2011-11-11 For My Mother
Okay I know. Two updates in a month-ish. That’s pretty terrible. So I’ll spend some time tonight to cover as much material as I can think of. Each paragraph will begin a new/different story, so feel free to jump around if I bore you a bit.
Well I just came home from an English club meeting… where I am apparently quite a leader. Only because I speak English… fluently. Wonderful. The members of this club are mostly all Russians speaking a variety of different levels of English. What surprised me the most, and which I took as a great compliment, is that they thought I belonged in ‘How I Met Your Mother’. Haha. Yes I do watch the show, so maybe that’s what encouraged the observation, and I thought they were just saying it because I speak English so well (to the dismay of the Asian-looking Russians) but it turns out (after some investigating) that apparently I speak like an entertainer and a comedian. At least to Russian people. I am funny… to Russian people. Well I’ll take it. Oh English club. I think it’s time to join more University sponsored groups. Where is the ballroom dancing team?
Last week I happened to be in Finland and Estonia. In their capitals, Helsinki and Tallinn, respectively. The momentous moment that should be noted here is that I have now been to all the countries on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. If you don’t know this already, I have realized that Europe is a large and expensive place. I don’t have enough time or money to see it all in one, or a few go’s. As a result I will divide Europe up and slowly see it… bit by bit. Next semester I will be pushing one of three agendas; 1. The rest of the Baltic Sea (Sweden, Denmark, Germany (North), and Poland (North), 2. Ukraine and possibly a neighboring country down there, 3. The rest of the UK (other than England), Ireland, and possibly Iceland and Norway). And then maybe sneak in Portugal at some point just to wrap that up quite nicely. Back to my trip. All you need to know is that Helsinki is expensive and Tallinn is like Riga but bigger. Done. Maybe I’ll elaborate a tad more. Just to give you a better idea. Helsinki is a lot smaller than it seems. The population is under 500,000, and of the whole country only 5 million, which is less than Saint Petersburg. I could, and did, walk across the whole city. But it’s compact and easy enough to figure out, while being pretty, clean, and most importantly safe. It’s quaint and gives off a definite air of Western Europe in its city center. Going out at night was pricy, but I pulled off the usual 'when am I going to be here again?’ or 'I’m in Finland!’ and found myself at a small ice bar and a rooftop bar which were both quite nice. Though the latter being fairly expensive. Tallinn on the other hand is much more of a city than Helsinki. It had skyscrapers and a modern district as well as an Old Town, much like Riga. Entering the Old Town is almost like taking a step back in time and walking through a cobblestone city hundreds of years ago… with cars driving around. The weather was perfect while we were there, and I splurged on a great dive restaurant named 'At Grandma’s House’. Aptly named, the service was fantastic (finally… Russian service is perhaps some of the worst in the world) and I enjoyed my Elk and Rabbit dish. Food is always the best thing about travelling ain’t it?
I finally just got over being sick. Been sick for about 4/5 days. Which is just about the longest I’ve ever been sick, but I think it was due to the fact that I was not good at getting better. It was difficult since I ate terribly during it… barely I mean. But I seem to be a lot better now. So let’s get going with life. I need to catch up with things.
It’s weird thinking there’s only a month left. I am really glad I am staying for two semesters but I think even that might not even be enough. I of course like America more than Russia. But it’s fun and I’m young, when will I have a chance to do this again?