community also exists within Northern California, and as Lithuania's Honorary Consul to the region, it is Dennis Garrison's job to promote Lithuanian social and artistic events there. "Right now, we have a growing Saturday Lithuanian language club for children and adults," he informed us. "Opportunities for education, research, and employment are also outstanding. Certainly, this is the best area in the world for innovation in technology related fields. While opportunities for exporting Lithuanian products here are limited, the exchange of ideas and technologies for the development of new products and jobs in Lithuania are available."

Garrison first visited Lithuania in 2001 to assist in the development of the Forum Palace in Vilnius. While there, he traveled to a variety of schools in the country's rural areas and helped to establish summer programs for the children. "My wife and I have developed friendships with over twenty children that we stay in contact with and support whenever we can," he said. "We have hosted Lithuanian college students in our home and traveled to Lithuania often. We have friends in most major cities and many small towns."

Honorary Consul Dennis Garrison and wife, Sally, at a summer camp in Dubingiai, Lithuania

In San Francisco, he works to ensure proper representation of Lithuanian culture. As Honorary Consul, he is also a member of the Consular Corps. In other words, he is responsible for helping to support the Embassy in Washington, DC, the General Consuls in Chicago and New York, and the other Honorary Consuls in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Often, Garrison finds himself as a liaison between Lithuanian government official and business delegations who visit San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. On a daily basis, his duties range from assisting Lithuanians with any passport issues they may encounter whilst in the United States to researching Americans' relatives and ancestors in and from Lithuania.  "Certainly, I also make an effort to recognize the accomplishments of Lithuanians in athletics, especially basketball," he adds.

Tolerating the Intolerable: Lessons Learned from Dr. David Frick's Lectures in Lithuania

Dr. David Frick with book Kith, Kin, and Neighbors

Last week, Dr. David Frick, a professor of History and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California Berkeley, visited Lithuania to deliver a series of lectures based on his book Kith, Kin, and Neighbors: Communities and Confessions in Seventeenth-Century Vilno.

Dr. Frick began his lecture, titled “Tolerating the Intolerable: Coexistence in Seventeenth-Century Vilnius” with the following address:

To say that early modern Vilnius was a multi-confessional city risks understating the variety of competing and overlapping demands that religions, cultures, languages, and ties of ethnicity made upon individual Vilnans; it also obscures the means by which co-existence in the city was made feasible.  In my comments today, I will attempt to locate Vilnius on the map of confessional Europe:  to assess the range of its multi-confessionalism; to reveal some of the manners and mechanisms its citizens developed for encouraging, facilitating, and sometimes imposing toleration among its inhabitants; and to place the city on a spectrum of the solutions found in contemporary European communities for addressing the problems that arose when members of more than one confession attempted to live in one city—from exclusion at one extreme to types of inclusion at the other.

In the course of an hour, he took me and the other audience members back to 1665, to a place known then as Vilno, a modestly-sized city populated by Poles, Lithuanians, Germans, Ruthenians, and Tatars (in addition to some numbers of Scots, Italians, and other immigrants). These people worshipped in 23 Catholic, nine Uniate, one Orthodox, one Calvinist and one Lutheran church, one chief synagogue, and one mosque; they spoke Polish, Ruthenian, German, Yiddish, Lithuanian, and some Tatar; and they prayed in Latin, Church Slavonic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and a little Arabic.

For me, and I’m sure for many of you reading this post as well, such a city is not unique. We, after all, live in a globalized society. But imagine yourself in 1665. For that matter, imagine yourself in a royal city in 1665. English Parliament was in the process of enacting the Five Mile Act, seeking to enforce conformity to the established Church of England. The Portuguese were battling Spain to retain their independence. In what is now present-day India, the Mughals were fighting the Maratha Empire for territorial gains. And yet, within all of this madness, there existed the city of Vilno.

What the Secretary Said--John Kerry in Vilnius

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

U.S. Embassy Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania

September 7, 2013

What has taken place here in 20 years plus one is really remarkable, and I am told that back in 1992 when we were first setting up shop here after the end of the Soviet Union, they had to bring truckloads of cash down from Finland in order to be able to just pay people because there weren’t even banks. It just wasn’t even functional. And so now, you all have this incredible burgeoning economy. We have – we, the United States, and Lithuania--have a remarkable relationship which is built partly on security, partly on economics, partly on democracy, on hopes about the future.

And what really excites me is what’s happening with respect to the energy diversification, climate change efforts, the efforts to create the European Eastern Partnership. All of these things are going to guarantee that not only will this relationship stay strong and flourish, but as we go forward, the economy here is going to get stronger, the democracy here will become more entrenched, and this will become really one of the great models for transformation out of a period of just kind of crushing restraint and oppression, and I don’t even want to go back to some of the stories. In fact, as I drove up here, the Ambassador pointed out what is now a Holocaust museum that used to be a place where the KGB used to take people and terrible, terrible things went on.

So that’s the transformation. All of you are part of this amazing adventure we get to be part of. I get to be the Secretary and parachute in like this for a few hours, and I know that these visits aren’t simple and a lot of work goes into them. I also have learned that the minute I get out of here, there’s a pretty good wheels-up party – (laughter) – which I never get to share in. But I just want to say thank you to you on behalf of America, on behalf of the President, and all of us who are privileged to work for our fellow citizens. There honestly is no more rewarding kind of work.

For those of you in the consular division, you’re the face of America. Somebody walks in and they talk to you and you have an interview and they need to get a visa, and they want to either emigrate or they want to just visit or be a student and go over and study or have an opportunity to sort of touch our values and our dreams, that’s a big deal. For many of you, you may be the only American people we’ll ever see. And whether you’re a civil servant or a Foreign Service officer, you get to come to work every day and build a bridge, build a relationship, reach out to people with a set of values that we all believe in, which historically have made a huge difference to people all over the world.

That is good work. That’s a great, great job. I wish it was better paying for everybody. It’s not what we all get into this for. We’re in it because we love what we do, we love the opportunity to change people’s lives, we love the opportunity to bring America to other parts of the world, and we love to build the friendships and the relationships that go with it. And they last a lifetime and they’re worth every moment of it.

In tribute to that, the Ambassador, Deborah, was just in Afghanistan, and we’re pleased that we have a special working relationship here in Lithuania for a small country – I think it was the smallest country leadership of the PRT – and working with us and others – Georgians, I think, and some others in there – we had this tremendous PRT effort. And just the other day – we’ve now transferred that PRT, as we are now transferring and transitioning out of Afghanistan – the PRT commander honored us, all of us, and particularly the Ambassador by giving to her the flag that was flying there.

It says “The USA National Flag was waving over Forward Operating Base Shield of the Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghor Province of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The hard work, dedication, and actions of the USA representatives directly supported and assisted the PRT to reach the goals and objectives in support of the ISAF mission,” and that’s dated 25 August 2013. Folks, that belongs to all of you, to this Embassy, to our efforts jointly, and it’s a huge statement about this wonderful relationship and participation we have.

A Fulbrighter's Love Affair with Old-Town Vilnius

Another installment today from Dr. Petrie, Associate Professor and English Department Chair at Colorado Christian University, who was a Fulbright grantee to Lithuania in 2006.

Vilnius has long been a cosmopolitan city with many cultures and ethnicities, and the Old-Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since I was teaching at the University there, it made sense for us to live in the center of Old-Town Vilnius, but our location offered much more than convenience.  The energetic mish-mash of cultures, shops, entertainment, and dining experiences there was unique and unforgettable.  With every day that passed, our street, Totoriu Gatve, named in reference to the fact that it was, long ago, the Tatar quarter of the city (just as Vokieciu Gatve means “German Street” for the same reason) fascinated me more and more. Across the street from our flat was an antique shop, run by an antique lady who lived in the flat above it and featured lace curtains in all her windows, each of a different pattern. 

Directly next to her lies the Transylvania, a pub which advertises +Guinness GB and seemed to be very popular with motorcyclists and British tourists. My husband still claims that you haven't lived until you've seen a tipsy Brit singing Diana Ross's "Stop in the Name of Love" to a passing Taxi in Lithuania. When the Scots were in town for the Lithuania/Scotland football match, we heard a lot of "Auld Lang Syne" coming from there, and our street was flooded by men in kilts. The pub and the antique shop seemed to exist in a semi-armed detente, in which the proprietor of the shop shook her head and clicked her tongue out the window, and the motorcyclists made their bikes backfire in response.

Tubas, Nigerian drama, and Lithuanian Identity: Teaching Literature as a Fulbright Scholar

Today's guest-blogger is Dr. Windy Counsell Petrie, Associate Professor and English Department Chair at Colorado Christian University, who was a Fulbright grantee to Lithuania in 2006. During her time in Lithuania, Dr. Petrie lectured at several Universities on representations of exile in nineteenth- and twentieth-century World Literature as well as the role of female and African American authors in American literary history. Here are her reflections on making the transition from an American University to a Lithuanian one.

On the first day of school at Vilnius University, where I was a visiting scholar, I walked down to campus and witnessed the opening ceremonies for the school year, which occur in the first of many lovely courtyards of the University. Students, spectators, and  tourists watched and listened as the school orchestra played the National Anthem and the University song, children danced in traditional folk costume, and the administration and faculty filed out of the main building onto a large adjoining platform. Speeches were made, the national and University flags raised, and I found it quite moving.  Although I think many Americans would find it quaint to spend the first day of school in festivities, with a band in the background, instead of getting right down to business, I think there’s a certain wisdom to this tradition. After all, any new chance to learn should be celebrated, with tubas if necessary.  

Experiences of a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow

Before I leave to go back to the States, I wanted to share with all the readers the experiences I have had as a Pickering fellow. The end of my time here in Vilnius also takes me from being a Pickering Fellow to a Pickering Alumni, as it is the final requirement of my contract with the foundation. 

To begin with, The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Programs provide funding to participants as they prepare academically and professionally to enter the United States Department of State Foreign Service. Women, members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, and students with financial need are encouraged to apply. 

2011 GFAF Esther Joe and FAF Kimberly Everett completed their internships in Kuwait City, Kuwait. They had the opportunity to be site officers for Secretary Kerry's visit and to assist with preparations for the Secretary's high-level meetings at the Bayan Palace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I started to prepare my application for the Fellowship in September of my senior year in college, and the application was due in February. I worked closely with the writing center, our Director of Scholarships, and the Ambassador in Residence at the University of Central Florida. After writing twenty-seven drafts of my personal statement, I finally turned in the application. I was then selected to continue the process through a writing test in which you are given two hypothetical situations or issues and  you must write about them within a certain amount of time while being supervised via Skype. After I passed this test, I was invited to Washington, D.C. to be interviewed... along with 40 other people... for 20 positions. I practiced with UCF doing mock interviews before flying out to the nation's capital. All the people I met there were incredibly impressive and qualified. I was nervous, but prepared, as I sat in a closed room in front of two professors and an Ambassador, being grilled on what the Pickering Fellowship would mean to me. A month later I was notified that I was selected as a Pickering Fellow!

Labas from Sara!

Hello! Labas! My name is Sara and I am one of the current interns at the US Embassy Vilnius. I am 21 years old and come from the warm and sunny American state of South Carolina. I am thrilled to be in Lithuania, especially with all of the snow falling right now. I study International Studies and Political Science at Elon University in North Carolina, where I concentrate on European and German Studies. I have been to Lithuania twice before for studies with one of my professors who was a Fulbright Scholar to Lithuania, and I was very eager to return when I found out I would be interning with the Department of State. I think that Lithuania has a rich culture and history and I find it very exciting and interesting.

I have been in Vilnius for almost one month now and most of this time has been spent working on my very first project – the 1 Billion Rising dance! On February 14^th, an organization called V-Day planned for a movement of 1 billion women across the globe to dance in solidarity against violence against women. At the US Embassy Vilnius, we brought together men and women alike to dance. The movement truly aligns with the American values of human rights and women’s empowerment and brings the issues to the forefront. In 203 countries around the world, people came together on February 14^th to stop violence against women and girls and to demand an end to it.

Together with another intern, Meredith, I worked on organizing a rising at our embassy. If you ask Meredith and me, we definitely will not say that we are the best dancers, but this dance is fun and upbeat and we really enjoyed learning and teaching it. During several lunches leading up to February 14^th, we had groups gather to practice before the big performance that would be filmed. Everyone worked very hard to get the dance down pact, moving and grooving in their business attire. For our final dance, different parts of the dance were done all over the city, including Cathedral Square, Town Hall Square, St Anne’s Cathedral, and the Wedding Chapel. By doing the dance around the city, we were able to show how beautiful Vilnius is and some of the sights to see in the city. We had a wide variety of people come out to dance with us, including Lithuanian staff, American staff, interns, and even the Marine Guards. The different segments were then carefully put together and made it into a cool music video. 1 Billion Rising is a very fun event to have the opportunity to work on. As a woman, I feel that this event is important in bringing awareness to the issue around the globe. Plus, as a foreigner, it was very cool to not just see some new sights in the city of Vilnius, but to actually dance beside them.

You can watch the video here!

TEDx Vilnius - Hungry for Action

Have you heard of TED? Chances are that the answer is "John... of course." With conferences happening all over the world, at every time of the year, and a website that hosts over one thousand free speeches by famous or up-and-coming intellectual champions, there is no denying that the TED brand has gone global. If you haven't heard of it before, then you need to get it together; and if you have no idea why I am talking about TED... well I haven't told you yet. The short answer is that I finally attended a TEDx conference, right here in Vilnius, and it was a great experience.

The fantastic organizers - note how everybody is so young (source: flickr)

In 2006, TED conference speeches known as "TED talks" became available online for free. Giving the public free access to quality content usually has a positive effect, and in this case the move took a California-based tech conference for CEOs and turned it into a phenomenon discussed in classrooms and around dinnertables around the globe. Young people especially are attracted to the conferences, which I believe has a lot to do with the enthusiasm and optimism that TED speakers evoke when they discuss the present and future. Maybe it's the positive energy that attracts an audience, or maybe it's the ability to watch light particles move at one-trillion frames per second. You decide.

It is incredibly easy for a student to learn from these "talks". I can regularly sit down on my couch, turn on my Xbox 360, open Netflix and find an interesting topic to learn about. One talk takes maybe 15 minutes of your time and there are over a thousand to choose from! (There is a Seinfeld episode for every social situation, a Mythbusters episode for every good story, and now a "TED talk" for every intelligent discussion) So take yourself back twenty years and listen to this prediction: "Couch + television + gaming console will be the perfect medium for students to watch lectures on business, science, culture, and ethics. Young adults and teenagers, of their own volition, will watch these lectures, talk about them, and be inspired." Even today you probably don't believe it, but it is completely true.

Segueing into this recent event I attended, independent TED events have been popping up everywhere. The people who run TED realized that other people were getting really excited about the concept. They created the TEDx brand, setting up guidelines for anyone to independently host a proper conference. People in nearly every major country (with notable exceptions) are hosting events now, and lots of them. You can see for yourself on this map of upcoming conferences from the TEDx website, where the red X indicates a sold-out event.

There is currently one green circle on the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. Another TEDx event has been planned for November 17. This one was planned by youths and focuses on the positive impact young people have in Lithuania. Seats are still available, but probably not for long.

So the TEDx event in Vilnius took place on October 6th. While TED's slogan is "ideas worth spreading", TEDxVilnius took that in a different direction. The organizers wanted to move beyond ideas and focus on results, and so the event's catchphrase became "Hungry for Action". Speakers were asked to bring their subject into the context of a growing intellectual and entrepreneurial spirit in Lithuania. It is a country in the infancy of its modern independence with one of the most highly educated young populations in the world. People are indeed hungry for action here, and the speakers did their best to deliver.

From Saturday morning until late evening, many people spoke on a wide variety of social, cultural, and scientific topics (women in science, the effect of foreign media in Lithuania, a perspective on the 2008 economic crisis). There were artists, musicians, businessmen and scientists who all had something meaningful to share. Being a junky for speeches on science and tech, here were a couple of my favorites, who formed an impromptu one-two punch on the future of the technology industry:

Andrew Hessel (source: singularityhub.com)

• Self-proclaimed "genomic futurist" Andrew Hessel took the conference into the future in his discussion of biotechnology and genetic engineering. Hessel is an American microbiologist and geneticist who has dedicated his life to the advancement of genomics. At TEDxVilnius, he described the blurring line between men and machines, as scientists begin treating DNA like a programming language. By controlling DNA, scientists are able to radically change life and even custom-build new lifeforms in the interest of modern medicine. Hessel also described the ongoing and breathtaking advancements being made in computer "intelligence". As computer capabilities increase exponentially, computers will be able to help scientists achieve new breakthroughs across the board.

Paulias Briedis (source: vz.lt)

• While Hessel's speech was incredibly cool, it took a Lithuanian to bring the technology sector back home. Paulius Briedis made a huge impression when he challenged Lithuanians to compare their technology industry to Japan's. A young guy himself, Briedis recently went hitchhiking through Japan for three years. Along the way, he made the observation that the research being done on robotics was happening in university laboratories. Lithuania's own university system is fairly advanced, and its student workforce highly motivated, leading Briedis to conclude there was no good reason for Lithuania to be left out of the tech sector while the Japanese flourish. Briedis focused in on AI and robotics as sectors that Lithuania could master, if only given the chance. He is not just talking about it, but rather he is living it: this last spring he co-founded a robotics start-up company that builds 3D printers and scanners, and writes curricula for inventive teachers and students. Briedis also has plans to open a school where robotic programming and engineering are a major part of the curriculum.

Speeches like Hessel's and Briedis' made TEDxVilnius worth the early Saturday morning. They were one part inspiration, one part rallying call. If enough Lithuanians believe in people like Briedis, then 20 years from now we could be looking at a booming robotic/technology sector in the Baltic region. You could feel this raw potential energy hanging around the auditorium that Saturday; on that note, what may be the most invigorating part of living in Lithuania is the inspiring freshness of people's ideas. Everything is new, few concepts have been tried before. You stand at a reception like the ones between speeches at TEDxVilnius, and you can see the Lithuanians who have fire in their eyes - who are ready to take ownership of their country and their ideas and do something great. It was pretty cool.