Midterm training
4-7th February ; Leppoja
Four days with a group of young EVS-ers, in the middle of an Estonian forest, evaluating our EVS experiences and making plans for the future.
Four days with a group of young EVS-ers, in the middle of an Estonian forest, evaluating our EVS experiences and making plans for the future.
DAY 1
I wake up, as usual, not too early not too late. Yesterday I didn't bother to pack my stuff so that's why I do it now, one hour before saying goodbye to my housemate.
My sneakers take a break at the busstation, get acquainted with those of the other EVS volunteers and around 12:00h they're resting on the carpet of a mini-bus that is taking us to Leppoja.
We fill our stomachs with extremely tasty Estonian food and after having fought for the best bed in the house, we meet in the seminar room. We introduce ourselves and our projects and at the end of the day, we lay our hands on the table and talk!
DAY 2
I manage to escape from the traffic jam nearby the bathroom and allow myself to have one hour of breakfast. The trainers, Kristi & *Elisabeth try to wake us up with a traditional Estonian game and after (they think) they've succeeded, we start sharing ideas and stories about our EVS. We work hard and in return let us go out into the nature...WITH SKI'S! For a few kilometers we ski but then..
Our ski's get stuck, in the water! There's no way out unless we build a bridge with branches. So it goes but we have to leave our ski's (and some people) behind to continue our journey on foot. We hike until it's dark, we go uphill and downhill, through forest and fields (that once used to be forest but burned down because of the bombing exercises of the military) and we STOP! Gülnur sprained her ankel. We continue with 2 feet less (don't worry, she was being carried) and slowly we take our way back 'home'. It's dark and cold but we manage!
We celebrate with, again, delicious Estonian Food, continue our talks at the dinner table, play cards and fall asleep thinking how wonderful the Estonian country side is!
DAY 3
Lucky to be an early bird, I go out and grab a pair of ski's. Only a few of us move into the forest and have a wonderful morning trip on the snow!
The serious stuff comes at 10am. We talk about EVS-related problems that have occurred or may occur in the future and how to tackle them once we get back.
My problem: unstable organisation
My solution: being PRO team work!
In the afternoon we continue with talking about our learning proces. It may sound like 'the boring stuff grown ups do' but it wasn't bcause you know what: we also draw, make figures out of clay and use our creativity!
evening
Oh how great it was to go in and out of the Estonian Traditional Smoke Sauna!
It's like a house but smaller
It's like a room but darker
It's like a closet but hotter
It's like nothing else but SMOKE SAUNA!
And to finish of: the owner managed to cut a hole into the frozen lake. Means we ran from sauna straight into the ice cold water! That we also had a juggling show with snowballs is just a tiny detail ;)
DAY 4
Saying goodbye, making promises we can(t) keep, stuffing ourselves with the last delicious meal, time has come for us to leave this magical place *_*'
Some more images
I wake up, as usual, not too early not too late. Yesterday I didn't bother to pack my stuff so that's why I do it now, one hour before saying goodbye to my housemate.
My sneakers take a break at the busstation, get acquainted with those of the other EVS volunteers and around 12:00h they're resting on the carpet of a mini-bus that is taking us to Leppoja.We fill our stomachs with extremely tasty Estonian food and after having fought for the best bed in the house, we meet in the seminar room. We introduce ourselves and our projects and at the end of the day, we lay our hands on the table and talk!
DAY 2
I manage to escape from the traffic jam nearby the bathroom and allow myself to have one hour of breakfast. The trainers, Kristi & *Elisabeth try to wake us up with a traditional Estonian game and after (they think) they've succeeded, we start sharing ideas and stories about our EVS. We work hard and in return let us go out into the nature...WITH SKI'S! For a few kilometers we ski but then..
We celebrate with, again, delicious Estonian Food, continue our talks at the dinner table, play cards and fall asleep thinking how wonderful the Estonian country side is!
DAY 3
Lucky to be an early bird, I go out and grab a pair of ski's. Only a few of us move into the forest and have a wonderful morning trip on the snow!
The serious stuff comes at 10am. We talk about EVS-related problems that have occurred or may occur in the future and how to tackle them once we get back.My problem: unstable organisation
My solution: being PRO team work!
In the afternoon we continue with talking about our learning proces. It may sound like 'the boring stuff grown ups do' but it wasn't bcause you know what: we also draw, make figures out of clay and use our creativity!
evening
Oh how great it was to go in and out of the Estonian Traditional Smoke Sauna!
It's like a house but smaller
It's like a room but darker
It's like a closet but hotter
It's like nothing else but SMOKE SAUNA!
And to finish of: the owner managed to cut a hole into the frozen lake. Means we ran from sauna straight into the ice cold water! That we also had a juggling show with snowballs is just a tiny detail ;)
DAY 4
Saying goodbye, making promises we can(t) keep, stuffing ourselves with the last delicious meal, time has come for us to leave this magical place *_*'
Some more images
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