Part 2: The first days in Sänna

Day 4

My first morning in Sänna started off quite well, as Ieva and Elena made a delicious breakfast. After eating, we were supposed to do some games to get to know eachother, but since the camp leaders were still hoping that the two Spanish girls would show up, we moved these games to the afternoon and started working immediately. We were lead to a large room, which was looking quite old and ugly. We were supposed to paint the walls in some kind of beige.

This was what we did in the morning and after a delicious lunch (the food was very good all week!) we went outside to do those games in the high grass. The games were fun: telling eachother stories about one’s name, trying to recognize eachother’s hands with closed eyes and walking through the grass with your eyes closed, while being lead by a fellow group member. However, the bare legs in the high grass (we started with those games after we had a quick swim in the lake nearby) were not such a good idea. Especially with my eyes closed, I was a very easy prey for all the insects that were interested in my blood. I would feel that for sure the next day.

In the evening we played some volleyball with the locals, which was nice.

Day 5

The most important news of today was that I made a new best friend for life: four year-old Elisabeth, the daughter of one of the artists living at the manor. After I was finished with work, I was a little too nice to her and after that she decided to come bring me some fresh strawberries. I thanked her and lay down on my bed with my eyes closed, because I wanted to rest now. I was hoping she would leave now. I was wrong. She kept on bringing me toys, and if I didn’t open my eyes fast enough, she would push them into my face until I responded. We played for some time, until Ondine came by. I tried to convince the little kid that Ondine was much more fun to play with, but she wasn’t interested, she only wanted me. By then I knew I was never going to be able to rest in the hour before dinner, so I gave in. I ended up playing ball with her, on the large Estonian swing and was even introduced to her parents. At dinner time she also didn’t want to let me go. So I dragged her to the kitchen, while she kept screaming “ota” (=wait!) where I put her on the seat opposite to me and we enjoyed dinner together. What a lovely day.

In the evening Ernest, an American artist that clearly smoked too much marihuana in his younger years, gave us an art workshop. To me it was a bit disappointing, because Ernest looks like a really inspirational person, but the workshop was only so-so. However, I enjoyed myself for the two hours it took.

While I was in the shower that night, I counted how many mosquito bites I had. I found out I had at least 34 bites. Southern-Estonia is such a nice place…

Day 6

Not much to write about today. We painted, had a BBQ at Hendrik & Kadi’s place (the two camp leaders, a married couple that lives near the manor) and Pekka and I actively participated in the bicycle workshop in the evening, where we learned how to replace an inner tire of a bike. Very interesting

Day 7

Today was the first day we did something else than painting! In the morning we painted, but during lunch Hendrik asked Pekka and me whether we were tired of the painting yet and were interested in another small job. Of course we were! So the job existed of removing old stones from the theatre in the manor and throwing them out. Quite a tough job (it was the first time the work made me sweat), but it was nice to do something else than painting for a while.

In the late afternoon, I arranged with Hendrik that we would have a tv to watch the game of Holland against Brazil. We really enjoyed the great game, and I told the guys that were watching (the girls were still painting (A)) some facts about the Dutch national team.

After the game was finished, I ate the cake I made in the afternoon using Ieva’s instructions and was amazed. I could actually make a very well-tasting cake! I never knew I had such a talent! But maybe it was just the recipe that was very good. Anyway, I really enjoyed dinner today. :)