Googling Estonian

I've had a couple interesting conversations with my friend about the internet of all things. It should be obvious to me, but I'll admit I don't often think about googling in Estonian so it's not.... but there's just so much less out there. It's easy to get the feeling when on the "English" internet that the information truly is limitless.... but my friend says it's quite often that you just are the first person to be wanting to know / write about how to replace something in a recipe or... something.

We had an intense experience yesterday. Still not done thinking it through. First we wandered the old town, seeing the adorable christmas market stalls, lights everywhere, cute shops, people selling "glogi" - mulled wine.... and then even Santa with a sleigh. Seriously. Round the corner and there on one of the busiest streets in Tallinn there were two men passed out on the curb. At first I thought it was a performance art piece... I mean, no one was doing anything to help but people were watching. To top it off, two people dressed as hyperbolic monks were standing ten feet from them, handing out fliers for a restaurant. My friend immediately went to check on them... we made sure they were breathing, she shook them forcibly and yelled in Estonian... but they wouldn't wake up. She made sure the ambulance was coming and put them both in the recovery position.

My friend's father has been working as a medic and first aid teacher for about 20 years... it's his mission to change the culture that allow for people to walk by people who are passed out in the streets in the dead of winter. People so easily to assume that someone else will take care of the situation. To be clear, I don't think this passivity is an "Estonian thing". It is, though, incredibly dangerous here with such harsh weather. My friend did say that she thinks Estonians are particularly unsympathetic to drunks or drug addicts. It's still somehow ok for otherwise kind, educated, responsible people to look upon drug addicts and alcoholics as inhuman, unworthy of medical attention - human attention. This brought me back to a particular week on the Humanity in Action program this summer that was centered around the lives and challenges of sex workers and drug addicts. Even for the human rights / social justice minded,  these people are often seen as less, or separate. I was proud to see my friend's response and watch her take charge of the situation.

A jarring encounter, and a stark, but realistic, contrast to the glowing santa-filled picture of adorable Tallinn.

Estonian wasabi

And now for a culinary jaunt through Estonia! After the high school event where I met Grandma, brother, sister, brother's girlfriend, mom, and dad... mom came back to my friend's place and we made dinner. I real, bona-fide Estonian meal! We made the food that is served around Christmas - it's all 'peasant food' - the stuff that really fills you up, uses all of the animal, keeps you warm in the winter.

A friend we were cooking with warned me, "You must be careful with the mustard... it's like Estonian wasabi."

Later we were discussing something and not finding the right words and he said, "It's like a cat rubbing around the hot porridge!"  Uhhhh what? Direct translation of the Estonian expression that means "beating around the bush".

At brunch this morning my friend's mom asked me, via my friend's translation, "So you don't think we're depressing and angry?!"  Hahahah... NO, I don't.

This is pork jelly... I liked everything else but. This was a challenge. It's pork in the broth it was boiled in, solidified.

The full platter! Blood sausage, pork jelly, sour kraut, mustard, horse radish, beet root, potatoes. Blood sausage is for real.

View from family brunch.... SUNSHINE!!!

Trying "kama" - it's a bunch of grains mixed with a milky yogurt and sugar. Really good! The Waitress put it in front of me and said, "You must mix it yourself!" with an excited expression. It's one of the most typical Estonian dishes apparently. 

You're one in a million....

Last night I asked my friend how to say I love you in Estonian. There was a slight pause then she said ... "We don't really do that". But she indulged me and taught me what an Estonian would say we're they to express love. Which reminds me of something I've been thinking about - I've been chatting with my friend peri who is American and has been living in New Zealand for the past year. We're both American, whatever that means, and really quite similar in the grand scheme of things. But I'm lots cuddlier for example (although, side note, I think I might be getting a bit stiffer!!!). So a lot of the conversations I have with European friends about the differences in our home societies connect to how Americans are expressive and emotional. No matter how much I try to say that the US is huge blah blah I can't stand for everyone, it's human nature to see the person you know as somewhat representative. I certainly do it with my Estonian friend and her family and friends. And they're AWESOME which means Estonia is awesome.

Anyway... I've learned how to say some essential Estonian phrases... cannot spell them so I'll settle for phonetics:

I'm becoming Estonian - "Ma Hawkin estlasex"

Cosy head pat - "pie"

Twelve months - "cokstes kood"

Cheers - "dervysex"

The one in a million thing... I realized last night as I was sitting in the Estonian high school presentation, missing the finer nuances of the students' projects due to my less than complete grasp of Estonian, that Estonians kinda ARE one in a million! Then that song was stuck in my head as I watched their films and poems and speeches... Ok there are a bit more than a million Estonians, but still, it was entertaining for me ANC my dorky sense of humor.

Mooore Tallinn

From Nazi-times to Soviet-times

Ciao everyone!!! They use ciao here.... sometimes I think Estonian sounds like Italian, Thai, Danish, Russian... but I really need to just accept that it doesn't sound like anything I know.

Tallinn is incredible and my friend is a phenomenal host. That's the essential message really! All this snow is putting me in the Christmas mood... we read a brief BBC article this morning about "snowfall in parts of the UK!" and were like - HA, sure, we'll give you snowfall! At least these Nordic people have the flying in snowy conditions thing DOWN so I'll be able to get back home.

After work yesterday we met with my friend's childhood friend for "beer club". They're the only members of the club but were gracious enough to let me tag along ;) The first place we went to apparently was decorated with all old Soviet-times stuff. I wouldn't have known if they didn't tell me... the lamps, apparently the couches were ubiquitous, the chairs... we talked a bit about Soviet nostalgia - of course reminding me of the East Germany nostalgia "Eastalgia" that I'd heard about in Berlin. I'm told that "Soviet times" are discussed semi-regularly... but more often when there are interested foreigners like me visiting haha. It's not as obviously present as E/W Berlin, for example.

 It's good to remember that the rejection of Soviet domination isn't a clear-cut thing. Anywhere. So easy to paint a black and white picture from the US. Or to patronizingly assume that it's just Soviet brainwashing speaking. People had work, they were secure in many ways, life was taken care of. An Estonian friend we hung out with had a lot of interesting things to say about the Russian minority. How this can't really be their country, they can't truly express themselves in the public sphere. Language is more tied to the nation here than practically anywhere, I'd be willing to bet. That it was only a country briefly between WWI and WWII.... but before that always dominated, usually by the Russians, means that the constructed nature of the nation is so apparent in recent memory. Enhances the sense of threat from outsiders. There are hardly ANY immigrants here, or visible minorities, but I can imagine that it will be difficult if and when immigrants do come here.

Today I'm going to meet my friend's whole family at an event at her little sister's high school. I'm really excited. And we're going to an Estonian grocery stores... because I'm into that.

Tallinn is gorgeous.

Snow! Winter! Freezing fingers when trying to take photos. I just made friends with a German tourist who was lost... I helped navigate us to the old town then we had some tea. Violating the rules laid out for me already: no talking to anyone if I want to be real Estonian!

Amazing old town looks like a dream with the snow..,

"There's no bad weather - just bad clothing"

Wise words from my friend's roommate/best friend. Its blizzard weather!!! Nordic winter whatwhat.

Being here with my friend in her home is a blaaaast. Such a testament to Humanity In Action too that I'm visiting her after not seeing each other for a year and a half. Now that I think of it I've visited HIA people on every trip away from CPH I've taken this fall. My friend went to an international high school and college in the US and traveled in between so when she moved back to Estonia less than a year ago shed been away for a long long while. She says in the beginning she had to fight the urge to start conversations with random people in shops or public transit since she'd spent do much time in the good ol' friendly US of A... but she's back to normal now :)

Last night we made glög - mulled wine - and an assortment of pies and sandwiches. I got to meet her three best friends, sister and dad when he stopped by with homemade jam :) Being an 'international' person in CPH definitely motivated me to host exchange students if/when I ever have a place to have them stay. They're are so generous and protective of me... Her roommate walked me to the tram this morning and gave me directions (turn right..... Walk until you see adorable buildings then you're in the old town) about five times. I had to convince her that I'd bramble to climb into the tram on my own and she could go to work.

In my very short time here she has taught me that if you get Estonians together sooner or later they'll start talking about berries... and amazing you with their uniformly nuanced knowledge of berries local and exotic. She says they love to collect things from the forests, which are everywhere. Especially berries and mushrooms. A holdover from "old times" and "Soviet times".