Wow! What a day. I am SO tired, and this is the short day of practice. We only had it from 11:45AM-8PM. Tomorrow is still longer. The sun was relentless, but it could have been worse: rain, so I'm counting my blessings. It takes a lot of concentration to make sense of Estonian for so many hours in a row, but it is rewarding as you learn more words and feel your comprehension improve.
We didn't get a whole lot done this morning, but we did get a chance to wander a bit more around Old Town before practice. Then, we met Liina and company at the Rannavarav field for our bracelets and meal tickets. I remember playing soccer at that same field sometimes during the mish. (Matti said that during the Noukogude aeg, he went to the same field for gas mask training when he was in the army.) It is sort of unreal to be dancing at the foot of such old bastions of history, it is just at the foot of Paks Margareta and ancient towers line one of the walls.
Erika Polendrik was there giving directions over a micropone. She was very complimentary to the 4 teams from America (LA, Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver). She gave each of us flags for doing such a good job during auditions.
We started with Kalamees, and it was good to have a dance we could have some early wins with. It really is a fun dance, and it is even more fun with you look around and see 900 other people crisscrossing the field in formations. Kalamehe Jutt was harder in that a lot of it is different than we learned. Well, the steps are almost all the same, but everything else is different. And even the steps have been changed in some places. I had a moment of panic tonight when I twisted my ankle because I had forgotten that we had changed that part, and I stepped using the old steps. Luckily, I think it is okay. I might just have to step gingerly on it for a day. But the good thing about today is that the dances are placed now, which means my part in them will stay consistent throughout the show, which is a very good thing!
The ending of our part is going to be pretty cool. We get into the shape of a huge fish bone. Liina said that it was actually Erik's idea. She said that when Erika Polendrik was at their house last November, they were sitting around the dinner table and Erika said that she didn't know how to end the dance, and jokingly Erik suggested making the outline of a fishbone, and here we are now.
We ended the night with another party. The Salajakesed invited us and the Danes to a party. It was really nice and the food was wonderful: hapukapsas, friitkartulid, ja liha, with the best bread and honey. And, a party of dancers wouldn't be complete without some dancing. It was cool to see a really good Estonian group perform, not that we aren't wonderful, but they were very, very good.
Well, there is only a little pink left in the sky, which means it is 1 AM and time for sleep or else tomorrow will be a disaster. Head ood!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Postcard Pics
Stockmann's still holds lots of fun treats, even though I couldn't find any juustusai or Pirnugruuv (I heard they don't mak that anymore!!). It is so much fun walking through the ailes and finding all of our old favorite treats: Fazer Domino cookies, Hiirte juust, Poltsamaa ounavirsiku mahl, Axa muesli, Alma koupiimakreem, Orbit ouna gum, etc.
Then we headed out to Old Town for a shopping and exploration excursion and had a lot of success. We started at the Viru Turg and checked out the sweaters and other things, then it was off to the Apollo Bookstore. Tony was happy with his good finds--Lennart Meri's Hobevalge and Andrus Kivirahk's Mees kes Teadis Ussisona and I was very happy with mine--Harry Potter ja Tarkade Kivi (Harry Potter and the Philosoper's Stone).
Then we headed to sweater row to the obligatory suveniir pood hunting for dishes and t-shirts. While there, we wound around onto Kateriina Kaik to watch the artisans preparing their wares. I had so much fun taking pictures--I will have to put a whole album together just of the doors of Old Town because I stopped about every ten feet to take pictures.
Eventually, we made it to the Oleviste Kirik and decided to go to the top. The stairway was pretty narrow, and when people were trying to pass going the other direction, you had to press yourself against the wall to let them by. Good thing there were ropes. Once we got to the top, I was feeling brave until a gust of wind came and I thought I felt the tower move. My courage failed me further when I realized the viewing platform was made of wooden pallets and a loosely-welded hand rail. It was so narrow, everyone had to go in one direction, and in some places, you really had to squeeze tightly. But, the view was incredible. I kept recognizing postcard shots through my own viewfinder. Earlier at the Apollo, I had noticed a postcard in which Toompea was exactly between the Nevsky Cathedral and Toompea Kirik, and I had wondered if they photoshopped it. But, I found the same shot with my camera. It really was a spectacular view and great to see out over the whole city.
Then, we headed up Pikk Tanav and took in the interesting buidings there, like the Three Sisters and the Dragon Gallery and the Mustapea Maja. And then we finally found a great, authentic Estonian souvineer shop: Eesti Kasitoo. I am finally officially married now that I have an apron to wear with my rahvariided. And, we found some pins, although I think I will return to exchange mine for a better one. The owner had me describe my costume and she went for a book and flipped through like a master at work, searching for just the right formula. I really had no appreciation for how seriously Estonians take their rahvariided.
We caught the bus to Kakumae for a party at Aili and Toomas Klesment's. It was so much fun! They started out with champagne and caviar and they prepared a wonderful barbeque for us. The pork was delicious. Aili said that all of the mushrooms for her salad were picked in or near her yard and she made the ketchup from scratch. it was a lot of fun getting to know the Teose kids and cousins better. Then we did some social dances and walked out to the beach. Oh....it felt so good! My feet were so tired by that time, and the water was so shallow, we could walked out far, and we still didn't get wet above our knees. Then back to the Klesment's for singing--it felt like appetizers for next week's music. I can't wait.
We ended our day with a little bit of relaxation and ETV. Guess who we saw? Chris Chan, singing his heart out in Saaremaa on a program about the Laulupidu Flame making its way toward Tallinn. It is great to feel so connected to this magnificent place.
Then we headed out to Old Town for a shopping and exploration excursion and had a lot of success. We started at the Viru Turg and checked out the sweaters and other things, then it was off to the Apollo Bookstore. Tony was happy with his good finds--Lennart Meri's Hobevalge and Andrus Kivirahk's Mees kes Teadis Ussisona and I was very happy with mine--Harry Potter ja Tarkade Kivi (Harry Potter and the Philosoper's Stone).
Then we headed to sweater row to the obligatory suveniir pood hunting for dishes and t-shirts. While there, we wound around onto Kateriina Kaik to watch the artisans preparing their wares. I had so much fun taking pictures--I will have to put a whole album together just of the doors of Old Town because I stopped about every ten feet to take pictures.
Eventually, we made it to the Oleviste Kirik and decided to go to the top. The stairway was pretty narrow, and when people were trying to pass going the other direction, you had to press yourself against the wall to let them by. Good thing there were ropes. Once we got to the top, I was feeling brave until a gust of wind came and I thought I felt the tower move. My courage failed me further when I realized the viewing platform was made of wooden pallets and a loosely-welded hand rail. It was so narrow, everyone had to go in one direction, and in some places, you really had to squeeze tightly. But, the view was incredible. I kept recognizing postcard shots through my own viewfinder. Earlier at the Apollo, I had noticed a postcard in which Toompea was exactly between the Nevsky Cathedral and Toompea Kirik, and I had wondered if they photoshopped it. But, I found the same shot with my camera. It really was a spectacular view and great to see out over the whole city.
Then, we headed up Pikk Tanav and took in the interesting buidings there, like the Three Sisters and the Dragon Gallery and the Mustapea Maja. And then we finally found a great, authentic Estonian souvineer shop: Eesti Kasitoo. I am finally officially married now that I have an apron to wear with my rahvariided. And, we found some pins, although I think I will return to exchange mine for a better one. The owner had me describe my costume and she went for a book and flipped through like a master at work, searching for just the right formula. I really had no appreciation for how seriously Estonians take their rahvariided.
We caught the bus to Kakumae for a party at Aili and Toomas Klesment's. It was so much fun! They started out with champagne and caviar and they prepared a wonderful barbeque for us. The pork was delicious. Aili said that all of the mushrooms for her salad were picked in or near her yard and she made the ketchup from scratch. it was a lot of fun getting to know the Teose kids and cousins better. Then we did some social dances and walked out to the beach. Oh....it felt so good! My feet were so tired by that time, and the water was so shallow, we could walked out far, and we still didn't get wet above our knees. Then back to the Klesment's for singing--it felt like appetizers for next week's music. I can't wait.
We ended our day with a little bit of relaxation and ETV. Guess who we saw? Chris Chan, singing his heart out in Saaremaa on a program about the Laulupidu Flame making its way toward Tallinn. It is great to feel so connected to this magnificent place.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunrise Over Tallinn
I remember the first time I came to Tallinn, it had an immediate magical feeling. When we pulled in on the bus in January, 1999, in the middle of a cold winter night, I swear I saw a horse-drawn carriage strolling past the beautiful houses here. The winter fog left a mist in the air and the entire city had a glow from the winter light.
It is no less magical today. I'm watching the most beautiful sunrise over Tallinn right now as I write this with an exquisite view of Old Town, Pirita and Viimse, the new modern skyscrapers, and the Laululava (our hotel upgraded us to "Reval Class" when we got here, so we are on the 23rd floor of Hotel Olumpia). The birds and singing their morning song (It's around 4 AM now). The seagulls are flying above and below me. The city is starting to wake up.
We've had a wonderful time so far. Flying in, we got a magnificent view of Old Town from above. Chris and Maila met us at the airport. They have been so kind to us--loaning us a cell phone, driving us to our hotel, and helping us track down all of the many people we hope to see. They are so generous and kind! We found my parents and introduced them (I'm so glad they got to meet them last night because Chris was leaving for Saaremaa the next morning and wasn't going to be able to go to church.)
Reuniting with my parents was a lot of fun. They had Geisha bars and flowers ready to welcome us, and we had Danish pastries hand-carried from Copenhagen for them (My dad reluctantly admits that Julie Tate was right about the pastries in Denmark: they are the best in the world, even better than in his beloved France.) We set out for Old Town, and the Saturday night parties were just getting started there. It felt so normal walking up the flower-lined Viru Tanav to enter Old Town. It was like our absence had been but a short time. We enjoyed a medieval feast at Olde Hanse of mushroom soup, sauerkraut with beef, pork, and currant sauce, salmon with wild mushroom sauce, lentils, and hazelnuts, salad, etc. Then we walked around the cobble-stoned streets ending at Vabaduse Valjak and the new Estonian Freedom Memorial commorating their Independence in 1918. (This crystal monument was just unveiled last week.)
I've never been so excited to go to church on Sunday. We enjoyed our fabulous breakfest buffet then took the number one trolley to Lille peatus and walked up Sole Tanav to Adala and to the building that was built and dedicated ten years ago. It was really emotional just walking in and feeling the flood of memories that were there. I got to hug my estonian grandma--Irena was waiting for us with Juuli Nikolskih. It was so fun watching people arrive: Kennet Jogi (their branch president right now), and his wife Kadri and daughter, Erki and Jaanika Koiv and their kids, Tarmo and Reili Lepp, Eve Olgo and her husband and kids, Mari and Alexander Timokov and their daughters, Guido Paulus and his wife, Eike Urke and her husband, Anneli Vissinariova, Hele Jaar, Anneli Moll, Maila chan and her cute kids, Taima Toombet, and Toivo Heinlo and his wife...so many wonderful memories about each of them. Kennet conducted, and he invited Tony and I to bear our testimonies. Hele Jaar gave the first talk about temples--their getting ready for a temple trip to Helsinki later in the month of July. Then I spoke about how nice it was to be back with them, and how grateful I was for their faith and their strenth, and that even though I am far away, I still think about them often and pray for them often. Tony spoke about how much things have progressed since he was there -- the church building and the Estonian Book of Mormon. Then Eve Olgo spoke about how we are all brothers and sisters in the gospel and how she was one of he first members in Estonia, that she had been baptized in Finland in 1990. Erki Koiv gave the final talk about the church can require a lot of its members, but they are blessed when they make sacrifices to fulfill callings and serve other people. I'm sure he knows that more than most people.
Br. Heinlo taught Sunday School about charity, and then Maila gave the lesson in Relief Society. We talked about temples in Relief Society, too. At the end, there was time for testimonies, and I sat in tears the whole time listening to Maila talking about what the promise of having an eternal family means to her, Jaanika Koiv talking about the feeling she feels when she sees everyone in the branch in the Celestial Room (the same people that she endures life's trials with and celebrates life's joys with), Reili Lepp talking about how her daughter can remember being sealed to them, and that even if she chooses not to attend church right now, Reili hasn't given up yet because the Lord has promised her an eternal family and she has faith that that promise will be fulfilled, and Kristi Kirisberg talking about some of the miracles that surrounded her wedding and sealing when it seemed like everything wasn't going to turn out.
We got so much good news there. The head of the translation department from Salt Lake (Br. Bateson) was there. They had had the eclesiastical review of the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price this week. They are all translated now, and they just need to go through a few final steps before they are ready to be published! Wow! And on this new temple trip, Guido and his wife are getting sealed and Eike and her husband are going through the temple and are going to be sealed.
The whole experience made me feel like I was home. I love those people so, so much. I was so grateful to see them again and to be so warmly welcomed by them.
After church, we went out to the Open Air Museum. We enjoyed a traditional Estonian lunch of viineripraad (weiners), kartulid (boiled potatoes), hapukorgid (pickles), salat (salad with dill and cabbage), pankoogid, (crepe-like pancakes with strawberry jam), herne supp (pea soup), kama mousse, and kali. Then we walked around the took in all of the houses with their reed-thatched roofs, beautiful doors, and view of the bay. Oh, and the best part...We Found a KIIK!!! (An Estonian swing that you stand on with a group of people!) I promised Tony that we would find one this trip and try it out. It was so much fun!
Leslie
It is no less magical today. I'm watching the most beautiful sunrise over Tallinn right now as I write this with an exquisite view of Old Town, Pirita and Viimse, the new modern skyscrapers, and the Laululava (our hotel upgraded us to "Reval Class" when we got here, so we are on the 23rd floor of Hotel Olumpia). The birds and singing their morning song (It's around 4 AM now). The seagulls are flying above and below me. The city is starting to wake up.
We've had a wonderful time so far. Flying in, we got a magnificent view of Old Town from above. Chris and Maila met us at the airport. They have been so kind to us--loaning us a cell phone, driving us to our hotel, and helping us track down all of the many people we hope to see. They are so generous and kind! We found my parents and introduced them (I'm so glad they got to meet them last night because Chris was leaving for Saaremaa the next morning and wasn't going to be able to go to church.)
Reuniting with my parents was a lot of fun. They had Geisha bars and flowers ready to welcome us, and we had Danish pastries hand-carried from Copenhagen for them (My dad reluctantly admits that Julie Tate was right about the pastries in Denmark: they are the best in the world, even better than in his beloved France.) We set out for Old Town, and the Saturday night parties were just getting started there. It felt so normal walking up the flower-lined Viru Tanav to enter Old Town. It was like our absence had been but a short time. We enjoyed a medieval feast at Olde Hanse of mushroom soup, sauerkraut with beef, pork, and currant sauce, salmon with wild mushroom sauce, lentils, and hazelnuts, salad, etc. Then we walked around the cobble-stoned streets ending at Vabaduse Valjak and the new Estonian Freedom Memorial commorating their Independence in 1918. (This crystal monument was just unveiled last week.)
I've never been so excited to go to church on Sunday. We enjoyed our fabulous breakfest buffet then took the number one trolley to Lille peatus and walked up Sole Tanav to Adala and to the building that was built and dedicated ten years ago. It was really emotional just walking in and feeling the flood of memories that were there. I got to hug my estonian grandma--Irena was waiting for us with Juuli Nikolskih. It was so fun watching people arrive: Kennet Jogi (their branch president right now), and his wife Kadri and daughter, Erki and Jaanika Koiv and their kids, Tarmo and Reili Lepp, Eve Olgo and her husband and kids, Mari and Alexander Timokov and their daughters, Guido Paulus and his wife, Eike Urke and her husband, Anneli Vissinariova, Hele Jaar, Anneli Moll, Maila chan and her cute kids, Taima Toombet, and Toivo Heinlo and his wife...so many wonderful memories about each of them. Kennet conducted, and he invited Tony and I to bear our testimonies. Hele Jaar gave the first talk about temples--their getting ready for a temple trip to Helsinki later in the month of July. Then I spoke about how nice it was to be back with them, and how grateful I was for their faith and their strenth, and that even though I am far away, I still think about them often and pray for them often. Tony spoke about how much things have progressed since he was there -- the church building and the Estonian Book of Mormon. Then Eve Olgo spoke about how we are all brothers and sisters in the gospel and how she was one of he first members in Estonia, that she had been baptized in Finland in 1990. Erki Koiv gave the final talk about the church can require a lot of its members, but they are blessed when they make sacrifices to fulfill callings and serve other people. I'm sure he knows that more than most people.
Br. Heinlo taught Sunday School about charity, and then Maila gave the lesson in Relief Society. We talked about temples in Relief Society, too. At the end, there was time for testimonies, and I sat in tears the whole time listening to Maila talking about what the promise of having an eternal family means to her, Jaanika Koiv talking about the feeling she feels when she sees everyone in the branch in the Celestial Room (the same people that she endures life's trials with and celebrates life's joys with), Reili Lepp talking about how her daughter can remember being sealed to them, and that even if she chooses not to attend church right now, Reili hasn't given up yet because the Lord has promised her an eternal family and she has faith that that promise will be fulfilled, and Kristi Kirisberg talking about some of the miracles that surrounded her wedding and sealing when it seemed like everything wasn't going to turn out.
We got so much good news there. The head of the translation department from Salt Lake (Br. Bateson) was there. They had had the eclesiastical review of the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price this week. They are all translated now, and they just need to go through a few final steps before they are ready to be published! Wow! And on this new temple trip, Guido and his wife are getting sealed and Eike and her husband are going through the temple and are going to be sealed.
The whole experience made me feel like I was home. I love those people so, so much. I was so grateful to see them again and to be so warmly welcomed by them.
After church, we went out to the Open Air Museum. We enjoyed a traditional Estonian lunch of viineripraad (weiners), kartulid (boiled potatoes), hapukorgid (pickles), salat (salad with dill and cabbage), pankoogid, (crepe-like pancakes with strawberry jam), herne supp (pea soup), kama mousse, and kali. Then we walked around the took in all of the houses with their reed-thatched roofs, beautiful doors, and view of the bay. Oh, and the best part...We Found a KIIK!!! (An Estonian swing that you stand on with a group of people!) I promised Tony that we would find one this trip and try it out. It was so much fun!
Leslie
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