Riga, Latvia - Everything is going quite well here! I went on a visit to Jurmala, a 4-mile stretch of white sandy beaches and murky, warm water (but it was really nice). Surrounding the beach were many trees (almost a forest), and millions of killer ants (or at least they seemed like it... I swear I felt a few bites on bare feet!). After that I did a little stocking shopping because the stockings are beautiful and relatively cheap here. The day I arrived, I stopped into the office of the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section, and to my surprise got a small meeting with the Office Manager there. She recommended me to the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia, and low-and-behold I got an interview with the Executive Director there, and attended a luncheon today with Andris Piebalgs, the EU Commissioner on Energy who is attending a conference in Riga. It was extremely informative and very interesting! I got excited to be able to hand out my cards *again* :). Today, I'll be leaving on the 23.40 bus to Talinn (lord help me, but I'm cheap) set to arrive at 05.10 tomorrow. If all goes well I'll take *another* 23.40 bus to St. Petersburg tomorrow, but I won't make any promises. Riga itself is a beautiful city with numerous beautiful buildings. There are many cafes to sit and chat at, and the squares are very pleasant to sit with friends. I really enjoyed this part of Riga. The price of beer is also pretty cheap (around US$2.50), which makes things better, as well. This also helps with the nightlife, but the beer in the pub is a bit more expensive (US$3), and cocktails are generally more expensive, too (US$7). The prices in Lats are comparable to the pound, but are cheaper than, say, London pounds - it's not that bad! On a side note, I went to a wonderful chocolate shop yesterday that would blow your mind, so there is also good confection in Riga! It has a strong contrast between Russian communist times and the current times of liberal capitalism. For instance, the Occupation Museum, a large, greyish blackish square building stands next to an ornate, grand church in the town square. Also, around 40-60% of the Latvian population is Russian, so there is still a strong connection with Russia. Can't wait to see Talinn, though, so that should be interesting.