Out with friends N and J a few weeks ago on the first day of the new president's term. In case you missed it - she is a she! (In the newspaper the other day, there was an article written by a "professional handwriting analyst" - and he claimed that she is truly a masculine figure and that is why she is perfect for the job - but that is a story for another post.) We went to see the presidential inauguration a few weeks ago. It was a great event - they set the cannon off a few times, and I was only a few meters away from all of the action - the parading armed forces, the folk singers, the flags from every town and village in Lithuania...it was a spectacular event. Interesting quasi-cultural tidbit - here there is a totally different notion of "queueing" than there is back home. If someone wants to be at the front of a line (or in this case, at the front of the crowd watching an event), they simply need to stick their elbows out and push up to the front. I've even experienced strategic breathing down my neck. (Ew!) I have always been baffled, too, by the reactions of those around me - it is simply okay to be pushed to the back of a line. Another example of this - I was at the phone store, in line to buy a few more minutes for my phone plan. When I approached the counter, an elderly man walked into the store and gently elbowed me out of the way. The clerk was furious with him, and yelled at him for doing so. Although I was a bit miffed, I realized that this was just a part of the queuing practice here - he meant no harm, he just wanted to be served first, and somehow that is okay.
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