Riga day 1 May 28th

Well after a lot of prayer, preparation, and support raising I'm finally here! I had about 15 hrs. of travel all together including the 3 flights and layovers. The travel went smooth but I wore my contacts which wasn't a good idea because I slept a lot and that isn't good for wearing contacts. I wanted to take them out but couldn't because my contact case and solution were in my checked luggage so I could barely open my eyes for the last 5 hrs. of travel! Anyway I met Carl Chaplin at the airport and he took me to the apartment where we met his wife Becky. I feel right at home here already because Carl and Becky are extremely welcoming and they are about my parents age (actually they have a daughter about my age too). An interesting note is that when I got there Becky had some milk sitting out on the counter and it was warm, it hadn't been in the refridgerator. I asked Becky about it and she said that before this type of milk is opened it can sit in the pantry for a couple of months before it goes bad! I've never heard of this type of milk before! Anyway Carl and Becky took me by the bank so I could pull out some Latvian currency which I put to use right away buying eTalons for public transportation and a sim card for my Latvian cell phone. Well even though I made a thorough packing list I somehow forgot a jacket so when we were at the mall buying the cell phone Becky found a store that had hoodies and hooded jackets for half price. They were gracious enough to buy me two! This is such a blessing because I am operating on a budget an can't afford to get off track of my budget. After this we met Martins Martisone and his 3 yr. old daughter Antonetta for dinner which was delicious! After dinner it was back to the apartment and then off to bed!