Projekti „Aktiivne noorsootöö Valgamaal“ toetab SA Archimedese noorteagentuur Erasmus+ programmist.
November is already over and I am asking myself where all the time is left. It seems like yesterday since I left Austria on the one hand and on the other hand I feel like I have been here for a really long time already. :D
My November started with a visit from my family. They rented a car and so we went to see Pärnu, Voru and Tartu. For the first time I had to share my flat with more people and the kitchen was - with us 4 - already full. Nonetheless I really enjoyed that they have been here and that I could show them where I am living. :D
After they left in the Youth Center work waited for me, because I had to prepare my handicraft-club (which is every week on a Thursday) and on Friday (10.11) we also had a “Horror-night”. It was really funny, as I was part of a team.
My team - so Siiri and Kadri - was so good at all the competitions, for example apple-fishing (where you are not allowed to use your hands, but your mouth), that we could win and save the biggest price.
But next to this event, I already had other stuff to do - of course. :D
Together with my handicraft-club I could improve my ceramik-skills, as we did some ceramik.
We also had a meeting for summer school - which will take place in July. Together with Rasmus and youngsters from my youth center we went there and at the meeting we met the others, who will participate in the summer school (for example Tania, my lovely co-worker).
We got in teams and Tania and I also joined one. With the team we had to think of our “ideal summer-camp”. The meeting was so much fun, that I am already excited for summer. (even though this means the end of my EVS :0)
In November also my German-course (with a bit of Austrian of course) started. The first course was a bit weird for me - 8 adults and 1 youngsters in front of me and I am the teacher. :D But the second time it was much better and I really enjoyed to teach them “my” language (well, sometimes I am missing some words - for example Rasmus wanted to know, how skiing (not downhill, because where in Estonia can you go downhill skiing? - Right, no where :D) is in German and I was thinking waaay too long about it. (by the way, now I know - it is “Langlaufen”)). So by now they should be able to speak about themselves (how old, hobbies, if they have a sister or brother), count and know the months.
This month I could also visit some places.
Together with two girls from my On-Arrival-Training I spent one weekend in Tartu. There we found a guy at "couchsurfing" who could host us for the weekend. Fun story - on Friday we (so the two girls and me) went to a bar, the guy could not join us, because he had a birthday-party at his work place, but he gave us the keys. So you might think, whats so special about it - well...after coming back from the bar we tried to get in the flat, but somehow it was closed (he had several things to close the door and on this evening he choose the “closing-thing” for which we had no key) and after several tries we gave up. So we sat there (went to a gas station for a kakao and to the busstation, because there is Wifi and also heating) and waited and waited … until 9.00 a.m.. :D
But that is not even the only “fail-story” of November. Another happend when I was in Voru, where Fabio (also a volunteer, with who I was in Rakvere) is volunteering. In his Youth Center I cooked something Austrian
(“Kaiserschmarrn”) and it was delicious (daah, of course, it is Austrian :D), even though all the youngsters there and also the workers were really suspicious about it - but everyone liked it (or at least they said it).
After cooking there we went to Fabios place, called Rouge, which is a small village, but near to Voru. During the busride we discovered, that the bus on the next day, which should bring me from Rouge back to Hargla is not driving as Fabio thought. So after checking all the possibilities our plan was to go hiking in the morning, so I can reach my bus and be on time in the Hargla Youth Center.
So we woke up at 4.00 a.m., stared walking at 5.00 a.m. and made it to the bus-station. (luckily the bus driver saw us, because it was dark and he was driving not too slowly :D)
Back in Hargla I was really happy to see my bed. So I took a really good nap and went more or less fresh in the Youth Center.
I also was in Tallinn for a weekend, because some youngsters from Valga county had the possibility to go to a museum in Tallinn (Lennusadam) on Sunday and so Tania and I decided to go there already on Friday. :D
The weekend was really cool, as I met with other volunteers and one volunteer also showed me around in Tallinn and in the evening we went to the Christmas Market.
I also really enjoyed the museum, as Tania and I had a lot of fun there - the photos are the prove for that. We also learned not to trust the volunteers, as they told us the station which is “very near” to the museum. Well, when we got out of this station, Google Maps said we have to walk now for 22 minutes. :D (luckily there was a bus also :D )
So my November ended really cool, as I made some Christmas-cookies in the Youth Center (Rasmus said, that it is not common in Estonia to have Christmas-cookies :O - it really shocked me - how did they manage to celebrate Christmas and survive the dark days before Christmas without cookies ? :O)
With the help of the youngsters we made Vanillekipferl (<3), Cornflakes-cookies and “the normal cookies”.
November was great and I saw (also the ruin near to Helme with Nadja (where we had our cameras with us, so it turned out to be more or less a photo-shooting) <3,...) and experienced new things (Tania and I made a delicious pie - called Tanina pie about which we wrote an article for “Tankla” newspaper, ...). I am already excited for December, as my calendar is starting to get full. :D
Das vergangene Monat (also November) ist rasend schnell vergangen, wie bisher fast alles. :D Ich bin nach wie vor froh über meine Entscheidung, nach Estland gegangen zu sein. Ich habe hier bereits unglaubliche Menschen kennengelernt und Freundschaften geknüpft. Auch das Helfen im Youth Center macht mir richtig viel Spaß und die Kinder sind mir schon ans Herz gewachsen.
(If you have questions: Facebook: Nina Leimlehner, Instagram: estoni.n.a)
