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Week 34: Dawn of the Master Study ✨✈️ The Journey to Tallinn🛂 TRP Card Adventure🛒 Settling In🌧️ Museum, Music & Drinks😴 Hangover & Moving🌊 Big Meetup by the Sea

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Week 34: Dawn of the Master Study ✨

J.Gong

2024-08-25

1.62min

Week 34: Dawn of the Master Study ✨

A long week, full of first times and new adventures. Let’s go day by day.

✈️ The Journey to Tallinn

Aug 20 — Flew with Turkish Airlines on a Boeing 777. Honestly, they’re awesome:

  • 2 meals 🥘
  • Free goodies (socks, eye mask, headphones, blanket) 🎁
  • Entertainment system with games & music 🎮🎶

At Istanbul Airport, Turkish Airlines gave me a free meal voucher. The waiter wasn’t thrilled about it 😅, but hey, food is food. I even managed to nap at the airport for free 🛌.

Second flight was an Airbus 320. Old, but still had games — 2048 was fun, Angry Birds was a bad idea 😬.

Landed in Tallinn at 6 PM. Met my study buddy Karl, but sadly my luggage got torn (part glued together, lol). Karl drove me around the Old Town 🏰, where I learned Estonian bachelor programs are just 3 years (lucky bastards).

Checked into a hostel — very loud with drinking games every night 🍻, but thanks to red-eye exhaustion, I still slept well. Jet lag hit at 2 AM though (7 AM China time).

🛂 TRP Card Adventure

Aug 21 — Had an appointment at the Police Station for my TRP card (residence permit that comes with free buses + some citizen perks 🚍).

Two mistakes though:

  1. Booked the appointment far from the city center (accidentally stumbled into Tallinna Laulava, where the Singing Revolution happened 🎶✊).
  2. Went there with zero documents 😅.

Somehow it worked out — fewer people in the suburbs, the officer let me fill the form at home and didn’t cancel my spot. She looked super strict, but at the end gave me a big smile and a congratulations 🎉.

🛒 Settling In

Aug 22 — Grocery day! Checked out Prisma, Solaris, and Rimi. Verdict: Rimi = cheapest 🛍️.

🌧️ Museum, Music & Drinks

Aug 23 — Rainy day, but full of social fun:

  • Museum of banned books 📚
  • Listened to Estonians sing a Chinese song 🎤🇨🇳
  • Three different bar rounds:
    • Alcohol coffee ☕️+🍸
    • Open karaoke (my first ever karaoke on stage 🎤😳)
    • Irish jazz bar 🎷 (ended up in deep convos about Chinese history with a Lithuanian guy).

Got properly drunk 🍻😂.

😴 Hangover & Moving

Aug 24 — Moved from hostel to school dorm. Too hungover, slept all day 🛌.

🌊 Big Meetup by the Sea

meetup

Aug 25 — Found a local Asian food store (only opens afternoons 🍜). It was a hot 28°C ☀️ — my Norwegian friend Erik said he was dying 🥵.

selfie

Huge international student meetup — so many people it felt like a parade 🎉. Even boats by the shore blew their horns for us 🚢.

I tried the water earlier, so I dragged Erik to jump in with me 🌊. Got a few cuts (coastal rocks, ouch), but it was worth it — super fun and crazy.

Met my roommate Svet — super clean guy, already helped me tidy the kitchen 🧽. Excited to see what next week brings!