Projekti „Vabatahtlikud Valgamaa noorsootöös“ toetab SA Archimedese noorteagentuur Euroopa Solidaarsuskorpuse programmist.
Time is passing away incredibly fast ..
It's been almost two months since I came to Estonia for a volunteer project, and it seems like it was yesterday.
Well, summer is over, and with it, time of summer camps, which were definitely both fun and entertaining, and difficult at the same time. Perhaps one of the most striking camps and events this summer that I took part in was the Summer Camp near Torva.
This month I met with a lot of other volunteers for my midterm meeting, and disaster struck in the woods...
August saw the weather turn to autumn, and then immediately backpedal to nice summery heat. Still, winter is undoubtably on its way.
The biggest event for me personally this month was the midterm meeting with other volunteers, which I was looking forward to because I'd missed my chance to meet them in the on-arrival training. Still, even though I was quite looking forward to meeting the other volunteers, I was also dreading the big hike that was scheduled on one of the days of the meeting.
Already on Latvian land, waiting for meeting with Estonia!
I get off the plane, already on Latvian land which greeted me with a cool refreshing breeze after two hours of flight!
The first face besides the workers and tourists I met here was the smiling face of a very cheerful and friendly guy named Vallo, who went to drive me to the city I'm gonna live in. We greeted each other, left the airport and passed through Riga, beautiful city that reminded me of certain Ukrainian cities. We headed to Valga, the city in Estonia that would become my home for the next 11 months ... my volunteer life had just begun! !
So after a few hours, I arrived to Oteppa camp, a beautiful place with smiling people. And the reason I went there as I found out later- was because my apartment was not ready for living. People greeted me very kindly there, and in general there was a lot of attention, everything in my mind was (foggy?)...
This month was truly what one could describe as a summer of youth. Sadly, that youth wasn't mine.
This month only saw me work at the youth center in Lüllamäe for only a number of days before it was time to pack my bag, regret not having a smaller bag (always a sign of a devious foreigner), and settle in for the wait for Malev to start. What followed was twoish weeks of non-stop teenagers and more rap music than I would normally hear in six months.
June marked the first time I fell somewhat seriously ill. Considering I work around children, it was inevitable.
So, this is the first month where I've had to properly contend with the concept of boredom at work. However, my quest to learn Estonian continues, as my tutor suggested I read the Little Prince in Estonian. I understood a gratifying amount, and I could follow the story well enough. Obviously it helps that this wasn't my first time reading the book. Luckily I didn't understand quite enough for the ending to tug too hard on my heart strings.
