I'm currently on a "road trip" for work, preparing to teach a series of classes for a workshop in one of our microcampuses, and I'm planning on starting the workshops off with an Estonian lesson.
Do I think first-year nursing students in a rural Australian city are particularly interesting in learning Estonian? Well, I can't say I'm expecting many of them to say "Oh, good, that's what I came here for" - seeing as the workshop is on academic writing and research skills.
But I'm going to teach them two Estonian words anyway:
Jõudu tarvis
One of the things I love about Estonians is their world-weary and practical nature.
In Australia, if we see someone undertaking an endeavour, like hard physical labour or a difficult task, or running a race or competing in something that takes effort, we wish them luck.
"Good luck!"
"Thanks!"
That's the standard exchange used in these parts, and we use it often.
In Estonia, however, they tend to should out something different:
"Jõudu!" or "Jõudu tööle!"
This is often interpreted in phrasebooks as "good luck", but it actually means "strength!" or "strength for the work!"
Estonians don't wish each other luck when they're undertaking an undertaking, they wish each other enough strength to tackle the work at hand. It's a beautiful thing.
And the response?
"Jõudu tarvis" - "strength is needed."
It's a simple, shared acknowledgement that this is a job that requires strength.
So why do I want to teach this phrase to a bunch of nursing students at an academic writing workshop?
Because writing assignments is a job that requires strength. It might not look much like plowing a field, but it requires time, effort and the use of "muscles" that you don't use in quite that way for anything else. You don't need luck to do well, you need to throw your shoulder into it.
Sometimes it will feel like pushing a boulder up a hill. And if you're studying more than one subject, you'll have to juggle several boulders at the same time.
Jõudu tarvis - strength is needed.
It helps to acknowledge the hard work that assignment writing can be. It helps to understand that you can't expect it to be easy. But, like all work, you get stronger with time.
Jõudu!
