Projekti „Vabatahtlikud Valgamaa noorsootöös“ toetab SA Archimedese noorteagentuur Euroopa Solidaarsuskorpuse programmist.
I still can’t believe I am writing this, but my ESC is officially over. I will never forget this incredible year and cherish all the memories I made and people I met.
But before we get to the sad part, let’s not forget that I also did like a looooot of stuff in August.
The very first event was the night-fair. I had already heard about it quite in the beginning of my service and basically I was looking forward to it the whole year. And it definitely didn’t disappoint: It was basically straight out of a fairytale. I invited two of my volunteer friends who were also blown away at how big the event was especially compared to how small Hargla is. We also performed a few songs with the folkbänd - my last time playing with them ;(
Early in the morning on the next day, me and Julia, a fellow volunteer from Germany who you probably know by now, embarked on a trip to Lithuania! We had planned this back in March, but well…. Covid happened. I am so so glad we managed to squeeze this trip in between summer camps and last working days! We arrived basically clueless and without any plans, which made it so much better actually! I really did realize that I tend to overplan and overstress, I rarely just sit back and enjoy the moment. One more thing to add to the many things Estonia has taught me. We rented bicycles, met some cool Spanish guys, spent 7 hours straight walking trying to see as much as possible and took the night bus back to Tallinn. Of course I did the only reasonable thing the next day - visit Narva and the Peipsi lake…
After one weekend of chilling and resting my legs from all the walking, I headed to looduskool, the nature school. It’s a big summer camp with mostly nature related workshops for the youngsters. It was really fun and the youngsters really enjoyed their time there.
On my last working day at the youth center, we had a big goodbye party with many many youngsters, cake and ice cream cocktails. It was lovely that so many of them came, despite it still being summer vacation and our rather random opening times. On the other hand I was sad to know that this was my last time in the youth center, for now, the last time seeing all the youngsters faces.
The day after I made my way to Tallinn to meet my family! They had come to visit me, finally :) It was strange to see them again but in Estonia, like two worlds colliding… We had a really lovely time together, first in Tallinn, then Helsinki, then Hargla and in Kloogaranna, at the beach. During their visit I still had one last day of work, this time at the summerschool, another camp. Madli created a whole list of challenges for me to complete that day, which was super super fun. On the evening of my last day in Hargla, Jandra told me she would be coming over, so I expected to say goodbye to her then. What I didn't expect was a surprise party with basically all of the people in Hargla that had become important to me in the last 11 months.
Thank you so much Jandra for organizing this, for being kind and supportive and always helping me!
Thank you to everyone from the EcoCommunity and the folkbänd, especially Kristiina and Flo, for always making me feel like home and connecting through music!
Thank you, Rasmus and Ülla, for helping me even in the strangest times, like when I decided to fly home because of Corona, and helping me come back, and showing me so many things about Hargla, Estonia and life!
Thank you, Madli, for being the kindest friend, coworker and tutor. You always offered a helping hand, invited me to sauna, museums, food and so many things, and I will really miss seeing you everyday and talking for hours when no youngsters came.
Thank you also to all the amazing volunteers I met here! I really enjoyed hearing so many different perspectives on life and of course all the adventures we went on (and here I will definitely highlight Julia, Quentin and Urban :D). I am particularly grateful for the ESCommunity, a way of getting together and creating together, which was lovely.
Aitäh Eesti! I learnt so much more in this year than I learnt in any year ever before, especially about myself. I made so many unforgettable memories that I am beyond grateful for. I don’t really have the words to conclude all of this year into sentences, so here are some pictures from my ESC:
Danke auch an meine liebe Familie und an den lieben Juli und eigentlich an alle die aus Deutschland meinen Blog hier lesen. Weil ohne euren Support und viele FaceTimecalls, hätte ich es im einsamen Hargla manchmal nicht durchgestanden... ;)
