Toomas Tirs, Astana, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
Gunda Tire, Astana, Project Manager of PISA in Estonia
About Us
Toomas. We met on August 27, 1993, in Wisconsin, USA. I noticed Gunda at a fellowship meeting and fell in love at first sight.
Gunda. I am from Latvia. At the time of our meeting, I had already been studying for a year at a university with five other Latvians. At the beginning of the school year, during orientation week, I learned that a guy from Estonia had arrived. It was Toomas. We got to know each other and soon started dating.
After my studies, I went to Riga, and Toomas was still studying. For a year, we dated long distance.
Toomas. When I came back after my studies, Gunda visited me in Estonia, where I proposed to her. In 1996, we got married.
After my studies, I worked in the private sector for 12 years and only became a diplomat in 2007. Diplomacy is a family business. If the spouse is not ready to go to another country, it will be difficult to stay abroad for three or four years away from the family. So before starting my career, Gunda and I discussed everything. And to this day, before being assigned to any country, we discuss the details together and make the final decision.
We have three children. The eldest son, Nils, is 26 years old and lives and works in Estonia, in the IT sector. Our middle daughter, Elsa, works at KPMG in Latvia. Our youngest daughter is 18 years old and has just finished school in Astana.
Due to my work, I often go on business trips throughout Central Asia and Kazakhstan. If a long business trip is planned, Gunda also comes with me. At the same time, Gunda works. She is the head of an educational project under the auspices of the Estonian Ministry of Education.
Gunda. I run the PISA project in Estonia. PISA is a program for fifteen-year-old schoolchildren who take tests in math, reading, and science. Ninety countries participate in our program, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Each time, about 600,000 students around the world take the test. While we live in Kazakhstan, I work online; the work is non-stop. So when I have the opportunity, I enjoy traveling.
Our older children used to come to Kazakhstan, and we would organize trips to beautiful places in Central Asia. We went to Almaty to the Charyn Canyon, Kolsai, Kaindy, and went skiing at Chimbulak. We also traveled to Uzbekistan, where we visited Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent.
Toomas. With my parents, we traveled to Aktau and Bishkek. We wanted to show our relatives Central Asia, local cuisine, traditions, holidays, and nature.
There are also several villages in Kazakhstan where Estonians moved 130 years ago and where their descendants still live. One of the villages, Petrovka, is not far from Astana. We went there and managed to meet three women who spoke Estonian. We also plan to visit Ust-Kamenogorsk and Temirtau, where settlements and archives of letters from Estonians are preserved.
Family Rules
Gunda. When we lived in Belgium, we had a tradition — Toomas makes pancakes on Sundays.
Toomas. Since my children and I live in different countries, at Christmas we try to come to Estonia to visit my parents, including Gunda's mom, and my brother and his family.
Estonia once started the World Cleanup Day movement, which takes place every year in September. Estonians began to realize that everyone is responsible for the cleanliness around them, so they went out to clean their yards and streets. Our whole family follows this movement, including in Kazakhstan. For the third year, we have been going out to clean with local activists.
Gunda. We went to a school where we cleaned the streets together with small children. And a little girl said that she liked picking up trash so much. It's great that kids are being instilled with this kind of thinking.
Tips for Those Who Want to Build a Strong Family
Gunda. I would like to advise you to be open-minded. People are the same everywhere; everyone has love in their heart. Don't be afraid to explore the world.
It is important to learn to reckon with the person you live with. Of course, it is not always possible to do everything as the partner wants, but we try.
In general, it is good for couples when there is a common hobby. When we lived in Belgium, we started dancing folk dances: both Estonian and Latvian.
Toomas. When it comes to children, you can almost always say "yes" to a child's question or request. That is why we allowed them a little more but demanded that they always consider the consequences of their actions.
It is important to raise your children to be responsible people who can solve their own problems.
