I used pig fat as a spread?!!

Monday Nov 29



Lesson one when traveling to Estonia - don't eat anything until you know exactly what you are eating!

I thought I was so smart reading up on the country and the people and yes, even the food. I even heard about some weird dishes they have in the winter time. For instance they cook pork with the bones to get a jelly like substance with the meat. Ofcourse there's the pickled herring and pickled cabbage.

Tonight the plant mgr took us out to a russian restaurant. I have never had russian food before so I was excited. THe menu did have english but we all agreed to let Mart order some appetizers for us to try. He was hesitant at first in case we didn't like what he ordered. Ofcourse I was the first one to pipe in that no problem, we want to try some local traditional dishes. What came out looked harmless enough. There were some interesting dishes. Pickle wedges with honey as a dip - very good. Large white beans cook with ham and eaten with a toothpick, a plate of cheese and pickled garlic and sweet onions. I took a big bite of what I thought was goat cheese(since it was arranged with the cheeses and thought it tasted rather bland. Later Mart explained that it was pig fat mixed with garlic and used as a spread for bread. Yuck! I could have eaten a nice wedge of chocolate cake for the same amount of fat but better tasting!

Mart told us stories of estonia. He is very proud of how the country is so small but has kept up with modern times. He often says we a country of a million people and that's why we get things done so quickly. 10 years ago they stopped carrying driver's licenses. When a cop stops you your license plate will come up in the computer with picture and info. Taxes and voting have been done electronically for just as long. We were surprised to learn that Skype was developed by estonians, who would have thunk?! I for one am glad of this invention since it has made it so much easier to be away from Gary. Talking everyday helps us keep up with the day to day stuff.

It was so interesting to hear Mart tell us stories about his country and the people. Few of the things he says were in the guide books. It confirms my belief that you don't really learn about a country, beyond the surface stuff from guide books, until you talk and get to know the locals. Mart must be in his 50's so he was around durin g the soviet occupation. In fact he was forced to go into 2 yrs of military service in siberia where there is only 2 seasons - unbearably hot and unbearably cold! We were curious if estonians hold any grudges to the people that occupied their country, the latest being russia. He said no, that is a waste of energy. He does not blame the people but more the governments. "we are a peace loving people and just want to get on with our lives"

Mart was a realtor for a few years and sold pre-fab houses throughout the baltic states and scandanavia. He told us that in estonia most houses have saunas. In fact a house does not have a high selling value unless it has a sauna. The homes here are spread out. Mart says that estonians do not like to live near each other and if given the chance they want to be as far from their neighbor as possible. This is the opposite of what you would typically find in europe where you find villages of homes close together. He said this tendency of personal space extends into business as well. He admitted that estonians are not good at being politically correct in that they say whatever comes into their heads. "we are simple country folks!" These insights really helped me understand the colleagues here since it has been a little different than my previous audits.

We had a good laugh hearing about the Finnish people. Apparently it is very expensive in Finland so the Finns love to hop on a ferry and come to Tallinn to drink. They love the vodka here and will be drunk for most of their time here and then they will leave with cases of it as well. Mart told us a story about a client who repeatedly brings back to Finland more vodka than is allowed and is fined for it. When asked why he does it when he is caught every time, he replied that even with the fine, it's still cheaper than buying it in finland!