I've had the most interesting 2 days, after a week of trying to get some things done and get my energy back. These 2 days were perfect days, in fact. It is Ligo Jani Festival(see link above). This is my 4th summer here, but the first time I've been here for this holiday. I was told it's mostly about drinking and it's best to be away, but while there is definitely that part you can celebrate summer without that. On Saturday, the Smiths and I went to Double Coffee for a very long breakfast which led into ice cream before we left. It was really relaxing and fun. Sian and I did a lot of giggling. And we hardly talked work which was great. In the evening I drove to Bauska for their Jani celebration. Ruth asked me to come so they could say good bye to me. There were about 40 people there, mostly women and mostly older than me. Ruth taught me something really important while I was with them last night. She told me that many of them are either alone or have husbands who would be home drinking all night. So she has this event every year to give them something special and a safe place. I guess we often think that kind of group doesn't need special attention, but I understood that her heart is with them and this is what she can do to help. I still hope and pray that someday there will be some help available for the men and women who are dealing with alchohol problems (both the acoholic and families). But, until then this is something we can do and it costs us very little time, money or even energy. I wish I had been more sensitive about this sooner. Back to the party - we had devotions, I gave my testimony and got a beautiful wreath of flowers to wear. Then we sang, first Christian songs and then folk songs about Ligo and Jani. It was fun to try to sing along. Then the food - traditional sausages on the grill (I had 2!), pierags, delicious caraway cheese (why haven't I had this before?) and Kvass (a popular drink - YUK!) I switched to something like cream soda quickly.
Sunday we had no church because many people are away. I'm sorry we didn't plan something (not the corps, but those of us who were around) but I invited the girls over for the day. We started with a walk to Old Riga with our cameras (see photos) and after a few hours we returned to my flat for food and lots of it. I bought a lot knowing that the girls can eat and they brought some too. Most of it is gone! We watched a movie, played a couple of games and now the day is over. And so is the weekend, so to work tomorrow. I have to get going on all the farewell stuff. But an absolutely perfect in every way 2 days.
Check out the movies and photos:
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| midsummer movies |
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| mid summer |
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