NSLI-Y 2024 Latvia – Week 6
Please welcome our week six bloggers, Rose and Madhav!
One final привет from Tyca 16! It’s hard to believe our time in the beautiful city of Riga has come to a close. It will be very missed by all members of the cohort!
Students spent time with their host families and local friends during our last full weekend, soaking up the final days in Latvia. Students visited places such as Kuldiga, Ventspils, Sigulda, and Jurmala, exploring all that Latvia has to offer before returning home.
Many also spent the weekend diligently preparing for culminating project presentations, which were a chance to demonstrate all the knowledge we gained during the program. We are so excited to share everything we have learned!
On Monday, we began our last week of Russian classes. After class, we attended our final RD meeting, where students spent the first half discussing NSLI-Y and ACES goals and took the time to reflect on their own experiences. This was followed by a presentation on Russian speakers throughout Latvia and Eastern Europe, which led to some interesting class discussions. After the meeting, some of us got the opportunity to meet a local Latvian scholar Maris, and discuss local issues.
On Tuesday, we had our last peer partner meeting. We drew pictures of our memories throughout the program and watched the short films we made last week. Then, we spent time chatting with our partners and saying our goodbyes. Everyone was sad when it came time to leave, as we’ve all made good friends during our time here!
Wednesday, Lyudmila’s class prepared a short skit about a giant turnip, a traditional Russian story, to perform at our farewell ceremony on Saturday. After Russian classes and lunch, half of our cohort presented their final projects. Everyone did excellently, and all the hard work has paid off! It’s hard to believe we’ve come this far in only 6 weeks.
Thursday, students in both classes took their final Russian exam, a culmination of everything we have learned while on the program. After classes, the second half of the cohort presented their final presentations. Once again, everyone was impressed with how far we have come in our Russian language skills.
Friday was our last day of Russian classes. After students completed their culminating interviews, we played Russian language games to celebrate. Everyone was very sad to say goodbye to their teachers as we’ve all had such a wonderful experience here. We promise to all come back and visit! After lunch we had our reentry orientation to prepare for our travels home.
Thank you for keeping up with Tyca 16 during our time here! Bye for now!
Пока пока,
Tyca 16
Madhav’s trip to the waterfall in Kuldiga.
Madhav’s trip to Jurkalne.
Students pose for a photo in the park with Latvian international security expert Maris.
Yuxuan and Nadia with their peer partners during our final meeting.
Lyudmila’s class prepares to perform “репка”, featuring Alex in a starring role!
Madhav, Omer, Will, Alex, Dalton, and Dominic pose for a photo with the Freedom Monument.
Students snuggle up together during a break.
Joaquin and Rose work with their peer partners to draw their memories of time together.
Alex and Omer resting on a bench outside the language center.
Rose and Carissa having lunch with Carissa’s host sister.
Katherine and Robert spotted through the window on a beautiful day in Riga.
Our re-entry orientation to help us prepare to travel home!
Lyudmila’s class on their final day together. We will miss our teachers so much!
Ekaterina’s class poses for a final photo together!
Alright, Resident Directors, Rachel and Madeline, here to offer some closing notes on the summer. We are grateful for our student writers who captured the details of each week with such grace. Each student on the program had a distinct experience, and we treasured every opportunity to learn from and discuss what they had seen and felt in Riga.
Closing festivities for the summer were a beautiful celebration of what our students had achieved over weeks of study and exploration. On Saturday, the day before our departure, we went to the Lāči bread factory for a masterclass on the preparation of traditional Latvian bread. We also shared a meal together before sending students home to pack and enjoy the company of their host families for a final night.
Our travel day was a long-but-simple journey. Meeting at the airport in the middle of the night, we caught our flights to Frankfurt and to Chicago without any issues. When we parted in Chicago, students embraced and promised to meet each other again. Students had many hours to spend in the Chicago airport, and, one by one, they left to their gates to catch flights back to their home cities.
May we all meet in Riga again someday! We wish students all the best as they continue to study Russian. The students have such bright futures ahead of them, and we hope they’ll keep in touch and let us know of all their future victories.
In honor of the summer we’ve had, we solicited ‘best photos’ of the summer from our students, and have some of our own to contribute. Please enjoy the following highlight reel—a reflection of our favorite laughs and our most beloved memories!
Best Furry Friend(s).
Most Beautiful Spot in Riga.
Best Photo of Public Transport.
Best Sunset.
Best 0.5 photo.
Best Meal.
Best Group Photo.
Best Candid.
Best Photo of the RDs.
Best Event in Riga.