24 hours later

The last 24 hours have been extremely full of newness. Estonia is completely wonderful, even in the rain. I haven't yet made it to my new hometown in Tartu, but Tallinn is gorgeous. The architecture is old and interesting, everything is very luscious and green, people are pleasant and helpful, there is extremely yummy black bread with seeds, the old town is filled with old churches, tiny shops, cafes, and tourists, and my hotel has a gravity free chair, a whirlpool bath, comfy robes, and complimentary wireless! All said, I have a good feeling about the next ten months I'll be spending here. Tomorrow, I am off to more newness in Tartu where I'll meet the university and move into my apartment there. Stay tuned ...

Check out www.visitestonia.com or www.riik.ee/en/ for more information about Estonia.

Beginnings

I have contemplated and resisted keeping an online journal for a long time. Attracted to the more traditional means of pen and paper, I am still not sure that I am ready for a new format and public audience. However, it seems that my correspondence skills are waning, even in the digital age, and my network of family and friends remain my vital support system and connections to the world. As I continue to wander, I’d like to wonder aloud as I share my journeys here. So, without further adieu, Welcome! Bienvenidos! Vitajte! Bine ati venit! Tere!

I suppose that we all have many intentional and not-so-intentional journeys that begin and end at seemingly arbitrary points that we are often unaware of until we’ve passed far beyond the initial reticent steps, sometimes quaint and tranquil scenery along the way, subsequent electrifying harrowing twists and turns, or breath-taking surprises that sneak up on us when we hardly expect. Whether epic journeys we consider significant leaps forward or smaller side trips that we hardly stop to consider journeys in their own rites, everyday is a muddled set of overlapping beginnings, middles, and endings.

Through these illustrations, I attempt to convey a sense of renewal or beginning in the middle of ending and middle-ing (really all of these should be action verbs!). Today, I move away from my summer home(s) in Wyoming and Montana and towards another new start in another new place and people … The University of in Tartu, Estonia, and whomever might cross my path there.

The range of emotions I carry inside is diverse. Curiosity… What awaits me in this new place? Excitement… Who will meet me in this new life chapter? Apprehension… Am I prepared for the challenging job that awaits me? Exhaustion… After a busy summer, am I rested enough to handle this? All of these things wage a confusing sort of frenetic war in my racing heart, but they are comforted by knowing that a sort of super-energetic bunch of cheerleaders – my precious family and dear friends – are out there everywhere in support. Thank you!

Catching up

For those of you that aren’t well-versed in some of the other recently concluded or concurrent activities, below is a quick update.

• Returned Romania in June after a fabulous year of teaching and traveling

• Cute new puppy dog, Skip, loves to walk, albeit spastically in many directions all at once, and never tires of chasing his favorite stuffed toy duck

• Motorcycle mania… I love my new bike and spent the beginning of July touring with my parents through the Snowy Range and Rockies in Wyoming and Colorado

• Fabulous trip to San Diego to catch up with a good friend from the Monterey Institute and prietelky z Mierovych Zbor (friends from the Peace Corps)

• Fantastic new update to my family in July, my niece, the tiny and adorable Kadence. Meanwhile, my nephew, Carter, is jumping out of baby-hood… He loves the lawnmower, ‘nillas, and anything with a motor…

• Invigorating summer work at the University of Montana in lovely Missoula with Korean elementary school teachers mixed work with fun while in Glacier National Park, whitewater rafting, and at the county fair!

• One last side trip out to Washington, D.C. in August for the pre-departure orientation for the English Language Fellows program (http://elf.georgetown.edu/index.html) I’ll be working through in Estonia… Time for a Monterey Institute reunion, site-seeing, out dancing with new friends, visiting the American Indian museum, catching up with former LWR friend in Baltimore, and a reconnection with another Peace Corps friend and my former Slovak tutor