07.07. It was a day to discover more about Estonia. It was planned to visit Maarja küla, Taevaskoja and Tartu. Because I am local I was already aware of those places and prefered to spend a day with my countryside. After allnighter it was a blessing to sleep one extra hour after breakfast before my parents picked me up. It was a warm sunny day and I used it properly. I know that you are all curious about my day I spent at home. First of all, I went to the potato field and picked Colorado beetles. Fortunately I found only one, on previous years we have had bigger problems with those bastards. Then I decided to relax a bit and sunbath with my cat :) Then I went back to work and picked raspberries, it was more pleasant work than monitoring my potato field. Among eating berries I found time to help my father with tractor repairing as well. But after couple of hours of work I gave up and went to sleep. I had sweet 4-5 hours of sleep but football match and empty stomach made me wake up. My grandpa had made barbeque and I even saw first half of England vs Croatia match. Then I drove back to Kivi talu. I don't know, did I speed up way too much, but the distance seemed so short. For Evelin I brought my cat with me. Muffin was afraid of this environment but she handled the situation nicely. Usually she becomes a true devil on a strange environment. My dad and cat went back home and I saw additional time + penalties of the soccer game. It was intriguing game with Croatian citizens with us. Actually I was surprised when I returned and saw people working on their videos. It took so much time from them and I really felt sorry about their lack of sleep. I mean, it is okey if it caused from your own will to enjoy the company but not because of compulsory task. For most of the people it was still a change to recharge their batteries at least because our team "let's stay up all night long" was smaller than usual. At least we learned from each other more. For example, Kaan is a true criminal XD 08.07. In the morning session we watched those brilliant videos. Unfortunately they are not online yet. Then we received more information about Photo Voice method. Behind that method is so succinct idea that you start thinking why you haven't heard about that before. Because I dealt with berries a day earlier I brought them with me to project as well. Heleri gave us also strawberries. So, coffee breaks were filled in with fresh snacks. We used our human resource to make "Seiklejate Vennaskonna suvepäevad" advertisment. Velislav and Kaan were great and helpful models for us. We also appreciate Zenaida's and Mihaela's help. After lunch we were divided by different target groups. I was in a domestic violence group. We put on a paper ideas how to Photo Voice should work on within this target group. It is more difficult than you can imagine, it is not easy to guess what other people are thinking and how to they react on different situations. Exciting part of the day was sauna. Totally exotic experience for most of the people. Sauna itself maybe is not anything special but cold lake afterwards make the experience memorable. It is funny to see people from south suffering in sauna, they always have more struggles than people from central Europe. People were shocked that Billy decided to go to the sauna on a traditional way. Kaan was totally surprised of the scene. After sauna was time for social games again, this time we had moved even level higher with the tasks. 09.07. On the last day we had a last activity with Andreea. We had to analyse a text and make a conclusion of it. After lunch we had more flexible schedule but our very last activity was really sweet. It was time for a last shopping trip to Ramsi A&O. Because Cristina had a birthday on a next day we had to make preparations. We made a ritual with black tea and water. If you poured tea into the bowl, it represented negative things you wanted to mention and pure water represented positive aspects. It was really emotional ceremony and the best conclusion for a project that I have ever had. After dinner was time for a last photoshoot. We walked with Karolina, Kristi, Kaan and Velislav to a bigger lake. On a sunny day it has really beautiful light blue colour. Even during the twilight water seemed pretty blue. Because there were local youth hanging out we didn't hesitate to interrupt them at the first place. So we went to the grass field to feed mosquitos. To be honest, most of the time I don't even notice them flying around but I totally understand how big problem they are for foreigners. Because Estonian younger generation didn't want to leave the place we just joined their party and made super-cool photoshoot while in the background they were swimming. Moreover, we used their JBL speaker and enjoyed their their music taste XD I am pretty sure that on a way back walking with my bikinis and wet towel I got cold (even though Karolina doesn't believe in it) Anyway, we tried to organize Cristina's birthday surprise secretly but I am convinced that she knew that we are preparing something. Her birthday arrived with a cake, candles and sangria. What else one Spanish girl can wish? :D Finally we had a proper night to dance like mads. I was afraid that this night would never arrive. Because I can truly live myself out only on the dance floor. On that evening I understood again how confusing person I am. I wish I could know myself as well what I want from life. 10.07. At the first place I had to go to the job interview on that day but I am glad that they cancelled it a day earlier. It would have been a hard task to do. I also wished that itinerary would have been longer because 2 hours of sleep in the bus wasn't definitely enough. In the airport we had to make our first goodbye round. Most of the people still came back to the city center but they put their luggage on the airport lockers. It took plenty of time for waiting for them there. And Goran surprised us all with his wideness to do check-in and avoid lockers at all :D Back in the city center most of the people followed me to my university to leave our luggage there. Then we started walking tour in Tallinn. I have somehow found a working route to follow with tourists. Firstly, Rotermanni Kvartal, then, Linnahall and Telliskivi Loomelinnak and of course Tallinn old town and panorama spot. In Telliskivi we went for eating. While sitting there we received new that most of the flights were delayed. We tried to figure out the reason but just couldn't. Participants even had time to explore Balti Jaama Turg but after that we headed directly (with some stops in front of souvenir shops) to tram stop. And it was time for a second round goodbyes. Now, only Bulgarians and Carlos were left. But because Carlos had an Estonian host they had to transport his luggage to her flat. Then we were hanging out with Bulgarians in the old town. Our famous seagull was also on his position and ready to receive all the attention. Thanks to Karolina's father we were able to move our luggage from university to Bulgarians Air B&B host. Then we went to a shisha place. Planka and Zenaida joined us as well because they didn't want to wait for their delayed flights in the airport. We were totally tired because we were just lying on the sofas. When Plaka and Zenaida left we started exploring Bulgarian and Estonian music. It was so weird feeling, after two years I finally have proper Bulgarian friends. Best thing is that Bili sent me sirene cheese and filo dough. I am eternally thankful for this gift. I had an amazing culinary experience when I went back home. For dinner we went to Kompressor to enjoy best pancakes in the town. Then Maria told us about her dream she had. I believe in this kind of predictions, so most probably Maria will move to Estonia (Y) On the freedom square we met Carlos once again because he was watching football there. But we headed to Bulgarians apartment. It was a tiring week and intense day and we were exhausted. That's why I rushed to the last bus to go back home. I definitely didn't expect this kind of project but I am grateful I was part of it. This training course seemed more like youth exchange to me. And best part was the fact that I had an opportunity to go home and recharge myself a bit. And of course the fact that I gave all my useless things to my parents, it made my luggage way more lighter. Even though I tried to avoid those bacterial sharing games I enjoyed being part of them. Even though I didn't set high expectations to the project it was one of the best. I am glad that I met all these people. And once again, I am super happy about Bili's gift. Homemade banitsa made my life even better. I am glad that most of the people can see each other in Wales again - UPDATED me as well :)
0 Comments
03.07. It was another rainy day. In the afternoon I had my driving lesson and somehow I arrived one hour earlier to the spot than I supposed to be. So, I used that time to transport my bag to my university main house. Thank god that it has a perfect location in the city center. After driving lesson it was time for shopping because city was full of sales. Moreover, we had to buy stuff for cultural night and coffee breaks with Karolina. Then we headed together to my uni. There are only few months left until I can enjoy beauty of this building. When we arrived in front of the Russian Culture center only Mihaela with her baby and mother-in-law where there. We were afraid that others do not show-up on time but fortunately they arrived alltogether to the meeting place. Our next stop was in airport. We had some parking problems and in total we waited for missing participants more than we supposed to do. After picking up all Bulgarians as well, we were ready to start our journey to Kivi talu. In two hours we spoke practically about every topic you can imagine. We totally took an advantage of speaking Estonian all that time. After dinner we did a first meeting round to get to know each other more. To be honest during the first nights I wasn’t the most active on society point of view. I had totally different expectations about the project because I have had already too many projects during the year and I didn’t want to add one more on the list. My aim was more like to manage the project a bit more. To learn how to handle a project on my own. Because now I am in a stadium where I felt that I should contribute a bit more to the community and write a project on my own. Because I had that mentality that I am not one of the participants I was at first inactive during the free time activities as well. 04.07. We started our project with proper meeting games. For example we had to fill in our paper version Facebook page and find new friends according to it. We had to retell the facts what we picked up while having those meet & greet conversations. Everything went quite ordinary until Billy told us a secret that someone is pregnant. And in the end of the project we had to figure out who she should be. After intriguing secrets we got basic knowledge about Erasmus+ by watching the videos and having a discussion about youth pass 8 key competences. Do you see a connection between Hawaii islands and youthpass key competences? Both of them have 8 different üksust. So, with paper boats participants had to travel around those islands. Before dinner we had to solve mission impossible. It was the hardest one I have ever playes. There were so many extra rules and tasks were also unusual. There were plenty of ways how to fill in free time. By playing ping-pong, jenga, darts games, badminton etc. This evening we had our first reflection group. We shared our thought about the day. After that I showed surrounding to Elif and Velislav. And again, I went to bed super early. We discussed with Kristi that we are already too old for this project things XD 05.07. On the next day it was time for profound understanding of the topic as well. In general, what is evaluation and monitoring. And what methods to use to improve learning process. Weather in Vardi changes always quickly but fortunately we caught a right moment during lunch break to pick some wild strawberries. Right after our photoshoot by the lake it started raining. So, we were quite lucky. And Karolina was double lucky, because she almost fell into the water. Fortunately Kristi saved her on a last second. Best part of that sad accident is the fact that I captured the moment when it all happened. Even though it seems to be pointless situation it was a big thing for Karo, she mentioned that incident in her reflection group as well. Probably everyone knows that negotiation is not easy part of collaboration. To submit that participants had to make a play where they had different roles in orange trading situation. It was educating task but for me it didn’t involve all the group members. If only one person is going to represent your group following all the plot might become boring. I was late for my reflection group because I went for a running and discovered forest nearby. But when I returned I discovered a change on our group work. From now on we had to draw our position on the Blob tree to represent our learning progress etc. 06.07
We had more practical work to do and learn. Like what is the input and outcome of all the monitoring and evaluation progress. I liked the storytelling part when we imagined that we have to keep up a bonfire to survive in Estonian woods. Even though it was a training course we had active games and energizers all the time. Helena had recovered from her illness and Heleri was finally with us as well. Now we had two babies in the project. A total blessing. In the evening we had intercultural night. Bad thing about that was the fact that we had 13 different countries. We tried to put a time limit for a country presentation but in the end it all took way too much time and we finished with presentation about midnight. Estonian team is fault of long "time to shine" moment as well. Karolina and Kristi had a great idea how to integrate people to our culture by making tasks for them. And then we had culinary part as well. Was it caused by exotic snack and drinks but somehow we started playing weird Turkish game. We gathered together the younger generation of the project and had so much fun. Even Billy was surprised while seeing us. Zeinaida's application made the night last forever. It is really hard to explain that but nobody from us didn’t want to go to sleep. Okey, at some point we lost Turkish girls but in general we were duff. We even enjoyed first morning hours by the lake screaming out loud some weird Portuguese phrases. It was so cool night. I consider it to the best night I have ever had during the Erasmus+ project. 21. august Bussisõit tagasi Tallinna algas väga varakult ja seetõttu oli otsatarbekas bussis süüa. Jagasime koos Neidiga bussis saiakesi, värskeid puuvilju ja kohukesi. Toidu jagamine toimus raskendatud oludes, buss kõikus ja suure saiakotiga oli keeruline tasakaalu hoida. Sellepärast tulebki bussis ühe koha peal istuda ja ka turvavöö kinnitada! Sõit kulges sombuse ilma taustal ning umbes kahe tunni pärast olime taas Villardi korteris. Seal toimus kiire riiete vahetus, ja paljud pidid uuesti rohelistele kaartidele päevapileteid ostma. Peagi asusime Kadrioru poole teele. Teel presidendi lossi, suutsime enamuse väliseestlastest tee peal ära kaotada. Kadrioru lossi aed võlus neid ja nad läksid seda avastama. Õnneks oli neid lihtne leida ja peagi olimegi kõik koos turvakontrolli läbinud. Meile tehti kantselei hoones põgus ekskursioon ja tuuri käigus õnnestus meil isegi Presidenti ennast kohata. Ta oli oma olekult nii vaba, et paljudele jõudis alles veidi hiljem kohale, keda nad just enda ees nägid 😉 Hiljem nägime ka Presidendi tööruume ja ma sattusin juhuslikult istuma toolile, kus proua Kaljulaid diplomaatidega kohtudes istub. See fakt giidi suust tõi mulle ootamatult suure tähelepanu projektikaaslaste poolt. Pärast lõunasööki suundusime otse Tõnismäele, et kohtuda Haridus- ja Teadusministeeriumi Tallinna esinduses projekti rahastajatega. Meile tutvustati projekti tähtsust riigi seisukohalt ja analoogseid projekte, mida nad on korraldanud. Meile räägiti ka üldiselt õppimisest Eestis ja milliseid toetuseid jagatakse. Lisaks oli osalejatel võimalus küsida nende jaoks olulisi küsimusi. Koosoleku ruumis oli üsna formaalne õhkkond, aga kui nö ametlik osa oli lõppenud ja meid kostitati, muutusid ka jutud vabamaks. Lisaks saime kõik ka kingikotid meenetega. Need olid üsna innovatiivsed, näiteks pliiats, millest võib hoopis taim kasvada või veebikaamera kate. Lisaks leidsin enda kingikotist veel study estonia mütsi. Pean ütlema, et see müts on osutunud üsna vajalikuks, sest välismaal noortevahetustel käies teavad kõik minu rahvust 😊 Taas korteris olles saabus Selveri toit ja see tuli kolme korteri vahel ära jaotada. Seekord jagasin toidu mina laiali, see üli üsna nauditav tegevus. Õhtul oli meil Eesti filmi õhtu. Küsitluse tulemusena selgus populaarseim film – Viimne reliikvia. Osade jaoks kõlas filmimuusika tuttavalt, isegi teatud fraasid ja stseenid. 22. august Seekord külastasime veelkord ühte idufirma kontorit. Nii suundusime Transferwise'i kontorisse. Nende innovatiivne kontor avaldas meile kõigile muljet. Pallimeri pani meid tundma kümme aastat nooremana ja moodne kontorikeskkond avaldas muljet. Rahvusvahelistest töötamisvõimalustest räägiti meile hoone terrassil. Ei saaks öelda, et vaade oleks nüüd imepärane, aga õhkkond ise oli seal väga mugav. Sealt suundusime edasi Maksu- ja Tolliametisse. See oli üsna mannetu ettekanne nende poolt. Väga raske oli infot jälgida ja ega mind eestlasena see väga ei huvitanud ka. Pärast lõunasööki oli meil ekskursioon Bastioni käikudes. Jagunesime keeleoskuse järgi kahte gruppi, sest üks ekskursioon oli eesti keeles, teine inglise keeles. Enne maa alla minekut näidati meile informatiivset ajaloolist videot Tallinna ajaloost. Mööda pimedaid koridore liikudes muutus õhk üha niiskemaks ja külmemaks. Pärast Bastione oli meil vaba aeg ja me otsustasime minna Kassikohvikusse Nurri. Olin hiljuti käinud vaatamas Istanbuli tänavakassidest kõnelevat filmi Kedi ja tänu sellele oli mul prii sissepääs kohvikusse. Kõik nautisid kasside toredat seltskonda, kuigi kassid ise polnud meist nii suures vaimustuses. Õhtul nautisime Katariina poolt küpsetatud Kanada küpsiseid. Uudis maitsvatest maiustest levis kui kulutuli ja peagi olid need ära söödud 😁 Kuna projekti lõpp oli juba tuntav, siis nautisime veel aega üheskoos lauamänge mängides. Andrew õpetas meid projekti jooksul hullu Unot mängima. See oli väga hoogne ja lõbus mäng. 23. august Viimane projekti päev tõi kaasa keeleõppest kokkuvõtte tegemise. Viisime sessiooni läbi Suur-Ameerika tänaval. Ergutasime end massažiga virgeks ja saatsime väliseestlased linna peale elulisi situatsioone lahendama. Vastavalt keeleoskuse tasemele tuli neil tänaval inimestelt abi paluda ja võimaluse korral see jäädvustada. Kõik said ülesandega suurepäraselt hakkama. Tänu edukale sooritusele lõime kõik projektis osalenud väliseestlased rahvuskaaslasteks. Uku sai ülesandega suurepäraselt hakkama ja osalejad tundsid end hästi. Meenutuseks projektist ja Eestis veedetud ajast kirjutasime üksteisele toredaid laused ühistest mälestustest. Viimane õhtusöök Kohalikus Kohvikus oli erilisem kui muidu. Suundusime ülakorrusele, kus meile oli kaetu suur laud. Toit oli väga eestlaslik, kartul ja liha. Viimane ühispidu kulmineerus Hollywoodi külastusega. Paljud osalejad pidid juba öösel lahkuma, püüdsime neile korteris niikauaks seltsiks olla. Kuigi ma andsin oma parima, siis jäin ka mina siiski magama. 24. august Hommikul kraamisime korterid puhtaks ja jagasime hommikusöögi toitu osalejate vahel laiali. Kell 11 jätsime Villardi kortermajaga hüvasti ning suundusime igaüks oma teed. Pärast intensiivset kümmet päeva oli hea taas koduseinte vahel olla, kuigi tühjuse tunne oli suur. Õnneks hakkas meie grupivestlus kihama inimeste kodutee lugudest ja mõned osalejad jäid ka veel Eestisse, mistõttu oli põnev nende seiklusi jälgida. See projekt oli midagi enneolematut. Oli vahva kohtuda Eesti juurtega inimestega. Paljude jaoks oli see esmakordne kogemus viibida oma esivanemate maal. Õppisin Eesti kohta koos nendega, samas, sain ka neile midagi õpetada. Projekt leidis meediakajastust, nii raadios, teles kui uudismeedias. See lõi võimalused ka peale projekti lõppu kõige meenutamiseks. Tavaliselt siinkohal ma tänan kõiki oma blogis kasutatud fotode autoreid, aga selles projektis panustasid kõik imeliste kaadritega ja ma ei suuda kõiki autoreid identifitseerida. Sellepärast tänan teid kõiki, kes tegid selle projekti eriliseks 😘
17. august Tänane päev oli pühendatud eesti keele õppele. Hommikul õppisime erinevaid värve tundma läbi "Haned-luiged, tulge koju" mängule analoogselt. Veel said nad osa punamütsikese mängust. Kuna mina otseselt keele grupis ei olnud, ei pidanud ma nende mängudega tegelema. Küll aga aitasin Seiklejate Vennaskonna Facebooki lehele otseülekannet salvestada. Videost on näha kui väga ma üritan kõiki vajalikke andmeid oma ajust meelde tuletada. Hiljem moodustati 2 gruppi, olid keeles edasijõudnud ja algajad. Algajad tutvusid eesti tähtede hääldusega ja tegid etteütlust. Edasijõudnud õppisid uudissõnu ja mängisid poomismängu. Pärastlõunal suundusime matkale Kuradisaarele. Tegemist on väga laheda saarega, kuhu saab jala kõndida kui leiad õige koha. Meil oli algul selle koha leidmisega raskusi, aga leidsime õige raja ja alustasime kivist, valusat ja libedat teed saarele. Ma jätsin oma plätud jalga ja mu tee polnud nii valulik, aga libe oli küll. Saar ise oli oma üksinduses väga lummav. Kõndisime saare teise küljes asuvasse randa, ka seal oli äärmiselt kivine. Sain selleaastase esimese/viimase ujumise Soome lahes kirja. Saabusime saarele päikesega, aga lahkusime äikesepilvede ähvardaval jälitamisel. Kui olime oma ööbimiskohas tagasi, muutuski ilm äärmiselt kehvaks. Retk väsitas meid ikka korralikult ära ning õhtul võtsime vabalt: sõime veel allesjäänud magusaid tooteid kogu maailmast ning mängisime lauamänge. 18. august Pärast hommikusööki jätsime õdusa keskkonnaga hüvasti. Javier jättis proua Agnesega hüvasti, meil kõigil oli bussiaknast seda rõõm vaadata. Lõunatasime Taevaskoja Turismi- ja Puhkekeskuses. Maja oli ehituselt äärmiselt sarnane Mammaste spordikeskusele. Mingi valdav ehitustiil Põlvamaal vist. Kõht täis, ootas meid aktiivne liigutamine - kanuusõit ja sellele järgnev matk. Olin ühes kanuus koos Annelii ja Eva-Lottaga. Olin seekord paadi silmadeks. Alguses ei tulnud meie aerutamine just kõige paremini välja, aga kui meil hakkas kõik sujuma, siis polnud teisi kanuusid silmapiiril. Koos teiste ilmumisega, tekkis ka pinge ja me jäime mitmeid kordi kivide vahele kinni. Ühe korra pidin ma lausa kanuust välja ronima ja meid taas õigele suunale pöörama. Kuigi üksinduses sujus kõik enam-vähem komplikatsioonideta, siis koos teistega oli palju lõbusam. Andrew ja Dmitrii olid juba veemõnusid tunda saanud ja olid lahkesti nõus ka meid märjaks pritsima. Meie kanuu jäi siiski pinnale ja pääsesime kuiva jalaga paadist välja. Põlvamaa hajaasustus loob ideaalse pinnase ära eksimiseks. Kuna kanuujuhendajad ei andnud meili mingeid juhiseid, püüdsime navigatsioonisüsteemide abil õige suuna leida. Kui juba tundus, et leidsime matkaraja ja kõik sujub, siis mingist hetkest kadusid märgid ja teed ei viinud mitte kuhugi. Ühel hetkel väljusime metsast Maarja küla juures. Sealt hakkasime lihtsalt mööda teed tagasi oma majutuskohani liikuma ja jätsime Suure Taevaskoja külastuse ära. Seda enam, et kanuutades nägime sarnaseid liivakivipaljandeid. Kuid sportlik päev ei saanud õhtusöögiga veel punkti. Kohale olid tulnud kaks rahvatantsutreenerit. Nende vahendusel tantsisime tunni aja jooksul jalad villi. Tegelikult midagi hirmsalt keerulist ei olnud, aga valdavast osast tantsudest ei olnud ma kunagi varem midagi kuulnud. Ka see tants ja trall sai otseülekandega jäädvustatud. Õhtul võtsin asja rahulikult. Öiste jutuajamiste asemel soovisin oma soojas toakeses ennast korralikult välja puhata. 19. august Hommikusöök Põlvamaal, kiire keeleõpe bussi oodates, lühike sõit ja peagi olimegi tudengilinnas Tartus. Meie majutuskohaks sai Hektori hostel. See on justkui segu korterist, ühiselamust ja hostelist. Pärast asjade ära viimist, suundusime Tartu õppimisvõimalustega tutvuma. Tartu Ülikoolis pandi meid ühe pika laua taha istuma ja tutvustati Tartu Ülikooli õppimisvõimalusi inglise keelsetel suundadel. Õnneks mõjusid kõik need ülikoolijutud mulle immuunselt. Olin umbes kuu varem oma valitud erialale sisse saanud ja minu haridustee jätkus Eesti Kunstiakadeemias. Pärast lõunasööki Big Benis ja Londoni tunnetust oli sisuliselt vaba aeg. Suurem osa grupist suundus Uku tuurile. Meie Kristi ja Eliisa aga läksime Tartu kristallipoode avastama. Ostsin endale amuleti, mille pidin ka kohe kaela panema, muidugi ei saanud ma järgmisel päeval seda enam ära ja nii ma kandsin seda pea viis kuud järjest. Pärast väikest shopingut suundusime tagasi Hektorisse, et homse bussisõidu pirukad meie toa külmkappi ära pakkida. Osad saiakesed sõitsid koos meiega ka otse Eesti Rahva Muuseumisse, kus me need näljastele välja jagasime :D Muuseumi külastus toimus koos giidi ekskursiooniga ja meil kulus kõige avastamiseks tundel. Soome-Ugri näitus oli päris tore, need valgus ja heliefektid seal olid muljetavaldavad. Õhtul ootas meid eriline õhtusöök Apraadirestos. Legendaarne külm sinihallitusjuustukook tõstis kõigi tuju. Õnneks asus paik täpselt meie majutuskoha kõrval. Uhke õhtusöögi tarbeks oli võimalus oma litritega kleit välja otsida ja platvormid jalga panna. Kuna oli siiski laupäeva õhtu, tutvusime hiljem ka Tartu ööeluga. 20. august
Hommikusöögiks pidime minema vanalinna, et einestada Rüütli tänava kohvikus. Hommikul olid kõiki veidi vaiksevõitu, aga oli ka sündmusterohke öö, niiet veidi rahu ja vaikust kulus ära. Hiljem kohtusime Pauli venna Hansuga, kes osales projektis eelmine aasta ja elab nüüdseks õpingute tõttu Eestis. Tema lugu pidi teisi inspireerima Eestisse tagasi kolima. Eesti taasiseseisvumispäeval ei toimunud Tartus mitte ühtegi avalikule publikumikule suunatud üritust, täiesti uskumatu. Aga vähemalt õnnestus meil AHHAA teaduskeskust külastada. Trehvasin seal isegi oma endist eesti keele õpetajat, ta oli perega meeleolukat päeva veetma tulnud. Kogu keskus pakkus endiselt toredaid elamusi. Teadusteater jättis aga eriti võimsa mulje. Kutt, kes seda läbi viis oli väga kelmikas ja šarmantne. Väliseestlaste põhjus Eestisse elama kolida ;) Õhtu lõppes õnnistatult, me sõime Taverna Pizzerias. Õhtul valmistusime oma korteri neidudega, et minna Yasmiini tema sünnipäeva puhul õnnitlema. Üllatasime teda kohe pärast südaööd. Usually I write about my international projects in English but this time I decided to not use my broken English. It would be embarrasing for native speaker noticing my mistakes. So, those three post are in Estonian. Take it as a challange or as an opportunity to communicate with your Estonian relatives and friends. Also, Google Translator might help. 13. august Minu teekond Villardisse kulges vahepeatusega elektroonikapoodi. Ülikool polnud enam kaugel ja oli vaja soetada uuemat tehnikat. Isa tõi mind otse maja juurde ja see oli vajalik, sest seekord olin tulnud projekti suure reisikohvriga. Asi polnud soovis kogu oma garderoob kaasa pakkida, lihtsalt ma olin valmis võimalusega magama täispuhutaval madratsil ja seetõttu võtsin magamiskoti kaasa. Koha peal siiski selgus, et voodeid on piisav arv ja keegi põrandal magama ei pea. Ülemisele korrusele oli juba hulganisti Eesti korraldajaid kokku tulnud kui ma kohale jõudsin. Arutasime läbi järgmiste päevade ajakava ja korralduslikud küsimused. Samal ajal kostitasin kohalolijaid oma aia hernestega. Uku suur toiduhuvi hakkas koheselt välja paistma ja peagi olime olukorras, kus herneste asemel oli kolm suurt pitsat. Kuna need maitsesid liiga hästi, siis loomulikult suutsin ma üle süüa. Pärast söögiorgiat jagunesime kahte gruppi, et arutada keeleõpet ja projekti sissejuhatust/kokkuvõtet. Mina olin viimases grupis. Kuna liitusin Eesti tiimiga asendusliikmena, siis polnud mulle paari päevaga ikka kohale jõudnud, et ma ka reaalselt teen seal kaasa. Igatahes jagasime Kadri, Uku ja Neidiga erinevaid seltskonna ja tutvumismänge ning tegime plaani, kuidas homne päev edukalt ära korraldada. Osalejaid muudkui saabus ja vaheldava eduvaga käisime uksi avamas, et nad saaksid oma pagasi ära panna. Kella kuue paiku pidasime korterikoosoleku, et üksteisega paremini tuttavaks saada. Igas korteris oli kokku 10 inimest, aga millegi pärast oli meie vestlusringis vaid 8 inimest. Karmen läks koju, aga üks väliseestlane oli maja peale kadunud. Millegi pärast tõmbas 3. korrus inimesi nagu magnetiga. Oma osa mängisid ka latinode sõprussuhted. Õnneks jõudis Cristofer peale mõningasi otsinguhüüdeid siiski õigesse korterisse. Peagi asusime esimesele ühisele õhtusöögile. Meid võõrustati pannkoogirestoranis Kompressor. Pärast pitsasid oli selline eine tõsiselt liiast. Ma üldiselt austan toitu ja söön alati mulle määratud portsjoni ära, aga seekord oli see kõik liiast. Kuidagi juhtus nii, et sattusin hispaania keelt kõnelejatega ühte lauda. See oli esimene võimalus tutvuda osalejate eesti keele oskusega. Kahjuks teadsid nad vaid üksikuid sõnu, aga oli väga südantsoojendav neid sõnu praktikas kuulata. Mul oli kaasas märkmik ja nad isegi kirjutasid eesti keeles neid sõnu. Tutvustasin toidulaual nähtavaid esemeid ja toite eesti keelsete terminitega. Läbi vanalinna tagasi koju jalutades said osalejad juba põgusa ülevaate vanalinnast. Õhtul toimus esimene tutvumisõhtu eesti keelse sõnamänguga, kus pidi omadussõnaga ruumis viibijat iseloomustama. Kuna restoranis ei olnud võimalik kõigiga kohtuda, siis see andis väga hea ülevaate osalejate keeleoskusest. Ma olin äärmiselt üllatunud kui Katariina tõlkis kaartidel olevaid sõnu ilma raskusteta. Need, kes suutsid reisiväsimusle vaatamata hiliste õhtutundidele ärkvel olla, võisid näha Javieri ja Cristoferi metsikut latino-tantsu. 14. august Kuna meie majutus oli korterites ja nö peredes, siis sellega kaasnes ka ühine hommikusöök. Igaüks valmistas enale meelepäraseid roogi. Valikut oli palju, ka eestlastele omast putru, aga millegipärast ei keetnud mitte keegi omale putru. Pärast hommikusööki suundusime Kristiine Noortekeskusesse, kus toimus meie tutvumisüritus. Kordasime ringis üksteise nimesid koos omadussõnadega. Mina olin ringis viimane, seega mina sain selle au oma mälu täiel määral rakendada. Ütleme nii, et 95% täpsusega said kõik nimed nimetatud. Lisaks nimedele rääkisime ka projekti päevakava põgusalt läbi ning panime kirja oma ootused, lootused jne. Jagasime ka välja blogi kirjutamise kuupäevad. Blogi saab lugeda siit. Nimelt pidi iga päeva kohta kokkuvõtte tegema 2 väliseestlast ja neile oli abiks üks kohalik osaleja. Kui tutvumisüritus oli lõppenud, seadsime sammud lõunasöögikohta Kohalik Kohvik. Tegemist on väga hipster kohaga. Nõud on pärit taaskasutusest ja seetõttu erineva kuju ja värviga. Eriti tähelepanuväärseks teeb koha see, et seal töötas teenindajana üks noor noormees :) Pärast täis kõhtu asusime kohe kaloreid põletama. Suundusime Nõmme seiklusparki. Kuna see asub Karmenile tuttavas rajoonis, siis juhendas ta meid Mustamäelt otse spordikompleksini. Kuna me liikusime vajalikesse kohtadesse korterite kaupa, siis ei jõudnud me enamjaolt üheaegselt kohale. Ega ühistranspordile mõjukski koormavalt kui me kogu grupiga peale lendaks. Meie korter oli juba varakult platsis, nautisime päikesepaistet ja telesaadete salvestusi. Lapsepõlves sai mitmelgi korral Nõmme Seiklusrajal klassivendade sünnipäeval käia. Seetõttu oli rada mulle üsnagi tuttav, kuigi kümne aastaga on ka uusi takistusi tekkinud :D Tagasi kodus korraldasime esimese saunaõhtu ja iga korteri ülesanne oli eesti toitude jaoks menüü koostamine. Meie kui päriseestlased tohtisime neid vaid nõustada. Kogu valikuvabadus kuulus aga neile. Kuna Cristoferil oli olemas eesti kokaraamat, valisid nad sealt välja kamavahu retsepti. Osadel inimestel jätkus pärast seiklusrohket päeva veel jõudu ka linna ööeluga tutvumiseks. 15. august Lisaks sellele, et tassisin kodust herneid, võtsin kaasa ka suvikõrvitsa. Suvi lihtsalt kulges nii, et ma ei saanud väga palju aega kodus veeta, aga soov oma aia saadusi süüa oli suur. Tegin sel hommikul suvikõrvitsa-muna hõrgutise. Andrew oli minuga ühel lainel ja soosis igati mu hommikust vaaritamist. Nagu tavaks oli saanud, pühendasime aega hommikusele mitte-formaalsele eesti keele õppele. Hommikul ootas meid Suvi ema korraldatud tuur Tallinna vanalinnas. Saime endale kuularid ja kõndisime mööda vanalinna nagu õiged turistid kunagi. Vanalinnas ruttasime kohe edasi Mustamäele. Me külastasime innovatsioonikeskust Mektory. Kõige põnevam oli sealne ventilatsioonituba. Rääkiv mannekeen ja diskotuled muutis ruumi äärmiselt huvitavaks. Ekskursioon lõppes Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli tutvustusega. Olen viimase aasta jooksul juba mitmeid kordi Mektorys käinud ja mulle ei pakkunud see enam pinget, aga rahvuskaaslastega grupikalli teha oli südantsoojendav. Pärastlõunal suundusime Garage 48 kontorisse. Seda kohta polnud üldse kerge üles leida, aga peale mitmeid majatiire, me kohale siiski jõudsime. Saime jalga sussid ja tegime tutvust mööda kontorit ringi liikuva koeraga. Kontoris oli väga mõnus töökeskkond, sest kes ei sooviks konverentsil kiikudes osaleda. Kuna naasime Telliskivi Loomelinnakust ja teele jäi vast-valminud Balti Jaama Turg, siis soovitasime projekti liikmetel seda külastada. Nad olid vaimustuses sealsetest värsketest saadustest, mida lettidel müüdi. Kui kõik olid korterisse tagasi jõudnud hakkasime Eesti toidu õhtu roogasid valmistama. Meie korter valmistas kotlette, kurgi-tomati kooresalati ja kamavahu. Lisaks Eesti toitudele, täitus ülemises korteris üks laud snäkkidega üle kogu maailma. See oli täielik söögiorgia ja magusa üledoos. Õhtu lõppes seal, kus see hommikul algas – vanalinnas. 16. august
Hommik kulges nagu tavaliselt – hommikusöök ja keeleõpe. Ainult et seekord oli sebimist rohkem, sest oma kohvrid tuli pakkida ning alumisse korterisse jätta. Ise läksime parlamendihoonega tutvuma. Meile tehti ringkäik tavapärastes ruumides ja hiljem oli küsimustevoor. Toompealt suundusime all-linna ja ronisime Oleviste kiriku tippu. Sealt avanes imeline vaade hallile Tallinnale. Annelii võitles oma kõrgusekartusega, aga vaatamata kõigele oli tal piisavalt julgust siiski kirikutornist alla vaadata. Lõunatasime uues söögikohas Põhja-Tallinna piirimail. Pärastlõunal suundusime kogu seltskonnaga Lahemaa rahvuspargi suunas. Pärast umbes tunniajast sõitu peatusime metsaveerel, et alustada matka rabasse. Kõigepealt korjasime aga mustikaid, kõigi ürgne korilane andis endast märku. Mööda laudteed kulges meie tee ümbritsetud mülgastest. Vaatetornis tegime grupifotosid ja nautisime lihtsalt kaunist vaadet. Muidugi eksisime me rabas tagasiteel ära. Mitte küll nii drastiliselt, et oleksime päästeteenistuse abi vaja, aga me kõndisime mööda tuldud teed tagasi ning buss pidi tagasi sõitma. Õhtuks jõudsime Laane pansionisse ja õhtustasime seal. Meile pakuti väga kodust toitu ja lahked võõrustajad võitsid paljude südamed. Jõudsime ka mere ääres ära käia, aga vesi oli äärmiselt külm. Õhtut aitas meeldivamaks muuta õige puuküttega saun. Kahjuks tünnisaun ei toiminud, aga tore oli siiski. Veelgi enam, oli Suvi sünnipäev. Kuigi talle ei meeldi oma sünnipäeva tähistada, olen veendunud, et see sünnipäev jääb talle meelde. 31 of July We started day with reflection on a previous day. We talked what went wrong on hiking and what was good. Then we had first part of Pizza workshop. We were into teams and tried to follow the recipe. Fortunately we had enough Italians who guided us. In the afternoon we had a strategy game outside organized by Bulgarians. It needed cooperation and good memory. Also, one reaction game, when you needed to be quick and feel people around you. Then we continued with second part of pizza making. We needed to make a perfect circle, Alfonso was best of it because he is working in a pizza restaurant. But when we realized that round pizzas don't fit to square pans we just gave up and tried to fit dough on them. We made different flavored examples. Night ended with dances outside. I followed the party from other side of the glass, I felt sick and thought that deep sleep is the best cure I can have. 1 of August First day of August we had a second field trip in Tartu. We visited beverage factory A. Le Coq. We had a tour inside a factory and museum. Later on we got to know their assortment of products. After lunch in the old town we had free time to explore more the city and have a Sugar Hunt. Sugar Hunt task was to photograph advertisements inviting us consuming sugar. When we went back to Mammaste Germans started preparations for their intercultural night. Actually German dishes felt like Estonian food. Oh, and that drinking game they introduced. It is an insane game and really sporty. Usually those games don't need so much effort from you. 2 of August I don't remember was it on that day or days before (probably last opportunity) when Alessio made a short course about shooting proper videos. Anyway on Wednesday we needed those skills because we needed to record videos that make people give up using that amount of sugar they are doing today. Because mafia game was popular during our exchange our group decided to create Sugar Mafia story. Recording progress was funny but at the end we managed to make a video. During the evening we shot even more. Birgit and Berit got an idea how to widen the awareness of the dark side of sugar. So, foreigners speaking different languages was pretty influential I guess. Because most of the Bulgarians left the project one day earlier we needed to sum up the project while they are presented as well. Alessio had made great surveys about our project. Those questions were great and answers even better. Patrick, "Are you single?" and perfect circle jokes were accurate. 3 of August Last day was weird, it went quickly. In the morning we revealed our secret friends. Bulgarians left and it made project end real. We had Erasmus+ introduction and they told us how it is possible to write projects on our own. After the lunch we went back to lake to discuss new project ideas. Easiest part was finding partners because we wanted to include mainly our project countries. This time the weather wasn't so warm and lake water neither but it was nice to relax on the beach. After Põlva visit we cleaned the house and presented our project idea. We had a last sauna night but before we made a sugar scrub. This cocoa powder, oil and sugar mix was amazing skin smoother and it smelled irresistibly. We had a great time and celebrated Birgit's first successful project when randomly fire alarm started working. Nothing was burning but the system played a trick to us. Allar was ready to save us with fire extinguisher. Our farewell party was long and full of dances. 4 of August I had to wake up early in the morning. Usually I don't eat fat for breakfast but I was hungry and ate last evening's dinner. Sadly normal food wasn't left, only vegan pasta. But hellyeah, it was the pest pasta I have ever eaten, it was so tasteful. We left the place with Spanish. It was a shitty weather once again but taxy picked us up and soon we were in the bus station. My bus ride to Tallinn was sleepy. Moreover, I had a cought and I felt really exhausted and down. Spanish people left in Airport and I could't have a proper opportunity to say goodbye to them. Anyway, soon I was at home and rested from intense period. I thought that I have now free time until university starts but life had another plans 😃 Thank you for capturing those days Alessio. Thanks to him we have a lot of high quality photos. Thank you Berit, Monika, Viktoria, Julia, Lennart and Romet as well. I used your photos in my blog as well. It is worth mentioning Birgit's effort on that project. Without her we wouldn't have "Oh My Sugar!" project at all 😊
27 of July We had a field trip to Aakre jam factory and after that free time in Tartu. The weather was pretty gray and rainy. But while driving by bus it didn't matter for us. When we arrived we tried to do sync translation to a speech the owner had. Somehow he was obsessed with me and it was kind of annoying. By the way, he is cooperating with my relatives. Small Estonia, what more I can say. Before our tour we got white plastic bag coats and hats. Everything needed to be sanitary clean. After tour we got an opportunity to taste different jams. They even make jams without adding extra sugar and some jams were even super healthy. They figured out new types of jam cooperating with scientists. I couldn't resist eating more and more jam. After tasting experience factory got many new customers. So, that's why it was hard to leave the place. But we had to, because our next stop was in Tartu. We had an appointment with scientists who had done some sugar experiments on harvesting plants. They talked about experiments they have done over the years with sugar and plants. After the lecture we had a free time in the city. It was still rainy and recycling people used their jam factory plastic bag coat against the rain. Like me 😁 We were split into different groups. Some people preferred to stay in a coffee shop. But our group firstly visited the botanic garden. It was a first time for me there. I am not keen to Tartu, so I haven't explored it much. I guess this place is amazing with sunny and warm weather, then it is really good to enjoy time there. Then we went to a coffee bar in the main square. We watched the photos that Alessio had made. There were some pearls, when you zoom in you can see funny moments captured. On our way back we got news that Ezio and Romet have got new phones. Back in Mammaste we had a Slovak intercultural night. They made a quiz about Slovakia. We had to sit on top of each other, it turned out really funny. On culinary side Slovaks prepared potato pancakes for us. They were delicious even though they do like pretty moderate. And we drank Kofola, it feels like mix of kali and coke to me. 28 of July It was a nice sunny day again. We started our day on a sporty way. We challenged doing different exercises. It was a nice task developing cooperation. Later Bulgarians organized some discussions for us. For and against statements about sugar. We needed to present our opinions to others. It was kind of debate. In the afternoon we made a poster about our country eating habits. Each national team made a typical menu relied on their compatriots habits. For us it was easy to design the poster. We stuck snack papers there and because we were in Estonia it was easy to find Estonian products. It was educating analyzing national menu influence to our health. After the workshops some people were really tired. And when you walked through the house you saw many people sleeping on the couches. Usually we spent free time playing UNO, Double or mafia. We even played double in our own language, so it was a real Tower of Babel. In the evening we all got wet because we played a really funny wet towel game. Actually water was refreshing and the game itself made us cheerful. After the game we just had a water war. Then it was important to run as far and as fast as possible. That evening we had a Bulgarian national evening. Bibby and Alina gave us a magnificent performance. Their voices were great. Audience was charmed and applause was loud. Then we tasted shopska salad and banitsa. I missed Bulgarian food a lot and eating it once again in Estonia was special for me. Last part of the night was odd. Lennart had interesting stuff in his car. Shisha was kind of normal thing but dinosaur costume was something I didn't expect. 29 of July We had more games in the morning, for example ninja game. All the players who played it for a first time were really confused. I literally didn't know what I was doing. Spanish team introduced us what a healthy menu should look like. Then we discussed about that topic we had to answer the questions they had made for us. It was once again an opportunity to gain points for your team. Sugar Bae gained some points for sure. Then, when we knew how a healthy menu should look like we tried to make one on our own. It wasn't something fictional, we made it for our hiking. We had some rules to follow, for example the price and amount of the stuff we want to carry with us. It is unusual to prepare something for cooking outside in the forest. So, we had to cooperate to figure out what would be the best meal to prepare there. Finally we thought that it is nice to make wraps with chicken and salad. Moreover we had different groups who were responsible for food, for entertainment and for navigation. Because two Bulgarian participants were from art university, Alina one day created a balloon-man Patrick. And people, especially Spanish girls demonstrated their art skills on Allar. He agreed this behaviour. In the evening we had an Estonian cultural night. We started with preparations pretty early. Birgit fried black bread and guys made sprat breads. Uhh, this disgusting smell. I am not friend of Estonian food but I prepared kama. I think it is the best part of Estonian cuisine. Romet had a nice quiz about Estonian language. Before that we showed some videos and had a presentation about my homeland. We wanted to make something active during our cultural night as well. So, we made a wife carrying competition. Me and Lennart demonstrated how Estonian position looks like. Now, when I have seen photos of that moment I can read people's reaction. At first it seemed funny for them, but then they got scared. Probably not because they were concerned that I would fall, just because they had to do it as well. After activities we went to a dining table. For my surprise people liked sprat breads and "Terviseks" was the main word people used when they drank Vana Tallinn. We ended Estonian night traditionally in the sauna. 30 of July In the morning everything went greatly, we packed all the stuff we needed and started walking. I was in the navigation team, but we had many members and I had a really interesting conversation with Zuzana, so that's why I didn't pay attention where we are or who is even leading us. Yes, navigation team failed and we got lost 😅 But feedback we got afterwards was not so tragic, people enjoyed the extra time and overall it was useful to lose more calories. On our way we saw a snake. It was a viper, Estonian only poisoned snake. Car smashed it but snake was still alive and angry to us. On those moments you hate how life works. This snake died because of people. Anyway, soon we reached our eating place. There was an open-air kitchen. We started cooking and having fun at the same time. People dressed up as sumo wrestling competitors. They were so funny and their moves were limited. After moving around we were so hungry that we needed extra food. Thanks to Berit car it was easy to go to the shop and later everyone got fulfilled. There was a huge Estonian type of swing near by and we just couldn't miss the opportunity to try it on. For foreigners it seemed creepy but I enjoyed it. We had also a critical moment because Julia fell from the swing Alfonso's quick reaction saved her from tragic consequences. Hiking in Taevaskoja was easier because we had a marked path. Time in Taevakoja was amazing, this place itself is so beautiful and peaceful. For some reasons cold river water seemed tempting for us. Soon most of the people were in the water. Then we had some open-air activities. Somehow we even survived squat challenge. It was longest 3 minutes in my life probably. Then you had time for yourself in the forest. We had an opportunity to find a quiet place where to reflect our feelings and write down the information we got in our diary. I also used this time picking blueberries. I am addicted to fresh berries and I can't lose an opportunity to eat them. On our way back we visited punker, sadly it wasn't preserved. Anyhow, people who came with us got a short Estonian history lesson. On our way back weather turned bad and it started raining. Typical Estonian weather. That evening we enjoyed Spanish dances and food. By the way, every evening we read out secret message box. And during the night Patrick got some improvements. Probably he grew older because he got glasses and some extra wrinkles.
23 of July It was my first youth exchange ever. To be honest I applied because all the participants countries seemed really nice and I had nothing better to do in the summer. I have visited all the project countries except Slovakia, so I had a pretty good overview of many nations already. I have never thought how far one point in Estonia can be from your home. But bus trip from Tallinn to Põlva took more than 3 hours. From Tartu two Germans sat in front of me. I thought that it is not normal that Germans are in Põlva bus, they must be bounded with our project. So, I asked are they also going to the youth exchange. Yup, I met with Mara and Dario from German team. Mara already knew Birgit, our project organizer. So, she knew who we have to look for in the bus station. I also met Kristjan there. We met in the previous project. We had a lift to Mammaste and had to take care of potatoes, to clean and peel them. Otherwise we would have starved this night. Hhaha, this time we got lucky because Spanish team already dealt with the food. In the first evening we talked to each other and somehow the topic went to a Despacito song. Spanish people translated the song. And we searched the Estonian and German versions of it. Somehow "Tasakesi" became the most popular version. Maria and Laura even started learning the lyrics. During the evening more and more people arrived. But last men standing were Estonians. Me, Allar, Kristjan and Lennart were up way too late. I don't even know how we had so much to talk to. 24 of July Morning was really peaceful. It was a music all over the house organized by Alessio. On that day we played name games that Spanish team had prepared for us. We started with balloons. It was difficult to break the balloon if you are afraid of it. So, I used a branch to break it. Inside a balloon there was a name of one of the members. With that person you had to talk and share facts about your life. After that you had to introduce this person to all the others. My partner Laura decided to mention that I am single, like it was certainly the most important fact about me. I guess this "are you single" topic started from there. Then we round games, where you had to remember someone's gesture and imitate it. Then name games with ball of yarn, so in the end we had a dense net. In the second part of the day Estonian team introduced the project in general. We had a quick overview about the timetable and everybody got involved to the group work. We divided ourselves into different groups to organize our life a bit. For example, we made cleaning and breakfast teams. Then Romet organized a pillow game, everybody enjoyed it. We ended our session with social games. Then we went wandering around to find the closest shop. In the evening Bulgarians finally arrived. 25 of July In the morning we played some more name games to get to know each other more. Games with ball and a bed sheet. This time I wore T-shirt with my name on the back, I thought if people can see my name it is easier to remember it. And those funny games to react quickly and silly at the same time. For example to be a washing machine or James Bond. At some point we went really physical. We held our hands and made a real mess and tried to solve it afterwards. because it was super hot outside. Burak introduced the best activity ever for us, a massage. Summer arrived to Estonia for a couple of days. So, after lunch we went to a local beach. I didn't know that in Põlva there is a sandy beautiful beach. It was refreshing to swim in the lake after walking there, because it wasn't so close to our accommodation place. Most of the people played a volleyball. In the evening we had a mission impossible organized by Germans. We had to write a song and make a sugar logo with organizers. In the evening we had an Italian intercultural night. They had educating presentation about most of the gestures they have in their language. Everyone knows that talking is only one part of Italians communication. 26 of July
We started our morning really actively with sugar islands game. At first it seemed an easy task but if you lost your attention for a moment you already lost one paper sheet (read: island) you needed to jump on the papers or squeeze yourself into a smaller group. It was nice to hug each other and I have to mention that we really had physical exercises. Then Slovak team introduced different body shapes and reasons what might cause it. We made international teams and started to compare in different tasks. But every great team needs a logo and a name. Our group name was SugarBae, we got inspiration from famous Turkish cook. Then we watched some scary videos about unhealthy lifestyle. Afterwards we had to make a food pyramid into our international team. If your team's pyramid was close enough to the exact one you gained points. By the way, the real correct food pyramid doesn't exist. We did a quiz to gain some more points for your team. Because the weather was nice we had some more outdoor activities. We played "grab a flag game" with Italian flag, actually I don't know how to call it but it seems pretty reasonable. On the second part of the day we made warning videos about the sugar in our everyday life. Those videos based on sugar experiments we made to figure out how much sugar products consist. 18 of July The topic of the day was project development. We finished our booklets, set needs and objectives, defined problems. We focused on the needs for our chosen projects then the aims and objectives using the NAOMIE method. Erasmus+ aims and priorities are now understandable for all of us. Last intercultural evening: Italy, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco brought exotic flavours to our everyday Estonian cusine table. Almontaser used again his artistic skills and made henna paintings for us. We all were really excited and the line to henna painting was long. 19 of July We got to know the application form and inclusion dimension. It was intense work to fill in the application form. Luckily we had experienced grandmas who checked our progress and gave some advice. In our team everything went smoothly until Nefeli's computer gave up. We filled in the timetable what we want to achieve with our project and presented it. Our jury voted based on our presentation. Every team passed the Vardi National Agency. After hard project writing task we had a free evening just to relax. Secret friend game has gone wild. Participants worked hard to trump each other on the secret friend game. Balloons, hugs, flowers and much more... There were many secret envelopes with surprises. Some days even huge posters. I loved that game a lot. It was nice to make up new gifts for my secret friend and receive clever ones as well. I am really proud of my treasure hunt game. I left different hint all over the house. As I heard later Milda was pleased ☺ 20 of July Energizer Honey Bunny was easy until you had to go in the middle of the circle. We presented our ideas and made DEOR. We ended our morning session with making posters about how we are going to promote our experience in our organizations and how to include people with fewer opportunities also into those projects. We discussed with learning buddies how the project had been gone to fill in our youth pass. Net out of our thought. In the evening self evaluation and meeting expectations. valuation and farewell party. Secret friend ceremony. It was my best (and first) secret friend game ever. I was pretty certain that my secret friend is Kristi. I got hints that she/he must be Estonian because I received a magnet written on Estonian and even though my SF said that her Estonian frind helped her I was pretty sure it was just a trick. I also made a list of secret friends that others have. Because I had to handle many secret friend gifts. But Heleri bamboozled me. I was sure that her secret friend is Youssef because I gave him two times gifts from Heleri. She is a good player and have good friends that help her during the game. Anyway, I felt a great love and got amazing gifts. 21 of July Bus trip back to Tallinn. Emotional goodbye at the airport. But luckily some people decided to extend their vacation in Tallinn and stayed for some extra days. It was nice to host so many international people in my homeland.
14 of July It was a France independence day, definately more special day for Morgane than us. But weather smiled to us all, it was a sunny day at first. What is better than sharing love on a beautiful day with a hug game. But we also did serious job. Our topic in the morning was non-formal learning. Ufuk led us through non-formal learning aspects. We stuck labels outside on the wall to categorize formal, non-formal and informal learning. After that we had an Erasmus+ Kahoot quiz. Questions were about EVS but also about everything that was related with Erasmus+ programme. In the afternoon we had a World Cafe - my best part during the whole project. We had 4 different tables with different topics. We discussed our ideas while we were served by charming waitresses. The menu included list of delights. Because weather changed so quickly on that day, Michal said golden words "You can have 4 seasons in 1 minute". A day ended with Romanian, Bosnian & Herzegovinian, Greek, Lebanese, Portuguese intercultural evenings. Lidia surprised us with a puppet theater. The play that she made was so comic and informative. Every evening we had a dancing marathon. One song was totally epic, but it was catchy. 15 of July Morning started with reflecting walk with our learning buddy. Lidia introduced me a job shadowing opportunity which is also a part of Erasmus+ programme. Youthpass and 8 key competences are like a shoe and socks – they are always together. Each of 8 competences was an isolated island where we had to solve a task in a limited amount of time. For example we had to learn a new language, calculate or draw. I don't remember the exact date and topic but suddenly I was in a group with Bili and Vincenzo. So, we had an opportunity to talk about Bulgaria. Bulgaria was the connection point for us and it was nice to share emotions with people who understands you. In the afternoon we worked on the inclusion of youth with fewer opportunities. We tried to put ourselves into their situation in the groups. It is really hard for them to enjoy life as other do. Fortunetly, Erasmus+ is dedicated to them and ready to help, our job is just spread the information. In the evening we had an open space session. Four experienced members of our group led a session. Billy's session without any extra ressources was so simple but at the same time so funny. It is a good example of life that you don't need much to be happy. Intercultural evenings by Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Poland. Nika demonstrated her culture traditions by predicting future. All she needed was a candle and water. It was soo exciting. I wish that Estonians knew more about their traditions too. Because we have a rich history. 16 of July In the morning Ufuk introduced us main points of preparation on of EVS volunteers. Thanks to his highlights we made four different booklets on mentoring, support, preparation and guideline to fill in country booklet at home. It was an intense work we did those hours. After the lunch a lady from Viljandi came to talk with us about her experience with volunteers. Their organization is working with disabled people. She told that volunteers had got a great contact with their customers and also life here hasn't been too hard for them. In the evening we had a sauna night in the real sauna. This sauna house was located in the middle of the forest and there was a lake near by. I went with Nika to lake swimming at first and then to the warm sauna. I wasn't brave enough to go swimming after sitting in the sauna. Moroever, temperature outside was so low that our wooden houses weren't too warm. Thats why I enjoyed hot environment a lot. It was amusing seeing People from Middle East testing their limits. After the sauna we played some board games. On the objective game Kristi said she is a killer, she definately is a killer in Jungle Speed. You need to take care of her nails while playing this 😄 17 of July
We took off eralier than usual. Our way led us to Maarjaküla. Billy had been there already and was familiar with directors od the place. They made a tour for us and we talked with people who live there. Inhabitans have even their own garden, they are living in families and get all support they need. Taevaskoja visit was cancelled because of the rainy weather. On our way to Tartu we discussed with our learning buddy what we have learned already. In Tartu there was organized a meeting between our organizations and potential volunteers. Many youth visited our event to gain some more information about EVS and hosting organisations. It was surprising, usually young people are modest and don't want to take in this kind of events. We made another Facebook live to promote it. Aftre that we had a free time in Tartu. Because I was the local one I had to walk with them on the city. I wasn't familiar with the town at that time, so we just walked around in the old town and found a hipster shop. Afterwards we went to bigger shopping centers. It was a good opportunity to buy gifts to your secret friend. Evening ended with pizza night in Taverna. I love this place selection of pizzas. And then we had a long bus ride back to Vardi. |
AuthorMy connection with Erasmus+ projects. Youth exchanges and training courses. Archives
January 2020
Categories
All
|