Welcome to Finland :)

“Be a good girl! Santa Claus watches you!” I think that the most common idea people all over the world have of Finland is this: a lot of snow, Christmas lights, forests and reindeers. Reindeers everywhere. And, of course, it was also the idea I had in my mind when the 7th of August I arrived to Helsinki from Udine, my city in Italy. Actually I got a lot of information before my departure: I guess I visited every website about Finnish culture, I saw a lot of pictures, I read as many tourist guides as possible, I talked with anyone who has visited Finland. So I was prepared to understand all the changes and of course… I was quite sure that it was impossible to be killed by a horde of reindeers: there are only a few of them and they aren’t so aggressive!

With all this in my mind the day after my arrival I moved to Pieksämäki in Sothern’s Savo Region to spend my volunteer period in Koulutuskeskus Agricola, a Folk High School where I work with people with special needs. My group, called Arien Suola, is formed by students with different ages (from 25 to 65) and during the day we do different kinds of handcraft and sport activities. We believe in the motto “mens sana in copore sano”! But we are here to learn something more about another culture, too. Many Finnish people are very surprised about my choice and want to know why I decided to come here. I lived also in Portugal and Brazil, so I wanted to have an experience in a very different country and Finland offered me the opportunity to work in one of the best education systems of the world. This is the field in which I would like to work and it’s the best way to improve my skills. I have to be honest: my first days in Pieksämäki weren’t so good… and for a moment I have thought that the Finnish culture was too different from my worldview. Of course… here I found 30 degrees less and a cloudy sky: my first thought was “ it’s impossible…it’s already autumn!”. See people with jackets and heavy clothes didn’t help me to see them as friendly. And the lake was too grey to appear attractive. But then I have been for ten days in Ylöjärvi in Antaverkka camp with the other volunteers:  thanks to everybody (and also to the sun) I saw Finland with different eyes. It’s a place where I can really learn many things. Firstly: to relax. I’m a person that really loves to sleep, probably I’m one of the best world’s experts in this field and I have never, never, never slept so good as after sauna-lake. Now I understand why Finnish people can’t survive without it. I think that also walking in the middle of nature is very calming. Unfortunately in Italy we don’t have so many forests so it’s very difficult to find a moment for ourself, just thinking and staying alone with your mind. We have so many things to do everyday and we are surrounded by so many people and noises that we forget how important is enjoying the silent. Here in Pieksämäki (city that I begin to know and like) I have to walk through a forest to get to the city centre and I really appreciate the sound of my footsteps…during the day…maybe for someone like me that doesn’t like the darkness it’s a little bit ominous! But it’s ok… I suppose I can survive! I’m very surprised about what I’m going to say because there are many clichés about Finnish people’s shyness and my biggest fear before my departure was the loneliness. But the best thing here in Finland is the people. Maybe they are not exuberant as Italians are but they are really helpful. And they talk…a lot, especially if you had a bad day: they try to help you and make you feel part of their group. They are really open-minded, and interested about me and my country. And they have many interesting activities: barbecue, bonfires, walks in nature, music, sports… so they are the best resource to make you feel part of this country. I suppose that they will be essential to make my experience something unbelievable. In this moment honestly I don’t know how my situation is going to change in the next six months… I suppose that a part of the experience is to slowly understand what is changing in yourself without having many expectations, because something unexpected could be the change that you need.