On Tuesday March
13th, we kicked off our second and last group meeting before the Tallinn trip.
In comparison to the buzzing and slightly chaotic atmosphere of our first
meeting, we were much more determined and organized this time. Everyone had
chosen a research group and had spent weeks trying to contact experts, so we
were finally ready to begin defining the details of our trip! Of course we had
all known that we were going to go to Estonia for months, but during this meeting
the trip suddenly felt a lot more real.
We began with
updates from members of the Activities and Budget Committees, who assured us
that while some details needed to be ironed out, the most important basics of
our trip had been settled. We all have plane tickets and a place to sleep, so
really everything else is just a plus. We were also presented with a lovely
surprise from Marc, who revealed that the possibility of a group visit to NATO
was in the works!
Afterwards, we
watched each research committee present what they had achieved so far. Those
who had been successful in contacting experts were ready to show off, and those
who hadn't were ready to improvise. It was really interesting to get an
overview of every group's topic and see how each one had come up with a
distinct plan to collect their data. Despite our differences however, we also
agreed on some activities that our whole group could participate in, such as
visiting the E-Estonia Showroom and possibly the Patarei prison.
And in between the
presentations, we enjoyed a game that was brilliantly thought-of by the
Organizational Committee: Kahoot for Estonian Fun Facts. The game kept us
entertained and was surprisingly educational. Some of the more… interesting
revelations, like finding out that Estonia is famous for the sport of
wife-carrying, left us wondering where on Earth we were going.
While the game was
all in good fun, we were also able to see some people's competitive spirit come
out. Throughout the game the scoreboard was dominated by $wag$urfer (her
friends call her Selena), but in the last rounds we saw a complete switch up, with
Datboi coming in first and Marise and Celine in respective second and third
places. Datboi, who also goes by Sammy, was rewarded for his notable
performance with a gift that made all his hard work worthwhile: a delicious
chocolate bar. Well done Datboi! We were all very impressed (and maybe a little
concerned) by your extensive knowledge on weird facts about Estonia.