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My way to Tartu

I have always wanted to travel abroad for postgraduate studies to see the world and meet new people. I did not just want to study, I wanted it to be in a calm, scenic and affordable place. It was therefore love at first sight when I came across the University of Tartu on

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late December 2019. By January 2020 I had put together my application and applied for the MA programme in International Law and Human Rights. My joy knew no bounds when on the 7thof May 2020, right amidst the gloomy lockdown and the Covid-19 global pandemic, I received a conditional offer from the University of Tartu. I proceeded immediately to fulfil the conditions of my offer and mailed the relevant documents to the admissions department for consideration. On the 30thof June 2020, I received an email confirming my enrolment and my arduous but rather exciting journey to Tartu began. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and most countries under lockdown, it was not clear how I was going to make it to Estonia. To compound my worries, there is no Estonian embassy in Nigeria my home country and the closest Estonian representation is in Egypt. I got really agitated when other institutions in Estonia began to cancel or postpone admission offers of third country students but my worries were laid to rest when I received an email notifying me that studies would be held online until most students are able to make it to Estonia. I paid my tuition even when it wasn’t yet clear that I would make it to Estonia. The closest Estonian embassy to Nigeria is in Egypt and so I wrote to the Consulate to book a date. I got a prompt response and was scheduled for the 3rdof November 2020. To travel to Egypt however, I needed an Egyptian visa and also had to apply to the Egyptian embassy in Nigeria. On my visit to the Egyptian embassy I was informed that visit and tourist visas were as then suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I met similar disappointment at the Turkish, Israeli and Belarusian embassies. I was considering differing my studies to the next academic session when I got the good news that a new Estonian embassy will be opening in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I quickly wrote to the Embassy and secured the 12th of November 2020 for an appointment and cancelled my appointment with the Estonian embassy in Egypt. I had no problem securing a tourist visa to the UAE however, the Estonian Embassy following the regulations in place in the capital city of Abu Dhabi, required that all visitors to the embassy must have stayed within the UAE for at least 14 days before their appointments. So on the 26th of October 2020 I left Nigeria for the first time in my life after taking the Covid-19 test and getting a negative result. I was excited about what lies ahead but I was also sad about leaving my family and friends. I boarded Rwandair with two stopovers in Accra and Kigali, the longest I have ever travelled by air. I arrived Dubai, UAE on the 27th of October 2020 to meet my cousins who were to host me waiting to receive me. I took another Covid-19 test before leaving the airport and travelling to Ajman where my cousins live and study. I settle in Ajman quickly and quite enjoyed my stay there. My daily routine included taking a short walk to the Starbucks café where I use the free internet to participate in lectures or following my cousins to the neighbouring city of Sharjah to use the public library for my assignments and course work. Days rolled into weeks and my appointment with the embassy was approaching. Sincerely, I was worried; prior to my interview, I had never been to a visa interview. The UAE visa I applied for was done online and physical presence or interview was not required. I was worried about being rejected after I had left my job at home, paid my tuition and said goodbye to friends and family. Before then however, my birthday was the 9th of November and my cousins and new friends made it a memorable one with a little celebration which took my mind off the pressure of the visa application and appointment. To visit the Estonian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, I had to take another Covid-19 test to be allowed in at the border. I took the test on the 10th of November and the result was ready by the 11th November. I readied all the needed documents and my credentials and set out early on the 12th of November from Ajman to meet up with my 11:30am appointment with the Embassy in Abu Dhabi. I arrived the Abu Dhabi border at about 7:45am and to my dismay, the border police denied me entry and asked my cousin who volunteer to drive me to the embassy to turn back. I was shocked to my core, I had all the necessary documents and I had taken the compulsory Covid-19 test; so why am I asked to turn back? As I am not one to give up easily, I asked my cousin to make a U-turn and try again. The same officer once again asked us to turn back, this time angrily. I tried to explain to him that I had an important appointment to catch-up with but he was not interested in anything I had to say. The officer then told me that Nigerian passport holders are not allowed into Abu Dhabi. I was perplexed and realised the officer was acting on his own volition as there was no prior official announcement to that effect. He ordered us to turn back and once again I was denied entry. Not knowing what to do, we parked at a gas station from where I called the Estonian embassy to explain my ordeal. The voice at the other end of the phone was so assuring and agreed to move my appointment by an hour if I can make it in. We drove to the border for the third time hoping for a miracle or a different officer and luckily this time we were attended to by a different and really amiable officer who only check my passport, confirmed I took the Covid-19 test and set me on my way. The experience at the border really shook me and I arrived at the embassy looking very distraught. Surprisingly the lady that attended to me was very friendly as though to compensate for my unpleasant experience at the border. I explained the challenge I encountered getting into Abu Dhabi and the embassy offered to have my passport delivered to me in Ajman when a decision is taken provided I make the necessary arrangement with a courier company. I took the offer with both hands, thanked the consular official and left. On the 16th of November 2020, I received an email confirming that a decision had been taken on my visa application and on the 17th of November the courier company I had earlier contracted delivered my passport with the Estonian visa stamped in it. I booked a Lufthansa flight and left the UAE in the wee hours of the 21st of November 2020. I had a 12 hours layover in Frankfurt, Germany and arrived Tallinn airport around 1:30am on the 22nd November 2020. As the taxi drove me to the hostel where I would be isolating for the next ten days in compliance with the Covid-19 regulations, I wound down the window and to allow some of the drizzling cold Estonian rain touch my face. I then, like William E. Henley “thank(ed) whatever gods may be…” for my resilient spirit – probably the same manner of resilience that has kept the University of Tartu going since 1632. Same manner of resilience I would be needing to excel in my programme for the next two years.

Submission by Emmanuel Jonathan

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My way to Tartu

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Submission by Emmanuel Jonathan

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My Way to Tartu

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Submitted by Obidi ojochide

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It was an adventure that I will remember for my lifetime. I had so many impressions! I think I could write a satirical poem about this trip, but instead of this I decided to write this post. Ok, let’s start! This spring I entered the University of Tartu. I could not even imagine what difficulties I was going to face! I lived in St. Petersburg, so it was always very easy, quick and cheap to travel to any Baltic country by bus. However, everybody knows that state borders have been closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, so all land transport moving borders has been canceled. But I had to go!

It was great that the University of Tartu provided a free transfer for students who had to arrive from other countries. I decided to use this service and agreed the date of my arrival with the university administration. The university vehicle was supposed to pick me up at the Estonian border in Narva. However, I had to cross the border on foot.

I decided to get to Ivangorod by Lux Express bus. Ivangorod is a city on the Russian border (just in case you are not aware). I arrived very well. The bus was big and there were few people, so everyone even kept his distance😷

I knew that three UT students came with me on the shuttle. So I tried to guess which of the passengers were these students during the trip.

When I left the bus, I faced the first problem. The road was being repaired on the way to the state border. I had to carry my suitcase in my hands to pass this part of the road. However, my bag was too big and heavy, so I could hardly lift it.

Suddenly one young man came up and offered to help me. He walked towards the border with two girls. We started talking. I asked if they were new UT students. And … yes, they were!

It was more fun to go together. We joked and even took a photo near the border. But then the difficulties began.

We stood in line for a long time at the border post. When at last I handed my passport and admission letter to the border guard, he just shook his head:

- What is it? Why are your documents in English?

It turned out that nobody, NOBODY at the border post spoke English well enough to translate the document (admission letter, of course, was in English).

The border guards called someone and told me and my new friends to step aside and wait for an officer who spoke English to arrive at the border post.

Just in case, I know that there are many employees at the border post in Ivangorod. I’m sure many of them know English. We were just very “lucky”! So I was very angry and at the same time exhausted.

Moreover, we were so nervous! Standing aside, we saw how the border guards refused to allow some people to leave the country. We were afraid that some mistake might happen and the border guards wouldn’t allow us to leave the country.

However, everything comes to end someday. So the one and only English-speaking border guard came to us! He looked at our admission letters and said that everything was ok with our documents. So we went across the border, being in seventh heaven.

Everything went very quickly on the Estonian border and we were in Peetri square in half an hour.

We began to look for our shuttle. We walked around the square and looked into all the cars, but then we resigned ourselves to the fact that we had to wait. The weather was clearly against us. It was rain, a strong wind was blowing. So we stood in the square and ate chicken cutlets😄 One of my new friends took them out of her suitcase and shared. I hadn’t eaten since morning, but because of the constant anxiety, I didn’t feel hungry. Now when I was in Estonia, I felt a great relief, and the feeling of hunger returned to me.

Then we saw a minivan driving into the square. This turned out to be our shuttle. The driver was very nice. I became convinced of this in practice on the way. Once our car drove too close to a rather expensive Mercedes. Then this Mercedes overtook us and blocked the road. The driver of that car jumped out and started shouting loudly at our driver 🤭 I don’t speak Estonian, but for some reason I was sure that he expressed extreme dissatisfaction and indignation😬

However, our driver didn’t go to the conflict, he calmly and patiently answered all the claims. The sweetest thing was the moment when he turned to me and began to convince that Estonians really are not like that! – This case is an exception! In fact, all Estonians are kind and very nice people! – he spoke, smiling broadly😊

The driver took me right to the door of my new house. He took my suitcase out of the car and apologized for the incident on the road once again. – So, welcome to Tartu! – he said, making an inviting gesture with his hands. – Yes, finally! – I answered with a tired smile.

It was already evening. I spent the whole day on the road. It was a day full of adventures and various emotions, both positive and negative. Thanks to the university shuttle, I made new friends. I‘m still in touch with the guys I met on the way, although they study at a different faculty. I will definitely never forget Ivangorod, the Russian border post, where no one knew English, and a friendly Estonian driver. So this is how my life in Tartu began!

Submitted by Ekaterina Kolevatova

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28th August 2020

6:30 p.m. - on the road

Dear diary,

My parents are driving me from the Asiago Plateau to Milano.

I am looking outside of the window to grasp for one last time the surroundings.

My beloved mountains are covered in a sea of clouds.

As I wave them goodbye, the unusual cloudiness for an Italian late summer evening seems to me a signal that they are also saying me goodbye.

28th August 2020

3:40 am - Milano, airport of Milano Malpensa

Dear diary,

I am in the airport, waiting for boarding the plane that -hopefully- will take me to Estonia.

It’s so confusing: no one knows what to do since starting from next Monday Italy will be considered a risk zone.

Now the Italian airport operators are saying that the flight might be cancelled.

5:50 am - Milano

It has started to rain, still no clue if my flight is authorised to fly.

I am feeling anxious.

29th August 2020

9:30 am – Milano

Dear diary,

Good news! We are allowed to go!

As I am writing this I am sitting on the plane, looking outside of the window with my fingers crossed, hoping that everything will turn out fine.

12:30 am – somewhere in eastern Europe

Outside of my window small tiny clouds are scattered like in a Constable painting.

It feels so strange to finally be able to dream about arriving safe and sound in Estonia.

I haven’t slept since yesterday but I’m not feeling tired at all, my mind is full of thoughts and doubts

29th August 2020

16:30 am – Tartu

Dear diary,

Yesterday felt like a week! Only right now, while I am watching the Estonian countryside I realise that I actually made it to Estonia.

It feels both so scary and exciting to start this new adventure.

The weather is warmer than I expected and as I am taking a step forward my future it seems to me that the lovely Estonian sky is welcoming me to my new home.

Submitted by Irene Zanandrea

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My way to Tartu: A letter to myself

Dear Lucie from August 2020,

Congratulations on getting accepted to the University of Tartu for your autumn semester Erasmus stay! I know you have been dreaming about this for a long time. I also know you already started planning everything because we love to plan things, right? Well, I am your future self, Lucie from November 2020. I am here to warn you. Stop right now. Really, please, do not do it. Do not plan a single thing.

Where should I start? You booked a flight for August 30, and you are aware that it takes off from Vienna quite early in the morning. However, your boyfriend promised to drive you there, so it should not be too bad, right?

Ten days before you are supposed to leave, your flight gets canceled. Nevermind, you think, there are still two more companies flying from Vienna to Tallinn. So you book another flight. It gets canceled three days before your departure. You are still kind of okay with this, and you try to keep optimistic as you always do. You are still living with the illusion of a calm departure from your home country, the Czech Republic.

When you have the last two days before your departure, guess what happens! My poor thing, the flight, as well as your last hopes for a quick and comfortable way to Tartu, is canceled. In the cold wave of shock, you recall that your friend recommended you a bus going from Prague to Riga and then to Tallinn. You start searching. You find it. To get to Tartu the day you planned, you have to leave in less than 24 hours.

Do you still remember how you planned your calm departure? Let me show you how it really happens: Panic. Last-minute packing. A series of very rush goodbyes. A night with two or three hours of sleep. More panic. A drive to Prague. By the way, you will be crying all the way to Prague - partially because of sadness from leaving but also because of the anger from your plans being destroyed completely. I warned you not to plan a single thing.

In Prague, you somehow manage to say goodbye to your boyfriend who drove you there. You get on the bus, and then in Riga, you change to Tallinn, and in Tallinn, you change to Tartu. Does it sound way too fast for more than 30 hours on the bus? It does, but after all the stress, it really does feel this way. And compared to the waterfalls on your way to Prague, you do not shed a single tear on your way from Prague to Tartu.

Wait, actually, you drop a tear or two when your bus arrives in Tartu. This time, it is the happiness that you made it. You feel like you have just finished a marathon that you lost - but you made it to the end. And the successful finish is the only thing that matters. You are exhausted but extremely happy at the same time.

My dear Lucie from August 2020, I really wish letters could travel back in time.

With love Lucie from November 2020

Submitted by Lucie Čejková

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