Although I know that my ancestors came from the British Isles, my family has no sense of ethnic heritage as English, Welsh or Irish.  After I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I spent 18 months in England working as an intern.  I lived in Bath, which is in the West Country where some of my relative came from.  I discovered that the mincemeat pie my grandmother made for Christmas was an English tradition.  That’s the closest I came to identifying with my roots.

When I started studying Lithuania, I got involved with the Lithuanian-American community.  It was such an eye-opening experience to see how important their ethnic heritage was to them.  They have dance groups and song groups.  There is a  Saturday school to teach children how to speak Lithuanian.  They celebrate Lithuania’s independence day and have ethnic traditions for Christmas and Easter.  They wear national costumes.

Through my involvement with fundraising for the Baltic Studies Program at the University of Washington, I was also able to get to know many Latvian-Americans and Estonian-Americans.  By participating in their community events, I was able to vicariously experience what it was like to have a strong sense of ethnic identity.  I gained a real appreciation for the ways in which  my friends were both Americans and Lithuanians or Latvians or Estonians.   I also gained a greater understanding of the immigrant experience.  I realized that my ancestors had much the same experience when they came to America 200 years ago.  I am grateful that America has this duality — our own American culture but also the richness and variety of cultures of the people who have become Americans.

Because of this, I was very glad to have the opportunity to co-curate the exhibit on the Baltic American communities in Washington State for the University of Washington Libraries.  Not only was I able to hear the fascinating stories of the people who are included in the exhibit, I was able to help share those stories with people in Seattle and now in Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius.  It has meant a lot to me to be able to attend the openings of the exhibit in each city.  Sure it’s an ego boost when people compliment the exhibit — but mostly it just means a lot to have created something that people find interesting and that gives them a glimpse into the richness of American culture.