In the April 2016 issue of the monthly magazine, "Laima," Mykolas Romeris University's (MRU) Spanish language lecturer Juan Carlos Pagan Motos discusses his love for Lithuania, food and flamenco and Latin American music.

He is a member of the "Tientos" flamenco club and "Baltic Salsa Orchestra."

I came to Lithuania not as a tourist or a seeker of pleasure, he said.

"I have come to know this country, its culture and found my place here, he says in the article.

"I am fascinated by the old pagan cultural relicts still part of Lithuania: like the tradition of not greeting one another over a doorstep, and I like the names of the months in Lithuanian - related to the changes in season. It is a wonderful heritage, coming from the past," he explains.

The MRU Lecturer says his life is now divided among lecturing, doctoral studies at MRU and music.

"I feel exceptional because living in another cultural environment, I am at the same time connected to my home country by way of language and music."

He said he likes the fattening Lithuanian dish, cepelinai, made from grated potatoes and almost all of Lithuanian food including herring and cold beet soup, a staple of the Lithuanian diet during the warm summer months.

When he moved to Vilnius from Panevėžys, where he was a volunteer, he experienced cultural shock during a typical cold Vilnius winter.

"I came to the station and for the first time in my life got on a trolleybus. Of course, it was cultural shock - the station, the trolleybus and snow and the cold. When I got off in the Old Quarter I saw one of the most beautiful Vilnius churches and I was awestruck," he said.

In Lithuania I feel at home and happy. I have gotten to know the differences in mentality, he said.

"Now I live picking out the best from both cultures," said the ever-smiling Spaniard.

The entire interview is published in a spread in the April 2016 issue of "Laima," titled, "Having Found and Fallen in Love with Lithuania."