Estonia?

When I was telling people that I was going to Estonia for a course, the usual reaction was something along the lines of "that really exists", "What's Estonia?", "Where's Estonia?", and there was one person who actually knew about Estonia.  He was an ambassador to Estonia during a summer internship in Washington DC.  Thank you, Kevin for knowing what, where, and why Estonia is.

Let's start with the where:

It took me about 24 hours to get to the course site in Tartu, Estonia.  That's a bus from Milwaukee to Chicago, a flight from Chicago to Stockholm, a layover in Stockholm airport, a flight from Stockholm to Tallin, and another 2 hour bus ride to Tartu.

It interesting because the weather and landscape in Estonia almost reminded me of home.  It was snowy and open.  Instead of what I consider to be the typical European style houses that are masked by gates, there were yards and you could see the houses.  They were mostly made of stone and wood.  and people had dogs playing in their yards.  

My former supervisor, Kate taught me to travel by hotels.  You can really travel the world by anything.  Some people travel the world with a fascination for chocolate, or coffee, foods in general, or by magnets or T-shirts.  Anyways, Kate taught me to appreciate the different hotel rooms.  So you will probably see a theme of hotel rooms as I travel.  Above is my room in Tallin.  It was a really nice hotel.  To the left is the view outside of my skylight window.

Tartu is a city that was under various reigns and wars throughout history.  I found it interesting that typically everyone there speaks Estonian, English, and Russian.  They also typically learn one other language in school.  Being bilingual suddenly seems like a simple feat.  I would love to attempt another language, but am still apprehensive about ever returning to school.

Modern day Tartu is dominated by the university.  The city is very proud of it's University, which is the oldest in Estonia, and has a huge student population.  Above is a statue in the main square.  It is called the 'kissing students', as a tribute to the University students that dominate the city.

There are a few interesting other things about Estonia.  Randomly, EVERYWHERE we went there were free coat checks.  They really were over the top in that respect.  I think it is related to the cold temperatures and the fact that everyone walks to their destinations a lot more often so the coat check becomes essential as everyone arrives very bundled up.  Another interesting thing was that they had WIFI throughout all the cities and believed that the internet should be a free resource for everyone.  The below, was also their creative solution to sitting in the main square in cold weathers.  They have fur topped chairs and heaters!  I think Wisconsin could learn a thing from them.

This is a leaning house.  The higher side was built on the ancient wall that surrounded the city, hence it hasn't sunk along with the other side of the building.

After running the course.  We headed back to Tallinn, where we spent the night until our planes left the next morning.

Just a Lazy Saturday Afternoon.......

I know, I know, I will probably grow up eventually........

Boston!

After a quick trip to Newport we were onto the Boston portion of the trip and I use the term Boston loosely.  For me, Boston has always meant Canton.  As far back as I can remember we would head out to this "Boston" annually to visit my mother's stomping grounds, it meant that we would visit Canton, a town about 15 miles southwest of downtown Boston.

My fabulous Aunt Maggie is holding down the Cook Family fort out in Canton now and hosts a sort of unofficial family bed-and-breakfast only open to immediate family and absolutely free.  My adult experiences there are as though it is you are on a small retreat, where we sleep in late, take a break from life, drink lots of coffee, and visit Grammy only a few miles away.  I love it!

It was especially wonderful this visit because I met my sister from Philly there.  She took the guest room and I made my home in my cousin Joey's room.  It was a full house with Anne, her boys, and my cousins Joey and Anna.

The weekend went by too quickly, but it was great to see everyone, particularly to see everyone together.  Roman followed Joey (14) around wouldn't leave him.  Joey was trying to be a good, nice older cousin, but Roman just wouldn't leave his side.  Grammy met AJ.  Anne and I spent time with our now teenager cousin Anna.  We went to see her play volley ball and Greg gave her a  brief driving lesson. In retrospect he told me that he was a little nervous when Anna asked, "Which is the gas and which is the brake, again?" But, she drove wonderfully and is going to be a great driver.  Anna and I were both excited to see each other for other reasons:  Greg and I are honored that she will be able to say a reading at our wedding mass and I will be returning in May to be her confirmation sponsor.  It is wonderful how family can be so close and important, even if they are far away and you rarely see them.

And as usual, I wish I had taken more pictures.  Even though you can't see them in pictures, Grammy, my sister, and everyone else was present.

After a healthy dose of the Cook side of the family, Greg and I took a quick look at Boston on our way out.  It was extremely cold so the Harbor was empty and we did not do much outside.  In fact, Greg even begged me to stop in a small dress shop, just to get a break from walking in the cold.  We met a friend for lunch near the Public Gardens ... and then headed back home to sweet Milwaukee.

An engagement and three + holidays later......Here we are in 2013.

I skipped writing about Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and probably some other significant and noteworthy events, but I am going to pick up from my latest trip.

I went out to Boston to visit and introduce Greg to the infamous Aunt Maggie, Grammy and the rest of the gang out in Canton.  While we were out there we "multi-tripped", making a day trip down to Newport, Rhode Island to visit his Uncle and visiting a good buddy of his who lives out there.  If that wasn't enough, to top it all off, my sister came out from Philadelphia with Roman and little AJ.

An appropriate transition from my last post is to point out the fact that only a few hours into Boston, we recieved a parking ticket.  For those who might wonder, the parking fine in Boston seems to be $25 and I do not exactly plan to contest this one....

Once we touched down in Boston we soon headed down to Newport Rhode Island.  Greg's Uncle was happy to show us around and point out many of the major areas.  Newport seems to be rich in high society and a popular summer home for many famous.  Being winter, it was quiet;  However, it was our first time seeing Newport and going anywhere new can always hold excitement for a visitor.  We learned about the historic colonial homes, visited the naval complex, stopped for a nice lunch with clam chowder and took a scenic drive around the bay to see the magnificent mansions and homes of the Vanderbilts and Doris Duke.

This is the USS Saratoga.  It is a super carrier for the navy that was decommissioned in 1994.  Currently, it's docked in Newport awaiting it's final destiny.  Deep down, I really hope that it will eventually be turned into a museum, but it does not look very likely.  So there it sits.

We took a long drive around the bay and along the shore.  The East coast is beautiful.  One of the things that humored us was a house called "Cling Stone."  I wasn't able to capture a picture of it, but it sits in the middle of the bay, literally clinging to a giant boulder.  It has no yard and no connection to the land.  You must reach it by boat and we supposed electricity in the home is provided by generators. Somehow I imagine Gatsbyian parties taking place at the house until 4am during summers.  

The trip was very brief, but Uncle Charles' abridged version of 'The Best of Newport' took us to see the oldest library in the country.  It reminded me of the history and enchantment the east coast will always hold for me. 

We finished off the day trip with an order of Americanos and headed back to Boston for the next leg of our trip............

To Be Continued

My Parking Ticket

A while back I got a parking ticket because I parked too close to a driveway.  The regulated distance in Milwaukee is 4 feet.  It clearly showed in the picture from the parking maid and on my ticket that I was parked at zero feet from the driveway.  Who even knew that the little parking Jeeps take a picture of every single mis-parked car in Milwaukee?  Well, now we all know this.  If you get a ticket they will provide you with photo-evidence.

Anyways, so the story begins when I shared my frustration with the girl in the cube next door and she recommended that I contest it.  "But I have no argument, I was parked at zero distance and I really didn't know there was a 4 foot regulation.  Although, it is completely logical."  She said- just call the number, make an appointment and it takes about 5 minutes to go in there and they excuse it.

So rather than just pay the thirty bucks I called.  The appointment would serve as a legitimate excuse to be late to work and I will NEVER outgrow the joy of playing hookey.  I'm not sure why I had to make an appointment 1 month out because I walked in to an empty office.  I waited five minutes until a man called my name and asked me to plead my case in front of a screen showing my car parked right at the edge of a driveway.  I did not expect this part of the meeting..."Well, I didn't want to park any cars in and I really only parked there for a couple minutes so that i could run in the building and change my laundry."

He quickly dismissed my ticket and told me to park legally from now on.

I don't know why the story intrigues me.  It is just weird to me that they waived my ticket.  I'm still not sure if it was worth the $30, but I guess it was just interesting to me.  If you are bored at work someday you should try it too.

That $30 immediately went towards the late charge on my best buy bill.  However, now I'm thinking about calling best buy to see if I can get that one waived too..........

A pointless story to amuse you.  I think it may also attest to the monotony and lack of excitement in my life....or maybe I just appreciate small every day experiences?  Yes, that's definitely it.

Two holidays later...

Halloween came and left along with Greg's birthday, my mother's, and my Grammy's.  I'm not sure what that says about the persons who are born at the end of October, but I'm sure I can find something that the three of them have in common.  I simply wouldn't care to share that in my blog.

Anyways, for halloween this year I was part of a Jamaican bobsled team with Shea and Katie.  It was a very simple DIY costume and a true testament to the wonders of duct tape.  We were a little bit weary about the costume at first, but it turned out to be a big success, along with our cardboard sled.

I am completely convinced that you can make any  costume with black spandex and the right colored duct tape.

 I think that anyone who reads this blog should know, but Greg and I also announced our engagement. The date and place are yet to be determined... the best I can say is 2013 and you are invited!

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Finally.  After living 29 years with a almost saint patron, Kateri has finally been canonized!  Last Sunday was the canonization of my patron and I couldn't be more excited.  For a while I had deliberated actually going to Rome, but I decided it would be a bit wiser economically to celebrate it here at home.

We had a little Kateri Tekakwitha Canonization get together.  We dressed up in indigenous garb, at least what they taught us about in grade school and had lots of corn snacks, like popcorn, candy corn, corn chips, corn puffs, and corn dogs.  We figured that lienenkugel was the most appropriate beverage. 

Kateri was finally eligible for sainthood after her latest miracle.  In 2006 a five year old boy named Jake Finkbonner was playing basketball when he cut his lip.  It became infected with a flesh eating bacteria and within days he was on his deathbed when a priest, knowing of his native american descent, suggested that his family pray to Kateri.  Things looked grave and the family was talking of his organ donation, when suddenly he recovered.  His cure from the infection has been deemed medically inexplicable and is the miracle that allowed Kateri to become a Saint.  Finally.

While I was not able to go to the canonization in Rome, I hope to travel to La Crosse, WI where I have heard there is a beautiful shrine to her.  I am also lucky that I have an amazing friend (Ellen)  who was fortunate enough to be in Rome for the canonization and is sending me a prayer card from the ceremony. 

YAY for Kateri!!!