Friends and Family,

Following a long and lovely summer, autumn is quickly turning into a winter chill. Fortunately, the onset of rain and cold is intermingled with some pleasant weather. The trees in the Old Town and city are stubbornly hanging on to their autumn leaves, and it is lovely when the sun is shining. Today I simply couldn't go home after researching at the office; I had to climb Gedimino hill to the red-brick tower that overlooks the city. It was that perfect state of warmness and chill when the air is crisp, a scarf necessary, and the nose turns a bit red, but the warm autumn sun paints a lovely scene wherever the eye gazes. And so autumn is fleeting, but I'm happy to enjoy whatever remnants of the fine season are left here in Lithuania. (pict above: view of old town from Gedimino Hill)(if you click on pictures, they enlarge)

I continue to bend my mind to research. I have been a bit busier the last three weeks or so. Last week I took a two hour bus ride to Kaunas (which I thoroughly enjoyed, as the countryside is beautiful with its rolling hills of green forest interspersed with the fall colors). I like such adventures as this - finding the correct bus to take to a city I've never been to and to find a place the exact location of which I am ignorant. It's good not to know too much about what you're doing and where you're going so as to have an adventure every now and then...come to think of it, I should officially make that my new motto. The only caveat is to always allow yourself sufficient time to be lost for a while. I wound through the streets of Kaunas to the Old Town and found the institute I was seeking where I was to meet a professor who has conducted some research on Lithuanian migration. She wrote a book on recent Lithuanian immigrantion to Chicago 1988-2000, so it was good to discuss research with her, thoughts on the direction I would like to take my study, and the possibility of collaboration. (Pict right/above: main pedestrian walkway in Kaunas with view of cathedral)

I spent most of my time at a conference of the European Resource Bank here in Vilnius a couple of weekends ago. The event was sponsored by my host-institution as part of the celebration of the institute's fifteen year anniversary. The topics weren't directly related to my research, but it was interesting nonetheless, especially to be around quite the crowd of free market-ers and self-described intellectuals. I particularly found entertainment value in a speech by one libertarian whose basic message was that government is the root of all evil, multiculturalism is bad, and the free market is the only answer. But learning more about the frailties of the welfare state and pension systems in the EU was somewhat interesting, as well. Jose Pinera, the famous Chilean economist and Chile's former Minister of Labor and Social Security, was the guest speaker.

Recently, I also attended a conference on labour emigration organized by Lithuania's representative to the EU parliament. This was basically the first initiative to raise discussion on the topic within government circles. So it was good to get a sense of the government's position (or lack thereof). The young law student from the university who translated for me was wonderful, so I spent some time afterward getting to know her more. (pict below: another view of Old Told from Gedimino Hill)

I thought I would offer some "about Lithuanians" observations which may be interesting/entertaining or not:
* One could get confused about whether Lithuania is a Nordic country due to the prevalence of dyed blonde hair here. If it is simply a way for people to distinguish themselves, someone had better come up with a new color soon...well, versions of red are still in style. But it is interesting, I still find it rare to see an older person with gray hair unless they are quite elderly. I wonder how much Lithuanians spend on average for hair dye annually.
* In the style scene, welcome to the world of very pointy toed shoes and boots...yes, even for the guys, although the tips avoid a fine point. Something I didn't notice last year is that it is also popular among the guys to wear leather race car driver type jackets.
* Fashion is such an interesting thing in this country. The greater the combination of colors in clothing worn at once, the better.
* Men are quite tall - surprisingly long legs. Maybe that helps to explain why basketball is described as the national religion.
* Telling a Lithuanian in Lithuanian that you don't speak Lithuanian doesn't seem to be very convincing to them.

I have a few travel adventures to look forward to this next month. My roommate, her boyfriend, and I are planning a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia. I've very much looked forward to one day visiting Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, so I'm quite looking forward to this trip. The trip will also give me the opportunity to set up some meetings on labour emigration while in Latvia and Estonia. Then, later in the month (Nov) I am planning to go to Hamburg, Germany for a conference on the new pattern of East-West migration. So, I have a busy and interesting month ahead of me it seems. I must say, the weeks really seem to go by quite rapidly here. (Pict below: a splendid trolleybus and remnant of Soviet times)

I've also connected with the International Women's Association of Vilnius and am helping with preparations for the International Christmas Charity Bazaar later in November. The goal of the event is to raise money for some local organizations, including a clinic for children with diseases, an infant home, special needs school, a couple of clinics, and others. Tables set up to sell baked goods and crafts that are representative of the holiday traditions of more than twenty different countries will be present. Charity events are not common in Lithuania as this aspect of civil society is not developed in the country. We are hoping for a good turnout as much advertising and requests for support and sponsorship have gone into the project.

I've started volunteering with a group of ladies from the church i'm attending and from the women's organization to help out once a week at an infant home for premature infants and for children and infants with various congenital and pathological diseases, as well as disabilities. Most of the infants are abandoned by their mothers in hospitals surrounding Vilnius. The main goal of the house is to organize and render specialized services, in order to reduce the infants morbidity and disabilities, to render social and training services and to improve the children's adaptation and integration in the community. They also help to find foster parents. We simply go for a couple of hours to hold and play with the babies and help with feeding.

While most of the young Lithuanians I have met are about my age, I like to hear what they remember from Soviet times and what they think of the transition these past fifteen years. One of my friends was telling about how families were issued coupons to purchase those things to fulfill their basic needs - furniture, clothing, food. Jurgita remembers everyone having identical furniture and similar clothing. Once, after her family moved into a new apartment, her father walked into the wrong apartment and thought it was theirs when he couldn't tell the furniture apart. As for shopping, Jurgita was telling me how her mom used to watch the neighbor women coming back from their errandss to see what products they had. She would then send Jurgita out to find out where the neighbor had purchased a particular good so that Jurgita's mom could rush off to find the same thing before it was all gone. It wasn't that people didn't have money, it was a matter of there not being anything on the shelves to buy. The rich people were known as the shop owners and the friends of the shop owners. Dalia, another friend, explained that what she mostly remembers is that it was a dark time and difficult to find what you needed to buy. One of her memories is of seeing bananas for the first time in the store after the Soviet Union collapsed. It was odd to her: they had never had bananas before or seemed to need them, but now they were available. A friend from my host-institute was telling me about when Lithuanians, along with citizens from the other two Baltic countries, formed the two million man human chain stretching from Vilnius to Tallinn (Estonia) in protest to Soviet occupation in 1989. Although his family was in the west of the country by the seaside, everyone in the town went out into the streets and joined hands when the time came. These and other such personal accounts and bits of memories fascinate me. (Pict above: lovely autumn)

What I appreciate about this experience and the opportunity it presents, is that it allows for research on a deeper level. In the book I mentioned previously on recent Lithuanian emigration to the U.S., the author draws from interviews that she conducted with Lithuanian emigrants in Chicago (very large community of Lithuanian immigrants reside in Chicago). And I find the views and stories told by the interviewees so fascinating. I get excited like I do when I am chatting with a Lithuanian here and they give me little glimpses of what life was like "back then" and how they think about life now after the soviet transition and in the context of this more recent transition of EU integration. And this is what I realize: the stories and perspectives bring the abstract concepts and ideas of the research down to a more personal and more meaningful level. It is really too bad to have the one without the other. Without the personal dynamic, it is more difficult to grasp the significance of the forces shaping the culture and society. Not only do people's everyday experience become more than data and statistics, but you begin to understand how their worldview has been shaped, what their values are, and what they think is important for their own future. It was the same in Central America. When people are willing to open the book of their lives to you, what you "know" begins to make more sense. You truly begin to understand and have a greater appreciation for the challenges people have had to overcome. I think this is an important element in research and a reason the Fulbright program is so great. And a whole ten months for one research project- how great is that!

That's all for this second update and my smatterings of different observations. So good to hear from many of you. I am working on responses to your emails.