After being born in Toronto in 1962, growing up in the city, and attending two universities there, I wondered if I would spend my whole life in Toronto. I have always liked Toronto, but the world is a bigger place. Estonia achieved its re-independence in 1991 and by that time, I had worked as a lawyer in downtown Toronto for four years. I saw going to work in Eesti for one year as a chance to break out of my Toronto rut. And the cause—of participating in the rebuilding of Soviet-occupied Estonia—seemed very worthwhile.
To be painfully honest, I was not that ideologically driven. Some of my friends spoke more of "returning to where they belonged, the land of their forefathers." I had more of a sense of adventure when I decided I would work for one year in Estonian government ministries; and unless something unexpectedly great happened, I would return to Toronto.
The chaotic first year
And so it went. I worked in four government ministries throughout 1992. It was a crazy time, where Soviet ministries and state departments were reorganized or eliminated. A Soviet command economy was being transformed into a capitalistic society. It was a chaotic and exhilarating time. For the first half of 1992, the currency was still the Russian Rouble and the price of one's lunch in the ministry canteen rose every day, as inflation was 1076% in 1992 (as detailed by Statistics Estonia).
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