Onward to Tartu

I'm sitting here waiting for the oven to preheat so I can cook banana bread and trying to work around the gigantic bear being thrust in my face, so I thought that I could recap the events of yesterday.

Yesterday morning my mother said that she had to go to Tartu to do some things and that she was leaving Adeele at her vanaema's house again. She then asked me if I wanted to come. At that moment, the words of every rebound, Rotex, and rotary member rang in my head: always say yes! So I did.

We got into the car and drove to the shopping center where we would trade Adeele off. I decided to wear my Spock ears that day. We went inside the shopping center and started to scan the aisles for her vanaema. Eventually she found us and our aunt was with her. My mother started to talk to her mother and my aunt started to look curiously at my ears, so I turned to give her a better look. She laughed and pointed them out to my vanaema, who looked and laughed also and touched one.

We then all left the store, and my mother skillfully detached Adeele's hand from her own and attached it to the handle of the shopping cart.

My mother and I then left in the car for Tartu.

As we drove down the road into the main part of Tartu, I happened to look over and I saw Erick, the Canadian exchange student living in Tartu, crossing the street and wearing a pink shirt. We stopped in a parking lot across from our first destination, the notary. Here I saw some of the first evidence of Estonia being an e-country; my mother went on her phone and parked and paid for parking online, which is apparently the usual in Estonia.

We went inside the building across the street and took an elevator to the fifth floor, where the notary was. Very soon we were met by a lady who worked there who happened to be a Rotarian from my host club. She gave my mother all the papers she needed to fill out that had been requested for her daughter Annela, who is in Florida at the moment.

After we finished that we went to the police/immigration office to hand over the rest of the papers we had just received from my parents, but the lady who was handling the process wasn't there. We went to get lunch next at a place near my mother's office, where she was meeting a guy who was going to give her the keys that she needed. It was a nice place and the food was very good. It also had a very efficient system: you go up to the counter and place your order and pay for the food, and they pour your drink and give you a number, then you take your drink and go sit down. Later, when your food is ready, the waitress looks for your number and brings you your food.

My mother received the keys and we ate lunch with another guy who is in her choir. After lunch, we went on to her office.