Russia, almost there

Kathleen,

Mandy and I have plane tickets into Riga on the 7th, now it's a matter of getting bus tickets. The buses all run at night time, we miss them on the 7th so we'll be in Riga for a night but we can head out the next day,the 8th but we'd arrive in Tartu around 11pm. Is this too late to catch the bus into St. Petersburg? There is a night bus that Kelsey enlightened us to and we'd get into Tartu around 3am...don't really want to be wandering around the city at that time...

Gabriel,
Gordon Stearns sent me this email about your visa support:
Dear Kathleen:I sent to them (actually, to Gabriel) an email with their visa support,then another with a copy of the American citizen form for applying. I told them what I expected they would have to submit, but notknowing the Russian Consulate in Warsaw I cannot do much more(though I did specify to their inviting organization that they wouldbe submitting in Warsaw). They'll likely need some Polish friendto go online and find out what, when, how much, etc. for applicationsin Warsaw. Even with Holy Week, when the Poles may take offmore time, they should have more than enough time to process theirapplications.I'll look for yours, then we can finish up train tickets and hotel, andget yours submitted.Many thanksGordon

If you don't have this (from around March 20) you need to be in touch with me asap. There is still time to get the visa, but let's get this figured out!

Are we ready?!

Hellooo!
Are you ready to go to Russia? I know that Gabriel and Robert still need to get their visas--have you not heard anything from Gordon Stearns at Tour Designs in DC? He emailed me a couple of weeks ago to verify your UNCG email address so that he could send the visa support. I've emailed him again, but be on the lookout for info from him! I'm loving reading your posts--keep them coming!

Orphanage in Estonia

This week I went to a local orphanage to volunteer. After getting my unsuccessful test grade back and watching a drunk be pulled away in an ambulance while eating a cabbage roll in the Town Square, I was ready to see some orphans. Kara, another international student, and I walked about 15 min outside Old Town to this pink stucco home. Upon entry, one is supposed to take off his or her shoes, which I did. The whole time I felt so uncomfortable and awkward. Kara showed me around the place. There are two floors. The first one has a kitchen, dining room, living room, and several middle-age (8-10) boy rooms. Upstairs was all the other kids rooms, a worker room, and another living room with a balcony where the cool angsty teenagers smoke. One of the reasons I thought it was awkward was the fact that there wasn't much communication between us and the orphans other than the younger ones coming up for tickle fights and hugs. I am sure once the whole "getting to know you" process is over, the teenagers will be more friendly. Normally Kara said on Tuesdays she watches choir practice (which is downstairs in the basement) and folk practice, then eats dinner with them and helps them with their homework. So we watched the choir practices which made me laugh because although I don't understand Estonian I could tell what the teacher was commenting on. One of the interesting things, the kids who are there may have parents or extended family still around, it's just that their parents can't afford or don't want them. That's why they are there, in addition to what one may already think. When I left I was pretty sure I never wanted to go again (probably because I am HUGE chicken), but while writing this and remember each kid's attributes makes me want to go again.

I found all the Polish people!

Yesterday was our first all-day sunny day here in Wroclaw. The sun did not drift behind a single cloud all day and the temperature got up to 60 degrees. I went downtown to do some errands and I have never seen it to packed. There were tours going on for tourists, restaurants were installing awnings for outdoor seating, a guy with an accordion, and people, people, people. The whole scene made my heart jump around a little, especially when me ears caught English being spoken by someone who I knew wasn't from Olowek. I felt the sleep getting wiped from Rynek's eye as I noticed the sand blasters were completely gone (they fill the cobble stone in) and the fountain in the square was actually running. The people were laughing and smiling finally. Students were just laying on benches soaking up the sunlight. It was weird to stand amongst Wroclawians and tourists, which group do I belong to? It's weird to see tourists in a town that you live in, that never happens in Greensboro. It all made me proud to claim Wroclaw as my city.
Wroclaw is getting ready for Easter and so shop windows are displaying eggs and chicks and flowers foretelling the holiday. I haven't noticed a change in the meat selection yet though; no summer hams or big turkeys rolling out. Perhaps they don't get into that tradition. I have noticed these weird bundles of colored reeds popping up everywhere though, I wonder what they stand for.
As a last note: my friends and I have been commenting on how the city is a completely different one in the sunshine; one that seems less lost in it's own smog. Finally!

Is there really spring in Estonia?

I finally figured out what traditional Estonian food is. It took 2 months to officially uncover the well-kept secret, but here is a typical Estonian dish: usually some type of pork, potatoes, rye bread, and slaw/salad. I've actually had several Estonians tell me that they feel Estonia doesn't have a lot to offer in food, so they don't promote food as part of their culture, like say Italy or France for example. This is why there is a Georgian, French Crepe, 2 Chinese, 3 Italian, and several other international restaurants in the town square. Many of us have picked up on the fact that Estonians like food that is very simple in taste. Especially those of us used to a lot of spices, sauces, and heat. I do really like the food here though. Especially the coffee and pastries everywhere!

We started to celebrate spring's arrival too soon. But we really did think it was coming. I mean, what else are you supposed to think when the sun comes out for almost a week and melts all of the snow and ice from the side walks while being serenaded by birds? But oh no, winter is not done yet. This past Saturday it was freezing, gray, and rainy. And Sunday morning we woke up to a view of white outside the window, with continuing sheets of snow falling all day. Thankfully today was a bit sunnier, but I am so longing for spring. When I mentioned spring coming before this weekend's blizzard, an Estonian actually laughed at me and told me I had at least through April before I could start talking like that. But I'm hoping this year is different, just this once!

I was waiting for it to come up sooner or later, but I finally got scolded for being a wasteful American yesterday. As my Georgian flatmate was washing her dishes, my Spanish roommate began to lecture her on using too much water. When the rest of us defended the Georgian for the fun of a debate, my roommate looked at Kaylee and I and said to the rest, "You know what they do in America? They flush the toilet every single time. Do you know how many liters of water they waste a year?" Of course she was just giving us a hard time. But when I started to think about it, we do use a lot more single-use items in America, which generates so much more trash than we do here. I've noticed I use less plastic bags, paper towels, and things like that here. Maybe Europe can further motivate me in effort to go Green.

Drinks, please!

Something that has been noted before but never commented on from my behalf is the amount of alcohol this building consumes daily. Maybe I just missed the "college experience" when I was back at home, and correct me if I'm wrong, but did the students drink EVERY night of the week? Did I miss this?
To me, it is far from a party if it happens every night. Don't get me wrong, it is great fun going out in Wroclaw, but I would really like to come home with my liver intact. And 'no' isn't really an answer in Poland, at least not to drinking, as we've learned from our Polish language course. In colloquial Polish, the word "no" actually means "yes."
But what are we to do? Every night, the party folks come round and try to convince every one to go out to a certain place with them. They are persistent. And if they leave with an English "no" instead of a Polish one, they aren't the most pleased people in the world. They still go out, and you wonder what experiences or fun you'll miss out on that night. If you become one of the crowd that commonly doesn't go out, the number of people you see and talk to on a daily basis begins to dwindle.
This also brings me to the realization of how badly I want alone time. I want to be around everyone here, I love them all. But every one has limits before they just need a little bit of time to themselves. I have had no time to myself in the 7 weeks that I have been here. No mental health days, no peaceful, quiet days to myself in my room, and no completely alone wanderings. Someone always pops up to your room, or you run into someone while you are out. And not that there is anything wrong with that, as I said, I love seeing all the people here, but some days it would be nice to just fade into the background and mill around as a nobody for a while.
Everyone keeps saying, "It's Erasmus, you have to live it up!" But are we living it up if we only experience it in the same way, time after time, through beers and vodkas? I feel that nothing new really happens in this city, everything is actually a secret routine that hides behind the premise that each night is a new adventure.
Maybe it's just me, but I for one would like to see something different. Fun that borders on alcoholism has become far too routine and ritualistic. I guess I'm going to have to start a new wave....