I would like to let classmates know about a program run by the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg in which I participated recently. It places US and Canadian lawyers as guest professors at law schools in former Soviet bloc countries. The schools request certain areas of emphasis (I taught in the intellectual property master’s program) but the idea is also to acquaint students with our legal systems. My placement was with the Mykolis Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania. Vilnius is an EU capital city and the old town is lovingly preserved. I persuaded my husband to teach a class in the American studies department on the use of sports idioms in US media and politics. (He writes about sports.) The highlight for me was watching him diagram the rules of baseball for a room of Lithuanian students (mostly women) studying to be translators. I think for him the highlight was watching me explain how inattention to trademark law can cause decades of litigation for musical groups in the US.  Lithuania is converting to the Euro from the Lyta in January, but prices are still below what one finds in other EU countries. We dined better than we ever do in LA for less than half the price. Folks can find out more about the teaching gigs at www.cils.org.  We also enjoyed a weekend in Riga, Latvia. Remember the Hanseatic League?

Take good care.

Lois Fishman