Raili in DC ( last days in USA)

08.20.10- My flight from LA had to be in DC by 12am. My friend Raili was also coming from CA and her flight had to arrive an hour before mine. So we made an agreement that she would wait for me there and if we hadn't found each other by 12.30, she would find a way to call me. Everything seemed going by plan until I got to Atlanta, GA where I had my connection flight. Little did I know that by the time I had used the restrooms there would be crazy thuderstorm outside meaning that all the flights were delayed. Just beautiful!

When I finally got to DC, it was almost 2am. and Raili with her big and heavy luggages was freaking out. I found her close to the metro and told her everything that had happened. We were totally ready to go home. We took the metro and were in Van Ness before 3am. From there we decide to take the cab as neither of us couldn't feel our fingers or arms anymore( The bags were mad heavy!). Unfortunately the taxidriver was a jerk. We had to pay 2 dollars more as we had 3 heavy luggages, well I guess that might have been ok, but when we got to my house and I asked him if he could help us to carry the bags upstairs, he asked us 2 more dollars. I was like seriously?!?! I was tired and pissed already so I yelled at him and said "So you just wanna be a jerk and not help us, huh?" I guess he didn't expect that from me so he started apologizing and carrying the luggages upstairs, lol, what a jerk!

Eventhough Raili and I were both tired we didn't find a reason to go to sleep that night as it was already past 3am and our bus to NYC left at 8am. That meant leaving the house in 3,5 hours, so we took a shower, changed our clothes, ate, talked and got ready for NY.

The whole Saturday we spent in NY. We went for the last shopping in Conway, to the Central Park, of course and to the NBC store at Rockefeller. It was quite nice! The ride back to DC was an adventure itself. Our busdriver was a crazy Jersey lady, who broke the bus right after Lincoln tunnel. After 40minutes of waiting for the new bus, our sweet busdriver wanted to make up the time we lost, so....I couldn't really see outside the window, but everything I felt and heard sounded that she was copying the movie "Speed" lol. Luckily we got back to DC safe and sound, and what can you say, on time as well... :S

08.22.10- On Sunday morning we got ready for church. It was pretty much Raili's first time to go to church, so I was really excited. I was sure she will like it, how couldn't she! The service was really nice and pastor Dave even invited me to stand in front of everybody so that they could pray for me, it was so sweet. Aww, how I miss Christ Church :(

On Sunday evening Raili and I made some Estonian pancakes with ground beef stuffing in Estonian way, yeah! I invited my people from Christ Church over an we had a great night. Mark, Jessica, Chaquita, Charles, Michelle, Paolo, Angela and Raili were all there- it made me so happy :) We even had a skype conversation with Lamont all together! What a sweet last Sunday in America.

08.23.10- It was the last day I would see the Luzzatos and also the first day I had seen them since June. It was soo good to see them and they were clearly happy to see me too. I was amazed how much Maeve spoke already. I had missed them so much and couldn't believe it was the last day. It was so hard to say good-bye, especially when Ruby was crying so much. I love and miss them so much!

Later that night we went to see a movie we thought would be funny "Dinner for Schmucks", but it so wasn't. I was so disappointed, but oh well, at least I had nice time with my friends Raili, Michelle, Mark and Jesse :)

08.24.10- On our last day in the States Raili and I went on a quick sightseeing. I showed her the most famous places and we hurried back home as I still needed to pack. My dear girls Emy, Tamara and Juliana( yes, finally Juliana was back as well, on my last day...how sweet lol) came and helped me to pack. I had missed the four of us together for so long. They did a great job helping me and just before I left Michelle came over too. I couldn't have asked a better company to send me off. Oh how I miss them all!!!

I was as ready as I could have been for our 17hour flight back home and couldn't believe it had really been two years...already!?!?

LA, visiting the Hartmans (08.18-20.10)

It was my two year anniversary being in America and I was on my way to LA to see Lamont, Nancy and Selah. I was happy and excited. I was also little sad though as the earlier days I had had lot of  fun with my boys KJ and Justin and leaving to LA meant I wouldn't be seeing them anymore for a long time. But...oh well...there's always skype and LA was just 3 hours away. Couldn't wait to see the Hollywood sign, another dream of mine :)

It was so good to see Lamont and Nancy again and oh boy how much Selah had grown. Lamont was the best guide ever and took me straight to the Walk of Fame. There were so many stars and the walk was so long. I didn't really want to go too far as it was so hot outside, so I took my pictures with the stars that were close to me and luckily some of my favorite like Sandra Bullock and Charlize Theron were there( not in real person, but as a pink stars). I also saw the Kodak Theatre were all the Oscars are, the Chinese Theatre, Beverly Hills, Rodeo drive and glimpse of Hollywood sign.

The next day Lamont and Nancy took me to the Santa Monica beach. It was amazing, just like in the "Baywatch". It was my first time to swim in the Pacific Ocean and I was pretty disappointed, as it was so freacking cold. Nevertheless, I tried out these waves and were satisfied with myself. In the evening Lamont took me to the "In'n'out burger" that was CA must have and it did taste delicious.

On my last day there Lamont and I went for a search of a good view to the Hollywood sign. We lost it couple of times behind the trees and buildings, but finally got a good spot. It had been wonderful three days with my old pastor and his family, but it was time to go back to DC.

I can't stop mentioning the book Lamont gave me when I left. It's called "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson and it's the best book I have read so far, no kidding. It made me think about my life in a different way and I wish that all my friends would read it someday.

My farewell party (08.07.2010)

My dearest host family had planned for this party for weeks. They made all the food and asked me what would I like to have. It was so sweet of them.  All my friends who could come were invited and even Nicholas and Sophia were waiting for it. The party started at 4PM and knowing my friends I knew that nobody will be there on time.

Chris Lopez arrived with couple of his friends little before 5PM and some minutes later Mirja arrived with Sian. This was the little group we started eating with as I was really hungry and that food smelled so darn good. I would say that about 5:30PM Kevin and Justin arrived and after that Emy. Now we almost had the whole crew, only Michelle and Paolo were missing. As Michelle's time could have ment two more hours, we started with the cake. My host family made this beautiful speech that made me almost cry and Sophia and Nicholas both came and whispered that they love me. Awwwwww!!!

Finally Michelle came with Paolo, just little before we were finished lol. It's ok, I still love you, Michelle ;) The night was still young though, so Emy, KJ, Justin and I went out for a roll. We didn't have a definite plan so we were everywhere from SE to Chinatown until we ended up in the "Muse". It was quite a night, at least some of us had fun lol. That day I also found out that Justin was actually really funny, way funnier then I had expected him to be. All the upcoming days these two just cracked me up!

Having this amazing (host)family and wonderful friends makes me think every day how blessed I have been having them in my life. God's grace is amazing!

I remember all the people I have met and often think about each one of them ( J. Lotman)

Dominican Republic (June 2010)

I knew that on my second week of vacation I would love to go to a different country, somewhere warm. Mexico and Cancun was the first choice, but as my friend Raili didn't get a vacation and I didn't know anybody there, it was out. I came to talk with my friend Marie, who had married a Dominican and lived there with her husband now. She talked about the country and the people in such a great way and the pictures I saw of Dominican Republic were just amazing. So she invited me over and for my luck the tickets were really cheap at that time, so I bought them and was ready for my first Caribbean adventure.

Two weeks before my trip I heard from Marie that she was extreamly sick and going back home to Denmark two days before I would arrive. I was really sad to hear that, because I had been so excited to see her. I also knew that I couldn't change my flight anymore and moreover, I really wanted to go. So we made a plan that I will still go, but instead of staying with her, I will go to Boca Chica beach for 2 days and then to Santo Domingo where her husband Sandy would meet me up. So Dominican, watch out for rubia lol!

The two days I spent in Boca Chica were definitely the BEST beach days in my life. The hotel Dominican Bay where I stayed was beautiful! Free food and drinks all day long. Dream beach with turquoise sea and white sand was just 2 minutes away and the people were so friendly. I made friends on every step, mostly guys of course...hmm I wonder why?...lol

On the second day I went horseback riding with some Americans from another hotel. It was a ranch about 30minutes away from my hotel. It was pretty much my first time riding a horse and I loved it. I had no idea that riding a horse was so much fun. We passed some old caves and lot of mango trees, it was really something special :)

One day before I went to Santo Domingo I made one of my other dreams come true. I went scuba-diving! I was kind of nervous to do it alone, but hey I was already in Dominican all by myself, what else could I lose lol. So there I was, having all my scuba-gear on me, desperately trying to remember all I had learn earlier in the morning in scuba lesson. It was really scary to fall out from the bout backwards, but again, you gotta do what you gotta do. Holding on to a rope and diving slowly down was the worst. I had never had such a huge headache before. Also my ears were locked and the pain was killing me. I had to come up to the surface once more and try to go back down even slower. I remember it still hurt a lot, but I was willing to do it, just to get to the bottom at least once.

There I was, happily 98 feet deep( that is 30meters). The sea around me looked so calm and peaceful. There were lot of colorful fishes around me and I even saw a ray. That was definitely worth the pain.

I met Sandy and Armando the same day by mistake. They came to Boca Chica to find me and I had no idea they were there as I had left the hotel early morning. So I just happened to be swimming on the side I never did and see a familiar face swimming close to me, it turned out to be Sandy. What a sweet coincidence!

We also met two American teachers from Boston with who we chilled the whole night dancing merengue and drinking Presidente.

The next day Armando came to pick me up and take me to Santo Domingo. Alison came with us which made me really happy as she was our little translator( she was Spanish teacher). The last days in Santo Domingo went really fast.  During a day I took a guided tour in downtown which was pretty intersting.  And at nights I went out with Sandy, Armando, Alison, Liz and Hiyordani. The last night they took us to this Dominican club, where we were the only white and clearly Americans, at least that's what everybody thought, well to be quite honest, they weren't so wrong.

In conclusion, Dominican definitely stole my heart with its beautiful nature, fun music and chill free-spirited people. A total dream destination!!!

06.06.2010

After almost two years living in America and growing closer to God, I finally decided to get baptized. It happened in Christ Church on Embassy row. Pastor Dave baptized me and I couldn't have been happier having all my church people there for me.
I want the Heaven to describe me as one of those rare people who live to achive Great Things for the glory of God.
"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

May 2010- dad and brothers visiting the States

My 21st birthday this year was really special. Five days before that my dad, brothers and their mom came to visit me. Almost two years of saving payed off and here they were. Furthermore, I got my one week vacation, so I truly enjoyed every second with them. We started off from New York, were we stayed for 3 days. We went to see the Statue of Liberty and to the "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" live recording with Tarja. It was soo cool. I saw the Roots and Ellen Pompeo was a guest. She was so sweet, but so much more skinnier than in "Grey's Anatomy".
In DC we rent a car, so I was the driver for the last four days, yeah son! I took them to all of my favorite places and to a Nationals baseball game, which they loved.
My host family was really happy to meet them and so were they. My brothers found the same language with Nicholas pretty fast and soon enough they were playing doctor together lol. It was so sweet.

It was my birthday on the 7th and in the evening we went to the restaurant called "Bambule". Most of my dear friends were there as well: Chaquita, Sahaira, Brigitte and Michelle. I was really happy to introduce them to my family. I couldn't have asked a better birthday present. 

My first wedding- Mark and Jesse

My dear friends Mark and Jessica from Christ Church were getting married. I couldn't have been more happy for them as I knew how much they loved each other.
So in December 2009 two cool things happened. First, Jessica's bachelorette party, were we drove inside of a Hummer limousine and had a great girls night. And second, the wedding itself, which was my first ever. It was so beautiful and it made me feel very special to be there for their big day, when so many of our friends couldn't make it because of the crazy snowstorm.

 I love you Mark and Jessica and can't wait to meet little Noah Louis :)

California- visiting Raili

It was the Thanksgiving week in 2009 and my host family was going to the Bahamas, which ment that I got 7 days off without taking my vacation. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!!! :)

I decided to go and see my dear friend Raili, who had been au pair in Watsonville, CA for 3 months now. I hadn't seen her since I came to the States, so it had been exactly 15moths from that. And I was even more excited as it was my first trip to the west coast. I think there's no need to mention how I was counting the days.

It was sweet reunion with a friend I had known from a kindergarten and nice to hear some Estonian after a while. Raili's host mom was Estonian as well, so there was plenty to talk about for the whole week. We drove through San Jose to Watsonville, which was a cute little town with  lot of latinos. It really felt like walking in Mexico as everybody was staring at us with their little sombreroes and yelling something in Spanish lol, it was hilarious.

For two days we went to San Francisco with Raili. It had also been one of my dreams, and as it's always fun to fulfill them,  it's meaningless to mention that so it was. We went to the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Alamo Square, Chinatown and to a huge park, which name I can't remember at the moment.

When we got back to Watsonville, Raili's host mom Kätlin made a Thanksgiving in Estonian style lol, meaning that besides American food there was also yummy Estonian food. What a treat!!!

The last day they took me to the Monterey Aquarium. It was the first time in my life I saw penguins :)

Penn State-a glimpse of American college student

I had always wanted to go to an American university or at least see the life of it. So when my good friend KJ said that I could come and visit him one weekend, I couldn't be more excited. I had never been in Pennsylvania before, so didn't really know what to expect. On the way to the university I was amazed seeing the most beautiful nature I had seen on the east coast so far. All the beautiful green trees and hills with little lakes and rivers, it was unbelievable . I felt like in a "Little house of prairie".
When I finally got to the campus it was exactly how I had imagined it, except it wasn't a movie but a real university with a real people lol. KJ took me around the campus showing me all the main buildings and frats in the area. Talking about the frats, there were so many of them and they were so freaky, everything that KJ told me about them...lol only in America!

KJ also took me to a nice church named Calvary where I met a lady who had just come from Estonia from a mission trip. How crazy was that! The church had this little program or something going on where you could pray for the orphanage and poor children around the world. It was really deep, but rather beautiful(with British accent). Overall, the weekend in Penn State was the bomb lol. I really had fun and realized how much I would love to study in America. One day...one day ;)

My girlies!

Juliana, Emy, Tamara and I made a great fantastic four. We had always something bad to say to each other lol, sometimes also something good, but generally it was just messing around with each other and having blast. And also, our crew had one redhair, one brunette, one blonde and one blacky, so we weren't really missing anything :P

All the crazy things we usually would have done, we decided to relax and go to Ruby's Tuesday. The night turned out to be really fun. Even the waitress came to talk with us and asked us where were we from because we all talked so loud with our different little accents and laughing our heads off. Ohh, how I miss that night!!! And dancing on the streets later...lmbo...I wonder if Juliana still has the video.

In different reasons I didn't see my dear Michelle and Brigitte as much as I would have wanted, talking about Keeta lol. But I do have special memories with each one of them and miss all my girls more than words can say. Love you all!!!