Midnight Sun (Estonia)

Greetings from Estonia, where it is midnight, and the sun still shines. I think, above all else, that is the thing that freaks me out the most about this place, more than anywhere I have ever been. How does your body know when to go to sleep? It doesn't. You have to psyche yourself out and pretend that it's dark outside. I actually wear night-shades to bed to help do that, but it's still very strange!

What can I say -- I have been here almost a week, but in true "camp time" it, of course, seems more like a month. I arrived in Tallinn on Saturday and met up with the rest of my teaching team. I knew ahead of time that I would be the youngest of the bunch (there's 5 of us), and I have to say that it IS a bit strange to be out-aged by so many years! (More on that later.) The camp is located about 20 minutes west of the Tallinn, right on the Gulf of Finland. The weather had been VERY (unseasonably) warm, and we have been able to go to the beach every day. I wasn't counting on that, so I am taking advantage of the weather while it lasts. Last summer, it rained here almost every day, so we are very lucky!

The kids arrived on Sunday, and we started teaching on Monday morning...there are kids from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Russia, and Belarus. It's amazing. The big realization that I have come to is that, all in all, teenagers everywhere are really the same. You have the geeks and the princesses and the jocks and the loners...the ones who wear all black and the ones who wear as little as possible...the girls who like boys and the boys who like girls and the ones who aren't sure what they like...the ones who want to stay up all night talking to their friends and the ones who want to stay up all night talking to you...and the ones who want to go to sleep as soon as possible. There are girls who don't eat and boys who eat too much...there are good students and lazy students...there are musicians and dancers and artists and singers and models and athletes...well, you get the point. It's amazing how they are so much like so many kids I have known.

I thought, coming here, that all of these kids would have to speak English if they wanted to communicate with each other...what I didn't understand was that many of these countries (duh) have been under Russian rule at some point in their history...so many (if not all) of the students speak their HOME language AND Russian and English. But, since their Russian is much better than their English, they communicate cross-culturally with that language instead. Outside of class, they do what's easiest for them, so Russian is the language of choice.

I teach two classes a day, and right now I have the highest level kids. I am definitely no expert in teaching ESL (despite my coursework and certification!), so it has been an interesting process. Really, the focus of the summer is CONVERSATIONAL English, and since there is no blackboard, no chart paper, and no photocopier on camp, that's exactly what it is! (The fact is, I teach in a kitchen-turned-classroom.) There are about 14 students in each class, so it's rather big and kind of difficult at times to get everyone talking, but I think my students have had a good time so far. I am drawing on a lot of my camp experience and 5th grade activities to promote good conversation topics...I think it's working out okay. Even though I came with ideas for lesson plans, I am kind of changing things as I go, depending on the kids I have. On Monday, I will get the lowest level kids for 4 days, so that will be a new challenge.

Speaking of challenges, I have to say that camp in Estonia (duh, again) is not like camp in America. There is tons of free time and not a lot of structure, and it started out really unorganized. I can't help but think of my days at GFC and try to infuse a little of my wisdom into the situation, but that is much easier said than done. Lifeguard at the beach? No, not necessary. Kids eating their meal in 5 minutes and leaving the dining hall? Sure. Kids walking a mile to the store by themselves? Why not? I guess the litigious nature of America hasn't caught up with the Baltics...and whether that's good or bad, I am not sure. Either way, it freaks me out.

About the people at camp: Well, they say if you can't say anything nice about people, don't say anything at all. {Hmmm, not like that has ever stopped me before.} The American Camp Director, Henry, although he has been doing this program for many years in many different countries, is not the best communicator. I think I kind of knew that going into this, but it has really come to light. I will leave it at that, and say that I try to avoid him as much as possible and am kind of dreading traveling with him for a week after camp! We'll see. There's three other men here, Don and Sam who came from North America, and young Ben from the UK. Ben can't seem to keep his pants up even with a belt. Once again, if you can't say anything nice...

The women here are great, though, so there is a saving grace! My roommate, Ann, is a woman from Canada who is a retired teacher. She is very sweet and artsy and a nature lover, and she is a great roommate b/c she doesn't complain about my messy side of the room or the open window! Pauline is a British woman (my age!) who had been living kind of a parallel life to mine in the UK. She is great to have around, and the three of us (Ann, Pauline, and I) tend to stick together and hang out a lot. I am lucky they are here!

There is also an international staff -- some college-aged Estonian & Lithuanian counselors, an Estonian camp director, and a Russian teacher who is here with her students. They are all very interesting, and helpful, and have great energy. They, by the way, can't stand the American camp director either. (Just thought I would add that in -- it's not just me! I see the way he talks to them and it makes me cringe!)

I am e-mailing from a bookstore in Old Town right now --I hope that is enough info for now -- more late after I see a few things and get to see the country a bit more!

On Saturday, we are going to an "AquaPark" and on Sunday, to the city of Tallinn. It will be nice to get out of camp and see the country a bit!

++++Baby Update!++++ Max Paul Josephson was born on July 5th! I hear that Mom and Dad are doing well!

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