31 July 2007

Tõesti.


Breath takes visible shape through vihm, lingers näo ees hommikul, õhtul ja veel (before your face,morning, night and then some). Torn away with the mere tuul (wind of the sea). Veel kord (again) I could spend hours aimfully, effortlessly, endlessly typing on things Eestis. This will probably come in bits through the next week or so, with increasing opening (or closing) time. Time spent on this only limits the time spent allowing more to flow forth. Complex of complexities, digressing on the life and the living, in the moments of months before a more permanent settlement here, januaaris(?!). Aga veel, see kiire tuleb. Edasi,

22 July 2007

Keelist, ja lainest põhjal.

Nii, siin olen. Reflection or recapturing has openly not been any sort of effort that I have really attempted to take this far, one week into. Finally now, a bit, a breath of sea. The sand cascading over my feet, waves lapping my consciousness, see oleb. Täna oli (Today was) esimenese päev (first day), kui ma olen missing several things, the first in a while that I have thought back over the Atlantic to anything. Kõik (everything) is really, really great. Aside of a lack of any way to cook in the hostel (Amend that, there is a stove. Which is fine, as long as I have no problems with cooking anything directly on the burners or using my hands as a pot, then eating off of my charred palms without using any sort of silverware in such a task. Brilliant.), and an extended ride linna multiple times a day (40 minutid, kuigi ma võin näha the more peripherals of the city and do not regret being that far from kesklinnalt), things are really kõik on korras. Most on the programme (around 98% to remain scientific about all of this) are from all around Euroopa, for incredibly varied personal reasons or professions (EU or Dutch foreign service translators capable of speaking in around 5 other keeled (languages), the usual). Throughout such a rush of local Estonian complexikty and interest, along with Euro-foreign, I am almost a bit stressed from time to time. Not from the onpouring of life so much as from the realization of my own lack in such, well, suprisingly my English is temporarily returning for a bit, linguistic fortitude. It's the not-fully-wanted-though-easier end of the stick (Though what would the other end, or sides or offshoots of such a figurative stick appear like, and is that actually a common English phrase at all?), it is an ease and a disadvantage to have a native language spoken everywhere. This is not cutting on the presence of a common keel at all, the the interactions where one language can translate anything woven through such varied populations is incredible. Though it is unfortunate to not be fluently working interactions in a foreign language (much less learning another foreign language in this foreign language), given with small gaps in knowledge of words or grammatical deviations, as most others are. It is sort of a motivation to dig harder though into русский язык, into eesti keel, and to more often push others into speaking it. Therein inevitably follows another realization on my lack of full proficiency (More or less, and an annoying feeling like gnawing at my wrists with lack of vocabulary. That is also a common English phrase, jah?) in either. It's a thick struggle, though papered with triumphant interactions and Saku Tume throughout.
Nii, so I am at the sea, põhjal, and in the soothing cacophonous lilt of the incoming tide. Kõik on.
Edasi,

18 July 2007

Vasak ja parem, ja vasakule paremaga (parmale vasakuga).

The sun lingers, clinging to what it may outside of winter months and its little-roused hibernation below the sea horizon. Classes are grand, slightly deep into the water of conversation and my delayed responses, though I enjoy swimming in the depths. After full mastering of the tops-5 words required in any language for ordering food or õlut (beer) and not allowing myself to be conviced that that level of proficiency means anything, things lähevad, are progressing. So much vocabulary, and the initial grasp of grammatical concepts becomes more valja (necessary) with ominisity of 'exceptions' approaching and winding through conversation. Nothing aside of uninhibited attention feels enough, though pausid must be taken, an extended peering around and intake of surroundings and the autumn leafish flurry of life and land (maa) in and around. Neither end presses harder than the other, neither demands or shies away from the other. Kõik olla. Edasi,

15 July 2007

Põhja.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

10:34 PM


Disclaimer - I realize the pictures aren't up, they, also aren't on my laptop as of now. There is no wireless in the hostel and this is all a bit rushed, more on soon, oota!


Eestis again, ja наконец! Everything läks smoothly, almost late for the plane thanks to the hordes descending upon the one cue for all SAS flights, though fought the way through. The flight was suprisingly brief, grand view of the island off the west coast whilst peering over the person in the window seat. Bus from the airport kesklinna (to downtown) was simple enough, I haven't fully figured out what the charges are for transport, so, I only paid for one ticket on both busses. Works out, right. I live a decent bit from kesklinnalt, figured out the right stop with assistance from a crazy Eesti man who overestimated my abilities to speak the language (understandable, I asked if it was peatus Raja in Eesti keeles) as well as to drunkenly joke in the language (I was a bit deficient at both of those ends). It is really solid living this far out from the center, though. Figure the prices will be a bit lower in these parts, now that I have finally found 'a' store. I took the sort of figure eight route, which, ended me out close to the hostel where I started, and in such the store I had been looking for to stock up on groceries. I'll be figuring out if the grocieries I attempted to stock up on are actually regular things in these parts, I have often recieved the question asking me if it is really difficult to find food and if all of the stores in Russia and around these parts are still empty and shodden down. Suprisingly for them, the 90's ended a bit ago, not to mention the early ninties. This store was actually some sort of chain, possibly newer or just undergoing, well, somthing, as that question was a bit qualified täna. Most of the coolers were empty,the shelves were all cleared out and any merchandise displayed was a bit lacking in quantity. I was able to land bread, a bit of sausage (there are no knives in the hostel kitchen as it is shared with one other double room, right, also no pans), soap (solid), cereal (muesli?), and no cheese (right before I left the store they stocked some sort of freeze dried cheese into a random cart?). Же странно. Works out, if the buses run a bit more tomorrow I'll head closer to kesklinn for some other semi-necessary. I might have figured it out immediately after leaving, I dipped into a Nurga Baar (corner bar) next to it and divided by a classy looking bank, the baar had pizza advertised for 25 krooni, sounding both less expensive and more filling than the (incredibly delicious) croissant with sausage and cheese I downed before my train-to-airport-journey-fun-bucket earlier in the morning. I was being stared down by Russians the whole time calling their friends to order them to pick up some закуски (what you eat following shots), one Russian cab driver, and the light Russian pop music coating the room. The owners of the place were nice enough, the keg was dried out so they were providing bottles in place and the microwave oven pizza was decent enough. This rambling has no and intends no direction, digressing.

So many things to attempt to impart, I have thought about getting more of this out earlier, not so much sure for myself or for informing others, though actually writing it threatens with dissolution the intangibility of the thing it adresses. So, edasi.

The houses out here are incredible, in the figure eight towards empty shelves I wandered through some forests with narrow streets and reconstructed medieval replicas. Again with the shimmering.


The picture is of the sky at past kell üksteist õhtul (11 in the evening), no flash, loads of shimmer.

Homme siin, ja veel täna. Edasi,

O/(mix those)

I have the constant awareness of almost being eaten by bikes. Everywhere, riding though the paltry summer air (15 C) and swarming through traffic lights. The clouds hang lower, mist hangs higher, the colours spar for tepid or powerful hues. Edasi,

03 July 2007

Nädal, и тогда,



I am becoming quietly frenzied in anticipation of departure. I really should touch up studying eesti keel a bit this next week. I've been taking on Master and Margarita to great proportions lately, though, this time around actually in Russian. Great for submersing a bit more in it, though much of it is heavily stylistic , which is at least messing up my sanity in flipping around the beautiful hulk of a Russo-English dictionary which I own. Should really land a Russo-Estonian dictionary when I am back Eestis. If anything, just so that I can determine what are in picture-less mystery boxes of food or drink in produkti stores and lacking any translation into any more comprehensible or non-Fenno-Urgic language (bar Dutch, still have no confirmation on my tickets!). Really made a mistake on that one morning, the type of morning where for various reasons your throat is dry and your head hurts and you jacket bulges from pint glasses stolen somehow in the dusk of the previous evening, that sort of morning. Reached into a cooler to pick out a bottle of some interesting looking, presumably non-alcoholic, locally produced beverage. Paid some kroons, opened the cap, in took an amount larger than a sip, and delightfully discovered the flat, underside of a Soviet mattress taste of kvass permeating my bone marrow. Vanilla Coke would really have been a great choice.
Really, though, stoked for the flights and settlings in a weeks time. While scratching this out (I'm dabbling in the new OneNote, mainly because whenever I attempt to post pictures through the blog it's harder to carry through than an Icelandic visa) I actually got a call from Abby, friend of mine who is studying in Copenhagen and providing a couch in an IKEA-drizzled flat for me the first few days. Should be a really chill unwinding and settling into the European landmass, wandering around coffee shops and trying to carry over a native Nordic appearance. I'll hold much digression on such for when I am actually across the Atlantic, just thinking over this is accelerating my excitement loads.

Пока, thumping beats of electronic apprehension, winding up the BPM towards a transition. Siis, ja sinna!