First Week

Monday/esmaspaev	Arrival
Tuesday/teisipaev	Vanalinn
Wednesday/kolmapaev	Injection/bike ride
Thursday/neljapaev	Home
Friday/reede	School/zoo
Saturday/ laupaev	Castle/Family
Sunday/ puhapaev	Church/lake
Monday/esmapaev	Shops

Monday/esmapaev:

So on Monday my host family came to fetch me from the camp. Kuliki and Jaak, my host mother and father. Piret (19), Epp (16) and Mari (13).

Got home and wow . . . big house! My room is amazing and yes also big. They have a sauna downstairs. A beautiful garden with apple trees and some other berry bushes.

The food has been amazing! On the first night we had a blue berry cake which is Epps own recipe and wow it was good! I’ve tried some strange stuff like this meat spread and cottage cheese. A whole lot of different berries.

The family is great, all really nice. Ask lots of questions and answer all of mine. They have a little dictionary lying around which they sometimes use in case they don’t know a word in English. Oh and of course let me not forget the cats Juus and Sonja who come and go as they please.  

Tuesday/teisipaev:

So on Tuesday my host sisters took me around Vanalinn. We went up an old Church right to the top. Climbed up a small, stone, spiraling staircase with 258 stairs to get to the top, but the view was completely worth it. We could clearly see the line between the new part of Tallinn and the old part. The buildings are strange but beautiful. Very old. Little flower stalls around every corner on the cobbles stone roads. A lot of tourist groups buzzing up and down, we tried to push our way though many large groups speaking different languages. I got some good pictures and had a good walk around. 

Mari also tried to teach me how to ride her unicycle . . . 

Wednesday/kolmapaev:

So on Wednesday I had to go for a tick injection . . . fun. But it was fine didn’t feel a thing. After that Mari and Piret took me for a bike ride through the forest near the back of the house. It’s like a loop road which goes for 8km through thick green forest. It was really cool, very  flat with only a few little up hills. We stopped a few times and Mari picked some different berries for me to try. It was good to get some exercise because the jet lag was still hitting me and I was feeling very tired so it was nice  to get outside and do something. 

This is Mari giving me a random berry to eat :) 

Thursday/nelipaev:

It was raining on Thursday so we stayed at home and played some board games and Mari taught me (well tried to teach me, I was hopeless) how to do a French braid. I learnt some new words in Estonian. Whenever we go out I take a little note book with me and then on the bus or in the car the family teaches me some new words and I write them down. Then when we get home I write them on sticky notes and put them all over my room. So my walls are yellow with sticky notes.

Friday/reede:

Friday morning I went with my host mother and Epp to my school so I could meet some teachers and get a bit of a tour. It was strange sitting in the little room while everyone spoke a different language. They talked for a long time, I’m assuming about the school and the different classes and whats involved in the film program as well as what I’ll need to do. It seemed the only person who was supposed to be getting all this information didn’t understand the language but afterwards Epp went through some of the stuff with me.

After that me, Epp, Mari and Piret went to Tallinn Zoo (loomaaed). It was really big and we did a lot of walking. Piret worked at the zoo in the holidays so when we went to the barn yard kinda thing she let us hold the small animals like the guinea pig, rabbit and chicken. We also got to feed the goats. It started raining again so we went to the indoor areas with snakes, crocodiles and gorillas. We saw a POLAR BEAR!!!!!!!! I was super excited about that haha because I’ve never seen a polar bear before and yeah I’ve now seen one. We have agreed that we’ll go to the zoo again in the winter because I’m curious what the animals (like camels and elephants) do in the snow.

Again at the end of the day I got my little book out and we wrote down some animals in Estonian, the first one I always seem to think of is ‘amblik’ spider.

Saturday/laupaev:

It was my host dads uncles birthday so we drove for a while out to the forest somewhere and spent the afternoon with the family.

On the way out there we stopped at Rakvere castle or rather the remains of the castle. Tall stone walls fixed into the mountain side with arched windows carved into the stone.

We went into this dark room lit by some red lights, it was the torture chamber which was kind of unsettling.  Plus it smelt funny in there. They spoke for a while about the different machines used for torturing people . . . lovely. The room was enough to creep me out, I’m so glad I didn’t understand what they were saying! 

At lunch with all the family Mari laughed and said to me “they’re talking about you” and I just nodded and said I know. There was a lot of food and I had the best custard slice ever, soooo good!!

There was a little girl there who tested her English skills on me. Constantly saying different colours and objects like spoon and plate. Then she tried to teach me some words in Estonian, it’s true what the YFU people have been saying all along, little children don’t care that you don’t understand them haha she just kept talking and saying words for me to copy even though I didn’t know what anything meant.

Sunday/puhapaev:

So on Sunday I went to church with my host dad, Epp and Mari. It’s a really small church compared to my one back in NZ. They have a youth group with about 8 people which is going to be different from the 60 I’m used to. The minister and his family are from America so they can speak English which I’m pleased about. During the service the ministers daughter, Greta (15) sat by me and translated. I’m really glad I found a church. I think in the future I’m going to be catching a train to get there and back in the mornings. And to the youth group on Thursday evenings.

Later Sunday evening  my host mom, Epp and Mari went to this quiet lake in the middle of a forest. It was way too cold for me but the three of them swam. The water was really dark, it looked just like coke a cola. It was very beautiful out there, this lake hidden in the tall pine trees.  The drive there took about an hour and a half.

Today, Monday 27^th

Well today we went shopping for school supplies. I had to get new shoes because in the schools here they change shoes when they get to school. We also had to get all the school books and pens. I woke up feeling a bit sick with a headache but the day at the shops was fun. Who thought shopping could be so relaxing?!?!? The shops here are really big compared to NZ. A lot of clothes shops (I was tempted to buy a whole lot of clothes but restrained myself to just one top) We got some ice cream, biscuits and chocolate (the chocolate here is soooooo good!!) then we caught a few buses and trolley buses home. From the last bus stop we had to walk the rest of the way home and it started pouring with rain. It was so good to hear thunder again but when we got home we were soaked to the bone. Dripping wet except for a little spot on my head which had been protected by the small umbrella. 

So my only pair of shoes that I have with me (apart from hiking boots and sports shoes) are now so worn in from all the walking during this week. I may need to get a new pair of shoes soon!!