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May. 10th, 2007
Obtaining Estonian Citizenship.
May. 10th, 2007 09:37 amShortly after Estonia became independent in 1991, I came back to visit Tallinn, for the first time as an adult. The experience of coming back to my hometown after so many years was very moving, but that's a whole different story. I want to focus on the issue of getting an Estonian citizenship. (Just a side note: My father has citizenship by birth, and he's fluent in both Russian and Estonian. My native language is Russian. I understand Estonian on the level of a dog - getting the general meaning of what's being said).
Anyway, I was entitled to citizenship through my father, and he had had all the necessary paperwork prepared in advance. All I was expected to do, was show up at the Citizenship and Migration Board, and sign some papers. On the appointed day, we came to this old little office on Pärnu mnt, and dad had a short conversation with the clerk. He said something to the effect of me living abroad, and wanting to renew my citizenship. Everything had been arranged already, so the clerk knew what needed to be done. She drew some papers, produced a pen, and asked me to sign "here, here, and here". Keep in mind that the entire conversation was held in Estonian. I understood enough to follow the instructions, but I wasn’t 100% sure. I hesitated. Dad wanted to help me, but was faced with a dilemma - what was the language that he should use? If it’s Estonian, then I wouldn't be any wiser. If it’s Russian, then what kind of a "poor lost Estonian from abroad" am I? What else was left? English? Ridiculous. He was stuck.
I had to interfere quickly. I brushed dad aside, and approached the clerk in English "do you want me to sign here?". "Yes, please", she blushed. Her English was far from perfect.
Anyway, I was entitled to citizenship through my father, and he had had all the necessary paperwork prepared in advance. All I was expected to do, was show up at the Citizenship and Migration Board, and sign some papers. On the appointed day, we came to this old little office on Pärnu mnt, and dad had a short conversation with the clerk. He said something to the effect of me living abroad, and wanting to renew my citizenship. Everything had been arranged already, so the clerk knew what needed to be done. She drew some papers, produced a pen, and asked me to sign "here, here, and here". Keep in mind that the entire conversation was held in Estonian. I understood enough to follow the instructions, but I wasn’t 100% sure. I hesitated. Dad wanted to help me, but was faced with a dilemma - what was the language that he should use? If it’s Estonian, then I wouldn't be any wiser. If it’s Russian, then what kind of a "poor lost Estonian from abroad" am I? What else was left? English? Ridiculous. He was stuck.
I had to interfere quickly. I brushed dad aside, and approached the clerk in English "do you want me to sign here?". "Yes, please", she blushed. Her English was far from perfect.
Ich spreche kein Deutsch!
May. 10th, 2007 09:59 pmAnd another story about language trouble, this time from Germany.
A couple of years ago we visited my family in Berlin. The missus and I had stayed with my relatives for a whole week, and I wanted to buy them a going-away present. They lived in a quiet residential neighborhood that had a mall in the middle. One evening I went into that mall, looking for something nice, and voilá – in one of the stores there was a pair of beautiful crystal candlesticks. Since I know no German whatsoever, I went into the store and asked the sales lady in English to please show me those candlesticks. She was a young girl (I would hardly give her 25) so I was quite surprised when she answered me in German. Well, it's not true that I don't know any German. I know a little bit of Yiddish, so I could guess what she meant by words like "geschenk" – "yes", I said, "please wrap it up for a present". I went on with this tedious guessing game, sweating and battling the strange words, for ten whole minutes (that seemed like forever), until ... it was the store's closing time. The girl clearly wanted to wrap things up. What did she do? She switched to the most beautiful school English you can imagine.
A couple of years ago we visited my family in Berlin. The missus and I had stayed with my relatives for a whole week, and I wanted to buy them a going-away present. They lived in a quiet residential neighborhood that had a mall in the middle. One evening I went into that mall, looking for something nice, and voilá – in one of the stores there was a pair of beautiful crystal candlesticks. Since I know no German whatsoever, I went into the store and asked the sales lady in English to please show me those candlesticks. She was a young girl (I would hardly give her 25) so I was quite surprised when she answered me in German. Well, it's not true that I don't know any German. I know a little bit of Yiddish, so I could guess what she meant by words like "geschenk" – "yes", I said, "please wrap it up for a present". I went on with this tedious guessing game, sweating and battling the strange words, for ten whole minutes (that seemed like forever), until ... it was the store's closing time. The girl clearly wanted to wrap things up. What did she do? She switched to the most beautiful school English you can imagine.
