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After a very comfortable week in Norway visiting a childhood friend, I found a cheap flight to Estonia to visit my friend Ivari and I absolutely love it here. And by friend, I mean someone I met in Japan three months ago. And by visiting, I mean I invited myself and he was sweet enough to host. He has an apartment but it's being rented out on AirBnb so we are staying in his new place which is under renovation. And by renovation, I mean I sleep in a sea of construction materials, the shower only has cold water, and there are no doors -- not even to the bathroom. I love everything about this situation. Despite the primitive living conditions, the apartment is right in the heart of Tallinn's Old town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site!). It's very European to me with its cobblestone roads, red roof tops, church steeples, cute outdoor cafes, and violinists on the streets. We went to the top of St. Olaf's church which used to be the tallest building in the WORLD...a really long time ago. One of my favorite excursions was going to this place with a sign for "a decent bowl of soup" where we enjoyed some cheap and delicious elk soup inside what was basically a candlelit dungeon. Estonia is just magical. Life here has been carefree, joyful, and beautiful. Some days, we go grill in the woods then take a swim in the frigidly cold ("refreshing") Baltic water. One day, we went for a hike in the woods where we found this huge mushroom to take home and eat. Sometimes we enjoy late-night ice cream while watching a breathtaking 11pm sunset. Another day, we were invited on a luxury cruise tour, complete with a free 4-course meal (plus wine!). Then there was the day we went for a bike ride and we took every wrong turn possible. After lots of cussing, a few bruises, and some serious self-discovery, we managed to rush back in time to catch the last train of the night with about 7 seconds to spare. Throughout this amazing experience, I keep wondering if I prefer to be comfortable in the home and company of an old friend or be thrown into a slightly stressful, mildly awkward, and largely unpredictable situation with lots of unknowns. And by that I mean, I can't believe how lucky I am to even be debating these two options.