I've been doing that for years lt helps when youre not from "here"

a word that applies evewrywhere

alone in Amsterdam 

i drank beer 

and in Berlin

there are gardens of them 

for lent 

this year 

i gave up beer 

for 40 days and 40 nights 

i lived a beerless life 

and it was great

except for everytime 

i had to say no thanks

to a glass of local lager

but in Vilnius, LIlithuania 

i had to refuse the beer 

and instead 

Lena, the hostel owner 

made a "traditional vodka procedure"

and that was another kind home 

we reconciled the issues between Lithuania and Poland 

and chose

vodka 

i learned a lot 

from giving up beer