Hey geograpeeps!
Welcome to part 3 of the research saga.
This episode is gonna be on Estonia.
So I actually went to Estonia a couple years ago with my friend and my Finnish friend;
we actually took the ferry across from Helsinki to Tallinn, the capital city.
All I remember was that Tallinn was beautiful, it was amazing;
it was just like this medieval city where they maintain the structures from centuries ago.
It's kinda what I imagine Finland probably would have looked like
if they retained their medieval ambiance instead of, you know -
adopting those austere, 19th century, Soviet, blocky living units.
I also remember when I was in Estonia, we had pickles with sour cream and honey.
That was an appetizer, and it was a popular thing out there.
I think it's Russian, but they had it over there and they liked it.
I don't know.
So the things I know about Estonia:
There's a lot of Russians there; I think a quarter of the country is Russian.
Which is because they used to be part of the Soviet Union,
and I know that they HATED that.
I also know that Estonia is very similar to Finland,
in fact, they're kind of like cousins of each other.
They both speak languages that are related to each other, kind of.
And the only other thing that I know about Estonia is that it's kind of like...
the "Silicon Valley" of Europe, or so I've been told,
because they're very internet and digital ecommerce-savvy.
And that's about it.
So, without further ado, let's jump in and research this country, shall we?
And of course by that, I mean you guys have to watch me,
because you can't do anything with me right now; you're just watching the video.
So as you can see, here on the side bar of my e-mail, I'm gonna click on the 'Estonia' folder; it's right here.
And as you can see, there are a TON of Estonians who have emailed me; it's crazy.
I even know how many there are.
I'm just gonna assume probably 18% of the entire country has emailed.
Anyway! Ah, Andro sent me a lot of good information.
Crazy cool stuff.
What is this link that he sent me?
Oh!
So this is a video about the history of Estonia made in a rap.
Okay, this is pretty funny.
Droppin' those beats, dang.
I love the Estonian language. It's so -
- melodic.
You know, I'm suprised it's made in rap form.
I assumed Estonians would probably be more into heavy metal like their Finnish cousins, but eh, maybe not.
Oh, okay, now he's hanging from a tree.
And the corpses are singing as well.
I love this guy!
Okay, this looks silly, but's actually very educational if you read the subtitles.
I guess the point he's trying to get across is that Estonia had a very rough history.
A lot of animosity and belligerance.
I love this pause.
"We don't have a sun, even if we did, it won't shine."
Estonians, what do you think? Does that kind of encapsulate the whole soul of Estonia?
Thank you Andro for sending me that!
Learning about Estonia! (sing-song)
Alright, what do you got for us, Rasmus?
Lot of information, but he also sent me these cool pictures of traditional Estonian costumes.
I'm just gonna rate these Estonian costumes because clearly I'm a fashion expert,
based off of how wrinkly my shirts are in the episodes.
Let's see, the woman on the far left -
it kinda looks like her hat is the same shape of her shirt but just upside down.
It's like they have head-skirts.
Let's see, the guy, oh my god.
This guy on the far right, he looks like he could just maul you and destroy you in, like, thr-
He doesn't even have to touch you, he just looks at you and he destroys you.
And that sash, man. You gotta go- That sash is...classy.
That is a classy sash.
Thanks for sending that, Rasmus!
Alright, who else we got here?
What do you got for us, Martin?
Let's see what you sent.
Bogwalking is really cool, oil shale -
Whoa, you sent me a ton of videos.
Look at all this stuff, wow.
"Estonian Song Contest."
Video narrator: "Do you know what magic feels like?"
Barby: Kind of.
Video narrator: Do you know where it hides?
Barby: Not really.
Video narrator: Is it flying in the blue sky?
Barby: Probably. Probably not.
Video narrator: Is it hidden in the dark soil that grows the flowers?
Barby: Oh, it better be.
I planted it there.
Video narrator: Or is it in the northern breeze?
Barby: Why can't it be the southern breeze? What are you, racist?
Video narrator: - hides in all of them.
Ahhh! Rhetorical question!
Ooh, wow, okay.
Estonia....
Here we go. It's gonna get good.
Ah, wow!
That is a lot of people.
Man, you Estonians love singing!
That's like the whole country right there, basically.
I mean, I know it's a small country;
this looks like everybody in the country just met up in one spot.
Pretty cool stuff.
Very commendable actions you've taken historically, Estonia. I applaud you.
Alright, next one! Okay, what on earth is this?
Ki- kiking?
What is "kiking"?
Oh, what?
What the -
Is that an Estonian thing?
Are you ser-
Woah - oh, they're gonna fall -
They went all the way around the - what do you call it - the fulcrum!
I'd probably try that, but I wouldn't go all the way around, because I know I'd probably let go,
and then I'd fall off and then I'd die.
Okay, that is totally going in the video.
What do we got here? Bog walking.
Video narrator: Travel yourself.
Barby: Don't tell me what to do.
Elin Priks: Hello, my name is Elin. Barby: Hey Elin!
Elin Priks: And we are at the fabulous Kõnnu Suursoo Bog.
Barby: (tries to imitate the pronunciation of the name)
Bog-shoeing.
Alright, I have no idea what this is.
They have to -
In order to walk on the ground, they have to wear snowshoes?
Is this really a thing in Estonia?
It looks like they're just standing on the dirt.
Why do you need shoes to -
What?
The ground is really that wet?
Look at that, like, water is coming up from the holes in her snowshoes. What? Is that -
Is this really a - wow.
This is a thing you guys do in Estonia?
You go bogshoeing?
Ah! I wanna go to Estonia now and do this.
Thanks for sending that to me, Martin. Alright, next one.
Alright, Sander. What do we got here?
Ah!
Sander sent me another list of Estonian and Finnish words that are either similar or they sound the same,
but they mean different things.
In Estonian, kama is a food in their cuisine, but in Finnish, 'kama' means trash.
In Estonian, 'hallitus' means mold, but in Finnish it means government.
So, the Finnish people are calling Estonian food trash,
but the Estonia people are calling the Finnish government mold.
Thank you everybody for sending all these emails.
I'll try to read as many of them as I can.
Let's move on. Let's look up some videos on YouTube about Estonia, shall we?
So, I'm just gonna type in "Estonia."
Alright, the first video that pops up is "Top 10 Interesting Facts About Estonia."
And the thumbnail is a lady in a blue bikini.
Let's see where this goes.
Oh, so there's free transportation in Tallinn.
For residents. If you're not a resident, then you'll probably get arrested.
Okay, what?
Oh, wife carrying. Yeah, this is actually a Finnish thing.
But I've heard the Estonians are really good at this.
That'll go in the Finland episode!
Of course, you can't go wrong with the rye bread.
Ah, yup, they invented Skype.
Mmhmm, singing revolution. Okay, thank you Top10Archive. Wait!
How come there are no ladies in bikinis in this one? I thought - it was on the thumbnail.
Top10Archive, I mean, I love you guys, but why you gotta be so manipulative?
Huh? Why? There wasn't one - whatever.
Alright, next one. Moving on.
Vice News - eh, pass.
Let's try to find some obscure Estonian YouTubers.
Okay, so who's this guy? Artur Rehi.
"Things I miss about Estonia."
I'm guessing he's Estonian.
Artur: Hello my dear people, my name is Artur and I come from Estonia.
Barby: Yeah, he's Estonian.
He looks like a depressed, but in-better-shape Pewdiepie.
Artur: ...1.3 million...
Artur: ...we almost don't exist.
Artur: "Ah, but you're wrong. We do exist."
Barby: Yes you do, Estonia, You do exist.
Artur: ... you don't talk to people. You don't say hello. You don't hug, you don't -
Barby: So similar to Finland!
You don't talk. You don't don't touch. You don't make any eye contact. You just make subtle greetings.
Artur: Just as I said, we value the trees, we value stone -
Barby: Okay, so you guys like nature.
Artur: ...parts of nature. And people in my homecity -
Barby: Man, what is up with this somber music in the background?
It kinda sounds like that music that you play after - you know when you watch a video workout, like P90X,
and then they do the strech section?
Where it's just kinda like "hey guys! We're gonna cool down!"
This kinda sounds like that music.
The cool down P90X music.
Artur: ...are called kirju koera.
Barby: This guy is so Estonian.
Just his accent, his look, his stoic demeanour.
Good stuff.
Well, thank you, Artur Rehi, for sharing all that insight about Estonia as an Estonian yourself.
So I might, I don't know, check out CIA World Factbook for a little bit just for some logistical information,
but otherwise, all the other good information is from you guys, the Estonian geograpeeps that emailed me.
So I don't feel like I have to do that much research.
So I guess the biggest thing I'm taking away from this is that
Estonia is a very internet and e-commerce/digitized-savvy country.
Lots of tradition, lots of culture.
But with tinctures of Soviet influence that are still kind of left over; the residue shavings.
So I guess that's about it.
Thank you for watching me do research.
I don't know if any other YouTubers do this type of stuff,
like, they make vlogs where they make their subscribers watch them do research.
I don't know. Is that a thing?
Do any other YouTubers do that?
I don't know. So that's about it!
Stay tuned for the next one, it's gonna be Ethiopia.
It should be really big, really fun, really cool, so I'm gonna have a lot of fun with that one.
Hope you guys have fun with watching me research that one as well.
So have a good one! Stay tuned.