Back in Tallinn and waiting for pizza

Well these past few days have sure been eventful to say the least! Let's start out on Wednesday, when I woke up to see my right hand was swollen almost 3 times its normal size and the left one wasn't far behind. Once I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I recruited Hailey (my roomie) to knock on our professor's door for me since I was unable to. For the next few hours, me and the prof bonded in the Tartu ER as we patiently waited to see what the hell was going on with my hands.

Turns out, some bug bit me and I had a reaction. It was uncomfortable but not painful, so they gave me some meds and sent me off.

The Estonian ER turned out to be quite nice. I paid 17 Euro to have blood drawn, and for the meds. Everything was efficient and straight to the point, much better than waiting for 6 hours in an ER in the US then having to deal with insurance and a few hundred dollars down the drain.

Anyways.

After that fiasco, we met with a few companies later in the week, my favorite being Fraktal, a start up design business in Tartu. A few young, talented guys run this company that deals with web design and programs for people looking to build their own websites. They also do their own photography and graphic design.

One thing that I really latched onto in the meeting was how the guy we were talking to was explaining their work as a balance of technical work with design work. This is almost exactly what I'm looking for in terms of what I want to do, so I found talking to him really interesting.

Tartu Town Square

University of Tartu

Meatballs in tomato sauce, potatoes and salad.

Thursday, we toured A Le Coq, an Estonian brewery.

Once Thursday night hit, we were all exhausted. We were in bed by 10 that night, and up at 5:30 the next morning to catch a bus to Saaremaa, an island off the coast of Estonia. Here, we stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast on a farm, and were fed the most amazing home cooked meals we've had on the trip so far. We were very happy.

View from our room, looking out over the neighbor's farm

Lunch! Wild boar soup I believe?

Open face hot ham&cheese with pineapple and veggies

Country road

We spent Saturday on a private tour around the main highlights of the island, which was super fun. We had gorgeous weather and a wonderful lunch, might I add. We went to this place where you catch your own fish (rainbow trout) and they cook it for you right there, then serve it. It was aaahhhmazing.

Our catch!

Nothing like a fresh trout lunch

Me and the Baltic Sea

Windmill

All the fresh air and sun left us exhausted but relaxed at the end of the day. We were treated to fresh pork chops and polish sausage on the grill, as well as fresh salad greens and potatoes. Yuuum.

The weekend on the island was much needed, I was getting a little tired of the city life. Estonia has definitely surprised me, about 50% of the country is forest, and as we drove through it all, I can't help but say how beautiful it is here. The woods seem to go on forever, and the trees are so dense, I just can't help but imagine hiking through them. (I might get to do so later this week, after the program ends!)

Now, we're sitting in our hostel in Tallinn, waiting for some pizza to be delivered. We spent the day in Kuressare, a smaller town on Saaremaa. It was pleasant out, we saw the Baltic Sea and hiked around a bit before catching a bus to Tallinn.

The official program ends on Wednesday, and I'm meeting the rents in Helsinki on Friday. Can't wait!

Also, Happy Father's Day! I was bummed I couldn't go for a ball busting bike or run today with my dad, but I'm sure we'll make up for it this weekend in Finland and Russia.

Eats

I totally forgot to post on food worth mentioning from the past week! How on earth could I forget.

Favorite dinner so far: Lemongrass risotto and asparagus complemented with a local brew

Definitely my favorite lunch so far: Fresh grilled salmon, veggies, potatoes and garlic sauce enjoyed on some steps by the Gulf of Finland in Helsinki on a cloudless summer afternoon.

Strawberry tart in Helsinki

Finally, some cheap but tasty kebab meat with lettuce and cucumbers for dinner in Helsinki.

Day 10 - from Tallinn to Helsinki to Tartu

Whew! Finally some time to catch our breath. I won't lie, I am totally exhausted but still running off of excitement for just being here. Let me catch up on what's been goin' down abroad here in Estonia:

Last week was shortly less than insane. Not only did we cram in our final client project, report and presentation, but we also met with variety of Estonian businesses (Microsoft Estonia, Enterprise Estonia, business newspapers, etc).

We learned lots about the e-Estonia concept too. It's amazing how Estonians can do everything online, even start a business (it takes 18 minutes online!). They can also vote and access records. They can even look up other citizen's backgrounds and such too. One lady at an IT Demo place showed us a huge business man's detailed profile, which was really interesting just because here in Estonia, there is so much more transparency than in the US. I feel like the whole week was a plot to get us to move here.

Anyways, in the middle of all the lectures and stuff, we also had a huge report to write up and present to our client on Thursday. In case I haven't already talked about it, the main focus of this class is a client project for Like A Local Guide who is stationed in Tallinn, Estonia. It's a group of young Estonians who wish to help travelers  find places to eat, stay and things to do - super cool. We conducted usability testing in a group project setting on their websites: I was in charge of testing the Like a Local Guide site with 2 others. (Please visit the site, it is honestly super cool, I loved working with them too).

Anyways. Not gonna lie, I think we were all pretty nervous about the whole thing. We had 3 straight days of scrambling to get everything together, especially since it was a real life client project, not some random class assignment. In the end, we all bought a liter of cider each and cranked it out together:

 After it was all done, I think that the client was really pleased with our work. In fact, we all dressed up for the presentation and made sure to be professional, and when we walked into their office, they had us take off our shoes and sit in bean bag chairs. So that was nice, and really reduced the stress of the whole thing.

Overall, I feel like the client project was an unmatchable experience. I got a ton of good experience working on a diverse team for it, and I also feel so good now that it's over and we can enjoy the rest of our trip.

Speaking of enjoying our trip, Friday after everything was done, we all decided to take a "tour" from our client. This so-called tour is called the "Pub Crawl" for a reason. And yes, our professor came along too, and in fact was probably the most excited about it. I won't go into detail, but here's a few pics to sum it up:

The crew, including 2 Germans and a tour guide, outside of an Old Town pub

me, Hailey and Katelyn after stop #1 of the tour

We managed to find some Waldos towards the end of the tour!

Bright and early the next morning, me and 3 other people in our group made our one free day into a day trip to Helsinki, Finland. We adventured around the city from roughly 10AM till 8PM, and were exhausted afterwards. It was a blast though, the weather was perfect, and we all even got a little sun. It was probably my favorite day over here so far.

Helsinki

We ended up all crashing on the ferry ride home and are still recovering from all the sun and walking. I loved the city itself though, can't wait to explore it more with my parents in a week and a half!

Now I sit in our hostel in Tartu, Estonia. I'm exhausted, as is everyone else. But we have a walking tour tomorrow morning, and from what I can tell after being here for half a day, I love Tartu. It is way more of a university town than Tallinn, and it's way less urban. And I truly appreciate that since all the skyscrapers and people were getting old for me... I need some trees and grass at some point.

Wow I just wrote a novel so I think I'll try to post more often with less words in the future! If you made it till now, you're probably my mom ;) well, off to dinner soon (gonna go grab some pizza with the girls) then early bedtime. Tomorrow we're up and at em to start our next little assignment: International Resumes. Peace.

Tere from Tallinn!

After having one fun night and saying goodbye to some of my favorite goons in Houghton...

...it's been a full 6 days here in Tallinn so far, and I decided to get the posts rollin while I'm not falling asleep while reading my book for the 5th time this week. It's been crazy busy and exhausting to say the least, but it's also been very enjoyable and fun.

We flew in last Thursday afternoon to Tallinn airport and settled into the hostel which would become our home for the next 10 days or so. After settling in, we strolled through downtown Tallinn and into the Old Town, where the medieval wall still surrounds the cobblestoned streets lined with shops, places to eat and bars. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and a pleasant 65 degrees (quite the change from the drizzly 40 degree Houghton days...) We eventually located a traditional Estonian cuisine place, had a free shot of Shnapps in a cute little glass, then enjoyed a goblet of cider and some tradish food. I had a yummy pork chop, which hit the spot. We also shared a sample platter, full of pickles, pickled herring, traditional bread, fish spread, and more.

our little Schapps!

Sample platter

Tallinn!

Friday we all woke up and grabbed a quick European breakfast full of bread, cheese, little sausages and even herring (I haven't had any yet, though), then headed off to our first lecture, given by Erkki Bahovski, Communication Officer of the European Commission representation in Estonia. Can't lie, I think that we were all dozing off due to the combo of jet lag and a hot day, but I still found it cool!

Then we enjoyed a walking tour through Old Town. Then it started pouring rain so that was fun, and we had to end early. After piling onto a bus, we made it to some international student thing where we got food, drinks, and watched some dancing.

Some old skool dancing yo

After that, me and my friends Katelyn and Hailey as well as the others in our group, hit a few bars and met some really fun locals. We ended up having a rather enjoyable evening.

Saturday and Sunday were spent exploring Tallinn under the hot sun, which was incredibly enjoyable. Ate lots of good food and soaked up some much needed vitamin D.

Chillin' on the Gulf of Finland

Streets of Old Town

Monday was back to reality. Lecture at 10AM about the e-goverance system in Estonia from Dr. Arvo Ott. It's so crazy how practically no one knows where or what Estonia is and yet they are so technologically advanced. They are in fact one of the leading countries as far as technology goes - free WiFi everywhere, and 1.2 million of its 1.3 million citizens have these ID cards that give them the ability to access all of their records and even vote online. It's truly remarkable.

Next we toured a design company, Velvet, which was neat, and by then we were all so exhausted that we immediately went back to the hostel and cooked ourselves dinner then worked on our client reports (presenting on Thursday!) and crashed so hard.

Today, we got to visit with Erkki Bahovski again and the representation of economics at the European Commission. Then we were lucky enough to meet with Mr. Valso Randpere, member of Parliament, to discuss his work and such. After that we bussed on over to Enterprise Estonia and learned more about Estonia's economy and technology.

Now we're sitting in the kitchen, talking and waiting for the sky to get dark so we can sleep. The sun goes down at 10:30 every night, and comes back up by 4AM every morning. It's insane, but I've slept so hard here.

Here's some of my favorite meals I've had so far too, of course! Can't forget the food!!!

Oh wait, that's not food but I mean the cider is definitely an Estonian specialty.

Blueberry&Strawberry sorbet on a cookie

Amazing pasta!

Packing up

It's finally here! I'll be on a plane to Chicago this time tomorrow, and will eventually find myself in Tallinn, Estonia. I just finished packing all the things I can for now, and feel good about everything. I seriously cannot wait.

I spent the weekend relaxing the days away with friends and family at our cabin in Wisconsin. I needed that, especially to clear my head for all the packing and preparing for the next summer 2013 adventure. It was also the last weekend I'd get to spend with my cousin Mitch, since he will be leaving for New Zealand for 6 months while I'm in Estonia. Gonna miss Team Kirby a lot this fall, but I think we both are looking for some new adventures before we re-unite in the winter.

Here's some pictures from the weekend, I had a ton of fun playing around with the new camera at night around the fire and under the moon&stars.

The loons were abundant on the lake this weekend

The boys and their fish, which was later our lunch

Ella!

Anyways, we're all cooking out tonight as a mini going away party for me, so I'm off to go chop up some veggies and get the brats ready for the grill. Next time I'm on here I will most likely be in between flights or in Estonia! 

Monday, Monday

Despite all the gloomy rain and cloudiness, I'd say that we managed to have a solid weekend here on da UP.

We kicked it off with a hike in the sun on Friday afternoon after I was out of class. Me, Cayc and Chelsea headed north to Copper Harbor, and found a trail that goes up the side of Brockway. After meandering around for an hour or so, we decided to hop back in the car and find a nice beach to lay on in our long pants and sweatshirts.

Trail up to Brockway

On the way back home, we then made a pit stop to Louies, the brand spanking new grocery store in Calumet. After being spoiled with several free samples and lots of welcoming conversation from the friendly people of Calumet, we bought some stuff to make pizzas and headed back home to make them.

yummy yum

Finished product!

Once we indulged on our homemade pizzas, Caycie and Chelsea were off to see Bill Cosby, who made an appearance at a show on Friday night at Tech's hockey arena. While the entire city of Hancock and Houghton was attending this, me and Celeste met up with Frank and his friend to go hit some old golf balls off the shores of Superior. Fun night to say the least!

Teeing it up with Frank

I woke up to rain on Saturday morning, so I slept till 10:30 or so since there was honestly nothing better to do. Once I rolled outta bed, I spent the remainder of the dreary day to finish decorating my room and such. Our 4th roommate, Kelley, also began moving in.

Later on, Travis and Hayden came over and hung out with me, Caycie, Chelsea and Chelsea's boyfriend Sean. We probably laughed and chatted till 2 AM or so, then hit the hay.

I got my solid 8 hours that night too, and rolled over to a text from Hayden asking if I'd be down to drive up to the tip of the Keweenaw for the day with him and Trav. Well of course I'm down, I've got nothing else to do on this cloudy but humid Sunday, seeing as I got my work done for the weekend on Friday. So I hopped into the truck when they came to get me promptly at 12:30.

The three of us spent the rest of the day driving around on logging roads in the Keweenaw, mobbing through mini lakes and lots of muddy puddles.

Boys being boys.

 We got out and tried to hike down to Lake Superior several times, and were halted by flooded swamps every time except one. We eventually made it out there, and braced ourselves against the chilly winds while exploring the rocky beach for an hour or so.

By then it was 6, so we all hopped back in Hayden's truck and set off for home.

Now I'm sitting at the kitchen table, getting ready for class in an hour. We've got a busy week ahead of us with this client project, but once the week is over, I'll be headed to our cabin for some time with the fam, then before I know it, I'll be on a plane to Tallinn. Whew! Still so much to do on my "before I leave Houghton for the summer" bucket list, but I have faith that we'll get a lot crossed off. Bring it.

Starting up

Well, I've reached Wednesday of the first week of summer classes! I moved into our house in Hancock this past Sunday after driving the 6 some hours from the Twin Cities to the UP, where I passed snow along the way. Crazy. Once I arrived, I couldn't stop running around and loving every last inch of this house. It has been so nice so far, I'm so excited to live here. I'm living with 2 of my roommates from last year, Caycie and Chelsea, and Caycie's best friend from high school, Celeste, for the summer. Here's some pictures I snapped of our home after I unloaded the toaster:

Anyways, classes started right up on Monday. There are 6 students (including me) in the Estonia program, as well as a faculty. After the first hour and a half of class, I got so so excited. It's truly going to be a great summer.

After class on Monday, I picked up my friend Travis and we drove out to meet my cousin on the Huron Bay. My cousin, Mitch, (he attends MTU with me) was visiting the UP for a few days with his friend Andrew before they both start those summer jobs up. So we, as well as our other friend Hayden and a few others, met up on the beach, fished a little, made a fire and just hung out for a few hours. And let me tell you, it wasn't feeling like summer at all. Cold, windy and cloudy the whole time. Ick. Nonetheless, we sure enjoyed each other's company, and campfire cooked food.

Hayden fishing near the mouth of the Huron

 Mitch setting up camp

Getting the fire started

The crew around the fire (taken by Hayden)

While Mitch, Hayden and Andrew stayed out camping that night, me and Trav drove back since we both had class the next day. Long story short, I managed to dodge every deer we saw on the hour drive back to Houghton, until the last 5 minutes in the car. Yup, hit my first deer. We were fine, not so sure about the deer though. The car I was driving (my dad's), now is a little hurt, but nothing serious. So that was an interesting and scary start to the week.

Tuesday was another chilly, windy but sunny day, so I decided to finish my homework for the next 2 days and meet up with Mitch, Andrew and Travis after class. We drove up to Copper Harbor, and enjoyed the sun for a few hours as we explored around some rivers and the shores of Lake Superior.

We then ventured back to Hayden's, ate dinner, watched some baseball, and hung out. Yup, looks like I'm still one of the bros...

This morning, I said goodbye to Mitch and Andrew as they took off for MN, and spent the day hanging out with friends outside. No class today, but back at it tomorrow!