infinite in latvia

we started off our trip with a 15-hour train ride to riga, latvia.
and let me tell you what. riga far exceeded my expectations.
here are some highlights of the trip:

wandering the cobblestone streets and perusing the shops.

the beautiful riga cathedral.

and the view from the top of the cathedral was like something out of a movie.

locking our love and throwing the key in the river.

to symbolize our eternal and undying love and devotion of course.

exploring the latvian ethnographic open air museum.

imagine a viking village slash how to train your dragon village and voila! 

making new friends at our hostel.

if you ever go to riga promise me that you'll stay at friendly fun franks.

best hostel ever.

it was so fun to meet people from germany, poland, france, australia... pretty much everywhere.

it just makes me want to rob a bank and go visit all of them.

 only half joking. i won't actually rob a bank. i don't have adequate weapons.

riga had such a fun atmosphere and vibe.
and because of the fun friends we made and the experiences that we had it was one of my favorite places we visited.

on the last night that we were there courtney, marci, our new friend szymon, and i ended up wandering the streets at 2 in the morning.
there was seriously nobody else around;
it felt like we were the only people on the planet.

and i just had this moment where i thought
 i am in riga, latvia. i am surrounded by really awesome people, i'm traveling the world just like i've always dreamed. life does not get better than this.

and when i try to describe that night and those moments,
i can only think of the line from perks of being a wallflower
"and in that moment, i swear we were infinite."

life is a beautiful thing.


holla.

"keep your hearts open, just not your purses"

 this past saturday we met with our coordinator sveta for the first time.

she gets to take us all around st. petersburg during our time here, show us the different sites, teach us how to make russian dishes, etc.

she is basically in charge of entertaining us on the weekends whilst exposing us to russian culture.

and i'll tell you what, she is amazing.

she's just this energetic bundle of russian happiness.

she runs around to all the sites screaming "yes! happy! so great!" 

and she told us that even though russians seem stern, 

"keep your hearts open, just not your purses".

hence the title.

so here are some pictures from our first excursion!

she took us to palace square and some of the main sights and cathedrals in the heart of st. petersburg.

it was awesome to learn all about the culture and the rich history.

[marci: head teacher, super rad]

 

[the amazing sveta]

[courtney: also super rad, stg repppin]

so. i still really like this place.

more about the first day of teaching tomorrow.

but for now...

holla.