Latvia - people and culture
The Latvian character has often been described as a cross between the emotional Lithuanian and the quiet, cool, relentless Estonian. Russians tend to be a bit louder and a friendly discussion can often sound like a heated argument to a native speaker of English.
When meeting someone, Latvian or Russian, it is customary to shake hands – even if you see the person in question every day. This should be a brief single shake, rather than the British style handshake.
If you are invited to a local’s house, you may be asked to take your shoes off in the hall, so be sure to wear clean socks! Some families may even supply you with a pair of slippers to wear. If you really want to make an impression on your host, pick up a bunch of flowers for ‘her’ and a bottle of decent vodka for ‘him’. You will find that whenever you are invited round, you will be offered copious amounts of food and drink and it is not very polite to refuse.
On your day-to-day travels, either by bus, trolleybus or tram, you are expected to stand up and give your seat to old people and women with babies or small children. Failure to do so can result in angry looks or even an irate pensioner’s heavy shopping bag being thrust into your shoulder.
Latvian and Russian people in our experience are, on the whole, very friendly. Latvians in particular like to hear non-natives attempt to speak their language because it sounds so funny to them. Nevertheless, Latvians and Russians do appreciate every effort to use their languages. If you are planning to learn Russian there are many books available to help you, whereas for Latvian there are relatively few. Alternatively, attend the lessons the school provides you with and take whatever you learn into the street and have fun!
