Andreas – Volunteer from Germany

Eestikeelset intervjuud saab lugeda 04.10.2019 Keila Lehes

Hey! I am Andreas, I am 19 years old and from the southwesterly part of Germany. I am the new European Solidarity Corps volunteer in Keila Noortekeskus from 2th September until 31th May 2020.

How do you like Estonia so far? What has been, so far, the biggest surprise for you about

Estonia? How does Estonia compare to Germany?

Until now, I really appreciate life in Estonia, I really like the nature, the cute and colourful Estonian wood houses, pretty fresh air even in small capital Tallinn and the smart digital solutions in daily life. I had to learn early that the weather can change more quickly compared to Germany, my 

best investment yet was a rain jacket:) In addition, 15 degrees feel for me more like 10 because it is windy almost all the time. I would say that the biggest surprise has been for me that it is not very easy to get fresh bread and buns here in Estonia because bakeries are very rare if you compare it to Germany, I really miss them in Keila, if somebody plans to open one here, please let me know, I will be daily customer:D I found one in Tallinn old town but I can not go there every day of course. If you go to Germany, you will even see in the smallest populated villages bakeries.

Why did you decide to do EVS? And why in Estonia?

I already knew last year that I will take a gap year after school, because I was tired of studying for school and I did not want to continue in the same year with studies. This gap year is very common in Germany and accepted by most of the parents. I wanted to volunteer in another country to push my personal limits, experience and adapt into another culture, improve my English, become more self-independent, push my self-confidence, work together with young people and move something forward with my effort. To be honest, I did not know where I want to do my EVS, I was very flexible with this decision but the topic of my project was mostly important for me. I got in June from my supporting organisation many voluntary offers, I saw that there are many from Estonian youth centres, applied and got a few days later an answer from Keila Noortekeskus. They offered me a skype call and after this call, things became clearly. I would volunteer from 2 th September 2019 in Keila Noortekeskus.

How do you like spending your free time, do you have any hobbies?

Right now, I really like going to explore Tallinn, but I did not make very much sports yet. I like mostly soccer, mountainbiking (difficult here in Estonia:D) or cycling and volleyball. Table tennis or tennis is also good. I like photography, too.

What are your plans for the 9 months spending in Estonia?

In the youth centre, I want to offer a few long term projects. I aim to make one activity/sports projects offering every week partly different activities for the youths. I want to start with soccertennis in the sports hall of Keila Noortekeskus, this project is probably going to start from the first or second week of October. In addition, I want to offer an opportunity for photography-exited youths to share their ideas/photos/experiences in an own community. Furthermore, I am going to present my home countriesˋculture with a cultural evening by cooking and explaining a little things about my region. In general, I want to create a bit more opportunities for the youths and giving them the chance to realize their ideas/projects as well. Another part of my stay here will be of course traveling:) I aim to explore Estonia, especially the countryside, besides Latvia and Lithuania and a bit of Scandinavia.

How would you describe yourself in 5 words?

German rulefollower

Adventure

Not on time

Empathic

Sometimes crazy

P.S. If somebody who might read this has a bicycle over and wants to sell it, please let me know, I am searching for one. It should have min. 27,5 inches and not single speed:D If you are interested, please contact me: andreaskienbaum123@gmail.com