SSEES Student Ilya Galkin Shares His Year Abroad Experience in Tallinn, Estonia

Are you at SSEES and planning a year abroad or are even currently on a year abroad? Then this post is for you. My name is Ilya, I’m a 4th year History and Russian student, with my 3rd year being on a year abroad in Tallinn, Estonia. Before starting my year abroad, I had a lot of questions and concerns, but eventually a lot of them were alleviated before I got to Estonia and while I was there. The purpose of this blog post is to act as a source of advice for any of you going on a year abroad in year 3 and even for some of you that are already there. My first piece of advice would be to make sure that you get the admin, logistics, and finance for the year abroad done as early as possible. That means applying and receiving your study/work visa (if necessary), completing all the UCL study abroad forms, applying for funding (as applicable), sorting your insurance while also researching and securing your accommodation and flights before you begin your year abroad. Another piece of advice on the accommodation side is to look at various sites, international ones such as Airbnb while also making the most of the local websites. For Estonia these were Kv.ee and City24.ee and that’s just two examples there will plenty more wherever you go and it's all available online.

I did the whole academic year in one location, however many of my fellow students split the year abroad into 2, so going to 1 location for the first term and another for the second term. While it meant increased volume for admin and preparation many people enjoyed it as it gave them the chance to see more of the huge world that we live in while also meeting lots of new people and being exposed to and experiencing more cultures. Even though you are on a year abroad to study do make the most of your time there to travel in and around the country that you’re staying in. Take advantage of local celebrations such as festivals, free museum days and learning and developing your language skills no matter if you’re there to study a language or not. While in Estonia I was able to travel around all the Baltic states as well as Sweden and Finland which upon reflection created some of the best memories from the year abroad. I also recommend carrying on with your hobbies on your year abroad and even potentially finding new ones. Me personally, I was able to play football several times a week with local people and students from other programmes and countries while also reinvigorating my ski and snowboarding skills at a local ski slope in Tallinn during Winter and the beginning of Spring. In summary, try to be open minded, adventurous yet safe. Keep in contact with UCL, your families and fellow students and enjoy it.

Blog post and images by Ilya Galkin, 4th-year Russian and History student