Day 10: The Last Day

On the final morning we made our very last walking tour together as a group. We walked around the newer part of the city and stopped in Tallinn's Freedom square. At this site we stopped to listen to a presentation on the cyber attacks. It made me think about what freedom really means. It seems to me that these days freedom is increasingly ideological and increasingly difficult to protect. The more interconnected we become in terms of communication and technologies (globalization of course), the more notions of independence and freedom are required to change. We are never free from the influence of one another, neither individual people, cultures, or governments.

Tallinn's Freedom Square.

Afterward, we took a bus out from the center of the city to see the housing built in the Soviet times and get a better understanding of what life might have been like for the Estonian people during these difficult times. I understand poverty. My family was on food stamps when I was young, so perhaps some of the other students were more impacted by this excursion. However it was definitely valuable to see how people were living and how it was designed in such a way to keep segregation within the city between the Russians and the Estonians. I could certainly feel how dreary and depressing this place must have been. It is no wonder this area had extremely high crime, domestic violence and alcoholism problems.

Soviet neighborhood just outside of Tallinn's center. 

Especially the topics of the last day caused me to reflect on the theme of transition we had been discussing for the past nine days. Although a period of transition provides many opportunities, it presents an equal number of challenges. The political changes are easiest and come first, these lead to economic reforms and then social changes follow behind. The most difficult aspect of transition is changing the mindsets of the people. The only hope for these transitions to occur successfully is by showing support for the people who are going through them. The first step to doing this is learning about the people and their cultures. This (among countless other benefits) is what academic travel provides.

On our final day it was hard to say goodbye. It is always difficult to end such a wonderful experience, and perhaps I am more sentimental now because it is my second to last travel... but regardless it was one of the best academic travels I've had. Great food, caring friends, exciting learning opportunities, beautiful sights and incredible fun, and last but certainly not least a wonderful professor who made it possible and tied it all together. 

Thank you!