The Goofiest Smile, the President with the Best Bow-Tie Collection and Some Knitting

    Last week whoosh-ed past me, like mailboxes on a long drive through a street, blurring as the car accelerates. I'll begin my post with last Sunday -  meeting the President of the Republic of Estonia.

And before you say "no pic, no proof'':

Damn that bow tie, though :)

Let's take it back all the way to last Sunday afternoon (Sept 22nd), the date I met Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Right off the bat, I'm going to make the following statement - His hands are the SOFTEST I've ever shaken. No joke. I bet he moisturizes on the daily. (My dad confirmed the ''incredibly soft hands" thing a few days later.) But I'm getting ahead of myself.

While visiting NYC, the President stopped off at the Estonian House and everyone, who were "in the know" could come and take a picture with him. Right... This may be one of the coolest people I'm ever going to meet, the President of my own country...Do I give myself time to prepare for it? NO! Of-course I leave getting ready to the last minute and leave the house with wet hair and barley any make-up on. I run down 2nd Avenue as fast as I can (in 4 inch heels, I might add) and somehow still manage to make it there in time to meet my mother, who's already setting things up. It wasn't the best mother-daughter experience though, as after 2 minutes after I arrived my mother rushes back to the second floor, leaving me with a room of very well-dressed Estonglish-speaking people and comforting instructions to ''mingle''. 

After a little while the President arrives and everybody lines up to greet him. The professional photographer is on-set and ready. I say to myself: "Come on Vivi, this is just another really important person you will meet in your life time. Please don't make an utter fool of yourself"...And then it's my turn. It goes by so quickly that I don't even feel it. My mom takes my bag, the President sees me, I say Tere!, He says Tere! Palun seisa siia!, I smile the goofiest smile imaginable, click, Aitäh teile!, get my bag back and walk away. There you go. I just met the President :)  

After that nervousness I just go back home, get in my sweatpants (with  no intention of sweating) and look at an episode of Friends. Home isn't where the the heart is, it's where you can wear sweatpants (or no pants for that matter) without anyone judging you. 

In other news, there was a club fair at my school. You are reading the blog post of a participant of the New Music Club (a club where you jam, write lyrics, talk about music etc.), UNIS-KIN (United Nations International School - Kids In Need club where you help kids in need), Creative Writing Club (a club where you can share your ideas with your peers and maybe get something printed in the school paper) and... Knitters of UNIS (where you knit. Scarves and hats, maybe even socks. Don't laugh, ok? I've already got plans for everybody's Christmas presents.) 

Thank you for reading. I'll try to make the blog posting a regular thing. Let's try over every weekend, shall we? (It's Monday right now - shitake mushrooms) Starting this week.

I Have Become a Subway-Tamer, a Controversial Question-Answerer and a Drama Geek

   As I sit here at 9:36PM looking back on my week (when I really should be revising for my Shakespeare vocabulary test tomorrow) I see that it has been an eventful one. I have not yet reached the inevitable point of ''nothing is new anymore'' and for the sake of this blog and myself, I feel happy about that. Thankfully, I have many firsts I can tell you about. 

Example A: I joined a club for the first time in NYC. I know that is more school-related, but just roll with me here. Our drama club meets on Wednesdays and Thursdays after school every week until the end of November, when we'll perform our play. I am so very excited. 

It feels like I found my peeps, people just as passionate about theatre and not afraid to look silly, like me. 

Example B: I rode in the New York City subway system. I was kind of dreading the thought of the underground for quite a valid reason - I saw a huge rat on the street on one of the first days I was here. It ran into the Subway and I have had no desire to reconnect with it. 

It has been great for cardio, I have been walking EVERYWHERE. 

But today, as I needed to get about 30 blocks Uptown and to the other side of the city, there was really no choice. I planned my trip out carefully with Google Maps (Yeah right, "carefully" you had 3 minutes to figure out where you were going before you bolted out the door) and got to walking towards Grand Central Terminal. 

I have to tell you, that is one beautiful building. I nearly got lost in between the wonderful architecture. I'm definitely going back to appreciate it a bit more. Preferably when I don't have to literally run through it, sweating like a pig and freaking out over where I'm supposed to be like a headless chicken. 

I was supposed to get on the number 7 to Times Sq, but as (bad) luck would have it, that particular train path had been closed for the day. So I raced through Grand Central to find the S Times Sq shuttle (that was thankfully working) and squeezed myself into the huge mob of people on the train, just before the metal doors closed shut behind me. I had to problem finding the no 1 train to take me to Lincoln Center. A proud feeling of accomplishment crept over me as I exited the underground to the street level. :) Why was I at Lincoln Center again?

Example C: I took part in my first activist event in NYC. It was the People Climate March - an invitation to everything. As I now read on Wikipedia, I was one of 300, 000 activists, which makes this the largest climate march in history. WHAT? :)

''Yo momma's so hot she's about to experience desertification and rising sea levels"

I was supposed to go with the UNIS group, but due to a series of unfortunate events, me and my friends couldn't locate them and went with just the four of us. It was still great though!

Now it's time for the questions you guys have asked me about the whole experience. (Yeah, you want to know SO many things, I totally didn't have to message my best friends yesterday saying: "Please-please-please ask me something about living in NYC! I have nothing to blog about." No. I didn't do that. At all. Totally.)

What does it sound like?

Sound is a funny thing in New York. It's a mixture of cars driving, wind, car horns, people themselves etc. You can't really put it into words. It's the sound of fast-moving life. What I can say, is if I open my window in my room and my mom or dad tells me something from the room next to mine, I can't hear it. 

What are your classmates like?

Oh, they're superb. Everyone's been quite friendly. Because it's an international school there are many different people from different countries and it's always cool to hear from which corner of the world someone comes from. (+ I get to learn SO many new accents,I'm like a kid in a candy shop. Or come to think of it, me at a candy shop.)

What food have you had?

There's no magical New York food, that doesn't exist anywhere else. But of the day-to-day popular foods I've had bagels (toasted and w cream cheese - heavenly), pizza and sushi (my favorite food). Ooh, and Starbucks. They are on every corner, that's no lie, but it is justified as they do make a mean cup of coffee. 

Is there anyone cute you've noticed?

I guess so. No more comments on that question. 

Do you have friends there?

Yes, I do. I am so lucky. The people I've met and who've become my friends have already made an impact on me as a person and I have to work hard not to lose any of them. (I'll just casually insert the phrases "I live in an anemone", "Nah - It's on my list" and "Not on the leather seats Kayla!" in here and see what happens.)

Do you have anything to do after school?

Yes. I study. It's fun. (But drama club and hopefully vocal lessons will be added to that list.)

Do you guys have dark bread (leib) over there?

We have something resembling dark bread, yes. Not the real thing though. Appreciate it, while you have it, my Estonian friends. 

How many times have you been to McDonalds?

Once. Probably not going back. 

What do you miss most about Estonia?

I miss my friends and family. It's been hard being away from them. In the beginning of the year, whenever I'd feel nervous or anxious, I'd imagine my Estonian friends beside me, laughing or goofing off or giving me a pep talk. My real friends as my imaginary friends. But luckily, I've been doing that less now. 

What question should I ask you?

Mis sul viga on? No ma küsin, mis sul viga on? (Bad joke, I know, but it's 10:48PM now, give me a break.)

Natural History Museum, have you been there yet?

No, but definitely planning to go. 

Oh baby, this was a long one. If you still have any questions, I'd still gladly answer them. Thank you for reading. (I'm going to dream of words like rapier, abhorred, vexed and allay now. Great!)

PS! Oh crap. I forgot. I met the president of Estonia today. He came for a visit here. Damn! But this post is already so long. I'll tell you about it in the next one. Short version: When I shook his hand, it was really soft. 

The Giant Que for Passage to Brooklyn, First 9 days of school and a HIMYM Joke

It is 10:13PM and we have just come home from the East Village. (Girly moment: I was in between racks of shoes and felt a very Carrie Bradshaw-like feeling. Of course, being me, I started humming the theme song of Sex and The City and doing a little dance...Until I saw a saleslady giving me a quizzical eyebrow. I smiled, she smiled and a situation, which could've been a VERY awkward one, turned into an anecdote I could bring myself to share with you in my blog.)

I have survived 9 days of the IB Diploma program and I see why the graduates talk urban tales of turning into zombies and sleeping in the library. Although, the teachers are all really nice and seriously know what they're talking about, the workload is pretty legitimate. I got my first Math quiz grade, which was a 6 (on a scale of 1-7). It came as a surprise to me, because I went into it literally shaking. 

Last weekend I and Mama went to IKEA. Now you might think, why is Vivian writing about this - it's just IKEA. Well, the unexpected journey to IKEA required not only travel by land, but also by water. We took a water taxi :) 

It all went down on Saturday. We took a bus to Chinatown and after that walked to Pier 11. We found a huge que waiting for us - we weren't the only ones, who wanted to take advantage of the free passage across.

We got there 40 minutes early and still didn't know, if we were gonna make it on.

Somehow, we did make it on the rocking yellow boat and saw beautiful views, including a teeny glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

A pirate's life for me. (Riding on this ship is going on my NYC bucket list.)

I went with the IKEA-style, wearing a yellow top and blue jeans. 

After the 25 minute ferry ride we found ourselves in the untamed land of Brooklyn.We didn't get to explore more of it, as the rugs and lamps were beckoning to us. 

We made it out with 2 10kg bags + whatever we could fit in my humongous backpack. 

Coming back to today and the trip to East Village...I am very content, that we didn't just find treasures to put in our closets, but also a new business venture of mine: 

I swear to you, when I saw this, I said: 

My Mom can witness to that reaction. 

Thank you for reading another one! 

PS: I thought it may be fun to ask you to ask me some questions about NYC. I know, I haven't acquired a lot of wisdom yet, based on my 30-day stay here (30 days already - Really?), but I'll do the best I can. Just leave a comment below or to facebook or just message me. I'll answer them gladly in the next post. 

My First Day of School,Abnormally Large Popcorn and the Secters of Central Pa(e)rk

I've just had my first day of school. It is 10:25PM and my brain is empty of clever ideas to use for writing my blog, but completely filled with worry and How-the-hell-am-I-going-to-ace-the-IB-Diploma-program related feelings. I'm not completely having a nervous breakdown yet (talk to me in a month ;), so I still remain optimistic and excited for the school year. I'll try to fight my writer's block by telling you a bit about the IB curriculum. 

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (The IB Program) is defined as ''an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students, aged 16 to 19, for success at university and life beyond. It has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students.'' Pretty definition, huh? I can say, with all my heart, that based on the 3 days I've been at UNIS that statement stands very strong. But again, talk to me in a month. 

Anyway, in IB there are 6 academic areas, from which you have to choose your courses for the next 2 years -1st Language and Literature (There isn't a possibility to study Estonian at UNIS, surprise-surprise! so my ''first language'' is English), 2nd Language, Social studies, Sciences, Math and the Arts. To complete the Diploma program, you have to take 3 courses in standard level and 3 higher level. My highers are: Math, History and Film, the standards are: English w Performance, Physics and Russian. The one I'm most worried about currently is the Maths, because although I am an alright mathematician, I'm no Dexter in Dexter's Laboratory. (I know he was probably more the science guy, but come on, it's all a big confusing family.)

Putting the academics aside, I had a great time discovering NYC this past week. Me and my mom walked around quite a lot in the city, but what sticks out for me was Central Park and going to the movies. 

The popcorn in my hand is a medium size and the drink is the smallest they had. 

We went to see "A Hundred Foot Journey", which was wonderfully directed by Lasse Hallström. A short synopsis is: ''The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.'' (Thank you imdb.com for that ;)  

I am a total movie-nerd; seriously I would pack up my bags, move into a cinema any day of the week and I found this film very enjoyable. 

Leaving aside the film itself, the experience of going to a US cinema was definitely different than in Estonia. First of all, the ticket prices are through the roof. We got the cheaper tickets by going to see it in the morning and even those were 8 dollars (6 euros), which I think is a bit much. The tickets also didn't have seats on them and let me tell you, navigating in a dark movie theatre to find a seat, while you have a drink and popcorn in your hand, being a person with 2 left feet was not my favourite part of the experience. Also, as I said in an earlier post, the serving sizes of food were ridiculous. That drink in my hand is the SMALLEST they had; it is a solid large back home. (I'm not complaining though, don't get me wrong, it's just that, I'm probably going to have to throw the scale out the window after a few months of being out here. Keep in mind, that I live on the 31st floor.)

Moving on to Central Park, I have one word for you - paradise.

Those beautifully pedicured nails are my mother's, don't get any ideas.

Everybody was so friendly and bubbly. There were people rollerskating (dancing, would be more accurate), street performers, caricaturists, children playing in the fields etc. The park reminded me of home a little bit - I am seriously starting to miss the nature. (Estonian territory is roughly 50% covered in forests, let us not forget that.) I could go on and on about Central park, but I think my words are not enough to express its true beauty. 

The day we went to Central Park was also the day of the rain. And I ain't talking no ''seenevihm'', I'm talking full on cats and dogs, like a storm was brewing. This was the first time, I'd got to see a storm like this from a high place, so it was quite absolutely terrifying. 

That fog in the second picture is not fog, it is rain.

I have finished writing this blog post! (Yay, I'll do the patting myself on my back later...;) It is now 11:10PM and if I want not to look like a zombie tomorrow, I probably should go to bed. Thank you for reading and good night! 

PS! All students who just started another school year, I wish you persistence and good luck. We'll get through this one also without having a nervous breakdown. I'm optimistic. Very optimistic. Quite optimistic. Yeah... (Ask me again in a month.)