ESTONIA DIARY (1)

by Tina Engelbart

Monday, May 25, 1998

We are finally on our way. With the death of my mother and her funeral on Saturday, May 23, our Estonia schedule becomes very tight. We left Kennedy airport at 5:55 p.m. and are enjoying our Finnair flight non-stop to Helsinki.

Tuesday, May 26, 1998

By now we lost 7 hours of sleep and have travelled through 7 time zones. Arrived in Helsinki at 9 a.m. We had a surprise -- the temperature was about 40 degrees after leaving a hot New York in the high 80’s. At 9:30 we were bused to an Estonian Air commuter plane for a 1/2 hr. flight to Tallinn. There we went throught the easiest customs in our life--the luggage was not x-rayed and no questions asked. We only showed our passports and had them stamped.

After customs we saw Margit’s smiling face. Margit is a young lady and our newest baptized member in Estonia.


Newest UCG member
Margit Kaljas who speaks
fluently in Estonian, Russian
and English.

She drove 2 hours from Tartu to pick us up in her personal car. She was able to do that because her work hours are flexible. She works as an English and German translator for a Swedish lumber company. On the way to Tartu we had a good, long talk This was easy since she is fluent in English (and knows 5 other languages). We talked about the recent church split and the local challenges the Estonians are facing.

We then arrived at Luule Lepik’s flat with whom we are staying for the duration of our trip. (We found out that Luule means poem in Estonian, and she does also write poems). She lives there with her 18 yr. old daughter Anneli who was preparing for exams and for the school year-end. They live in a 3 story building with four flats on each floor. Of course, hers was on the top floor and there is no elevator. We are definitely going to get our exercise . Luule was cooking up a storm. We thought she had invited the whole building for lunch. We decided to just sample the Estonian borscht (similar to a Russian beet soup) -- the jet lag suddenly hit us -- and save the rest for the evening. Then we hit the sack for a 3 hour nap at 2:30 p.m. Luule let us use her bedroom. (Anneli has her own bedroom. And then there is the kitchen and bathroom. And this is the layout of most of the apartments not only in Estonia, but also in Russia. They were all built during Soviet times along the same lines.) Then we got up at 5:30 just in time for supper.

These are the days of the White Nights. The sun doesn’t set until after 10 o’clock. It seems so strange for it to be light out when it should be dark. We talked with Luule about scheduling all the things we need to accomplish in preparation for Pentecost and for the Feast of Tabernacles. Tomorrow Luule leaves for work at 5 a.m. She rents a space like a stall (which she owns) in an enclosed meat market that is owned by the city of Tartu, for which she pays 200 EEKs a month. There she sells fresh pieces of beef which she herself has to cut up after hauling the carcasses to the place. She works there till 5 p.m. Then she comes home, changes clothes and immediately leaves for her second job, which is cleaning for a bank , for 1 hour. Then she is home at 6 to cook the meal.(s).

Estonia this time of year is absolutely beautiful. The lilacs are in blooms and there are masses and masses of them tantalizing you with their heady aroma. The fields are covered with wild flowers. There seems to be more hope and optimism in the air -- whether it’s because of spring after enduring a long hard, winter, or because of looking forward to joining the European union with its hoped-for prospects of an


Luule Lepik's meat counter at the
Tartu Turg. On the right is
Margit Kaljas' mother who operates
adjacent counter

easier life, or both. But life in Estonia is still difficult as it is in all of eastern Europe, even though it seems to be a little easier than in Russia itself. Those who have jobs work long hours for little pay, and those who are on pensions have a hard time making it. Right now the EEK (Estonian Kron) is 14 to 1$., which it was also at the time we were there last fall for the Feast. So at least the currency is comparatively stable -- more so than in Russia. But the pensioners receive about 1000 EEKs per month.. By the time they pay for their flats and utilities, there is very little left for food.

Luule has severe health problems causing her so much pain that she can’t carry the firewood for her kitchen stove up the 3 flights of stairs . She can barely eat anything and consequently has lost much weight. In addition. she has gall stones which also cause her pain.. Ozzie anointed her for these health problems.

Wednesday, May 27, 1998

We are writing this at sunset which is at 10:30 p.m. However, I have to write fast since the electricity went out and it’s getting too dark to write. Today we slept in late until about 11 a.m. -- to catch up on our sleep. Had a light lunch. In Estonia, breakfasts and lunches consist of what are called "butterbrots" which is a German word meaning a type of sandwich. What it consists of is basically a piece of bread -- usually rye, or dark European bread, sometimes white bread, buttered, with either a piece of cheese or a piece o f meat like smoked beef (for us), or sardines, or left-over meat from the night before, etc. with maybe a cucumber or pickle on top. And one or two of those, depending on hunger, with something to drink is breafast or lunch. Eggs are not a common breakfast dish. Usually they are hardboiled and eaten with butterbrots. The Estonians eat a lot of fish, and being so close to the Baltic and having several large fresh water lakes, you can see why.

Then Margit came and off we went to do the business for the day. First we went to see where Luule works in her place at the meat market. If you are used to seeing your meat all covered with cellophane, you would be surprised at this market. Every piece of meat is out in the open. Various counters sell various meats of various animals. There is a definite and a wide variety of meat smells there. But since it is a type of food market rather than a grocery store, the meat (and the other items they sell) are less expensive and many time fresher. And much of the meat is imported from Germany.

Then we went to the Tartu city hospital to see Ylo Maaring. He is there awaiting a bypass surgery. Before you can go into the cardiology ward, you have to buy blue plastic slippers (bags) to put over your shoes so you don’t bring in foreign germs. Ylo was in a type of a "waiting room", with four other men in their colorful pajams , i.e. a room they have to wait in until the doctors are ready to do the operation. His was postponed several times now because others with more severe emergencies needed to be operated on. We gave him all the mail and gifts that people from the U.S. and Tasmania asked us to forward. He showed us a stack of mail that he himself had received from brethren all over the world. He thanked everyone for their prayers and concern. Ylo looked rested (he actually had rosy cheeks) although was not looking forward to the operation. After that, he will have the rest of his teeth pulled (he has abscesses) and will be fitted for dentures in August if all goes well.


Ozzie and Margit at
Tartu Mickey Dee's

We asked him about Harri in Johve, which is a city in northern Estonia. Harri is a young man who came to the Feast last year in Tartu. He has a skeletal deterioration disease from birth which is steadily getting worse. Although he was walking some of the time, he needed to use a wheel chair a lot. His situation has worsened considerably, and now his knees have given out. And his mother is showing signs of the same disease. So he can’t come to Tartu to church services anymore since he also has to take care of her, and he himself is now unable to make the long bus trip .

Then we scheduled an appointment with the manager at the Kantri Motel where we had our Feast last year and where we are again scheduled this year. And we also made an appointment with the Hotel. Taru, a 3 star hotel inside the city, so we could have a better negotiating position with the Kantri..

Had a little free time, so Tina and Margit went shopping and Ozzie checked out the local MacDonald’s to do a comparison check (the Big Mac cost $1.50 and a cup of coffee $.25). Then we went into a grocery store to do a little grocery shopping and home to Luule’s where we finished planning our Pentecost weekend and off to bed after our late sunset..

(To be Continued)