After one month at TalTech: Francisco Tienda from Mexico

How do our freshmen find their experience in a new country and university? What surprised them, what are their daily routines and plans for future in the series of materials ‘After one month at TalTech’.

The first story is from Francisco Tienda from Mexico who has just started with the Environmental Engineering and Management (MSc) programme at TalTech.

Meeting Estonians for the first time

I arrived at dawn and I all I wanted was to take a shower and sleep. But on my real first day in Estonia I was looking for a supermarket. I asked a group of guys who were passing by where I could find one and they became very curious about me. Once I told I was from Mexico they became super excited, they told they have never met a person from Mexico before. It was Saturday in the noon and they were just coming back from a party. They invited me to have some beers. I was hesitating for a moment if it was a good idea to trust some strangers, when I didn’t even know in what part of city I was. I decided to join them and actually had some nice time. In that sense it was a nice experience meeting Estonians for the first time.

“Where are those high buildings?”

Before coming to Estonia, some years ago when I visited friends in Berlin I truly fell in love with the architecture. And somehow I expected to find the same here in Tallinn. I was like „Okay, this is the Old Town, this is the City Centre, but where are those high buildings with amazing facades?“ (laughing). I was expecting really high buildings and monuments, but I really like it here and I realize it is a completely different part of Europe. For example, the green areas are awesome. I like the combination of a digital techno city aspects and living in peace with the nature.

“People respect themselves and others”

Nobody cares about your appearance and it is rather good. You can dress the way you please, you can be as you want, nobody bothers you. I find it really nice how people here respect themselves and the others. It is very nice because you can try to be yourself.

Finding accommodation

I have started with renting an Airbnb but it was on a more expensive side and the landlord was not so nice. I came to Estonia together with my girlfriend who studies in EKA and our plan was to live each in a separate dorm of our universities. I had a dorm offer but my girlfriend applied too late and in the end we have decided to share an apartment. Currently we are living in a studio in Kadriorg, it is very small but at the same time everything is brand new, as we are the first tenants.
We like to walk so if we go to the Old Town for a party we can easily come back home walking.
Overall it is only 25 euros per person more expensive than living in a private room in a dorm. A very good friend of mine is staying there and he he is not having a good experience. Myself I am a very organized person, I like to keep everything clean, I like to cook a lot. And although I like to go to parties and have fun, but not on working days. Maybe once in two weeks. Some weekends I want to go visit new places, wake up early. Besides it can be financially straining to party too much if you are on a regular student budget.

University impressions

The university is amazing, it’s 20 out of 10. TalTech has surpassed my expectations by far. It is very beautiful, the infrastructure is very nice. The buildings, the architecture. I’m in love with the university to be honest. My classes are just starting so I don’t feel like it is too challenging at the moment. Actually my Bachelor’s back home was very Mathematics and Calculus intensive. Here my programme is Environmental Engineering, so I get to focus on green strategies, policies, it is more theoretical than what I have done so far.

Making friends

I like it a lot that even those people who I met and asked for directions or some help here and who couldn’t speak English tried to help me. Overall, I met a lot of people who have already made my stay here easier.
From the very beginning I have already made some friends. I have met great people who helped me a lot and I can consider them friends. Most of them are not in the same age as I am. I am on great terms with a couple of my classmates.

Typical day

I live quite far from the university and although my classes typically start after 10 o’clock I prefer to wake up early. I like to go to the gym, and we have this course of Basic Physical Movement I have to attend just 24 times in the whole semester to claim my credits but I like to go there almost every day. I like to start the day with some sport, so at 8 o’clock I have to be here. It means I should take a bus at 7 o’clock and wake up at least one hour before. But because I don’t like to be in a rush I try to wake up even a little earlier. On Wednesdays biweekly I have no classes, so most of the times I don’t go to the gym and rest. This is how it has been so far and I think it will continue this way.
Depending on how much homework I have I will either go home directly after classes or stay in the library to concentrate better.

Plans and a bucket list

Right now I’m looking for a job and sending my CV to many companies. I am not sure in which area I want to work — construction industry or environmental field.
I would also like to have my own business the way I had in Mexico.
And of course I would like to visit all the places I can. I have made a great research in this regard, because of course, although Visit Estonia page is useful it has so much information that you don’t always know what is really worth visiting and what is not. So my approach in finding the places is to keep an eye on what my friends are posting on Instagram.

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