Return to Latvia

Two days after my last exam in Groningen I went back to Latvia (July 11-25). After having suffered from Erasmus depression and a hard time at Uni there was nothing better to go back to the place where I spent such great times to just chill out... Seeing both my friends from Latvia and even some ex-Erasmus (!) was very cool. I  got to know my friends a little better and realised they are even more special than I already thought they were…  Being able to see and speak with them again was great!
Also, I got to know many new and interesting people.

I stayed in the flat of my 1^st ex-roommate from Reznas, even though he was in Norway… He arranged with his friendly Finnish flatmates that I could stay in his room for my entire stay. I don’t know what to say, rather than this being extremely generous of him! We will definitely meet and catch up when I come back to Riga for the 3^rd time. The flat is great, just like the view from the window.
After having explored the immediate surroundings I walked from the Centre to Old Town to see how much green and flowers I would find during summer times.

As I walked on and hours passed, at times, everything felt to be a bit overly familiar. In a sense this felt disappointing. That is, when I came back to my student city Groningen everything felt ‘new’ to me. Shortly after I realised that this just shows how much Riga is my 2nd home. In Riga I have lived, in Groningen I have not. Frankly, I probably have seen more from Riga in half a year than I saw from Groningen after 3,5 years. Luckily, not any sense of boredom when hanging out with friends, showing me there is always fun to be found and things to see, do or experience in- and outside Riga.

Thursday July 11

In the evening Riga Good Times VI (July 11-14) was starting, being the longest annual Couchsurfing event in Riga. We had a nice dinner at Taverna  (Torņa iela 4-2a) and then went to party in Pulkvedis (Peldu iela 26). Some people were making remarks that it was like a sauna. All I can say is that if you come to Groningen and go to ‘’De negende cirkel’’ (The ninth circle) you will experience real sauna… stuffed with students in a small place. The fact that (popular) bars in Riga are not as crowded as in Groningen is what always appealed to me very much.

Friday July 12
On Friday morning I skipped the City Exploring Time as I already did three guided tours in the past. Instead, I went to Mežaparks and Riga Zoo (taking tram 11 from the Centre), being completely new for me. Because I arrived before the Zoo opened, I first walked around in Mežaparks. Now I know why I read and heard about Mežaparks several times before, it is peaceful, very green and well… big.

Just like many other places in Latvia, you can also enjoy a pretty water scenery in Mežaparks.

After having walked around for some 40 minutes it was past 10 o’clock, which meant that the Zoo was open for visitors, let’s go!. When I saw the giraffes and goats it reminded me of 1) A giraffe licking the window of the tourist bus in Zoo Beekse Bergen in NL, when I was in the bus… and  2) mountain goats in wadi’s (dry riverbeds) in Oman (where I was born, grew up and lived for 7 years) as part of the natural environment. Good times relived. :)

What surprised me at the Zoo was that Riga Zoo actually has a contract with Beekse Bergen and two other Zoo’s in the Netherlands. Hence, there is even more export (I saw many Dutch products in Riga) from my country to Latvia than things such as vegetables and fruits… apparently also elephants… :))

After the Zoo I went back to Maskacka (!) to see how things were rolling at the student canteen of PRIMA. Somewhat unsurprising, I was the only student there (vacation time, no school, international students having gone back to their home universities). I can say that the food is still good and that Maskacka still feels the same… Before I knew it, I was chatting too long with the new canteen worker that I missed the planned boat cruise on the Daugava river with the CS group. That is why I made sure I was in time for the dinner at LIDO Recreation Centre (Krasta iela 76), scheduled at 19:00. However, nobody was showing up, me being the only one from CS there. The irony. After having called the organisers I learned that there were some troubles with, well… something. Luckily, just as I wanted to leave around  20:00, everybody showed up, people telling me the boat cruise was delayed. Patience is key. :P

Later that night there was the sauna place in Baloži. I got lost on the way there, but luckily two Latvian chaps were so kind to walk me to the place. It was a long time ago that I went into sauna, which was maybe why I forgot that you shouldn’t stay in too long. ^^ It was good fun. I came back to the flat after 8 o’clock in the morning…

Saturday July 13
Even though I wanted to go to the Go Blonde Parade in Jurmala, I was sleeping instead….
I joined in again for the party with sauna in the evening, already having met fellow CSers at the bus stop, heading the same way. As they didn’t know exactly how to get to the sauna place I showed them, me now knowing exactly how to get there, hehe. Again, I came back late, now at 8 AM…
When waiting for the 2^nd bus from Stockmann, I happened to notice an old man was doing morning stretches with his arms, also having seen this same movement at festivals for people to get in the mood for party. :)))

Sunday July 14
I woke up at about 14:20, had a quick 1^st breakfast and rushed to get myself at RIMI in Galerija Centrs at 15:00, our meeting point and time for going to the newly-built Ķīpsala beach. This time I skipped the Open Air Museum in the morning, which I also went to three times before. 2^nd breakfast, sun and sleep at the beach, I enjoyed!
In the evening there was the finale time at No Problems (Nekadu Problemu) at Doma Laukums.
To my surprise, new people joined in and many CSers turned up, there being 40+ people there in total, wow. Later we moved with a group to Shot Bar, which was unexpectedly empty without loud music. Then I realised it was a Sunday, which explained everything. :P The female bartender also did not expect that I would order hot chocolate, instead of a shot, resulting in a priceless surprised face. :) Shot bar was a good place to end Riga Good Times VI.

Monday July 15
On Monday morning  I picked up my ordered tent for the Positivus festival (July 19-21) from the 1a.lv office. The last time I went there I had to wait for three hours in the afternoon… Luckily, this time I only had to wait for 10 minutes, amazing! :))
Rather than buying a cheap throw-away tent like many others, I decided to drop some more cash and get something of better quality with more durability. I left it at the apartment for my ex-roommate to use, not at the camping site… Wouldn’t take it back to NL either as I was only carrying hand luggage, no room for a tent. Also, prior to the festival I read an article how annoying it is for festival organisers to deal with tents being left behind and how you are basically trashing the environment by using it one time only. With being less than 55 EUR on discount for a 3-person tent, I don’t feel like I spent that much. And by having bought a 2-layer tent with some quality, I knew I would be good for 4 days of camping (and many more in the future). The rest of the day I didn’t do anything special, I mostly rested to recovered from Riga Good Times and a lack of sleep.

Tuesday July 16
On Tuesdays I went out for lunch with international coordinators of the University of Latvia.
When I passed by to simply say ‘’hi’’ the week before I was invited for lunch, by university staff, who would have guessed!! I don’t see this happening at my university, ever. I always have loved the personal approach at LU, teachers at my home university could learn a lot from this… most of them not even knowing your name… Then I walked around a bit more in Old Town where I stumbled upon this statue.

Of course, I can’t tell you my wish, else it will not come true. ;) 

I also went up in the St. Peters Church and the Academy of Science Building, viewing Riga from great heights for the first time. 

View from Academy of Science Building over Maskacka.

View from St. Peters Church over Old Town.


In the evening I went to the weekly CS Tuesday meeting. Afterwards I figured that I should have brought a  sweater, as we were sitting outside instead of inside. It just shows, expect the unexpected. I got a severe cold the day after, lasting for about 10 days…

Wednesday July 17

On Wednesday I went to Tukums by train. I knew one of my Latvian friends is from there, but that is all I knew about the place before going there, really. :D One of my other Latvian friends told me once that she was talking to a Latvian friends of her how adventurous it would be to just go to the train station and take the first train, wherever it would go.
I basically was thinking about doing the same , only I looked which train rides wouldn’t take extremely long, Tukums fitting the bill! Upon arrival I learned that Tukums is famous for its flowers. I must say, I haven’t seen such a beautiful flower garden at any train station! 

Also, other parts of the centre of Tukums have proven to be nice sights.

After having wandered around for several hours I took the train back to Riga. There I bought some plasters, mosquito repellent and other stuff for the Positivus festival at a Drogas store in Origo. I figured I’d better be prepared for my first multi-day festival. I was a bit surprised when the girl at check-out started talking to me in Russian, I think the first time ever I experienced this… !!
I talked back in English and she seemed a bit shocked as well. :P I paid and left..

Positivus festival, camping site (July 18-22), festival site (July 19-21)
On Thursday afternoon (July 18) I was going with the Positivus shuttle bus to Salacgrīva, the location of the Positivus festival.  It didn’t take long to realise I wasn’t the only Dutch person going. I already noticed there were at least 6 other Dutch. I started talking with two Dutch girls. I was curious how they liked Riga and they seemed to have enjoyed themselves thus far. :)) Soon I also spotted two German guys, who loaded two cardboard boxes with beer… no surprise there. Not particularly smart though, as even after arrival on the camping site we had to wait for 2 more hours in burning sun before the camping site would be opened at 17:00. There beers must have tasted real good. :)))
When waiting for the camping site to be opened also got to meet and talk to two Latvian girls who were volunteers at the camping site. I think I should sign up for something like that as well in the near future! I was thinking about doing this before but I never followed through..

Within the first hour of having entered the camping site we formed a group of people that just happened to be close to each other with their tents. That’s basically happens what you get when there is a Latvian guy asking everybody ‘’hey, where are you from?’’ and saying ‘’join us!’’. ^^ Two Australian girls had a tarp and our pick nick spot was set. I teamed up with a German and Kiwi girl, who helped me to set up my tent in trade for luggage space. Actually, they didn’t bring their own tent at all, it being delivered the day after. Later they found a place to sleep too, I suppose it is easy when you are a girl. Later my tent was also luggage space for two Estonian girls. 1 person + 5 bags. :’)

I explored the festival site with them, good fun! Overall, I liked the festival, but much more for the atmosphere and the people than the music. Only being 41 Ls was an extremely cheap price for me to pay for 3 day festival + camping site (where I was 4 days) for this experiment. For previous festivals I went to I paid this price for one day festivals. I probably will not go again to Positivus. However, if I would, I would be staying mostly at the dance stage, being the most close to music I normally listen to, also providing a beautiful outlook. 

All in all, I enjoyed the festival, as I met my friend from Lithuania as well as four Latvian friends and got to know new interesting people. In terms of music and entertainment, I found the in between acts of Darwin Deez to be pretty awesome. Footage below:

Monday July 22 
Monday afternoon I went back to Riga and rested afterwards, also drinking some Black Balsam with coffee creamer (instead of hot milk, Latvian friend said coffee creamer was better) and honey to remedy me more quickly from my cold. Since the Friday before I also used medicine from the pharmacy, readily having effect.  In the future I will stop using strong alcohol as medicine all together, as medicine from pharmacy +  a good night’s sleep works better. At least, that is my experience.

Tuesday July 23
On Tuesday I went out for lunch with international coordinators of LU.
When I came by to just say hi the week before, I couldn’t imagine I would be asked out for lunch..!
I don’t see this happening at my university, ever. I was happily surprised! After the lunch I explained how I favour this personal approach. Sadly, many teachers at my university don’t seem to give a rat’s ass, not even knowing your name.

In the evening I had my last Couchsurfing meeting, happy to still being to enjoy one before going back and having visited 4 bars I hadn’t been before. :) I stayed again late, anticipating that I could sleep at least 1,5 hours in the bus to and from Talsi, my destination for the next day.

Wednesday July 24
On what was basically my last day, I went to visit my Latvian friend in Talsi. The last time I left Riga he offered me to show me around his is town Talsi, also known as ‘The Town of Nine Hills’. He showed me around by car, which allowed me to see a lot more than when going by foot. Time passed by quickly, time flies when you are having fun… Before I went back by bus, we passed the tourist centre to see if there were any souvenirs. The funny part here is that Talsi is famous for its rally track, a map showing  ‘’routes for hasty drivers’’. The most exciting part of this day trip was that we entered a closed track where brand new WRC (World Rally Championship) rally cars were tested for the Finland WRC Cup, being at the right place and the right time to see something extraordinary.   

After having returned to Riga, I still had a late night chat with the latest Erasmus I got to know. As a result, just like last time, not much sleep on the last day before returning…

Thursday July 25
Time flies… fifteen days had passed quickly. I would have preferred to stay a little bit longer but I had an event at home I couldn’t miss. Also, I experienced a lot of new things and learned, just like last time, a lot about myself and why I value my international friends so much. This trip was more than worthwhile. :) I reserved bungeejumping in Sigulda, Bauska and other places and things to see and do for another time. ;)

BEIGAS

Last days in Riga

It's a week ago that I got back in the Netherlands, so it seemed about time to write my last blogpost. At least for now, since I already decided to visit Latvia again next summer. Below you can read about my last days in Riga.

Because of my injury I was staying longer inside my dorm room than to my liking. Yet, it seemed like a good idea to start listening to other people their advice, including that of my doctor(s) who told me to rest.  Whilst I was planning to still visit a few clubs –those I hadn’t been before but heard good stories about- in the last two weeks, I decided that it would be better to postpone this activity for my return visit. After all, each time when I went out and told myself to come back at a certain time... I never did. In reality it was always a few or several hours later... Hence, 'just going out for a short while' (to save my knee) would be fooling myself. In Groningen I don’t have this problem so much, as I tend to get fed up by the music quite soon. But in Riga I liked the music. Furthermore, the company I had in the numerous bars was always good, making it more difficult to 'bail out' earlier than anybody else. Luckily I could still pursue passive activities, such as having dinner with my neighbours and first roommate from the REZNAS dorm. We had a joint dinner at the ''big LIDO'' (Krasta iela), followed by taking pictures of the decorations outside.




Monday
Another thing that I still wanted to do before leaving was making more pictures of Old Town. I was always waiting for sunny days, but those have been rare.  Since it was my last week and chance to make pictures, mediocre weather would be considered good enough. I planned to go out with my camera on Monday. I would wander alone through Old Town and city centre and pres the shutter button of my DSLR to make some shots. However, when I got an invitation from ESN to join the Old Town of Riga Tour I decided that I would join them. I already did such tours before but they would pass sights -I expected this tour to be similar to the one I took with ESN the first time- I wanted to take pictures of anyway. And any company is still always better than no company. Joining in allowed me to meet some of the new ERASMUS students and to see teammembers of ESN Riga again. In the end the latter is what I enjoyed the most. They always have been very friendly and open to talk, this time being no exception. I enjoyed the short last chats very much. :) 
 
After the tour ended I sticked around to make some more photo's in Old Town and subsequently City Centre. Photo's are shown below. 



Jekaba iela 11, the place where you can see members of Latvian Parliament crossing the street!

The other photo's (click to enlarge) will  give you an impression what Riga looks like during the winter. 







Tuesday
On Tuesday I met with my CLP (Couple Learning Programme) buddy, to see her one more time before leaving. We had a refreshing walk and talk in the city. Furthermore, she gave me a nice postcard and a photobook as a goodbye gift. She figured I could put photo's from Latvia in it, and that seems to be an excellent idea. Having it printed still has it's charm over digital only. I will save a spot for a bungee jump photo! That is, I still want to go bungee jumping in her hometown, Sigulda. Then, in the evening I went to my last Couchsurfing meeting. Here I received a bag with foods & drinks from another friend. I didn't expect to get all these gifts, it was a surprising day for me! It was also a bit of a sad day, as I will have to miss these and other Latvian friends for some time.

Wednesday 

On my before-last day in Riga I went with my first roommate to 'Go Planet' (http://www.goplanet.lv/eng/go_planet), a 15,000-sq-metre funhouse. If you want to go there by bus you can get off at 'Mēbeļu nams', from there it is a few minutes by foot. Since my Latvian friend told me it would rain that day playing games seemed a better option than the Zoo. It turned out that she was right, the weather being quite dreadful in the afternoon. Staying inside was definitely better than hanging out outside at the Zoo. At Go Planet they have games for young & old, including some weird 'Create your own horse' game.






We played one game where you stand on a jeep and start to shoot with your gun. After that we played airhockey and billiards. I was better at airhockey, but he was clearly better in billiards. It was nice to have some last fun with my ex-roommate.

Thursday

And on Thursday morning early it was time for me to leave the dormitory and to head to the airport. My first roommate got on the same bus and joined me to the airport. He mentioned the day before that he still wanted to give me a postcard.  A very nice one with a writing that will remind me of his great sense of humour! Furthermore, when I went to the toilet at the airport he snugged some presents in my suitcase! I found out at the airport itself, as I had to shift some weight between my bagpack and suitcase. This is when I decided to give him my thermos bottle. Eventhough I could still take it with me I considered it to be more useful for him. After all, he will stay a few years more in Latvia. In the Netherlands it is less cold so you don't actually need it as much. After having said goodbye (read: auf wiedersehen) I found two other ERASMUS at the gate for my departure. They would join me in the flight from Riga to Bremen. It was nice to chat with them and to reflect on our ERASMUS period. Then it was time to board, time to leave Riga.

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When we almost landed with the airplane (was sleeping almost the whole way) I found out that there was also a student-assistant from LU on the same flight, what a coincidence! When we arrived at the airport in Bremen she asked me if I enjoyed my ERASMUS and how I felt about going back home. I told her that I enjoyed my ERASMUS. Moreover, that I felt okay about going home but that I would have preferred to stay in Riga. Once I walked out of the airport my immediate thoughts were ''boring'' and ''looks like the Netherlands''. Then I walked to the bus stop, awaiting a last surprise! I was taking the Public Express Bus (http://www.publicexpress.nl/) from Bremen to Groningen. It was here where a girl approached me to ask if I was Latvian. It must have been the Dinamo Riga cap I was wearing and the Laima chocolate I was eating. She told me she was Latvian and we started to talk. Once our bus arrived I decided to sit next to her so that we could talk some more. Then we just chatted the whole away about my experience in Latvia and what she could possibly expect in Groningen. She told me she would do her ERASMUS in Groningen, just like other students in the bus. It was nice to take this ERASMUS vibe with me on my journey back. Finally, I have to say that I could never have imagined that I would return back home chatting with a Latvian girl, what are the odds! All in all, this was the best ending of my ERASMUS I could have wished for.

BEIGAS

Visit to Cēsis

During the Staro Rīga '12 festival I met a Latvian girl. After having told her that I didn't went to Cēsis (a place in Latvia), she said I should definitely go there, having lived there for most of her life. As things turned out, she would be my guide when I went to Cēsis last Saturday. Besides that I consider her to be one of my great friends I got to know during the weekly Couchsurfing Latvia meetings.

When I woke up early on that Saturday I was already happy, because my laptop screen showed below -16 Celsius for Riga. Simply not breaking my old cold record (-16 Celsius) when having moved from the Netherlands to Latvia would be quite disappointing. A small sense of accomplishment right there as this was one of my actual goals and reasons for having chosen Latvia.

As I was getting ready I found out that I would miss the trolleybus to still be on time at the 'autoosta' (not hard to find - close to the central market), from where we agreed to travel together by bus to Cēsis. Luckily I could take a mini-bus (also first time - so another new experience) from Reznas street and being faster than the (trolley)bus, making up for the lost time. After we got our tickets for the bus I learned that they were listed by passenger number. It is by the order of these numbers that you enter into the bus. I suppose it is a good system as it allows the bus driver to count how many people are in the bus straight from the beginning, not having to spend time on doing an headcount later on. Once in the bus it is about a 2 hour ride, the costs being under 3 Ls. This ride was quite a drag for my right knee, it having been diagnosed with Prepatellar bursitis (after effect of my incident). I should have listened to my companion who told me I could walk in the bus, yet I decided that I didn't want to look like a fool. In retrospect it would be the better alternative, if they would care at all.

Upon arrival she mentioned that there was not much to see in Cēsis during that winterday because it was cold (it being somewhere between -18 and -20 Celsius) and many tourist sites being closed. In addition, that Cēsis is particularly popular during the summer. As much as I would like to still be here in the summer, I told her that I am only here for the autumn semester. Furthermore, I believe Cēsis looks better than Rīga under similar weather conditions. One more thing I would like to mention here is that if you go to study abroad you should not stay in one city for the entire time. I have read student reports of people who have been abroad who did that, and I don't find this to be a particularly good decision. Even if it means that one city being totally awesome and offering all you looking for, it is unlikely to give you a full view of that country and/or all its merits. The same holds true for the Netherlands, as the surroundings and attitude of people of let's say Amsterdam is quite different from that of the countryside in the three northern provinces Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Drugs, whores, a multi-cultural society and smoking is what my country (or Holland, I should rather say) seems to be famous for. However, these elements are not so much present in my regular day-to-day life. Still, it is all these stereotypes that create the main image of one country. Therefore it seems wise to travel around a bit. It is not only expected to widen your perspective but also allows you to see to what extent stereotypes are really true. So when my friend said I should come to Cēsis, even offering to be my guide, I could and would not refuse.

We first went to see Cēsis Castle (Cēsu pils), entering via the Cēsis History & Art Museum.
There we had a small walk-around at the premises whilst holding a candle light lantern, offering us some more visibility. That in itself was already a nice touch. Moreover, from the castle's western tower there is a viewing point overlooking Castle Park. Whilst I didn't take a picture of that, I made another picture to allow you to see how the scenery was that day.

After having seen the castle we had a look inside in the Cēsis History & Art Museum. Here you can also go up and outside, providing some more lovely sights. Then, we continued to see the Cēsis Exhibition House. It is located on the same square and free of charge for castle visitors (or at least, for us). Here we had a short peek to see the temperory art exhibition. Subsequently we went to grab a bite in a local cafe/ restaurant to then head towards the sport hall, where I would witness my first (full) live basketball match ever. The contestants were women's basketball team SK Cēsis versus LU. I was in doubt whether I should cheer for students of my university or that of the home team, so I decided to just remain silent instead. Just watching the game as it was enough to take up all my attention. In the end, SK Cēsis won. Statistics on their website also show that they were unbeaten in 13 matches in a row and are ranked 1st in their league. Photo's of the match can be viewed here:
http://www.skcesis.lv/page_id=134&album=17&gallery=98.
In my opinion, not the most beautiful photo's, and surely not the most graceful.
But then again, it is not a beauty competition either. Hardball, hard on. For me the match was fun to see, the ballgame being on a higher level than I am used to.

Ultimately, I have seen some good things that Cēsis had to offer for the period of the year and enjoyed my time there. On the way back we were (thanks  to the network of my friend) able to travel back to Riga by mini-bus with the LU women's basketball team. All remains to say is that If I decide to return to Latvia during the summer, I will surely consider going to Cēsis again.

Santas Fun Run

On the 9th of December it was time to suit up, Santa Style! That is, I joined in for the Santas Fun Run, organised by Rotary Club of Riga International. The purpose of the run/walk is to dress up like Santa and then cheer, have fun and run through the city for a good cause. The suits were provided by the organisation. When pre-registering with a team of 4 students, the costs of entering were just 20 Ls. Them tossing in the suit for you to keep!

However, when we wanted to pick up our suits and pay we found out that two of our suits were already taken (same back numbers) by the Belgian consulate. Of course, me and my teammates were like 'wtf' and couldn't imagine how they could be more important than us - we laughed. We decided to inform the organisation and sought for a solution to this problem. After some hassle they told us that we could get two suits on the spot, the starting (and end) point being Dome Square. However, due to a series of unfortunate events I was the only one of my team running. 

Concerning the run itself, it was fun, but also warm! As it was around -7 Celsius I didn't think it was a good idea to leave home/ the dormitory without my winterjacket. During the run itself there was no place to leave your jacket so I had to keep it on, and together with the Santa Suit, dressing up as one fat Santa Claus. I changed my clothes at the toilet in McDonalds, where me and two other ERASMUS Santa Students were drawing quite some attention from the customers. After warming up with a cup of coffee/ cappuccino there we were ready to go. Then, when arriving to Dome Square we found ourselves accompanied by many ERASMUS. It is also that the goodbye party of ESN of that Saturday-Sunday was cancelled, granting the people that had registered for that the opportunity to still register for the Santas Fun Run.

Basically, the run was 1 short lap in Old Town. Since it was quite busy at the start it was more jogging really. Other then that, laughing and smiling at each other the whole time. Of course that one time I was actually screaming for fun I got taped by a fellow ERASMUS, me not knowing he was actually filming with his mobile phone. ^^ After the finish we were given a medal, as well as a RIMI bag with in it a bottle of water, tangerines, a coupon for a free German sausage (Bratwurst of course) and a choco nut (candy bar), the latter being almost completely frozen due to the low outside temperature. Together enough for the first energy boost. 

Then I headed back to McDonalds for another hot cappuccino, as the first one was not so bad. It was then when a female employee from McDonalds (busy spreading discount flyers) approached me to ask me if I was the only Santa and whether I had any presents for her.
After I said no, sorry, she told me I had to bring them for next time. ^^ I also told her that she could find many more Santa's when moving a bit further into Old Town. In fact, when she asked about this I had to almost laugh out loud, putting a big smile on my face. 

After this second stop at the Mc I went back to Dome Square to get my German sausage as by that time the que had cleared a bit. Afterwards, Kiwi bar (future Erasmus students; note that you get discount on drinks at this venue when showing your ESN card), where all Santas had discount on drinks. It was fun to see so many Santa's in one bar! After having my lunch there and a chat I returned to home, me reflecting back on a succesful Sunday. 

Student's Radio "Runā Skaļāk" - Bordercross Interview

Once you get into ERASMUS you will most probably find that there is a Facebook group for your study abroad destination. In my case, 'Erasmus Riga 12-13', often flooded with people asking for a place to stay (and stating the alternative to be to sleep under the bridge) but sometimes also with other interesting messages. One of them was an invitation for an interview at Student's Radio ''Runā Skaļāk'' (Talk Louder) as part of the radio show ''Bordercross''. It is open to foreign students from any university or country.  

The main idea of the show is to speak about the border between Latvian and foreigners but also about yourself and your personal experiences. To me visiting this show seemed very interesting because it is an opportunity to talk to a local instead of the numerous other international ERASMUS students. Of course, meeting up with other ERASMUS students is fun. However, I am quite sure that most of them told their director from their home university that they want to learn about the culture of Latvia. Frankly, this involves more than just drinking Riga Black Balsam or enjoying good Latvian beers. You have to talk to locals in an attempt to at least try to find out what it's all about. Don't worry, young Latvians their English level is more than sufficient. All of this being said, I was excited to go to Rīgas Stradiņa Universitāte (Riga Stradiņš University, RSU in short) where the interview would take place.

By the host I was asked to select a few of my favourite Dutch songs and if possible, to tell something about them. Whilst I listen to a lot of music from Dutch DJ's, I wouldn't really call this 'real Dutch songs', as the lyrics (if any) are in English. I know some 'real Dutch songs' (Dutch artist(s) and Dutch lyrics), but I hardly listen to them. Hence, it took me quite some effort to make a selection. It is also just that picking random songs would be too easy. Moreover, I felt it had to be songs which I like. Lastly, they shouldn't be cheesy, as there is some pride (you are asked for something that represents your country) involved here. In the end, my list (artist(s); title) was as follows:
1. Rob de Nijs - Banger Hart
2. Dio - Tijdmachine ft. Sef
3. Fluitsma & Van Tijn - 15 Miljoen Mensen
4. Veldhuis & Kemper - Ik Wou Dat Ik Jou Was
5. Marco Borsato ft. Ali B - Wat Zou Je Doen

From this list I find number 3 to be particulary nice, because it reflects quite well on
the Dutch culture (see video with accompanying lyrics).

Before the radio show started I was informed about the procedure. Then from the beginning it was a friendly conversation. Although I didn't always know what to say good questions were posed as to keep the conversation flowing. As a result, much input was coming from me, the interviewee, instead of the interviewer, exactly as how it should be (I think I can say, after having had some classes on interviewing in the past). I liked the interview very much because it allowed me to refeel some of the experiences and moments I had in Riga, Latvia and abroad with ESN. I also learned that the Riga Radio and TV Tower is higher than the Eiffel Tower. Actually, I never even thought about this, eventhough I  could see this Radio and TV Tower from my window for almost 3 months (PRIMA dormitory). The interview helped me to remember how the education here is different (e.g. classizes) from my home institution. Furthermore, I realised that almost nobody knows (only one person in fact - and I have asked plenty) korfball, to find on Wikipedia that is in fact a Dutch sport! It is all these things which made this interview a special and joyful experience and something which I like to remember as having been part of my study abroad in Latvia. At the end I also received a runā skaļāk pen, as mentioned by the host, helpful for any student. :-) 

For those having become interested in the RSU student radio their website is: http://runaskalak.lv/, their livestream: livestream.com/runaskalak, and the recording of which when I was a guest: http://livestre.am/4foIA. For me all that remains to say is that when I was in the bus back home I thought there was more I wanted to mention and that if I would be invited to come again I didn't even have to think about it, a definite yes. 

What's Up, Doc?

It's been quite a while since I have posted a blog entry, there being several reasons for this. Not only was I busy with preparing for my exams, I also had my family coming over (22.12.2012-29.12.2012) to spend the Christmas together in Riga. Eventhough I didn't see them for almost 5 months I was able to re-feel and recognise their character after just having spent two days with them. This was funny to see as it immediately reminded me of how I know them. During the week me and my mom also got interviewed by Latvian TV, asking us at Doma Laukums (Dome Square) if we were aware about the very fact that the first Christmas tree founds its origin in Riga. Thanks to Latvian friends I found out that it was actually shown on TV, and to another great friend (you know who you are) I was able to see the footage myself.
Related link: http://www.tv3play.lv/play/294074/ (Time: 14:19).
Still I am not sure whether I should be happy that they think I am a tourist. ^^


Then, on the day they left (or the morning after actually) I got involved in an incident which has led me to spent some hours at both the police and hospital over the past 2,5 weeks.
Here I should also write some gratifying words for my neighbour from Georgia who was so kind to assist me as being a translator (English to Russian and vice versa) on two occassions at the hospital, eventhough she told me later that she doesn't like hospitals at all.


Then, my 2nd roommate, from Turkey, who just went with us to accompany me and my 1st roommate from Brazil, who opted to go with me to the State Police the 1st time around.

Over the past 2,5 weeks I was able to do less than I would and being less motivated to still take up on the opportunity to see all that's around me. It is also that I just had (and still have) to deal with problems with my knee, this being an after-effect of the incident. Part of the doctor's orders are to rest, restricting the lenght of my walks. Hence, I joined in for events which would  be fun and only having to sit (and then trying to stretch my leg to relieve pressure on the knee), namely Chinese Hot Pot dinner in PRIMA dorm and several CouchSurfing meetings. Now in the last days (flying back on 31st) I am cooling my knee with ice and putting vodka, hoping I can extend the length of my walks that little bit further so that I can still see new things. That is, before I have to say goodbye to Latvia for quite some time. In reality, I didn't portray my last few weeks to be like this. But then again, this holds true for the entire semester. I liked going to Latvia because it was 'jumping in the blue', to quote an international student and friend her view when deciding to study in the Netherlands. Indeed, it is the only way to find out how something is like, to life it in the real and cherish the moments you got. Try to enjoy them, because as all ERASMUS found out, time flies. Thanks to my friends I regained spirit to not forget about this subtle yet important fact, before I am actually leaving, as I still not realise that it will be over very soon.