Moving on....again

So I've been putting off writing this blog entry, waiting for something spectacular to happen. The thing about life though, is that even where there are big changes, it's not always spectacular, it just...is. I think as people, we have a way a viewing life, whether it be traumatic, joyous, or mundane, that is pallatable to our senses. Or maybe I'm just weird. I figured this would be my last post because I have moved on, and the original purpose of starting the blog is finished. Not that I am swearing off online journaling forever, however, for now while I get settled in my new life, this blog does not seem to be a neccesary vehicle any longer. This is a good thing. It means that I am together with family and friends that missed me and that I missed for nearly a year. And what about the friends I made abroad? We're still in contact...it's good. The nameless masses, well we were never really that close, were we? ;) Take Care just the same, though.

So I've been out of Estonia for about 5 weeks, and home from Europe about a month. In that time, I've reconnected with family, and sat around on a couch thinking about my next move.
And then it happened. Spectacular? No. Unexpected? No. Fun and wild? Definatley. Trudee came down and we roadtripped 32 hours (in three days) from Kansas City (me from St. Louis) to Seattle. I only put down one picture...it's hard to take good ones from inside a car.
And now I'm here...well close to here. I'm looking for a place to live (other than the Aunt and Uncle's...who are being generous for the time being), and waiting to start work. I'm also exploring my new environment, and trying to make new friends. So this is it. Cool, huh? Thanks for reading and being a part of MY life these last 10 months or so. It was great. Peace.

My Nemisis

My nemisis is with me everyday now. I can't avoid him...he follows me everywhere. When I feel ill, it's because of him. My paranoia is his fault. Any obssessive issues I've developed can be attributed to his presence. Our mutal existence one sided pain...for me. I am helpless against him, my natural resistances ineffective. It's like he's gotten into my head. No wait, he has.

Attending to the issue of my own self-preservation, I have resorted to hiding out in secluded corners of the house. I hope he never finds me. I am armed only with tissues and the defensive appendages nature has afforded me. I feel they are insufficient.

Alas, even my own body has turned against me. With every surface I grace, with every breath I inhale, I seal my own fate. Destiny's desigin is torture. Despite the humbling of my existence, no refuge has been secured. My only solace remains the infrequent departures from my perilous prison. Unfortunatley, the Gods of Wealth and Fortune have not smiled upon me as of late, therfore, I am chained, housebound, in my misery.

Would you like to see him? Do you want to feast your eyes upon the tormentor of all my waking hours? Are you willing to see what fiendish foe the Fates have conspired to send me? Take care, and beware your eyes may decieve you. Keep in mind the immortal words of Dante, "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter". In this case, "Enter" simply means scrolling down just a little further...

Behold the Villain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Allergies Suck!....Say hello to Shacky, one of our cats.

Home Again

So today I have been officially home in the United States of America for one whole week (wave flags and sparklers here). It was an exhausting flight full of Canadian Green Peace workers, immigrants from Africa, Billy Bobs, June Bobs, Sally May Bobs, and me: a tall, skinny white guy easily mistaken for a college student carrying 55 kilos (about 100lbs.) of luggage and a book with a weird language (Estonia) on the cover. Guess who got asked the most questions? My particularly favorite instance was the wonderful worker at Canadian customs who held up our already extraordinarily slow-moving line by flirting with short blonde in front of me (who was wearing a wedding ring)...I doubt it was his wife, who then (the worker) proceeded to grill me about my immigration papers.

Having worked up a healthy sweat-sheen from hauling my luggage across Toronto's Airport, and shaking from the physical strain, I handed him my now crumpled, blue immigration form and passport. Although I am an Amercan citizen, my passport shows hardly any signs of being in America. In fact, over the last 10 months, my passport had been stamped 40 times, over half of which were to Estonia (only 1 to America). Let me just say, he did not like the looks of me. My story seemed to go by ok until he looked up my flight number...which did not appear on his screen. It seemed that I was trying to fly on a plane that did not exist. Eventually we found out I was simply in the wrong terminal, but for awhile, we (the worker and I ) were pretty sure we would have to speak to someone higher on the chain of command. 3 hours on a plane, and an equal number of hours of delays later and I was home...finally.

So what's it been like?

The first thought through my head as I waited in the Cleveland aiport was, "I'm freezing here!" The United States is, for the most part, an overly-airconditioned land. It's bizzare to think that it was colder inside the airport than the country I had come from only a few hundred miles from the Arctic Cirlce. The second thought was that Americans are sloppy. This isn't entirely true...unless you're in an airport. Since when did our countrymen decide that it was acceptable to wear pajamas on a plane? About every other person was wearing sweats, adidas pants, or fleece something-or-other on their body, and those silly-looking plastic, neon comfort sandals. Does it make the flight that more comfortable? Really?

Since then, I've been slowly readjusting to life in the US. I drive my car everywhere...despite the price of gas. I don't even know where the bus stops in my town are! I have been to a fast food restraunt 4 times (this is exaggerated by my need to re-culturalize), and I have watched more TV in the last week than the last 2 months in Europe combined. I bought new clothes that I probably don't need, as well as electronics. Oh...and I've only gone outside (not counting time inside the car) for maybe a total of 2.5 hours. I'd feel remorseful or guilty, but I'm too drained by my own slovenliness to feel such strong emotions.

Behind the scense, however, and this is the plus side to the story, I've been making preparations for my move across the country. This will commence in about 3 weeks when I will pack my life together again (after a short assessment of my assets, I realized I own very little) and move to Seattle! I am looking for jobs, apartments, travel routes, and taking care of school needs, family visits, and other odds and ends. So..all is not lost. I am in pursuit of destiny, the "American Dream", and new life, a new home, or at the very least, a clean place to rest my rump while I catch up on the next season of my favorite shows :D It's good to be back!

Picture: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CORPOD/JS1262564~Statue-of-Liberty-and-American-Flag-Posters.jpg

What's in a Word?

I've been thinking alot about the English Language lately. Now we first must make a distinction between "British" English, and American English. I speak the latter. In Europe, you must be clear on this distinction. Everyone here is taught the British method in school, however they watch American TV and movies, thus usually preferring to speak like me. I am currently at The Vocal Jazz and Pop Days in Soesterberg, The Netherlands (pronounces "Suess-ster-bergch"), where American English is envogue. All day long, conductors (Dutch by birth) comment on how something is pronounced the American way, how we must sing more like Americans, and how in American English, the word is actually spoken thusly... Apparently, this is the international impression of our English:

1. No final consonants, unless they can be sounded upon (such as "n" or "m"). This means "d's"and "t's" are out.
2. Should one happen upon at "t" in the middle of the words, this is pronounced as a "d", like "bottle".
3. All vowels must be bright and light.
4. There must be and extraordinary amount of vocal inflection (non-monotone) in every phrase.
5. Each spoken vowel contains a multitude of pronouncable dipthongs (such as our word "how"-prounced "ha-oh-oow" ). You must slide around between these to a great degree.

Now, here is a list of common requests by American choral directors:
1. More final consonants, no one can understand what you are saying, "lie" or "light". Don't hang onto sounded consonants...no extra humming, please.
2. Make your articulations crisp, even in the midst of the words. We must have good diction.
3. All vowels should be pure and rounded, like......of course the British!
4. Try not to constantly change the timbre of your voice, a good, even sound is preferred.
5. Do not sing the dipthong, make each vowel sound seperatley, putting emphasis on the first vowel and less on the following.

What's really happening here is cross-Atlantic flattery. We want to sound like them, and they like us. How bizarre. It's in the same vein by which marketing companies fool consumers by saying how something has been popular in Europe for years as a selling point. In Europe, however, (and this is true because I heard it with my own ears) things have been popular in The U.S. for years. I suppose there is a kind sentiment in this, mutual admiration, or slight geographic envy (grass is greener sort of thing), but why?

Vocally, both sides of the Atlantic end up with a hybrid version of what English actually is, some sort of sloppy, fake middle ground. In other facets of life, we have a romanticized view of a place containing people, who are, in fact, just like us...minus the obvious cultural difference (of course).

So, during my last week in Europe, I am constantly contemplating what it is to sounds "like and American". I find myself secretly re-pronouncing everything just to listen to myself talk...I think I will develop a complex from this. It is an odd thing to be "the foreign guy", "the native speaker". I have an accent, an American one...weird. Do European girls think it's sexy?

Picture: http://www.sturgeonbayschools.org/ELL/English%20Language%20Learner%20Resources_files/image002.gif

Hints and Tips

I will be leaving Estonia soon, one week to be exact. As is such, I thought that it would be smart to impart my wisdom on all of you who are now thinking of visiting this wonderful country someday, or perhaps evening moving here! The following are a few observations, bits of information, that you may do with as you choose. Enjoy.

1. Bring your own movie collection, or be without the exceptional joy of Movie Night. There are no "Blockbusters" here; no "Family Video". What Estonians have is "Videoplanet". Hardly more than a mom-and-pop shop, it carries about 200 titles (total), 75 of which you can watch in english, about 100 that are on DVD. You have 2 options when using "Videoplanet". One, pay 150 EEK to become a member, renewing your membership every year or half year for 100 EEK, plus the price of rental. Now mind you, that the average person carries between 75-200 EEK on them at anytime (6-18 dollars); most people usually prefer to pay by debit card. Two, offer up a 300 EEK or more deposit, plus price of rental each time you plan on visiting. They only accept cash. I've only seen one branch with an ATM nearby. Four hours later you "may" begin to watch a movie similar to the one you set out for. I believe "Videoplanet" is the reason internet-movie pirating is rampant throughout Estonia.2. There are no KINKOs in Estonia. We have Printcoopia(s), but they offer a very very tiny selection of jobs. Basically they will duplicate anything...sometimes on colored paper. Unfortunatley, unlike the rest of the country, the workers at Printcoopia(s) do not speak English. This makes words like "collate", "double-sided", and "spiral-bound" sound like gobbledy-gook. Your best bet is to bring a previously prepared example of EXACTLY what you want. Then, cross your fingers and simply smile and be happy with what you recieve. At least it's cheap. My best advice is to make a friends with someone who knows how to say what you want. Oh, and if you must do it alone, be prepared to make several return trips. This one is at least a 2 day ordeal.

3. Get an ISIC card. Despite what the lovely people at Student Travel Agency and Student Universe told me, they still use them here!!! Not only do Estonian turist spots accept these cards, but so do bookstores, some food places, some clothing chains, pharmacies, and transportation. It's good to study and be involved with academia in Estonia.4. Get used to public transportation. Despite the amount of traffic you will see about you at all times, you will not know ANYONE who has a car...maybe one if you're lucky. They have trams, buses, and trolleys here. They all cost the same (again good to be a student), however, they all ride along with the myriad of cars to their sometimes less than convinient destinations. Thus, traffic problems affect EVERYONE. It's best to walk here if you can...everyone else does.

5. City-wide construction is a free-for-all. This is most heavily done during the summer (when it is dry and warm), however random holes and scaffolding may pop up without warning throughout the year. If there are notices, us foreigners never know(see number 7). Be prepared to walk in the street, sometimes for at least a quarter of your journey. Luckily, the street is oftentimes in better shape than the side-walk anyway.

6. Back to movies. Cinema visits should be a well-coordinated affair. Discuss far in advance. Remember, you must all purchase your movie tickets together as seats are assigned, and not up for questioning or bargaining. If you think you may at all have to go to the bathroom, do it before the movie starts as you will be locked in for the duration of the film. Should you have to leave, you will then be locked out, but the "very nice" door gaurds (if you can find them) will let you back in. Oh, and I recently discovered why Estonians always show up late, or at best, as the movie is starting. Should you arrive early, you must sit through a seemlessly never-ending cycle of the same 4 previews that you must still watch again after the lights dim. These previews also plan throughout the cinema complex as you buy tickets and food. Definatley visit the candyshop.

7. All Estonians know what is going on before you do. I believe they have a collective consciousness that transmits news and gossip as it occurs. You will never have anything of surprise or shock to tell them, do not even try, they already know. They will assume you know too.

8. Be sure to study up on important moments in Estonian history like, "When did Estonia win Eurovision?", "When did Estonia host Eurovision?", "How many times has Estonia been mentioned on The Simpsons?", "What musicians or actors have Estonian roots (this can date back at least 4 generations)?", "When and who has won Olympic medals for Estonia?", "What were the big concerts held in Tallinn for the last 5 years?" , "What did Americans say in response to the question, "where is Estonia?", on some show that happened in the US?". This is a point of departure. The wealth of true-Estonian history is boundless.9. Bring pants and shoes you do not care about. This only applies to visits during early autumn, winter, and spring. For the other 2 weeks or so, disregard. Your shoes (and the part of the pants that come in contact) will inevitably get ruined as a result of the snow, rain, and muck that develops and lingers here. This is why the shoe industry is so booming in Estonia, and how they can charge such high prices (the highest in the EU). Nevertheless, the sheer volume of white pants and shoes (for both men and women) remains astonishing. They do not have Labor Day, so it's ok to wear white whenever you want.

10. Be prepared to either develope upper-body and core strength, or change your dietary plans as grocery shopping happens one of two ways here. As you will not have a car, nor will anyone you know (of course), you must bag and lug your own food. This keeps the hunter/gatherer instinct alive within you. Your first choice is to either discover exactly how much food you can fit on your person without looking too ridiculous walking back to your apartment (and repeat every 3-4 days), or visit the store everyday as hunger arises. Some places offer to deliver your purchases for you should you spend more than 1000 EEK, though you must plan on spending this amount in advance. The stares and odd-looks you will incure while trying to amass this large quantity of food is hardly worth the convinience of home-delivery.
11. Finally, come with a good sense of humor and adventure. This is a wonderful, charming, unique, and amazing place with clever, kind, and curious (though not always about what you'd think) people. Have a good time! I did :D

Belligerent Baltics

I recently concluded my travels outside of Estonia. Last on my list of "to dos" was a visit to the other two Baltic States, Latvia, and Lithuania. This 72hr trip prooved to be one of the most "interesting" journeys thus far. I believe that because I am so intimate with Estonia, I was surprised to find Latvia and Lithuania so different. As I went to Latvia first, lets start with it:

1. Having traveled with ease throughout Europe and Russia, I was shocked by the border guard at Riga Airport. My agent obviously did not want me in the country. She was very concerned that I was traveling alone, wanting to know "who I was staying with?", "what I was doing in Latvia?", "where was I staying?", "where did I plan on going while in Latvia?", and of course, "when would I be leaving?"

2.Coins actually are worth something here. Unlike Estonia, you can buy things with them, not just create little coin forts and money towers. Unfortunatley, you cannot exchange coins for other currency. Therefore, I had an obssessive desire to spend all of my coins before leaving. This was made nearly impossible by retailers who insisted on giving me five 20-cent coins rather than 1 Lat, or five 10-cent coins rather than a 50-cent piece. I had a very manic 36 hrs there.

3. My hostel had a bug infestation. Though advertised as having air-conditioning, the oweners decided that 78 and humid was perfect weather to leave the windows open for the night. The other 11 bodies (3 of which snored, and 5 of which decided bed time was between 3am and 5am) made it the perfect evening. I decided to sleep shirtless, only to find 12 hrs into the following day that my body was covered in small red, itchy bites.

4. Riga is not designed for pedestrians. I spent at least a quarter of my time back-tracking to crosswalks, or journeying far beyond my destination only to back-track after the crosswalk was found. Apparently in Riga, cars have the right-of-way. The rest of us should simply "walk around". I have to admit, though, that a few times I just closed my eyes and ran for it. I don't really recommend this...

After 36hrs in Riga, I hopped a plan to Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, the southernmost Baltic State. Now the simple thing to remember here is that everything is exactly the opposite from Latvia. Coins mean absolutely nothing, and you can walk anywhere, the middle of the street is the most preferred spot for both turists and locals alike. Here are a few observations during my 36hrs in Lithuania.

1. The border guard is even less friendly than in Latvia. My agent wanted to know, beyond the same questions from the kind woman in Riga, if I had medical insurance. "Welcome to Lithuania...we don't want you to be a burden to our economy and medical facilities". After saying, "yes", he wanted to see proof. Luckily, I was carrying old cards of my American health insurance. This, of course, was useless outside of the US, but a piece of plastic that said "Health Insurance" seemed to placate the gentleman.

2. Lithuanians are not quite sold yet on this whole "flying" thing. I think their major reservation is that with planes, you have to aquire a recent model every once in awhile. This is unlike their bus system where you're likely to find yourself in a vehicle of the Flinstones variety. It's hard to get the pedaling down when you don't know numbers in Lithuanian ;)

3. Floorplans for hostel-design is of no importance. My 6 person room (with only 2 snorers this time...and still no A.C., though it was advertised) was situated just between the common area (popular with late night parties and drunkery), and the girls shower area. We consequently got a lot of "through traffic" during the evening. The boys shower area was conveniently located in the basement, and you weren't allowed to flush anything except liquids down the toilet. This made for a very comfortable stay in Vilnius.


4. Everything you want to see is uphill in this city. One would think that eventually you must travel back downhill, but no...you just keep climbing all of the time. Also, my guide to Vilnius was very kind in printing a public transportation map of the city. I never could figure out, however, where the buses and trolleys actually stopped...or if they ever did. They were probably too busy dodging pedestrians to consider stopping, or even slowing down.

5. You must visit Trakai if you go to Vilnius. It's only 30minutes outside the city by bus, and well worth it. Take a morning off from the city, and spend 3 or 4 hours on this beautiful peninsular town. The scenery is world-class, and the atmosphere is extremely peaceful. If you go in the morning, however, bring your own breakfast. The local donuts were less than tasty.



Thus concluded my tour of the Baltics. There were only 5 people on the return flight, yet somehow I ended up seated next to a fat-hairy man. I moved. Latvia and Lithuania strike again! I got the message, and went home. After staying awake through the entire evening before my 6.55am flight, I was very happy to fall into my bed. The previous 72 hrs. were "interesting" to say the least. Luckily, I escaped relitavley unscathed, and wiser about the world. What doesn't kill you only leaves tiny red welts all over your body that you can itch. Though this only causes skin irritation, it physically reminds you that you're still alive.

The Evils of Public Transportation

Hey there! I've been traveling and exploring so much that I've taken a departure from my original intention for writing this blog...to discuss my thoughts and observations about life here in Estonia. So in deference to myself, I will attempt to write in "pre-eurocultured" Andrew style. If you've become entranced by my travel photos, click back to the orgins of my online universe, my cyber-genisis...i was even funny sometimes :D

So lets talk about public transportation, buses in particular. It is a rule in Estonia that it takes aproximately 2.5 hrs to get anywhere by bus. In the case of traveling from Tallinn (NW corner) to Varska (SE corner), it actually takes about 5hrs. This of course, is 2T, T being time, also equal to 2.5, our basis of comparison. So really, it all comes back to the same thing. Oddly enough, the Estonians aren't lying. It really does take about 2.5 hrs (or T) to get anywhere in this country by bus...well anywhere worth going, unless it's to visit your Estonian grandmother, which I don't have so I digress.

At one point I decided that this was a conspiracy of the buss drivers. Because I had traveled this great country by car (see my road trip back in April) a few times (I have friends with cars too!), I knew how long it had taken to get to certain cities. Then again, my driver had a lead foot, and busses can only travel so fast. Really, it's like trying to fathom obese-people-sex...the science just makes your head hurt.

So resigning myself to 2.5hr long trips, I aquiesed to riding the bus to and from my appointed destinations. I figured I was helping the environment, and being savvy with my money at the same time...hooray! It's kind of an inverse relationship. The less money you spend, the more time it takes to get where you want to go. That's why walking is free. And crawling to places like churches and mosques gets you blessed. It takes 12 hours to get to Moscow by train, and I really don't remember paying much of anything for that, but 12 is not an easy multiple of T, so we'll just forget about it. Hitch-Hiking is also free, and you get to travel by car, but you also run the risk of being killed by the crazzies. Therefore, hitch-hiking doesn't count. These are the fundamental truths by which our existence is organized.

But this is not entirely so! A ferry trip to Helsinki, a mere 60 kilometers costs much more than it would to drive the same distance by bus. And trust me, sitting on a ferry for 3 hours or more is just about as exciting as sitting on a buss for 2.5hrs, there are just more drunk Finns. Therefore, I do not take ferries, they cheat. I came to the conclusion that when crossing bodies of water, it was most cost effective to purchase a plane ticket way in advance, thus finding good prices and reducing travel time substantially.

Now, if you havn't looked at the past few blogs, I've been traveling a lot! This is not always over bodie of water either. I cheat too, but it's okay. So I've gotten used to air travel. It's about 2.5 hours to Prague, and about the same to Berlin. When you fly to Stockholm, you arrive before you left because of the time change! If you fly to Helsinki, you barely have time to get into the air before you're decending again. After this pampering, it has become very difficult to sit on the bus for T time. When you know that in T, or 1/2T you could be in a different country, it makes the journey down the same-old highway and barns seem rather banal and quite longer than it used to.

This malcontentedness has made me really miss my car back in the US. I try to tell myself that by not driving I am saving the ozone. By riding the buss I am slowing the onset of global warming. By not continuing to purchase gas at high prices, I am decreasing the demand for the fossil fuel, thus eventually driving prices lower (There won't be peace in the mid-east for awhile folks, start thinking about going hybrid or something!). But what I really want is to put my foot on an accelorator and get to my destination already! Many would say this is because I'm young and impacient. I would say it's because I'm American...and young and impacient.

I do not know if there is a solution to this dilemma. So far, all I have come up with is a general refusal to travel by bus again. I think this is best.

Photo: http://www.anotherurl.com/travel/east_europe/images/bh_bus.jpg