When I arrived in Estonia for my ESC project with Vitatiim, I honestly had no idea what kind of life was waiting for me. I knew I’d be volunteering in a school and helping students with English, but I didn’t expect that the hallways would become my daily stage and the kids would be interested in me this much. Working at the school has been one big mix of teaching, chatting, laughing, and sometimes pretending I totally understand the Russian conversations happening around me.
One thing that keeps happening—and still makes me laugh every day—is that the kids constantly talk to me in Russian. Every. Single. Time. And every time, I answer them back in Russian just to say, “I don’t know Russian.” They pause, stare at me, switch to English for half a sentence… and then go right back to Russian again. It’s a never-ending cycle, like our own little sitcom routine.
What surprised me the most here is how naturally things started to feel familiar. I thought I’d spend most of my time just doing my tasks, surviving the cold, and drinking tea like a responsible adult, but instead I found myself becoming part of a community. Teachers treated me like I’d always been on the team, and the students were curious, open, and sometimes completely unpredictable—in the best way.
This whole experience taught me a lot—not only about teaching or volunteering, but about being patient, flexible, and okay with not having everything figured out. Sometimes you just improvise, smile, and trust that things will work out (and usually, they do).
If someone asked me who should try ESC, I’d say: anyone who wants something real. Not perfect, not always easy, but real. Anyone who wants to meet new people, discover small but meaningful things about themselves, and collect stories that will make them smile months later, go for it!
