Kallid sõbrad!

Sorry for answering so late, I have been a little bit indisposed.
I have to say I didn't really think of the idea to "unwrap" the monument after wrapping it.
But indeed, I think it would represent our message in a better way.

So we have to think of a way how we promote this project.
As there is the International Day of Volunteering the 5th december it could be a good beginning.
And right now I just start to imagine a bit.
Maybe we can start with "Jakobson", the man on the 500 crown bill and publisher of the first Estonian newspaper "Sakala". As he is a man of good taste, his statue is situatet in the beautiful town of Viljandi ;D
You could all come hereand we could make art happening. Thus, we go to the statue, wrap it and "dress up" up as journalists. Everyone takes a notebook and a pen. We go to the people we see on the street and ask: "Have you seen Jakobson?" - "Kas te olete näinud Jakobsoni?"
And dependent on the answer we can talk further, yes - he is right there, do you know who he is? have you noticed him on the500 crown bill? are you going to miss something when the Euro is there? do you think Estonia is losing some of its heritage? etc.
We can prepare the questions together, as well the Estonian translation in case people don't understand. Someone can also be the photograph an dtake pictures. In the end we can tell every questioned person to come back at a set time to the still wrapped sculpture. Then we can unwrap it again infront of the probably not very big - but still - audience.
This idea sounds very romantic, maybe it is not going to work like this, but maybe it is.
We can collect the stories people tell us and meanwhile doing an art happening.
Perhaps this could also be a good first promoting event.

Okay, now I have to ask again, what do you think?
Hääd Gerdalt

Tere minu sõbrad ;)

Hello to all of you…

I really think that Gerdas Idea is very great! In my opinion it´s very important to show estonians that they still can keep their identity, eventhough they are a memeber of the european union. But I also think, that it won´t be possible that all of us travel to those special places. Especially in my place I don´t have good bus connections, even at the weekends. But if there are any places in the near of my village or not so far away I could also go there. I don´t know yet where all of those places are ;( Gerda you know? And if we will have all of those pictures, Gerda what are you going to do then? You want to publish them in a selfcreated paper, make a blog or website or how do you want to spread this project? 

I also thought about ways how we can promote the EVS and I got an Idea. I´m sure that there are a lot of youngsters in Estonia who have never heard something about this possibility going abroad and being a volunteer. So it would be nice to increase their awareness. All of us are widespread through Estonia and we also have different working fields (youth work, kindergarden, school, center for disabled people, orphanage and so on). My idea is to show the young people in Estonia how different an EVS can be. How can we do this? Well, I think first we can go to schools, youth centers or any other places were we can meet our target group (people between 18 and 25, right?) There we can make a short presentation what the EVS is about and then give them the possibility to visit us one day in our working place (I don´t think it will be very timeconsuming). First of all they can get to know the work (what are the tasks of an EV and how does it go). Furthermore they can also meet people from different nationalities (US;)) So I think it would be possible to get some visits during our EVS time. What do you think? So we just have to make a list of our work and working places, at what times we are working and so on. I´m also thinking about making a blog for that, so we can share at what days we can recieve visits and on what days we have no time. And also the interested youngsters can contact us there. There is only one, maybe big, problem: The youngsters have to pay their travel to those places on their own ;( Marco and Jutta do you think there would be a possibility to get some support?

So guys, what are you thinking about this idea? In my opinion this is a good chance to motivate the youngsters to be part of the EVS and also to increase their awareness about the european union and projects founded by the european union… Let me know about your opinions!!!

Head õhtut,

Marina

Tere kõigile!

As I have already proposed my idea of the "money-project", here there are the details. No, we are not going to rob a bank or counterfeit some Euros. Not this time.

You probably have noticed that Estonia is full of national monuments, things that stand for the national awaking, the identity. One of those is the "Eesti kroon", the money. 

Estonia, is indeed not a big country. It unites the smallest number of native speakers of a language in one of the smallest national territories. However, this wasn't a reason for not developing a cultural heritage, a national conciousness, an Estonian history. After years of difficulties Estonia got its own money in 1992 and the awareness of being something special has probably increased.
But now this stage of patriotism is over and a new European one will begin. Crown is going to become Euro and the countdown has started. Maybe some are looking forward to this event, maybe some are regarding it as a mistake, at least it is a big change. This is why this nation should of course keep in mind its history, but as well look forward to possibilities offered by the community of Europe.

Of course, we as volunteers can't interfere in political issues, at least just in a very limmited way. But we can show to Estonians, that their national identity is not going to vanish, because thery won't see Estonian faces on bank notes.
Each of the pictured persons has a monument somewhere in Estonia. My idea is it to visit these places and "wrap" the monument. Well, the idea is actually related to Christo, an artist I can recommend to google if you want to see something really great ;D
Anyway, our wrapping would be done with another purpose, not the artistical realization, but the sense behind is counting. We can wrap the these monuments, cover them, to show that the intelectual property is not going to disappear. Lydia Koidula is still going to be in people's head although she is not on the 100 crown bill anymore.
I am sure someone will notice.
It was even noticed, when Gwen and me wrappen Jakobson just for some minutes for the picture.

Tell me what you think of the idea.
I am open for critics.

Musi ja kalli,
Gerda

GIFTS FROM THE PREVIOUS VOLUNTEERS - VOLUME 3

Hey hey,

here is some pictures that Stephan (from Germany) did about his experience in Käo Center in Tallinn.

Think out of the box!!!

Best
Marco

GIFTS FROM THE PREVIOUS VOLUNTEERS - VOLUME 2

Helo guys,

here I am with the 2nd Volume of the gifts that you received from our past EVS!!!

This one was made by João for our friends in Ida-Virumaa

Enjoy!
Marco

Back to basics

Just about a month and a year ago I got back from my EVS and even today i still am amazed and a bit confused about the crazy world we are living in...well, perhaps it’s me being Estonian therefore as according to most widely known stereotype “a bit faster than a Finnish person” (sry Henna :)) in understanding things or hell, probably it just me…anyhow, will leave that to you guys to figure out, you got nine months to see whether stereotypes about Estonians bare any ground and IF it seems they do, then challenge those bastards (stereotypes I mean).

Well, about the thing…I did my EVS in Rep of South Africa in one of the tree capitals called Cape Town and in one of the first black townships called Langa (meaning Sun in isiXhosa which is one of the twelve official languages of the country). Why I keep saying “in one of the” is merely cause this country is crazy and my first month went by in desperate endeavor to try to figure out when everything is “one of the” then where/what is the whole??? … well, during my 6 months there I did not figure out the One and Whole dilemma of mine, but I learnt a lot about one of the local cultures called Xhosa and people sharing it, I learnt a lot about myself AND most importantly got to know how some define life in Europe. Namely in one of the gatherings I notice a lady staring at me, I was confused cause…well, it was my first meeting and being only white person in the room with no black friends, there was no way I could have known her from before, so I don’t know how exactly I caught her attention, but she decided to approach. After little chit-chat she asks where am from and hearing it is Europe (SA is another country where Estonia is not working out) she practically yelled “aaahhh, it is where you have permanent toilets, yeeesss!!!”…so,no French Revolution, no houte couture, no Euro, but permanent toilets, that is how Europe seemed to some looking at this way.

Except going to meetings, really there was a lot of meetings and not the ones when you meet on the corner of the street to plan where to go next and then you actually go for it, not those constructive ones. They were just big gatherings which usually ended up with a conversation “what was offered for the snack” and it was muffins all the time, but people kept going. Not me though, I decided to sacrifice all the muffins for the time I had during the 6 months with the kids at the orphanage.

I worked in Siyaphambili Orphan Village (well, village was a wishful thinking, but starting big at least helps to start..) which accommodated 15 kids who had either lost their parents to HIV/AIDS or lived in such a poverty that they had to be removed from their parents. Honestly, Villages is really what Cape Town needs, what Rep of South Africa need for all the people in need, cause it was just a drop of sand what Siyaphambili contributed to the solution, but I was so proved to be part of that drop. Seeing those 15 kids getting help and living in conditions, which are not anywhere near to our standards here, once more corrected my perspectives and priorities in life. Well, another thing which helped a lot was the fact that I shared those conditions with them. Yes, I had my own room (after one of the house ladies removed her stuff and relocated to the children room).

Apparently they did not quite get what I was doing there and where exactly I was suppose to live, but it was sorted out rather quickly when I declared that I am to stay HERE for the next six months. I believe we got a long with that house lady just perfect and her food became the best I ever had (there)…which I take as a sign of friendship from her side as well, cause unfortunately she was the only lady not speaking the mix of isiXhosa-English, so I couldn’t ask her directly, whether we were cool…

Anyways, it is hard to forget my very first night there. I woke up with a peculiar sound and once I managed to peak out from the bars (for protection) covering the windows, there were huge flames, like really huge. Luckily they did not reach to our house. As I heard later then fire brigade got there 30 min later, though Langa is like 15 min away from Cape Town center (with very old minitaxi which is like Flinstones car where, ou so many times, I fought with the temptation just to put my legs on the ground and help the bloody thing to go faster) and on top of it all fire brigade got there with empty tanks and water was nowhere around…I truly hope it was a folk fable and in reality things are not so tragicomic, but the thing which was burning is called Joe Slovo, area for informal settlements.

At the same night, got back to bed thinking I have at least 5 hours left to sleep was my first wishful thought. Rest of the night I fought with a human finger size cockroach. Indeed, I could hear it running on the carpet, but Ii couldn’t see it at first (it fell on my face while I was trying to sleep and from the bounce it made when I threw it against the wall, I knew it was no flea am fighting with) so, I armed myself with hair spray left behind by the house lady and started the hunt. It was successful one as many others yet to come with all the  “domestic” animals in the room, but it was okay, cause I knew that I can return to the land of permanent toilets any time.

There were loads of things I had to readjust myself to, during every meal time I had to serve men and boys before women and girls (ou, how I got it wrong at the beginning, but it is another story), also had to do my washing with hands from socks to winter clothes (yes, there is winter is SA) for the whole 6 moths and it is very hard to try them during the winter cause sun is the only trying system they have, no heating system what so ever, and it gets cold, ou so cold and wet, ou so wet. Another skill was making strategies for going to bathroom while there was nobody around cause without the lock it was very common that I was caught while doing all the things I had used doing while locking the door. Well, it was a kind of a survival camp and I made it with a master degree in strategical planning. What I did not master and am ashamed to admit it to my friends back in South Africa was dancing to house music, I mean it is phenomenal how they sense every little rhythm and put it into accord with their body, like really. I was suppose to become an ambassador of one of the local dance moves and was suppose to spread it to masses in our night clubs, but I should have told them already back then that, cause obviously they were too nice to say it out loud, that I suck when it comes to dancing, when it comes to moving your feet, body, head and hands all together and separately at the same time and then not so at the same time and in way that it all looks nice, well, I just don’t have it in me…and I don’t go to night clubs, so I was a failure already from the very first moment. 

You are still in the beginning of your EVS, I dare you to make another round of evaluation and find things why you are here and things why you are not here as well…am sure there are things you are not able to go on compromises, it is okay too…well, it was hard for me to admit that no way am gonna dance like them, but it is okay :)

Ahh, my experience has become a sort of mosaic in my head and it is weird to write about it after so long time. Every time I’ve told the story it is a bit different, well, this time it came out like that…

Anyways, did you already book a coffee time with your mentor for the first gossip round? Did you learn the names of your staff members? Did I just hear you complaining about how difficult Estonian is???????? Well, I tell you, if you master this I will personally excuse you from all the estonain classes…this is what I was facing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5c2EYPEs6o&feature=related

…and yet, I would do it all over again!

See you around,

Kai

GIFTS FROM THE PREVIOUS VOLUNTEERS - VOLUME 1

Hello guys,

I will post some documents, videos, photos that the previous volunteers did about their working places/cities.

I hope that you enjoy like I did!!!
Marco

This is a video made by our austrian volunteers Stephanie Sieber about the life of EVS!!!

Enjoy