Happy Independence Day

You would think gaining your independence from Russia would be quite a day to celebrate here in Estonia...wrong. This past Wednesday was the Estonian Independence Day. Classes were cancelled after noon on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Typically in America, our Independence Day is celebrated with parades, fireworks, hotdogs, and happiness. That is not the case in Estonia. There were no parades or celebrations to be found in Tartu. The city was dead. Unless people celebrate quietly in their homes where no one can see, there are no celebrations. We were all kind of surprised and disappointed. We learned that the only parade/celebration was held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, which is a 2 hour bus ride north to the coast. However, the President of Estonia, whom I will meet, was here in Tartu at a ball. This ball was by invitation only so I was not able to attend because my invitation must have somehow gotten lost in the mail. I am however, still working on my plot to meet the President of Estonia. I have befriended a very helpful student who just so happens to be related to the President. Her grandmother is the president's wife's sister. She made a couple calls for me and I learned that I could set up a tour of the President's home, and if the President wasn't busy the day of my tour, I just might be lucky enough to meet him. Now I'm not a very lucky person, so I am not going to take any chances. Instead, I am going to find another way of directly meeting the President. Don't you worry- it's only a matter of time.