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 In
comparison to, say, Italians, the Estonians certainly are introverted.
Don’t expect people to spew
their life stories out at you on first meeting, or pledge insincere
but eternal friendship over a couple of drinks. Estonians are calm,
polite people, who detest excessive displays of emotion and value
their own—and other people’s—time. Silence is golden here. Like
the Finns, if the Estonians have nothing to say, they enjoy saying
nothing, rather than feeling forced to make small talk. And
coldhearted? Not a bit of it. Friendship in Estonia means something.
People here don’t feel compelled to clothe every minor social
transaction with a lot of superfluous pleasantries. They enjoy the
company of their own friends a lot, and don’t feel driven to chum up
with every stranger they meet. However, younger Estonians are often
more relaxed about casual acquaintances with new people; check out a
night club for proof.
“What has saved us from being
overwhelmed by other cultures is disbelief about the things the world
babbles on to us about. Estonians always doubt the values being
offered to them without becoming too dramatic about it.”—Estonian
novelist Jaan Kross.
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