Interview

INTERVIEW WITH SKRIVANEK TRAINEE JING ZHU FROM BEIJING

1. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF – WHERE ARE YOU FROM, WHAT ARE YOU STUDYING, WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

My name is Jing Zhu and I’m from Beijing, China. I am currently studying Digital Humanities at RTU. They are interdisciplinary, but mainly focus on the integration of the humanities and digital fields. My fields of study are languages and e-commerce. As for hobbies, I can’t put into words how much I love dancing. It has always been a part of my life since childhood and helps to relieve stress, so I always try to find time to dance alongside my studies and other commitments.

2. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO YOUR INTERNSHIP IN LATVIA?

It is part of my study programme, but I am glad that it is compulsory because the internship has helped me to get out of my comfort zone and experience different work cultures and team dynamics here in Latvia.

3. HOW DO YOU LIKE BEING PART OF THE SKRIVANEK TEAM?

To be honest, I was a bit nervous at first, because it’s human nature to be nervous when you’re about to start working or learning in a new place. But I really like the working environment here at Skrivanek, all my colleagues are friendly and nice, and we sometimes have our dog Frodo with us, so the nervousness quickly passed.

4. HAVE YOU TRIED TO LEARN A LITTLE LATVIAN AND DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT OR EASY?

I’m quite fluent in Latvian, as I have a BA in Latvian Language and Literature and a BA in Technical Translation 🙂 But this internship has given me a wonderful opportunity to improve my Latvian, because unfortunately during my undergraduate studies I did not have many opportunities to communicate in Latvian because of the pandemic. Fortunately, I have a sensitivity to languages, which helps me a lot when working with local colleagues and picking up unheard words and phrases.

5. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN RIGA/LATVIA?

I love how well preserved the old town is, and although I haven’t checked it on the internet, I was very surprised to hear from someone that the streets date back to the 13th or 14th century.

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN RIGA/LATVIA?

Laikam Jūrmala, jo šī pilsēta ir burvīga un mani ļoti piesaista pilsētas jūras krastā. Šogad aprīlī ar draudzeni devos turp, lai redzētu ziemeļblāzmu, un arī Jāņus pavadīju tur 🙂

7. WHAT SURPRISED YOU WHILE LIVING IN RIGA/LATVIA?

In the first months of living here, I was really surprised by the length of the day in both summer and winter, because I didn’t expect the sunset at 23.00 or 16.00, but now I’m getting used to it and I love that the day can be so long in summer.

8. HAVE YOU TRIED ANY OF THE LATVIAN DISHES AND WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Yes, I have. Once we went on a field trip from the university to one of the bakery “Lāči” production sites and took part in a masterclass in making pretzels, which was great fun.

9. HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR FREE TIME HERE?

In addition to dancing, I sometimes go for walks or just relax in the park if the weather is nice. I also like to hunt for cafés and find new places to enjoy great coffee, pastries and desserts.