Racism seminar: Destination Estonia

As a travel lover I tend to go for countries that provide a contrast with my own, seeking to immerse myself into different surroundings, a different culture and climate. So the prospect of travelling to Estonia for a seminar was exciting from the start.

However, Estonia proved to be much more than I'd hoped for - we not only learnt about a culture so dissimilar from ours, but thanks to the participants of other nationalities, we also became aware of the differences and similarities between us Maltese and people from Estonia, Lebanon and Palestine.

Led by the deputy mayor of Ta' Xbiex, Aaron Farrugia, our group of seven youths attended this one-week seminar in Poltsamaa, a small village in Estonia.

I must admit that I had a very vague idea of Estonia; to me it was just one of the Baltic countries I intended to visit one day.

Now I can say that I've spent one of the best Easter Sundays in my life roaming the streets of the country's capital - the medieval city of Tallinn, admiring its numerous historic buildings, churches, and picturesque landscape.

In the afternoon we met with the other participants with whom we would spend the rest of our stay, and after another short visit to Tallinn in their company, set off to our destination in the middle of the country - tiny but charming Potsamaa.

During that first evening we settled in our rooms and Heidi, the Estonian leader, welcomed us to the place. The morning after, each of us introduced ourselves and started working with the people from other countries at activities intended to get us closer to each other.

One of these included going round Poltsamaa looking for certain important buildings, such as the church and the mayor's house. During our walk, we started talking with the other participants, as well as admiring Poltsamaa with its wide-flowing river and quiet streets.

We ended our tour at the high school that most Estonian participants attended, and where we were meant to taste a typical Estonian porridge (the sight of which discouraged most of us).

That evening we dined at a restaurant in Poltsamaa with the mayor, and later held a national presentation, during which we promoted Malta as a holiday destination (also encouraging the other participants to drink Cisk Lager).

The next day we set off on our excursion to Tartu, Estonian's university town. In Tartu we were first taken to a youth centre where one of its organisers narrated some Estonian history. Here most of us discovered how much we did not know about the country which was briefly independent from 1918 to 1940 and only regained its independence in 1991.

We learnt about the hardships its people have had to face and how much work is being done to enhance the country's autonomy. After this visit, we were taken to the centre of Tartu, where we were free to explore the square.

We also took a walk along the river and passed by a couple of striking churches. That evening we dined in a typical Estonian restaurant. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was unique; the place with its high ceilings had been an old barn used in the past to store gunpowder.

We spent a day in Poltsamaa organising a few workshops, aimed at fighting racist views. The Lebanese participants cooked an exquisite lunch that day. The meal was complete with Lebanese bread and dips and several other tasty appetisers along with the main dishes.

That evening the Lebanese also held their presentation. This proved useful as I discovered that Lebanon is indeed a country worth visiting. The presentation was followed by dancing to typical Arabian music which we got used to during our trip in Estonia, for the Lebanese played it wherever we went and got us involved by teaching us how to dance like they do.

Both the Lebanese and Palestinians are very active and cheerful people; they loved to sing and also provided entertainment during our journeys in the coach!

We then left to continue with the seminar in Roosta, a holiday resort in western Estonia. After a long journey, we arrived in this secluded place under the drizzling rain and stepped in our wooden cottages feeling quite tired.

However, the bowling game we played in the afternoon energised us, and as it stopped raining we started to appreciate our lovely surroundings. Most of us had never seen such lovely cottages; my roommates and I were delighted at the idea of having to sleep on a raft under low-sloped ceilings.

Our stay in Roosta was lovely; a few metres away from our cottages was the Baltic Sea with the icy wind it brought with it beating our faces.

The Estonians held their presentation here and this included making use of the sauna and Jacuzzi in the main building in Roosta, a treat we all enjoyed after our journey.

The next day we were taken around the nature reserve of Naarootsi and the wilderness refuge in the vicinity. We also stopped for lunch in a lovely estate in the midst of the nature reserve. Most of us also got quite excited by a large block of ice protruding out at sea, on which we took a couple of photos.

It was then the Palestinians' turn to hold their presentation, after which we became more aware of the serious political situation in the region. Some of us were quite shocked to learn the hardships which these people have to face every day, but at least these facts were followed by a joyous mock wedding ceremony.

We had to return to Poltsamaa, quite sad to leave our sweet cottages behind. In Poltsamaa we visited the newly-built gym and also tried out some sports. A farewell party and dinner were prepared by the Estonians. We all danced to music and by the time everyone felt really comfortable we had to say goodbye.

The Palestinians left us the next morning and after saying goodbye, it was our turn to cook a Maltese dinner for everyone. It took long to prepare but most participants loved our large portions of chicken and potatoes. A few of us later set off to enjoy some nightlife in Tartu.

We all had mixed feelings about whether we wanted to leave Estonia or not; we knew that we'd miss living under the same roof as a family, but at the same time we had to go back to our daily lives.

Now that we're back home, all we are left with are memories of an experience which has affected all of us positively in one way or another, as well as a number of MSN contacts.

I think we're all more aware of what kind of lives people from other countries lead and that racism is a stumbling block to cherishing cultural diversity and broadenng our understanding of each other.