Blogathon, Day 9: Expatriate And Social Media - What's Practical For You?

Sometime around year 1910 my great-grandmother moved from Finland to Canada. My mother has told me that my great-granny was supposed to travel there on Titanic but she didn't get tickets. Lucky her, lucky me. 

By the Great Lakes she met another Finn and got married. Unfortunately they soon got to hear that her father-in-law was sick and the young couple needed to hurry back home to Northern Europe. Too late. My great-great-grandfather had already died. No way the message of his death could have reached them early enough.

1995 I moved to Norway. I wrote a lots of letters. Yes, those things you send in an envelope with a stamp on. I called my parents via land line approximately once in two weeks. I asked my parents to mail me newspapers so I would know better what's happening in my home country. My dear friend sent me c-cassettes so I could listen to some Finnish music. 

2012 I have internet and cell phones. I use Facebook, Twitter and e-mail. I blog. I Skype. I don't write much letters. I haven't used a land line phone for ages, not even in California. I listen to music via Rdio. My little son is pretty knowledgeable with an iPad. 

Being an expatriate sure has changed within a century. Sometimes I feel I don't live abroad at all. Estonia is next to Finland (well, there's the Gulf of Finland between), the language is pretty similar and most important of all - I have all the imaginable technical bells and whistles to stay in touch with my dear ones both in Finland and in other countries. 

For me as an expatriate the best combination seems to be to use Facebook and my blogs. In addition to the one you are reading right now, I have another blog where I try to keep my family members and friends updated what's happening in my expatriate life. But there's nothing very personal there, just some general observations. 

Facebook gets me a bit closer to my family and friends. Really private stuff I'll save for skyping and e-mails. 

Twitter I use as a more professional tool. None of my family members use it and only a couple of good friends tweet. I also have Google+ and Pinterest accounts but I don't use them at all. So none of these wouldn't work for staying in touch with the closest ones. 

It would be interesting to hear what kind of tools of social media are important for other expatriates. How many of you still write letters? I wish many! 

Blogathon, Day 2: Five Reasons to Come to Estonia

During Blogathon I may get new readers who have never even heard about weird little lands like Estonia or Finland.

Yep, EST and FIN are somewhere there up in the north. But just to make it clear: no, they most definitely not are part of Russia and no, there are no polar bears in either of them.

As a Finn living in Estonia I just must use the opportunity to write a few words about my new home country. One could ask why do I want to live in a former Soviet republic with 1,3 million people and terrible climate. But I guess me and my family sort of like it here.

Here are my 5 reasons, why you should come and visit Estonia, the land of warm people and appalling customer service.

- See the layers of history in Tallinn. One thing I missed when living in Silicon Valley was the history. In the Valley you'll be positively surprised if you find something older than 40 years. In Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, you have everything. There's the beautiful medieval old town, horrible-looking ghettos of Soviet era, skyscrapers of the 21st century and everything in between. It's sometimes a terrible mess but it still is way better than no history at all. The feeling of the town gives you roots. It helps you understand that you are not the first one on these streets.

- The size of the country. Estonia is tiny. It's great, it's practical. In 4 - 5 hours by car you are already in the neighbor country Latvia. Jump on the boat and take a two-hour cruise to Finland. One-hour flight to Stockholm, two hours to London. Not a big deal. Life is just too short to be spent in traffic jams.

- Wifi. It's everywhere. I mean e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. Estonians live in internet and you get used to it. I was shocked in Silicon Valley when I understood how ridiculously poor wifi connections they had there. Man, it's the Valley!

- Get a cultural shock of rude behavior. Just forget all your attempts to have small talk. They won't speak to you, those stone-faced, little-smiling Estonians. There's a total silence in a bus or a tram. They won't apologize if they bump onto you on a street. If you are lucky the cashier may greet you in a store but don't wait for good day's wishes. After you've spent here a few years you'll find the dry humor and remarkable friendship and hospitality Estonians have in them. It just takes time.

- Shoes. Ladies. I've got one word for you. Or actually three. When in Estonia -  go shop shoes.