Weather
Today's date is March 28th and still Tartu is gripped in winter's icy fangs. The day before yesterday I was astonished to see snow flakes almost as big as golf balls falling (and sticking) over Tartu. Then yesterday the sun took the stage, unaccompanied by any menacing clouds. I met Sergio and Kazik (my roommate and flatmate) at the town square. We celebrated the sun with a rich meal and a beer.
After that I went around to some travel agencies to try and book a trip to somewhere sunny and warm over Easter weekend. I am considering either southern Spain, Athens, or Italy. Though Rome would not be stunningly summer like, I can't stop thinking about how amazing it would be to see the Vatican on Easter Sunday.
A fellow Willamette student is staying with me and Sergio for this weekend. Brett is studying in Riga and was taking some lectures up in Tartu this weekend. I told him that we can fix a bed for him here free of charge.
Today was cleaning day in our flat. We've organized it as follows: each weekend the two roommates have to clean the entire flat. Sergio and I cleaned last weekend, and this weekend it is Slava and George's turn. It is a good system I think. While I don't think Martha Stewart would like to touch our dorm with a 29ft pole, the level of cleanliness is livable.
I get along with everybody in our flat and we're quite good friends. On nights when nobody is busy and the general mood is good then we cook dinner together. When it comes to pasta and any Italian food, Sergio is the uncrowned king and foreman. Kazik and I do the bruschetta and vegetables while Sergio is the pasta master. Last night at around 2230 we sat down to a massive pasta. Earlier in the week I had bought a big "grave" candle so we had that literally fired up as well. This is a candle that you would see in a cemetery but I assure you that I did not steal it.
Upcoming travel plans:
I am pondering doing a two week Scandinavian trip towards the end of April. Denmark, Sweden, Norway , maybe even Ireland too. Though the weather will most likely be miserable, I feel the need to stretch my legs a bit. Tartu is a little bit like Salem, OR in that sense. It is fantastic for students, but after months of the same routine you crave something different. The relative ease of travel is what I miss about living in Ukraine. There you could catch a night train to a number of different cities and make it back home on the night train again.