In the Old Country
box. As the clunker lurches along and picks up passengers, everyone on the bus gets packed in even tighter. The windows are so fogged up from all of the people that we can't see where we are going. Jugita stakes it in stride, joking that that is why the driver announces stops over a loudspeaker. Jurgita rides the city buses constantly; the family doesn't own a car and she uses the buses to get from home to school to work and back again, as well as to see friends. Finally we reach our stop. We squeeze out between all of the bodies on the bus and pop out into the frigid night air. We have gained a bit of elevation and can see the lights of Vilnius below.
After crossing a highway overpass, we enter Jurgita's "sleeping district" a dreary hilltop area where a half-dozen highrise apartment towers stick up like concrete pillars. Like the buses, the towers were built during Soviet times. They are where most of Vilnius' working classes live. Jurgita's family shares a two-bedroom flat in one. We ride the elevator about halfway up and get off. Danguole and the dog Marsas greet us at the door.
Danguole is a short, round lady with a pretty grin. Jugita translates her Lithuanian into English for me. We smile a lot at each other to make up for our language deficiencies. In the living room, we all sit down and Jurgita and I eat cheese and tomato salads. As we eat, we figure that the relation between us is fairly direct: my grandfather Dan and Jurgita's grandmother Ona were first cousins. That would make Danguole and my father second cousins, and Jurgita and I third cousins. We think.
Whatever the exact relation, Danguole tells me she is happy I came. I give her photographs of my family. It isn't long before we are snapping pictures of ourselves (with the dog in most of them) to exchange later. Jurgita checks her watch and tells me we are due downtown to meet our twentysomethng cousins Karolis and Inga at a restaurant. After saying goodbye to Danguole, we step out into the cold again and board the next bus headed downtown. More family is waiting, and as always, I can't wait to meet them.
Until next time -- happy travels! -- Colleen
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