I had just left Turkey behind and my head was banging. So, my dream of getting to Tallinn was finally becoming real. The pilot has just announced that our ETA was T minus 4 hours and I had mixed feelings about the landing. I had opted for a tutor to pick me up from the airport and although I was open-minded about it, I wasn't expecting anyone to show up. Call me paranoid or skeptical, but the only people that have picked me up from the airport were my family and friends. No strangers had shown up for the occasion so far.
So many thoughts trailed into my mind as I kept contemplating how my life in Tallinn would be. Tallinn is my second chance at things. At repairing and rebuilding all the messed up things that I had done in the past and well, I didn't know what to expect. I had read about how cold Estonians were. ‘Oh! They don't socialize much’ was the mantra that I had attached to them and I expected them to live up to that idea in my head.
I was still ruminating over all things Estonian and past mistakes and future lovers when I slowly drifted into sleep. I usually don't stay awake much while traveling. The thrill of air travel had left me a long time ago. I rarely even watch movies or do anything. I just eat and sleep and pray that the plane lands safely (sometimes that it doesn’t - depending on my mood). Suddenly, the pilot’s final announcement woke me up. We were landing and for the first time in a long time, I felt a rush of energy in my chest. Yaaaay! I am about to land in Estonia. I bottled all the emotion inside and tried to keep a cool demeanor, but I was so excited I could have powered a small town with the energy.
We landed and had our papers checked. I was expecting a hassle but it was smooth as a smoothie. I got my luggage and proceeded to the exit and boom! As I stepped out, I saw my name on a placard and behind the card was a pretty white lady beaming at me. Wait a minute! Estonians aren't supposed to be this nice or friendly or warm. It took a lot of courage to walk up to her and say hi.
Darn! She blew my mind when she opened her arms out for a hug. And she introduced herself as Erle. She helped me get my luggage into a cab that was waiting for us as she kept chatting with me. I hadn't had that much lively chat in a while and it didn't take me long to reciprocate it. I would later find out in the car that she was the president of Erasmus Student Network (ESN) at Tallinn University. Prrf! As a Nigerian, when you hear “president”, you don't associate them with service or picking up anyone at the airport or any other “menial” jobs. But here one was helping me get into my dormitory and asking me if I needed anything…
She explained that what she was doing was not exclusive or out of the ordinary - all ESNers, and particularly tutors, usually help out students that way and I was overjoyed. Although I was jetlagged, I could tell that we were going to get along. She helped me to my dorm and dropped her digits in case I needed to reach out. A final hug and she was back into the cab. I remember thinking to myself after she left that if that was how ESNers were, I would totally join their club and now four months in Tallinn has had me going to most of Tallinn University International Club events and meeting nice, weird, and loving people: Estonians, Africans, everyone in between. For me, stuff like this usually happens in movies and mostly in “Gnomeland” (that’s what my fantasy land is called). ESN and Tallinn University have been a dream come true and although I am not a gambling man, I can wager that you would be blown away by the love and care provided here.
I hope to see you around in school or any of our events!
Written by Moses