Sparta, (American) Football, and Handel

I didn't think this week would be as ripe for the blogging as others, but it has actually turned out quite well. Classes were classes, nothing interesting on that front. On Thursday my Estonian "tutor" (person assigned to my group to help us poor international students get around) invited us out to an Italian restaurant, "La Dolce Vita." I always enjoy a good Fellini, so I took her up on the offer. It's a nice Italian restaurant that one of my Italian friends even vouched for, so it was pretty authentic. I had the "Päevapasta" (daily pasta) that included bacon, mushrooms, and a tomato-cream sauce. It was pretty good.

Afterwards, our group decided that we wanted to go and enjoy some of the Tartu nightlife, so we went to a few different bars/pubs. Grandparents and others can feel free to skip the next couple of paragraphs that describe various drinking establishments in Tartu :-P.

Ma Olen Tartu! (I am Tartu)

This is an Estonian pop song that was written about the differences between the capital, Tallinn, and the more university-oriented Tartu. We've all been shown this by Estonians and I watched it recently in my Estonian class. At the least it'll help you get a feel for the language. Lyrics in Estonian and English below:

The Estonian Experience

On Saturday I was able to take a 45 minute train trip with a bunch of students down to Taevaskoja, which is basically an Estonian National Park. We hiked a few miles (6 km or so, I believe), ate a picnic lunch, and were able to return before the rain hit. It was really a great place, it reminded me of WV in a lot of ways (except for the glaring lack of mountains). There was a natural spring and lots of pretty forest and tons of mushrooms which I always enjoy spotting. It was good to get out and see the country and I met a few new people which is always good.

Later that night I was finally treated to the sauna that my group had been promised for winning the pub crawl.

Happy Birthday, Zane!

My younger brother turns 21 today, and I'm sorry I'm nowhere near home for it. Happy Birthday, Zane! Hopefully you get to celebrate well and enjoy some time with your son.

Trip to Tallinn and Arvo Pärt Concert

I guess I don't really update this enough. It felt like I just posted something here, and when I get back to check it turns out it's been almost a week! So, by request, here's another update that I've been meaning to make for a while.

On Sunday I took a bus ride to Tallinn and back to see a performance of the music of Arvo Pärt, a very famous and brilliant Estonian composer, accompanied by a fellow classical music lover named Andrea from Italy. Pärt basically writes modern sacred music for choir and orchestra. This is one of the pieces that was performed, except these were new arrangements that were very lush. They used a full strings section and winds and glockenspiels and it was really awesome. I particularly liked that there was also a group of Gregorian chanters, who were placed in the back upper level of the cathedral for added effect (did I mention that the concert was in a cathedral? another plus). It was something I was really hoping to do while I was over here, and I'm glad I can now check it off my list.

There was a small amount of time beforehand to actually check out the city of Tallinn, so of course we did. Tallinn is one of the oldest and most well-preserved medieval cities in Europe. I love anything medieval, so for me it was like Disney World. It's got a very nice atmosphere and the old stone walls and towers that surround the old town are very impressive. I only got to see the modern side on my last visit, which is considerably less awesome. Another fact worth mentioning is that Tallinn is the 2011 European Capital of Culture, so it's a good time to be here, I suppose.

Other than that, classes have been going well and I've been keeping busy with school work and things. The weather is still fallish and I've heard people say the snow doesn't get here until November, so until then it shouldn't be too much different from the weather at home. I do miss a lot of things about home, and of course a lot of people, but fortunately there's enough great things about being here to balance it out. And now comes the part where I post all the photos I've taken since my last entry. Here goes:

Estonian Ska and Russian Visas

A lot has happened in the past week, and I haven't been bothered to write it all down (until now, of course). I know my ones and ones of readers have been waiting impatiently for this update, so here it goes. The main point of interest is that I saw an Estonian ska band last Friday. The band's name was "Ska Faktor," and they performed both original songs in Estonian and English-language covers including Reel Big Fish and stuff like "The Ghostbusters Theme" and The Turtles' "So Happy Together." They were at a place called the Gunpowder Cellar which, if you'll recall, I mentioned earlier as having the highest pub ceiling in the world (I even got a picture of the Guinness record sign that I posted on here earlier). I also took video but I've been having issues uploading them to the net so that may have to wait (it was the main reason I didn't update sooner). 

Classes have been going fairly well, I've been busy going through the University bureaucracy trying to get a library card, trying to get things printed, getting signed up for things, buying class materials, etc etc etc. I hope I'm in the clear for now. Of course there is also a planned trip to Russia in the future, actually there are two.  I was initially signed up for the weekend trip to St. Petersburg the first weekend of October. However, there is going to be a five day trip to St. Petersburg AND Moscow the next weekend, so I may get switched to that. The lady I talked to at the travel agency said that since American visas to Russia cost so much and involve so much paperwork (more than double than for Europeans in cost and paperwork) I should get my money's worth and see more of the country. She really didn't have to do much convincing on that point. So one way or the other I will be planning on visiting Russia this semester, just as soon as I fill out all these ridiculous forms, get my visa photos, and do all the other grunt work involved. I think that's all I have for now! Check out the latest photos I've taken, most of the Gunpowder Cellar, with some other random ones thrown in:

Victorious!

I have no idea what this means yet, but apparently the team I was in for the Pub Crawl last week won the competition!! I don't quite know how or why, there was a photo aspect to it so maybe ours were the best (one of our number did fall into the fountain so that may have pushed us over the edge [pun intended]).

In other news, I spent a good amount of time today at a Russian tavern called Kalinka, where I was able to try Borscht (beet soup, tasted a lot like vegetable soup to me), Pelmeenid (Russian dumplings in sour cream that kinda reminded me of hamburger helper :-P), and Bacon-wrapped pork filet with baked potatoes and mushroom sauce. Needless to say, it was a very good and hearty meal, and I regret that I did not think once to photograph what I was eating! I did snap some photos of the interesting interior, however.