Every semester, we welcome a lot of students from different countries who come to Latvia to learn Russian in the framework of the project “Learn Russian in the European Union”. In our today’s article, we’d like to tell you about our transfer services from Riga to Daugavpils: how we meet students at the airport, and what students see and learn about Latvian culture on the way to Daugavpils.

Arrival

When students arrive at Riga airport, a representative of the project meets them at the arrivals and takes them to the shuttle bus. Our representative always holds a sign which says “Learn Russian in the European Union” and has our logo on it. Students’ arrival times might differ, but we always wait for everyone to arrive. If there is only one student arriving at the airport we send a car to pick them up at the airport. The project’s representative is responsible for organizing transfer services, meeting students at the airport, accompanying them during their trip from Riga to Daugavpils, and taking them to their host families.

On the way to Daugavpils

After students have been met at the airport, they go to Lido to have lunch. Lido is a restaurant and a recreation center in Riga. Students usually love this place as they might choose any food they want, try Latvian traditional food, as well as enjoy the atmosphere.

After that, the bus takes our students to the cafe-museum “Dakota” which is located in a small city of Ciemupe in Ogre region.  The owner of the cafe collects military stuff and puts the exhibits on the walls, but in the back yard there is an exposition of military vehicles. It’s one of our traditions to take students to the cafe. Students usually get so much impressed with the cafe, that when they come to Latvia again they always ask to visit it once more. And they often bring little presents for the owner.

Our next stop is “Liepkalni”. It’s a bakery where they make and sell various types of bread, confectionery, rolls, pies, cookies, etc. Here, students might try Latvian traditional pastries.

The trip from Riga to Daugavpils with its short excursions usually takes the whole day. When we arrive in Daugavpils, we take students to their host families where they’re going to stay during the whole semester and learn Russian. The main advantage of staying with a host family is that a foreign student has a unique opportunity to learn Russian in everyday situations.

Well, that’s all about how we meet students at the airport and take them to Daugavpils. If you have any questions leave them in the comment section.