Valentines

being single and dating in a foreign country is difficult. though many of the people i meet speak english quite well, i have often found that my humor does not translate. when i make sarcastic comments with a laugh or smile and still receive blank stares i know that the relationship has ended. beyond that, the fact that i am in estonia for a limited amount of time seems to deter those interested in the long term. with valentines day approaching, i felt a bit sad knowing that the romantic holiday i've known in the past was not to be in my immediate future. i got over it and decided to be proactive. when out at a concert with my friend andrew last week, i turned to him during intermission and proposed, "will you be my valentine?" he said that he would and we immediately began planning "our" holiday. you see, andrew and i talk about dating all the time. my bad dates and his bad dates. as two american fulbrighters living in estonia with many common interests we've become good friends these past few months. spending the holiday together, getting dressed up and going to a nice restaurant so that we could talk some more about bad dates was the best way to spend valentines. wonderful food, lovely wine, two red roses, and a lot of laughter made my night.