State of the Coast 2014

Eelmine n2dal sai kiirel linnulennul l2bi, kuna jooksin aina yhest kohast teise. Esimesed paar p2eva siplesin, et oma esitama koolit66 2ra l6petada, kolmap2eval-neljap2eval kylastasime konverentsi ning ka reede kukkus l6puks v2gagi t66kas v2lja. 

Kolmap2eva hommikul asusime teele New Orleansi, kus suurest konverentsist osa saime - State of the Coast 2014. P6hiteemadena arutati igasugused probleeme, millega Louisiana rannikuala peab tuleviku ees v6itlema. R22giti viimase aasta orkaanidest, eriti Katrinast ja nende tagaj2rgedest, ning muidugi sellest, et kliima muutuse t6ttu on taolised tormid tulevikus tihedamad n2htused. Vee tase t6useb ja kalda22rsed kylad-linnad peavad varsti kolima, kuna teised variandid ei ole enam v6imalikud. Viimane teema t6i muidugi ohtralt elevust rahva hulgast, kes nendes komuunides elavad ja kes end see t6ttu v2ga puudutatuna tunnevad. Eriti just need, kes juba seitse p6lvkonda samal krundil elanud ega kuidagi m6ista ei taha, et kui vesi l6puks nende aeda j6uab, peavad nad minema niikuinii. Lisaks r22giti siis igasugustest muudest projektidest ja plaanidest, millega soovitakse rannikualasid kaitsa ja restaureerida. 

Last week went by terribly fast, since I just ran from one place to another and back. The first few days I took time to finally finish some school work for last semester. Wednesday and Thursday we visited a conference in New Orleans and even Friday turned out to be very productive regarding to our project here (I guess at some point I will take time to write more about that!).

On Wednesday we drove down to New Orleans to take part of  a huge conference 'State of the Coast 2014'. As a main topic, all kinds of problems that the coast of Louisiana will face in the near future were discussed. On one hand, they talked about the past hurricanes, especially Katrina in 2005, their aftermath and how Climate Change can bring similar storms and floods more often. For example, a very hot topic covered measures which include relocation of coastal communities towards inland, since with sea level rise other options are simply not considered anymore at one point. This of course resulted in lots of comments from the people who actually live in these communities and don't want to leave since their family has lived on the same piece of land up to seven generations. On the other hand, the state is very eager to restore their wetlands and coast in general to make it safer and more resilient against hurricanes. 

SAABUSIME KONVERENTSILE, VASAKULT GERBEN, MINA TEMA EES, MEIE PROFESSOR DR. REAMS JA 6PILANE TYRGIST/

ARRIVING TO THE CONFERENCE, FROM THE LEFT GERBEN, A BIT OF ME IN FRONT OF HIM, OUR PROFESSOR DR. REAMS AND A STUDENT FROM TURKEY

L6UNAS66GI JUTUD,/

LUNCH SESSION

KES EELMISEST KEVADEST M2LETAB, SIIS MORGAN ON TYDRUK, KES MINU JUURES HOLLANDIS ELAS KUU AEGA. PLAKATI V6ISTLUS OLI OSA KONVERENTSIST, TEMA OMA OLI YKS PALJUDE SEAS, MIS T6I TALLE KOLMANDA KOHA!/

SOME OF YOU MIGHT REMEMBER MORGAN FROM LAST SPRING WHEN SHE STAYED WITH ME IN VLISSINGEN. POSTER PRESENTATIONS WERE PART OF THE CONFERENCE AND HERS WAS ONE AMONG MANY OTHERS. SHE BROUGHT HOME THE THIRD PRIZE!

TYYPILINE KONVERENTSIN2NN! JA MUIDUGI SEE IMEPISIKE TABASCO KASTE, MIS P2RINEBKI SIIT SAMAST LOUISIANAST/

FEW ITEMS FROM ALL THE STUFF I COLLECTED THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE

Nagu 6eldud, toimus konverents New Orleansis, mis on meie juurest umbes 1.5 tunni autos6idu kaugusel. Kuna me aga hotelli eest maksta ei tahtnud, s6idsime m6lemal p2eval edasi-tagasi. Gerbenile ja mulle oli konverentsi kylastamine oluline ka sel p6hjusel, et meie professor Hollandist v6ttis koos kolleegiga konverentsist osa. Igati kift oli temaga siin kohtuda. L6petasime kaks pikka p2eva m6nusas kohalikus restoranis New Orleansis. Reedel alustasime varase kohtumisega koolis, kuhu taas k6ik professorid kokku tulid. Jagasime palju vajalikku infot ja t66tasime pikalt terve p2eva. 6htu l6petasime taas yhise 6htus66giga, sel korral Jaapani buffees, kus nosisin imemaitsvat sushit. 

New Orleans is about 1,5h away from Baton Rouge by car. Sine we didn't want to book a hotel down there, we simply drove back and forth twice. Our research professor from the NL had also come all the way to the conference with his colleague from the HZ, which made it even more interesting for Gerben and I to attend the event. It was definitely nice to see him there. We finished our two long days at a local cuisine restaurant in New Orleans. On Friday morning, a meeting was scheduled with our research team, including Gerben, Ryan and I, and the four professors, two from both sides of the bond. We shared lots of useful information and worked well the whole day. In the evening we had a goodbye dinner for our two Dutch professors at a Japanese buffet restaurant with amazing sushi!

RYAN & GERBEN

VASAKULT: GERBEN, MINA, KAKS PROFESSORIT HOLLANDIST, DR. REAMS LSU-ST JA RYAN/

FROM THE LEFT: GERBEN, I, TWO PROFESSORS FROM THE NL, DR. REAMS FROM LSU AND RYAN

St. Patrick's Day

Eelmisel laup2eval t2histati Baton Rouge-s Pyha P2triku p2eva, mille puhul korraldati uhke paraad. Muidugi ei saanud me sellest kuidagi m66da vaadata, eriti p2rast Mardi Grasi, kuhu paar p2eva hiljaks j2ima.

Last Saturday, Baton Rouge celebrated the St. Patrick's Day with a grand parade. As we had just missed Mardi Gras, we simply had to take part of the crazy green event!

HOMMIKUNE MAGUSA YLETOOS / 

SWEET OVERDOSE TO START THE DAY

KUI P2RLEID SOOVID, TULEB NENDE NIMEL VEIDI VAEVA N2HA, M66DUVATE INIMESTEGA KONKTAKT LUUA JA NEED SIIS 6HUST KINNI PYYDA. ISE KOGUSIN L6PUKS UMBES 30 AGA M6NEL TEISEL OLI TERVE KOTT T2IS.. /

BEADS.. MAKE EYE CONTACT, CATCH AND COLLECT AS MANY AS YOU WISH. I ENDED WITH ABOUT 30, BUT SOME OTHERS DRAGGED THEIRS AWAY WITH A HUGE BAG..

Thoughts on restaurants and food

Aeg lendab kiirelt, juba saigi meie esimene n2dal l2bi. Kuna meil v2ga mahti kokata oma esialgsetes korterites polnud, s6ime enamasti v2ljas ja paaril korral Ryani juures ka. Hinnad restoranides on ysna madalad, kohati Eestiga v6rreldavad ja vahel ka odavamad, Hollandiga pole m6tet v6rrelda, sest seal ei saa endale 6pilasena v2ljas s66mist tihti lubada. 

Ylikooli ymbruses on ohtralt erinevaid restorane ja kiirtoidu kohti. Vahel on lausa masendav kui palju neid viimaseid on, sest ega me suured f2nnid pole ja proovi siis leida yks, mis kiirtoidu koht pole. Kyll aga oleme v2hese ajaga endale juba paar lemmikut leidnud. 

Time flies and our first week in the US has already passed. Since we didn't want to cook at our temporary apartments, we mainly ended up eating out and few times at Ryan's too. Prices in the restaurants are relatively low, especially compared to the NL. I mean, as a student we barely go out for dinner there. 

There are a lot of different dining places around the and in the LSU campus. Unfortunately, most of them are focused on fast food and sometimes it's difficult to find one that is not. Nevertheless, we have found already few that we really like! 

KR6BEDAD FRIIKARTULID JUUSTU, BEEKONI JA HAPUKURGIGA / 

CRUNCHY FRIES WITH CHEESE, BACON AND PICKLES

Restorani astudes v6tab sind vastu nn perenaine, kes vastavalt seltskonna arvu j2rgi oma laua kaardilt laua valib, menuu ja kahvlid-noad kaasa haarab ning sind lauda juhatab. M6ni minut hiljem kohtud ettekandjaga, kes  end tutvustab ja joogitellimuse v6tab. 

Vesi on tasuta ja juurde valatakse tasuta. See t2hendab siis seda, et kui tellid n2iteks coca v6i muu karastusjoogi, maksad vaid esimese klaasi eest ja edasipidi tuuakse kannu v6i uue klaasiga juurde. Alkoholi me restoranides eriti tarbinud pole, kuna siin ju vanusepiir 21.  Dokumenti kysitakse koheselt, kui lauast joogi tellid. Joogid serveeritakse alati ohtra j22ga. 

A host will welcome you on the restaurant door. According to the amount of people in the group, she chooses a table from her 'map of tables', crabs forks and knifes and leads you to the table. After a few minutes, your waitress comes along, introducing herself and taking the order for drinks. 

Water and refills are for free, meaning that even if you do order a coca or another soda, you only pay for the first glass and during the dinner, the waitress will come to pour you some more or give you a new glass of whatever you had earlier. When ordering alcoholic drinks, the waitress always asks for a document right away in the table, since the age limit here is 21.  

Paaril korral oleme proovinud m6nda eelrooga, ning aru saanud, et kindlasti jagub sellest v2hemalt kahele, kui mitte suuremale grupile. Portsonid on hiiglaslikud, eriti paari p2eva eest tellitud sibuar6ngaste kuhi, millest mul pilti kahjus pole.. Samuti olime h2dast, kui tellisime m6lemad brownie magustoiduks, mis oli topelt nii suur kui ootasime. Pearoad muidugi ka, ma olen ysna kindel, ei pole siiani veel kordagi oma taldrikut t2itsa tyhjaks s66nud. Aga ka selleks on lahendus - kui enam pugida ei jaksa, pakub ettekandja sulle karpi, millega siis j2relej22nud toit kaasa v6tta!

Kui toit s66dud ja aeg arve tasumiseks, kysitakse kohe, kuidas maksta soovid. Ilma igasuguse mureta jagatakse arve kaheks, kolmes, neljaks jne, ilma, et igayks peaks t2pselt 2ra mainima, mis ta t2pselt s6i ja j6i. Arve saabudes annad oma kaardi, mis kiirelt koos kahe tsekiga lauda tagsi j6uab. Yks tsek on kilendile, teine restoranile, viimasele tuleb lisada tipp (tavaliselt 15%) ja kogusumma, ning allkiri. Kui kliendid on lahkunud, koristab kolmas inimene laua, kelle t66 ilmselt ongi laudade koristamine.

We have tried out a few starters when we felt more hungry and understood that ordering one starter for two or even more people is more than enough. Portions are huge, especially the one time we got a hill of onion rings and ordered a brownie for each that turned out to be twice the size we hoped for. I am quite sure I have not finished a whole plate of main dish so far either, but if you wish , there's always the possibility to get a box and take the leftovers with you. 

When it comes to paying the bill, the waitress asks how you would like to pay. Quite often it is no problem at all to pay it separately, without pointing out what everybody exactly had. First the bill will be brought to the table, and after you present your card, the waitress takes it to the register, swipes it and brings it back with two receipts - a copy for the restaurant, and a copy for yourself. It is important to sign the restaurant copy, together with adding a tip of 15% and the total amount you wish to pay.

Nagu mainisin, oleme paaril korral ka Ryani juures 6htustanud, kus nautisime suvist grilli ja Ryani kutsude seltskonda. 

Like I already mentioned, we have also had dinner at Ryan's a few times, enjoying some meats from the BBQ and playing around with his sweet dogs. 

AHJUS R6STITUD JUURVILJAD, GRILLVORSTID JA GRILLITUD SPARGEL/

OWEN ROASTED VEGGIES, SAUSAGES AND GRILLED ASPARAGUS 

N2LJASED GERBEN JA RYAN /

GERBEN AND RYAN ARE READY TO DIG IN

PORKCHOP & WEEGO

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6HTUNE LOUISIANA PARLAMENDI HOONE / 

THE LOUISIANA CAPITOL  AT NIGHT

ENDISE KUBERNERI VILLA BATON ROUGE KESKLINNAS /

THE HOUSE OF FORMER GOVERNOR AT DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE

KATSETAN PIMEDAS HETKEDE J22DVUSTAMIST /

TRYING OUT SOME SHOTS IN THE DARK

Late night Mississippi

Kui eile 6htupoolikul p2rast m6nusat k6hut2it Gerbeniga kodupoole jalutasime, sai meil sabast kinni Ryan, kes oma imearmsad kutsud just pissile lasi. Esmalt oli ta yllatunud, et me yldse jalutasime, sest ega siin keegi peale meie jala ei k2i ja s6idetakse v2hemalt bussiga. Siis aga kutsus ta meid hilis6htuks Mississippi j6e 22rde, et sealt m6ned kiftid pildid endaga kaasa v6tta. Niisiis olimegi pool 11 taas tema maja ees, s2ttisime rattad ja varustuse valmis ning kimasime j6e 22rde.

While walking back home after a long day and a good dinner, we were spotted by Ryan who just let his dogs out for a pee. First he was a bit surprised to see us walking, since it really seems like we are the only ones walking here. Most people would at least take the bus if they don't have a bike or a car. Since Ryan was planning to go to the bank of the Mississippi river to capture some pictures of the boats and the great sky, he invited us to go with him. So at 10.30 we were back at Ryan's, prepared the bikes and the equipment and got a first glimpse of the Mississippi at night. 

'Tiigri staadium' on Louisiana State University ameerika jalgpalli staadium. See on yks suurimad ylikooli jalgpallis ja p2rast praegust juurdeehitus mahutab staadion umbes 100 000 inimest. 

The Tiger Stadium is the football field of the Louisiana State University. It's one of the biggest college football stadiums in the US and after the reconstruction, it will fit around 100,000 people. 

Esimesed p2evad Ameerikas! / First days in the US!

Tere taas, mu kallid!

V6in 6nnelikult teatada, et olen j6udnud Ameerika Uhendriikide l6unaosasse, Louisiana osariig pealinna Baton Rouge'i. Kindlasti ei ole paljud v2ga kursis, miks ma siin olen ja kuidas ma siia t2pselt j6udsin, kuid kahjuks ei olnud mul aja t6ttu v6imalust enne 2ras6itu oma plaanidest t2pselt jutustada. Usun aga et minu tulevastest postitustest saab k6ik selle ilusti v2lja lugeda. Vabandan oma olematute t2pit2htede p2rast ka, kuid loodan, et k6igile on systeem juba arusaadav. 6petused eesti keelse klaviatuuri installeerimiseks/kasutamiseks Windows 8'l on v2gagi teretulnud!

Enamus eelmise n2dala reedest kulus meil (koos hollandlasest grupivenna Gerbeniga) reisimiseks ning sihtkohta j6udsime juba laup2eva varahommikul. Mina pugesin kiirelt tuttu, kui teie juba maitsvat hommikus66ki nosisite. Ajavahe Eestiga on hetkel seitse tundi, paari n2dala p2rast juba kaheksa. Hetkeseisuga olen endale eluaseme leidnud hiina 6pilase juures, kes samas keskkonna osakonnas doktori kraadi omandab. Gerben 66bib tema s6bra juures minust veidi kaugemal. Varsti aga kolime mujale!

Hi there!

I can gladly announce that Gerben and I have made it to Baton Rouge, the capital of the state Louisiana in the US. Some of you might wonder how and why we actually got here, but that will become clear in my upcoming posts. 

We arrived early Saturday morning when most of you in the NL were already busy with having breakfast, we however went quickly to bed after a very very long day. The time difference with the Netherlands is currently 6 hours. At the moment we stay in separate apartments with Chinese students, I with a guy who is doing his PhD degree in the Environmental Sciences department, where we will study as well. Soon, we will move into our own apartment.

Alustasime oma esimest p2eva poisi juures, kellega j2rgmistel kuudel ka koos t66tama-6ppima hakkame. Ryan on meeletult lahke ja aitab meid k6igega, milles abi vajame. P2rast kiiret hommikus66ki s6itsime Baton Rouge'i kesklinna, kus varsti algas 'Vee festival'. Esmakordselt s6itsime l2bi ylikoolilinnakust ning j6udsime Mississippi j6e kaldale. P2rast lyhikest jalutusk2iku j6e kaldal, suundusime kohaliku (Louisiana osariigi) parlamendihoone juurde, kus festival varsti algust sai.

Koheselt sai selgeks, et fesitvalist kui sellisest on asi kaugel. Mu ettekujutus oli pigem miski vee-etendus, purskkaevud jne. Aga ei, see oli hoopis protest/s6nav6tt siinsete keskkonna aktivistide poolt, kes tulihingeliselt v6itlevad puhta vee ja keskkonna eest. Selleks k6igest v6iks muidugi oma postituse kunagi kirjutada.. Lyhidalt on k6ik seotud siinse 6li-gaasi tootmise ja kaevandamisega, kuna osakiir toodab umbes neljaniku kogu riigi toodangust, niiet kujuta ette kui palju. Muidugi ei ole see karvav6rtki kasulik siinsele keskkonnale, veele ja t2nu sellele ka inimeste tervisele ja seega astuti yles enne, kui uued seadused vastu v6etakse. Siin ka v2ike artikkel: http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/03/10/green-army-prepares-battle-louisiana-legislators-protect-water-oil-industry-threats.

We started our first day at Ryan's place, who is the student in LSU working mainly on the same flood resilience project as we are. He is very kind and helps us with everything we need. After a quick breakfast, we headed to a 'Water Festival' in downtown Baton Rouge. On our way, we got a first glimpse of the university campus and passed the Mississippi River. After a short walk on the river bank, we drove to the Capitol (building for the Louisiana state government), where the festival was about to begin. When I first heard about it, I imagined it was more of a water show, but this was more a rally, where environmentalists fought for a cleaner water and environment. Story short: Louisiana produces 1/4 of the total production of the US, but that is obviously harmful for the environment and water, affecting the health and everyday life of people who live here. Thus activists gathered just few days before the local government comes together and discussed new changes in the laws, which have to be changed in order to cure the environment. See the article here: http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/03/10/green-army-prepares-battle-louisiana-legislators-protect-water-oil-industry-threats.

The capitol / Parlamendihoone

Kui aktivistid oma loo l6petasid, olid meil k6hud tyhjad ja seega otsisime kesklinnas asuva s66gikoha. Ryan teadis, et l2hedal asub 'Poor Boy' (vaene poiss). Hiljem 6ppisime, et 'poor boy' on yldine nimetus v6ileivale, mis siinsele rajoonile omane - lihtne v6ileib, tihti mereandide v6i muu heaga. Nii nosisime m6lemad Gerbeniga yhe vaese kreveti poisi. Yllatuseks mulle olid krevetid 6lis praetud aga maitsev oli siiski. Hiljem s6itsime natuke linnast v2lja ostukeskusesse, kust endale l6puks ka uue l2ptopi sain. L6petasime p2eva maitsva k6hut2iega Ryani juures. 

By the time the Rally ended, we were already quite hungry and found our way to a small diner nearby called 'Poor Boy'. As we learned later, it is a kind of sandwich very common for the area, often served with lots of seafood of your choice. When our stomachs were filled, it was time to get me a new laptop, so we drove down to the shopping area. Fortunately I did find one that I am happy with! We finished our day at Ryan's place with a nice dinner.  

Pyhap2evaks olime plaaninud kylastuse erinevatesse korteritesse. S6itsime l2bi p2ris mitu, aga paljude kontorid polnud muidugi avatud. Kyll aga leidsime paar tykki, mis meile meeldisid ja kellel ka kontorid avatud olid. Nimelt on siin kontorid alati igas kotertiyhistus olemas ja ei pea kuskile kaugele maaklerit otsima minema. Leidsime kaks kohta, mis meiel v2ga meeldisid ja nyyd uurime, kuidas ja millal saame kolida. 

P2rastl6unal kohtusime Morganiga, sama tydrukuga kes eelmisel kevadel kuu aega meie juures elas. Morganiga jalutasime esmakordselt ylikoolilinnakus. 

For Sunday we planned to go by different apartments that we could rent. We drove by quite many, but unfortunately most of the renting offices were closed since it was Sunday. We did however find a few that were open and fell in love with these. We narrowed it down to two options and now hope to move in one of these very soon. In the afternoon we met with Morgan, the same girl who visited us in the NL last spring. She gave us our first tour on the university campus. 

Kodus tagasi, v6tsime ette jalutusk2igu l2himasse toidupoodi, mis muidugi v2ga l2hedal ei olnud. Lisaks on siin k6nniteedega v2ga halvasti, niiet jalutasime rohu sees suurema s6idutee 22res. Tagasiteel leidsime m6nusa Mehhiko restorani, kus nautisime imehead Guacamole't. 

When back home, we decided to walk to the closest grocery store, which actually wasn't close at all,  but we made it. The road was harsh though, since there are no sidewalks and we simply had to walk in the grass next to the road. On our way back we found a nice Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some amazing Guacamole. 

Proovin edasipidi tihedamini kirjutada! J2rgmise korrani, kallid!

From now on I will try to write a little more often to keep you posted with the everyday life here in the US! Until next time! xx