Hello again,

I hope you all received the recent message from me that was forwarded by my sister, Barb.  I just wanted to clarify my email situation, since there seems to be some confusion.  For the time being, I am still using my account at skdbr@yahoo.com.  I am working on getting a better setup in Mazsalaca, but have not had any luck so far.  In the interim, I am able to use the computers at the college in Valmiera.  The reason I have Barb forward these group messages is that Yahoo mail is very slow, and also has limitations on the number of messages I can send at one time.  So it is easier and quicker for Barb to send my group message.  But you can still write to me individually at skdbr@yahoo.com. Skaidrs?  (Latvian for "clear." :-)

That said, I'll tell you a little bit about my week, which has been great. Last Sunday I went for a 2-hour hike in the woods near my house.  First through Skanaiskalns Park, along the river, and then onto regional lands that aren't a park, but have trails through them.  In the park there are lots of oak, maple, and linden trees, along with pines, so it was very beautiful and aromatic with the scent of fall.  Geese flying overhead added to the ambiance.  Once I left the park the forest was mainly pine trees, and the ground underneath springy and mossy.

The spirit of fall is everywhere, in the color of the leaves, the smell of woodsmoke, and the shortening days.  Last week was the Equinox.  It is called Mikelis in Latvia, and used to be a 3-day harvest celebration, with a big market, festivals, and thanksgiving and fertility rituals.  Now it is not widely celebrated, but there are remnants.  One day at the elementary school the students held a Fall Market.  Students brought or made things to sell for a few santimes (about 2 cents), and some were  in costume.  It was quite festive walking from room to room, students and teachers browsing the wares.  There were small bags of popcorn, waffle cones and other pastries, apples, carrots, fresh and dried flower arrangements, other handcrafts, and used toys.  I bought an acorn-apple seed-and dried flower bracelet, some flowers, some pastries, and some huge carrots!  It was a lot of fun.     Yesterday at school was another fall event, a Wind Poem performance. About 200 students from grades 5-12 sat in chairs in the hall, around an unlit bonfire decorated with colored leaves.  My Latvian tutor, Merika, was the leader, and she spoke some words about the wind.  Then a few students from each class came up in turn, stood around the "fire,"and recited poems about the wind.  Another student played violin in between poems.  At the end some teachers also spoke about "their"wind.  It was quite moving to see the children reciting the poems, and how quietly (most of) the rest listened.  There seems to be a real reverence for artistic expression among them.  It was nice for me to see another side of some of my rowdier students, solemly reciting a poem about the wind!

 The next holiday is Martins, which is in November.  Until then, it is "Mist Time,"when the souls of departed family return--during the misty mornings and at dusk--to check on their loved ones and see how they are doing.  The tradition used to be to put food out in a barn for these "souls" but that isn't done much anymore.  Merika is in charge of all the traditional celebrations at the school, and knows about all the Latvian celebrations, so I'm learning a lot from her about these things, which is great.

I am all unpacked and moved in to my apartment, and feeling more at home every day.  So far I have made a yummy potato and squash curry, some white bean and pasta soup, and scones.  My kitchen still needs some equipment (I had to mix the scones in my wash basin), but mostly everything is great.  The weather has been quite warm, so it isn't too hard not having heat yet.  I have used the space heater a few times at night when I am working in the den.  Only having hot water on Wednesday and Saturday night doesn't seem to be a problem either. I can heat small amounts of water for washing up, and save my laundry and bathing for the hot water days.  Once the heat "goes on" I'll have hot water all the time.  (I think we need to have three days in a row of temps below 0C before they start heating.)  The building, like most here, is heated by a wood-fired boiler, with hot water pumped through pipes.  There are piles of wood everywhere.  The school is also heated this way, and there are great piles of wood out back in readiness for winter.

Many of you have asked me for "care package" suggestions.  There will be an ongoing list on my web page, but since that's still under development, I thought I would respond a bit here.  What I like the most is to hear from you, of course, and to get personal things from home, like photographs and artwork. Also, a cassette letter from the children would be good.  My kitchen and office are already graced with artwork from some of my younger friends and relatives. Since it looks like cooking will be one of my main forms of entertainment, food and cooking-related things would be good.  I can get some herbs and spices here, but they are expensive and not always very fresh.  I haven't been able to find dried sage or rosemary at all.  Other things I can't get: maple syrup, vanilla extract, vegetable buillion cubes.  I can get Chinese soy sauce, but miss soy products like shoyu, tofu and miso.  Some miso cup instant soup would be great.  Also, vegetarian recipes and/or cookbooks.  I have _Joy of Cooking_ here, which is a great reference.  But I need more ideas on cooking with grains and root vegetables without using exotic ingredients.  And herb teas, especially Yogi Lemon Ginger Tea.

 For my house, anything to brighten it up would be nice.  Some towels, things for the walls (posters, pictures).  My bathroom has grey tile walls and a light green/turquoise tub.  My kitchen is turquoise and light yellow.  And for me, things to keep me warm around the house; music (cassettes or CDs); nice-smelling things like candles or incense; interesting things to read.

I also want to remind you to send realia when you can: English-language things from daily life that I can use in my classes, like: menus, applications, brochures, and schedules.

Well, that should be enough to keep you busy for a while :-)

I think I mentioned that I was going to go to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, for a meeting next weekend on my birthday (I'm on the Peace Corps Volunteer Advisory Council for the Baltics).  As it turns out, the meeting has been moved to the following weekend.  So I am going to Riga next weekend instead.  I'm going to stay at a small hotel in the old city and be a tourist for a day.  This means that I may not be checking email for a few weeks, and won't be at home on the weekends.  But feel free to write, send email, or call during the week.  I'd love to hear from you!

That's all for now.

Visu labu,

Sarah