Sincerest Apologies

So, I very definitely suck. I have harboured (unintentionally, of course) a series of about nine blog posts in the safety of my desktop where they remained unedited for the last month and half or so. BUT! I have traded my lazy hat for my editor's hat and now, (drumroll, please) I present to you the product of my tiny existence in a foreign country. I will post chronologically so as not to confuse when these events took place.

February 26-28: South Estonia Trip

This trip was painful. Very, very, painful. I have never felt so alone as I have felt on this small, weekend excursion and I could not give you a good reason as to why. But out of the fog of my sour mood I can relate to you some of the happenings on this trip that should have been, if not for my humour, quite interesting.

We boarded the bus in the afternoon and started heading south towards Tartu, a university town, where we stopped briefly for drinks, as we continued on to our destination. It was dark and I was bus sick and now I have no idea where that destination was actually located. I can, however, tell you that once we got there, it was a very good night. The place was a rest lodge in the middle of what I perceived as nowhere, which was a nice setup. Mostly a long wooden cabin with bunks and a dining hall on the main floor. The dinner was delicious and the company on that first night was exceptional. The best bit, by far, was the sauna. I had never been to a sauna before and so, despite my Winterized (aka flabby, white, generally unprepared for public view) bikini body, I pulled mine on and off I went. Of course, as per Estonian tradition, when in a sauna, one must get as hot as possible and then take a run and jump into the snow. And so I did. And I liked it. Afterwards, I was covered in pine needles and my face was uncomfortably hot and red (and remained that way for the whole night) but, so what? All for the sake of having fun. The rest of the evening was spent dancing and drinking with friends and trying to sleep while the belligerently drunk were still up and shouting. As all should be.

The next day, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Which sounds ridiculous because in a bunk next to a wall there is only one possible side of the bed, but, nonetheless, I woke up on the wrong one. The worst one. The whole day is a haze of crank. We got up and ate a small breakfast and then we re-boarded the bus. We stopped at a park where we proceeded to take a small hike into the woods to see some natural rock formations that used to be a place of worship in the area. There were holes in the cliff side, embedded in the rock, and some caves where water was streaming through. According to our tour guides the water flowing here is very pure and drinkable right from the source. The scenery was beautiful and when looking at my photos later, I realized that I had in fact enjoyed that part of the trip. I've always liked hiking and this was no exception. The day was spent largely in various parks looking at different kinds of Estonian scenery, until later in the afternoon.

Later that day, after a bit more driving, we found ourselves in an historical representation on a traditional Seto farmstead. The Seto people are traditional Estonians whose culture has survived a long history of domination so that they still can bestow upon the viewing public, and enjoy themselves, their traditions and language. They speak a slightly different dialect of Estonian which made it difficult for our guides to translate directly. We toured through the farmstead and ate a traditional meal (I'm using the word traditional a lot, I know, but really, that's what it was), and then a group of Seto women graced us with some singing from the area in traditional (sorry) costume. This was ok until they made me dance. That was not ok. Not ok at all.

After that is where it all gets a bit hazy. We got back on the bus and proceeded to Forest Brothers farm. The Forest Brothers are what the locals call men who were evading and fighting the Russians by living in the woods. Some lived in the woods for the better part of their lives, unable to see their families and denied the comforts that we North Americans have enjoyed during our lives. This particular farms had several bunkers in which to hide and belongs now to a woman whose family had owned the farm since its existence and thus, lived under the occupation. She recollected stories of her community that were truly moving. This part of the day was not lost on me. We were able to see inside the bunkers and partook in the drinking of local vodka (aka moonshine). This is the hazy bit. I had a bit too much of said vodka and elected to sit out the rest of the evening. Woops.

The next day was, how shall I say, difficult. I was very grateful that it was the last day of the trip. I really didn't feel well, really needed a shower, and really didn't want to get back on the bus. But I did. We went first to the highest hill in South Estonia and then to a Poku house (the Estonian equivalent of a Smurf shrine) where a famous Estonian writer's books and characters came to life. It would take a person with more patience than I to tell you completely about Poku's and their origins, but suffice it to say, they are rather like Smurf's but without the blue and with lots of hair.

That was the end of the South Estonian adventure and I can say unashamedly that I spent the next week as a hermit in my apartment. I had had enough of people for a few days. Better luck next time, I guess.