Shabes

Correction:
The French women are lovely but they are Jewish. So, Elles sont gentilles. (?Robert? Sydney?) The program is about 20+% non Jewish (the Gentiles). As my Yiddish takes baby steps, my other languages regress.

Robert emails: I am not sure what the French term for a non-Jew is; why don't you ask them?
Gentille = nice; goy?
It all sounds like an out-of this world/time cruise you are taking

Yes, I am time traveling, and Duh! The French term for non-Jew is Frenchperson! :-) So Gentille does not take an s in the plural?

I am not studying today. It is, after all a day of rest, and I have had around 25 hours of study this week. I’d like to sleep without seeing letters before my eyes.

We went back to Uzupio, the self-proclaimed artists’ Independent Republic, the Takoma Park of Vilnius. Their 40+ point bill of rights includes such morsels of wisdom as: A dog has a right to be a dog, and A cat has a right to not like its owner, but must be there in times of hardship.

We ate again besides the babbling brook. I had cured salmon and we tasted the national dish of “Zeppelins” – a scary looking football-shaped meat ball surrounded by boiled potato mash. At first I thought the mash might be a half inch of lard! Not bad. I’m glad I tried it and got it off the to do list! On the food front, I am throwing caution to the wind. What ever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger!

It is great to find new connections between streets and neighborhoods. Saturday is also wedding day and dozens of bridal parties parade around town for photos. They are followed by their limos which take them to the next quaint area. Most couples are very young; some don't even appear to be 20! A sweet custom, the couple has their two names engraved on a lock. They go to the stream, lock their lock on the railings of the bridge and throw the key in the river.

Another tour on Sunday and HOMEWORK!

Continuing Education

I forgot how life is without the incessant drone of the weather report. I have a pictogram on my computer, I otherwise consult my skylight. It is cold, sunny and humid here, so one can get cold or warm depending on shade, indoor/outdoor, and the ever threatening drizzle. I'm enjoying the intensity of the work, and the very interesting people. These three days have seemed very long -- my only life, and very distant from "real life." Hard to know what will result from this extended visit.

I try, mostly in vain, to find English language TV that is not dubbed over by the sole voice of TV, a loud guy who drowns out men and women with his voice over. Interesting are the American series dubbed in Russian and voiced over in Lithuanian. How mangled!

I have two teachers, one is Dov-Ber, who, thanks to Meredith I think of as Bear-Bear. He's a burly, grizzly fifty-something Russian Jew who looks like the man who is always in Jewish/Israeli tourist art. He's a little full of himself. He's written a text with a number of errors, which, ever the editor - even when I don't understand - I correct publicly. I think he feels the book was his heavy lifting and that he can coast. He spends too much time telling jokes and speaking Yiddish in an Italian accent so as to flirt with 20-something Martina from Italy. Our other teacher is Anna, an Estonian Jew, stick thin, 30-40, almost Abigail - like in her waifishness. Her intensity and didactic forward march are tremendous motivation.