Yesterday was another great day in Estonia. I did a little more exploring around Old Town and had lunch with my teacher again. I also took care of my luggage situation and got my new (well new to me) Estonian phone set up. Then after checking out of the hotel I took a tram to the bus station where I ordered a bus ticket to Tartu. Being able to buy a ticket speaking only in Estonian was surprisingly rewarding.
It took two and a half hours to get to Tartu and I very much enjoyed looking at the countryside. It is clear the rest of the country is very different from Tallinn.
The girl sitting next to me asked me if she could use my phone. It took me a while to figure out what she was saying and explain that my Estonian was not very good. I was glad that I was able to offer her my newly working phone and she thanked me in English.
When I arrived at the bus station in Tartu the person that is letting me stay at her apartment was there to meet. She is really nice and we have talked a lot about the differences between Estonia, Finland, and the United States. We have also discussed the different education systems (she teaches at a Finish school here in Tartu and is also a former Fulbrighter to the States).
Today was the first day of the international student orientation at the University of Tartu. We got a lot of information about living in Tartu and Estonia in general, but I won’t bore you with all the details. The best part, of course, was meeting some more amazing people. Each international student is assigned a “tutor” who will help show us around and answer our questions. Most tutors were assigned about seven to ten students. My tutor has just me and two other girls, one of whom is the only other person studying at Viljandi and was unable to attend the orientation. So I am the only one here in Tartu this week, that is going to Viljandi. It is nice to know that there will be at least one other international student though.
After the informational sessions were over for the day we went to lunch with our tutors. She took us to this great pizza place and we shared a pizza with chicken, peaches, and blue cheese. It was SO good! Then we walked around Tartu and she talked about different places like clubs, bars, bookstores, and second-hand shops.
When I got back to the apartment the girl am staying with very generously made dinner for us. She is vegan so we had pasta with tofu, tomatoes, and broccoli. It was also really good, probably the best tofu I’ve ever had (not that I eat it much).
So far my days in Estonia have been packed with a lot of different things and despite feeling a bit jet-lagged still, I am loving it!!
My Fulbright Experience 