Mārīte Burima participated as a guest in one of the sessions held for Group 18 of the Conversational Language Club organised within the project “My Latvian Language Portfolio”. The session followed a thematic approach, exploring cultural heritage, family traditions, history and personal experience, thereby encouraging participants to use Latvian beyond the context of everyday communication.
During the session, Mārīte shared memories of her mother, Marta Herbsts, who was a graduate of the prestigious Kaucminde School of Home Economics. Mārīte’s story gave the participants an opportunity not only to discover a chapter of Latvian history, but also to experience how cultural heritage continues to live on within families, everyday habits and attitudes towards work, people and traditions.
The participants were also invited to reflect on their own family experiences, including inherited skills, traditions, childhood memories and talents passed down to them by their parents or grandparents. The conversations included stories about cooking, knitting, honesty, a strong work ethic, family unity and festive traditions. This exchange of personal experiences created a particularly warm and trusting atmosphere.
Group work formed another important part of the session. Participants analysed historical photographs and created stories about the daily lives of students at the Kaucminde School. They described what the learning process, practical activities and festive occasions might have been like, as well as the students’ hopes and dreams for the future. The guest then added further details and context to their interpretations.
At the end of the session, each participant shared the contents of their own symbolic “dowry chest”: the insights they had gained and the new words they had learned during the conversational language club session. Participants also expressed their appreciation for the new knowledge they had acquired, their richer vocabulary, their growing confidence in speaking Latvian and the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Latvian culture.
The meeting with Mārīte Burima gave third-country nationals an opportunity to connect personal stories with a broader historical context. The shared conversations and reflections also fostered mutual trust and openness, while strengthening the participants’ sense of belonging to Latvia.
The Conversational Language Club is organised within the framework of Activity 13.2 “Integration of Third-Country Nationals into Local Society, Promoting Opportunities for the Use and Acquisition of the Latvian Language” of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for the 2021-2027 planning period, within the project “My Latvian Language Portfolio”, Grant No. PMIF/13.2./2023/1/10.
CO-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION
This publication was created with the support of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
The Daugavpils University Society “Intellect Park” for Lifelong Learning, Culture, and Science Communication is responsible for the content of this publication.
