The Canadian Uncle, an expat

As a kid, I went to a school that would be classified as a private school in North America. You know, a place where politicians and celebrities send their children and the education is world class.

I am forever thankful to my mom for listening to our family doctor, who said that I was too bright to go to a regular school and suggested I go and take the entrance exams for Miina Härma Gümnaasium in Tartu when I was seven years old. We lived in Elva, so I commuted 25km each way, every day, for 11 years, mostly alone.

That decision to change schools, however, put me on a path to actually meeting the now King Charles III when he was a Prince because, of course, he visited our school on his Baltic tour. Since our school had a unique curriculum, which was half in English, that also put me on the path to getting my Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Tartu.

The Canadian Uncle (“Kanada Onu”) was actually part of an often-used joke in both the media and sometimes at home.

But back to my classmates. They were well-travelled even before the borders opened and many had aunts and uncles in Australia, the US, or Canada. The Canadian Uncle (“Kanada Onu”) was actually part of an often-used joke in both the media and sometimes at home.