I had a good holiday I guess. I went to McDonalds and got my grub on for a lil bit. Other than that I watched some more Goodfellas and just chilled in my room. The day after I went to a lil Christmas party dinner and had some typical Estonian Christmas food. Blood sausages, sauerkraut, potatoes some jellied pork type of thing(not a fan) and I made some Mac and cheese to give the food some American flavor. There were a few Hungarians there they brought some deserts I was so full I only tried the chocolate balls with coconut on the outside and a cherry in the middle. It was pretty good but a lil too rich on the chocolate if you ask me.
New years is coming up and I think it should be a good one. As for the NyE party there are a few on deck but choosing which one to go to has never been my strong suit. I mean the night of the year 2000 we kicked some windows out at some school in Dundalk. Later that night there was some guys getting into it over girls and then someone wanted to fight over it so yeah that was a pretty bad NYE. After that year I think I watched on MTV for like the next two yeas then it just got wack. Since about 2005(I saw the ball drop in times square that night) I been hanging with friends from high school and that is always a blast. If I was at home there is a good chance I would be doing that. But I'm not so Tallinn it is. There is a classmate who is having a party seems like a good idea, but I move into a new dorm on new years day so I don't know if I want to be out that late. But either way I will prolly be out til the first bus anyway.
I got a list of new year resolutions that need to be resolved. I'll try my hand at learning a new language more than likely it will be Spanish besides I can use it when I get back to the states. Stop smoking as much as I do well I already have done that since I have been here is Estonia... Work my ass off and get a D7000(insider term) and stop eating out as much. These resolutions seem more attainable than ones I have had in the past. Given my location and lack of outside distraction I should do just fine. Maybe even try and find "The One" if I haven't already ;) but I really should at least consider settling down with something steady hell all of my friends have anyway. But like my grandfather said "everything you do, do it for yourself you are your own person so no one can tell you what you should or shouldn't do it's in your hands".
I read on another blogging site some lady bitching about this or thatcand giving awards out to people and things she wishes for next year so here is mine:
Best decision of the year: moving to Tallinn
Worst decision of the year: moving to Tallinn
Best album: WTH Jay and yeezy say what you want the shit was hot!
Best movie of the year: Drive
Worst movie of the year: melancholia
just way too depressing for my tastes
Best tv show: Breaking bad Walt is turning into Tony Soprano season after season the audience will lose sympathy for him just as they did T
Best advice for travelers: never book a flight when your high I had a 9hour layover in Berlin...also take travelers checks no cashiers checks.
Favorite bar/pub: Embassy just sit back and let the rap music take over you.
Wish for 2012: Knicks to win it all.
Another wish for 2012: cherish everything when I get back to the states we don't know how good we have it til we go somewhere else.
Hope everybody has a happy new year and oh yeah happy kwanza it's the 3rd day Umoja or kujichagulia, I can't remember what the third day is maybe my mom can give me a comment or something, she is probably shaking her head but we haven't celebrated it since high school so give me a break.
Old Town
Tallinn
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Christmas is always right around the corner
Yeah I'm back at it. Feeling good about the new year. Everything has worked out here this far, I guess if I stay positive things should stay positive as well. I have been working on film projects here in Tallinn in some sort of capacity. The sad thing is that a good amount of Erasmus students will be going home, and whether or not I see them again will remain to be seen until I actually do see them again. I been watching a lot of movies lately on my mac. I'm glad the computer is working up to full speed it makes me feel better about doing my work. I am still at the G4S dormitory and its getting on my nerves. Its just so far from everything and having a room mate in that small room is not such a good idea. I found another dorm so hopefully I will relocate in the near future. On a promotional note for the G4S Dormitory: If you like regulations and isolation from the city center then the G4S dormitory is for you, BTW the cab drivers in Tallinn for the most part have never heard of Marsi St. Or at least that is what they tell me when I try to get a cab.
It finally started snowing here this week, its nice, but Estonians think that I will get tired of it real soon. I think they might be right because it snowed off and on for about 2 days in a row. In the morning its real cold and that can crush your motivation to go to classes early in the morning. Its a challenge some days but for the most part I have been making some sort of effort to get to class, if not on time then just getting there is considered an accomplishment, I know I am thinking of relocating but I think it will all be worth it. I need a real dormitory atmosphere like the one at Southern University, well let me take that back the dorms on the yard are not where you want to be. Small, run down and in some cases its like being in the 3rd world bathroom or something at least that is the way it was when I was there any of my old SU people will remember ''Hotel Lotti'' and the infamous Jones Hall which was in some ways like a housing project, at the same time anything you needed was in Jones Hall- 403B had that fire so did 101D and a slew of other rooms... Names will be protected.
On another note the holidays are here and it seems like the weeks are flying by. I guess that is a good thing because that means that I am keeping busy and at the same time having a good time. There are a bunch of parties and it seems like I will be attending my fair share of them, I gotta see the Erasmus students again before they roll out for good. I have had a good semester, it being my first I can say that it has been the best of any first semester at any school I have ever been too. That is a bold statement which many will dispute considering my list of previous institutions of higher education. I guess the best thing is the isolation from people from home. Not having to work and keeping things in a good perspective also have something to do with it. That and the fact that I dont have to hear peoples problems from back home unless its somebody bitching about something on facebook. I came here to get away from all that and its working out so far. I hope I can keep this momentum going for the next 3 years.
I had a conference with an American teacher about English composition. My desire is there but something is making me not care. I think its the fact that I have taken about 3 english related classes before coming to this school and being an American and having to take the class again seems like a slap in the face! I am going to request not to take it next semester and take a more beneficial class of Creative Writing next semester I hope they go for it if not fuck it I will sit through more of the same and like it. I watched The Maltese Falcon the other day and I gotta tell you it never gets old. I didn't really appreciate it when my father used to have me watch it with him years ago, but now I see how good of a movie it is. I am gonna close this one off cuz there are a bunch of dudes trying to figure out the dubbing machine in the lab right over my shoulder. To all the people reading this and enjoying it I will try to post a little more, just so you guys can have some shit to read in your spare time. For the most part the feedback has been positive and I am sure there will be more parties to report on. I am trying not to get too personal cuz I know people wanna know a little more and sometimes its for the better sometimes its for the worst.
It finally started snowing here this week, its nice, but Estonians think that I will get tired of it real soon. I think they might be right because it snowed off and on for about 2 days in a row. In the morning its real cold and that can crush your motivation to go to classes early in the morning. Its a challenge some days but for the most part I have been making some sort of effort to get to class, if not on time then just getting there is considered an accomplishment, I know I am thinking of relocating but I think it will all be worth it. I need a real dormitory atmosphere like the one at Southern University, well let me take that back the dorms on the yard are not where you want to be. Small, run down and in some cases its like being in the 3rd world bathroom or something at least that is the way it was when I was there any of my old SU people will remember ''Hotel Lotti'' and the infamous Jones Hall which was in some ways like a housing project, at the same time anything you needed was in Jones Hall- 403B had that fire so did 101D and a slew of other rooms... Names will be protected.
On another note the holidays are here and it seems like the weeks are flying by. I guess that is a good thing because that means that I am keeping busy and at the same time having a good time. There are a bunch of parties and it seems like I will be attending my fair share of them, I gotta see the Erasmus students again before they roll out for good. I have had a good semester, it being my first I can say that it has been the best of any first semester at any school I have ever been too. That is a bold statement which many will dispute considering my list of previous institutions of higher education. I guess the best thing is the isolation from people from home. Not having to work and keeping things in a good perspective also have something to do with it. That and the fact that I dont have to hear peoples problems from back home unless its somebody bitching about something on facebook. I came here to get away from all that and its working out so far. I hope I can keep this momentum going for the next 3 years.
I had a conference with an American teacher about English composition. My desire is there but something is making me not care. I think its the fact that I have taken about 3 english related classes before coming to this school and being an American and having to take the class again seems like a slap in the face! I am going to request not to take it next semester and take a more beneficial class of Creative Writing next semester I hope they go for it if not fuck it I will sit through more of the same and like it. I watched The Maltese Falcon the other day and I gotta tell you it never gets old. I didn't really appreciate it when my father used to have me watch it with him years ago, but now I see how good of a movie it is. I am gonna close this one off cuz there are a bunch of dudes trying to figure out the dubbing machine in the lab right over my shoulder. To all the people reading this and enjoying it I will try to post a little more, just so you guys can have some shit to read in your spare time. For the most part the feedback has been positive and I am sure there will be more parties to report on. I am trying not to get too personal cuz I know people wanna know a little more and sometimes its for the better sometimes its for the worst.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
So yesterday was thanksgiving and I was fortunate enough to celebrate with a friend from the states. She plays pro basketball here in Estonia. And shes really good! I caught another one of their games and they won by like 15 or something. Back to the dinner. It was a surprise I was not expecting too much being here in Estonia. But she had the classics turkey, stuffing, corn, even cranberry sauce that actually tasted like cranberries! Everything was more than I expected and the food was great it was also a plus to get to watch some espn America. I caught shitty ass Duke beat Kansas on a bull shut 3 pointer by some guy that averages like 2 points a game.
These past weeks have brought a movie festival to Tallinn and the movies seem pretty good. I caught a French movie called Poliss it was pretty solid I had no idea what to expect sometimes it's better to go to see a movie when you have no idea what it's about. It makes you get into the movie more. Some of the movie was a bit shocking but overall it was a good look into the lives of police officers in France. Even though at sometimes there was a bit too Much going on. Tonight I will check out another movie of course and maybe tomorrow too who knows. I could have gotten a good deal on tickets and free showings but of course my lazy ass didn't do the paperwork to get the movie festival ID, that and the fact that I had no idea what to expect I always seem to underestimate Tallinn and it's high time I stop and just go with the flow.
My movie of the week is Menace II Society. I been watching that shit for the past 4 days. It's funny though I am here at film school and unfortunately all these students talk about is movies by white people. There is nothing wrong with that but you guys gotta check out some black cinema from the 90s yeah a lot of our movies kind of suck but there are definitely some great cinematic achievements as well. I'm not saying go watch all black movies especially not the ones being released from Tyler Perry... Don't get me started on that dude. But check out something. Preferably Menace II Society you guys will need subtitles because half the movie is slang.
I checked out the location of the US Embassy and it was good to see the flag out front. Shit made me smile a lil bit. Of course there was security before security but there weren't any Marines! Fuckin G4S guards at the entrance. Anyway they were closed for the holiday. So I have to go by there on Monday. Why? Because all Americans who travel abroad for a long period of time need to go there and say hey I'm gonna be here for a while and I might need some extra help at some point. It's sad because it seems our government makes us scared when we go certain places. I guess that's why a lot of us don't travel outside North America. If you want to see the world see it, the American Passport is one of the most sought after things in the wold if you ask me. It makes a statement like: travelers fill in the blank.
I'm here at Hessburger killing the free WiFi and there is like a table reserved like WTF it's fast food how the hell do you reserve a table at a fast food joint? It beats the he'll outta me. The place is cool though it's at this Mall type of place called Solaris and there is no shortage of dimes walking around. It's hard not to look but every now and then I take a peek at a lil phatty. Not too many phattys walking around they all look like models even at school. That was a compliment to the girls at BFM btw. But enough about them. I'm starting to feel more and more a part of this society I guess. I'm seeing people I am cool with just about everywhere I go. And I'm starting to figure out how this place works just be nice to people there is no need to be angry because being angry will get you nowhere fast!
Signing off till the next time be safe wherever you are headed.
These past weeks have brought a movie festival to Tallinn and the movies seem pretty good. I caught a French movie called Poliss it was pretty solid I had no idea what to expect sometimes it's better to go to see a movie when you have no idea what it's about. It makes you get into the movie more. Some of the movie was a bit shocking but overall it was a good look into the lives of police officers in France. Even though at sometimes there was a bit too Much going on. Tonight I will check out another movie of course and maybe tomorrow too who knows. I could have gotten a good deal on tickets and free showings but of course my lazy ass didn't do the paperwork to get the movie festival ID, that and the fact that I had no idea what to expect I always seem to underestimate Tallinn and it's high time I stop and just go with the flow.
My movie of the week is Menace II Society. I been watching that shit for the past 4 days. It's funny though I am here at film school and unfortunately all these students talk about is movies by white people. There is nothing wrong with that but you guys gotta check out some black cinema from the 90s yeah a lot of our movies kind of suck but there are definitely some great cinematic achievements as well. I'm not saying go watch all black movies especially not the ones being released from Tyler Perry... Don't get me started on that dude. But check out something. Preferably Menace II Society you guys will need subtitles because half the movie is slang.
I checked out the location of the US Embassy and it was good to see the flag out front. Shit made me smile a lil bit. Of course there was security before security but there weren't any Marines! Fuckin G4S guards at the entrance. Anyway they were closed for the holiday. So I have to go by there on Monday. Why? Because all Americans who travel abroad for a long period of time need to go there and say hey I'm gonna be here for a while and I might need some extra help at some point. It's sad because it seems our government makes us scared when we go certain places. I guess that's why a lot of us don't travel outside North America. If you want to see the world see it, the American Passport is one of the most sought after things in the wold if you ask me. It makes a statement like: travelers fill in the blank.
I'm here at Hessburger killing the free WiFi and there is like a table reserved like WTF it's fast food how the hell do you reserve a table at a fast food joint? It beats the he'll outta me. The place is cool though it's at this Mall type of place called Solaris and there is no shortage of dimes walking around. It's hard not to look but every now and then I take a peek at a lil phatty. Not too many phattys walking around they all look like models even at school. That was a compliment to the girls at BFM btw. But enough about them. I'm starting to feel more and more a part of this society I guess. I'm seeing people I am cool with just about everywhere I go. And I'm starting to figure out how this place works just be nice to people there is no need to be angry because being angry will get you nowhere fast!
Signing off till the next time be safe wherever you are headed.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
On to the next one
Well I got the Estonian ID card! There is a bunch of stuff you need to do to get it. They make you very paranoid when trying to get the card. I kind of ruled myself out of getting it, because it just seemed like so much information they need. The six months of financial information before your arrival in Estonia. Health Insurance preferably Estonian. Dont even bother bringing a passport photo with you because they will take your picture there. You need to give your fingerprint and all that stuff. Its a bit much but its worth it because now you can get some Estonian perks, its kind of like gold having the card because now you are more integrated with the society. After all that work I am pretty happy right now although you probably couldn't tell it by looking at me.
I found a pretty nice place for pizza and Italian food. It's called Vapiano and they are in a lot of places through out the city center. One across the street from Coca Cola Plaza and another one in side of the Solaris shopping center. The pizza is ok its no Zesty Pizza from 96th and 3rd but it will have to do. I'll finish this tomorrow I gotta run to town and get my ID card...Be safe wherever your'e headed.
I found a pretty nice place for pizza and Italian food. It's called Vapiano and they are in a lot of places through out the city center. One across the street from Coca Cola Plaza and another one in side of the Solaris shopping center. The pizza is ok its no Zesty Pizza from 96th and 3rd but it will have to do. I'll finish this tomorrow I gotta run to town and get my ID card...Be safe wherever your'e headed.
Monday, November 7, 2011
And the beat goes on...
Its been awhile since my last post, sorry to keep you guys waiting, but there has been a lot going on. The workload of classes has increased and I haven't had time to post and blog the way I want to. I kind of relocated then relocated again back to my old stomping grounds of the G4S dormitory but all the while I have been having fun doing it. I have had a shit load of essays to write about this or that or the other, basketball practice has gotten more and more intense and the school year is really getting underway, add to that an Estonian Residence application and well you see where I am going with this. I haven't really been out and about since all this work has begun to take its toll. I been going out tho. Even if its just once a week. Preferably to Embassy Pub but hey what can I say they play Rap music constantly the drinks are reasonably priced and they have nice couches, just dont put your feet up on the couches because they will definitely tell you to take them off...
I been taking the public transportation more often than before and its not so bad. Unless theres a drunk on there offering you a sip of their beer. It's like come on guy I dont want to drink after you or just about anyone else for that matter. The race question always comes up and well I deal with it the best way I can, some times I have Sheila moments where I'm just like ''Is that real?'' someone sits down next to you and says nigger and you're like really? But I now know that that is the word for black here and its time to kind of get over it but I really can't. My French friend asked me ''do you always see things in black and white'' and I'm like ''yeah'' but that's just how I was raised, if these guys came to the states and saw who I hang out with and conversate with on a daily basis they might understand why. Sometimes I get a little too racy with it but I bite my tounge and think like Jay-Z ''I'm from out of town dog, what you trying to get into'', they ask me ''Do you miss home?'' and the answer to that is HELL YEAH! But I realize that if I keep thinking about it then that is where I am going to go-- right back home, some want to see me go they don't say it but I can tell, theres no explanation for it you just can. Luckily there is basketball to be played to get my mind off things for a lil while however long that may be.
I had a disturbing dream about my ex gf and well that shit can throw you off of your sleep game for the whole night. I just hope she's ok, and I'll leave it at that, no need to talk about what haunts me when it comes to her, frustration about things in the past can bring the worst out in you so I try not to dwell on them or her for that matter. A message to my classmates who seem to be reading this blog, posts on Facebook are not meant to be taken too serious, its just me venting on certain things good and bad and unfortunately the bad outweigh the good. Bottom line is that we want what we want and will do whatever it takes to get it, in this case its the coveted bachelors degree in the field of AV media, just having the paper makes me a bit more marketable and will eventually open doors that were closed before.
Back to going out, well there are people that are starting to see me around town here and there but its not hard to stick out when you're the only black guy on the bus most of the time, last weekend there were 3 of us on a bus and I was like ohhhh shit! I see them they see me and what happens next is the International black guy acknowledgment of the head nod, peace sign or wave. It makes me feel a lil more comfortable when there is a few of us in a small space I got their back and hopefully they have mine if anything jumps off. In this place put egos to the side and come together for the greater good, it might just mean we save each others lives if it comes down to it. The guys on the busses with their pretty girlfriends who like to starte at me or whatever, hey she's just curious, but I always keep in mind that the hotter she is the hotter her problems are and just keep it moving, but I have a feeling that this situation may come to a head.
I been watching GOODFELLAS a lot lately its so good, but how many times can you watch Tommy get shot... Everytime I watch it I think wow what a life no matter what was real and what was changed, I can't get over the life they lived and some still live today. Henry was a rat and that sucks but the movie is timeless. It will always be a favorite of mine no matter what. My friend from Latvia came up last weekend and when I went back to the flat he was watching it on the computer, I have my favorite parts and I always see something funny or even disturbing when I watch it. Being here and watching movies with people from Europe I begin to see how some things just do not translate, it can get annoying when people ask what does this or that mean but for the most part its easy for me to explain so I don't mind it. The thing is that being here for however long I will be here will put me out of the loop back home so there will be jokes that I wont get.
Other than that its all good living in the hood. And can't nothing stop your boy from getting what I came here to get. Life is like a box of chocolates and here in Estonia you never know what your gonna get...
BTW first game of the basketball season is on Wednesday at 9pm at Tallinn University gym, wish us luck BFM Cable Guys are gonna do some damage I'm just glad I will be a part of it.
I been taking the public transportation more often than before and its not so bad. Unless theres a drunk on there offering you a sip of their beer. It's like come on guy I dont want to drink after you or just about anyone else for that matter. The race question always comes up and well I deal with it the best way I can, some times I have Sheila moments where I'm just like ''Is that real?'' someone sits down next to you and says nigger and you're like really? But I now know that that is the word for black here and its time to kind of get over it but I really can't. My French friend asked me ''do you always see things in black and white'' and I'm like ''yeah'' but that's just how I was raised, if these guys came to the states and saw who I hang out with and conversate with on a daily basis they might understand why. Sometimes I get a little too racy with it but I bite my tounge and think like Jay-Z ''I'm from out of town dog, what you trying to get into'', they ask me ''Do you miss home?'' and the answer to that is HELL YEAH! But I realize that if I keep thinking about it then that is where I am going to go-- right back home, some want to see me go they don't say it but I can tell, theres no explanation for it you just can. Luckily there is basketball to be played to get my mind off things for a lil while however long that may be.
I had a disturbing dream about my ex gf and well that shit can throw you off of your sleep game for the whole night. I just hope she's ok, and I'll leave it at that, no need to talk about what haunts me when it comes to her, frustration about things in the past can bring the worst out in you so I try not to dwell on them or her for that matter. A message to my classmates who seem to be reading this blog, posts on Facebook are not meant to be taken too serious, its just me venting on certain things good and bad and unfortunately the bad outweigh the good. Bottom line is that we want what we want and will do whatever it takes to get it, in this case its the coveted bachelors degree in the field of AV media, just having the paper makes me a bit more marketable and will eventually open doors that were closed before.
Back to going out, well there are people that are starting to see me around town here and there but its not hard to stick out when you're the only black guy on the bus most of the time, last weekend there were 3 of us on a bus and I was like ohhhh shit! I see them they see me and what happens next is the International black guy acknowledgment of the head nod, peace sign or wave. It makes me feel a lil more comfortable when there is a few of us in a small space I got their back and hopefully they have mine if anything jumps off. In this place put egos to the side and come together for the greater good, it might just mean we save each others lives if it comes down to it. The guys on the busses with their pretty girlfriends who like to starte at me or whatever, hey she's just curious, but I always keep in mind that the hotter she is the hotter her problems are and just keep it moving, but I have a feeling that this situation may come to a head.
I been watching GOODFELLAS a lot lately its so good, but how many times can you watch Tommy get shot... Everytime I watch it I think wow what a life no matter what was real and what was changed, I can't get over the life they lived and some still live today. Henry was a rat and that sucks but the movie is timeless. It will always be a favorite of mine no matter what. My friend from Latvia came up last weekend and when I went back to the flat he was watching it on the computer, I have my favorite parts and I always see something funny or even disturbing when I watch it. Being here and watching movies with people from Europe I begin to see how some things just do not translate, it can get annoying when people ask what does this or that mean but for the most part its easy for me to explain so I don't mind it. The thing is that being here for however long I will be here will put me out of the loop back home so there will be jokes that I wont get.
Other than that its all good living in the hood. And can't nothing stop your boy from getting what I came here to get. Life is like a box of chocolates and here in Estonia you never know what your gonna get...
BTW first game of the basketball season is on Wednesday at 9pm at Tallinn University gym, wish us luck BFM Cable Guys are gonna do some damage I'm just glad I will be a part of it.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Settle down buddy your'e in a different country...
So I'm back on this thing after a tough week. Let's just say it all worked out. I wont go into too much detail but sometimes when the chips seem stacked against you, you want to give up and quit while your'e ahead. I been taking it easy out here and enjoying a new country and new culture and new ideas. The weather is still crazy it can be ridiculously cold one part of the day and extremly mild for the second half of the day. Many things are about to change though with the time and my living situation, but it should be a fun and at times bumpy ride.
A note to anyone who plans on moving over here, don't send any electronics in the mail, they make you pay taxes on it, and they open your mail. I was blown away by this but I guess some Soviet stuff is still in place. My lap top had to be fixed before I got here soooooo it had to be sent in the mail, unfortunately I have to pay taxes on it, I want to go in there and be like WTF is wrong with you guys, but I cant do that because it will get me nowhere fast. I been trying to keep what to talk about in these blogs on my phone as like a message to myself. Stuff like keep your American bank account open and just take from there, this eliminates the ridiculous wore transfer fees and waiting for this or that or the other. Never bring a check with you always use travelers checks and other extensive financial advice from this or that. I started going to this burger joint called Hesburger, its from Finland and its a good alternative to McDonald's when you're out grabbing fast food. As promised I went to a mainstream movie theater and got to have popcorn with my movie this time! They did have Pepsi and its the first place that I have seen with Pepsi...I saw ;argin Call about Wall Streets lies and I also checked out Elite Killers about some British cover up mercinary type of film. They were both entertaining. However I saw another movie this weekend DRIVE-- shit is hot, if you havent seen it you should and see what your own opinion will be, half the people who see it like it the other half not so much, I guess its a love hate type of deal. Someone said they were expecting it to be more like the directors first film PUSHER a Dansk film that is very good. The thing is you can't make that type of movie for the American market and expect to really get a return on your investment. So you have to adjust as a film maker for the audience you are trying to reach, some elements carried over to the film but for the most part I thought that this was a step in the right direction for the director.
I have also been privledged enough to check out a few girls basketball games and I gotta tell you they go hard over here. Other than our schools team wearing skirts it was pretty intense the first game I caught the score was like 75-76 with a last second shot barely missing. Our team won, the next game was a JV vs Varsity type of game the team they played was noticeably younger but they did what they were supposed to do and crushed them by 59 points 107-48, it was crazy, I've never seen a team get totally dominated like that live in front of my face. Hopefully the team can keep that momentum going for the rest of the season. They look strong and I really think they could prolly beat our team...
I had another perk of meeting someone who is locally famous and tagged along for free to Club Privé it was a helluva night filled with drinking in VIP, dancing on a stage that literally shook when the bass thumped. And yeah the girls were of the model quality. We made the most of it and had a good time, I can't really write about alcohol or drugs anymore because every time I do someone send me a message that says ''are you ok?'' or ''You cant write this or that...'' honestly fuck it, I go out and have a good time take it how you want. Back to this club, this is probably where you want to go to get an idea of the night life in Tallinn, its a little more exclusive with prices and stuff but I got in for free bitches! So I took advantage. Anybody who knows me knows that clubs are not my thing maybe a once a month type of deal but living here I don't mind it so much the only thing that is kind of whack is the music I mean they still play DMX--Lose my mind...I don't mind it so much but break something new for the people. My favorite spot in Tallinn is Embassy Bar tho hip hop on the weekends and we just found out Wednesday night is half off cocktails so I think a trip there on Wednesday is in order especially with no classes this week.
On Sunday I caught the Rugby World Cup Final and I gotta say, I don't know shit about that game, it made me want to watch some NFL really bad. The score was 8-7 and France went down against New Zealand. It was good to watch something different, and I guess broaden my horizons there was another American there, well his accent was anyway and he was the only dude in the room really rooting for NZ, The crowd was more pro France and as I was told FR was a huge underdog. The closeness of the score was a triumph for them being that all the papers said they would get smashed. I equated it to USA going to the World Cup Final in soccer. Something that seems possible but so far away.
I guess I should get out of here and make some of my day worth it I might go see DRIVE again I thought it was that awesome. Maybe Coca Cola Plaza is still playing that Danny McBride movie.
Until I get back, c u next time.
A note to anyone who plans on moving over here, don't send any electronics in the mail, they make you pay taxes on it, and they open your mail. I was blown away by this but I guess some Soviet stuff is still in place. My lap top had to be fixed before I got here soooooo it had to be sent in the mail, unfortunately I have to pay taxes on it, I want to go in there and be like WTF is wrong with you guys, but I cant do that because it will get me nowhere fast. I been trying to keep what to talk about in these blogs on my phone as like a message to myself. Stuff like keep your American bank account open and just take from there, this eliminates the ridiculous wore transfer fees and waiting for this or that or the other. Never bring a check with you always use travelers checks and other extensive financial advice from this or that. I started going to this burger joint called Hesburger, its from Finland and its a good alternative to McDonald's when you're out grabbing fast food. As promised I went to a mainstream movie theater and got to have popcorn with my movie this time! They did have Pepsi and its the first place that I have seen with Pepsi...I saw ;argin Call about Wall Streets lies and I also checked out Elite Killers about some British cover up mercinary type of film. They were both entertaining. However I saw another movie this weekend DRIVE-- shit is hot, if you havent seen it you should and see what your own opinion will be, half the people who see it like it the other half not so much, I guess its a love hate type of deal. Someone said they were expecting it to be more like the directors first film PUSHER a Dansk film that is very good. The thing is you can't make that type of movie for the American market and expect to really get a return on your investment. So you have to adjust as a film maker for the audience you are trying to reach, some elements carried over to the film but for the most part I thought that this was a step in the right direction for the director.
I have also been privledged enough to check out a few girls basketball games and I gotta tell you they go hard over here. Other than our schools team wearing skirts it was pretty intense the first game I caught the score was like 75-76 with a last second shot barely missing. Our team won, the next game was a JV vs Varsity type of game the team they played was noticeably younger but they did what they were supposed to do and crushed them by 59 points 107-48, it was crazy, I've never seen a team get totally dominated like that live in front of my face. Hopefully the team can keep that momentum going for the rest of the season. They look strong and I really think they could prolly beat our team...
I had another perk of meeting someone who is locally famous and tagged along for free to Club Privé it was a helluva night filled with drinking in VIP, dancing on a stage that literally shook when the bass thumped. And yeah the girls were of the model quality. We made the most of it and had a good time, I can't really write about alcohol or drugs anymore because every time I do someone send me a message that says ''are you ok?'' or ''You cant write this or that...'' honestly fuck it, I go out and have a good time take it how you want. Back to this club, this is probably where you want to go to get an idea of the night life in Tallinn, its a little more exclusive with prices and stuff but I got in for free bitches! So I took advantage. Anybody who knows me knows that clubs are not my thing maybe a once a month type of deal but living here I don't mind it so much the only thing that is kind of whack is the music I mean they still play DMX--Lose my mind...I don't mind it so much but break something new for the people. My favorite spot in Tallinn is Embassy Bar tho hip hop on the weekends and we just found out Wednesday night is half off cocktails so I think a trip there on Wednesday is in order especially with no classes this week.
On Sunday I caught the Rugby World Cup Final and I gotta say, I don't know shit about that game, it made me want to watch some NFL really bad. The score was 8-7 and France went down against New Zealand. It was good to watch something different, and I guess broaden my horizons there was another American there, well his accent was anyway and he was the only dude in the room really rooting for NZ, The crowd was more pro France and as I was told FR was a huge underdog. The closeness of the score was a triumph for them being that all the papers said they would get smashed. I equated it to USA going to the World Cup Final in soccer. Something that seems possible but so far away.
I guess I should get out of here and make some of my day worth it I might go see DRIVE again I thought it was that awesome. Maybe Coca Cola Plaza is still playing that Danny McBride movie.
Until I get back, c u next time.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Nimeta(The bar with no name)
In keeping up with my promise of updating this blog once a week. Its time I talk about the places I don't mind going to.
There is a bar/club that I go to regularly on the weekends its called Nimeta or the bar with no name. They play sporting events on their TVs (mainly football) and they also apparently play NFL games on Sundays. I have yet to go to this bar on a Sunday but when I do you can bet there will be a post about it. Last week I went there and saw a Euro qualifier between Turkey and Germany. It was good to get involved in the atmosphere for the first time seeing a European Match in a European Bar. Although it can not compare with going to an actual match it was pretty close. There were many games on the TV screens all throughout the bar. Russia was playing Slovakia, England was playing Montenegro and Estonia was playing Northern Ireland. Every game had a crowd of people watching it. The game I watched was filled with Turkish and German fans cheering and jeering both sides. I knew it was coming tho: Germany smashing Turkey. The Germans took a 1-0 lead into half time and came out on fire in the second half (2-0). It was closed out by our household (Reader Lane) favorite of the World Cup Bastian Schweinsteiger on a PK (3-0). Something about the last name and his intimidating presence on the pitch that makes him seen super human to us back home. The Germans were bigger more conditioned and younger to stop. Unfortunately my Turkish friend was not too happy about the result and after the match the majority of the Turkish crowd flaked out and went to another bar.
The bar is an alright place, it's always alive and filled with people from wherever just drinking and for the most part having a good time. Of course there are your occasional fights and fits of rage but what bar is complete without that? The girls come in and out dividing their time between Nimesta and the more contemporary bar/club Shooters next door. It has quite a small dance floor that always seems pretty packed after 1am and has two separate bars on in the front and one in the back. Don't worry about whether the girl bartenders are hot because yeah they are, maybe its the form fitting shirts, the tight jeans or the skirts that seem a lil too short to work in, well by Starbucks standards anyway. The only problem with the bar is that it plays the same damn music all the time. I guess maybe because it's Europe and they really don't know how to rock a crowd like the DJ's back home, but I mean c'mon lets get something other than LMFAO featuring whoever played and hear something a lil different I don't think the crowd will care that much. And here's another hint you can't play the same song more than 3 times in one night unless its like some exclusive shit.
If you're looking to go out and get a little wild then this is your place. There are several other bars in the vicinity so you can pretty much bar hop without hopping too much or at the very least you can stumble into about 5 good bars all in the same square. If you want to go somewhere a little more quiet then I really can't recommend a place that is very quiet especially not on the weekends. So your best bet would be to go out on a Wednesday or a Thursday. Friday and Saturday you can forget it! Everywhere is jumping off and sometimes the crowds can be a bit of a turn off. I have been to a few other pubs in Tallinn but this is where the action is for the most part. I am still in tourist mode though and hopefully I will find a bar that is a little more laid back even on the weekend. I don't mind going out but unfortunately it will get very tired for me very soon especially when the weather gets extremely cold, hopefully I'll have some sort of flat by then and I can throw some flat parties and get something going on like that. Just like Biggie said ''Play the crib/when its mink weather''...
Until next time keep it level wherever you're headed.
There is a bar/club that I go to regularly on the weekends its called Nimeta or the bar with no name. They play sporting events on their TVs (mainly football) and they also apparently play NFL games on Sundays. I have yet to go to this bar on a Sunday but when I do you can bet there will be a post about it. Last week I went there and saw a Euro qualifier between Turkey and Germany. It was good to get involved in the atmosphere for the first time seeing a European Match in a European Bar. Although it can not compare with going to an actual match it was pretty close. There were many games on the TV screens all throughout the bar. Russia was playing Slovakia, England was playing Montenegro and Estonia was playing Northern Ireland. Every game had a crowd of people watching it. The game I watched was filled with Turkish and German fans cheering and jeering both sides. I knew it was coming tho: Germany smashing Turkey. The Germans took a 1-0 lead into half time and came out on fire in the second half (2-0). It was closed out by our household (Reader Lane) favorite of the World Cup Bastian Schweinsteiger on a PK (3-0). Something about the last name and his intimidating presence on the pitch that makes him seen super human to us back home. The Germans were bigger more conditioned and younger to stop. Unfortunately my Turkish friend was not too happy about the result and after the match the majority of the Turkish crowd flaked out and went to another bar.
The bar is an alright place, it's always alive and filled with people from wherever just drinking and for the most part having a good time. Of course there are your occasional fights and fits of rage but what bar is complete without that? The girls come in and out dividing their time between Nimesta and the more contemporary bar/club Shooters next door. It has quite a small dance floor that always seems pretty packed after 1am and has two separate bars on in the front and one in the back. Don't worry about whether the girl bartenders are hot because yeah they are, maybe its the form fitting shirts, the tight jeans or the skirts that seem a lil too short to work in, well by Starbucks standards anyway. The only problem with the bar is that it plays the same damn music all the time. I guess maybe because it's Europe and they really don't know how to rock a crowd like the DJ's back home, but I mean c'mon lets get something other than LMFAO featuring whoever played and hear something a lil different I don't think the crowd will care that much. And here's another hint you can't play the same song more than 3 times in one night unless its like some exclusive shit.
If you're looking to go out and get a little wild then this is your place. There are several other bars in the vicinity so you can pretty much bar hop without hopping too much or at the very least you can stumble into about 5 good bars all in the same square. If you want to go somewhere a little more quiet then I really can't recommend a place that is very quiet especially not on the weekends. So your best bet would be to go out on a Wednesday or a Thursday. Friday and Saturday you can forget it! Everywhere is jumping off and sometimes the crowds can be a bit of a turn off. I have been to a few other pubs in Tallinn but this is where the action is for the most part. I am still in tourist mode though and hopefully I will find a bar that is a little more laid back even on the weekend. I don't mind going out but unfortunately it will get very tired for me very soon especially when the weather gets extremely cold, hopefully I'll have some sort of flat by then and I can throw some flat parties and get something going on like that. Just like Biggie said ''Play the crib/when its mink weather''...
Until next time keep it level wherever you're headed.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Going to the Movies
Well since I got one of the lower grades in my English Composition class and my native language is English, I guess its time to take more than 20 minutes writing a paper and actually give the professor what he asks for, who wudda thought 5 points would make so much of a difference.
This post is about going to the movies in Tallinn and I guess anywhere else in Europe that I've been. Because I am a student at BFM (Baltic Film and Media School) we get to go to a movie theater for free, the theater is called Artis. Apparently according to some it is one of the better theaters in Tallinn you can get wine, beer, snacks and candy. But wait a minute there is something missing, oh yeah POPCORN where the hell is the popcorn, maybe it's the American in me well it is the American in me but popcorn is a staple at any movie theater back home even the shittier ones. I know I am complaining but its kind of a let down to not have popcorn. I need that butter and that crunch sound that makes me feel like I am watching a movie. Maybe they don't feel like cleaning up all the remnants left behind but eff that they need popcorn up in that piece, and I wont truly be satisfied until they get it.
On another note the seats are assigned at the theater when you buy your ticket so you can choose where you want to sit. I have and pretty much always will sit in the back it makes me feel like I am not only watching the film but also I can see the audience and some of their reactions, which to me makes the back of the theater a good vantage point, that and the fact that I really can't stand someone talking behind me and me hearing what they are saying really sucks. The theaters always seemed pretty packed on the weekends mostly Friday or Saturday. I went on Sunday and it was a pretty empty theater, I also think that because it was a movie that came out last year in the States most people either saw it or downloaded it by now which may have had a hand in the attendance rate. If you do go to the movies alone like I do for the most part you probably want to get a seat on the end that way you don't end up sitting next to a family who is probably going to be more uncomfortable sitting next to the only black dude in the theater... But that's another story for some other time.
I like the assigned seat that way there is no complaining involved when you get to the theater just get your seat where you want to sit. I once went with a few people to the movies back home in Columbia, Maryland and because there were not 4 seats all together one person insisted we leave and get our money back. We did but I really didn't give a shit where we sat I just wanted to see the movie. This eliminates that. But I will say the earlier you show up the better your seats will be.
The audience seems a bit more quiet than the theaters back home. There is no one talking really and when something is funny its laughed at during the appropriate time and bam the movie goes on, a lot less cell phone interference and the audience is a bit more reserved in their feelings towards the film. Granted I have seen 3 movies at this theater hopefully at some point the audience will open up. Maybe it's because English is my first language and I don't fumble with the subtitles on the screen, which for some people is a big deal. I have friends back home who cannot stand to see any subtitles even when the movie is in a different language a lot of the time their response goes something like this: ''Damn we gotta read this shit'', or ''Why we gotta read and watch a movie'' c'mon guys at some point you gotta watch something other than somebody blowing up buildings and killing people for an hour and a half and just watch something that makes you think, broaden your horizons, go out see something you wouldn't normally watch and talk about it with the TV off.
Overall I love the movie experience here, the movie starts on time no 10 previews for movies that probably won't be out for more than a week, and no commercials before telling you to donate here or donate there. I went to a theater in London and let me tell you it was like 50USD(24 lbs) and they played about 30 minutes worth of commercials and previews. Add to that the fact that when I returned home there the same movie was on the Blockbuster wall waiting for me to be pissed off that I shelled out all this cash for a movie I could have watched at home for 4 bucks. Yeah never again London movie theaters, never again. There are some things about the theaters that I miss at home the fact that I can got to about 3 major movieplexes in case one is sold out or maybe they are not playing a movie at my theater that they are playing at another. Midnight shows on a Thursday night so you can brag to your co-workers how you saw the hot new pick of the week at midnight, don't forget about movie hopping, oh yeah and of course fresh popcorn. I know I can go to other theaters and get popcorn or what have you but the fact is that this theater is FREE for me so it will become my movie theater, they will prolly get tired of seeing me there after awhile but what do you expect its a film school we are going to go where the deal is. Although I think this weekend I might go and splurge at Coca-Cola Plaza pay for the movie and popcorn...
Until next time safe travels no matter where your headed.
This post is about going to the movies in Tallinn and I guess anywhere else in Europe that I've been. Because I am a student at BFM (Baltic Film and Media School) we get to go to a movie theater for free, the theater is called Artis. Apparently according to some it is one of the better theaters in Tallinn you can get wine, beer, snacks and candy. But wait a minute there is something missing, oh yeah POPCORN where the hell is the popcorn, maybe it's the American in me well it is the American in me but popcorn is a staple at any movie theater back home even the shittier ones. I know I am complaining but its kind of a let down to not have popcorn. I need that butter and that crunch sound that makes me feel like I am watching a movie. Maybe they don't feel like cleaning up all the remnants left behind but eff that they need popcorn up in that piece, and I wont truly be satisfied until they get it.
On another note the seats are assigned at the theater when you buy your ticket so you can choose where you want to sit. I have and pretty much always will sit in the back it makes me feel like I am not only watching the film but also I can see the audience and some of their reactions, which to me makes the back of the theater a good vantage point, that and the fact that I really can't stand someone talking behind me and me hearing what they are saying really sucks. The theaters always seemed pretty packed on the weekends mostly Friday or Saturday. I went on Sunday and it was a pretty empty theater, I also think that because it was a movie that came out last year in the States most people either saw it or downloaded it by now which may have had a hand in the attendance rate. If you do go to the movies alone like I do for the most part you probably want to get a seat on the end that way you don't end up sitting next to a family who is probably going to be more uncomfortable sitting next to the only black dude in the theater... But that's another story for some other time.
I like the assigned seat that way there is no complaining involved when you get to the theater just get your seat where you want to sit. I once went with a few people to the movies back home in Columbia, Maryland and because there were not 4 seats all together one person insisted we leave and get our money back. We did but I really didn't give a shit where we sat I just wanted to see the movie. This eliminates that. But I will say the earlier you show up the better your seats will be.
The audience seems a bit more quiet than the theaters back home. There is no one talking really and when something is funny its laughed at during the appropriate time and bam the movie goes on, a lot less cell phone interference and the audience is a bit more reserved in their feelings towards the film. Granted I have seen 3 movies at this theater hopefully at some point the audience will open up. Maybe it's because English is my first language and I don't fumble with the subtitles on the screen, which for some people is a big deal. I have friends back home who cannot stand to see any subtitles even when the movie is in a different language a lot of the time their response goes something like this: ''Damn we gotta read this shit'', or ''Why we gotta read and watch a movie'' c'mon guys at some point you gotta watch something other than somebody blowing up buildings and killing people for an hour and a half and just watch something that makes you think, broaden your horizons, go out see something you wouldn't normally watch and talk about it with the TV off.
Overall I love the movie experience here, the movie starts on time no 10 previews for movies that probably won't be out for more than a week, and no commercials before telling you to donate here or donate there. I went to a theater in London and let me tell you it was like 50USD(24 lbs) and they played about 30 minutes worth of commercials and previews. Add to that the fact that when I returned home there the same movie was on the Blockbuster wall waiting for me to be pissed off that I shelled out all this cash for a movie I could have watched at home for 4 bucks. Yeah never again London movie theaters, never again. There are some things about the theaters that I miss at home the fact that I can got to about 3 major movieplexes in case one is sold out or maybe they are not playing a movie at my theater that they are playing at another. Midnight shows on a Thursday night so you can brag to your co-workers how you saw the hot new pick of the week at midnight, don't forget about movie hopping, oh yeah and of course fresh popcorn. I know I can go to other theaters and get popcorn or what have you but the fact is that this theater is FREE for me so it will become my movie theater, they will prolly get tired of seeing me there after awhile but what do you expect its a film school we are going to go where the deal is. Although I think this weekend I might go and splurge at Coca-Cola Plaza pay for the movie and popcorn...
Until next time safe travels no matter where your headed.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Don't forget your Jacket
Its been about a week since my last post and I know some peeps back home are wondering what I been up to? Not much actually... I got my Baltic Film and Media School card so now I am only going to be checking out fancy shmancy Art House Films why you ask, because it's free dummy. I went to see the ''Rabbit Hole'' yesterday it was alright, not a bad movie but I don't think it was the best either, most of the Art House Films are depressing and they do have a good thing about them which is that they make you think, like what if I went through that or what if I found out my wife is a slut how would I really react, but every now and then you just want to see some mindless action or some slap stick Danny Mc Bride comedy.
On another note I went to a bar in Tallinn called Woodstock, and let me tell you something there is absolutely nothing Woodstock about it. People of Color beware stay the eff outta this place. There's a Confederate flag on the wall and the people that came into the bar after me well they looked like part of the Aryan Brotherhood or some shit. Some say the flag represents ''History not Hate'' but to a lot of black people in the states it represents a dark part of Americas past that needs the door shut on. There was a deal on beers tho 3 for the price of two, I drank my beer and had a shot looked around and got the hell out of there. It was still early I made the decision to roll out when I saw a group of guys that were not so welcoming roaming through the bar. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but in that case I decided to. It was a Wednesday night and what I was doing out I had no clue. Its like every night there is some sort of party or bar having some sort of event or something is going on. Me and my French friend rolled down to a more inviting bar called Hell Hunt, it was kind of sporty and the waitresses were cute. The beers were the right price and the atmosphere was pretty laid back and cool but of course this was Wednesday, try that bar on the weekend and its a whole different story.
The weather has been pretty Danish as of late we had a good weekend of weather with the sun shining and pretty mild temperatures, but then came Monday and it was wet, like real wet it rained and poured all day, I didn't make it to my first class but that's a different story, and from the looks of it on Facebook a lot of other classmates didn't make it to class either. Just one of those lazy morning/afternoons. It's funny because being black and walking through Tallinn you get a lot of looks and some pretty mean stares. The old people look at me with mad looks because they lost the Cold War and the young people look at me because a lot of them have never seen a black guy before in person like at all. It can get a little frustrating at times like in my mind ''OK get over it'' but at the same time I guess it's good that they are getting exposed to something new, besides all they really know is what they see on TV or in the movies and I guess me not dancing or playing sports is not feasible for them to understand. I was outside of the bar Shooters (hot spot) when I struck up a conversation with a guy, he asked me where I was from and I gotta admit if you say Canada there's not much conversation after that, I said Canada but messed up and said Quebec (French Speaking part) so he started talking in French. Needless to say I was exposed and outed as an American... we continued chatting for a bit when a few dudes who were in a band jumped in and asked me ''Where is the weed at?'' this is a common occurrence anytime I go out on the weekend I get asked that question at least 2 or 3 times. My response is ''I'm looking myself'' and I try to keep it moving.
On Saturday Tallinn is pretty drunk! Like people stumbling over themselves drunk. I don't get it. It was like 10pm and some underage girl is yelling in our faces that its Saturday, and how her ''dream is to adopt a black boy'', they treat weed like Heroin meanwhile people are throwing up in the streets, hey I guess its a classic case of Different Strokes for Different Folks. Tallinn is growing on me though. I know where to take buses and where to get good food, well decent food and I also know where to go for drinks and after last week where not to go for drinks. This week I made a promise not to go out at all but if there is a flat party I will go. I like those because you can just bring a bottle of something and sit back and have a good time. Conversation is usually good and there is always a good ratio of girls and guys so no one is really left out in the cold except for when people start talking in groups in their own language. Sometimes it can be annoying sometimes you just take it in as an experience and a true example of how big the world really is even if your just in one room. Until next time safe travels wherever you're headed.
On another note I went to a bar in Tallinn called Woodstock, and let me tell you something there is absolutely nothing Woodstock about it. People of Color beware stay the eff outta this place. There's a Confederate flag on the wall and the people that came into the bar after me well they looked like part of the Aryan Brotherhood or some shit. Some say the flag represents ''History not Hate'' but to a lot of black people in the states it represents a dark part of Americas past that needs the door shut on. There was a deal on beers tho 3 for the price of two, I drank my beer and had a shot looked around and got the hell out of there. It was still early I made the decision to roll out when I saw a group of guys that were not so welcoming roaming through the bar. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but in that case I decided to. It was a Wednesday night and what I was doing out I had no clue. Its like every night there is some sort of party or bar having some sort of event or something is going on. Me and my French friend rolled down to a more inviting bar called Hell Hunt, it was kind of sporty and the waitresses were cute. The beers were the right price and the atmosphere was pretty laid back and cool but of course this was Wednesday, try that bar on the weekend and its a whole different story.
The weather has been pretty Danish as of late we had a good weekend of weather with the sun shining and pretty mild temperatures, but then came Monday and it was wet, like real wet it rained and poured all day, I didn't make it to my first class but that's a different story, and from the looks of it on Facebook a lot of other classmates didn't make it to class either. Just one of those lazy morning/afternoons. It's funny because being black and walking through Tallinn you get a lot of looks and some pretty mean stares. The old people look at me with mad looks because they lost the Cold War and the young people look at me because a lot of them have never seen a black guy before in person like at all. It can get a little frustrating at times like in my mind ''OK get over it'' but at the same time I guess it's good that they are getting exposed to something new, besides all they really know is what they see on TV or in the movies and I guess me not dancing or playing sports is not feasible for them to understand. I was outside of the bar Shooters (hot spot) when I struck up a conversation with a guy, he asked me where I was from and I gotta admit if you say Canada there's not much conversation after that, I said Canada but messed up and said Quebec (French Speaking part) so he started talking in French. Needless to say I was exposed and outed as an American... we continued chatting for a bit when a few dudes who were in a band jumped in and asked me ''Where is the weed at?'' this is a common occurrence anytime I go out on the weekend I get asked that question at least 2 or 3 times. My response is ''I'm looking myself'' and I try to keep it moving.
On Saturday Tallinn is pretty drunk! Like people stumbling over themselves drunk. I don't get it. It was like 10pm and some underage girl is yelling in our faces that its Saturday, and how her ''dream is to adopt a black boy'', they treat weed like Heroin meanwhile people are throwing up in the streets, hey I guess its a classic case of Different Strokes for Different Folks. Tallinn is growing on me though. I know where to take buses and where to get good food, well decent food and I also know where to go for drinks and after last week where not to go for drinks. This week I made a promise not to go out at all but if there is a flat party I will go. I like those because you can just bring a bottle of something and sit back and have a good time. Conversation is usually good and there is always a good ratio of girls and guys so no one is really left out in the cold except for when people start talking in groups in their own language. Sometimes it can be annoying sometimes you just take it in as an experience and a true example of how big the world really is even if your just in one room. Until next time safe travels wherever you're headed.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Grocery Stores in Tallinn
The grocery stores here are on something else. The cashiers get to sit down and you bag your own no matter what. If you ask me I can dig it, I guess cuz I am a wholefoodsmarket "team member" and I am a cashier well I don't know about going back to that after being here. Back to the store they have good stores and they have bad stores. I been fortunate enough to only have been in the good stores for my main shopping, I mean u can get candy and redbull or whatever anywhere but for produce and cheese and meat it's better not to roll the dice with that stuff and pay the extra .50€ or whatever. It's set up like most stores in the west produce in the front and bakery in the back... I been getting a lot of tomatoes out here cuz well they taste better than the ones at home just about erything is organic and less is more. The bread here is about 3x's cheaper than the bread at home, and I'm talking bread without high fructose corn syrup. Which if you live near a food lion in the states can be hard to find and when you do find it you pay like at least 3 bucks for it. They have grocery stores in their malls in Tallinn which can be a good idea but of course it's gonna be a lil more expensive than buying it at a stand alone store. I just kinda walk around and take note of what they have that we don't have or what we have that they don't have one thing we have is size like our grocery-stores seem like warehouses compared to these I mean the size is comparable but they don't have aisles full of cereal from end to end. A good thing about here is that you can get liquor wine beer in the grocery stores. You guys are probably saying "Senghor you can get that at home" yeah if you live in the south like Virginia and I don't think you can buy a bottle of rare Hennessy or Moet or Red Label in those stores down there. Anyway the grocery stores do lack the snacks we have at home and maybe that's a reason for just about everyone looking like they are in shape. The thing i love about the grocery stores here is that you have to explore them and see what they have overall before you just start throwing stuff in the basket maybe if I had a gf she would probably have a better grasp as to what to get to eat and all that but for now it's just me and I shop for me not what's here or there or on sale well I do look for deals but for the most part I am expanding my culinary skills and taking them to an international level. I gotta go catch a movie so I'll see y'all.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
I can't believe I ate all those tacos
I fucked up and ordered 4 tacos and I ate every single one of them, so typical. But hey I was due in for a pig out session. Today was pretty rainy like the rest of the week thus far... Go figure I went to DK bac in 04 I was hoping the weather here would be a lil different but I was wrong. I got my rain pants this time tho so I'm good. Well good for the rain anyway. I like how these little euro eat out joints come and get your plate from you after you finish at least that's how it is in the Baltics. Back to the Flat situation yeah somebody saw a place with 6 rooms furnished and all that and they wanna do it. My thing is there is a big problem living with 6 people 6 problems and 6 points of view. This can cause problems and when one person has a problem it can rub off on others oh yeah there's one bathroom not so sure about that 1. I found a 4 bedroom unfurnished with 2 bathrooms but it would be better cuz u can kinda make it your own. Like u can add stuff here and there. + it's in the center of town which means you can party all you want and be good to get home. if it's gotta be with 6 it's gotta be with 6 but I think I might roll out if the opportunity presents itself. I'm just the type that may need a little more privacy than others, I'm not trying to as my boy Tiger would say"have my nose strait up in the air"but I just wanna have a bathroom that doesn't have that much traffic and I'm not fighting to get my bathroom time in or having people dipping into my food or thinking everything is community. As I said before if it's gotta be 6 then hey 6 it is. It's just not too cool to be with peeps who I don't really know and they don't really know me either. Welp looks like I'm bout to go back out into the rain and take the walk to freedom square-- scroll down there's a picture of it. The wifi in this city is pretty cool 90% of the places have it so I'm good to go for the most part but when I get a place I'll prolly have to drop a few bucks on it but I do miss cable and everybody knows my shit Jeopardy not to mention Judge Judy...
Americana
I'm back at that taco joint and yeah they have duff beer for you duff beer for me, I'll have a duff you have one too! Classick episode of The Simpsons if you don't know you better get on top of that. I'm searching with a few peeps for a flat to move into it's getting to be too much living in the dorm it's too far and I'm dropping stupid€ on cabs cuz transportation stops at midnight. So moving down there will save me much money in the long run. I went and got some insurance it was like 400 for a year, yeah America is still on that bull shit all you need Is a lil coverage for this or that start walking and staying in shape. I'm making most of my food so that's good gotta minimize eating out... But sometimes you gotta treat yourself right? The weather had me a lil sick but I'm back on top now and here are the tacos I ordered too many tho...
Monday, September 19, 2011
I'm back after some tv control room editing
Yeah so back to the lovely women of the Baltics...I just can say hey you never know, I have been warned as to why the guys here will hate you. For one simple reason they think you are here to steal ALL of their women away. I got a message for them "Dudes the ratio is 3:1 which means there is more than enough to go around" get over it. I had a feeling one of the tutors was out to kill me because of this that or the other but when explained some part of the situation I was put at ease. I'm still a little on edge cuz there's no weed here for anyone to chill out just drinks I can get a shot of Jäger on my lunch break at school make sense...no not really all I'm saying is a lil bit of bud never really killed anyone unless it was laced and here they take that stuff way too serious for my taste. So why even go thru the hassle having to worry about doing as much time in jail as someone with a gram of coke. I'm not gonna turn this blog into pothead paradise so I'll stop there. It still has me on edge and a lil bit more uptight then I probably should be, but it is what it is and I guess I'll just have to deal with it and hope for the best. I feel like Jay -Z on some true" hustlers always look down on potheads because smoking keeps you asleep" and on many levels it does. Hopefully I'll find some nice Baltic chic and I can get comfortable with her and show her my relationship side which can be a gift and a curse. All I can do is take it one day at a time and keep a level head about things. I gotta let the Facebook kinda die down a bit so send me a message if you want but keep the wall traffic to a minimum for the time being too many peeps want to know about this or that and in some ways I know someone is watching names need not be said. I think I'm gonna get something to shut down this cold or maybe take the day off tomorrow if I'm not feeling it I'm just not feeling it. Other than that safe travels my friends and it would be nice if there was some more feedback or questions people may or may not have about being in a place where you're the only one who looks like you.
I met a few black dudes at this party we had last week it sucks cuz they are from France or Finland and all the brothers back home know that shit don't count no disrespect or anything but they just ain't the same all pretty much clean cut and boring European types who don't seem to have that blackness I'm used to, that's part of the problem with our race I hate to say it but we ain't going to do anything really until we can accept each other for who we are. People say oh but you're black he's black nah man it's a difference and a good example of that is Africa how is anybody down there gonna get their stuff together when they are still killing each other over next to nothing some tribe did this 100 years ago so we gotta kill all of that tribe it's the same thing as gang violence on a much bigger scale all I'm saying is so what if we are different our skin color is the same and we need to start looking at each other the way we would our Brother. Look at the Koreans in the USA those mofos are always together at least 75% of the time and it doesn't matter they date Koreans for the most part and that's just the way it is. I went to Florida before I rolled over here and my man broke it down for me "I don't even look at black girls..." "all they want is a free ride and for you to be their baby's father" which in his case might be true honestly unfortunately he is right on many different levels I can honestly say I haven't dated a black girl since before the Towers dropped I'm not glamorizing it in any way but hey there's no black chics in the mid Atlantic that really look twice at a guy like me I worked in a grocery store and when u work somewhat lower jobs you attract chicken head hoes... Sad to say but white girls give a brother like me more play cuz they see who I am I guess instead of judging a book by it's cover they want to open the book and read all the chapters for good or bad. I'm gonna close it off like that I gotta get some food or something to knock me out so I can sleep good and feel better than I do today the weather is crazy right now out here like one day it's windy the next it's calm then it's raining then it's a mild evening like no wind 55-60 degrees like real flu weather. Oh yeah I almost forgot(there he goes again) I had the pleasure of going to a reggae party in the center of Tallinn and it was pretty dope they had a black chic come on stage and perform and it was good to see a sistah doin her thing she really ripped it, they had these Estonian rappers and they were getting mad love from the crowd I felt like being at the twilight zone back in Maryland in the late 90s when Blackstar performed they had a helluva show but there was a lot of that Baltimore hatred if you're not from there then u have no idea they really hate on anyone trying to come up in the rap game its sad but true. On that note back to the dorm I'll see y'all. BTW I got my Estonian phone number and I'm making moves...
I met a few black dudes at this party we had last week it sucks cuz they are from France or Finland and all the brothers back home know that shit don't count no disrespect or anything but they just ain't the same all pretty much clean cut and boring European types who don't seem to have that blackness I'm used to, that's part of the problem with our race I hate to say it but we ain't going to do anything really until we can accept each other for who we are. People say oh but you're black he's black nah man it's a difference and a good example of that is Africa how is anybody down there gonna get their stuff together when they are still killing each other over next to nothing some tribe did this 100 years ago so we gotta kill all of that tribe it's the same thing as gang violence on a much bigger scale all I'm saying is so what if we are different our skin color is the same and we need to start looking at each other the way we would our Brother. Look at the Koreans in the USA those mofos are always together at least 75% of the time and it doesn't matter they date Koreans for the most part and that's just the way it is. I went to Florida before I rolled over here and my man broke it down for me "I don't even look at black girls..." "all they want is a free ride and for you to be their baby's father" which in his case might be true honestly unfortunately he is right on many different levels I can honestly say I haven't dated a black girl since before the Towers dropped I'm not glamorizing it in any way but hey there's no black chics in the mid Atlantic that really look twice at a guy like me I worked in a grocery store and when u work somewhat lower jobs you attract chicken head hoes... Sad to say but white girls give a brother like me more play cuz they see who I am I guess instead of judging a book by it's cover they want to open the book and read all the chapters for good or bad. I'm gonna close it off like that I gotta get some food or something to knock me out so I can sleep good and feel better than I do today the weather is crazy right now out here like one day it's windy the next it's calm then it's raining then it's a mild evening like no wind 55-60 degrees like real flu weather. Oh yeah I almost forgot(there he goes again) I had the pleasure of going to a reggae party in the center of Tallinn and it was pretty dope they had a black chic come on stage and perform and it was good to see a sistah doin her thing she really ripped it, they had these Estonian rappers and they were getting mad love from the crowd I felt like being at the twilight zone back in Maryland in the late 90s when Blackstar performed they had a helluva show but there was a lot of that Baltimore hatred if you're not from there then u have no idea they really hate on anyone trying to come up in the rap game its sad but true. On that note back to the dorm I'll see y'all. BTW I got my Estonian phone number and I'm making moves...
The weekend that was or was it
Well I been here for two weeks and bam some dude on the bus with a bunch of drunk Estonians drops the N bomb. Oh well you gotta be like MLK out here and not the Brother Minister Malcolm. That was pretty like disturbing but in the back of my mind it had to happen sometime or another. Besides I been called Nigger since I lived in Florida so its always been there lingering around. I found out a day or two later that Nigger is a word for black in Estonian language...At the end of the day racism is too big of a problem for me to worry about it. A few days later I was in the computer lab at school and a guy came up to me and was like ''...so you're a real American?'' and I'm like yeah I guess. I automatically thought of the Hulk Hogan theme song ''I am a Real American''. I started hanging out with my tutor and a few other tutors from school, its good to hang out with some people a lil closer to my age, they seem nice and inviting for good conversations about relationships and well maybe a little gossip too, but its fun to know who is into who and what is into what. Other wise it would be sort of boring I'm not one to gossip really and people know that I go to my wits end to find out the truth before I say anything and if it isn't true then I don't mention it.
Now about the girls: being black does'nt really hurt your chances in the Baltic States, the Lithuanian girls are pretty nice and the Estonian girls love to stare and give a little smirk, the only trouble I'm having is finding out when it's appropriate to cross the line into-- like do u wanna go get some food or something? At the same time you do not wanna ruin a good thing when you have it going, so I'm kinda at a crossroads, the guys are gonna be jealous of you no matter how you act. I have had some good times in the bars with the girls dancing, that's another thing, the way we dance in the states is like basically sex on the dance floor, which is not how they do it over here unless you are actually with the girl you are dancing with. So your best bet is to just follow their lead and dance with the flow. I have found a ffew bars that have a dance floor and have a pretty good DJ Embassy Bar is one of these places, the only thing is that the club does'nt really jump off til about 12:30 or 1 am so going out can be cool but its best to do it in groups. The club doesnt literally end until about 4 am and at that point there is no Public Transportation and if you dont speak the language good luck with the cabs. You can call them and the price will be about half of what you will pay if you take a standing cab, go figure but some cabs will totally rip you off if you let them. Either way being black you should probably be in a group of people after a certain hour because it can be a toss up for your safety and your humility.
After my last run in with a cab driver I tried to give my address I got frustrated and totally walked home which from the city center is an hour long wake give or take 10 minutes but it gets shorter every time you walk it. I was just informed that its time for class sorry to leave ya hangin but you get the point.
Now about the girls: being black does'nt really hurt your chances in the Baltic States, the Lithuanian girls are pretty nice and the Estonian girls love to stare and give a little smirk, the only trouble I'm having is finding out when it's appropriate to cross the line into-- like do u wanna go get some food or something? At the same time you do not wanna ruin a good thing when you have it going, so I'm kinda at a crossroads, the guys are gonna be jealous of you no matter how you act. I have had some good times in the bars with the girls dancing, that's another thing, the way we dance in the states is like basically sex on the dance floor, which is not how they do it over here unless you are actually with the girl you are dancing with. So your best bet is to just follow their lead and dance with the flow. I have found a ffew bars that have a dance floor and have a pretty good DJ Embassy Bar is one of these places, the only thing is that the club does'nt really jump off til about 12:30 or 1 am so going out can be cool but its best to do it in groups. The club doesnt literally end until about 4 am and at that point there is no Public Transportation and if you dont speak the language good luck with the cabs. You can call them and the price will be about half of what you will pay if you take a standing cab, go figure but some cabs will totally rip you off if you let them. Either way being black you should probably be in a group of people after a certain hour because it can be a toss up for your safety and your humility.
After my last run in with a cab driver I tried to give my address I got frustrated and totally walked home which from the city center is an hour long wake give or take 10 minutes but it gets shorter every time you walk it. I was just informed that its time for class sorry to leave ya hangin but you get the point.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Freedom Square
This is a major landmark in the center of Tallinn. I can feel it getting colder and colder...
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Here goes nothing
Another week is underway here in Tallinn and I gotta tell you guys this place is growing on me slowly but surely. I am starting to take different busses and getting around town is getting easier and easier, if you ask me simplicity is the norm out here. Other than the free wifi which is just about everywhere in the city center it seem like people have a good grasp of what they need. Overall its more about what you need and not what you want. I still dont have TV and I'm just about done with this Jay-Z book so my reading selection is about to be resduced to the suggested readings of my professors, I hope they are good books but as long as its media related it should be good for me, I dont read much but when I do it is books that I can relate to or am interested in but I will tell you that I havent read this much in my life back home I only really read books on the toilet or skimmed thru something here and there, but here time is of the essence and I got a heluva lot of it on my hands.
I don't wanna turn this blog into a movie critic blog which those of you who know me, know I can do that pretty easy if I wanted to. But I saw Lars Von Tier's newest movie last night called Melahoolia with Kirsten Dunst, Keifer Sutherland and the kind of ugly kind of sexy chic from The Science of Sleep, visually it was pretty stunning, the sound was great and the actors performances were pretty remarkable. We had a group assignment to watch the film in a group take a picture with your group and write a short review about the movie. I was the only American in the group and I was also the only one who didn't really like the movie overall. If you are planning on seeing the movie then you should probably stop reading this right now and flick back to Facebook or something. I was not thrilled by the tone of the film which as you can tell with the title Melanhoolia (Melancholy)it would be pretty sad, well that's exactly what I got from it, Kirsten Dunst plays some depressed chic who brings everyone around her some form of depression, she's like a parasite eating away at anyone trying to have a good time, add to that the whole end of the world theme and there's your movie. It just was long and dragged on to me and I just couldn't get into the movie like that. There is no explanation for her depression other than the possibility that it could have been hereditary based on the actions of her mother. Add to that she is the only person in her family with an American accent and you can kinda see where I'm going with this. Bottom line is if you wanna see a movie with good visuals and sound go for it, but if you need more of a story with some explanation and tying of loose ends then you probably should just go see something else, oh yeah BTW the movie is like 2.5 hours long which is too long for my ass to be sitting in the theater waiting for more to happen. My group members saw different they could relate to certain parts of the film as with the wedding in the first act and they liked the style-- Danish Minimalism style on a larger scale with actors they were accustomed to seeing in this or that or the other. The girls I think were more entranced with Kirsten Dunst who bared all with class I might add and of course''Jack Bauer''. But for me I just needed more you have all this going on and at the same time nothing is really going on. Overall it was an interesting take on the end of the world and for that I can say hey it was OK.
That picture up there is my dinner from a few nights ago tomatoes with Mozzarella and olive oil peper and some slices of turkey, it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I think I'm gonna go check out Mullholland Drive tonight at the theater and see what the deal is, its always good for me to see a David Lynch film over and over again because each time I see one of his films I get a different take o it, that and the fact that I am totally in love with Naomi Watts...Until next time y'all be cool.
That picture up there is my dinner from a few nights ago tomatoes with Mozzarella and olive oil peper and some slices of turkey, it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I think I'm gonna go check out Mullholland Drive tonight at the theater and see what the deal is, its always good for me to see a David Lynch film over and over again because each time I see one of his films I get a different take o it, that and the fact that I am totally in love with Naomi Watts...Until next time y'all be cool.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Weekend came and went without a hitch
It was a good weekend I guess overall aint much happened, just trying to keep it level headed with the news I been getting from people around the world but I wont go into detail. The place seems to be getting easier and easier to get around. The center of town is usually full of life and action. I went out Saturday on my own...yeah not the best idea. I went back to a bar that I had been to the night before, to find them playing hip hop music and fortunately there was no Weezy which if anyone knows me I couldn't ask for much more, just tired of hearing that shit is all. I'm no hater well for the most part I'm not whatever you do is what you do, but lets face it the guy kinda lacks a certain content I am used to something other than money and drugs or whatever, I'm just fed up with hearing that shit, the world is bigger than what he is talking about, but enough about him. The bar was alright my only mistake was coming out too early like 11pm is early, the bars don't get going till like 12 or 1 which where I come from is coming up on the end of the night + I been not going out at hOMe so I could afford to do this. So going out here couldn't be possible if I went out all the time at hOMe. I just gotta get used to the whole way they do things here, like staying out till 4 is normal when at hOMe we are back at the crib by like 2.30-3.00 on the average I guess. But since I was't going out this is all a refresher course for me.
Soon enough I should have my BFM(Baltic Film and Media)ID card which will let me get into movies for free, well of course not all movies you idiots, but certain art house theaters let students go for free. The movies are usually a lil bit old but if you know me you know I'm down to see just about erything. The computer lab has been my savior without it I would be extremely uptight and worrisome, today for the first hour I was here I was watching NFL highlights of course on www.NFL.com cuz that effing espn.com is such a rip off when it comes to highlights I mean c'mon man 30 seconds for highlights are you kidding me? I kinda boycott espn now, they gotta step their online highlights up and would it hurt to put a few shows on your site for the Americans abroad? I miss PTI and tuning into Sprtsnation from time to time or even a little bit of that show before PTI, I cant remember the name of it and it's killing me right now, but lets face it that show hasn't been the same since Max Kellerman left, oh yeah ''Around the Horn''.
They printed our class schedule and split us up into sections but its confusing, whats so hard about printing out a schedule for us that says hey this is when your class starts this is the room number this is your teacher and this is when the class meets instead there is some spread sheet with days and times and then it says except for this day or that day, its really confusing, one of the professors went to Lithuania to teach in a cross educational program so he gave us a project to complete on our own and its like pulling teeth to get the group members to do the project all we have to do is go to the movies watch it talk about it take a picture and write a 3 paragraph evaluation of the film, of course I get stuck writing the shit cuz I'm American but I'm really thinking about muffing the whole thing up and being like ''sorry guys, I guess I just suck at writing in my own language'' and that will be the end of me writing for everyone... Until next time yall be good fellas.
Soon enough I should have my BFM(Baltic Film and Media)ID card which will let me get into movies for free, well of course not all movies you idiots, but certain art house theaters let students go for free. The movies are usually a lil bit old but if you know me you know I'm down to see just about erything. The computer lab has been my savior without it I would be extremely uptight and worrisome, today for the first hour I was here I was watching NFL highlights of course on www.NFL.com cuz that effing espn.com is such a rip off when it comes to highlights I mean c'mon man 30 seconds for highlights are you kidding me? I kinda boycott espn now, they gotta step their online highlights up and would it hurt to put a few shows on your site for the Americans abroad? I miss PTI and tuning into Sprtsnation from time to time or even a little bit of that show before PTI, I cant remember the name of it and it's killing me right now, but lets face it that show hasn't been the same since Max Kellerman left, oh yeah ''Around the Horn''.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
drinkin the night away
Anybody who knows me knows I don't drink. But last night there was a Pub Crawl for International students and I couldn't resist the temptation to finally see what Estonian night life was all about...It was filled with funny and intriguing tasks our group lost to another group but if you ask me it was rigged. We had to crawl and dance into bars get phone numbers and other stupid shit that the drunker you got the funner it was. I drank at about 90% of the bars but I know my limits and I was at capacity, you know tipsy but not stupid drunk. Some of my friends back home well theres no nice way to put it they over do it, theres a difference between getting drunk and slobbering on yourself and well I was at neither level. I don't like the feeling of the room spinning or feeling like I'm gonna throw up shit man I'm 30 years old I don't have time for that shit anymore.
After the game was over I hung out with my tutor and some of her friends she was hosting for the night in her place, we went to a few other bars and shit and one of them had youtube set up where if you requested them to play a song they would youtube it and play it I walked in and ''Black and Yellow'' was blasting, say what you want about Whiz but a motherfuckin hit is a motherfuckin hit no matter how u suckas slice it. After that we went to a karaoke bar and I gotta tell you I listened to some pretty horrible renditions of some classic American Songs, I was tempted to get up there and do a song by Madonna(Borderline) but by then the alcohol wore off and I was not about to go on stage and make a fool of myself on my first true night out in Estonia. I couldn't get a cab so I crashed on the couch which was alright I couldn't get to sleep cuz my stomach was empty and the first world in me wont allow me to go to sleep hungry call it what you want. The night was fun and I had a blast, I just cant do it every night like that only lets say once a week max twice. The bars were cool here and the atmosphere can be pretty inviting, we did walk down a few seedy side streets where there seemed to be some not so nice action going on out there like people about to fight or just some drunken bull shit that I am definitely not gonna be a part of.
After I woke up I got some much needed McDonalds 1€ items which hit the spot just some nuggets and a coke, came back to my room and crashed. It seems as though I might start going out a lil more especially with this light class load after the first week, and oh yeah I'm still working on that resident permit which will determine whether or not I'll be here or back home in time for the NFL playoffs, about 90% of me wants to stay but if I don't get the permit then it wasn't meant to be and at least the NFL season will be at home waiting for me, yall be cool cuz I know I am out here in the Baltic's...
After the game was over I hung out with my tutor and some of her friends she was hosting for the night in her place, we went to a few other bars and shit and one of them had youtube set up where if you requested them to play a song they would youtube it and play it I walked in and ''Black and Yellow'' was blasting, say what you want about Whiz but a motherfuckin hit is a motherfuckin hit no matter how u suckas slice it. After that we went to a karaoke bar and I gotta tell you I listened to some pretty horrible renditions of some classic American Songs, I was tempted to get up there and do a song by Madonna(Borderline) but by then the alcohol wore off and I was not about to go on stage and make a fool of myself on my first true night out in Estonia. I couldn't get a cab so I crashed on the couch which was alright I couldn't get to sleep cuz my stomach was empty and the first world in me wont allow me to go to sleep hungry call it what you want. The night was fun and I had a blast, I just cant do it every night like that only lets say once a week max twice. The bars were cool here and the atmosphere can be pretty inviting, we did walk down a few seedy side streets where there seemed to be some not so nice action going on out there like people about to fight or just some drunken bull shit that I am definitely not gonna be a part of.
After I woke up I got some much needed McDonalds 1€ items which hit the spot just some nuggets and a coke, came back to my room and crashed. It seems as though I might start going out a lil more especially with this light class load after the first week, and oh yeah I'm still working on that resident permit which will determine whether or not I'll be here or back home in time for the NFL playoffs, about 90% of me wants to stay but if I don't get the permit then it wasn't meant to be and at least the NFL season will be at home waiting for me, yall be cool cuz I know I am out here in the Baltic's...
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The days are getting shorter and shorter...
Hey all. Another day has gone by here in Tallinn and it seems as though my professor sure as hell was not lying about losing about 15 minutes everyday. The weather is getting more and more Danish as with the grey skies in the morning and brief rays of sun beaming through at various points in the day. I walked and took some pictures through out the town and I am getting into the swing of things slowly but surely. I had an in front of camera interview today which was pretty interesting I was asked to recite a poem that I could remember and I went with my man Langston Hughes' DREAMS:
Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die
Life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams for if dreams go
Life is a barren field frozen with snow.
Its stuck with me since the 5th grade, it holds true to this day follow your dreams who cares about the rest of life without dreams there is no life, well that's my opinion anyway. If you don't like it then hey you just don't get it. It seems as though I might have a little more experience working with cameras and editing and so forth than some of the other kids but I know my skills need some polishing. I just wanna be able to make quality videos and movies and stuff who cares if I never get a job I'm doing what I love screw the rest. I haven't been out much only to school and to the dorm and maybe thats for the better at this point but as I get more in tune with all that there is around me I'm sure I'll be hanging out in bars and clubs or what have you. Here are a few pics I took over the past few days just walking around finding interesting shots to take here and there I'm no professional photographer or anything but I have been told I take some pretty good pictures...
Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die
Life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams for if dreams go
Life is a barren field frozen with snow.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Classes smashes blashes passes
Classes started and its on. Visual conception seems pretty interesting the professor reminds me of Mick Foley the motivational speaker played by Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live back in the 90's. Today we had a class and my man Obama came up and the kids seemed pretty respectful maybe cuz I'm the only black dude in the class, but its really nothing new coming from Howard County MD, that was pretty common especially if you had an honors class or two...Anyway I'm still waiting for it to get cold and shit but for now I'll enjoy the weather the way it is. I'm walking everywhere and I should be in excellent runner shape for my return to that Charmie Life(Insider term) last night we had an Estonian dinner which was pretty heavy a lotta meats and potatoes, they told me to make an American dinner next time and thats cool Im just gonna fry up some chicken wings and some collard greens if I can find them. Overall it might not be such a bad idea if I never went home again(just kidding)I miss Ben and Jerrys and late night runs to Wendy's but most of all I miss my family and friends too much to stay away, I really don't miss Weezy being played 10x's a day on the radio or The debacle that is Whole Foods Market&of course silly ass Fox News still thinking its relevant for anything more than laughs... We had a cross media class today and it was pretty insightful mostly shit I knew but just didn't know the technical terms that were being used all I could do was take notes and listen the teachers don't seem to seek me out but that should all change once I get into the swing of things. I'm trying to keep a low profile in the classes for now-- no need to draw attention to myself for the time being, I feel like Mao just sit back and wait for a comeback for now. I went to the store today and as my professor stated ''Just going to buy butter can be an experience'' I still gotta get my ID cards and all that shit in order so I can start taking advantage of the benefits that come with the cards like free movies and discounts on the public transportation and all that good stuff. If anyone reading this knows me I'm mainly concerned about the free movies. The language is getting more normal to me but when u get here at first its Ewok talk buddy Ewok talk... Until next time signing off from Tallinn.
Monday, September 5, 2011
I made it
So I made it to Tallinn and let me tell you this place is on some other ish. The transportation is sick and the town is alright, its gonna take some getting used to and some documents need to be sent here or there or wherever before I am granted the Estonian Temporary residence card. I got to the airport and there was no customs at all really. I was greeted by my tutor and went to my dormitory where the room is small but manageable. I am supposed to get a roommate soon but I wouldn't count on it not too many foreigners would be thrilled to see a black guy living in a room with them especially if they aren't used to seeing my kind like ever. Its cheap to go to the movies which is good for me cuz I'll see just about anything, I already saw Midnight in Paris which is a pretty solid movie to see first in a new country, I had second thoughts but when I saw the poster with Owen Wilson all alone in the city of lights I thought to myself I'm alone in Tallinn too so why not! Apparently its gonna get real dark real quick in a few weeks so I'm prepping myself for that. Other than that the food is alright I had some french fries and fried chicken balls for like 4€ and that included the coke. Here's a hint if you order a coke you get one coke don't go guzzling it down cuz each one you drink costs...I learned that in Denmark BTW. Get your coke and chill with it til the food comes, a lotta people wanna know about Mc Donalds well I'll tell you about it, the WI FI is free and the Mc Chicken is a slam dunk its almost made to order which means you are eating Mc Donalds the way it was meant to be eaten-FRESH to Def, its always busy and the people on the register almost always speak <english.
THe Estonian language sounds like something out of a Star Wars movie but its alright and bearable to listen to once you get used to it. My only problem is that most of the girls are extremely attractive which can be a serious distraction, during some of the orientation I said to myself they need to get someone fugly up there so I can pay a little more attention...
Signing off til next time be cool and dont get so frustrated with someone who does not speak English in the states asks you for some help be nice cuz you never know when your'e gonna be a stranger in another country.
THe Estonian language sounds like something out of a Star Wars movie but its alright and bearable to listen to once you get used to it. My only problem is that most of the girls are extremely attractive which can be a serious distraction, during some of the orientation I said to myself they need to get someone fugly up there so I can pay a little more attention...
Signing off til next time be cool and dont get so frustrated with someone who does not speak English in the states asks you for some help be nice cuz you never know when your'e gonna be a stranger in another country.
Monday, August 15, 2011
The adventure begins
So I decided to go back to school in a place I never even really heard of. I got two weeks til I ship off to Estonia and about a week to get everything I need together. People say "you're crazy" or "you've got a lotta balls to do that". And I say you're right-about the second part. But everyone is crazy right? I'm setting up this blog for whoever thinks of coming to the Baltic countries but mainly in Tallinn, Estonia where I will be spending the next 3 school years studying audio visual media at the Baltic Film and Media school. But before any of that can take place I gotta get a student Visa. The Estonian Consulate- uhhh not so helpful with these matters, In fact any time I call them its str8^ attitude city...I am just polite and since I don't know them and they certainly don't know me I let things slide and take her easy. Today's task has been an exercise in repetitive BS. I went to work and came home within 3 hours typical government contract stuff. And now I'm waiting on the coveted dorm room in Estonia. Without the dorm room there can be no insurance provided and without the insurance there can be no student visa and my dream dies before it even starts. The funny thing about Insurance over there is that its cheaper than over here(USA) I mean a year of insurance is 500 bucks for basic coverage, which is all a lotta people need anyway check ups, physicals...That's part of the reason for me going there to see what else the world has to offer good and bad. Well follow this blog tell me what you think or don't but if you check this then you can see what I'm doing without worrying about my 7 hour time difference.
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