Mid-term evaluation

Even though most of us visit each other or meet in Vilnius, all volunteers were looking forward to getting together again at the mid-term evaluation. This time it was not in the middle of the forest, but in a luxurious hotel with...AQUA PARK and SPA!!! Which I can say motivated us to work hard during the different sessions because we knew that at the end we will land in the jacuzzi!

After we arrived in Trakai and found our hotel we had enough time to unpack and have lunch. After that we started with presenting ourselves as we had a new girl from Sweden who works in a social project in a private orphanage. Then we had time to present the taste of our EVS - everybody brought food and drinks and we had a great time tasting different cherry wines from Žagarė regional park. We also enjoyed Lenka's home produces vegetables, a Russian salad prepared by Spanish people and two cakes bought from Adrian and the other volunteers from the shop in Trakai. We also played a lot of logic games and I can say that we are not the brightest young people but we are so much fun! :)

The second day was very intense as we had a lot of things to talk about. Until lunch we had to discuss the dilemmas and questions from the project but this was not a very useful task as all solutions sent us back to the problems. Anyway after that we had some activities outside which cheered us up!

After that we had a treatment for body and soul - we went all together at the aqua park and enjoyed the jacuzzi, the swimming pool with its slides (there were some accidents of course, but don't worry - we have AXA!) and all kinds of sauna!

The third day of our training we spent in Vilnius. Until lunch we were geocaching around the capital - this is an outdoor recreational activity, in which the participants use a GPS and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world. We divided into teams and started. During the implementation of this task we got to see the President of Lithuania! I really enjoyed this activity because it gave me the opportunity to visit places in Vilnius I have never seen and I can say the game is quite catchy - when you are so close to your cache and you can't see it it just drives you crazy and you can spend hours until you find it. And Vilnius is just lovely - definitely much better than Tallinn! We found 4 caches out of 4! Daniele's team found 7 or 8 chaches but they continued even after lunch while we went to a very nice french cafe and enjoyed some drinks and chess games!

On Saturday morning we started with some brainstorming and we came up with a lot of great ideas to carry out until the end of our projects. For example Daniele and I and the swedish girl who works in an orphanage decided to organize a visit in our park for the children in her project - to show them around the park and create some games and workshops for them!

After lunch we made a conference and discussed different topics regarding the Lithuanian culture as Marriage, Suicide, Timing and Food. From all four only the first one was positive, but we also discussed the reasons for the others. In the evening we were quite tired but some went for a walk to Trakai Castle while others (me) enjoyed a beer and a cat cuddle in the garden of the hotel!

The last day we talked about the reintegration to our home countries as well as different opportunities and what to do after EVS. We were very pleasantly surprised when our trainers suggested us to write letters to our future selves and told us that they will make sure that we will receive these letters when we get back home! We also wrote some words to each other and put in the envelopes as a surprise.

Before going back to our projects we went to the aqua park to enjoy the jacuzzi and the sauna for the last time, and here I would like to express our gratitude to the National Agency of Lithuania for the great accommodation they provided for us during the training!

Summer update

It's been a while since my last post... With the good weather lots of activities came in, I just left Blagovesta write about things we've done together, and she surely did a better job that I could do, but I guess i should talk about my experience too from time to time!
After my very intense "holiday" back in Italy (with a short stop in Germany for a concert of The Legend of Zelda!), with training, studying and exams (for an EUCIP Core IT Certification and I kyu Aikido, which I both passed), I came back to my project quite tired, but relieved as I could finally drop off the books and have more free time... Free time which would have been clogged by activities by the way!

Once I was back I had just a couple of days to make some presentation about Italian craft for the children at the summer camp which we attended to in the next week, and we went to Trakai's Medieval Festival too in the weekend between.
During next week we had to go to Pakretuonė campsite to meet a group of young people attending a summer camp about geography, and we had to answer to their questions about volunteering and EVS. We enjoyed the evening and had dinner together, but we couldn't spend the night there because we were waiting for guests on the next day. So we left in the evening by bikes, and had to go home through some unknown road. Blagovesta managed to get lost somehow, but luckily after a while she found her way back, so we could go on. But in the meanwhile it got late and dark, and most of the way was through the forest on a quite bad ground. Good thing I had good lights and a GPS to help us out, so we managed to get back somehow, and once in Ignalina we were rewarded with a close encounter with a very cute hedgehog, which Blagovesta blinded with her camera's flash!

So next day it was our turn to host volunteers, for our first time. We had Silvia from Spain and Laura from Germany, both working in Kurtuvenai Regional Park, and Adrian also from Spain, volunteering in Neris Regional Park. Very unfortunately we had bad weather and couldn't bring them around the park, so we just showed them Ignalina while it was not raining yet, and enjoyed dinner together.

For two days we had visitor monitorings, which were very busy for Blagovesta and very relaxing for me, and on the other days I was very busy trying out the routes in the park to organize some bike tour around it.

After a lot of riding, now I finally got to know the park much better, I found almost all of its points of interest and I'm almost ready to present routes for some tours for beginner and expert riders. It came at a cost, though, as I had few troubles to find out places by myself. Riding in Lithuania is a real pleasure, you really feel immersed in nature, breathe pure air, smell wild strawberries scent, gaze at beautiful landscapes while enjoying some breeze which refreshes the warm air (yes, despite the latitude, it gets quite hot here too!) but, on the downsides, it's sometimes easy to get lost and find yourself in high vegetation or unknown forest roads while you're looking for something a bit out of hand. Also, grounds can be very tricky; especially after some dry weather, you can find some spots full of sand all of a sudden, quite dangerous if you're riding fast. Of course I discovered this on my skin, getting lost many times and falling twice, and now I still have some injury on my leg and some accessories of my bike to fix... Shit happens, I guess!

Last week we started marking borders of Ažvinčiai strict reserve area with no entry signs. This reserve is an old growth forest which can only be accessed with a park's guide when it's not mating season, and any kind of human activity it's forbidden. Doing this job with this hot weather is not the best, but it's a task that needs to be done as soon as possible to prevent unaware people from going inside that area while picking berries and mushrooms. Aside from the heat, bug's activity is at its top, so while working in such place they really annoy, and can get dangerous too if you're not careful! In fact, while I was painting one sign, I stepped on a log which I guess was some important place for an ant colony, and in a few seconds, while I was distracted, they started climbing on me and I had my leg fully covered of them running upwards! I had to shake them off with the hands but they were so many that some managed to get under my clothes and started biting... Quite a painful experience!

On the 5th of July it was my birthday, and we started celebrations early in the morning with a pleasant surprise cake from Blagovesta, and an "unlimited wishes" candle! Then we gathered with the park's staff in the conference room, and they had another cake for me, which we enjoyed together with a lemon sweet and Limoncello (a lemon liquor) typical from my town which I brought from Italy and was keeping for the occasion. I also got a beautiful picture book of Ignalina District as a present!
In the afternoon we reached Lenka and Giovanni in Vilnius for the Cultural Night being held on that day. Since I was complaining about the heat (it was over 35°C!) all day long, Lithuania decided to refresh us with a sudden storm, which made me soaking wet and ruined the first part of the event as it kept raining till 22. At least, when it stopped, I managed to reach a place where a Japanese Night was being held.

I got there in the middle of a martial arts exhibition, and although I missed Judo and Karate already, I was lucky enough to catch the Aikido, Iaido and Kendo ones, which I really enjoyed.

Later I met with Olesia, Marion and other short term volunteers from Gražutė Regional Park and we stayed around till late in the night before finding out that the only bus on the next day to Kernavė was at 7 in the morning... There was gonna be an Archaeologic Festival there, but Giovanni and Blagovesta decided to skip it, and Lenka and I went, after just 2 hours of sleeping, together with her mentor Carolina and her boyfriend.

Kernavė is a beautiful town in the countryside 40 km from Vilnius, and I was enchanted by the landscapes of its fort hills.

The festival was quite similar to the one in Trakai, but broader and more diverse, and I enjoyed it much more. There were stands with ancient instruments and crafts, medieval tortures and fights staging, archery competitions, horseriding and much more.

I was really tired after almost not sleeping but it was really worth it! Too bad I was just too sleepy by the end of the day and I skipped the national celebration concerts both in Vilnius and in Ignalina, heading just straight home to get some rest.

With replenished energy, on Sunday morning I decided to put an end to this week by experimenting with my first pizza! A margherita with french fries and another one with cherry tomatoes, rucola and parmesan... It was a success for a first try as Blagovesta and I, after the initial hesitation, gave it a taste and it turned out to be quite delicious... Looks like I had to come to Lithuania to learn some Italian cooking!

Scent of remembrance

Has it ever happened to you when you accidentally smell a certain scent and then memories just start to emerge?! I have always been amazed by this..

It has been almost three months since I came to Lithuania. I didn't notice when the time passed by - now it is the end of June, the weather is kindly disposed to us and gives us the opportunity to travel a lot. So pretty soon I was assigned with a new task - to go by bike to the small villages scattered around the park and to take pictures of small pieces of architecture like crosses and wooden carvings which are very typical for Lithuania and you can not see in any other country. That was the best thing I could possibly do – I am not very good with the camera but I really enjoy taking pictures so this was a chance for me to improve my skills and gain some practice.

 

  

And so I spent a couple of days riding my bike and discovering the beauty of Lithuanian countryside. The villages here are so small – some of them consist of only four or five houses, and still they are so beautiful – huddled up in the forest or basking peacefully of the sun on the shore of an undisturbed lake.

And the nature that surrounds you wherever you go with all of its sounds and scents contributes to your good mood! And so I am all by myself, riding my bike, enjoying the beautiful scenery and listening to the cheerful songs of the birds and then all of a sudden a sweet remembrance from my childhood reaches me from the dusted drawers of my memory. But what did cause that? I start to think and then I feel the scent of the blossoming lime-trees. Yes, it must be them – I remember the old lime-tree by my grandparents’ house. I also remember the savour coming through the window and waking me up for the carefree summer that lies ahead. But then I remember a cup. Yes, a cup full of linden tea which I hate so much. It is winter and the holidays are in between and I am again with my grandparents. But this time I am sick and my grandmother is making me drink this awful liquid I hate so much. But it is nice, you know, how she is bustling around the kitchen, worried about my sore throat. I remember the fire, roaring in the stove, and the cat, purring pleased in front of it. I would like to go through this moment again and yep, I would pour the tea again in the flowerpot when grandma doesn’t look! But this time I would also kiss her on the chick and tell her that I love her. 

 

And thus, lost in my thoughts I reach a very beautiful lake with a small bridge overgrown with rush. I stop to take pictures and to dip my feet in the cool water. I sit on the shore and frown at the burning sun. But then another memory brings back the smile on my face. And this time it is caused by a horse! You see, not only enjoyable smells can remind you of something. This time I remember myself waiting for my grandfather to take his daily nap after lunch so I can go to old Sabrina and give her some chocolates. He says sweets are not good for animals but she likes it so much that when she sees me she makes that funny toothy face until I give her some – how can I help it then?! Unfortunately I have only water in my backpack so I can’t treat this gorgeous.

Anyway I am well rested now and so I continue my trip. I visit a lot of beautiful places, talk with many nice local people (in a strange blend of Lithuanian, English and Russian language), take lots of pictures not only of the objects I am supposed to but also of everything that impresses me. And then I set off for home. As I ride through the forest I wonder what will remind me of Lithuania and my experience here. And then I sense it…the sweet scent of wild strawberries!

Summer Camp

Right after coming back to reality from the medieval fairy-tale, we had been in during the weekend, Daniele and I embarked on another adventure - the summer camp. So we spent a week at Ginučiai Watermill with 10 kids from different parts of Lithuania to learn together about traditional Lithuanian crafts and dances.

The weather was perfect - sunny and warm all the time so we enjoyed every minute outside singing and dancing. Well, actually, Daniele and I sang and danced only the first day and after that we mostly enjoyed long walks around the village and in the forest and relaxing sun baths. We also had a very cute company - a couple of swans with their feathery ducklings.

On the next day we had to do our second-day visitor monitoring and it was quite intense as I had nearly 500 tourists that day and I didn't even start in the morning! But I really enjoyed it - actually visitor monitoring is the best job I have ever done!  One tip to the volunteers 2014 - when you do the visitor monitoring, choose Paluše beach and Ginučiai Watermill - it is the most strenuous but it is worth it - you get the chance to talk with a lot of interesting people, most of whom are very nice, and also to enjoy the sun, and I can tell you that you don't even notice when the day has passed by.  Meanwhile the children went around the village for a walk and visited some old people and listened to their stories.

On Thursday Daniele and I made presentations about traditional crafts in our countries and after that joined the children's tutors in making a "Friendship chain" - while twisting a special line we had to think and say a wish for the kids. In the afternoon we all went to Ladakalnis Hill where the children had to take part in a special task prepared by the park. They had to find various items hidden in the woods and to solve different riddles in order to get to the next one. After running around I thought they would be exhausted, but nope - late in the evening we danced around the campfire and we even devoted a prayer to the tutors and to the TEA! :)

I don't mind going late to bed but not when you are being woken up in the morning by the drums and the tambourine. Well, this was a tradition in this summer camp and as you can see most of us were not very fascinated.. :)

The last day the children prepared themselves for the concert they were going to perform for the local people - they made a last rehearsal and after that drew different posters and prepared the decoration. Daniele and I helped for the English poster and cheered everybody with strawberries from the forest. The concert was very beautiful and everybody enjoyed it when at the end of it the children invited the guests to dance together with them. Daniele and I showed our moves too! The children even surprised us with a song they have written the night before for their tutors and for us and which they performed at the end of the concert as gratitude.

 

It was a hot day so after the performance we all went to get cool in the river and to swim in the stream coming from the millstones. And after that for our greatest regret it was over. But we made really good friends with the children and we are going to miss the time we spent with them!

Trakai

On 15th and 16th June Daniele and I visited one of the most popular tourist destinations in Lithuania - Trakai Island Castle. It was built back in the 14th century and for a short time it had military importance. It also served as the royal summer residence and later as a prison. The castle was damaged a couple of times and finally reconstructed in the 20th century. Ever since then it is a major tourist attraction - nowadays it is turned into a museum where different expositions can be seen. Well, we definitely did not like the room with stuffed animals..

The purpose of our visit was not only to see the castle but to take part in a medieval festival which took place there. We felt like we were in a fairy-tale - there was very nice medieval music, people were dressed in medieval clothes. There also were different crafts, dances and a knight battle where people in traditional knight armours demonstrated combat positions.

So we enjoyed the weekend in the nice company of Giovanni, the volunteer in Dzūkija National Park, Dimcho, another Bulgarian in Lithuania who I met on the airport, and the very tasty beer with honey!