This program has seemed like an eternity at times but now looking back it has absolutely flown by. This past week was a bittersweet one to say the least. From saying goodbye to many of the friends I’ve made here to checking out abandoned soviet buildings in Narva Jõesuu it was a definitely a week to remember.
This week was my last week volunteering at the Matveika kid’s daycare center. We played games as usual, built a trampoline, drank tea, and ate snacks. The kids were happy and entertaining as usual, they have been the best little Russian teachers I could ask for. They helped me improve my Russian immensely over the past 7 weeks, while having loads of fun at the same time. On our final day the kids presented each of us with our own little necklaces they made for us, as well as a printed copy of the picture from our first day together. We also ate cake and presented them with a poster we made for them and a volleyball set I bought with Elena earlier in the week. The kids and adults who worked there were all so excited to have a new game for them to play. Once it was time for us to leave for the last time, all the kids said goodbye, gave us hugs and asked to take pictures with us for memory. From Туки Туки all the way to some tasty Закуски I loved every minute at Matveika.
The rest of the week and most of the weekend was spent studying for the upcoming week of exams and evaluations. However, I was able to make it to RoRo for dinner Friday night and had a long conversation with some friends I had made back in early July. We had a great conversation about Viktor Tsoi and a lot more. Additionally, earlier that evening we hear people playing instruments in the basement of the dorm so we went and checked it out. We ended up having our own private concert and sang some Russian songs courtesy of our new friends in the basement.
The next day we hung out at Narva Jõesuu where we ran into an outdoor Zumba class in the forest. After dancing along with the class for a bit, we walked around some paths in the forest that led you to old abandoned buildings from the soviet era. Peeking in through the windows it was interesting to see what the places once were. Some looked like dance halls, schools, and so on.
To bring the weekend to a close, we danced our butts off at the only nightclub Narva has, Geneva. I’m excited to go ace these tests, eat some more amazing food, and to finally go home. However, I will really miss this little Estonian town right on the border, the town along with the people will always have a special place in my memory.
Written By: Samuel Araujo
Project GO Narva 2019 