YOGA-riffic!

The class is in this beautiful building.

 It only took one year of living in Finland to convince the university sports office that they would benefit from offering a yoga class in English. You see, here in Finland, although most Finnish people (especially the younger generation) speak and comprehend English they prefer to take classes in the Finnish language. I totally understand this; I crave yoga classes taught in my native language! It allows you to sink deeper into your practice and you are more likely to experience yoga bliss.You actually understand the words that come out of the teacher's mouth and you do not need to look around or listen for people moving into the next asana. Okay, I get it!

Great studio--it used to be the Teachers' Gym.

The front door.

But, what about the international students? When I approached the university sports office last year they said, "there is no demand for English yoga classes." So, I tried again this summer and was persistent--I sent them three emails and each one of them I explained in detail why they should, at least, TRY an English yoga class. So, they finally caved in. WOOHOO! You know I do not teach yoga for the money, I teach it because I love it...and it has been a huge hole in my life this past year. So, I went out of my way to advertise the class all over campus, on listservs, Facebook pages, etc. and it paid off! I had 13 people sign up for the class--almost all international students (with the exception of two Finns and my super-husband). Nice! My first class was yesterday and I was in heaven. I just love teaching people practical ways to relax through breathe, movement, and mind/body synergy.

To Belgrade, Serbia: Baltic Food (Oh yeah and a conference)

An academic conference brought me to Belgrade, Serbia. My first time in Serbia...Nice! That makes 37 countries visited. The conference, Consortium for Higher Education Researchers (CHER), gathered all of the big-name, up-n-coming, and junior European researchers for a few days of academic sparring, wine drinking, and intellectual bantering. Our hotel was very close to the fortress, the University of Belgrade, and the Knez Mihailova Street pedestrian mall. I did not have the opportunity to do much sightseeing, but managed to enjoy the fortress area which has been developed into a beautiful park area with cafes, basketball courts, and spectacular views overlooking the confluence of two rivers: Sava and Danube.

The highlight for me was the Baltic food--no joke! The food in Serbia is amazing and apparently the food is good throughout the entire Baltic region. As a vegan I was treated to amazing green and bean salads, roasted veggies, roasted red pepper spread, and good bread. YUM! My plate was always stacked full of delicious produce. One night a group of 8 of us went out to a traditional restaurant and luckily a Slovenian woman in our group was also a veg-head. She did the honor of ordering for us and the plates of food just kept coming. We ate family style, passing plates from person to person. Just as all of us were becoming satiated...two BIG plates of meat came. Which meant my fellow veggie eater and I got to polish off the rest of the veggie plates (Nice!) Oh, and the wine in this region is also very GOOD!

Back to the conference! It was good; I presented one of the chapters from my dissertation and received valuable feedback on it. I also caught up with my European colleagues and professors and met a fun group of new faces. A group of us junior researchers attended a pre-conference gathering and so we hung out throughout the conference.

And, one last nerdy thing...the Belgrade airport was named after the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla in 2006. This is the dude known for inventing the electric alternating current and also the dude who got a raw deal from Thomas Edison. It is nice to know that Serbia takes pride in his accomplishments, because often times his work is overshadowed by Edison's work.

Escape to Estonia

Now that my dissertation schedule has been extended, I have time to enjoy life a little more. So, Charlie and I decided to go South to Tallinn, Estonia which, by the way, was our first trip alone as a couple since our Christmas trip to London-Riga/Tallinn. No honeymoon YET (but it will come). We spent our first night in Helsinki at the new and posh Scandic Passi hotel where we got free house slippers, a bathtub (rare in Finland) and a killer balcony. Before jumping the ferry to Tallinn, we enjoyed FREE bicycles from the hotel and toured around the Helsinki harbor area---a different perspective by bike. From there we took the Linda Line ferry to Tallinn, which I renamed the Puke Line. Seriously, the waters were so rough and the hydrofoil of a "ferry" absorbed every single wave...barf bags were in full effect. But, we made it and after two days in Tallinn we had to turn around and experience the same nauseating boat ride.

Our weekend in Tallinn was super relaxing and fun--just what we both needed! We have come to love the old town area and visited some of our favorite spots and also added a few more to our list:

-Kolmas Draakon for 1€ pies and 2€ beer and wine.
-Chocolaterie Pierre cafe for "to die for" chocolate cake and coffee and tea.
-Climb to the top of Old Town for spectacular aerial views. 
-Walk the narrow cobblestone streets, especially at night--perfect for photos.
-Balti Jaama Turg, a Russian market with vendors selling about anything and everything under the sun. Good people watching here!