Actually we just want our babies sleeping in fresh air bc the baby sleeps better and is generally more healthy this way. Never actually thought about the cold thing... kids sleep outside, just the weather changes during the year.
also the fact its supposed to challange and improve the immune system, we kinda had enough history lessons to see how bad it is to just stay inside like medieval nobility, a slight cold killed them from 1 snowball
The not talking thing...Sure it can be like that. But if you buy groceries or something, you just say hello. And as an Estonian, I think not saying hello is just rude. At my place of work if someone steps in and does not say hello I will consider that quite rude. I will say hello anyway. It's simply common sense. You walk into a room that has people you have not met today, and you say hello. Big public places are different, but when you get to a clerk. You say hello and goodbye.
Some of your people are so impolite that they don't even respond to a simple hello. I was studying at Taltech as an exchange student and there were many estonians that were extremely rude. I had a habit of greeting everyone but many of them just ignored my greetings. It was so upsetting.
@@Idgaf-1998 The behaviour is like in a lift: you don't say hello in a public place to a stranger with whom you have no business. Exchanging "Tere" in a public place means that the persons know each other quite well, and is connected to a readiness to fulfil certain social obligations.
I live on Hiiumaa, pretty much everyone knows everyone, except "pötku(d)" (we call people from the main land this way :) but people that stay on Hiiumaa in the Summers, we call them "suve hiidlased"), we always say "Tere" to everyone, even the people from main land, just we usually don't get a "Tere" back, well sometimes we do, we just wanting to be friendly here.
I also say Hello to every cashier in grocery stores, but I would say at best 20% say anything back. Also, other people in queue in front of me mostly stay silent. It's definitely the norm like he says in the video.
Estonia is unique. Of course in the greater scheme of things our culture is closest to Nordic, but I feel Estonia is a unique place that doesn't need to identify itself next to other cultures. For me it's Estonia. I hope in the future we don't need to identify ourselves as part of a bigger group and people recognize us as the unique people we are.
No, Estonia is not considered Nordic. Estonia is a country located in Northern Europe, but it is part of the Baltic region. The Nordic countries, also known as Scandinavia refer to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. While Estonia shares some cultural and historical connections with the Nordic countries, it is not officially classified as Nordic. Instead, it is considered a Baltic country along with Latvia and Lithuania.
As an estonian i would say you're most correct about keeping your reputation. It can easily cost you relationships and especially jobs. When my friends hire new people, they often throw the names in our group chats like "hey, does someone know this guy?" and sometimes someone says like "yea, he's an asshole because XYZ". That person won't even know why he/she wasn't hired but Estonia is small and if you burn bridges, you might set fire to a lot more bridges than you initially intended.
@@OrangMation Estonians arent that petty, if you are NOT hired for something, you must have done some pretty bad shit, forgive and forget doesnt exist when you were setting up camers in kindergarden toilets or beat a dog up. If you obviously, accidentaly dropped a baby? yeah thats pretty bad but youre still given a chance to get the job
Summer cottages are just homes of your ancestors, since before the soviet union most estonians lived in the countryside, in villages, as farmesrs. The soviet union pretty much forced everyone into cities and destroyed as many countryside houses as they could, but since they weren't very good at doing anything, a lot of the farms still survived. After the soviet union collapsed they were redistributed back to their original owners, or their descendants and if they couldn't find any descendants they were sold at an extremely cheap price. Now most estonians own a house, or at least some land in the countryside.
One reason why Estonians can afford a piece of land and summer cottage is because we have lot of land available comparing to population. Estonian territory is bigger than Belgium or Nethetlands, but we have only 1,3 million people here. So the land in countryside far from bigger cities, even together with small house, is often cheaper than new appartment in city. People often live in city apartments because there is no jobs and no convenient services countryside. Luckily we have fast internet available everywhere, so, especially after covid, lot of people work from home and have no need to be in city because of job.
Soviet union did not destroy countrside houses. There was no private property and this forced farmers to change the way they lived. They were forced to work in so called "kolkhoz", like a common farm. Soiet union built a lot of apartment houses for such workers (for example Tuudi küla, Keskküla...). So farmhouses (talud) were just simply abandoned, but many of them exist till nowadays. After working some period in kolkhoz (or any other place like factory, manufacture...) the worker had right to get bonuses. One of the bonuses was a plot of land 600, 1200 or even more m2 with a small house, called "Dacha" in russian or "Suvila" in estonian. This is how many families have received their own land. When soviet union collapsed, they had right to buy this land for themselves at extremely low price. Bigger propeties like manors have found their descendants.
about the talking part, we just avoid smalltalk and think its pointless, however going to the store and not greeting the cashier or thanking them after is absolutely still considered rude.
@@romulusdraco1801 I wouldnt say so. I have been working as a cashier for some time and all of my collegues thought that being silent is absolutely normal. The cashier should still say "hello" at least, but the customer doesn't have to say anything
As Estonian I really don't understand that silence in those service situations. Hello and thank you is elementary for me like breathing. But overall your are right. I liked your video :)
10:50 thank you for advising the eye contact with driver. As (mostly) driver, I feel much safer when pedestrian acknowledges the car, visibly. Road conditions change, conditions like black ice may mean the breaking distance becomes unexpectedly long, a hooded pedestrian not even looking around when stepping onto crossing is bit of a problem, because people expect cars to stop.
30 years ago it was pretty normal in Poland too, that kids were going to school on their own, spend all day outside alone (without supervision). Now it's not so often and depends on the area. As to pedestrians, we have in Poland a law that forces drivers to stop when a pedestrian is nearing the crosswalk. I guess the same is in Estonia.
This is also the law in germany and the netherlands... but that doesn't mean they pay attention or actually stop. I think the amount of crosswalks, especially in tallinn, is what makes you super aware. There are also crosswalks on major 2 lane streets, which totally blew my mind the first time and i had to slam my breaks to stop.
@@tacodoritos2421 In Estonia the most unlawful drivers are driving BMWs, brand new Audis and brand new Mercedes'. Why them? Don't know. BMW drivers have been the worst for over 20 years but Audis and Mercedeces are new. (Like in the past 5 years). The ignore the most traffic laws. You know the jokes how BMW drivers don't use their turn signal? They also don't stop for pedestrians at a crosswalk :D
I would absolutely love to be able to run my errands without having to make small talk with anyone. Thank you for the fascinating look at cultural differences.
This is why self-checkouts in supermarkets are so popular in Estonia. In some store you can see a long queue behind the self-checkout area, but not so long behind normal cashier :-). Also e-shopping is very popular, but this is probably because it is just convenient.
Keep on being you Manan! I really love the longer podcasts you have been doing. The nakedness story hit close to home. My cousin married a lovely dude from the US and when his friends came over for the wedding - we actually had a quick meeting how being naked is ok and if you feel uncomfortable be in your swim trunks
Cool video! I'm Estonian and I absolutely won't get naked with others, lol. Cars stopping is true. My grandpa used to gross zebras without lever ooking at the cars. I guess he assumed that every car would stop. I'm suprised he never got hit by any. Kids going to places by themselves is awesome, it gives so much freedom and independence and builds up responsibility.
I think most, if not all, of your points also would go for any Nordic country, and some other European countries as well. Most points is the same here in Lithuania where I live. 😊
For a Estonian really cool videos to watch. Thank you. All the points you mentioned I would say that these habits are very common in all EU northern countries like Finland, Sweeden and Norway .
I once visited a public spa while skiing in Austria. This place had a lot of different saunas and was quite big. There were at least a hundred people. And almost all of them were naked. There was a possibility to get a towel too but almost noone used them. So it is not just an Estonian thing :)
Hehe... I went to sauna in Turkey, so I started taking my swim suit off, bra and... "No, no!" You keep that on!!!! Welll... OK... Then I went for a massage.... "No, no, you keep the bra on!!!" Czech here... We are not the most eager naturalists, but hey, sauna? Massage? :)
In fact, most (not all) of the points listed are equally true or at least true to some extent not just in Finland but also in all the Germanic countries except Britain/Ireland and in all the northern Slavic countries.
Naked sauna is not regular in every Nordic country. When I was in Denmark, a local guy invited to take some beers; as I already had plans to go to the hotel sauna with the other Estonians, I invited him to join us. He asked about the "dress code" and hearing that usually we go to the sauna naked, but he can go however he likes, he thought I am fooling him, and went to ask the other Estonians about it. Needless to say, he didn't join us. And, a friend of mine had a similar, but even more colorful story with an Icelandic guy, who freaked out for himself, but not for his gf who was also there. Seems like at least these peoples associate same sex nudity with being gay.
@@forgottenmusic1 I said quite regular, not 100% rule. Naturally some more and some less, also depends the circle of specific people. In Finland even in public saunas (genders separated) people are naked with complete strangers.
@@katariinak7257 yeah, my experience in Estonian public baths and pools is the same: some places even prohibit swimwear in such saunas, possibly bc of the chlorine deposits or sth, haven't looked into it or don't remember.
Regarding foot, I think the underlying phenomenon is "alul ei saa vedama, pärast ei saa pidama". There is the urge not to stand out from the crowd by being the first to break the ice, take a snack, sit down, be the source any type of change in the group dynamic. Once one or several people accepts the snack and the group dynamic has now switched to "we're all eating snacks", the snacks WILL be eaten and eating won't stop until they're all out of them. People have a lot of inertia that has to be accounted for.
"Alul ei saa vedama, pärast ei saa pidama" = "In the beginning it's hard to get started, at the end it's hard to stop". This is the typical description of a socializing event, a party. There's an awkwardly long period of reticence, shyness, politeness. Finally it's raucous, all over the place, plenty of glasses lifted, really late. Why didn't we start earlier?
My parents and grandparents fled from Estonian during World War 2 to Toronto Esto community. Most Esto’s in TO had cottages N. of Toronto, we had sauna’s at home or at cottage, raised to follow rules/laws (very big deal), older Esto’s in public, spent their words like it was money, very frugal lol & I can’t stand 🥵☀️hot summer heat!!!
The family system, I completely agree with. I have two half siblings who are from different fathers but the same mom and a lot of people I know are similar in that sense.
Shopping without saying a word is totally possible in Manchester too with all the self checkouts every grocery. Winter air is healthy. Bacteria do not like subzero temperature so you got lot less of germs in the air when it's cold.
Cars don't stop to let you pass just because they're nice like that, there's a law where not letting a pedestrian pass on a crossing can mean a hefty fine. Since it's a matter of interpretation of the police at this point, most people don't take the chance and have gotten used to stopping at crossings to let people pass.
I mean yeah, it's the law. But also, the pedestrian culture is big in Estonia, since even if you drive a lot, you still have to use pedestrian walks quite a lot too. (can't get everywhere with a car. ) So I guess you see that side of traffic and you empathize. And there the childern you have to watch out for.
I'm pretty sure that there's a similar law in every country and yet it is not respected everywhere the same. You can't have police patrolling on every crossing, so the fine excuse is not convincing at all.
I was genuinely shocked when i went to greece and started crossing the road only to jump back cause of a car, like i tought it would be normal and common sense
That happened to me even in Lisbon, these southern countries are like traffic hell, you have to be always super careful and expect cars even where it's hard to get there by car, but you can be sure that someone will do it. 😀
@@Pidalin in Rome i learnt that one has to put out their hand to indicate wish to cross a street, even on crosswalk, similar to hitch-hiking hand gesture. and then most cars stop. italians seem to think that god created traffic lights just for their beauty, for humans to look at, but not humans to obey traffic lights.
@@SiiriRebane Here in Czechia, you have to always thank driver by hand gesture when they stop for you, if you don't do that, they will just drive over you next time. 😀
9:43 We have a lot of "faith" in owning realestate. Historically many farmers bought their farms and themselves out of serfdom so that might play a role. Then as you mentioned there is the returning of properties that were confiscated during the Soviet times.
What I've heard, we have summer cottage houses, because it was part of the soviet program against alcohol consuming. People needed to have their own gardens with houses that weren't winter-proof to avoid them from living there, but to have enough activity to keep themselves away from destroying activities. It was also a necessity to have your own vegetable and fruit garden to grow your own food, because food supply in the shops during the soviet times were limited. But ofc, the summer cottage houses tradition is older and people form abroad (writers, artists, etc.) came to Estonian seaside summer houses decades and decades ago.
I am Lithuanian, when I was in school I had my best friend coming to my house quite often. She would come and see some kind of snacks in my house and she wouldn't ask if she could have it, she would say "i need to go to the shop". We would go to the shop and she would buy the exact same thing I have at home (she would crave it after seeing it but it was completely normal not to even try to ask for it). And yes, when someone is having a snack, nobody takes it, usually nobody asks for it unless the person who is eating will put the bag of those chips in front of you and that means you can take it (also most of the time no verbal conversation is needed for this action).
Summer houses is a project to invest your money into - it also shows your level - the more nicer country house the more money you should have😂 Usually country houses are a place to escape to. I live in an appartement in Tallinn and have a country house near Aegviidu:)
Summer cottages: Pretty normal in the Czech Republic, too. It's not about too much land after the communist era, it's more like "you cannot go anywhere abroad, so you spend all your holidays in your country and you don't want to stay in your city apartment the whole time".
Most of the things you named are actually similar in the Czech Republic. We don't do saunas so much, that's one difference. We do swim naked in ponds sometimes, though, especially with friends or in nudist areas.
Regarding the summer cottages, it was pretty normal to have these since way back in the Soviet times - it was normal in my native Lithuania, Russia and many other Soviet republics. These houses were either inherited from the grandfathers who were born and live in the countryside, or these newer cottages and even little cottage villages/communities were developed and built. Spending time in the countryside is a big old tradition in the Baltics, Russia et al.
Yes, I only talk when I actually have something to say or somebody asks something. I usually observe the surroundings, meaning, I do notice what's going on around me.
My doughter went from middle of Kuressaare to the Kudjape. And when I asked why? she said she was bored and its like 3,5 kilometers. and she was 3+years old Saaremaa, those gilrls are tough
The silence thing reminds me of what a friend of mine described in Tromsø, Norway. She said it would be perfectly normal for someone to walk half an hour down to road to his friend’s cottage, go inside, sit there by the fire together for an hour or so, then get up and leave, and not say a word at all. (And then I imagine a Turk, Greek or an Iranian in that situation…I think their head would explode!)
Yes, country houses are the old homes of our ancestors, but they were also purchased by people living in the city who wanted to retreat to the countryside during the holidays/summertime etc. During the 1930s my family had their countryhouse in Anija. I wish I could find it!
I am an Estonian and I gotta say i can agree on some things like kids being alone outside and the last one also and yeah if you like want to cross a road there is a high chance the car will stop and let you cross the road, sometimes the car wont stop and just ignore you completely
I'm from the Netherlands living already for 7 years in Estonia and can extremely relate to this video. It's funny that you talk about the family structures. My Estonian girlfriend indeed has only half siblings. She shares 2 sisters with the same dad and 1 brother with the same mom. Never knew it was this common.
@@MananAnwar I hope to travel there this year - looks awesome kinda reminds of my time in Koln and Dusseldorf. I also lived in Siberia for 4 years so know a little about Russian life, history and customs. Lack of small talk is also common in Russia which suits me fine.
We have a saying that in Estonia, president is only 2 phone calls away because somebody always knows somebody who knows somebody here. And every person you meet probably has a mutual friend or family tree member with you
People had summer cottage usually from soviet times as during those times it was encouraged to grow your own food during summer and store food in jars for winter. At the time land was not very expensive and in many cases was even given out by government for free / small fee. Many people build by themselves small houses and had gardens to grow food on tjose properties. Nowaday most old soviet people dont grow their of food anymore due to age and young ones just use property to relax during summer time
True country houses (loghomes built before war) are mostly inherited from grandparents. The little plots w greenhouses and small cabins/houses in a planned community - that’s not quite the same, plus it was a hassle to build during Soviet times, took years bc of lack of materials, bureaucracy, etc. I know, not everyone had grandparents living in the countryside but I did and most of my friends did (bc before the war rural life was more active) which I now think is true luxury. A private place in the woods.
Eating your stuff by yourself and having no expectations to share seems to be quite common in Manchester too. Occasionally you can get your friend to take some but getting him to take a sip from your whatever drink already open is still next to impossible. And even if you succeed in sharing- do not expect a return of favour next time he has crisps. Could happen still, just have your expectations low. Buying rounds in pub is normal. That's how sharing happens
1. Absolutely true. You can spend the entire day without talking. 2. I actually thought it was normal for 7 yr olds (1st graders) to walk their dog and go to the grocery store (and drink Ale Coq Original) 3. Well I mean the winters in Estonia are always like -15*C, so that might have something to do with it. 4. Well my family has been together since the dawn of time, but yes. Literally every family except my family has at least 1 divorce. 5. Ok, so I practically know 10% of the people in school and my school apparently has the most student's out of any other school in Estonia. Oh and if you live outside of Harjumaa, You might know every person in your county. 6. It's actually because of the construction of (old) estonian buildings. You see the winters are cold af and the summers are hot af. So old buildings don't have air conditioners, making the winters kind of cold and summers unbelievably hot. So some people have summerhomes, because of the hot summers. Also my family has our summer home as like a side project. Like we go there when we wanna work, but idk. I might just be completely wrong. 7. Yes, estonian drivers are unbelievably kind. Some even stop if they see you nearing the road. I don't know why though. 8. That might also be because estonians might be the most superstitious people in the world. They might think you are pulling a prank or something. That's another thing: we are tricksters too 9. Yes. We sleep naked, we go to sauna naked, we are naked in the changing room and walking across the living room half naked is totally fine in Estonia. This comment was written by an estonian.
7. As estonian and driver, stopping before "zebra" crossing lane when pedastrian is nearing or crossing the road is not just kindness, it is a must, by law, rooted into drivers from early stages. But many highspeedsters just does not bother folllowing the law anyway so always be careful
Sharing snacks with others is just a good manner. We have always been taught that it is not polite to eat alone if you are in a company. Also it is not polite to take without asking.
Indeed there are shared showers in places like schools and work places. I shower at work every day. But what mostly helped me get over shyness was the boot camp. The mandatory military training where I was for 11 months. You don't really have a choice there, where or even when to shower. After that I had no issues showering at work. But before I was shy, despite of saunas and stuff.
As to the laconic aspect of conversing, the less syllables the better, the more "konkreetsus" = concreteness, the better. And silence can be golden. But apparently the Finns have us Estos beat. The famous anecdote is of two men deciding to have a drink at a pub after work. They get their beers, and one lifts his glass, and says: "Cheers"! The other says: "Hey! Did we come here to speak or to drink"!?
Actually not saying hello or thank you to a cashier is not considered good manners. Why many Estonians have family cottages - many people's families originate from the countryside. Even if children moved to a town/city, their parents (or some relatives) most likely stayed in the countryside and so the children could later visit them and maybe later would inherit their country houses. Some places were also returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union to the families they were taken from. Since Estonians are happy to own a place outside of city where they can stay and enjoy nature, they are not prone to selling these places, especially since they often have a sentimental value. Also, it's not that hard to get yourself a nice place in the middle of nowhere since the prices are not very high in these places; therefore the unlucky ones who still have no country cottage often get themselves one.
ei maksa unustada nõukogudeaegseid suvilaid ... nn suvilakoperatiivid .. paljudel juhtudel on tõesti tegu esivanemate koduga mida suudetakse sõbralikult jagada mitme pere vahel ....
In Finland we have similar approach to not talking and nudity. The non-talking thing comes from that we don’t like to talk anything extra, in a situation where it doesn’t need to be said. So either you talk what you need to, or don’t say anything. And we too have saunas.
No need to talk anyone here in Finland either, but it is concidered to be polite if you say "Hello" and "Thank you" for the cashier. Well that the kids go by themself is very common at least in Nordic countries aswell. That the babies sleep outside is normal in Nordic countries too. It is so easy to chance your life partner so that is very common in Finland too. Summer cottages are really common at least here in Finland and Sweden too. Well here in Finland we have law that if someone want´s to cross a street from crosswalk section, then cars have to let them go. I think that the same thing is at least in Sweden too. Propably all around Europe. Estonian people are so indepentend that sharing snacks, candy or what ever is not normal. Just like here in Finland, we buy our own snacks. Polite people might give some of them to friends or offer to give. But we respect if someone has bought something whit his/her own money we might take one or too but no more. And if you want to taste somthing from other person then you have to ask permition for that person first. Ha ha, we have more saunas in Finland than cars so nudity is not tabu here either. Here we might have even mixed saunas with friends and it doesn´t matter are you guy or girl. There is nothing sexual about it and it is completly normal.
babies outside in winter is a common tradition yes it is for tempering and health purposes. Of course, parents check that they are not cold. Since weapons are generally prohibited for private individuals and police control is very good, it is relatively safe for children to move and play alone. 😃😃
As a gun owner in Estonia I can say with confidence that getting a licence for carrying a gun is a lot cheaper and easier than getting a driving licence. In other words, firearms are LESS prohibited than cars.
@@margitkaru2782 What I wanted to emphasize is that main reason why we don't have firearm-related crimes lies somewhere else than in availability of firearms. Firearms are not difficult legally to obtain, period. That firearms are "prohibited" in Europe is USA-ns excuse what actually has become a myth. Estonia has concealed carry law so you naturally can't notice gun even if some private person is carrying it. Btw in Switzerland there are more firearms per person than in USA, but I have never heard about school shooting in Switzerland. Whether some country is safe or not, actual question is not in firearms availability. It is rather question of culture, but who would admit that their culture could be bad in some sense. And one part of Estonian culture is that we don't feel a need for a firearm, so ordinary people like you don't even know how easy it is to actually buy one, and think that it might be even prohibited.
As an Estonian, safety one is definitely true, once i came home very late, and my mother was rather scared of police catching me, than some criminal or narco.
About the pedestrian crossings, it is required by law to stop for pedestrians to let them cross the road. It is taught in driving schools and if you do not wait for someone to let them cross then you can get a fine, or on a driving test you can even fail the test because of it.
I'm an Estonian and i also slept outside when i was a baby. We had a house in sweeden that we visited pretty often. My mom told me a story when a random swedish dude called the police bc "a baby was left in a stroller outside in the snow". The baby was me and i was left infont of our house to sleep. Pretty normal thing here but not so much everywhere else.
Being an Estonian, I’d say it’s actually quite rude not to say hello and thank you when going to a store or anywhere really. It comes naturally to me and mostly to cashiers as well. Especially in areas that speak predominantly Estonian. The thing might be that if you’re foreign looking, they just assume you don’t speak Estonian and won’t just bother saying something you don’t understand. Of course there are exceptions, but please people, be civilized and say “tere” (hello) and “aitäh” (thank you)
it's sad but estonians are rude .... mine vaata poes mitu inimest teretab kassapidajat või tänab ... naeratamisest ma parem ei räägigi ... 50% juhtudest kui räägitakse kassapidajaga tuleb sealt midagi ebaviisakat... see on kurb reaalsus
@@klaabu99 Paljude eesmärgiks ei olegi minna poodi, et kassiiriga lobiseda. Eriti häirib kui saalitöötaja või letitagune tüütab fraasiga "Kas saan kuidagi aidata?". Viisakusest vastad "ei, aitäh", aga tahaks talle vastata: "Kas ma tõesti näen nii abitu välja". Pealetükkiv viisakus on üsnagi ebameeldiv nähtus, kuigi lõunapoolsetes maades täiesti tavaline ja normaalne.
@@klaabu99 Eestlased ütlevad küll. Pigem muust rahvusest ei ütle midagi, sest oi-oi äkki peab siis eesti keeles rääkima, mitte parusski. Kuna teenindajad ongi enamasti vene rahvusest ja seetõttu on vene rahvusest klientidel dilemma mis keeles tervitada ja parem siis ei tervitagi. Lasnamäe müüjad ise ka sel põhjusel sageli ei tervita -nende arvates ei sobi Lasnamäe kliente eesti keeles tervitada ja ootavad mis keeles klient ise alustab.
Estonian here. You already missed 2 crucial things: 1) It is actually not normal for sauna to be mixed gender. It is normal for male only and female only saunas to be taken. Mixed gender saunas are rarer, and more of a thing in rural areas, where you don't even have anyone else besides your own family, and let's face it, we all have seen each other naked. Also, you always, and I mean always wear a sauna towel around private areas. So yhea, no, false. 2) #1 - You missed a couple of crucial things about not talking: We don't do small talk and we don't need customer service to always ask "Do you need anything." We actually see that as annoying and disgenuine. However, not saying hello to cashier or employees is considered rude. 3) #2 - We teach our kids like they are adults. We treat them like they are adults. We guide them like they are adults. However, the schools do not do that. (Seperate topic). We only treat kids like they are kids when it is really needed (And I don't need to include examples because they are obvious). 4) #3 - Lol. Yhea no, we usually don't do that. That is again rare. But when it's done, it's not that harmful. Thats because people actually know how to dress their children so they don't get too hot or too cold, and thus breathe fresh air that is far more healthier. Thing is, when a child is constantly outside, he is also armed with immune system capable of fending off quite a number of infectious diseases, including common cold. It is also quite rare for people to leave kids outside in big cities, but in smaller rural communities, it does happen. Big cities are still quite dangerous, as the soviet era underground network is very much alive. This also means people are actually aware of the dangers and in a dangerous area or big city, actually not leave the kid outside. So not as crazy 5) #4 - Actually not true. It used to be a thing in the past, like, 5-10 years ago, it is much more rarer now. The reason for this is that Estonia actually has very strong family values. The downside is, Estonians also like to party. And results of those parties are usually unprotected sex. So yhea, it is more of a young peoples thing, and even then, only in certain age bracket. Outside of it, it really does not happen that much. 6) #5 Yhea, this one I can actually agree with. Estonia is so small that you can know everyone through everyone. As a result, it is real easy to burn bridges. Upside is, it is also easy´to catch gossip and nip it in the bud. 7) #6 It is indeed because of the Soviet Union. A lot of older people in Estonia managed to earn their houses through their labor, or just by writing to Moscow. As a result, a lot of families have inherited a lot of their houses. Also, quite a bit of them build houses from scratch thanks to high pay from neighbouring countries (Finland/Sweden etc) 8) #7 This is normal, because our generation made it normal. And it is enforced by younger generation. They always, and I mean always, walk on pedestrian paths without a care in the world. They know when they can get across. It also common for the pedestrian to be an undercover cop and you getting pulled over and fined for not letting the pedestrian pass. Cops here have some creative ways to make money because the government keeps taking it away from them. 9) #8 Basically it's down to selfreliance. In Estonia, people are used to being self reliant, and as a result, quite shy about any help or sharing. However, once you are in the friend group...well... basically you have infinite money glitch. 10) #9 Again, not normal outside of rural areas, where pretty much everybody knows everybody. It is common in locker rooms and places like that because of school, but it also one of the biggest source of bullying. And the results can be very varied, from childhood trauma to straight out confidence in ones self, just because of how peers react. It is common for children to be naked, and that because Estonia is humid. As a result, it is much easier to prevent issues by letting children run around without underpants (ofcourse within the confines of their own home). Then there are communal parties. It's a relic of soviet era, and pretty much always, if the parties get out of hand, people still respect their boundries. If someone get's kicked out of the party for any reason, it basically means loss of job, loss of livelyhood and even loss of life. As a result, in rural areas or tight knit communities it may be more common. But in cities, yhea, not common at all.
first timer here: i love the content! i sense you are frustatrated with EE or have very different sense of what's normal :) some of the things you consider crazy for me as a foreigner living in Slovenia seems quite normal: a lot of people here have cottages (by the seas in a different country :) or in the mountains and it doesn't exactly mean they are rich. it is not normal that if you eat stuff people jump into it with their fingers, they are supposed to be invited to participate, also it is the law that pedestrians have the priority when crossing the street and the cars are supposed to stop and sometimes they do, sometimes don't. It is also normal to be naked when you go to sauna (it is rude to be actually dressed), you have a towel, but that's it.
The silence thing is like in Finland. If you're with a group of Finns, sitting in silence, and you get uncomfortable with it and start chatting, you'll make them uncomfortable. I'm an American, and I often find Russians too chatty (e.g. when boarding airplanes). No idea how Estonians and Russians interact. Cars stopping for pedestrians is same as in California. I'd be curious to hear a list of differences between Estonians and Finns.
"No idea how Estonians and Russians interact. " - we have used to our differences, we look it strange but we accept that, from both sides. One thing to know: Estonian Russians (those younger than 50 years old) are different from Russian Russians. For example they are louder than Estonians (in average), but not so loud than proper Russians. And I think that Estonians are even quieter and less talkative than Finns. Also we don't interact much. There are two parallel societies, Estonian and Russian. It roots from the fact that Estonia has two school systems: one in Estonian language for Estonian kids and another in Russian language for Russian kids. So kids from both nationalities have used to be with their own kind and will keep that separation also when they are adults. It's sad but that how it is. In smaller Estonian cities where are only Estonian schools such separation does not exist.
The cottages are mostly from soviet era. They were not ment as a summer homes, but as small agricultural plots. And those plots were given out freely (needs confirmation). My grandmother got one. My mom could've gotten another in same general area, but it was too far from train station ( almost 3km vs 1.7km ) and they had no need for it anyway. And the lil plot... You could grow whatever you wanted there. We had apple trees... currant gooseberry raspberry bushes... carrots potatoes you name it. A lot of food for a small family. Not for whole year, but plenty. Funny thing about the houses is that you got given a plan for the house that was acceptable for that plot. Everyone got same plans, yet all the houses looked different ( floorplan was same ) . People built the houses from whatever materials they got their hands on.
i think they are 2 different things. small plots of land for agriculture were one thing and summer cottage is another. true is, one could build a small shed on this small plot, what building later might've been upgraded to living cabin. land use was maybe given for free; soviet times there was no land ownership, all land belonged to state, citizens had only using rights, not selling or buying.
Summer house its new i guess, but most had a piece of land to grow their own veggies, potatoes and etc. there shortages of food id say.. at least it was like that in Lithuania
In the north it is very dark in the winter, so they must make vitamin D in summer, so it healthy to be naked. Also in Romania we are obliged to offer food to others, and they can accept it if they are our friends or they are hungry
I think summer houses for everyone is not going to last long. It was a thing in the past where all our grandgrandparents had farms. They were passed down to our parents who already often share it with their siblings. A generation forward and us, their children, have to choose one of us or share it with 4 and so on. Just a young country thing i guess
1:52 That's pretty much right. You can go to a supermarket, buy your stuff, get out, and not say a word. The same goes for most daily activities; e.g., it would be pretty unusual to strike up a conversation with a total stranger on a bus. 2:58 This is where I disagree a bit. If you don't talk to anybody, ever, you would be considered a hermit. It's not like Estonia is some magical place where introversion is lauded. It would still be pretty weird if you were in a social gathering (e.g., a party, a club) and avoided any and all socialisation. It's about the same as other parts of the world, in that regard.
I like the part about not talking. I would leave the house more often (during the daytime) to do some grocery shopping without having to engage in a small-talk-spiked staring contest with the cashier.
In this matter of offering and accepting food, Brazilians are very similar. Take someone's snack and even ask it is considered rude. And it's polite not accepting food when offered even if you are hungry.
Pedestrian culture her is hit or miss,in turkey and thailand its mostly every man for himself, but in norway cars stop to let you cross from a mile away. In estonia cars will stop, but i have had a couple of encounters with crazy or negligent drivers so its still best to keep caution IMO.
I love Estonia! I like to travel but I have never seriously considered moving away from here. Because of things like the ones in the video, I think I'd never feel at home anywhere else. Great list! Although not saying "Hello" or "Thank you" to a cashier is just not nice. But more than that is definitely not expected. And some people (I think less then half) do not go to the sauna naked or some people only go if the people are all the same gender. And some people go only alone, not even with same gender family members. Depends on the person. It's fine to wear a swimsuit and people will not think you are weird but asking someone else to wear one does not happen. Ever. I recommend watching the documentary Savusanna Sõsarad.
What did you think pedestrian crossings were for if not crossing the road. Of course cars are required to stop there. This is the law and the same everywhere I've been to.
The not talking thing is something that really struck me when I visited a few months ago. At first I thought they were just ignoring me as a fairly obvious tourist, but then I noticed that even neighbours who clearly recognised each other would walk up the stairs to their neighbouring flats without so much as a "hello"! Very bizarre. I don't necessarily dislike it, but it does take a while to get used to!
Everyone has a cottage due to Estonia being ~95% rural society last century and lots of these rural cottages and lands have been passed on for generations.
I grew up walking to school, riding my bike as a 4th grader 4-5 miles away from home when I got my first bike 🚴. Life in the 1980’s and early 90’s that was normal.
We were all playing outside till late and knew when the dinnertime was and after that went out again. I once wandered too far when I was 4 and when I got back my mom was crying, looking for me. It was easy to lose track of time bc in summer it doesn’t get dark before 11-12.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
If you are thinking of moving to Estonia, then check out Life in Estonia Course.
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i want to tell you i live in estonia a small town near tallin named kiili i like you
My son already lives and works there. He thinks Estonian people are ok and he likes the place.
Hello bro can you please help me get a job in estonia? Thank you
Thank you@@mindoftechnologyy , please say hi on IG or tell me when you are in Tallinn
@@sweetblesso355 Check out this video ruclips.net/video/ZJYO08oFaoQ/видео.html
I'm an Estonian living abroad and every time I come to my summer house the thing I enjoy most is the silence!
@@krrrattt tere
tere
Estonians with good manners always greet and thank the cashiers in grocery stores.
Actually we just want our babies sleeping in fresh air bc the baby sleeps better and is generally more healthy this way. Never actually thought about the cold thing... kids sleep outside, just the weather changes during the year.
Proovi seda trikki talvel :D
also the fact its supposed to challange and improve the immune system, we kinda had enough history lessons to see how bad it is to just stay inside like medieval nobility, a slight cold killed them from 1 snowball
Many in the Nordic countries feel its normal as well
@@ERTChimpanzeewhole year long sleeping either outside or on balcony or by open window. Pretty common in Finland and Scandi aswell
@@silvaraspel7183 Not in my family. If you are an estonian then write a comment in estonian.
The not talking thing...Sure it can be like that. But if you buy groceries or something, you just say hello. And as an Estonian, I think not saying hello is just rude. At my place of work if someone steps in and does not say hello I will consider that quite rude. I will say hello anyway. It's simply common sense. You walk into a room that has people you have not met today, and you say hello. Big public places are different, but when you get to a clerk. You say hello and goodbye.
My grocery is Russian speaking, so I keep my silence.
Some of your people are so impolite that they don't even respond to a simple hello. I was studying at Taltech as an exchange student and there were many estonians that were extremely rude. I had a habit of greeting everyone but many of them just ignored my greetings. It was so upsetting.
@@Idgaf-1998 The behaviour is like in a lift: you don't say hello in a public place to a stranger with whom you have no business. Exchanging "Tere" in a public place means that the persons know each other quite well, and is connected to a readiness to fulfil certain social obligations.
I live on Hiiumaa, pretty much everyone knows everyone, except "pötku(d)" (we call people from the main land this way :) but people that stay on Hiiumaa in the Summers, we call them "suve hiidlased"), we always say "Tere" to everyone, even the people from main land, just we usually don't get a "Tere" back, well sometimes we do, we just wanting to be friendly here.
I also say Hello to every cashier in grocery stores, but I would say at best 20% say anything back. Also, other people in queue in front of me mostly stay silent. It's definitely the norm like he says in the video.
Practically all of that I know from Norway. :) Yes, Estonia is truly Nordic. :)
Estonia is unique. Of course in the greater scheme of things our culture is closest to Nordic, but I feel Estonia is a unique place that doesn't need to identify itself next to other cultures. For me it's Estonia. I hope in the future we don't need to identify ourselves as part of a bigger group and people recognize us as the unique people we are.
@@180FiftyFive True! Big Birds fly alone and most powerful trees are alone far from others.
@@aivarsein8701 thats a beautiful analogy, speaking of big birds - i saw a pair of golden eagles here 5 times this year. nature here is sublime
@@180FiftyFive I see them a lot too, I live in Muhu island.
No, Estonia is not considered Nordic. Estonia is a country located in Northern Europe, but it is part of the Baltic region. The Nordic countries, also known as Scandinavia refer to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. While Estonia shares some cultural and historical connections with the Nordic countries, it is not officially classified as Nordic. Instead, it is considered a Baltic country along with Latvia and Lithuania.
As an estonian i would say you're most correct about keeping your reputation. It can easily cost you relationships and especially jobs. When my friends hire new people, they often throw the names in our group chats like "hey, does someone know this guy?" and sometimes someone says like "yea, he's an asshole because XYZ". That person won't even know why he/she wasn't hired but Estonia is small and if you burn bridges, you might set fire to a lot more bridges than you initially intended.
Not hiring people because of some gossips created by stupid rednecks is the most idiotic thing ever.
Sa räägid Brigitte-Susanne Hundist? Vastik inimene see Hunt.
@@OrangMation Estonians arent that petty, if you are NOT hired for something, you must have done some pretty bad shit, forgive and forget doesnt exist when you were setting up camers in kindergarden toilets or beat a dog up. If you obviously, accidentaly dropped a baby? yeah thats pretty bad but youre still given a chance to get the job
this is the way. the country is so small that if you fuck up, it comes around in a circle and smacks you in the back of the head later.
Hey bro, can u help me get a job in Estonia? thank you.
Summer cottages are just homes of your ancestors, since before the soviet union most estonians lived in the countryside, in villages, as farmesrs. The soviet union pretty much forced everyone into cities and destroyed as many countryside houses as they could, but since they weren't very good at doing anything, a lot of the farms still survived. After the soviet union collapsed they were redistributed back to their original owners, or their descendants and if they couldn't find any descendants they were sold at an extremely cheap price. Now most estonians own a house, or at least some land in the countryside.
One reason why Estonians can afford a piece of land and summer cottage is because we have lot of land available comparing to population. Estonian territory is bigger than Belgium or Nethetlands, but we have only 1,3 million people here. So the land in countryside far from bigger cities, even together with small house, is often cheaper than new appartment in city. People often live in city apartments because there is no jobs and no convenient services countryside. Luckily we have fast internet available everywhere, so, especially after covid, lot of people work from home and have no need to be in city because of job.
Soviet union did not destroy countrside houses. There was no private property and this forced farmers to change the way they lived. They were forced to work in so called "kolkhoz", like a common farm. Soiet union built a lot of apartment houses for such workers (for example Tuudi küla, Keskküla...). So farmhouses (talud) were just simply abandoned, but many of them exist till nowadays.
After working some period in kolkhoz (or any other place like factory, manufacture...) the worker had right to get bonuses. One of the bonuses was a plot of land 600, 1200 or even more m2 with a small house, called "Dacha" in russian or "Suvila" in estonian. This is how many families have received their own land. When soviet union collapsed, they had right to buy this land for themselves at extremely low price. Bigger propeties like manors have found their descendants.
about the talking part, we just avoid smalltalk and think its pointless, however going to the store and not greeting the cashier or thanking them after is absolutely still considered rude.
@@romulusdraco1801 I wouldnt say so. I have been working as a cashier for some time and all of my collegues thought that being silent is absolutely normal. The cashier should still say "hello" at least, but the customer doesn't have to say anything
Babies outside sleeping is quite ok in scandinavia too! They sleep better and it builds immune system.
Yeah not really, anything below -10°C is not recommended. You can see people do it but it's not normal.
As Estonian I really don't understand that silence in those service situations. Hello and thank you is elementary for me like breathing.
But overall your are right. I liked your video :)
Thanks for watching Aivar.
10:50 thank you for advising the eye contact with driver. As (mostly) driver, I feel much safer when pedestrian acknowledges the car, visibly. Road conditions change, conditions like black ice may mean the breaking distance becomes unexpectedly long, a hooded pedestrian not even looking around when stepping onto crossing is bit of a problem, because people expect cars to stop.
30 years ago it was pretty normal in Poland too, that kids were going to school on their own, spend all day outside alone (without supervision). Now it's not so often and depends on the area.
As to pedestrians, we have in Poland a law that forces drivers to stop when a pedestrian is nearing the crosswalk. I guess the same is in Estonia.
Yeap, it's the same in Estonia, we have that law as well but laws won't protect you from death so you always need to watch our for BMW drivers.
Same in Sweden back in the days
This is also the law in germany and the netherlands... but that doesn't mean they pay attention or actually stop. I think the amount of crosswalks, especially in tallinn, is what makes you super aware. There are also crosswalks on major 2 lane streets, which totally blew my mind the first time and i had to slam my breaks to stop.
@@metsatroll Why BMW drivers? Usually Peugeot and Opel drivers are the worst
@@tacodoritos2421 In Estonia the most unlawful drivers are driving BMWs, brand new Audis and brand new Mercedes'. Why them? Don't know. BMW drivers have been the worst for over 20 years but Audis and Mercedeces are new. (Like in the past 5 years). The ignore the most traffic laws. You know the jokes how BMW drivers don't use their turn signal? They also don't stop for pedestrians at a crosswalk :D
I would absolutely love to be able to run my errands without having to make small talk with anyone.
Thank you for the fascinating look at cultural differences.
I think i'm not alone if I say "I fking hate Smalltalk". Thankfully I live in Estonia 😁
This is why self-checkouts in supermarkets are so popular in Estonia. In some store you can see a long queue behind the self-checkout area, but not so long behind normal cashier :-). Also e-shopping is very popular, but this is probably because it is just convenient.
But it is nice sayng "hello" "thank you" "goodbye".
@@fixsationon7244 why should you
its a stranger for a reason
As a Latvian I can relate to some of them. Especially on kids outside, babies in snow and pedestrian rights
@MiracoloItaliano2.0 ну по крайней мере лучше чем в России, где у людей уже нет прав, а скоро и вообще большинству запретят выезд из страны
Keep on being you Manan! I really love the longer podcasts you have been doing.
The nakedness story hit close to home. My cousin married a lovely dude from the US and when his friends came over for the wedding - we actually had a quick meeting how being naked is ok and if you feel uncomfortable be in your swim trunks
Cool video! I'm Estonian and I absolutely won't get naked with others, lol. Cars stopping is true. My grandpa used to gross zebras without lever ooking at the cars. I guess he assumed that every car would stop. I'm suprised he never got hit by any. Kids going to places by themselves is awesome, it gives so much freedom and independence and builds up responsibility.
I think most, if not all, of your points also would go for any Nordic country, and some other European countries as well. Most points is the same here in Lithuania where I live. 😊
Saw you walking along my street just yesterday. Small Tallinn indeed ;) Cheers!
Say hello next time !
For a Estonian really cool videos to watch. Thank you. All the points you mentioned I would say that these habits are very common in all EU northern countries like Finland, Sweeden and Norway .
I once visited a public spa while skiing in Austria. This place had a lot of different saunas and was quite big. There were at least a hundred people. And almost all of them were naked. There was a possibility to get a towel too but almost noone used them. So it is not just an Estonian thing :)
Hehe... I went to sauna in Turkey, so I started taking my swim suit off, bra and... "No, no!" You keep that on!!!!
Welll... OK... Then I went for a massage.... "No, no, you keep the bra on!!!"
Czech here... We are not the most eager naturalists, but hey, sauna? Massage? :)
Thanks for sharing.
In fact, most (not all) of the points listed are equally true or at least true to some extent not just in Finland but also in all the Germanic countries except Britain/Ireland and in all the northern Slavic countries.
Babies sleeping outside in winter time and people naked in sauna etc is quite regular in nordic countries
Naked sauna is not regular in every Nordic country. When I was in Denmark, a local guy invited to take some beers; as I already had plans to go to the hotel sauna with the other Estonians, I invited him to join us. He asked about the "dress code" and hearing that usually we go to the sauna naked, but he can go however he likes, he thought I am fooling him, and went to ask the other Estonians about it. Needless to say, he didn't join us. And, a friend of mine had a similar, but even more colorful story with an Icelandic guy, who freaked out for himself, but not for his gf who was also there. Seems like at least these peoples associate same sex nudity with being gay.
Been to sauna with swedes and can confirm. No nakedness.
@@forgottenmusic1 I said quite regular, not 100% rule. Naturally some more and some less, also depends the circle of specific people.
In Finland even in public saunas (genders separated) people are naked with complete strangers.
@@forgottenmusic1When I was younger I was in the sauna naked with my mom, dad and sister. But now, as I am older, I take a sauna alone.
@@katariinak7257 yeah, my experience in Estonian public baths and pools is the same: some places even prohibit swimwear in such saunas, possibly bc of the chlorine deposits or sth, haven't looked into it or don't remember.
Regarding foot, I think the underlying phenomenon is "alul ei saa vedama, pärast ei saa pidama". There is the urge not to stand out from the crowd by being the first to break the ice, take a snack, sit down, be the source any type of change in the group dynamic. Once one or several people accepts the snack and the group dynamic has now switched to "we're all eating snacks", the snacks WILL be eaten and eating won't stop until they're all out of them. People have a lot of inertia that has to be accounted for.
"Alul ei saa vedama, pärast ei saa pidama" = "In the beginning it's hard to get started, at the end it's hard to stop". This is the typical description of a socializing event, a party. There's an awkwardly long period of reticence, shyness, politeness. Finally it's raucous, all over the place, plenty of glasses lifted, really late. Why didn't we start earlier?
I will go to estonia in the future.thanks for this informations!you are underrated.Greetings from Romania
Awesome! Thank you!
10:25 that's because by Estonian law pedestrians have the right of way to cross the street, its technically illegal for a car not to stop
My parents and grandparents fled from Estonian during World War 2 to Toronto Esto community. Most Esto’s in TO had cottages N. of Toronto, we had sauna’s at home or at cottage, raised to follow rules/laws (very big deal), older Esto’s in public, spent their words like it was money, very frugal lol & I can’t stand 🥵☀️hot summer heat!!!
I am writing this from Toronto right now.
The family system, I completely agree with. I have two half siblings who are from different fathers but the same mom and a lot of people I know are similar in that sense.
Shopping without saying a word is totally possible in Manchester too with all the self checkouts every grocery. Winter air is healthy. Bacteria do not like subzero temperature so you got lot less of germs in the air when it's cold.
Cars don't stop to let you pass just because they're nice like that, there's a law where not letting a pedestrian pass on a crossing can mean a hefty fine. Since it's a matter of interpretation of the police at this point, most people don't take the chance and have gotten used to stopping at crossings to let people pass.
I mean yeah, it's the law. But also, the pedestrian culture is big in Estonia, since even if you drive a lot, you still have to use pedestrian walks quite a lot too. (can't get everywhere with a car. ) So I guess you see that side of traffic and you empathize. And there the childern you have to watch out for.
I'm pretty sure that there's a similar law in every country and yet it is not respected everywhere the same. You can't have police patrolling on every crossing, so the fine excuse is not convincing at all.
@@TheAlpenelvis we have lots of unmarked police cars. And If the cop is driving behind you and you don't stop, you're gonna get a fine for sure
lets be honest estonian pedestrian complain all the time how bad it is.... they should watch these videos more.
@@TheAlpenelvis thing is, it is pretty common in Estonia for the pedestrian to be an undercover cop or someone who can afford to sue you.
I was genuinely shocked when i went to greece and started crossing the road only to jump back cause of a car, like i tought it would be normal and common sense
That happened to me even in Lisbon, these southern countries are like traffic hell, you have to be always super careful and expect cars even where it's hard to get there by car, but you can be sure that someone will do it. 😀
@@Pidalin in Rome i learnt that one has to put out their hand to indicate wish to cross a street, even on crosswalk, similar to hitch-hiking hand gesture. and then most cars stop. italians seem to think that god created traffic lights just for their beauty, for humans to look at, but not humans to obey traffic lights.
@@SiiriRebane Here in Czechia, you have to always thank driver by hand gesture when they stop for you, if you don't do that, they will just drive over you next time. 😀
So true 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@Pidalin and they get sent to prison for murder
Cold helps you sleep. I usually expose the bedroom for few hours of outdoors temp to cool for this same reason.
Hello! from finland, we acually grill in saona, like put sosage on folio and on top of the stones.
😬
9:43 We have a lot of "faith" in owning realestate. Historically many farmers bought their farms and themselves out of serfdom so that might play a role. Then as you mentioned there is the returning of properties that were confiscated during the Soviet times.
This was such an informative video. Thank you!
What I've heard, we have summer cottage houses, because it was part of the soviet program against alcohol consuming. People needed to have their own gardens with houses that weren't winter-proof to avoid them from living there, but to have enough activity to keep themselves away from destroying activities. It was also a necessity to have your own vegetable and fruit garden to grow your own food, because food supply in the shops during the soviet times were limited. But ofc, the summer cottage houses tradition is older and people form abroad (writers, artists, etc.) came to Estonian seaside summer houses decades and decades ago.
I am Lithuanian, when I was in school I had my best friend coming to my house quite often. She would come and see some kind of snacks in my house and she wouldn't ask if she could have it, she would say "i need to go to the shop". We would go to the shop and she would buy the exact same thing I have at home (she would crave it after seeing it but it was completely normal not to even try to ask for it). And yes, when someone is having a snack, nobody takes it, usually nobody asks for it unless the person who is eating will put the bag of those chips in front of you and that means you can take it (also most of the time no verbal conversation is needed for this action).
The food thing and the pedestrian thing are the same in Canada (at least in western Canada where I live)
It could be a description of Sweden, Finland, Norway or Denmark, as well... 😊
Summer houses is a project to invest your money into - it also shows your level - the more nicer country house the more money you should have😂
Usually country houses are a place to escape to. I live in an appartement in Tallinn and have a country house near Aegviidu:)
Summer cottages: Pretty normal in the Czech Republic, too. It's not about too much land after the communist era, it's more like "you cannot go anywhere abroad, so you spend all your holidays in your country and you don't want to stay in your city apartment the whole time".
Most of the things you named are actually similar in the Czech Republic. We don't do saunas so much, that's one difference. We do swim naked in ponds sometimes, though, especially with friends or in nudist areas.
Surprised to hear how similar Estonia is to the Czech Republic!
I'm Manan too, and I'm a software dev. I've started liking Estonia a lot considering my career is in tech.
Regarding the summer cottages, it was pretty normal to have these since way back in the Soviet times - it was normal in my native Lithuania, Russia and many other Soviet republics. These houses were either inherited from the grandfathers who were born and live in the countryside, or these newer cottages and even little cottage villages/communities were developed and built. Spending time in the countryside is a big old tradition in the Baltics, Russia et al.
мне на своей тихой даче на Волге в России нравится больше, чем в Италии, хотя в России уже давно не живу
good to know this about the grocery store. I well be traveling soon there. It's just like Iceland and Norway. thank you for the video.
Yes, I only talk when I actually have something to say or somebody asks something. I usually observe the surroundings, meaning, I do notice what's going on around me.
My doughter went from middle of Kuressaare to the Kudjape. And when I asked why? she said she was bored and its like 3,5 kilometers. and she was 3+years old
Saaremaa, those gilrls are tough
That is both lovely and scary at the same time.
Its not scary. there is nothing to afraid in Saaremaa. its just safe@@MananAnwar
I always greet cashiers but one time I had teeth surgery and couldn't speak and greet for a week. Many cashiers were silent in that case.
The silence thing reminds me of what a friend of mine described in Tromsø, Norway. She said it would be perfectly normal for someone to walk half an hour down to road to his friend’s cottage, go inside, sit there by the fire together for an hour or so, then get up and leave, and not say a word at all. (And then I imagine a Turk, Greek or an Iranian in that situation…I think their head would explode!)
Yeah. Estonia is similar to Norway in a way.
Yes, country houses are the old homes of our ancestors, but they were also purchased by people living in the city who wanted to retreat to the countryside during the holidays/summertime etc. During the 1930s my family had their countryhouse in Anija. I wish I could find it!
I am an Estonian and I gotta say i can agree on some things like kids being alone outside and the last one also and yeah if you like want to cross a road there is a high chance the car will stop and let you cross the road, sometimes the car wont stop and just ignore you completely
The story at the start is literally (near-)exactly my childhood as an estonian, except for the part about having siblings
This makes me more happy than you know.
Such a great video! Love it
Great video!
I'm from the Netherlands living already for 7 years in Estonia and can extremely relate to this video. It's funny that you talk about the family structures. My Estonian girlfriend indeed has only half siblings. She shares 2 sisters with the same dad and 1 brother with the same mom. Never knew it was this common.
Tere tere
in Nederland en in Belgie hetzelfde
My kinda of place - thanks for sharing
Great to have you here.
@@MananAnwar I hope to travel there this year - looks awesome kinda reminds of my time in Koln and Dusseldorf. I also lived in Siberia for 4 years so know a little about Russian life, history and customs. Lack of small talk is also common in Russia which suits me fine.
These are always fun to hear, these vids
We have a saying that in Estonia, president is only 2 phone calls away because somebody always knows somebody who knows somebody here. And every person you meet probably has a mutual friend or family tree member with you
Actually true in my experience.
People had summer cottage usually from soviet times as during those times it was encouraged to grow your own food during summer and store food in jars for winter. At the time land was not very expensive and in many cases was even given out by government for free / small fee. Many people build by themselves small houses and had gardens to grow food on tjose properties. Nowaday most old soviet people dont grow their of food anymore due to age and young ones just use property to relax during summer time
Thanks for sharing.
True country houses (loghomes built before war) are mostly inherited from grandparents. The little plots w greenhouses and small cabins/houses in a planned community - that’s not quite the same, plus it was a hassle to build during Soviet times, took years bc of lack of materials, bureaucracy, etc. I know, not everyone had grandparents living in the countryside but I did and most of my friends did (bc before the war rural life was more active) which I now think is true luxury. A private place in the woods.
Eating your stuff by yourself and having no expectations to share seems to be quite common in Manchester too. Occasionally you can get your friend to take some but getting him to take a sip from your whatever drink already open is still next to impossible. And even if you succeed in sharing- do not expect a return of favour next time he has crisps. Could happen still, just have your expectations low. Buying rounds in pub is normal. That's how sharing happens
1. Absolutely true. You can spend the entire day without talking.
2. I actually thought it was normal for 7 yr olds (1st graders) to walk their dog and go to the grocery store (and drink Ale Coq Original)
3. Well I mean the winters in Estonia are always like -15*C, so that might have something to do with it.
4. Well my family has been together since the dawn of time, but yes. Literally every family except my family has at least 1 divorce.
5. Ok, so I practically know 10% of the people in school and my school apparently has the most student's out of any other school in Estonia. Oh and if you live outside of Harjumaa, You might know every person in your county.
6. It's actually because of the construction of (old) estonian buildings. You see the winters are cold af and the summers are hot af. So old buildings don't have air conditioners, making the winters kind of cold and summers unbelievably hot. So some people have summerhomes, because of the hot summers. Also my family has our summer home as like a side project. Like we go there when we wanna work, but idk. I might just be completely wrong.
7. Yes, estonian drivers are unbelievably kind. Some even stop if they see you nearing the road. I don't know why though.
8. That might also be because estonians might be the most superstitious people in the world. They might think you are pulling a prank or something. That's another thing: we are tricksters too
9. Yes. We sleep naked, we go to sauna naked, we are naked in the changing room and walking across the living room half naked is totally fine in Estonia.
This comment was written by an estonian.
7. As estonian and driver, stopping before "zebra" crossing lane when pedastrian is nearing or crossing the road is not just kindness, it is a must, by law, rooted into drivers from early stages. But many highspeedsters just does not bother folllowing the law anyway so always be careful
Sharing snacks with others is just a good manner. We have always been taught that it is not polite to eat alone if you are in a company. Also it is not polite to take without asking.
As an Estonian, im surprised that all this stuff is that not normal
Indeed there are shared showers in places like schools and work places. I shower at work every day. But what mostly helped me get over shyness was the boot camp. The mandatory military training where I was for 11 months. You don't really have a choice there, where or even when to shower. After that I had no issues showering at work. But before I was shy, despite of saunas and stuff.
As to the laconic aspect of conversing, the less syllables the better, the more "konkreetsus" = concreteness, the better. And silence can be golden. But apparently the Finns have us Estos beat. The famous anecdote is of two men deciding to have a drink at a pub after work. They get their beers, and one lifts his glass, and says: "Cheers"! The other says: "Hey! Did we come here to speak or to drink"!?
This type of concreteness is called „sisu” in Estonian
Actually not saying hello or thank you to a cashier is not considered good manners.
Why many Estonians have family cottages - many people's families originate from the countryside. Even if children moved to a town/city, their parents (or some relatives) most likely stayed in the countryside and so the children could later visit them and maybe later would inherit their country houses. Some places were also returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union to the families they were taken from. Since Estonians are happy to own a place outside of city where they can stay and enjoy nature, they are not prone to selling these places, especially since they often have a sentimental value. Also, it's not that hard to get yourself a nice place in the middle of nowhere since the prices are not very high in these places; therefore the unlucky ones who still have no country cottage often get themselves one.
ei maksa unustada nõukogudeaegseid suvilaid ... nn suvilakoperatiivid .. paljudel juhtudel on tõesti tegu esivanemate koduga mida suudetakse sõbralikult jagada mitme pere vahel ....
In Finland we have similar approach to not talking and nudity. The non-talking thing comes from that we don’t like to talk anything extra, in a situation where it doesn’t need to be said. So either you talk what you need to, or don’t say anything. And we too have saunas.
No need to talk anyone here in Finland either, but it is concidered to be polite if you say "Hello" and "Thank you" for the cashier.
Well that the kids go by themself is very common at least in Nordic countries aswell.
That the babies sleep outside is normal in Nordic countries too.
It is so easy to chance your life partner so that is very common in Finland too.
Summer cottages are really common at least here in Finland and Sweden too.
Well here in Finland we have law that if someone want´s to cross a street from crosswalk section, then cars have to let them go. I think that the same thing is at least in Sweden too. Propably all around Europe.
Estonian people are so indepentend that sharing snacks, candy or what ever is not normal. Just like here in Finland, we buy our own snacks. Polite people might give some of them to friends or offer to give. But we respect if someone has bought something whit his/her own money we might take one or too but no more. And if you want to taste somthing from other person then you have to ask permition for that person first.
Ha ha, we have more saunas in Finland than cars so nudity is not tabu here either. Here we might have even mixed saunas with friends and it doesn´t matter are you guy or girl. There is nothing sexual about it and it is completly normal.
Very informative!
babies outside in winter is a common tradition yes it is for tempering and health purposes. Of course, parents check that they are not cold.
Since weapons are generally prohibited for private individuals and police control is very good, it is relatively safe for children to move and play alone.
😃😃
As a gun owner in Estonia I can say with confidence that getting a licence for carrying a gun is a lot cheaper and easier than getting a driving licence. In other words, firearms are LESS prohibited than cars.
@@piiluja And do you often see people carrying weapons in street scenes?
compared to other countries, Estonia is a flower garden 🤣
@@margitkaru2782 What I wanted to emphasize is that main reason why we don't have firearm-related crimes lies somewhere else than in availability of firearms. Firearms are not difficult legally to obtain, period. That firearms are "prohibited" in Europe is USA-ns excuse what actually has become a myth. Estonia has concealed carry law so you naturally can't notice gun even if some private person is carrying it. Btw in Switzerland there are more firearms per person than in USA, but I have never heard about school shooting in Switzerland.
Whether some country is safe or not, actual question is not in firearms availability. It is rather question of culture, but who would admit that their culture could be bad in some sense. And one part of Estonian culture is that we don't feel a need for a firearm, so ordinary people like you don't even know how easy it is to actually buy one, and think that it might be even prohibited.
@@piiluja Yes, it is true that a lot depends on the internal culture and upbringing of people
As an Estonian, safety one is definitely true, once i came home very late, and my mother was rather scared of police catching me, than some criminal or narco.
Haha, so true
About the pedestrian crossings, it is required by law to stop for pedestrians to let them cross the road. It is taught in driving schools and if you do not wait for someone to let them cross then you can get a fine, or on a driving test you can even fail the test because of it.
Manan bai Eid Mubarak 🎉
I'm an Estonian and i also slept outside when i was a baby. We had a house in sweeden that we visited pretty often. My mom told me a story when a random swedish dude called the police bc "a baby was left in a stroller outside in the snow". The baby was me and i was left infont of our house to sleep. Pretty normal thing here but not so much everywhere else.
😀😬🏂
Introverts dream to live in a place that doesn’t do smalltalk 😍
Being an Estonian, I’d say it’s actually quite rude not to say hello and thank you when going to a store or anywhere really. It comes naturally to me and mostly to cashiers as well. Especially in areas that speak predominantly Estonian. The thing might be that if you’re foreign looking, they just assume you don’t speak Estonian and won’t just bother saying something you don’t understand. Of course there are exceptions, but please people, be civilized and say “tere” (hello) and “aitäh” (thank you)
it's sad but estonians are rude ....
mine vaata poes mitu inimest teretab kassapidajat või tänab ... naeratamisest ma parem ei räägigi ... 50% juhtudest kui räägitakse kassapidajaga tuleb sealt midagi ebaviisakat... see on kurb reaalsus
@@klaabu99 Paljude eesmärgiks ei olegi minna poodi, et kassiiriga lobiseda. Eriti häirib kui saalitöötaja või letitagune tüütab fraasiga "Kas saan kuidagi aidata?". Viisakusest vastad "ei, aitäh", aga tahaks talle vastata: "Kas ma tõesti näen nii abitu välja". Pealetükkiv viisakus on üsnagi ebameeldiv nähtus, kuigi lõunapoolsetes maades täiesti tavaline ja normaalne.
@@klaabu99 Eestlased ütlevad küll. Pigem muust rahvusest ei ütle midagi, sest oi-oi äkki peab siis eesti keeles rääkima, mitte parusski. Kuna teenindajad ongi enamasti vene rahvusest ja seetõttu on vene rahvusest klientidel dilemma mis keeles tervitada ja parem siis ei tervitagi. Lasnamäe müüjad ise ka sel põhjusel sageli ei tervita -nende arvates ei sobi Lasnamäe kliente eesti keeles tervitada ja ootavad mis keeles klient ise alustab.
Sleeping in cold is good for adult also. Thick blanket and cold air, you sleep DAMN well.
Estonian here. You already missed 2 crucial things:
1) It is actually not normal for sauna to be mixed gender. It is normal for male only and female only saunas to be taken. Mixed gender saunas are rarer, and more of a thing in rural areas, where you don't even have anyone else besides your own family, and let's face it, we all have seen each other naked. Also, you always, and I mean always wear a sauna towel around private areas. So yhea, no, false.
2) #1 - You missed a couple of crucial things about not talking: We don't do small talk and we don't need customer service to always ask "Do you need anything." We actually see that as annoying and disgenuine. However, not saying hello to cashier or employees is considered rude.
3) #2 - We teach our kids like they are adults. We treat them like they are adults. We guide them like they are adults. However, the schools do not do that. (Seperate topic). We only treat kids like they are kids when it is really needed (And I don't need to include examples because they are obvious).
4) #3 - Lol. Yhea no, we usually don't do that. That is again rare. But when it's done, it's not that harmful. Thats because people actually know how to dress their children so they don't get too hot or too cold, and thus breathe fresh air that is far more healthier. Thing is, when a child is constantly outside, he is also armed with immune system capable of fending off quite a number of infectious diseases, including common cold. It is also quite rare for people to leave kids outside in big cities, but in smaller rural communities, it does happen.
Big cities are still quite dangerous, as the soviet era underground network is very much alive. This also means people are actually aware of the dangers and in a dangerous area or big city, actually not leave the kid outside. So not as crazy
5) #4 - Actually not true. It used to be a thing in the past, like, 5-10 years ago, it is much more rarer now. The reason for this is that Estonia actually has very strong family values. The downside is, Estonians also like to party. And results of those parties are usually unprotected sex. So yhea, it is more of a young peoples thing, and even then, only in certain age bracket. Outside of it, it really does not happen that much.
6) #5 Yhea, this one I can actually agree with. Estonia is so small that you can know everyone through everyone. As a result, it is real easy to burn bridges. Upside is, it is also easy´to catch gossip and nip it in the bud.
7) #6 It is indeed because of the Soviet Union. A lot of older people in Estonia managed to earn their houses through their labor, or just by writing to Moscow. As a result, a lot of families have inherited a lot of their houses. Also, quite a bit of them build houses from scratch thanks to high pay from neighbouring countries (Finland/Sweden etc)
8) #7 This is normal, because our generation made it normal. And it is enforced by younger generation. They always, and I mean always, walk on pedestrian paths without a care in the world. They know when they can get across.
It also common for the pedestrian to be an undercover cop and you getting pulled over and fined for not letting the pedestrian pass. Cops here have some creative ways to make money because the government keeps taking it away from them.
9) #8 Basically it's down to selfreliance. In Estonia, people are used to being self reliant, and as a result, quite shy about any help or sharing. However, once you are in the friend group...well... basically you have infinite money glitch.
10) #9 Again, not normal outside of rural areas, where pretty much everybody knows everybody. It is common in locker rooms and places like that because of school, but it also one of the biggest source of bullying. And the results can be very varied, from childhood trauma to straight out confidence in ones self, just because of how peers react.
It is common for children to be naked, and that because Estonia is humid. As a result, it is much easier to prevent issues by letting children run around without underpants (ofcourse within the confines of their own home). Then there are communal parties. It's a relic of soviet era, and pretty much always, if the parties get out of hand, people still respect their boundries. If someone get's kicked out of the party for any reason, it basically means loss of job, loss of livelyhood and even loss of life. As a result, in rural areas or tight knit communities it may be more common. But in cities, yhea, not common at all.
We do talk lol. People are different Manan. Great work covering the topic!
sounds great!
Numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 9 are leftovers from xUSSR. All other former parts have similar behave.
first timer here: i love the content! i sense you are frustatrated with EE or have very different sense of what's normal :) some of the things you consider crazy for me as a foreigner living in Slovenia seems quite normal: a lot of people here have cottages (by the seas in a different country :) or in the mountains and it doesn't exactly mean they are rich. it is not normal that if you eat stuff people jump into it with their fingers, they are supposed to be invited to participate, also it is the law that pedestrians have the priority when crossing the street and the cars are supposed to stop and sometimes they do, sometimes don't. It is also normal to be naked when you go to sauna (it is rude to be actually dressed), you have a towel, but that's it.
The silence thing is like in Finland. If you're with a group of Finns, sitting in silence, and you get uncomfortable with it and start chatting, you'll make them uncomfortable. I'm an American, and I often find Russians too chatty (e.g. when boarding airplanes). No idea how Estonians and Russians interact.
Cars stopping for pedestrians is same as in California.
I'd be curious to hear a list of differences between Estonians and Finns.
"No idea how Estonians and Russians interact. " - we have used to our differences, we look it strange but we accept that, from both sides. One thing to know: Estonian Russians (those younger than 50 years old) are different from Russian Russians. For example they are louder than Estonians (in average), but not so loud than proper Russians. And I think that Estonians are even quieter and less talkative than Finns.
Also we don't interact much. There are two parallel societies, Estonian and Russian. It roots from the fact that Estonia has two school systems: one in Estonian language for Estonian kids and another in Russian language for Russian kids. So kids from both nationalities have used to be with their own kind and will keep that separation also when they are adults. It's sad but that how it is. In smaller Estonian cities where are only Estonian schools such separation does not exist.
russian and estonian interaction: drinking vodka in silence...
@@klaabu99 How do you say, "Хорошо сидим" in Estonian?
@@simplulo hästi istume
@@klaabu99 I look forward to the day when I can use that. I'll be the third guy at the kitchen table.
Poping here as a french man Estonia looks very cool to me.
Try Iceland ❤️
Children sleep outside, even in winter in many countries like- Norway, Sweden, Iceland 🙂
Yeah. Same in Estonia.
The cottages are mostly from soviet era. They were not ment as a summer homes, but as small agricultural plots. And those plots were given out freely (needs confirmation). My grandmother got one. My mom could've gotten another in same general area, but it was too far from train station ( almost 3km vs 1.7km ) and they had no need for it anyway. And the lil plot... You could grow whatever you wanted there. We had apple trees... currant gooseberry raspberry bushes... carrots potatoes you name it. A lot of food for a small family. Not for whole year, but plenty. Funny thing about the houses is that you got given a plan for the house that was acceptable for that plot. Everyone got same plans, yet all the houses looked different ( floorplan was same ) . People built the houses from whatever materials they got their hands on.
i think they are 2 different things. small plots of land for agriculture were one thing and summer cottage is another. true is, one could build a small shed on this small plot, what building later might've been upgraded to living cabin. land use was maybe given for free; soviet times there was no land ownership, all land belonged to state, citizens had only using rights, not selling or buying.
Or, you had your grandparents’ country house, possibly even a traditional farmhouse (rehielamu).
Summer house its new i guess, but most had a piece of land to grow their own veggies, potatoes and etc. there shortages of food id say.. at least it was like that in Lithuania
In the north it is very dark in the winter, so they must make vitamin D in summer, so it healthy to be naked. Also in Romania we are obliged to offer food to others, and they can accept it if they are our friends or they are hungry
I think summer houses for everyone is not going to last long. It was a thing in the past where all our grandgrandparents had farms. They were passed down to our parents who already often share it with their siblings. A generation forward and us, their children, have to choose one of us or share it with 4 and so on. Just a young country thing i guess
1:52 That's pretty much right. You can go to a supermarket, buy your stuff, get out, and not say a word. The same goes for most daily activities; e.g., it would be pretty unusual to strike up a conversation with a total stranger on a bus. 2:58 This is where I disagree a bit. If you don't talk to anybody, ever, you would be considered a hermit. It's not like Estonia is some magical place where introversion is lauded. It would still be pretty weird if you were in a social gathering (e.g., a party, a club) and avoided any and all socialisation. It's about the same as other parts of the world, in that regard.
I'm from Eestonia and if I go to some shop then I never say a SINGLE word and it is really normal
I like the part about not talking. I would leave the house more often (during the daytime) to do some grocery shopping without having to engage in a small-talk-spiked staring contest with the cashier.
#2 and #3 true for Latvia, too!
In this matter of offering and accepting food, Brazilians are very similar. Take someone's snack and even ask it is considered rude. And it's polite not accepting food when offered even if you are hungry.
Damn Estonia and Brazil have cultural similarities. Who would have thought!😮
Pedestrian culture her is hit or miss,in turkey and thailand its mostly every man for himself, but in norway cars stop to let you cross from a mile away.
In estonia cars will stop, but i have had a couple of encounters with crazy or negligent drivers so its still best to keep caution IMO.
In lithuania we don't do sleeping kids outside, but everything else applies in Lithuania too
We are definitely very similar. But why do you guys not let your kids sleep outside?
I love Estonia! I like to travel but I have never seriously considered moving away from here. Because of things like the ones in the video, I think I'd never feel at home anywhere else. Great list! Although not saying "Hello" or "Thank you" to a cashier is just not nice. But more than that is definitely not expected. And some people (I think less then half) do not go to the sauna naked or some people only go if the people are all the same gender. And some people go only alone, not even with same gender family members. Depends on the person. It's fine to wear a swimsuit and people will not think you are weird but asking someone else to wear one does not happen. Ever.
I recommend watching the documentary Savusanna Sõsarad.
What did you think pedestrian crossings were for if not crossing the road. Of course cars are required to stop there. This is the law and the same everywhere I've been to.
The not talking thing is something that really struck me when I visited a few months ago. At first I thought they were just ignoring me as a fairly obvious tourist, but then I noticed that even neighbours who clearly recognised each other would walk up the stairs to their neighbouring flats without so much as a "hello"! Very bizarre. I don't necessarily dislike it, but it does take a while to get used to!
Definitely it takes time. Where are you from and when are you visiting again?
@@MananAnwar I'm from England 🙂 I'll be returning to Estonia in May or June. I'll hopefully be staying for a few months!
Everyone has a cottage due to Estonia being ~95% rural society last century and lots of these rural cottages and lands have been passed on for generations.
Similar things in Lithuania. 🇱🇹 It's funny to hear person describes one of the Baltic country that way! 😂👏
I grew up walking to school, riding my bike as a 4th grader 4-5 miles away from home when I got my first bike 🚴. Life in the 1980’s and early 90’s that was normal.
We were all playing outside till late and knew when the dinnertime was and after that went out again. I once wandered too far when I was 4 and when I got back my mom was crying, looking for me. It was easy to lose track of time bc in summer it doesn’t get dark before 11-12.