Praise be, the sun was out again today! It's basically the start of spring in Estonia at this point. It's been predicted that the snow will end with February and we'll get into spring unseasonably early. (Typically the last snow is well into April). This is definitely okay with me, as the cold isn't too bad. It's just the ice that I dislike.
Anyway, today I went to the migration office! I met my tutor and Ariail at the town center and off we went. The office was a good distance away, so we took the bus. This was my first experience with the public transit system here, it's honestly pretty efficient. The tickets for the bus are purchased in a kiosk. Most of the people working there don't speak English, so I was grateful to have my tutor with me. I bought two tickets, which were just .51 euros with a student discount. It took us a little under 20 minutes to get to the migration office. Once we got off the bus there was a short walk to actually get there.
The office was similar to a DMV, but a bit more organized. We began by getting our pictures taken in a little booth. I probably looked slightly insane as Ariail made me laugh as I was taking my first picture. The other two turned out okay, so that's what matters I suppose. Next we got our tickets and began our wait. It was only around 15 minutes or so, nothing too bad. Once my number was up I went up to the appropriate area. The woman working at that desk didn't speak any English whatsoever, so again I was very very grateful to have my tutor translating for me. I felt a bit stupid for not understanding anything, but I suppose there's nothing to be done about it. I was mostly just there to sign a few things, provide my passport and get my fingerprints taken. It took quite a while for her to type in all the information, but the process was very simple. Once all the paperwork was done and I paid the fee of 63,91 euros I was free to go. I'll receive notification by mail and by email once my residence permit is ready. (Typically the wait is around 2 months). So I'm on my way to being an official Estonian citizen!
After everything was done we went to another bus stop, waited for around 10 minutes and were back on our way to the town center. Again, ~20 minute bus ride. Once we arrived we parted ways with my tutor, again thanking her profusely (we really would've been lost without her) and headed over to Swedbank so Ariail could pick up her bank card. She finished that in a few minutes and we went back to the dorm.
It took me a while to muster up the motivation to do my laundry, but after an hour or so I eventually started it. I'm glad that I don't have to lug all my clothes to a laundromat or anything, it's nice and convenient to do laundry in the same building. (Plus I don't have to brave the cold more often). After I finished putting all my clothes away I decided to stay on the motivation train and go to the grocery store.
I only intended to go and pick up a few items, but I ended up getting garlic and mushrooms so that I could make a nicer dinner for myself tonight. I decided to saute some mushrooms in the garlic and then mix them with the rice. It ended up being very delicious. It was nice to have a meal that didn't consist completely of carbs.
Hi Laura-I enjoyed reading your blog today...I'm a few days behind :) Your description of the absence of Valentine's Day hoopla was interesting; I sometimes forget that other countries celebrate the same days (other than major holidays) we do and it is informative to learn how they do that (or not). I think in the States we have taken commercialization to an extreme. I'm glad to hear you are really enjoying your classes for the most part. You seem to bring with you an enthusiasm and motivation which is an integral part of the learning process.
ReplyDeleteAnd your description of the party culture and your comfort level with your choice to opt out is insightful of your level of maturity and depth as a person. When I was your age, I didn't stop to consider the choices before me-I jumped into "friendships" quickly then had to back out just as fast when I realized I had made a mistake--not a lot of maturity back then on my part!
I love to hear about the town of Tartu and your perspective on life there. Gary and I took the kids for a summer to a tiny town on the island of Hawaii. It was a town with no stoplights, no Wal-Mart, not much of anything in terms of what we were accustomed to in a town. There was one little movie theater which drew almost the entire town when a movie was being shown. We had no television at the house we rented and very little in the way of toys for the kids (we could only pack so much to bring with us-most of it necessities). It was a lovely summer and I remember appreciating the absence of suburban clutter. The kids had a great time playing outside and with local kids. The time spent simply with each other and with other families was relaxing and fun. There was a charm about it, as you have mentioned about Tartu, and I learned a lot that summer about the advantage of a simpler life