Home Sweet Estonia

I'm back. In Estonia. And I'm loving it. My room has the most amazing view of Old Town and the Bay of Finland. I couldn't ask for anything more.

On my first night back, I powered through my jet-lag by drinking. What better to beat the drowsiness than a mojito? All tolled, I ended up being awake for nearly 38 hours -- an achievement I rack up to my age and skills acquired from long hours of studying, of course. And, in an ironic turn of events, we ended up at the club where I had my Estonian-Reggae good-bye bash.

One of my host's buddies was an interesting American FSO serving in Bratislava, Slovakia. In my usual fashion, I managed to have a serious conversation at the bar. (It's like I'm deliberately trying not to have any fun.) He was very willing to allow me to question him down about his graduate school experience -- he attended a school that I desperately wanted to get into and seems to have some of the same goals and personality as I do. He had even worked with the U.S. representative who is currently representing my home state. The world is truly smaller than you think.

I can't wait to meet up with some of my old friends from Estonia -- and to make new ones. Some children my age will be showing up shortly -- I really want to be there as they discover the wonder that is Estonia!!