O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.....

We finally got a Christmas tree to put up. It was purchased at a "Maxima" which is similar to Target or Wal-Mart in the US. It's a large chain of grocery stores with a section for clothes, games, books, housewares, etc. The Maxima Susanne usually goes to is attached to the Akropolis mall which happens to be the largest mall in the Baltics. At this time of year, there are literally bus-loads of people who come here from Belarus, Latvia and who knows where to do their Christmas (or Hanukkah) shopping. The tree is about a foot short of the 11 1/2 foot ceilings on the main floor of the house and cost about the equivalent of $40. We bought a saw for about $3 so James would not be forced to resort to using his Leatherman to trim the end and branches like he did last year. (It took him the better part of the day.) Some people might say, why didn't he buy one last year? Finding things here is no small task. First you have to find out where something is likely to be, then you have to find out how to get there, then you have to fight traffic to get there. A simple errand for us in the US might take several hours here. Hence the reaction to avoid it and try to make-do. Someone we know spent several days looking for a hot glue gun simply because she doesn't speak Lithuanian and didn't know where to look. Anyway, the tree looks lovely.

The somewhat fuzzy picture is an attempt to capture the decorating theme of the hall where the school pageant was presented. There are large marionettes hanging around the walls, hence the name "Puppet Theater". The first part of the program was the various younger kids doing little songs and rhymes with a big finale that included the toddlers (2-year olds). The woman standing at the front of the stage is "Mrs. Austia" and I have no idea if that's spelled correctly. That is Louisa's teacher and that is actually her first name because her last name is too difficult for even the Lithuanian kids to say! She's a wonderful teacher and speaks excellent English. The little boy on the right of the picture with girls and boys in red vests is our grandson, Nicholas. His class sang a couple of songs. Then the second part of the program was a little play called "Elfis and the Sleigh Riders" about one of Santa's elves who starts a rock band. It was mostly songs sung to recorded music but it was pretty cute. The boy in the t-shirt in the middle of the picture is our oldest grandson here in Lithuania. The program started off with the usual chaos involved with children but ran smoothly and fairly short (just under an hour). After the program there were refreshments offered by the PSA down in the lobby during which the kids ran amuck then complained all the way home about being hungry despite the abundance of food because they were too busy playing to eat! Just like my kids did and probably I did as a kid.............

Vilnius American School Christmas Pageant

These are pictures of the class Russ and I have been working with. The cute little girl with the gold bow is our granddaughter, Louisa. The boy in the pink bunny costume is Ugnius. The kids sang two songs and recited a poem, mostly about winter and snow rather than anything religious. Louisa's classmates are the oldest in this groups of kids at 4, the others are only 3. I'll do more pictures and description of the hall where this was held, called the Puppet Theater, tomorrow.

Embassy party desserts

As you can see, the dessert table was not big or heavily laden. To the credit of those responsible for the party, they did have plenty to continue refilling the platters that were there. The cookies: chocolate chip, cut-out and decorated sugar cookies, and brownies, were "American" choices. The cake was made by a local baker and was interesting- it had a mocha layer and a layer of some sort of alcohol flavored pudding. Needless to say, I took one taste and put it on the table of finished plates to clear away.

In case you're curious, as a tax payer, the ambassador furnished the food and paid the entertainers for the kids. However, the gifts given out were purchased, wrapped and discreetly brought by parents and placed under the tree, with name tags. The party was for all embassy employees and their families. Most of the people there were Lithuanians who work for the embassy driving, providing outside security, doing some desk jobs, and maintenance work. And a good time was had by all.........................

The American embassy Christmas party was held in the "American Center" which is currently some distance from the embassy itself. It's a nice building with an auditorium-type room for holding cultural events such as this party. Since arriving here we have also been there for an orientation meeting for new arrivals and a concert of American music. The top picture is the kids with the entertainers that were hired, including a very European-style Santa Claus who danced and told jokes in English and Lithuanian. The next picture is just a nice picture of our daughter-in-law and grand-daughter looking down from the balcony area where we stood to take the first picture. The last picture was an attempt to show the feast that was offered. Other than rolls, sliced ham (imported from somewhere because it's not available here, the best guess being that most Lithuanians can't afford such a large piece of meat), sliced turkey and vegetables with dip, I can't accurately tell you what all the dishes were. There were salads of all different kinds and I'm not even sure we could identify all of the ingredients at the time we ate them. I'll tell about the desserts next time.

Chicken Pox!

Tonight is the school Christmas pageant. It involves all of the kids from the pre-kindergarten 2-year old class to the sixth graders. Russ and I have been working in Louisa's class which is the pre-K 4 year olds. Normally there are 9 kids in the class, only 2 of which are native English speakers. One boy, Domynikas, is actually nearly 6 but he just started coming to the school, doesn't speak English, and his parents (apparently a "Lithuanian thing") want him to be 7 when he is in kindergarten. About a month ago, one of the boys with limited English, Lukas, was absent for nearly 2 weeks because he had chicken pox. Two of the kids in the class, Louisa and Ugne (pronounced oognah, she's the only other girl in the class) have been immunized for chicken pox. Ugnius (pronounced oognus, he's one of the boys with pretty fair English) had chicken pox when he was younger. Well, now there will be only 4 children representing their class in the pageant because all the rest are out with chicken pox: Povilas, Jokubas, Julius (pronounced Yoo-lus), Oliver (the little chap from England), and Domynikas will all be having an extra-long vacation from school. In the US, there are some quite heated opinions about immunizing. Salk, Sabin, and others in the medical field were certainly sincere in their efforts to ease some of the tragedies of childhood illnesses like measles, mumps, polio, and even chicken pox, which are even a problem to adults at times. Many people who are opposed to immunizations are too young to have known people who have had devastating, long-term affects from these once all-too common diseases. True, there are on occasion problems with reactions to the serum itself. But I have to seriously question whether widespread illness is preferable. I don't know why these kids have not had immunizations: expense, availability, lack of awareness, or belief. But I feel bad for the kids who are missing all of the holiday festivities.

Christmas season

Lithuania is mostly Christian. The once large population of Jews was eradicated more than 50 years ago. There may be Muslims here but they're not evident. Christmas decorations are not as showy here as in the US. About the only outside lighted decorations are huge Santas and Christmas trees on big businesses. Occasionally you can catch a glimpse of a tree or something through a window. This picture is a nativity scene that Russ and I made for gifts many years ago. It was a time when I had gone from the "what am I going to get for Christmas" focus through the "what do I get others for Christmas" to the "what is the REAL meaning of Christmas" focus. I slowly started reducing the Santa themed decorations in our home. It's not that I am totally opposed to Santa Claus. I just want to remember why we have this holiday. Generally I like the Christmas season because it's a time when people actually make an effort to be like the One this holiday commemorates. It's a time of year when I can be smiling and generous and helpful and people aren't as likely to be suspicious of my motives or sarcastic about my sincerity. I truly DO want to be like my Savior. And I find it pleasant to be around others who are trying to be kind and helpful and generous and charitable- like our Savior. Sometimes they don't even recognize that. They're just responding to the feel of the "season". I wish they would recognize exactly what that means and remember they could choose to be that way all year round.