Estonia... The land of the Tall and Blonde

Every time I leave Bulgaria and come back I have to adjust to the culture all over again. This time however, it was a lot easier for me to adjust although I did experience some culture shock in the Frankfurt airport. When I first landed I was completely surprised by the level of diversity. People of different shapes, colors, religions, and economical status where all around me. I felt alive and like I belonged in this world of color! People accepted me as a normal part of society and they were not staring at me. In fact, I found myself staring at people and their differences.

Wow Estonia was absolutely amazing! I was there for a training on being creative while working with youth. The training when extremely well and I hope I can implement alot of the things we learned there with my organization. The landscape is completely flat, which is one of the reasons why people bike, run, and walk so much. Being physically active is a part of the culture so I felt right at home running to prepare for the Greece marathon.

Estonia is somewhat like Bulgaria but not really. It is a formerly Communist country but they are a lot more advanced than Bulgaria in a lot of ways. For instance, one can find wireless Internet throughout the entire country with little problems. Services at the bus station, airport, and grocery stores are more up to speed like in other western countries. The country is also very clean and orderly. Even the small village (population of about 1000) that I stayed in for a couple days was extremely clean and orderly. Village life is also different in Estonia. People use green houses to grow food and some people might have animals but this is not the norm. Estonia also has the very famous block apartment but they are kept up a lot better.

The people in Estonia are of all sizes but the people seemed to be a little taller than what is considered normal for other societies. Also people are very white with blond hair and blue eyes. Even the “dark-haired” people do not really have dark hair but hair the color of a potato. I also was able to find an African Restaurant, a Tai Restaurant, a Mexican Restaurant, and of course McDonalds. Unfortunately, I did not get to try any of these restaurants because I really wanted to try traditional Estonian food. The food is completely bland (Sorry Estonians but it is true). Almost every meal was with some form of potatoes and salad. Also they don’t use much favoring in their food. I found myself wanting Bulgarian food, which is a lot more flavorful, compared to Estonia cuisine. The salads are also much fresher in Bulgaria.

Overall the trip when extremely well. I enjoyed every aspects of the culture and people. Don’t get it twisted… just because I visited the country for about 10 days doesn’t mean I understand the culture 100%. I have been in Bulgaria for 10 months and I still don’t completely understand the culture.

Its lunchtime right now so I am thinking about eating,

Updated pictures are at the link....

Crystal