Flowers and parks
The achingly picturesque view of Old Riga from the desk where I like to sit when I am working at the National Library building on Jekaba iela.
- One of many gardens in Riga, this is the National Opera garden.
Hello again, everyone. I hope this post finds you all well. Brittney and I are well and are very much enjoying our first (and we certainly hope not the last) Latvian spring. After a few weeks of longer (the sun rises around 4:30 a.m. and it gets dark around 10:30 p.m.) and warmer days (we have been mostly in the 60s) and a number of lovely, gentle spring rains, all of Riga is blossoming into one huge garden — and in fact that is nearly the case, given that the largest percentage of land within the Riga city limits is devoted to public parks and gardens. Just to give you an idea of how many there are here in town, within a 15 minute walk from our flat, I can think of at least nine different parks. And no matter what time of the day, you can always find plenty of people strolling amongst the oaks, poplars, maples, lindens, birches, and other flowering trees and bushes (especially lilacs). After the long, dark winter months, people here absolutely do not take spring and summer for granted, and as a result you can tell that everyone’s spirits are lifted by the sudden explosion of color and warmth.
In fact, I would say that Latvians have a particular love affair with flowers that surpasses that of any other national culture. I guess the best way to summarize it would be to say that flowers are part of everyday life here. For example, on a daily basis I see people in the buses and trams and on the sidewalks with a bundle of flowers in their arms. And people are not just buying them for themselves, but also for friends, work colleagues, or to leave at the base of the many different national monuments here in town. For instance, on May 4, when Latvia officially celebrates its post-Soviet independence, the government set up, at the base of the Freedom Monument, a huge flower pot in the shape of the Latvian state, where people placed flowers as part of a rather solemn celebration that both simultaneously embraced the hope of the future while not forgetting the pain, suffering, and sacrificing that previous generations endured.
The Freedom Monument on May 4.
- The Latvian-state-shaped flower pot.
A close up of the flowers on May 4. And in case you are wondering, the red-white-red ribbons are the Latvian flag.
Yet another way that flowers are used is as a gift on people’s name day, which might be more important here than actual birthdays. Each common name is given a particular day in the calender (meaning that it is rare for someone to name their child something crazy like Superman — maybe you never heard this, but in 2007 a couple in New Zealand named their baby boy Superman after their first choice, 4Real, was deemed unacceptable by the government), and on that day, family, friends, and colleagues bring the person candy, flowers, and sometimes alcohol (usually amongst men). I have had the privilege of seeing two name-day celebrations at the archive, and it was splendid to see all of the flowers by the end of the day. Naturally, then, with so many people buying flowers, Riga has more flower shops than you could ever believe, including some that are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week (I guess it’s convenient for husbands who need to make late-night apologies).
Flowers from a name-day celebration at the archive (and there were more flowers spread throughout the room).
Changing topics a bit, yesterday Brittney and I went with one of the other Fulbright students to our landlady’s summer cottage in Majori, where she prepared for us a Latvian barbeque, which consisted of pork kebabs, chicken, smoked bacon, and lots of fresh, delicious cucumbers, pickles, radishes, etc. And for dessert I prepared an apple pie, as I wanted to make something quintessentially “American.” It certainly was not even 1/100th as tasty as Gram’s, but I guess it wasn’t too bad. Anyway, it was such a relaxing and enjoyable day. We barbequed around noon, and then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening chatting and soaking in the sun’s pleasant rays. It was certainly one of the most enjoyable experiences we have had outside of Riga, and we are very fortunate that we have such a kind and giving landlady.
The yard at our landlady's summer cottage. You can't see it very well in the picture, but the apple tree behind us had the most delicate, pink blossoms. And on the right is a fish pond.
Prague Video Part Two
Hello, again, everyone. Here, below, is part two of two of our slide show about our trip to Prague. And for those of you who have not yet seen part one, please note that you can find it in a separate post below. I hope you enjoy the video.
Part One of Prague Video
Hi, all. Here is part one of two of our slide-show video about our recent trip to Prague. We will be posting part two very soon, hopefully tonight. And again, for those of you who have slower computers or internet connections, the video will play better for you if you hit play and then pause it, so as to let the video fully load (watch the red bar), before you attempt to watch the full video. We hope you enjoy it! Oh, and one last thing: if you want to expand the slide show to full screen, simply click on the symbol with four arrows at the bottom right corner of the video display.
Our Easter Weekend
Good day, everyone. I hope this post finds you well. Sorry that it’s been a while since Brittney and I last updated our blog, but we spent a lot of time outdoors during the long Easter weekend (Europeans leave work early on Thursday and then don’t work on Good Friday or the following Monday), when the weather was abnormally warm, and then we took a trip to Prague, Czech Republic. As you might imagine, then, we didn’t really have the time to sit down and write. So since the archive and national library are closed today due to the May 4 national holiday (this is the date when Latvia officially regained their sovereignty in 1991), today is serving as our “catching-up day.”
Anyway, in this blog post I thought I would share with you a bit about our Easter weekend. The first photo, then, is from the Thursday evening before Easter, when we trekked to Jurmala in order to watch the sunset. As you can see, it was indeed picturesque; however, it was a bit too cloudy. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our two-hour stroll on the beach — it’s so incredibly peaceful to listen to the sound of the water and to feel the crisp, fresh air on your face.
On Good Friday we spent most of our day stocking up on groceries. We went to the Central Market, which was busier than we have ever seen it. I cannot even begin to describe the stimulation overload that is the experience of going to the market. From the hoards of people, to the sight of the bright colors of fresh vegetables and spices, to the smells of smoked meat, fresh pastries, etc., to the offerings of unique products like Birch tree juice (yes, I tried it, and it was ok, but nothing I would crave), going to the market is always a fun experience. Well, anyway, we picked up the things I needed to make our traditional holiday quiche. I guess here, for those of you who don’t know, perhaps I should explain that Brittney and I have a tradition of eating quiche and drinking a bottle of rosé wine whenever we cannot make it home for a holiday. Living away from “home” is always an up-and-down experience, and without a doubt being away during holidays is the ultimate low, so on those days we try to fill our stomachs and souls the best we can. I guess we have been doing this for some three or four years now. It certainly does not replace the comforts of home and the joy of being with family, but I do really like the pairing of quiche and rosé wine.
The biggest highlight of our weekend, though, was our trip on Easter Sunday to the open-air museum located in the northern outskirts of Riga. The museum hosted an Easter celebration, and since we had been wanting to check out the museum anyway, we decided to spend our day there.
For me, one of the best things about the festivities there was the food. As you can see in the picture at left, the food was prepared in traditional iron pots, and the samplings included sausage, pork, soup, fried potatoes, sour cabbage, and delicious Latvian rye bread. I am happy to report that the food was excellent, and perhaps smelled even better than it tasted…
About the open-air museum, I should explain to you that it was founded in the 1930s, during the apex years of interwar Latvian nationalism, with the intent of preserving for future generations the “traditional” way of life. So, as you can see from the second photo, the government brought in entire farmsteads from all over Latvia so that even as the majority of people lose touch with the agricultural way of life, they can wander around this huge museum and garner a sense of how their ancestors lived. We very much enjoyed the museum (though I got a bigger kick out of it than Brittney did), and in particular thought the various windmills were fascinating (see picture below).
Finally, I have a couple of videos to share with you from our time at the museum. That day, in addition to the traditional, home-style food offerings, the museum organized a number of fun cultural activities, including egg coloring stations for the kids, an archery section, and more. For sure though, what we enjoyed the most was the folk dancing. Folk dancing is still very popular here, even amongst teenagers, so I was pleased that Brittney and I could enjoy watching such an important cultural tradition together. I’m not exactly sure why, but watching people dance to folk music, one cannot help smiling — it just puts you in a festive mood. Maybe you will better understand what I am saying after watching these videos:
Lost in translation…
Well, I wanted to share some thoughts with you all about something I have been pondering lately…The ability to communicate with others is really quite an amazing gift. Many people, including myself, struggle with articulating their thoughts and truly listening and understanding one another. For example, it is quite interesting that two people who speak the same language can sometimes not understand one another because of not conveying an accurate message or having incongruities in their body language and what they are saying. But yet, I am so intrigued when two people, who do not speak the same native language, can understand each other — although, I do think it is almost impossible to have a deep, meaningful conversation with someone who is not fluent in your native language because many times meanings of words and expressions are not accurately understood. To sum up this situation, I think it is best to say that things are just lost in translation. Meanings of words and phrases sometimes aren’t understood the same to a foreigner. Simple, comic examples include, for instance, Jordan asking for a “glass of water” on the airplane and the flight attendant giving him coke and water…or Jordan asking if the server could “break” a large bill and having the server not understand at all what he meant…or ordering one glass of champagne and getting two instead…these all little, silly things, but it just reiterates the fact that when surrounded by people who speak a different native language, you are forced to find ways to better articulate yourself and communicate with them.
Therefore, for the first few months we were here, I just tried to listen and listen and listen some more. I barely spoke to others, mostly out of fear of not being understood. Now I try to do more talking, some in Latvian, mostly in English, and I definitely at times feel like I’m not understood. For example, when I gave my lectures to the nursing students, I took time to ask them questions and occasionally they would stare blankly back at me and I would have to rephrase my question or further explain what I meant. However, even then they sometimes still did not understand. Or, there is the instance when I went shopping by myself and stopped in a little boutique and was helped by a nice Latvian woman who spoke a little English and together, with my poor Latvian language skills, we were able to find what I was looking for. I so badly wanted to express my gratitude, but all I could manage to say was “paldies,” which means “thank you,” and a warm smile, hoping it was enough. It can be quite frustrating, but you grow as a person with each experience because you are forced to better your communication skills.
However, it is due to these circumstances that lately I feel a sense of isolation and have realized that I do not feel truly understood while living in another country. But it is a double-edged sword — I am not understood as a foreigner in another country speaking a language that is not native to the locals, nor am I understood in my own country as I try to explain and articulate my experiences to others who have never had similar encounters. Which is why I think more than ever I have become so cognizant of my ability to communicate with others, and I strive every day to be a better communicator because I think that it is one of the greatest achievements one can obtain.
So, with all of my rambling, the point that I want to make is that although these may be silly instances of poor communication, when these everyday occurrences happen on a larger scale, in more important situations, you can realize how things have gone so horribly wrong in politics, the economy, healthcare, relationships and so forth…Communication is so vital and it is something not many people can effectively do. If we as individuals don’t make it a point to better our communication skills, then how can we rightfully hold others accountable for doing so as well? I think if we all took time to listen more, speak less, and attempt to truly understand one another, things would be a lot less complicated…
crookedtimberofhumanity 