My first weeks in Narva as a volunteer have been quite exciting!
At first, I was a bit surprised about Narva because I was used to seeing a lot of people and things going on the streets, which is not the case here. I think that generally Estonian people really enjoy their cozy times at home (it doesn’t help that we don’t have the amazing Portuguese weather here!).
Another thing that was strange to me is that it is not appropriate to cheek kiss a woman when we meet each other! In Portugal, cheek kissing between men and women is very common. Anyway, people are still very welcoming and friendly!
Additionally, my experience supporting the teachers at school with English classes has been quite fulfilling. I started by making a presentation about Portugal and about myself and I am proud to say that a lot of the students really want to visit Portugal one day! Eventually, I am now organizing practical activities for the students during classes like exercises, quizzes or helping them loosing the fear of speaking English. Hopefully I will soon witness the students getting really comfortable speaking English. It would be amazing to feel that somehow I contributed to that.
Finally, I still have a lot to discover about Estonia BUT... there’s a beach close to Narva, in Narva-Jõesuu!!
See you soon,
T
Project number: 2020-2-EE01-ESC11-078077
Project title: „Solidarity for Sustainable Life“