Friends, food, and color

This week I bonded with 'old' friends in Jyväskylä and made new friends in Tallinn.  The best part was enjoying friendly debates and conversation over delicious meals that exploded with color. 
Here's a quick sampling:

Kirsti and Katie's place: 

Marimekko napkins, Cornelle plates (the pattern is the same one that Kristen Barfield, my A&M roommate, had back in college so it brought back so many awesome memories of my years in College Station!!) and a killer salad.

Clazzy restaurant in Tallinn:

Loved the basil and bean sprouts in the salad.  Steak burger.was good.  

But nothing like a real Texas burger.  :) 

Strawberry and apple milkshake with basil.  Seconds?  Oh yes please!

Kirsti invited the sister missionaries (Sister Braegger and Sister Ehlen) and me over for dinner.  It was an all-American dinner--literally.  All Americans seated around the table.  What did we talk about?  What we love about Finland.  And what we miss about America.  And yes--Walmart was at the top of the list of things we miss.  :)

Kirsti made a delicious American-style lasagna with spinach noodles.  YUM!!  We rounded out the evening with a game of Uno.  Took 40 minutes to play just one round.  We're all just that good.

Sister Ehlen wasn't pictured in the last pic because she was the photographer.  So...here's a picture of her on her first day in Jyväskylä (this was taken a month or so ago).  She and I share the same birth place, along with Elder Ogden (next to Sis. Ehlen).  What are the odds that 3 of the 4 Americans in the room (Elder Fontonet is from Canada) are from the same super small town in CALIFORNIA?! 

My colorful elbow makes up for the lack of color in my wardrobe as of late.  My right side has been quite sore since last Friday when I made friends with the ice covered pavement.  (My right hip is significantly more impressive--in terms of the size of the bruise and the range of colors.)  I'm grateful I'm not donning a colorful cast or sling...so no complaints from me!  :)

'Ferry' boat from Helsinki to Tallinn (2 hr. trip):

I was captivated by the color coordination between the ship and the 18-wheeler.  Ok...truth be told I was actually marveling at the massiveness of the ship.  There were at least a dozen 18 wheelers on board.  I had no idea the ship was carrying so much cargo.

Clazzy restaurant in Tallinn's old town district:

These are several of my Langnet (the Finnish Graduate School that I'm a part of) classmates (most of whom are studying in Jyväskylä, actually) who were participating in the seminar as well.  It was awesome to get to know them better.  Elina (to my left) suggested the restaurant and it had a great atmosphere!!  It was a perfect way to end a 7 1/2 journey from Jyväskylä to Tallinn followed by the Langnet seminar.  I loved our conversations!!  Can't wait for next year's seminar.

Old town square.  Love Tallinn!  It was exciting to be back...even if just for 24 hours.

This is the biggest lamp shade I've ever laid eyes on.  And there were 6 of them in the hotel lobby.

We had another fleet of semis join us for the ride back to Helsinki.

I was excited to come home to a space heater!  It's freezing in this old building.

Thank you Tarja and Eerki for delivering it to my place!!  :)

Train ride from Helsinki to Jyväskylä:

Learned two new phrases in Finnish:

1. Sika siistia.

2. Sika makeeta.

Literally translated: pig cool.  Pigs fly in English and they're cool in Finnish.  I'll try out these new phrases this week and see what kinds of reactions they generate.  :)

Friends.  Food.  Colors.  Tallinn.  Oh happy days!