Where did the snow go?

As my title suggests the snow has officially gone, one week of almost non stop rain washed away every last piece of snow. It seems really strange now after about 7 months of complete whiteness everywhere there is now only the beginning green shoots of spring.

So with the snow melted we did get to go canoeing. We went on Sunday to a national park called Soomaa. We ended up with me, Külliki and Epp in one canoe and Jaak, Piret and Mari in another. It was a very cool experience, we were literally paddling boats through a forest and over roads! This is an anual thing, each year when the snow melts this particular area gets flooded, and there is a small window opportunity to go for a canoe through this flooded park. Last weekend there was snow all around, this weekend was flooded and next weekend the water will all be gone. After our day of canoeing, we went to visit my host moms dad who lives in a village called Võhma, this is in south west town Estonia.  After some cake, berry tea and plenty of talking we were in the car on our way home again, the sun only just starting to go down at 8.30 in the evening . . . I think this is a sure sign of summer! 

The theater

Us girls in my family got to dress up a little, we went to the theater to watch opera, "The prince and the pauper." It was in Estonian of course but had a large screen above the stage translating everything to English too. After this we went to watch another of Maris circus performances, this night was a little different to her usual, it was an 'open stage' so there were plenty of other acts too.
We then wondered around old town taking photos. I noticed the town is now getting ready for the new batch of summer tourists. Cafes have many tables and chairs out especially in the main square, Raekoja pläts, which only a few months ago held the Christmas market and was covered in snow. Many of the old town shops have people dressed in the medieval style and out on the cobble stone streets shouting to draw attention and draw tourists into their shops or restaurants. When I see a group being guided through the streets of old town I can't help but remember my first day walking those same streets, then crowded with many people all speaking different languages. I remember how overwhwelming and exciting it was to see this town which dates back to the 13th century. I had never seen anything like it, we don't have the narrow roads and stone churches will tall spires back in New Zealand. It was a very strange feeling then and now I know these roads, I know the names of the many churches which have stood here for centuries. I know how to get to the main square hidden in the middle of all the buildings and I know where all the little side streets leading away from this square will take me. It will be strange to have to leave this place in 3 and a half months.


I was recently asked to write an article for a travel magazine, so I have been working on that, this will be published in June in Esttravel.

The weekend before last I basically spent the whole weekend at church. Saturday was a mission conference, which ran the whole day, morning to night. It was mostly in Estonian but some English speakers as well coming from Romania, Germany and Brazil. 
Then Sunday morning Epp and I did our usual trip to church, staying behind so Epp can help in the cafe. I was then invited to another small church where I met some new people. Including one Norwegian girl who was in Estonia visiting a friend for a few days. We got talking and I mentioned that my sister is in Norway at the moment, I tell her shes staying in Gjeving and this girl replies very excitedly 'that's my home town!' As it turns out she used to babysit my sisters host siblings when she lived there. I passed this information on to Gypsey who then said she had actually met this girls mother on a number of occasions. What are the odds of me meeting someone in Estonia who is from a tiny town somewhere in Norway, which also happens to be where my sister is spending a year on exchange? How small is the world?!

Sum up of March

I am sorry for the long time since I last posted. I won’t go week by week but I’ll sum up what has happened in the month of March, this being my 7^th month in Estonia. 

We had our ‘spring’ holidays mid-March. My week was mostly spent getting together with other exchange students. Two of which came to stay one night, we had a late night playing a long and intense game of monopoly, then spent the next day in oldtown ice skating, before rushing everyone off to the bus station for their journeys home. I also joined forces with the other two exchange students who came to Estonia on a film program, we spent some time working on a video about the YFU Narva trip. 

Now with holidays over, my last term of school in Estonia has begun. It’s scary to think that I only have about 9 or 10 weeks of school left in Estonia . . . 

Another exciting thing that happened in March was Epps 17^th birthday. We celebrated with the usual, having some family over for a BIG lunch, Epp making all sorts of different foods and snacks for everyone to enjoy. I have now got to celebrate all three of my host sisters birthdays! 

The last two Friday nights my youth group have been in English. The one was promoting an English camp which is happening at the end of July. This is an American camp so there will be some Americans over here, which seems to be quite exciting for the Estonians as one of my friends told me while jumping up and down.  Another evening we had a guest speaker from America so it was in English translated to Estonian. I got to speak to the guest. This has sort of become my ‘job’ now, any English people or guests at youth on Fridays or Church are sent to me as an English speaker. Which is great! I have met so many different and interesting people from ALL OVER the world and gotten to know them and their stories of how they have ended up here in Estonia. Whenever I do meet new people they still find it surprising that I’m only 16 and spending a year on the other side of the world . . .  

I find I have been meeting so many different people here, from so many different places. On Thursday evening I went to my usual home group that I’ve been going to for a while now. We have a pretty multi-cultural group. Norwegian, American, Estonian, Danish, Brazilian and then me from New Zealand. 

For Easter we went to Kose to visit my host grandmother. We painted some boiled eggs, each chose one and then had a competition to see whose egg was the strongest by hitting them together. The winner then is the one whose egg doesn’t crack after competing with everyone else, they then get all the rest of the eggs. 

More sun, melting snow, blue sky, a little bit of grass . . . must be the real spring now. The snow is very slowly disappearing, dripping from roofs and leaving large puddles around. The days are now lighter and longer, the sun higher. Everyone is getting ready for summer including us. If the snow continues to melt within the next few days my host family and I will be going canoeing with some of the other exchange students and their families too. So fingers crossed!

My sister, Gypsey, who is now almost 3 months into her exchange  in Norway has started a blog! http://agypseyinnorway.blogspot.com/?spref=fb Check it out :)