It’s another foggy and rainy morning in Estonia. I am once again on a bus to Tartu and despite not getting enough sleep last night, I am fully energized about the trip I am about to take. I am on my way to the most Northern location I will have ever been (but more on that later). Although I am not a morning person (ask my family), I really enjoy taking the bus in the morning. It’s always less crowded and so peaceful because most people are either sleeping or still quietly waking up. That means I get to stare out the window and enjoy the serene Estonian landscape.
I really love the fog. Some people might think it is dreary and gloomy, but I think it is calming, yet mysterious. It augments this feeling I have that I am in a dream. I am in a dream. For so long I had dreamed about coming to Estonia. Now, even though I am settled, it does not feel ordinary. Every once and a while I still have these moments of intense appreciation for exactly where I am at this moment. While living in the present is something I often struggle with, especially now when I know that some of my friends and family are grieving and I can’t be there to hug them, the natural awe and beauty of this place I am living in makes it easier to to just be where I am.
Let me give you an idea of what I see out my window. There are lots and lots of trees and at the moment specifically birches. I like birch trees, and if I am not mistaken my mom is particularly fond of them as well. They were the focus of one of her recent paintings. Every once in a while the forest is interspersed with farmland, open fields, and tiny groupings of old, wooden, country homes. It makes me wonder how it would be to live like these people do; so connected to the land. There are also lots of rivers, streams, and lakes. I love being around water. I always have. As we passed over one of the larger rivers there was a man sitting in a small boat, in a yellow raincoat, with a fishing pole in his hands. It reminds me of my brother and I fishing with my dad when we were growing up.
Anyway, when I took out my laptop on this rather nice bus that of course has free wifi (I’m in Estonia, remember?), my intention was to tell you about the rest of my Thanksgiving weekend. So let me do that. When I arrived at my friend’s apartment in Tallinn on Saturday after walking through Old Town, I was greeted by a few friendly faces and a lot of new ones. There were twenty-four of us there, including four kids, and despite having only met a few of these people, I felt like I was entering into a family gathering. It of course was not the same as being with my real family, but I was so grateful to have such great people to celebrate Thanksgiving with. It is always an interesting mix at these event; people from Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, England, Scotland, Italy, Canada, Japan, and of course America. Again there were some for whom this was their first Thanksgiving dinner.
Okay, let’s talk about the food. I mentioned that Bart’s roommate Kristina is an amazing cook. We of course had turkey. It was the biggest one I’d ever had and yet we had no trouble eating most of it. There were mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing (which was great, but not my Aunt Peggy’s famous cornbread stuffing), beetroot, cranberry sauce, bread, cheeses, olives, three types of gravy, plenty of wine, and pumpkin pie for dessert. I am sure I am forgetting something. I wish I had taken a picture, but food, especially food this delicious, is meant to be eaten, not just looked at.
After dinner the party continued with more socializing, sauna, music, and dancing. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and by the end of the night had made some new friends.
The next morning (well okay…afternoon) we went out for pancakes. These are not American pancakes. You can get sweet ones stuffed with fruit, chocolate, and whipped cream, or savory ones with meats, cheese, and veggies. I had one with tomatoes, pesto, and feta cheese, that of course came with sour cream. It was perfect and I ate the entire thing. After breakfast/brunch/lunch, whatever you want to call it, we walked around the Christmas market in Tallinn. We always marvel about who quickly after Thanksgiving, or rather before, people start obsessing about Christmas. Of course Thanksgiving is not an Estonian holiday, so the Christmas market had been open already for about a week. It was great to walk around and look at all the handcrafted goods. We enjoyed some glögi (hot spiced wine) and I made a few gift purchases (you’ll have to wait for those details).
Well, I’ve reached Tartu, so that’s all for now. Hopefully I can post some pictures soon. Thanks for reading!
Photos by: Marika Lampi
My Fulbright Experience 