Letters from Estonia

Chloe has discovered the joy of writing letters from abroad! We began by naming people we wanted to write to. This was one of her favorite parts. She enthusiastically named friends and family, ending each run with a very eager, "who else?" After we filled our minds with possibilities, we picked out some interesting stickers at a nearby paper shop. She gravitated toward Winnie-the-Pooh characters and googly-eyed cows. When the day came to put stickers on paper, she took it extremely seriously. Each sticker is hand-picked for a lucky recipient. There is a definite and unbreakable connection between that sticker and its human target. Due to the "who else?" phenomenon, it's an open-ended process, coming to closure only when we run out of stickers.

Chloe and I mailed the first batch of letters at the Tartu post office yesterday. It was a particularly cold day (see Alan's last post), and interiors here are kept extremely warm, so the post office itself was a haven -- even though it does feel a bit like a bus station. You have to take a ticket and watch a digital board to see which window to go to. I did not know this at first, so figuring out how to get some stamps was a bit traumatic. But we ended up with a nice teller who spoke passable English and who was patient with my request to have Chloe participate. She even let Chloe use her sponge-in-a-dish to apply stamps. Handsome whales and penguins were featured on ones for the US, and Chloe was as keen to match stamps to people as she had been with the stickers. So if you happen to receive a letter from Estonia this week, be aware that Chloe selected that whale or penguin especially for you!

In other news, I began an Estonian class this week. I have learned how to say things like "Hello, let's get acquainted. My name is Shelley. Nice to meet you!" Yesterday we covered geography. Estonian has 14 different kinds of endings depending on case and context, and you have to be careful to put the proper endings on place names. The "where" concept ends with an "s," so you end all place names with an "s," unless it is an island, in which case you attach an "l" (because you live on, not in, islands). I can now say, "I currently live in Philadelphia, but I was born in Newport. Newport is in the north-east of America." However, I will avoid saying "Rhode Island," just to keep things simple. In reality, I say things like, "Markid?" (stamps) in a quavering voice, followed swiftly by "Do you speak English?"

Aerobic exercise I am getting plenty of, like it or not! With all the walking and stroller-pushing I am doing over icy paths and snowy hills, my thighs are beginning to hint at the impressive solidity of a Scandinavian matron. However, I am occasionally trying a couple of other things to keep limber, like swimming in a local pool complex (which I hope to take Chloe to soon) and doing a little yoga. Chloe likes to climb under and on me while I do it, and we did a little pose together recently (see below).

Also below is a slightly out-of-date photo from our first days in Tartu, when we were still in our little hostel room.

Until next time! - sac