After Three Years, Here I Am
After almost three years here in Tallinn, I still get the question - why did you move to Estonia? And my answer is every time a bit different, because there were many reasons involved in the decision. But as my flatmate always says - I have the impression that Estonia chose me.
[caption id="attachment_39405" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Isaac's graduation.[/caption]
I arrived in Tallinn on Saturday 23th August 2014 at 6:30 am, and I can say that I was lucky that my plane departed late because, what could have I done in Tallinn from 3:30 AM with two huge pieces of luggage? I stayed in a hostel for almost 12 days until I could find a place to live. Indeed, when moving to a new place the most difficult challenge is to find a place to live, especially if you don’t want to stay in a dorm, thus I will always recommend to start in the dorm and then move when things are more stable and easier. If you are planning to find an apartment, the best websites are and .
But turning to the first question of the blog, I came to Tallinn to study my MA degree in . I feel Tallinn University like home, it’s a big labyrinthic campus in the middle of Tallinn with really cozy and modern rooms, and something that I always love is that there is no single place in the campus that looks the same. I didn’t find the difficult, but, of course, you have to prepare well your application and demonstrate your motivation. Once you are already in, nothing is too complicated.
What I liked from my programme was mainly the different subjects about media and communication, especially the ones about politics, and the lecturers because many of them are practitioners and they gave examples of their everyday work. I also liked the fact that I could do an inside my programme, I thought that I was already old for more changes, but I discovered that Tallinn University gives you a lot of facilities for studying abroad one or two semesters. So, I went to Rotterdam for my 1-semester exchange in the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. What can I say? It was as well a really amazing experience, but my heart kept beating for Tallinn.
When I came back I really felt the pressure that I was close to the last pages of a chapter. It was a challenging semester because I had to finish my last subjects, write my thesis and I even got a job. For those interested, I decided to do a research about the former Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, more specifically, about how his image as a brand was portrayed in social media. It was really fun and exhausting, but when it’s done, all taste sweet.
I found a job, and one year after I am still working for one of the best startups in Estonia (not so startup anymore). I work in , a platform for international money transfers between different currencies. We use the system peer-to-peer for transferring money which saves our customers 45 million EUR a month. Inside TransferWise I am learning a lot, it’s this kind of companies that give you a lot of freedom and responsibility and you become in your own manager. But the pressure is also on you, and you are the only one responsible for your productivity and effectiveness, so it’s also a good school where to learn.
Living in Tallinn is amazing! You feel that the city is small and cozy, but at the same time, you have all that you need. I have the impression that I built a lot here but things are not eternal, so I keep renovating my “contract” with Estonia while I feel I still have something to learn here. But one thing is really clear, moving to Estonia for studying at Tallinn University has become of one of the best decisions in my life. Thanks to all the people who made it and are making it unique.
Text by Isaac Díaz Carpio ( alumnus).
Isaac's graduation.[/caption]
I arrived in Tallinn on Saturday 23th August 2014 at 6:30 am, and I can say that I was lucky that my plane departed late because, what could have I done in Tallinn from 3:30 AM with two huge pieces of luggage? I stayed in a hostel for almost 12 days until I could find a place to live. Indeed, when moving to a new place the most difficult challenge is to find a place to live, especially if you don’t want to stay in a dorm, thus I will always recommend to start in the dorm and then move when things are more stable and easier. If you are planning to find an apartment, the best websites are and .
But turning to the first question of the blog, I came to Tallinn to study my MA degree in . I feel Tallinn University like home, it’s a big labyrinthic campus in the middle of Tallinn with really cozy and modern rooms, and something that I always love is that there is no single place in the campus that looks the same. I didn’t find the difficult, but, of course, you have to prepare well your application and demonstrate your motivation. Once you are already in, nothing is too complicated.
What I liked from my programme was mainly the different subjects about media and communication, especially the ones about politics, and the lecturers because many of them are practitioners and they gave examples of their everyday work. I also liked the fact that I could do an inside my programme, I thought that I was already old for more changes, but I discovered that Tallinn University gives you a lot of facilities for studying abroad one or two semesters. So, I went to Rotterdam for my 1-semester exchange in the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. What can I say? It was as well a really amazing experience, but my heart kept beating for Tallinn.
When I came back I really felt the pressure that I was close to the last pages of a chapter. It was a challenging semester because I had to finish my last subjects, write my thesis and I even got a job. For those interested, I decided to do a research about the former Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, more specifically, about how his image as a brand was portrayed in social media. It was really fun and exhausting, but when it’s done, all taste sweet.
I found a job, and one year after I am still working for one of the best startups in Estonia (not so startup anymore). I work in , a platform for international money transfers between different currencies. We use the system peer-to-peer for transferring money which saves our customers 45 million EUR a month. Inside TransferWise I am learning a lot, it’s this kind of companies that give you a lot of freedom and responsibility and you become in your own manager. But the pressure is also on you, and you are the only one responsible for your productivity and effectiveness, so it’s also a good school where to learn.
Living in Tallinn is amazing! You feel that the city is small and cozy, but at the same time, you have all that you need. I have the impression that I built a lot here but things are not eternal, so I keep renovating my “contract” with Estonia while I feel I still have something to learn here. But one thing is really clear, moving to Estonia for studying at Tallinn University has become of one of the best decisions in my life. Thanks to all the people who made it and are making it unique.
Text by Isaac Díaz Carpio ( alumnus).
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