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.

One of the establishments was called "shotbar" (they're not too creative with the English here). They basically make a mixed drink and serve it in shot glasses for really cheap. The combinations are interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the names. I had a "Justin Bieber," a "David Hasselhoff," (these were the girls' choices, in case there was any doubt) and a few others that I probably shouldn't post the names of here. I also tried the Estonian liquor Vana Tallinn (Old Tallinn), which basically tastes like Dr. Pepper but in a shot. It was really tasty, and I may bring back a bottle for anyone who is interested in trying it as I'm pretty sure it's not sold in the US. 

We had also been told that every Tartu student has to try the infamous "Sparta shots" served at a bar in another location, so the girls persuaded us that we should do it. It's called Moku or something like that, and it's basically as big as my dorm room with very few seats but it's always PACKED out the door (and it's like crawling into a cramped cellar, no headroom or anything). Usually you go outside with your drinks, but we decided to try the Spartas inside. They were 1/3 absinthe, 1/3 tequila, and 1/3 Stroh (a European rum). And it was a whopping double shot. I think you can probalby imagine how it was. My biggest complaint was the strong licorice taste, apparently from the absinthe. We visited a few more places but didn't really drink that much afterward. It was more about trying different "Estonian" things for me, which was good because I tried both Vana Tallinn and the infamous/terrible "Sparta shot."

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to see a classical music concert by the Estonian Symphony and the Estonian Chamber Choir at Jaani kirik (St. John's Church, funnily enough the same name as the cathedral in Tallinn where I saw the last concert). It was an oratorio by Georg Freidrich Handel called "Saul," about the biblical king. I had already seen Handel's "Messiah" and this one was also fantastic. Something about the oratorio is just really grand and beautiful to me. Here's a clip (with a pretty awesome Star Wars picture for some reason): 

Got some pizza after, and then I made the decision that I would stay up to watch the WVU-LSU game. College Gameday was in town and I knew that Morgantown was going crazy for it. I didn't get to see much of the pre-game stuff, but I did manage to stay awake until 3 AM for the kickoff. Suffice it to say I didn't watch the whole thing, mostly because I was tired but also because LSU was kicking our butts. I did enjoy watching the crowd go crazy though and I always enjoy when the audience puts the players off rhythm with their sheer volume. 

Classes start up again tomorrow, and I need to do laundry but there are only five washers for the ENTIRE building so that may not happen soon. I've got a couple papers to write for this week so I should probably get to that. If anyone has anything they want to ask me about life here or anything leave a comment, send me an email, facebook message, etc. etc.