The funniest thing happened yesterday. It was such a small thing, but it still makes me smile to think of it. There is a bakery in the town square that I had passed several times and a friend had recommended to me. After visiting the International Student Office and library that morning, I still had quite some time before my class began, so I thought I would visit the bakery to kill some time. After finally deciding which dessert looked absolutely the most delicious, I noticed one of the young workers standing behind the register with a slightly frustrated look. When I looked down I couldn't help but let out a laugh. There on the counter top laid piles of small coins being sorted by a small bundled-up boy. With his tongue sticking out to the side of his mouth in concentration, he preciously counted his meager treasure. By the time I had found a table and eaten half of my pastry, the little boy was finally successful in his endeavor and marched victoriously out the door with a bag of chocolate cookies in tow.
As I sat and observed the people coming and going through the antique bakery door, I couldn't help but think that my view perfectly described Tartu in a nutshell: Through the window I could see snow, trees, cars passing, and people walking on cobblestone streets. Inside I sat at a table charmingly adorned with a floral red Christmas clothe and a small basket of flowers. I listened to the sounds of the kitchen, watched a worker cleaned off tables briskly and thoroughly, and all the while these melodies played to the rhythm of a woman typing on her wireless laptop at a nearby table.
I am amazed and delighted at how this town has managed to advance at a furious rate in technology, yet still hold firmly to the old charm from which it has come.
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