Wednesday
Well, my professor cancelled the law course, so that he could go to the Law Conference in St Petersburg that I was unable to go to. Kind of jealous, not going to lie. But whatever.
I woke up and went on a run. UGH. The sun has been melting the snow nicely, but not the ice. It's still not warm enough to really get the ice going away. So my path is an utter HELL right now. It's slippery and awful. UGH. Freaking terrible. I was slipping everywhere and hardly able to move anywhere. I was just stuck. It was terrible. Really non-enjoyable run.
But today was nice because of the Casino Royale Poker Tournament. Now, I only learned how to play poker the summer after my freshman year of college. So it's been a good 2 years since I played, really. It cost $18 for the ticket in the door and to participate in the tournament. So it wasn't too expensive, but it was more than being free, of course. And you could only get in if you were dressed nicely. And considering I'd only had one previous chance to wear anything nice, I decided that it would be a good night to bust out the coat I got right before I came to Estonia. I was very excited.
Well, we got there at 8PM when the thing started... but the poker tournament didn't start until 9PM. And then we were the first ones there to boot. So we just awkwardly sat around in somewhat formal dress... But then they handed out some free sparkling wine, and that helped a little...
And honestly I was getting a little nervous about the whole deal. Cuz poker is like a competition as to who is coolest, manliness, etc. And my cool is not a reserved cool... So I was basically seeing all the players enter in practical tuxes, and I look like a hip professor. But hey, that fits me. hahaha. And I wasn't gonna drop money on a suit I didn't need, when I look good in my coat as is.
But I actually really enjoyed playing more than I thought I would. We decided to split into 2 tables, and I sat a table in which I knew the most people. But I was really nervous, because I didn't know the value of the chips, and we were going to switch dealer, so I was just nervous about messing up. But luckily everyone else was equally confused, so I just pretended that I too would have otherwise known what was going on, if it had been more simply explained. hahaha.
So we went through the first two hands, and I was kind of thinking... eh... BUT - they brought out champagne flutes for all the players and poured us champagne. The awesomeness of the moment didn't escape me. I would not get champagne poured for me back in the States, cuz I'm 20. But here, I paid good money to play, so where's my champagne? hahaha.
And then people started raising bets like crazy and the game got a lot more "interesting". And the champagne and the suits... it really was a ton of fun compared to the poker games I played two years ago just based on the environment alone.
Although, there were only 3 hands in which the players revealed their cards. Every other hand was a test of balls and betting. So it kind of lost the anxiety about the magic of the cards, but it was just a different game I was used to. And I won a HUGE hand by betting intelligently, so whatever.
Eventually, I got tired and tried to call some hands, and twice they beat me by one card. Then Mark, the British guy (who eventually won the entire tournament) got me out by luck of the cards. *shakes fist* But it was fun. And a British guy won, so the Casino Royale Event ended like it should have. hahaha
Then it was 3 people's birthday, and they rented Zavood (the most popular bar in Tartu) from 9 to midnight. So we dropped by there, and everyone was there, and it was a lot of fun. But then I went to bed early.
Thursday
The war between Spring and Winter intensified today. I got up with a mission: Russian Language Exam. One of three exams. It had to go well. I opened the blinds to my window so light would pour in over my studies. This occured for 20 minutes.
Then BLAM!!! Someone turned the blizzard on. SNOW CAME POURING FROM THE SKY. These "snowflakes" were literally an inch wide. Visibility was maybe 200 meters from my room, and worse on the ground. It was crazy!! Then it stopped. And the sun came out. And then it snowed lightly. Then BLIZZARD once again. We got about 3 inches in 1.5 hours.
I wish I could have gone outside and played, but I had to study! The test didn't cover a whole lot of different materials, but there was plenty of room for error. So I crammed vocabulary, and I studied. But then I had to stop to go run.
Luckily, the war ended when I started, and only at one point on the way back did the snow and wind turn against me, but it wasn't nearly as bad as earlier in the day. The snow did make getting traction a little easier, so the run was better, but I still need the ice to get the crap away. It's killing my runs and training. My body was doing well, but it's been almost two months. It's getting exhausted.
But I finished the run, showered, then hurried to my Russian exam. She reviews us a little, and then hands it out. It was only a couple of pages, and it wasn't too difficult. I finished it, looked around, and was the only one done. So I just stood up, turned it in and left. I was the first one done! So maybe brownie points? I mean, I know I missed a few exercises, which really pisses me off. But then I remembered that in Estonia a 90 is an A, unlike Rhodes, where that would be an A-. An A-minus is a good grade here!! yay!! hahaha. We'll see....
Then in the evening, all the normal Americans came over to my place and we just hung out. But Genevieve brought her roommate, Olsesea, over and I loved it!! Olsesea is from Transniestria, a breakaway republic in Moldova. But her point of view and personal story is really different, and I really enjoyed listening to her. She is an amazing person, and it was just a lot of fun.
Friday
Got up late today, and we decided last night that we would head to the Art Museum, because it's free on the last Friday of every month. It's a really pretty building on the town square that's built to lean to the left (when looking at the front). So it's their leaning "tower of Pisa" that houses the art museum. Very fitting, actually.
And I LOVE that museum!! The first exhibit was of an Estonian sculptor who was really important to founding Estonia's official art landscape. His wood sculptures were arguably his best, and it was interesting that the majority of his art was ancient Greek in body definition and movement.
But the two stories above it!!! They were paintings done from 1940 to 1968 showing the Soviet Occupation. WOW. Cuz these paintings were relatively positive in their outlook towards the future of Communism. Mostly they were based on Futurism - technology driven societies of massive machine production. But the vastly different styles, interpretations, it made me drool. I LOVED this exhibit. A LOT.
Then we walked to a Russian Orthodox church that we hadn't visited yet, because it is pretty tucked away from everything else. It's gorgeous!! It was certainly run down a little bit, but I really enjoyed it. It had some architectural elements I had never seen before. It had really interesting columns on its entrance, and it actually has 8 crosses - a HIGHLY unusual number of crosses. They're arranged to where you only see 7 at any angle, so it's "acceptable" - but I still found it very interesting.
But there was a really awesome rope playground in the church's front yard, so of course we played. It was sooo fun!! I LOVE rope playgrounds, and it was just delightful. And we started to walk back to Tartu town square...
But along the way we spotted a tower with a bronze finish, so we had to investigate. We found a HUGE church!! I was so excited, because I had seen this at night when we arrived in Tartu on the bus from Helsinki. It was soo cool! It was a Lutheran church made of brick, but I really enjoyed the style of the church. And this was the first church in Tartu that allowed us inside to take pictures! It was really simple, but I enjoyed it.
Then I hurried back to start my run. But as I got into the elevator, Asia (Poland), stepped in as well. She then informed me that I had neglected to fully complete the first and longest section on my Russian exam. You were supposed to translate the questions AND answer them. I only translated them. Once I found this out, my life "crumbled" as Kelsey put it. Ugh. I was totally defeated. I thought that I had eeked out an A with my previous mistakes, but now I have no idea.
So I wrote a note to my professor in Russian, because she does not speak English. I was really proud of my note, because it was simple but heartfelt. I sent it to my Russian professor back home, and she said it had errors, but she could understand it. So who knows, maybe pity will kick in! But I hope I can do something about that exam. Otherwise, I'm going to be crushed. We'll see... But I just went to bed at this point and called an end to the day. Woot.
I will update after Sunday, cuz nothing has happened today (Saturday). Thank you for being dedicated.
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