Estonia and Italy and the Beginning of Bit Fest

Well, it has certainly been a long time since I have updated any of my avid readers with some new and tantalizing stories from my Peace Corps travels, so I apologize profusely for so much slacking. Well, after a brief break, I am back in Macedonia and back to our very busy summer schedule of holding workshops and planning events. For two weeks, I was on a work-sanctioned trip to participate in and held organize a youth exchange in Estonia. The best part of work-sanctioned trips means that at no point during this awesome adventure with my counterpart, was I required to use vacation days. On the downside, I was technically still working everyday on activities.

However, the youth exchange was an awesome program and a truly interesting way to meet excited and active young people around the world. For this exchange, we had participants from Estonia, Poland, Turkey, and our group from Slovenia/Macedonia. Sticking people in a small town in rural Estonia is the best way to learn each others cultures and to form great friendships. The theme of this youth exchange was 'Media in Action' and thus the participants were divided into three groups connected to media projects. One group worked on projects related to photography, one with video, and the third group connected them all with social media.

The groups were relatively successful in their categories, however, the most exciting part of the exchange was being able to travel and see both Tallinn and Narva, two very unique and interesting cities in Estonia. Our first day trip with the group took us from our town, Sillamäe, to the very Russian city of Narva. I am going to take a brief second to talk about our town, Sillamäe, first though. During the Soviet days of the USSR, this town was the site of a hidden nuclear research facility, and was what is referred to as a 'closed city'. Closed cities during this era were fairly common, and no one without authorized Kremlin permission was granted access to the town. While most people were upset that we were so removed from civilization, I thought this historical information was incredibly interesting. As a result of this, approximately 95% of the town is Russian, rather than Estonian. The city of Narva however, is closer to 99% Russian, considering it is one of only two border crossings with their former comrades. 

 Here is one of the two border crossings with Russia in the country. Although the Estonia flag looks like its over there, it is on the EU side of the border. I wanted to go across but without paying for the ridiculous visa cost for Americans, it is impossible.

This is the castle at Narva on the Estonia side of the river. It was really old and pretty amazing to visit. I am fairly certain it was built by the Danes in 13th Century. Like Macedonia and South Korea, Estonia has a long history of foreign invaders. 

Here is a photo of the Russian castle across the river. Although we couldn't go, we could still wave at the tourists there and take pictures. It is probably the closest I will ever get to Russia. 

Here is our happy group of Macedonians hanging out in the castle. From here you can see both sides of the river. 

Continuing on our fun adventure, the following Saturday we were given the opportunity to spend the entire day in Tallinn.It was a great adventure and we decided that after the exchange, to spend a few more days in the city to take it all in. The city contains so much interesting architecture and history, including the old defense towers, monumental Russian Orthodox churches, and all sorts of Gothic and Classical style buildings. I won't bore you with the details, just give you some of the pictures from the journey, as well as some pictures of our stay in Sillamäe. 

 Checking out the view from the top of the hill in Tallinn. Awesome view, and in the background you can see the old towers and the steeple of St. Olaf's Cathedral. 

Here is the Russian Orthodox Church that is located conveniently across the street from the houses of Parliament.  So polite and considerate of the Russians to put it so close to their Estonia friend's government offices.

 This picture I just happened to enjoy. It was taken while walking down the narrow alleys that comprise the Old Town, which is in the center of Tallinn.

 Here is one of those very narrow streets mentioned above. This flag is not Estonia, it is from the Lithuanian Embassy that is in Tallinn.

 Gothic towers and  pretty flowers. That is all there is here.

Another narrow alley with the cobblestone street. Like in Macedonia, many of the streets in Old Town are the original cobblestones  It gives a very real feel to the city.

 Back in beautiful Sillamäe, here are the famous 'stairs' that our tourguide claimed to be a Wonder of the World. Town pride has to start somewhere. The town hall in the background is quite stunning though.

 Russian typewriter from the museum. Badass.

 ЖИГУЛИ! Surviving the Cold War and still running.

This is perhaps the single most amazing thing about being in Estonia in June. Its at such a high lattitude that the sun never really sets. This photograph was taken around 11 pm. At 2 am, it becomes a little more dark, however, the sun rises again at 3. Perfect for partying all summer long.

After saying goodbye to Estonia (and my phone charger at the hostel, unfortunately) we were headed off to Milan, where we had a full 26 hours to enjoy the country until we had to leave the next day. Now many of you in America have this beautiful notion of what Milan 'should' be:

    "Wow! Its the fashion capitol of the world!"
    "Milan!? The Center of Culture in Italy and the Renessaince!"

    "Ooooh Italy, the pasta is so good and the lifestyle is wonderful!"

...And then you come back to reality and realize that, yes you are in Italy, and there are more immigrants and tourists than actual Italian people. The over-hyped ideal of the city contrasted to the reality was a complete reminder of being in Paris in 2008. While I truly enjoyed the experience, people overly romanticize these places and imagine them to be something they are not. In reality, Milan is a city of vast 'have's and have-not's, much like New York City, Paris, and London. We met many people who were foreign to the city, searching for a better life by escaping the poverty of their own country, only to be impoverished and homeless living in a new country.

While hiding out at the local McDonald's  we even met a homeless man from Bangladesh, who joined our table, ate our french fries  and blamed me (as an American) for killing of Muslim people worldwide while the media ignored the issue. Inspiring. Sleeping all night in the public park produced many of the same results; with people on drugs being treated by EMTs and a Roma woman who looked approximately 14 years old, going into labor in front of that same McDonalds. All in all, after sleeping for 45 minutes during the entire trip through the country, I can say I have had enough excitement traveling in Italy for a lifetime.

This park was one beautiful exception in Milan Center. In the middle of the concrete (and mostly ornate marble) jungle, this park was wonderful. Many people were riding bikes everywhere in the city!  

 Walking through the city of Milan, there was a huge international festival, despite the fact that everyday is an international festival in this giant mess of a city. We searched for hours and couldn't find the Macedonian flag represented. Here is our good buddy Ilija with the flag of our friendly neighbors over in Albania.

 Lots of coffee, no sleep and the sun is starting to set on the Duomo di Milano. This massive cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen, it took 6 centuries to complete, and we had the luxury of sleeping on a bench in front of it!

 Here is our brief nap on that bench next to the cathedral. Overall, there are worse places to be homeless for the night.

 Following our lovely evening as Milano vagrants, we were off on the train towards the East. We had a brief stop in the city of Vicenza, which compared to the cluttered and polluted industrial hub of Milan, it was like being in a beautiful Italian villa. Here are some of the old buildings in the square.

 Vinceza houses along the river bank.

Such a magnificent old bridge! This town is beautiful!

Upon returning to Macedonia, I wouldn't change a thing about our trip. Everything was exactly what an adventure should be. With zero planning, and no expectations, everything turned out to be fabulous. We made a ton of new international friends on this trip, and were given such a wonderful opportunity to learn. Much knowledge was gained about new cultures, and I for one, learned that Estonia has one of the better brewing companies I have sampled since moving to Europe. One day I will go back and buy cases of Saku to smuggle into Macedonia.

Once back in Bitola, things slowly returned to normal, currently we are in the middle of our massive summer festival, Bit Fest, which is a wild two month long festival full of daily concerts, parties, plays, workshops, and various other activities. Recently I have been holding a workshop for drawing comics (something I have zero experience with), and working with youth volunteers to help organize things. It's a real challenge but rewarding, plus it is always better than sitting all day in an office.

I realize this is an overly long blog post, and from now on, I will try to make these posts shorter and more frequent, maybe with pictures and quick descriptions. It is much more intriguing to the reader to see my life, rather than listen to my mundane details and stories.