Foreign student: Estonian is difficult, but English and Russian help out – Generation P
In August 2021, Kirill moved from Ukraine to Estonia to study at Tallinn University at the Faculty of Audiovisual Media (directing). The young man entered in the spring of 2020, but the coronavirus interfered with his plans, which made it impossible to cross the Estonian situation when an epidemiological situation arose.
The idea to study here did not come to Kirill’s mind right away. He is considering options for the development of events in other European countries, but chose Estonia. “I believe that by European standards, Estonia is the leader in low price and quality of education,” Kirill explains.
He likes to study: “Estonia has a completely different education system. A completely different attitude towards punishers. This was a pleasant surprise. The teachers are always hard on you. I would even say that during your studies they will become your friends. They are kind, gentle and pleasant in communication.
At the faculty of directing, more emphasis is placed on practice. Kirill recalls that on the first day of observation, he was immediately given a television camera and told to go filming. During the first six months of study, he had already managed to participate in major projects and was able to feel what it is like to work in the film industry. “Despite the fact that Estonia is a small country, there are much more opportunities here for the younger generation,” he says.
When asked if the Estonian language was difficult for him, Kirill answered briefly: “Yes.” However, he noted that at the moment there is no feeling in communication, since most of the townspeople speak English and Russian: “I was initially set up that Estonian is difficult. Because of this, from the very beginning I began to teach him without much visitation. Despite this, he passed the exam. Kirill said that his Estonian-speaking classmates helped the newcomers a lot in the study of the state language and even groups to prepare for the exam.
Together with Kirill, many foreign students study at Tallinn University. For example, from Nigeria, Germany, Italy, France, China, America, Latvia, Finland and even from Australia.
According to the young man, the study schedule is quite free, and events organized by students are often held at Tallinn University. In his free time, Kirill goes to training and meets with friends.
“It’s pretty cold in Estonia and I like that. I don’t know why, but after the move, I immediately wanted to start hardening, and my classmate suggested that we go to the sea and see if we were ready for the Estonian frosts. So we started to get up at 6:00 and before classes at the universities we went to temper ourselves at sea. Now the frosts are not terrible for me, ”Kirill is sure.
The young man fell in love with Estonia for its silence, compactness, safety and cleanliness. Kirill has already managed to visit the island of Aegna and the main student city of the country – Tartu. According to Kirill, in the near future he will come to other islands, to the protected area and the Rummu quarry.
“I left my family, friends and hobbies and moved here. When I was going to Estonia, I didn’t know what to expect. Of course, my parents were very worried, but I flew with attracting attention. I got the idea to study in Estonia back in the spring of 2020, but, unfortunately, I could not fly away due to my height. The whole next year I thought every day that I need to survive only a year, and I will end up in Estonia. So there was no fear at all. There was only an incredible desire to quickly find here,” says Kirill.
“My advice to anyone who wants to study abroad is not to be afraid, not to miss opportunities and, most importantly, to study and not just get in class,” he added.
You are in the Generation P section. This is a platform on the Rus.Postimees portal where young journalists and graduates of the Summer and Autumn School of Journalism SSE Riga and Rus.Postimees can publish their materials.