NSLI-Y 2023 Latvia – Week 5
Happy August to all of our readers back home! As we turn another page of the calendar, we are reminded that this program is, sadly, coming to an end. But our adventures in Latvia are not over yet! We still have a week of classes left, which means there are more verbs to conjugate, case endings to memorize, and nouns to add to our growing collections of flashcards. Even more, we still have the wonderful Latvian people and their beautiful capital of Riga with all its unexplored corners waiting to be discovered. Week five may be behind us, but more excitement still awaits us as we prepare to say farewell to Latvia.
At the beginning of week five, we were fortunate to be presented a lecture on contemporary Latvian history by Uldis, an esteemed researcher at Daugavpils University and head of the Department for Accounting and Protection at the Latvian National Archives.
Uldis begins his lecture for the students.
Currently, Uldis is charged with classifying and cataloguing tens of thousands of medieval Latvian documents and manuscripts dating back to the 13th century, a very time-consuming task. We were very fortunate this summer to spend a few hours with him. Topics of his lecture ranged from the devastation caused to Latvia during the two world wars to the euphoria and excitement at the Latvia’s independence in 1991 (Uldis himself had personally participated in the movement for independence). A highlight (and a surprise!) for many of the students was learning of the Latvian heritage of several American celebrities, including actor Jake Gyllenhaal and musician Drake.
Lunches continue to be served at our nearby restaurant. As you saw last week, there is a friendly Corgi that occasionally keeps us company there. Now, for all you cat lovers out there, we also have a lounging feline friend.
He rarely moves from this spot. Seems he has reserved the booth.
Of course, beyond all the work to be done, students are still enjoying their free time in the city. One of the highlights of most former Soviet capitals is their flea markets. Rife with relics of the not-too-distant past, they are an excellent place to find souvenirs and artifacts of the Soviet era.
Here is Kim peering through the looking glass of some antique contraption. Vendors at these markets will attempt to monetize any type of discarded item.
Jonathan with his haul. It is easy to find all kinds of old currencies and coins at these markets as well, both from the Soviet Union and around the world.
Meera and Kim peruse one vendor’s display. Of course, the most common item one can find are the various types of Soviet-era pins that were commonly distributed at all levels of society. If you look closely, you can see that this particular vendor also operates in the used watch and toy car markets.
As we reflect on our program in Riga up to this point, we have asked our students to share photos that best embody their experience here this summer. Here are their contributions:
Jonathan and his host mother take a mirror selfie at 18th century Rundale Palace.
Eva and her host mom the night the two of them joined Destiney and Destiney’s host mom to enjoy live music in Jūrmala. “One of my favorite nights on this trip and one I will cherish forever.”
Fletcher jumping over a World War II-era trench made by the German army. Photo taken while gathering mushrooms with his host family.
Nyrah with Resident Director Karen and Baltic Center Coordinator Tatyana. “I want to showcase how close I got to my resident directors and how they’ve always been there for me.”
Caleb, an avid fisherman, shows off his first catch while in Latvia.
Submitted by Destiney. ‘In this picture, Eva and I are dancing in Mar Mar Café [where they went with their host mothers], and it was easily one of the best nights I’ve had here.”
Kira and her host brother Makar. “I absolutely love these amazing people! My host family is by far my favorite part of the entire program <3.”
Taken at the Soviet Bunker in Līgatne with Caleb, Fletcher, and Meera. Sam writes, “In Līgatne, 9 meters underground, we got to explore a Soviet-era bunker from the Cold War. It was really cool to see a piece of history so well preserved.”
Here is Madison with her host mother and other family members. “We went to an exhibition about Latvian culture and history that featured a bunch of handmade crafts.”
Here is Rose with her host parents. “We went kayaking for 17 kilometers and ate apples and discussed life and everything about it. It was so much fun!”
Here is Meera at Cēsis Castle. “My best experiences in Latvia have been learning more about the history of the country and getting to see these historic sites firsthand.”
Here is Izzie at lunch enjoying the company of our feline friend from earlier in the post. It’s been great to have these pets with us every day for our meals!
Kaitlyn writes, “Enjoyed getting to know my host family through playing card games!”
Kim writes, “My host sister and I on the chairlift ride in the Tarzan adventure park in Sigulda!”
Thank you to all our students for sharing these photos, and thank you, readers, for keeping up with us here in Riga. Now, it is time to put our heads down, get to work, and prepare for our final week of the NSLI-Y program. We will see you later with our final post for the summer!