Lithuania

While at the annual Columbus International Festival last weekend, my friend and I stopped by a booth manned by some people in very colorful, traditional costumes.  There was a man and a woman there who were very friendly and happy to tell us all about their home country: the small, Baltic country of Lithuania.  One thing in particular that surprised me was that the Lithuanian language is NOT Slavic, which I'd incorrectly assumed it was.  No - it actually stems from Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Indian subcontinent.

Trakai Castle

Located in Northeastern Europe, Lithuania is one of three small, Baltic states (Estonia and Latvia's being the other two), that are nestled in between Russia, Poland and the Baltic Sea.  A little bit larger than West Virginia, Lithuania is the largest of three countries, though boasting only 90 KM of coastline.

Peace Corps volunteers served in Lithuania between 1992 and 2002 providing assistance with business and economic development as well as English language training.  While it has a good mixture of agriculture and manufacturing, Lithuania is probably best known for its amber from which jewelry is made. 

Aside from the obvious difference in size, Lithuania is very different from the U.S. as it turned 1000 years old in 2009!  Lithuanians celebrated the anniversary of when their country was first mentioned in 1009 AD in The Annals Quedlinburgenses, a document that survives to this day.  After centuries as an independent nation, Lithuania was absorbed by the Soviet Union in 1940 and though it claimed independence in 1990, it still disputes ownership of a tiny piece of Russia (Калининградская область)that rests on the Baltic Sea.

Lithuania's flag - Its three stripes symbolize prosperity (yellow), hope (green) and life (crimson).

Here are some basic facts about Lithuania:

Republic of Lithuania

Capital: Vilnius

Population: 3,535,547 (July 2011 estimate)

President: Dalia Grybauskaite (since 12 July 2009)

Prime Minister: Andrius Kubilius (since 27 November 2008)

Life expectancy: 75.34 years old

HIV/AIDS rate: .1% of the population

Literacy rate: 99.6% of the population (99.6% male, 99.6%female)

National Holiday: Independence Day - 16 February, 1918 (11 March 1990 is when it declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal

Unemployment: 29.4%

Info above is all thanks to the CIA Factbook - Lithuania

Except for the flag and map which are from the CIA Factbook, the pictures posted here are all borrowed from the Lithuania Tourism website.  If you have a chance, I recommend your taking some time to check it out as there are many more beautiful pictures in there as well as lots more information about this wonderful country. 

GO BUCKS!

I should preface this by saying that I went to Indiana University for my undergrad studies and (THE) Ohio State University for grad school.  I should also say that I will NEVER root against my Hoosiers - even when they're playing the Buckeyes, though regardless of outcome, I'll still claim the win.  I just want to be honest about that. 

I'm on my lunch hour at the moment asking my coworker what I should write about since I've been marveling at the fact that people in other countries are actually checking out my blog.  There's been a rush this week especially, on blog views in Russia.  My coworker said I should work to get someone in Liberia to check it out, too.  If only I could be so lucky!

Personally, I think it's actually pretty cool that on a dozen separate occasions, people in Russia have wanted to see what I have to say.  Maybe it's a slow week there for entertainment, but hey - I'm glad to welcome them here.  Большое спасибо, Россия!

Now - if only I can get David Hasselhoff (@DavidHasselhoff on Twitter) to start following me on twitter (@rpcvbg)  (Come on folks, please help me with this twitter campaign!)  Of course, it's my goal for him to follow me on both Twitter AND here at Au Lait in a Sidecar.  Maybe someday I can even get a picture of David Hasselhoff IN a sidecar.  Wouldn't that be just grand?! 

Maybe it's a tall, dark hair, blue eyes thing.  But then again, I'm more of a tall, dark hair and green eyes kind of gal - like Clive Owen, but maybe we shouldn't go there at the moment.  (No offense, Mr. Hasselhoff)

Ahem.  Anyway...

Back to my discussion with my coworker...I asked him what I should write about for my next blog entry and he, an avid sports fan, suggested the following:

Ohio State's defensive adjustment during their bye-week to the overpowering Wisconsin offense

Apparently we need to worry about Wisconsin's QB who can both throw and run because our defense has issues with both of those possibilities.

It's always something.

OK - fine.  Now I'm jealous.  My coworker, @brittondiller just told me that David Hasselhoff was following him.  Naturally, I checked my sources (trust, but verify?!) and learned this is no longer the case.  Sorry, Britton - you've been unfollowed by the Hoff!  Whew.  Guess I don't need to be jealous. 

So back to football:  GO HOOSIERS!  GO BUCKS! 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Updated:  Awfully rude of me to neglect Clive Owen.  Picture added.  Swoon.