I was sitting on the bus today with Luke, when an old woman asked me to open the window in good English. I obliged, and we sat for a few more minutes before she leaned over and asked me how her English was. We got into a conversation, and we talked about the merits of learning other languages. She confessed to me that she was a former English teacher, and I told her that I am a future English teacher. When I asked her how long she has lived in Tallinn, she told me that she moved here fifty years ago from Russia when Estonia was part of the USSR, and that she doesn't speak any Estonian. She told me that she is the last person in her family. No children, no husband, and no living relatives. She began to cry a little as she told me how it was hard to be all alone. I had no idea what to say to someone in such a situation, so I just listened. We got off at the same stop and after a brief goodbye, went our separate ways. I know that she made an impact on my day in a big way, and probably a latsing memory of what it means to be truly alone, and I hope that even as just a friendly face and voice on the bus ride home, that I enriched her life a little. God knows she needed it.

I'll post a more thorough account of my time in Tallinn, including photos, later this week when I'm back in Haapsalu with a stable internet connection.