Things I've learned in Tartu this year

Just describing my own experience in relation to the when/where and making no explanatory claims as to whether these lessons are inherent to Tartu, traveling, Estonia in general, Europe, grad school, etc. I'll leave that up to you :-)

1. How to roll tobacco.....while walking to class...with one hand (okay now I'm exaggerating)

2. How to walk (and run) on solid ice without even being conscious of it anymore

3. How to rest easy after certain awkward social mishaps because they could be attributed to cultural differences (muahaha..my weirdness is only fully recognized in my own cultural context)

4. How to eat a smoked fish the size of my arm right out of the carcass (head still attached), with my bare hands

5. How to do nothing but listen to music alone for hours, daily, with no guilt/regrets/care in the world

6. What "torrent" means :D my world has expanded

7. How to improv class presentations that I'm unprepared for without even getting nervous

8. How to hang out at a party in which everyone speaks Estonian the whole time

9. New levels of patience

10. That I cannot keep up with Russians when it comes to drinking

11. That ambulances and emergency services are free here (this is related to the last one)

12. How to say, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Estonian" in Estonian

13. That the greenish glowing light in Tartu's sky really is due to a cucumber farm (light filtered through the greenhouses). I saw it with my own eyes!

14. How to function academically with very little structure for assignments (generally everyone in the class has a different idea of what we're supposed to do), and no feedback besides the letter grade at the end of the semester

15. How to walk in the rain without an umbrella like a boss

16. That I deeply admire the modesty, patience, honesty, and reason of Estonians and see it as a great model for my own behavior. Actually changing is another story - much easier said than done! :-)

17. How to actually listen to a classmate's entire 45 minute presentation that was supposed to be 10 minutes (common occurrence among semioticians)

18. How to stay calm around the grocery store security guard, who has a default face of suspicion and will follow you around if you make eye contact

19. How to listen to an international student's life story for two hours (I'm finally realizing how much valuable information there is in others' stories) :-)

20. That many Russians still actively hate Americans and long for the balance of the Cold War (some Russian friends and I (half?)-jokingly toast "to the Cold War!")

21. That I love Georgian food most so far

22. That I love traditional Russian songs, food, and superstitions. The most recent superstition I learned was wonderful - whenever you are going to cross a bridge for the first time, you must close your eyes, make a wish, and cross without opening your eyes OR saying a single word. If you make it to the end, your wish will come true.

23. How to not give a f*** (in a positive way), or at least, how to give much less of one :D

24. How to take oral exams that determine my entire grade like a boss

25. That ex-patriot Americans generally avoid/dissociate with each other (very generally speaking, and only in comparison to ex-patriots of other countries - I have several great American friends here and don't know what I'd do without them)

26. That I cannot go to Club Illusion and expect the contents of my stomach to stay put

27. That I cannot control when or where my stomach decides to empty itself after drinking too much, or the violent, dramatic convulsions this sends throughout my body (deep gratitude to all who have served as a scaffold during these times)

28. How to take mosquito bites like a boss

29. That articles in English really aren't so necessary :-)

30. How important being understood by others is to our sense of self

31. How to allow both the utter ridiculousness and profound relevance of my major (semiotics) to exist simultaneously in my mind

32. How to effectively skim academic readings (this took much longer than I expected, especially after being told I would learn this very quickly in my first graduate level course in 2010)

Now. Here is a list of things I hope to learn in Tartu next year.

1. How to keep a poker face like an Estonian (thanks to Estonian Moments for pointing out this ability - http://estonianmoments.tumblr.com)

2. How to be more verbally direct about my feelings, wants, needs, etc...also like an Estonian :-)

3. The Estonian language (hardest thing I've ever tried to learn)

4. The logic of Estonian friendships/relationships (still floating through these very blindly)

5. What exactly is so different about Estonians - it is very difficult to pinpoint or describe

6. How to keep my 12 meters squared flat clean on a daily basis

7. Good places for studying (uncrowded, proper lighting/some natural light, minimal noise/no music, large table space, chair with a back..)

8. How to pronounce the Estonian letters ä, ö, and ü (I think I do alright with õ). Ä is especially difficult. Jäääär is the worst word in the world.

9. How to defend a master's thesis in semiotics while keeping a straight face.

10. What the hell I will do when I graduate! :D