Greetings from Latvia.

Something very special happened today:  the sun shone into my living room window for about an hour shortly after it rose.  Of course, the sun shining at all is a rare thing this winter, but lately we have been seeing more of it.  The big change was that it actually came into my window, for the first time since last October.  The changes in the sun's path are quite marked here, and in the winter it only makes a fairly low arc in the southern sky.  Because my window faces northeast, that means it doesn't come in at all for about four months of the year.  I do get sun in the kitchen window, which is on the opposite side of the building, but the living room stays pretty dark.  So even though the temperature is hovering around zero Fahrenheit and the ground is covered with snow, there's proof that spring is on the way.

Even though there was less sunshine, this winter has been a bit easier than the last.  I'm more settled in my teaching work and my routines around the house and town.  And I've been making more of an effort to get out and do things in Valmiera or Riga so I have a bit more of a social life this year.  Still, school does take up most of my time. Even though I have fewer classes to teach this year there is still plenty to do, and I find that I routinely work more than 8 hours a day.

Shortly after Christmas we found out that the grant proposal Agita and I wrote during our fall break in October had been approved.  This was a request for about $2300 from Latter Day Saints Charities to buy dictionaries and language reference books for the classrooms.  Since so much time had passed since we submitted the proposal we had assumed we didn't get it, so it was quite a surprise to find out we were successful.  Now we are finding that writing the proposal is much less work than implementing it.  Finding the best prices for the books we want to purchase has been quite a task.  We've been working with the major bookstores in Riga and Valmiera, a bookstore in the UK, and online sources.  And then there are issues related to distribution:  which books will go in which rooms, where will we get locking cabinets, will the books be part of the library's collection and under their control, or part of our still-incubating resource center.   All of this activity is a learning process for the school personnel and, it seems, for some of the bookstores.  One bookstore in Riga told us they couldn't give us a firm price on the books we want, only what the price was the last time they ordered them.  We would have to order the books and then pay for them when they arrived without knowing what the exact price would be ahead of time!

The experience of implementing this grant is illustrative of how my experience of Latvia has evolved over the past year and a half.  When I first arrived, I spent a lot of time learning about traditional Latvian culture: folklore, holidays, customs, and about the natural environment.  This was partly because these things interest me.  But I also am aware that I was doing something that many exiled Latvians are accused of doing:  focusing on Latvia of the past rather than the present.  Now that I have been here for a while and have had to go through various processes of living, working, and doing business, the realities of present-day Latvia are much more apparent to me.  Of course, the traditional activities and beliefs are still there, and they are an important part of the foundation of Latvian society.  But now I am working to better understand the modern-day issues and struggles of Latvia and its people.  This is not an easy task.  It's hard to describe the complexities involved in trying to build a capitalist, democratic country based on Western European and American values, after five decades of Soviet occupation and a centralized economy.  So many things have had to be invented or refashioned:  the parliamentary government, the judiciary, the medical system, education, the whole process of making, buying, and selling goods.  And that's just the short list. When you think about it, it's amazing what has been accomplished in just ten years.  But there are still serious problems.  People sit in jail for months waiting for a trail.  National education policies are routinely changed, causing confusion and more work for school administrators and teachers.  Corruption in the government leads to cynicism and mistrust from the people.  Expensive goods are flooding in from all over Europe as countries try to exploit the new market.  Yet most people do not have the money to even think of buying the things they see every day in shop windows.  And the drain of talented people from rural areas to Riga and the other large cities continues.  As the euphoria of independence fades, some people forget the things they didn't like about being in the Soviet Union, and just remember that everyone had a job and money back then (even though the stores had nothing on the shelves to buy).

Sometimes I feel impatient with the materialism that I see all around me.  Most people aren't thinking about building a civil society, about the foundations that are needed.  Things like volunteerism, community organizations, personal responsibility.  They don't see that part of America or other European countries on TV--all they see is the high standard of living that they think everyone else enjoys.  It's a tricky thing.  Even with all its problems, I have gained a better appreciation of US society after being in Latvia.  But US society began to develop hundreds of years ago when the population was much smaller and life was simpler, and has evolved along with technology and population growth. Latvia and other emerging nations have the challenge of trying to build foundations when things are moving so quickly that it's difficult to stand still long enough to sink a post.   And the pressure from other countries is great:  everyone seems to have their idea of the what kind of government, military,  and economy Latvia should have.  It's frustrating to see these pressures limiting the amount of innovation that takes place.  There isn't time to sit back and think:  what does Latvia have, how can it best be developed?  What is best for Latvia? Instead, big companies from Europe and the US come in and impose their models here.   One of my pet peeves is the lack of emphasis on organic agriculture.  It's an emerging market in Europe, and Latvia is perfectly situated to exploit that market.  Labor-intensive agriculture is the norm here, where there are more people than machines, and farmers don't have money for chemicals.  But most people are just looking to consolidate farms, and find money for machinery and chemicals.  Well, here I am doing the same thing--saying what I think is best for Latvia...  As I said, it's a complex situation, and difficult to put into words.  You have to live here to experience it.  But I hope that I have at least managed to get across some of the issues in this short discussion.

As is usual for Peace Corps volunteers, just when I become adjusted to being here, it will be time for me to leave.  School will be over in three short months.  I'll have June and part of July to work on the resource center project and some other projects, and then my service will end around July 20th.  Right now I'm planning to go to Russia with Valentina for a few weeks after that, and travel around Latvia a bit, and then head back to the States in late August or early September.  If all goes well and I am accepted into the graduate program at the Centre for Human Ecology in Edinburgh, I'll be starting school there in January 2002.  So I'll have the fall months to travel around the US and visit people before I head out again.  I'll write more about the CHE program and my reasons for wanting to do it if/when I know that I've been accepted.

For now I'm trying to stay focused on the present and make the most of the time I have left with my students and colleagues.  It is gratifying to see the improvement in the language skills of the people I have been working with, and to see that my being here has been a positive thing for them.  It has also been positive for me, although sometimes it has been hard for me to see that.  I can't say that it has been fun, but it has been incredibly interesting and challenging.  I have been learning about myself as well as Latvia; about what is important to me; about the kinds of things I have to offer people.  And I have learned what wealth I have in the people who have shown me so much caring and support. Everywhere I turn, my apartment is full of reminders of family and friends: the kitchen cupboards, the bathroom shelf, the living room bookshelves, my desk, the walls, the letter basket, my clothes closet: daily reminders of love and friendship coming my way.  I think this lesson is the one I'm the most grateful for.  I can't wait to see you all in person next fall and give you very big hugs!

I know it's been a while since I sent a newsletter or updated my web site; the seasonal slow-down affected me quite a bit this year.  But I feel my energy levels increasing with the returning sun, and I hope to be more productive in the months to come.

I hope the winter has been a good one for you, and that you are also seeing signs of the renewal of spring.

Visu labu,

Sarah

p.s.  If you want to experience Latvia in person, I'd love to show you around.  Estonia is also just a short drive from my place.  Aside from the airfare to get here, it's a very inexpensive region to visit.  I'm busy the first half of June, but after that the calendar's open.