Natalia Lazarevicha, from RigaName: Natalia Lazarevicha
Location: Riga, Latvia
Age: 22
The reports from Latvia are directed by Jean Counet.
If you would be able to export a characteristic of your country, what would it be?
Warmness. I think people who live in Latvia are very warm and open-hearted towards their family, towards their friends, towards complete strangers. As soon as you get personal, you get warmly welcomed in their family, their house and life. To put it straight: Latvia it is a big open heart which is not afraid to be simple.
How do you picture Holland?
If I would have to draw a Dutch person, the mouth would take half of the drawing. Yes, I think the Dutch have a big mouth, they are straightforward, know what they want, and not shy, which is sometimes shocking but a nice quality at the same time. It is hard to describe Holland, certainly tulips, wind mills and wooden shoes are not exactly what this country is about. There is something about the atmosphere, everything is constantly in motion, about having something unique and simple which is so mixed up with this global world that it is hard to seperate from it.
Like the language, or culture or the life style or traditions, Holland is the country of contrasts and contradictions. Take the drug policy: light drugs are officialy not allowed in Holland, except for selling and using it. Yeah right! Otherwise drugs are forbidden, ofcourse.
Oh, I remembered one more interesting thing: it is normal not to have curtains on the windows, but it is not normal to watch trough the windows of others. I think those little contradictions give life more color.
What is your favorite spot to be?
I love Riga at night, it is a very warm and cozy place, especially if you see it with a bird’s eye view. The city at night city is the most tempting and exciting view I know. The city only seems real when it is just falling asleep and at the same waking up, differently lighted for other hopes, dreams and actions.
If you could change one thing about your country, what would it be?
Addiction to the past. People in Latvia sometimes are too concentrated on the past and they totally miss the present and future. Missing or not working on your present makes it a wrong past and it goes over and over again as a vicious circle. Perhaps, changing the perspective from “what is wrong and who is guilty” to “what is good and how we can make it better” could make a difference.
Who would you support to be the next president of the United States?
The president of the United States? Is that the world topic number one? I have no idea, that country seems too much about money and power for me, so they probably need a guy who can handle their ambitions and keep their standards of living, and they can surely make a choice among the existing candidates. “Better person” is a subjective thing anyway.
What will you be doing ten years from now?
Ten years from now I would be doing something… something good. I can’t imagine myself doing something bad, so it will be definitely a good thing… I would already have made a choice then for either the big world or a calm simple life. And if I go for the first, you will know it or see it or will hear or read about it. Greetings from Latvia!
Where do people meet to relax or to make some small talk? From a Guinea pig race in a square in Bogota to a banja in Latvia and from a nighttime parking lot in Surinam to a Rollerdisco for older folks in New York: Metropolis hangs around in the world.
.jpg)
