Estonia has been a stimulating and thought-provoking place to spend the past five months. My research on Estonian e-residency, the initiative that offers global entrepreneurs access to Estonian governmental digital services, has made me question political norms about citizenship and immigration. I have also explored the role of security and international integration in the Baltics, a very small region of Europe that can often feel vulnerable to Russian hegemony or military aggression. The academic environment here has been great, and it has exposed me to a part of the world that I never thought much about before, from Eastern Europe's history of communism to the impact of centuries of occupation on the psychology of Estonians. But more significantly, I have enjoyed the bizarre practices, activities and attitudes of this winter wonderland country.
Estonia is a country with very high levels of social trust and with a correspondingly low crime-rate. This ratio has made me feel very safe as I traveled around the country.
