2012 m. kovo 12 d., pirmadienis

How it feels to be lithuanian abroad

On the 11th of March there is a big celebration in Lithuania. It is the day,when our country got back its independence. Streets are full of people, controversial parades of "patriotic youth" take place, flags wawe everywhere. Every lithuanian, who is proud to be lithuanian somehow marks this day. This year, while Lithuania was singing national athem all together, I was thousands kilometres away. But,what is suprsising, I felt so close to my country, as I never felt while living there.
Usually during this kind of national celebrations, people of one nationality abroad are used to stick together. However, I think, that it should  be the opposite. It's always nice to share your culture, open it to other people, make them admire it as you do. So, that's why on 11th of March I decided to organize Lithuanian night for foreigners -  with traditional food, music and games to discover our country, culture and language. Another reason was that Lithuania is really a hidden treasure of Europe, that almost no one knows about it (like it would be in Africa or other side ofthe World). I like the most,when you tell someone "I am from Lithuania" and you see that person actually doesn't have an idea about it, but pretends to know and after says "Oh, I know your capital Tallin (or more often Riga) is very nice". Being lithuanian abroad is not that easy as turkish or chineese,who meet their culture or people on every corner and can buy their tradition food in specialized markets worldwide. You cannot that easily meet lithuanian culture everywhere, so you have to keep it in your heart and soul and become as an ambasador - promote it and share.
And when you try to share it, you discover how curious and interested people actually are. You see koreans or hungarians trying to pronounce difficult words in lithuanian language, you see italians gazing at pictures of your country, you hear people saying how delicious lithuanian food is, and you feel that your country is not just a dot on the map for them anymore.
 And you feel that your home, your culture is not far at all, it's just here, around you. And it will always be, if you manage to bring it everywhere you go!


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