A Man of Many Talents

Last week we had Austris and his children, Daivis and Lalita, over for dinner and fun. Austris, a good friend, is a cook at a local vegetarian restaurant, and came prepared to show me how to cook rice "the right way". I have now been introduced to the wonders of clarified butter and homemade curd. While we were waiting for the rice to steam, he built the tallest domino tower I've ever seen, which, as you can see from the picture, delighted one and all! Austris, a man with very deep religious convictions, is currently a member of the Hare Krishna faith. He brought some of his Church's traveling leadership to our apartment a couple of weeks ago so that Russ and I could meet them. They also are very gentle, sincere people. We had an interesting, informative conversation - everyone came away understanding each other better by the end. Afterwards, I couldn't help but contemplate what rich, unusual experiences I get to have here on a daily basis.