Things I’ve noticed since becoming an expat
Now that I’ve lived abroad the same amount of time as growing up in Latvia, some things have stood out to me.
Here are some in a random order:
Our cuisine is cream and mayo heavy. My partner eats Mediterranean and when we visit, he struggles to find olive oil and balsamic based salads and dishes. Generally most things include dairy, including sushi.
We are obsessed with coffee. Coffee dispensers are everywhere from the airport to gas stations, newsstands, cinemas, and many other places. Comparatively in countries like France there are little to none coffee dispensers, even fewer good ones.
Artisanal coffee, if you can call Ezis and Caffeine as that, costs the same as abroad. 4-6€ for a flat white is normal and I always wonder how that math makes sense.
Latvians look in the eye when cheering while Western Europeans and North Americans usually stare at their glasses to avoid spillage. It’s not considered rude to not look at one another while cheering.
Fewer and fewer people in Latvia clap upon plane landing, especially if the descent wasn’t choppy. Don’t think I’ve ever heard North Americans clap once, Croatians maybe.
Our cemeteries are green and somewhat overgrown while in places like France they’re very manicured. Also Americans have closed casket funerals and you can only see someone’s remains during a wake. Latvians also have all of the cemetery celebrations (kapu svētki)
Might be controversial but if someone was to speak loudly in a movie theater, it wouldn’t be uncommon for a Latvian to ask them to keep it down, maybe even shush them. Abroad, especially the US, it would be unimaginable to say something, you just endure.
Latvians love their cards and flowers more than other nations like bringing flowers to your teachers on the first day of school. Must be a post-Soviet tradition. In that same vain, domestic studies (mājturība) is something that foreigners are not familiar with. The idea of teaching boys carpentry while girls learn to sew, cook, and knit seems so sexist.
What are some things you’ve noticed from your time spent abroad? I’m sure these are not uniquely Baltic