Lettland

Söngur og skógur í samhljómi

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Respect for and preservation of the long crystal-clear coastline and vast forests that cover most of the territory have enabled Latvia to achieve top rankings in world indices of sustainability and environmental performance in recent years.
Its capital Riga, the largest city among the three Baltic republics, has been dubbed “the Paris of the North” for its beauty and vibrancy, and is experiencing a tourism boom because of it. Latvian is the official language, although over twenty-five years after the end of Soviet occupation Russian remained popular among those who were forced to study it.

Family

Host families with AFS are voluntarily hosting, come from all kinds of socio-economic backgrounds and can be very different from each other.
Host families can be either Latvian or Russian-speaking, and they are often quite large.

As AFS Latvia also extends to Lithuania, it is possible that host families could be found there, too.

Sometimes, several generations of the same family live under the same roof. This enables traditions to be maintained and helps to explain the great respect for elders within this culture.
Although families may be large, apartments are generally average in size and it is not uncommon for foreign students to share a room with their host siblings.
Meals are an important time for socialising for many families, and according to cultural tradition, meals and tea are the ultimate expression of proverbial Latvian hospitality.

School

Students are placed in the final years of high schools that teach in Latvian, except for language classes.

During breaks, some students may speak to each other in Russian, so participants must be motivated to learn both languages. School starts in early September and runs from Monday to Friday, usually between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. The school year is divided into two semesters, with a 2–3 week Christmas break in between. It ends between late May and early June.
As well as having the chance to try their hand at well-known Latvian choral songs and folk dances, students may be able to take part in a variety of extracurricular activities.
Although Latvian peers may initially seem shy, they prove to be open, sociable and curious with a little initiative, and making friends with them becomes very easy.

Culture

The official language of Latvia is Latvian, a Baltic language that is one of the oldest living Indo-European languages. It uses the Latin alphabet and has a rich system of grammatical cases and inflection. Latvian is known for its melodious sound and complex grammar, with three dialects spoken across different regions of the country. While Latvian is the primary language in government, education, and media, many Latvians also speak Russian, especially among the older population, and English is increasingly common among younger generations. The preservation and promotion of Latvian language and culture are important aspects of national identity.

Skoða skiptinám í Lettland