Half-Way Impressions: Kaili

After our first full week and weekend—about halfway through the program, participant Kaili provided us with her reflections on her arrival and the activities thus far:

1. On your first day, you guys did a scavenger hunt in Portland. What were your first impressions of the city? Are there any interesting similarities or differences from your home country?

I think the first thing that popped to my mind was that how beautiful the city was. I really like that it is situated on the coast because I live on an island and love being by the sea. The small shops and local businesses really made me feel cozy. All of the people seemed very open to communication and helpful, which is I guess the biggest difference. In Estonia you would almost never meet a person on the street who would willing to talk to you and help you find different places, everyone just wants to mind their own business. For me the biggest similarity would be the coziness. I have never really been a city person and Portland is the kind of place that does not make you feel like you would lose yourself or make feel overwhelmed.

2. Tell us a little bit about your experiences in class. What have you been doing and discussing?

From the pre-departure orientation it seemed like the lessons would be very strict and demanding, but the reality is very different. I really like the pace we are going at. The teachers do not try to cram every possible bit of information into our brains, the atmosphere is very encouraging. We have been learning about what are some skills and personality traits of an entrepreneur, how to acknowledge your target market and how to put together the perfect survey to find the data you need. We watched a movie called Moneyball, so now we know a bit more about baseball and how people there do business. Now we are working on the Sea Dogs project so we get to put everything we have learned to use.

3. What has it been like to get to know the other students and staff?

In the beginning, I was afraid that all the students from Estonia would hang out with their own group, Latvians on their own and Lithuanians too, because people from Europe especially from the northern part, are not very open and are said to be quite cold. Fortunately ere it is not like that, everyone is like a big family. It has been great working together with everyone. All of the staff – the teachers and leaders – are very supportive and cheery.

4. How is life on campus? What is life like in the dorm, and what do the students like to do in their free time?

As I live in a dorm during school time in my home country, I already know the whys and hows of life on campus, but the fact that the residence hall, the rooms, and the people are so much more different, it feels like a brand new experience. During free time, students do not actually stay in the dorms really. Most popular past time activities are playing ping-pong in the common area and hot potato on the baseball field. Some even go to the gym, go running or enjoy the scenic nature.

5. What has your experience been like in the dining hall? Do you have any fun or strange observations to share with us?

Thinking back, on the first day everyone sat in small groups in the dining hall and were scattered around. Now we all sit together and people are always taking extra chairs to fit in somewhere.Another thing is that everyone wants to try everything, so the table is too crowded with plates. Everything is loaded with sugar even the salty foods. Root beer is not root beer; it tastes like children’s toothpaste. Ice cream for breakfast is the new in.

6. Tell us a little bit about your first full weekend in the program.

I am a quite out-doorsy person so this weekend was perfect for me. I have canoed before but kayaking is so much more different. The ocean was lovely and we got to see the seals and it was awesome. On Sunday we went hiking and the nature was so different from my country. I am not used to climbing so much uphill, but the view was totally worth it. Going to Target afterwards was a whole new shopping experience. You can get just about everything from there and everyone loved wandering around and discovering the aisles. I cannot believe that the week has gone by so fast. The days have been so eventful and action-packed, that I have not even noticed the time flying by. Everyone is so different but equally amazing. I feel like the first week really eased us into the rhythm and now I am ready for new challenges for the days to come.