Exchange student shopping

I asked some other exchange students if this is only me, or if they are the same. And it's not only me.
Chocolate is just solving (almost) any problem.
♡

Sauna

If someone told me that I would like sauna before this exchange year started I would have laughed about that.
But somehow I really like it. I've never been to a sauna in Germany (except for one time as a child and it only took 2 minutes because I hated it), so my hostfamily spend some time explaining this sauna thing to me. We have our own sauna in our countryhome (no electric sauna but a sauna with a real oven), so we're saunaing on weekends, when we're on our countryside. And it's not only about sitting there and sweating. It's more like sauna-party. Talking, laughing, listening to music, and sometimes after the third round running through the garden to jump in our lake (really cold!) and run back.
I think latvian saunaing you can compare with the latvian mentality: spontaneous, relaxed, happy, just doing stuff for no good reason except for the reason it's funny or weird or both. I love it.

4 weeks in Latvia

4 weeks ago I drove to the airport with my family, I said goodbye and I left for 10 months. Today, after this 4 weeks, I can say that it definitely wasn't a mistake.

About my situation right now:
I've never been away from home for such a long time. My wonderful hostfamily is helping me very much to get along in this new country with all the differences.
Also I'm not homesick. Sometimes I wish that something or someone would be here because I need it/him in a situation (or I just want to talk to them), but it's not me wishing myself home. I'm really happy to be here.
My Latvian improves, too, after this one month, I'm able to often understand the topic of people's conversations, I can understand easy texts (e.g. in TV spots, and today I understood a SMS from my hostdad for the first time without google translator) and I also can build a few sentences. I learn latvian every day at school with my latvian learning book. One skill I also improved is interpreting the way how people say things, with which voice, with which mimic and in which situation. I'm often able to guess what people are saying even though I don't understand any word.
I can say that I'm a really lucky exchange students. I'm happy with my hostfamily and my class, they're all very nice, and also the place where I live is perfect for exploring this country (or doing 1000 other awesome things. Guys: visit Rīga, it's amazing).
Sometimes I wish I could hug my german family, but 10 months are over really fast, and then I can do this again. I try to live here and now, enjoy all the experience I get and learn as much as I can, because I think this a possibility I will only get once in my life.

I wish you a wonderful evening and an amazing week ♡
Arlabunakti!

Riding

Last sunday we went to the place where my hostsister's horse lived before they found a new stable which is nearer Rīga this summer. We met some of the owners and other people who have their horse there. And also, I was riding on one of their schoolhorses, called Holda. It was really nice, even though she is a lazy horse (but I think all intelligent horses are lazy) and it took me some time to motivate her to walk in a normal tempo. But I still enjoyed riding, and I hope it won't be the last time I did it during my exchange year.

Turaida / Sigulda

Gestern waren wir in Sigulda und haben das Schloss von Turaida angeschaut. Das ganze war eine Art Freilichtmuseeum und sehr schön. Wir haben verschiedene Gebäude besichtigt und sind auf den Turm gestiegen. Außerdem habe ich Bogenschießen ausprobiert (ich bin nicht besonders talentiert).
Es war sehr schön. Auch die Natur von Sigulda ist besonders und hat mir gut gefallen.
Der große Steinkopf ist der lettische Dichter Rainis, er ist in Lettland sehr berühmt.
Einige der Fotos habe ich auch vom Turm aus gemacht. Die Aussicht war toll.
Man patik Sigulda.

Mein bester guter Freund ♡

Der allerbeste Freund den ich bis jetzt gefunden habe ist unser kleiner Hund Šoko. Wenn ich morgens aufstehe ist er der erste den ich treffe (und der einzige der zur morgendlichen Stunde schon motiviert und fröhlich ist). Immer wenn ich zu Hause in meinem Zimmer bin, kommt er auch und hüpft um mich herum oder schläft auf meinem Bett. Wir gehen zusammen im Park bei unserem Haus Gassi, er beschützt mich vor Tauben (er verjagt sie mit sehr viel Freude) und ich beschütze ihn vor großen Hunden (er überschätzt seine Körpergröße immens und bellt Hunde an auf denen man reiten könnte). Im Wald bei unserem Countryhome waren wir auch schon spazieren. Er liebt unser Countryhome weil er dort den ganzen Tag draußen herumrennen kann.
Wenn ich mit einer Wolldecke auf dem Bett oder Sofa sitze, kriecht er unter die Decke und schläft dort sehr meist ein.
Er ist ein sehr toller kleiner Hund.

My way to school

My school way is very short (10 minutes) and really nice. I just walk through the park next to our house, it's called ziedoņdārzs. It's the same park in which I go to walk with our dog Šoko (pronounce Shoko).

I will add some pictures I took today on my way to school and the way back home. The big grey building (with the flags over the door) is my school. The stone head is Aleksandrs Čaks, a famous latvian poet. The street where my school is located is named after him. 

Countryside

Many Latvians (that live in cities) have a second home on the country. If you've been on the countryside once, you understand why.
The latvian nature is amazing, and even though it seems to have many things in common with the german nature, it's special.
I don't know why I have this impression, but to me it seems like Latvia has more sky than Germany. Probably because there are no mountains and so you can see very far.
Also, after a stressed week in Rīga, sitting in your huge garden, picking tomatoes, cucumbers and berries and watching your little dog running and jumping around is really relaxing. I love Rīga, but I also like the different life on the countryside very much.
If you come to Latvia one day, do not just visit Rīga and other cities (even though you should definitely do this), do also visit the countryside.

I add some photos of our country home and the little forest next to it. Enjoy!

Atā,
Annabel