Vikerkaare Tartu

... up my Estonian language and culture courses and exams, and had my last cuneiform class - the exam is this Wednesday. My only remaining assignments are that exam, a presentation on Monday for my EU class, and a paper based on my presentation and the others in the class. Easy semester :) The presentation has been interesting, though, because it's allowed/forced me to learn about Belarus and its connections in history and the current situation. Pretty interesting stuff ...

... time getting things organized for classes in the fall since registration was coming up on Thursday. He took me to some of the places they like to hang out in, like Werner, the Gunpowder Cellar, and the bakery. We also went to a couple of other restaurants and had pretty much everything from crepes to chicken wings, and fried bread (which is awesome btw!) On Tuesday evening we attended a presentation on Moldova and Georgia ...

... meet at the apartment of a guy named Jim whom I met through the church. My roommate (from Turkey) and one of my flatmates (Greece) were kind enough to offer to make the food (we Americans provided last week's dinner) and they let me come early to observe and help with the preparations. I couldn't tell you the names of what we made, but I'm definitely writing them down to remember later - so, so good. I'm sure that exciting things happened on Wednesday, but they're ...

... and a half hour Council of Elders conference call back to the USA. Tomorrow is the visit to the prison and tackling the big mailing. Thankfully we have German the Russian to help us out. I had told him about our work here in Estonia and he told us he'd be very glad to help out. I've got the Good News and other literature all set for him to read after he takes me to prison tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. See you tomorrow!

Today is envelope stuffing day. This is a process that is done about eight times a year by either Johnnie Lambert or me. Normally we are alone and do it with one other person. It is rather complex because we work from 12 databases for mailing the Good News and Bible Study Course to Estonians and the BSC in Russian to seven countries where there are Russian-speaking subscribers. Normally, we do all the work here, which includes bringing the ...

... was unreachable. Helga is not doing well, but we talked to her via Skype. She lives in Jõgeva that is about an hour and a half by bus from here. She's aging and has trouble with her legs. All of us had a pleasant conversation with her. Helgi left before 8:00 PM She was not feeling well, but she did make the effort to meet and talk. Afterwards Bev and I like to read the Bible together and Bev read aloud Proverbs 8 from which I hope to give a sermon next Sabbath in Sweden.

... stop which turned out to be Tartu. Tartu is another city in Estonia, renowned for its student culture. We ended up having dinner in town before having to leave due to the shortage of what we believed to be good 'camping spots'. Ended up driving out of town at about 11pm on a dirt road, an area that can only be described as a likely spot to be abducted by aliens....it really seemed remote but eventually we once again hit the bitumen and pulled up at a truck stop which was just ...

... into town to find some dinner. Tartu has a thriving restaurant scene and unlike Tallinn, these restaurants are not for the tourists but for the students and wonderfully affordable. I wound up having a pasta dish at a place called Catwalk, walls covered in fashion shots, before heading back to my hostel. I'm staying at the Hiie Maja (maja meaning hotel or hostel, I believe, and Hiie being the street it's on) It's supposed to operate as a hostel, but seeing as I'm ...

... this station was built by philanthropist Jim Calson and his group from Stockton, California. We have become good friends with the management of the station with whom we meet every time we come to visit. The managers are a husband-wife team called Paavo and Mare Pihlak. One of the newer features of the radio station has been the addition of AM radio broadcasting in Russian for the past five years. The ...