Hill of Witches

(The picture below is an unexpected moment captured while we were waiting for the ferry.)

Her name is Egle Songailine. She is taller than most of the boys in our class, her blonde hair is cut at a sharp angle, she accepts no excuses and isn’t afraid of a fight. And it is because of her, that for the first time, I am excited about my major. In the back of my mind, I had always wondered if marketing wasn’t just about manipulating people, if it was just about finding new ways to sell people old garbage. But now, I know better. A marketeer is really a professional promise maker, and as such has great potential for either good or evil, but they still have a choice. I’ve also started to question some of my own thought processes, my own motivations…I feel such an immense sense of relief right now.

Switching gears…Yesterday, Altynai, Hannah, and I went to the Hill of Witches. I’m going to be super lame and put a brief description from visitneringa.com. “Since the ancient times, Festival of St. John was celebrated at the Hill of Witches, formerly called Jonas’ and Ieva’s Hill. Nowadays, walking along path of the hill, you can see the unique exposition in the open air. 71 sculptures out of oak tree were gouged during summers of 1979 – 1981 by Lithuanian (mostly Lowland) folk artists. The theme of the hill sculptures is the world where witches, demons, and characters of Neringa legends live.” The sculptures were often startling as one second I would be looking at a beautiful maiden with flowing hair, and a moment later I would see a grotesque (yet strangely hypnotic) monster. There was also a great wooden teeter-totter which reduced Hannah and I to about the age of five. Altynai mounted a great wooden horse and looked as though she perfectly belonged there (perhaps a testament to her Mongol ancestors.) The only slight downside to an otherwise perfect outing was the frigid wind that insisted on making it's presence felt. To combat the cold, we stopped at a lovely cafe decorated with all warm colors of a hug. As I was downing some spicy soup, I had the feeling that this was how life was meant to be lived, good food with good friends, in a beautiful place.