LATVIA - RIGA

During my stay in Latvia, I was confronted with different unfamiliar situations. But after some time, I learned to live with them and once I will return home it will be weird for me to change back again. On one side it is about the water and the weather here in the Baltics, and on the other side about the people who are around me.

One of the first things I had to handle was the water. You can but you should not drink it everywhere - when you do not live in the old town - it is better to not drink it. Most of the time because of the pipes. In my dorm, it was possible to drink but it has an unknown taste. In some of the rooms it was not possible to drink it especially because it had a different colour. Additionally, your stomach reacts badly to the water sometimes. So most of the time you have to buy water or juice. So at the moment, it is always on my shopping list to buy water at “Rimi”.

Another point is the sun. When you take a walk outside the sun is never as bright or the sunset never as beautiful as at home. Most of the time it is raining and the sun goes down around four and five pm. Of course, because I am here during wintertime this lets you feel more tired and unproductive. However, you know how to deal with the weather after some time. You also enjoy more the short sun hours. When the sun is here without rain you go outside and enjoy the weather. It is still cold and extremely windy, but it feels so good to get some sun.

Whatever life may send your way – make the best of it. –

Les Brown

From my point of view - Latvians are different. First of all, they never smile – if you see a Latvian smiling then you are a very lucky person. So at the beginning, it was very hard not to smile all the time or say “hello”. In addition, they do not do small talk. At university, the Latvian students answer your questions and are friendly, but never get into a deeper conversation. But now it is normal to have a stern face and have not small talk with your study colleagues when they are Latvians. The consequences that you always only with other Erasmus students, and most of them speak German.

Also, another good example are  men in the Baltics. They are more like old fashioned. I never saw one of them wearing sweatpants or being unfriendly to girls or women. When you enter a building at the same time as a man you always can go first. If not they wait so long till you go first. This was at the beginning extremely weird for me, but after some time it is nice and courteous that someone opens the door for you or gets your bag.

All in all, I can say that the time in Riga taught me on to enjoy the moments more. Like when the sun comes out, to take a walk and not to stay inside to work and maybe go out later. Because when you go out later the sun is gone in Latvia and it will be dark. On the other side, that gentleman still exists. It is always a problem in Austria that some men do not have manners and that they know how to dress.

I feel more comfortable in this area and enjoy the small things that I get from people around me. Even when they do not smile.