Socks and Underwear

I was having a bit of writer's block this week, but was writing to a friend on Facebook about how I was running out of socks and suddenly, voila!! My inspiration for how to start my next post. Why, you ask? Well, because I am running out of socks and underwear! I've been here for a week and every day I need three pairs of socks so my toes don't fall off in the -20 degree weather. One day I went out to walk on the frozen Baltic sea (very beautiful, by the way) and I still haven't recovered. All of that aside however, this place so far has been truly wonderful. Looking up at picturesque snow topped buildings while walking on winding, slightly slippery, cobbled streets with fat snow flurries floating gently down around you is an activity that I could do endlessly if it didn't involve frost-bitten finger-tips and noses. Infinite passageways, tunnels, staircases and narrow alleys transport you all over the central Old Town and every time I take a trip there I discover something new. For example, last week I went to view an apartment that belonged to an Italian girl, Carlotta, who was also on exchange in Estonia. After seeing her apartment (which I agreed to take, incidentally) we were standing chatting in her kitchen where I explained that I had been there for a while but hadn't really met anybody yet. She was kind enough to invite me to dinner with her and a group of her friends at a pizza place just outside Old Town. The food was delicious, the company was fantastic and so after, we decided to continue our evening at a coffee shop. Joined by a few more people we made our way into a tiny nook that was through a gate and didn't look like it contained much of anything. To my surprise and delight, this tiny nook was in fact, home to many shops and a beautiful little coffee place selling a number of culinary fascinations such as chilli chocolate and pineapple flavoured green tea. The interior was infused by low lights and was decorated by lovely, old furniture, flowers, chandeliers and candles. It was a typical Old Town structure with low ceilings, old stonework and visible beams. Settling down into a corner, all of us ordered and waited at our table in anticipation for what we were sure was going to be an incredible dining experience. We were not disappointed. The tea came in little mugs with filters in the centre for the loose tea leaves to settle and steep and the chocolates were served on small silver plates like the ones your grandmother has in her china cabinet someplace, all scrolls and frills along the edges. The chilli chocolates were to die for, with just a little heat in the truffle centre to set off the rich, dark chocolate. I have to tell you, the I have not often had cause to use the word "swoon" but that day, I may very well have "swooned" over those chocolates.

Each time I've explored the city, it's been something like that. Someplace new, with different people and even though whatever activity we are partaking in may not be my favourite thing (think clubbing complete with disco lights and a gazillion people) it's still an entertaining experience. My friend Pauline has been a huge help in showing me the sights and the shopping (which I very definitely like) and the orientation put on by the International Office and student club has been both fun and informative. I've met tons and tons of people from all over and we've bonded over trying out the preferred local alcohol (Vana Tallinn) which burns on the way down and trying to find our way around. It's really starting to pick up here and it's all very exciting! My classes start on Monday and I'm looking forward to figuring out what my routine is going to be like. Only having three courses will be quite different for me, and will hopefully leave me with lots of time to travel! Of course that also means more blogging and more pictures! But, we'll see. Tonight, an Estonian party with traditional music and snacks. I'll keep you posted!

Grocery Wars

The eating issue is by far the most difficult problem I've come across since I started travelling. Restaurants are hard to navigate (which are expensive, which aren't?) and menus are often not in English. I really need to buy some groceries so that I can eat at home. After my Old Town adventure, I find my way to a grocery store called "Kaubamaja" in the downstairs of the mall "Viru Keskus". I walk in, find a basket and to my relief, the store is organized like a North American supermarket with produce at the front, and milk in the back. I pick up what I think are normal oranges and grapefruit, and spy to my left some, wait for it, Chiquita bananas!! I smile in relief and pick up a bunch. The next parts are far more difficult. I only have a pan at the hostel, no pots or microwave so I need things that can be prepared in a pan. However, I can't read the cooking instructions! After some struggling, I manage to get what I need in terms of food stuffs. Now, for the milk section.

Far and away the most difficult part of my day was trying to buy milk. Do you know how many different kinds of white stuff come in milk-like cartons?? Cream, yoghurt here comes in cartons, and then full milk, half fat milk, and no fat milk. None of which I can read! I make a guess and hope for the best. God knows if it's actually what I want. I venture down to buy juice and some crackers and then make my way to the cereal aisle. And then, I saw Cheerios!! For the first time, Cheerios sufficiently cheered me. I stash the honey variety into my basket and move on to checkout.

The checkout was a tad bit stressful. The cashier didn't speak English and there was a line behind me of busy people getting food after work. I try to find bags but I can't see any, nor do I see where to put my basket. I find the bags eventually, hiding under the counter, move to the end of the checkout and start bagging my items. Everything else runs smoothly.

I get lost again on my way out but eventually find my trolley stop and purchase my ticket properly. When I finally find my way back to my hostel I am exhausted. I've been on hyper-aware for the last five days and I need to unwind. So, I call home and put a movie on and fall asleep. I had a productive day, but I don't think I'll move very far tomorrow.

My very first full day in my new country

Yesterday was bound to be a bit stressful. There were several things I was determined to figure out how to do, 1) ride a trolley into the city centre, 2) figure out what and where to eat, 3) find a grocery store because this eating out business is costing me a lot, and 4) not freezing to death.

So, first mission: riding the trolley. Trolley stop is almost directly outside my front door so that's easy enough, however, I need trolley tickets or exact Estonian change, neither of which I possess. The girl at the front desk was kind enough to give me 12 Estonian crowns on loan and then told me where to get off of the trolley and exchange my money. As I walked outside, the trolley arrived right on time (hey, Halifax Metro Transit, eat my dust). Trolleys look like buses but with several opening doors and large antennae on top of them as they are connected to electrical cables strung throughout Tallinn. They also have their own lanes!

I get on the trolley near the drivers door where I was told there would be a box for me to place my money, but, wait! Panic! I don't see a box! Trolley pulls away, I sit down and am now illegally riding the trolley. The next twenty minutes were an agony of waiting for someone to find out I didn't have a ticket and subsequently fining me. That didn't happen. I exited the trolley at the Kaubamaja stop and no harm, no foul. Phew.

Now, I'm standing in the middle of the city centre and it's -20 degrees centigrade. I don't know where I am. In my kerfuffle I forget where the exchange bureau is and just start walking in any direction that seems like it might lead indoors. I get hopelessly lost. I find sushi restaurant and a person in the sushi restaurant points me in the right direction. I walk until I find a giant mall called "Viru Keskus" whose sale ads incidentally are of a girl with a leather strap in her mouth with text that says "Sale Slave." Wow. I find an exchange bureau, and exchange my cash. Woo! Now, we're getting somewhere!

My next project is to figure out where to eat. I haven't consumed anything in 24 hours. In the mall I find an American looking restaurant somewhat akin to say, Jungle Jims. I order chicken fingers and fries, my trusted standby when I don't know what to order and wait impatiently for my meal. When it arrives, the fries and chicken are served with blue cheese sauce and roasted pepper mayo and a side of melon. How odd. I scarf down my meal, and leave the mall heading for Old Town, or, "Vanalinn".

For the first time since my arrival I am truly excited. This is what the pictures looked like online and despite that being fairly trivial, the fact I can recognize something and that it seems familiar is really wonderful. I've been walking for a while and my nose hairs have frost on them so I stop and buy some postcards before having a look around. I wander about in no particular direction, safe in the knowledge that Old Town is small and the chances of getting lost in it are slim. I find Town Square and St. Nicholas' Church, which is now a museum and decide to go in for a peek. Built in the 13thC, the church is a beautiful example of local architecture. It was constructed before the town wall fortifications and was therefore once used for defensive purposes as well. The art in here is fabulous but I can't take pictures so I'll need to commit this to memory and maybe purchase a card on the way out. The church is nice, but small, and I'm done after a short time. It doesn't help that one of the employees who can't speak English keeps following me around. On my way out, the ticket sales person helps me find where I want to go next and suggests for me to come back at 4pm to hear an organ concert. No need to ask twice, I'll definitely be back.

I find my next destination very easily. It's a part of Old Town called "Toopea" and is the oldest part of the city. Here I find plenty of tourists and plenty of photo opportunities. Home to the Alexander Nevzky Cathedral and Kiek in de Kok (an old 13C bastion) it is what I've looked up online and am now seeing in person. I get a bit too excited and start a half run towards the Cathedral sliding mostly the entire way. I rush through this part of town, knowing I'll be back to see it all again until I find the most magnificent look-off. From my perch I can see all of Old Town below and all the way to the harbour. In fact, I can see the cruise ship I came in on the day before. I take lots of photos (some complete with a view of my mitten) and make my way back to the Church.

Recognizing me from before, the ladies at the desk wave me inside and I find a quiet corner to sit in. An usher gives me a program and I wait for the organ to start. For a half an hour or so the Church is lifted up by some of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. I feel small, alone but quite serene for the duration of the concert. The music is moving enough to bring a tear to your eye and the 13C acoustics are unbelievable. This is something to savour for the rest of my journey. I am so pleased at having stumbled across this little gem. There are very few people in attendance and it's just nice to be able to sit and listen for a while.

Not long after the end of the concert my follower friend returned and so I made a quick escape to a coffee shop for some dinner. The cream of pumpkin soup is lovely, the coffee is American and the cake is delicious. On my way out of Old Town I stop at one of its many amber shops to view their selection. I choose one of the smallest pendants and a silver chain on which to hang it and carefully ferret my treasure out of Old Town. It's my first real souvenir of this whole adventure and I'm very proud of it. I need to be careful not to lose it.

Next stop, grocery shopping.

Eesti

"Welcome to Tallinn, Estonia. The local time is 10:00am. Thank you for travelling with Tallink Silja and have a pleasant day." Those were the words that were my proverbial pat on the bum as I exited the boat to begin my stay in Tallinn. Hands clammy, mouth dry, eyes wide, nerves frayed. Great start.

Upon my arrival, two of the university students who volunteer with the international office were there to meet me and to my fortune, they had a car. They drove me to the university and allowed me to get settled and then showed me around campus. The campus itself is relatively easy to navigate and the social sciences building where I'll be is very close to where I'm currently staying, although my location may change. There is a lot of concrete (something I assume is leftover from the Soviet era) and many pedways connecting each building which is excellent because it's -20!! It's going to be -32 on Sunday as well. So, it's a little chilly here and I'm glad that when I'm switching buildings I don't actually have to go outside.

I'm not nearly as calm as yesterday. Being in the place where I actually spend the next five months is a little daunting and I'm feeling quite overwhelmed. I'll be sorted out soon enough though, after I get some rest. I'm also quite early so I may do a little more travelling before classes begin (Lithuania? Finland?) as I don't know many people here and have a spare week to do some looking around.

According to the student volunteers, in this particular exchange program, I am the first student to arrive from North America, though as I understand it, there will be an American here eventually. Also the university with which my exchange was organized has amalgamated into the one I'm currently attending so it's possible that there were North Americans attending that institution from time to time. Either way, being the only Canadian will be interesting I'm sure.

I'm looking forward to exploring tomorrow and I think I'll be able to take the bus which seems fairly easy to navigate. There is the possibility of an apartment near the city centre so I think I might see if I can find it.

This is turning out to be quite the adventure and I've only just begun!

Ship has internet! But only for an hour...

This is not a ferry. This is a cruise ship. It has bars, coffee shops, liquor stores, a cabaret, a sauna, a sun deck, a salon and several restaurants. I'm currently sitting on the 9th floor of 9 floors and have been on the ship for about an hour. Number of times hit on: 3. All three times by gentlemen from Iraq. I'm getting the distinct impression that people from Sweden may be Swedish, but like in Canada, not all Swedish are actually Swedes. In fact, most of my conversations with locals in Sweden took place with people from the Middle East. Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and the list continues. The cab driver that took me to my "ferry" was from Africa and we had a very nice discussion about the difference between "ship" and "chip" in English and about the Swedish equivalent of "cheque day" in Canada, when those on social security get their cheques and go buy food, or in his case, hire cabs. These particular folks (the come-from-away's) often speak the best English and are the friendliest. Unfortunately, they all seem to be a part of the service industry (not the fun parts) just the same as in Canada.

All of that aside, upon reflecting on my trip to Sweden I noticed one thing more than many other things. The Swedish really like to shop. There were streets lined with stores of every variety and all of them were busy. People on weekday nights filled the pedestrian streets and rushed around buying things (there were 5 H&M's in a 2 block radius!). Those of you who have ever walked with me (or in front of me as I ran you over) know that I walk at a speed just shy of running, but in Sweden, I was going slowly even while hurrying. I commented to a cab driver that there seemed to be a lot of people out and about for a weekday and he said that the Swedish economy is very cyclical. Money goes in, money goes out. Lots of it, quickly. Maybe I was meant to be Swedish!

I very much enjoyed my time in Sweden. As I watched the ship pull out of the harbour I was a little sad to be leaving. In my time there I had successfully managed to navigate my way around most of the city. Alone, at that. For my first time away I was happy to have been in a place that allowed me to function in my native language and to pick some of the very phonetic Swedish language while seeing the sites. I'm a bit afraid to be giving that up. Even on the ship, already fewer people speak English. Hopefully, that means I'll be able to pick up some Estonian quickly, forced out of necessity perhaps, but learning a new language nonetheless. It will just be less comfortable.

Lastly, I just wanted to tell you that today an Iraqi woman, as I was boarding the ship, asked if I was alone. Upon my reply of "Yes." she then asked if I was afraid. I said no, realizing that I actually wasn't and finding that very odd. This experience so far has been very matter of fact. My head just tells the rest of me, "Ok, this is Iceland." or, "Ok, this is Sweden." and then that's the end of it. For a person who panics when one little thing is out of place, I thought I'd be in a proper mess right now. Maybe, though, that could be because I'm out of place, not my surroundings. Me. The person is not where she should be. But then, where IS the person supposed to be? I don't know. Something to think about, I guess.

Next stop: Tallinn, Estonia.

Stockholm!!

This is a very exciting city with a lot of people, that has been surprisingly easy to navigate. I've had few "lost" moments and many enjoyable walks. Between today and yesterday, I've seen most of the city to the north of "Gamla Stan" aka Old Town and then Gamla Stan itself. I'm staying in a place called "City Backpackers" and it's a hostel that is very clean and nice in the centre of town. There are 3 more people rooming in the same bedroom from Russia, China and Australia. The prices for things are nearly the same as Canadian prices with the exception of food which is very expensive. Dinner is almost always twice the price of lunch, but they are the same size.

I've been using my Frommer's guide book so far and the maps are helpful but I've found it lies a little. It's supposed to help me plan a cheap trip but it lists some very expensive places, especially to shop, when there are plenty of cheaper alternatives if you look. Ah, well. The best thing I learned so far is to explore first, find things on maps later. I've been here the same length of time as some of the folks I'm staying with and they are sitting beside me trying to find streets I've been over a few times, some that are fairly far from the hostel. I used my map today, to get to Gamla Stan but after that I just sort of roamed. There are wide, pedestrian streets that are cobbled and allow you to walk anywhere, where there is lots of shopping. Gamla Stan was almost entirely pedestrian and had the narrowest streets where there were lots of tourist shops. I only spent a little time there, maybe 4 hours but it was enough to see the Royal Palace, the changing of the guards, shop a little, eat, and walk on all of the streets in Gamla Stan. At the end, I even gave some tourists directions (correct directions at that!).

I left Old Town in time to have some papers scanned which took about 2 hours (nobody in Stockholm knows where to scan something, but 1 random Canadian now does!). In the process I found a nice place that has desserts and coffee that I might go to tomorrow. I leave at 5 pm Swedish time to go to Estonia (12pm Canadian) and arrive there at 10 am on the 22nd (or 5 am Canadian). I think I'll go to the other side of Gamla Stan tomorrow, (you have to pass through it to get to more land on the other side) to get to a place called "Slussen".

I took pictures but I'll wait to upload until I get to Estonia!

One more week!

This afternoon I emptied my camera card to make room for new photos. This isn't a big event but it forced me to peruse the last six months of my life in relative detail (I am the notorious person at parties and events that is constantly taking photos- if, of course- I've remembered my camera at all). Photos from the summer where I spent my days sailing and squinting for lack of decent sunglasses at Camp Rotary's Grand Lake, weeks after that spent making my way through my home town and new home town with one wild Australian who made me see familiar places through new eyes, and lastly the last four months, which were perhaps, the most challenging months, keeping up with one very intelligent Ontarian and trying not to drown in mounds of schoolwork. Well, what, do you suppose does this have to do with much of anything?

The thing is, I've always thought that I lived a rather small life; valuable, but small nonetheless. So, looking through old photos made me reconsider that idea. It made me shift how I thought of this upcoming change of place, language and direction. I thought going into this that it would be my one greatest adventure or effort and that it would be the pinnacle of my young adult life. However, I no longer believe that this is the case. To be quintessential, this is the next chapter (I finally understand what people in movies where someone gets divorced mean by that phrase). I have lived a fantastic life filled with people that have come and gone, with a fair few that somehow stuck to my fabric of existence, rather like velcro. It is now that I'd like to thank the people who have influenced me, taught me, loved me, and stuck by me while I was being absolutely intolerable. You made this life worth something- and that is a very big thing to have done.

It's seems to me I would never have gotten this far without a lot of help (a lot being subjective but invariably meaning someone kindly suggesting to me that I'm being an idiot and to do it the right way) and it is because of this help that I embark on one very scary journey. Very shortly.

To my wild Australian, intelligent Ontarian, fellow Rotarians and my family and friends,
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Stay tuned.