Day 13: Pizza: (wo)man's new best friend

After the recent flea/mosquito/unknown insect scare, someone came up with the clever idea to give us new bed sheets. I think this put not only mine and my filming partner's minds at rest but also the university's. And they are pink. It's a win-win situation!

And so to today. We began to cut and edit the footage that we captured last week (and boy, there is a lot!). After about an two hours of hard work and labour, it was time for a break. As every student should be well-trained for moments like these, I brought out my handy pizza menu. We were trying to translate it to see if they delivered but then both realised that we can't actually pronounce the name of our street very well. A nice walk to the pizza shop was the only way and it was definitely worth it.

I present to you Vesuvio!

It was the same pizza place as the one I went to the first night I arrived in Latvia so my directions were purely from memory. We tried to take a shortcut on the way back. Whenever you decide to take shortcuts it could go one of three ways. Either 1) you get very, very lost, 2) you manage to get home in half the time or 3) you see things that you wouldn't normally see. And today, the answer was 3. We saw a stray dog wandering across the road. Not a cat, a DOG. The short-legged and big-bellied dog looked more lost than we did! Part of me felt sorry for Rover (yep, I named him) and that maybe I should do something but then I thought, what the hell would I do with a dog?! I'm sure he is fine...

I did one of those double-take looks.

We got back to our dorms, edited a bit more and decided to call it a day. I found out about a photo competition organised by the university I'm working in and instantly entered some of my photos. They were  under the main theme of Spring in Valmiera and then sub-divided into 5 categories including city, movement and people. I might win... you never know!

As I said in my last post, I went around my friend's house yesterday evening. We literally spent hours talking. Last week she told us all about a particular ice-cream made in her hometown and that it's the best in Latvia. I was able to try some of it last night and it was delicious. But there was a catch... In exchange for her ice-cream, I whipped out my box of English tea bags and made her a cup of tea. Even though we have spent most of our time talking about the differences between Latvia and England, English grammar and other things, I was sharing a bit of my culture with her and it felt very special to me (without sounding sad). And yes, ladies and gentlemen, she loved the tea! I did warn her that she may get addicted but what can you do, eh?

Tomorrow I'm going to get my eyebrows "done" which is going to be an interesting experience. I've only ever got them done in my hometown in England. If anything goes wrong - which I'm sure it won't - at least I have the comfort of knowing I can walk down the street (very fast) and not see anyone I know.

Day 12: All "geared" up for the day

Today, much like yesterday, was a day for rest before we enter our editing phase. Waking up with a sore throat is not a nice feeling at all, but when I saw the sun shining into my bedroom one thing came on my mind - bike ride! But not just a bike ride to anywhere. A bike ride to have a shower in the other dorms! I've been thinking that it must be quite difficult to get lost in a small town like Valmiera because you must always end up seeing a road that you recognise or a building you've been past hundreds of times before. I thought wrong.

The old railway bridge I crossed on my bike ride trail.

I felt so free riding through the beautiful forest, just listening to music and having no worries at all... until I reached a road that I didn't recognise. I just kept riding, smiling at locals walking past me and trying hard not to look like a lost tourist. This road just seemed to go on forever! Riding and smiling, I reached a point where the road came to a turn, swerving through a heavily wooded area. That was my cue to stop. I turned back and looked around: "This can't be right...", I said to myself. I was surrounded by factories.

Something tells me that I can't have a shower in there...

Like before, I just kept riding the other way until I saw rows of flats in the distance. I recognised a petrol station and a corner shop. I was back in civilisation! I found the dorms (phew!), locked up my bike and entered the room that I had the keys for. I did wonder if anyone would be living in the rooms yet and to my surprise there was.

I opened the front door of room 105 and saw that one of the doors to the two bedrooms was closed. I tried to turn the handle of the closed door when suddenly the inside lock was quickly unlocked and a girl appeared with a very confused face. I was so caught off-guard that I didn't know what to say.

"Hi... me from other dorms... shower, use, yes?" *points to bathroom*

She smiled which to me meant that she approved. Thinking back I wonder if she actually understood what I said because I didn't... Anyway, I had a very long shower because I had to make the most of it. I must have been in the bathroom for at least an hour. When the deed was done, I knocked on her door and shouted that I was leaving and I left. From this point on, I didn't care if I got lost or ended up in a factory. I'd done what I set out to do!

Serenity.

When I got home (eventually), I rewarded myself with a delicious Latvian sweet that my friend recommended that I taste.

A very good recommendation indeed.

So after an eventful day, I plan to go around my friend's house and just relax for the evening. I have just been invited to dinner at my boss's house on Thursday and a seaside picnic on Friday so the rest of my week is sorted - yay!

Day 11: One step closer to France!

Today has been a rather strange day in so many ways. But, of course, I had to start it all off with a lovely cup of English tea!

That's more like it...

This week, and the next, will be time to edit the footage we captured last week. We were meant to start today but my filming partner thinks he has fleas! When he told me, I instantly started to feel paranoid. It's like that typical scene in primary school when there is one girl who has nits and everyone else starts to itch their head. I'm sure it is just the pesky mosquitos though. I think I'm sure anyway.

Results day slowly crept up on all of us today. I kept on waking up in the night just thinking of different worse case scenarios. Not only this, but I also woke up with a very sore throat, the aftermath of going out on Friday night I believe. Finally it was time to get my act together, get out of bed and check my results on the website. I kept on typing "time in UK" in Google just to make sure I was checking them at the right time and at 9.30am on the dot. I was logged in a couple of minutes beforehand, saw the clock turn to 11.30am my-time and then pressed refresh... this page cannot be displayed. I saw the same message every time I refreshed for about half an hour until the page eventually loaded.

My heart was actually thumping. I scrolled down. Those of you who are my Facebook friends you know what happened next. A very bad swear word escaped from my mouth as a huge sigh of relief. I didn't know what I was expecting to see but I'm very happy with what I got. Hopefully, if all the paperwork goes through and the university accept me, I should be going to France in September! It also means that I can carry on with my blog for the rest of the year...

Time for a victory dance! Feel free to join me...

I think I'll just rest in bed today, listening to the rain and drinking tea to distract me from the itching...

My evening Dutch snack - bread with De Ruitjer chocolate sprinkles!

Day 10: Taking a bite out of Latvia

I was meant to go to Riga for the day but plans changed at the last minute so instead me and my friend (the one I was with yesterday) decided to take a stroll around Valmiera.

Today was a very mixed day in terms of culture and you'll see why. I have really enjoyed embracing Latvian culture and I will take any opportunity to explore more of it. I woke up very excited to go ahead with my day, looked down and saw this on my leg:

One of three mosquito bites on my leg. It's all part of the experience... I think.

I managed to find something summery to wear to cover up the bites and we headed towards the tourist office in the city centre. I am a big "sucker" - get it?! - for souvenirs. I love magnets, postcards, the lot! I gave in and bought a keyring saying Latvija for my Latvian keys. We then decided to take a walk to the local museum in the old part of Valmiera which was wonderful. There were two floors, the first one showing an art exhibition called Indigo by Gunta Krastiņa.

My favourite painting: Miera osta (trans. peaceful harbour)

Upstairs was an exhibition about Valmiera's rich and fascinating history. I saw old bikes used after World War I, photos comparing how landmarks looked in the past to now and examples of fashion worn by different types of traditional people. After seeing all of this, I am starting to understand the town I am living in so much more.

Valmiera folk costumes shown as part of the “Iztēle bez robežām” exhibition

After a brief lesson in Valmiera history, we decided to watch a local singing and dance concert happening in the nearby open-air stage. It was great to see people of all ages not only watching the performances but also taking part in them. My favourite performance was a modern yet traditionally inspired dance by a group of teenage girls, who are also the cheerleaders for the basketball team. Unfortunately, the video I recorded is having problems being uploaded so here is a picture of another performance instead.

A concert “Mēs esam kopā mūzikā”: I wanted to get up on stage and join them!

After a while, we wanted to find somewhere to have lunch. We were about to eat in a local restaurant but then I suggested that we eat in the fast food place very close to where we were. When I sat down I realised how similar this place was to McDonalds and Burger King. It was like being in England again. 

Hesburger: a cardboard sleeve around the burger - genius!

My day has gone really well so far, learning about the town I'm living in for 3 months and being entertained by local residents but then something even more amazing happened that topped it all off! I was in the local supermarket with my friend who was translating some of the food for me and showing me which food was the best. I had to buy some milk because I had ran out quite quickly because the expiry date is very short. 

Those of you who know me well and especially my mum will know that I have developed a very bad addiction for tea, good ol' English tea. When I see milk, I think of tea - it's that bad! I opened up to my friend, telling her about my odd cravings who suggested that I have a look to see if this supermarket sells any of it. As I walked closer to the tea section, my heart was pounding. I would either be very happy or very sad, nothing in the middle. I turned to corner and packets of Tetley's shone in front of me! Hurrah! So now, whenever I am feeling homesick, I will make a nice cuppa and think of home... Again, globalisation at its best.

I've just remembered something else that I found rather remarkable today. As we were going around and looking at old photos of Valmiera in the museum I noticed an old church in the city centre was in literally every photo. When we left the museum, we walked towards this church and saw this sign:

St. Simon's church, built in 1280! My mind was blown.

Looking on Facebook, I was reminded that my university results are released tomorrow! And because I am in Latvia I will see them later than everyone else. Wish me luck. I want to have another good day tomorrow! Now I'm off to try and wash my clothes using a washing machine which only has Russian words on it... perhaps more luck is needed than I first thought.

Day 9: You never know what tomorrow will bring!

Yesterday I was meant to go to the athletics stadium (called J. Dalins Stadi in Latvian) but instead I went to film to hot air balloon take-off so I decided to visit it today while an international athletics competition was taking place. Fortunately, just as I texted a new friend I made from this week's event, she told me that she was already planning on going and we could go together! It was meant to be... 

Posing with two beautiful Latvian folk dancers.

Being in an athletics stadium and watching all the sports began to take me back to when I was an athlete a few years back. When watching the high jumpers and the 200 metre sprinters (my track and field events), part of me was very nostalgic. It was one of those moments when you sit back and think about how much life has changed, in a good way of course! Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself that I am here in Latvia...

Latvian Olympic medallist Jelena Prokopcuka in the 5000 metres race.

After a day of getting to know my friend much better, eating a Latvian cake (which are wonderful by the way!) and watching the athletic events, I left my friend and met up with my boss who was babysitting and also at the stadium to have dinner in the city centre. We went for a lovely walk through the forest and along Gauja River. When it is hotter, we hope to have a tram ride up and down the river!

I think I'll stick to the tram!

In the old part of the town, where the castle ruins are, is a lovely italian-style pizza restaurant that my boss has been meaning to take me to. Today was my lucky day. I highly recommend it to anyone who comes to Valmiera. It is cheap, delicious and they even have an outdoor oven to cook the pizzas!

The pizzeria: I'll definitely be back...

I began talking to the foster mum of the children my boss was helping to look after and found out that she used to live and work in England for a while; the third person now. But it gets better... she asked me where abouts I'm from and gave her the same reply I give everyone: "Kind of near London". She then said "I used to work in Oxford" to which I replied "My university is in Oxford! That is amazing". I was so shocked. I was not expecting that at all... Wow.

Later on I met up with my friend who I was with earlier. She lives opposite my block of flats so she is affected by this hot water crisis as well so she kindly offered for me to come to her second house on the other side of town and have a shower there. The great thing about going there was that she is best friends and housemates with the Latvian student who will be assisting me and the other intern when making our next project! Such a small world! I was able to have a hot shower, tell my friend's friends (who were getting ready to go out) all about British accents and food and get to know her before having to work together.

A perfect day in so many ways.

The weather was absolutely perfect today: hot but not too hot, just right! I hope it is the same tomorrow as I aim to explore even more of Valmiera, first by visiting the tourist office to see what goodies they have there and just seeing where the sun takes me!

Day 8: Time is just "flying"

Today was the last day of the management event we were filming so it was time to capture our last shots and wrap everything up.

Origami tulips I helped to make.

I also found out today that me and my team won a part of the city orientation game for completing most of the photos and we were given true Valmierian cookies!

The title of this blog post is actually a play on words. The winning team of students for the overall event were given a very special prize: a trip over Valmiera in a hot air balloon. We had to go along to film it being set up and taking off. I've always wondered how hot air balloon were blown up! It was amazing to see them take off and I did feel a hint of jealousy. It did start to give me ideas for my 19th birthday that I will be celebrating out here... anyone want to join me for a balloon ride in Latvia?

So this is how they do it!

Although we said our official goodbyes, more were to come later on. We decided to check out a local bar called "Chill Inn". It started off really well, good company, good music. But then a Estonian band called Emerald came on stage and performed. Let's just say screaming down the microphone and head-banging without hair is not my kind of thing. We decided to move on to another club which I'm glad to say was much better and much more me!

No baggage fees here!

Now I have the weekend to relax before we start editing the film next week.

Day 7: From a brewery to a palace - it just keeps getting better!

The programme I have been filming for the past week was set to take place in a beautiful hotel translated into Dikli Palace located just outside of Valmiera.

The 15th century manor. My second home (in my head anyway!)

In the morning me and my filming partner found out that our camera wasn't working due to a formatting issue and the software needed to fix it was on a laptop miles away from the hotel. Not to worry though! In place of filming, I was asked to complete an assignment of something I love to do - write! I was asked to write a press release for the week's event for the university website. This writing was really what I needed because it had been over a month since my brain was put to good use in university.

My source of inspiration.

The main thing that I was looking forward to today was the sauna and water relaxation in our 2 hour long free time period, this being my first sauna experience. At 5.30pm everyone rushed downstairs to the spa. We created a routine of sitting in the sauna for about 10 minutes and then jumping in the cool swimming pool. I will have to find my local sauna back in England and visit it regularly and that's a promise.


For our second-to-last dinner, we were being served a four course Latvian meal consisting of lettuce and bacon, potato and truffle soup, flounder fillet and potato mush and fruit salad - labu apetīti or bon appetite to me and you!

Does this remind anyone else of Romeo and Juliet?

Tomorrow is the last day of the event, but I have exchanged my number with many of my new international friends. I will try my best to stay in touch with them all. Plus, it gives me a good reason to explore their home countries on my new quest of the world.

I've also begun to notice that my blog posts are getting shorter and shorter. I assure you that this is a good sign that I am enjoying my time out here!