Day 41: A little over the edge

Today must have been the most productive day I've had since being here. Since the other intern was busy so me and my Latvian production assistant filmed the town of Valmiera for 4 hours straight - with no breaks in this hellish humidity!

We had a rough plan of the locations we wanted to shoot and in what order (roughly), but as per usual the order completely changed and some new locations were just thrown in there. I was walking by the cinema, looked over at the nearby park and suddenly the thought of an amazing shot I could capture came to mind. Without thinking, I ran with the camera, attached to a tripod, flung over my shoulder. I must have looked crazy - but that's art for ya!

Such a pro: I'm not on his level yet.

When the shoot finished, we had to copy the files from one memory card to another. 30 minutes to transfer 144 files across. And this was only the first day of shooting...

Afterwards, I took the liberty of having a native Latvian speaker with me and went to the post office to post my house contract to France. I think the excitement of it all made my handwriting go a bit wobbly. The lady who served me gave me the number to track the letter as it makes its way to France. I will have to stop myself from checking its location every 30 minutes until I get a confirmation email from the landlord. I'll try...

On my way back home, I went to the university to take some equipment back to the multimedia lab when the man behind the reception desk asked what my name was. "Gabrielle", I said hesitantly. "We have a parcel for you", he said. He seems rather relieved that I had said the right name. Who else would be called Gabrielle in Latvia?

I knew exactly who this parcel was from...

Look at the fantastic wrapping - it had to be my mum!

My first parcel from home! It felt like Christmas all over again, except with less snow, a bin bag instead of sparkly wrapping paper and two rolls of sellotape, but you get my drift. When I eventually opened it, I nearly cried. Is that sad? It was the perfect parcel.

This evening I went to the final of a photo contest held at the university. I entered a photo into each category, ranging from movement to people, all under the theme "Valmiera - a student city". Sadly, I did not win but I came second in one category and got a certificate! I love certificates.

This will go in my treasure box!

The winners were given their winning photo blown up and framed, along with a small bouquet of flowers and a gift certificate for either the local theatre or luxury hotel. I left the university with my certificate in one hand and a pile of biscuits wrapped in a napkin in the other - best prize ever if you ask me!