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6%OFFClare Thomson - Estonia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture - 9781857333534 - V9781857333534
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Estonia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture

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Description for Estonia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture Paperback. Culture Smart! Estonia provides priceless cultural information not found in an average guidebook. Whether looking to secure a business deal, enrich your travels, or better understand the people and customs of Estonia, Culture Smart! provides indispensable advice. Find out what makes Estonia tick and avoid misunderstandings. Series: Culture Smart!. Num Pages: 168 pages, colour illustrations. BIC Classification: 1DVUE; WTH. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 115 x 169 x 16. Weight in Grams: 178.
For a nation of around 1.3 million inhabitants, Estonia has made a real impression on the world stage since regaining its independence less than two decades ago. In the mid-1980s, it was known, if at all, as a Soviet backwater, but the collapse of Communism saw the emergence of a republic determined to make up for lost time and establish itself as a forward-thinking Western state. For all their love of entrepreneurship, the digital age and all it has to offer, Estonians are quiet and reserved, hardworking, fiercely jealous of their privacy, and lovers of nature. They can seem distant, almost rude on first meeting, but if you make the effort to get to know them, their sincerity and self-deprecating humor shine through. As one businessman who works in Tallinn observed, “an Estonian friend is a friend for life.” Culture Smart! Estonia is for any visitor—whether businessperson, student, or tourist—who wants to understand Estonian society and be culturally prepared for a visit. We trace the country’s turbulent history and try to see how the past has shaped the collective and personal values of today’s Estonians. We look at the Estonian people at work, at play, and at home, and offer tips to help you get along with Estonian colleagues and acquaintances—without any awkward silences!

Product Details

Publisher
Kuperard
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2007
Series
Culture Smart!
Condition
New
Number of Pages
168
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9781857333534
SKU
V9781857333534
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 4 to 8 working days
Ref
99-2

About Clare Thomson
I was born in Islington, London, of a Scottish father and Estonian mother. I have a degree in English from Cambridge University (Jesus College), a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the Institute of Education, London, and an MA in education from University College (UCL), London. I first visited Estonia in 1989, before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I returned with my Estonian-born mother the following year and this was my most memorable experience of travel: my mother met her childhood friend, who was deported aged 10 from Estonia to Siberia under Stalin, and was now back in Tallinn. It is the first time I heard my mother speak Estonian (she did not teach it to her children believing it to be a useless language) and also because, as a World War Two refugee fleeing Stalin, she focused on becoming English . To hear your mother from Notting Hill speaking her native tongue for the first time on the communal stairs of a dilapidated Soviet appartment block is a disorienting experience, but not a bad one. Estonians are straight-talking. If you ask: How are you?, they may well say: Not at all well, as opposed to the assumed: Fine, and you?. Having worked as a journalist and writier, I am now teaching piano and learning to play the organ. I am a parent governor at St Marylebone C of E secondary school in London, which our teenage daughters attend. They are still learning to speak Estonian and love cross-country skiing in the Estonian pine forests. We hope Putin will not gobble Estonia up. My first book was The Singing Revolution: A Political Journey through the Baltic States (1991, Michael Joseph).

Reviews for Estonia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture
Culture Smart! has come to the rescue of hapless travellers...' Sunday Times Travel, ' the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries.' Global Travel, ' full of fascinating, as well as common sense, tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas.' Observer, ' as useful as they are entertaining.' Easy Jet Magazine, ' offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world.' New York Times

Goodreads reviews for Estonia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture