Welcome to Chucky Radio. Hello, this is Chucky Radio. And well, time for a new episode. And this time, I have a special guest. And the reason he's such a special guest is because he's my brother-in-law. Insane, right? I got married last week. Small family get-together. And my wife, it's so crazy to say my wife, but my wife, she has her family mostly in Europe. And so, her brother came in with his girlfriend, who became his fiance. And they participated in our beautiful wedding that we did. So welcome, Rytis. Hey, hey, everyone. So Rytis, your family, my wife, you, my brother-in-law now, where are you guys originally from? We're from Lithuania. Lithuania. In Europe, in middle Europe. It's on the east side. Yeah, it's more like in the east side, yeah. But it's northern Eastern Europe. Yeah, it's like Baltic States. We have Baltic States. So we are nearby Baltic Sea. We have three countries in Baltic States. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Exactly. I've had the opportunity to go there. Absolutely loved it. So cool, like, it's part of Europe. They use a euro. And because they're part of this northern part of Eastern Europe, they actually are very different from the rest of the Eastern European countries because they're considered Baltic and all the rest of the Eastern European countries south of them are considered Slavic, right? Yeah, exactly. And so what language do you guys speak in Lithuania? Oh, we speak Lithuanian language. Lithuanian. We have very difficult, actually, but we speak Lithuanian. And one of the things I learned, it's one of the oldest languages in the world. Yeah, it's old, it's old, yeah. Yeah, and what's cool is, I mean, it's interesting just talking to you because I love the accent. Like, it's a cool accent. I mean, of course, I fell in love with your sister who has the cool accent too. And the thing that I found really interesting, it is very different from other Eastern European accents, you know? Lithuania, what I discovered, actually used to be like a kingdom. It like dominated a lot of that Eastern, what is now considered Eastern Europe. Long, long time ago. Yeah. Very long time ago. And obviously, history changes, there's so many dynamics. And now Lithuania is, you know, a relatively small country. But you know, but the thing that's so neat about it is when I've been there, the people are so proud of being Lithuanian. And there's one thing about Lithuania I discovered. They are die hard in one particular sport. Oh yeah, basketball. It's our second religion, that's for sure. That's for sure. And there was actually a documentary once about the Lithuanian. I think a few of them, a few documentaries about that. The big one was there was a documentary about the Lithuanian team that won the Olympics. Yeah. Which was like a huge deal. But we are here to talk about the fact that you came here to be part of our wedding, and it was your first time to come to the United States of America. Yeah, yeah. So what was your impression coming to the US? I mean, what did you think before you came here, what it would be like to come to the US? Oh, you know, we knew USA only from movies. Right. We also watched movies, Hollywood movies. Right. And we see like USA only from the movies. So for me, it's exotic. Yeah, yeah, I bet. Yeah, the first word that came in my mind, it's exotic. Yeah. And so what's interesting to me is obviously US, when you see it in the movies, you're seeing New York and LA, and you're getting this very diverse perspective of the American life, American culture. But you're coming in for the first time to Texas. And Texas is like a whole nother animal, right? I knew Texas that it has a big, big culture. Yeah. Yeah, I know Texas like the Cowboys. Right. The two-step dance, yeah? Or no, yes. I mean, yeah, I mean, Texas is known for, you know, its roots are from the Cowboy, from the cattle industry. You know, rodeos here. And then of course, you know, country western, country western dancing and all that. But okay, that's what you envision coming into Texas. But was there other things that kind of surprised you? I mean, when you first landed, you ended up coming in through Dallas. Yes. And then we went into Dallas. I mean, what'd you think of Dallas? You know what's crazy for me? That in our country now it's fall season. So we have like a really, not so cold, but we have a cold weather, so rainy weather. And it's a little bit like cold in our country now. So, yeah. Yeah, I was just gonna say, I mean, you guys, I've looked it up and the Vilnius, the capital is about the equivalent of Calgary, Canada to us. So you guys are so far north that you're coming in October. Here we are in October. It's already getting cold there and you come here and it's like. Yeah, it's like summer in our country. Right, exactly. Oh my God. Yeah, so first thing was, oh my God, it's so warm here. Right. It's not warm, it's hot here. It's hot. It's hot. So this was the first impression. Right. And then I see the cars. Yeah. Then I realized there is a different license plate and I see that, okay, this is USA. Oh my God, this is Texas. The big trucks, SUVs, pickup trucks. Everywhere. We have pickup trucks, but we don't have a few, I think a few SUVs, but it's not popular. So this was the first impression in Dallas airport. Right, in the airport. Yeah. And then we went towards downtown Dallas. Yeah, this was the first minutes. Right. So then we go into downtown Dallas and I mean, was it what you expected? No, not actually. I don't know anything about Dallas. No, I know just that Dallas has like NBA team, Dallas Mavericks. Which of course. Which I love it. And that was one of the first things that we did. Yes. We went straight to the American Airlines Center where is the home of Dallas Mavericks. Yeah, the Dirk Nowitzki statue. Oh yeah. And actually first time I see those tall buildings, big buildings. That's what I was thinking. It's like, you don't have those kinds of buildings. We have big buildings in our capital in Vilnius, but it's not that big, no. When you see those big buildings in Dallas in the USA, those buildings in our country turns into small ones. Nothing serious. And what was interesting is as we were driving around, I realized it's like, oh, well this is where the famous or infamous assassination of Kennedy. Oh yeah. So we got to drive exactly where Kennedy drove and you could see there's a school book depository where supposedly Lee Harvey Oswald was shot. But then you kind of look at it and you kind of realize it's like, that'd be a really tough shot. And then of course the conspiracies that there was a grassy knoll and there was someone possibly at the fence. It's an interesting piece of history. So yeah, we got a quick glimpse of Dallas and then of course we then got on the road after we got a quick bite to eat and headed down to Austin. Oh yeah. So yeah, you really got a chance to see Austin because we've tried to do as much as possible. Yes, about Austin, I knew that you have city like Austin. I knew like you have city Austin, but I know nothing about Austin. Right. Yeah. Dallas is Dallas, yeah, because of Dallas Mavericks. Right. But it's the only one reason. About Austin, I knew nothing. And so all of a sudden here you are in Austin, we're getting ready for the wedding. We have this amazing wedding on this terrace in downtown. I mean, great vibe. No, it was amazing. Wow. I cried, you cried, we all were like, such an emotional time and just so neat to bring it together, our families, which is a big important part of everything that happened. And then of course, this was very small. We planned on just keeping it family and just a very small group of friends. And so you kind of got to see like my inner circle of friends and that they all loved you. Like every one of them came up to me. I love them also. They all came up to me like, oh my God, your wife's brother is the coolest dude. I noticed one thing about your friends, about American people, but talking about your friends, I noticed that they're all so polite, like naturally, not fake polite, but naturally so polite. In our country, our people are very like. More reserved. More reserved, yeah. They're not so outwardly polite. But these people are not shy to say a compliment, not shy to say first words to you. Just, yeah, it's simple maybe, but I like it. We like it also with my fiance. Yeah, yeah, your fiance, great. So that was the interesting thing. So we get through the wedding and then of course, immediately it's your birthday coming up. And one of the things that we planned is like, we're going to Miami. Too many things. Two days after we get married, we have this huge party. We have a great time. We're recovering the next day and it's like, oh crap, we gotta pack. We gotta be at the airport at like six in the morning to catch a 7 a.m. flight. We rushing everywhere. Oh my God, we just packed so much in. And so we get into Miami and that was insane because we are hoping to show you the cool, sunny hangout on the beach, Miami. And instead we get there and it's just nonstop rain for like four days straight. But we ignored it. Exactly, that was a beauty. I mean, the one thing that's cool about that area is it is a tropical area and all the rain nourishes and it makes for a beautiful landscape and the palm trees and all that. And we got a little bit of sun one day. Happened to be the day we went to the beach. Yeah, I remember, son. Just a few seconds. And then the day we got in, I think we took some power naps and then me and the wife went to go see Charlie XCX concert while you and your then girlfriend went to go have a nice dinner down in South Beach, Miami. And then you popped the big question. And she said, yes. Now you're engaged. Yeah, I were planning for a month. And yeah, I knew that there should be in Miami. Yeah. This day should be in Miami. Yeah, and it was your birthday. Yeah, it was my birthday. But yeah, too many surprises for me also. Well, and we did that. I asked your sister to be my girlfriend two years ago on October 3rd. And then we got married on October 3rd. So we kind of did that same thing where it's like, let's create these dates that kind of coincide so we'll never forget. It makes it easy. Yes, exactly. That's the same day she became my girlfriend, the same day she became my wife. Maybe we can plan our kid to get born on the same day. Everything in the same day. The fun fact about October 5th, it's my birthday, but I propose on October 5th. But in Lithuania, that time was October 6th. So now we have a little bit chat about this day. When actually I proposed on October 5th. I think you have to go with the date in the time zone that you're in. So I think you propose on October 5th. And sure, it was October 6th in Lithuania, but that doesn't count. You're in Miami. We will celebrate two days, 5th and 6th. But yeah, it's actually the 5th day. And so we got a chance to do a little sightseeing. I think you guys enjoyed going to Coconut Grove, which is always kind of fun. We went to one of my favorite dive bars there, Barracuda. And then of course, that quick little day that we went to South Beach, got on the beach a little bit, finally got to swim in the ocean. Yeah, which is always fun. You know, it's like, you gotta go to the, I mean, you're in Miami, you gotta jump in the ocean. I don't care if it's raining. I don't care. Somehow, but you must. Exactly. And we kind of finished off the trip, ended up meeting up with one of you guys' friends that was in from Lithuania. Oh yeah, it was random. Yeah. And we ended up late night at a Colombian restaurant, which my family is, you know, from Columbia. So it was kind of fun that we're hanging out at Columbia. And you fell in love with a Colombian soft drink. Oh yeah, Colombiana. I would love to buy it in Lithuania, but impossible. That'd be tough. But, and then of course my mom, she just loves to have gas out, isn't she? She's just amazing. She's so sweet, yeah. And of course she starts pulling out all the books and like all the baby pictures. Like, oh my God, here we go, mom. She's funny. And at the same time, she's so adorable. She's like, she has a good, good, good heart. Oh yeah, yeah. My mama, God, I love her. She is really such a sweetheart. Yeah. And so I'm trying to think, that was pretty much Miami. I mean, Miami, it just, it went by so fast. I mean, we got, went to Wynwood. We saw some of the, you know, art on the murals, on the walls. That was kind of cool. We visited some bars, some restaurants. Yeah, yeah. We went to a couple of different restaurants. Oh, we went in the street where the graffiti on all the walls. That's Wynwood. Yeah. It was good. It was nice also. And then we figured out, or actually, we were notified that there's a hurricane coming to Florida. Yeah, the big one. Yeah, Hurricane Milton. And we're like, you had the option to change your flight. And we were very concerned that our flight would get canceled if we would have gone our flight. So we ended up moving our trip up a day early to leave. And I think it worked out great because it was raining the whole time. Yes, yes, yes. So we skipped one day in Miami to come back to Austin. And it actually gave us some time to prepare for your first NBA game. And you got to see San Antonio, Spurs played the Orlando Magic. Yeah. Wow, wow, it was amazing. We have like a big culture in our city, in our country. We have a very good basketball. We have a good arena also. But NBA is NBA, you know. Every kid who loves playing basketball, he dream not about Euroleague, you know. Not about like local league. Right. The kid dream is about NBA, to be NBA player. To be NBA player, to get to be in the ranks of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. I mean, the greatest players of all time. And be in the greatest league in the world, I think so. Oh yeah. So it was neat. I mean, even though it was a preseason game because that's what was going on, I thought it was a great game. It was good. It was a close game, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Like arena was not too crowded. Right. But it's normal. It's a preseason game. Yeah, exactly. But the atmosphere, all experience was like, wow. For me and for my fiance, it was like amazing. Also for your wife, because she was the first time she came. Yeah. She never even been to a Euroleague game in Lithuania. That was her first professional basketball game. Yes, yes, yes, yes. She's like, yeah, I've only been to, Rita, when you played basketball back in, where did you play basketball? Oh, I quit basketball in 2018, I think. Right, but you played like in a semi-pro? Yeah, I was a semi-pro player. Yeah, that's pretty cool. I played in semi-pro league last three years. Wow. Of my, let it be, career. Okay. But I played basketball for 13 years. Wow. Yeah, it's quite good, it's quite good. Oh, and we can't forget, one of the very first things you did when you arrived in Texas the following day after you arrived, we had set up for you a ride-along. Oh, yeah. So what do you do for a living? Well, I am police officer, yeah, yeah, yeah. So. Special forces. Yeah, it's called, not actually special forces, but I know how to tell exactly what. It's like an elite group. Yeah, it's like. Within the Lithuanian police force. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're one of the youngest to get into that program. Oh, yes, yeah, because our colleagues in that force is 13 and above. Wow. 30 and above, so. 30 and above, yeah. So, yeah, I'm the youngest. So then, obviously, that's what you do for a living, you have a lot of experience. I have two jobs, actually. Oh, that's right. I'm the M.B., I am the basketball referee. Yeah. Yeah, but yeah, talking about police officer, yeah, I'm working in Lithuania, and I, yeah, I experienced the ride-along program. Right, so we ended up getting you approved to do a ride-along with the Austin Police Department. So, I mean, was it a bit different than being in the police force in Lithuania? A lot of details, but it's normal, a lot of details, but for me, it was amazing that I knew that you have a big problem with the guns, and it was too risky. You felt it was gonna be a bit risky doing the ride-along, huh? Yeah, because I have no equipments with me. I'm just, like, sitting, like, guest, you know? So, but it was the best experience. I bet. Yeah, the best. Like, 10 hours, just, like, like that. Flew by. Yeah, flew by. That was the, like, now it's in the memory. Right, and you got some good photos and videos along the way, and you did a nice little compilation of the videos that you put up on your Instagram, which I thought was, like, really cool, so. Yeah, it was cool. I tried not to use the phone, but I cannot. Oh, of course, you gotta shoot some shots, you gotta get some video. I mean, this is, you know, it's gonna be one of your most memorable experiences with the ride-along with the US police force. Oh, yeah. So, the last few days that we're kinda trying to get everything in, we got a chance to take you out to Lockhart, and Lockhart is the capital of barbecue. Oh, yeah, yes. The barbecue there. Wow, we have barbecue in Lithuania, but trust me, not like that. Oh, my God, the barbecue there. I mean, you can only go there once every, you know, once in a while, because, like, that barbecue is so rich and so delicious, yeah. It was a real deal, wow. And then we got a chance to go over to San Marcos, where the San Marcos River starts, which is all spring-fed, and so that was pretty neat. Yeah, it's crazy that I, it was, the water was crystal clear. Oh, yeah, beautiful. You can see everything, what's... And then it's, you know, 96 degrees outside, so it's nice and hot, and then you jump into that spring water that's nice and cold, and it's such a relief. And go with the flow. Yeah, exactly. And our final stop tonight was, we ended up at a honky-tonk. Oh, yeah, it was the last evening, last night in Austin, in the USA. Yeah. Oh, I remember the Buc-ee's. Oh, my God, we can't forget Buc-ee's. Oh, my God. You guys fell in love with Buc-ee's. Yes. Every chance we get, we stop at Buc-ee's when we're driving down the highway. We're gonna pass them, like, whoa, we gotta go to the Buc-ee's. Yeah, yeah, that's the fun story about it, but, yeah, it's crazy for me that it's not a market. I mean, it's a gas station. I mean, it's a gas station. That's, like, 20 times the size of any gas station in the world. It's insane how big those places are. And just the branding, the whole Beaver, you know, and they put it on everything. It's so funny. So, yeah, we'll probably stop at Buc-ee's one more time as we're taking you to the airport tomorrow. Yeah. And we got a little surprise for you tomorrow before we put you on a plane, because we'll be back in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. And, you know, Fort Worth has some pretty interesting sights, so you'll get one last taste of Texas before we put you on that plane. And you will sleep well, I bet, on the flight back to Lithuania, because we, well, it's a long flight, but, oh my God, we've done so much. So much. We're rushing everywhere, but no regrets. Exactly. No regrets, because I can lay on a couch in Lithuania, but here, I came here not to sleep. Exactly. You can sleep back in Lithuania. Yeah, I will sleep. You can sleep back on the flight. I will get the jet lag, but it's normal. Yeah, a little jet lag won't hurt you. Well, Rytis, thank you so much for participating in this episode of Czech U Radio. Oh, thank you. And, hey, man, we're brothers now. Yeah, we're brothers. So I've got a feeling we got a lot of interesting events coming up in the future. We'll be heading back to Lithuania next year, and that'll be really nice. And yeah, and then hopefully get you back here to the US in the coming- I will improve my English knowledge and accent. Hey, you know what's so funny? I mean, I know you feel like you struggle with your accent, but everybody's like, they can totally understand you. You're totally clear. Yeah, but I have a short knowledge, you know. I have a lot of words in my mind, but it's hard to- Right, that's the way I am sometimes with Spanish. Sometimes I like, you do, because you have a limited vocabulary. So, but hey, everyone loved you. Everyone was able to communicate with you great. We had a great time. So here is to more adventures in the future with our families. Cheers for everyone. Cheers. Take care. Bye. Thank you for listening to this episode of Chucky Radio. I hope you enjoyed it. Our theme music is by our friend, Guy Porter. Until next time, this is Chucky. Peace out.