People are proud of their culture. Like many others, Estonians are even boastful about it. But how many cultures can offer jokes about it, about themselves, even ones that seem to deride it, put the people and its ethos up to ridicule. Cultures that are resilient, even in the face of the most devastating ridicule, can and do thrive through the silly as well as serious things in life.
In a sweltering mid-summer let’s lighten up a little:
What’s an Estonian introvert? He stares at his own shoes while talking to someone. An Estonian extrovert? He stares at the other person’s shoes.
The motto of the Estonian ambulance service? Time heals all wounds.
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Estonia. Who?
An Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian are sitting in a pub and after a while the Estonian asks the Lithuanian, “Is it true that Lithuanians are unpredictable and hyper-emotional?” “No,” says the Lihtuanian, eyes flowing with tears of frustration. “Another question like that and I’ll kill you”, the Lihtuanian utters. A period of uneasy silence. Then the Lihtuanian asks the Latvian: “Is it true that Latvians practice inbreeding and that you’re all retarded?” “Ha, ha, I’ll sing a song that my mother, who is also my aunt taught me,” said the Latvian. “ “Tralalallalla, the cow’s in the meadow, tralalallalla.” Period of embarrassing silence followed. Then the Latvian asked the Estonian, “Is it true that Estonians have no character?” “I don’t know, answered the Estonian as he takes out his iphone and says, “There’s free wifi here, I can look it up through Google.” (Pikemalt Eesti Elu 22. juuli paberlehes)