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Byrklei - Byrklei

Tere tere! I am an exchange student living in Estonia. Right now I am in Tartu, and after Christmas, I will go to Saaremaa and live there for the remainder of my year. I am learning the second most beautiful language in the world (say some experts), and it is difficult yet very rewarding. I have a friend in Sweden who is so amazing and together we keep each other going through this whole experience. Then I have two friends in Denmark and they are both having a ball and intend to for the rest of the year. Estonia is so wonderful by the way- NOT filled with cold people, just people who are cold!

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Joined on: July 29th 2008
Last Login: June 19th 2009

Blog Entries: 22
Photos: 147

TB Code: [blogger=84114]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Byrklei, order by Date newest first.

By Byrklei
May 23rd 2009

New host house... two months ago. Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa

so many snails
along the road I live on, sort of, there are so many of them!

I know that this entry is much too late, however here it is. Ever since I moved from my last host families’ house (which is about two months ago now), I have been so busy. More than I can believe, still, has happened. Here are a few pictures of my new host families’ house. It is a cabin and is real wood. There are four rooms, a sauna, two bathrooms, and a television room as well. They have an old dog named Rolli and a cat (who is younger than the dog, yet not by much) named Otto. Everyone just calls [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
May 23rd 2009

Mexican food night with friends Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa

Counter
what the counter looked like before it was attaked by some teenagers!

Mexican food night was an adventure. It was held in a dorm that is on the school grounds so everyone that came had an easy place to get to. Then my friend Pille-Riin and I started with making rice krispy treats (not Mexican food I know, yet it was technically dessert). When we had that set up, then we started making burritos, and lastly nachos with meat. I found (no idea how yet I managed) some cheddar cheese in the stores, tortillas (which the Estonians pronounce like tortillas instead of the double L sounds), tortilla chips, beans, and some minced meat. [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
March 30th 2009

And the seagull cried, "Nevermore". Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa » Kuressaare

I thought I would tell you a bit about Saaremaa. Living here for about three months, and you guys still don't know too much about it. Here are some random things that I notice... still! Half the days (especially here on the island of Saaremaa) are filled with either snow or rain, or extreme clouds that look like either could happen at any moment. Once in a while, if the wind blows just right, you can smell the sea walking back to the flat. The walk to my school is only about 15 minutes or so from the appartment I live [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
March 19th 2009

I laugh at Spring Cleaning! Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa » Kuressaare

Charlie's school
This is where my friend goes to school in Tallinn (friends name is Charlie, or Charlotte)

Just a few days ago, I visited the capital of Estonia (Tallinn) to see a few friends and to see the parliament building. The other exchange kids met us there in Tallinn of course too. When we got to the parliament building, we met Estonia's prime minister: Andrus Ansip. He is a funny man and showed us (just for a joke) a letter that George Bush Jr. hand wrote. Not meaning to be the sound hypocritical, yet his handwriting was quite terrible and we all laughed at the fact that none of us could read it- even me. Later Ansip showed [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
February 22nd 2009

To ski or not to ski Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa » Kuressaare

To ski. Being an exchange student should have one golden rule. Well a few, yet one above all else: Expect the unexpected. It is not as easy as it appears, and is just as rewarding when you figure out how those two sticks work as well as moving your feet with little boards attached to them. A couple of us exchange students (the one in Estonia) all went to this place that is in southern Estonia to go skiing. The cabin type of house that we stayed in was pretty cozy and very warm, unlike the weather outside. When we first [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
January 19th 2009

On an island in the sun... sometimes. Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa » Kuressaare

I am sorry that this has taken so long to write yet I have been quite busy lately. To start it off, I moved from Tartu to Saaremaa- the biggest out of the three Estonian islands. I live right in the capital city called Kuressaare and it is wonderful. My family here is made up of my host mum, my host dad, and three host brothers. One of them (Taavi) lives in Tartu and goes to University there so I don’t see much of him. He visits every now and then though. He is 20 years old. The next oldest is [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
January 6th 2009

The Christmas Eve, The New Years Eve, and an update Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa » Kuressaare

Tartu- Christmas Town
They set up a merry-go-round, and a few stand where people sold goods; blood sausage, mittens, scarves, cookies, chocolates, postcards and more.

I will start off with some news that some people may find irrelevant, weird, and out of the blue. I got my visa! Officially, I am allowed to stay in the country until three months past the end of April! It is exciting that I don’t have to deal with that any more. My host sister took me to this place (kind of like the post office) and we waited for our number to be called, took up my passport, and then the lady ran some numbers, did this and that, and in less than a few minutes produced this little [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
December 5th 2008

Ma Armastan Lappi!! Europe » Estonia » Tartu

small hill
for those of you that ski or snowboard, this is a small hill... yet for those of you who have never even strapped your foot into a boot attatched to a board, this is HUGE!

I love Lapland! It is in a very northern part of Finland, and I was there with the other exchangies for about four days. It was so wonderful! If you have ever heard 'walking in a winter wonderland', imagine that in REAL LIFE! That is pretty much exactly how Lapland was. There was so much snow that someone from Arizona and New Mexico, would have thought that it was impossible, except for on television. Nope, it exsists. Now, be prepared to be taken on quite an adventure. Because I live in Estonia, I first had to go to Finland. No worries- [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
November 17th 2008

Epic entry!!! Europe » Estonia » Tartu

Morning Frost
this was from the first frost!

It seriously was! Actually, there has been so much that has happened. Today first. There have been a few mornings when I go outside to get in the car to go to school, and there is frost on the ground. No big deal since it just signified that it was a little colder than before. So when I walked outside this morning, I noticed that there was frost. Fantastic. Now, I start walking into the building of school and notice that there are white things on my sleeves that were NOT there before. Snow. The dreaded word pops into my head. [View Full Entry]

By Byrklei
October 31st 2008

Minu kass. My cat. Europe » Estonia » Tartu

Sohfie
Her almost asleep on my hand.

This cat pretty much makes my night. Whenever I am in my room reading or online, she always comes to visit me. We are pals and I decided that this cat makes me giggle so much that I am dedicating an entry to her. Sohfie is her name and she is one of the best host cats ever. Just take a look at the video and some of the pictures!!! I know it is weird because this is a travel blog site yet this is a real buddy of mine here. The cat is just like another member of the family [View Full Entry]

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