Where I was: Valga, Estonia (and Valka, Latvia. One Town, Two Countries. Official slogan of the two towns.)
What I did: I worked at a small cafe/hang out room where local students came and hung out, played cards and music, practiced English, and laughed a lot.
What I ate: Gummy bunnies/bears. We took turns cooking for the two months and ate a variety of things. Mostly American dishes that were pretty good.
Where I slept: In a giant room with the rest of my team. Highly entertaining to have 7 people in one room with only a “wall” of tents, sheets, and a wardrobe separating the guys and girls side.
How I got here: This one was a doozie. We left Lilongwe, Malawi and had a detour south to Blantyre, Malawi. We then flew to Addis Abada, Ethiopia where we had an overnight layover. Ethiopian Airlines set us up in a hotel with real showers, unlimited free wifi, and free breakfast and supper. It was amazing after being in Africa for 2 months. We then flew to Frankfurt, Germany and had a quick 2 hour layover. Then it was onto Warsaw, Poland for another overnight layover. This time we didn’t get a hotel, but had to sleep in a freezing cold airport. Then a quick 2 hour flight to Tallinn, Estonia. From there we went to the bus station and caught a 2 hour bus to Parnu, Estonia where we stayed with our host for a couple days before going down to Valga.
How I got around: I walked from our home to our ministry site…. across the street. Valga is a small town so we walked to the cafe, grocery store, lunch, and bus station.
Favorite moment of the month: Our Easter celebration where we cooked a semi-traditional meal. Ham is super expensive in Estonia, FYI. We also got a chance to talk about God and it was amazing.
Least favorite moment of the month: This month was pretty great all around. My least favorite part was where I didn’t have a place to do laundry. So we had to make do and do it when we went to other ministry sites.
Closest to home I felt: Watching Anne of Green Gables and Veronica Mars!!
Furthest away from home I felt: Estonian is nothing like English. So there was a major language barrier when trying to talk to some of the older generations.
If you come here you should: Walk to Lativa. Seriously, it was about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. Also, check out Elutuba Cafe.
