Emilie Maj, from France
Researcher at Tallinn University, the Estonian Institute of Humanities
Can you tell a bit about your work and why you decided to come to Estonia?
I am a young anthropologist and I work on the Yakut culture in Siberia. My specialisation is religion and human-nature relationship. I found my current position at Tallinn University through a French mailing list for anthropologists. Estonia appealed to me as a former USSR country. Also, I wanted to live somewhere not too far from France, like America, and close to Poland where my father is from. I have been in Estonia for one and a half years now and my contract is for three years.
How do you compare the Estonian Academic environment with your previous places of employment?
Compared to Paris and Cambridge, Estonia is a good place to work. I have an office which I can use and good colleagues. I really like the fact that Tallinn University is very “alive” – there is always something going on! Yesterday, for example, was Chinese New Year celebration.
The environment in Estonia is better than in Cambridge: it is more humane. Comparing to French it is a bit different as I have many colleagues there. They are my friends and I am very close to them. We speak the same language and we know each other for a number of years.
How has your stay in Estonia contributed towards your qualification as a researcher?
It has contributed, of course! To have an office and working in a university environment has made me work very effectively. I’ve been able to focus and I have published a lot of new articles.
Also, our research centre, the Centre for Landscape and Culture, organises interdisciplinary seminars on Thursdays, where geographers and anthropologists share their ideas. For example, I developed a lot of new ideas in geography. Last year, I gave a presentation about the landscape in Siberia and it really helped me to summarize my ideas. One year later, I published an article about this! The article was published in a geography journal instead of a journal for anthropology.
What are your plans for your future academic career? Are you planning to continue being involved with an Estonian academic institute?
I would love to continue working with Tallinn University. But I would also like to work from outside Estonia. Perhaps I will collaborate with Tallinn University through a European research contract: work for Tallinn University, but be based in France. I know this is not so easy, but in the research sphere maybe it is possible. We will see…
Did you learn Estonian? If yes, what was your experience like?
I have not learned Estonian. At the moment I am learning and practicing my English, Russian and Polish. English is important for my field of work, I started practicing it in Cambridge during my post-doc year. Currently I teach classes in English. In the year and a half that I have been here, I have really learned a lot and had a unique opportunity to improve my English as an international language.
Furthermore, I can speak Russian, which I can apply in everyday life situations. For example, everything is in Russian at the market. I speak English to Estonian people as they speak English very well. However, I would need to know Estonian to adapt better in Estonia. When you go to a party, for instance, it is good to know the language, but that is the same everywhere.
What do you like most about living in Estonia and why?
Firstly, it is the possibility to practice my English and to improve my writing skills in English. English is very important in the research world and I really need it. Secondly, teaching is very good experience. I can apply it in France or anywhere else. At Tallinn University, everybody needs to teach at least 30 hours per year. I find teaching difficult, but you sometimes have to do things that you don’t want to in order to become better in them. Thirdly, I like exploring Estonian culture. For instance, I went to the Estonian Orthodox Church out of curiosity after hearing the melody church bells. The melody was very beautiful and sounded almost like jazz. Now I come back regularly: not because of religious reasons, but because I like the feeling of community. I try to catch the last part of the service as the songs are beautiful to listen to. Sometimes I bring home-made cakes to the people of the church. I even baked a traditional French onion cake for them. That’s my way to share with these people a part of my culture…
