The 25th Lithuanian language and culture summer course have started
The 25th Lithuanian language and culture course anniversary organized by the Faculty of Humanities and the Academy of Education and supported by the Education Exchanges Support Foundation was solemnly opened at Vytautas Magnus University on July 8th. It was Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė idea 25 years ago, to teach foreigners Lithuanian – one of the oldest still-used Indo-European languages – which is still alive today and this year will unite language enthusiasts from more than 25 different countries of the world.
At the opening event, students from USA, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, Kenya, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia were greeted by the Rector of the university, Prof. Juozas Augutis and Vice-rector Assoc. Prof. Vilma Bijeikienė.
During the event students also had the opportunity to listen to the lecture by the member of the European Parliament, VMU professor Liudas Mažylis who discovered the Act of Independence of Lithuania.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė, Head of the Department of Lithuanian Studies, Teresė Ringailienė, Director of the Institute of Foreign Languages, Teodoras Grigaliūnas, Coordinator of the cultural program of the course in Vilnius, and Agnė Staupelytė, Lithuanian language lecturer in Vilnius, greeted the students. Ugnė Vaičiulytė, Coordinator of the Baltic Summer University and Head of International Programmes at the Faculty of Humanities, encouraged everybody to sense the magic of the opening moment and expressed sincere gratitude to the administration, lecturers and students. Finally Ugnė invited everyone to taste a piece of the anniversary cake and wished that the course slogan “Join and Enjoy!“ would take on a real form.
According to the course organizer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė, this opening ceremony is an introduction to a wonderful month-long journey through the Lithuanian language and culture. “This year‘s program is extremely rich and diverse. Therefore, students will be able to acquire both the academic knowledge and to get to know the most wonderful places in Lithuania during fieldtrips. However, the most important thing is the personal experience and impression that the course offers to foreigners who come to Lithuania”, says Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė.
The celebration was also enriched by a heart-touching musical part reflecting Lithuanian culture. During the opening ceremony, the songs of legendary Lithuanian composers were performed by Paulius Kaminskas, baritone of the Music Academy, and Dominykas Šimonis, pianist. The program included R. Žigaitis “Oh you, falcon” and “Acacias in blossom”, A. Raudonikis “Elegy of Love” and “Tenderness”, V. Kernagis “The White Bird”. The performers also performed songs from famous musicals: “Heaven has given you height” by K. Mašanauskas and “Star of Dreams“ by M. Leigh. The course participants unanimously said that the combination of strong and confident baritone vocals and lyrical works, characteristic of Lithuanian musical culture, captivated and did not leave them indifferent – applause accompanied by “bravo” resounded in the hall.
The festive program was closed with the informal part during which foreigners studying in Vilnius and Kaunas exchanged their first impressions as well as members of the university‘s academic community, invited guests. The final chord of the celebration was tasting of the red berry birthday cake dedicated to the quarter-century commemoration of the course.
As soon as the ceremony ended, the course participants, accompanied by the guide Dr. Arvydas Kumpis, got acquainted with the streets and alleys of Kaunas city and the stories that commemorate them. Although the day of the celebration was intense, the high emotions of the course participants and guests as well as the engaging program became a great introduction to an intriguing month-long journey through the labyrinths of the Lithuanian language and culture that promise many discoveries.
