Earlier today I took a little time
to polish my silver jewelry (a chore I truly dislike doing) and couldn’t help admiring an old piece of amber I’d gotten
in San Francisco’s China Town. It was my first real piece of amber and who would have guessed that piece would have
inspired me to consider travel to the Baltic, where amber can be found in droves? At least that is what I’m told. The
more I began looking at the different kinds of amber;green, yellow and brown and discovering how unique each one was I
couldn’t help thinking what it must be like shopping for it in Europe.
Today’s word is a Latvian word used in Latvia:
dzintars – amber
I’m not certain how Latvia ranks in finding
extremely unique pieces of dzintars or amber, but a day spent shopping for jewelry in Latvia has got to be
quite different than the time I spent in China Town.
To learn Latvian online for free you’ll need to be
resourceful. Start with this Latvian Institute website full of info on the country
and a short page dedicated to the lang and some common words which include axe,
broom, pea, and beard. The Latvian tourism site has few, but far more useful in terms of
greetings. If you’re more about face-to-face language practice head to the American
Latvian Association’s annual meeting this coming April. As always find out who on My Language Exchange would be willing to help.
Past
Latvian words: cirvis