New Estonian President

In case the suspense has been killing you... the results are in!

Ilves won, most Estonians I know are pretty happy about it, and you can read more about it in a short English article published in the Boston Herald: "U.S.-educated diplomat wins Estonia's presidential election".

First day jitters

This summer, I went on tour of Paxton Elementary School in Missoula, Montana. The wonderful librarian there read us a story that seems like an appropriate way to explain how I have been feeling the last couple of days. First Day Jitters is a picture book by Julie Danneberg about a new teacher who is afraid of going to a new school and meeting her new students.

Last weekend as I was preparing to enter the classroom for the first time this semester, I encountered some of the same warning signs as the teacher in the book: insomnia, wanting to hide in my bed all morning, a churning stomach, obsessing over course preparation, agonizing over first day clothing choices, and an incredible amount of procrastination (shower scrubbed, 20 games of suduko, an apple pie, bad television movie, grocery shopping...).

Although I really do like teaching and school, I really had a hard time getting revved to enter the classroom this year. I guess those first day impressions seem pretty important when you have to present yourself to whole groups of people for the very first time, especially when those people are all university faculty!

After three weeks of planning, meetings, class observations, and testing, I finally had three of my first course meetings on Friday, despite sweaty palms, racing (caffeine-induced) heart, sleep-deprived mental state, and wily hair (my attempts in the morning to tamp it into a presentable state were thwarted by a day that insisted on being humid, thus inducing a constantly-growing, curly, frizzy, out-of-control mass of curls).

And, as it turns out, it wasn't so bad. In fact, it might have been pretty good. Perhaps I am a drama queen, and there was nothing of substance to be scared of. Estonian professors are people, after all. Based on observations of quivering hands and voices, I suspect some of them were equally nervous.

Whew! We made it... the first day is over. Now, if only I was ready for day two!

In the News: Controversy is everywhere

Picture by Steven Alkok

Estonia . . . a small, relatively quiet Baltic country. What more is there to know? Perhaps you would be interested in a couple of hot topics and controversies taking place here:

1) Anniversary of Soviet Occupation Demonstrations: This Friday, September 22nd, several demonstrations were expected to occur in Tallinn in relation to the 62nd anniversary of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Two official demonstrations were scheduled to take place. According to the police, there were to be series of unapproved demonstrations organized by extremist groups taking place at the Bronze Soldier Monument and at the Liberty Clock in front of the Tallinn City Government main building on Vabaduse Väljak. I have not heard how these events shook out (I'll keep you posted).

2) Bronze Soldier Monument controversy: Keep it? Move it? Get rid of it? The statue mentioned above has been a controversial focal point in the center of Tallinn for sometime. A lot of time is spent discussing it, and a lot of resources are spent in security for the site.

"Most ethnic Estonians see the Bronze Soldier stature, erected in 1949, as a sign of nearly half a century of Soviet occupation, while for many Russian-speakers it is a symbol of the Soviet victory over Nazism during World War II. They adorn the monument with flowers on Victory Day, May 9, and on Sept. 22, which they claim is the anniversary of the liberation of Tallinn from Nazi occupation. In the past couple of years, the laying of flowers has acquired an increasingly political flavor." (The Baltic Times, June 23, 2006)

It's all about how you look at history, I suppose. In case you are curious, here is a picture of the object, there is a great ppanorama of the Tallin monument in this collection of World War II landmarks.


And that's not all in terms of statues. In the predominately ethnic Russian border town of Narva in Northeast, a similar debate brews.

3) Presidential Elections: Old school iincumbentvs. New school cosmopolitan
Rüütel vs. Ilves
>Estonia’s electoral college meets today (September 23rd) to choose the president, and the election appears closely contested. I don't know that I understand the entire situation or its outcomes clearly, but it is clear that there are strong feelings about the outcome on both sides. If no candidate wins a two-thirds majority, a potential scenario in this case, the decision goes to a collection of members of local-government. Check out this brief posting on the topic from Edward Lucas from the Economist.

Õppige!

Learn is an action verb in my Estonian class, and it can be given in the imperative -- Õppige! I suppose we more often use the phrase "Study!" - at least in American English. I have more traditionally thought of learning as a process rather than an action that I set out to do, but I think that perhaps this is a personal interpretation colored by my preferences as a learner and work as an educator.

Grammar translation is far from dead in the class I am taking here. We work through texts, translate them, learn (also a synonym for memorize?), and move on . . . all at a harrowing pace. I just finished making some flash cards to help me learn new vocabulary items so that I can begin to practice those pesky grammatical elements of the Estonian language. My stack of flashcards after only six classes is nearly two inches thick, particularly shocking as I am working with paper and not cardstock or index cards. Yikes!

Normally, I suppose that labelling a language class's methodological character as grammar-translation is a bit of an insult in the contemporary language teaching environment full of words like communicative, autonomous, learner-centered, and ecology. However, I don't necessarily intend it that way. Our instructor is energetic and seems to be experienced in teaching Estonian as a foreign language. She probably is better aware than I am about how to teach her multi-national and multilingual audience effectively. I suspect that other students in the class who have learned many languages in a similar manner before coming to Estonia are receptive; they may expect this format as they systematically plug in another new value for known expressions, grammar, and vocabulary items.

... but I struggle to be so mechanical about my language learning! My quirky and restless desire to actively communicate come to the surface during nearly every class period. I have not taught or learned in a class relying so heavily on a shared language (English, in this case) in some time. Language classes using more of the target language appeal to me a bit more, I guess, because the teacher and students are required to be more active in pairing images and actions to words rather than word-to-word correspondences. My brain craves these sorts of experiences with language and is accustomed to the challenge and stimulation of problem-solving. I miss the implicit humor in those activities. Of course, it is also possible that the pace of the class is quicker than what I am able to keep up with, and I assume that working with vocabulary without English would slow things down a bit as we would be obligated to spend more time on the introduction and practice stages of learning.

I don't mean this entry to be a learning tirade . . . rather it is meant as a reflection on my language learning experience here. I am giving the rhythm and format of our class another chance and attempting to keep up by forming my own associations with that thick pile of picture/color flash cards and other mnemonics.

That said, Meie õpetaja räägib: Õppida eesti keelt on raske. My teacher says: Learning/Studying/Memorizing Estonian is difficult. I will take her word for it and get back to work!

Race Day

I ran a race today. I don't think that I have run any races at all since my obligatory track and field days at Twin Spruce Junior High School, and that has definitely been a while ago.

I decided to get out for some fresh air and exercise before heading home this evening. In the middle of my regular route was a small stage with speakers and runners starting and finishing some sort of event. Not a super-avid runner, I was not keen to continue on the path with a number of seriously athletic sorts, so I stood to watch for a bit. I noticed all kinds of participants -- old ones, young ones, serious ones, silly ones, small ones, big ones, short ones, tall ones, green ones, purple ones. Okay, maybe not green or purple ones, but you get an idea of the variety. I decided to ask one of the Estonian runners who had finished what was happening. The three guys I asked did not speak English well, and my Estonian has a long way to develop before I can begin fruitful conversations with strangers to get such information. Through action and mime, I understood that the race was open to the public and only a 4k. There were promotional fliers from my bank everywhere; I thought at least I knew what one of the sponsors was about, even if I didn't appreciate the goal of the event.

So, I joined in. It was fun. It was an Estonian race I didn't understand, and that seems at least interesting. I think I like running with people (as long as they are not scary and I am not running from them!); it's motivating. I did not get a blue ribbon, but I felt cool when I crossed the line coming back (applause, please!).

Finnish(ed) for now… a weekend in sunny Vaasa

I trekked up to Finland this weekend to visit a good friend of mine, Jen with one "n". She is living and working in the sunniest city in Finland, Vaasa.

Located on the west coast of Finland, her new home and my visit there were full of highlights:

• Double-decker buses, trains, and ferries: The transport from Tartu to Vaasa is rather complicated, but the long journey compensates for itself by a number of different and novel types of transportation. I took a double-decker bus to Tallinn, a ferry named the "Super Seacat 4" to Helsinki, (pictured, right) and a 4-hour train to Vaasa. Whew!

• Bike rides: I rented a bike for the weekend, and we toured around the coast and little island off of Vaasa. The weather was perfect autumn sort with cool breezes and lots of sun. (Jen and her bike, pictured left.)

• Canada geese: I learned that there are Canada geese in Finland that migrate south for the winter. Many of them were around the inlet around Jen's apartment for good viewing. I also learned that the correct term is Canada geese and not Canadian geese, as I had always heard.

• New cuisine: Squeaky, Finnish cheese (like cheese curds), cardamon coffee, dark nutty breads, cauliflower casserole, lingon berries, and a kind of sweet, brown Norwegian cheese.

• Finnish Salad: This item (pictured, right) gets its own entry because I had already tasted it while I was in Romania and got to help make and enjoy another batch. For some, it might seem to be both a strange visual and taste combination, but it really is amazing -- cooked beets and potatoes, raw carrot, red onion, pickles, and a granny smith apple all chopped up and mixed with sour cream. Mmmm!

• High latitude: Traveling north to 63 degrees, I experience my first truly Nordic country, and it was sunny and beautiful. I don't think that I had ever been this far north before.

• Dinner party: My visit had good timing and I got to take part in a wonderful dinner with Jen's warm and interesting colleagues from the University of Vaasa.
  

• Quilting: My friend is a talented quilter. With a room dedicated to her quiltwork, she has created some really impressive and beautiful designs. Check them out on her blog at http://lifesaquilt.blogspot.com/.
  

• The gift of gab: There is something great about meeting a friend to talk for a few days. You don't have to worry about whittling down the facts to fit everything into a phone conversation or narrating in a linear fashion. Renewing our friendship in a new place, our weekend-long chatter also planted our friendship in yet another context.
  

I guess that's it -- A great weekend, but I am Finnished!

When you think no one's looking

Today I was out and about for a bit, and, when I turned back to head home, I was walking on the sidewalk on the side of the street going against traffic. I consider people-watching a good sport any time, but I particularly like to study other people when I am walking for a considerable distance. I really enjoy studying people while they are driving, mostly because they think that no one else is looking. As an onlooker, I feel as if I get the privilege of peeking into a private moment, and I like these peeks because they validate some of the weird things I might do when I am alone. In the past, I've witnessed a few who passionately sing opera, carefully apply makeup from start to finish, haphazardly read papers, magazines, and books, give air guitar concerts, change entire wardrobes, chew and play with huge wads of gum, hurriedly drink or eat entire meals, and, of course, more than a few talking incessantly on a mobile phone.

Today, on my way home in Tartu, I had a great moment with a stranger who was driving the opposite direction in traffic. Stopped for a moment at a light, this guy finished pulling a peel off of an orange and discarded it into the empty chair next to him. He then crammed the entire orange into his mouth while wiping his hands on the top of his pants and gripping the steering wheel. From the roadside, I couldn't help but giggle at the absurd sight of him trying to chew and swallow and entire orange in one bite. As he placed his hands on the wheel, his eyes glanced to the side of the road and caught mine. The look altered within seconds and was really precious. After recognition that he wasn't as unobserved as he thought, he became embarrassed. However, the best part of the moment was his acknowledgment of my giggles by a glance and quick wink, the orange still visibly lodged in his mouth. More humanness and humor was conveyed by this exchanged in this glance than a whole page of words describing it might :).

I suppose this sort of thing happens to us everyday and everywhere. People are people are people, right? This incident occurring in a brief moment of my day caused me to pause and think about how much of our real life happens when we think no one is looking. The quirky moments of self-discovery (I've had a few lately, including an embarrassing episode with my skirt tucked into the back of my underwear!) are what life is really about. Most of put an enormous amount of effort into disguising these less-than-presentable moments, but I think that we lose more than we gain with these pretenses. I, for one, have lots of human moments and weird character traits... it gives me comfort to know that there are others like me out there.

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. " ~e.e. cummings

"If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise." ~Johann von Goethe

All in all, my ramblings just want to say -- Kudos to the anonymous winking, orange-stuffing guy!

Eesti Keel

Oivaline! Suurepärane! Wonderful! Marvelous!

I have graduated from my first two Estonian classes, and, so far, I have come to appreciate that the Estonian language is incredibly complex. There are so many cool new sounds and fun-sounding expressions. Here are some of my favorites:

Tere õhtust!
Good evening!
Saame tuttavaks!
Let's get acquainted!
Palun, kuulake ja lugege!
Please, listen and read!
Kas on küsimusi?
Do you have questions?
(Careful with the last word. If it is said too slowly,
it can also mean "give me a kiss!")
Tõesti?
Oh, really?

For those of you who aren't language nerds, Estonian is a non-IndoEuropean language, so it's not related to Romance languages like Spanish, French, or Italian and it's not related to Germanic languages like English and German, and it's not related to Slavic languages such as Russian. Part of the Finno-Ugric family, it shares roots with Finnish and Hungarian to name a couple of its more identifiable kin (there is also Karelian, Mongolian, Mordovian, and Khanti-Mansi, Sami, for those of you curious). There are about one million people in the world that speak Estonian. Maybe I'll be number 1,000,001!

Another constantly amusing bit of Estonian (for me at least as a newcomer) is that it is hard to decipher male and female names. It seems as if I am constantly waiting in an agreed-upon spot where I am about meet someone for the first time... and I don't know whether to keep a steady watch for a woman or a man. You laugh, but maybe you should aslo try -- here's a test (answers at the bottom):

1. Saale
2. Taavi
3. Hiie
4. Koidu
5. Jüri
6. Siiri
7. Kärt
8. Viljar
9. Virve
10. Raili
11. Rain
12. Ülle

Key: 1) W, 2) M, 3) W, 4) W, 5) M, 6) W, 7) W, 8) M, 9) W, 10) W, 11) M, 12) W

Maybe some of you have already tuned out of this linguistic discussion, but I only have one more surprising element of Estonian. There are 14 cases. 14 CASES! Did you know such a thing was possible? I did not . . . and I remember thinking that Slovak was complicated. Cases mean that the nouns have inflection or they change somehow depending on their usage; we don't really do this in English, so it probably is a somewhat foreign concept for those who haven't attempted to master a case system in another language. As an illustration, I will duplicate the example given in my phrasebook for the noun "poeg," meaning son:

Case Word Meaning

Nominative poeg the son
Genetive poja of the son
Partitive poega as an object, the son
Illative pojasse into the son
Inessive pojas in the son
Elative pojast from, out of the son
Allative pojale to the son
Adessive pojal on, upon, at the son
Ablative pojalt from, off the son
Translative pojaks for, as the son
Terminative pojana as the son
Essive pojani until, up to, to the son


Uff! Needless to say, my highest hopes are only to be a bit more functional in my everyday life. It helps that nearly everyone speaks English -- AITÄH! (Thank God!)

Wikipedia information about Estonian

Tartu Mushroom Festival

Today was a celebration of fall and the Estonian love of mushrooms (yes, I know what you are thinking... and, no, not that kind of mushrooms!). Despite drizzling weather, I headed downtown to check it out. Along with the requisite display of mushrooms -- both edible and toxic -- there was live music and tiny booths selling local handicrafts. I guess the number of wool socks and gloves, knitted scarves, heavy sweaters, and woolen blankets forbade of some rather cool weather ahead. I bought a couple of pairs of wool socks and will consider myself prepared for the time being. As for the mushrooms, I decided not to partake but enjoyed their beautiful shapes and colors.

Click on the link below to view some delectable photos!

Tartu Mushroom Festival

Sep 9, 2006 - 6 Photos

The University of Tartu

. . . is really, really old (1632!) and distinguished and beautiful. Since you can't see it for yourself, take a virtual walking tour of the University of Tartu.

The main university building

My job description

Okay, many of you are well aware of my penchant for geographic and philosophical wanders, but you have also expressed an interest in what precisely I am filling my time with here in Estonia. I am still somewhat in the process of discovery myself, but I'll attempt to fill in some of the gaps.

The English Language Fellow program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department and facilitated by Georgetown University. The program places TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) professionals in positions worldwide where they teach English, engage in teacher education, and take part in other language education-related activities. Each fellow in each country has a different set of job descriptions that are prepared by their host institutions (in my case, University of Tartu) and the Regional English Language Officer. All this said, there is a lot of negotiation and flexibility depending on the institution and the fellow who accepts the position.

As an applicant in the program, my skill set and preferences were matched to the description in Estonia. I am at the University of Tartu as part of an effort to internationalize their programs of study. During the next academic year, I will be working with faculty and staff on their English skills as they relate to interacting in university classes taught in English or relating to international students and faculty. I am also involved in a committee working on improving the overall curricula of the English language programs offered here. The university already has an impressive number of programs that attract a number of students from all over Scandinavia, Russia, Europe, and the United States. I feel fortunate to take part in some of the exciting changes taking place.

My teaching has not yet begun, but my workload for the next year is already starting to look ambitious. At the moment, my days are full of meetings with the university staff responsible for hosting me at the university as well as research for my course. This means some serious library time (the library is really well-stocked, by the way!) looking for resources, reading articles and websites about preparing faculty and best practices, putting together a placement exam, and visiting some of the courses taught in English that have already started this semester. I am extremely grateful for this time to breathe and learn more about my new environment so that I can actively and appropriately begin classes the end of September.

Tonight, I am the guest speaker at a welcome reception for for faculty, staff, and students . . . Ai ai ai! It's sure be animated and probably verbose :) -- wish me luck!

A river runs through it

After two days wandering around town, I can give you a general idea of what the layout of Tartu is like. For starters, there is a river that runs through it -- The Emajogi, to be more precise. The central area of town where the university is sits adjacent to the river with some nice parks for strolling on either side. I live only a five minute walk from the river and a ten minute walk from the university; I am sure I will appreciate this more once the weather turns cold! Yesterday was brilliantly sunny and warm, so I went for a run in the evening and discovered a trail system alongside the river that continues for 82 kilometres (needless to say, I didn't run that far) and has these interesting totem-pole-like wooden carvings alongside he path. I'll have to ask someone about those later. Makes me wish I had a bike! The countryside is pretty and green; perhaps these verdant hues stand out so strongly to me because of the dry, drought-ridden, and smoky summer we had back in Wyoming this year. Today, I awoke to a slow, drizzling rain once again, but I think I kind of like the rain. Now, I just need to purchase an umbrella!


I arrived on Friday, September 1, a big Estonian holiday called the day of wisdom. Really, it's the first day of a new school year and the streets were full of children walking to school in suits and dresses for their opening ceremonies. Afterwards, parents take their children out to lunch and there are special events to celebrate the day. There was a concert on the main square that I stopped to listen to for a bit. As an educator, I like this idea of a celebration of learning and can appreciate the need to make those reticent steps back to the classroom after summer vacation feel like more of a celebration than a funeral march.

The downtown area is full of the university's buildings, but there are also many museums and such. Tartu is known as the "City of Good Thoughts," and it is easy to imagine why. The central areas are clean and pleasant and clearly dominated by the presence of the university. A local guide is advertising something called the "Adolphus Code," a self-guided mystery walking tour through the heart of Tartu. I plan to follow the route later this week and I'll let you in on its secrets.

Across the river is an open air market full of fall harvest fare -- I managed to buy some cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and squash (all very tasty!).

If you'd like to know more about Tartu, you can check out some of the following sites:
Tartu in Your Pocket http://www.inyourpocket.com/estonia/tartu/en/
Tartu City's Home Page http://www.tartu.ee/?lang_id=2