I’m here since 1st of February.
This is not my first time in Estonia, but the third.
I must admit that my previous experiences were not the best ones. I’m a brazilian, an afro descendant, so… Estonia is one of the ex-soviet cuntries and, therefore, quite isolated from the rest of the world and not used to different “things” or people – even though they are trying to “update” themselves. I was like a huge elephant walking around, and of course everybody was staring at me. One old man wanted to touch me – maybe to be sure that I wasn’t made of chocolate. Anyways… in those occasions a few articles were written about me, my experience and the case of minorities in Estonia. I gave an interview to Postimees, the biggest newspaper around, about the impressions that foreigners have when they come to Estonia. It wasn’t only me, but I was the only woman among the 7 interviewed.
You can call it “cultural chock” or whatever, I just cannot find a strong enough word or expression to represent that time.
It was also an interesting experience for me. It changed my whole view about Europe and the world. I’m not only tied to Estonia somehow, but also to Norway. I could see two Europes and compare them to my country – in limbo nowadays – which used to be part of the 3rd world countries. At that point I could see that, in some respects we are better off, in others we are in process.
Today… 11 days for the third time, I see a different Estonia. Not because I’ve changed my way of looking at it. I’m still afraid and reserved. But the looks I get are not hostile anymore, but curious. And this is very nice. It’s so much more comfortable to be seen as a mystery, instead of a threat.
Maybe it’s what I have been calling “the Obama effect“. He’s the ultimate proof that black people are human beings, that they think, that they have feelings and that they can rule the “strongest” country in the world, in the same way. For once the skin color didn’t matter, and due to the importance of the USA to the rest of the world, this north-american process was reflected in every corner, including in Estonia. That’s great!
So far, so good. I haven’t met any skinhead yet – and I hope I won’t -, and I’m feeling quite ok for now.
Daily life in Estonia 