Let us give Thanks

Okay, so this post is about Thanksgiving.  Yes, I am aware that Thanksgiving was a few weeks but I have been busy. Anyways this will be short, I just wanted to tell you a little bit about it.

So when I first got here, I was determined to have a Thanksgiving dinner, no matter what.  Little did I know that not having an oven or microwave would really put a damper on things.  As the weeks went on and the home sickness got a little worse, I decided that I really didn't want to have a Thanksgiving dinner, I wasn't with my family anyways.  Two weeks before Thanksgiving I told everyone that I wasn't going to do the dinner, and I would most likely lay in bed all day, I was perfectly okay with that.  One of my flatmates turned to me and said "We are going to make a Thanksgiving dinner, you can choose to come or not to come."  WELL THEN! The rest of the flat was super excited because it would be their first Thanksgiving.   The day comes and the kitchen was a mess from the previous night, my roommate was in Lapland, and one of my flatmates had class until six.  But that was not the funny part.  The same flatmate that basically took over the Thanksgiving dinner plans, had fallen ill due to circumstances WITHIN her control. I will not say anymore.   Anyways she is laying down trying to peel potatoes off of the side of the bed.  She looked so sick and pitiful, that I snatched the potatoes away and peeled them myself. We had to use someone else's oven, but one of their flatmates was using the oven at the time that we had arranged to use it.  Well that had me freaking out because I told my guest a specific time and I hate to make people wait.

After all that drama and nonsense, we had the turkey cooked and all the food on the table.  No, it was not the traditional, and I feel bad that they were not able to have an authentic dinner.  However, it was a great Thanksgiving dinner.  I made everyone go around and tell what they were thankful for.  I was surrounded by people who I have spent the last several months with.  Everyone helped out and did their part to make it a good holiday for not only me, but themselves as well.  In fact, all I really did was peel potatoes and make a salad. I know, I should be ashamed.  But enough about me, lets looks at some pictures.

          This is just a few of the ingredients that we bought to make Thanksgiving a success

 

 

 One of my flatmates made this turkey.  We call her the creative one because she is always making things that the rest of us don't have the skills for patience for

 

 Room 420 was the host of all of the guest.  These two girls did an awesome job of arranging their room to accommodate us. That was very generous of them...because I wouldn't have done it! (I mean come on, by the time we were done, there was turkey drippings all over the floor)

And this was the group minus a few enjoying Thanksgiving with me!

Take caution when it comes to love

I am currently straddling an uncomfortable fence.  To leave, or not to leave. Yes, of course I am going to leave Estonia, it's just going to be harder than I expected.  It is not the place that is holding me hostage, but the people that currently reside in it.  Three weeks.  If I wanted to be specific, two weeks and five days before I say goodbye to the first person.  I currently have forty three days before I return to the States.  Honestly, it is too soon.

On one hand I am so ready to return to Arkansas.  I can't wait to hug my mom and dad and tell them that I love them. You never know important your parents are until you don't have unlimited access to them. Going abroad has a way of making you appreciative of the people in your life. I want to overdose on my siblings. The boys have grown so much since I have been gone. When I left neither one them were crawling and now they are both on their way to walking. They are going to turn one and I won't even be there to celebrate their birthday... it kills me. Though I am glad that the babies are surrounded by people who love them and enjoy them, I hate that I am not there to enjoy them. All I have are the rare pictures I get of them and their babbles in the background of the phone calls home.  I am  ready to get back to my bigger babies as well.  I want to hold them and tell them that there is a whole world available to them if they just believe.  I want them to know that they can be anyone they want to be and go anywhere they want to go... that their past do not define them. I am ready to get back to my friends.  I can't help of feel a twinge of jealously when they are together having fun, I feel like I am missing out on something.  I miss my former co-workers. Though I know I am replaceable, I secretly hope they won't find anyone as cool or uncool as me. I just want to get back home so I can personally thank everyone that kept me in their thoughts.  It's time..

On the other hand, I am just not ready to give these people up.  In preparing for this trip, I didn't even consider attachment issues.  If I can be completely honest, I was looking forward to meeting THAT guy, the one I have waited for my whole life. Maybe we would ride off into the sunset together. Maybe we would be in the airport, holding on for dear life with "Stay" by Rihanna playing in the background.  I was ready to face the conversation on how we would make a long distance relationship work.  I wanted to experience that international love.  Crazy, I know.  Unfortunately that didn't happen and I still have no idea what it is like to be in a relationship. That is neither here nor there.

My flatmates and I were all sitting in the kitchen last night talking about our first impressions of one another. How even ten days into our stay, we were taking care of each other like we had known each other our whole lives. It's insane to think that a few months ago, we didn't know that each other existed.  I think I can say that we are the very few flats in which everyone like everyone.  Six girls sharing one area can get brutal but we have never ran into any problems. In some ways, these girls know me better than even my closest friends.  And because they have no prior knowledge of me, they do not judge me. I am able to completely be myself and they accept me.  How do I leave that behind? We have invested so much time and energy into one another. I also hate that there are some individuals that I really didn't start to appreciate until the end. Like the person that is always around, but I never tried to get to know.  And then one day we just have a conversation, the whole time I am kicking myself because I realize what I have been missing out on.  I wish I could go back...give us a fighting chance. So needles to say, I am dreading the many goodbyes. I know there is email and social media but I also know that is not enough to prolong the inevitable. I am dreading the day that we simply move on. 

I remember years ago, someone told me I should take caution when it comes to love... I did.
                                                        

Our Angel

This is a difficult post for me to write, because right now I am hurting.  It never occurs to me that the last time I speak to a person, may just be the last time.  I take for granted that things will stay the same, and everyone will be waiting for me when I get back.  This week, life hit me with a big slap in the face.
On Sunday, I received a message from a friend that another friend/former coworker was taken to the hospital.  My heart dropped because I had no idea what was going on. I tried to write everyone I could think of, telling them to keep me informed. Later, I was told that she passed. It felt like someone knocked the wind out of me.  I can only imagine how her fiancé must be feeling, her family, her best friends. 
I would be a lie if I said we were best friends, that I knew her better than anyone.  What I do know is that I considered her a friend, and she was one of the sweetest individuals I have ever come in contact with. I can tell you that she was one of first to befriend me when I started working at our job.  I can say that she could smack gum louder than anyone I ever met.   I can tell you that she was funny, and she didn't mind speaking her mind and stand for what she believed in.  I can say that she love her family more than anything, and she made sure she had time devoted to her daughter. All of these things made her the person that she was.
I know without a shadow of a doubt that she blessed so many lives.  Just to see the outcry this past week was incredible.  My biggest regret is not being able to be there right now, and celebrate her life with everyone.  But I believe that anyone who had made any type of relationship with her can say that it was God's gift to breathe the air she breathe.
Out of respect for her and her family, I chose not to name her or post a picture.  If, I had their permission of course, then I wouldn't have mind.  Today we said "see you later," to a very special angel. You will never be forgotten.

We aren't caught up in your love affair

So this is the last part of my trip.  I will be kind to you and just give you pictures with just a small description.  Enjoy

Day 1

We first had to go to the discovery island center to collect my Dublin pass.  The pass allowed us to go in 30 attractions free and over great discounts.  I had a really big scare because four days before I was supposed to leave for Dublin, my mother told me my passes had made it to the house.  I couldn't use passes that were sitting in the Unites States. Luckily, the mistake was on their part and I was able to pick up a Dublin Pass at the center. This was a dry erase wall that people could write on, we left our mark!

 

Okay I am going to be honest and say that Anna takes amazing photos.  For that reason, I am going to use some of her photos if mine to not suffice.  This is one of them. Before we made our way to the Museum of  Archeology, we stopped into the city library.

This was the Museum of Archeology, and I must admit it was crazy cool.  As you may have guess, the corpse was my favorite.  We got four free postcards as well.

 

This was the Church of Christ Cathedral. I feel bad because I didn't learn much while I was there but it was extremely beautiful and my pictures do not do this place justice.  I apologize

Our last stop of the night was the Guinness Storehouse.  I thought it was the coolest guide in Dublin. My favorite part was going to the tasting room.  We walked through a dark hallway and then was ushered into this white room to shock our senses.  We were then given instructions on how to properly taste beer.  It was the worse thing I ever tasted. So you can guess that I opted for a coke instead of the complimentary pint of beer.

Day 2

First thing on day 2 was the zoo. I am not going to post every animal because we have all been to a zoo before.  However, this was the Dublin Zoo! I was really impressed with their area for the zebras, antelopes and giraffes.  For once I didn't feel like they were caged,  they had a taste of freedom.

This was the castle that we went to. I was very disappointed because we went on Halloween and the castle was actually booked and we couldn't look inside.  We were able to look around the  botanical garden but I wasn't in the mood to look at it.

Day 3

 

Was the Kilmainham Gaol, the oldest unoccupied jail in Europe. I have to say that I enjoyed this place the most.  This jail is important to the inhabitants of Ireland because it hold so much history.  If I could tell you just a small fraction of it, you would love it too.

Lastly, this was the Trinity College Library.  This is said to be the largest library in Ireland.  Due to the fact that we were not to take pictures in majority of the Library, I only have these two pictures.  I had to use the bathroom so bad that I really couldn't appreciate this place.  We were also not allowed to touch the books so I was ready to go within ten minutes.  Anna loved this place though and I am glad that she enjoyed the library as much as I enjoyed the jail. Well that's it and I really appreciate you suffering though this and taking this journey with me.  He are a few more pictures. 

 

We crave a different kind of Buzz...

When people first asked me how my trip was going, I got a little uncomfortable.  I was having a great time.  And for a minute was I questioning my loyalty to Estonia. I kept thinking "If ISEP had a program in Ireland,  that would have been my first choice." Then I started to realize that I do not regret coming to Estonia at all.  Tartu and Dublin are both amazing for their own reasons.

To be completely honest, I was worried about coming to Estonia because I was black.  I googled "Estonians," in hopes of finding pictures of black people in the mix.  Of course I found none. I researched but I only found stories that put a little fear in you.  I never said a word about it because I didn't want people to discourage me from taking this journey.  I wasn't going to let something as superficial as skin color stop me studying abroad.  In Tartu, there may be four other dark skinned people here.  Out of all of us, I am the only African American female.  So as you may have guessed, yes, people stare.  It's not that they mean anything by it; it's just that we are not considered the norm.  As the months go by, the stares are less frequent and I am just as unimportant as anyone else living in Tartu.  Because Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, it pulls in tourists from all over the world.  I feel as though I could blend in there and I enjoy my rare trips to Tallinn.

In comparison to Tartu, Dublin is extremely diverse.  The city felt like a huge mixing pox with a little of everyone in it. It reminded me of home.  The fact that it was an English and Irish speaking country was the cherry on top of a banana split sundae. I could say hello and not feel bad about speaking English.  Though it was funny that someone said hello to me and my response was "Tere!"  Yes, it was five seconds of extreme awkwardness.

I am so serious when I say that I thought the world was going to stop and stare because I was so exotic.  That didn't happen, at all. I had become so accustomed to the stares in Estonia that I was sure I would be "All that and a bag of chips." In reality, there were a hundred people that looked just like me.  I quickly got it through my head that Denzel Washington and Jude Law look-alikes were not going to see me "shine bright like a diamond." Even if they did, I was only in town for five days and that was barely enough time to learn each other's first name.

Everyone in Dublin was sweet as pie.  Everyone spoke, even if you were just passing each other in the bathroom. It was so different from what I have gotten used to.  It is said that Estonians are introverts and very reserved.  I don't really interact on the street like I would at home and for those few days; I had to practice being somewhat polite again.

Food:

The food was awesome, but I feel like I spent a lot of money on food as well. We were in a tourist  city so the prices were inflated just a bit.  I would have loved to go to a market and pick up a few items but the hostel didn’t allow us to hold food in the room.  So we were forced to eat out at every meal.  You would not believe how hard it was not going to places that we could find in the US. There were McDonalds, Burger Kings, Subway, TGIF, and so many more.  We made a pact to eat somewhere new every day. We stayed true to that except for breakfast.  Across from the hostel was this place called Oscars.  Every morning I got a raspberry scone and mocha. The place had such a relaxing atmosphere that I could stay there for hours at a time.  The workers were very friendly and I tried to tip the scale every time I went in (give them a tip)

So here are a few pictures of what we ate each day.  I am not going to lie, I can’t remember the name of most of these places!

This was the first meal we had when we got into town.  It took like 30 or 45 minutes to find it because we had no sense of direction and we had to pass all of the international food chains to get to this place.  Overall, it was good... or maybe I was really hungry.  No, it was good.

This was the Oscars I was talking about. The scone was amazing and they gave us butter and jam with it.  It was to die for.  I'm sorry, I just exaggerated but they are worth going to if you are ever in town. I wish we had an Oscars in Tartu.

This was our lunch on the second day.  Apparently this was a Irish burger.  I don't know how it differed from any other burger but it was good.  I don't have a picture from our dinner on the second night.  We had pizza and we dug into so fast that there was no point in taking a picture.  Breakfast was always the same so I won't post a picture of it again.

I have no idea where this place was.  We were leaving the zoo and starving so we stopped at some place that looked to have good food at good prices.  We got the soup of the day which was like puréed vegetable soup with a chicken wrap. I was fairly impressed at the taste of the soup.  however the wrap just had chicken on it.  No one likes dry chicken so I had to drench it in mayo and mustard and top it with the lettuce and peppers they provided.  After a little "fixin' up," it was really good.

On the third night we wanted sushi.  Anna was in charge of finding this place.  Needless to say we got a little lost and I threatened that if we didn't find it, we would be eating McDonalds for dinner.  Just when we thought all hope was lost, we ran up on "YO Sushi." It was my first time going to a sushi bar with a conveyor belt.  We were allowed water, miso soup, a purple, blue and orange plate for ten euros.  It was a really good price but I wanted some dumplings so I bought an additional purple plate.  The orange plate was the most interesting.  I ordered the octopus balls.  Yes, you read right.  I can't compare the taste to anything but  fried calamari hidden in creamy mashed potatoes.  It was really good and I would get it again!

 

 

 This was a little place called "O'Brien's" I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich with the soup of the day.  It was so good and filling.  I think I was done for the day after that meal but we still had so much to do.

With the Dublin pass, we were allowed to go to this little café and get a free coffee and cake.  I got a caramel cheesecake and caramel macchiato. When I tell you that was some amazing stuff, I almost fell of my stool.  I was almost tempted to buy another one but I was trying to watch my figure.

 

This was our last dinner in Dublin.  I can't tell you want any of the items are called.  I ordered  pasta in spicy tomato sauce with salmon, shrimp & broccoli and a side salad of course. 

Airport food and it cost me around seven euros.  The drink was an amazing white hot chocolate.  I also ordered a yogurt but the oats were stale and I didn't enjoy it much. 

So that is it about the food!

 

My last post will be about everything I seen while in Dublin, so stay tuned!