As I enjoy my morning coffee in Helsinki airport, I find myself reflecting on my weekend in Tallinn. I was there for the weekend to deliver Jolly Phonics training at the European School.
I didn't get to see much of Tallinn, as is so often the case on business trips but what I did see was very interesting. There is a mix of old and new buildings, a few remaining signs of Soviet times and all the usual bright lights of a capital city. I'd love to go back with Neil sometime and be tourists!
I was more than a little nervous about travelling alone and managing to get about in an unfamiliar place. I needn't have worried though. Apart from one restaurant, which had millions of steps, everything was fine. I even ventured out on Friday evening to the shopping centre over the road from the hotel.
The training was fun! The teachers were very receptive and wanted to learn as much as possible in the short time we had. I got the distinct feeling that they were going to put it into practice immediately. I hope they get the resources they need quickly, so that they can get going before they forget the training.
The Estonian language is interesting. It is like Finnish in many ways - lots of the same vocab and similar pronunciation. However there are some words which have totally different meaning. E.g. hallitus means government in Finnish but mould in Estonian. So is there some kind of Freudian connection there?
