Cold muffin greeting

It was a two day journey, four flights hoping over both large and larger ponds. Rain in Chicago, drizzle in Amsterdam, wet in Copenhagen, it all made me feel like a frog puddle jumping. As i approached my former homeland, i sensed the dreary dark city that loomed in the distance.

I was on the last leg of my re-routed flight, quite a transition from the KLM flight, unreliable as it was. But the KLM flight was friendly. People smiled, i struck up a conversation with a gal waiting at the Chicago gate which we continued after arriving in Amsterdam. Quite a transition when i sat down on the Estonian air flight, and greeted the gal sitting beside me saying ‘Tere’, to which she responded with a short 'Tere' and then stared out the window. No eye contact at all, hardly any more response than i got from the cold muffin served for dinner.

Five hours late, I finally arrive in Tallinn but my luggage didn't. Personnel at the airport was a matter of fact, no smiles or apologies, just the minimum amount of words to assess the situation. It would eventually take another 22 hours for my luggage to be recovered, though they initially stated it should arrive on the last flight the same evening. The same was true of the person who delivered the suitcase the following evening, all done with cold blooded professionalism.

Met up with some old friends on the following days, which always warms the heart. But dealing with supermarket cashiers, bank tellers, mobile phone company personnel left me somewhat chilled, and i'm quite certain it wasn't from the winter air.

Saturday i travelled to Tartu with my friend Mike to look at a car. We arrived at the dealer, found the sales staff were about as friendly as a frozen muffin. They gave Mike the keys and pointed to the car he was interested in. Again, only the minimum amount of words necessary were exchanged. No motivation, no sales pressure, as if this dealer had discovered the fountain of apathy.

Since they offered no suitable vehicle, we took a walk in the Town Square were we were pleasantly surprised to discover much music and dancing, plus an entertaining log cutting and firewood stacking competition. Positive spirits, clearly these people weren't drinking the same fountain as the car dealer... It all gave me flashbacks to the summer song and dance festival http://footprintblues.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-land-is-this.html. People smiling, singing and dancing together for a couple of days. Seems Estonians reserve their smiles only for special occasions..

So i'm here for the next few weeks. Being Christmastime we should remember what to be cheerful for. And as much as i'm turned off by the over commercialized and somewhat fabricated Christmas cheer in North America, i certainly miss those friendly smiles here. Yet people on both sides of the pond seem to miss the main point of it all. The Christmas message should a place of transformation, a message of good news and true joy, not some fabricated entertainment whatever form it may take.