I've wanted to introduce distant readers to the Estonian word for snowshoes for many winters now. Finally, I got my chance before the snow melts! At least our snow over here in Eesti, because we've still got a lot of it to melt. My friend Andres Ideon had barely managed to post some winter hike pics on Facebook when I knew my chance had arrived, since I myself have yet to experience a räätsamatk (snowshoe hike), rabamatk (bog hike) with the help of räätsad, or what I can only imagine to be the glorious experience of strapping blades to your boots and skating on the ice-capped sea.

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Published: March 12 2010

bbn.ee - Swedbank and SEB, the two largest lenders in the Baltics, had their credit rating outlooks changed to stable from negative at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which said the Baltic economies are stabilizing, reports Bloomberg.

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Published: March 12 2010

bbn.ee - On May 29, tens of thousands of blondes will parade through the Latvian capital of Riga, as part of the city’s annual Go Blonde festival. The event, originally conceived to uplift the public mood during the country’s economic crisis is rapidly becoming a major tourist attraction for the whole region, and is expected to generate significant donations for Latvian child charity.

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Published: March 12 2010

The speech on the Estonian 92nd Anniversary Celebration  in New York

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our “aktus” on the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the birth of the Republic of Estonia - a small windswept country situated on cliffs and with rocky soil in a geopolitically rather inhospitable corner of Northeastern Europe. Still, the Estonians persevere. This is our 4th of July, and I congratulate you - I congratulate us on this festive occasion!
I grew up in an Estonian refugee family in the US, but I returned to Europe in 1979, and for the past two decades I’ve lived in Pääsküla on the periphery of Tallinn.

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Published: March 12 2010

Greetings from sunny Arizona!  As in the past few years I have again attended the "Eesti Vabariigi Aastapäev"  gathering of local Arizona Estonians in the Phoenix area. For me it is a 400 mile round trip by car even though I also live in the same state of Arizona, but worth going to every year. The annual event took place in Mesa, AZ, this past Sunday, 21 February  at the home of Jim and Linda Abbott, Linda's mother having come from Estonia. Also, this year it was drizzling rain which happens quite infrequent in the desert climate. There was plenty of ethnic foods such as hapukapsa supp, sült  and verivorstid along with desserts like kringel and much, much more. It was a very joyous occasion among folks who come from afar and many who see each other only once a year.

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Published: March 01 2010

World Artists Experiences and the International Division of Maryland’s Office of the Secretary of State, in conjunction with Frostburg University, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Southern Maryland Center for Higher Education, Salisbury University, and Towson University, invite the public to attend free screenings of five international films, one each from Argentina, Estonia, Korea, Nigeria, and Russia. The Bridges to the World International Film Series is a statewide, month-long initiative in recognition of the State’s global reach and a reflection of those connections here in Maryland.
The series will run for five weeks from February 8 through March 12 at five venues throughout the state. Each film will be introduced, screened, and followed by a discussion.  Presentations begin at 7:00 p.m.  All films will be shown with English subtitles.  
The schedule for the Estonian film “December Heat” (“Detsembrikuumus”) is as it follows:

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Published: February 22 2010

The Estonian Institute offers scholarships to holders of a doctoral degree or Master’s or to Doctoral students who are citizens of a foreign state and are studying at a university abroad, to write a research paper on an Estonia-related topic or to gather material for it.
The deadlines are March 1, and October 1, 2010.
The scholarship is designated to cover living expenses, tuition fees and costs directly connected with the research; it may be granted for a period ranging from five to ten months. The scholarship for a five-month period is 40 000 EEK (appr. $3,400).
Knowledge of Estonian is an advantage but not a requirement.

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Published: February 22 2010

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University has established a new study abroad program with the University of Tartu (UT), one of the most prestigious centers of learning in northern Europe. Ranked as one of the world’s top 600 universities, UT is a robust research institution with a beautiful and historic campus dating back to the 1600s.
Starting in the fall of 2010, “Salisbury Abroad: Estonia” will allow SU students to live in Tartu and explore European studies and business at UT for the same cost as in-state tuition and housing in Salisbury.  Located on the banks of the Emajõgi River, Tartu is known as a city of young people with a rich heritage and culture.

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Published: February 01 2010