Eesti
I’m Birgit. A girl, born and raised in Pärnu who loves adventures and new challenges. I’m always radiating positivity, I’m determined, I have a great sense of humour and I can be stubborn at times.
Three facts about me:
- I love dancing! My father took me to a folk dance class when I was 7 years old and after that I’ve cultivated different dancing styles, been a dancing tutor and until this day I have a temptation to participate in any kind of a dancing battle (at the club, mostly).
- I was born at the same date and time as the Estonian Restoration of Independence was. This particularly important event has allowed me to meet Edgar Savisaar and to hoist the Estonian flag at the top of the Pikk Hermann (Tall Hermann).
- I have a habit of doing everything really fast and to be the first one to do some things. I think it might have come from the elementary school when I always just needed to be the first one to get a seat on the bus or in the school cafeteria. Fortunately, I can say that I don’t rush into everything headfirst anymore, as this habit has settled down quite a bit for now.
You are an EBS alumni now. Tell us a funny story related to EBS which comes you’re your mind.
I remember one funny moment from the first year of my studies here.
Our Spanish teacher Tiia Maria had a birthday so our whole group decided to surprise her with a Tiramisu cake and a champagne. She was so flattered by it that our 1,5 hour Spanish lesson turned into a big dance party and everyone was sweating by the end of the lesson.
You are still taking part of our sport events and you help the SC sports team out. What keeps you doing it?
The people! And of course, it’s a great feeling when you can be involved and get together to do some sports!
Years ago, when I started to lead the SC’s sports field on my 3rd year of school, it wasn’t as important of a field as it is now. There were a few sports events and the participation from the side of EBS, at the competitions meant for universities, was really low.
Thanks to a super hard working and active team, sport got a different meaning to it and reached to a whole new level at EBS. Today, EBS is scoring high at the competitions and students show that they want to be involved in different sports events.
That’s the reason I still do want to participate. Doing and creating these awesome events with great people, who all have accomplished so much, motivates me to be sportier and more active.
You have lived in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and in Spain. You also worked in those countries at different positions. What were the 5 most important lessons/experiences that you keep in mind for the rest of your life?
Get a hold of new opportunities.
Thanks to that, I got to go from Australia to Denmark and even to New Zealand. I got to be a tractor operator at a farm, a cleaning lady in a hotel, a bus driver and even an installer of fibre cables.
Be patient: including opportunities, people and different life situations.
Appreciate other cultures and people.
In New Zealand, I was hosted by a Muslim family form Lebanon. They were one of the kindest and understanding people I’ve ever met.
It’s easy to judge people form other cultures. Travelling and living outside of your own home country helps to see and evaluate different cultures and people from another perspectives.
Take every experience as a lesson for life.
As we were travelling to Australia, we were hit by bad luck for three times in a row, when someone “offered us a job” and demanded money for it. We lost our money but didn’t end up getting the jobs. We were so poor after this that all 5 of us had to live in a Mitsubishi Magna. Luckily, we found a great employer pretty soon and got ourselves a home.
This experience wasn’t pleasant, but I’ve never regretted it. Thanks to this misadventure I’ve grown to be more sceptical towards people who ask for money for a job.
Live simply, in a minimalist way.
I started my adventures with a 25 kg suitcase which turned into a 10 kg backpack in 3 years. You don’t need a lot (of materialistic property) to live!
Why should everyone try to live abroad for at least 6 months?
Whether it would be Spain, Uganda or even Greenland, there are many-many reasons for that. It offers you lots of great experiences, you can broaden your horizon and gather some life knowledge (which you don’t get from school, usually). Mainly, it breaks you out of your comfort zone and helps you to realise what’s really important in life. So, I genuinely recommend going on an exchange through Erasmus or just to travel the world for some time, to anyone who hasn’t already done that. There are lots of opportunities for that nowadays and I suggest taking a hold of at least few of them.
What’s your job right now and where do you see yourself in 10 years?
For two years, I’ve worked as a financial auditor at Grant Thornton Baltic in Tallinn. If someone is searching for a fast growth in finance, then audit is just the job for it!
Maybe it sounds a bit like a cliché, but I’d like to say that in 10 years from now, I seed myself being happy. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what’s your job position or where do you live, as long as you’re happy.
Who inspires you? Why?
I’m inspired by my grandmother. She’s 83 years old and has a soul of miracle person. When she’s not making a three-course dinner to 60 tourists in Kihnu then she’s rolling around being productive on the mainland.
What’s surprising to me is that she has a really great memory. There is not one thing, date or a person that she doesn’t remember! Birthdays, phone numbers, the names of her childhood neighbours’ grandchildren… Just ask and she’ll remember! It’s unbelievable! She’s the person that inspires me to always be kind to other people, active and productive every day! 🙂
Translator: Marlen Kuusk
Editor: Tea Teesalu
