june 16

June 16

Last night after we left Roman’s house we went by the beach to watch the end of the sunset (around 10:45) and it was gorgeous over the sea. The place we stopped was a site of Russian ruins during World War I where they had built shelter on the shoreline so the combination of the old buildings and the view was just amazing. We continued on to a Jewish memorial for thousands killed during 1941-1945 at an execution site just between camp and Liepâja. It was a very somber place, again right along the shoreline. The memorial was constructed in the shape of a menorah that could be seen from the air and recognized as you walked around the stone forming it. It was such a heartbreaking place to be especially with the waves crashing in the background and the light slowly fading in the background and you could feel the sorrow of the tragic events that took place not that long ago.

We had a bit of a later start today, with Romans and Ingmars arriving around 12:30 at camp so we had a chance to read and study this morning, which was much needed. With our friends came another friend of Ingmars who is in school with him and he helped us with some work today. Our main project was a kind of pathway leading into the dining area that we were going to fill with cement right by the doors. We have both had our fair share of experience with mixing cement both in the states and other countries, but I must say this was the least messy, time consuming, and effort that we have experienced. Every place mixes cement differently so we were ready to get down and dirty, but then Romans brought out this mixing machine that made it so much easier and it didn’t take us too long to complete our task. We grilled out again for lunch and had this Latvian marinated meat that is a favorite here, that we out on skewers. By far it has been the tastiest meal we have had, it was quite delicious. Brandon began cutting the grass towards the end of the day while I played with Agate, then Romans decided it was time to quit for the day and play a game of basketball. Agate watched as Romans and Ingmars took on Brandon and Nicoli and then we all played this game with wooden blocks that is hard to explain but fun to play. It is not a Latvian game, but a Polish game that Camp Wesley has adopted and Agate just loves. It started to rain a little tonight as we prepared our dinner of pasta noodles and these beans in a tomato sauce that Romans said we should try. He likes to suggest new Latvian foods to try and it is great because we are experiencing some great food we wouldn’t get in the States!