LUMI

On Thursday evening Mari and I took a 40 minute bus ride to Kose where we spent three nights staying at her grandmothers house. On the ride there Mari was telling me about some stories about the snow and as she was talking more of the ‘fake’ snow came down again. But more this time. As we drove by the street lights I saw little white flakes flying around.

The next morning I was awakened by her grandmother saying I slept into winter. Looking out my window the first thing I see is the top of a green tree caked in snow. The first snow had come early. Yes REAL snow. It came down during the night and in the morning the ground was covered in about 10cm of snow (Lumi in Estonian) So of course we dressed warmly and went straight out into the lumi. Me clicking away with my camera while Mari patiently waited. I have been in snow once but this was different from what I remembered. It was soft and fluffy and when we walked on it it squeaked against our shoes. After I got over my shock of ‘real’ snow Mari and I made snow angels and a small snowman that looked a bit evil with stick arms and a funny face. In the afternoon we went to the shop to get something for lunch. My first experience walking on the ice covered roads. It was very slippery and my shoes kept sliding so we had to walk quite slowly.

My first looks at snow

Later that day just before dark, Martin (one of Maris younger cousins) came over. This time it was snowing, REAL snowing. The three of us went out in the snow again, throwing snowballs and wondering around the back of the house through the snow.

After dinner, for dessert we had some jelly stuff with whipped cream . . . It tasted strange, still deciding if I liked it or not. By the evening the wind had come in and was blowing the little snow flakes violently making me feel like I was in a snow globe.

Snow angel

Saturday morning I woke up and guess what, even more snow!! Twice as much as the day before. This time though the sun was up and shining and the snow sparkled in the light, so I decided it would be a good day for pictures. The temperature was -9 degrees . . . oh joy. But I have to say that I was too distracted by the sparkling snow to even pay much attention to the cold.

We spent the morning shoveling the snow from the walkway and drive way, after which we found a little hill near a river and slid down crashing safely into the snow at the bottom. That evening we watched Madagascar 2 in Estonian of course, good thing I had seen it before and knew when to laugh.

Sunday morning there was no new snow. We had breakfast, a bit of an Estonian lesson and then were off to Maris cousins house, Asko, for his 16th birthday. They live in a house which they built themselves only a short walk from their grandmothers house. We had to walk slowly though because the roads and paths were still covered in a thin layer of ice. I walked down a little slope but didn’t see the ice so my shoes slipped down the hill. So really we ‘skated’ to their house. After some delicious honey cake, Mari and I had to leave to catch our bus back to Tallinn. And with that came the end of the holidays and our stay in Kose. Which consisted of many firsts for me. The snow, the cold, the ice, the jelly and some new Estonian words and sentences.

A slippery bridge in Kose

Well today it was back to school. A new time table so new subjects. Sitting in class more snow came down outside and I couldn't help thinking that it looked just like a whole lot of little white feathers. A whole lot of white feathers falling down. But the first snow is starting to melt now and there are clumps of icy snow everywhere, it has all been piled up to clear the roads and path ways. Although the snow is melting it was still quite an experience going to school in the snow and because I don’t have snow boots I had to wear my hiking boots so yes I went to school in tramping shoes.

Holiday

Friday was our last day of school for the term, we now have a weeks holiday. So on Friday we didn’t have any lessons, there were different speakers at the school, policemen, firemen, ambulance and some water safety group. It wasn't the usual water safety though, well not what I'm used to anyway. The 'what do you do if you’re swimming in the sea and get caught in a rip' kind of water safety. It was more about the ice and what to do if you fall through a crack and into the water. So different from what I’m used to.

After which there was a pot on fire display and then a police dog attacking a ‘robber,’ even after the show, the dog was determined not to let go, gripping into the guys safety suit and holding him down while another officer tried to yank him away.

That evening I went to youth again and we had an interesting walk home.

The path was covered by earth worms. Why so many of them decided to come out I have no idea but there they were scattered all over the foot path. So I tried to pick my way through them while laughing hysterically. When we finally got to the other side Epp turned to me and said ‘it’s a labyrinth of worms’

The next day we helped our Church collect food for a food bank. A small group of us stood with trolleys at the exits of a big shop and as people left they generously donated some food. It went really well and within under an hour we already had a full trolley and from then on the trolleys kept filling up quickly.

After the food bank we went to watch Mari perform. She is a part of a circus, so it was really cool to watch. Unfortunately I couldn't get the video to upload so sorry about that. 

Sunday morning was a bit of a rush, I woke up late so we left a little bit late therefore we had to run to the ‘far’ bus stop (we have two main bus stops from our house, the one across the road is the close stop and the far stop is a 20minute walk from the house) and even though we ran we still missed our bus by seconds. Stood and watched it drive away as we got there. So we were a bit late for Church. In NZ I don't really use the buses much so thats been something to get used to because here we catch the bus to go everywhere. School, Church, tennis, to the shops, into town . . everywhere.

So because we are now on school holidays (for one week) we have been relaxing at home. Monday and Tuesday passed pretty uneventfully. 

Mari is having her Birthday party today so yesterday morning Epp and I went out to take pictures for a sort of hunt thing that Mari and her friends will do.

Then in the afternoon I went to a film group meeting thing. I was the only person there because the others couldn’t make it. It’s a small group and our first task is to make a short stop motion film. So I will be working on that for next week. I've been thinking about it and I thought it would be cool to do in on the different seasons so I can't wait to get started on that. And from then on we are basically just making a movie. The youth center has all the equipment, cameras and what not as well as the editing programs, so we basically learn along the way and they help us where they can but otherwise we are on our own. It’s just get out and make a movie. So I need to start thinking about ideas for a sketch. 

BUT one step at a time, I first need to do the stop motion film. 

Well today I got a nice surprise. I looked out my window and what did I see SNOW!!!! I was so excited, running to the others telling them to look outside. Well they just laughed at me and I was told it’s not ‘real’ snow. It was kind of rain snow. It melts as it hits the ground so it doesn’t stay but it was really cool to look outside and for the first time in my life see little white flakes falling from the sky. I rushed outside, completely forgot about the cold and just watched, some of it landed on my face and it just melted and ran down my cheeks like rain. The ‘snow’ didn’t last for too long, it eventually just turned into normal rain and then stopped altogether. But it was still the coolest thing and I can’t wait for the REAL snow. 

One of my favorite words in Estonian so far is 'lumememm' which means snowman

Heres a really short video of the 'snow' but it's a bit hard to see

Sorry, I know it's late

I'll start simply by saying sorry for the late post.

 

So last Thursday I received my Estonian ID card and I am now officially a somebody in Estonia. That same day we took a walk through one of the parks in Tallinn. It’s autumn now so you can just imagine what a small country filled with forest would look like at this time of year. If not let me paint a picture for you. The leaves on the trees look as if they have been dipped in gold paint and everywhere you go the ground is covered with large golden leaves, along the footpaths and on the roads. The other day I saw a car parked along the side of the road that obviously hadn't been driven in a little while because it was drowning in all the yellow leaves. 

That weekend we went to visit my host moms mom who lives in a town called Kose. I got to meet more of the family and see a bit more of the countryside in Estonia, which is mostly flat with with a few forests scattered around. 

Kose is a peaceful town where my host mom grew up. Mari gave me a little tour around, and walking down the deserted streets I noticed how quiet it was with the exception of dogs barking as we passed. The trees here were also dotted with yellow and red. It was quite a windy day so we (me, Mari, Piret and their cousins) decide to go out and fly a kite. While we were flying the kite, large flocks of migrating birds flew by, heading South for the cold winter to come.  

This is us flying the kite

The autumn colours reflected in a lake

Kose Church

After lunch and some delicious cake we headed off to Kose Church for a private tour. The Church looks like many of the Churches in Estonia do, with a cross sitting at the top of a large spire. We had a look around the inside and went up the tower where we got a good view of the surrounding area. My host moms great grandfather had been the Pastor at Kose Church.

On the way back to our house in Laagri we stopped at one of the few hills in Estonia. In the winter time when the snow comes it's a popular place for skiing. There we climbed a sort of metal viewing tower, we were surrounded by forest here so again we saw the autumn colours splattered across the treetops.

Rain heading our way, taken from the viewing tower

This weekend we had a sort of fun run thing. It’s a 6km run around a track through the forest. The girls five year old cousin joined us. I tried keeping up with Mari and her dad but I lost my energy after about 3km and slowed down a bit finishing in 37.27minutes. After the run we handed in a piece of paper with our name and age on it and were then each given a sort of ribbon thing for participation. This run takes place twice a year, in autumn and spring so I've made it my goal to beat my time in the Spring run. 

I also had a meeting with the YFU exchange organization, so I got to see some of the other exchange students that I met at the camp. We spoke about our experiences so far, about our families, friends, school, travels and of course the language. Everyone had a different story to tell. It was good catching up with them and hearing how their time in Estonia is going. At the end of the discussion we were given two pictures and to test our Estonian we had to write down any words we could to describe the pictures. I’m sure I made a lot of spelling mistakes but I did my best and was happy with what I knew. We were told about an Estonian language test which takes place in May so thats what I'm working towards now. In other words I have 8 months to learn a new language. 

In more recent news I have joined a tennis club in Hiiu (a nearby area) There are only 5 people altogether in my group. It’s quite different from what I’m used to, here there is only one indoor court. But it’s good to get back into tennis and get some exercise and because there are not that many people it means we get more time on the court. I have tennis every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons so I can get my fitness up.

Well the darkness is slowly creeping in. Monday  morning as I was leaving for school at 7.30 it was still dark outside, I have been told to expect worse though. So I'm waiting, apparently November is the worst month because there is no snow, just darkness and cold. 

On Monday it was Maris' birthday! She turned 14, so we decided to have a little princess theme. We decorated with pink paper chains and pink princess balloons. She got a waffle machine and a WHOLE lot of chocolate!

The little frog

On Friday once again Epp and I went to youth but before that we met with three of the other exchange students who I had become friends with at the camp. It was good to talk to them although we didn’t have much time. We spoke a little about school and the language and the Estonian weather, which at the moment is getting very cold and rainy. It was good to catch up with them and hear some of their stories so far.

Later that evening, after youth, Epp and I began the walk home after the long bus ride. It was now almost 11pm, it was dark and the street lights were reflecting in the puddles caused by the days rain. As we walked along chatting away I heard a little splat, splat, splat, and just as I was about to take another step a little frog hopped into the light at my feet. Luckily I stopped before squishing it. We watched it hop along the path laughing when it went splat, splat, splat, along the wet ground.  So the reason I’m writing about this is simply because I told the frog that it would become famous because I would write about it in my blog so there you go little frog you are now famous.

Jaani Church

Saturday evening Epps’ school had a concert in a yellow Church (this is the Church that I usually use as a mark to find my way around old town) so we went to watch that. Walking inside the ceiling stretched up above us, with giant chandeliers to light the inside.  People piled in, filling the rows and the school sang some songs accompanied by a small orchestra. The girls choir sang very well and at the moment they are in Italy singing in an international competition. 

Sunday was off to Church again. The service, lucky for me, was in English this week so I didn’t need any translation. Church was followed by some shopping, which I have to say was rather tiring. After that was juggling with Mari again.

At school during the kids lessons, the teacher gave me a little kids book to read to her. I thought this will be easy because I read to the girls at home. I thanked them in my mind for sitting with me each afternoon while I read to them. The teacher was impressed that I could read a bit and that I knew some colours. So I am making progress.