On July 12th, people from countries like Japan, Serbia, Turkey, Russia, but also France, Sweden, USA, Romania and Italy started their Estonian course that takes place on four different levels. According to Edith, who has organized Tallinn Summer School for five years, it is always interesting to see why young people would spend three weeks of their summer in Estonia. Of course, there are people who have friends or family ties in Estonia. At the same time, there are so many people who have absolutely no connection to Estonia, she adds. For her, people who come to Tallinn for the second or the third year, are very special. “To me it is like saying ‘thank you’ for the year before!” she smiles.

Tallinn Summer School spoke to some of the participants – and found out that there is a story behind of almost all the reasons to study Estonian!

21-year old Martin Berg, for example, who has just graduated from architecture in Stockholm, Sweden, reasons for learning Estonian is connected to the fact that his grandparents escaped to Sweden during the Second World War.

“My father’s parents are Estonians. My father used to speak to me in Estonian, and I used to reply in Swedish, this seemed the most natural way to do it. Then, three years ago, I decided that I want to talk myself as well,” he says using perfect Estonian!

“I do it because the courses until now have been wonderful. Through the Estonian language I find so many wonderful people! The language is so unical, so special. I do not do it in order to do something with it but because I enjoy it so much.”

Alessio Basile, 21, who is studying law in Taranto, Italy, says that on the Italian local level people do not know much about Estonia. “There is no contact,” he admits.” On the other hand, it is becoming popular in Italy to do Erasmus in Eastern Europe, many of my friends have done Erasmus in Riga – or also in Tartu.”

There are also other cases. Arminas Šileikis, 22, who is studying journalism in Vilnius, Lithunia, came to Estonia because he wanted to learn Finnish! During hitch-hiking in Estonia, locals told him that if one knows Estonian he can learn Finnish quite easily. Those people did not speak any Finnish themselves, he admits now. “But you’ll never know what you can need it for,” he adds. “For example I often go to delfi.ee to look for Estonian news and translate them with Google. I think it’s very interesting because Estonia and Lithuania often have similar problems and it is interesting to compare the news.”

“Estonia is so close, it is our neighbour, it is better to know the neighbours,” he says happily.

The young journalist-to-be is already acquinted with some Estonian literature that he knew before in Lithuanian and is planning to bring back home also in the Estonian language: “”Pokuraamat” by Edgar Valter is one of the best translations of a children’s book that I know!”. He is also happy with his Estonian teacher. “She has many interesting ways to explain the language and she knows different kinds of games. This is the way how one should learn a language quickly!”

“Ma olen poolakas. Tema on Anna, tema elab Novosibirskis, Venemaal, ” Tomasz Kotarski, 24, from Poland says when asked about why he came to Tallinn Summer School. “We just learned it today,” he laughs. Tomasz has graduated from public administration in Szczecin in Poland, and will graduate from political sciences this autumn. His thesis is about Estonian and Latvian policy towards Russian minorities.

“I did Erasmus in Estonia for one year, I became interested in the country itself, but also in the huge minority of Russian speakers. I also did an internship at the Polish embassy in Tallinn.” Doing a course at the Tallinn Summer School is Tomasz’s third time in Tallinn: “I got a scholarship, I can talk with people, improve my master thesis,” he announces gladly. “I only have one dream for the future – to come back one day again!”

We also spoke to one of the Estonian teachers, Katrin Tääker, who is teaching at the Tallinn Summer School already for the forth year in a row, and is very happy about the high number of different countries where the participants come from.

“It is fascinating, how people come here from the other end of the world, like from Thailand and Vietnam, to learn a language that is spoken by a maximum of one million people!” she says. “All the students are very motivated – most of them come here with their own money and know exactly that they want to learn the language.” At the same time it is very important that people can apply for scholarships – many of them are still students and otherwise would not be able to afford it, she adds.

According to her it is not only young people who come to learn the Estonian language, and she is still in touch with many of ther former students.

“Once I had a lady from New York, over 50, who came here all the way from America to learn Estonian – because her daughter in law was Estonian! Or else, there was a boy from Island who heard a piece by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt when he was 15. He said this changed his whole world! At the moment he is actually studying at the Music Academy in Estonia!”

So, Tallinn Summer School would like to know from You too: What is your story, your link to Estonia? Why do you learn Estonian? Please share it with us on Facebook!

//Janika Prott