1997: Off to a Great Start

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 opportunity to learn more about the developments in my temporary home. 

Previous entry: Tartu, Back in the Swing

August 18-24, 1997

This was a very exciting and eventful week. It saw me begin working here in Tartu and was the last week that I will have completely free before school starts next month. Next week we begin orientation and the routine will return once again a little to my life. In many ways I am actually looking forward to it. A little bit less chaos will certainly be a welcome thing and seeing friends again whom I have not seen for a very long time will be quite nice.

The best part of this week is that I moved into my new home. I am renting a spare room from a local family and have finally taken my place there. The father, Raivo, works for an industrial supply company and the mother, Ene, is head nurse in the hospital here. Their youngest daughter, Kairit, is a good friend of mine and studies in the university with me. They have another daughter, Eike, who is married and has a six year old daughter, Getter. Her husband is Priit. They are all very nice and I think that we will all get along quite nicely.

18 August 1997
Monday

Some days just seem to go perfectly. Today was one of those days. This afternoon I went to make contact with Jane and Silvi of the Tartu Catholic School whom I had corresponded with a little by email last spring in Warrensburg. I really enjoyed getting to know them and will probably be working with them as an English teacher this year.

Later in the afternoon I ran into Inga from last year and had a fun time catching up. It is so wonderful seeing all of these old friends once again. A great day.

19 August 1997
Tuesday

Today was a good day. I started doing some proofreading work for the International Center and got to meet one of the Americans staying here in the dormitories. Mark has been living in Tallinn for most of the summer and so it has been me here by myself. We talked well into the night and it felt very good to be speaking with an American for a little while. Despite the fact that I speak English every day, rarely do I get the chance to chat with someone who uses my accent, dialect and slang. An “American break” was definitely welcome.

20 August 1997
Wednesday

I spent most of the day in the library working on the proofreading job that I am doing and researching a couple of things in English grammar that I could not, for the life of me, figure out. It’s strange, but English grammar is a natural thing to me, and when I have to start thinking too hard about it it can get quite difficult.

21 August 1997
Thursday

As usual, this was another great Thursday. I spent the better part of the day catching up on the World Wide Web and in the evening went to visit my Russian friends, Yura and Lena. We had a little to eat and drink and enjoyed catching up. I really enjoy talking to them because it always a strange language that we speak, a unique mix of English, Estonian and Russian language.

23 August 1997
Saturday

My first night in my new home. I moved in with the Kuldmets family and am having a good time. We took a sauna and I had a great night on the town with Kairit. It feels very good to be able to be out of the dormitories once and for all.

24 August 1997
Sunday

It’s been a long, hard climb, but I am finally at home. Half way around the world, three months into my journey I have moved into my new room, have gotten to know my new family and am starting to feel quite comfortable.

I met Veronika (a friend from the dorms last year) last night at Raekoja Plats. As usual, it was good to catch up with her after all this time. I also had to say goodbye to Petter, a Bulgarian friend, yesterday. He is leaving for a year in Finland. I can’t believe how many people are leaving town. I am really going to be starting over. But, coming from the strong position that I am, it shouldn’t prove to be too much of a problem. I can’t believe how good the Lord is being to me. What a life.

Next entry: A Glorious End to a Glorious Summer