(An International student experience of settling in Estonia from abroad - Nigeria)
Pheeeeeeeeeeew!
It feels just like yesterday. I had just disembarked a VIKING cruise ship from Helsinki on a rather chilly night in September. I was in the company of some friends from Nigeria, and we were already worn out with the long distance journey, especially the flights.
The city before my eyes was a sprawling beauty of yellow lights and purple twilight.
The journey to the hostel was an adventure for a first timer like me. The terrains were smooth and straight, the buildings were towering edifices and the city was glowing in splendour!
Orientation was a week-long activity in Tallinn University. Torrents of information trickling in from different speakers. Each was vital, or so it seemed. I was lost at some point and had to leave at intervals to take a deep breath and wash my face. At some point we even had a robot dancing around on the floor!
Then there was the Rector’s party and reception. A great time to make acquaintances and new friends with good music from the stage, and beautiful cheerleaders were also welcoming us! In the midst of the pomp and pageantry, I cast a retrospective back track at how this journey began…
It was a hot afternoon in May, 2018, and I had just received devastating feedback regarding my masters’ application to study International Communication at the University of Helsinki, Finland. I was initially put in third position on their waiting list, but eventually I was told I didn’t make it. My life-long dream of studying for my master’s degree abroad was crumbling. While discussing this with a cousin living in Finland, he suggested that I try applying to Estonia, they have very good schools and programmes as well, he chipped in. My initial response was “what is Estonia” as I had never heard of the country prior to then. I had to check it up on Google and was excited about the interesting things I read about the country. Chief among them was that it is a small country with quite a small population, which was in sharp contrast to my home country Nigeria with over two hundred million people. I browsed through the schools and programmes available, and was pleased to see that Tallinn University had a course that was related to my academic interest – Communication Management (I had already studied Mass Communication on the Bachelors level). I put up an application for the programme, went through the interview and other requirements and Eureka, I was finally accepted! The process of getting Estonian visa was another herculean task since there is no embassy in Nigeria. I had to travel to Tel Aviv, Israel, which was on its own a beautiful adventure and my first time travelling abroad. After about 12 days, the visa was issued and three weeks later, I was Europe-Estonia bound!
There were so many expectations and things to look forward to in this new phase of life. Yet, there was this sapping nostalgia that came along with it. The thoughts of leaving behind family, friends, beautiful memories and the environment that I have become fond of all my life wasn’t an easy one. This has been an experience I had been looking forward to, but I didn’t know what else it could bring. The uncertainties of living in a new environment, an entirely different set of people, culture, language, weather, food…came with a creeping anxiety. On the flip side, the prospect of meeting new people, making new friends, expanding social connections, learning new cultures, norms and language, experiencing the feel of snowflakes were all compelling enough to dissuade any wistful feeling I was having. I was more resolved than ever, after all, it was indeed a dream come true and I was willing to make the very best of the new experience. On that fateful Monday evening, as the plane tires screeched off the tarmac of MMIA (Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos), I peeked through the curtains and the trees seemed to be running a sprint. I closed my eyes to absorb the intensity of the moment, just as the aircraft began to make a gradual ascend into the clouds, off a beautiful oblivion and into a blissful horizon.
Now I feel a tad old in this new place, although it’s just one year ago. Settling in wasn’t easy, I had already known it wasn’t going to be. A lot has happened within this past year. It is indeed a beautiful country with very good attractions. Virtually everything is technology driven which makes service delivery effective and efficient. Comparatively, the people seem quite introverted, but when you eventually become friends, you get to know their other, merrier side. The transportation system is quite interesting and well-coordinated which makes navigation through the cities seamless. The Old Town, living to its name is a melange of native architectural structures and artefacts and modern infrastructural masterpieces. Oddly, I’m yet to get on with some of the local cuisines, probably because I (and indeed most Africans) prefer very spicy dishes. There are lots of beautiful sites to explore like beaches and parks, zoos and museums.
The learning environment is serene and conductive. The programme has been challenging and interesting at the same time, because it is well structured and equally rich in content. Having left the formal academic environment for nearly a decade now, I had initially thought it would be extremely difficult to fit in again. However, the teachers are friendly and are particularly interested that all students obtain the best possible learning outcomes. Hence, most of the class works are organised in teams and groups to foster better intercultural exchange.
So far, it has been a worthwhile experience. Hopefully, I’ll add a few more Estonian language vocabularies to my lexicon, aside the most popular one – Tere!
Written by Kelechi Anusionwu