The truth about living in Latvia | A foreigner's honest opinion
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2020
- The truth about living in Latvia | An American's point of view. Best Latvia souvenirs: amzn.to/3jHhjEd (affiliate link).
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American reacts to life in Latvia.
A foreigner's view on living in Latvia (Latvian culture, history, food, first impressions, etc.) Living in Latvia vs living in the USA.
Comment below things you love about life in Latvia (Riga, etc.)!
#Latvia #Europe #Travel
this girl knows more about me than i know about myself
💯
Not bad pronunciation either for a foreigner either
Ahaha I felt the same 😂and made me want to go home and drink kvass and pick mushrooms ✅
Shame on you.
D D D D
Labdien, Latviešiem! Tā ir es pirms 7 gadiem. Man pietrūkst Latvijas un es ceru tur atgriezties drīz. Ir lietas ko es mainītos par šo filmu bet man prieks ka jūs vispār domasiet to ko es teicu bija pareizi. Man ļoti patīk jūsu valsts un kultūra ❤️.
Hey we doing good, hope you do as well, thanks for sharing
Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed hearing your experience. As a Latvian, I agree with the most of what you shared. All the best!
@griizinjkalns this video is actually pretty old, I saw it like about 4 years ago .
Thank you Alyssa 🇺🇸 for making this true video about us latvians!
Forši
Being a Latvian almost everything she said really warmed my heart. After this I would definitely talk to you on the bus lol:)
I’m going to Latvia next year to Riga see you then
I’ll come to latvia this December 😊
Delon Rich awe !
Delon Rich nice I live in riga C:
Olivia Arteaga nice i live in riga C:
as a latvian i can say this is pretty accurate
@Your Neighbor uhh meybe
cilvēks uzrakstīja Latviski , bet zinot to ka viņa ir Amerikāniete uzreiz atbildējāt angliski. Tas pats arī ar Krievu valodu :)
Sounds so refreshing to live in a place where people are blunt, sincere, and honest.
This is surprisingly detailed and accurate. Just wondering how long it took to get to know Latvians to this point? Very appreciated taking the time and digging deep regardless.
Cold blooded.. that part is really scary very veryscary
@@eunicemaduabuchiogor3542 It's not scary, don't worry, Latvians van be very warm hearted, but they can be more reserved if they don't know you.
@@eunicemaduabuchiogor3542 that's what I love MOST about Latvia :)
@@eunicemaduabuchiogor3542 I found this hilarious. As an extrovert I wouldn't call myself or any other Latvian cold blooded per se, we just don't mess around. Chit chatting is for friends and family.
@@iggyblitz8739 yes warm when they drunk
She’s so good with her observations, what an amazing memory!
Lithuanians are exactly the same.
This is the best video I've seen about my country and my culture! A very well done and accurate description of how we are and why we are like that, this made me feel very good! Thank you!
I’m Latvian, and you are so right! Thank you for your honest review
as a latvian, i can tell u that ur accurate 100%
Trying to explain all this to my British girlfriend for 10 years now and she still doesn't understand me. She often thinks I'm acting deliberately weird or stand-off'ish when it's literally just a cultural thing. Spot on, this perfectly and I mean PERFECTLY sums up Latvian culture. Nailed it down to a T
How incredibly accurate and respectful description of Latvians. Thank you for this. The only thing I'd like to add is that most of Latvians are pagans even though we don't even conciously identify ourselves as such. We still keep paganic traditions in all the biggest festivities (summer and winter Solistice, Easter) even though many could be baptised in Luteranism.
How interesting. My roommate is Latvian, born in Middle Russia. I love his salads and soup. The best!!
My dad is Latvian and he says he Is Lutheran
It’s been near 15 years since I left Riga and the things she talked about just brought back a lot of fond memories.
As someone who recently moved to Germany from Latvia I've been missing home a lot sometimes. This is the most respectful and accurate description of Latvia/Latvians I've ever heard. I assume it took a lot of time to gain this much knowledge about my country, I agreed with everything she said. I absolutely love my culture, the food is amazing, the nature we have is incredible although it's not the most diverse I love the amount of forests we have and how much we appreciate nature and everything it can give us, I love our folk dances tautu dejas will always have a special place in my heart, our holidays mean so much to me. Līgo is the happiest weekend of the year for me, I love how everyone comes together and celebrates summer solstice staying up all night drinking kvass and eating Jāņu siers. There's so much history to discover in Latvia, we have such beautiful cities, yes the people can be cold at first but when you get to know us you've gained a friend for life. Visiting my home makes me so incredibly happy. Latvia will always be my favourite place on earth. Dievs svētī Latviju!
American here. Never thought about it, but we do throw around "love" quite a bit. Latvia looks awesome, want to visit some day.
I think actually very good insight in our lives. Latvian approved!
i'm a latvian, it is nice of you, to uderstand us.
I’m from the Netherlands and my wife is from Latvia I feel very at home in Latvia we are also a little bit distance and blunt so go good together ❤️ I like the way the Latvia people take care of each other 👍🏼every time I feel like coming home
Very open minded for an American 😃 and fairly knowledgeable about Latvian history
Im Lithuanian, but almost everything i can relate to my country
What about Estonia? Is Lithuanian and Estonian cultures similar to that level too?
@@Arturest obviously not.
@@Arturest Yes there are great cultural similarities, but the language is utterly different.
@@Arturest yes, but LV and LT more alike.
Braliukas 🇱🇻🇱🇹
it's almost surprising how many things we share here in Poland. Greeting to my Baltic brothers from Gdansk
🇱🇻🤝🇵🇱
We all have been part of Russian empire, so we adopted a lot of similarities over the centuries.
9:20 I am watching this in a 2 bedroom apartment on a folded out couch. This lady really knows her stuff.
Latvia Sounds like my kind of place
Seth Gros it’s rlly nice I’m Latvian and Welp it’s not like America there aren’t too many ppl but it gets cold
Prob is I'm from latvia
Really very am hearing about there is really cool
yeah its really peaceful and safe here, the olny danger is like drunk people, some kind of dangerous snake species and bears. Other than that MOST OF THE COUNTRY WHEREVER YOU GO IS JUST FORESTS AND FEILDS I DONT KNOW WHY IT SAYS OLNY 40% OF PEOPLE LIVE IN FEILDS-
@@Meldra_v wait a minute
My mother's family here in Canada (the extended family I grew up with) is Latvian on both sides- my friend listened to this with me, and said " Now I know why you are the way you are!" 😄
You have that cold blood running trough your veins! It helps if you're living in the north 😄
@@kaspars804 it was -28C this morning... 😁
Oh... My grandmother was from Latvia and I visited her every summer, I can still remember traditional food cooked by her and every Līgo celebration.
Thank you for this video. It brought me to that warm memories.
When we say pankukas we usually mean actual pancakes. We just have alot of options when it comes to that, and the stuffed pancakes are really just a more diverse way to food in our eyes
My son came to visit from Australia. After 1 week of driving him around & dining in restaurants & cafeterias in the provinces, he asked if Latvians eat/serve anything other than KARBONĀDES & KARTUPEĻI with fresh tomato, cucumber "salad" drowned in sour cream. I understood the meaning of the question & to prove that there was other types of food available, we drove to Riga ASAP & feasted in Vecrīga for several days in great steak-houses & fine seafood restaurants, as well as others. Disappointingly, for an Aussie in Latgale, the land of rivers & lakes, where I live, still very difficult to find fish dishes, unless its LAŠA STEIKS or LAŠA FILEJA, which comes mostly frozen.
@@jonjaudzems4428 Well it all depends on where you live, i live Right besides lake Burtnieks and here we don't even have good fish resturants. The best place to look for them would definetly be Liepaja. Honestly, id understand how different is Australia compared to our little country, we love our rosoļi xd and honestly preffer simple meals, like Kartupeļi and any good type of meat, with alot of souce and little salad
@@jonjaudzems4428 best fish dishes are near the sea
@@jonjaudzems4428 try Roja
@@Hobitiene Thanks. In the years since, I have found quite a few good seafood places all the way up the coast to KOLKA and all the way down the west coast of Latvia & into Lietuva.
She has such a pleasant voice
Beautiful eyes... Thanks for your insights, very well spoken.
I'm scared she knows too much about me
😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Remarkably observant, highly perceptive, and a good understanding of context, and the variety in human civilizations/cultures.
I am German and I will go to Latvia next year for 10 months. I think Latvians will make me feel like being home. Germans are quite reserved and direct as well.
Honestly yea! Come to Latvia. Its nice here! :D
Yes but we don't drive as well as Germans. I'd suggest thatbyou go to Lido, I am certain you'll find the food there rather familiar
It made me smile. Thank you. It's most precise, best description, to the point
I loved learning this! My grandparents were Latvian and this helped me understand them so much more. I wish they were still here. If I’m wishing for things, I wish I would have taken interest in my heritage when I was younger and they were still around.
I am American and I like the Latvian culture!! I want to retire there!!
Go for it!
Latvia's population is low. And alot of people know english (mostly teens) Im not latvian and i live in latvia and took me like 2/3 years to learn the language but im still not the best at it
go for it! we’d be glad to have you
@@robertaandersone2363 Thank you!
Latvia is a hidden gem in Europe. The amount of authentic old building in Riga is quite impressive.
Latvian culture and its people sounds exactly how Sweden are described as by foreigners. Fascinating!
I wish Surströmming wasn't so expensive here, in Latvia 😂😂😂
I didn’t know about Latvia
I’m so happy to discover more of Latvian culture
I hope I’ll visit Latvia one day😍😍
Half Latvian here, but living in the US. Very proud of my Latvian ancestry! ❤
Thank you for the video, very accurate description. I have been there twice and going again next year, I really enjoy Latvia and the people there.
When I’m called or spoken to I always say “what’s the point to this?/ get to the point” Latvia is for me 😩😅
Latvia has an interesting and at times tragic history. It goes to show you how strong and loved the Latvian culture is as it has survived. My parents are from Germany and Latvia royalty was heavily influenced by Germany so I can see that the food is similar.
We dont have royalty in traditional meaning of this definition. Historically and in mostly cases we did have elected leaders and elders, called in latin chronicles as kings etc.
@@artursbondars7789 vācu muižnieki (german earls ?? smth like that) was a thing
@@yoloswag9746 I mean times when our lands where free from foreign regimes.
@@artursbondars7789 yeah... until Ulmanis the 2nd time was going for that authoritarianism ;)
@@yoloswag9746 2nd time? Yeah... maybe, forgot about him. But for many here in Latgale and Latvia in general, he is perceived as traitor, plus he was never elected to that level of power. Nor he gained the trust of people, especially in Latgale, because of latgalian etnocide.
I am a Norwegian American. Loved this video, sounds so much like the Norwegian culture.
This was wonderful. Thank you! Reminds me of my Latvian grandmother and makes me want to travel to Riga and Liepaja more so now!! ❤️🇱🇻🤍
"if you say it, you better mean it" 😂
I thought we all said because we mean it 🤣🤣😅😅😅😅
@@coolmg7482 Clearly, most of you love building long bridges.
I have recently met a friend from Latvia and this video helps so much thx
This is amazing! For me as a Latvian who now travels around - this seems ar perfect explanation of who we latvians are and what we believe in. Hilarious but genious! Great job!
I agree 100%. Very reserved, rye bread, pagans, don't say I love you unless you are truly in love. Great job!
I wish I lived in Latvia my sister brought back so many cool pics of the beautiful country 😞 I live in Texas
Such a beautiful interview! It's nice to hear that about us. 😊😊
I like the variety of sauces (at least 4-5 sauces at any cafeteria) as well as salads. Vecriga is delicious, coffee is great. Memories, memories... Apart from food, Natural preserves all over the country are worth visiting. Cesis Medieval Festival in summer if you're in for things like this. They even brew authentic bear and bake bread using 14th century recipes.
Great video! Thank you. Just visiting Latvia and this is really helpful to understand locals.
Interesting to listen .. Latvians really are reseved and straight forward... But we are more open now because of tourists - we would definitely help you if you were in need😃.
100% true!
loved this video and this lady . I could listen to her all day
Hiii I'm from Latvia, Liepāja, and just wanted to let you know that this video made me smile
Thank you, very beautifully and precisely said about us Latvians. 🇱🇻 It should also be mentioned that Latvians are a large nation of singers and dancers. Definitely worth look at the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, it is also a part of the UNESCO !
In 2018, 17,000 dancers at the same time took part in the folk dance concert "Māras zeme", and 12,000 singers + orchestras and dance groups took part in the closing concert "Zvaigžņu ceļā".
In 2023, a 150th anniversary of Latvian Song and Dance Festival will take place in Riga - it will be impressive!
Interesting!
I am from the Netherlands and used to live for a while in Riga. Being a dark skin girl in Riga was one of the weirdest experiences I've had. Everyone out in the streets was staring so much. I did not know what they were thinking.
If I was waiting at a busstop and a bus came by, everyone on the bus was turning their heads to stare. I was just standing there smiling and waving back 😅🤣.
Imagine a full cinema with the movie Django unchained, and being the only dark skin person in that room. I was like: okaayyyy this is strange 🤣.
But actually I do love Riga. And the Latvian persons that I have met were so warm and nice and friendly once we get to know each other. We had a lot of fun and huggs. Such a different feeling.
Im actually ashamed of a lot of people in Latvia.. Even being Latvian, I honestly don't mind what type of skin color you have, I care about the ✨ personality✨! Like how you act against me :)
So true, so precise and funny 😊 thanks!
This is a great video that sums us up so well! It’s so interesting to see how we are viewed through the eyes of others/Americans.
It’s also funny that I resonate with that description so well. I didn’t know I’m superstitious until I moved to the US (an international community in US) and people were laughing at me.
These are old Baltic, Slavic, + Central European traditions. I was raised to be cautious of needlessly flowery language & gestures. It's considered insulting / insincere. I'm 60 & have lived in the US for 56 yrs!
We were Ashkenazi Bulgarian Polish Romanian mix, by way of Israel.
Yes a very turbulent history. I was in Riga for a number of months in the early 90s and then briefly a few years ago, a very interesting place, beautiful wildness.
Having worked with a lot of Polish, Lithuainian, Latvian and Romanian people in the UK....a lot of British people think they are rude, stand-offish or just plain aggressive. They haven't spent enough time around them. Once you work alongside them in difficult jobs, their culture makes way more sense. They tend to be very functional in language with people that aren't part of their homestead, they tend to talk in flat-facts. Some people take that personally. They don't. Just get the job done so we can all go home to the bits of life we actually care about. I've seen so many Brits on the job getting bent out of shape because a Pole said "get that done, now." But here's the secret...get the job done and you'll get them to rely on you, and that's two of the five-million steps it takes to get them to trust you.
Thanks for very thoughtful video!
I have been in love with this country for a long time, I am a Latino and I would love to know what they will think about us. I hope to go one day and have a serious relationship with some Latvian girl.
Cold & honest - spoken like a true Latvian :D
But seriously tho - wow! That was far more precise & thorough than I expected. Usually, these kinds of videos are superficial and lighthearted.
I'll be living in Latvia for 5 months, I'm really looking forward to it!
I hope you will enjoy your time in Latvia. :)
I’ll come to latvia on December
You'd be in for some culture shock 😂😂
Get ready for a good time
@@delonrich8466 dont freeze🥶 the best time to come in latvia is summer
So true, I'm latvian living in Canada, can say one of most accurate and honest reviews. You're so humble and sweet👍
I love this lady. 🥰🇨🇦🇱🇻. Bravo..you are very knowledgeable of the history.Paldise
This was very well done, with a lot of interesting detail. I like people who are straightforward so I might like it there.
I m from Estonia 🇪🇪Tallinn ,but I like it to be in Riga
Love this point of view! As a Latvian! Great video and spiting facts!
I like to call things what they are and sincerity is highly important to me and I'm only 1/16th.
During my time in particular part of UK I thought people to be very superficial. When Brits ask ‘how are you’ it took me a few years to realize they don’t really wanna know and “word salad” was common. Until you live there long enough and start behaving the same way.
Hello from Poland. I freaking love Latvia. I think it will grow faster economically than other european countries.
This was really interesting to listen to!
Wow, this is very precise!
The speaker has it all; nice voice, attractive, well informed, charming.
latvia looks a lovely place
.. can't wait to visit later this year 🤗
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES SO HELLA ACCURATE. I think it is the first time I hear such an accurate description. gg. well done
Saying I love you is something you say to your lover or spouse. Not so much to a friend or even a relative. Not crosswind, but draft is not good nor is icewater, especially in cool/cold weather!
The way you said - trīs kungi...I rewatch that part 3 times, because IT WAS PERFECT! You pronounce it much better than we do...and I'm Latvian :D Nice
Ty alot for review! As Latvian i shall admit you got sharp eye!
Great job on this interview She speaks really well.
Hi, latvian here. You forgot mentioning french, danish and polish ... Polish rule in Latgale was one of the worst times in our history. Of course there were also other groups who invaded our lands in ancient times, as archaeological and other records show. But that isn't important. Thank You about trying understand us. :)
Polish was one of the worst? What exactly made it so bad? I am genuinely interested since I didn't know about it.
@@VonKrauzer Hi! It's a complicated answer to explain in couple of sentences. But it's related to many wars in that period, partition of latvian/latgalian lands, polonization (beside russification and germanization), destruction of centuries old latvian way of life by polish pans and church, serfdom, introduction of vices throu warious ways.
If you are iterested to now more, more precisely, let me know.
@@artursbondars7789 sure, I'd like to know more. I do know that Poles did polonisation virtually to all people in PLC, and then after they got Independence, but Latvia, or more precisely Kourland, was a vassal state to PLC, not a direct province?
@@VonKrauzer Yes, but there was also Ducatus Livoniae Ultradunensis (in latin), later in Eastern part Inflantijas vaivadija (in latvian).
As I mentioned earlier our land was divided in many parts. Where in some life was more "better" and in some even worse.
🤣 some of the stuff is the same as in Germany...rest is more like Finns :))
everytime an American makes a video about a country I feel the closeness of our European cultures and people ❤️ love you guys out there!
3rd Gen Latvian in the US. I see a lot of overlap with my personality with those spoken of in this video. nice to know i'm not so removed from the motherland!
Me too! Not many of us here in the US.
@@honeybadgerknockoutbadgers9642 do your parents still know the language?
@@tomsmarcinkevicus9314 My Mother and my Uncles and Aunt do.
We are the last pagans in Europe :)
We always mean what we are saying. Sometimes it is hard to understand other West European culture that they do not mean what they are saying.
Actually the Samis were/are the last pagans.
Isn't Latvia 60% Christian?
@@aclark903 no less 30%
That´s a good thing. When Americans come to the Czech Republic, they usually say similar stuff about us. That we are reserved at first, cold, but once you get to know somebody it´s a completely different story. Well, depends, I wish it was completely true. But yeh, when somebody calls me, I go "hey, what do you need?" And...I am ready to help..
@@aclark903 yeah, because at some point a German fellow told us that we were christian.
Couldn't be more spot on!!
O, wow. This is so true!
Thank you for being so objective and don't forget that being the way you are has worth. I mean there is no need to try and cut all small talk and stuff. Just be yourself and people will embrace you.
Yeah. Latvia rewards you differently. Thank you for sharing. Wish you all the best :)
Latvia is poor with its natural resources but seems to have a friendly warm baltic people in the region,greetings from Iran
It’s very very very accurate. Well done!
Wery good observation. We say what we mean and mean what we say👌😁👍
I've recently started learning the Latvian language and so this video helps me better understand the Latvian people. They sound like very nice people and perhaps after I master the language I would like to go to Latvia to meet the people in person. Thank you for this most interesting video.
Beautiful talk. I kind of felt she was talking about estonians too. Greets from Liivimaa
The directness for americans is more or less valid for all of nothern europe
6:54 I love kvass, it is by far my favorite drink, ever! Baig forši!
Thank you this was really good.
Yep, you pretty much everything is spot on. An obviously - we value the honesty of your opinion :)