Artsy weekend

On Thursday afternoon I had my first skiing experience. When I got home from school Piret and I walked to the nearby Nõmme forest where in autumn we went for our long bike rides. Now the tracks are covered with snow and the trees are tipped with white. At first skiing felt a bit strange but after a while I got going and it was a lot of fun. It was made easier of course by the tracks made by previous skiers. I managed for quite a while but towards the end I had a few falls. Overall it was a great first experience and I was glad to have Piret there to help me along and to laugh with me.

Helsinki in normal state

This weekend I was very glad to get the opportunity to go with Epp on a school art trip to Helsinki (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden). So this is how the weekend went, Saturday was my host moms birthday but unfortunately Epp and I couldn’t be with her the whole day because of our trip. But we woke up early and after wishing her a happy birthday we were off to the ferry terminal to catch our ship to Finland. When we arrived there two hours later we went to three different art centers. The first was a modern Japanese art exhibition. The second was of Russian fairytale paintings. Lastly we went to a large modern art gallery, where I got lost a few times amongst all the people. It was strange to be back in Helsinki though, well to see it in its normal, non-Christmas state. The big piles of snow on the streets are now gone and there are not so many tourists. This time I could hear more of the Finnish language which is quite similar to Estonia, I found I could actually understand some things. Our time in Helsinki ended and we were on a different ship heading to Stockholm. We found our little cabins right at the bottom of the boat, way, way down at the bottom and then through a maze of narrow corridors which lead to a hall way of pink doors.

The sea in its winter state

That evening, Saturday the 16^th of February, Epp and I went to a restaurant on board to celebrate me being in Estonia for 6 months! The next morning we woke up, had some breakfast and shortly after we docked in Stockholm. As soon as we stepped out of the ferry terminal I noticed large rocky cliffs. They stood out so much because Estonia is so flat so to see cliffs again was quite strange actually. We then took a bus ride into the city to another art center (‘we’ being the 50 students who had come on this trip). The art center we visited was very big with a whole lot of different exhibitions inside. After this we had some free time so we wondered around Stockholm’s old town. From what I saw the old town is mainly one long cobblestone street with a whole lot of little ones branching off to the sides. Each lined with tall buildings mainly from the 18^th and 19^th century. Wondering around the old town we found a little statue and it is said that if you touch its head, you will one day return to Stockholm. So we found this little statue, touched his head and well I look forward to my next visit to Stockholm. We walked down the main street of the old town stopping in different little shops, sweet shops, book shops, tourist stores and then to a cute little coffee shop for a desperately needed hot chocolate. We were then back on the boat for an early dinner, the large group of us took up four tables.

Our cabins

This is the little statue, judging by it's size I'm sure you can guess it was quite hard to find.

Epp standing outside a cafe in Stockholm's old town

Monday was quite strange. I woke up feeling quite sick, late morning we docked in Helsinki and then boarded the next ship for the last part of our journey.  When Epp and I arrived home I was surprised to find someone sleeping in my bed . . . no not goldilocks, but Iris, the exchange student from Belgium. As it turns out she had a nature program up in Tallinn this weekend but she was feeling ill so she spent the night at our house. So Sunday night my host family found themselves taking care of two sick exchange students. 

Well yesterday afternoon Maris school had a similar playbox event like my school did. Mari was the host of this so we went to watch and support her. After the show though, she was off to her training. Then this afternoon she had a circus performance which we went to watch and then once again she was off to her training . . . busy girl.

Half way through

For YFU, the exchange students have a sort of art exhibition where we can display a piece of art for this years topic, ‘Why I came to Estonia’ The exhibition is in March so I'd better get moving and pull something together soon! I've started going through all my pictures from my time in Estonia to get some inspiration on an idea. Doing this has really made me think of all the opportunities I’ve had here and all my new experiences. Most importantly of all the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made. I don’t often talk about the people I've met but really, this whole experience has been made so much better because of all the  people who have been with me along the way.

 I also realized that I am now over half way through my exchange year in Estonia . . . even though I have become very comfortable with the way of life here, with my family and friends, it still feels like I only just waved goodbye to New Zealand and hopped on a plane. The long flight, my first tour around Tallinn (which has now become so familiar) the camp, the exchange students, hearing the strange new language, meeting my family, starting school, making new friends, finding hobbies and groups, traveling a bit, the first winter snow . . . the cold. All this has happened in only 5 months and I can’t wait to see what the next 5 months bring. New adventures, new places, new experiences and most importantly new people and new friends. 

So because I've been quite slack and haven't updated in a while (sorry) I think I'll jump back a few weekends. So one Friday a while back, I had a friend stay the night. She is a girl I met from the very first church (in Keila) I went to when I first arrived in Estonia. Mari and I met her at the train station and that evening she joined Epp and I at youth. Saturday morning we decided to go into oldtown for some outdoor ice skating in the cold. Then it was back to the train station to say goodbye.
That Sunday a Mexican exchange student, asked if I could give a tour of Tallinn to his sister who had come to visit him. So Sunday after Church I met him and his sister and took them around to the places I remember my host sisters taking me when I arrived. I thought I would be a little adventurous and take them to a park in Tallinn only problem was I couldn't exactly remember how to get there. So after getting lost at first (or taking the 'scenic' route as I like to think of it) we eventually got there and the tour was successful.

Yes this is a boat that we drove past on the ice road :)

It's hard to tell exactly where the sea ends and where the sky begins.

Last weekend was quite cold. No it was very cold. My family headed to Vormsi island (vormsimaa) a small island near Saaremaa (which is Estonias biggest island), there the wind was blowing strongly. How did we get to this little island? By car. We drove on the sea, yup a 'jäätee' (ice road) took us across the ocean a few kilometers to the island where we spent some of the day. The road was marked by trees stuck into the ice. Vormsi has population of 406 people but the largest collection of wheel crosses with over 300 in one cemetery. We left the island red faced from the stinging wind. Back inland we went to a town called Haapsalu, it’s a cute town with colourful buildiings lining the small streets. At first it seemed like a ghost town because there were no people around at all. But as we got nearer to the frozen sea we saw the reason for the lack of people on the streets, they were all ice skating or watching an intense game of ice hockey among locals. We also visited a little castle with a bit of a sad legend to it. They say that on August nights 'the white lady' stands in one of the windows, looking out. She was the lover of one of the solders in 14th century, but woman were not allowed to enter the castle, so he dressed her as a boy so they could be together. When it was found out that she was in fact a woman, she was plastered into one of the walls. So now she stands in the window watching for her lover to return. 

Piret and I braving the cold

Mari

Me excitedly standing on the frozen sea.

 Now this weekend we had our YFU midyear seminar. All the exchange students flocked to the small town of Põltsamaa in the middle of Estonia. We spent the time catching up and doing a few little workshops to find out how our lives in Estonia were doing. Saturday evening we were put into small groups and then had to do a little play in Estonian. After this was a movie and then bed, not that many of us got much sleep anyway. Sunday went by rather quickly. A few of us went for a bit of an exploration around this strange place. We found ourselves in a large Church, there was a lady who was so excited by the fact that a group of exchange students had found their way into this church that she gave us a tour and a long history of the building, testing our Estonian skills.

As the say went on students started heading off in their different groups. I was part of the last group to get on a bus for the 2 and a half hour journey back to Tallinn. It was good to be with all the other exchange students again and was quite sad to see everyone split up again. As one girl said to me “It’s like saying goodbye to my third family.”

Some of the 'third family' catching up

This the room where everyone had to find space to sleep