Just a few years ago, while researching his family history, Ivan Slepnjov discovered that his ancestral roots lead him to the first Republic of Estonia. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, an Estonian citizen by birth tells us his story about returning to his roots and studying the Estonian language.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself, please. Who are you and how did you end up in Estonia?
My name is Ivan, I am 35 years old and I ended up in Estonia in a very unusual way, in my opinion - a long search for my ancestors led me to post-revolutionary Estonia, the first Estonian Republic. I only found out a few years ago - there were no documents or necessary information. According to Estonian laws, I am an Estonian citizen by birth. So I found a second homeland that I had never known. In the summer of 2022, I visited Estonia for the first time, in Tallinn - it was a familiarization trip that left a lot of impressions and which greatly influenced my decision to move. A few months later, the development of events accelerated and I made the final decision, I am not afraid of this word, about a new life.
2. What do you like about Estonia?
In my opinion, Estonia has a calm, moderate pace of life. It is a very small, compact country - a big plus for someone who likes to take a walk sometimes. Lots of nature. In fact, all these are forests, fields, meadows, lakes. Reminds me of the village from my childhood. I liked the capital, Tallinn, right away and it reminded me of the city where I was born and lived - St. Petersburg. Similar weather, similar old cozy neighborhoods, greenery and modern buildings. Only elusively different, interesting in its own way. For me, the question of what I like about Estonia is more a question of feelings and sensations.
3. Why did you decide to learn Estonian?
The decision to learn the language came to me as self-evident. Firstly, it is respect for the society in which you live. Maybe you will not be able to learn it well or it will be very difficult. But you make an effort, which means you take a step towards Estonian-speaking people - people always appreciate it and in return also become closer to you. Secondly, learning Estonian is good for my and opportunities. The key to life is language. In Estonia, it is the Estonian language. Through it you will find everything else. Thirdly, for me it is as a sports interest and challenge. I meet a lot of Estonian-speaking people who speak Russian. If they can learn Russian, why can't I learn Estonian? Fourthly, it's just natural curiosity.
4. What difficulties did you encounter in learning the language? Were there moments when you wanted to give up and abandon learning the language? How did you overcome the difficulties?
There were and still are many difficulties. The Estonian language is very different from Russian, there are difficult sounds and "strange" constructions for a Russian-speaking person. At the beginning, the lack of masculine/feminine gender can also be confusing. A large number of cases, peculiarities in the use of verbs, an almost complete lack of prepositions in the classical sense. In addition, of course, you need time, good teachers, an Estonian-speaking environment. Time is probably the most difficult question for everyone. But if you dig hard enough, everyone can find it. It was probably a little easier for me - after solving the initial everyday problems, finding housing and work - there was time to learn the language. I chose Narva as my initial place of residence - the Narva House of Estonian Language is located here and housing prices are low, which was important - after all, you never know how things will go. The key thing in my studies was of course the Estonian Language House, I took my first steps there. I would like to highlight the Estonian language teachers I met. A teacher is half the success. There are people working there who are real teachers with a capital "T" - I would like to name them separately - Julia, Pille, Inga, Martin - those whom I met personally. After the initial courses (levels A1, A2), finding the Estonian-speaking environment became a difficult task and a necessity. But even in Narva there are certain opportunities if you look for them. Of course, there were moments when you feel that the language is not so easy, that it may never work out. But then I immediately think - if not now, then when? Life goes fast and there is only one life. Why miss the moment? And no matter how difficult it is, focus and consistency always give results. Thinking this way, I overcome difficult moments and study further. So far, I am only at the beginning of the journey.
5. How was the adaptation in Estonia? Did the locals accept you?
I think that the initial adaptation went well. It was difficult mentally - a new country, new people, uncertainty, the need to act. I encountered only friendly relations, both among Russian-speaking and Estonian-speaking people. The difficult moment was when I found myself in Tallinn with the decision to move. At that moment, I stayed with my sister (she arrived with her husband and child a little earlier than me). And then I realized what it means to come not to visit, but to live. You don’t yet know how and where you will live, how and where you will work, who will need you here and how happy you will be here. At that moment, it’s scary, you want to give up everything and go back to comfort. But that would mean not believing in yourself. That’s much scarier. Later, I was convinced of the correctness of my choice - I met many great people - at school, at work. People, finding out that I had just arrived in Estonia, immediately tried to help, to tell me how things are arranged here. I can make a very long list of how local people helped me, I am very grateful to them.
6. Have you done anything to communicate more in Estonian?
I am looking for various opportunities to listen to Estonian speech and communicate. There are many opportunities to listen without leaving home - music, films, TV shows.
I took part in the "Language Friend" program - a great program where you are matched with a native Estonian speaker with whom you constantly communicate for several months on free topics. I did not quite meet the program requirements at the time it began - the requirements there were from B1. However, I understood that I could not miss such an opportunity. It was a little scary, but I wrote my application, where I honestly said that I had A2, but I really wanted to study. And they matched me with a volunteer - his name is Maris, he lives near Pärnu. Thank you very much - he told me a lot about Estonia, patiently helped with questions and mistakes. Two months flew by unnoticed and now we sometimes continue to keep in touch. The European Football Championship is currently underway - a great opportunity to watch it in Estonian. Also, on the integration website and the Estonian Language House Facebook pages, you can find a lot of information about one-time learning events. Language trips, meetings, live board games, Zoom meetings. There are a lot of projects for live communication when you start to get into it. I went to Haapsalu from the Estonian Language House, I really liked it - the history, the place, the people. Zoom - I participated, I liked it. But unfortunately, the chat roulette in Zoom falls on my classes, so I am not participating yet. There were also theater visits, also from the Estonian Language House. To be honest, I haven't been to the theater for a million years - and here there is both a theater and an opportunity to study. Great!
7. What would you recommend to other people coming to live or study and stay for a longer time in Estonia?
For those who come to live in Estonia, regardless of the reasons, I recommend one thing - learn the language, this is the key. This is a priority. If you see opportunities - use them, even if you are scared. The very first thing is that you need to find out where and how you can learn the language - the Estonian Language House, courses from the Unemployment Fund, adaptation programm Settle in Estonia. I would like to separately recommend the Keeleklikk e-courses - this is an excellent free training platform.
