Column: Why I Live Here 

I was born and raised on Saaremaa, my home is here, as well as my parents and children. Yet again and again the wild and abundant nature, the sea and the forests here fi ll me with elation. Always, when I come back from a long trip, it is on the ferry that I let out a great big sigh and the outline of the Muhu Island brings a smile to my face. That wonderful feeling of freedom… Once during my student years, I was trapped on the mainland because of a storm – I wanted to come but I couldn’t, and it felt like I was short of air.

I like the feeling of closeness on my home island. My people, my little safe world, the feeling of togetherness and empathy. Even when you do not meet people very often, I know that they are there for me when I need them. And vice versa.

On the island, you tend to have extra time and then you can choose whether to engage in various exciting activities or just enjoy the moment and the place. People are more grounded and present, in contact with themselves and authentic. I see a brilliant quality of life which consistently unites generations and includes being alone with nature and living a simple and slow life with austerity, authenticity and black humour.

The island humour is sarcastic and sharp, but still cordial at heart. More like putting people to the test. When my father heard of my sister’s boyfriend, his greatest concern was that the mainland men don’t have a sense of humour. A lot more things are cleared up through humour than by blunt confrontation, and the test of humour allows us to fi nd out what sort of a person we are dealing with.

Kuressaare is the ‘village’ where I live – on a global scale, it is a village. It is the capital and heart of the island and o ers many world-class restaurants and spas.

When I feel the urge to get more rural, I love going to where my ancestors come from and my father and aunt still live in the Laimjala coastal villages – that is where I feel truly close to the earth.

It is astonishing what kind of global citizens you can find here among the junipers. People who have travelled the entire world and then (or due to that) found a connection to their roots and deeper being and have chosen to live here and our way.