Weekend in Otepää

So I made it through the first week. My jet lag is (nearly) gone. Friday I had my Estonian Language Exam, which, of course, I passed. That means I can officially study at this university in Estonian.

Virtual Tour of my living space:

My room. There's a big window behind me.

The Kitchen. Minimalistic and slightly grimy.

... And that's it. Boring, I know. Let's move on.
___

This weekend I had a jaunt around southern Estonia with Vana and our relatives, Heljo, Nickoli, and their 3-yr old grandson Henri.

On top of a ski jump in Otepää. The platform was 34 meters in the air, and I'm standing on STEEL GRATING. I am absolutely petrified in this photo.

An "Energy Column." ... :O)

Tamme-Lauri Tamm. The oldest oak tree in Europe, or something. Estonians are absolutely crazy about their oak trees.

___

Tomorrow is the official beginning of the academic year. I don't even have my schedule yet. All I know is there's a huge party downtown around 7pm. I am so there.
___

Estonian Pronounciation Lesson: Õ

The Estonian vowel õ is pronounced in the following way: first, form your lips in the shape to say "eeeee." Now, *keep your lips in the same position* but change your tongue and the back of your mouth as if you were saying "ou" as in the word "you."

*WArning! Do not swallow your tongue.

Day 2

Day 2 is going much better. I made some new friends. I also wore scowl-proof clothing and frighteningly red lipstick. Tonight the international students are going on a pub crawl, which is a surefire mood lifter. :) I'm going to be fine, just fine.

Arriving in Tartu

Okay. So I’m here. Everything is crazy. Everything is the same. I feel like England all over again.

The 5 ½ hour wait in Amsterdam totally killed me and Vana. [For all you noobs out there: Vana = my grandmother from Portland. It’s a shortened version of “Vanaema” which means “old mother” and so technically I go around calling my dear grandmother “Old one.”] We made it to Tallinn at around 15:00, and spent the afternoon with our relatives. Everything was so oddly familiar and yet strange. The smells. The people. The stores. The first thing I bought in Estonia was a bag full of assorted pastries (e.g. meat, cabbage, carrot) from a fantastic hole-in-the-wall bakery around the corner. I passed out around 18:00 and slept for 14 glorious hours.

This morning we shoved two of my three bags into the only 2008 Toyota Camry in the country and drove 2.5 hours to Tartu. I’m finally moved in. My 3^rd bag is coming on Friday.

I haven’t met my roommates yet, but I think a couple of them are here already, and by the looks of it they’re total slobs. I hate communal living. I hate it I hate it. But it’s close to campus and cheaper than an apartment. Luckily I’ve got a two-person room to myself, thank god.

I opened an Estonian bank account today (at SEB, for anyone who cares), which was exhilarating. Scary, too, because I probably signed my life away on one of the many documents they shoved in front of me, but since my technical vocabulary is still pathetically small, I couldn’t understand most of what was written. Ah well. Next Monday I’ll get a shiny orange debit card with my name on it, and that’s all I care about.

Things to do before classes start: get a mobile phone, go check out the International Student Office, visit the Mathematics-Computer Science Department, find a gym and a yoga studio, and buy food/school supplies. Ah, and take the Estonian Language Exam on Friday. That one scares the crap out of me.

___

I’m already starting to feel stuck in the middle. [Take note; this will probably become a recurring theme.] I’m not American and I’m not Estonian. I’m not a tourist and I’m not a local. I know this place, and yet I’m totally alienated. Today I walked around town scowling because that’s what everyone else does. But that’s not me. Maarika is not a scowler. Maarika is also not what you’d call “reserved” or “soft-spoken” (Maarika does, however, enjoy speaking in third person). But everyone here is reserved - almost stand-offishly so - and the majority of women are very soft-spoken (read: poor conversationalists… read: boring). And so as not to feel like a foreigner, I found myself starting to take on these traits… refusing to make eye contact with strangers and getting all self-conscious about my lunch, lest it be deemed “unfeminine.”

So I think this whole “get a master’s degree in the motherland” adventure is going to boil down to a big ol’ test of my personal strength and self-confidence; essentially, my ability to hang onto my personality. Easy as pie, right?

Right?

___

Estonian word of the day:

Nülgima (NEWL-ghee-maw): To skin. Kassi nülgima. [To skin a cat.]

Amsterdam, shmamsterdam.

The only good part about trans-Atlantic flights is the awkward half-dreams you get while trying to sleep in the least comfortable position ever. I can't remember any of them, but I swear they were awesome.

I'm in Amsterdam at the moment, halfway through a 5 hour layover. I'm hopped up on caffeine and I feel like I'm riding in a boat right now... the keyboard and the entire concourse seem to be swaying slightly. ... Maybe I'm just experiencing some kind of contact high. This *is* Amsterdam, after all.

Maybe I just ought to eat something.

I've travelled so much in the past few years that foreign and unfamiliar airports don't really phase me anymore. It's just another place.

Hey guess what. I bought eucalyptus breath mints.

Okay! i'm running out of internet time. I miss and love you all. You'll be hearing again from me shortly.

love,
m

Moving out

Moving out of this apartment is like pulling dandelions. Stuff is just *everywhere* and the only thing I have to show for my hours of sweaty work is a dirty and pock-marked space that looks much worse than when I began. Discouraging.

Craigslist, though, has been my good, good friend. Desk and dresser from my room each sold for $30. Both couches in my living room are in the process of being sold, for a total of $50.

>>>

I have two and a half weeks left. Panic is beginning to flit around the edges of my awareness but so far I've been able to keep it under control... that is, I've been in denial, but that's the same thing, right?

Welcome.

Hello.

Please do not be alarmed. The following is a TEST OF THE EMERGENCY BROADCASTING SYSTEM.

eeeeeeeeeeeeee.e..e..e..e.e.e.e.....e..e.e.e.e.e.e...e.............. eeeeeeeeeeee............

Testing the built-in webcam, the blogosphere, and the self-love that comes from staring at my own words even though no one else does. Check, check, and check.

Unfortunately there is no timer on the webcam. This is unfortunate. It is my dream to be one of those narcissistic toad-heads that posts a photograph of themselves EVERY DAY, for their own amusement and to keep track of their dismally small and uninteresting wardrobe. Maybe, if my readers are lucky, I'll even post what I make for dinner every night.

In any case this blog promises to be slightly redundant and frightfully dull most of the time. Anything interesting or exciting must be regarded as a freak accident.

Trust me, I'm looking forward to this as much as you are.

Cheers,
M