Anniversary of museum

On 16th of May Zarasai's history museum celebrated an anniversary. The museum organized an excursion to Stelmužė. It's small vilage near Zarasai and very close to borders of Latvia and Belarus. One old wooden chirch and very old oak (Stelmužės ąžuolas) are situated there.

That place is very famous among lockals and tourists.

The chirch was built without any nail. It's very beautiful. The atmosphere inside is really calm and quiet. It's a good place for meditation.

Oak is also very old. It is about 1500 years. This oak one of the oldest trees around Europe. In 1960 Stelmužė oak was declared a natural monument and included in the number of protected sites in Lithuania. Oak height is 23 meters! It's empty inside.The oak has one legend. One soldier run away from Napoleon's army.  He hid inside of the oak during one frozen night. He dead. His body was found only after years.

Also administration of the museum organized a concert for their guests. It was a concert of classical music. The musicians played a different melodies from Bach and Chaikovsky to Piazzolla. To tell the truth I don't like classical music so much but I really liked that small concert cause it wasn't be so boring. The programm was very difference and interesting. I enjoed it very much! I'm planning to go Stelmuže again!

Oak in Stelmužė

Onion Fest

On the 10th of May we vizited Onion fest. It's a traditional event which organizing every year in Zarasai. Lockal people believe that this day all onion should be planted. This event took part on an old watermill about 5 km far from Zarasai. The fest was starting at 10. Firstly we looked on a different craft lockal things which were making by lockal people. It was wooden and clay toys and utensils, knitted and woven traditional clothing. Also we tryed a traditional dish - a pancakes with medicinal plants inside! It was very tasty and healthy.

After that we vizited an old watermill. It was restored and looking like an old. A mill is very popular among tourists and lockal people.

The main part of this fest was a plant an onion. Organizers prepared beds and everyone could be a participant in the competition for planting onions. We were participans too together with Martin like an international team! One lady gave us a small basket with onion and our task was put that onions in to ground. It was very funny! After we finished, an owner of a mill presented us a small handmade onion like a memory about that competition and fest. It was so unexpectedly but very nice! Also our photos entered to one lockal website! So we became a superstars after that fest!

The photos you could find there http://zarasai.balsas.lt/naujienos_/naujienos/ir-svogunai-lietuvoj-zaliuos...-6189/

Onion Fest. Happy volunteers

Press Day. Day of Europe

On the 7th of May lithuanians were selebrating a Day of an independence of print on lituanian language. It was 110 years celebrated this year. Our library organizes this event every year. How it was this year. There are 18 public libraries around Zarasai district with library in Zarasai in a head. That day all librarians from that branch librares were coming to Zarasai. Our director congratulated workers with this high day, said some nice words about a profession of librarian. The atmosphere on that meeting was really kind and cozy.

Also on that day we were at primary school. Some of our workers organized a game about a European Union for a kids. We were there together with Inesa and Luda (our workers). Luda was in a kostume of rabit. She was talking with kids about EU and introdused Inesa. Inesa created wery interesting task. It was a game looked like a map of Europe with missing names of EU countries. And the task for kids was writing the names of a countries in each box. Children were divided into three teams. Each team received the same task. The children were very active, checked some countries they didn't know a name. Children were looking wery happy during the game. At the end we made a pics all together and rabit present to children some books about EU. The game was really funny. And children learned a lot of useful and interesting information about the European Union.

                                                           In school. Inesa and Luda

On the 9th of May all Lithuania celebrated Day of Europe. This year it was 10 years when Lithuania joined EU. Here in the library was organizing a great event outside. It was starting at 10 am. The first part of the Day was drawing on an asphalt a small pictures by kids. They came to the library and painted it by colored chalks. When they finished we asked all kids standed on that letters EU and made a photo of that "life letters" from the top! Also guys from school created a posters about all countries in EU. We hung it outside. It was looking wery nice. Guys told about country they chouse. Also there was organizing photo exibition about travelling around EU. I also participated in it and got a prize - an t-shirt! It was a big surprize for me. I did'n expect to get it! After photo there was a small life concert. Our library invited one rock band from Vilnius. They played some of their songs. During that concert all people could taste a wonderfull cake. It was make specially for this event. It looked like a lithuanian flag. So, what could I say about that Day? For my opiniot it was perfect day and idea. But the weather wasn't so nice. It was windy, but not rainy. In this way we were lucky! You can check some pics from it below!

                                                          Day of Europe. Chalk "live" letters

End of April

During that time I didn't write here, we had some interesting events in the library and in Zarasai.

On the 22th of April all public librarys in Lithuania celebrated an open of National Library's Week. This is a traditional event in each lithuanian public library. That day different people from administration and culture centre came to the library and  read one old poem by Donelaitis. He is one of the oldest writers of Lithuania. Lithuanians call him "Lithuanian Homer" and celebrate his 300th birthday this year. One person read one short part from this poem. We (volunteers - me and Martin, spanish volunteer) also read our short parts on lithuanian language! It wasn't so easy to do because language of that poem was very hard to pronounce. It was old lithuanian language! But we touched to old lithuanian culture. I'm happy about it.  

On 25th of April all librarians planted small trees (thujas) around our library. Volunteers also helped to do it. We helped spread and flatten the land for thujas, cleaned it from extra roots. At the end of that day we planted about 30 small tujas! I planted 2 of this! I was very tired but happy that I did kind work!

                               Workers from Zarasai puplic library

On 26th of April in Lithuania was organizing an ecological action "DAROM 2014". Zarasai joined this action first time. All guys who decided to join it met at 11 am on a main square. And we were going to clean a small territory in Zarasai from different garbage like plastic bottles, paper... So, as a final result we collected about 30 big bags of trash! We made Zarasai more cleaner and beauty. I hope next time more people will join this action because it‘s so nesessary to protect area you‘re living and keep it clean!

                                       "DAROM 2014" Our team

On 29^th of April we were again on a Darbo Birža. Tomas told to young people about volunteering and EVS. And we, a real volunteers, shared with them our personal opinions and feelings about volunteering experience. This day more young people came than it was first time. So, may be somebody of them changed his mind and wanted to try to be a volunteer! It’s so interesting! I hope on it...)))

                                              Darbo Birža. Part 2