March

Hello everyone!

My name is Tünde, I am a volunteer from Hungary. I arrived to Estonia in March, there was still much of  snow in the country and in Narva as well. I will be here till August, and I’d like to share with you my impressions, experience and life during the project.

I think many people are curious why I’m a volunteer in a foreign country. The answer is very simple: I’d like to know more about Estonia and Narva. Before my arrival my knowledge about this country was deficient. I know that the Baltic state, the capital is Tallinn, there are long and cold winters with too much snow, and the national heroic poem is Kalevipoeg.  And of course I had some stereotypes too, for example: mostly blue-eyed, blond-haired people live here. I thought it would be worthwhile to spend more time here and get to know more this country. Why Narva and why kindergarten? I would like to learn Russian, to improve my English, and to experience other country’s educational system. 

I live in a three bedroom apartment, with another volunteer. In my project I teach English language to 5-7 years old pre-school kids. I take part on the handicraft activities too. The kids are very nice and full of energy all day. They like to play, study, run, swing, play hide-and-seek and seesaw. The work with the children is not easy but imaginative, creative and enjoyable. I like learning with them very much. My day in the kindergarten starts at 8 am and lasts till 1 pm. At around 12 o’clock I have lunch with the kids. I adore this deliciuos dishes, mostly the borscs soup. I was surprised so much, that in a kindergarten in Estonia children learn to read, write and  count; because the system in Hungary is different. The Hungarian kids learn the same things in primary school. 

I have to speak about my first meeting with my group. The children sang me a lovely English song and made me a present: 

In March I had an opportunity to learn more things about Estonia in general. I took part in my On-arrival training, which took place in Rakvere. We spent four days in a hotel, talking about our expectations, motivations etc. We got some useful tools for making our project easier and more productive. It was very nice to meet people, who are in the same situation as I am. We received really useful information concerning our projects. I had a chance of meeting new volunteers. I hope I will meet them soon again.

Have a nice day!