Pavediena drukājamā versija

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 08.04.2005 15:21

Ok, so, I know a topic about this has been opened in one of the Latvian forums. I've talked to Nuluk, he said there hasn't been much enthusiasm, but he suggested opening a thread here, just to see if I can get more opinions/suggestions/applications ().

The information is here --> http://tolkien.balt.net/viewtopic.php?t=485

Briefly, the Estonian Tolkien Society has invited other Baltic States' tolkienists to join them in their summer gathering in August. What's on the menu? Basically getting to know each other, expand international relationships, taking part in some events, for example a several-day Tolkien LARPG. I am doing my best to collect at least some people to come to Estonia. So far there are four Lithuanians (though, of course, as usual no one knows "for sure". But I am definitely willing to go! Saving up, already A tornado or an Baltic tsunami could stop me, of course ), there might be more. Would there be at least one Latvian coming? Even if you are not planning to come, please, just come and tell that you can't / don't want to etc. It's better than not being sure whether people do read your messages.

Iesūtīja: Farliner ; laiks: 08.04.2005 15:24

Looks interesting, certainly. I would be interessed in coming, but that depends on several things - work scheadule and timetable on several other events I am planing to attend to.

Iesūtīja: Burunduks ; laiks: 08.04.2005 15:31

With genuine pleasure I wud like to go but I'm only 16 years old :blush2: . So without my parents or other friends I cant go. But I wish TO GO SO MUCH..........



P.S.
Sory for my English

Iesūtīja: Adriana ; laiks: 08.04.2005 16:50

Wow! This is really a good idea and I suppose I would love to take a part in (unless I am not the only one from Latvia which, I am sure, I won’t be)
and pictures from http://www.hot.ee/arthedain/pages/14-aug%2704_kell_16-48-25.htm are fantstic!!! It seems like you have done a great job and been prepared very well so it would be even more interesting for me to participate ..

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 09.04.2005 00:25

Well, that's the Estonians. Personally I am fascinated by their organization. If I go to Estonia, I'll see how it works IRL.

Nice to see people saying that they like the idea. I'll keep on dropping by!

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 11.04.2005 14:49

I don't get it. Who cares whether you're 10, 20 or 30. You can still go, there is no age limit- right? Anyway, yeah, I'm going on a roadtrip this year- Lithuania- Latvia- Estonia- Finland. So, see you whenever. I'm going for deffo.

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 11.04.2005 17:25

Great!

About ages: no, there's no age limit, but simply some people's parents are not willing to let their children travel alone with some strangers (we are strangers - believe me, telling your parents that "they are tolkienists so it means they are cool and trustworthy" [boasting ] doesn't work all the time ) Good for me - I'm a free person already..

So, if you want details, feel free to drop me a message, for example here or at ettelie at gmail dot com.

Cheers!

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 05.06.2005 02:37

I pm'ed you a couple of days ago- no answer...

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 05.06.2005 11:45

Um, yes, I saw your message, but actually my Latvian is far from perfect Practically non-existant, that is... I would answer you if you pm'ed me again in English Sorry for the confusion.

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 20.06.2005 12:58

OK... What I asked was where exactly in Estonia is this meeting taking place? ( I'm sorry if you've already written this information somewhere and I've missed it )

Iesūtīja: Farliner ; laiks: 20.06.2005 14:00

Yes, it would be nice to know where will it happen (prefferably with driving direction.)

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 20.06.2005 14:04

Well, I need to know really soon, because I need to set a route for my Baltic States trip before the 2nd July. Otherwise I can't go.

Or maybe this meeting in Estonia is happening more than once and in different places...?

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 21.06.2005 14:33

The place is here: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&searchtype=address&country=EE&addtohistory=&city=kassinurme I don't remember the exact dates now (should be somewhere in the first post, huh? Will check it. EDIT: 18-21 August). It seems that there will be at least 2 lithuanians going to this event, maybe 3. We will probably reach the site on 18th or 19th August. We'll be passing through Riga, most probably, and we'll be heading for Tallinn. There is a train from Tallinn to Tartu that passes Kassinurme. And there's a bus then from Kassinurme. Those directions of ours are only preliminary and I still haven't contacted the Estonians for advice. Though the busses really exist - this was checked by another Estonian friend of mine

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 22.06.2005 12:54

I need to know when excatly you'll be going through Riga, so I can join you, to save all the other trouble of getting to Tartu, Tallinn etc.

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 26.06.2005 16:50

OK, I'll see what I can find out asap and will let you know.

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 05.07.2005 16:38

News: we will probably board the bus in Vilnius on 18th August at 22:00. This buss passes through Riga at 02:40, August 19th (obviously) (Bus Station, Praga str. 1). Now there is this slight possibility that we will leave on the 17th instead, however, I should be able to know it in a few days (hopefully... I'm bad at organizing things! And it is difficult to catch some people). There will be 3 of us, possibly 4, but 4 is unlikely. So, if you are willing to go, better write me an email at ettelie at gmail dot com. We can then discuss things like tents, equipment etc. Please note that Thursday and Friday on the gathering will be festival (workshops, seminars etc.) days while Saturday and Sunday will be LARP only.

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 20.07.2005 17:25

Tell us about the precise date a.s.a.p., please.

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 22.07.2005 22:31

Oops, sorry, I though I've written that already. I was absent for a couple of weeks, but it seems we've set the date. We leave on 17th August, Wednesday, at 22:00. All the other times are as written above except that we arrive in Tallinn on the 18th and will reach the gathering place in the afternoon. We'll have some 5 hours to look around Tallinn.

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 24.07.2005 14:14

Oh, and please tell me whether you are coming as soon as possible. I have to pass this information over to the estonians. It is also important if you want to participate in the LARP game, roles have to be assigned to you in advance.

Iesūtīja: Inx ; laiks: 24.07.2005 15:13

Oh we ARE coming definately!!!
Everything is being planned as we speak here. At least, it is on our schedules to participate in this event, especially the LARP

Details on our participation (such as our roles in LARP) will be available a bit later, because we still havent made up our mind...

Iesūtīja: Miss Digory ; laiks: 28.07.2005 17:35

I'm coming, if you want me to.

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 29.07.2005 23:18

Great! I'm looking forward to meeting you We are coming a bit earlier than you (it seems so), so we will meet in the LARPG. We still haven't started preparing for the game itself, because we still don't have the details about our characters. But we're going to be travelling actors

Iesūtīja: Starlin ; laiks: 29.08.2005 21:56

Allrighy, time to write something (Erasmus has prompted me to ). I've already poured out my impressions of the Estonian event in Lithuanian and I've made an alpha-English-version of the article. Hopefully some day it'll make it to our website, but meanwhile, I present you with this alpha - mind it, draft - version which is nevertheless my sincere account of what happened... Enjoy

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There is no one and only reason why we actually went to the Summer Festival of the Estonian Tolkien Society. Personally, I was keen on seeing how tolkienists in another country live, what they look like and what they do. Moreover, it was one of those summer adventures: going who knows where to visit people you hardly know and many of whom, whatever they say before you meet them, may not speak a language you understand... Finally, of course, I was itching to see what would happen when tolkienists from the three Baltic states gather in one place, probably for the first time ever: for the Latvians eventually decided to come. Now when I am writing this three days after the event ended, I feel like I have dreamt something strange and unlike everything else – and for this I definitely have to thank each and every person whom I – we – have met and talked to and who made those days unforgettable!

On the face of it, we were not completely unaware of where we were going: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05109.jpg of the Estonian Tolkien Socety Keskmaa Ordu had told us about tolkienism in Estonia before, and we knew more or less what we would be doing when we reached the venue, we had even seen photos of previous events in Estonia, and, for my part, I had been talking to some of the Estonians via the Internet. However, „real“ is always different from „virtual“, and we weren‘t sure of what we would see. Mart invited us to the festival in March. By the end of July we had figured out that there would be four of us going: me, Exon, Woodberry and Laiqua. We decided to attend the festival from the beginning till the end, though the initial idea was to go to the LARP game only.

So we left on 17th August, at 10 PM, and reached Tallinn at 8 AM next morning. We were met by my tolkienist friend who showed us around the capital of Estonia, and then we caught the Tartu train to Jõgeva. Unexpectedly, while we were looking for a place to sit, http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05050.jpg rose and asked me in English: ‚Are you going to Kassinurme?‘ ‚Yea, we are!‘ – I replied. We learned that this guy – now I know that his nickname is Docsf – was also heading the same way. I guess he recognized us because of the http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ettelie/Lithuanians_in_larp.jpg, a link to which I had posted on the Keskmaa forums. In Jõgeva, Mart was waiting for us, and Mati was also there. We reached Kassinurme safe and sound, even though a bit tired (going by bus through the night is a bit uncomfortable, you know...).

The festival venue truly impressed us. Neat and tidy, it fascinated us by its atmosphere and calmness as well as its remarkable suitability for a tolkienian event. The fortress, which we had seen in the photos before, was more than any LARPer would wish, not to talk about us, who are more tolkienists than gamers... No sooner had we managed to put up our tent somehow, than we were led to the opening seminar of the festival. Our interpreter Die did her best to convey the essence of the speeches to us. One of the things that we will remember for the rest of our lives is that in Estonian folklore diseases and plagues come from where Latvia and Lithuania is. Well, we can reassure you: this time we didn‘t bring anything infectious with us! The second speaker, Mati, spoke about Middle-earth re-enactment. I was especially interested in what he had to say about Keskmaa Ordu and it being a small Middle-earth in itself. Afterwards I found myself wondering to what extent re-enactment was part of the usual activities of the Estonian Society and, in general, where re-enactment ends and escapism in negative sense starts... something in connection with our previous discussions in the Lithuanian forums, actually, not very relevant here, but still.

We all agreed that the atmosphere of the festival was enhanced because of the people who wore costumes from the very beginning till the very end. We did not expect this to be so, and we were pleasantly surprised. Also, even though finding dishes to suit the Middle-earthish style, as Mati had warned us beforehand, posed some problems to us and we brought only what we could find, this very idea is quite a remarkable one, if one takes into consderation that, due to this, not only do you look part of something medievalish / fantasy-like, but you also feel like part of it. And the feeling is overwhelming... As for the overall impression of the seminar, I thought that everyone was listening attentively (even though it was clear that not everybody was actually interested in the topic). Funny, but this could be a good example for some of our younger tolkienists who imagine that lectures et cetera can only be interesting to snobish purists like me!

After the seminar we were instructed in the art of making Estonian LARP weapons. Yes, we have to admit that we were quite amused at the lightness of the swords, not to mention that they were poorly balanced (I tried to balance mine properly yesterday, though I see now that it will require bigger weight than I had thought). The fighting style is of course also different from that of Latvia and Lithuania. The Estonians surely are not afraid to hit hard, whereas if one did this with a Lithuanian or a Latvian LARPing weapon, it would result in serious injuries. In this respect, the Estonian weapons are better. However, one sometimes longs for the closer-to-the-truth weight that wooden weapons have.

Dinner time came. We http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05072.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05073.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05055.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05056.jpg, for by then we had understood this would help us to become part of what was going around us. The tea was superb that evening! Afterwards, the disco started – joking, of course, for we were dancing Estonian dances (as far as I understood). Not that they would be much different from what we have in Lithuania... It was fun trying to catch the steps when everything was being explained in Estonian! Not to speak about the lyrics, which we, of course, were highly unlikely to memorize.

While we girls were dancing, Laiqua was leading serious conversations with the Estonian tolkienists. He got acquainted with Bernard, who happened to have heard about BBRI – the Bolshaya Baltiiskaja Rolevaja Igra, about which I had some questions to the Estonians. Why? Well, personally I have never been to BBRI, though I am planning to go to the BBRI 4 next year, if I am able to. But I know that even though this is supposed to be the game of all three Baltic States, so far only Latvians and Lithuanians have been participating. Lithuanians said that they had sent an invitation to Estonia before BBRI 1 but there was no serious response. On Thursday evening Bernard said he remembered that invitation. Well, not delving too deep into detail, we got the impression that for larger clubs of Estonia, such as the one Bernard told us about, BBRI is of minor importance. However, it would be nice if at least once Estonia also had someone participating in this game – we‘ll see what future brings us...

Next day we dressed up in our role-playing costumes, or at least in parts of them, and shooted off to the courses. Laiqua and Woodberry accidentally switched places with Exon and went to her Guerilla course, so Exon had to go on a Ranger course instead. I, meanwhile, went to learn some First Aid. It was both useful and fun! We learned how to do a http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05068.jpg, how to http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05058.jpg and http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05060.jpg a wounded person (oh dear, poor is http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05061.jpg who had to act the wounded...).

After lunch, I went to another course. Laiqua and Wood stayed somewhere in the woods (poor creatures, missed the lunch!), Exon continued with the Rangers after eating. My second course was „Herbs and how to use them“. I have to confess I chose it because I am interested in herbs a bit but I know almost nothing and I never get down to learning more. So this course was a great opportunity for me to pick up some useful knowledge. Indeed, the fact that even now I remember some of the useful (or poisonous!) herbs we‘ve been shown, is enough to prove that something has remained in my head! Thanks to the course leader for the material that she gave us, I have it now on my shelf and look up a herb or two from time to time.

The third course was not so much of a course, rather a couple of hours of playing music in a way it is rarely played nowadays. I‘ve been playing flute for some 11 years and I‘ve been connected with music ever since I was a toddler, but playing for your own pleasure, like in the old good times when whole families used to gather together merely for playing, is a rare joy. Thanks for the wonderful lady who led the course, the songs were great! By the way, talking about songs, we Lithuanians were joking after the festival that Estonians must have learned our Lithuanian folk song repertoire by heart. In fact, we sing many of those songs in our tolkienian gatherings, and they always liven up the atmosphere. In the roleplaying game they stood for Rhûnic folk songs.

We put on the rest of our costumes after the dinner and prepared for the game. A little bit about our a priori impressions of the game - there were several things which seemed a bit weird. First of all, all we knew for a long time was the setting of the game. It was clear that this would be a more social game, with less action than in most Lithuanian games. But there were no rules... at least no rules in English. Those were posted only like 24 hours before we had to depart, so I printed them out and we read them on our way to Kassinurme. Luckily, they were not too diffcult to understand. Another strange thing was that our roles were assigned to us. I had only participated in 4 LARPs before this game in Estonia, but from what I know about LARPG in Lithuania, here it is the players who chose their characters and write legends for them, not the game masters. Of course there may be general guidelines, such as „we need one inn-keeper, two city guards etc.“, but the players decide on the name, biography and all the other relevant things. Therefore this was a kind of a game we had not tried before. We were supposed to be travelling actors from Rhûn (I had told Mart that something of that sort would suit us). It was really convenient for us because we could speak our own language and use English as Westron. Also, we could employ Lithuanian folk songs as Rhûnic songs! And, we could act a bit weird – we were artists after all!

As actors, we had to have a play or two, of course. Exon had had one Japanese comic play in mind, and that‘s the one we showed on Saturday afternoon. It was about a naive http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05097.jpg and his tricksy beloved lady. This lady pretends to be crying because the warrior has come to say farewell to her, but she actually wets her face with water when he‘s not looking. The warrior‘s servant notices this and swaps the bowl of water to a bowl full of mud. So the lady puts the dirt over her face and the warrior is convinced that she does not really love him. But then the lady secretely puts dirt on his face, too, and accuses the servant of giving an evil mud-showing mirror. We also prepared a play about Elendil – this one was a serious one, and yes, we crammed our lines properly ! Our aim, as given in the role assigned to Exon, was to perform for the King. We had already had the things arranged, but then there came an attack from Rhudaur and Annuminas and someone else, and everybody had to hide in http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Starlin_Elvea/Estija%202005%2008%2017%20-%2022/Estija05117.jpg. It was getting dark... I was weaponless, for I had agreed to lend my freshly-made sword to another player. We sang songs – hey, the Estonian bard was The Bard indeed! But then I actually got a weapon and when the battle began I fought, as well as I could (considering my almost non-existant fighting skills ). And I died, just as everyone else. End of story, end of game. But let the out-of-game party begin! The music on Saturday evening was more than anyone could wish...

We packed our things on Sunday and got ready to leave. We went to Jõgeva on foot and caught a bus to Tallinn. Then we spent several hours in Tallinn again and returned to Vilnius in the early morning on Monday. We were tired, sleepy, dirty and so on and so forth, but happy! And, of course, we were sharing our experiences all the way home. Five words of what was? I‘m glad I went there. I miss everyone already, and I now know that it was one the most adventurous things that happened to me this summer. Therefore I thank everyone who made this possible, thanks for inviting and accepting us warmly! If my Latvian has improved at least a bit during the last few months, I guess that this phrase is suitable for the ending of my article: Lai dzīva draudzība! So be it – and nothing more needs to be said.

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P.S. Thanks to Erasmus for telling me about the spelling of that phrase