1st Tea Party in Latvia :)

Tea parties are a tradition of our family and when friends hear that, they wanted me to have one here.  Well, I finally had one!  The weather had been cold, so I thought "might as well have one!"  I invited four friends over and we had a tea party.

Everyone loved the food...yummy!  And everyone loved my favorite tea "Bengal Spice".  They had such a good time...they said they can't wait until the next one! :)

Zelta Keda...or Golden Sneaker

Ok, so I planned better for the 15KM race Zelta Keda or Golden Sneaker and actually ran it!

So, I've been running since January in preparation for the marathon.  My goal was to run the 15km Zelta Keda in 1 hr 30 minutes...

I beat my goal! :) I actually ran the 15km in 1 hr 24 minutes and 34.30 seconds!

Running...or more like jogging :)

In my quest to stay healthy, I have found a new enjoyment in running.  It was a beautiful spring day in Washington, DC that I realized that I was classified as a runner when I looked down and saw that I had run 7 miles!  Plus the fact that I felt like I could keep going, which is a good thing because I had to turn around and get all the way back! :)

I had been training since January for the Riga Marathon which is held in May.  Well...silly me, I didn't plan well the day before the race and spent the entire day outside in the sun and didn't drink enough water.  So I woke up the day of the marathon dehydrated!  Needless to say, I didn't run the marathon that day because I didn't want to pass out during the race and be taken to a Latvian hospital.

So now the goal is to be prepared to run in the Valmiera Marathon (another city in Latvia) in September, planning better for the day before! ;) 


As part of the preparation, I am running Saturday in the Golden Sneaker 15k, which is 9.32 miles.  I'll be sure to take my camera to document the race!

Wish me luck!

Memorial Camping Trip in Latvia

It is traditional to go camping with my family on Memorial Day Weekend as it also gives us a chance to celebrate my Granpa's birthday.  Even though I am not at home, I still decided to go camping, even if it was by myself.

This is the place that I got to spend three days.

Isn't it a pretty place?  The weather even cooperated and was nice, although a little chilly.

It was an interesting experience to camp by myself, but it was so relaxing!  Of course, it would've been more fun with family, however, I did have a good time.  I hope to go back soon!

Cinevilla

Latvia has a "Universal Studios"/"Old Tucson" called Cinevilla. 

Where you can go and tour the sets and see where they make movies locally.  They showed us how to do things on "green screens". 

They had a whole bunch of old vehicles. 

They've built a ton of buildings that replicate various parts of Riga.

There was even a ship!

They have a bridge that can be moved by two men...and it's huge...it has something to do with the rotating device that they have it on.  It's fairly famous, apparently many other film companies from other countries have used it, most recently Japan!

They have all these barrels dressed up like various things...an owl, a horse, people...

It was really neat and a very pretty place.  Great location to film a movie or to visit.  They have costumes that you can dress up in...no one in our group wanted to dress up, but it would be a great place to take the kids for hours of fun.  Dress up and play on a movie set...what's better than that?

USAEUR Band

On May 15th I went to Jelgava, Latvia to listen to the USA Europe Band.  They opened the concert with the US national anthem and the Latvian anthem.  I have always loved the national anthem but hearing it played overseas was an incredible experience.  Because we were in Latvia, there were only a few American citizens there, but I sang the words as the band played.  It sent chills down my body, singing the anthem and thinking of what an incredible country I was born.  I've always known freedom but many in Latvia have only recently been granted what should be every human being's right.  I love the US and am proud to be an American citizen.  I am grateful to all soldiers, both past and present, who fought to make America free and continue to uphold freedom throughout the world.  May God always bless the USA and may her citizens uphold freedom, forever and remember that it was God who made our country what it is.

If you ever get a chance to listen to the miltary bands, take advantage! Such incredibly talented musicians.  Not only are they musicians, but they are also full-time soldiers serving their country.  Many of the musicians played multiple instruments, a very talented group.  Makes me want to practice the instruments that I know how to play so I can get that good! :) 

Jelgava, Latvia

The above pictures where taken in Jelgava, Latvia. Yesterday was such a nice day, the sun was out, so it made for a nice trip out of Riga. One thing that is interesting is that a lot of the time, regardless of what opening times are posted on their website or buildings, sometimes things close down without any reason. So although we got to see the outside, we didn't get to see inside. However, I did get to be a head of a statue! :)

Another view of Jelgava Palace         St. Anna's cathedral         Jelgava Palace         St. Simeon's cathedral