Skiing in Latvia?

Yes! It might be just as flat as Kansas, well, not quite, but they do have some small ski hills. :) It is true. I ventured out with my friend Ilze and three of her students. I skied of course, but most Latvians like to snowboard. It's a bit more convenient considering what places they have to do this sport. I was just happy because I had the chance to work on some of my skills. Gabe, Andy, Ryan, Layne, and Kyle would be able to go down the hill in about 5 to 10 seconds. For me I did it in about 15-20. It was still a lot of fun and it was nice because it was snowing the whole time. So, if any beginning skier would like to have some practice, come to Latvia. It is the perfect place. :) Today, I'm sore.

Was it my fault?

I get another package at the post office. The only thing is, I have to walk there. I'm not complaining, just saying. :) I decide to take the tram because the weather is getting colder and I'm getting lazier. I get on the tram, pay my ticket and take the easy way out. On the first stop a group of people were trying to get out, not sure what the driver was paying attention to, but it wasn't the passangers exiting the vehicle. As they are walking out, the driver (who is a woman),closes the doors on them. They "yell" at the driver and as they are continuing out the doors the lady is either yelling back or just thinking out loud. :) So on the way to the next stop there is this old lady sitting behind me. I accidentlly put my foot on top of hers and she scorns at me and says something either in Russian or Latvian. Not sure which one, but it wasn't nice. Body language is very universal. As I am paying attention to her I notice that we are at my stop. I try my best to hurry off the tram but my little feet couldn't get me their quick enough. The doors started to close, but it was where I needed to be and I started to panic because I wasn't sure where the tram will go next. So, my intincts came into play and I stuck my foot inbetween the doors to keep them open and the lady started to yell at me too. Oh well. I wasn't embarrased. I just turned my head to see if anyone was following behind, because then I could say that I helped someone else get off the tram. That was not the case. When I finally arrived I found out that the package I went to get I had already gotten the previous day. The slip was a reminder to pick up a package. I have to learn how to read Latvian!

Thanksgiving

It happened! I was able to not only celebrate Thanksgiving, but two Thanksgivings! I wouldn't have believed it but it is absolutely true.
A great guy who works for the embassy knew that I had some non turkey plans for this special holiday and he decided to invite me to their family dinner because they had an extra seat. We had homemade rolls, stuffing, mash potatoes, green bean casserole, and of course turkey and even pumpkin pie. There were also children there to fill the large room with noise. It was a great evening. Your normal everyday Thanksgiving dinner. :)
My second dinner came unexpected, especially for the simple fact that it happened just this month. I attended a birthday party and there I met a couple of girls. One is from Canada and the other from the U.S. They were both very nice, and apparently they thought the same about me. They invited me to join their dinner. It was great. I got to meet a lot more people. Some more Canadians and a few Latvians. What a wonderful dinner and how lucky for me. :) Check out the grub on my picasa web album.

Snow, snow, snow

Yes it is snowing, and snowing and snowing. Oh how I enjoy snow but it is a pain to walk in. I didn't have to do that in Kansas. It is nice though to not worry about getting into any car accidents. No car, no accidents. :) I did, however, get splashed again by a car driving by. I was walking along, very far away from the curb, when a car comes zooming by. As it does, it picks up slush from the dirty ground and throws it at me. I thought I was getting pelted by snowballs. I had slush on my jacket and pants. It was a good thing I wasn't wearing work clothes. I was just meeting Marta for a winter walk and drinks later. This turned out to be a very windy snowy day, but good because we were able to get outside. We took some pictures. It is still snowing and I'm not sure when it will stop.

Freedom

You will never guess what I had to do this past Saturday. I had to go to school. That's right, school on a Saturday. Not such a nice idea. We got Monday off before their Independence Day so we had to make up for the missing school day on Saturday. The English Department decided to have students put together performances that expresses some kind of freedom. The teachers read from a Dr. Seuss book, Oh The Places You Go, and others did videos and skits. The kids enjoyed this two period performance, probably because they got to miss some classes. :)

Independence Day! 90 years

So this past weekend Latvia celebrated it's independence for 90 years and what an incredible struggle. With all that this county and its people hard to endure, it is quite special to be here today and know about all that they have been through. Needless to say, Latvians are very proud to be who they are and to live where they do. I can't blame them.

The festivites start early on in the week. Many concerts and mini celebrations are happening all around. They have a light show in certain areas of Riga where there are displays of lights and shapes on buildings and in parks. It was quite lovely to see. I met Marta and helped cook some bacon rolls. They were quite delicious and I had one too many. So did Ilze. By the end of the night we had small stomachaches. It was worth it though. Those tasty treats were pretty good. Hopefully, I'll be able to make them when I get home. Poor Justin. He will have to try all of my Latvian cooking. :)

The biggest moment of the evening was going out to see the fireworks. Before they started we watched the President of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania speak. We headed out into the most crowded area I have ever been in. I was linked to Mart and Ilze as we were walking past everyone. Eventually it became more dense and harder to see. It already doesn't help being so short. As we are going along people are pushing and trying to get through Marta, Ilze and my chain. I was not letting go! The pushiest of them all were the old ladies. I have never seen so many of them with such... I don't even know what to call it. :) At one point, I felt like I was being swallowed. It was pretty bad. We finally reached the fireworks, and they were okay. The cool part was the fact that it was to shown to music. It was nice.

Enjoy the pics. My Picasa Web Album is located under September.

Stereotypes

Okay. I thought it would be funny and interesting to hear what this country (my students in particular) thinks about America/Americans. Feel free to comment. My students have my blog site as well so it would be good for them to see how you guys react to their opinions. :) Be insightful and respectful. This is a good way to learn about one another.

1. We are a fat country (that came to me as no surprise)

2. We eat fastfood all the time

3. We like big things (big cars, big houses, etc)

4. Life in a normal high school is like the movies, even the parties. (I wish)

5. We have a lot of pride for our country.

6. We are not as well educated as the rest of the world.

I can't remember anymore. I will add them as I go.

Nicholas' Visit

Nicholas' visit was very nice. We took in the weekend in a very laid back way. We always woke up when we wanted, and I was able to see some things that I hadn't seen while I've been here. Unfortuneatly we were surrounded by not so good weather. It just isn't the best time of year to visit Latvia.
On the very last day, Nicholas saw how small this city was. We both ran into a friend of mine on our way to Jurmala. Jurmala was windy and cold but there is some pretty good seafood there. :) When we arrived back into Riga we decided to see Quantum of Solace at the cinema. On our way there we ran into a family that I had met a week ago. (I have a small tutoring job for a few months because of this small meeting) and on our way home we ran into the same friend that we ran into before leaving for Jurmala. It was the first time that has happened to me too so it was kind of funny.
Earlier in the weekend we had the pleasure of my friend Marta to keep us entertained. She makes the most wonderful food. She will be missed when she leaves to go back to the states in a few weeks.
We did a lot of walking around in the city and enjoying the view. It was a good time with an old friend.

Visitors

Kelli's visit was great! We explored Riga and even went to Tallinn with Tom, the other Fulbrighter. Kelli said very simply while we were walking home from the Sky bar for my birthday, "So, this is how Rose lives her life." Well, maybe those aren't the exact words, but I'm sure it went something like that. I think out of the few days she was here, we had not too bad of weather. Some were rainy and others were cloudy. I can't remember if any of them were sunny. That is life in Latvia. Hopefully the sun will shine more while I'm here. :) "Yeah right", is what the natives are saying as they are reading this.
Not too much happened as far as out-of-the-ordinary goes. Kelli, correct me if I'm wrong and add a comment.
We left very early to fly to Barcelona. Thanks to my good friend Marta, we had no worries getting to the airport. We had a great time. Again lots of rain, but God blessed us with one sunny day. It just so happened that on that day we walked along the beach. We tried some sangrias. The first time was yuck, but the second time Kelli tried and it was better. I had a freshly squeezed orange juice. It was quite tasty. We went to eat out A LOT during her stay but we were able to taste good meals and okay meals. On our last night in Barcelona, we happened to meet a nice guy in the restaurant from Wisconsin. He is now a facebook friend. We chatted for a while and decided to grab some more drinks. Needless to say, we consumed enough, especially for having two hours of sleep before having to leave for the airport the next day. I was tired! When I finally arrived in Munich to catch my connecting flight, I heard Latvian being spoken by some teenagers. Finally a language I recognize but still don't understand. I was finally going "home".
So overall, a very good visit from Kelli. Next... Nicholas' visit from France. He is still here so I will write about that experience as soon as he leaves. (So far, so good) Seeing a lot of things that I haven't seen yet. This is why visitors are good to have.

One last thing about the closing of Barcelona trip...Like I said earlier we had to get up pretty early the day of our flight; I forgot to mention our cab fare when we arrived at the airport. It was a total of 48 euros. That is quite a bit of money and Kelli and I didn't have that much. I recall only having a total of 41 euros so we were off by 10 dollars or so. Luckily, the cab driver always wanted to visit America and wanted a dollar bill to compensate for the missing amount. Kelli gave him a dollar and I added 5 more because it wasn't even close to being the total bill. Everything was fine after that. So the moral of the lesson, don't leave home without the dollar. It may be worth more than you think. :)

10th graders

What a fun evening! This is a tradition at Gymnasium #1 for the 10 graders. Every year, each class gets together and puts on a performance for the rest of their classmates that they don't know. Here in Latvia, the students move from class to class and year to year with one another. They get to know each other very well but don't have much friends outside of their own class. They put together this evening to specifically target that. After their class performances they are broken up into different groups that consist of students from other teams. They then travel to a new room and there 11th and 12th graders set up something for the kids to participate in. One room was midget football. Another room was dark where the kids had to find a key and it's briefcase. The next room, kids had to make up a classmate in to a famous person. Another room had students connect clothing to reach opposite sides of the walls. I had to leave this one because it was not good to see my students with their clothes off. It's a bit weird. :)

After all the activities are completed they gather again and listen to a band that wraps up the evening. It was a good time and the students really seemed to enjoy it.

Enjoy the pictures that are on my web album.

Funny incident

Usually on Fridays I don't have to work. I went in today to help out another teacher and it just so happened to be raining. On my way home from work, which is several hours later, it is still pouring outside. The cobblestone streets form puddles very easily, especially on the side of the road where the sidewalk is. Do you see where this is leading? So, I stop at a crosswalk to wait for my time to cross the street. I stand a good 3 to 4 feet away from the curb but that was no match for the big car driving past me. As it went by I had a sudden moment from the Movie "Bridget Jones's Diary." The water splashed on my jeans and coat. Granted, I was not soaked, but I did get slightly wet and my face even was hit by some sprays. Because of this freak accident :) I had jumped back about a foot in the process. Low and behold another car passes within a few seconds and you will never guess what happened. I got lucky again and had another movie moment. Too bad it wasn't a love scene with Collin Firth.

Funny story about some students

This past week I gave my students an assignment where they had to act out a small skit interpreting a specific idiom. They did a wonderful job. Some were really creative and of course, you always have those students who could have done better with more preparation. :) As a reward for best gift, I gave students a certificate for their achievement and some traditional Latvian candy. It is called Laima. Well, two girls came up to me after class to ask if I have ever tried Bienspiens (sp?). I told them that I didn't think I had so they tried to explain to me what it was. Thick milk was one way it was described and then bad milk, when it clumps, was another way they describe it. It didn't sound that appetizing but I guessed they were talking about curds. They have never heard the word before so they ignored what I had said and just proceeded to tell me that they were going to bring me some. Well, the next day they did. They found me in between their classes, which is 10 min, and pulled my aside to show me this very Latvian food. It was cheese curds. They mixed it with sour cream and watched me as I put it in my mouth for some kind of funny reaction. It tasted just like our cottage cheese back home. They seemed surprised that I enjoyed their little snack and later on told me that they also bought me traditional Latvian bread and cookies. They were being so sweet that I told them that any time that they wanted to hang out I would so that they could practice their English. They had smiles on their faces and agreed then left for class. That next period they found me and invited me to go orienteering with them after school. This activity involves running with a compass in the forest and finding your way to certain posts and finally the ending. Unfortunately I was unable to go, but maybe next time. :)

Excursions

Do you remember those days of field trips when you were in school? They were always a day of fun, but of course, there would be some way to integrate knowledge into the trip. In Riga, we took a field trip that was probably the best I have ever had. We took a bus (basic city transportation) for an hour outside of Riga. In fact, the students had to find there own way to get to the bus station. We rode with everyday people leaving Riga to go out of the city. The kids were mixed into the bus. We continued to pick up more and more people on the way,and there were people standing in the aisle of the bus. It became crowded very quickly. Fortunately, Marta (the classroom teacher) and I had a seat up front. We arrived at a small ski joint that was currently being used for teaching about space. We even had a chance to see the sun through a special telescope so that we could see the flares coming off the the sun. It was NEAT. :)

We later ate lunch: a very small pizza, a juice box, and a pastry. Pastries are very popular here. After lunch we rode on the plastic car that was to mimic a bobsled and it went down a bobsled tunnel. It was fun. I have a couple pictures of that.

We then took a walk to a cave. What is funny about this cave is that it is just a very large hole in the side of this small mountain (hill) that you can't really go in and explore. So we just played around in this area by going up and down the mountain where there were small hiking trails. We later got the kids rounded up and had them do some relay races. They all participated and they seemed to have a lot of fun as well. They then played a little bit of soccer(football) and we made our way back. We had to catch a bus for the return trip so we waited at the bus stop for 5-10 min. hoping that the right bus would arrive. Needless to say, it did. Check out some of the pictures!

Picasa Web Albums - Rose

Picasa Web Albums - Rose

The first day of school

September 1st finally arrived and I was ready with my new bag and coat in hand and ready to conquer over all. :)

As I walk a half block to meet the almost 1000 students at this theater I pass many children and their parents on the street with flowers in hand and excitement on their faces. I was getting more and more anxious as I walk towards the building. When I arrive I see many boys dressed in their best attire (This will include suit and tie) and girls in their high heels and nice clothing. I enter the building not knowing exactly where to go but just follow the group of students who look like they know where they are going.

I get seated in this huge auditorium on the side of the stage, took a couple of pictures and waited for the ceremony to start. The principal introduces me and I stand up from my chair as the kids applause and I sit back down.

That was pretty much the first day of school. I start tomorrow with the only class I have to teach at 1:45 in the afternoon. I know, I know. I'm very lucky. Check out the kiddos that I will be teaching for the upcoming year.

My first few days

It is day three in Latvia and I have not suffered from jet lag. The nights have been a little weird, trying to get used to my new apartment, with a morning meow from a cat outside my window. This is not a pleasant sound. The city is full of people walking the streets. People are very slow paced around here and there isn't much greeting going on when walking into a store. Americans would think they were being rude but that is a part of this culture... I think Europe in general. my US embassy connection, Andris, is very nice, helpful, and welcoming. Joy, the other American that is here, is funny and a friend who I already appreciate for being in such an unfamiliar place. School has not started yet, and I think when it does, the day will become busier. For right now, I'm soaking in the culture and people.