Conducted 49 interviews

Revised my dissertation chapter outline 5 times

Partially drafted 4 chapters and the introduction of my dissertation

Attended 3 academic conferences

Traveled 71 times between Kaunas and Vilnius

Wrote 315 blog posts

Watched 214 episodes (10 full seasons) of the television series Stargate SG-1 on DVD

Built friendships, had adventures, improved my Lithuanian and had an all-around great time!

“When I was in the United States, I would say something and I knew I said it correctly in English, but still people wouldn’t understand me.  Sometimes when you say something in Lithuania, I have no idea what you said and now I understand how those Americans felt when I talked.”

Best “totally validates my opinion that Lithuanians don’t plan” quote — said to me by a Lithuanian who lived in the States for nearly 20 years as we were discussing how he could help me with my research:

“I’m going to write this down.  I learned how to plan in America.”

Most useful phrase I learned in Lithuanian this summer (unfortunately I had several opportunities to use it given the frequent thunderstorms):

“Eidama per parką, aš sušlapau [While walking through the park, I became completely wet].”

Best philosophical quote — from the summer course lecture on Lithuanian literature:

“Should we rely on the illusion that the era of changes ever comes to an end?”

There was a steady rain when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, but that didn’t stop us from hiking through the woods to see the river.  We put on rain slickers and rubber boots and off we went.  In the evening, we visited an artist in a neighboring village.  It turned out she had participating in the 1972 demonstrations so I ended up doing a spontaneous research interview (it seems that I can’t completely escape work).  On Sunday morning we drank tea by a bonfire, then headed back into the woods to collect mushrooms.

I was very excited to finally go mushrooming, which is a very Lithuanian activity.  We were looking for voveruška mushrooms (a type of chantrelle).  They are difficult to find.  You have to catch a glimpse of yellow gold under moss or leaves.  This was made more challenging by the small golden leaves on the ground — and by the fact that there is a mushroom of a similar color that is poisonous.  I was quite pleased that I was able to find quite a few and I came home with a basket of mushrooms.  We then cooked up the mushrooms and enjoyed the fruits of our labor.  It’s an easy dish — melt butter in a pan, pile the mushrooms in the pan, let them stew in their own juices until tender and pour over boiled potatoes.  Yummy!

Mushrooms I collected in the forest

A gnarled old apple tree -- this was my view from the table on the porch

I was especially happy to get to visit Milosz’s birthplace this year — the 100th year anniversary of his birth.

Woods...

the Nevezis River...

and me!

The medallion with CCCP and the shape of a person with outstretched arms on this man hole is the Soviet "mark of quality" from the 1980s

"Why, why, why" written in Russian on the side of an abandoned building in Visaginis

Even this blue cat on the side of an unfinished building is wondering "why?"