To the Dedicated

Wow. If you're reading this, you must really be interested in Estonia. Because after ANOTHER monumental failure at updating daily, here is a huge post covering the last few days. I am sorry, but I'm not going to make any promises this time, due to my apparent inability to do anything about them. But I will write these as if I had no idea what would happen the next day. oooo, exciting!



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.

Doctors and Ethics

So, I got up at noon for my doctor's appointment at 2:30pm. I was going to do my Russian language homework, but I couldn't find anything that showed what the homework was. So I had an extra 2 hours in my day, apparently.

I went to the doctor's office and waited. This is the part I hate most about doctor's offices, actually. As a patient, I very much enjoy when they're friendly and not rushed. But as a patient-in-waiting, it can get tiresome. Although, there was a documentary about a Russian beach side town and how it was essentially the worst place for civilization. Wish I could have understood a word of it, but they kept going to shots of this camel and it made me so sad...

Doctor's office was fine, and there were hardly any physical examinations, which I found odd. It was mostly a questionnaire. No scoliosis test, ear, or eye exams. He just looked in my mouth once. Then he measured by neck, chest, and torso. Took my blood pressure, but that was it. I personally found it a little odd considering the amount of tests I go through every year at Rhodes to make sure my joints are in good shape. But whatever.

Then I went to go get my blood drawn, and this is the first time I've ever had blood removed from my body that I can remember. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, although being able to feel the tiny needle in my blood vein wasn't too much fun. hahaha. But I'm worried about the results, because they're for HIV and false positives are SO common. I haven't done anything to get HIV, so the last thing I could use in this whole process of trying to get residency is having a freaking false positive. That would just be fantastic.

Then I went to Russian, which was enjoyable. My mind clicked on Russian and I was asking questions to the professor in Russian, and I just enjoyed myself that day. Weee!

Then I went to the Sports Hall for my weekly workout with Coach Lemberg. He wasn't there when I arrived, so I did my warm-up running and stretching. Then I called him, and he was in Tallinn. I'm not on one of his mailing lists, and I don't see him every day, so this is why I was unaware. So I just did the workout by myself, and I nailed it. It felt so good to run off time again. And my body did really well, despite trying to give me signs earlier in the day that it shouldn't do a workout. Pfff. Outta my way weak mind, the body and legs are coming through! Afterwards I stayed with Genevieve and Kelsey to do some moderate ab work. I need to do TONS more, cuz I'm not even sore this morning. But it was a nice THREE hours at the Sports Hall. Ugh.

But as the title of this post suggested, I did have an ethical debate today. I received word that there is a World Cup Qualifying match between Armenia and Estonia next week in Tallinn. But the match starts at 6PM on Wednesday. I have my law course on Wednesdays from 2-4PM. This is the same class I missed on accident before heading to Helsinki (SO ANGRY ABOUT IT STILL!!!), and we don't have many lectures left in that course... So do I go or not?

Well, I decided that I'm going to the football match. It's a cultural experience!! Seeing Estonia's national team play football!! Against Armenia?! It just sounds like too much fun. So I'm going. I'm missing the lecture that covers my paper topic... but I have good friends in that class. And honestly, his lectures blow most of the time. Although this last class was interesting... But he cancelled class for this week, and so I'm not feeling the vibe of hard work in that class... hahaha. But yay! I'm going to go to an awesome football match!!! I'm excited!!!

In the Balance

So life has been a balancing act today...

I got up at 11AM in order to eat some breakfast before my doctor's appointment at 12:30PM. This appointment is supposed to let the ERGO health insurance company know my risk type. After several weeks of paperful bureaucracy, they will let me purchase a form of insurance from them so I can get my residency. I don't like that a health insurance company has my legality in this country by the balls...

But I look up where this place is online, and I'm fairly certain is very close to where the ERGO office was - the shopping center of town. So I give myself 20 minutes to get over there, considering I'm not sure exactly where this place is. But it's in Turu 2 (building #2 on Turu st), and office 17 has my doctor. I start walking. I get to the shopping center. Where the hell are these offices? Where the HELL IS THIS BUILDING?!?!

Every building usually has its number on it somewhere. Except these buildings are huge shopping malls, so finding the number can be difficult. And this area of town is not numbered in a senseful manner. RIDICULOUS. So I can't find a damn thing. I ask multiple people, they have no idea where Turu 2 is.

I call the office, and the secretary answers in Estonian and obviously doesn't speak English, as she connects me to a line then after it rings for about 45 seconds tells me something in Estonian and hangs up. I assume it was something very polite like, "Sorry, he's not available try again in an hour or so." Instead it sounds like a "F*** you, Colin Johnson!" But I call back for the 4th time, and try in Russian. She tells me its in Tasku on the 4th floor.

Tasku is a shopping mall... why are doctors in a shopping mall? Whatever. I walk there. I go up to the 4th floor. There's a cinema... I go into Hotel Dorpat's conference rooms on the 4th floor thinking there are offices somewhere. Finally I find a human being and they say it's behind the cinema. Behind the cinema?

If you walk to the left of the ticket office, past the sushi restaurant, then go down a narrow hallway, you come to a medical center. There's over 60 doctors offices back there. SWEET JEEBIES!! I have searched for 40 minutes for a HUGE medical center (and I think one of the only ones in Tartu) that's behind a cinema and there's NO ADVERTISING WHATSOEVER FOR THIS PLACE!!! UGH!!!

So I'm 20 minutes late for my appointment. I go and knock on the door of the doctor's office, which is right in the waiting room, so all the Estonians are watching this peculiar, long-haired American knock on a doctor's door. I talk to the secretary. This doctor doesn't work Monday mornings. He'll be in within an hour - AKA: when I have class. I wait. He shows up. He says there was an error and he asked the insurance company to contact me. They didn't. So now I'm meeting him tomorrow afternoon. Nice doctor. Insurance company continues to be the carrier of my legal balls.

Then I went to class. Not interesting. Got into a heated argument between the one Russian in the class and the reasons for agricultural failure in the USSR. Wow. Useless. Ugh. This class might be the end of me, honestly. I just hope it gets better... fast.

But summer and winter continue to battle it out. It was sunny this morning, then the clouds took over, it snowed lightly a little, but the sun came back out. So I got to run with the sun. And the sun helped to make the snow way tougher, so my run was actually enjoyable today!! And the ice is slick, which means it's melting! Yay!

FALSE. Weather forecasts say it'll drop to -13C over the weekend (8F). Unfortunately, this week I am running more kilometers/miles than I ever have before in my life. And I get to do it in the coldest weather of my life. WHAT?!?! Come on weather!!! Please!!! Have mercy/pity/class/love/heart!!!

Then I said goodbye to Palo, a grad student from Slovakia who has finished his research... while being sick with pneumonia for 5 weeks. He's kind of amazing, really. And then I cooked myself some spaghetti, and I'm officially amazing at it now. It was soooo good tonight. Mmmm...

That's been my day. Ugh. Not good, not bad. In the balance...

In Estonia Time Gets Away

So I realize it’s been FOREVER since I wrote, and I apologize. I haven’t been busy really, just not updating. Oh well.

Sunday (3/15)

We went to the ballet to see Tchaikovsky’s interpretation of Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin”. It was actually a surprisingly good production, considering Tartu is only a city of 100,000. It supports three theatres, a concert hall, and a lot of other stuff. So for a city this size with such a varied art scene, I was actually pretty impressed overall. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting, honestly. And we had free dessert at Café Shakespeare, so it worked out really well. Ballet and dessert for $5? I love student activity stuff… hahaha.

Monday/Tuesday

Monday, I honestly don’t remember at all. Tuesday I had a workout with Coach Lemberg that I thought was going to kill me. It was twice as long as our previous workouts, but I didn’t really notice. It went really well, and I enjoyed it overall. He thinks that I’ll be able to race well in May in the Tartu 10k, and I may be able to race the 5k (and possibly steeplechase!) in Latvia, while representing Estonia. I hope that works out, cuz it’d be a lot of fun. I’d get my ass kicked, but according to the 2006 results, I’d be in the top 20 across four countries in the 5k and 1500m times. So I’d be proud to get one of those. And maybe I can get a top 3 finish in the Tartu 10k, and maybe get a medal? I hope so!!

Wednesday

Today marked the first really interesting class I’ve had thus far in Tartu. So kind of a sad day, considering how late it is in the semester. But at the same time, a happy day!! It was in my International/Human Rights Law in Russia course. Wee!!! The reading was somewhat interesting, but we just had a class discussion in which we totally rationalized Russia’s attitude towards the international stage and human rights law. Using EU and US law as examples, we actually found a way to empathize with Russia. So I found it interesting. I don’t condone Russia’s position, and I didn’t walk away from the class with a new attitude or awareness of Russia, but it was nice to have an entire class of international students from all over Europe see Russia as a rational actor and capable of being dealt with. Really interesting!

Thursday

Found my new favorite place in Tartu. Now, I’m not the one who discovered it, but Genevieve and Kelsey told me about this café were you can get coffee for cheap, and I was excited. But the Werner Café is just a wonderful café. You can get really good quiche and coffee there, and the place is HUGE!! So there’s always students/professors there. So I almost feel like a normal student in Tartu, going to the “coffee place”. Almost reminds me of Middle Ground at Rhodes. But of course, it’s much more civilized in Werner. Hahaha.

But I had to debate as to whether to go to my Russian language class or not, and my sensibilities prevailed, and I went to the class. Terrible idea. Hahaha. We spent two hours reviewing and learning Russian words for foods and dishes. For a class from 6pm-8pm, it added a new dimension of talking about food in class. I was sooo hungry!! And I love Russian food, so it made it ever worse. But the class is really enjoyable now, and I do like my professor quite a bit.

Friday

I got up early and went to the ERGO insurance company headquarters to start the process of buying insurance that the Migration Board will accept. Woot. It’ll cost money (no duh) and it’s whatever. But it should be done before my residency limit expires.

Then we went to Otepää!! If you remember from earlier posts, we went sledding for Valentine’s Day. But this trip was organized by Niels (Netherlands), and he organized a second trip to Otepää. The first was directly through the international student ground (ESN), and I didn’t go cuz I was in Helsinki. But Niels wanted to arrange just a few hours of skiing in order to say “Farewell to Winter”. Thusfar, everything Niels has planned has turned into awesomeness.

Otepää is Estonia’s only downhill skiing resort... and it’s barely a hill to go down. It’s Estonia’s tallest point at 318 meters. So it’s not what you might think in terms of downhill skiing, but it was wonderful!! I got to teach Kelsey how to ski, and she did really well!! And I fell back in love with skiing like CRAZY!! I love it soo much!! It had been 3 years since I had skied, but it came back to me immediately. And I didn’t fall once – heck yes. But they had numerous runs – 3 reds and 1 green. And the reds were really really fun, but very short. But I got to do a lot of night skiing (that’s how we got the discounted rate), and I really enjoyed it. *sigh* I loved it. I wish my picture of the rooftop of Estonia was good, but it isn’t. But it was a really nice view out over the trees of Estonia. Yay! Hahaha. A good night indeed!

Saturday/Sunday

Just hung out a lot around Tartu, didn’t really do anything special.... Although Saturday I cooked a lot with Genevieve, Peter, and Kelsey but had a REALLY good conversation with my friend Olesea from Transniestria, the breakaway republic within Moldova. She’s amazing, and we’re becoming good friends, and it makes me beyond excited.

Today (Sunday) I was interviewed by an Estonian girl, Diana, for her Cross-Cultural Psychology course. It was a long interview, but I enjoyed it. I hope she enjoyed my American perspective? I don’t know, I’m not really shocked with Estonian culture or mystified by it. I think my first real period abroad in Russia really took that aspect out of this Estonian experience. I’ve been around “European” ideas of transportation, spending, etc. So I don’t know if I was that interesting of a subject. But whatever. She wants to meet more international students, so we’re going to try to arrange something for us to meet Estonians and for her to meet some internationals. We’ll see how that pans out…

And I’ve officially started planning my “European tour” after my classes end and right before I go to Russia, and I’m really excited!! I’m going to travel with Kelsey, one of the Americans I went to Helsinki with, and we’re going to go to Vilnius, Lithuania; Krakow, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; and London. But we’re not really going to London. Instead, we’re going to do the World Naked Bike Ride to protest the use of cars and negative body image. Last year 1,000 people biked the 10 kilometer path naked in London. I can’t wait!! That’ll be quite the way to end the trip. Then I’ll meet up (hopefully) with my mother and sister in Stockholm, and we’ll travel to Copenhagen, and maybe somewhere else. But I’m really excited!! *giggle*

Overall Trends:

I’m cooking in my room a lot more now. It’s basically boiled eggs and cereal for breakfast, a loaf of bread turned into many sandwiches for lunch, and spaghetti at night. But it’s really helping to turn my apartment into home. Yay! Not quite, but maybe.

I cursed running this week. It dumped snow on my halfway through the week, and it made running impossible. Freaking ridiculous. I couldn’t get traction, it was hurting my hamstrings, I hated it. It was awful. Capital “F” for snow. Ugh, so angry. But within the last 48 hours, a battle has been raging between spring and winter, and hopefully spring is winning. Today running wasn’t too bad, but it certainly wasn’t as good as last week. I just want to run on the actual soil. Is that too much to ask?! I’m tired of ice and snow for running… But I do feel I’m in shape and getting better. This week I’m also going to start going to the gym once a day and working out with the internationals, particularly Paul (China) who is everybody’s trainer. I hope he can help me with my core and upper body. But basically anything would improve me. Hahaha.

I will actually try and post daily again. I apologize for my earlier lapses. Please forgive me.

Loves you all!

I Love the Awesome Up In Her'

Okay, so. Here we go on the catching up. But real quick, I had a really good conversation with my Hungarian flatmate, Gergo, Wednesday night that went until almost 4 AM. It was very nice, and I really understand where he's coming from on a lot of different issues, such as immigration and cultural integration. YAY!! Cultural exchange!!

Thursday

I don't have class until 6 pm. This is somewhat nice, but I really just spend the whole day waiting for class to happen. So it's kind of anti-climactic and what not.

But I got up, ran, and then met up with Genevieve and Peter for lunch at a place that supposedly was very cheap for students. We hunted in the "other" mall in town, Tasku, to try and find this place. Apparently, after looking at a map, you have to go through one of the stores to get to it, so it's very much hidden. But it's really awesomely decorated, and it was relatively cheap for students, so I may return here.

Then Genevieve made us boys help her pick out a new coat, and we actually rocked at it. I mean, I can't shop for me all too well, but telling her that coats looked ugly was easy. And we were successful. She purchased a coat that she looks wonderful in, and she looks much more European and well-dressed. Success fo' sho'.


Russian was VERY small, maybe 9 of us in class. I felt like I was back at Rhodes, and it made me quite happy, really. And it was a very pleasant class overall. Then I was walking back to Raatuse... and it finally hit me that I was home. I really do think of Tartu as home. I love it. Not just enjoy it or realize that I was in Tartu, but if you ever took me back to Tartu, I would feel like home. It's such a wonderful feeling, but I'm really excited about it. Yay!

I then went back to my old flat to have dinner with Timofey and Ada. I do love them very much, and I love talking with them. It was a wonderful dinner of soup and bread. And really good conversation about education and military service. A lot of information swapped, and it was very "cultural" in general.

Thursday was then Ibiza Night at Club Illusion. Ibiza is an island off the southern coast of Spain, and it is known as the party island for all of Europe. But they had free entrance for international students and a free drink if you showed up in shorts. So I of course went. The DJ was pretty good, but I danced with Timofey and Ada a lot and the Dutch - Niels, Auke, and Marten. It was a good night of dancing, and I actually stayed until it closed at 3 AM. This is a first, because I thought it closed so much later. I might stay til close every night now.

Friday

Slept in really late. Then I ran, and ate a pizza at Taverna. Then I did nothing except watch some clips on YouTube of people dancing. I wasted sooo much time with it. Kind of ridiculous... several hours... Wow, my life is worth emulating, yes? Ugh. But anyway.

Then we went to a bar where Jack, the Brit, was invited to DJ as a test run to see if it will become a weekly thing. I played a game of billiards... and lost twice. Ugh. Peppe (Italy) and I did the best we could, but obviously it wasn't enough. Then we danced with Jack's music, but the pub was really not well circulated with air, so I just stood outside a couple of times to keep from sweating all over the floor. A good night with good music.

Saturday (Today)

Got up late (2pm) and went for a long run. It was good, as the temperatures have really warmed up, so I wore my thinnest running pants and just my long-sleeve top. It was perfect. Absolutely wonderful. But apparently it has been snowing at night, as the trails away from town had fresh snow on them, but Tartu itself hasn't frozen over again. This is very good.

I then fashioned a lunch in my room and received a call from Rainis!! Rainis is the Estonian who introduced himself to me earlier in the week, and he was confirming my interest in going to the sauna. I said, hell yes, and left to go and get beers for the sauna. Then I met up with Mario and Marte, both of whom I had met earlier in February, but hadn't seen since. We then walked to the sauna, which was deceivingly far away... like other side of Tartu I hadn't even been yet. But the Technology Institute of Tartu (as they told me 12 times) has a small sauna in the basement, but Rainis and another runner Rahna are molecular biology students (Rainis undergrad, Rahna PhD), so we get into the building without a problem.

I was honestly very nervous about the sauna prior to it, because I didn't know how many runners would be there, and I didn't know anything about them. Running communities are very close, and it can be difficult for a newbie to establish any sort of a place to sleep. So I was nervous about sitting naked in a room full of guys I didn't know, sweating like crazy, and trying to be the American they want to know. hahaha.

Now, they teased me that I wouldn't be able to stand the heat. And in my head, I was saying, "Get out of my house. I'm from Texas. I've roofed, run, and existed in Texas in the afternoon on summer days. I may hate the heat, but I can take it."

FALSE.

When we first got in the sauna, it wasn't a problem. Yeah, it was hot, but I could take the heat, whatever. HOLY SWEET MOTHER. Once they started getting it going... 75 degrees Celsius. That's almost 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The tip of my beer bottle was slightly burning every time I put it to my lips. The very glass of my beer was hot from the temperature!! I was sweating like CRAZY. As was everyone else, and I almost made it the longest... but Mario apparently LOVES the heat, and I was not in a mood to compete as to who could survive heat strokes.

So we just sat outside on the floor and talked international politics and culture. It was kind of orgasmic for me. Talking with Estonians about being Estonian, how they see Russia, how they see themselves, how they perceive the economic crisis. Crazy awesome. But the floor was literally covered in the sweat off our bodies... Then we got into the sauna again. And it was starting at 70 degrees, so you start sweating at 158 F pretty quick. I lasted a few minutes, then got the crap out of there.

We showered and then headed for Zavood, because the international students were going to DJ there tonight. After the long walk we arrived, and there was no one there. But they were keen on drinking a little, so they stayed. Then more and more international students trickled in, and they actually met a huge number of my friends. It was really nice. I got to show of my Estonian friends. hahaha. I felt sooo cool. haha.

And I LOVE these guys. They have politically offensive senses of humor and they laugh really easily. It's a dream for me. And I'm not too much slower than them, except for the fact that they are all marathoners. Sweet mother, I would never run a marathon, but they love it. They say it's the most fun race ever. FALSE. haha.

A fantastic few days. Truly wonderful, actually. Really nice. *sigh* Yeah.

Waiting for Estonia To Love It

So, the update of the last few days. It's not that my life has been riveting, it's just that not a lot has happened to make me want to post. But enough's enough. Yes.

So, I'm still in a double room. My old room will be occupied in April, so there's no point in moving. Sad day? Yes. But oh well. I'll go see about getting to the St Petersburg Law Conference. Hahahaha.

I emailed the conference, they are not mailing me an invitation. So I have to get an invitation through a travel agency. HAHAHAHAHA. No way. I have gone to 3 of 4 travel agencies and thusfar the cheapest price has been $230 for an invitation and visa. Laughable. I love St Petersburg, and the conference would be great, but I'm not going to spend $300 for 3 days in St Petersburg at a conference that may or may not adequately provide lectures in English.

So this means that I do have to present in my Law class now. I watched a presentation today. And I kicked myself in the face again, because if I hadn't missed my original presentation, I would have knocked it out of the park. I would have made the professor gleam with joy. But no. Instead, I was bored to tears and cursed myself.

In my Post Soviet class on Monday, we had ANOTHER argument from the Ukrainian girl in the class. 3rd argument in 3 classes. This last one was half an hour. Now, the reason is understandable. In the 1930s, Stalin implemented a policy to export grain and not allow the public to be able to purchase any of the grain they produced. So roughly 7 million people starved to death across the USSR. Roughly half of these deaths were in Ukraine with a great number more in Kazakhstan. Currently in Ukraine it is illegal to deny that this was genocide. My professor doesn't acknowledge this event at genocide from the legal definition of genocide. From a cultural standpoint, it is understandable why the Ukrainian girl finds this very troubling.

BUT LET IT GO. If you have argued with the professor TWICE in class with no results, why bring it up a 3rd time?! Ugh. I mean, controversy is interesting, but it also just annoying after a certain point. Oh well.

Tuesday no a lot happened that I recall... Woot. hahaha. I felt sick on Tuesday night, so I didn't do my workout with Coach Lemberg. I knew it'd be pointless to ruin a workout. So not running was unfortunately the event of the day.

Today (Wednesday) I sprinted to Law, because I was afraid I'd be late again. Then I went to a workout with Coach Lemberg. It went well, and I can start to feel myself getting into better shape. My workouts next week will be much more intense... So this was my last 'easy' week. But I will get to race the 10k here in Tartu, and there's a good chance I'll get to represent Estonia in a multinational competition in Latvia!! So I'd have like two weeks of racing in May, but it'd be awesome. I hope that pans out.

But even more incredible was the introduction after the workout. A runner came up to me while I was stretching and wanted to know who I was. I told him, and he knew me from Coach Lemberg's conversations about me. But one way or another, he's really talkative!! And we're going to go on a run together!! Yay!! I will get to run alongside someone for an hour!! And he invited me to a runner gathering at the sauna on Saturday. Score!! I get to meet all the runners!!!

And I've figured out the "details" on my time in Russia. I will not be taking language classes. In order to "save" $2000, I'm going to strictly work in the orphanage in the mornings/early afternoons. I'll still live with the host family, and it will be less stressful, I think. Not having to keep grades up or have TONS of Russian shoved down my throat, my brain will just collapse under the cultural pressure of Russian immersion. hahaha. But I'm starting to make sense of all the paperwork, and it is certainly seeming less daunting now. Yay!!!! Weee!!!

Well, I promise that I will write more often than I have as of late... My Bad. Oh, but the weather was crappy Monday morning, after I just said spring was on its way. But then it warmed up in the afternoon! And it's stayed that way for the most part. Dare I say the ice may melt in two weeks?! I probably just cursed myself to a month of blizzards, but we'll see!!

I have some fun planned for the few evenings, so I will write. I promise.

Warning: Warm Weather Approaching

Wow. The weather has been so warm recently. It's been almost 40F with sunshine for about 3 days going now. It's unbelievable!! I've been walking around in long-sleeve shirts so comfortably lately. Amazingness.

On Saturday, I went for my long-run through the trail along the river, and I was about to finish my last kilometer on the trail. The trail then hits a creek, and I said to myself, "Stop, take this one walking." This is the only creek that doesn't have a bridge visible through the snow, so I figured it was a good idea. As soon as I stepped on the bridge, it collapsed into the creek. Luckily, my other foot got to the other side before it collapsed. The ice bridges are melting!! And now I have to turn into a long-jumper to get across the "gorges". But it's crazy!!

But since my last post, life has officially become so exciting, I can barely stand it.

#1 Reason: I found out hours after my last post, that I'm going to Novgorod, Russia!!!!! So I get to work in an orphanage for 6 weeks!!!! I get to live with a host family!!! AND take Russian language courses!!! I'm sooo excited!! I feel bad considering I tried to "start" other programs, but if they're possibilities, I think I'll go ahead and "plan" them out, and maybe bring them back to Rhodes as other summer programs that are available. Who knows.

BUT I'M GOING TO NOVGOROD!!!! It's the "oldest" city in Russia. 1,150 years old!!! It has the oldest functional building in all of Russia - a church from 1045. 1045!!! And it's a relatively unimpressive city in terms of sights, but I love it. It's "real" Russia, and I can't wait to go there!!!

And the other ridiculously exciting development is the official announcement of my "spring break" trip. Since Genevieve, Peter, Kelsey, and I traveled together so well, despite the stress of being lost in Tallinn with a ticking clock, we wanted to travel again. So we scoured flights and created lists of ideas. And I will have to drop all modesty, as I am the ultimate trip-planner ever. Everything we were looking at was going to be $300 for transportation, but we rationalized it as our "spring break".

BUT I found an amazing trip for half the transportation costs. The focus of the trip - spending 3 days kayaking in the fjords of Norway!!!! We'll also spend two half-days in Riga, Latvia and a night in Bremen, Germany. I'm beyond excited. SOOOO EXCITED!!! I've always wanted to see the fjords, since forever!!! And we're flying into Haugersund, which is where the first Viking king consolidated his rule. CRAZY!!!! Yaaaaay!!!!

Yet with all the excitement comes the wall of work. Tomorrow I'm going to try and secure a single room. It's just come to the point where I desperately desire my own space. 3 years of sharing a room with a person without romantic interest... I'm done. hahaha. So hopefully this will work out just fine.

And I've been confused with this law conference to St Petersburg... I haven't received an invitation, which is necessary for securing the tourist visa... So if I don't get it by Wednesday, I'm going to a trip-planner here in Tartu and securing the visa through them. But it would eliminate my need to go to Tallinn personally... But it would cost more money, and I wouldn't experience the "delightful stress" of being almost incoherent in the Russian embassy. Yes!

And now I'm having to start the process of communicating with the "network" for the Novgorod program. Me being in Estonia is making this process about 25x harder than it should be. Oh well. Good experiences the whole way 'round... hopefully.

It's just crazy. I made up my mind at the beginning of sophomore year to get the Buckman to go to Estonia (or Denmark) and then get the Internship to go to Russia. And it's actually happened. All my plans, all my work, everything I've focused towards has occured. YAAY!! If only grad school would be this easy... hahaha.