Estonia Week!

This week we "went back to our roots" a bit.  I am of 50% Estonian descent, so that means Eva and Emma are 25% Estonian.  As you would imagine, there are no "how-to" guides for doing a unit on Estonia, so we just forged our own path!  We kicked off the week by listening to some Estonian radio stations.  I taught Eva some Estonian words and sounds using my Eesti Aabits book from when I was young.  We learned about folk costumes, and made a paper doll puppet of an Estonian child wearing a traditional costume.  Eva made paintings of the Estonian flag, in "sini-must-valge", or "blue, black and white".  I made some flashcards so Eva could learn some basic words in Estonian.  Fun fact: when I was a child, I actually spoke Estonian!  I hope to one day relearn it, but learning to speak German fluently is more pressing at the moment :)  My maiden name, "Kirsipuu", means "cherry tree".

Here is an Estonian song from my childhood that we sang:

Tiiu, talutütrekene

Tiiu, talutütrekene, kaske, kaske,
Tiiu, talutütrekene, kaske, kaske.

Sest saab nobe neiukene, kaske, kaske,
sest saab nobe neiukene, kaske, kaske.

Sukavarda veeretaja, kaske, kaske,
sukavarda veeretaja, kaske, kaske.

Leemekulbi liigutaja, kaske, kaske,
Leemekulbi liigutaja, kaske, kaske.

We made and sampled Estonian cuisine.  One of my favorites is Hapukapsasupp, which is made from sauerkraut, pork and carrots.  It is a very easy recipe and tastes yummy!  We also made some Õuna-saiavorm (Apple bread pudding) and Marja-saiavorm (berry bread pudding).  Finally, we sampled sult (head cheese), which was one of my favorites growing up.  I'm not sure why!

A popular Estonian activity is making designs out of potato stamps.  The pros make some pretty amazing and intricate designs.  We just made some basic shapes, but they still came out cool!

Here are our potato stamp-making supplies: knives, pumpkin carving set, cookie cutters, and a meat tenderizer.  Some tools worked better than others.  Eva only used the scooping or poking tools, no knives.

Our finished stamps

Hard at work!

Skulls potato painting

Mushrooms in a field

When we made the berry bread pudding, we found this berry stain on the doorway.  Eva claims it could not have been her that made it...I will let the evidence speak for itself.

 

Here is our apple bread pudding. 

Here is the Hapukapsasupp.  It doesn't look so super being reheated the next day, but it tasted delicious!

Here is a shot of the berries and citrus zest cooking for our berry pudding.

The finished berry pudding.  Something tells me this is not how it is supposed to look, but the cookbook didn't have any photos!

Mmmm, head cheese!  Eva was not a big fan.

My well used "Eesti Aabits" book

Homemade flashcards to learn some Estonian terms

Eva's rendition of the Estonian flag, along with her puppet.  Now she puts everything on a stick and calls it a puppet!

Old-school Estonian dolls in folk costume.

The cookbooks I used this week.  They both have delicious recipes inside.

Another Estonian study book. 

This week, Daniel and I also got some time away for ourselves to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Bern!  Here is a youtube link for the version of Snow they performed in Bern.  Hey-yo....  And here are some videos we took during the concert.  I even got to ride on Daniel's shoulders for Under the Bridge!  We had a great time, and Eva and Emma had a blast visiting with some of our friends!  Below are two videos from the concert.  As you can see, the Swiss people are very well-behaved, even at a rock concert.  There is no crush from the crowd like you get in the US!  (Although, isn't that part of the fun of a rock concert?) I know I dance with Elaine from Seinfeld, always have :)