Estonia - Swimming in the Midst of Intercultural Currents

Tallinn, a windy day of January.

 

Is it never not windy here? I wonder. How typical for the Baltic weather. I still remember the first day that I arrived in the city. It was very cold for someone who got used to the tropical Vietnamese sun like me.

Before coming here, I had the preconception that Estonians are like their weather, cold and endurant. To be honest, before engaging in Labour project, I didn't have much knowledge about Estonia; except they are in the North of Europe and used to be a Soviet country. Then imagine my surprise to see a delivery robot roaming the street, to receive the sweet smiles with excellent level of English when I ask the school staff for help. So I was excited to know more.

One of the things I am grateful for is that I had a chance to learn about the culture from various angles. I participated in different classes in Tallinn University where I engaged with teachers and students about different topics about Estonian society. Besides observation from daily passing-bys, I looked for more information by going to museums (how conveniently Estonia offers national museum cards so we decided for our quota to go to one museum per week!), read articles and books about Estonia (also fortunately with my university card), visited local schools, had discussions with locals and foreigners staying in the country for a long time, even emerged in the Estonian lifestyle while living in an Estonian home. 

On the one hand, what I learnt is that it is important for ourselves to be adaptive and to integrate in the globalization process, but also to hold firm our national identity during this constant transition. The country is changing year by year. When working on a LIFE course about reimagining Tallinn, I was astonished to learn that education has pushed digitization at schools since 1996. The percentage of internet utilization jumped up to 91.4% in 2016 from 28.6% in 2000 [1]. At Tallinn University, the teachers from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, even nearly on the other side of the globe, are welcomed to teach and bring along knowledge and teaching methods from all over to Estonia. Tallinn airport and museums are significant representatives in efforts for innovations in inclusivity and sustainability while being close to your roots. 

The screen post from Estonian Maritime Museum in the street to promote knowledge about marine industries - one of their national pride.

On the other hand, I reflected and questioned my standing amidst this intercultural current. From stepping into an environment without not having much knowledge about it, I’m motivated to learn, with the help of my undefeated curiosity. Not only from researching information, I also learnt by collaborating with people from different backgrounds in different projects. Classes in Tallinn University offer many hands-on experiences where communication and teamwork is highly valued. In the KOI7068.FK Internationalization, Multiculturalism and the Challenges for Business Management class led by Professor Anastassia Zabrodskaja, different lessons and assignments were organized to promote intercultural interaction: we had cultural case studies, guest speakers with different backgrounds and specialities, multinationality groups to work on different projects - in which I had a chance to ask questions and received multi angled views. As for the example with Estonians, I learnt that they like their space, so they may seem distant at first. But in reality, whenever I dropped something or had some difficulties in the street and I asked them, they would help, even if it was out of their way. 

Now standing in the airport and writing while waiting for my plane, I will miss this country and really appreciate the experience being here. I express my love disguised as this sharing, with the hope a slide of my perspective can be helpful for any future thoughts of coming here to experience. Ah yes, and I will also miss the sound of its language too - as I usually called “sound like bird-chirping and water dropping onto a wood log”. 

Goodbye Estonia and see you again!

—

[1] Roonemaa M. (2017) Global lessons from Estonia’s tech-savvy government. The UNESCO Courier. Retrieved from https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/global-lessons-estonias-tech-savvy-government on 14/1/2025.