Dilara schreibt

Student Exchange Kanepi- Werther 2018

After the long and tiring journey, we had arrived at Kanepi in the evening. On the one hand we were very excited to meet and experience a new culture but on the other we just wanted to sleep and start the new day with a lot of energy.

As the house of my guest family had problems with the water pipes, my exchange student, Kristiina, and I had to sleep in a hostel. Even though we were 20 kilometres away from Kanepi, I felt very secure with the hospitality and care Kristiina’s family gave me. I’m glad to have experienced the Estonian family life in such a great and insightful way.

I’m really grateful to say that I was never bored. The exchange students made a big effort to use our limited time in a fun way.  In the week we took part in different excursions and had a party in the culture centre to get closer to what Estonia is about. On the weekend we went shopping, ate food, such as a massive hamburger, went to an upside-down house, visited a science museum und went bowling. That is something would consider less traditionally oriented, but not in a bad way.

On Wednesday we drove to Tallinn. Firstly, we visited the Estonian Maritime Museum and learned something about Estonia’s role in seafaring. I must say that I was really impressed by the impact of such a small country when it was still under the rule of the Soviet Union. After that we had a guided tour of the Old Town of Tallinn to visualize the life in medieval times and understand the mindset of the inhabitants. Furthermore, we had some time to walk through the city on our own and eat some food or go shopping. Finally, we watched a concert of the Prime Orchestra and it was not really what I was expecting. Actually, it was really good and different to what I usually listen to. I would consider this day as the most interesting.

I have to say that I was surprised by the school. There are not a lot of people and in eleventh grade there are only two students. It seems as if the school is more personal in general because students from different grades get along really well and it is also allowed to call the teachers by their first name. Added to that, the lessons seem more relaxed as they start later than in Germany and there are less people in class.

All in all, I am very happy to be in Estonia. It was a great experience because I didn’t  feel like I was left out on the most important aspects of the country. But because I know that there are more things to explore, it is possible that I will come to Estonia again.

Dilara