NSLI-Y 2025 Latvia – Week 6
Привет from Latvia one last time! We cannot believe the program is officially over. We are Abby and Jonathon, the Resident Directors writing for the last time this summer. We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each and every student in the cohort, all 18 of whom are such special, talented, intelligent, and kind young adults. We are so proud of them and of how they have grown over the summer — not only in their Russian skills, but as people, as well. For both of us, this experience has been quite exciting and enriching. It has been inspiring to see the students, who started with little to no knowledge of Russian, being able to speak, read, write, and present in Russian during their culminating projects.
This week was full of activities and “lasts.” On Monday, the students had their last RD meeting, where they dedicated their time to working on their culminating projects they would present later in the week. This RD meeting was devoted to helping prepare the students for their culminating projects. For this project the students had to prepare a five-minute presentation in Russian on a topic of their choosing. The information they would present had to be based on at least six interviews conducted with the people of Latvia. As you could probably tell, the students needed a considerable knowledge of Russian to both conduct the interviews and create their presentation. Much of the work they have done in their classes was in preparation for these culminating project presentations.
On Tuesday, the NSLI-Y students premiered the short films that they had scripted and filmed with their peer partners over the last two weeks. Despite these films being only around five minutes or so, they were quite exciting to watch. NSLI-Y students were required to speak Russian in the films, and some of them were quite funny. The films were very entertaining and featured some original-story murder mystery films as well as a psychological film. There was also a surprisingly well-acted rendition of the first Twilight movie. Another group acted out a typical day riding the trams in Riga, along with all the trials and tribulations that came with riding public transportation. After the students were able to show off their Russian skills and their acting skills, they played games with their peer partners for the remainder of the session. They were able to further develop their Russian skills through learning or explaining how to play the games in Russian, and of course even playing the games required speaking in Russian!
On Wednesday and Thursday, the students presented their culminating projects that they’ve been working on over the past 6 weeks. The students were able to show off how much their Russian has improved through presentations on topics they are interested in. To create these presentations, the students interviewed people they’d met during their time in Latvia (including their peer partners and host families) on a topic of their choosing. Then, they compiled what they’ve learned into a 5–minute presentation, which they presented in front of all of their peers, Resident Directors, and Baltic Center staff. The whole process, including interviews and the presentation was conducted in Russian. Some topics included public transportation in Latvia, language education in Latvia, Latvian folklore, Latvian holidays, and more. All of the presentations were super interesting and engaging! During the first RD meeting the students seemed so nervous about having to give a presentation in Russian, and now they were able to confidently give their presentations in Russian. It was quite inspiring to see. We are thoroughly impressed by how much the students have learned and how insightful and intelligent they are.
On Friday, the students finished up their final exams for classes here in Riga, had their last Russian classes with Irina and Ludmila, their last lunch together, and we had a re-entry orientation. The final class ended with the students reciting poetry and acting out skits and dialogues in Russian, which they had been practicing for the past week. In addition, the teachers brought each of the students a gift and said a few words about how impressed they were with this group of students. What the teachers said rings true—this group of students is uniquely impressive, talented, and hard-working! Tatiana, the NSLI-Y coordinator at the Baltic Center, said a few kind words of farewell to the students, and also brought them presents, including sweet treats and amber. Amber is a big export of the Baltics! At the end our instructors, Irina and Ludmila, led the students in a sing-along of the song “Мы Желаем Счастья Вам” (We Wish You Happiness). During the re-entry orientation, we discussed how to deal with reverse culture shock, the students’ OPIs (oral proficiency interviews), and continued language study after the students return home.
Bright and early Saturday morning, a bus picked all the students up and drove them to the Riga airport for an early departure time of 6:00 AM. Some students were up and ready to go at 2 AM, survived a long bus ride to the airport, a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, and then a long trip across the Atlantic, and, for some, across the U.S. to get to their hometowns, families, and friends. It was a long day
As sad as we are to leave them, we look forward to what the future holds for these students. We are sure that their futures are bright and that they will be so successful in all of their endeavors. We had a great time leading and mentoring the students as they studied Russian and adapted to life in Latvia. We hope that the students will continue to study Russian, and that this trip marks the beginning of a longer linguistic and cultural journey.
Silvano says it’s been a dill-icious final week in Latvia!
Astrid presents a poem she memorized in Ludmila’s class for all of her peers, Resident Directors, and the overseas partners!
Zoe presenting her culminating project.
Michael and Orion present a poem they memorized in Ludmila’s class for all of their peers, resident directors, and the overseas partners!
Sophia presenting her culmination project on the trams in Riga.
Malia gives a presentation on the usage of the Russian language on social media platforms.
Amayah gives a presentation on popular opinion about graffiti in Riga.
Xavier gives a presentation on language education and usage in Latvia.
Daxton gives a presentation on sports culture in Latvia and Russia.
Rowan, Silvano, Evie, Orion, Cham, Michael, and Xavier present a fairy tale-themed skit they learned in Ludmila’s class!
Farewell hug between Casey and teacher Ludmilla.
The students watch the films they made with their peer partners (featuring Orion and Mark’s films).
NSLI-Y students singing “We Wish You Happiness”.