February

 I was basically at home in the last two weeks. I travelled in turns to Tartu und Tallinn, holding presentations on different schools in English and Estonian together with past exchange students from Estonia and sometimes even with other current exchange students. I really enjoyed giving the presentations and I think it was a quite useful experience. I can definitely know better now how it feels like to be in the teacher position &how difficult and exhausting this can be. But mostly it was fun and I really liked talking about my exchange .
And on the weekend was already the Mid Year Seminar We talked about the first half of our exchange and what the second half is going to bring. We also had a language test,just for yourself, which was quite hard, but in the end it turned out quite well for me.
I had a bit time in Tallinn and Tartu and I finally took some pictures :)

YFU people ♥

Then Valentinsday came, which is here also called 'Friendsday', friends give each other chocolate bars for example, and because it was on a Sunday this year, we had a little celebration in school. There was a little surprise waiting for everyone in our lockers: a bonbon with a nice quote and a lotterie number (but I wasn't lucky :D)

Maize balls with caramel called like a part of the eye: Iris :)

Tallinn

And now the pictures of Tartu:)

Imagine Dragons concert & Language tour

I am sorry that I always write far too late about the events that happened, but here the next entry finally is.
So about the language tour. I have done only one presentation so far at my own school for a 7th class. I couldn't say that much because the presentation was in Estonian, but we were so  lucky with the class, the students were really interested in the topic and payed attention.
After the whole snowy and cold January the snow started to melt last week. I am kind of proud of myself, because I didn't fall one time although the roads were so slippery. Besides ice, huge water puddles covered the ground- some of them were really large like tiny lakes.

Before the snow melted I built with my host sister my first(very small) snow house!

Our snowman *--*

And on the next day it looked like this :(

On Friday I went to the Imagine Dragons concert! It was so great, I don't have words for it.

Dancing to the music, your heart beating in the rythm of the bass, singing along with thousand others, enjoying the music. I loved it so much and had such a wonderful time there.

 The singer of the band also talked about something, which really touched my heart, about how music unites people no matter where they come from as an exchange student I could obviosuly relate to that.

All in all it was an amazing weekend, I enjoy every visit to Tallinn so much, there are just so many activities you can do and it has such a beautiful old town.

I hope I find the time to write again soon !:)

The time is running too fast.

154 ago I sat tired and full of excitement in the car with my family and was driving through the dark, early morning to the airport. I felt like on the first day of a huge adventure, prepared with a big suitcase and a few Estonian words. It felt like it was yesterday.
And today I am sitting at the computer in the living room, writing this entry, with a turmoil of emotions inside me. It's incredible how much has changed in half a year, how much I have learned. But still, everything is kind of the same. And in 154 days I will sit in the airplane, leaving behind again. Time is precious. I am way more conscious of that fact now.
Everyone says  that the second half is running much faster than the first.
I defintely think that this is true. I have so many plans, especially for the next time.
The language tour of YFU for example:
volunteers of YFU are doing presentations in schools about culture and exchange, current exchange students are also participating, and so do I. :)
My first presentation is on Tuesday in my school, and I am a bit afraid of it, because I will probably know the people in the class I am doing the lesson with.I just hope I'm not going to be too nervous. But I think it's a really effective way to come out of my comfort zone once again.
About my Estonian I would say now that I really improved a lot in the last month, because I understand now most of the conversations around me and also more in the classes. Besides that I mostly talk in Estonian, the problem is that people are still continuing speaking in English, even if I answer in Estonian.I guess, they are just too used to it. I also noticed aus I skyped with a German friend lately that I am so used to say small Estonian words and phrases like mida, miks, noh okei siis or something like that, that I even said it to her, and afterwards I realized that I spoke Estonian and that she doesn't understand.
By the way I had skiing yesterday instead of the normal sport lesson. It went much better than I expected, I had a very patient sport teacher who teached me the basics. It was much worse to walk with your skis 2km up a hill in the snow. But all in all, although I am really terrible it's better than the normal lesson. And the forest where we ski is so beautiful!
One thing I am really excited about too is the musical the 10th grade is preparing. It's kind of a school tradition and I am looking forward to it :)

There is much more snow in Rakvere ._.

Winter ♥ Talv

Estonia is so beautiful with snow. Everything is so white, pure and light in contrast to the dark and cloudy autumn. I love how every landscape turns into something magical. Okey everything besides the grey snow mud in town.
But here on the countryside everything is still beautiful. I love to look out of my window and to see the mostly untouched white layer of snow on the tree branches, on the fence and on the grass.I love it to observe the animal tracks in the snow every morning on my way to school, still fresh, I am the first person to leave my footprints on the path, following the ones of the animals.
 Sometimes, if the sky is clear, you can admire the sunrises in the bus in combination with the snowy landscape. And this is overwhelmingly beautiful.
Jumping like a little child through the high snow, without snow trousers, because I was too lazy to put them on. Forming perfect snowballs with your hands and catching snowflakes with your tongue. Cuddling in your bed with a hot tea mug in your hand and a good book on your lap.
I want to ignore for a moment all the truly painful aspects of this season, when I am freezing st the bus station, my legs numb, or how my red fingers hurt the last time as I was outside for a longer time.
 I would rather think about the beauty.
It's my last and will probably be my only Estonian winter and I want to enjoy every moment of it, because soon I am back in Germany, where the winter is warm and the snow melts fast

I finally saw the castle of Rakvere from the inside. The prize you have to pay for entering is so worth it! It was really interesting, and you had that 'middle age' feeling. I can recommend it really to everyone.

We deserved that cake for sure,we were half frozen after the visit of the castle :D

My little village :3

A little walk on the frozen sea

One of the best things I have experienced so far here *o*

After New Years Eve /Silvesterwhich was pretty much the same like in Germany, only with less firecrackers, because we were in the middle of the forest, I drove to a friend to celebrate my birthday, and we went together to Pärnu, the fourth biggest city in Estonia, famous for it's beach ( I heard that half of Estonia Gose to swim there in Summer) and took a little walk to the sea. 

I couldn't wait for the snow and the colder weather and finally it had come, like another birthday present for me. We didn't think that already after a few minutes outside in the cold, we would be completely frozen, but unfortunately we dressed way too cold. Neverthenless all this was so worth it, because as we came to the beach, we noticed that the sea was frozen, and that there were even a few people walking on it! The Eastern sea is very flat in Pärnu, that's why it freezes so easily. It's probably not a big deal for Estonians, but for me, who only visits the sea in summer time it's such an amazing thing to see. 

It was a magical and unique feeling to step onto the ice and walk on the sea. Clara was able  to take such wonderful pictures, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do :)

We also took a few pictures in the forest :3

Gingerbread, blood sausage & gnomes :My Estonian Christmas

Merry Christmas and a happy new year! Häid jõule ja head uut aastat!

I hope you are having a great time with your families and friends! :)

Although I haven't been quite in a christmas mood this year, I enjoyed it. I was really afraid of it, because I thought i would be really homesick, but as it turned out this was not the case.

Christmas is quite similar to Germany here I guess, but there are a few differences. Although the Estonians have also the 'adventskalender' (but it's not that common) they have additional the 'päkapikkud',little gnomes who visit the children every night in December and put some sweets in their 'sussid' slippers. 

The biggest difference was probably that many Estonian families visit the graveyard on Christmas Eve and light candles instead of going to church. After we came back from the graveyard we ate the Christmas meal. Pork, chicken,fish and eggs, potatoes and sauerkraut, peet salad and 'kringel', a sweet yummy bread with rosins.
The traditional Christmas food though is blood sausage and pumpkin salad with potatoes, I ate this on the last school day. Every stude also got a chocolate box from my school as a christmas present! To get it we had had to prepare something: a dance, a movie clip, a song...

However, the santa claus 'jõuluvana' came to our house and brought not one but two huge bags of presents to our house. The whole family was surrounded, the children were running excited through the house, with big eyes and rosy cheeks.
 To get a present everyone had to say a little rhyme, dance or sing.
I decided for this rhyme (because it's so short :D)
                           vahuveini vanniga 

                          piparkooke panniga

                          verivorste krõbedaid

                          palju päevi toredaid

I really missed the various German christmas cookies, because the Estonians only seem to know gingerbread :D

These were our creations :))

The slightly different Christmas tree in Rakvere

The days after Christmas Eve I just spent at home and made Kaiserschmarrn, an Austrian dish, it's basically pancakes ripped in little pieces. 

I also drove to Tallinn to visit the Curly Strings concert(a very famous Estonian band). It was so great. I had goosebumps several times and I even understood much of what the band was talking about between the songs. 

This is their most famous song, if you want to hear some of their music! :)

https://youtu.be/vFlUhVyp0cA 

The next day we went to the cinema to see an Estonian movie, which was also really good and with English subtitles, so that I was able to understand it, before we drove back.

Over Christmas Eve and my birthday we are staying again at the aunt's house. 

I remember exactly the moment one year ago, when the last moments of 2014 passed, I was wondering where the new year would take me. 

And now I am here, the last ours of the new year are running. This year was the most exciting, the hardest, the year I travelled the most, the year I met amazing people from all over the world, the year left my home behind, the year I found a new one.

And I am looking forward to what the next year will bring.

Helsinkitrip

Tšau!
How you already know we travelled to Helsinki last weekend. Johanna from Germany, a girl from Thailand and me stayed over at an incredible nice family in Tallinn, because we live too far away to get the ferry in time the next morning. The family showed us the old-town, and we had the cance to visit the famous Christmas market in Tallinn. I expected it to be bigger-honestly it was quite small and a bit boring for me, because in my German area are lots of beautiful Christmas markets too. But it was quite nice :). And after that Johanna and me went to the cinema to watch (of course) Mockingjay 2. I can't express my love for the series. The movie was soooo good. *o* Maybe even a bit too gripping for Johanna and me :D(you know what I talk about)
After that we spent a wonderful evening with the family, we talked a lot and had great food :)
The next morning they dropped us off at the harbour and our adventure in Finland started *---*
Here you can read more about the trip!
http://yfueesti.blogspot.com.ee/2015/12/discovering-helsinki.html
The only things I can add to this is that we really had to walk a lot (my group didn't ride the tram :D). Like really really a lot. Honestly, I think that I have never ever walked that much at one weekend.
We were lucky and had two exclusive guides through the city, two exchange students, who are spending their year in Finnland. We had much fun and I enjoyed the weekend so much. Helsinki is such a charming city with a special flair, especially during christmas time ♥
On Saturday evening we had nothing to do and just walked through the city. Because we got a recommendation by a woman, we asked in a big and expensive hotel, if we could go to the top to see Helsinki at night.Although we were a bit sceptical if it would work out,we were guided to the top floor by the security man- and it was just such an wonderful and breathtaking view.

The first seven pictures you can see are taken by my friend Clara

The reason why you should have always washi tape with you! :)

They are just so scary,right?