Meeting with volunteer from Zarasai.

In the regional park Grazute came to visit EVS volunteer from the nearby town Zarasai. Her name is Eugene, she is from Kirov, Russia. We met in Moscow when we were getting a visa. There are two volunteers in Zarasai - she and Martin from Spain. They work at the local library, which is a cultural center and museum of the city. In addition to working with books, they are organizing cultural activities and festivals. Lithuanians are very careful to national traditions, paying much attention to the popularization of folk culture among youth. I showed my friend our park, acquainted with my work  and other volunteers.

Our mentor Vytas took us on a tour of the surrounding area Zarasai. First we stopped at the mill, which was reconstructed by the locals. Hosts make themselves flour as it did hundreds of years ago the local peasants. They sell flour, bread, national bake, for example their cafe have biscuits with spices. We met there a lot of tourists who are interested in the traditions and cuisine of Lithuania. Then we went to look at one s oldest oaks Europe Stelmužė oak (Stelmužės ąžuolas). Its age is estimated at 1500 years. The tree survived several eras in the history of the region may have seen the Crusaders. In 1960 Stelmužė oak was declared a natural monument and is included in the number of protected sites in Lithuania. Oak height is 23 meters, and if you climb the trunk up to 3 meters, then it reaches a girth of 13.5 meters. Behind a tree being constant care and supervision. Now there is fence around the oak, which does not allow tourists to the zone roots. When summer comes, I will gather acorns to plant in the city of the same oak.