Adoption in Latvia (part 4)

hello there Gentle readers, Yes I know I have not been on for a while but I wanted to let you all know about the latest chapter in our adoption story. On Tuesday Lena and I went back to the adoption agency to see the psychologist for our second session with her.

The purpose was a written examination to check out our state of mind. I have to admit I was nervous. The test involved us answering 370 statements about ourselves with a TRUE or FALSE answer. Sounds easy...doesn't it?

The questions were, to say the least, strange. and Lena and I both struggled at times because of the use of double negatives  and sometimes TERRIBLE translation.

The questions included

I love my mother and father
I am being followed
Sometimes I want to punch someone in the face
Sometimes I think about shooting people
I would like to be a journalist
Very often I feel pain in my head or neck
Not often I feel pain in my limbs


We persevered however, getting our children is very important to us, and we completed the questionnaire. On Wednesday, we have our home visit so we have spent all weekend preparing the children's room and on the following Monday we have our 1-1 sessions with the psychologist. Then, hopefully we will go to court and find out when we will get our children.

I promise to keep you updated on our progress over the coming weeks.

Take care and see you soon.

#adoptioninlatvia

Today in History 18th October

Hello there gentle reader, its been a while since we swam the piranha infested waters of time, but lets see whats down there. Just keep your fingers and toes safe.

1867 – United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million.

1922– The British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) is founded , to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service.

1926 – Chuck Berry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist is born

 

 1939 – Lee Harvey Oswald, American assassin of JFK is born.

 

1968 – The US Olympic committee suspends Tommy Smith and John Carlos for giving a "Black Power" salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico games.

 

#bbc #blackpower #leeharveyoswald #jfk #chuckberry #alaska #october18

Tallinn

 

Hey Gentle reader, tomorrow Lena and I are off to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Estonia is Latvia's Baltic cousin to the north.

 

Here are some fun facts for you.

 

 

 

1 Tallinn's public tram system dates back to 1888.

 

 

2 One of Tallinn's most romantic spots is St. Catherine's Passage, an attractive little lane where craftswomen create and sell stained glass, ceramics, jewellery, quilts, leather goods and hats.

 

3 Tallinn is home to NATO's main research centre for cyber defense.

 

 

 

4 A wooden fortress built on Toompea Hill sometime in the 10th or 11th century was probably the first structure in what later became Tallinn. Toompea Castle now stands on the same spot.

 

5 During Soviet times, KGB used the tall, metal spire of the Medieval St. Olav's Church as a radio transmission tower.

 

6 In 2011, Tallinn took on its role as European Capital of Culture.

 

7 For several weeks each winter Tallinn's Town Hall Square is filled with an elaborate Christmas Market where visitors can buy gifts, listen to concerts, visit with Santa or drink hot, spiced wine.

 

 

 

8 Tallinn shares a nearly identical geographical latitude with Stockholm.

 

9 During Estonia's White Nights in late June the Tallinn sky stays bright from 4 am until around 11 pm.

 

 

 

 

10 Tallinn's Old Town was entered on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 as an 'exceptionally complete and well preserved example of a medieval northern European trading city'.

 

#tallinn #estonia

Wednesday Thought: Books

Hello there Gentle Reader, its been a great time to be a teacher at the International School of Riga. Today and tomorrow  are the annual book day celebrations, with a 26 hour readathon, special  lessons and lots of kids and teachers dressing up as their favourite book characters.

 

In honour of this special day, I am going to share with you some thoughts on the importance of books.

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

Cicero

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” 

Jane Austen 

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” 

Ernest Hemingway

 

“Books are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out.” 

JK Rowling

 

“My Best Friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.” 

Abraham Lincoln

 

“The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.” 

Joseph Joubert

 

#internationalschoolofriga #cicero #josephjoubert #abrahamlincoln #janeausten #ernesthemingway #jkrowling

Top 10 fun facts about ....Brazil

Hello Gentle readers, the other day I had 10 visits from Brazil so here are my fun facts about the home of the Samba.

1. Sex change operations are free in Brazil.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changing_legal_gender_assignment_in_Brazil

2. in 1958, a rhino ran for public office in an election in Sao Paulo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-human_electoral_candidates

3. The capital of Brazil, Brasilia looks like an aeroplane from above.

 

4.There is a colony in Brazil, that was founded by Confederate refugees who fled the USA after the civil war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana,_S%C3%A3o_Paulo

5. Half of the top 20 cities with the worst murder rates are in Brazil.

6. The Brazilian government deliver mother's breast milk to mothers who cannot produce their own.

 

 http://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/22571-learning-from-brazil-s-success-with-milk-banks

7. About 4 million African slaves ended up in Brazil. That's about 40% of all slaves in the Americas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil

8. Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside Japan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora

9. Rio de Janeiro was once the capital of Portugal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro#History

10. Brazilian athletes on their way to the 1932 Olympics, funded their travels by selling coffee on their trip.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_at_the_1932_Summer_Olympics

#brazil

Adoption in Latvia: Part 3

Hello there Gentle readers, its been a while. Since Lena and I got our shiny new car, its been hard to open up the laptop and keep you updated.

Last Monday, the 28th, we had our latest appointment with the adoption agency, this time with a psychologist. I was a little wary, I had never talked to a psychologist before, neither had Lena and we were both unsure what to expect.

She asked about family, our relationship, our jobs, family tradition and we answered her questions truthfully and clearly. We will have to go back on the 27th of October to do more written tests and then on the 3rd of November we will have our individual interview.

We still have not heard when the home visit will be, but I will keep you updated.

#adoptioninlatvia

Where on Earth is Sint Maarten?

Hello gentle readers, how are you all? Sorry I have not posted for a few days, Lena and I went to Liepaja for a few days.

 

Any way I checked the blog today and when I checked the audience I saw a place I had never even heard of. Hence the blog post's title; "where on Earth is Sint Maarten?"

 

Sint Maarten is an island country in the Caribbean sea. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It encompasses the southern 40% of the island of Saint Martin while the northern 60% of the island constitutes the French overseas colony of Saint Martin. The capital is Phillipsberg and it has a population of 37,000 on an area of 34 km²

 

 

#sintmaarten