Cēsis

I successfully persuaded one of my friends to skip a choir concert and go to Cēsis (in the north of Latvia) with me yesterday because it was a beautiful spring day in Latvia (as you can see from the pictures below). The town is very cute and very Latvian I didn't hear a word of Russian all day. It was a great trip despite an amusing incident with bananas and karbonade at lunch. We even got to take the train which is so much better than the bus because you can walk around and spread out in your seats. All in all it was a fun and eventful spring day in Latvia.

Me and Cēsis Castle
They give you lanterns so you can see when you are walking through the dark passages of the castle.
View from the top of the song festival park
The castle again looking up from the song festival park
Kristina and me in front of St. John's church..it was really sunny!
The Latvian flag is from Cēsis and this was an exhibition on the history of the flag.

Saeima

Today I got to go on a tour of the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, with the people from the US embassy. While I have been there before for speeches and other things it was especially interesting for me because I got to see where all my favorite and not so favorite people in Latvian politics, sit during parliamentary sessions. Plus I got to learn some of the history of the building and the many governments the building has hosted since it was built in 1863.

Me outside the main entrance
The main entrance hall
A gift from the US to the Republic of Latvia with the words to the Latvian national anthem
The Red Hall (I gave my speech for the Council of Europe in this room)
A big Latvian candle representing the three historic regions of Latvia with coat of arms from the cities.
The room where the magic happens!
Me with the speaker's desk in the background, the Latvian coat of arms and the flag.

Winter Wonderland

Everyone tells me that the winter in Latvia has been very mild this year. I actually haven't seen a snowfall stay on the ground all year so I was excited to be able to see Riga in the snow before I left even if it made for treacherous and wet walking conditions.

Lieldienas (Easter)

I had a pretty exciting Easter here in Latvia and in the end was really happy that I stayed here to experience it. Easter is interesting in Latvia because they have both pagan and Christian traditions and because this year the spring solstice was on Good Friday. The day was also interesting because it was snowing so instead of a white Christmas we had a white Easter. I started the day by going to church at Doma Baznica and got to hear mass in Latvian. This was cool because while I have been to church in Europe many times and in many different languages I have never been to a church service I could actually understand. So for me it was both a cultural and religious excursion.
In America we always get dressed up for Easter and Christmas mass but in Europe no one will notice what you are wearing because the churches are old and drafty so everyone is wearing their jackets.
Egg Dyeing in Livu Laukuma.
Swinging in Livu Laukuma. Latvians believe that you have to swing three times to the left and right on Easter and then the mosquitoes will not bite you during the summer.
There is always folk dancing in Latvia....and you might be able to see it is snowing.
Then in the evening I went to a choral concert at St. Peter's Church and it was singing by candlelight.

Egg Dyeing

A bunch of my foreign friends (meaning not Latvian) and I got together to dye eggs Latvian style. The Latvian way is much more natural using berries, onion peels and rice to decorate and color them. It was really fun to have all of these girls from different countries coming together to do something Latvian. After you dye the eggs then you have a contest where you smash the eggs together to see whose egg is stronger.

Wrapping the eggs and unwrapping the jelly beans my mom sent me from the US.
Boiling the eggs....we used blueberries and beets to color some purple (my favorite color).
We also made piragi, little meat filled pies, which are my favorite Latvian food.
The end result....lots of interesting all-natural colors.

St Patrick's Day

St. Paddy's Day is big in my family because not only are we Irish but my Dad's name is Patrick. So I felt like I needed to go and celebrate my Irishness by grabbing a pint and listening to some Irish music. A couple of friends and I went to Paddy Whelan's the only Irish pub left in Riag in the hopes of finding a celebration. It was great not only was there no cover charge, they had a live Latvian folk band playing both Irish and Latvian folk songs. It was like the best of both worlds. We also go to meet some fun Irish people who live in Riga. All in all it felt like a successful way to celebrate the patron saint of the motherland even though I was in Latvia and couldn't eat corned beef and hash.
Fun Irish people waving the Irish flag.

Pūpolsvetdiena

Today was also Palm Sunday or Pussy Willow Sunday in Latvia. I think this tradition must be from Pagan times because in Latvia on this day parents wake up their kids and hit them with pussy willows. They say a chant that goes as follows-

Verbū, Verbū, slimība ārā, veselība iekša!

This basically means sickness outside, health inside so that the kids will have a healthy year.

Here are my friends Kristina and Monika acting it out for me.

March 16

This day has two meanings for me. First its the day that Matt and I got engaged and second it is Legionnaires Day in Latvia. While it might not seem that these two have anything in common..they actually do because Matt and I got engaged at the Freedom Monument in Latvia on March 16, Legionnaires Day. When I tell Latvians that they get all wide eyed and say really wow. Legionnaires Day is the day when the Latvian Legion, men who were (mostly) conscripted into the Nazi army remember their service as the 16 of March 1943 was the day the first conscription orders went out. In response to this ethnic Russians come out and protest against the Latvians because they feel that they are traitors supporting the enemy of the Soviet Union and that they participated in the Holocaust (which was actually completed in Latvia by 1942). In reality many of these men felt more inclined toward the West after the Year of Terror 1940 when thousands of Latvians were killed or deported to Siberia by the Soviets. And they were led to believe that they would be able to establish a free Latvia again if the Nazis won the war. If you would like to read more about this ever ongoing debate please see here. In past years there has been some brawls between Latvian and Russian nationalists, in fact the majority of the people at the events were there to see what would happen (as I was). So yesterday I got to celebrate the anniversary of my engagement with hundreds of other people laying flowers, waving flags and singing Latvian folk songs at the Freedom Monument (and of course the riot police see below).

This signs says Our Heads under their Roof (roughly translated) and then says 1905, 1917 and 1940 all years of historical significance with respect to Imperial or Soviet Russia.

The American Ambassador II

I was invited by the embassy to a St. Patrick's Party this week held at the Marine House. I was intrigued because I did not know that there even was a Marine House in Latvia and because there was going to live music. So I dragged my two North American friends with me to a sketchy part of town. The Marine House is located near Riga's Harbor and as the directions to house suggest you have to turn right after you pass under some silver pipes. We finally arrived and went through a metal detector at the house right after we signed in stating who we were and where we were from. The a gentlemen came and offered to take our coats and I said sarcastically well thats very hospitable of you. Then one of the guys from the Cultural Affairs section of the embassy (they basically are our supervisors here in Latvia) was like oh Laura let me introduce you to Ambassador Larson. I was like oh crap I just handed my coat over the American Ambassador and made a sarcastic comment about it....way to start off on the right foot! I knew he was from Iowa and so I said hello I am Fulbright fellow here from MN and tried my hardest not to make any Idiots Out Walking Around (IOWA) comments. He proceeded to talk to me and my friends for a good half an hour....which I couldn't believe. We got a beer, met his wife and chatted about living in Latvia it was all very normal and very unlike the meeting I had with the previous Ambassador! He even let us take a photo with him. See below. It just reaffirms my notions that Midwesterners are the nicest people in the US, even people with a significant amount of power are still very down to earth and personable.

Atletika

I joined a gym this week (called Atletika), since as I said previously, I am planning to attempt to run the half marathon in Riga. Its right down the street from my house and despite the fact that their are only two treadmills it seems like a good decision. From walking around in Riga you can tell that the women here are very fashionable, well this hold true at the gym as well. I wore a UW t-shirt and exercise pants and listened to my i pod. I thought since they all know I am foreign anyway why try to hide it. I not only got looked up and down by every designer wearing stick thin Latvian I got looks like what the heck are you doing here. Lets just put it this way people here don't join gyms to lose weight they join gyms as a status thing. I saw girls walking on treadmills with faces full of makeup and bright white tennis shoes that have never touched the pavement.....as I am sitting there next to them sweating up a storm, with pit stains in my non-designer shirt. It was absolutely a circus show as people pretended to work out while staring at themselves in the mirror. I mean I know gyms in the US are probably like this as well, its just sometimes living in a society where everyone judges you on how you dress I would like for once not be thought of a frumpy unstylish foreigner. But I figure at least I am getting my money's worth..by getting a work out and hopefully being able to run the half marathon in May.

Estonian Lettuce

Since my host parents are out of town this week I tried to load up on the American food since I could have an infinite amount of time in the kitchen. I decided one day that I would make a salad. Seems easy enough right. When I got home from the store I realized that I had bought more than I bargained for.

Here is a picture of the lettuce (which was grown in Estonia) that I bought in the store (looks normal right?)

When I opened up the package I realized that the lettuce came in the pot (and dirt) it had grown in. I don't know if this is to keep the lettuce fresh or if Latvians really go home and continue to grow the lettuce. They say in America we are really separated and distant from the food that we eat (in growing and production), after this experience I don't think thats such a bad thing.

Easter Folk Dancing

There was a special Easter session of Folk Dancing this week with Scandinieki a folk group from the Latvian independence movement. I went with a couple of friends to listen to the music and folk dance. Here are a couple pictures from this event.

The group Scandinieki on stage while people are folk dancing.

The Doctor's Office

I hurt my knee a couple of months back and because I am planning on running the half marathon in May I thought I should get it checked out before I start training. I looked and asked around for the best place to go and finally found a private clinic with a doctor who spoke English (I feel that for health related problems its always best to speak in English, even though as I found out many of the terms are the same). She was very nice and her husband is even a famous Latvian politician which for some reason made me feel better.
So I went to doctor today to have it looked it. The office was very nice and instead of taking my weight and asking medical like questions I just sat in the room and waited for the doctor. She came in, said what seems to be the problem and then was like ok well let me take a look at your knee. I thought that her and her assistant would get up and leave the room so I could take off my leggings (because thank god I planned ahead and wore a skirt). Nope they just sat there and watched as I tried to take of my leggings without flashing them. Then I sat there with my leggings around my knees (because I was also wearing knee high boots) as she examined my knee and then consequently watched while I tried to pull my tights back up. Living here has really made me realize what a prudish American I really am. I mean almost every play I have seen has had naked people in it..on the beach there are always naked people and in the saunas. It always takes some getting used to me having grown up in a catholic family. After my doctor's appointment today I can't help but imagine what a gynecological exam in this country might be like. Yikes! On the plus side as I left I saw the former president Vaira Viķe-Freiberga walking her dog in the park..it was all very surreal.

International Women's Day

March 8th was International Women's Day, a day we don't really celebrate in the US, but I found out this is quite the holiday in the rest of the world. In Latvia they have been celebrating this day for the last 100 years (according to my host Dad). Basically on this day everyone gives flowers to the women in their lives honoring and thanking them for all that they do. They don't have Mother's Day here so this is the day that acknowledge women (which is a very patriarchal society is quite nice). According to my host Dad it was also celebrated during Soviet times but women still had to go to work. I thought well at least they got flowers one day year, even during the dreary days of the Soviet Union.

I walked past the main flower market, just down my street and it was packed with people buying red flowers (apparently the fashionable color). I took a picture so you can see how neat and colorful it looks.

Women's NGO Conference

Today the organization I volunteer for hosted a Women's NGO Network Conference at the City Hall in Riga. The network, made up of women's NGOs from all over Latvia, is basically the lobbying organization for women's issues in Latvia so the conference outlined what they did last year and what would happen in the upcoming year. The big goal for 2008 is the Gender Equality Law, which would make the concept of gender equality institutionalized in law and hopefully someday Latvian society. After the conference there was a reception at one of the art museums in Riga where we got to rub elbows with the Minister of Integration and other political figures. Here are some of the pictures from the event.

Riga City Hall
The inside of the City Hall
Inside the conference hall
The reception hall
My work colleagues, me and my friend Monika

Put, Vejini (Blow, Wind)

Today I saw one of the most famous plays from Latvia, Put Vejini (Blow, Wind) by Rainis the Shakespeare of Latvian prose. The play was about two star crossed lovers and their attempts to be together. In the end instead of hurting her sister, the heroine sacrifices herself and drowns, it is really a beautiful but tragic ending. I have really never read a Latvian play that has a happy ending which I think speaks volumes about Latvian culture but still despite the depressing content it is probably the best play I have ever seen. They had this Darwinian montage where the actors were at a museum and they came on stage and got dressed in their costumes. Plus if you look at the pictures below we were seated on the stage very close to the action so it made everything much more dramatic. In the end the only thing I didn't like was the audience interaction (they literally came into the audience and started talking to people).