Monday, September 24, 2007
Fear of Homophones
I went to a concert last night sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in honor of a U.S. diplomatic courier who gave his life for his mission. The concert was held in a Swedish church in Old Town. I was really excited to see this chorale concert. I told everyone how much I was looking forward to the violin music and the singing. Much to my disappointment (and embarrassment), there was no singing. I now know the difference between "choral" and "chorale". Kinda like the difference between "gorilla" and "guerrilla". They sound an awful lot alike, but if you mess them up you could end up dead - or at least making a fool of yourself. I'm afraid it will happen again. I guess that makes me homo-phobic.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The best laid plans.
Two weeks ago I returned to Estonia... barely. When I went to the bus station to take the next bus to Tallinn, it was full. Not to be dissuaded, I scoped out the crowd waiting to board the bus and found a nice Estonian girl to ask the bus driver if I could buy a ticket. I wasn't taking any chances.
I made it on the bus and sat in the very front. I like the comfort of knowing that if there's a head-on collision I will be the first to die.
I called my friends from the bus station to let them know they should leave to pick me up. When they yelled at me, I knew I was back.
Natalie recognized me the next morning, and we're now closer than ever. I even almost taught her to sing her ABC's today. She's almost 9 months old, but she likes to imitate people. I also saw her do an awesome spin around and land on the floor move today from standing up by the cookbook shelf. It was like watching a stunt double. She barely cried.
School is a different story. Estonians are, how can I put this delicately, not detail-oriented. I am constantly feeling like the pushy American who can never have things just right. But, did you know that at Tallinn University you only pay by semester and not by the credit hour? That means you can take as many courses as you want - for FREE!! I love learning. I love Europe.
It's starting to get chilly here in Estonia. This is sauna weather. And heated floor tile weather. And roasted almond weather. And all of that can be found right here in Tallinn.
I made it on the bus and sat in the very front. I like the comfort of knowing that if there's a head-on collision I will be the first to die.
I called my friends from the bus station to let them know they should leave to pick me up. When they yelled at me, I knew I was back.
Natalie recognized me the next morning, and we're now closer than ever. I even almost taught her to sing her ABC's today. She's almost 9 months old, but she likes to imitate people. I also saw her do an awesome spin around and land on the floor move today from standing up by the cookbook shelf. It was like watching a stunt double. She barely cried.
School is a different story. Estonians are, how can I put this delicately, not detail-oriented. I am constantly feeling like the pushy American who can never have things just right. But, did you know that at Tallinn University you only pay by semester and not by the credit hour? That means you can take as many courses as you want - for FREE!! I love learning. I love Europe.
It's starting to get chilly here in Estonia. This is sauna weather. And heated floor tile weather. And roasted almond weather. And all of that can be found right here in Tallinn.
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