Dear Pen Pal...

CHAPTER 6

"Have you ever heard the Legend of Gediminas?"

"Uhh...nope, never heard that before..."

"Ohh, I've heard that before...my Aunty used to tell me that story before bed when I was a kid! Gediminas was a duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania."

*browse through internet* *shows him the picture*

"This statue you mean? That's him?"

"Yes! That's him."

"Then, would you like to tell us the story?"

October 14th, 2018

04:55 PM

Hello!

My name is Sheila. Warm greetings from Indonesia. I've been looking for a pen pal to get in contact with and chat together about interests in common, experiences and perspectives on society. I would like to know more about your favorite aspect about living in Lithuania?

Questions you've had always had about other places? Your favorite cultural dishes? Those are some of the questions I've always wanted to ask someone who lives in a different part of the world, and I would love to discuss about yourself, your family background...these things mostly. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Eagerly waiting your response soon.

Best regard,

Sheila

RESPONSE:

October 16th, 2018

06:34 AM

Hello, Sheila!

I'm grateful that I've finally found a pen pal from a different side of the world. My name is Lukas, I'm 16, greetings from Lithuania! Hmm....my favorite aspect of living here where I live? Probably the fact that I live near a major city, because I live a little bit away from the major city or any busy road. What about you?

I'm not sure if I have any questions for people who live far away other than how is the weather like where you live? Do you get to experience all four seasons? Does it rain often etc. I cannot think of any favorite cultural dish, other than sushi from Japan, and I'm not sure if it's considered a cultural dish.

Have a nice day,

Lukas

"Well, apparently, Gediminas was a fan of hunting and he chased a herd of now extinct European buffalo into the area around Vilnius where we set up camp for the evening. The location was supposed to be a ceremonial area where nobility was burned which makes it a controversial spot to make a hunting camp. Later that evening Gediminas had a dream of a wolf covered in Iron armor on top of a hill. Later it was determined that the dream was a vision for Gediminas to build a city in that location since there was a hill nearby. The name Vilnius was chosen because Vilnius is located near the Vilnia river. This story about the wolf reminds me of the founding of Rome With Romulus Remus. The only difference is here in Vilnius you don't get bombarded by the gross image of two kids suckling on a wolf....."

"...The awkward statue of Gediminias. He looks like a zombie with a sword. Also that puppy under his feet is the "Giant Iron Wolf...."

"....Gediminias lends his name to many famous parts of Vilnius like Gedimino Street and Gediminias tower. Gedimino Street is a big street that has many places to shop and it often hosts festivals like in my previous post about Vilnius days. Gediminias tower is one of the most famous landmarks in Lithuania. It's all that remains of Gediminias castle which was the main castle of Vilnius. The tower now serves as a nice spot to get one of the best views of Vilnius. Also it has an interesting museum about The Baltic Human Chain that stretched all the way from Tallinn Estonia to Vilnius Lithuania (a 9 hour bus ride) that was done as a protest against the Soviet Union...."

"I think that place sounds wonderful...."

"Ohhh...how I wish to travel to Lithuania."

"...aannd how I wish to become crazy rich so I can travel anywhere I've always wanted ahahahaha"

"Go get rich, you two! ehehe..."