Goodbye Lithuania

July 25, 2009

My tenure in Lithuania ended appropriately with my own version of fleeing.  After almost 6 weeks of respectable behavior and lovely family time, Saturday morning went like this:

8:37 am  Not packed.  Leaving for airport in 2 hours 53 minutes.

Knock knock. 

Me: Eehhhhh

Jurga: Do you want to get up? (Hands me a glass of water.)

Me: Thanks (Take a drink) Bleechh.  Not water!

Jurga: It's aspirin (We laugh)

Enter kitchen.  Andrius is drinking coffee in his underwear.

Andrius: Good morning

Me: Eecchhhhh. Somebody drank too much wine last night.

Andrius: Yes, I also feel that in my head.

I lay down on the couch. I sit up and get off the couch.  I put the aspirin-water down on the table.

Andrius and Jurga: No! You have to drink it all.

Me: Relax, I will.  I'm just going to the bathroom.

Return.  Finish my aspirin-water.  Lay back down on the couch.

Andrius (smiling devilishly): So, how much do you remember from last night?

Oh, dear, conversations that begin like this are never fun for the subject.  

Red wine.  

Graduation of the four week program at University of Vilnius. Had to crash it to say goodbye to my buddies.  White wine.  The opening of the exhibit that the students of the conference Andrius had been running all week.  Australian scenographer.  Lithuanian professor. I am uncharacteristically good at carrying on conversations with strangers.  White wine. Lithuanian designer.  Bubbly conversation with a colleague of Andrius's.  And here I thought all Lithuanians were hard to crack.  

Opening over.  

The Australian and the Lithuanian want to introduce me to some Spanish choreographer that works with people with disabilities.  I am foreign and have danced.  Clearly this qualifies me to have a professional conversation with a famous Spanish choreographer, Juan Carlos Garcia. \ Time for the last lecture of the series.  It's in the floating green box on the river.  I don't wanna. Just enough time for me to meet Augiene and Vitas for dinner and to celebrate her driver's license. Svyturys.  Back to the green box as Andrius is uttering the last words of the conference.... "Thank you, and now let's drink!"  Red wine.  

Red wine.  Another conversation with the Australian scenographer.  He's explaining yet again that he is from Sydney, but teaches in Zurich.  Why can't I accept this?  Walking with Andrius to the car to put my bag away. "There are stairs for normal people right over there." "Am I a normal person?" Straight up the slope balancing a full glass of red wine. Austrian curator.

  Red wine. Put in charge of the photo shoot for the installation / is it an installation of the "Maxima" guy passing out mayonnaise salad. Red wine from the Austrian curator.  Maybe I should sit down.  Jurga and her friend are in the green box.  Pillows on the floor are a little difficult to steady yourself on.  Red wine.  The DJ is pretty good.  Red wine.  Taking a walk with the Austrian curator.  Making out with the Austrian curator down the river somewhere.  How on earth did that happen? Green box.  Dancing with Jurga.  No more red wine for me.  Is it time to go yet?!?    

They had a good laugh at me the next morning.  Their favorite memory was that every time Andrius introduced me to someone, I would join in the conversation by interjecting "yo, yo, yo, yo" which is the Lithuanian equivalent of "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."  This is foggy. 

The good thing about being irresponsible, is that I felt so gross the next day and could barely keep my head up, that I had no energy to be sad or process the good-bye.  Andrius and Jurga were running so late from there own versions of the night before that they pretty much ran out the door to get to her brother's wedding.  There were quick hugs and thank you's and I love you's and tears trying to come.  And then they were gone.  By the time I had finished packing, I  was alone and so embarrassed by my memories / historically fictional guesses at the rest, that all I wanted was to get out of the country.  And that I did.