NSLI-Y 2024 Latvia – Week 4
Welcome back! This week, we would like to share a blog drafted by students Lena and Robert.
Привет from the culturally rich and architecturally stunning streets of Riga!
As mentioned in previous blogs, our time in Latvia is speeding by. We are already at the end of week four and are well over halfway through our program. Streets once foreign to us have become routine sights on our daily commutes, and bucket lists are close to being completed! For most of us, Riga has become a second home.
We have each found unique ways to integrate into the city. Whether through trips to the gym, sharing foods from back home with our host families, or finding local clubs and organizations to join, we have all found a community in Riga outside of the NSLI-Y cohort.
For eight of us, the week started with clowns, goats, and an abundance of laughter. Luckily for us, a traveling Baltic circus (Cirks “Baltija”) has established itself in the Imanta neighborhood of Riga. Imanta is home to many members of the NSLI-Y cohort, so this past Sunday, our Resident Directors, Rachel and Madeline, organized an optional excursion to the circus. Some of us arrived early to squeeze in an hour or two of studying before being captivated by the groovy and, at times, ungovernable excitement of the circus which featured acrobats, goats, dogs, pigeons, clowns, and fire! In other parts of Riga, NSLI-Y students spent quality time with their host families, exploring locations like the Rundāle Palace and immersing themselves in Latvian culture and the Russian language!
Classes resumed bright and early Monday morning, followed by our weekly meeting with our Resident Directors. We spent the first half of the meeting discussing upcoming events, program goals and successes, and the group’s cultural adjustment so far. The second half was spent on a lesson about Latvian art and its distinctive cultural and political ties. We discussed three artists, Gustav Klucis, Mark Rothko, and Dzemme Skulme, all of whom inhabited Latvia at very different times. The lesson gave us wonderful insight into the political and social climates in which each of them lived and worked.
After classes on Tuesday, туса 16 boarded a bus and crossed the river into the city center where we attended a candle making master class. We each got to pour and decorate our own edible-looking candles that will make the long voyage back to the states in our luggage!
Wednesday’s activity was an expert lecture from Oleg on the Russo-Ukrainian war and the history behind the conflict. His in depth explanations and first hand experiences gave us all invaluable insight that would be hard to come across on our own. We all left the lecture feeling much better-versed in the causes and consequences of the war.
On Thursday, eight members of туса 16 packed into a local cinema to watch Inside Out 2. With popcorn and ICEEs by our sides, we sat down attentively, ready to practice our Russian listening skills. After the movie, everyone who attended was surprised and proud of how much Russian they could understand. Inside Out Two was both an enjoyable experience and a moment of satisfaction with how far we have come throughout the program!
The final item on our itinerary this week was our peer partner activities on Friday afternoon. We met at school with our language partners and began with a couple rounds of ‘two truths and a lie.’ Then we spent some time translating song lyrics from Russian to English before getting some free time to spend with our partners. Some students conversed outside while others stayed in and played board games.
This week, our classes made impressive academic progress! Both worked through many difficult topics including adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, and food vocabulary. Our hard work is starting to pay off as many students have begun to find themselves more comfortable speaking, reading, and responding in Russian! Culminating projects are also coming along nicely as our presentations make their speedy approach. This week, the last of our interviews were due. All information has now been gathered and all that’s left to do is to compile it into a presentation (in Russian of course!).
Circus
Joaquin, Madhav, Rachel, Katherine, and Robert pose in front of the circus tent for a photo with their tickets and snacks.
Katherine, Madhav, Madeline, Rachel, Robert, Joaquin, and Carissa take a .5 selfie inside the circus.
The circus goers take a circular group photo of their tickets.
Resident Director Meeting
Our Resident Director Rachel presents to the group about Latvian artists and artistic movements/history.
During the Resident Director meeting we discussed the U-Curve of Culture Shock. Depicted above is a collage of all cohort members’ curves. The two week and four week marks are featured on the X-axis of the curve.
Candle Making
Nadiya, Sophie, Joaquin, Rachel, Katherine, and Sav present their finished candles to the camera.
Dominic, Alex, Omer, Madhav, Will, and Dalton cheers their newly made candles.
Tatijana (our local coordinator), Lena, Madeline, Carissa, Rose, Yuxuan, and Robert hold up their finished candles.
Expert Lecture
Oleg gives a presentation to туса 16 about the history of Russian-Ukrainian relations and the conditions that brought about the current war.
Movie
Rachel, Alex, Will, Madhav, Omer, Madeline, Robert, and Kathrine take a selfie in the movie theater before watching Inside Out 2.
Other Moments This Week
Alex and his host mom’s friend’s son hung out in a park sharing their thoughts and experiences on the different ways that schools operate globally.
Joaquin hiding himself under the dunes of Latvia’s beaches.
Yuxuan stands voguishly inside of a kangaroo structure at the Zoo.
Students and peer partners listen to activity instructions on Friday.
Students in Ekaterina’s class work on singular and plural nouns.