PHOTO:
Ski jump at the Tahtvere Olympic Training Center; Otepää, Estonia;
October 1997
Estonia is a land of beautiful quiet forests, countless lakes, medieval cities, saunas, tall blue eyed blondes, snow and, of course, blood sausage. It is a magical place that I have been to three times.
The first time was for the spring semester of 1996. I studied at the University of Tartu as an exchange student while attending Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri. I went to the country not really knowing anything about it, but while I was there I learned a lot and quite simply fell in love with the place. So much so that, after returning to Central for the 1996-97 school year, I went back to Estonia this time directly enrolled in the University of Tartu for 1997-98 and studied Estonian as a second language. I lived with a host family, became coherent in the language and experienced the most heavenly feeling one can have with their clothes on (no wait--that is done nude as well... :-)), a real Nordic sauna. That is in itself worth the trip there!! My last voyage to Estonia came in the summer of 2000 as the final destination of my trans-European bicycle tour. I spent a month in the country visiting friends and getting to see my host sister's wedding. It was a magical time, but far too short and I'm ready to go back at a moment's notice.
The original incarnation of this site was my Estonian journal page.
It provides the bulk of the written material on this site and I will transfer
my Estonian experiences to this page as fast as I can. I hope that you
enjoy, and if you ever get a chance to visit in person, please do. It's
an experience unlike any other!
| Vacation Gallery; July 1997 | Journal, Fall 1997 | Journal, Spring 1998 | ||
| Journal; Summer 1997 |
