Monday, November 26, 2007

Latvian/Thanksgiving Pot Luck





The Adventure of Pumpkin Pie Making in Latvia
or It’s a good thing I’m a science teacher

Yes, another adventure. How to make a pumpkin pie in Latvia. Bob and I invited several Fulbrighters for a Thanksgiving Pot Luck in Latvia. We held our celebration on Saturday the 24th since Thursday was a work day for everyone here. My contribution in the manner of traditions was to bake a pumpkin pie. Well, first we needed to find all the ingredients. Cream was no problem since Latvia has fine dairy products…but there was nothing to resemble Crisco which I always use to make my pie crust. I even considered buying a crust but after reconnoitering in Stockman’s, the most anglophile department store, I could only find pizza crust, puff pastry crust and a pre-made graham cracker crust….none of which would do. Finally we (it took two of us) found a block of Eve…”for baking and cooking”….80% fat so I tried a practice crust with some apples in it for filling. I had a flan pan for the crust and used a wine bottle for a rolling pin. Next of course for the big day was to make the pumpkin pie filling. No canned pumpkin or squash…..or spices in the grocery store…so off to the Central Market. We found squash…so of course …we had to cook it up and try it out weeks before the big day. In our dictionary we could find cinnamon (malts kanelis) and cloves (krustnaglina) but no luck finding ginger….we did consider going to the book store to look it up in a more complete dictionary and then Bob noticed ginger root (ingvars) on one of our shopping trips so by combining that with “malts” for ground we were on our way. We found both ginger and cloves at the large central market at a stall that was full of bins and bags of spices. Of course this meant we had to communicate our needs to the sales person both for the item and the amount, in grams, that we desired. Fortunately, she let us see and smell the powders to be sure we were purchasing the spices we needed. The next step was to make the conversions to use my tried and true pie recipe, (which Tina provided from home via skype) and get out the scale to weigh the ingredients. Fortunately our apartment came with a conversion chart. The cup of sugar was equal to 8 oz which equals 250 g and the cup of flour 5 oz equals 150 g….who knows what a cup of pureed squash equals so I estimated and yes two eggs were just two eggs. I found an ml measuring cup for the cream, the balance to measure grams and of course the conversion chart for oven temperatures which are marked on the stove as C degrees…..The pie was delicious and I felt a real sense of accomplishment. As one of our friends says “things take longer in Latvia”

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

18.novembris no Riga





Latvian Independence Day
Sunday, November 18, 2007
We had checked the billboard earlier in the week and knew about many of the events scheduled to celebrate Latvian Independence so we were not surprised to find all manner of audio-visual high tech equipment, risers and a widely-spaced police line at the site of the freedom monument on Sunday morning, all in preparation for the ceremonial laying of flowers at the base of the monument. We had good viewing spots on the curb about 100 yards from the monument as the dignitaries began to gather—Saeima (parliament) representatives, several rows of ambassadors (including, we believe, our own), military, business and cultural leaders and then a large group of common people—old, young, parents, children—all carrying flowers to lay at the base of the monument. Some were large wreaths of roses and greens with ribbons in the colors of that State’s colors. Others were a simple stem or three or five—many reds and whites, the Latvian national colors.
Just before the beginning of the ceremony, the (embattled) Cabinet President arrived, sirens and lights flashing, loud-speaker on the lead car blaring, private security front and back as he made his way to the front of the procession. The President was the last to arrive—a much less noisy entrance, but with the usual cadre of secret service types around. Once he took his place the military band played a reserved processional as the procession moved forward with wave after wave of people stepping up to the monument, pausing, then laying their wreaths and sprays before moving aside to let others come. The ceremony concluded with the playing and singing of the Latvian National Anthem--although without any of the loud, wild cheering that usually accompanies ours. No speeches in the morning; they were to come later in the day.
As the dignitaries dispersed, the President began to make his way toward his waiting car stopping along the way to shake hands with people in the crowd. Just before he got to our position, he turned as if to cross the road to the other side, then turned back. Cheryl first, then I shook hands with him and in English exchanged brief greetings and good wishes before he moved on. It was a privilege; a symbol of a shared value of independence we feel celebrating the 4th of July at home and November 18th here in Latvia. What kept running through my mind all day long were the words to the hymn, This is My Song, printed below and sung to the tune Finlandia.
Lloyd Stone, 1934
This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,A song of peace for lands afar and mine.This is my home, the country where my heart is;Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.But other hearts in other lands are beating,With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.But other lands have sunlight too and clover,And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,A song of peace for their land and for mine.
May truth and freedom come to every nationMay peace abound where strife has raged so long;That each may seek to love and build together,A world united, righting every wrong.A world united in its love for freedom,Proclaiming peace together in one song.

In the afternoon we join thousands along the river road named, “11 November Boulevard” to see a parade comprised of military units. We went back to the closed river road in the evening for the fireworks display that brought to a close the outdoor festivities. It was an independence day celebration to be remembered! rej

Rezekne




















Teaching Social Work in Latvia


Last Thursday was a difficult day for me in the classroom and it’s my hunch most who teach can relate. It was the first day of a new course, albeit one I have taught regularly at UNH for more than 25 years. I was working with a new/different translator, a young business student from Riga, who was also translating for the first time in any subject. The content included a fair amount of theory and technical use of a number of words everyone already knows in English—the word “empathy”, for example that turns out to be the same in Latvian as the word for “sympathy”. The Eskimos have 3 words for snow; the Nepalese have 3 for rice. In English we use “empathy” and “sympathy” to describe variations of commiseration. The Latvians have one word for the concept. In retrospect it’s no wonder there were blank and bemused looks as I tried to describe the importance of the difference in social work practice. The theory was also tough to present and the harder I tried the less successful I felt. Stories and illustrations fell flat or became so convoluted in the telling that I stopped myself and the translator midway through several to start again or in some instances just move on. The power point slides and outline made good sense to me when I put them together, but not to this group of students, or me, in the after-lunch 4th, 5th, 6th hours of the class. On Thursday evening I was quite discouraged.
Friday and Saturday were better—actually much better, but the Thursday experience has me thinking, a lot. I’ve thought about foreign teaching, teaching through translation, the critical necessity to connect with the value/knowledge/skill needs of the students in their context. The bottom line? Some power point slides will be revised, others removed. I will re-think the presentation of the content and re-structure the mid-term exam—“reasonable” wrong answers on multiple choice questions are sometimes difficult in English. This is a class taught in Latvian but with many native Russian speakers, several of whom bring Latvian/Russian dictionaries to class for exam days. Overall, I believe most of the students are learning some things; I’m the one learning a lot!
Nov 19, 2007

In the photo above Bob is with other American social workers, Latvian translators and the International Programs coordinator of Attistiba. It was taken when Bob presented a paper on International Adoption at the Riga Stradins University early in November. The other images come from our trip to Rezekne, a city in the Latgale region of Latvia east of Riga toward the Russian border. We stayed here at the Hotel Latgale while Bob did the 3 day intensive seminar course in Social Work Practice which he reflected on in the posting above. I was able to explore Rezekne. Rezekne is on the main road from Riga to Moscow and Warsaw to St. Petersburg. It was bombed heavily in WWII because of its center as a transportation hub. I was able to visit the Latgale Culture and History Museum which had an excellent display of pottery beginning in Neolithic times. The statue of Mara was erected in 1939 with the inscription United Latvia. It was removed and returned twice during Soviet times and finally destroyed. However it was recast by the son of the original sculptor and erected once again in the square in 1992. It's original message to celebrate the liberation of Latgale from foreign rule still resonates today.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

11.11.2007 Lacplesa Diena and Rembrance Day







Remembrance Day for the UK and Latvia falls on Latvia's Lacplesis Day. Lacplesa is the mythological national hero of Latvia, the bearslayer who, according to Modris Eksteins, "awakens his people from endless sleep, destroys the evil spirits and restores the Castle of Light. He creates the State, protects it from its enemies, and is a model father." One of the sculptures on the freedom monument shows Lacplesis slaying the bear. As soon as we walked out onto lacplesa street, where our apartment is located, we saw Latvian flags flying. On our building were the flags of Latvia in the center with Estonia and Lithuania as well. Latvian flags and banners lined the streets. We went to church at St. Saviors, the Anglican Church which has services in English where representative of the British Embassy presented a wreath of paper poppies. We saw the flowers and candles at the freedom monument. At a concert we heard Latvian folk songs such as Meness mena saules meitu. The concert ended with a singing of the National Anthem. We walked towards the pils (Riga castle which is now the president's residence) along 11.novembra krastmala and saw all of the candles lit balanced in nooks and crannies of the rough hewn stone wall in remembrance of all peoples and all wars for freedom.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Sunday, November 4, 2007

3.novembris doma laukum Riga



There is an all-too-familiar ring to the t.v., newspaper and in-person stories of government and political-party scandal and corruption here in Latvia. Two cabinet ministers were recently relieved of their duties because of alleged malfeasance, the head of the security and corruption division of the government has been suspended—apparently because he was too conscientiously attending to his duties, several of the largest political parties overspent during recent elections and are being held accountable (“fined”) for those misdeeds, the ambassador to Estonia was arrested last week for drunk driving in the Estonian capitol, and the recently elected president lacks much of the charisma, leadership or savoir faire of his predecessor. Even the U.S. ambassador spoke out against government corruption and in support of democratic principles in a major policy speak three weeks ago that many Latvians said was “meddling” and others indicated was atypical for U.S. ambassadors.
Several opposition parties and their followers called for and staged a demonstration yesterday in the Dom Laukum (central cathedral square) of Riga. It was a cold (low 30s), snowy morning but by 11:00 a.m. the streets heading into the square were filled. The news coverage last evening indicated a crowd of more than 7,000 in spite of the weather. In the pictures you can just make out the large stage and enclosed bleachers that held a 200-300 person choral group. The large video screens on either side of the stage made it possible for many to see what was happening. There were lots of relatively brief speeches given by women and men—even the President attended and spoke, presumably in support of the current government. Since it was all in Latvian we caught an occasional word or two but not much of the detail. Some of the speeches evoked a chuckle or cheer that started near the front of the crowd and occasionally spread to our location on the edge.
There was a significant and visible police and emergency-personnel presence and all of the streets leading into the square were closed to traffic, but there wasn’t any atmosphere of rowdiness, or threat of violence that would require police intervention. All-in-all it was very orderly. The speeches were interspersed with choral numbers—2 or 3 at a time of the more than one million recorded “dainas” (folk songs) in the Latvian song books. Often some in the crowd joined in. I guess we expected a lot of students and young people, but if anything the crowd consisted of middle-age and older adults along with students and even many families with young children.
It’s been a long time since Cheryl & I went to a demonstration—some time in the early 70s on the Boston Common or at Arlington Street Church in Boston, I think. It’s but one example of democracy in action. rej

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Oktobris






Some images of oktobris in Latvija and October at home.....
the Daugava River and courntryside on the road to Daugavpils, Mt. Chochura in New Hampshire from the back field at Reigate courtesy of Ted, and the bridge and pilsetas kanalis near Brivabas.