08.04. Even though Mazdak left us a night earlier his presence was still recognizable. He left us a note made out of Estonian workshop's tasks. But now, when I think about that, maybe it wasn't Mazdak who made a collage. But anyway, it was time for Hungarians workshop on that day. They let us play some violent games and also super funny lip sync game. Or I don't know how to call it, youtubers usually play that game 😛 If you have loud music playing on your headphones, then it is not so easy to understand what the other person is saying to you. Hungarians sent us to the streets to discover local culture more deeply. For example, we had to take a picture with the oldest person we can find on the streets, learn how to make kebab and learn Turkish gestures. Istanbul Express task was successful, we got out of the seminar room and needed to do something physical. It was a pity that technology dysfunctioned and we couldn't watch the recorded videos all together. On the same day was Hungarian parlamentary elections. So, after lunch some of them went to the embassy for voting. With some Estonians we went to a Sunday market that was held on a parking house nearby. They sold super cheap stuff there, so I finally bought myself a cap. So did Karolina. I was looking for a right one almost for a year and I finally got it for 2 euros. Insane! We also discovered local shopping streets. You know, last days and you need to buy as much souvenirs as possible. I loved our neighbourhood you could find all essential services from there and still it was so homey. After free time we had Lithuanians workshop. They made us dancing "tibutants" 🐤 And then we had a serious Oxford debate about homosexuals rights and abortion. It was harsh because for and against topics made participants vulnerable and offensive. Somehow we managed to express our arguments even though the implementation wasn't the best. Kristen's Mexican friend joined us during the session and shared his ideas. In the evening we had our last cultural night. Turks filled in the whole night. Firstly, they showed great videos about their culture and land. To move on they had invited local musicians to perform folk songs. Their performance was great and enthusiastic because soon we were all on the dance floor. There we felt free dancing like mads. I love that Tarkan is an inseparable companion of everything that is related to Turkey. Singing along with songs that are as old as myself is not a problem at all. Talking about food . . . it is never too much delights. By the way, I bet Norwegians punishment baklava was also tasteful because it vanished on such a speed that slowly Estonians couldn't even react. Locals offered us bizarre tasting drink, it is probably the oddest thing I have ever drunk. To put a dot to the Turkish night we went to a shisha bar. Somehow we started playing strategic games. I am pretty sure that the group started hating camels. Actually it was such a relief seeing how Alexander solved the puzzle. It was a pure happiness that flood out of him afterwards. 09.04. On our last day we had an easygoing schedule. First of all we had a group work about Youthpass 8 key competences. I remember that during my EVS on-arrival training Görkem said that he has many of them already and they are kind of pointless. I didn't understand him on that point but now, 6 projects later, it makes totally sense. We moved on with Erasmus topic in general. We were divided into groups according to our Erasmus experience. The most experienced person from the group had to share his/her knowledge with others. After discussion we had a quiz. After lunch we were free to discover around once again. This time I decided to study. I had pushed all my responsibilities to the future all week long and now I had a critical situation with my university tasks. But I took maximum of my situation. Even though I couldn't visit Asian side of Istanbul I sunbathed on the rooftop. In the evening session we revealed our secret friends and received youth passes. Some Estonians already knew my secret friend because someone mentioned me something about him. After youth pass ceremony it was time to write down the most important adjectives about the people who we had met. To be honest, I didn't write to everyone's paper because I didn't get to know all the 60 participants and didn't learn all their names. In the future I prefer smaller projects. But it was sweet reading what others wrote to me. Mainly my lovely Estonian participants filled in the paper. Last day, last photos, last dances together with legendary Norwegian song and last crazy games. I am not playing this kind of bacterial sharing game again. I was suffering under illness almost 2 weeks after Istanbul 😷 On the other hand, it was fun but I guess guys took the game too seriously. I just imagine what people who had access to the cameras though about our bottle game 🤭 This "trumpas pimpalas" farewell party was something totally different the ones I usually have. Norwegians went to the airport around 5 o'clock and we went to sleep. Good thing about being awake so long was the fact that we finally heard the morning prayer call with Karolina. 10.04. Our flight was in the afternoon. We woke up on a normal time and had a last plenty breakfast. We had just enough time to pack our bags and say goodbye with rest of the people. Thank God that Katja checked her flight time otherwise she would have missed her flight. Because she had it almost on the same time we went all together. Way to the metro station was shorter than ever and metro stops felt pretty familiar already. Even though Atatürk Airport is huge it is easy to orientate there like in everywhere in the city. After listening to favorite music from Turskih Airlines playlist we were back in homeland. It was a sunny afternoon, at least this white shit had been melted by that time. I also put together a video about our project. Thanks a lot to project organizers and all national groups for making your workshops and sharing your culture with all of us. Special thanks to Estonian sending organization Seiklejate Vennaskond who is giving opportunity to discover different cultures to hundred Estonian youngsters every year. I am still a bit confused who is the real organizer of the project. So, I mention both of them. (Actually I know that Norway organized it but Turkey has big part on it as well) Thank you and Diyarbakır Çevre ve Kalkınma Derneği and Aktiv Ungdom for letting us enjoy the atmosphere of Istanbul. I am grateful for people who made photos and recorded videos during the project. I take the right to use them in my blog as well 😉
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05.04. Today's topic was communication in your country. We had some ideas what we would like to present already in Estonia, now we only had to realize them. We had several plays to act that show how communication is Estonia works. You can classify the bus situation into the best example of Estonians behaviour. And we weren't the only ones, our situation was close to Norwegians one. After that we had to work out what prejudices we have about different nations. It was a good opportunity to go to the rooftop and discuss it. By the way, it was a perfect day for sunbathing. We decided with girls to make a poem out of prejudices we have. During the discussion we figured out that we don't have information about Hungarian guys. As hearing other stories, we heard that Norwegians are super kind, they were so sneaky that they almost didn't mention negative aspects of girls. In the afternoon we had short and funny game where we had to put ourselves into funny positions. After that we were divided into groups to introduce different ways of communication, especially among youngsters. One group threw us into ice cold water. One person had to close his/her eyes (close your eyes, open your mind, take off...) and try to figure out what is the emotion a word is said in other person's native language. It was not so easy as it seems. In our group Mazdak and Jeney told fascinated facts and I was totally speechless. Maybe our presentation was too focused on one person but the speech Mazdak had was amazing. In the evening the results of sunbathing were seen, at least I wasn't the only one who looked like a tomato (Viva la Estonians) We had an urgent meeting about night activity after dinner. In the evening we had an Eurovision party and we worked hard to find our songs. Until the last moments we weren't sure what to perform there. After having discussion in Janre's room we decided to perform Fix - Jaanipäev and "Seda paati pole tehtud linnuluust". I realized after that performance that I am totally bad singer. I need to start practicing more than just humming on the streets. Huuh, that public performance needed a lot of courage. Lithuanians nailed the competition with "We are the winners" and with Verka Serduchka. Turks of course performed Tarkan's "Şimarik" and engaged all the audience as well. After party we ended up on the rooftop. Eurovision party continued there. Unfortunately we were too noisy because we got complaints from neighbours. 06.04. Day started with Norwegian workshop. We had to create memes which results were amusing. It was funny, relaxing and advertising task. Of course many memes about room 404 and sausage party appeared. I need to explain them a bit. 404 was Mehmet's room and it's doors were opened to everyone and after midnight only for selected ethnic group 🤣 And we called Norwegian team "Sausage Party" because of their 12 participants 11 were guys. After memes we had to prepare a public speech and perform it as first to our partner and then to the whole group. Lars gave a good example talking a dramatic story about a local guy. I guess everyone hates tennis balls by now. We also got feedback about or performance but unfortunately we ran out of time and half of the group didn't receive a feedback and they were kind of under the pressure because lack of time. After lunch we had a meeting with Estonian team once again on the rooftop. But this time it was windy outside and not so pleasant weather. We had a quick brainstorm and somehow got a last minute idea about letting teams record silent videos. Kätrin wrote down a location, object and a mood to spicy those videos. Then we were ready to start our workshop. Video task turned out greatly. We also had some energizers and then another video task. We showed a video from Estonian parody show and asked from groups their opinions what they just saw. Then we showed the video once again with subtitles. Then we showed a Latin America telenovela and Turkish soap opera. It was a mistake because we could't find the same video with English explanation. My bad, sorry. In the evening we had Norwegians and Lithuanians intercultural night. We played a popular game among Estonian parties as well (bag running? orsm) and tasted weird cheese. We got new knowledge about our lovely baltics and drank some more kvass. Some people went to a club once again. Because yesterday's angels and devils night was lit enough to visit once more Erasmus party. 07.04. It was a day I waited the most. Actually we had to have the city day on a previous day but because of the wedding in the hotel we switched days. Our first sight was Grand Bazaar. We all used the metro to reach the place. It is difficult to walk with this huge group on the street but nobody got lost. On the market we had some free time to do shopping. We walked there with Lisete and tried to buy some jewelries but seller wanted to get more money than we wanted to offer. So, we decided not to buy anything from there. Blue Mosque was our next destination but unfortunately it was closed because of restoration works. Sorry guys, it is totally my coworkers fault. Actually I am confused, usually during the restorations part of the place is always open. Then we headed to Hagia Sophia just nearby. This building is AMAZING. It is gorgeous to see two different religions mixed together. And interior with golden details is enchanting. My dream was to visit Hagia Sophia for at least 5 years already. I was always jealous on people who have been there. So, for me it was even more crazier experience. We were looking for Vikings graffiti but couldn't find it. Because half of the church was closed due restorations (sorry again) then maybe they were on that part. Randomly we found a cat inside the museum. Its behaviour was unexpected. At first the cat was lovely but in the end attacked us. Then we walked to Topkapi palace. It was a disappointment for me. It wasn't so big as I imagined. After standing for minutes totally packed between people we got to see holy relics. On a royal kitchen museum and admired precisious porcelain exhibition. Some people went to a harem as well. They spent there about 30 minutes which is insane because I though it is going to take longer time to explore all the rooms. I don't assume that all of them are opened but still, like whaat. Then we went to Eminönü and had some free time to eat and to fulfill our shopping urge. Those streets were perfect for shopaholics, cheap prices and big variety of items. We went to a fast food place but soon we faced a problem related to Lisete's diet because in Turkey everything consists meat and cheese. Then we went to a Bosporus Tour. It was amazing, even though it was cold we danced actively to get warm. And those magnificent views. It was the best experience I have ever had during the Erasmus project. Colourful sky, Istanbul panorama and lovely people around you made a perfect platform for a photoshoot. After 1,5 hours we were totally frozen but satisfied. Most of the group decided to go back to the hotel.
Only 5 Estonians, 1 Norwegians and 1 Turk were left. We were the tough ones. We went to Galata Tower and from there to Taksim. We visited one church, because there was a concert we stayed there for a while. Then we went to a shisha place. We got lost at first but because I had been there before during APV we were soon back on track. Then many locals enjoyed. At the same time Norwegians invited people to Orthodox church for a Ceremony. After shisha time we went to a small shop and ended up drinking on a random street. We played "Never have I ever game" Then we went directly to the club. We partied until 4 o'clock. After crazy taxi ride we arrived back to our hotel. NB! Even in Estonian highways cars don't drive so fast (and Turkish taxis don't have seat belts 😳) 02.04. Morning started with a shitty weather in Estonia. Snow decided to fall down once again and made a total chaos in the country. Traffic jams and surly people were guaranteed. So many unexpected things happened with me already on my way to Tallinn Airport. After a delay I arrived to the airport and we shared our Estonian intercultural night goods on different luggages. We had a pleasant flight, even though we had to clean our surrounding and we spent one hour just stuck in Tallinn airport. The flight was nice because it was accompanied by Turkish music and movies. The flight was full of Estonian footballers wearing national suit. By a change, Karolina had the same outfit and everyone though that she is part of the team too 😄 In Atatürk airport we already saw familiar faces. Karolina saw Norwegians and I saw Hungarians. Project with 60 participants is insane. It is hard to imagine this huge group of people. We will see how the work funcionates. After the dinner we decided to visit a local shisha bar. All Estonians joined + Marius. Later one some people more but Marius is now officially part of Estonian team 😆 or at least part of Baltic gang. It was a fancy place, we sat on a throne. I still don't know how people are facinated by my shisha skills? I am not still so advanced as my friends in Estonia. (Greeting to my shisha club in Saku) On our way back from a bar something weird happened, police appeared and asked our documents. I am not used to carry my documents with me but after that night I just in case carried documents always with me. 03.04. Project started with an introduction of yourself. You had to walk in a circle until you talked about yourself something. Then bingo where you had to get to know each other more by filling in blanks. We used a coffee break to relax on the roof terrace. It is a nice quiet place with a great view. In the afternoon we played a hugging game and shared a lot of love. By the way the loser team gave a proper massage to the winners. Pretty good award I would say. We also set common rules and started with a secret friend game. To be honest, I was confused who is my secret friend at first. After stalking I finally understood to whom I have to give notes and gifts. After lunch we visited a mosque near by with an Estonian team. And also a police shops. Thanks to Anna's Turkish skills we got even invited to a locked mosque. We found a süpermarket and everything is so cheap and I hate that! During the last activity of the day we had to solve a mission impossible. At first we had some communication problems but at the end we figured how to manage all the work we had to do. Even though we couldn't write all our travel experience on the list, we completed the task pretty nicely. Then we had a signal competition, it took so long time but good side with those games is the taste of victory, when someone do you a massage that lasts minutes. During the dinner I got a laughting overdoze. Turks made so much fun but at least we got tasted many different wines. We had a game night to work as a group better. We act a pantomime style movie titles to each other. Night ended in a glass box. On that night I understood that caramel is my new favourite flavour of shisha and Norwegians are liars 🤣 Because we were next to a playground we decided to swing with Karolina. We had so much fun feeling like a kid again. 04.04.
In the morning our first task was a speed date. After that we had a free will how to fill in our morning. We had to change the paperclip to something more valuable and had many hours to solve the task. We had Murat in our team. Every time we tried to explain our mission in English we still ended up with Murat's explications. We exchanged a paperclip to a lollipop, book, candies, hair clips, prayer beads, hair clip and a cigarette. After the lunch I decided to visit Sultan Süleymaniye mosque and Sehzade Camii because they were nearby. Annabel, Anna and Lisete joined me. We went by metro there and firstly went to the seaside. It was a mistake because there was nothing to see and we just wasted our time. But after weird stalkers we ended up like in a paradise. It was a municipality house orsm. Cherries were blooming and clear water from fountains made the atmosphere so special. We visited two mosques. They were amazing and not many people visited them, so it was pretty calm atmosphere there. I led my group thanks to my tourist map and I was never too confident do we have a right sight or not. I am pleased that we found everything we wished.s I also had a change to visit Süleyman's and Hürrem's crypts. Those coffins were gorgeous. We even got educated about Islam and got a free Quran on top of that. So, guys watch out, we might change our faith soon. It is a great job that the volunteers do there, if you listen to them about 15 minutes it might be like a brainwash. Because we were getting late we tried to get a taxi, but all of them were already occupied. So, we still needed to use metro. We were about 30 minutes late and as a punishment we needed to dance in front of everyone. It was more fun that a punishment. In the evening we had to present our organization. We did a presentation about Seiklejate Vennaskond. Others made posters and showed videos. Night ended with Estonian and Hungarian intercultural night. We prepared our table full of goods and informative materials. Kätrin gave a start to our night with a soulful song. She is so talented and thanks to her skills many people had a great time on the rooftop as well. We introduced our hard language and did a Kahoot to make an interesting quiz. Then of course we danced Kaerajaan. It was complicated to do it in this big circle but we managed. Everyone had a possibility to get an Estonian flag to their cheeks to get more into the culture. Hungarians showed their singing skills and had a really interesting quiz as well. And those grazy dances, they went really quick in the end. In the middle of the night we got an idea to walk a bit on our neighbourhood. It was quiet around but we had one dreadful moment. We passed a dustpin when we heard noise from it, fortunately it was only a cat. In every project I love the private time with your compatriots, because only them can understand you deeply. The talk with Karolina was refreshing and gossip is one of the best things in life 😆 It was my first APV even though I have been a group leader before as well. Unfortunately things went bad with finding another participant to represent Estonians. It was a line of bad coincidents. At least I was presented there and I totally enjoyed the time. 22 of February I had a pleasant flight to Istanbul and after some time in subway and short walking I was in the hotel. I like that subway road is not going only underground but metro also drives like a train and you can see what surrounds you. On the way I saw an odd thing. People collect trash from the streets manually. No garbage truck, in Istanbul they have garbage carts. Probably this system works because of lack of space. 🤔 To a contrast, I was surprised how nice everything it is in our hotel. I guess it is the most luxurious accommodation place I have ever been even though I have been in 5-stars hotel as well. I had some relax time before we went outside. Because after Hungarians had arrived we went out to eat. They brought to tables a lot of appetizers: breads, salads and some spicy stuff. And then we had to choose what we want to eat for a main dish. Everything was in Turkish, so actually we based on locals recommendations in our choice. In the restaurant we had a first familiarization round. We have experienced group leaders, so participants shouldn't worry about at all. Because we were in Turkey we needed to get the real cultural experience by visiting a shisha bar. By the way, the taste of apple is so different from our ones. Turkish taste is way more better than in Estonia. When we went back to the hotel I wanted to see the terrace because participants from last years told me about that. It was lovely to see city lights and mosque lighted up. 23 of February Breakfast was in our hotel. Variety of food was good and tasty. In the morning I also met missing participants from Lithuania. They arrived really late at night and we didn't have a change to meet before. After a breakfast we had a tour in the hotel. We saw our activity room and other nice places that we are going to use during our project. Then we started to work hard and discussed through the timetable. There will be many interesting activities and I got so many ideas what I would like to do with my group as well. I believe it is going to be a really educating and interesting project for youth. After morning meeting we had some free time once again. I went to walk around the district. I wanted to enter the mosque as well but I was kind of afraid. It is really hard to adapt a new culture when you have no idea how it works. So, I'll leave this visit to April. In the evening we went by taxi to taksim square. Huuh, this taxi ride was insane. Overall, the traffic in Istanbul is grazy and tight conditions inside a car didn't make it more pleasant ride. In pedestrian point of view it is very difficult to cross the road. I just follow locals on their way crossing the street. It had been worked so far. And fortunately I have a really good Balkan school how to cross the road in difficult conditions. But back to the taxi ride, there was lack of space and too curvy roads. Somehow we managed, hopefully Jørgen enjoyed the ride as well 😄 The main street next to taksim was crowded. Locals said that it is always like that. We went to a shisha bar, it was pretty hidden but popular place. My restorer eye saw that the building has nice historical value as well. Because taksim is close to Suvi's place I invited her as well. It was a great reunion, usually we have met after the "Back to Our Roots" project in Tallinn with Birgitta and Javier for several times. I was used to talk in English all those days and that's why I started to talk with her in English at first. My brain just couldn't switch the language so quickly. Suvi fit into our group easily and we had so many Estonian moments during so short time. She gave me more energy and made me happy. It is always nice to meet with your friends, moreover somewhere far away from your motherland 😊 After plentiful dinner we went to a bar. The location of the place was kind of secret. As an average tourist I would have never found that place. It is weird that clubs/bars are located upstairs of the building. On the first floor there just might be a cafe or whatever but upstairs a real life reveals. If you want to enjoy nightlife of the city it is essential to take a contact with locals. The view to the night Istanbul was amazing. Live music made the place even better. Estonian independence day arrived for me in an international group. Suddenly Croatians, Austrian, Russian and Mexican joined with us. They met in hostel but Croatians knew our Turkish friends and thats why they joined us. I talked with many people but sometimes it is better to be quiet. Somehow a fake uncle story got viral and I bet that they will make even more jokes about that on April as well 😅 Because there was a band we went to the dancefloor as well. It was hard to dance while having your coat and bag with you but for safety it was the best option. It was great night and good start for an Estonian independence day. 24 of February I spent the morning in the hotel. But after the breakfast I said goodbye to guys and left the place. I reached the right metro station independently and met Anıl there. He is living in a new flat close to our project hotel. After I had put my things away we made a plan where to go and what to do. Firstly, we went to a Grand Bazaar. I have to mention that those paintings there need to be restored 😁 Then I saw Hagia Sophia and Sultan Ahmed mosque. On our way we saw many more mosques but they were just "small" ones. Actually I was a bit disappointed in Hagia Sophia. On the photos and videos it has been more glorious. Maybe it was because of the cloudy weather. Then we went to the riverside. There were many fishers and they are not just standing there, they are really catching fishes from Bosphorus. We walked over the bridge and visited one hipster district. It was a good place to eat and drink something. From there it was easy to go to Galata tower. We went to a cafe and enjoyed the view. Weather was cold but luckily it wasn't raining. Because I had seen kind of everything in the city centre we drove to one neighbourhood which is not so touristic. It was really quiet there and I had a possibility to see real locals life. Houses were classical style and many of them were in a bad conditions. I loved tradidional wooden houses and of course restored colourful houses. In the evening we had a pretty odd taxi ride to taksim square again. It was a bigger taxi and I still really didn't get how the system works there but at least we reached our destination. We had a pleasant dinner following people on the street and then once again we went to a secret bar on the rooftop. Again, amazing night view to the city. There were only locals around me. Afterwards we went to a bar/club. It was a weird place. People were dancing around their own table and there wasn't a classic dancefloor. At first music was Turkish one, but when time passed they played more and more international songs as well. I can say that I even recognized 3 Turkish songs 😆 Ölürüm Sana was our farewell song with that place. I know exactly the meaning of the song! No need to read some hidden messages out of that. It is just a song I like. Unfortunately on my last evening in Istanbul it was raining. Then I felt fucking cold but I knew that in Estonia it is even colder. Also Anıl apartment's view was amazing. I love to watch Istanbul panorama. 25 of February
I totally needed those few hours of sleep before going to airport. The way there wasn't hard again. Even though Istanbul is a huge city its public transport works perfectly and logically. Everything is understandable for me. Plane to Tallinn departed from the farthest corner as usual 😒 I was kind of melanholic on my flight back to Estonia. It was super hard for me to leave the place behind. I am in love with Istanbul and my only relief is that I can come back on April. At least I had a nice flight while listening to Turkish music and watching Kardeşim Benim. Btw, it is a really entertaining movie. I have never seen so empty Tallinn city centre at noon than on that Sunday. People went too far with their indipendence day celebrations and wanted to recover at home I guess. PS! Important information that I received during my stay in Turkey. Tarkan becomes a father 😚 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. 13 of November On Monday we were concentrated to European Voluntary Service. Then we had a guest speaker from The Netherlands. She shared her story how she had lived through difficult period of her life. Then she taught us how to make a diary just out of paper. The outcome of our origami work was a gratitude journal where we wrote down some important aspects for us. Then we wrote down different things that we are grateful for on a big paper and passed the sheet of paper. Some sentences were really inspiring and it was cute that people were grateful for their presence in this project and our amazing company. But there was funny sentences as well, it is just adorable that Tibi is grateful for Jesus aka Oskar. Yeah, we had a Jesus with us in the project, an Estonian guy reminded Jesus Christ. It went viral really quickly and I guess Oskar didn't mind that everyone called him Jesus. Later on Buket and our guest speaker (unfortunately I don't remember her name) shared their EVS experience with us. On previous days we also heard Michal and Daniela stories. I realised how important is to have a video of your project, then it is easier to show the environment and activities that you had there. After lunch we had an activity with another guest speaker as well. This time a person from Mladiinfo. Petra held her session in a new room downstairs. We carried all the chairs there and played an active game there. We were standing randomly on the chairs and then we had to make an alphabetical order out of our names without talking. It was a challenge to not fall down from a chair and communicate with our body language. Second round was with our date of birth. After energizer we watched a video about Obama's speech. We analyzed it and Petra made a quick overview of elevator pitch. We also got a task to make a play out of different topics and present it in a different genre. It was a task to express yourself a creative way. I hoped to meet with Adrian (a guy who participated in Estonian youth exchange and lives in Bratislava), he promised at first visit me in Modra, but I received information that he felt sick and maybe we can meet when I visit Bratislava. We ended our Monday with Romanian, Lithuanian and Estonian intercultural evening. We were ready with preparation because we had thought everything throw in Estonia already. In the presentation we made fun of ourself, you know Estonian ironic humor. Romanians used the same way, they showed us impossible situations that had happened in Romania. Lithuanians made a quiz about their culture, they also included Estonians with our national dish kama. Best part of Lithuanian presentation was historical timeline in their songs progress. Kornelija and Šarūnė sang so beautifully that it bough tears to the audience. After presentation we started with tasting local goods. We brought candies, chocolate, kama and black bread with us. Moreover, brochures about Estonia. It was cute to see that people were really interested in our culture and nature. I suppose that everyone liked Estonian sweets and Vana Tallin is a real reason to visit Estonia. For Michal our night was most meaningful. I know the feeling when you see familiar things from your times in this country. Romanians brought a sausage which was a good combination with Estonian and Lithuanian bread. By the way, for foreigners it tasted sweet, which was a surprise for me. Romanians also bought home made wine and their type of rakia with them. And Lithuanians offered variety of cheese. I guess I am addicted to cheese after the project because they all tasted so good, the international evening ones and local Slovak ones. Lithuanians offered also blackcurrant wine, we have same type of wines because in our climate it is expensive to grow grapes. 14 of November In the morning we discussed what is learning for us. We used Dixit cards to open this topic. We picked a card that symbolizes learning for us and then described the card to others. And because of good weather we went outside to play ninja game. Spanish guys are really good at that game because Pablo and Sergio were the last two people in the game. After fun we were divided into four groups to start preparing a presentation about EVS/YE. I was in EVS group and we talked about national volunteering as well. Because there are so many opportunities to work for your community. We decided to introduce ourselves in our own language to present our culture a bit. Then we wanted to ask from them what problems they can see in their community. Our aim was to make them thinking about that actually they have the power to solve those problems. And finally we had a plan to present the voluntary work experience we had. Best way was to show pictures. Our team-work was smooth and before lunch we were already ready. After lunch we went hiking in the mountains near by. It was a great autumn walk and talk session. I have never hiked in autumn time. During my EVS it was so common to wander around and also when I arrived back to Estonia. Mountains weren't too high but it was still better than in Estonia because we don't have mountains at all. It was a time to discover around, talk with others and concentrate to your own wellness. It was inspiring to hear Rada's story that she started running in the morning because of this project. In every morning we had an opportunity to go running or meditate. It is nice that we had those extra morning activities, though I didn't participate on them. While walking in the forest Jirka said an apposite fact. We have got more time because we sleep less than usual. So, actually the week has been longer. It really makes sense, you have about 4-5 hours more time to socialize. In the evening we had a Spanish and Czech intercultural night. Spanish people went to the shop with huge bags hours earlier. And they cooked hours in the kitchen. Their presentation was interactive. They showed us how people from different regions act, they sang and read a poem for us and they guided us to impersonate bulls. We were running of the bulls to imitate San Fermin. It was definitely the best activity we have had. It was such an out of box thinking. And of course, we enjoyed their culture while drinking sangria. Czech people tried to challenge us with tongue twisters. It was kind of impossible to spell those sentences. After presentations we got to know more about Czech beer culture. And Kofola, it is still not sure what kind of origins this beverage has because it was invented in Czechoslovakia. So, both Slovaks and Czechs think it is their one. Spanish people offered a tomato sauce and a pie they prepared before. And night ended with Spanish songs, as usual... 15 of November After breakfast we caught a bus to Modra centre. After driving about 10 minutes we reached the destination. The high school looked like an average one in Estonia. At least from outside. Students weren't too excited to see us, but this is normal reaction for European youth. You can see tourists in every big city and while you are travelling you meet many foreign people. I was kind of nervous before our presentation. It was weird because I have done it before as well but then in Estonian. Our first class session was great. Students were pretty talkative . . . I have seen Estonian pupils, so, yeah Slovak youth were pretty great ones. This class in general was more active than the second one. There was no teacher in the classroom which made atmosphere more free. Our second class was more modest and it was harder to make them talk. In general it was an encouraging experience to have those presentations in Modra school. It was educative for both sides, for us and for students. After school session half of our group went to Bratislava and half of the people stayed in Modra. It was a sunny day once again, a great day to discover the capital city. First of all we went to the castle. From there it was a beautiful view to Danube river and to the city in general. We went to the castle garden, it was kind of impossible to stay in the shadow. Even though it was sunny, it was very cold. From there we headed directly to old down. We visited St Martin's cathedral. It was a disappointment from me, it looked so similar to Tallinn's churches. And I have spent already too much time there and have seen so many similar things. But at least stained glass was more powerful than in Estonia. Then we walked on the defensive wall and had a free time in the old town afterwards. I had many deja vu moments while walking there. It was an anxious feeling. I really felt that I am in Tallinn, but this wasn't the place where I wanted to be at that moment. I found a big shopping mall and bought 1,5 kg sweets for my family and friends. The main reason was the cheap price 😆 After compulsory souvenir shopping and I even visited one more church. In the main square they prepared for Christmas market. I couldn't meet with Adrian even this time, his health had gone even worse and he couldn't leave the dormitory at all. It was a pity, but that how life goes. I have been in the same situation when I couldn't meet with my Turkish guest because of my health conditions 🤒 We needed to meet in the square but we were missing Kertu and Mari-Liis, after minutes of confusioness we found them and went to the bus stop. It was a traffic jam period and we missed one bus while searching for lost Estonians and another buss took its time. And when it finally appeared it was totally packed. Somehow we press ourselves into the bus and when it was our stop, we just ran to the Modra bus. It was just matter of minutes but we made it. Thanks to us even two local ladies made it to the bus. We arrived about an hour before dinner, so, perfect timing. It was worth of running to the bus. I used this time to pack my stuff, it was hard to leave the place. I was so used to my cosy room and quiet environment. On the last dinner they offered a pumpkin puree soup, I call it a voluntary soup now. Last/first time I ate it I worked as a volunteer in Tallinn Freedom square where I stuck balloons. After hard work they offered this delicious meal. But before farewell party we had a Slovakian and Greek international evening. We were already into a Slovak culture all this week long but they showed us some more informative videos and taught us how to dance grazy polka. Greek people introduced their culture via presentation and of course we danced their traditional dances. Greek people made tzatziki and offered muesli. It was the same good one I bought from Cyprus. After gastronomy experience we had a last party together. Last oriental dances with Vaso and last opportunity to sing in Spanish. Many people went to sleep quite early but people who were still awake started to play a dangerous game. You suffer if you are in the game and you suffer if you are outside of game. Hhaha, actually the situation wasn't so mad, it was rather funny. 16 of November We left Modra in the morning, fortunately not too early. Last breakfast was pretty quiet, not many people were up by that time. In this blue mood we left the panzion and went to the bus station. It was weird, when we walked out of the house and realized that we can speak in Estonian again, no need to translate your thoughts anymore. After arriving to Bratislava we took another bus to the bus station. We arrived other side of Danube but we had plenty of time, so, we enjoyed the time we spent by the riverside. Oh God, I have chilled in different spots and states of Danube so many times. Danube is like my friend who I visit in different countries and hang out with it 😁 Bus station under the bridge was pretty odd, probably if you arrive at first to this bus station the first impression is not the best one. Why do they even need more than one bus station, the main one is excellent and should serve all the bus lines. In Budapest we went to the city centre. I supposed to meet with my friend Arpad (a guy from an Estonian project who lives in Hungary) but I couldn't find the exact place where we should meet and then my phone gave up working and started uploading the system. So, it was impossible for me to take a contact with him. It was a faith that I couldn't visit my friends in their environment. Instead of meeting my friend, I discovered the area. They already had Christmas marked and the square was decorated with lights. I heard scary stories about Budapest metro conditions but I were lucky, two times I used it I got a decent train. I saw tiredness of Estonian participants faces. This condition after long travelling after a week full of activities was reasonable. In Hungarian airport it was a weird coincidence to fly with Finnish people. Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian are all Finno-Ugric languages, so, we heard languages that sounded like Estonian. In Helsinki airport Oskar thought to check out invalid life and tried wheelchair transportation. Tho, it wasn't nice act at all. I gave to my Estonian group members back envelopes with postcards of Slovak monuments from different places all over the country. In our pre-meeting I gave them a task to write down the expectation about the project. It is useful because if you write something down and believe in it usually happens. By the way, I haven't opened my envelope yet, for me the project isn't over yet. By faith we sat next to each other with Oskar in Helsinki-Tallinn flight. We discussed about funny safety card design. Figures were contradiction to physics rules. In Tallinn it was cold and my way to home was pretty slippery. Thank you Mladiinfo Slovensko, Kertu, Mari-Liis, Ester, Martina, Lucia, Šarūnė and Ema for great shots. Hopefully you don't mind that I used those visual materials for my blog. Thank you Seiklejate Vennaskond for being my sending organization. Check out their projects here. This time I had a really special task on the youth exchange. I was a group leader for a first time. Fun fact is that I was the youngest one in the Estonian team. We had a meeting with almost the whole group an evening before their departure to Budapest. Meeting was held in my really awesome university room. But in the same time, thanks to my awesome uni I couldn't start my journey a day earlier. So, I followed them on Friday. 10 of November My day started early in the moring when I went to the airport and had a quick flight to Helsinki. I guess Tln-Hel and Tln-Riga flights are the most pointless ones I have ever had. Thanks to different time zone I won an extra hour and arrived to Budapest still in the morning. I discovered the city centre and walked to the bus station. I met there with other Estonians who had already spent one day in that magnificent city. While waiting our Bratislava bus we had a great imagination about how the city got its name. We created a connection between Russian language. "Brat" "i" "Slava" (brother and Slava). In reality the name situation was more complicated. I have never travelled before being so sick as I was that time. Oskar comforted me and said that at least I have something to remember from that trip. But actually we were surprised how great the bus was. It was like travelling with Lux Express, media screen and hot drinks. Only weird thing was the travel assistant. In Estonia you have more independence during your trip, you can take drinks by yourself and don't need any assistant for that. Bus was on time but as a normal thing it made a random stop before Hungary-Slovakia border. Throwback to my Balkan trip in 2016 😆 For my surprise, because I had no imagination of Slovakia, Bratislava bus station was really modern. It was a good first impression of the country. There Buket already was waiting for us with Lithuanian team. Bus ride to Modra was interesting because it was dark and bus was packed. On the back of the bus I noticed three Spanish persons sitting, I was pretty sure that they are also from our project because it can't be just a coincidence that three foreigners are going randomly to Modra. And I was right, they were also from our project. Walking to our accommodation place was pretty confusing. In the dark walking uphill you try to understand what surrounds you but it is very complicated. I noticed many private houses with fancy gardens. And I need to mention Modra Harmonia bus station, in the dark it is creepy as hell 😬 When we arrived Chech people had been there for hours already. Then we had our first delicious dinner and played some name games on the training room. Training room seemed really cozy and kind of Estonian. In the false fact game I was pretty clever, I knew what to write down to bamboozle people. At the same time I am not the best guesser myself, didn't gain too many points. During the night all missing participants arrived as well. This time I shared my room with two Spanish girls 🇪🇸 11 of November In the morning we played some more name games and got information about our hosting organization Mladiinfo. We all received a Mladiinfo notebook to write up all ideas we get while the activities. We wrote down our expectations about the project and we improved our drawing skills by sketching people around us. The results were hilarious. It was a nice and sunny day outside and we had an activity toilet paper game outside. It was funny to see how ambitious some persons were, at least we got to know a lot of information about them. Everyone had a personal cup with a name label. One label reminded me a number and not only for me. Actually it was "Zois" instead of "2015" and we made so much fun out of it. Then, suddenly The Dress topic came up. And still, some people see black and blue, others white and cold. After years nothing has changed. After the tasty lunch we went to the shop. I like the variety of products they have there. My biggest problem in Bulgaria was lack of variety of goods. Village was small but still some people got lost and ended up in a vinery place where they tasted different types of local wine. In the afternoon our training room had changed a bit. Mattresses which were next to wall in the morning were now laid down. Of course people took an advantage of it and enjoyed resting there. But still we had to start with our activities. We were divided into our national groups to discuss about our culture. What is good, weird and bad in our community. I really liked how Ivanka made parallel between this task and EVS experience afterwards. Because even your country habits might be odd and also different countries culture, so you should adopt different habits as a natural thing. At the same time we got information about different countries. Estonian and Greek culture might be really different but we have some similarities with Lithuanians. Then we discussed what non-formal organizations we have in our country and what values they have for youth. At first it was hard to write something down but in reality there were so many different types of organizations. We talked what reputation voluntary work in general has in our country. Finally, we tried to find values what we want to achieve and tried to figure out how we should do that. It was a Saturday night and the club was only 500 m away. So, we thought, why not to visit that place. It was surprising how normal the club was 😂 We even got an orange glowing armlet. Lighting was excellent but the music there was not my cup of tea. Kertu really enjoyed the music but when they started playing Slovak old songs even she was disappointed. 12 of November
Morning was gray like our mood. Most of the people were sleepy from the party but everyone participated actively in the activities. We had a harvesting circle, we looked back to a previous day and set the goals for the next days. Our missing participant from Romania arrived as well. Actually I didn't even know that we are missing a person because there was some kind of trouble with Romanian participants, they couldn't send 5 persons to the project. So, we only had two Romanians. But Tiberiu fit to our group smoothly. This morning the games we had were different from my previous experience which was nice because usually everything is familiar to me already and it might get boring. We used our actor skills to peek into unexpected situations you might face to. People were pretty modest but we still had nice situations. Then we played a number game to improve our group work and velocity. After kind of energizers we made groups to solve a problem they gave us. We got roles to protect our point of view but the same time find the compromise. At lunch we had a really plentiful meal again. This time I ate something familiar from Slovak cousine - potatoe pancakes (Zemiakove placky) - I have made those at home as well. The recipe is quite easy and the result tasty, I received the recipe from a youth exchange in Estonia where were Slovak participants. Great example of intercultural learning. But food in Penzion Na Luke in general was plentiful. Every lunch we had a soup + meal which is insane. Every day we also had fresh fruits and some bakery desserts. I guess I'll never have enough of Slovakian food, I ADORE this food there. On that day the dessert Buchty na Pare was great. Actually I guess that dessert has Polish origins. I guess I'll celebrate my birthday there and I don't care how all my Estonian family members and friends reach the place 🤣 this food orgasm is worth it! Because all the participants didn't fit into the main house, some people lived in the private house. The way to the house was adventerous, there was a creepy doll on the way. But house itself was great, made us (people in the main house) even a bit jealous. It was a funny phenomen in Slovakia, in every evening it was raining. Every evening it reminded us that it is autumn outside. At daytime there was even a sunshine and all the weather reminded me September weather in Estonia, it is hard to believe that was November there. Though, in the evening we had a living library session. The guy who talked about social business was really into the topic. He was very inspiring, Šarūnė got inspired the most I guess 😊 Dushan personal approach tore us out of the comfort zone and made us think about how we can reach our dreams. A guy from national agency talked us more about what criterions are important to apply for a project. A Macedonian guy David shared his experience he had when he did an EVS in Slovakia, by now he is really living there. So, EVS changed his life completely. Lucia told us about how to create a youth exchange through informal group. This evening we partied at home. Grazy dancing and at some point my scarf got a lot of attention. Guys loved that fluffy, warm and pink item. At least it was pretty useful while playing limbo (at least this how we call it in Estonia) 😀 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 😊
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AuthorMy connection with Erasmus+ projects. Youth exchanges and training courses. Archives
January 2020
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