Violeta, a new volunteer at Ilmatsalu Youth Center, talks about why she came to Estonia

You can find the Estonian translation below.

In english:

One day in April during quarantine I was wandering… What would I say in the future if someone would ask me: “what about you, Violeta? Where were you in 2020?” I thought, I don’t want to have to say that I spent the days watching Netflix and Tik Tok.

This year has hit me, but not only because of the virus (but also because of the virus). I used to work in Madrid in an Advertising Agency as a copywriter. But after a series of unfortunate events I ended up at my parents house in Córdoba again, with a broken shoulder thinking about what to do with my life.

I don´t know if you are aware of that, but being in quarantine without a job, and nothing to do, gives you a lot of time to think about yourself and your future.

I noticed that advertising was not my thing. Yes, after seven years, after my bachelor in Advertising, my Master in Advertising Creativity and one year working in an Advertising Agency.

But until this year, I didn’t realize it. Now, I know. I wanted something that matters, that makes me proud of myself, something that makes me think that Mondays are not so bad.

So, I began to look back and try to discover what I have loved more during my life and I figured out it always was travel. But not this kind of tourist travel, where you only visit tourists, you just talk with tourists, look at touristic places and eat in a tourist restaurant which is not even good? Or maybe go to a McDonald because you are a student and you don’t have a lot of money?

I love to learn deeply about the culture, the people, the history about the cities, the nature, the secrets… and for that, you need more than summer holidays.

So thanks to the pandemic I was forced to build a new path from zero, but this time focusing on what I want. A quite different place to mine where I can still learn new cultures, enjoy and know another kind of nature that I never saw before.

That is how I decided to do this voluntary work in one of the best places to finish this endless 2020. A green, safer, small, and unknown country. Tartu is a city which I knew nothing about and from which I hope everything.  Because the less you know about something, the more it surprises you.

In Estonian:

One day in April during quarantine, I thought... What would I say in the future if someone asked me: 'But what about you, Violeta? Where were you in 2020?' I thought that I didn't want to say I spent my days watching Netflix and TikTok.

This year has hit me hard, but not only because of the virus (though the virus was also a factor). I used to work as an advertising copywriter in an advertising agency in Madrid. However, after several unfortunate events, I found myself back in my parents' house in Córdoba, and with a broken shoulder, I pondered what to do with my life.

I don't know if you're aware of this, but being in quarantine without a job and with nothing else to do gives you a lot of time to think about yourself and your future.

I realized that advertising is not my thing. Yes, this was after seven years, after earning a bachelor's degree in advertising, a master's degree in advertising creativity, and working one year in an advertising agency.

But until this year, I didn't understand it. Now I know. I wanted something important, something that would make me proud of myself, something that would make me think that Mondays aren't so bad.

So, I started looking back and trying to discover what I have loved most in life, and I realized it has always been traveling. But not the kind of tourist trip where you only visit places meant for tourists, just talk to other tourists, and eat in a tourist restaurant that isn't even good? Or perhaps go to McDonald's because you're a student and don't have much money?

I like to thoroughly learn about culture, people, the history of cities, nature, secrets… and for that, more than just summer holidays are needed.

Due to the pandemic, I was forced to forge a new path for myself from scratch, but this time I focused on what I wanted. A completely different place for me, where I could further learn new cultures, enjoy and experience a different type of nature that I had never seen before.

So, I decided to volunteer in one of the best places to put an end to this endless 2020. A green, safer, small, and unknown country. Tartu is a city I knew nothing about, and I have high hopes for it. Because the less you know about something, the more it surprises you.

Violeta Amian

Volunteer at the European Solidarity Corps at Tartu Youth Work Center