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I was asked to write a short article to describe myself for the school magazine that I work at. It was actually quite an interesting task and instead of going the more creative routes of “Letters to your teenage self” or “Desert island disk”, I decided to try to fit my essence into all of approximately 350 words.
Who am I? A question which I’m sure millions of people ask themselves every day. I realised at a young age of about 9 that my first answer to that would be, “I am an Estonian”.
So, who is an Estonian? To understand the essence of being Estonian we have to first look back in history. Estonia was one of the last corners of Europe to be Christianised and this didn’t happen until the early 13th century. Even so we remain one of the least religious countries in Europe. We have been claimed to belong to many nations, occupied, deported and whittled down to 100000 people. Today there are only 1.3 million Estonian citizens, 30% of whom identify themselves as being of a different ethnic origin. So there aren’t many Estonians to begin with. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
52% of Estonia is still covered in forest, woodland and marsh but 97% of the country is covered by 4G internet. Skype was founded in cooperation with Estonians. Those who enjoy classical music may know Arvo Part. We hold wonderful Song and Dance Festivals with 25000 singers and 7500 dancers (these started in 1869 and prevailed even through Soviet occupation). We celebrate Midsummer’s Eve with night-long bonfires, where lovers go looking for fern flowers (FYI, ferns never flower) and we have our own version of Halloween 6 months later but we only celebrate the witches. Saunas are held on a regular basis and no clothes are usually worn. However, men and women tend to go in separately. Birthdays, weddings and even funerals are treated as an opportunity to gather with family and friends.
Having said all this, the average Estonian will appear completely miserable to the outside observer. Estonians have been called rude and curt but we just don’t speak if we have nothing to say. If you need something then just ask for it (the average Estonian hasn’t learned the art of courtesy and small talk). However, this does make us remarkably efficient and resourceful and if you take the time and have the patience to befriend one, you will more than likely have a friend for life.
*I take not credit for the image, unfortunately I could not find who the original photographer was.
Thoughts on Reality 