Hello Friends, This week marked the start of Ramazan across the world. If you don't know then in Ramazan Muslims abstain from eating or drinking from sunrise till sunset for the whole month. These days we have a day of about 13 hours. But back then when I first came to Estonia 10 years ago, the day lasted almost 19 hours. This was really challenging. Especially in the first week. There is a feeling of drowsiness and lethargy that makes you want to keep lying down. But this feeling goes away...
7 months ago • 1 min read
This realization hit me in my second year of living in Estonia. The first year of my life abroad was about survival: How to get a place? How to manage expenses? How to take care of food and eating out? All of these can be managed. All this needs is some experience and a helping hand.And then, in the second year things started to shift. Now that I was settled, at least for survival. I felt lonely. I had always been an introvert. But I came from an extroverted culture. So making friends was...
8 months ago • 1 min read
When I first arrived in Estonia in 2014, it was a complete reset of my life. I knew no one. I had no friends. No acquaintances.So I turned to YouTube, and there I tried to look for any information on what I could I expect when I arrived there. Sadly, there was hardly any. Some videos here and there, but nothing to reassure me. Nothing really spoke to me. It was a complete reset. I started learning everything from scratch. And made tonnes of mistakes. -I paid 300 euros for a crappy 12-bunk...
9 months ago • 2 min read
Firstly I wish you a Happy New Year.I am writing to you because you came across my work on YouTube and expressed interest in my life in Estonia. Now I have a special announcement. I am really happy to announce that I am finally launching an online course about life in Estonia for foreigners. Here are the details:The course will be held online over Google Meet for 4 weeks. Each online session will be 1.5 hours including time for questions. Tentative Time is Sunday 1900 EEST Week 0: I will have...
10 months ago • 1 min read
So there I was, It was my first day in my new apartment in Estonia. As we used to do in Pakistan, I had prepared a meal and I took it to my neighbour. Just to introduce myself and say hi.So I knocked again.The lady came out. I could immedietly tell that she was annoyed and puzzled.I had already remembered the estonian sentence, I handed the dish and introduced myself. She took the plate, went inside and came back with an empty one.And handed me the plate. Turned again and closed the door....
over 1 year ago • 1 min read