My Heart is Estonian

By Kirsten Laaspere on  2021-08-27

Technically, the majority of my heritage is Swedish and it can be clearly seen in my features (I will never forget the ticket taker at the Swedish heritage event in Boston who spoke to me in Swedish thinking I was legit - I had no idea what you were saying but I appreciated the compliment!) But while it is only a quarter of my lineage, my heart is pure Estonian.

My grandfather was born in Estonia and has an incredible story too detailed to recall here. He didn’t talk about it often, but his character demonstrated his Estonian nature across everything he did. Through pure osmosis, my connection to a country I had never visited and knew very little about took seed and grew into an essential part of who I am.

I have since been to Estonia twice, read many books about the country, and helped organize the Baltic Centennial event in Boston. One of my favorite cultural anecdotes is that Estonians prefer to be exactly on time because being early is rude to the host who is not yet ready and being late is rude because they are waiting for you. I have been known to wait outside doors and knock at exactly the arrival time so it turns out that’s my Estonian nature coming through!

Estonia regained its independence in 1991 and spent the next decades skyrocketing into the future, building a tech mecca in a country that is about 50% forest.

If you want to learn about me, learn about Estonia. The small Baltic country has my heart.