Projekti „Vabatahtlikud Valgamaa noorsootöös“ toetab SA Archimedese noorteagentuur Euroopa Solidaarsuskorpuse programmist.
On arrival training.Exactly this training is probably one of the coolest events that takes place in the first months of a volunteer's life abroad.
And although it has been three months since I arrived to Estonia, I can say that arrival training has probably become one of the highlights of my volunteer life. Spanish adventures are still in the first place and I very much doubt that another event, no matter how interesting and bright it might be, will change the top-ranking of the Spanish adventures that I had in September. But it's not about September ...
The end of October is getting to an end, and it's time to blog about almost the fourth month of my life in beautiful Estonia. Outside the window it's a quiet night; Valga is sleeping, a mug with milk is nearby, and on Spotify Trios Matamoros are playing hot Mexican music, in cold but so ravishing Estonia, and I am writing this blog... Well, mostly music is a faithful and reliable partner wherever I go.
The first days of October, I was physically already in Valga, but subconsciously, perhaps, I was still walking along on such familiar streets of Madrid, heading for the subway in Sol, and from there to my Spanish temporary home... Again. I write about Spain again, feeling that even now I'm still there... Okay, that’s it. Now about October in Estonia. I promise.
So, the first week passed by quickly and I did not have time to look around, as I was already near the resort town of Oteppa, in a cozy town with a beautiful lake and forest around. I participate in an event for business development among, and for, youngsters. The event is interesting because young people have a real chance to start their own business, and there you can take some tips and win funding for your project. Isn’t that cool?
Well, here's a fine kitchen and a grand piano that looks nicer than it sounds. Most of the time, I worked as a photographer, and sometimes as a counselor with children… Time went cheerfully and nicely.
And then Valga, youth center, digital piano each day, table tennis, billiard, interesting, and not that much, conversations with youngsters. Cozy evenings reading the book and lightroom on my free time. Still need to learn estonian language, lazy boy, what can I say.
6am, the city is still asleep, and two volunteers are already waiting at the train station for a train that will take them to the military town Tapa in the South of Estonia. And from there by bus to the arrival training in Rakvere, a beautiful and interesting small town near Tallinn, which symbol is a big ox (bull).
On my way to Rakvere, I am trying to teach my partner-volunteer from Hungary the basics of the Russian language. He is also traveling with me to the training. And suddenly, from the bus, I can see two moose on the outskirts of the road, in the forest. And damn, it was cool, they are so beautiful. It is such a pleasure to watch the wild free animals and birds in their natural habitat. It was the same when I spent several hours watching the pelicans and herons in Ukraine, laying on the grass under the tough sunlight, together with my girlfriend. I could see them from the bus just for a few seconds, but it was an amazing moment.
"Do not cause fear in a wild animal - this is happiness, almost unknown to a modern person." What trifles", the city dweller may think. But these are not trifles. Live long enough in the wild and you will feel like an outcast - everything is living will shun you. A shadow of human cruelty covers the Earth. Unbeknownst to us, it overshadows our souls. "
From the book "The Caribou Trails" by John Marshall.
I love this citation, I read the whole book and it is definitely worth to read.
But let’s move on...
Rakvere greets tourists with an ancient castle and a large bull monument, which is the symbol of the city, well, and even a windmill like in Don Quixote’s book.
There are cozy narrow streets and a beautiful park near our hotel. The road to the hotel is really fabulous. On either side of the forest, the trees are dotted with yellow and red, and the earth is covered with fallen leaves.
Perfect time to listen Cannonball Adderley - Autumn Leaves.
Amazing piece and, in general, Miles and Adderley are jazz geniuses. So yeah, just play it through your headphones, and have a walk in the autumnal Estonia, enjoying the last colors and beauty of Autumn going for a stroll in the park or near the lake with this amazing music. It will be a joy, I promise.
Our training was held at a hotel on the outskirts of the city, right in the middle of the park I have previously described. The training included many different elements, but most of the time, 22 volunteers were sitting in a small room, listening to our two cheerful speakers and taking an active part in various friendly group tasks. Of course, the most interesting factor of this training is the communication and exchange of fascinating stories of volunteers from different corners of the world, and we had plenty of time to get acquainted with different stories from each person and ask about everyone’s goals and adventures.
And even though our working hours were from morning till evening, and, supposedly, there was no time to walk around the city, we still managed to visit the castle and to see and take a selfie all together with the bull. But evenings were usually the most fun. Trip to the nearest supermarket, spiritual drinks (germans are tough), board games as Mafia and talking until midnight... We had fun and enjoyed life as much as we could... It was really relaxing and amusing.
And when I went home after a fun week in such a rhythm, I was completely satisfied. I had met in this training many interesting and just kind, cool people with whom I will definitely keep in touch and plan next trips in the close future...
There were some cool ideas, that were born in this training and I hope to write about these events in the next blogs...
Voru is a cozy city in Estonia, which I visited once I came back from the training. I visited my volunteer friends from arrival training, who are very welcoming and warm people, and I also worked as a volunteer for two days in Okasroosike kindergarten. It was really fun out there with the kids👨👧👦, some of them were really fond of me ...
The lake there is very cool, it has a nice long beach and lots of great spots where you can enjoy nature. I didn't walk around the lake this time but next one I definitely will. On the other side of the lake there is a forest where, supposedly, there are deers🦌.
And this month ended with a rainy but warm trip to the town of Parnu together with volunteers from Valga and the cities nearby.
Parnu is one of the oldest cities in Estonia, with beautiful small houses in the center, large Baltic Sea beach and nice second hand stores.
Yeah, we had quite a fun there with Pavel, volunteer from Ukraine, and Beinhan, a chinese-austrian volunteer: Parnu second hand fashion day.
The weather had probably decided to test us, as it rained constantly for two days, but even in such conditions, completely soaked, we managed to get around the whole city and enjoy the city and the windy and stormy sea. Well, me and Pavel, decided to swim in the sea. I like to swim in storm waves. It was pretty cool, the water was warm, so I truly enjoyed it. It’s great when there is someone who is the same crazy as you are and can do fun stuff together.
After a rainy day, we went to the hostel. Beer and more beer, expensive and burnt pizza, and 7 jolly and wet volunteers with interesting stories, fun games, sharing classic, and not only, music, and a huge pillow fight at 2 am. Cool trip. Thanks guys. Here's a fun October.
A musical recommendation, something not typical - Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra, A Swingin 'Safari. Good November to you.
Winter is already here.
Це був інтенсивний і цікавий місяць. Найяскравішою подією став ерайвл тренінг, де було багато різних цікавих завдань для волонтерів. А також це чудова можливість знайти нових друзів і просто гарних людей з цікавими цілями і пригодами. Окрім тренінгу були цікаві івенти і в мому регіоні, до прикладу бізнес розвиток серед молоді. Класна можливість спробувати свої ідеї в бізнесі і також можливість виграти фінансування для цього. Встиг я ще й поволонтерити в дитсадку моєї подруги волонтерки Бенхан з Китаю-Австрії. в красивому містечку Виру з великим озеро. Також побував в найстарішому місті Естонії, Парну. Тут ми з волонтерами з усії Валги і міст поруч відправились на декілька днів насолодитись балтійським морем. Хоча дощ лив усі два дні, час ми провели класно. Жовтень добіг кінця, і в останні дні місяця раптово випав сніг. Красивий лапатий сніг...
