First Week of Classes

Tere! Well I made it through my first week of classes! Not exactly the hardest thing considering the different school system over here. A couple of my classes only meet a total of 6 or so times during the whole semester, but of course when we do meet it is for four hours. I have signed up for five classes; Estonian Language, Baltic Political History, Cross Cultural Psychology, A Seminar in the Politics of History and Memory, and then I am still deciding between two courses ( Baltic Sea States and International Relations OR Nature and Environment in the Baltic Area). So far the most enjoyable class has been Cross Cultural Psy, the professor is very cool and the topic is very interesting. Of course it is a little weird when she starts talking about the US, because I am the only one in the class who can explain the differences between the Estonian and American cultures. For example I have noticed and learned while being here that when asked "how are you" Estonians are known for answering truthfully, no matter what the answer is. In America it is so common for the response to be "I'm fine", when really you want to say terrible or wonderful! So strange, how this small observation can say so much about a culture!
      In this class, there was one specific historical event that my professor pointed out which I found so funny and very interesting! To emphasize the differences in cultures, the professor showed a map of the world and only a small amount of countries were highlighted blue. What could characteristic could these countries represent? The UK, Australia, South Africa, etc. These are all examples of countries that drive on the left side of the road instead of the right. She went on to explain that on September 3rd of 1967, Sweden officailly changed their road system from left to right. No longer could you drive on the left side of the street and this day became known as Dagen H (or H Day). She showed us this picture and it just made me laugh, so I hope that it will make you laugh too!

     My classes are not all as enjoyable as this one, in fact I feel like a couple of them might be a little challenging, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. My seminar class consists of watching movies from different countries and discussing their relationship with history and memory, I think this class will be very interesting!
     Now onto food!! So far I have not really had any traditional Estonian food dishes, but I have been to a few cafes that serve this kind of food, but sometimes it is difficult to read what exactly is in the dish, since I do not speak Estonian. I have enjoyed an Italian restaurant that serves really good pizza, specifically an artichoke pesto one :) Also there is a sort of Subway/ Sandwich cafe, called Metro that I have been to a few times. They have delicious wraps and sandwiches which they grill like paninis, so yummy! But other than the few times that I have eaten out I have mainly been cooking indoors or a few of my friends have made delicious meals for some of us international students. The other night I had a Russian dish, which can only be described as a tortellini filled with beef and pork, and then covered in sour cream and salt and pepper. It was really good! Next Wednesday there is an event with the international students where everyone cooks their national dish or some kind of dish from their country and we all get together and try each others foods! I am excited for this, but it got me thinking what kind of dish could I make...? I mean America really has a lot of foods which they took from other nations, like pizza or fried rice. I guess I can always make hamburgers! :)
     Well thats all I can think of for this week, so until next time! Head aega!!