Happy endings

Last 1,5 weeks have passed finishing up with the life I have been living during the past years. So I guess it's time to make some summaries.

A week ago my term as the chairman of Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) ended. We had our transition weekend on 18th to 19th of July, which was just incredible. Lately there have been quite some powerful moments for me, and this weekend was one of them for sure. I am happy to hand "my" organisation to the team of very trustworthy people and I know that they will make much better ENL as it is now. I am happy that I have had tough year full of many challenges, but that I enjoyed almost every moment of being a chairman. And I am especially happy finishing my term with fully positive emotions. Thank you all (especially my team) who helped me shape and impact ENL during this past year!

Then going on... On 21st I had my graduation ceremony, where I finally got my diploma. Wine on the coast of Emajõgi at that evening tasted especially good :) Meanwhile a bit earlier also my sister and dad!! graduated from university, so many celebrations going on during several days in a row.

Then the biggest Estonian national holiday - Jaanipäev (St John's Day) came. 23rd of June is our Victory Day (after a succesful battle of Freedom War from far in the past) and the Eve of St John's Day. It is also the shortest night of the year, when the time between sunset and dawn is just about 4 hours and it hardly goes dark outside. 24th of June is the St John's Day itself. Both of them are national holidays and no work is done. Nowadays, this means that most of the people are leaving towns and going to the countryside to enjoy the games, singing, dancing, swinging, eating and drinking all night long on 23rd. That night thousands of bonfires are set up all over Estonia and majority of the people wouldn't sleep at all. There are also several legends related to this night -> for example young people are going to the forest to look for the blossom of the fern, cos this is supposed to make all the wishes come true for the person who finds it. (well, according to science, fern never blooms, but this doesn't stop anyone :) So I was also in the middle of the forest with the big gang of friends celebrating these days. I wonder if I miss it all next year or not ? ;)

At weekend I was moving out from Tartu - the university town I've been living during the past years. Packing and cleaning the room brought out many memories again - old diary, letters written and recieved, sugar cubes collected from the conferences, photos with the moments that should never be forgot... I was even so into these things that discoverend myself still awake when the sun was already rising - which itself was so beautiful that I grabbed for the camera and sat for a while on the open window. So by now I have flooded my parents' home with all my stuff.. didn't really imagine there is so much of it!

And now it's time to enjoy the fulliest the next days till my departure to SIPO :) and BD!

:o)

Hoho! Now I can really say, that one dream has come true. I mean the real dream.

I don't remember if I wrote it here already, but at some point (in the autumn I think) I saw a dream, which is still in my memory very clearly: Me standing in front of the main building of the university. Clear blue sky and the sun is shining so brightly. I am laughing. And all around me, are so many friends and all the family members bringing me flowers for graduation. And as the bouquet of flowers are getting bigger, I feel so so happy.

This was the picture which kept me going throughout the toughest times of the past year.
And today it was exactly like that. So the moral of the story: dreams are coming true!

Hehe, and thanks, Triin, for making me the super surprise with sending your mom to bring flowers to me :) You know exactly how to impress me over and over again! Hugs!

Confirmed!

Today was a nice day. Waking up at 10.30 was not initially in my plans though (rather at 8 am), but it's just sooo good to sleep. Morning talks with my sister. Heading to the office. Going to visit a partner of ENL just to surprise them with two prizes -> hah! you should have seen the face of our contact person! She was just so happy :) Then airport, cos Kairi and Pirru left for Canada and I'm not gonna see them for at least 7 months, maybe more.

There were SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) advertisement day or smth like that going on in the airport. Therefore 3 extremely nice guys were offering candies, organising plane drawing competition and playing golf. Haha! They even made me draw an aircraft and play the golf. They just made my mood so good and cooled me down from being nervous about the call I was expecting from Bandgladesh.

Then I was sitting down to the cafe with a cup of tea trying to imagine what could my future boss be asking from me and what do I want to know about the company where my traineeship is going to be. Besides, I was not sure if I mix up the times or not. Well, obviously I did. 12.30 GMT is 15.30 (not 14.30) in Estonia at the moment as it is summer time. Meanwhile Kairi and Pirru arrived and we spent the last minutes of joking around, hugging for goodbye and taking last pictures. And 15.25 I headed for the quiet cafe to wait for the call.

Oh, and now I can surely say: yes! I will be going to BD for at least 6 months traineeship! It's confirmed! My boss seems to be really nice and the company very progressive. I know it's gonna be challenging time for me there and after the call I felt anxious to start the preparation in HR area right away. I do need a lot of professional preparation :) And I truly hope I will be up to their expectations! Ooooo!!! What a life!

But there will be at least two things I'll be missing in BD for sure -> listening the silence at seaside in the middle of the night and forests or wide parks with no people around. So I have to take the maximum of them here during the month that is left before my departure!

Anyway, guys - Vega and Ying and Bulan and Triin - I wonder, if it would be really cheaper for me to come through Singapore (or Bangok), then maybe we could arrange a meeting? I miss you all and I start missing you even more when I think the chance to see you is so close! Anyway, I'll be checking the options and let you know.

Hugs for now. Bedtime :)

The beginning

Every end is the beginning for something new. I am in the transition period for my new life :)
2,5 weeks have passed fast and many things have happened meanwhile, many more emotions I have gone through.

We had first ever MCPs meeting of AIESEC in Estonia on 24th of May. Was a lot of fun and good memoeries. Then chill out and party time for five days in a row and even more - just catching up with different people I either haven't met a long time or just missed lately and getting to know some new, very nice people. It seems that I even allow myself some little falling in love, though I realise it may not be the best idea considering my future plans about starting the real nomad's life.

Anyway, on Friday evening, on 27th of May, while sitting on the bench in a park in Tartu, I suddenly got a phone call from Hungary. I was offered a traineeship in Budapest. There would have been no better timing, cos I had done just nothing for finding the match during last month and was about to start active matching again. I obviously was flattered, especially as it doesn't happen too often that you get the first contact thru phone. And I got interested. And it boosted up my motivation to look for what traineeships are available there in the world and suitable for me. The same evening (while I had not seen the Hungarian traineeship job description yet) I sent out several questions about few traineeships - in UK, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Netherlands, Sri Lanka...

The unsolved question in my head lately has been: what am I actually looking from the traineeship? What is the balance btw cultural and working experience I want to have? What are the risks I'm willing to take? Is my priority professional development and a remarkable line in the CV? Or am I longing for the cultural experience I'm not even able to imagine? Is it important for me to go as far as possible or would I accept also an offer in Europe? At the end I came to the conclusion to be as open as possible to all the opportunities that arise and neglect nothing.

The next day I got the form from Hungary, which turned out to be so interesting that I wrote a motivation letter and applied for it. So on Wednesday, 1 of June, my papers reached the company and I started to wait for the answer - which I assumed would be "yes". Around these days I got an e-mail from Bangladesh saying that they will send my CV to the company. I didn't pay attention to it much, cos I had only asked about the duration and asked if the company could potentially be interested in me. Out of the blue on Sunday right before going to bed I got an e-mail that I am accepted by the company in Bangladesh!

Oh my! I was shocked cos I really didn't expect that! And I got excited and I had no idea what to answer to the guy in BD. So I spent the whole Monday trying to get to know more about BD, talking to friends and weighing the pros and cons of the opportunities in HU and in BD. By the evening I had decided that my heart goes for BD! It's the country I know nothing about, the JD is challenging, it's a bit scary, but most important - it's EXCITING! I sent away my acceptance note on my birthday, 8th of June and wrote to Hungary (where I still have no answer from) that I give up applying there. And now it seems I'm really going to Bangladesh! So yeah, Vega, it is Asia, where my traineeship is taking me :o) I'm still also waiting for the official acceptance from the BD company, but the communication with TN-manager has been so prompt that I believe it will come very soon.

Today I applyed for new passport. I've been reading about BD. I'm e-mailing with trainees in Dhaka. I joined BD communities in aiesec.net. I imagine what should I take with me. So my country specific preparation has started :) I am supposed to start on around 15th of July. Let's see if I manage to get all the paperwork and things arranged by that time. Hopefully all will be fine! And Bangladesh - here I come soon indeed! This is where the life of a nomad really starts..