After I wrote my last entry I grabbed a leisurely lunch at this place near Town Hall Square- seljanka (a kind of beety meat soup,) kuuslauguleivad (garlic bread,) honeyed pears, and coffee spiked with rum. Perfect. I came back and started bitching at the woman who cleans my parents' apartment about my students. As it turns out, she got a teaching degree from the Cultural University in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) and was the director of a Pioneer Camp an hour's boat ride (!) from Murmansk for several years. For the geographically challenged, Murmansk is north of the northernmost place you can think of. I asked her about the weather there; she said there were gorgeous, rolling hills and a gulf stream that keeps it fairly warm, though she also said it would snow well into June, and wistfully added that "our young life- military. All military." She was very reassuring, telling me that everything will be fine, there are bad students everywhere and not to let them get me down, and then proceeded to explain the Estonian grading system to me (because none of my co-teachers thought to, and at this point I'm too shy) and gave me tips on how to memorize my ninetysomething students' names. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I didn't end up going to see About A Boy after all. Sat at home and read Midnight's Children and Julius Caesar. Got rather tipsy on the vodka I was drinking to cut the flavor of my newfound obsession, kuivastatud, which are basically dried, salted flakes of salmon neck. Mmmmmm. Don't knock it till you've tried it, kids.

Today it's off to see three apartments, get a haircut, and meet my new copy chief- wish me luck.