Spring Break

A little recap on my spring break that I took and am still taking... I went to DC and was able to see Justin. I also got to see a few friends that I haven't seen in a while. Justin and I didn't do too much but spent a lot of time at the Library of Congress doing a lot of research for his doctorate degree. I had a couple of friends come up to see me because they were unable to travel to Riga this summer. We took a weekend trip to Luray. A cute little town with a campground called Jellystone where we got our picture taken next to Yogi Bear. :) It is near the Shenendoah Valley which is really nice. Justin and I were a little cheap so we didn't go to the peak of the mountain. But I was around real mountains and not hills. :)
The worst part of my trip was coming back. I had a huge layover in New York which was fine, but three hours was added because our plane was really late arriving. When I finally arrived in Rome, my flight to Riga had already left. I was in the airport from 2:45 unitl 10:00 that evening. Alitalia, the Italian Air company, would not take responsiblity for my missed flight, nor did the travel agency I had to deal with. I was sent to counter to counter with no one willing to help. I was so tired that I even started to tear up when people would send me away to someone else. I spent 50 bucks for an international card to make phone calls to all kinds of people, 55 Euros for a place to stay, and 430 dollars for a new flight. It was the worst experience of travel that ever had to endure. I'm never flying Delta and Alitalia if I have a choice.
So, now after spending all of that money, the official spring break that I have in Latvia is being spent in a very cheap way. The days that I have been here since the states have been really nice. Warmer weather and sunny days make this break great. I had the chance to go to Jurmala with friends. I met one of my students, who lives in Tukums, and spent the day there. My friends and I are going to go to Jurmala on Friday to decorate eggs for Easter, and Kaija and I are going to Jelgava on Saturday for a day trip. I will post some pictures of those trips when they happen. :)

Happy Spring to everyone!