The full moon in Marijampolė, Lithuania marks the 7th month of my sabbatical. It is Easter here, and because this is a very catholic country, people are out celebrating in full force. The church was standing room only. Since I was here for Easter in 2012, the church has been renovated and it is warmer, despite the freezing temperatures and snow flurries outside. The procession begins with a bonfire, from which people light their candles and pass the holy fire around. During the sermons, the people from Marijampolė are quiet and solemn. Nobody dares to look at their mobile phones. A few children walk around. There must be a thousand people in the church marking the eve before the resurrection of Jesus. To me it seems that this seems some more pagan ritual that has infiltrated the modern Lithuanian/catholic culture. We are celebrating with my uncle, who moved back to Lithuania after independence.
We visited the farm of my grandfather that now belongs to my mother. It is about 45 minutes from Marijampolė, meaning that it is not near anywhere that anyone outside of this small region would know. The nearest small town is Višakio Rūda, where my mom used to go to church as a girl. A man is living there taking care of things. He works at a factory that makes furniture for Ikea. The neighbors down the road know my name, and are expecting that eventually I will be living on the farm. It is rather run down, but 3 friendly dogs and 2 cats on the roof guard the small property. This is where my grandfather with his wife, mother-in-law and 4 young children left Lithuania because of the Russian invasion, headed to Germany, and never came back. My mother now owns the farm, because after independence, she had the legal rights to re-possess it. There are some oak trees, and the furniture maker had just found some very old coins from the days when there was a czarist Russian village nearby. The ground is not very productive, and people are poor, but they have mobile phones and internet. Facebook connects them to the world.
The time in Vilnius is going well. I am always working on papers and grants, and spend some time looking at parasites under the microscope. The weather outside is very grey and cold. It keeps people working and inside. But the cheap airlines of Europe are very tempting. I will see some sun soon.