Ā is for Ārsti (doctors) and Ādas jakas (leather jackets)
Getting medical treatment in Latvia can be a bit of an ordeal, even if you do know the local language. I've had medical professionals 'prescribing' me vodka to disinfect a laceration; telling me I can't drink beer or wine while I'm ill, but spirits are fair game; and suggesting I should dump my girlfriend because 'Latvian girls are sick in the head'. Throw in a few cold and spooky Soviet-era hospital wards and even chillier looks from medical staff and you see why I prefer to deal with the issue myself.
The early years of post-Soviet Latvia were singularly wild. A friend of mine told me of an acquaintance who owned a bar and refused to pay 25% of his earnings to the Russian Mafia for protection (the going rate at the time). One day a dark BMW turned up and burly henchmen sporting black leather jackets strode into the bar with Uzis in hand. They took the chap out into the forest and tied him naked to a tree for the wolves to eat. True story. I steer clear of burly men in leather jackets.
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