Town a click away!

            My second mobility during the Comenius project of Trstenik elementary school was this May in Tallinn, Estonia. While I was a pupil, that country (along with the neighbouring Lithuania and Latvia) was striving for independence. I am sure that the independence of Soviet republics was not in the curriculum back then, but I was obviously very lucky to have a teacher and a school that were ahead of their time so we had an opportunity to gain knowledge which was not strictly a part of the general curriculum.

            The people around me would place Estonia to Scandinavia rather than to the SSSR. Just by arriving to the airport, one can see whether they are right or wrong. We are dumbfounded by the design and variety of the original ideas which are impossible to depict. Even after our return we are still baffled with the sign on the men’s toilet “Man stuff only”. We were very pleased with the design, colour and text of the women’s toilet. Which woman wouldn’t smile at the sign “Is it a sun or did you just smile?”.

            We could become familiar with the capital Tallinn through beautiful TV postcards during Eurovision. There was a friendly atmosphere during this mobility, especially since the last evening of our two-year project was the same night as the finals of Eurovision which we all watched on the central city square wrapped in blankets and cheering for all countries participating in the project. The event was unique and unforgettable, just like when Toto won with “Insieme – United, United Europe” in Zagreb in 1992.

            While we are talking about music and festivals, we must mention our visit to the splendid festival stage in the open which is an enigma to us. Not the stage, but the festival which takes place every 5 years. How can we explain that to anybody in Split?

            On our first day in this beautiful medieval town we visited a very modern TV tower. Math teachers must be using this tower for interesting tasks because there is a sign at the entrance to the museum that gives the height of the tower and says that it broadcasts radio waves within a radius of 90km. Besides that, the interactive screens show a good part of their history. Judging by our tour guide's presentation and the fact that the tower is, in a way, a symbol of independence which they gained in 1991, we could conclude that they do not know or even accept earlier history. We found materials for seventh-graders in statistics and probability. The interactive screens give a simple calculation about the probability of finding someone you resemble in Estonia or teach you something about degrees and radians. Teachers’ imagination can do wonders, not to mention their approach to curricula.

They were fascinated with the museums and their interactive contents, and the two remaining museums we visited were no exception. Does this mean that the museums are becoming very interesting places or am I just getting older?

The most astonishing thing about the museums is that the visitors can walk around with a card which has the ability to send all information about exponents which the visitor did not have the opportunity to see to his e-mail address. The possibility of filming and photographing something which can then be sent as a postcard is certainly mesmerising; sails and sailboats, planes or a real submarine through which you can walk. All in one place. From children's workshops and video-game rooms,  where they create their own movies and photos, shipwreck simulations… to interesting educational tips in Physics which help you comprehend the meaning of resilience, warmth, ships going through diverse canals, vortex forming and other fascinating things. Everything put in a modern environment under the watchful eye of the curator.

The third museum welcomed us with a special performance put together by kindergarten children. Aside from an interesting musical game, we had an opportunity to see a stuffed dolphin, the ancient way of tin can making, as well as porcelain dishes and tea sets.

We spent the entire school day within the school complex which holds educational facilities from kindergarten to high school. Croatian teachers were fascinated at the very beginning. Kind hosts welcomed us at the reception desk and showed us the way to one of the four wings of the complex. The secretary met us in front of the headmaster's office while the teacher's lounge was filled with small teaching groups probably working on a common project. The headmaster's office is larger than most of our teaching lounges. Every classroom door contains a glass rectangle through which you can see the entire class. Curious pupils can also see what is going on outside their class. I'm not sure if it would work well in Croatia, but I am convinced that these pupils concentrate on the tasks at their hands without noticing anything or anyone else.

The large auditorium for school concerts and events is impressive. On one side of the podium, pinned to the curtains, are the words of their national anthem - Oh! Let Us Live. Apart from that, the IT classroom with projector, smart board and ergonomic seats looks very comfortable and well planned. The next room called SELVER is a large and spacious room containing computers and a large round table. In the small adjoining room there is a server. On the floor, there is a large trunk holding about 30 scattered tablets. Ahhhh… the kindergarten is modern and new with interesting furniture made up in the form of geometrical shapes. In the staffroom there are Pilates balls rolling around instead of chairs and comfortable green bean bags. The principle told us she came up with this fun idea after her visit to Silicone Valley in the U.S.

Studying our map closely, we noticed that Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is across the gulf from Helsinki. Although Helsinki isn't Brač, it is possible to go there on a one day trip.

The great atmosphere on the ferry and 2 short hours of sailing were my motivation for going on the trip. Experiencing everything the ferry had to offer; modern interior, games, quizzes and bingo, I took in everything with a smile on my face, trying to imagine a similar atmosphere travelling from Split to Stari Grad on Hvar. On a Sunday morning, Helsinki is almost like Venice with some tourists buying tickets for the islands, some shopping around the city centre, some singing in the park, some demonstrating in the park, some eating and relaxing on the grass and some holding discussions in tents... Believe it or not, I even managed to buy 6 nectarines that cost 2 Euros for only 1 Euro after haggling with the seller. I really don't believe he was born in Finland.

The task of booking and buying our airline tickets online was successfully accomplished at the beginning of our trip in Split. Having them printed out at the airport upon arrival to Oslo airport was also successfully done. However, upon leaving Tallinn we ran into a few problems. After trying several times to print out our tickets we finally realized that the machine didn't work. We tried out a second machine with the same results. Then I asked myself would I have to convince my colleagues that we were still in Scandinavia. Apparently not, because I spied an information machine with a lot of smiley faces ranging from a happy, happy smiley to a very grumpy smile suggesting if we like something or not with just one click. Yes, this was my experience of Estonia and the Baltics - with just one click.