#147 Slippery days
The weather in Estonia is fluctuating these days. It gets very cold and then it everything melts. Ice thaws and then it gets cold again. This makes streets and roads icy. It’s slippery.
This reminds me of my first trip to Estonia in 2004. It was the most fragile moment I had in my relationship with Janne, but I still chose to come visit. It wasn’t the best of times for us, but I tried to have an open mind. It was uncomfortable to be in a place I didn’t know, dark (no white winter at that time), hearing a language I didn’t get and with customs I had no idea about.
Once, Janne and I took the bus from Tallinn to her hometown late at night. I remember a big sign by the road that said in Estonian, “ära kiiresti, on liibe” (don’t rush, it’s slippery). I learned it and repeated to Janne surprising her. I know now why that sign was there. It could well be advice about how to survive my grief.
It wasn’t my first Estonian sentence. That I learned during that trip from the best Estonian language teacher: Steven Seagal. It was lazy Christmas time. The movie Under Siege was on TV. Movies are played in their original language with Estonian subtitles. I remember one particular scene where I focused on the subtitles, learned what I read and then said to Janne: “mul on sitt päev”. Estonians speakers at this point are laughing as Janne did then, because that phrase means, I’m having a shit day. This sentence comes handy these days.
At the end of 2012, Janne and I went to the New Year’s Ball at the Estonia Theater. We had a blast. There was opera and dancing, great food and champagne. When leaving at 2 a.m., we hadn’t planned for the lack of available taxis. We just decided to walk home (just over a kilometer, less than a mile). We hadn’t planned for the ice either. Our formal shoes perfect for dancing were not so great to walk over ice. The champagne wasn’t helping either. It took us more than an hour to come home. We laughed so much on the way and for years after. It was perfect.
Icy streets only make me think of the fun we had. It’s hard to walk on them, but I won’t rush. I’ll just wait for the ice on the roads and in my heart to melt.
