Riga-Exchange Student

It was a Tuesday morning in my French 201 class and my instructor announced that we had a guest speaker. The speaker was a tall, but plump man from the school of business. He was there to talk to us about studying abroad. He told us all the great things that can come from it. He told us that it can open up doors and put you ahead of the game when it came to job interviews and graduate school. This man with whom I had never met before planted a seed in my head that would grow and forever change who I am.

The next day, without even talking to anyone about it, I went to the study abroad office. I was curious to find a school that Missouri State University had never sent anyone. I quickly found out that among others, Latvia and Iceland were virgin territories for my school. I quickly went to the internet to research classes offered, and Latvia offered classes on culture and language which fell right into my studies as an anthropology student. Thus, my journey began. It was going to be a trip that would forever change my life, and leave me with life long friends.

After my decision and the application process of being accepted, Latvia wasn't a reality until I had my passport in my hand and the airline ticket paid for. This was going to be my first flight, and it was going to be across the Atlantic Ocean. What was once a giant step for airline companies was soon going to be a giant step for me.

As my plane descended upon RIX, I was very nervous. I was supposed to have a person waiting on me from the University of Latvia. I didn't get my hopes up until I saw a man holding a sign with my last name on it. His first words were hello and welcome to Latvia. I was relieved that he was there, but his next words were terrifying. He asked, "Where do we go?" I didn't know. I thought he would know. But, after a few phone calls and a lot Latvian language getting tossed around, he knew where to take me.

After a very silent twenty minute drive, we arrived at the hostel/dormitory and he helped me with my luggage up the stairs. After putting my things away, he asked if I had a map. Again I answered as any unprepared person does, "Map?" He told me not to worry and took me to a small store and purchased a welcome book with a map in the back. He circled the school and other important places and then proceeded to take me to Hansa Banka because during the phone call at the airport, the International Student Coordinator told him that I needed a bank account. After waiting in line at the bank and many forms and signatures, I had an account. He asked me if there was anything else I needed, from which I responded no. He then took me back to the hostel and gave me his phone number in case I reconsidered and in fact had questions. I told him thank you and ran up the stairs to my room.

At this point, I am wondering why in the hell did I do this. I was scared because for the first time in my life, I was truly on my own. I couldn't drive ten minutes to my parent's house for advice. Hell, I didn't even have a car. I finally managed to put all of my worries behind me and I fell asleep. The next morning, I found a place to email my parents. I also walked around a little bit in the city and managed to eat some snacks(A Snickers bar and juice) from the same store that my friend from the previous day had bought my map. I went back to the hostel and went to my room feeling the same feelings I had the night before.

The next day, I was just outside the hostel when I heard many people speaking American English. This made me somewhat curious and excited. I introduced myself to one of the girls. Her name was Kelly and she was with an entire group from the University of Eau Claire Wisconsin who were going to spend the semester studying at the University. This made me very excited because I now had someone to talk to. I asked her where they were staying. She told me that they were going to stay in the hostel for another week and then move in with host parents. My excitement quickly vanished because I was still going to be alone. The feeling only lasted until the evening when I met a gentleman named Gregory in the hostel's community computer room. He was around my age and lived in Connecticut. Through conversing with him over scotch and water, I realized that he was feeling many of the same feelings that I was feeling. The friendship that grew out of this meeting is one that I hope to have for the rest of my life. It was with him that I met all the other international students from the dormitory with whom I am still in contact with.

I somewhat feel stupid upon reflecting about my first week in Latvia because all of the things that gave me comfort were the exact things I was escaping from in the United States. I wanted to get away from Americans so I could truly get to know other people from around the world. But, my friendship with Greg was what I truly needed at that point of my stay. I now have friends from Italy, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Poland. Latvia was a trip that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. If I could relive the same experiences, I would in a heartbeat. Latvia made me come out of my shell and has led me to apply and get accepted into the Peace Corps. I will be serving in Madagascar for two years teaching English. If any student is reading this and is even remotely thinking about studying abroad, my advice is to do it. If your experience is even half as good as mine, it will be worth it.

---

---