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The Tallinn University International Club is open to all international students in Tallinn University. The main objective of the Club is to provide assistance to students and to help familiarize them with the Estonian culture. Tutors organize many different events for international students in order to make them feel welcome and introduce them to the Estonian culture. The Club has already organized a  “Pub Crawl” as well as an “Estonian Evening” and there are numerous other student events being planned for the future.

During the morning of 15 September, the IC tutors took their students on a trip to the forest of Aegviidu. You might ask - why? Estonians have a national passion for picking mushrooms and I personally know very few Estonians who have not done that. What could be better than picking your own mushrooms yourself and then cooking them in the evening?

The students had the chance to learn about mushrooms from a tutor who is studying biology and they really made the most of that opportunity. This year we had something extra- Tallinn University provided us with two iPod`s with the “Mushroom app”, so students could identify the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms. 

After a lunch-break, I suggested that we move on but one of the students said to me, “No – let’s stay for a while – it is just so beautiful here!” Many students said later that this was exactly what they needed – to escape from the city and to enjoy real nature! “It was more interesting than I expected it to be - time just flew today.”

What are some of your impressions about this event?

Madeleine: I enjoyed going to pick mushrooms and even though I didn't find a lot of mushrooms, there were berries to take home.

Stephany: I really liked it. Everybody was free to go wherever they wanted in the forest.

Did you notice or discover something interesting?

Madeleine: I discovered which kinds of mushrooms I can eat and which kinds I can’t eat.                                                                                                                                                              Stephany: Well, in The Netherlands the forests are very artificial so what I liked about the forest here is that it's real. You can actually get lost!

Have you ever gone “mushroom picking” before?

Madeleine: Yes I have, but it was a long time ago. Unfortunately, the forest in Paris is not so near if you don’t have a car. 

Stephany: No, first time!

In autumn, what do people do in your country?  What traditions do you have?

Madeleine: I come from Mexico and on the first of November, there is “La fiesta de los muertos”. It's a really important tradition and everybody goes to the cemetery in a happy mood and visits their dead family member. We eat, dance and sing in the cemetery and bring flowers. Each family builds an altar to their dead family member. The point is to show that death is a part of life, and we don't have to be sad. Also, on the third Thursday of November, we celebrate “le Beaujolais nouveau” - Beaujolais is a red wine. Each year, we celebrate the new cuvée of this wine, and it's a good occasion to go to a bar or organize a party at home to drink this Beaujolais.

Because of the lack of rain, we couldn’t find as many mushrooms as we expected, but the blueberries were still sweet. So, when the first enthusiastic students started to pick blueberries, many of the other students started to follow. After half an hour they were already talking about a pancake party and baking blueberry cakes. They even made a proposal to change the name of this event - Instead of “Mushroom picking“ it should be called “Picking”- take everything that the forest is offering (for example blueberries and cranberries!)

So in the end, we picked great weather, a fun time, plastic bags full of berries, interesting conversations, information about mushrooms, Estonian culture, fresh air and put it all into our own “Jar of Memories”.

Written and interviewed by Kelli Kiipus