15:00: The first students of the 4th
class from Kevätkummun Koulu are arriving in Nuokka. They´re all very motivated
and ready to prepare something extraordinary: Later that day they will have a
big dinner together with their parents with self-made tortillas and a fruit
salad with ice cream for dessert. But ´till then there is still a lot to do. So
let´s get started!
15:25: We split the group. One part starts
preparing the tables while the other goes shopping. We expect around 30 guests
in total, so our shopping list is huge. In the S-market the boys each take one
children´s shopping cart and we fill all of them with big amounts of cucumbers,
bananas, apples, oranges, paprika, salad, meat and onions. Merja isn´t sure if
that will be enough. Obviously getting ingredients for tortillas for 30 people
is not as easy as it may seem to be. But with more or less confidence we pay, pack
all the items in several bags and hand them over to our strong boys.
16:00: After successfully carrying our goods
back to Nuokka (using absolutely all our strength) we can start chopping the
vegetables and the fruits, as well as cooking the meat. It doesn´t take much
time until Nuokka is transformed into a truly productive kitchen. Quite quickly
we realize that the fruits, especially the juicy oranges, produce a mess on the
tables. But this doesn´t hold us back from being happy and enjoying the
preparation phase. We fill bowls with tortilla chips, prepare the juice and
label the bowls containing the different vegetable types. Everything gets ready
for the arrival of the parents!
17:22: We have roughly 40 minutes left before
the parents are going to show up. Merja splits the group into several smaller
groups with different tasks. One group welcomes the parents, another guides
them to the place where they can leave their jackets and three groups have the
task to come up with some program for the break between main meal and dessert.
18:00: The parents start to arrive! The evening
has officially begun. The students professionally fulfil their tasks and guide
the parents to the tables. As soon as all the awaited guests appeared they are welcomed
again by Merja and Minttu.
18:16: The buffet opens! Parents and children
begin to create their tortillas. Merja is meanwhile still worried if our
amounts of vegetables will be enough (Look at those bowls, does that seem to be
too little? I mean honestly…). On the tables conversations spread out and
everyone is happily eating their delicious creations. Apparently those
creations are so well-tasting, that nearly nobody can resist making him- or
herself a second, if not third tortilla. Our guests are having a good time and
we are happy about our success.
19:04: We´re having a break. Everyone has eaten
his/her tortillas and is satisfied for now (And little surprisingly we did have more than enough ingredients).
It´s now time for the program between main dish and dessert. The girls give off
a little theatre performance, the boys are having a quiz with some volunteering
candidates from the audience and different groups of parents have to find
specific number cards hidden in Nuokka.
19:24: The break is over and we start serving
the dessert. Vanilla ice cream and fruit salad are delighting the guests as
well as the children. The ice cream is the obvious favourite among the
youngsters. After the first parents start to leave, the overall atmosphere gets
calmer.
19:44: Merja ends the evening by thanking
everyone for coming and wishes our guests a nice evening. The tables are
getting emptier. We receive help by some strong boys to rearrange the tables to
their original position. Once that is done we close the door, conclude the
evening with cleaning up and are happy about the successful outcome.
Thanks to everyone who participated!
Text & Pictures: Tim Winkler (European voluntary Service)