I made several trips to Lithuania between 1999 and 2003 to develop the partnership between First United Methodist Church in Green Bay, WI and Pilviskiai United Methodist Church in Pilviskiai, Lithuania. It was a very small village with no public lodging, so we slept and ate in the homes of various people from the church and local community. What a wonderful way to get to know people from another culture! It was truly instrumental in getting beyond the simple greetings and smiles.
On my first visit, Wes Ebert, myself, and my son, Erich, were assigned to eat meals in Donna's home. (Probably not the correct spelling as their language doesn't use double consonants.) Three times a day we showed up at her door where she ushered us to the living room and a table adorned with fresh flowers and pretty dishes. She served us a feast of absolutely delicious food and using the English/Lithuanian dictionary she repeatedly made sure we had our fill until we couldn't possibly eat another bite.
In our broken method of conversation we discovered that she had been a Veterinarian on a collective farm during the Soviet era, but there were currently no jobs for someone with her skills so she was not employed. We knew from the missionaries and translators that the money earned by feeding us would make a nice contribution to their family budget.
After each meal as we left her home we said, "Icky!" This comment, that in our culture is not viewed as a compliment, did not bode poorly on the meal or her hospitality you see, because in Lithuanian "iki pasimatymo" or "iki" for short means, "See you later!"
This still makes me chuckle when I think about it 13 years later.
On my first visit, Wes Ebert, myself, and my son, Erich, were assigned to eat meals in Donna's home. (Probably not the correct spelling as their language doesn't use double consonants.) Three times a day we showed up at her door where she ushered us to the living room and a table adorned with fresh flowers and pretty dishes. She served us a feast of absolutely delicious food and using the English/Lithuanian dictionary she repeatedly made sure we had our fill until we couldn't possibly eat another bite.
In our broken method of conversation we discovered that she had been a Veterinarian on a collective farm during the Soviet era, but there were currently no jobs for someone with her skills so she was not employed. We knew from the missionaries and translators that the money earned by feeding us would make a nice contribution to their family budget.
After each meal as we left her home we said, "Icky!" This comment, that in our culture is not viewed as a compliment, did not bode poorly on the meal or her hospitality you see, because in Lithuanian "iki pasimatymo" or "iki" for short means, "See you later!"
This still makes me chuckle when I think about it 13 years later.
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