All EPs left Riga on Sunday. Some of them home, two of us to Tallinn. Tak and me heard only good things about the city and its beauty. We took the bus and met out host in Estonia, Sergej. After reaching the apartment we had a dinner, found out we will be not short of internet and made our plans for tomorrow. The historical centre of Tallinn is divided into Lower Town and Toompea. Both of them being separate town in the past, Lower Town´s population were tradesmen while Toompea was inhabited by nobility. We started out tour at Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square) with oldest pharmacy in Europe and town hall looking like a church.

Fortification is still surrounding almost the whole city centre so we took the road next to it and went to St. Olaf´s Church which was for some period of time tallest building in the world. We saw even Tallinn Backpackers Hostel. The whole Lower Town is really well preserved and Tak said, that it looks like the medieval part of Disneyland in Japan. You can buy almonds with different flavours (as we did), taste a hot chocolate (as we did as well) and buy some souvenirs in countless small shops. Although historical part of city centre is medieval, just few minutes away is a modern part of Tallinn with tall buildings and shopping malls. The best view you can get is from Toompea. Toompea is a bit higher than other places in Tallinn and has Toompea Palace which is current seat of Estonian Parliament, Alexander Nevski Cathedral and small streets with many embassies.

We found a Lido in Tallinn. Yes, the addiction is too strong to resist and we took a dinner there. In the evening we wanted to taste a local beers so we bought six different samples. The results are not yet clear.

We still had a last day in Tallinn and we the weather was beautiful. We went to the port, saw all sights from yesterday again and slowly prepared to leave. The only trouble was that we couldn´t find a tram stop. When we found it after 50 minutes, we realized that is was not more than 15 minutes walk from where we were.  After almost five hours journey we arrived in Riga and thanks to Baiba we had a place to stay. The photo below is from Tallinn but may represent how all the EPs went to different directions after the ending of the project.

Let´s hope is not Atā (Goodbye) for the whole Your Idea Wanted team (EPs and OC) but Uz redzēšanos (See you soon).

We are now approaching the final stage of the project: choosing the best idea. This makes us both excited and nervous. Excited because all the ideas of our students are wonderful and we enjoy seeing them develop what used to be a one-sentence idea into a full-fledged business offer, with a thorough project and marketing plan. Nervous because time’s running incredibly fast and there are so many details to make right, and so many pieces of the idea-puzzle to put together that at times it’s overhelming. Even so, our students seem more positive and motivated than ever: they’re spending 2 hours in the project-class every day this week (we added an extra-lecture), they’re doing independent marketing research amongst their friends on draugiem.lv, they’re using even the very scarce breaks we have to look stuff up online for their idea and they even stay after class to chat to me and Julia about their ideas. Plainly put, they’re really into it.

Yesterday we worked hard on Project Plans, when each group had to define their goal, determine their target group, set milestones, etc. We also had Tak and Lilia who were visiting Cēsis (more about this in a later paragraph) listening to all the 5 ideas, and they gave them very constructive feedback. It was great having a different perspective on things, because me and Julia have worked with them for two weeks already and because we’ve seen how these ideas were “born”, we might’ve missed a threat or an opportunity, so having someone from “outside” help us was just what the groups needed. Also, Tak promised to arrange a discount if anyone wants to buy Sony products: Sony should expect the orders from Latvia to mount up anytime soon. So, thank you Tak and Lilia, we really appreciate your contribution, and we’ve also enjoyed having you here a ton!

Today we continued the Marketing Plan we started last week – last Thursday I gave a lecture on Marketing which I was very passionate about (and still am, this is why I keep talking about it) and started working on a marketing strategy using basic, yet effective tools. So we worked on the Product – in our case, all of the groups are working on a Service that Žagarkalns could offer during the summer – and then brainstormed about ways to promote the services. We’ve had a brief feedback session which I called “the perfect time to complain”, but to our surprise, no one had anything to complain about. It might be because they are terrified by our “totalitarian” style of teaching, or because everyone’s just really enthusiastic about the process and the end result, I can’t be sure which.

Tomorrow, we’ll be having some theoretical knowledge about Presentation Skills, and we’ll start (and finish) the presentations of ideas, so as to have them ready for Thursday morning at 9am, when the Closing event in the Cēsu Valsts ģimnāzijas will take place. We are planning to have a panel of judges, with the Headmistress, Economics Teacher, English teacher, Zane representing Žagarkalns and perhaps a lady journalist we’ve met (more about that in the next paragraph.) The judges will select one of the 5 great ideas (I don’t envy them in the slightest for the tought job they’ll be having) and on Friday the winning group will go to Riga, for the official Closing Event.

Now I’ll tell you about Tak and Lilia’s visit to Cēsis. They came with me and Julia by train on Sunday, and stayed our host family’s house. We had a very nice dinner, tried local cheeses, Cēsu beer and homemade blackcurrant wine and an even nicer conversation about everything in the world, sharing jokes, cultural differences and plans for the future. We then watched “The Picture of Dorian Gray” together, and went to bed hoping we won’t have nightmares, to wake up for breakfast at 10 o’clock on Monday. We took our lovely walk to the bus stop (Ani, you would’ve hated it), took the bus and arrived in Cēsis, we visited the market (Lilia bought herself Wellington boots which she later on tested by walking into pretty much every puddle of water she found on the street, and there were plenty!), the local library, a little shop (they had to be introduced to the local Snickers bar), the Monument of Freedom (we practiced some Kung-Fu there, too), the Church and the Monk, the Cēsis Medieval Castle and its garden, etc. After lunch in the school cafeteria (I had a delicious chees pancake with jam and sour cream that I would have again anytime!), we went to the office of the local newspaper Druva to give an interview (the paper will come out on Thursday.) At 4pm, our lesson at school started and, as I’ve mentioned before, Tak and Lilia have actively participated and helped us with their ideas and feedback.

One last thing I want to share before I finish this “short” blog, is about our basketball experience of today. Our host mother plays in one of the local women’s amateur team, and we attend her practice today, which took place in the Cēsu Valsts ģimnāzijas Sports Hall. First, we were utterly impressed with the Sports Hall (which looks more like Moldova’s National Stadium, than a small-town school sports hall) – it is not only big, but well equipped and enables students and other locals to practice a variety of sports at a high level. Second, we got to play some basketball and throw a ball or two into the basket (ok, one). Third, we got to see an actual game between the Cēsis Women’s team and another team.

We only have less than a week before we go home and time’s running by at what seems to be the speed of light, but we are looking forward to ending this project successfully, and take with us memories of great experiences in Latvia.

take care and keep warm.

ata