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Day 17 - Connecting the Dots

7/7/2023

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​Today we sadly left Juta and Meriel in Kadrina and made our way down south to Tartu. Before we left though, after breakfast, Juta played and sang us a song she wrote for us, on an instrument she made. It was so adorable and I wasn’t to sure on the words but it was rally sweet. When we left and I was driving and I just wanted some music, no words, as there had been a lot of talking. So I grabbed my headphones and listened to Nightwish “The Score”. It was so soothing and it was nice to just drive, listen to music and look at the beautiful landscape. There were so many areas full of pine forests! What I still can’t believe is how inpatient Estonian drivers are! I would be doing 90-95 in a 90km zone and people would be over taking me, in single lanes, in a somewhat dangerous way and then driving far off into the distance. I am not sure how much the police patrol these roads or what their leniency is on it all but it was fast. This time I didn’t see a single camera, on our way to Tartu. When we were getting close, mum pointed out where Monika and Indrek used to live. I didn’t realise we were coming into Tartu from this direction, which I had never done before. And then I realised, I was going to have to drive through the city to get to their house. I was a bit nervous but I did it, with mum guiding me, staying calm, it seemed to be ok.
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​Once we got here we were greeted by Muri. A very big dog compared to Runi. He was so excited to see us! I sat down at some point, after I unpacked and sorted some things out, to write yesterdays story and he jumped up and sat next to me. It was so sweet. I also decided I needed to go to launakeskus to get a phone holder for my car! It would be much easier to navigate with that and I could watch the roads. Mum went off to have a little nap so off I went. I managed to get myself there, watching the map but also following the signs there. What you have to understand is to get to there, there are 3 laned round-a-bouts and it can be really scary. I managed to stay calm and just followed the signs and got myself there in one piece. I got there and found myself what I needed and met up with someone for coffee. We had a lovely long chat and watched the ice skaters. It was nice walking around this shopping centre because I had been there many times, especially with dad. He can’t say launakeskus and just calls it smiley, because there is a big yellow ball at one end on the roof, with a smiley face on it. Last time we stayed kind of close to it and on the first day we were here, we all walked there (Danae, Dad, Les, Kim and I) through a field, and we were “pioneering” our way there. We have such fond memories of going there, it was nice to see it hadn’t changed much.
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​I then had to get home by 4pm so I could be involved in a meeting with the Global Estonian Committee. I was invited by the head of the Global Estonian Youth Network, Nora, to listen and see if I could contribute anything. Sadly it was all in Estonian, but I used my google translate app to see if I could quickly translate what was being said, through voice, so I could somewhat understand what was being discussed. I think I mostly got the gist of what was happening and, if I was understanding things correctly, there are so many way and information I have, from Australia, they might need or want to know but because it is all in Estonian, I didn’t feel I could contribute in any meaningful way. Who knows what the future holds in this space.
Monika and Indrek arrived home and we had a lovely discussion with them. Sharing some stories and some updates! Indrek told us he has organised a party with a lot of our family next Sunday, so we can see everyone and reconnect with them all. I thought that was the kindest gesture, so we could see everyone in a really low key kind of way. Lets just hope the sun is out!
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​We then headed off to the Hansa Tall restaurant (Andrew and Taimi recommended it) to meet with mums cousin, who she had never met before. Eliisa was also with us, as she is part of this family too. They all spoke for hours about our family, how they were all connected, sharing stories, documents and images. We, in Australia, don’t really have much of anything, so it was interesting to see what kind of information Alexander had and how it correlated with the information Eliisa had. I turns out Alexander had been in Australia before and his daughter, Freyer, is going to be there at Christmas time. Mum suggested a big family Christmas with that side of the family, let's see what happens.
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​We then came back to Monika and Indrek’s house and Monika asked me to take her out, at 10:30pm to get some things from the petrol station haha. We had a lovely little one on one chat and I am really looking forwad to reconnecting with her and sharing some things that have been happening in my life and have caused me to grow, in a big way. I am pretty sure they stayed up until 1am drinking and talking, thankfully I went to bed.
 
Until tomorrow
Marissa xx
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    A bit about Marissa


    Hi,
    I am Marissa, 35yo woman living in Sydney. Professionally, I am a Registered Nurse and Nursing Academic. This is something which I find challenging to quantify, when someone asks me what I do for work. It involves a great deal of mentoring, empowering, inspiring and teaching early career nurses in a range of nursing areas and challenging their ideas on leadership. 

    I have been the Laagri Juht (Camp Leader) at Sõrve, the Estonian Children's Summer Camp, for the past 6 years and a Juht for 10 more. This role really taught me leadership and how to empower young Estonians and support them in ways to highlight their own capabilities. A am so grateful to have had this experience and be part of the lives of so many Estonians living in Australia. What is unique about Sõrve is it is now a family camp and one I am very proud to have been part of in relation to evolving it to what it is today. This was a joint effort with my Juhtkond team AND many people in the community supporting me, my grand ideas and efforts. I am so grateful to all the people who helped push Sõrve to new heights.

    My career is where my passion for writing started, but it has somewhat dissipated over the last few years, but I really wanted to nurture my creative outlet again. This, with my inclination for sharing, is where this story began.

    I read a lot of other peoples stories, well basically research through story telling. My absolute favourite author and mentor (although she doesn't know it) is Brené Brown, who teaches the world about vulnerability, shame, connection, courage and a whole range of things which resonate with me. It was through her research and story telling that I wanted to start this journey and share my lens of the world, with those who wish to read it.

    I am grateful you are taking the time to read my stories, thank you. 

    Happy reading!
    Marissa xx

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