We were thrilled in Tallinn

We're back from a trip to Tallinn, Estonia, which was declared this year's cultural capital of Europe (along with Turku). I think Vicky (a.k.a. Vikkinger) put it best in her status update:

"Back from one hell of an adventure with ------ in TALLINN: whisper in the medieval alleyways, a blueberry confession, Black Poodle, a hair cut, love attacks in the streets, Chicago's big band music, art nouveau, Dancing Eesti, encounters with backpackers, Yellow Umbrella's funeral, an orthodox wedding, digging in the suburbs, sea sickness, the Bermuda 'party' Triangle and good penny worth. Eastonia, you are awsome-ary!"

Wow, we had a great time, but now I need to get back into the academic groove.

I forgot to mention how happy I am to be volunteering at Doc Lounge this season. Basically I am selling tickets at the front door, putting up posters, and spreading the word around friends and university circles. I get to watch documentaries produced in Finland and abroad, which have been entertaining, informative and inspiring.

Last week I saw Ikuisesti Sinun (Forever Yours). The documentary followed several children who were taken into foster care. The main themes were childhood innocence and the relationship between children and their biological parents. The documentary wasn't so hard hitting, but the producer caught some beautiful moments. Moments of anger, loneliness, sadness and satisfaction. The audio and visual quality was great. I liked the editing; it was sometimes choppy, which paralleled the situation; and it was continuous, keeping our attention and understanding. However, the documentary raised several ethical questions for me: In a tense, emotional situation, how close may a documentarian get before intruding? How does she/he decide whether the dramatic scene is relevant to the story, at the vulnerability of the characters involved? What are the director's motives behind an emotionally-charged story like this? Does it matter?

I would like to intern at a documentary production company and see the process (thought and technical) of creating something like this. It's not just picking up a camera and shooting everything I guess...

Time for dinner, and then for more studies.

As a p.s., I'm really missing my mom.