new friend

Congratulations to our friends Scott and Janika, who welcomed their first son, Uko Robert, on May 7. I was especially happy to see Scott's photo of the food they serve in Tallinn Central Hospital. Ah, sweet memories.

the education of marta

Our oldest daughter Marta is somewhere in between. She's been the oldest kid in an Estonian lasteaed (kindergarten) since September, but she's also been frustrated in recent months, eager to learn, so we put her into a preparatory eelkool (pre-school) with the hope of moving her to the Catholic School nearby.

In Estonia, most kids are seven when they go to school, and school begins with the first grade. Marta will be six years, ten months as of September, and making her wait one more year as the oldest kid in kindergarten didn't seem like the right move. So we applied for a slot in the Catholic School. And didn't get it.

This threw something of a wrench into our plans, which was mostly my plan. I imagined Marta going to the Catholic School, Anna taking her slot at the kindergarten, and moving down the street. It was almost too easy. Without Marta's entry to Catholic School, though, all those plans went down the drain. So much for making plans!

Local options included putting her back into kindergarten, putting her into the city school, or ferrying her everyday to the Waldorf school on the edge of town. But we didn't like any of these options. I don't think Marta would develop any more in kindergarten -- she actually beat me up one day because she didn't want to go because she is sick of obligatory nap time -- and I think her sparkling personality would slip between the cracks in a public school class filled with kids who will be older than her. It's like I said, she's in between.

For months now, we have looked into Waldorf education elsewhere, mostly in a place called Rosma, a small village outside of Põlva, where they have a highly recommended school that just happens to be in what I consider the middle of nowhere. We've visited the school a few times, and it is lovely. Waldorf seems to suit Marta's needs -- small classes, a focus on music and handicrafts, and monthly school performances on a stage. Marta needs a stage.

Of course, my Estonian wife and children could easily slip into a place like Rosma. But me? Whenever I thought of Rosma, I thought of Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Maybe it's because I saw the village in November when it was muddy and brown and yuck. Then again, when driving back to Tartu, seeing the railroad, the electrical lines traced in the fog, I always pondered, Would I really choose this place if I went shopping for a city to live? I've actually grown a little sick of Tartu as of late. I think this winter did it for me.

So the question followed: Are there any other Waldorf schools in Estonia? There are. There's one in a village outside of Tallinn, and there is one within Tallinn in Lasnamäe, which isn't high on my list of relocation opportunities. The Lasnamäe option would be the equivalent of the Tartu Waldorf option -- driving every day, back and forth. So that left Viljandi. Viljandi?

Viljandi is the hub to many of the places where my in-laws live, though none of them actually live in Viljandi (nor have lived there). I've been there many times, most recently last summer, which was pleasant, and last winter to see a Tagaq concert. Viljandi is located on a series of hills overlooking a lake, and has an old castle. Viljandi also actually has a pretty thriving theater and folk music scene, and I was impressed by the turnout at the concert I attended. If that many people would come out to see an Inuit throat singer, then it must be an ok place. But what sort of sold me on the idea was the trip last week. For one it was sunny, for two, the school is in a nice neighborhood in the old part of town overlooking the lake, and for three, there are ample, cheap living options and when I say cheap, I mean that one apartment cost $200 a month.

It was rather weird when I think of it. Tartu kept making things complicated, Viljandi seemed ready for us to move right in. We even found a favorite house nearby on the hill overlooking the water. We were told by a tenant that there was nothing for rent there, but left our contacts anyway. Then we got a call this week from the owner of our favorite house: indeed there is an apartment for rent, with a lake view. He just didn't want to advertise. Is this a dream? WTF?

Today we went to look at the school and got to sit in on the classes and meet the first grade teacher who was so nice I doubted her Estonianness. Marta seemed really happy there -- she was smiling, playing with the kids, and seemed comfortable. Kids that are educated in Waldorf schools seem rather mature -- I mean they are playful, they are still kids, but they aren't afraid of grownups. Several kids came right up to us, asked our names, what we were doing. They were straightforward, confident -- that's the kind of person I want Marta to be, and I think she is. And this is really all for Marta. Without the school there, I'd doubt Viljandi would be on our list of places to live for awhile. But it seems like the best option for her and she can walk to school. Marta has a lot potential: why not encourage it?

Everything's moved so fast this past week. We are both kind of surprised by this new direction. I hope it's the right decision, but who can tell.