Day 73: My last days in Latvia

It felt quite strange waking up to hearing no noise in the dorms once again. No singing Portuguese or fast-talking Greeks... To help me adjust, the lecturer from the UK (Tim) and his wife (Marilu) invited me to have lunch with them today and, of course, I accepted.

They collected me from the dorms and we began walking to a restaurant they had in mind. Guess which one it was. The one where I saw the black man sitting outside and promised myself to visit before I left Latvia! The atmosphere was lovely: a warm breeze, soft music and great conversation. The time came to order the food. My initial choice was chicken, but then I was kindly reminded that we BISS students have eaten chicken every day (sometimes twice a day) for the past week or so. They ordered steak so I said I'd have the same - it was the easiest choice. The waitress asked me how I would like my steak. I've never actually had steak before so again I went along with what my companions had chosen - medium. I had no idea what that meant, but I knew exactly what an ice-cream cocktail was!

We were talking as if we'd known each other for years. As we ate our creme brulee, Tim, Marilu and I decided that "UK team" would have a small reunion at their house in Manchester in January when I'm back from France: the two of them, my Welsh friend, another lecturer who taught in BISS, her partner and me.

My surrogate grandparents.

When I mentioned that I couldn't believe Marilu and I had the same birthday, she told me that I had reminded her of something. She picked up her handbag and pulled out a small gift bag: my belated birthday present. Inside was a beautiful fan from China, their holiday destination before Latvia. These surprises make me so emotional but luckily, this time, I didn't cry.

I've started to plan my last week here, just so that I make the most of it and do everything I've promised myself to do. As I'm leaving before the other intern, it would be great to complete our films before Saturday, just to give him the opportunity to enjoy his last few weeks. Here's my list so far:

• Meet with my friends, say goodbye to each of them
• Give things back to my friends that I have borrowed
• Record a voiceover for the previous promotional film 
• Add any finishing touches to the summer school film 
• Go on the bungee jumping trampoline!
• Fill in any necessary paperwork
• Confirm transport to the airport
• PACK! (try not to procrastinate, go shopping or keep unnecessary items)

In the meantime, I will use every single egg, baked bean, porridge oat, spot of jam, tea bag, drop of lemonade, piece of pasta I own so as to not create any waste: sustainable tourism everyone! It is also the best excuse to eat all my biscuits too (naughty me!).

Oh and remember that presentation I made for the university? They love it!

Here's to the best last week in Latvia! *raises glass of leftover lemonade*