I was packed and ready to go by Sunday night (August 25^th). My carry-on bag was a little heavy, but I figured I was fine since I had never once seen airlines check that. Of course that is the first thing they weighed at the check-in counter, where you could find me doing the “airport floor scramble” to move some bulk around. Despite a briefly delayed plane and some baggage anxiety, I made it quite easily to my end destination of Tartu with minimal issues. It was a travel day of around 20 hours.

I have only been to a few classes so far (they started Monday), so I’m mostly going to comment on my first impressions of Tartu and living the student life.

• They serve beer in half-liter bottles here. It’s awesome, but you must keep that in mind when you’re counting your drinks. The cheap beer is also 5% abv, as opposed to our 3.5% light beers in the US. One of the few Estonian phrases you can reliably catch me saying is “Üks Alexander, palun.”

• The people from my program are from all over Europe (some from even further). They’re friendly and welcoming and we have been learning a ton about each other’s cultures. Luckily for me, they all speak great English. They also understand most pop culture references I make. Thank you, American cultural hegemony!

• Everything in the city of Tartu is within walking distance, but it might not be an easy walk to get there. European cities are largely unplanned, and Tartu is no exception. The streets weave around and intersect strangely. Toomemägi is a giant park on a hill near the University that functions as an inconvenient pedestrian highway between the town square and some important university buildings. Sidewalks near the old town suffer from uneven stones, narrow walkways, and small staircases with no evident purpose. But it’s all beautiful, and I’ve very quickly figured out how to navigate around town. Just have to watch my step.
• There are five malls in this small city of 100,000. It seemed strange at first, but there are very few strip-malls around. I suppose they prefer to concentrate their decadent consumerist eyesores into a smaller footprint. There’s also very little “suburban” feel to the city. Even though it is roughly the size of Naperville, it is condensed to the point of being an actual urban center—albeit, a small one.
• I’m (re)learning how to live the student life. Luckily my roommate is also a 26-year-old American Master’s student with lots of similar interests to mine. We both prefer living alone, but I am already getting used to sharing 15 square meters with another person and all our stuff. It’s been a far easier transition than I had pessimistically expected. I knew I had fully entered student mode when we came across a saucepan that was “up for grabs” in the dorm hallway and we simultaneously pointed at it, looked at each other, and nodded in excitement at the prospect of free kitchenware.

• Euros are crazy! The notes are different sizes, because apparently the EU cares about its blind citizens. The best difference from American dollars is the widespread use of one- and two-Euro coins. You can go out for the day with just a few coins in your pocket and be ready to purchase a coffee or lunch at a café. I don’t know why, but it just feels easier.
• This one is a bit esoteric, but I can already feel that I will catch some heat for it when I travel home, or someone comes to visit me: The most American letter is ‘R’. The way I say strong R-sounds with the back of my tongue and throat makes me feel like a true corn-fed American. In Estonian, they roll their Rs. In most other languages and accents I have encountered, they have very light Rs that are pronounced with the tip of their tongue in the front of their mouth—almost like a reverse ‘L’. Particularly when it comes to names, it sounds wrong and borderline insulting when you use an American R (I was lightly called-out for this, in fact). I find myself using a European R more and more just to be polite and better understood. That was one that I didn’t really expect.

These are just some of my initial thoughts and experiences. I’m sure I’ll have more as time goes on and I become more immersed in the local culture and travel to other nearby places. Going forward, I’m excited to be starting my academic courses and looking forward to a Baltic Autumn. I’ve attached a gallery of some of the photos I took in the first week. All my photos can be viewed in the photo gallery.

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