Eesti
Introduce yourself briefly .
Hey, my name is Christina Haufiku. I am 21 years old and I’m from my beautiful country Namibia. I study at EBS International Business Administration majoring in marketing (final year). I hope you enjoy my Meet Me Monday blog:)
Three facts about you?
- I am both introverted & extroverted (strong empath). It really just depends on the environment and the energy around me. Overall though, I’d categorize myself as super easy going and calm.
- I loveee old school music from the 90’s/2000 but also soulful Motown music from the 70s. Like Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Bill Withers, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross etc etc. I’m definitely an old soul in a young body hahaha.
- I really want to learn how to play the Piano. I hope I can get around to it sometime this year!
You have lived in many different countries, which ones and where do you see yourself living in the future?
Yes.. so because my parents work with the Namibian Embassy, we moved around a lot. So far
I’ve lived in 6 countries; Namibia (3 years), Belgium (13 years), Finland (6 months), Ethiopia (2 years), Estonia (almost 4 years), and a Paris student exchange experience (5 months). You can actually find out more about the France exchange experience on the EBS podcast Just Go #10 France. As for my experience with moving around so much, to me it has honestly become such a norm. I studied at international schools and I’d say this was the most stable part of moving. I never had to adapt to a completely new school system which was great. They all stayed relatively the same and had the same missions and values. In addition, I made friends with a lot of amazing people from all around the world, amongst whom most have similar backgrounds of moving internationally due to their parents’ jobs. It was only really when I entered “the real world” when I realized that it’s actually pretty different and out of the norm to live this kind of lifestyle. So that was a pretty cool contrast.
As for where I see myself living in the future. I am not too sure yet. For now, I aspire to just honestly live my best life exploring the world and growing as a person. So, it’s kind of hard to really pinpoint where I’ll be… but I definitely will be on a mission to start my own business along the way. I have strong interests in social entrepreneurship as it’s impact-driven. That’s what motivates me and is essentially the ultimate end goal if we are talking career-wise. So, for now.. I’ll be everywhere. But at some point, I do plan on moving back to the motherland Africa <3, it might be Namibia, or it might be another country in Africa. I’ll figure that out as I go.
Why did you choose EBS and would you recommend it to others?
Prior to EBS, I attended a different university for a year. I wasn’t a fan of the quality of education there, so I decided to switch universities completely. It was then a decision between TelTech and EBS (both really great universities). But in the end, the location of EBS at the time was the most convenient for me. So that was so to speak the “deal-breaker”. But overall EBS has a great social media presence (I stalked the school prior hehe) so I was confident that the university would be a great fit for me. I would definitely recommend the university to others. It is getting more diverse and the quality of education is great. I’d say (and this could be applied to a lot of other universities as well) you get what you put in. Classes are pretty intimate, ask your questions, give suggestions, network, and put in the work;)
Tell us about your big family?
Well, I am one out of a family of eight. Three boys and five girls. We didn’t all grow up in the same house at once as me and my twin were the last ones to be born. Everyone else is older (I am 21). A fact about our family is that it’s always busy during family holidays and reunions. Never a dull moment with the Haufikus! I guess the most interesting thing is that we all came out of the same household yet literally all have different interest fields. I’m really into business (Entrepreneurship/Business Development) amongst the sisters there’s International Relations, Architecture, Interior Design and Law. Amongst the brothers, there’s Sports Management, Engineering and Law. So, we got the whole squad. It’s not always butterflies and rainbows but for the most part, we do get along and I wouldn’t swap or change it for the world. Too many untradeable memories with the fam♥️
What do you like to do in your free time?
To be honest my favourite thing to do is to blast music when I’m home alone and just sing and dance around whilst I cook or something hahaha. Overall though I’d say my free time is pretty balanced. I love spending time with my close friends or family. Whether that’s chilling, eating, adventuring, going out or just simply enjoying each other’s company as we do nothing. I also enjoy time on my own. During this time if I am stressed, I usually resort to things I can be creative with, whether that’s cooking (I call it the yolo kitchen as I never know what I’m doing, yet surprisingly it turns out ok most of the time hahaha), reorganizing stuff (anything crafty), watching random Youtube videos for entertainment, growth or inspiration and of course self-pampering stuff. I also enjoy vision boards, this mainly involves mood boards of things I’d like to attract in life, goal setting, and a lot of reflecting. As for TV shows… it’s most definitely Grey’s Anatomy for the win! At this point, I am 100% certified to be an ER Surgeon. Someone hand me the scalpel, “it’s a beautiful day to save lives” hehe.
What do you love most about Estonia?
I love Estonian nature. I never used to be a nature girl (bugs, mosquitos, a scary person with an axe hehe). But I can say that it has truly grown on me and changed my perspective on things like camping for example. I now love camping. In Tallinn, I’ve also found myself enjoying the fact that the city is small. When moving around, I always lived in bigger busier cities and this was definitely the change I needed. Also, it’s super student friendly when I compare the prices that my friends are paying on a day-to-day basis, especially university fees. We are definitely winning here hahaha. Overall though Estonia is definitely a place a person should come visit both in summer and in wintertime. They’re both very different experiences and local Estonians are usually happy to help or show you around. All you gotta do is ask;)
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
Greed is the stem of all our problems and lack of compassion and love. If I could change anything in the world, it would be for people to be more compassionate and loving towards one another (stranger or no stranger). People need to learn how to coexist, so we all get to enjoy the fruits of earth and life. Some might feel like my answer is typical (generic or corny), but if you really sit down and think about it, what issues would we have? In my opinion, those 3 elements are the broken roots of all our problems.
Ps: If you’re reading this right now, you can probably think of a list of things that you are grateful for even if they’re basic. Those are all blessings. Don’t forget to give back in whatever shape or form once in a while or even daily. Make those small changes that’ll create a better tomorrow. Everyones small, creates a big. Make it a norm.
