Back to Belly Dance

I skipped the previous two lessons of belly dance, because I was away from Tallinn and therefore I couldn't go.
Monday was pretty crazy: we were moving at super speed and doing lots of things that I didn't know how to do. At some points, I had absolutely no clue how it could even be possible to move your hips like that.
I'm going to try to keep going more regularly now, and hopefully I won't feel as lost anymore.
I think I should also mention that I do see some improvement in myself. I feel like I've gotten a lot better at the hand movements, which is supposed to be the hardest thing because it takes the longest to learn. 

Animal Shelter: Last Day

Today was my last day the animal shelter - or at least for now it was. I definitely want to come again; perhaps during my next vacation.
When I arrived there were two dogs in the play area and I was asked to put them away in their cages. It was easier than I expected (considering the fact that one of them was Mäx, the same dog who managed to get lose yesterday). Then I took Rommi for a walk. The people who work at the animal shelter warned me that he likes to jump on people, and indeed he did. However, once we got outside of the gate of the animal shelter he behaved like a perfect dog and I really enjoyed walking with him. When we got back, I put him in his cage.
Then I put Diana and Härma in the play area and was with them for a bit. It was so nice to spend time with them both. At one point I went to sit on the roof of one of the dog houses and then both of the dogs jumped onto it and I got to pet them and cuddle with them.
Diana is a really calm dog and she is a bit shy, so I decided to take her for a walk. It was really nice to walk with her because she didn't pull on the leash and she liked to stop and sniff around.
When I got back I put Diana back into her cage and went to the play with Härma and Tuusja. Tuusja was pretty crazy, but they both like to play fetch so I played with them for a while.
I put Härma and Tuusja back into their cages and went to see the kittens. When my mom arrived, she brought some treats so we walked around and gave out treats to the dogs and I introduced them all to her.
Oh! I also went to see the puppy today. The puppy is in a cage with another small dog that was found somewhere. The poor little dog was trembling so I was trying to comfort it. The puppy was adorable and it almost fell asleep in my lap.
I was so sad that today was my last day, but I'll be sure to go again as soon as possible!!

Animal Shelter: Doggies and Kitties

I went to the animal shelter again today and it was just as fun as yesterday. When I got there, two dogs were already in the play pen so I went to play with them. One of the dogs was Härma, the same one that I had taken for a walk the other day. It was so fun to play fetch with the dogs again. Then I decided to take the other dog, Tuusja, for a walk. She was pretty strong and was pulling on the leash the whole time we walked. When I got back, I played with them some more. Then I went for a walk around the shelter to say hi to all the dogs. Then I put Härma and Tuusja back in their cages and decided to take Mäx to the play pen. Mäx was a bit bigger than the other two dogs and the people who work at the animal shelter warned be that Mäx escapes very often. I was really really careful when taking him out of his cage, but somehow he still managed to open his leash and run off. Luckily he ran into the play pen, so nothing terrible happened, but for a second I was really scared cause I thought I was going to get into trouble. I played with Mäx for a little bit, but then I got tired and I took him back to his cage. Surprisingly, he didn't pull on the leash very much. As I was tired, I decided to go see the kittens. I played with the same kitten that I saw yesterday, because the kitten was really cute and soft and it really wanted me to pet it. Some of the kittens were trembling and quite shaky because the vet was visiting the shelter today and one of the workers told me that it was because they were anaesthetised. Before I left I also took a box of treats and gave it out to all the dogs at the animal shelter and I also went to see the puppy at the animal shelter. I had a lot of fun and I'm glad I took some time to go help out! 

Pärnu Animal Shelter

I went to the animal shelter in Pärnu today to help out with the dogs and cats. When I first got there, I got the impression that they didn't actually want or need anyone's help. As soon as I arrived and asked how I could help, one of the ladies said that  I couldn't do any of the "official" things, because they can't let "just anyone" do that kind of stuff. However, then there was another girl who told me that I could walk the dogs and play with them and that I could also go see the kittens and cats.
So, because I'm not 18, my mom had to give them her signature saying that she allows me to be with the animals and that she is aware of the dangers.
Then one of the girls showed me all the dogs and then showed me one that I should take for a walk. The dog that I took for a walk was called Härma. We went to walk in the forest. It was so nice and quiet; I really enjoyed exploring the forest with the dog. It was a bit different walking this dog than it is when I walk my dog, because this dog wasn't really trained so it pulled on the leash a lot.
When we got back I took the dog to the play area and played fetch with him. It was so cool because Härma was really good at running after the ball and then bringing it  back to me.
After we got tired of playing, I took Härma back to his cage. Then I went to see the kittens. They were so so so so adorable. There was one kitten who was so nice and friendly and I just sat there petting it for half an hour. I wish I could have taken it home!!
I'm planning on going again tomorrow :)

Soup Kitchen Sundays

This Sunday at the soup kitchen was absolutely fantastic! I had so much fun! I was serving soup again (pouring it into bowls so the others could serve it to the homeless people). This time I was serving the soup with the same girl that I served soup with the first time I went. She's so nice and the whole time we were talking and laughing.. It was really great!
We almost ran out of soup! During the last hour we had to tell people that they couldn't give out refills and we had to give smaller portions, because we had very little soup left. However, when we were closing, we still ended up having some soup left over. It's always really hard to decide wether we can give out refills, because you never know how many more people are going to come.
I really love the soup kitchen, because all the volunteers that come to help out are really nice. I also like it, because most of them aren't people from my school, so then I get a chance to make new friends. The people there are from different countries as well. For example, this time there was a guy from Venezuela, so I got to speak Spanish with him! It was awesome!!

Belly dance again :)

I didn't go to belly dance on Monday, because I had a test on Tuesday, and when I went to belly dance on Wednesday, I actually felt glad that I didn't go. I felt refreshed and I felt like I was doing better with all the routines.

We did our usual warm up, which most of us have pretty much memorised. We also did an exercise that we usually do, but this time we did it for longer and it was a lot more intense for my muscles. 

Then we practiced the belly roll again (for the second time). Even though I felt like I did better than the first time we tried it, what I was doing looked nothing like a belly roll. It's ok, I just have to keep practising!

Towards the end of class we also practiced a routine. They had started learning it on Monday, so some of the people already knew the beginning. I'm glad that we are getting good enough to do routines, rather than just learn moves. 

Anyways, I really really like belly dance and I'm so happy that I decided to try it out!

Belly dance! Yay!!

Today's class was so much fun! I was feeling tired again before the class started, but after the warm up I already felt much better. We learned new moves today, but the good thing is that most of the new moves are related to ones that we've already learned.
Another new thing that we did today was dance in circle formation. At first it was really weird, because I am used to seeing myself in the mirror when I dance, but in the end it turned out to be very fun.
Also, in today's class the teacher was telling us about arabic, and then after class I asked her if she has studied arabic. She said no, but I told her that I lived in Libya for a year and half, and that my parents learned a little bit of arabic. She thought it was really cool!
Everyone in the class seemed to be in a pretty good mood today, me included!

Exhausting Monday & Belly dance

Monday is my longest school day and today I had two tests on top of the super long school day, so by the time I got to belly dance today I was exhausted.
My hands got so tired super fast and started hurting and I was really tense and I kept getting annoyed with myself. I wasn't really in a bad mood or anything, but I wasn't in a very good mood for belly dance either.
We practiced moves we've already learned before as well as tried out some new ones. I don't know how much better I'm getting, but I'm trying my hardest to improve. The thing that upsets me most is that I don't have enough time to practice at home, but then again I guess it's ok because I'm learning belly dance for myself and just for fun.
I think that belly dance in general is developing my creative skills, because it is a very creative dance style. Also, it is keeping me active; for example, today's warm up was pretty strenuous and required quite a lot of strength and trained my muscles a lot. 

What's soup?

This Sunday at the soup kitchen with Serve the City was less fun than last Sunday in my opinion. I think it is partly because I was going through some personal issues that were affecting my mood, but in the end the soup kitchen kind of helped lift my mood. I think that last time it may have also been more fun, because it was my first time so it was super exciting.
In the morning when I got there I was quite tired and not in the mood for "soup kitchening", but then as I started working I decided that I didn't want to mope and tried to cheer up. I worked in the kitchen again this time, serving soup into the bowls. I had a different partner this time to help me out. If I'm honest, I preferred my other partner because we talked more.
This time the music that was playing was really cheerful and got a lot of people dancing around a bit while they were serving the soup. The most memorable thing from this Sunday was one of the homeless people who came to eat at the soup kitchen. He had a really long beard and a groggy voice. He ate one and half bowls of soup (the portion that everyone is allowed to have) and then he sat at his table for another hour demanding for more soup (in a funny way) and reading everyone's names off their aprons and calling them by their names. He gave me a new name and started calling me Katarina-Rosalie, which I found absolutely hilarious.
In conclusion, I had fun at the soup kitchen again and I hope I can go again next Sunday!

Belly dance: Asking questions

Every time before belly dance I start feeling like I don't want to go at all and would much rather stay at home and rest, but then after my belly dance class I always feel really good and I mostly enjoy myself very much!

In today's class we learned a few new things. I didn't really understand some of the moves, but I asked a lot of questions today. I've decided that if I want to improve then I have to be brave and ask the teacher when I don't understand how the move is done. 

Sometimes I don't really want to ask, because it's a bit embarrassing when you don't understand how to do the move. However, I always try to remind myself that I might not be the only one who doesn't understand and others may also benefit if I ask. Also, I don't want to get on the teacher's nerves by asking too many questions. 

Today I was feeling really brave and I asked the teacher so many times!! I think it really helped me when I asked her, and I'm going to keep trying to be brave.

I haven't really well with practising belly dance at home. I don't really have any time for it, but I will keep trying to make time!!