Lots of visiting

Ian was hunting alpacas in the fog today
meanwhile I had lovely blue skies and a
gorgeous sunset on my walk back to the
hostel in Uppsala, Sweden

I’m a little fed up tonight and it is probably because I’m tired and in a strange environment. I actually worked in an office today and it was really weird. I had a meeting this morning with a very nice chap north of Uppsala in Sweden. I am currently on a study trip at the Swedish Agricultural University, the aim is to make connections and so I am being hosted by one of the Professors. He drove me to the meeting, introduced me and facilitated the exchange of ideas, which was great. It was very productive and led to some possible avenues for future work, although as usual, it is all dependent on getting funding. So far so good! The professor then took me to the university and showed me around, so definitely no complaints with hospitality, I feel very well looked after. After showing me where to get lunch he then left me to my own devices to work in his office, which was fine, but like I said it’s weird, as I have always worked in the home or from home before and definitely never in an office.

Ian's view today

Yes we did have more snow and yes it virtually disappeared
again. I have been showing off my scarf this week that
contains some of Chanel's and Mari's fleece 

So the reason I’m fed up? It is in trying to get online and the fact my computer is acting strange. It is getting a bit cranky anyway and the last thing I want is for it to suddenly start doing odd things like reverting to factory settings for my desktop picture like it did tonight or taking ages to connect through to the internet on different systems, both at the university and here at the hostel. I even resorted to writing this blog in Word so I don’t have to spend ages doing it online. I also tried to connect my camera to the internet and at first it didn’t want to get online either. It wouldn’t find the connection. Of course it could be the hostel’s own system, but to deal with that it would mean going up to the house and finding someone to sort the problem out. There are not many staff about because it is out of season and there are not many guests around, especially yesterday as I was the only one. It also means a trip outside as I am in a kind of chalet (must remember to take some photos tomorrow). Anyway it isn’t the end of the world and I am sure a goodnights sleep will help. Well it will help me, not necessarily the internet connection. 

The sheep looking fairly ghostly

Heather gave me this scarf. It has a pink silk panel with
alpaca and merino felting. I think it is absolutely gorgeous.
Sorry the photo does not do it justice, but I wanted to show
you all

Last week was quite a hectic but pleasant week. As I mentioned in my belated post yesterday, Heather Potten came with her husband and I was showing her around the different activities we could try when we hold a felting course next year. We want to attract people from abroad to do felting but also to experience more of Latvia and what it has to offer. Of course we are out in rural Latvia with lots of interesting activities but they are maybe not the most sophisticated kind of activities all the time, but we do think it will be fun.  

A random photo from a while ago. I finally
worked out how to get photos off my camera
without the lead, which I can't find at the
moment

Mari tucking into the "tasty" snow

We of course went to see the alpacas and then we went to a neighbour who makes his own alcohol. Everyone else got to try it but I was the designated driver, so I didn’t. There were some interesting combinations, some apparently were better than others, but the whole trip was very entertaining with a very theatrical host. We had a guided tour around a porcelain factory and saw what we could do there and finished that day off with a trip to a very nice restaurant that Ian and I have never been to before. We decided this will make an excellent end of course dinner. We went to the local museum on a beautiful, sunny, crisp, winters day. The view from the top of the nearby museum was gorgeous, just not so easy to visualise it on a summer’s day, at least it will be warmer. 

Brencis lapping up the sunshine

On the way to Riga. The ipad does not do justice to the
colours of the sunset

We did get to do some felting at least on one day, we had hoped to do more, but it didn’t quite work out that way. When I get back I will have to do plenty of test samples to work out exactly what the properties are for each alpaca. Some have fleeces that felt better than others and we are trying to work out what the characteristics are that make it work easier. 

Tubjørn also lapping up the sunshine but he does look funny,
as if he is deeply meditating or singing - I assure you he
wasn't.

A gorgeous sunset, but like I said, the ipad
didn't do it justice

All too soon the week was over. We had enjoyed some good food, some warm Latvian hospitality and some great conversations. We have just about managed to put a plan together for the week and we now need to finalise a few costs and then it will be ready for promoting early next year. We finished the week off with a quick visit to our friend’s goat farm where we hope to sample or even make cheese and after a quick lunch I said goodbye to Ian and went with Heather and her husband to the airport. They were flying on the same day as I was, but they were going later, so they dropped me off and headed back into Riga. I meanwhile headed for Sweden.

Tellus and Brencis were having a disagreement 

Mr. P. taking the wisest option and staying out of it

Lady V contemplating life

I flew into Stockholm and caught the bus to Uppsala where I was met by the Professor. He ensured I was safely deposited at the hostel, with a bus card so I can get around and a map to make sure I don’t get lost. The following day he invited me to see the ecovillage where he lives, as well as the nature park and agricultural areas nearby and then we went on to have lunch with his wife at his home, like I said earlier, I feel very well looked after. 

A gorgeous sunrise in our village

Errrmm! I think it's winter already!

The sheep in what was the boys alpaca paddock

Tuesday was a day of preparation before I went away and before the threatened snow, which was forecast for later in the day. The sheep were still out on the field and we needed to get them into the paddock where they had access to better shelter and they could be fed some hay. We attached wire to the posts in the old alpaca paddock that had been put in by our American friends earlier on in the year. It all started off well, but we had to keep stopping to warm up. The wind was so bitter and neither of us wanted painful hands or feet. We ended up finishing it off as the snow descended earlier than forecast. We went to get the sheep but in their hurry to get to the hay that they had seen Ian put out, they managed to break three electric posts. Ian was not happy with them. At least they are now in their winter quarters.

The ram lamb has got quite big

Alpacas have such big expressive eyes

On Wednesday I was supposed to travel up to Tallinn in Estonia. The idea was that Ian would drive me to our alpaca friends near Pärnu, where he would collect some fresh bags of alpaca feed and then drive home again and I would have a meeting with someone about leaders in rural areas before travelling up by bus to Tallinn. This was going to be a bit of a long drive and so not something he was looking forward to and not made any better by the forecast of more snow.

Snow on the greenhouse. Ian got a bit concerned today as he
spotted a tear in the plastic where the snow was coming in. We
don't want that to fall apart over winter. He managed to tape it
up with tape he managed to buy a while ago and hopefully
it will hold. Not the best time of the year for putting tape on

My journey up to Tallinn

On the morning we woke early and it had indeed snowed overnight. It was not a huge amount by Latvian standards, but it was wet slushy stuff and our car had four year old all weather tyres on and not the winter tyres that we got last winter. After slithering into our village, we decided this was not a wise move and cancelled all arrangements and I stayed at home instead, or rather in our caravan, from where I booked a ticket to travel by coach from Riga to Tallinn. Thursday morning we set our alarm for earlier than the day before and Ian took me into our village to catch the Riga bus.

More snowy scenes from the bus

Tallinn

I rolled into Tallinn late Thursday afternoon and walked the snowy paths to the church where the latest conference I was attending was being held. This was rather different to the last ones, as it wasn't an academic conference and I wasn't there to present anything, I was there to help in any way I could. The event was the European Christian Youth Parliament and the idea was to gather youth from across Europe to discuss European issues and also to hear a little about how the European Union began.

The Lutheran church in Tallinn. We were guided by a Baptist
Minister who was also a qualified guide. He apologised that
he forgets English words quite often as he is more used to
guiding Chinese tourists around

I love the decoration on this door and above it

I found out about a man called Robert Schuman, who was motivated by his faith to work for greater cooperation between the European nations, one that included Germany. This was despite the fact he was imprisoned by the Nazis. At first he orchestrated an agreement to collaborate over coal and steel industry but he ultimately envisaged this as a way of making war impossible between the European nations as they worked together. This was a very different vision to the one I had heard amongst some in Christian circles and one I think Robert Schuman would have been shocked and saddened by. At least the weekend gave a more hopeful and positive version of events.

The Russian Orthodox church

A small statue on another church in Tallinn. I love the blue
colour they used for this. Different to just plain white or stone

The idea was that in the spirit of Robert Schuman's faith and his vision, youth would discuss national identity and the rise of nationalism, Estonian politics (since we were in Estonia) or Environment and Natural resources and present their thoughts on these issues. In the end, not many youth actually turned up, but those who did were excited to be discussing these kinds of topics in a positive and affirming environment and not the toxic environment that often seems to fill the social media posts or conversations with others. Since there were not so many there I opted to be one of the participants and joined to guys to discuss Environmental and Natural Resource issues. It was a bit disappointing not to have any youth in our group but we set to in trying to work out why it did not connect with them and how could we get the message across that it was important and needed to be included in discussions.

The medieval town hall

Old School, working on a blackboard

We realised first of all it is a huge, all encompassing issue and one that can overwhelm. We thought of the different aspects that make up the issue and discussed what could be done on a personal and wider level. At one break I was chatting to one of the younger folks there and telling them what we were talking about in our session and said it was a shame that no one of their age was in the group. She apologised and said it was really important, but the issues with nationalism was more urgent from her perspective. That set me thinking. In the end I had a couple of brain waves, firstly we needed to highlight that tackling environmental issues was a justice issue and secondly a healed environment was a healing environment.

A massive felt light-shade in a café

Part of Tallinn castle

So what did I mean that the environmental issue was a justice issue? The fact is that when things go wrong in our environment, it is often the poor who suffer the most. They live in the most vulnerable places and have the kinds of jobs that can expose them to most environmental toxins. Environmental issues can poison their soils and their water and leave them little options but to either take the risk of eating and drinking from that environment or leaving it for risky jobs in the factories. Those with more money and resources are often able to insulate themselves from at least some of these risks. I used a clip from the Story of Stuff to make the point.

Is it Christmas yet?

The trees Ian cut down earlier on in the year, disappeared
under the grass and reappeared as the grass died down. Now
they are disappearing under the snow. Sigh!

I also saw that as we learn to heal our environment it in turn heals us. A pleasant environment becomes a place to relax in or to even de-stress. We need those places for sources of inspiration, for food, medicines and so many other possibilities and as I am sure an acquaintance of mine would point out, we should protect it for its own sake and value. I and my fellow participants would say that we should also protect it because that is our God given mandate to do that. We presented our findings to the other participants of the conference, so I did get to do a presentation after all. At least the practice of past presentations meant that it was possible to put it together pretty quickly.

Icicles look pretty, but so soon?

Possible Lynx footprints. Not what we want to see really
when the sheep are out. Someone today suggested that they
and the wolves are going to be hungry this winter in Estonia
at least because the wild boar numbers have finally crashed
after the African Swine Fever. It might explain why we haven't
had much damage this year

During my stay up in Tallinn I stayed with a young couple I had stayed with before. They are so incredibly hospitable and it was a joy to meet them again. I had mentioned that others might need to stay too and they had mattresses set up in preparation. They welcomed them all warmly and made sure that everything was labelled and all foibles of showers and toilets were explained. It was amusing that the toilet light was wired into a radio to disguise all noises that may emanate from within, as this was a source of embarrassment for someone who had shared their apartment. It played retro music and so every time I popped in, it was like stepping back in time to my youth and certainly before many, if any, of the other occupants that weekend were even born.

How Estonian or Latvian! A roll in the snow, but that should
be after a spell in the sauna first. Brrrr!

Today was another snowy trip to Tartu but first I had a meeting with a professor at the Tallinn University and a good friend of one of my supervisors. I have rediscovered how to navigate the occasional ice patches that are beginning to form as I made my way carefully across the town. I took the precaution of taking the buses or trams, even for short routes, rather than walk on snowy paths as I usually do. It was a good meeting though and helped to confirm that I am on the right track for my PhD studies, for which I am grateful to know. From there it was onto Tartu by train. It was a pleasant journey as I met one young lady who I had met the day before at my friend's apartment and we sat and chatted for most of the journey about the future and how we envisaged it to be.

It's just not right

Beautiful but no idea what it is

Well it is weird, definitely weird. Snow scenes in the shopping malls and balmy nights with Christmas lights, eating outside and people sitting at other tables wearing Santa hats and pulling crackers. All upside down and back to front somehow. It doesn't feel like Christmas. No shopping done, and no time at the moment anyway as I am still trying to write an assignment, and having difficulty getting my head around it, although it is beginning to flow a bit now. Maybe it is jet lag but I don't feel that bad and sleeping well.

The backgarden! A little different methinks!

It doesn't feel that odd that it is so warm and yet the nights darken so early, I got used to that in my visits to Brazil and when living in Colorado. It doesn't even feel that odd seeing all the different types of trees and plants as they remind me of Cyprus. Neither does it feel that odd that we set off from snowy lands to land in a pleasantly warm one, we experienced that last year in our visit to Cyprus in March. No what does feel odd is the occasional glimpses of Christmas, the occasional house decorated with fairy lights, the wafts of Christmas songs in the shopping malls, people greeting each other with the phrase "Are you ready for Christmas yet?" It's just not right! It jolts the system and gives me a strange "not quite sure I am with it" sensation. It is also odd being bitten by mossies in December! Don't they know its nearly Christmas? I may as well have dropped down on another planet, such is the strangeness of landing in Australia near Christmas time.

What a life!

The weather has been good to us as it has been quite pleasant most of the time and only on one night did it feel stuffy and that was before we discovered how to put on the air-conditioning courtesy of our future son-in-law. Okay we know how to operate air-conditioning but we are staying in someone else's house who is not here at the moment and it is difficult to know where the air-con controls would be situated, even if they are right under your nose. We did meet the young couple whose house we are borrowing before they set off to the other side of Australia for a family wedding, in fact we even drove their car back from the airport so they didn't have to get a taxi. I find it so encouraging though to find a couple with such a gift of hospitality, a very underrated gift I might add in Western cultures. In the bible, hospitality is highly rated. Romans 12:12-14 says

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.


I think the Western church is very good at preaching about the first verse, less so about the second though and yet it is so needed. Hospitality used to be the hallmark of the Celtic monasteries where even an important fast would be broken for the sake of hospitality (The life of St.Columba), and they took their fasts seriously in those days. Sharing your home with a stranger is not easy, but if you can do it with grace and humility then that is a rare and precious gift, this couple have it in abundance. 

York

It has been interesting getting to know the place where our daughter now lives and spending some time with the about-to-be-married couple. We have not had much chance to get to know our future son-in-law up until now, so it is a special time indeed, just hope we don't put him off - as if we would!!! (Innocent smiley here I think!). Still he has made all the right moves by taking us out to eat, to a lovely quaint place out of the city in a place called York and our Christmas present from the both of them, was to pay for a holiday on the South Coast in Denmark next week (or was that to get rid of us for a few days? Hmmmm). York! Denmark! Not quite like the places we know that are called by the same name, we even lived in Denmark at one time but it wasn't in Australia that is for sure. 


And just to update you, back home in Latvia I am told there is 40cm of snow. Looking forward to landing in that when we eventually get back - I think!