The quick snapshot
Stay details
Host family home
Name: My host parents’ house
Area: Iļģuciems, Riga
What I liked: Everything. This was not just a place to stay — it was the place that made the whole experience what it was. My host parents became real parents for me, and the home itself became tied to safety, growth, learning, and so much love. It is one of the most meaningful places in my life.
What I didn’t: Nothing at all. This part of the experience was one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given.
Weekend trip stay
Name: Weekend hotel in Palanga / Liepāja trip
Area: Palanga / Liepāja
What I liked: Getting to branch out from Riga and see more of the Baltic coast made the whole summer feel even bigger. Weekend trips like this added so much texture to the experience.
What I didn’t: Nothing major — this part just felt like an extra layer of adventure built into an already incredible summer.
Getting there
Travel: Flew with school
Travel cost: $0.00
Rental car: None
Arrival notes: Arrival was so easy because my host parents picked me up and immediately made me feel welcomed. They gave me a tour of the town, and there were people everywhere in traditional Latvian dress for the Song and Dance Festival, which made the very first impression feel especially beautiful and unforgettable.
Recommendation: I am too old for study abroad now, but it was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I would recommend a summer like this to just about any young person willing to throw themselves into something new.
Little pieces of that summer
Statue in Old Town titled The Ghost, which represents what the ghost might me hiding in relation to what we hide within ourselves.
The most beautiful church after a day exploring Cesis.
House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a richly decorated landmark in Old Town. Originally built in 1334, it served as a lively gathering place and banquet hall for the Brotherhood of the Blackheads—a guild of wealthy, unmarried foreign merchants and shipowners.
Latvian Parliament field trip.
According to local legend, the wealthy Latvian merchant who owned the building was denied membership in the prestigious, German-dominated Great Guild located across the street. To spite them, he placed the two cat statues on his roof with their rear ends aimed directly at the guild hall. This provocative gesture sparked a lawsuit, which resulted in the cats being turned around to face the guild, as they remain today.
Church walls, cloudy skies, and the kind of Old Town corners I'll always return to. Just around this corner was Ogle Pizza, which was to die for.
A computer screen on the parliament field trip that showcased the current world news.
Everyday Riga streets slowly becoming familiar.
The big pink church directly outside my school. Just outside the frame of this photo is the cafe where we ate lunch at every day. This was my everyday view for the summer.
Maxima store just a few minutes from home. Zoom in to see the tentacles! Since we were right on the Baltic sea, seafood was pretty popular. Fun fact: you can tell how big a Maxima (market) is based on how many X's are in the name. Maxima = small, Maxxima = medium, Maxxxima = large.
"Infected" sign on a mannequin wearing a nuclear warfare protection suit.
One of the largest markets in Europe, Riga Central Market.
Celebrating Anya's graduation with some champagne and fried ice cream!
View from inside the KGB museum. Truly a horrific site. Other photos from this field trip have been redacted from the blog because of how upsetting they are.
Statue from the Latvian Occupation Museum.
Cesis Castle, because Latvia never runs out of amazing stuff to explore.
Abandoned Riga Airport mural.
Zoom in to see the reflection of Madison and I on a night on the town. While I can't write about the hilarious memories we made this night, you'll have to trust that I will remember it forever.
My soul sister from another mister.
Three of the most important people to me at the time on the Liepaja pier.
Ice skating with Izzy after school. Izzy went on to do another year with NSLI-Y in Kyrgystan!
50 shots for 25 cents! Note the Iphone screwed into the bar.
The slight shaking of the train can lull me to sleep even today. I gained the special skill of being able to wake up right before I had to get off after having taken the route from home to Jurmala (the beach) so often.
A pizza that deserved documentation. Pickles, onions, bbq sauce, and chicken.
A regular breakfast for me that I've adopted back home. It'll never be as good here as it was when it was made with such love by Olga.
Lavender fields and family, which is a pretty perfect combination.
Climbing through the narrow stairwells of the Cesis castle by torchlight..
Potato pancakes (Draniki) and plum smoothie. Seriously delicious. Latvia is the only place on Earth that has been able to match my love for sour cream.
Russian lessons, classroom routines, and the reason I was there in the first place.
Salmon, salad, and potatoes for dinner with the parentals.
One of the many guest speakers who took the learning beyond the classroom.
Madison and I dipping our toes into more history. While we definitely played hard, we also worked hard! ;)
History coming alive in the most hands-on way possible.
Movie-night smiles with the people who made the trip fun. We watched Oppenheimer the week it came out on the biggest screen you can imagine!
Latvian national library!
Posters, streets, and all the layered texture of the city.
Just looking at this photo brings me back to the warm summer night and the strawberry margaritas we ahd right before this. We couldn't figure out why we weren't able to understand the singer at the concert behind us. It was a Polish concert. We bought Latvian flags that night and waved them around as we walked the streets of Old Town.
We woke up early to kayak! Not only was the Latvian countryside absolutely stunning, it reminded me of the times with my family going up the river channels in the 100 degree summers on our pontoon boat.
Swimming at my aunt and uncles house and pretending I could live in this version of life forever.
Real travel: stairs, luggage, backpacks, and making it work. Luckily, I had my very strong host papa, Vitaly. He said American girls shouldn't carry bags;)
The girls who made Latvia feel less far from home.
A playground moment, because we can't be professional all of the time.
In ground trampoline at a park right beside our house.
One of my absolute favorite meals. Everything that Olga made was delicious. Not to mention, Vitaly's kebabs (shashliks) that I still dream about.
Traditional American-Girl-Studying-In-Latvia-Dinner with friends.
Wild and free in Riga
Shortly after being picked up selfies to show my parents I had landed safely. I had no idea how much these people would mean to me over the next few months.
The best papa and uncle, portrying the "Classic Russian Man"
One of our mentors, Peter from New York. This dude was a master class on how to navigate scary travel situations and how to make friends become family abroad. He was killer at Russian and one of the most interesting people I've ever met.
A motto for the summer.
Underground bar in Old Town.
A group photo on the last day of school.
Latvian peace on the Daugava river.
He is the reason I'm so good at billiards now.
Learning history in rooms where it felt impossible to ignore.
The Riga Freedom Monument
The airport arrival moment, suitcases and all.
This photo was taken at 3 a.m.!
Exploring
The familiar face that became one of the best parts of the whole story.
Exploring an old KGB underground bunker.
Wall sits to experience what the prisoners had gone through
A scratched-up wall of names, proof that people are always trying to leave something behind. One of the notes states "I want to go home."
Wind turbines, big skies, and one more view I wanted to keep.
The flavors I remember most
What I remember
This was not one single restaurant memory. It was finger sandwiches from Olga after a long travel day, market snacks, fresh bread, little cafés, cherries, pizza with friends, and meals that became part of the rhythm of living there.
Food in Latvia felt tied to daily life more than vacation highlights. It was not just what I ate — it was who I ate with, what language I was trying to speak, and which street I was learning to recognize on the way home.
Little food memories
- Old Town always seemed to have something worth trying.
- The markets made the city feel alive, local, and familiar.
- Family meals with my host parents became some of the warmest parts of the summer.
- Some of the best memories came from ordinary meals on ordinary days.
What made this summer unforgettable
Riga
Main experience: Living in Riga, learning the city, learning the language, and slowly letting it become one of the most beloved places in my entire life.
Best part: Riga became my favorite city on Earth. The architecture, the history, the feeling of Old Town — it all felt deep, beautiful, and full of life.
Worth repeating? Forever
The people
Main experience: Building a real relationship with my host parents and finding a sense of family so far from home.
Best part: They became real parents to me, and that kind of love changed the emotional shape of the entire trip.
Worth repeating? More than anything
Weekend trips
Main experience: Exploring places like Jūrmala, Cēsis, and the Baltic coast on weekend trips that made the whole summer feel even richer.
Best part: Realizing how much Latvia and the surrounding region had to offer beyond just one city.
Worth repeating? Absolutely
What changed in me
Main experience: Discovering travel in a real way for the first time and understanding just how much the world has to offer.
Best part: This summer introduced me to a bigger life. It made me braver, more curious, and more open to the idea that home can exist in more than one place.
Worth repeating? It already echoes through everything I do now