So I've become a little more acquainted with Riga since my last post. Wednesday after I arrived I basically just caught up on sleep. I woke up early Thursday, worked out, showered and then read some. After awhile, I decided to go explore some, since I didn't have plans until 3, when I was set to meet Lena (my compadre) and see downtown. I found out that down the road near the bus stop there is a small shopping center with a restaurant, a few stores, and a grocery about the size of the Kroger near UK. I bought some groceries here, went back to the dorm, and made myself a sandwich for lunch. Although there are no English labels in the grocery, fortunately everything is pretty easy to find.
At 3 I met Lena and we hopped on a bus to go toward the Center (downtown). The bus ride took awhile but she said that it was due to holiday traffic. Lena was also very helpful, as she got me a bus pass that would also save money on other passes I might buy. Once we got near the Center, we walked to the school. By this time it had already gotten dark outside, making the walk a lot colder. But on the up side, the city was very beautiful at night, as many of the buildings have Christmas lights on them and some Christmas trees are put up around town. The school is a beautiful building as well and is famous for its art nouveau style. After seeing SSE, Lena and I walked to Old Town, which is where most of the activity goes on in the city. I was surprised how many tourist there are in Old Town, and Lena said most are from Germany. We found a shopping center where I got a cheap phone and phone card for local calls and then went to eat at a place called "Cili Pica." This is a chain pizza restaurant (it serves other Latvian food as well) and can be found all over the city. The food was very good and not too expensive. I know this is somewhere that I will frequent over my stay here. Lena and I then walked around Old Town some just so I could see it, and she also showed me St. Peter's Church, the Monument of Freedom, and the Dome Cathedral. We then made our way back to the bus stop, where I went back to the dorms. That night, the airport called and brought my missing bag to me, which I was very happy about.
Today, I slept in a little longer, but still woke up and worked out. I then went downtown on my own for some lunch and to exchange some of my cash for Lats (it is the main currency used here). Currently, at bank exchanges, one dollar is about 0.43 Lats. Hopefully I will be able to find a small exchange place where I can get a better deal on my exchanges. When I got to Old Town, I took some pictures of places I had been the night before and then just wandered around to take in the culture. There is a large park that runs through the downtown that is very beautiful, and many Latvian children can be seen sledding there. On the way back to the dorms after a few hours, I stopped at a hypermarket called "Rimi." Rimi is their largest supermarket (very similar to Walmart) and is cheaper than the grocery nearby the dorm. I bought a few things I needed (shampoo, soap, etc.) and finally made my way back to the dorms. In the hall I met a boy named Gerard. He is a Lithuanian exchange student (he studied at SSE last semester as well) and had just arrived at the dorm the night before. I spoke with him and he invited me to a New Years Party (Lena will be with family) tonight with some of the other students from SSE. So, fortunately I have something to do tonight that doesn't involve me being downtown alone. I will post some of my pictures soon from the last few days and keep the posts coming. Until then, Happy New Years!
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