Moving to Estonia with a family
Moving to a different country for a study is never easy, but doing so with a family is a true challenge. So for this blog post, I decided to interview my fellow friend and colleague from E-governance technologies and services about his experiences:)
So, let’s begin with an introduction.
Hi, my name is Rois and I’m from Indonesia. Currently, I am studying master program in E-governance Technologies and Services in Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). To be honest, this program is not really related to my background, since my bachelor degree was from telecommunication engineering. However, I hope that in the future it can be beneficial for my career and my home country in general. Studying e-governance does not mean you must have a programming skill, but, it is still something useful to have. Our class is quite diverse right now, some people have a legal background, others come from business administration, government, international relation, IT, etc.
Why did you choose to apply to Estonia in general and TalTech in particular? How did your family react to your decision to go abroad to study?
The decision to study in Estonia was not an easy thing for me, because I am married and have two sons. But moving to Estonia gave us a tremendous experience.
The story started when I was working as a government employee at The Ministry of State Secretariat of The Republic of Indonesia. I was searching for a scholarship in e-governance area so that I can contribute my knowledge to the ministry. Surprisingly, I have found that Estonia is one of the best countries in the world in terms of e-governance. In the nutshell, I found e-governance programme at TalTech, which provided full-time study scholarship for a masters degree and Ph.D. studies.
It was tough to convince the family that I want to pursue my master’s degree abroad, especially in the country that is located quite far from Indonesia. We considered our options: go abroad together (which is more costly) or be apart from the family for 2 years. We were going through all the calculation in terms of living costs (the most important part), possible culture shocks, education options for children, weather, etc. Finally, we decided to go abroad together. Yayy!
What was your first impression of Tallinn when you arrived here in September?
It was an excited memory for us. We arrived in Tallinn early September ’17 when the temperature only about 15C. Yes, just 15C, I can say like this now after passing the winter :D. We were freezing at that time due to sudden changes in the temperature wherein Indonesia it was about 29–30 C.
Nonetheless, the children seemed to adapt easily to the new environment, so this was a good start for us. Tallinn Old Town was the first place we visited. We enjoyed the scenery of old European castle in the middle so much, the city was stunning. Other than that, I felt the country is not really crowded and there is hardly any traffic jam on the street (That’s pretty cool ;) )
What advice would you give to your old self before you came to Estonia? (what to bring, what not to bring, what to do or not to do?)
First of all, do not forget to bring a jacket, sweater, warm underclothes, warm socks, everything that makes you warm as well as spicy things. Walk on the right side! :D.
How was your experience with bureaucracy in Estonia?
I would say, it was the fastest and simplest bureaucracy I have ever met. In total, I only sent documents containing my family’s information once, when we applied to TRP at the Estonian Embassy in Beijing, China. Once the TRP is ready, all the government offices in different ministries are linked to the system. So that, I did not need any document more in order to apply for a family benefit from the Population Register and also to register my children at the kindergarten, for example. All the systems are connected, as simple as like that.
Tell me a little about your family’s experience of settling in Estonia. Is it hard to find friends for you and your wife? Is it hard for kids to adapt? Is there any support from the state? Do you face any troubles?
The hardest part for us during settlement was finding an apartment since TalTech’s family dorm was under renovation at the time. There was a difficulty for me as a foreigner to persuade the owners/landlord. They prefer not to give a rent to the family with children for some reason :(.
When it comes to friendships, the Indonesian community in Estonia is too small so it is an exciting experience for us to expand our friendship circle and network either with the local people or other international students.
For my first son, the language barrier in the public kindergarten (he is in Estonian language group) used to be an obstacle in order to blend with the local culture. The first two months of his class were the “disaster” since he did not understand what his teachers and friends say. Slowly but surely, as I mentioned before, kids adapted, and currently, he is enjoying the time with friends in the class. Speaking of kids, there will be a monthly family benefit provided by the government, so we usually use it to cover the kindergarten expenses :)
Moving to Estonia as a Muslim family was another part of our experience. My wife wears a hijab (headscarf). So I was surprised when the police board asked her to uncover her head from hijab to update the TRP photo. I tried to discuss this matter with an Estonian Islamic Center and luckily the leader issued a certificate that mentioned she is a Muslim where wearing a hijab is an obligation of the religion. As a result, the Police Border allowed her to use a photo with hijab :D.
Another tip for incoming Muslim students: the mosque (Estonian Islamic Center) is located at Keevise 9, 11415 Tallinn (+372 5193 8795). You may find the halal food store there on the basement floor such as halal chicken, halal meat, halal sausage, etc. Please, be informed that halal food (chicken and meat) cannot be found easily in the cafe or other public shops such as RIMI, MAXIMA, PRISMA, so make sure to find halal sign if you are concerned with that.
Also, Ramadan month! It had been our first experience of fasting month in Estonia. In the summertime, it was 19–20 hours of fasting per day, amazing!
What do you miss the most about Indonesia? (weather, food, people) And what do you love the most about Estonia?
Frankly speaking, the most thing I really miss is our parents. Although we call each other via Skype or video call on WhatsApp almost every day, it still cannot be replaced by their warm hug and kiss :). Indonesian food is also the thing we miss a lot. Lucky for me, my wife cooks some Indonesian food every day. However, we miss our favorite foods such as Pempek, Bakso, Somay, Rendang and other spicy foods. In contrast, we are getting usual with Estonian weather and a bit afraid to adapt to Indonesian weather once we are back home someday.
We have been living in Estonia since September ’17, I can easily say that we live in a place with the fresh air around and less pollution. Less traffic jam would be a great thing for a person coming from Indonesia (like me) so that I don’t waste my time on the street. The public transportation system is great and Estonia is really convenient for pedestrians. I love all those things!
