Sakina

Hi there,
My name is Sakina, and I'm from Azerbaijan, but I was a student at an Italian university at that time. I spent 10 interesting months in Jelgava, which saved me from deep depression that I had before coming to Latvia. Zane's offer to work as a volunteer at BJMK School came at the right time, and I thought, why not? So, on July 31, I packed my suitcases, gathered warm clothes, which is very important in Latvia where it's -100 degrees in winter.

The first month and a half, I lived in Zane's house with her husband Endijs and their lovely children, Miķels, Rasa, and Rūta. It was very interesting for me. The family atmosphere, the upbringing of the children, and what they ate were very different from what I was used to in my own childhood and surroundings. During these ten months at the music school, I learned that children in Latvia are raised without many restrictions and are very free in their actions and judgments. For this reason, they are very confident in their actions, although like all children in adolescence, their inner rebelliousness shows.

If we go back to how my first month at the school went, since the school season was supposed to start around the end of September, I spent the first month varnishing all the doors in the school. Strangely enough, this was therapeutic for me and some kind of rehabilitation for my mind and soul. And of course, I became quite the professional at it.

In September, there was the first volunteer meeting from all over Latvia who, like me, came to volunteer at other organizations. This was in the city of Sigulda, which was a very beautiful place, like all of Latvia, with its wonderful nature and castles. Getting to know other volunteers helped me make friends during this period and visit different cities where they lived, with the bonus of not paying for accommodation.

So, the first days of school began, and I moved into a very small studio at the school where I lived afterwards. Although it was very small, it had all the necessary amenities inside. The first day started with a concert where students and teachers performed, and anyone who wanted could attend.

After this day, the active working life began. My work started when the wonderful and unique Kristiāna, with her beautiful manicure and fiery blonde hair, finished, and I came to the office to continue the work. My job mainly involved answering parents' questions and registering data in the database. In my view, it was more about eliminating chaos in the school, which is inevitable when you are in a place with many children and very emotional teachers (part of the profession). I really liked all of it. It was incredibly fun to spend time in such a creative atmosphere all these days. This lasted throughout the autumn, and winter came, which I loved the most in this country, although the Latvians themselves were not happy about it. I felt like I was inside illustrations by Russian artists that were in literature books from my childhood. All the trees were covered in white fluff, and smoke came out of every house's chimney. Maybe because of this atmosphere, I started crocheting, which was a hobby I had in my childhood. How magical it was. At the same time, I tried to fulfill my long-held dream of playing the drums, and it seemed to be working out a little.

After Easter, sunny but not warm days began. It was not easy to get used to it being dark all the time, and then suddenly, it didn't get dark at all. By the end of my volunteering, it could be said that it never got dark. At first, I didn't understand why Latvians are such unsociable and not very friendly people who don't like to open up. Their closest friend could be said to be Latvian nature, which saves them from everything that, unfortunately, we don't have in our countries. Latvians don't like loneliness; they love nature, to interact with it, walk in the forest, and gather mushrooms, which for them is much more than spending time with a large number of people. Although I didn't go mushroom picking much, walking in this beautiful green nature, feeling the sounds of the trees, helped me rehabilitate from many of my problems.

For this reason, I love this country and these people who surrounded me during that period. Thanks to BJMK for letting me enjoy this world, which is different from the one I have lived in all my life. I'm sure I will return to this beautiful place at every opportunity.