This past weekend I had my first go at Estonian skiing. Friday afternoon a group of ESN students went to a nearby city, Otepää for skiing through the great hills of Estonia. And yes, hills. Estonia is a fairly flat country, so there really aren't any mountains here. After several hours of snow and wipe-outs we went to a lodge about 30 minutes away and had a nice traditional Estonian dinner. This consisted of a beet slaw, another salad similar to cole slaw, rye bread, a type of meat loaf, boiled potatoes, and a cream sauce to go over them. All of this served with juice. (side note- I've noticed that the drinks go differently in this part of the world. In the States you are always served a drink with ice in it, have the option of complementary water, and usually get free refills at restaurants. Here, however, drinks are not served with ice, only water is rarely, and water is not free. In fact, sometimes it costs as much as a soft drink. And there are definitely no free refills) After dinner we were served a traditional Estonian dessert. The only way I can think to describe it was a smooth raspberry flavored oatmeal/custard. We were also given milk to mix with it before eating. I don't think I've ever had anything with that consistency, and not many people were fans of it, but it was part of the experience! After the dinner we went to a smoke sauna in the lodge. I really think that this is the same process that they smoke meat with because the next day all of my clothes smelled like smoked ham. The sauna was nice though. Several people were crazy enough to run outside in their bathing suits, run through the snow and jump in a small hole in the frozen over lake, then run back into the sauna. I didn't manage to make it past the snow...

I thought I would note some things about life here that is different from home:
For one, there are coat checks in almost every building except for stores here. The way they work is you leave your coat with the person, who in turn gives you a plastic card with a number on it. Whenever you are ready to leave the building, you simply hand the number back to the person and they give you your coat. Many places even have benches and mirrors around to assist you in dressing in your entire second wardrobe before braving the cold again.
Although the grocery stores are fairly similar to those at home, the stores here do not provide bags. You either have to provide your own or purchase plastic ones. And where chicken is probably the most common meat available at home, with beef right behind it, they are second to pork here in Estonia. I have actually found beef to not be very common at all.
When entering a home in Estonia, you are expected to take your shoes off at the door. The host or hostess will then offer you slippers to wear, or they may offer the choice for you to remain in your socks if you wish. I like this tradition. It makes you feel more at home as a guest in a house.