And then, one day, its spring

When we left for Berlin, Estonia had been thawing for a few weeks already. The stairways that were once treacherous ice paths had turned into downhill flowing streams, and the sound of running water everywhere made the entire town of Tartu sound like it was coming to life. Since I arrived, I'd taken the mountains of snow in the town square as a part of the landscape. Suddenly, literally overnight, they were gone. Within a week the trees that had been the black contrast to the snow went from dead to bursting with all different shades of green. The park across from the main building that had looked like a snowy mountain was transformed into green, grassy hills with big leafy trees, and suddenly there were hundreds of Estonians!

We came back just in time for the beginning of the Estonian tradition of Student Days. We had been told, incorrectly, that the students were given the keys to the city and that they controlled the city government for that week. We were also told that the first thing they always did was cancel school. I had planned to go to Sweden with a friend for the whole week, but it was a great thing that the plans fell through, as we all had classes that week. The first night, I saw more Estonians than I had seen all semester. There was a song festival on the town square, where a mens chorus led the crowd in some traditional, and some less traditional, songs. From there the whole crowd started moving towards the base of Dome Hill, which is like a big bowl in the ground. This is where I sledded, made snow angels, and built a snow man for the first time only a month and a half before. Now it was a slightly damp, but very grassy basin. By this time it was dark outside, and the bowl started filling up quickly with students, children, and citizens of every age from the city. A band on a stage across the way led the crowd in traditional Estonian songs, and the crowd of what had to be thousands of people sang and danced and celebrated their country together. It was an incredible sight. Even though I couldn't understand the words, I could feel the pride these people had in their small, young country. I couldn't help feeling sad that Austin couldn't do things like this, but its a different culture, a different place, and a much smaller town.

All week long, the park that was now green was overflowing with students and stages and vans promoting different alcoholic beverages. The college students looked like they could be from any campus in the US, with groups representing all of the different cliques on campus, sitting on blankets, playing guitars, kicking around hackey sacks, and just having a good time with their friends.

I had always thought that Estonia was vastly different from what I was used to based on how Estonians acted out on the town square. It was always muted, there weren't very many people out, and the ones that were loud were normally drunk university students out late at night, or Estonians out late at the local pubs. Now, as the sun comes out more and more every day, the Estonians are coming out into the town. The entire town square is covered in decks that each match their restaurant, and on these decks appeared chairs, tables, and umbrellas. Some even have plants potted into their fences. These tables are always filled with patrons, and the once-silent town square is always filled with the sound of people talking. The kissing students fountain, which until now I had always thought of as a statue, was finally turned on last week. So now, along with the babble of voices, there is the rushing water and trickle of the fountain that Tartu is so famous for.

As I have tried to take in the changes happening to my new home, I realized that I am falling even deeply in love with this country. I explained it to a friend like this:
Say you meet someone who has just been in an accident, so they are slightly out of sorts. You fall in love with them anyway, and you love them just the way they are. Then, suddenly, they are healed, and they are even better than you need them to be. Its like your emotions overflow, because that person is now more incredible to you than you ever expected. That is how the sunshine, the green trees, and the blue sky of Estonia make me feel.