A Tartu Family Reunion: 10 Years Later

It's hard to believe it's been 10 whole years since I packed my bag and moved halfway around the world.  Trips since have made me wonder how I did it, since language barrier is something I have constant anxiety about while traveling. I tell myself I've done it before, and I still wonder how! (It's also been a long time since I've written one of these...) 

As I landed in Tallinn, I wondered if I had thought I'd return to Estonia. When people have asked about my year abroad, I've always known that what made my experience were the friends I made and the times we had. A few of them stayed longer than I did, one has moved in and out, but largely my friend group dispersed back to their home countries. Without them, Tartu isn't the same. So did I think I'd come back? I wasn't avoiding it, but it's a long way to go! 

Our group chat has been talking about a reunion for a while now, and while it sort of had a timeline, it also came together fairly last minute (at least for this long-range planner). But five of us managed to traverse Europe, Tallinn, and arrive in the 2024 European Capital of Culture! I did try the rhubarb and mint Capital of Culture-branded soda... not bad. 

With work schedules, we only had a long weekend, but we tried to make the most of it. We visited the restaurants that still exist and all the new construction: a new shopping center in the middle of town, a new museum (I'd visited the site previously had it just smelled of horse), plenty of remodeled and new housing,  pop-up bars in parks and along the river, roadworks... My internal compass wasn't as strong in Tallinn, but Tartu's came back, no problem. It didn't feel like coming home, but was certainly somewhere I knew well - like visiting Anchorage or London. Though having not used Estonian in 9ish years, I stuck to the basics, linguistically. (It's odd to recognize words but not remember what they mean.) The hotel I chose was one of the first parts of Tartu I saw in 2014, when the taxi driver (whom we practically had to beg to take us foreign students into town) tried to kick us out there, instead of at the dorm. A dorm I found out the next day is a very short walk away. 

Our first night back consisted of pizza, a night time stroll, and a couple drinks. I'd been gone away the longest, the others either still live in Tartu, moved out a couple years ago, or had visited since our time as Tartu residents. (I have seen all but one of my friends since leaving Tartu on other trips, like at their weddings, except one who I finally caught up with back in Tartu!) We talked about how our lives had changed, our outlooks, and even our conversations over the course of the weekend. Being "adults" sometimes doesn't feel any different from our student days, but other times it really does. 

We met up the next morning at the new National Museum - Eesti Rahva Muuseum - (see the previous horse-y field, that was, apparently, and abandoned air strip). The building is designed to still look like planes could take off atop it. It's MASSIVE and they have put some very cool tech inside. Once past the ginormous atrium, the exhibits will translate for you with just a tap of your ticket. And they'll copy the caption of the text to your own personal ticket-based-webpage so you can take the museum with you. Very cool. They've also done some really interesting museum construction pieces, incorporating HVAC systems into a forest display, having interactive Estonian language exhibits, creating cordoned off spaces in interesting ways. 

It wouldn't be Estonian without the weird elements, and I'm not even talking about the surrealist art display, since that's Czech. There was a exhibition at the back about some sort of cult-seeming rave group? Another downstairs that ended in the men's bathroom where you could take a quiz, receive a QR code from a juke box, and sing karaoke? Or just lay on an ottoman and pretend to be a moth. 

Across the street was the Upside Down House, Tagurpidi Maja, which only opened a few years ago. We agreed it was a unique experience, but not very time consuming and a bit expensive. What you get is right on the label, a house that is upside down. If you've played the game where you wander your own house holding a mirror and stepping over ceiling fans and door frames... it's just like that. It was odd and amusing, but mostly empty rooms. 

We ended the day with a birthday party in Russian/Estonian style. One of our number still lives in Tartu and we went to her place, met her husband and son, her friends and their kids, and listened to the medley of languages they speak to their children. Russian, German, Estonian, English... 1.5 of those I can manage. Apples were falling from the trees, there was plenty of food to go around, and we planned/debated a mad-cap adventure for the next day. 

Setting aside the debate and the drama, our next day was a road trip. We rented a car and headed toward the villages along Lake Peipsi. Our first stop was the Juhan Liiv Museum, the home of a 19th-century Estonian poet. A very enthusiastic caretaker gave an Estonian-only tour to Tobias, who translated at the conclusion of each building (while there are several, they aren't massively filled). We saw where he lived during his years with dementia and where his family lived while they farmed. We played on the Baltic swing, naturally; collected apples and read Liiv's poetry while eating them; saw the sandcastle built in honor of Liiv thinking he was destined to be the King of Poland. 

Our quiet day in the countryside continued at Alatskivi Castle. We wandered the grounds, took in the pond and lily pads, and even saw a snake! I don't think I've seen a wild snake before this little, black cutie slithered into the grass. While we'd planned to eat lunch at the Castle, their restaurant wasn't going to be open for longer than we could stay hungry, so we walked through the trees to a fish & chips shop before hitting the Onion Road. 

Apparently, the area along Lake Peipsi is known for producing high quality onions. Driving through Kolkja looked like a garage sale, but people only had stacks on stacks of onions (and some garlic). If agricultural products could cross borders, I'd have brought some home to test - they're certainly smaller than what we get here, but that says nothing about their deliciousness. We tried an onion hand pie which was very good, stopped at a few other shops while a friend shopped, before arriving at the Peipsimaa Heritage Center for their chicory.  

Now, I don't know anything about chicory, but seems it was a big deal at some point. The chicory museum takes up a floor of the heritage center, and its included in their cafe in the back. (Any of these shops and homes in Kolkja, one could just wander in the backyard and find a cafe or a restaurant.) We snacked and drank and enjoyed the weather. All five of us were together during the party and at this chicory cafe, and we still enjoyed each other's company after all this time. 

We visited Lõunakeskus the next morning, the shopping center on the edge of the city, which has had a major face lift in 10 years, but still has the ropes course over the ice rink, which I hope never changes. We tried to stop by the University Library, but since the semester hadn't started, none of the University buildings were open. But four of us met up for tea and cake at Werner, a classic of the Tartu student experience. Ordering my usual at Werner was 90% of the Estonian I managed while living there - a mango chai and their signature carrot cake (I got the last piece of the day!). One of my friends is now a researcher at UT and let us into the Linguistics building, so we did get to see inside ONE of our old buildings. This was the last of the time we'd get to spend together, unfortunately, with family responsibilities elsewhere. Here's hoping it isn't another 10 years before the next Tartu Family Reunion, but if nothing else, Tartu will still be there then. 

The winning design (or maybe just my preferred design?) for a new culture center in the middle of town. Currently, there's a nice park here. They didn't ask me, but I don't like the whole concept. 

I spent the extra time making sure to stop at the places I'd go all the time: my dorm, grocery stores, my walk to classes, the park bench where I stole WiFi from the trees for my first couple weeks abroad. And eating kohuke at every opportunity, constantly, for six days. Coming from somewhere with a high cost of living, Estonia will always be cheap to me, but inflation certainly has made its way to Eastern Europe - the things I used to buy regularly have doubled in price (kohuke up to 50¢ a pop), or gotten much much smaller (my poor stritsel). New books are half of what I'd pay for them at home, or cheaper, though they still can't compete with my local used bookstore. 

In the morning (Estonian Independence Day), before the train back to Tallinn, I walked up Toomemägi, just to make sure I still could. The "steep hill" isn't actually steep, but it always feels rough. Understandably, the walk is different without a full backpack and snow boots. Instead, it was a lovely sunny day where I could wander the church ruins at the top and think about the Middle Ages in which this town, and my university, were founded. I thought about buildings and tree roots and people, what life was like and how it's evolved. It was a pensive moment. 

Independence Day may have brought out a few more flags, and a message from the President on the trains, but wasn't filled with the pomp and circumstance - and parades - we expect of an American Independence Day. The train moved through the fields and towns and sunshine, and off we went afterward into the wild blue yonder. 

I haven't reread my blog posts of my Estonian impressions in years, and life has made my memory much worse than it was when I was in my "carefree" youth. There are pieces I remember, like: watching the Tallinn skyline fade from view as I took the ferry away for the last time in 2015; walks in the snow and deep talks with my friends; potlucks and potlucks and day trips; early morning and late night bus rides; fighting with a bus driver in Estonian; the fudging magpie loudspeakers; telling myself to say "yes" to new things; the literature class in English that was actually an architecture class in Estonian... This trip reminded me that while I don't remember being lonely in Tartu, I did spend a lot of time by myself. I walked to and from class alone, I spent many evenings reading or watching movies or doing homework, I took trips by myself, I didn't have friends in my classes (apart from Estonian). It also reminded me that each of my friends had a different Tartu experience than mine, and some have had more Tartu experiences since. 

Estonia has clearly had a lot of growth in 10 years, with its obvious construction, expansion, and development. I continue to love having studied some place "small" by many standards; it isn't a massive town to many - its population is big to me, but it's never felt big. I love having experienced Eastern Europe and being able to recommend it to my friends. I love the friends I made along the way and that we still get to peek into each other's lives from time to time. I love having challenged myself 10 years ago to take this massive leap and still don't understand how it worked out. 

Do I think I'll go back? 

(semester) One & Done

I stand at a crossroads. Well, more like some point on that roller-coaster every study abroad student is told about. I've completed classes for one semester and am roughly halfway through my Estonian adventure.

While on the whole time hasn't seemed to pass that quickly, there are definitely weeks where it has. Especially with so much time out of class, and only a four day week, things sped by. I knew a year was what I wanted to do, and I know I made the right choice. I can't imagine leaving right now. Sure, there are things that I'm missing at home, things I really wish I could attend and see, but I've had moments here when I thought I might never leave. For less than a ticket to Seattle (and maybe even to Anchorage) I can cross this continent and stay in London for four days. At any given moment I could head off to cross borders and see what's on the other side. I haven't gotten out as much this semester as many of the other study abroad students, but I was adjusting to life in Estonia (or at least that's what I tell myself). If I'd only been abroad for 4 months, you bet I would never have been home, but knowing I had more time means I can pick my own speed. If I'd been here for only one semester, it would have been very different from the one I just had.

My classes this coming semester shouldn't be nearly as hard as Autumn 2014 was, which should enable me to get out more often, not bogged down with as much homework. There's still so much that I want to see and so many places on my study abroad bucket list, across the Baltics as well as Europe. I can officially order tea and cake in Estonian and am hoping I can manage more than that by the time I fly home. I've gotten better at being an independent human being, cooking dinner for myself nearly every night, meal planning, making my bed every morning, doing my laundry (and the washer/dryer is in German so...), etc. While I don't feel like my semester abroad has changed me all that much, the opportunities I have here are more than I could have had at home.

Stay tuned for any updates I may or may not make during my break!

UPDATE 1: I meant to post this before I left for break, but figured I'd be adding more to it. Since that has not happened, here it is.

Where HAVE you BEEN? No posts! Car gone!

""

So, my last update post was nearly a month ago. What have I been doing you might ask? Good question; let me check my calendar.

Shortly after my last post, Tartu lit up all their main holiday display in Raekoja Plats.

Jõulupuu

Jõululodi (old riverboat)

Town Hall. The crest lights say 2014-2015

I wanted to get a video while they lit them, but of course any introduction to the lighting was in Estonian so... I got a couple of "before" and a bunch of "after" shots. There were so many people that filled the space left in the square. So many! Dogs, kids, so many! Between the tree and the boat they recreate the woods with small trees and fill it with carvings of wooden animals.

Partially for Morgan,
maybe more for me.

For Susannah

And there's the sculpture of the bird of the year made of ice. You can see the name of the bird there: jäälind. Translation: ice bird. Literally, it's an ice bird made of ice.  Tere tulemast Eestis, everyone. 

From here my calendar turns to homework. Uh, I was called for trial jury duty but am sure that the 8614 miles roundtrip got me out of it; to be determined. There was a party on December 10th to celebrate one of my friends finally joining Facebook.

The student networked hosted a Farewell party for all the international students and handed out "yearbooks" with pages many of us had filled out on our favourite memories, restaurants, phrases in Estonian, and how many of the quintessentially UT student things we had done. We signed books, ate lots of piparkoogi (gingerbread cookies), danced a bit. It was held in one of the fraternity houses. My first frat, but absolutely nothing like any American movie fraternity. The building was beautiful, and managed to stay that way inside and out, regardless of how many cups spilled their contents all over the floors and littered the halls and rooms. It was more fun than I was expecting it to be, but we didn't stay the entire night. I came back to the dorm to find that the key card panels on my floor weren't working, so stood in the hallway while the maintenance man tried to use a key, a crowbar, WD-40, a plastic card, to get the door open. He called the house lady who brought her own set of keys. They ended up using the fire escape to unlock the other wing. Luckily, someone was coming out of my wing, and I slipped in. Turns out, the fire escape door was stuck, and I had to let the man in the door before I could hit the hay. Those are the doors you really want working all the time...

Signing ESN Diaries, eating piparkoogi.

One of the musicians in a leopard print suit. Yes.

Fraternity house. There colours match the Seahawks.
Thanks to Steve & Robin for poisoning my mind with this info.

Lucia, our beloved Italian genius, cutting her lasagna.

The next day, I went to my first Name Day party. Name Days celebrate the Saints, and are a bit like birthdays for anyone who shares a name with a Saint, but you can hide when your birthday is from people, hiding your name is harder. We tried to come up with a Name Day song, and in the end we did, but it'll never catch on. :) When we get together, we rarely coordinate food. Just bring something. Usually, we have a ton of food. However, on this particular night, half the people brought drinks, since we never have enough of those, and the other half figured there'd be plenty of food. While the name-day-girl made lasagna, it wasn't going to feed all of us. So, with several bags of drinks, we headed to the store to figure out what was for dinner. After dinner we played games, per usual, and general had a great time, also per usual.

More studying...
More studying...

These notecards are just for the one exam. Stacked by topic.

For a pretty easy exam on English speaking countries.
Colour coded by country (which matches the colour coding in my notebook).

This week I had a few finals. There isn't a "finals week" here, just a month and a half in which each class offers 2-3 time slots in which to take the final. You show up when you want, take it, leave. My Italian friend was shocked at the idea of finals week. Doesn't that stress students out? Yes. Yes, it does. And is half the fun. There was really only one final I was worried about, so that's what I'd been studying for. Sure enough the morning of the final, I wake up to swollen lymph nodes, a massive headache, the dire need to zonk out for a year, etc. And the night previous (a Monday might I add) my neighbours threw a party. A loud party. A party with trumpet playing at 3 am. So, I hadn't really slept. It was not a good day. I continued studying between headache-relief yoga (pretty sure it didn't work), and curling back up in bed. I pull myself together enough to put clothes on, read myself, and head to my final. Once there, I park it on a bench, pull out my notes on what my professor is expecting for the exam and see at the top the time and location of my exam. Location: Not here. Time: 2 hours ago. Fan-freaking-tastic. The icing on the cake. Darn good thing there's another opportunity for me to take it. This. Day. Sucks. So, I return home, change back into my pjs, and turn on movies in an attempt to fall asleep (Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, stellar!).

Wednesday, I had 2 finals. One written, and my Estonian speaking test. Written exam results will be in Mondayish, and I aced not only my Estonian exam, but my class. Success! That night, we had our own "final party" since a few of my friends left this morning. There was an assortment of types of salad, and I brought true-blue-American Kraft Mac 'n' cheese. We even had cheese chips in chocolate. (Say that 10 times fast.) Determination: Not very good, though the chocolate gingerbread was. Add more games and we had our selves a typical evening. However, Lucia had written us a poem, a few lines for each of us, that was absolutely beautiful. We recorded her reading it, so we could have it forever and ever. She'd only handwritten one copy, but when we all mentioned wanting it in her handwriting... we'll see how much her hand can take!

Ambience, fools! That's what candles are! The lights weren't
even off that long, but that seems to be when all the pictures were taken.
Michal from the Czech Republic & Lela from Georgia

Feel like you were there!

Today I had an actual class. My EU in International Politics class met, presented, discussed, etc. We received a run down of the exam, and later the grades on our midterm essays. After weeks and weeks of torture only knowing the class averages, I'd completely shot my confidence, hopes, and dreams into believing that the F paper was mine. It was not. While it's not the A everyone hopes for, since this is a Masters level class, and I am not a Masters level student, I am completely accepting of what I got, especially the pointers for my final. On my way to earning a very respectable grade in my first Masters class, taught by a lecturer from St. Andrews in Scotland (you know, the one at which the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge met?). SCORE!

And that's basically it. It reads like the typical college story doesn't it? Holidays, parties, food, studying for finals, finals. Who knew eventually I'd lead a life anywhere resembling the typical college experience? Not at all the same as said experience, but sure looks that way. Huh.

Turkey Day from Far Away

Since I'm not in the US, Thanksgiving was not a day off for me. I had classes and other things to do. Luckily, since I don't have classes on Fridays, I could put off some of it. I watched Babylon 5, did some shopping, thought about my homework, and worked on my plans for our group Thanksgiving here (which took place Friday night).
     Thursday night, however, I got some snacks to tide me over while I waited to Skype my family and eat some of the things from my Thanksgiving box with them. I even made egg nog from scratch, having purchased the necessary equipment I didn't have at the dorm (i.e. a big bowl, a whisk, ingredients).

Here's my Thanksgiving dinner of champions: egg nog, canned turkey breast, loaded mashed potatoes, and chocolate marshmallow cookies from my gramma. I didn't want to eat everything in the box (and I'm not sure I could have in one sitting, but hey, isn't that the Thanksgiving challenge?), that way I could share it with my friends during our dinner Friday night.
Due to some technical difficulties, my chat with my parents ceased. But on the upside, I got to Skype with my second family in Washington, though technical difficulties ended that fairly quickly as well, though they did get to see my neon green walls.
We started Thanksgiving cooking on Friday early afternoon. Since everything I was bringing was dehydrated, adding water isn't difficult and doesn't take long. I was helping Anna and Jordan make pies from scratch. We made five in total, two pecan, one lemon meringue, one chocolate silk, and one apple. They all turned out really well, though the pecan did end up a bit burned, and the silk wasn't quite solid. Despite that, they tasted great.

A bit of the huge mess we made. Anna's got serious egg white whipping skills. Should make egg nog a lot easier to make if I can master her epicness. She christened the top of our apple pie with a Zorro style Z.

Pie on the window sill, story book grandma style.

All our pies.

I tried to get a picture of a slice of each of the pies, but with all the rotations, I ate much of it before I got the chance, but I did get a picture of all the pies sliced.

I rehydrated the sweet potato soufflé and the green bean casserole. Both went over really well and several people asked for the recipes. 

Here's all of us, surrounded by our Thanksgiving-worthy amount of food. Pies, soufflé, casserole, Estonian style mashed potatoes, mini pizzas, sliced veggies, ham and onions, sushi, and more that I'm not remembering right now. Everyone left appropriately stuffed for the holiday. Our lovely crew consisted of Germans, Americans, a Pole, an Italian, a Latvian, a Czech, a Georgian, a Hungarian, and an Ukrainian. After dinner, we spent hours playing Mafia, learning all sorts of different rules for the game around the world. And more than a few Italian Mob jokes were made. 

Several of us walked some of our meal off in the wee hours of the morning, strolling through Tartu's parks in the 15˚ air. While I may not have been home for Thanksgiving, this was certainly an evening worthy of the holiday with plenty food, friends, and good times. 

My Father: The King of Dehydration

I just received a box from home, and walked to the post office to pick it up with another American. We discussed the Thanksgiving style items we're bringing to dinner on Friday (there's a group dinner happening Friday anyway, and no one will care that 'Thanksgiving' is a day late). I get home and pop open the box and find a dehydrated Thanksgiving dinner, courtesy of my father. Each bag comes with instructions as well, which is good because other than the mashed potatoes and maybe the turkey with gravy, everything would end up either watery or crunchy. (I know this too be true because it's happened the last several days with some instant mac 'n' cheese and oatmeal.)

A) Turkey with gravy
B) Butter & Herb Mashed Potatoes
C) Green Bean Casserole
D) Sweet Potato Souffle
E) Cranberry Sauce
F) Cornbread stuffing with sausage

(The box also contained a bag of chocolate covered coconut almonds [AKA "crack"] that broke open during shipping so... those are in my stomach already. As well as a tray of marshmallow cookies (from my Gramma) that I will definitely be eating during my Skype call home tomorrow. If I wasn't spoiled enough, the box also contained Season 1 of Babylon 5,  so if you need me, don't.)

Now, there's probably not enough to feed the roughly 10 people we have at our dinner parties, but I will certainly be bringing some American classic Thanksgiving tasters to dinner, hopefully alongside some home made egg nog, if that experiment goes well.

Stay tuned for my epic Thanksgiving picture!

Here's the mail, it never fails. It makes me want to wag my tail. When it comes, I wanna wail, MAIL!

Today was SUPER MAIL DAY! because I got a letter AND a package. I feel so spoiled.

The letter was from Sumi, and it was on the most beautiful stationary. And the back of the envelope has this tiny little mustache. Heck yes! Personally, I think handwritten letters are the best, but until such time as I can pluck up the courage to go in and screw up in the post office, my digital post cards are just going to have to do. Thanks, Summer! It's gorgeous! And I'm excited at the prospect of getting to meet up with her somewhere. Europe rocks, just sayin'.




Why won't it let me put these next to each other?!?!




To pick up packages, I have to show an ID, and while I await my residence permit (and since I'm not sure my driver's license counts here), I bring my passport with me. I sign the form so the lady can go get the box, yada yada yada, and while she's checking that the number on the box matches my slip, and my name matches that on the slip and the box, etc. I see the return address label: Megan. Ermagherd, mer berst frend sernt mer er perkerge! Now, this lady is taking her time (in comparison to the last package), and I'm getting all excited. True, customs forms take some of the surprise out of packages, but hey. Once I have the package, of course I'm doing the selfie thing.

 (While simultaneously trying to plug back into my audiobook for the walk back.) And I'm actually grinning like an idiot because I'm super stoked to see what's in the box. You ready to see what's in the box? Turns out, not just from Megan, but the ME-MC-AW-SAH crew (though, clearly without the SAH...)




Better question is what isn't in the box. Food, chocolate, puns, packing peanuts with real attitude action.

The box

The contents

"Tests may make you say Ghirrrr...."
"But you can always crawl into bed!" I'm going to have to use
Katja/Anna's oven.

"What's the scoop in Estonia?" It finally froze? But still no frost/snow.
(And the chips were totally crushed, but I ate them anyway.)
"We know this is a bit cheezy, but..." And that's about all the
cheese in that cheese dip, "a bit."
"They're not for poker, but we hope you like these chips!"
They won't be the same without my ME-MC-AW here.

"These puns be funny, you'll be Roloing on the floor!" I'd just
eaten my last Rolos a couple days ago.
"After all this food, you may be "double stufed"." I can get
Oreos here, and whenever I do, I think of Pat. I just had some
Oreo chocolate that was AWESOME!

"Before you know it, you'll be back home in a JIF." Apparently,
this is the most desired food of American students abroad. Can't
say that I've had cravings, but I might have some now!
"We hope you like what we've krafted together!" I do. It's brilliant.
You're brilliant. I have the best friends.

And of course they drew on the peanuts. I think the monocle is
my favourite, though Bowties are Cool. 

The Great Wall of Puns. Right next to my
AK Fudge box from my gramma.

Though seriously people, shipping is expensive.

On a completely unrelated point, I was going to write something about the Human Foosball tournament I was in last weekend for Tartu's Student Days, but I couldn't figure out a whole posts worth of things to say. There are pictures up in the gallery though, so check those out!

I Am in Receipt of a Package

I come back from a class that, frankly, crushed my soul, and I find a package slip. I head up to my room to drop off my bag and I think that I'm a bit peckish, and the package could probably wait until tomorrow. But then, as I'm responding to a message, I think that the box probably has snacks in it.

So I head in the direction that the slip says the post office is. I walk up the hill, I see this church. I've been walking for a while, and the numbers of the buildings are making zero sense: 89, 98, 103, 115, 125. And the other side of the street: 92, 93, 124. It's utter madness. I turn around and head back to the dorm and ask for directions. 

 Turns out, it's just past that church. I was so close!! As I've been walking, I'm reading over the slip and I see 7,2kg. I whip out my handy-dandy converter and I'm thinking, "15 pounds! You've got to be kidding me! How am I going to carry this thing?" While the customs form says it weighs 15.14lbs, it was more awkwardly square than heavy. And speaking of heavy things, Mama & Papa, let's not mail things that heavy... they're expensive to mail. 

But here's my box, home in all it's glory! I pop it open and what do I find? Dust. It seems one of the mashed potato packages was a bit crushed. Guess I'm having mashed potatoes with my taco salad tonight! Then I proceeded to cram almost an entire peanut butter granola bar in my mouth. Prepackaged food, how I've missed you! Not that I haven't loved learning how to cook and feeling super adult-like and self-sufficient, but sometimes a girl just needs a granola bar.

In summary: I finally got the package that was mailed September 4th, the post office is a bit of a walk away, I'm having mashed potatoes and taco salad for dinner, and my parents love me.

And I love them, too. Aitäh!