"Mommy, I gotta pee..."

Toilets work just like they do everywhere else (except for the icky squat versions in the Mediterranean countries), but there can be some confusion about how to find one and which one to use.

The sign to look for is "WC", which stands for "Water Closet". In any kind of public venue, the toilets may be broken down more by gender, with a "M" for male "Mees", and an "N" for women "Naine".

It's not uncommon in Tallinn for bathrooms to be unisex. The toilets are lockable with their own little cubicle, so they only thing that people end up sharing is the sink.

Most staff in Tallinn speak a fair amount of English, so you can just ask them where the toilet is. If you want to be cool, ask them for the WC (pronounced 'vey'-'say').

Some establishments (malls, public toilets) require you to pay to use the bathroom. A lot of these places are coin-operated, so it's a good idea for you to have at least 2 one-krooni coins (the big gold ones) in your pocket.

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Estonian language/ Eesti keel

Want to endear yourself to Estonians? Learn some Estonian.

It's a difficult, almost impossible language, Scott thinks. There are 14 cases in the language, no gender, and no future tense (the joke is - no sex, no future). And pronunciation is paramount.

And it's even more difficult to learn because Estonians aren't used to hearing accented Estonian, like English speakers are used to hearing accented English. So if they can switch to English, they will.

The good news for foreigners is that everybody pretty much under 40 speaks English nowadays. But you're a guest in their house, so a few words wouldn't hurt your image as an Ugly American (which, compared to places like France, isn't so bad).

We would suggest the following, to show respect:

Tere (tear-eh): Hello. The first part sounds like tearing a book, not crying.
Ja: (yaa): Yes
Ei: (A): No
Palun: (Pall-un): Please. The nice thing about Estonian is it often sounds like it reads. Just put the stress on the first syllable
Aitäh: (Eye-tah): Thank you.

That's your Estonian language starter kit. We will continue lessons.

Read also: Douglas Wells, former Peace Corps volunteer brought to light the true roots of Estonian language.