1997: Thanksgiving Week

From the archives: It turns out that I was blogging long before anyone had ever heard the term “blog.” Twenty years ago I was an exchange student in Estonia. While studying at the University of Tartu, I created an online travelogue to keep my family and friends apprised of my experiences. Both my life and the nation of Estonia have changed a lot the two decades since. This reprise is providing me with a glimpse at who I was back then and the excuse to learn more about more recent developments in my temporary home, even if some of the opinions that I expressed back then may make me a little bit uncomfortable today. It is interesting to see how people grow and change.

Previous entry: Pre-Thanksgiving Build Up

November 24-30, 1997

This week I am going back to posting my journal by weekly increments. I think that makes it easier to read when looking at it over the internet and also tends to make this commentary section of it much more honest and accurate. This week I celebrated the American Thanksgiving holiday by having a potluck at the Catholic Church fellowship hall. We had intended to have a bigger party of Manhattan but that failed by the ignorance and poor managerial skills of that establishment’s staff. We did manage to have a good celebration ourselves despite it all. The only thing that we truly missed was turkey. Smoked chicken is good, but not really the same thing.

24 November 1997
Monday

Today I put up posters for our party on Thursday and invited some people to the dinner beforehand. I really hope that this whole thing goes off well. I am a little nervous, but it will work out like it’s supposed to.

25 November 1997
Tuesday

I’d like nothing more than to go straight to sleep, I am so tired, must write…

Today plans for out Thanksgiving party crashed because the genius owners of Manhattan had already scheduled another part for the same night as ours. It was not until I went and checked on everything that they let us know about the error. Very poor business practices. I understand mistakes happening, but people should find a way of making up for it. I shouldn’t have had to go down and find out for myself two days before it was scheduled to occur. At the very least, they should have called us. As a small consolation, the dinner part of it will still happen at the Catholic Church, the most important part.

26 November 1997
Wednesday

An otherwise good night out with the internationals marred by the theft of Sue’s coat at Illegaard.

27 November 1997
Thursday
Thanksgiving

A great Thanksgiving, not traditional, but that was to be expected. We had a good dinner and I called home for the first time in several months. Expensive, but worth it. A day to remember.

28 November 1997
Friday

I went to a guitar concert with Kairit, Karolina and Matti. Ended the night at Atlantis. A nice evening.

I love this life I am living, yet at the same time I a miss my home and family desperately. It is a difficult duality, missing them makes what I am doing excruciatingly difficult and painful, yet the joy and exhilaration I receive from this lifestyle makes it more than worthwhile. I miss them, but I must continue to miss them. There can be no going back to a past which I cannot recapture. They brought me into this world, made me who I am and have loosed me out into the world so that I, too, might be able to contribute to someone else’s life.

It is hard having them so many miles away, but it is part of my life, part of who I am. Just try to make them proud and hope that you can someone else as deeply as they have touched you. What a life. Who needs fiction when reality is so incredible?

29 November 1997
Saturday

I went with Diemo Roller and his friend Tommi, to Krooks and then on to Delia. A very fulfilling night.

Next entry: December already!?! Ain’t possible