![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d22dvihj4pfop3.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2025\/07\/15152431\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-28-at-3.55.31-PM-1-225x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/strong><\/p>\nWhy did you chose Latvia?<\/strong><\/p>\n I choose this country, because I\u2019m interested in the similarities between Latvian mythology and Japanese mythology. Also, I belonged to choir in my Japanese school, and I watched some video of song and dance festival on YouTube.<\/p>\n I love Riga so much! It\u2019s a capital city, but you can see green trees and grassfield even in the city center. All architectures are super beautiful and romantic, I was so surprised even if fast food restaurants were in those really historical buildings. What are the things you like the most about Latvia?<\/strong> K\u0101 tu atkl\u0101ji kori un k\u0101 tu juties, piedaloties Skol\u0113nu Dziesmu un Deju sv\u0113tkos?<\/strong><\/p>\n Tas bija jaud\u012bgi, br\u012bnumaini skaisti un jautri. Es biju braukusi uz Latviju ar m\u0113r\u0137i piedal\u012bties \u0161ajos grandiozajos sv\u0113tkos. Man \u012bpa\u0161i pat\u012bk dziesma \u201cGaismas pils\u201d.<\/p>\n Dom\u0101jot par to, k\u0101 Latvija tapa \u2014 k\u0101 t\u0101 tika veidota caur tautas asin\u012bm, ap\u0146\u0113m\u012bbu un cer\u012bb\u0101m visa v\u0113stures gait\u0101 \u2014 nav br\u012bnums, ka latvie\u0161iem ir tik dzi\u013ca aizraut\u012bba ar Dziesmu sv\u0113tkiem.Esmu \u013coti lepna, ka var\u0113ju tajos piedal\u012bties un k\u013c\u016bt par mazu da\u013ci\u0146u no \u0161\u012bs v\u0113stures.<\/p>\n What is your favourite memory with your host family?<\/strong> What have you learned thanks to this year in Latvia?<\/strong> What has surprised you the most in Latvia?<\/strong> How did you discover choir? How do you feel while singing on song and dance festival?<\/strong> When Ai from Japan chose Latvia as her exchange destination, she had no idea how deeply this experience would move…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nUnlike in Japan, the sunlight here is so gentle. I loved walking through Riga while the sky was still bright on summer afternoons, enjoying cool air. In winter, I was enchanted by the fairytale-like scenery, with Art Nouveau buildings covered in white. It was a bit too cold for me, though.<\/p>\n
My favorite part of Latvia is always events !
\nIn Japan, we have a lot of national holidays, but we rarely celebrate them. In contrast, in Latvia, everyone celebrates national holidays in really traditional way. I firmly respect the attitude of people loving this country, and trying to inherit those cultures to upcoming generations.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d22dvihj4pfop3.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2025\/07\/15135521\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-28-at-3.55.32-PM-300x225.jpeg\")
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My host family always means to me that I have a place to come back whatever happens to me. They kindly answered all of my questions, no matter how stupid questions are. I experienced almost all of the traditional events together with them. One of my favorite memories is when we went to J\u016brkalne for l\u012bgo. We picked flowers in a wide meadow, made flower crowns and took pictures, and watched the setting sun together from the seaside! It was one of the most beautiful days of my whole entire life.<\/p>\n
I learned to believe in myself. Before this exchange, it was hard for me to be confident, I\u2019m afraid of making mistakes, even if they are just small and trivial. However here in Latvia, so many times I had to get out from my comfortable zone and try something new and unfamiliar. Always in the beginning it seemed difficult, but once you try and do your best to reach goals, there\u2019s nothing that you can\u2019t achieve.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d22dvihj4pfop3.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2025\/07\/15152740\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-28-at-3.55.31-PM-2-169x300.jpeg\")
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Latvians put sour cream on all sorts of food\u2014even at McDonald\u2019s, they sell sour cream, which was unthinkable to me coming from Japan. At first, I was really surprised, but now I honestly can\u2019t live without it.
\nAnd when it comes to sour cream, there are so many different kinds! Every time I go to the supermarket, I find myself struggling to decide which one to buy.<\/p>\n
\nIt was so intense and amazingly beautiful and fun. I almost came to this exchange in order to participate this grandiose festival. I especially love the song \u201cGaismas pils\u201d.
\nThinking about how Latvia came to be how it was built through the blood, determination, and hopes of its people over the course of history. No surprise that Latvian\u2019s passion for the Song Festival runs so deep. I am so proud of taking part in it this time and becoming a small part of that history.
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