My dear friends and family,

Labas again from Lithuania. I can’t believe it is almost March! But spring is still a distant hope here. It has been a cold cold place. January was an especially cold month. I’m sure that if anyone had taken a poll on the most popular topic the weather would have won hands down…and not just as a convenient conversation topic. It was around 20-30 below (Celsius), which is somewhere maybe around 10 below Fahrenheit, I think. A three minute walk outside and one starts to lose feeling in the fingers, nose, etc. I may be a hardy Montanan girl, but freezing is still freezing. Nonetheless, hoorah for surviving real Lithuanian cold!

Let’s see. Since I have not been good about posting another blog recently, I shall have to backtrack some. I went home for about two weeks to spend the Christmas holiday with family. I’ve been back since Jan 1. It was, of course, wonderful to have the quick trip home, but I was also happy to be back to the country and research…and research has been keeping me rather busy. Amazing how there is never enough time in the day even on the other side of the world.

Here are some recent basics:
- A beginning Russian language course just started. I’m excited about that and hope the excitement will last. I decided to go with Russian over more Lithuanian. I think Russian may be more important for me in the long-term. Unfortunately, the problem with my Lithuanian is that it reached a decent introductory level but is not sufficient enough to really be able to carry on conversations. Oh well, at least I have some of the basics.
- I have been tutoring a young girl in English two days a week. She is an 11 year old Georgian/Lithuanian girl who attends the American international school here. She is very sweet and I’m enjoying working with her.












- I haven’t been going to the baby home/orphanage since before Christmas because of "hazardous" construction going on there. However, next week they are allowing us back. So I will hopefully be able go regularly with other ladies from the international community here. (pict: down the street where I live)
- The cultural life seems to thrive during this time of the year. Many theatre, drama, and dance performances and museum exhibitions taking place that I try to get to when I have time. Lithuania celebrated its 1918 independence day this past week. I went down to the Cathedral square with some friend and joined the large crowd of mostly young people for a celebratory concert. So we waved our little Lithuanian flags, cheered, danced around a bit (i.e. jumping up and down partly so as not to freeze and for fun), tried to pick out words from the freedom songs that we knew, and watched the big fireworks. Such a feeling to be a part of it all, you know.











- Some big traditional festivals are coming up in the country. One of these is "Shrove Tuesday" on February 28th. It actually marks the beginning of lent, but it has pagan roots. Apparently, people wander about the streets in costumes and masks, scaring old ladies or whoever else and causing mischief. It is basically a send-off to winter in an attempt to make it go away…though it doesn’t usually do so for quite some time. Also, people basically tricker-treat for blini/pancakes (not like ours – more like crepes). Part of the deal is also to eat lots and lots of these blini on this day and many times during the day. I have no problem with that as i love the things. There are also some other pagan traditions involved. I’ll let you know how fun and fascinating it all is. On March 4th there is another festival that takes place in the Old Town. It is essentially a big fair with a big crafts market with all sorts of authentic and interesting things made from straw, twigs, flowers etc. (pict: my flat just on the left of the "Gates of Dawn" in picture)
- Was a Heritage Foundation/Free Market Institute hosted event that took place at the Presidential palace in January. It was a presentation of the Freedom in the World Index 2006 results for Lithuania. Fun going to that…and then hearing the smart staff from the Institute stump the Heritage guy later with their questions/concerns about the index.
- Also went to Kaunas again in January to work on the survey questionnaire with a professor there.
- I'm sure there are many other things that I could note, but now I can't remember everything that i've been up to. When not doing research and having meetings, I'm usually hanging out with friends or hiding from the cold.












Update on research for those interested

I've been especially busy with research lately as I continue to whittle away at different projects. I have been collaborating with what is called the Civil Society Institute here in Vilnius on a survey project. It took some time to put the questionnaire together, investigate and meet with people concerning the possibilities of carrying it out, and finally to negotiate a final deal. In the meantime, I have been working my way through all the literature on different aspects of international migration and gathering data and information. I continue to synthesize what I am learning in the form of a report…that I don’t know what I’ll ultimately do with. But the Free Market Institute has decided that the emigration issue really is something that it should study (since it continues to be quite the topic as a public policy issue), so that is great that I can now collaborate with them to help out with a report. (pict: out my kitchen window)

As for the survey, we finally reached an agreement with the national Statistics Department to include the qustionnaire in their quarterly labor force survey. It took some navigating of bureaucracy, but the questionnaire has been officially included and is now somewhere out there circulating around Lithuania. The reason we have been working hard to bring about this project with the national statistics department is that it will prove much easier to gain the necessary sample of return-migrant respondents necessary for the scope of the survey. The statistics dept survey will include some 5,000 respondents, so our chances of gaining a representative sample of returnees is much better. Anyway, the project is looking up and results should be compiled by the end of March/beginning of April. The next task concerns finding sufficient funding – yes, a rather important detail. Now, I am just feeling uneasy with the fact that I‘m not an expert in this field and I hope that this all turns out okay and that I know what I‘m doing when it comes to actually analyzing the data and working with the statistical software.

Now that this survey is set to go, I am actually turning my focus back to another, less official survey side project. This one will be an online survey placed on a popular Lithuanian website for Lithuanians in the UK and will look at return potential of those who have already migrated and whether they send back remittances. This kind of thing. Through corresponding with some other researchers in the field, I came into contact with a women doing some related research on migrants in the UK. So, we are also collaborating to bring this survey about as well.

Anyway, these projects keep me somehow quite occupied from day to day. But I have to say, I am so very fascinated by this research field of international migration now. I’m afraid I would never have discovered this either if not for the Fulbright program and all the other opportunities and open doors that presented themselves before this. But I find research in international migration so interesting that I have decided that it is the research niche I want to focus my grad school PhD research on (if i actually get into a school). As some of you know, I’ve applied to some grad school political science PhD programs in comparative politics for this next year. My expectations aren’t too high about getting accepted, but we’ll see. But I think that international migration research combines the best of all the things I’ve loved in my studies – the economic, political science, human rights (asylum seekers, refugees, trafficking in persons, human smuggling), and policy combination. It is also a less explored and constantly developing field that takes exhibits different patterns depending on the region/country and issues surrounding the topic – such as the new pattern in Eastern European countries with EU integration. And there are different levels of studying it that depend on the theoretical approach and actual circumstances. What is also interesting about migration is that it is related to many other interesting social issues. I find it coming up in various conversations with people here about such things as social values, religion, the health system, corruption, intellectual property rights etc. (I know, how do those various topics relate to each other, your thinking.) Anyway, so I am glad to realize through this Fulbright program that this is an area of research that I truly enjoy.

Lithuanian values

Well, okay, the following bit is just me going on about a topic/s I find fascinating as I attempt to learn more about Lithuanian culture and society. (So, skip much farther down to entertaining story if you would rather not read my rambling strain of thought)

About Lithuanian values - this has been one of things that I find curious and interesting to observe and talk to Lithuanian friends about. I'm fascinated by the ways in which their values have been impacted by the historical experience of Soviet occupation and have lacked a sort of religious influence. Subsequently, this plays out in the very functioning of civil society and the political and economic structure. It is then interesting to consider the potential impact of emigration as Lithuanians encounter western values through emigration.

During a drive to Kaunas with Mantas, a scholar from the Civil Society Institute, we were talking about the role of religion in Lithuanian society now and how/whether it influences Lithuanian values. Reflecting on values during Soviet times, Mantas noted that the best thing to do was to conform to the Soviet system and not to stand out - to ignore the concious and not to think. You went along with what was expected of you or it would otherwise be to the harm of yourself and family. Mantas’ father did not join the communist party because his conscious would not allow him to, but for most people it was a matter of survival. One's main concern was to do whatever it took to ensure that oneself and family were taken care of. As for religion during this time, it basically had no legal role in society, so the Catholic church found a role in the independence movement and organization leading up to 1990. There may have been sanctioned churches that one could go to, but it was a place which preached Soviet rhetoric more than the freedom of the gospel. In Kaunas, one of the large cathedrals was the Church of Atheism and many other churches were turned into museums. So, the true church, if you will, basically became identified with the freedom movement.

After independence, there was of course something of a revival of the Catholic church. However, Mantas observed that the church failed to conform to the new social context in which it found itself. It was structured on a historically outdated and bygone era that was no longer relevant to the social context. Because it did not make this transition, it has not served to really shape Lithuanian values. While Lithuania is a Catholic country, it is primarly the older generation that is more faithful to the church. Thus, while many people may identify themselves as Catholic, the church has not played a significant role in shaping Lithuanian values. Instead, it is interesting to note the ways in which the Soviet mindset seems to still be prevalent in people's worldviews and in how they interact in society.

I will give an example of how this plays itself out in the health sector. One of my meetings this last month to discuss the health sector and emigration of health professionals was with a man by the name of Dr. Dainius Puras . He was elected the dean of the medical faculty at Vilnius university, but was soon removed from this position because he was advocating reform of the health system. I enjoyed very much to hear a little bit about not only the nature of the health sector but also his efforts to provoke change despite the negative backlash. He called himself a "lonely fighter against an ineffective system." The problem with the public, state owned health system is that it runs on much corruption. For example, doctors receive payment for services that are unoffical (bribes). Indeed, the doctors who make it into the university hospitals will soon have big houses - not because their official salary allows this but because of under the table wages. Everybody knows how these doctors are able to afford such fine things, but nobody ever asks about it or challenges. And as in Soviet times, the system "works" because people are only concerned with making it by. Whether it is a "right" or "wrong" thing to pay bribes, that is beside the point. For example, if one's wife is having a baby and a bit of cash under the table is necessary to ensure good medical care, well...who wouldn't do it? It is interesting, then, how this form of corruption is part of society's very mindset concerning what works and what doesn’t and what it takes to get good service. And when people observe this corruption and inneffectiveness, instead of speaking out against it or advocating change, they feel safer to rely on the old Soviet mindset of going along with what is and not risking any trouble for themselves. (I’ve come to understand much better why it is so difficult to root out corruption - It is not like wilting petals that you can pluck off of a flower - it is part of the very substance of the flower's soil. The whole flower has to be uprooted and replanted. A bit more difficult.) ANd so it is not socially acceptable to question the system (as Dr. Puras has learned). Indeed, you cannot ask a doctor why he is so rich when his salary is not so high as to warrant his standard of living. Dr. Puras described the sytem of bribes in the health sector as the "best kept secret that everybody knows" but no one will talk about.

And so people are too afraid to abandon such a system and would rather rely on the effectivenes of its ineffectiveness. The attitude of medical students also reflects how this is a problem of civil society. Students have talked to Dr. Puras about the nature of the system and how they know that it is wrong and does not work as it should. But they say they cannot change it. As much as they don’t like it, they are not willing to criticize the system because they have yet to pass their medical exams. If they speak out, they may be prevented from passing the exam. The only way for them to make their career is to "disappear in the crowd." They can be successful if they forget they are free and simply remain loyal to the system. "This is the way it was 15 years ago under the Soviet union. The best thing for people to do was to become part of the voiceless crowd or they could lose what they have worked for. The Soviet Union was built on a culture of deficit," said Dr. Puras. And now it is a problem of civil society. He explained the tragedy of system in the following analogies: the health system in Lithuania is like the orchestra in the Titanic movie. The ship has hit an iceberg and it is going down, but the orchestra continues to play purposefully oblivious to the fact that the ship is sinking. Or the system is like a person with a gastro-intestinal problem but the person keeps stuffing all manner of food down anyway. This then is one illustration of how the Soviet pattern prevails in people's mindset and society.

And yet, it is then interesting to think about how Lithuania’s integration into the EU or the "West" will shape civil society and values in the future and even now. This is where the emigration issue comes in. When people engage in short-term or temporary migration it is more likely to result in an exchange of ideas and values as migrants are impacted by their experience abroad in a host country. Lithuanian migration is largely undertaken for short-term stays abroad, which is more likely to result in this exchange of ideas and values. One could surmise that it may lead to something of a convergence in values (which could be debated if one talks about post-modernism in western society). But as one younger (late 20s) Lithuanian was saying, he thinks that a convergence of values with the west is inevitable. He notes the example of how labour migration has exposed Lithuanians to healthy employer/employee relationships, whereas in Lithuania the work environment is not as good. While working abroad one is paid for working overtime, in Lithuania you are expected to work extra without pay. And employers abroad treat their employees like collegues. Already, employers in Lithuania are beginning to see that they must learn to treat their employees better (particularly because of labour shortages and the need to maintain/attract necessary qualified labor).

What is also interesting is that this fellow noted there is something of a 3-tierd generational gap in values – the elderly whose lives were basically spent living through Soviet times, a younger generation whose childhood caught the tail end of Soviet occupation and who can remember some of the hardships of those days, and then the youngest generation that is growing up in the post-Soviet period. The older generation expects the state to take care of their needs. But now Lithuania is a transitional free market economy that has experienced large scale privatization and the birth of competition. Thus, the elderly generation is not necessarily happy with the changes that have taken place and may even prefer the "security" of soviet times. The world for the younger generations, however, is much different. Materialism is very attractive to younger people and they are more Western oriented. What my Lithuanian friend noted is that in contrast to western value considerations where morals and materialism function together in some sort of tension, Lithuanian young people seem to have latched onto the material mindset but lack a sort of moral or values underpinning. Life is about working hard for yourself and gaining as much as you can. When one faces a certain decision, it is an issue of what is best for me, what benefits myself, not what is considered "right" or "wrong". It also makes sense though: while Lithuania is seeing high rates of economic growth, it is still difficult for a young person to achieve stability and economic security in Lithuania (thus emigration).

But then again – emigration – perhaps the closer relationship with the west largely propagated through the migration experience will help to close this values gap and create better civil society. One young doctor, for example, who went to work in Ireland commented that he couldn’t believe how well the health system worked there without corruption. In this senese, young people come back with new ideas and awareness; this could help to bring change that will serve for the overall development and prosperity of the country not just in terms of the economy but in terms of civil society also. So, the migration impact on social values may be as important as potential economic benefits. This is why some research speaks of the possibility for return-migrants to be "agents of change" in their home country. So, perhaps we will see Lithuanians becoming "agents of change" in their own country.

A cross-cultural experience

Okay, moving on. I don’t have much in the way of entertaining reflections this time…but I do have one in the way of what I consider a rather humorous cross cultural experience that I can share...

The highlight of my December before I went home was the Christmas party with the staff from the Free Market Institute. We were sitting around chatting at one point about the holiday and they started discussing what they wanted to do for their Christmas party – what theme they should adopt. Someone mentioned cowboys. "Do you have these cowboys in Montana?" they asked me. I responded in the affirmative...and subsequently was considered the resident expert on cowboys. "What do cowboys eat for dessert? Is there such a thing as a cowgirl? What do cowgirls wear?" These types of questions I boldly attempted to answer as though familiar with all things country-western. But then arose the question "Do cowboys dance? What type of dancing do they do?" I informed that they do what is called country line dancing. "Will you teach us this?!" Uh oh. "Sure!" I found myself agreeing. I thought it was all a rather entertaining and humorous idea. Plus, it must certainly fall into that category of my grant which refers to this being a "cultural exchange". The fact that I knew no line dances and had never danced line dance was beside the point (except for that once during a break in a ballet class when I was about 12 and my friend Julie and I were imitating/making fun of the line dancers in the gym – but that hardly qualified).

So, I searched around on the internet and found a few hundred line dances; I can direct you accordingly if interested. I picked out a few that I thought looked like they might be fun. The gathering was at the home of the president of the institute, and so we all came in our best imitation of the theme, which for some of them was pretty darn good. I had unfortunately left my spurs and ten gallon hat at home, I borrowed from another girl. One of my friends, Giedrius gave me a great good laugh at one of his innovative costume ideas. "How does this look, Laura?" He asked while referring to his string neck tie. In place of a proper country string tie, he had taken a rather large carrot (which looked like it had just been plucked out of the ground) and put some holes through it for the string – I guess that’s what they call "making due with what you have."

Something to be aware of about most Lithuanian parties is that there is often a fair amount of drinking. After having eaten and when a couple of them had loosened up quite well, they proclaimed that they were ready for this line dance. I pointed out to one of them that I had to be sure he could stand first, which he demostrated for me with not too much wobble. Now, as you may be wondering, I did indeed successfully teach myself a line dance. I combined a couple of different ones and improvised a little bit so as to make it easy enough for them to catch onto right away and still be fun. As for the music – one of the fellows brought an old "best of Johnny Cash" cd of his mothers which served the purpose quite well.

Simply put, it was hilarious and I’m sure it will be one of my favorite memories of my time here. Imagine about 12 or so Lithuanians attired in their best, though not necessarily accurate, impersonations of cowboys and going to and fro across the room tapping their heals and stomping around. Then they organized themselves in two lines and repeated it over and over. After that calmed down, then it was time to carry on with the dancing to some lievely music on the sterio. But the country moves refused to die down and some of the girls tried to meld the line dancing to some funky Lithuanian upbeat tunes. So we basically danced the rest of the night away and had a grand ol’ time of it. Another thing I’ve learned from Lithuanians is that one can bust a move just as well whether 20 or 50.

Okay, the end for now!
(Sorry about lack of pictures - will try to get some more up soon.)